Raw Apple Pecan Tart

I just got back from an amazing vacation.
I spent 7 days cruising around the Baltic Sea, stopping in some of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. Everything was perfect...
until I couldn't find anything to eat.

I walked on to the boat expecting the cruise chefs to cater to my dietary needs.
This was a huge mistake.
I should have known that to them, I was no different than the other 2,999 people on the boat.
No special treatment.
This is how cruise ships prepare so much food for so many people:
Some of food is made on land, frozen, and then brought on board to defrost. The defrosted meals are then served to thousands of people onboard the ship.
Although some of the food is made onboard, but you would be surprised at how much food they need to keep frozen so that it can stay fresh.
The only things that I could eat on the ship was fruit and salad.
I love fruit and salad, but fruit was not always available in every meal, and a plain salad is not enough to fill my nutritional needs.
After the first 2 days of only eating fruit and salad, I knew that I needed something else.
I wasn't getting enough vitamins and minerals.
As soon as we were let off the boat, I found the closest supermarket and bought several bags of nuts, and raw food bars.

Tips on how to cruise vegan:

• Don't assume you can always find something to eat. Pack fruit, bars, or nuts before you get on the boat. 
• Just because you ask for steamed vegetables doesn't mean that they can give them to you. The food on a cruise is prepared in large quantities, so if they throw in some cheese, you're out of luck. The staff is too busy to prepare a special meal for one person when they have thousands to cater to.
• Salad is not offered at every meal
• Forget organic. You'll survive if you don't eat organic for 1 week. I don't think there is any cruise that has organic fruit and vegetables. Hopefully there will be one in the future, but so far I haven't seen any. 

I learned my lesson. Now I know how to travel without going hungry.
Now let's get to the good stuff - SO, about this amazingly delicious raw apple pecan tart...
You have to try it!
I brought this tart to a barbecue the other day.
While everyone else ate burgers, I had some grilled portabellos and organic raw corn.
When dessert came around, I sliced up my tart and passed a few slices around - everyone loved it!
Not only was it tasty, but it was refreshing to have something cold and crisp to end a hot day.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup raw almond butter
• 1/4 cup unsweetened raw coconut flakes
• 1 1/2 cup raw pecan halves (set 1/2 cup aside)
• 1 cup raisins 
• 4 large organic granny smith apples 
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup raw chocolate sauce

Directions:
In a food processor, combine 1 cup of the raw pecans, raw almond butter, coconut flakes, and raisins. Once the mixture is dough like, press it into a tart pan. Peel and thinly slice the apples. Pour orange juice over the top and mix in the cinnamon. Layer the apples on the crust and sprinkle pecans over the top. Add chocolate sauce and serve. Store in refrigerator. Enjoy!