Raw Cinnamon Raisin Cookie Dough Balls

Yet another fantastic Vegan & Gluten-free recipe for your sweet tooth from Texan Erin!

 Ingredients:

For the balls:
• ¾ cup (75 grams) walnuts
• ¾ cup (67 grams) rolled or traditional oats (non-contaminated for GF)
• 1 cup (180 grams) dates
• ¾ cups (180 grams) raisins
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ - 1 cup (60 - 120 grams) oat bran or more oats
• ½ - 1 cup (45 - 90 grams) rolled or traditional oats
  
For the frosting:
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, softened but not melted
• 2 tablespoons honey (agave for vegan)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. In your food processor, grind the walnuts and oats until there are no more large chunks and then set aside. Add the dates and half of the raisins to the food processor and process until it's smooth, and then add the vanilla and cinnamon.
2. Process until thoroughly combined and then add the oat and nut mixture. Pulse. At this point, you can start adding oat bran and more rolled oats.
3. Add ¼ cup of each, pulse, see if you like the consistency, and if you want even more bran and oats, add more, a little at a time. You don't want them to get too dry.
4. Roll tightly into balls. You'll have to squeeze them together to get them to stick, but it'll work.
5. For the frosting, stir everything together and pipe onto the balls or just spoon a little bit over. These are already pretty sweet so you might not want it.
   
   *I actually made the frosting and preferred the balls without it, so I just ate them the way they were with a couple carob chips on top.   I also didn't blend in all the raisins as instructed in Step 1, I added some to the mix at the end before I rolled them into balls.  YUM!

Eggplant Coconut Curry

I modified this recipe slightly from this fabulous creation on simplyrecipes.com:

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/eggplant_green_curry/

What's in your pantry?

There was this great article the July/August issue of our Experience Life magazine suggesting items that you should keep stocked in your pantry, titled "The Healthy Pantry".  These are great go-to items and with the exception of group #2, it's an awesome way to stock your plant-based pantry too!

Lentil-stuffed Portobellos

I got the idea to make some stuffed portobellos - they turned out quite delicious, if I do say so myself!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of green lentils
• 1 cup cooked chestnuts, chopped
• 3 cups of water
• 1 tbs herbs de Provence
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped and divided
• 6 portobello mushroom caps (try to find some that are more bowl shaped and better for stuffing
• Olive oil
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 large vidalia onion, diced
• Salt to Taste

Directions:

1. Rinse your lentils and put them in a saucepan with the water.  Add the herbs de Provence and half of the garlic (do not add salt while lentils are cooking as it can toughen them).  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 20-30 minutes.  You may need to add additional water - just add enough to cover the lentils.
2. Sample the lentils to be sure they're cooked to your satisfaction and remove from heat.  Drain any remaining liquid. Add the chopped chestnuts and set aside.  I make the lentils a day or two in advance.
3. Wash the portobellos and remove the stem (you can cut up the stem and use it in the next step).  Place the mushrooms in a large saute pan with 1/4 cup of water over medium heat (you are basically steaming them).  Cook them for covered 3-4 minutes each side.  Keep an eye on them - you may need to add additional water.  Once completely cooked, transfer them to a serving plate.
4. Add 1 tbs. olive oil to a saute pan, when the oil is hot, add the onions, celery and mushroom stems.  Saute until the onions are translucent, then add the remaining garlic.  Once the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes, add the lentils to the saute pan.  Salt as desired.  Once mixture is heated through, remove from heat. 
5. Pack the mixture in a large ice cream scoop or measuring cup and stuff each of the mushrooms with the mixture.  Garnish with rosemary if desired and serve.

Serves: 2 - 4 (depending on whether this is your main course)  We served very large mushroom caps on a bed of baby spinach and it was enough for one person.