Raw Vegan Truffle Brownies

Happy weekend my friends! I hope you all have some fun and relaxing plans this weekend. I will be spending the day out on the lake in the sun—eating, laughing, kayaking, pontooning, playing yard games, and sitting by a roaring fire. If that doesn’t say relaxation I don’t know what does.

*******************

Raw Vegan Truffle Brownies

I wish I could take credit for these amazingly chocolatey brownies, but I can’t. I can thank Julie and PB Fingers for introducing me to these bad boys. They came across this recipe on cook.me, and if you were to have a look at their recipes, I’m sure you’d find something titillating enough. I already personally thanked them for this incredibly easy and delicious recipe, and I have a feeling after you make these, you will do the same.

They are vegan, gluten-free, and use no refined sugars.

fudgy brownie bites

The first time I made these brownies I made them into fudgy truffle bites like Julie had done.

ChocolateTruffleswithWalnutsandDates_thumb

source

The first batch flew out of our house in less than a week. These taste like fudgy, soft, dark chocolate truffle brownies so it’s no surprise they didn’t last long.

This second time around making these I got a little lazy so instead of forming a bunch fudgy little balls, I made them into brownie bars and of course they taste just as great!

fudgy brownie bites

fudgy brownie bites

There are only four ingredients that go into these bars:

  1. 2 cups walnuts
  2. 1 cup dates
  3. 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  4. unsweetened coconut flakes

First process the walnuts in the food processor. Then add in the dates and the cocoa powder and process until a dough-like texture forms.

If you want to make balls, simple grab a small handful of dough and use hands to form balls. Place into plastic bag filled with coconut flakes. Give a gentle shake to coat the balls and store the balls right in the coconut bag.

For the brownie bars: ** I actually made 1.5 of the recipe for the brownie bars because it fit better in the pan** Line a 9 x 9 baking pan with saran wrap, sprinkle the bottom with coconut flakes, press the mixture down to form brownie-like bars, sprinkle more coconut on top, and press it in so it sticks. Cut into little squares and serve!

fudgy brownie bites

Julie captured the texture of these babies better than I could…

chocolatedatewalnuttruffles

source

Thank you Julie! I am in love with these fudgy babies!

***********************

One last thing to share. I used up the leftovers from my lentil stuffing and created an awesome lunch yesterday. I sautéed broccoli and mushrooms, then added in the lentils to heat through. Meanwhile I cooked an over-easy egg. Once the veggie mixture was heated through I plated it and topped it with my egg! So easy, so delicious and satisfying!

IMG_3245

eggs and veggies

Have a great weekend!!

 

Continue Reading Raw Vegan Truffle Brownies

Cauliflower Mashed “Potatoes” with Lentil Stuffing

Thanksgiving in July

It was Thanksgiving at our household last night. Thanksgiving in July? You bet. There are no rules about Thanksgiving food. It also happens to be one of my all-time favorite meals.

So I did it. I got creative! Thanks to some inspiration from Pinterest, I pulled together a savory meal.

cauliflower mashed potatoes with lentil stuffing

 

The cauliflower mashed “potatoes” inspiration was courtesy of Nom Nom Paleo. The only difference is I steamed my cauliflower in a bowl in the microwave instead of on the stove. Oh, and I didn’t use nutmeg either.

So basically here’s how I made my cauliflower mash:

  1. Place cauliflower florets and a little bit of the stalk into a microwave safe bowl. Fill with approximately 3/4 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 5 minutes.
  2. Remove from microwave, stir the cauli, cover back up, and microwave for another 5 minutes.
  3. Remove from microwave and add in three chopped garlic cloves. Cover again, and microwave for 3 more minutes.
  4. Remove from microwave and carefully place cauliflower and garlic into a food processor. Try to exclude the excess water in the bottom of the bowl. Add in 1 Tablespoon of butter (grass-fed organic preferred).
  5. Process until you have reached a smooth consistency like mashed potatoes!
  6. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with my lentil stuffing!

cauliflower mashed potatoes with lentil stuffing 2

 

The stuffing was extremely easy to make. I started off with 2 cups of cooked lentils (I cooked mine in chicken stock to add more flavor). You can set those aside to begin with while you prepare the other veggies.

I first sautéed 1/2 cup each of diced carrots, onions, and celery. I then added 1/2 cup of diced zucchini and sautéed for a couple of minutes (more detailed recipe below). Lastly I added in all of my herbs and seasonings as well as the cooked lentils and let everything cook through.

When it came time to plate I plated the cauliflower mashed potatoes first, followed by the lentil stuffing. In retrospect, I wish I would have used a different colored plate! It would have made for a prettier photo. Oh well!

cauli and lentils

 

Here is the complete lentil stuffing recipe:

Lentil Stuffing
4.0 from 1 reviews
Print
Ingredients
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil or pumpkin oil
  • ½ cup carrots, small diced
  • ½ cup onion, small diced
  • ½ cup celery, small diced
  • ½ cup zucchini, small diced
  • 2 cups lentils cooked in chicken broth
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • sprinkle of garlic powder
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. In a medium saute pan, heat oil on stove over low-medium heat.
  2. Add carrots, onion, and celery and saute for 4-5 minutes.
  3. Add in the zucchini and cook for 2 more minutes.
  4. Add in the lentils and the rest of the seasonings and stir.
  5. Continue to cook and stir until heated through for 3 more minutes.
  6. Serve on top of cauliflower mashed "potatoes". ENJOY!

 

I felt like I was eating mashed potatoes with stuffing from Thanksgiving dinner. The slightly crunchy texture and savory flavor of the stuffing reminded me exactly of the “standard” Thanksgiving stuffing, and the cauliflower mashed potatoes tasted surprisingly similar to mashed potatoes!

If you are vegetarian or vegan, you could replace the chicken broth with vegetarian broth and exclude the butter if you wish, and you would be set!

This recipe may seem a little out there to some, but don’t knock it ’til you try it. You will be pleasantly surprised at the flavor and textures of this dish!

Happy Thanksgiving Wednesday!!

If you get the chance, hop on over to Katie’s blog at Running4Cupcakes. I wrote a guest post for Katie today about making Almond Butter which will be going up at some point today! Since I’ve lightened my peanut butter consumption, I have become a pro at making super creamy and slightly sweet almond butter!

 

Continue Reading Cauliflower Mashed “Potatoes” with Lentil Stuffing