Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Babies

I wish I had taken a picture of these, but they were gone too fast.  This makes a recipe of about 7 "Babies".  It's small, fast, and we literally made them and ate them in 17 minutes.  The kids walked by and asked to try them and loved them.  Perfect for a quick "dessert".  No oven needed.

2/3 cups pitted dates

1/4 cup raw almonds, raw cashews, or raw walnuts (we used walnuts)

1/4 tsp vanilla

about 1/8 cup of rolled oats 

a small handful of mini chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life)

Blend dates, nuts, and vanilla in a food processor or Vitamix until they are pulverized and start to form somewhat of a dough.  Then dump into a bowl and mix in the mini chocolate chips.  Form into small balls.  Eat. 

The next time you need to take easy treats to something - try doubling or tripling the recipe on these!  I'm going to make them for the kids as often as possible.

Original Recipe at Chocolate Covered Katie

Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

The original recipe adds goat cheese and croutons for flavor.

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 large carrots, peeled and cubed

2 parsnips, peeled and cubed

1 medium celery root, peeled and cubed

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

nutmeg

1 bulb garlic, roasted

4 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock if you prefer)

1 tablespoon of honey

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a roasting pan, coat the potatoes, carrots, parsnips and celery root in just enough oil to coat, then season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Roast the vegetables until tender and caramelized at the edges, about 45 minutes.

Puree the vegetables in batches with the garlic and stock and transfer to a soup pot.  Season the soup with honey and cool.  Place goat cheese and croutons for garnish and float in soup cup if desired.

Vegan Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

1/2 cup applesauce
2 cups stevia
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. In a mixing bowl, combine applesauce and sugar. Add pumpkin, shortening and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts.
2. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until breads test done. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.

Vegan Chickpea Sandwich

Ingredients

• 1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon veganaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Pour chickpeas into a medium size mixing bowl and mash with a fork. Mix in celery, onion, veganaise (to taste), lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper to taste.

Granola - via BijaGirl

This is the easiest granola recipe, and once you’ve done it you will never spend $6 on a bag of store bought granola again. I promise that. This can be changed to keep things fresh and exciting by changing up the ingredients, like using nuts instead of chocolate chips. Whatever is your need… and lately mine is chocolate.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• ½ cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
• ½ cup dried shredded coconut (or see substitute below)
• ¼ cup crystallized ginger
• ¼ cup safflower or coconut oil
• ¼ cup agave syrup

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine all ingredients into a large bowl.
• Spread mixture in a thin layer on a non-stick cookie sheet.
• Bake for five minutes and then stir the granola with a spatula. Bake another five minutes and then stir again. Continue for another five minutes or until your granola looks golden all over.
• Cool for about 10 minutes. Store or serve.

Something you may not know is that if your recipe calls for dry, grated coconut and you don’t have that on hand—or cannot find it in the store—for every 1 tbsp of dry, grated coconut, you can substitute it with 1 ½ tbsp of fresh, grated coconut. Alternatively, you can substitute the other way around as well. If you cannot find fresh, grated coconut, you can substitute each 1 ½ tbsp with 1 tbsp of dry, grated coconut. Other items you could change up instead of using the coconut is 1/2 cup nuts or 1/2 cup dried fruit. You can also use a little maple syrup if you don’t have any agave lying around just as easily. You can also just double this recipe and store it in an airtight container on the shelf to use with some cultured coconut milk during the week when you want a more substantial breakfast or snack.