HookedOnPlants

When getting hooked is a good thing

dairy-free

Puffed Quinoa Dessert Bars

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Simple, no-bake, mouthwatering, chocolate-y, fudge-y dessert bars.

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Totally a go-to for any day of the week.

This recipe is adapted from on of my favourite food bloggers, Dana at the Minimalist Baker.

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I was lucky enough to grab a signed copy of Dana’s book at her book signing at Nourish Cafe after her and the lovely Erin Ireland‘s cooking demo! It’s an amazing new cookbook, Everyday Cooking. Every single recipe is simple and drool-worthy. She and her husband, John are both over-the-top inspiring.

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These bars are perfectly scrumptious snacks or desserts. Just sink your teeth into them once.

You’ll see.

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Here are the changes I made:

I used quinoa puffs as well as rice puffs, pumpkin seeds instead of sunflower seeds, maple syrup instead of agave syrup, and a mixture of sunflower seed butter and almond butter instead of peanut butter.

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Benefits:

–Quinoa, AKA the mother grain, contains all 9 essential amino acids that our bodies can’t produce themselves. So these bars are packed with plant-powered protein and nutrient-dense energy.

–Maple syrup is one of the least processed liquid sweeteners you can use. It’s packed with antioxidants and has a low glycemic index compared to most other sweeteners. This means you avoid the sugar spike, and inevitable crash like you would get from more refined sugars. And it’s Canadian, yo!

–Raw almond butter has healthy unsaturated fatty acids and fibre. In treats like this, go for it, but I don’t recommend over-eating nut butters because of the high saturated fat content, but the un-roasted, organic, raw versions do carry fibre and vitamins, and can be a small part of a healthy diet 🙂

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Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 12-14

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of nut or seed butter of choice (raw almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or tahini)
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup chopped dates (medjool or bahri)
  • 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 2 cups quinoa puffs
  • 1 cup rice puffs
  • 1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Prepare about a 6″x 8″ cake pan by spreading parchment paper or plastic wrap on bottom and over edges.
  2. Add almond butter, PB2 paste and maple syrup to a small pot. Heat on low heat and stir until mixture is smooth.
  3. Add almond butter mixture to a bowl with chopped dates. Stir to combine.
  4. Add quinoa, rice puffs and pumpkin seeds. Mix with wooden spoon until evenly combined.
  5. Spread out mixture in the prepared pan. To flatten evenly, use parchment paper between your hands and the mixture and press down firmly.
  6. Remove the top parchment paper, and place pan in the freezer to set for 10 minutes.
  7. While the deliciousness is freezing, prepare your chocolate sauce.
  8. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler on the stove, or in 30 second increments in a bowl in the microwave (stirring each time), until you have a smooth sauce.
  9. Take the bars out of the freezer, and drizzle chocolate sauce over with a fork.
  10. Throw that pan of goodness back into the freezer and wait (the hardest part) for 10 minutes until it is set.
  11. Cut into shapes of your choice and gobble up.

 

Fully Loaded Sweet Potatoes | A Go-To Weeknight Dinner

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Nothing screams summer quite like a picnic table dinner session, especially when you top it off with these fully loaded sweet potatoes.

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OK, you’re right, the dog days of summer may be coming to an end, but stay strong… hit up a park to eat at a picnic table this week! Do it.

It’s liberating.

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And what would be better than some ooey-gooey, caramely, delicious sweet potatoes to bring on your excursion?

Well, THAT…

Plus … rice, beans, guacamole, salsa and creamy cheezy cashew sauce with a side of corn and a big ol’ salad!

That’s my kinda dinner.

A throw-it-all-together kind of thing.

Feel free to add or subtract from the toppings listed to make your own pile of yum. Or, if russet potatoes call your name, use those instead.

These goes divinely with a big salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches, green onion and romaine tossed with Nutty Miso Dressing.

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Benefits:

  • Sweet Potatoes are the staple food of some of the longest living people on this planet, the Okinawans. They’re packed with beneficial carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins A, C and D. They’re a complex carbohydrate that won’t spike your blood sugar, but will fuel your cells with clean burning energy.
  • Avocados in the guacamole will give you the essential fatty acids your brain thrives on.
  • Cashew ‘Cheeze’ Sauce will replace the typical dairy cheese. No one needs that. By avoiding dairy, you’ll lower your chances of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. You’ll also avoid allergic reactions, inflammation, indigestion, hormones and antibiotics. So, here’s a way to replace your cow cheeses with nut cheeses.

Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4 (Double it so you have left overs!)

Ingredients

  • 4 Sweet Potatoes
  • 1 cup rice
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (or soak your own, and cook them up)

Guacamole:

  • 1 avocado
  • Juice of 1/2 a lime
  • 1tsp garlic powder

Salsa:

  • 5 roma tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup cilantro
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 2 garlic cloves

Cheezy Cashew Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup cashews, soaked at least one hour in water
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup-1 cup water (depending on how thick or thin you’d like it)
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

If you want to go the extra mile add this too!

Garlicy Maple sautèed mushrooms:

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Cook rice: Rinse, put in pot with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes.
  3. Cook potatoes: Poke holes in sweet potatoes with fork, place on parchment paper covered pan. Put in oven for 45 minutes.
  4. Sauté mushrooms (EXTRA MILE, but very tasty!): add water to medium-hot pan, add garlic for 1 minute, add mushrooms and dressing, let simmer, stir every 5 minutes for about 10 minutes.
  5. Make Cheezy Cashew Sauce: Blend all ingredients in blender.
  6. Make Salsa: Pulse all ingredients in blender or food processor.
  7. Make Guacamole: Mash all ingredients in a bowl with a fork.
  8. Assemble: Layer your ingredients starting with your potatoe! Sweet potato-rice-beans-guac-salsa-cheez sauce and VOILA!