Raw Yogurt! Dairy Free, of course

This may sound ridiculous, coming from a vegan, but I'm losing my interest in grains. It's not that I don't like the taste or the texture, it's that I don't like how they make me feel. Even gluten free grains, although not as harsh on my stomach, give me this uncomfortable airy feeling if I eat too much of them.

I've had digestive issues for the past couple years and I've never had the time to really let my system relax and figure out what foods I'm sensitive to (if any). So now that I have a free summer, where I don't have to run for school or stress myself out with tons of work, I'm experimenting. It's been less than a week, but I've been avoiding soy, gluten, peanuts, and most grains, with the exception of nama shoyu(soy and wheat) and miso(soy). Both are fermented and much more easily digestible than they would be normally. So guess what? No bloating. Minimal discomfort. I hope i'm not jinxing myself, because for the past couple days I've felt pretty damn good.

So, what have I been eating? I have Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials to thank. I've been eating pancakes, crepes, sandwiches on awesome flatbreads. And, the reason for the post, my own raw cashew yogurt.

       I started making this yogurt several weeks ago, by soaking almonds and cashews and blending them with water, adding probiotic pills and apple cider vinegar and hoping they would culture. I was sceptical. My history with cultured treats had been sub par in the past. But this turned out great! Some batches are thinner so I use it more like a sauce/cream, while other batches are nice and thick so I use it like a yogurt. The best part? You don't need a vitamix for this, just a decent blender.

To Start:

1 cup of cashews, or a mix of cashews and almonds.
1 tbs raw apple cider vinegar
1-3 probiotic capsules (if you don't have any, don't sweat it, just let the vinegar do its thing.)

Soak the cashews for at least 2 hours, then drain and rinse.
Blend the cashews with enough water to form a creamy consistency. If it's a bit more watery than you want your yogurt to be, don't worry. It will thicken up when it cultures.
Blend in the vinegar and probiotic capsules and blend until your yogurt is as creamy as your blender can make it.
Find a warm place! Preferably around 95 degrees. Don't let it get about 110 degrees or the bacteria may get damaged. A dehydrator works great, I put my yogurt in over night. If you don't have a dehydrator, just put it in a warm corner of your kitchen and cover it.

Take it out the next morning and taste it. It should be very tangy. If it isn't, it needs to sit for longer. If it is, now you can sweeten it with maple syrup, stevia, or anything you would like. Usually I use maple syrup and stevia but this last batch I used raw honey.

Stick it in the fridge! When your batch starts to get low, just soak another cup or so of cashews, and put them along with the remains of your yogurt and some water in your blender, and let it sit out again over night. It's an easy way to have some dairy free, soy free, raw yogurt.