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vegan camping

Nut-Free Maca Date Balls & Vegan Festival Eats

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Sometimes all you need a two-biter to make your day.

Need it to be gluten-free, nut-free and packed with nutrients? Look no further.

Here’s a two-bite morsel (AKA meteor ball) that will make you bounce of the walls from all that whole-food, plant-based energy. Not to mention… make your taste buds sing.

Easy as dump, blend, roll.

It’s festival season. It’s camping season. T’is the season for glorious balls of tasty nutrients.

These are perfect for camping. You can take them in a big zip lock, and keep them in your cooler until you head off on your hike, then transfer to a little baggy to stash them in your back pack.

Or, if you’re ever needing a little boost of energy at a festival, meet your new best friend.

There’s nothing like a hand-to mouth treat that is actually healthy for your cells, your muscles, your brain, your digestion… and of course, your dance moves.

This weekend calls for these little bites. Bass Coast is coming up, which it’s all about taking your dance shoes out and busting a move. Since cooking time will be squeezed out of the schedule because of all of the art to look at, people to learn from and dancing to do, these are the PERFECT bites to bring in a cooler to keep us sustained for the festivities.

Dress by @ChicLittleBoho

Oh ya! And, I’m excited to be bringing these balls to the Hooked On Plants Bass Coast workshop too!

While we’re on the topic let’s talk festival eats! What eating at a festival really means is snacking on the go. It’s important to bring snacks that will sustain you, hydrate you, and fill you up with nutrients and good energy.

And water. LOTS and lots of water. Throw in some electrolytes or even a dash of Himalayan salt, and you’ll be loving it.

Vegan Festival food ideas:

  • Hummus and veggies/tortilla chips
  • Fruit – any kind, and all of it! This is nature’s way of giving us amazing energy packed with nutrients and hydration
  • Pre-make one-bowl meals to take spoonfuls of regularly:
  • Salad fixin’s: Bring lettuces, tomato, avocado, and seeds, plus one of these dressings in a jar
  • Pre-bake sweet potatoes (either whole or as fries), and dip in organic ketchup
  • Bring these Fudgy Quinoa Brownies to drool over and sustain you
  • Pre-make popcorn with coconut oil and nutritional yeast to pack in the B12 (try adding curry powder or garlic powder, YUM), and bring it in a big re-usable ziplock
  • Roast chickpeas for a salty snack
  • Bring along your favourite green powder to throw in your water bottle in the AM.
  • Pre-make and bring along a tupperware of Jules Fuel for breakfast so you can pack in some mega-nutrients before your day even starts
  • Rice, Beans, Guac, Salsa, Wraps. Enough said.

Ok, now back to the balls.

The magic ingredient in this recipe is Maca.

Benefits:

~Maca root is an adaptogen. All adaptogens bring your body back to homeostasis (or balance). Adaptogens grow in stressful situations (extreme weather), meaning they need to adapt to their environment. That’s why these amazing herbs and roots are so beneficial! Maca is especially good for balancing hormones, strengthening immunity, increasing energy & labido,

~Dates are the base to these ‘meteor balls’. Dates pack a mean punch of minerals, fibre, and clean, easily digestible energy. Perfect for the summer adventures.

~Hemp seeds bring a complete plant-protein to the mix. Plant protein is easily assimilated by your body to help you grow beautiful hair and nails. You really don’t have to worry about where you’re getting your protein from when you eat a whole-food plant-based diet.

Maca Date Balls

AKA Meteor Balls

Time: 10 minutes + 30 minutes chill time

Serves: 15-20 balls

Ingredients:

  • 15 pitted dates (1 cup packed)
  • 1 chia egg (1 tbsp chia + 3 tbsp water, let sit for 5 minutes until gooey)
  • 1/2 cup hemp seeds
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • 2 tbsp maca
  • 2 tbsp cacao nibs

For rolling:

  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut

Directions:

  1. Pulse dates in food processor until small chunks form (but don’t pulse so much that a pastey ball forms)
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients except for cacao nibs and rolling coconut
  3. Blend until ball forms
  4. Add cacao nibs, and blend until mixed evenly
  5. Spread rolling shredded coconut out in a flat bowl
  6. Wet hands
  7. Roll date mixture into small balls, then place them in the coconut bowl
  8. Roll the balls around until coconut coats them completely
  9. Place in the freezer in one layer on a plate (at least 20 minutes, then for storage place them in a tupperware or ziplock in the freezer)
  10. Eat when you’re feeling snacky, or low energy!

Fudgy Quinoa Brownies + Vegan Camping Eats

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Holy fudgerama. These brownies are tasty.
You would never know there are hidden superfoods in these babies.
Dense & chewy. That’s what these brownies are all about.
The base? Quinoa and dates. Throw in some superfood ingredients like cacao and cinnamon, and you’ve got yourself a health food that tastes incredibly sinful.
A healthy version of a decadent brownie. YES.
You could eat these for breakfast.
These brownies are also PERFECT for a camping trip.
You know, for those times when you’re hanging around the campsite and need something sweet and luscious to sink your teeth into… Or  for that extra boost of energy on that hike of yours.
These brownies are packed with whole food ingredients, with out any refined sugar or gluten.

Raise the roof for these morsels of awesome!

On the camping thought, camping as a vegan isn’t as hard as you may think…
What else to eat as a Vegan Camper?
  • Breakfast:
    • Jules Fuel – my superfood quinoa oatmeal!
    • Banana pancakes – pre-make these, then throw them on the fire with some tin foil!
    • Overnight oats – fill a mason jar with oats, buckwheat, maple syrup, dried fruit and seeds, then fill it up with almond milk, shut the lid, and throw it in the cooler!
    • The Vegan Egg (trying this for the first time this weekend while we’re camping) with some Tempeh bacon, tomato, avo, and Chao cheese in a whole grain wrap.
  • Lunch:
    • Roasted weiners (still possible) and dijon wrapped in a bun or romaine – Field Roast and Gusta are the best in my books!
    • Sandwiches: bring your bread slices, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, hummus, and tempeh (either pre-cooked, or cooked on your skillet)
    • Pre-baked sweet potatoes: wrap them in tin-foil, then throw them on the fire at your campsite. Top it off with nut butter, maple syrup, or a pre-made tahini sauce
  • Dinner: Make it a one-bowl wonder by pre-cooking one of these:
  • Snacks:
    • Trail Mix
    • Apples, oranges, bananas, dried fruit
    • Dates
    • Popcorn
    • Dip-ables: hummus & veggies, chips & guac & salsa
  • Dessert:
    • Roasted vegan mellows
    • Roasted bananas: leave the banana peel on, slice vertically half way through, add some nut butter and vegan chocolate chips then wrap in tin foil and throw it on the flame
    • Fire-roasted apples
 
Benefits of these brownies:
  • Quinoa – complete with all 9 essential amino acids, this little seed will provide you with ample protein, and tons of minerals! This is what makes these brownies so satiating.
  • Dates – nature’s candy! These amazing fruits are so sweet, but they also come with the fibre, nutrients, vitamins and minerals your body needs. Because they’re packed with fibre, they’re a great sweetener that won’t spike your blood sugar like the usual suspects (white refined sugar being the worst, and maple syrup being the next best thing to dates).
  • Cacao – hello antioxidants! The raw cacao powder is not only and aphrodisiac, but also a start when it comes to preventing disease.

Fudgy Quinoa Brownies 

Vegan & Gluten Free

Serves: 12-15

Time: Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients: 

  • 2 cups quinoa, cooked (I used red, but you can use white instead!)
  • 2 cups pitted dates, soaked for 10 minutes in warm water, then drained
  • flax egg (1 tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp water = let sit for 5-10 minutes)
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil (plus 1 tsp for oiling baking dish)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup cacao powder
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla (powder or extract)
  • 1/2 cup cacao nibs or chopped pecans

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350, and oil 8 x 8 baking dish with coconut oil and a paper towel
  2. In a food processor, add the pre-cooked quinoa, baking powder, cinnamon and blend until sticky and almost pasty
  3. Add the cacao powder, vanilla, coconut oil and flax egg. Blend until nearly smooth
  4. Add the drained dates into the food processor and blend until smooth and a ball starts forming. Scrape down the sides when needed
  5. Add half of the cacao nibs, or chopped nuts and blend until combined (not too much!)
  6. Spread mixture out evenly in the dish, about 3/4 inch thick
  7. Bake for 25 minutes, then top with the rest of the cacao nibs or nuts.
  8. Bake another 5 minutes. Test for ready-ness by poking a toothpick in the brownie (if it comes out clean, they’re ready)
  9. Let cool, then slice into desired sizes
  10. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze them then take them to-go straight from the freezer!