Snacks

Fruit and Nut Cakies

On my drive home from work, I decided I wanted something sweet – but somewhat healthy. I started concocting the recipe in my head and couldn’t wait to get home and try it!! The end product is slightly more granola bar, than cookie and next time I make these I think I will bake them in a baking dish and cut them into bars once cooled. 🙂

image

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
3 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup hulled hemp seeds
1/3 cup rice milk + 2 cored apples with skin on; pureed in a strong blender until sauce consistency (or simply use 1 1/2 cups prepared applesauce)
1 cup dried blueberries
3/4 cup dried tart cherries

image

Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir gently to combine after each addition. After the apple mixture/applesauce is added, mix well until all the moisture is distributed evenly. Fold in blueberries and cherries.

image

For cookies bake at 350°F for 8 minutes. For bars, I would bake at 325°F for 15 minutes, watching closely during baking to not over cook. Cool on a wire rack. Tastes great with coffee, tea or any dairy-free milk!

Hummus

Every time we make hummus lately, we just fly by the seat of our pants. Dan will throw in something new here and there and most of the time we will land on a delicious hummus, but can’t recreate it the next time around. I finally decided to write it down and this time we added a new, unique ingredient – silken tofu. All the credit needs to go to my hubby on this one. The one thing we felt was always lacking in our hummus, was the creaminess – especially after it was refrigerated. After having a vegan pastry that contained a cheese-like filling that was actually silken tofu, the idea was sparked! So this attempt used the tofu, and we both think it worked out great – NO OIL either!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Ingredients
3 c. cooked garbanzo beans (1 c. dry soaked overnight, then cooked for 30-40 minutes; you can also use canned)
3.75 oz. silken, sprouted, organic tofu* (1/4 of a 15 oz. container – use the rest for smoothies or other dips)
1 clove pressed garlic
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3/4 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tea. cumin
1 tea. onion powder
1/2 tea. paprika
1/2 tea. sea salt
1/8 tea. black pepper

Instructions
In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas until coarsely chopped. Add the tofu and pulse until the mixture is almost creamy. Add the remaining ingredients all at once and process until smooth and creamy, and all the ingredients are well combined. Refrigerate and use for dips, pizzas, sandwiches, burritos – whatever!

Since we’ve cut out dairy from our diets, we have found that hummus is a great, creamy substitute!

*NOTE: You can also make a creamy hummus without soy/tofu by removing all the skins from the beans before processing. It is very time consuming but we have discovered it produces a creamy texture as well, without the soy!