Date Coco-Nut Truffles

Best pick up line ever:

Guy: “So, do you want a raisin?” Girl, “No.” Guy, “How about a date?"

Me: Yesssssss, please...

There are a gazillion different versions of these date and nut energy balls all over the internet. You can even buy them in bar form (hello, Larabar!). I've tasted my fair share of different fruit and nut combos over the years, but have always been a little unsatisfied; the texture was off or the ratio of dried fruit to nut was wonky (except the peanut butter and jelly Larabar-they perfected that one). So I rolled up my sleeves, dug out the food processor, and was determined to make my own perfect little bite.

I love my Toasted Coconut and Almond Butter too much for that nutty combination not to be a starting point. From there I had to get the amount of dates right, balancing sweetness and texture. Too few dates led to a crumbly mess and too many resulted in a sweet and sticky web. I wanted to add cocoa to replicate a real chocolate truffle, but too much could be chalky and bitter and too little left my chocolate craving unsatisfied. Lots of trial and error later, and I leave you with this recipe, something I’m pretty darn happy with. It holds together just enough to roll into little balls, but doesn't compromise on any of the flavors. The little orb is perfect for eating plain or coating with a topping of choice.

The only negative about this recipe is that it requires a food processor. Maybe a high-powered blender could work, but I haven’t tried it since it seems like you’d be stopping and scraping for ages. Please let me know if you do try it though. The mixture rolls best and sticks to the toppings when at room temperature, but they hold their shape best in the refrigerator or freezer. To up the chocolate ante, freeze them for a few hours, give them a dip in melted chocolate, sprinkle with toppings, and then return to the fridge until the chocolate sets.

Date Coco-Nut Truffles

1 cup almond butter, divided
⅔ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I love it toasted!)
2 cups dates, pitted (about 16)
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons coconut oil
Pinch of sea salt

Optional toppings: finely chopped almonds, hemp seeds, goji berries, cacao powder, cacao nibs, toasted coconut

In a food processor, blend ¾ cup almond butter, coconut, dates, cocoa powder, coconut oil, and sea salt until smooth paste forms. Add remaining ¼ cup almond butter and pulse to combine. Using your hands, pinch off about 1 generous teaspoon of mixture and roll into balls. Roll balls into toppings of choice and store in the fridge or freezer.  Makes approximately 60 truffles.

Chia Seed Overnight Oats

Overnight oats are a workhouse around here. They are filling, packed with protein, and make the perfect Sunday assembly project for the work week ahead. Perhaps most importantly, they are extremely versatile. I've made a few different variations here on the blog already (pumpkin, chocolate, and coconut), but this one is a true blank slate. Oh, and it's vegan. Instead of yogurt, which often acts as a thickener and protein boost in these soaked concoctions, chia seeds thicken the mixture and add healthy fats and plant-based protein.

Depending on the season, my toppings change, but I love a blueberry and almond butter combo with a dash of cinnamon. Another fave? Peanut butter, banana, chocolate chips, cacao nibs, and toasted coconut.

As the weather starts to cool, there's a natural craving for something warm and cozy in the morning. You can make the base overnight without the fruit, and in the morning warm it over low heat on the stove (or in the microwave) to take the chill off. Then top with fruit. It also makes a perfect afternoon snack (for kids and adults!). 

Chia Seed Overnight Oats

¾ cup unsweetened nut milk
1 tablespoon peanut butter
2 teaspoons maple syrup
½ cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons chia seeds
Pinch of salt
Optional toppings: additional nut butter, blueberries, chopped strawberries, sliced bananas, ground cinnamon, cacao nibs, chocolate chips, toasted coconut

Mix together nut milk, peanut butter, and maple syrup until smooth. Stir in oats and chia seeds. Add toppings of choice, and cover and refrigerate overnight. Serves 1.

Nut Butter Freezer Sandwiches

This recipe has been satisfying all of my crunchy, nutty, chocolatey cravings as of late. I had thought of this recipe a while ago, but it wasn’t until last week when the mercury was cruising close to 100 that I actually executed it. It involves a few of my favorite ingredients, packaged neatly in a little sandwich, and stored in the freezer depths. At this point, I don’t blame you for thinking I’m describing an ice cream sandwich because that would be pretty awesome, too, but I’m describing something far more suited for my squirrel-like appetite. A mix of almond butter, tahini, cinnamon, and honey gets wedged between two seeded Mary’s Gone Crackers, dipped in melted chocolate, and sprinkled with sea salt and coconut. They are like a super-fancy, so-much-better-for-you, and heck-of-a-lot-much-more-delicious version of peanut butter Ritz bits. Yes, I compared them to Ritz bits. Superior Ritz bits.  

I’ll warn you that they are addicting-as in, I used a whole box worth of Mary’s Gone Crackers for sandwiches in just one week to keep up with the addiction. Then again, I have a nut and seed problem, so that may just be me. The freezer chill makes the crackers extra crispy, but not break-your-teeth crispy, and the nut butter mix stays just creamy enough to give a soft, gooey inside. The only downside to these is that they don’t travel well--at all. They are not like m&m’s; they will melt in your mouth AND your hand. Nut butter will ooze everywhere, and you’ll find chocolate fingerprints all over the place for days. Don’t say I didn’t tell you.

Nut Butter Freezer Sandwiches

32 Mary’s Gone Crackers (original flavor)
¼ cup almond butter
4 teaspoons tahini
2 teaspoons honey (maple syrup, if vegan)
Generous pinch ground cinnamon
1 ½ cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
Toasted coconut, optional (for sprinkling)
Sea salt, optional (for sprinkling)

Mix the almond butter, tahini, honey, and cinnamon in a small bowl until combined. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Assemble the sandwiches. Scoop ½ teaspoon of nut butter filling onto bottom side of 16 crackers. Top with another cracker of similar size, gently pressing down, and set on prepared baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to freezer and freeze for 20 minutes to allow filling to stiffen.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate in double boiler, or in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each set. When the nut butter has set, remove pan from freezer. Working quickly, dip sandwiches halfway into melted chocolate. Return dipped sandwiches to parchment and sprinkle with coconut and sea salt (if using) while chocolate is still warm. Return to freezer and allow for chocolate to set, at least 20 minutes. Store in freezer and enjoy from there! Makes 16 sandwiches.
 

Spring Tea Party Bites + My Bridal Shower

My whole heart is so full, it is just about to burst. I am getting married in almost a month, and some of my favorite people got together this weekend to help me celebrate with my bridal shower. We had the BEST time. I will preface this by saying one of my favorite things to do is going to high tea. Hoity-toity it may be, but I relish in the excuse to get all dolled up, sip tea with our pinkies (awkwardly) raised, and nibble on dainty sweet and savory bites with people who just make me smile. I am not one of those people who had ever imagined what my wedding dress would look like or the type of wedding cake I would have, but I knew that I wanted a tea party to make an appearance somewhere in the wedding planning process. 

I was all set to gather around with my close friends and family for tea and bridal shower games, until I stumbled upon Maddie from Madalynne Studios on Instagram. Maddie, a seamstress extraordinaire (among many other awesome things), makes beautiful sporty, modern lingerie and hosts day-long sewing and bra-making workshops which attract people from all over the country. I reached out, asking her about hosting a little sewing workshop in her beautiful studio space for my bridal shower. I was thrilled when she said yes. The plan was that we would all bring homemade tea-party bites, sip tea, and learn to sew something. She had the idea of doing a little "Panty Party" in which we would all sew cute panties while we mingled around. 

The most fantastic thing was that none of us had any real sewing machine experience, and ALL of us made a pair of fancy underpants by the end of the shower. They were bright red, high-waisted in the best possible way, and incredibly comfortable. Maddie warned us that we would all be wearing them by the end of the event, and right she was! Maddie was the perfect hostess and instructor. She was patient with the more perfectionist types and easy-going with those who got a little distracted with the delicious treats we all made. She also was a master troubleshooter when I got myself into a sewing hole...which happened quite a few times. As an added DIY, I brought materials for simple hand-sewn heart-shaped tea bags that looked beautiful floating in their tea cups. 

I must give a huge shout-out to all of my friends and family who brought the most beautiful and delicious tea party treats. We hardly had enough table space for all of the goodies! My Mom and little sister made super-cute avocado and egg sandwiches on pumpernickel, miso-yogurt and radish toasts, and cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches. My bridesmaids and friends made savory frittatas, brie-stuffed puff pasty nibbles, chocolate and red wine strawberry cakes, mini lemon cupcakes, and cookies galore. My future sister-in-law brought the juiciest strawberries from Carlos Bakery, and my future mother-in-law brought tasty Filipino empanadas fresh from the bakery. The photos below do these treats more justice than any words, so take a look for yourself. Maddie snapped the gorgeous event photos in between wearing her sewing teacher hat.

Food and tea aside, It was so special for me to have many of the important, supportive, and loving women in my life all together for the afternoon. Many of them come from different periods in my life, so to have that shared sewing experience was just the cherry on top. I cannot wait to have them all together again in just 32 days when I walk down the aisle (!).

As many times as I was told I should not have to do anything for my shower, I could not resist. I love making things look beautiful, and that most certainly means I wanted to make some beautiful food. Nothing fancy, but something certainly bright, fresh, and oh-so-spring. I made four types of tea nibbles leading up to the event as practice and loved them all!

• Egg and Avocado Salad with Radish on Whole Grain
• Roasted Beet and Tahini with Lemon and Dill on Pumpkernickel
• Cucumber with Edamame Goat Cheese on Whole Wheat
• Curried Chickpea Radicchio Cups

I could not even name a favorite for you- they work so well together. I ultimately decided to take just two of them to the shower given the amount of food others were bringing, and I am glad I did because there was not a smidgen of space left on the tables... or in anyone's bellies!

Without further ado, here they are!

Egg and Avocado Salad with Radish on Whole Grain

4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and finely diced
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and finely diced
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper, to taste
2 radishes, very finely julienned
8 slices whole grain bread, preferably sandwich bread

Mash 1 avocado with lemon juice and generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Stir in chopped eggs. Add remaining diced avocado and mix gently so as to not break up the diced avocado too much. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread on 4 slices of bread. Sprinkle with julienned radishes. Slice pieces into squares or into slender thirds. Enjoy!

Beet and Tahini with Lemon and Dill on Pumpernickel

3 medium to large beets, greens removed and roots scrubbed clean (no need to peel yet)
1/2-3/4 cup tahini
1 lemon, zested
1 handful dill, finely chopped (or another microgreen of choice, for garnish)
1/3 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
sea salt and pepper, for sprinkling
7 thin slices German Pumpernickel bread, toasted or other thin, sturdy bread

Prepare beets. Place clean beets in a steamer basket in a pot with water just to bottom of basket. Steam beets for 40-50 minutes, or until butter knife inserted to beet slips through easily. Be sure to add more water about half way through to prevent pot from scorching. Alternatively, beets can be wrapped in foil and roasted in oven at 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Remove beets from heat and allow to cool before slipping skins from beet. Using a mandoline or very carefully with a knife, thinly slice beets into paper-thin sheets. Set sheets aside.

Spread about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini on one side of each of toasted bread slices. Be careful not to go over the edge or the become a little messy. Layer beet slices in thin layer atop tahini. Sprinkle with lemon zest, chopped dill (or microgreen), toasted sunflower seeds, and sea salt and pepper. Slice bread into thirds and then leave in rectangles or slice into squares. Makes 21 rectangular slices or 42 squares.

Cucumber with Edamame Goat Cheese on Whole Wheat

1 large English (seedless) cucumber
1 recipe Edamame Goat Cheese Spread
1/2 loaf of soft whole wheat bread
handful of chives, finely chopped
sea salt, to taste

Slice cucumber width-wise into thirds. Thinly slice cucumbers thirds lengthwise into paper-tin strips. Divide edamame spread amongst bread slices. Layer cucumber slices diagonally atop spread. Some cucumber will hang over the edges. This website has a great visual tutorial. Carefully cut crusts from bread, and then cut slices into 4 small squares. Sprinkle with chives and a sprinkling of sea salt. Enjoy!

Curried Chickpea Radicchio Cups

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained (or 3 cups cooked chickpeas)
2 green onions, white and light green parts, minced
1/3 cup of dried apricots, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1/2 lemon, juiced and zested
3 tablespoons Greek yogurt, 2% recommended
1/3 cup chopped almonds, toasted
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 small head radicchio, leaves removed carefully and torn in half (alternatively, use lettuce leaves or endive)

Warm olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add curry powder and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add chickpeas to skillet and toss to coat. Remove chickpeas and residual oil to bowl. Add green onions, apricots, celery, and lemon zest and juice. Stir to combine. When mixture has cooled slightly, add yogurt, almonds, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. mix thoroughly. Divide mixture amongst radicchio cups, placing a few tablespoons in each cup, sprinkle with any extra cilantro and almonds, and serve. Makes about 12-16 radicchio cups, depending on the size.

**A huge THANK YOU to Maddie for also taking beautiful photographs at the event and to BHLDN for supplying some of the bridal shower-perfect decor and paper products. Maddie also blogged about the event here on her blog and posted more photos, so check it out!

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Quinoa Crunch Almonds

It's October and pumpkin flavored everything has taken over. I was in the store the other day, and I saw a container of Pumpkin Pie flavored almonds from Blue Diamond. My first thought was "what an awesome idea!" and my second though, after reading the ingredient list, was "there is not even pumpkin in there!" Sadly, that is the case with so many "pumpkin-flavored food items," and pumpkin is just too delicious and nutritious for us not to not actually use it.

So I decided to make my own pumpkin pie almonds with real pumpkin. I could be more ambitious and roast my own pumpkin and then puree it, but I have found that the canned or boxed version (Whole Foods now sells it in easy to open cartons!) work well too. I also wanted to add a little extra crunch factor, so I sprinkled in some quinoa because I love the little pop it gives. It took a few attempts to get it just right, but can I just say these craggy little nuts are addicting? They'll make your kitchen smell just like fall. And the best part? They take about 25 minutes to make, and only 5 of that actually involves work.

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Quinoa Crunch Almonds

2 cups raw almonds
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted, or other neutral oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon*
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger*
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves*
generous pinch of salt

**You can also sub 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice in lieu of these separate ingredients

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. In a bowl, combine pumpkin puree through salt. Stir in almonds and quinoa until evenly coated. Spread out in a single layer on parchment. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until almonds are toasted and quinoa turns a little golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Some of the pumpkin and quinoa mixture may not adhere completely, but those pieces are just as tasty! Almonds may be kept at room temperature for about a week. Makes about 2 cups.