Yummy vegan recipe :)

I forgot to share this in my previous post, so I thought I'd give this recipe its' own little blog post. :)  The recipe is for yummy vegan "raw balls"!  I know, I know...the name's a little odd, but trust me, the taste is anything but weird.  And, even if you're a little skeptical of carob (a great chocolate alternative), I can almost guarantee that you'll love these.  I loooove carob, myself.  Here is the recipe, courtesy of Alicia Silverstone (from her new, must-read book, The Kind Diet):

Raw Balls

Makes 10 to 12 Balls

      1/2 cup walnuts                                                 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
      1/2 cup pitted dates                                           1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
      Scant 1/2 cup raw carob powder                       1/2 cup whole almonds
      Scant 1/2 cup maple syrup                                 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
      1/2 cup almond butter                                             

Place the walnuts in a food processor and process until coarsely ground.  Add the dates, and pulse until well combined with the nuts.  Add the carob powder, syrup, almond butter, vanilla extract, and salt.  Process until the mixture is thick and smooth.  Add the almonds, and pulse a few times until combined; you want them to remain in crunchy chunks.

Form the mixture into golf-ball-size [or smaller] balls with your hands.  Roll the balls in coconut.  Place in a sealed container in the freezer until hardened.


FYI:  Make sure that you have a powerful food processor, and that you only make one batch at a time!  The first time I made these, the motor of the little food processor Dave and I bought at Target died.  And the second time I made these, I tried to make a triple batch with our new, more powerful food processor and the motor stopped working (the mixture can get quite thick and sticky).  Luckily, though, I was able to save the mixture and the food processor started working again...and everything turned out fine.  Phew!

Vegan Eating Continues

Well, it's been just about two weeks now since Dave and I have started eating our one-month vegan diet.  I must say, so far so good. :)  And, although Dave is starting to have cravings for his precious cheese, I can honestly say that I don't really miss it as much as I thought I would.  One thing is for sure, eating vegan has definitely expanded our eating habits--we're now eating a lot more fruit, veggies, nuts and beans than we were before--and helped us to be more creative when planning our meals.

To show you what I mean, I thought I would post a few pictures of some yummy foods we have eaten over the past two weeks.  The first photo is of something that Dave made for us for dinner recently.  I just asked him what he would like to call this awesome dish, and he said, "Dave's Killer Vegan Bowl."  And, in case you're wondering what exactly is in this dish, here are the basic ingredients: 


Curried jasmine rice
Kidney beans
Fried rosemary tomatoes
Avocado
Fresh basil

Now, doesn't that sound 'killer'? ;) 

This second photo is of something I made the other night.  I haven't named it yet, but for now I think I'll call it, "Emily's Very Vegan Pizza". :)  Okay, not sure if I'll keep that name, but trust me, this was one yummy pizza...and, no cheese needed here!  Here are the ingredients:

Refrigerated pizza dough (I used Bread Stop dough, from Freddy's)
Olive Oil
Dried spices: rosemary, basil, thyme
Red onion
Roasted Garlic
Mushrooms
Fresh Spinach

And, finally, here is some vegan sushi that we made last night, at our first "family sushi night".  Good times. :)  Dave and I bought some vegan cream cheese to use for our "California" sushi rolls, but soon realized that it was just nasty and we decided not to use it. :P (There are definitely some things that are just meant to have fake substitutes).  Once again, here are the ingredients:



Sushi rice
Niori (seaweed)
Carrot
Avocado
Cucumber
Toasted sesame seeds


So, as you can see, eating vegan does not have to be boring or tasteless.  There are so many yummy meals that you can make without needing to use meat, dairy or eggs!  Well, that's all for now, but I will be sure to share more updates as we finish up (and possibly extend?) our month of vegan eating.  :)