Power Nut/Date Balls

1. I'm obsessed with Dates. 2. I'm obsessed with dates....can you guess what 3 is? Yes I love dates and I'm always snacking on these little things that provide so much energy! I wanted something fun so I used the extra walnuts and dates and came up with these!

Yields: 5 large balls

What you'll need:

1 cup of raw walnuts

.5 cup walnuts for coating

10 Medjool dates

Water (optional)

Directions:

1. Add walnuts to food processor and pulse until fine. Set aside in bowl.

2. Take pitted dates and place in food processor and blend till smooth. It will be sticky and depending on how fresh your dates are you may have to add some water to make smooth.

3. After smooth, add the pulsed walnuts and mix together. You will most likely have to scrape the sides of the processor. Very sticky.

4. Take mixture out of food processor and place into bowl.

5. Using a flat surface like a paper plate or cutting board place the extra walnuts onto a plate or flat surface and lightly crush. You can make the walnuts small or large pieces, but I used small chunks.

6. Using your hands roll into ball shapes. I made 5 from this recipe, but you could make them smaller.

7. Now roll the balls through the walnut mixture. Coating all sides. They are fairly soft so make sure not to crush them.

*I have also seen people use goji berries, almonds, chocolate chips, flax and other toppings as well. Totally your performance. 

Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies

I have always loved peanut butter cookies but always felt guilty after eating them. I saw this recipe on a friends Instagram page and figured why not. Who would think of using chickpeas in cookies, not me. I was so surprised at how amazing they were and that the taste of chickpeas was not there.

What you'll need:
Yields about 25 small cookies

I can of garbanzo beans drained
1 cup plus 1/4 cup organic creamy peanut butter
6 tbsp. raw agave
2 tsp. baking powder
4 tsp. vanilla


Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350F
2. Place drained and washed beans and all ingredients into a food processor and pulse till smooth. It is very sticky so you may have to slightly stir and continue to pulse.
3. Roll dough into small balls. Mine were a little larger than a quarter.
4. Place on greased baking sheet pan.
5. Using a fork make grooves going vertical and horizontal. Pushing down on the dough.
6. Place in heated oven for about 13-15 minutes or until slightly brown.
(You can eat them when they are warm but they are slightly mushy so may want to let them cool.)

Week 1 Review: GoRaw Banana Bread Flax Bar

Go Raw: Banana Bread Flax Bar

Gluten Free-Wheat Free-Nut Free-100% organic

 

 

All Live (Dried under 105 F-All Seeds Sprouted-No GMOs-No Trans Fat-No Cholesterol-All Hand Made-All Raw Kitchen-All family Owned)

Go Raw, is a small company who is developing tasty raw products with everyone in mind. I am a huge fan of Go Raw and appreciate their creativity and efforts for more raw foods.

Where to buy?
   Any specialty grocery store. I purchased mine at Whole Foods but I have seen them at Wegmans and Trader Joes. Also on their website at http://www.goraw.com/

How much?
   $ 2.99

What is in it?
   Sprouted Organic Flax Seeds, Organic Banana, Organic Coconut (unsulphured), Organic Date

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size: 1 bar                          Vitamin A: 0%
Calories: 190                                   Vitamin C: 4%
Total Fat: 9g                                    Calcium: 4%
Cholesterol: 0mg                             Iron: 0%
Sodium: 5mg
Total Carb: 25g
Dietary Fiber: 5g
Sugars: 12g
Protein: 3g

My Thoughts:

I was overall very impressed and the taste was true to its name. The bar tasted just like banana bread but with a different texture. If you like bananas this bar is for you. A very convenient food and great if in a hurry. From a nutrition standpoint, I believe that the calories and nutritional value are worth it. The amount of beneficial and organic ingredients are like no other and packed with all of my favorite foods and go to ingredients.

For the price; its definitely something I would not buy or eat everyday but it is a great option! The texture was also a little weird for me and was kind of tuff to chew; this may be a common theme among raw foods but since this is my first dehydrated bar I am not sure. I cut it into 3 slices so I could eat it later, very cutable.

 Overall, my roommates and I give the GoRaw Banana Bread Flaxbar a thumbs up and would definitely recommend and eat it again.

Check out their website at http://www.goraw.com/ for more products and details.

Raw Apple Crumble

I've been in the mood for apple crisp but as I am trying to eat more raw foods I came up with a raw alternative. I'm a huge fan of dates so I use them often when I'm "baking" raw foods or just want something sweet. I also found raw gluten free oats at Whole Foods which I use when making dessert type foods. They aren't so good plain but great when mixing foods. So here it is; super quick and easy. If you want you could also bake.

What you'll need:

1 honeycrisp apple  or your favorite 

1 cup raw oats

5 pitted dates

1/4 cup water

1 tsp raw agave (optional)

Nutmeg

Cinnamon

Directions:

In a food processor process the oats. 

Then add the dates and mix. It may be dry so water can be added here. 

Add agave if desired and mix. It should all stick together.

Cut your apples into chunks or wedges.

Place apples in bowl and crumble toppings on top. (Is sticky so more like place)

Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Top with any other ingredients.

Baked: