cherry chia banana oat cookies

maybe i just need a cherry pitter, but right now, cherry season, i find it super messy to give my toddler cherries ;) strange, huh? i don't want her to have to navigate the pit, yet after cutting or biting off pieces to give her, there is juice everywhere. so... it's been cherry smoothies and cookies over here!

ingredients:
3/4 cup soaked almonds
1/4 cup mix of sprouted brown rice flour and coconut flour
1 cup shredded coconut
2 tb maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 banana
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup fresh cherries (pitted please! hehe)
2 tb chia seeds
1/2 cup rolled oats (gf if you require)

steps:
preheat oven at 350 degrees. throw everything into the food processor and process until you are pleased :) i wanted the almonds to be super processed so i watched for that. i used a spoon to scoop out small parts of dough and flattened and sort of rounded them on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. i baked for about 10 minutes (until edges are golden brown) and then let them cool before storing them. they were a hit with the toddlers (and adults) who tried them! yay!
ps. this is the post that inspired this recipe.

teriyaki sprouted almonds!

good luck trying not to eat these all before you take them out of the dehydrator!

what i did:
sprouted 1 cup of raw almonds (soaked in filtered on counter for 8-12 hours, rinsing a couple times a day and letting sit for another 8 or so hours without soaking water)

i blended the following to marinate the almonds in before dehydrating for a good day or so:
*a nub of ginger
*a splash of braggs (possibly?)
*a spoon of brown rice/soy miso
*a clove of garlic
*a couple dates with probably 2 tablespoons of filtered water (or more?) to soak them a bit - i figure the dehydrator is going to suck all the liquid out anyway, i don't need to stress about too much liquid!

these are uber inspired by the teriyaki sprouted almonds from organic lives - they use a sprouted chickpea miso (swoon!) and i'm sure there are other magical ingredients (*note - upon checking my link to buy them, i see they use lemon juice and himalayan salt also! yum!). but really, start with some garlic and ginger, two "can do no wrong" ingredients, and you won't go wrong! enjoy! ^_^

everyday raw chili success!

twice in the last 5 days, i have broke into my copy of matthew kenney's everyday raw and made his raw chili. after many ani phyo delicious chilis (most recently, but also here, and here). it's been fun to find another yummy chili that is easy to make, uses "normal" ingredients and has universal appeal.

reading the reviews on amazon, there is a "not for the beginner" and a "meh" as some responses. i can slightly relate, i suppose, as some of the recipes in this book have a few too many steps, ie using (one recipe) with (other recipe) and then make ("this" recipe) for on top. i need to try more recipes from everyday raw before i can entirely disagree with the discouraging reviews, but the chili recipe on page 78 is a definite win! super easy ingredients to have on hand and it turned out beautifully!

first sampling of the chili was at lisa's birthday potluck on saturday - the first potluck i have been at in awhile that had non-vegan dishes present. gasp! it was nice that this chili fit in easily as i don't think it looks super granola-vegan-ish or much unlike a "real" chili.

i love trying new recipes for potlucks. they always seem to turn out amazing and then i also get to try other people's food creations! so much fun!

 and now, tonight, at my parents' place, we super enjoyed our delicious chili outside:

my mom cleared off the outside chairs so we could all enjoy the remaining sun of the day sans spiders. thanks mom! ^_^ 

i love that you don't even notice it's "raw". my parents said it tasted like chili and they both really enjoyed it. yay! i tried to explain why i soaked and sprouted the raw almonds but i'm not so good with such details. i figured it was the best way to make the almonds "alive" again. just like it wouldn't be so helpful to eat seeds you want to grow vegetables from and you wait until they have sprouted into plants, you soak the raw nut to make it into something nutritionally dense and easily digested. is that accurate? anyone?

bread and hummus!

i'm going to a clothing swap tonight and was struggling with thinking of a nice snack to bring... and then i thought of something! i had been fooling around with some bread in the dehydrator last night from the leftover pulp of post-yoga juice :) ground flax and filtered water, some sprouted chickpea miso and the pulp! not bad at all. spread some coconut oil on it first to try it out...

then i made a zucchini hummus to take with these 'breads' tonight. i was inspired by this recipe though i didn't follow it exactly. basically i used 2 zucchini, some chickpea miso, 1/2 an avocado (pretty much all the avos i bought this weekend went bad within a day! SADNESS!!!), the juice of 2 lemons, a splash of paprika and cumin and sea salt and hemp hearts. it is not thick like a hummus but made a nice dressing for today's salad lunch! topped it with some processer-ed sprouted almonds and nut. yeast!

so we'll see how this 'dressing hummus' does as a dip for the breads tonight!