Super Vitality Truffles

“Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

So, whenever Todd and I fly we usually bring a lot of yummy, travel-friendly vegan food. I am sure you do too. Vegans in the house raise your hands to the heavens and can I get a soulful "Uhhhh Huhhhh!" You know what I mean. Good Buddha, there just ain't no tasty food to be found! Unless you want to be buying a severely under or over ripe $6 banana, you better be packing food yourself. It's a shame. I know there are some exceptions though. I even heard LAX has it's very own vegan restaurant! 

We aren't flying through LAX...poo... 

Thus, I made us some super healthy & nutritious Vitality Truffles! Normally our goto travel snacks are my Birdseed Cookies and banana chips. But this time, I wanted something a bit more healthful. These little guys have no added sugars or sweeteners, no added oils, and use only whole food ingredients. They have the texture of a coarse fudge and they're fun to customize too. I made mine an "Apple Spice Cinnamon" by adding in half a tea bags contents. 

This is a great recipe for substituting in what you like and what you have on hand. If you don't like a particular nut, seed, or fruit...just use what you do enjoy! Be adventurous!

Will you take a gander below? Look at all those amazing, nutritious little beasties who are going to somehow seriously pump you up to be squeezed into a middle seat with two nine foot Texans on either side of you, a surly teenager incessantly kicking your seat from behind, and a booger-flinging-eye-staring-contest-bratface turned around, bug eyed in front of you. I know it's going to happen. I'm prepared. "Om, om, om...*munch munch*"

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Super Vitality Truffles

by Katie @ Produce on Parade July-11-2014

Bites of super vitality! These little guys have no added sugars or sweeteners, no added oils, and use only whole food ingredients. They have the texture of a coarse fudge.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup whole walnuts
• 1/2 cup whole pecans
• 6 whole Brazil nuts
• 1/3 heaping cup ground flax seed
• 1/3 cup cup sesame seeds
• ¼ cup dried goji berries
• ¼ cup dried blueberries
• ¼ cup coconut flakes, unsweetened
• ¼ cup cocoa nibs
• 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• Half the contents of an Apple Cinnamon Spice teabag (optional or ½ Tbsp. of favorite tea leaves)
• 6 (about ½ cup) pitted dates
• 6 (about ½ cup) dried figs
• ¼ tsp. xanthan gum
• Dash of kosher salt

Instructions

In a food processor, add the pecans through and including the tea. Process until granular and the sides begin to stick and turn heavy. Now, add the remaining ingredients and process for about five minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. The dough should be very well combined and sticky. It should hold together when pressed.Form into bite size balls. Some oil from the nuts might be expelled onto your hands, and if you put tea in the dough, it will be colored! Store in the fridge or freezer. I put mine in the freezer because I like them super firm.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: Total time: 15 mins Yield: 30 Balls

Just my little animal foodie friends,  hanging out and jammin'.

German Word of The Day

Vitality --> Lebensfreude (Lee-beens-Freud-eh)

Good Deed of The Day

Did you guys see this article on a vegan cheese project that aims to replicate cheese from cow's milk by using caseins? So weird! Kudos for finding a way to replicate cheese without harming cows (kind of similar to those test tube burgers I suppose) but casein really isn't that great for us. Read up on The China Study, if you haven't already. As an animal advocate this makes me happy, but as a consumer I think I might pass. What about you? What do you think of this innovation?

Birdseed Cookies

There's a cute little coffee shop in my hometown and they make some amaze-tastic seed cookies. This recipe is based off their crazy good cookies. If you're all like, "Ugh, why would I want a bunch of seeds and millet in my cookies?" I will tell you that you know nothing, Jon Snow Dear Reader. People are straight up obsessed with these little guys. No joke.

These cookies kind of remind me of no-bakes. Chock-full of seeds, millet, oats, peanut butter, coconut, and chocolate chips, you won't want to toss these to the birds. Trust me. Every time I make them, I'm hounded on when I'm going to post the recipe on Produce On Parade. Well...here you go! 

Birdseed Cookies

Makes 50 cookies

--Notes-- This recipe makes a lot of cookies, so feel free to halve it if you're so inclined. Also, I know these measurements are obnoxious...just go with me.

• Wet:
• 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. agave nectar (or maple syrup if you're super rich)
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. olive oil (or coconut oil if you have a trust fund)
• 1/2 heaping cup creamy peanut butter (no palm oil please!)
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• Dry:
• 3 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, dry
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
• 1 cup hulled sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup millet, dry
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
• End:
• 3 Tbsp. fresh water

Start by mixing together the ground flax seed and water in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Add in the combined flax and water. 

In a separate large bowl, combine the dry ingredients

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients while mixing on low, until just combined. 

Add in the fresh water and mix until well combined. The dough should hold together well and not be wet. It might even be a tad crumbly, and that's okay. 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Form into half balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I use a tablespoon to do this but a little ice cream scoop with a release arm would be perfect, alas, I do not have one. The dough can be a bit sticky. The cookies will not spread at all when baked. 

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until they start to turn golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and allow to rest on the pan for a minute or two before transferring to a cooling rack.

Try not to let any animals, birds or otherwise snatch them up! Store in an airtight container. 

I'm so great, I even calculated the nutritional information for you! Normally, I do not do this, but I was so curious I just couldn't help myself. Don't worry, the only not-s-good calories come from the brown sugar, agave nectar, and chocolate chips. Just, don't go eating five at once. 

I love this song. The musician, Zach Sobiech, recorded it as a way to express his battle with cancer (osteosarcoma), in which he only had one more year to live. He died at age 18 in May 2013. 

[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/93431338" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

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