I Hereby Proclaim this to be...Vegan Day!!!

To many diehard Paleo followers, saying the “V” word is just about as appealing as taking a bite of a PB and J sandwich.

As a foodie and blog surfer, however, I get a lot of inspiration from Vegans.  Considering they don’t use dairy, it’s easy to find a lot of great recipes for sauces, dips, and desserts.

Yes, desserts.  That’s what we’re here to talk about.

Just like there are an unfortunate number of low-carb Atkins followers who decide that the diet is their excuse to eat bacon, heavy cream, cheese sauces, ect all day without even looking twice at a vegetable, there are an unfortunate number of Vegans whose blogs and lifestyles are based on sugary treats, huge bowls of grains, and worst of all, soy products.

But there are some, in my opinion, who are getting it right.  There’s a good number of Vegans, Raw Vegans even, who have many excellent recipes that shun processed sugars and include all real, healthful ingredients.  Some mentionable blogs that come to mind are OhSheGlows, Pure2Raw, and Chocolate Covered Katie.

So today, I made a veritable plethora of treats.  With the honey-roasted peanuts, muffins, sugared walnuts, ice cream, chocolate, cookies, oats, and other culprits all lying around the house, my willpower is constantly tempted.  And though I get better at resisting every day, I eventually want to be at a place where I don’t “cheat” with processed foods.  Instead, I want to incorporate healthy unprocessed snacks into my everyday life.  So I’ve created a nice buffer for myself to be able to treat myself every day (or every other day) and not break the bank.  And after another day of good, meaty, clean foods, I’ll be happy to have something a little tasty that I can eat to make my mind and belly happy .

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Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites

Makes 12 TB-sized balls

Adapted from Pure2Raw

Cookie Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Coconut Flour
• 1/4 Cup Sunflower Seeds, Soaked and Rinsed
• 1/4 Cup Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds), Soaked and Rinsed
• 2 TB Sweetener (I used 1 TB Raw Honey, 1 TB Xylitol Maple Syrup)
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp melted Coconut Oil
• 15 g Chocolate Chips (I used Ghiradelli Bittersweet, chopped)

Cocoa Shell Ingredients (I halved the girls’ recipe)

• 2.5-3 TB melted Coconut Oil
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 – 2 TB Sweetener (I used 1 tsp Honey, 2 tsp Xylitol Maple Syrup, and 1/3 – 1/2 packet of Stevia)
• 3 TB Cocoa Powder (I use Rapunzel Organic Cocoa Powder, which is unprocessed/unalkalized)

For the “Cookies” :

If need be, make coconut flour by gently pulsing unsweetened coconut flakes in a food processor.  I used Tropical Traditions Coconut Chips, and it took about 1 cup of flakes to give me 1/2 cup of flour.  Again, pulse gently, checking very often.  If you process the flakes too much they’ll turn to coconut butter!

In a food processor (I used my Magic Bullet, which worked fine), combine seeds, coconut flour, sweetener, vanilla, and coconut oil.

Dump the resultant “dough” into a bowl.

 

I've just now realized that I once again used my classy Dino Bowl. Great.

Add your chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Using a spoon or tablespoon, scoop up the dough and roll it in your hands to form balls.  Place the balls on a parchment-lined baking pan and place in the fridge or freezer for 5-15 minutes, while you make the chocolate shell.

For the Cocoa Shell:

Again, I halved the original recipe and was able to make more than enough chocolate to cover all mah balls

Melt the coconut oil.  Add to it the cocoa powder, sweetener, and vanilla.

Grab your balls from the freezer and dip them in the chocolate mixture, rolling to cover.  Place the chocolatey balls back on the parchment paper and transfer to the freezer again.  I keep these babies in the freezer for optimum tastiness.

*Optional – I couldn’t help myself – of course I added a pinch of sea salt to the top of each ball.  Sweet and salty joy

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Raw Snickerdoodle “Babies”

Makes 14 small (think marble-sized) balls

From Chocolate Covered Katie

• 30 grams Raw, Unsalted Almonds (mine were Blanched)
• 80 grams Dates
• Good pinch of Salt
• 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon (I doubled Katie’s recommendation – I love cinnamon )

As you can probably see, this is a simple variation from a Larabar recipe.  I’ve never had a Larabar, but have always wondered if that tiny bar is worth the price.  Thankfully, Katie has come up with a plethora of recipes that can satisfy any sweet tooth, from gingerbread to chocolate to pumpkin pie “babies”, as she calls them.  Much cheaper and much more gratifying than buying that little tiny bar!

Anyways, blend everything together in a food processor.  I used the Magic Bullet short cup.  The Bullet was so freaking loud, I was like “this better be worth it”.

Oh…boy.  It was worth it.  These things are joy in my mouth.

Once you blend all your ingredients together, dump it all out in a bowl and mush it together into balls.

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Fudge “Babies”

Makes 14 small (think marble-sized) balls

From Chocolate Covered Katie

• 30 grams Raw, Unsalted Almonds (mine were Blanched)
• 80 grams Dates
• 5 grams (1 T) Cocoa Powder
• Pinch Coffee Granules

Repeat recipe instructions above.  Simple enough .

I added a small pinch of coffee granules to my dough, because I’ve always heard that coffee really brings out the notes in chocolate.  Well, my coffe brought out the notes of…coffee haha.  So these are more expresso-cocoa “babies”, if you will.

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Dairy-Free Strawberry Ice Cream

Makes about 3 Cups Ice Cream

From Elana’s Pantry

• 1 can (13.5 oz) Full-Fat Coconut Milk
• 10 oz Organic Frozen Strawberries
• 1/4 Cup Sweetener (I used 1 TB Honey and 1 TB Xylitol Maple Syrup, but I also halved the recipe)
• 1 TB Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 tsp Vanilla Beans (optional – I didn’t have them but wish I did.  They would have been lovely )

Blend ingredients in food processor (as always, used my trusty Magic Bullet)

If you have an ice cream maker, just pour in your mixture and process according to instructions.

If you DO NOT have an ice cream maker, fear not!  Here’s how I made mine-

Pour the mixture into a baking tray or pie plate.  I used a glass pie plate, which worked well.

Put the mixture in the freezer.  In 20-30 minutes, check the mixture and break up the frozen corners/top with a spoon.  Whisk or blend the mixture again, breaking up the ice crystals until the mixture is uniform again.  I simply hand-whisked my mixture, but I’m sure using an electric mixer would work even better here!

Return the mixture to the fridge and continue to check every half an hour or so, repeating the whisking process until the mixture is hard to whisk and resembles ice cream.

Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-friendly container and store.

A much more appealing picture to come. Promise .

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And now what everyone is waiting for: the verdict!

I won’t lie to you.  I haven’t really eaten any of the finished product .  But in making everything today, I’m sure I had enough bites and spoon-licks to tell you what the deal is

The Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites might become a staple here.  They’re incredibly easy to make and much easier on the calorie budget than the smaller Cookie “Babies”.  Plus, they’re covered in chocolate.  I mean…come on.

The Snickerdoodle Babies…wow.  These things are good.  Very, very sweet and spicy.  Too sweet, almost, which is great because it makes savoring a tiny bit like eating a piece of candy.

The Fudge Babies are not as “fudgey” as I anticipated.  They have a mellow, chocolatey-coffee flavor which would be good if you were in the mood.  Overall, I’m a bigger fan of the Snickerdoodles though.

The Ice Cream is very interesting.  I’m pleasantly surprised.  It’s a bit high in carbs, which I’m not crazy about, but it’s extremely rich and decadent so a small amount is more than enough to be refreshing.

The staple ice cream of the house has been Breyer’s “Carb Smart”, which is sweetened with sucralose and asparteme and loaded with a laundry list of unpronounceable ingredients.  And even though it’s lower in carbs and calories than this coconut milk ice cream, it’s “emptier” in taste and nutrients.  Whereas one spoonful of a coconut milk ice cream is satisfying and dense with flavor, the processed ice cream kind of tastes like…nothing.  A couple bites in, you finally get that vanilla bean taste in your mouth.

This strawberry ice cream still has a hint of coconut milk to it, which I find pleasant.  I am really interested in making other flavors of ice cream with coconut and almond milk.  I don’t know when I’ll make this strawberry ice cream again since it’s so high in carbs, but when I do make it I would LOVE to add the vanilla beans and some fresh basil to the mix.  That would be an amazing summer ice cream, if I do say so myself .

And as a bonus for you all, here’s the nutritional stats of these bad boys:

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies

Snickerdoodle “Babies”

Fudge “Babies”

Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream (per 1/4 Cup)

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