Tag Archives: dates

healthy in a hurry: sunflower date bites

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happy monday everyone!

did you all have nice weekends? my weekend was a mix of busy work and stress as well as lovely times spent with friends. sometimes amidst life’s hectic pace you have to force it to stop by taking time out to breathe, take a break and just enjoy what’s around you. this weekend’s adventures included going to the distillery district’s christmas market to get in the spirit (which i conveniently live 5 minutes from- you can bet i will be going a few more times before it’s over) and heading to a jazz club (the rex) for some wine and good conversation. i really needed the time to just tune out from school and all the stress. it’s a good thing i did too because this week is going to be busy!

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christmas market courtesy of my roommate, corrine. isn’t it adorable? the distillery is this great little historic corner of toronto with specialty stores and great coffee. for the christmas market loads of stalls selling christmas-y wares are set up with a merry-go-round, beer tents, pony-rides and a huge christmas tree. i love it!

when life gets crazy, you can never have too many snacks lying around. since starting back up in school i have been a raw “bites” fanatic. seriously, i always have something like this in the fridge/freezer, sometimes multiple types and no combination is ever the same. they are just so portable, tasty and filling that you really can’t go wrong!

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these are actually bites i made ages ago. my one’s lately have been date-free versions since the no sugar challenge i’ve been embarking on doesn’t allow for fruit, including dates. i will post a recipe for one of those ones soon. but for now, i will give you this super simple, nut-free date bite that is so simple and delicious, you’ll wonder why you ever buy store bought bars!

when choosing ingredients for these sunflower date bites, i wanted to keep them simple to all the individual ingredients would shine. sometimes i find i throw so many ingredients in, it’s kind of hard to distinguish what’s in them. don’t get me wrong, they always taste good, but i was craving a simpler, fuss-free free bite and these delivered.

plus bonus for those people who are allergic to nuts, these use sunflower seeds and sunflower butter for a delicious nut-free snack. if you are ok with nuts though, feel free to replace the seeds and/or butter with the nut of your choice. they will still be delicious!

these only take a few minutes to make so they are great for people in a rush. they travel easily and can be stored in the fridge or freezer, so you’ll always have a snack handy!

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sunflower date bites (vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, raw)

ingredients

  • 1 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup dates
  • 3 tbsp sunflower seed butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch sea salt
  • 2 tbsp water

instructions

first process the seeds in a food processor until in small pieces, then add everything except the water and process until the dates are broken down. then add the water and process until you have a sticky dough. roll into balls and store in the fridge!

and speaking of needing to remember to take a break, i wanted to share this great graphic on the importance of doing just that. part of being a student means spending a lot more time than i'd like sitting- sitting in class then sitting studying at home. people with office jobs face the same problem. but we’d all be much happier, healthier and more successful if we just took time to breathe every once in a while and got up from our chairs. i have trouble doing this, but i’m always striving to find the balance that will let me!

Take A Break

thanks for this amazing graphic kayla!

have a lovely week everyone!

 

sweet potato pecan granola

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in my non-foodie world, my favourite colours are kind of bland. i am always a little embarrassed to admit to people that my favourite colour is charcoal. i mean really, charcoal? how dull can you get? followed by deep forest green and deep blue, there’s not too much excitement there. sereneness, peacefulness and calmness, yes. but excitement? no way.

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but something changes in the autumn. i become completely enamoured by the colour orange. loud and in your face, yet warm and comforting orange. the colour of the leaves as they fall of the trees, the faces of the pumpkins carved into jackolanterns, and the insides of my favourite fall produce- squash and sweet potatoes. when you see the colour orange in these foods, it holds the promise of rich sweet flavour, warming you inside out, providing a satisfying, hearty meal or snack. in short, in my foodie world, it promises bliss :)

i don’t think this is a coincidence either. sweet potatoes are rich in fiber helping to fill you up and keep you full. loaded with antioxidants like vitamin C and beta-carotene, they help keep our skin, hair and bones healthy and protect our eyesight. beta-carotene is also really important for growth and helps reduce inflammation. rich it vitamin b6 and folate, sweet potatoes and squash contribute to your body’s production of serotonin, helping to elevate your mood. so not only do these orange beauties keep your body feeling good, they keep you happy too!

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i know i’ve been posting a lot of recipes with squash lately, but i hope you’re not sick of that flavour profile yet. because this sweet potato pecan granola is seriously out of this world! i ate almost the entire batch in 2 days and literally had to force myself to not eat the last bowl so i could snap pictures of it in good daylight. it’s one of those recipes that makes you wonder how any commercially produced granola ever sells. why would anyone buy something in a box that is so amazing when made at home?

i paired the earthy sweetness of the sweet potato with decadently sweet pecans and dates and a little maple syrup to tie the whole thing together. this granola is amazing just eaten on its own or sprinkled on vegan ice cream, smoothies or with some apple and milk. no matter how you eat your granola, this one will be a winner, and it’s so seasonally appropriate!

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sweet potato pecan granola (vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free)

ingredients (~4 1/2 cups)

dry

  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup chopped dates (i used california dates, sweeter and not as soft as medjool)
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

wet

  • 2/3 cup mashed sweet potato (bake it to get a caramelized, deep sweet flavour instead of steaming/boiling)
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup (coconut nectar or brown rice syrup could work)
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar (or sucanat or date sugar)
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

instructions

preheat oven to 250f*.

combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and mix into the dry.

bake for about 1 1/2 hours, until desired crunchiness.

*i like to bake my granolas at low temperature to protect the fats in the nuts. but if in a hurry, try 350f for 30 min or so!

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and in case orange deliciousness for breakfast wasn’t enough, why not try some kabocha almond patties for lunch, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for a snack and some sweet and savoury acorn squash for dessert?

i'm sharing this recipe on allergy-free wednesdays and wellness weekends!

hope you all have wonderful weeks bursting with bright colours and delicious flavours :)

chia seed breakfast pudding/porridge & sugar-free challenge day 1 recap

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Good afternoon my sugar-free sweethearts! So yesterday marked the first day of the Sugar-Free Challenge hosted by Alex @ Spoonful of Sugar-Free. Basically what the challenge is all about is not consuming any added sugars or sweeteners for 10 days which included even unrefined sweeteners like coconut sugar, stevia and agave. Since I don’t eat a lot of refined sugar but I definitely make use of unrefined varieties, I thought it might be fun to reset my palate and see what kinds of snacks, meals and recipes I could come up with without the sweet stuff.

So the first day actually passed without too much of a hitch! Smoothie for breakfast, no added sugar. Salad for lunch, some raw pasta with tempeh for dinner and berries and tea for dessert.

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Dandy Blend without my usual stevia. Still pretty delicious!  And my smoothie topped with sprouted and dehydrated buckwheat groats, berries and coconut.

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My salad. This is a recycled picture but it was basically the same but with a simple lemon juice and olive oil dressing. In the mix is avocado, hemp seeds, dulse flakes, nutritional yeast, cherry tomatoes and arugula.

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My pasta with tempeh. YUM. Recipe to come because that tempeh was sooo good!

Update: recipe for zucchini pasta with raw mushroom cream sauce and italian-spice tempeh!

The interesting part was that my house is not as well stocked in the fruit department as it usually is, meaning I couldn’t just grab an apple or a banana on my way to work to help satisfy any sweet craving I might have later in the day. I was forced to be creative and break out of my snack rut. I ended up bringing some diced bell peppers with a cashew-based chipotle pepper dip and some rice cakes with raw almond butter. Now you might be thinking- why exactly did I think these were good options to help satisfy/combat my sweet tooth when they are not very sweet at all? Well I figured having more substantial snacks would help. Snacks that have a bit more fat and protein in them would make my snack have more staying power and would also feel like an indulgence without the sugar. So while not very creative, these snacks helped me combat sweet cravings and were a nice change from my usual!

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Cashew chipotle dip

Now, moving on to the real purpose of this post- to share a sugar-free breakfast recipe (hehe that rhymes…awesome)!

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I concocted this chia seed pudding/porridge back when I was doing my cleanse but never got around to posting it. Mostly because I never got a good picture of it. And while these pictures are by no means gourmet looking, I assure you this pudding/porridge is a delicious and filling way to start your day! It took me a long time to find a chia pudding I liked. What makes this one different? I decided to blend some of the chia seeds with the milk, then stir some in whole after blending. This not only created a super thick pudding, but prevented the pudding from feeling too clumpy in my mouth while still having some texture variations. I’m so glad I discovered this trick because I wanted to like chia puddings so badly!

More of a breakfast chia pudding rather than a dessert one, thus pudding/porridge features dates or raisins to help sweeten it up along with some vanilla, cinnamon and coconut. It’s a pretty neutral base so feel free to mix it up! Add some cacao powder for a chocolatey morning, mix up the toppings, add some chopped nuts. Go craaaazay!

I chose to top mine with some strawberries, coconut flakes, cacao nibs for some crunch and frozen bananas. I loved the frozen bananas. We are going through a heat wave here so the chilliness of them was appreciated. Not to mention they tasted like little bites of ice cream scattered through my breakfast. A very good thing :)

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Chia Seed Breakfast Pudding/Porridge (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Raw)

It took me a while to find a chia seed pudding I liked- and I finally concocted one that I not only liked, but would gladly eat everyday!

  • 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp chia seeds, divided
  • 1 cup homemade almond milk (or store-bought would work!)
  • 1 medjool date or 2 tbsp raisins, pitted (dates) and soaked
  • 1 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes or chips
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • splash vanilla extract or dash of vanilla powder

Blend all ingredients except 1 tbsp chia seeds until smooth. Taste here and decide if you need to add more of anything to get it to your preferred level of sweetness. It was sweet enough for me though with the above measurements. Stir in the 1 tbsp of chia seeds after blending and allow to sit in the fridge for at least 30 min or overnight to thicken. When thickened, finish with desired toppings and enjoy. I like nut butters, berries, bananas, cacao nibs, coconut flakes, etc. I am submitting this recipe to Allergy-Free Wednesday, Raw Foods Thursdays and Wellness Weekends. That’s it for me today. Sending well wishes to everyone else participating in this challenge and of course to all you lovely people reading!