grain-free berry crisp with spiced cashew cream

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Gabby @ the veggie nook

I’m jumping the gun a little bit with this recipe. Even though spring remains elusive to us here in Toronto, I was simply too excited for spring and summer produce to hold off on making something with berries and lots of them. While there’s nothing quite like a peak-of-the-season berry, frozen berries stand in nicely in this recipe.

No, let me re-phrase that: they stand in amazingly, beautifully and deliciously!

Finally, my impatience has paid off.

One bite of this dish and I was transported into berry heaven. Every bite was like a revelation. And I know that’s a big word. But oh man.

Baking the berries gave them a rich sweetness that just can’t be matched and the grain-free topping gives a delicious crunch and nuttiness that pairs beautifully. I decided to make a spiced cashew cream to top it and it’s not too sweet but super creamy and just the perfect pairing.

Nutritionally speaking, this crisp is also pretty bomb. Tons of healthy fats and fibre from the nuts, it’s low glycemic thanks to the berries and packed with antioxidants. I even soaked the nuts I used beforehand to make them more digestible (releases phytic acid). This is definitely a breakfast you can feel good about starting your day with. Or a dessert to end the day ;)

I’ve been getting into grain-free baking a lot more recently, I’ll explain why in a future post. While making raw dishes is usually the easiest way to go grain-free (at least for the inexperienced like myself), I wanted to challenge myself with some baking. And anyway, a warm berry crisp when it feels like 0 degrees sounds so much more appealing no?

I used berries here, but feel free to switch up the fruit! I’ll bet peaches and strawberries or even mango would be amazing as we head into summer!

Grain-Free Berry Crisp with Spiced Cashew Cream (Vegan, Gluten-free, Sugar-Free, Paleo, SCD)

Ingredients (6 servings)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, soaked
1/2 cup chopped pecans, soaked
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
1/2 cup hazelnut flour
1/4 cup coconut flakes
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups blueberries, frozen
1 1/2 cups raspberries, frozen

Spiced Cashew Cream

1/2 cup cashews, soaked
4 cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
2 all spice pods
2 tsp honey
5 tbsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Soak your walnuts and pecans overnight or for a few hours. Drain and rinse when ready to proceed with recipe.

Preheat oven to 375 and grease an 8×8 square baking pan with coconut oil.

Combine all crisp ingredients except the berries in a bowl. Add the berries to the bottom of your prepared pan and spread them out evenly. Next put the crisp mixture on top, carefully spreading it out so it's even on top of the berries.

Bake for 45 minutes, until the crisp topping is a little crunchy. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve with spiced cashew cream. This recipe freezes great too!

To make the cashew cream: soak your cashews overnight and in the morning drain and rinse them. Add them to the blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Store in the fridge.

This recipe is being shared on Allergy-Free Wednesdays!

And one more thing!

If you could all head over to Ethical Ocean and vote for my Raw Chocolate-Coated Key Lime Pie, in the Eat What’s Good Vegan Recipe Contest, that would be amazing!. You can vote everyday so even if you voted once I would sure appreciate a second (or third, or tenth!). Thanks!

virtual vegan potluck- coconut lime layered bars

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Gabby @ the veggie nook

Yay, I’m so excited to be blogging today, because it’s one of my most favourite events! The Virtual Vegan Potluck!

Hello to new readers and loyal followers alike! Welcome to the veggie nook. This is my little corner of the world where I talk about all things food, nutrition and health while pursuing an education in Holistic Nutrition. I believe healthy eating can be delicious and fun and it is the goal of my blog to show you all just how true that is!

For those of you who don’t know, The Virtual Vegan Potluck is the brain child of Annie over at An Unrefined Vegan. A HUUUUGE shout out to her and of course to Somer and Jason who have helped organize the last two! The VVP is an event where food bloggers from all over the world sign up to bring a vegan dish and then we all share it and post it at the exact same time! You can follow all the dishes like a big chain too, kind of like walking down a buffet line. At the bottom of my post you’ll see links to go to the previous blogger in line and the one after. Definitely visit all the blogs if you can!

For this potluck, I’m sharing a dessert, my favourite thing to make. I don’t know why I like making desserts so much, maybe it’s because they just feel so special!

The inspiration for this dish came from the Nanaimo bar. A treat usually made around christmas that features chocolate layers with a cream filling, sometimes mint too. But I wanted to “summer-ize” this treat and maybe even take away the chocolate. I know, I know, why on earth would I want to do that??? Well my friends, the result is amazing I assure you!

In this treat I used almonds, coconut flake and coconut oil to form the base, with avocado, coconut oil, banana and lime to form the “cream” filling. The lime tastes so bright next to all the coconut! And the final layer, which would normally be pure chocolate, I decided to go with coconut in it’s finest decadent form- coconut butter. The creaminess is offset by the freshness of the flavours and the colours are just perfect for spring!

Nutrition-wise, this dessert is a powerhouse as well! Tons of fiber, healthy fats and not too much sweetener. This is a satisfying, decadent yet healthful treat that I know you’ll all love!

Coconut Lime Layered Bars (Vegan, Gluten-free, Sugar-free, Paleo, SCD)

Ingredients (12 bars)

Base

1 cup coconut flakes
3/4 cup ground almonds
1 tbsp coconut flour
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp sweetener
pinch sea salt

Filling

2 small avocados, peeled and pitted
juice and zest of 1 lime
1/3 cup raw coconut nectar
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 banana, divided- 1/2 of it sliced thinly

Top

1/3 cup coconut butter
2 tbsp coconut oil

Instructions

Add all of the crust ingredients to your food processor, and process until a "dough" forms. Press this into a plastic wrap-lined loaf pan (I used 9×5) and put in the fridge while you make the filling.

Next, add all the filling ingredients except the melted coconut oil and 1/2 the banana to your processor and process until smooth. Next, with the processor running, pour in the melted coconut oil until incorporated. Pour this on top of your base and smooth the top with a spatula. Place the remaining sliced banana on top of this layer, pressing them into the filling to create a flat surface. Put this in the fridge while you prepare the final layer.

Over very low heat, in a small dish melt together the coconut butter and coconut oil until runny then pour over the filling. Put in the fridge to harden for about an hour. It is helpful at this point to take it out and cut it in the pan, then put it back in to continue hardening for a couple hours. When ready to serve use the plastic wrap to remove from the pan.

Store in the fridge or freezer.

Now make sure you continue on in the potluck!

To visit the dish after mine at The Little Green House, click below.

To visit the dish before mine at Sift, Stir & Savour, click below.

Or, go to the BEGINNING :)

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the potluck!

I'm also sharing these at Raw Foods Thursdays and Wellness Weekends!

“peanut butter” & caramel-filled chocolate eggs

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Gabby @ the veggie nook

Even though I’m not spending Easter with family this year, that does not mean I won’t be eating chocolate.

But not just any chocolate. I’m talking “peanut-butter” and caramel-filled chocolate eggs that would rival any silly Cadbury/Reese/Nestle/Hershey confection.

Guys I am really proud of these.

I decided to go with almonds instead of peanuts in the filling because they are more nutritious (and paleo!) but when combined with the other ingredients, this almond filling really takes on a peanut taste. The medjool dates add a caramelly flavour and the coconut flour gives the filling a nougaty-texture. Best part? This also uses almond pulp leftover from making almond milk! Waste not, want not! If you don’t have almond pulp though don’t worry, almond meal or any ground nut should do the trick.

And let’s not forget the coating. I decided to make my own chocolate shell from my usual cacao powder and coconut oil. I used slightly different ratios than I usually do, but the results are still delicious.

The result? A slightly misshapen (I’m lazy and no culinary genius) but entirely vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, grain-free, raw, paleo, and maybe even other diet-friendly treats that will delight adults and children alike!

Sometimes I think it’s funny I didn’t like nut butters when I was little…clearly I have a love affair with it now ;)

“Peanut Butter” & Caramel-Filled Chocolate Eggs (Vegan, Gluten-free, Sugar-free, Paleo, Raw)

Ingredients (16 eggs)

Filling

6 medjool dates, pitted
3 tbsp almond butter
3 tbsp coconut flour
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/8-1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp almond pulp (dry) or almond meal

Chocolate Coating

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup cacao powder
2 tbsp coconut syrup/maple syrup

Instructions

Add all filling ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Then add the almond meal and process again until a smooth consistency is reached. Put the filling in the fridge to firm up a little while you make the chocolate.

In a small bowl over low heat, melt the coconut oil. Whisk in the the cacao once melted and add in the coconut syrup. Remove from the heat.

Take the filling out of the fridge and shape into egg-shaped balls. Using 2 forks, dip each "egg" into the chocolate, ensuring all sides are coated. Place onto a parchment paper-lined sheet and continue until all eggs are coated.

Put the eggs in the fridge for about 40 minutes to get firm. Store in the fridge until ready to eat!

I'm sharing these on Raw Foods Thursday & Wellness Weekends!

Whether you celebrate Easter, Passover or nothing at all, I hope you all have/had a wonderful holiday! See you tomorrow for Healthy Vegan Friday!

sprouted grain cereal chocolate chip cookies

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Gabby @ the veggie nook

I am a firm believer that you can never have too many chocolate chip recipes.

And seeing as this is my 3rd chocolate chip cookie recipe on this blog, I sincerely hope you agree with me.

It all started with a sale. I am a sucker for sales. If there is a bargain sticker slapped on anything, I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame. So when my local health food store had this cereal on sale for $2.99 (it normally sells for between $5.99 and $7.99) I just had to buy it, without knowing whether I’d like it or if I’d even use it.

source

A sprouted grain cereal with no added sweetener. And it tastes exactly like what you’d expect. Very unsweet. Very healthy. Very blah.

Not that I have anything against this cereal. I think this is a huuuuge improvement on a lot of the cereals available on the market. The grains are sprouted making them easier to digest and there is no added sugar meaning it won’t cause a blood sugar spike after eating it, which is the last thing anyone needs first thing in the morning.

But the prospect of eating the whole box left me looking for other way to enjoy it than on top of smoothies (as I do) or with nondairy milk. Then I remembered a cookie recipe I had seen on pinterest that used granola and I got to work.

That’s how Sprouted Grain Cereal Chocolate Chip Cookies were born.

And guys, these are probably my favourite chocolate chip cookie to date!

These are definitely on the crunchy side of the chocolate chip cookie scale, so for those of you who prefer a soft cookie, you won’t find that here. But I urge you to try them anyway! They have a crunch that is oh so satisfying and makes them extremely dunkable (yes I just made that up) with a soft inside. I used chopped bitter sweet chocolate for the chips, but feel free to use your favourite chocolate bar or chips. Sweetened with coconut sugar and nectar and with no flour to speak of these are pretty gosh darn healthy. And sprouted grains = easily digestible. So eating a whole load of these won’t leave you in digestive distress! Well it might, but definitely less than your typical cookie ;)

Feel free to substitute your favourite sweetener in place of the coconut (maple syrup and sugar would be delicious) and your favourite cereal. If you use a sweetened cereal you will probably want to adjust the sweetener in the recipe. Also, if you prefer a chocolate-less cookie (man I am fuuullll of them today), dried fruit and nuts would be delicious as well!

Sprouted Grain Cereal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan, Sugar-Free)

Ingredients

wet

1/4 cup coconut oil
3 tbsp coconut sugar
3 tbsp mashed banana
1/2 cup almond butter
3 tbsp coconut nectar

dry

1 1/2 cups sprouted grain cereal (I used this brand)
1/4 cup oats
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips/chopped chocolate

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all the wet ingredients in a saucepan on the stove top over low heat. Heat until the coconut oil is just melted and all the ingredients mix together. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly so it won't melt the chocolate.

Add all the dry ingredients except chocolate to a large bowl and add the slightly cooled wet ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

Place spoonfuls of the batter on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 14 min until edges are golden brown.

For other cookie goodness, check out my other recipes!