Raw Food Truffles

Lately I've been getting into raw food truffles.  They're a great snack, filling, sweet, and good to take up to school for lunch.  I've made them quite a lot lately and they've varied between ones that are more for a chocolate, sweet tooth fix and ones that are more of a trail mix kind to give you lots of energy.  I got these recipes from various raw food books, one of them I whipped up myself with some leftovers from almond milk and dipped them in carob syrup (yummm).  I'll start with the trail mix truffles I made and load up some other ones later, but man these were delicious and I could hardly save them all for my lunch tomorrow =)  Plus side, all you need is a food processor, and no soaking!

Trail Mix Truffles

yields 15-20 balls

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raisins (whatever you prefer, I used good old Thompson)

8 dates

10 figs

6 apricots  (both of these should be dehydrated)

Coconut flakes for rolling, or extra sunflower seeds

Pulse sunflower seeds until they are coarsely chopped (or finer if you prefer).  Add all of the dried fruit and pulse until everything is thoroughly mixed, and roll dough into balls.  Roll these into coconut or sunflower seeds & enjoy!

-Beth








AND to continue my truffle adventures.  I got this recipe from "Raw Food: A complete guide for every meal of the day", and I liked it less than the trail mix recipe but it was still pretty good.  Raw food truffles are just such a great way to satisfy a sweets craving, and the texture is delicious and not to mention they keep you full for a while.  

Ginger and Cinnamon Balls

8 dried figs

8 fresh dates

1 cup walnuts

1 cup raisins

1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled 

1 tablespoon cinnamon 

juice from 1 lime

(you can half this recipe as well)

Process walnuts in processor until desired consistency (I like them really ground up).  Add everything else and process, add lime, ginger, and cinnamon to taste.  Make into small balls and roll them in walnuts.  Place in fridge and enjoy!

-Beth

The Ultimate Fish Tacos

I'm always iffy about fish tacos, just doesn't seem like something that would work.  I love making Mexican dishes and exploring different vegetarian ingredients, sometimes it's nice to go all out and sometimes it's nice to keep it simple.  Yesterday I wanted to make a special dinner for Owen because he started his job this week and has been extra nice to me since it's been a stressful school week.  This recipe is great because the flavor combinations of the different components work wonderfully with each other.  The fish itself is easily fried, the chipotle mayo is outrageous, and you can't beat authentic corn tortillas.  It's a little bit more extra work, I made the mayo and salsa earlier in the day to make dinner go by pretty quick.  Recipe can be easily doubled to wow anybody at a dinner party, and I guarantee they will be, this is by far some of the best fish tacos I've ever had, if I do say so myself.

(ps sorry for the low-quality pics, had to make do with a Nikon Coolpix)

Fish Tacos

serves 4-5

Ingredients

1 lb mahi-mahi or tilapia, cut into 1oz strips

1 cup flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tbs water

2 cups panko breadcrumbs (I'm sure you could make your own, but panko are just so light and puffy and really give the fish a nice crunch)

sea salt & pepper

vegetable oil, for frying

1/4 head savoy cabbage, shredded

1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves picked

chives, chopped

lime wedges for garnish

Chipotle Mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayo

2 chipotles in abodo, plus 1 tbs abodo sauce

1/2 tbs lemon juice

sea salt & pepper

Mango-Radish Salsa

1 mango, diced

1 lime, juiced

2-3 red radishes, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 tbs chili powder

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

1/8 cup cold pressed olive oil 

To make Mayo & salsa, just add everything together in a food processor and blend until you get desired consistency.  You could use a blender for the mayo (the chipotles need to be ground up), or just nix the processor for the salsa.

For the fish, set up breading station.  Dip pieces in flour, then eggs mixed with water, then panko bread crumbs, and deep fry with oil at 375 degrees until light brown (just a couple of minutes).  Drain on paper towels and season with salt and pepper.

Set everything up in bowls and eat family style with heated corn tortillas.  Mayo and Salsa keeps very well in fridge and makes excellent dipping sauce in the future =)

Carrot Cake

By far, my most favorite cake, especially with some cream cheese frosting.  Owen made me a regular carrot cake for my birthday, which was of course rich and delicious, but this raw food alternative is just as great and is actually less prep time believe it or not.  This recipe is fantastic because it doesn't require a ton of ingredients, is super easy to make, and doesn't require any special equipment (still longing for a dehydrator).  Well, except if you don't have a juicer, but if you don't sometimes you can find a good one at a thrift store for $8, and it will be totally worth it.  The texture of this cake is awesome, it's fluffy and moist and the flavors are great.  It also makes 2 large loaves (or 1 big layer cake) so you can slice it up and bring it to a party.  =)

Carrot Cake

2 cups oat flour (made by processing rolled oats in blender, or just buy the flour)

2 cups carrot pulp from juiced carrots

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 cups dates, finely chopped or ground

1 cup nuts (I used walnuts, just seems natural for carrot cake) finely chopped or ground

2 tsp vanilla

3 TBS honey

(for frosting)

1 cup cashews (soaked 1 hr)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 TBS honey (or more, depending on how sweet you want it)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp vanilla

If your frosting is too runny at first, put it in the fridge for a bit to let it harden.

Mix all ingredients together well.  Knead and form into 2 rolls for slicing or layers for a layer cake.  Enjoy!

=)