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vegan canape

Cucumber Cups with Almond Lime Ginger Butter

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Simple and flavourful. Perfect for your next canapé party.

Because you throw those all the time, right?

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These little cucumber cups are wayyyy too easy to make.

If you need to throw something together quickly and impress some taste buds, look no further.

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The crispy, fresh cucumber with the creamy, smooth almond lime ginger butter is a FANTASTIC contrast and a surprise burst of flavour.

The butter is a bit like thai peanut sauce, but has more of a tangy punch.

Crunchy

Creamy

Fresh

Easy

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Benefits:

Cucumbers are super hydrating and packed with vitamins and minerals. Eat the green skin people! The anti-inflammatory flavonol, fisetin, plays an important role in brain health. The antioxidants will combat disease, and the B vitamins will help lower stress.

Miso is a fermented food, which means it will do wonders for your gut bacterial health. Miso (and other fermented foods like kombucha, sauerkraut, and kimchi) will help restore the beneficial probiotics in your intestine, which then will improve mood, digestion, absorption, immunity and reduce risk for many diseases.

Carrots as most of us know are very high in beta-carotene which is then converted to Vitamin A in the liver, which will help your vision. It’s also converted into an antioxidant, which combats disease and helps oxidized cells, therefore, slows down aging and helps the skin. So, eat them up!

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Cucumber Cups with Almond Lime Ginger Butter

Serves: 6-8

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 long english cucumbers
  • 1 large carrot, grated
  • 2 green onions, chopped thinly
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Almond Lime Ginger butter:

  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • 4 tbsp almond butter
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp ginger powder

Directions:

  1. Slice cucumber discs 1/2 inch thick. Then spoon out the middle to create a cucumber cup (don’t scoop all the way through).
  2. Make almond lime ginger butter: Blend all ingredients together (mini food processor works best)
  3. Place a dollop of the ‘butter’ into the cucumber cups
  4. Sprinkle each cucumber cup with grated carrot, sesame seeds and green onion.

**Note: The almond lime butter can be made into a sauce by adding water until desired consistency. This will make an amazing ‘Glory Bowl’ dressing!  Alternatively make it into a dip by adding a bit of water and 1/2 of a zucchini !

Sweet Potato Guacamole Bites

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Talk about a burst of heaven in your mouth.

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Sweet

Savoury

Crunchy

Creamy

These bites have it all.

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Not to mention simplicity.

Some of the best creations are just a few delicious and complementary ingredients.

After some easy steps of roasting, mashing, and assembling, you’ll have a vegan appetizer that will impress even the fanciest cook.

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The warmth and chewiness of the sweet potato along with the creamy guacamole and crunchy mung beans…let’s just say it’s a party in your mouth.

These are a great start to any shindig.

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Benefits:

Mung bean sprouts are high in vitamin K (for healthy bone density), C (immune boosting), and folate (for healthy blood cells). All raw sprouts are total superfoods. Since they have started their growing process, they are an easily digestible, living food with more nutrients per calorie than any other food.

Sweet potatoes have been a staple in the diet of some of the longest living peoples in history (Okinawans). They have more Vitamin A than any other food, they are packed with healthy carbohydrates, antioxidants, and are stars for combatting inflammation and oxidation. Eat em’ up! I always get delicious, organic sweet potatoes from Spud to my door every Tuesday. Man, I love Tuesdays!! Use my code CRVAN-MURJUB for 20$ off your first order.

Avocados are packed with monounsaturated fatty acids. Great for the hair, skin and nails!

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Sweet Potato Guacamole Bites

Serves: 6-8

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 sweet potatoes, sliced in 1/4 inch thick discs
  • pinch of salt and pepper
  • 2 avocados
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • 1 garlic clove
  • As many mung bean sprouts (or sprout of choice) as you like

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
  2. Lay out discs on parchment covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with pepper and salt
  3. Bake sweet potato discs for 25 minutes, flipping once
  4. Meanwhile, prepare the guacamole: mash the avocados with garlic and lime juice.
  5. Assemble the artwork. Place sweet potatoes on a plate with a dollop of guac, and a few sprouts.

Thai Cashew Cream Cheese Endive Boats | Raw Vegan

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These 2-bite boats are a fun and fresh way to start off a dinner party.

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So simple to put together and really, really delicious.

They have a pop of sweet and tangy flavours with a creamy and crispy textures.

Verrrrry interestingly delicious!

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PLUS you get to learn how EASY it is to make vegan cream cheese (this time with curry and cilantro)!

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Endives make the perfect boat for just about anything when it comes to small bites. There’s something so fancy about holding a canapé in your hand and savouring each bite.
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These guys are great to make ahead of time, and I highly suggest you make enough Thai curry cashew cream cheese to keep in the fridge for that cheese craving later on (amazing in sandwiches, wraps, or with crackers).

Benefits:

Endives have vitamin A, which is great for eyes, plus helps maintain healthy mucus membranes and skin. B vitamins are in there too to help with healthy metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.

Cashews help lower blood pressure, and helps hair, bones and nerves. Too much of a good thing in this case isn’t ideal though. Cashews are decadent and packed with calories from beneficial fat, so too many of these creamy morsels could lead to some extra pounds. In this recipe, we just use a small dollop on each endive for decadence and thai flavour!

Mango help lower cholesterol, clear skin, alkalinize the body, improve digestion, improve eye health, and combat cancer.

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Thai Cashew Endive Boats

Time: 20 minutes (must soak cashews before hand for a few hours or overnight)

Serves: 20 plus extra cashew ‘cheeze’ is left over for you!

Ingredients:

  • Two heads of endives
  • 2 cups cashews, soaked overnight or for 3 hours in water then drained
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 cup water, or just enough to blend cashews
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp green curry paste
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 3/4 cup cilantro
  • 1 mango, sliced thinly in batonnet cuts
  • 2 green onions, chopped diagonally

Directions:

  1. Make the Thai cashew cream cheese: Blend the soaked cashews, lemon, and water (not too much!) in food processor until cream cheese consistency. Then blend in curry paste, onion powder, and cilantro.
  2. Fill your endives with cashew cheese, mango, green onion. Top with cilantro.
  3. Store your extra cream cheese in the fridge for about a week in a sealed jar.