sunflower seeds – Discover Healthy Food

Recipe: Loaded Salad

Loaded salads are baaack!

I remember planning for a vegan pregnancy. 2 months into the pregnancy and I craved a hamburger. I still ate a lot of #veggies and fruit, but meat was back on the menu. Salads weren’t satisfying anymore, which totally bummed me out. Any of you who’ve dealt with pregnancy cravings KNOWS what I’m talking about when I say, “What baby wants, baby gets!” Now I’m past breastfeeding and starting to feel more in control of my eating. Enter stage left, the grand and ggloriousLOADED SALAD!! This salad tastes great and fills my belly.
Ingredients per salad:
5 oz lettuce
1 roma tomato, diced
3 sweet mini bell peppers, diced
1/2 cup hummus
3 tablespoons spicy nut mixture
1/4 cup salsa for salad dressing
5-6 kalamata olives, pitted

Directions:
🍅Using large bowl, layer in this order
🍅Lettuce
🍅Salsa sprinkled on lettuce
🍅Hummus in corner with kalamatas on top
🍅 Tomatoes in 2nd corner
🍅Bell peppers in 3rd corner
🍅Peanut mixture in 4th corner

Optional toppings:
Radishes
Avocado
Celery
Carrots
Seeds – chia, sunflower, and/or #pumpkin

Fill your belly and feel great! I’ll see you at the table!

Recipe: Power Kale Salad and Lentil Soup

Power Kale Salad and Lentil Soup for lunch!

I’m pretty sure my body has a calcium deficiency right now because I keep waking up in the middle of the night with charlie horses in my calves. So I am adding the plant based calcium today with a big kale salad.
Salad Ingredients:
1 big leaf of Kale, ripped into little pieces
4 leaves of Romaine, ripped into bite-size pieces
1/2 avocado, cubed
1 cup #blueberries
2 tablespoons raw unsalted sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons walnut pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Wash kale and lettuce thoroughly, towel dry lightly. Using large salad bowl, toss with OO and balsamic vinegar. Then add all the other ingredients. Mix and enjoy the textures and tastes of a nutrient rich salad!

Recipe: Turkish Princess vegan cookies

One of my favorite snacks is dried apricots with raw peanut butter. Whenever I’m eating that treat, I feel like a “Turkish Princess”… So, it dawned on me – why not use that as a base for vegan cookies?! Chewy, sweet, crunchy, a bit of spice from the clove…mmmm! These turned out really yummy!

Yield: 4 dozen

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup raw peanut butter (I used Adam’s)
3 ripe bananas with lots of brown spots
1 cup NOTG
1 cup diced apricots
1 cup dried tart cherries
1/4 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw unsalted pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoon chia seeds
2/3 cup chopped cashews
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon clove
4 cups rolled or quick oats
Note: I think that you could easily substitute other dried fruit too.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Using large mixing bowl, mash bananas with fork, add NOTG and peanut butter, mix thoroughly. Add cinnamon, clove, apricots, cherries, seeds, and cashews and mix thoroughly. Using one cup at a time, add oats. Ultimately should be a lumpy mixture that sticks fairly well, but not too sticky – if too sticky, you won’t be able to get off the spoon or roll into balls in palm of your hand. Add more oats if needed – about 1/4 cup at a time. Using the palm of your hands, roll into balls, place on parchment lined pan and bake for 15 minutes. Cool on rack… wait a few minutes to eat so that you don’t burn your mouth.

vegan cookies 2 How do you say bon appétit in Turkish?!

Recipe: Nutty Date Balls

These are fantastically rich dessert balls. Can only eat a couple! We love Dr. Fuhrman’s Date Nut Pop ‘ems, but wanted to try making our own. Recipe search and we landed on this goodie!

Yield: About 30 balls – about the size of a quarter.

INGREDIENTS:

9 oz dates, pitted
2.5 oz raw almonds
2 Tbsp sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp hemp seeds
1 Tbsp flax seed
1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla
optional: 1-2 Tbsp cocoa or carob powder

DIRECTIONS:

Blend nuts together in a high-powered blender, or chop fine. To the nuts, add dates, vanilla and cocoa powder until paste begins to emulsify. One by one roll up balls and place in freezer proof container. Freeze until hard and cold. Eat frozen, or softened to room temperature – we particularly like them cold. Enjoy!