Winter 2025 | Edible Notables

Raw Food’s Sweet Side

Striving to nourish body and soul with plant-based desserts.

Years of rebellion led Angélia Aquarian down an Ayurvedic path. The Hawaii-born yoga practitioner sought to reverse the damage done during her partying era. After months of training in Kerala, India — a region widely considered the birthplace of Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicinal system — Aquarian became a certified Panchakarma therapist, specializing in the purification and rejuvenation of the body. Her studies and personal experiences with sustenance in India eventually led her to experiment with gourmet, raw, vegan dessert recipes that she refined over time when she was back in America.

After years of recipe trial and error, her Tahoe-based raw desserts company, Angelic Foods, was born.

“When you eat something, your body holds onto it, and it literally turns into [part of] your body, and you experience the energy of what you eat in your mind and your emotions,” Aquarian says. “So I’m really passionate about helping people learn how to eat in a way that helps them grow a beautiful, bright consciousness in addition to the most robust, healthy body and immune system possible.”

Her raw creations received rave reviews when tasted by friends and family members, who often were incredulous that the desserts were entirely plant-based because of how flavorful they were. Many also would note how good their bodies felt after eating them.

“I am a former professional pastry chef of 15 years, and I have to say Angélia’s tiramisu is one of the best desserts I have ever had. My standards are incredibly high for what qualifies as a delicious dessert. It was perfectly balanced, and I was completely shocked to learn it was entirely vegan,” says Angelic Foods customer Amelia Lara. “It was so delicious, I had to call my mom to tell her about it!”

Long Road to Longevity
Some of Aquarian’s desserts take days to create. Sure, cakes can be made quickly from boxed mixes, but they’re filled with refined sugars and processed ingredients with often-unrecognizable names.

To make Angelic Foods’ raw desserts, Aquarian sources only organic, fair-trade ingredients, and she uses nutrient-dense whole foods to create items such as her longevity pie (similar to tiramisu), pecan turtle cheesecake, or her Ayurvedic “Samoas,” which is what she calls the raw versions of the beloved Girl Scout cookies, to name a few.

Her desserts are made entirely from plant-based ingredients and high-quality, natural sweeteners such as medjool dates, raw cacao butter, coconut butter, vanilla bean, maple syrup, and raw nuts, including cashews, macadamias, and walnuts. A Vitamix blender helps create their velvety textures. Angelic Foods’ creations often are infused with Ayurvedic herbs such as ashwagandha, which Aquarian says helps build your strength over time, and amla, which is rich in healthy bioactive compounds and vitamin C. She even makes her own chocolate using organic cacao.

Additionally, Aquarian offers online cooking and Ayurvedic practice classes and hosts pop-up events where attendees can sample her health-forward creations. The desserts, which she calls “paradigm-shifting,” are custom made and start at $111.

“You cannot buy a new body if you wreck yours for years,” she says. “If you eat processed foods for decades, you’re going to have a processed body that’s going to break down, and if you eat nutrient-dense whole foods like what these pies are made from, you’re going to live a longer, healthier, happier life.”

For details, visit Honoringthesacredself.com/angelic-desserts.