Today, for the first time in my life, I was labeled as a foodie. I took it as a great compliment. I am very interested in food, especially since I've been reading and researching about eating RAW foods and increasing my family's fruit and veggie intake while reducing processed foods and all the icky things that go along with them.
So, here's what this "foodie" had for dinner. :)
I made a huge amount of homemade hummus (from dried chickpeas) a couple of weeks ago, and after tiring of eating the hummus as a dip, I winged a hummus salad. Well, DH raved about it so that I decided to make it again.
First, I made the hummus. I normally soak my chickpeas for about 24 hours, then slow cook them in my crock pot or on the stove until soft, but since I didn't plan ahead, I dove into the pantry for a huge can of organic chickpeas DH had bought as a "backup" plan. I poured most of the liquid out of the can, and then dumped the chickpeas and remaining liquid into my Blendtec. Next I threw in every yummy thing I could think of and blended it until smooth: some roasted garlic cloves (from Just Tomatoes, ordered through a coop), some Just Onions (from Just Tomatoes, ordered through a coop), several whole sprigs of fresh cilantro, a chunk of jalapeno pepper, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, some raw sesame seeds, freshly ground peppercorns, and pink Himalayan salt. I added and tasted and added some more until it tasted the way I wanted.
Then I made the salad. I put organic mixed baby greens onto our plates. Then I topped them with slivers of organic red onion and organic celery, and grated organic carrots. I sprinkled raw sunflower seeds over all of it, and then gave us each a big glob of the freshly made hummus right in the center.
Then I made the salad. I put organic mixed baby greens onto our plates. Then I topped them with slivers of organic red onion and organic celery, and grated organic carrots. I sprinkled raw sunflower seeds over all of it, and then gave us each a big glob of the freshly made hummus right in the center.
Right before serving, I swirled olive oil over the entire plate, including the hummus and then drizzled balsamic vinegar over the greens (avoiding the hummus). Sorry, I didn't get any post-drizzling pics...I'll do better next time! ;)
DH loves this and I think it is great, too!
As a side, I made fresh apple sauce. I simply washed, cored, and sliced 3 apples using my handy dandy apple gadget
(I love how quick and easy this is. You can also have the gadget peel the apple if you desire. It does it at the same time it's coring and slicing. We eat apples raw as snacks a lot thanks to this gadget, and I've just found that it makes dehydrating the apples a cinch since it cuts really uniform slices.)
I threw the apples into my Blendtec and added a few ounces of coconut water and around a cup of water. I like to squeeze in as much healthiness as possible, so I threw in a couple of handfuls of greens as well; these could be omitted for a standard apple sauce, but we like it GREEN. I also threw in just a bit of cinnamon.
I blended until smooth (not long in this baby!)...
and served it up! Normally when I make this, I add spinach and the color is a much prettier green. This time, I used the same mixed greens as I used in our salads since that's what we had on hand, and it came out much darker, I think because there were some purple-y greens in the mix. It still tasted great, but looks much prettier when using spinach. DH ate two bowls!
After dinner, I was still craving something...something sweet...dessert! I had read Sheri's post about her version of Larabars on the Green and Crunchy blog, but had never even tried a Larabar myself. Earlier in the day though, I had been talking to another mama on one of the Diaperswappers' threads who was trying to eat more raw, and she had experimented with Sheri's recipe. So, I thought, why not??
I put a cup of raw cashews into the Blendtec. Most people do this in a food processor I think, but I don't have one, so I tried it out in my 3 quart Blendtec jar. I pulsed the cashews until they were roughly chopped (just a few seconds). Then I pitted and roughly chopped about a cup of Medjool dates. I added a few at a time and pulsed until things started to combine. I scraped the container down once to be sure all the nuts were getting mixed well. I also added some organic flax meal, organic chia seeds, and vanilla. I pulsed the blender until the mixture began to stick together like dough. Then I dumped it into a bowl with a flat bottom and pressed it down so it was even. I noticed the mix was a bit "damp" to the touch (Did I use too many dates??), so I threw some raw dehydrated coconut chips and more flax meal into the blender and pulsed until it was roughly mixed and chopped. I sprinkled the coconut flax flakes on top of the cashew bars, put a lid on the bowl, and stuck it in the freezer for about an hour. When we were ready to eat it, I pulled it out and cut it into fourths...
I put a cup of raw cashews into the Blendtec. Most people do this in a food processor I think, but I don't have one, so I tried it out in my 3 quart Blendtec jar. I pulsed the cashews until they were roughly chopped (just a few seconds). Then I pitted and roughly chopped about a cup of Medjool dates. I added a few at a time and pulsed until things started to combine. I scraped the container down once to be sure all the nuts were getting mixed well. I also added some organic flax meal, organic chia seeds, and vanilla. I pulsed the blender until the mixture began to stick together like dough. Then I dumped it into a bowl with a flat bottom and pressed it down so it was even. I noticed the mix was a bit "damp" to the touch (Did I use too many dates??), so I threw some raw dehydrated coconut chips and more flax meal into the blender and pulsed until it was roughly mixed and chopped. I sprinkled the coconut flax flakes on top of the cashew bars, put a lid on the bowl, and stuck it in the freezer for about an hour. When we were ready to eat it, I pulled it out and cut it into fourths...
...and served us up a slice!
I was surprised how nicely the Vanilla Coconut Cashew bars came out of the bowl and how the pieces stayed together so well...very bar-like!
The taste was pretty darn yummy, too! These definitely hit the spot!
I'm looking forward to trying various combinations for these bars--using different nuts, trying different additions. I think my next version will have some raw cacao. Yum!
What do you think a fun combination would be?
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