CC Energy Bites

It’s like making cake pops and no bake cookies – but healthy. All the fun without the sugar – and they said it couldn’t be done.

Get creative with these little guys – use this recipe, or any other you come across, as a guide. Don’t have peanut butter, use almond butter. If ya don’t like raisins, use dried figs. I could keep going but I think you get it.

I’m sucker for basically any nut butter so whenever I see them on sale, one or the whole shelf ends up in my cart. (No MasterCard, those aren’t fraudulent charges. Meijer had organic sunbutter on sale.)

Speaking of finding nut butter on sale, Costco had a 2lb jar of Cashew butter priced at like $4 a few months back. In an amazing display of self-control, I only bought one. Which is a good thing because I swear there is no bottom to this jar.

Once I decided to make energy bites, I busted said cashew butter outta the fridge.

Pro tip: Not all nut butters have the same consistency. Adjust your wet ingredients until the right consistency of your “batter” is achieved. Basically, “wet” enough that they don’t crumble when you bit into them but not too “wet” where they lose their shape or leave your hands feeling really greasy or sticky.

{CC Energy Bites}

[Ingredients]

• 1 cup cashew butter
• 3/4 cup salted cashews
• 3-4 pitted medjool dates
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
• 3 tbsp ground flax seed
• 2 tbsp chia

[Directions]

1. Add all ingredients to your blender or food processor. Pulse until combined and crumbly.
2. Using a large cookie batter scoop, roll the dough in your hand to form bite size balls. Or press dough into a parchment lined baking dish.
3. Store balls or bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Cheers,

Danielle

Wilted Greens Soup

Summer isn’t really hot soup season but it is cold soup season – gazpacho any one?

My intent was to make this soup tasty chilled or warm, but it was my first go at this style and I preferred it warm. Not such a bad thing, as it turns out, because while summer is certainly hot outside, it is all too often FREEZING inside thanks to the A/C.

Inspired by this recipe, I put my sad, somewhat soggy, Spring Mix to good use. Upon further inspection, I found several other veggies who had seen better days. Throwing caution to the wind, everything on it’s last leg was added to the soup.

Being dairy free has expanded my culinary skills and creativity. How to make a soup rich and creamy without cheese or milk? Cashews, of course. And in this case, cashews and a few Brazil nuts. Cashew cream (soaked then pureed cashews) are often used to replace cheese and cream in vegan recipes. I’ve used it in several dishes and love the rich, creamy nuttiness it adds. I’m beginning to experiment with other nuts to see how they compare.

An emulsion blender or high-speed blender is required for this recipe. I made the soup super creamy, but if you prefer more texture you can always blend half and leave the other portion unblended.

 

The type of greens and veggies you use will affect the color of your soup. My spring mix was full of dark greens and deep purples, that in combination with the other vegetables gave my soup a rather unappealing brownish color. However, once the cashew cream was added, it became a light mossy color. Perhaps not the prettiest, but it was flavorful and kept me from throwing away food. Win, win in my book.

{Wilted Greens Soup}

[Ingredients]

• ~2 cups wilted greens
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 summer squash
• 1 fire roasted red pepper or bell pepper
• 1/3 cup cashews + 2-3 Brazil nuts
• 2-3 stalks celery
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 red onion
• 1 can chickpeas, undrained
• 1 carton vegetable stock
• 1 TBSP fresh basil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• ~1/2 TBSP herbes de provence
• 1-2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP tahini

[Directions]

1. Add cashews + brazil nuts to a deep bowl. Cover with water, soak for at least one hour.
2. Rinse and coarsely chop veggies.
3. Add olive oil to pan, heat over a medium flame then saute onion until tender and translucent.
4. Add summer squash, bell pepper, and carrots. Salt & pepper to taste. Cook for 5-10 minutes.
5. Add greens, chickpeas along with the fluid from the can, garlic, and stock.
6. Stir in basil and herbes de provence. Cover and allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes.
7. Once nuts have soaked for at least an hour, drain most of the water from the dish then add the nuts and remaining water along with the tahini to a food processor. Blend until smooth.
8. Using an emulsion blender or regular blender, blend soup until smooth. Add cashew cream and stir until well incorporated.

Note: my husband added a dash of Sriracha to his to give it some spice.

Cheers,

Danielle

Eat Local Series :: Parsnip & Potato Ham Soup

I started my clinical rotation this week and with this new start comes another change to my schedule.

I keep reminding myself that the adjustment period is always shorter than I anticipate but I’ve been off my game this week.

When I feel discombobulated and come home after a long day, making dinner can sometimes feel daunting. I try my best to cook meals both Daniel and I can eat but since most of what I eat is basically vegan, it doesn’t always work.

Thank the lord for soup! A one and done meal that makes leftovers #winning

We received a Heavenly Ham around the holidays and Dan has been asking me to make for a few weeks now. With only one person eating it, I was reluctant to thaw the beast when we had no plans of company coming over soon. In the end, the ham was thawed and I will now be cooking with ham until I die.

Recipe one of many is this thick, creamy soup. I got my parsnips, potatoes, and onion from Crisp Country Acres, which is located located in Holland. Check out their website here. The parsnips really make this soup stand out among your regular old ham and potato soup recipes.

{Parsnip & Potato Ham Soup}

[Ingredients]

• 3-4 medium parsnips
• 3-4 large white potatoes
• 1 stick butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock
• 1 small cooking onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 cups milk
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup Wondra flour
• 1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 5-6 large pieces of ham
• Green onion and cheddar cheese to garnish

[Directions]

1. Wash and remove the outer skin of the parsnips using a vegetable peeler. Cut into large quarters. Wash and cut the potatoes into large quarters.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add your parsnips and potatoes. Cook until tender.
3. While the parsnips and potatoes are cooking, melt the butter in a large stock pan over medium heat. Roughly chop your onions and garlic while butter is melting. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes in the butter.
4. Whisk in the vegetable stock then slowly add Wondra flour until the mixture is thick.
5. Drain parsnips and potatoes and add to stock pan. Top with milk.
6. Stir soup together until ingredients are combined. Season with salt & pepper. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, cut ham into bite size pieces.
8. Using an emulsion blender, blend together soup. Once smooth and creamy, stir in ham and parsley. Cover and reduce heat to low for 5-10 minutes.
9. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese and green onions.

Cheers,

Danielle