No Bake Desserts: Sustainable Sweet Tooth Satisfaction
No bake desserts are a great sweet option if your power goes out… or to eat yummy treats sustainably! Particularly when locally sourced or a product of organic farming, raw desserts are a great way to reduce your food carbon footprint. What better day to eat dessert sustainably than today, on Sustainable Gastronomy Day? Read on to learn about some tasty raw desserts and where to get your own to celebrate responsibly.
Sustainable Gastronomy Day
On December 21, 2016, the United Nations (UN) designated June 18 as Sustainable Gastronomy Day. The international holiday raises awareness of the power of sustainable gastronomy for taking better care of our planet. Through the creation of this holiday, the UN emphasizes gastronomy as a key element of cultural expression.
Further, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) recognizes the promotion of links among local producers, local areas, and food products through geographical indications (GIs) as a pathway to nutritious food systems and sustainable development for rural communities worldwide.
What’s more, the UN recognizes that all cultures and civilizations are crucial actors in sustainable development and fighting malnutrition. This also means that across the world, we share a responsibility to make our sweets easier on our beloved planet!
No Bake Desserts
What better way to eat dessert responsibly than with no bake desserts that use locally sourced ingredients, and/or are derived from sustainable agriculture? Let’s take a look at some delicious local, Canadian raw dessert options!
Lemon goji raw cheesecake (Rawesome)
- Lemon Goji Raw Cheesecake from Rawesome
Rawesome is a Montreal-based eco-gastronomy company specialized in raw vegan organic treats. They offer nutritious nice cream, raw cakes, and cashew-based cream cheese and spreads you can enjoy responsibly. If you have certain intolerances, their products are also free of gluten and refined sugar. Their cakes and cheeses are available in Montreal as well as the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). With these delicious raw cakes, we bet you won’t miss dairy or gluten! Our pick is their lemon goji raw cheesecake with its crunchy almond crust and goji berries.
No bake peanut butter nougat, salted caramel and roasted peanut raw chocolate bites (Sweet Hart Kitchen)
2. Sweet Hart Bites from Sweet Hart Kitchen
Next, we have Toronto’s Sweet Hart Kitchen, a vegan, gluten-free, keto-friendly, and raw/no-bake treat business. The shop offers some of the most decadent raw and no bake bars and “cheezecakes,” with flavours from lemon blueberry lavender to cookies and cream. For Sustainable Gastronomy Day, our pick is their “Sweet Hart Bites,” the treats that started their business. With ingredients like peanut butter nougat, salted vanilla date caramel, and roasted peanuts coated in raw dark chocolate, it’s hard to resist! Although their no bake chocolate raspberry wagon wheels are tempting too…
Toasted pecan fat bombs (Keto Treats Bakery)
3. Toasted Pecan Fat Bombs from Keto Treats Bakery
If you like the size and flavour of donut holes but are looking for a healthier, raw option, you’re in for a treat! Indeed, these pecan fat bombs from Winnipeg’s Keto Treats Bakery are as nutritious as they are tasty. The makers of these sweets use only cream cheese, erythritol (a sugar substitute), coconut oil, pecans, almond flour, an erythritol/stevia blend, spice, natural flavour, and sea salt. With such minimal but efficient ingredients, these fat bombs are guaranteed to provide you both energy and flavour! Keto Treats offers guilt-free indulgence to diabetics, keto dieters, and others who simply desire to keep their sugar intake to a minimum. Their tasty cookies, squares, and other treats are both low carb and gluten-free, too!
A box of colorful organic stuffed dates dipped in chocolate (La Dattery)
4. Stuffed Dates from La Dattery
La Dattery is a new gourmet workshop from Montreal offering tasty and nutritious stuffed medjool dates dipped in chocolate. Every month, the four sisters behind the project curate a fresh assortment of flavors. Their goal is to enjoy gourmet treats, and to make the public rediscover a symbolic fruit of North African and Middle Eastern culture. “We favor local, organic and/or fair trade products, and use recycled North American cardboard for all our packaging,” the founder says. Among the ingredients are seasonal or preserved Quebec products such as organic cranberries and peanut paste. While some products are not locally-sourced, such as their fair trade and organic French chocolate and premium Palestinian mejdool dates, the founders always ensure their traceability. Our favourites are their delicious coconut/grenadine and fig paste/orange blossom dates. The stuffings give the desserts extra flavour reminiscent of pastries… without requiring any baking!
Vegan raw Oreo cheesecake with an Oreo crust (Sweet Hereafter)
5. Vegan Oreo Cheesecake from Sweet Hereafter
If you would still like to indulge, albeit responsibly, this vegan Oreo cheesecake might be just what you need! The Halifax artisanal bakery specializes in vegan and non-vegan cheesecakes, and makes their raw desserts with but a few ingredients. The vegan Oreo cheesecake consists of a vanilla tofu base with the luscious texture of a cheesecake. The dessert is filled with crushed Oreo cookies and sits on a crunchy Oreo crust… yum! Sweet Hereafter offers their cheesecakes whole or by the slice, depending on whether you’re celebrating with company or solo. They make everything fresh daily, so while the available flavours may vary, you are sure to get the freshest of treats. You can even grab an organic fair trade tea or coffee while you’re at it to complement your cheesecake!
Vegan no bake chocolate peanut butter protein bars (Keto Queen)
6. Mighty Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars from Keto Queen
Are you looking to up your protein intake, or would you just like extra energy? These vegan no bake chocolate peanut butter protein bars from Ottawa’s Keto Queen are sure to give you that extra boost! Featuring almond flour, peanut butter, coconut products, chia seeds, and natural sweeteners, this treat is packed full of nutrients and flavour. If you have any allergies, you should note that Keto Queen is not a nut-free kitchen. If dairy is your concern, Keto Queen uses no cow dairy. Goat dairy is used for icing only on their baked goods. If you’re not a fan of goat milk, that’s not a problem! Their no bake Mighty Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars are free of dairy so you can enjoy your delicious treat without worrying about the cows, or the goats for that matter!
No bake plant-based chocolate and custard buttercream Nanaimo bar (Bunner’s)
7. No Bake Nanaimo Bars from Bunner’s
Bunner’s is a well-known vegan and gluten-free bakery in Toronto. The shop specializes in dairy-free, nut-free, and gluten-free sweet treats and baked goods.The owners at Bunner’s believe that “good food can be kind, conscientious, and caring.” For them, animal products are not necessary for “rich and decadent, moist and tender, completely delicious baked goods.” Indeed, most of their products, even the ones with chocolate as a main ingredient, feature no animal products… and you couldn’t tell either! Their selection includes celebration cakes, cupcakes, scones, buns, pies, and squares – just to name a few! Our pick for today is a classic Canadian treat. Yes, their no bake Nanaimo bars with a chocolate coconut base and vegan custard buttercream are just irresistible… yum!
Vegan Dark Chocolate bark with maple flakes (Sophie Sucrée)
8. Vegan Dark Chocolate Maple Bark from Sophie Sucrée
A Montreal staple, Sophie Sucrée is one of the city’s original vegan bakeries. Very transparent with their ingredients, the bakery uses no animal products nor animal-derived products such as margarine or shortening. Instead, they replace them with plant ingredients like sunflower and coconut oil that act like butter under the right temperature. Sophie Sucrée offers both sweet and savory goodies, such as flaky butter-free almond croissants, rose pistachio vegan truffles, and vegan spanakopitas! As for their raw options, they have an appetizing vegan cherry-flavored “cheesecake”… or look at that dark chocolate and maple flake bark! You can enjoy both while caring for the earth, how sweet is that!
With these top picks in mind, you’re guaranteed to have a sweet Sustainable Gastronomy Day… without needing to skip dessert! Whether your guilty pleasure is raw “cheezecake,” organic dates bursting with flavor, or a good old Nanaimo bar, you are sure to find something to make you – and our planet – happy! Not sure where to look? That’s what we’re here for! Head to Dessert Advisor to find raw desserts and more near you.
