Posts Tagged ‘walnuts’

  1. just made: energizing raw cacao balls

    May 5, 2013 by justgathering

    I have a thing for dark chocolate. I’ve been pretty vocal lately about the fact that I’m trying to change this after-dinner habit. It’s not that it’s a bad habit, per se. It’s just that one tiny piece of dark chocolate before bed can easily turn into two or three… or four… generously portioned pieces of dark chocolate, especially when one is caught up in a Downton Abbey marathon.

    And anyway, I’m focusing on alkalizing greens and nutrient-dense plant proteins right now.

    green juice metal strawStill, old habits don’t die. They lie dormant until you’re feeling tired or have depleted all your willpower reserves for the day, and then they reappear in the form of intense nighttime chocolate cravings.

    Some nights I have the most delicious chocolate tea, sent to me by my friend Jason to help in my habit transformation. Side note: surprising someone with a high quality tea is one of the nicest things you can do, especially if it’s someone who wouldn’t purchase nice tea for herself. If you are my friend, I will probably send you tea at some point, because it made me so happy when Jason sent tea to me. End side note.

    Other nights, though, I just really want chocolate. Sometimes, nothing else will do. So I’ve started making cacao balls.

    energizing cacao balls in a bowlI’ve made a few different versions of these now, but the concoction I came up with today is my favorite because I was able to pack in some serious nutrients without losing the dessert-like quality. That said, these balls are full of energizing maca, making them a good midday snack too. Or pre-workout fuel. Or post-workout snack. Or breakfast, I suppose. I will eat chocolate anytime, obviously.

    I’ve incorporated my ball-making into my new Sunday nut butter-making routine. Once the nut butter’s made, I leave a bit in the food processor, and it forms the base of the balls. From there, assembly is almost too easy.

    maca, walnuts, cashews, almond butter, and dates

    If you want to go for simple and decadent, stick with dates, nuts, and cacao. But if you want to up the health factor of your chocolatey treat, get crazy. In addition to maca, I added a whole lot of hemp hearts to this batch.

    hemp heartsJust blend and form into truffle-size balls. That’s it.

    energizing cacao ballsEnergizing Raw Cacao Balls

    Makes 46 balls

    • 8 medjool dates, pitted
    • 2 tablespoons almond butter
    • 1 cup raw walnuts
    • 3/4 cup raw cashews
    • 1/4 cup hemp hearts
    • 2 tablespoons cacao powder
    • 2 tablespoons maca powder
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt

     

    Combine ingredients in a food processor and process until they form a somewhat sticky dough. If it still seems a little crumbly, that’s okay. Using a teaspoon, scoop out spoonfuls of the dough and shape them into balls with your hands. Set the balls on the plate and let them sit in the fridge or freezer for an hour or two. Transfer to a glass container and store in the fridge for up to 10 days.

    Category eat., make. | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,, | 2 Comments

  2. Just Made: Vegan Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

    January 19, 2011 by justgathering

    * MARATHON COUNTDOWN: 25 DAYS *

    Gotta keep the cookie jar full, right?

    I just had to tell you all to head on over to the PPK and bookmark this recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I subbed 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for the tapioca flour, added 1/2 cup walnuts, and left the cookies in the oven for five or six extra minutes. They turned out fabulously, and I think I’ve found my go-to classic cookie recipe.

    That is all.

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: ,,,,, | No Comments

  3. Just Made: Holiday Grain Salad

    December 24, 2010 by justgathering

    I’m off to spend the holiday with my lovely family, watching the snow and, you know, eating. As I’ve almost had enough sweets and cookies this holiday, I thought I’d contribute a savory (and healthy) salad.

    Aren’t the colors festive? And it came together in less than twenty minutes. This would work with a variety of veggies or grains, but here’s what the boyfriend threw into ours:

    • 1 cup barley, cooked
    • 2 cups baby spinach
    • 4 cups chickpeas, cooked
    • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
    • 1/2 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped
    • 1/2 cup walnut pieces
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • juice of 3 lemons
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 2 tsp olive juice
    • tsp salt

    Happy holidays!

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  4. Just Made: Cinnamon Walnut Quick Bread

    November 10, 2010 by justgathering

    I wasn’t planning on baking today, but this morning I came across Jenna’s recipe for Cinnamon Walnut Quick Bread over at Eat, Live, Run, and I couldn’t resist. She’s not kidding when she says it’s easy to whip up; I had an hour until I needed to be out of the apartment and running, and that was enough time to throw this bread together. (And most of that was spent cleaning the apartment while it was baking.)

    I love anything with walnuts.

    I used half all purpose flour and half whole wheat pastry flour. Just to be a rebel, you know. I also added dashes of cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves for a bit of late fall spirit. Good choice, if I do say so myself.

    I tried a slice after today’s six mile run, with some Greek yogurt for protein. Perfect recovery snack. Recipe highly recommended.

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: ,,,,, | 1 Comment

  5. Just Made: Oprah Cookies

    October 23, 2010 by justgathering

    So, this cookie recipe is actually from Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Diet, but I found it through Oprah’s website, so I have deemed them Oprah Cookies.

    They feature oatmeal, walnuts, and not raisins but prunes (or, as they have seemingly been rebranded, dried plums).

    I messed around with the recipe a bit and used Earth Balance instead of oil. I intended them to be buttery, but they were a little more melty than I wanted. Still yummy, though.

    The star ingredient is definitely the prunes. Next time I make these, I might even double the prunes. Yes, Double Prune Oprah Cookies. Fabulous name, right?

    Slated for tomorrow: Pumpkin Turkey Chili. I love autumn.

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  6. Just Ran: The Staten Island Half Marathon (and then made brownies)

    October 11, 2010 by justgathering

    What a gorgeous race. We could not have asked for a better day; it was sunny and cool, but not cold, with just a tiny bit of a breeze. I felt bad for those struggling in the heat through the Chicago Marathon, but over here in NYC, it was ideal running weather.

    I got up at 5 AM and headed into the city to catch the Staten Island Ferry. I was all bundled up, because I knew from experience with the ferry that it can get really cold on the water.

    On the way over, I stood at the front of the boat so I could catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. Riding the Staten Island Ferry always reminds me of two poems: Emma Lazarus’s The New Colossus, which is the poem written on the Statue of Liberty, and Walt Whitman’s Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.

    I made a rockin’ playlist for the race, and I just enjoyed myself the whole time. The views of lower Manhattan were spectacular, and even the hills couldn’t get me down. Going up one particularly beastly mountain, I just kept repeating to myself, “This is what you came here for,” and before I knew it, I was at the top.

    I finished the race in 1:59:02, beating my last half marathon time by 1:02. Barely a PR, but a PR nonetheless! I’ll take it. After crossing the finish line, I grabbed an apple and a french toast bagel and made my way back to the ferry.

    I wish I had more pictures, but I ran this race alone, and asking someone else to take my picture didn’t even cross my mind. I think I need to make some running friends here in New York!

    When I got back to my apartment, I didn’t have much time to prepare for a potluck dinner at my friend’s place. I whipped up Mark Bittman’s brownies, replacing half the sugar with maple syrup and adding toasted walnuts. They were a hit.

    Sticky and fudgey, the way brownies should be.

    I’ve also been experimenting with beets again. I made another loaf of beet bread, and I also decided to try out beet-oat pancakes, which are not very photogenic but taste pretty good.

    Anything I can drench in maple syrup works for me.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  7. Just Made: POM, Two Ways

    September 21, 2010 by justgathering

    Recently, the lovely folks at POM Wonderful were kind enough to send me a shipment of POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice. Since then, I’ve been conducting some pretty exciting kitchen experiments with pomegranate juice, which is not only delicious but is packed with super healthy antioxidants.

    (Disclosure: no strings attached, and POM didn't even request that I blog about it.)

    Here are two lovely late summer recipes that I came up with, both of which are quite simple and refreshing.

    Summer Salad with Pomegranate Walnut Pesto

    For the pesto, combine in a food processor the following:

    1/4 cup POM Wonderful pomegranate juice

    1/4 cup walnut oil

    1 cup walnuts

    1 medium-sized bunch of parsley

    1 clove garlic

    tiny squeeze of lemon juice

    For the salad, combine the pomegranate pesto with fresh summer veggies of your choice. I made mine with chopped cabbage, green beans, baby tomatoes, and thinly sliced red onions.

    Pomegranate Ginger Popsicles

    Combine in a food processor or blender the following:

    1 bottle POM Wonderful pomegranate juice

    1/4 cup plain yogurt

    1/4 cup crystallized ginger, roughly chopped

    Pour the blended mixture into popsicle molds and freeze overnight. Enjoy, preferably outside.

    I’m a huge fan of POM, and I’ve still got some left, so you might be seeing it appear as an ingredient again in the near future. If I don’t just drink it all first, that is.

    Happy first day of Autumn!

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  8. Walnut Basil Pesto

    July 11, 2010 by justgathering

    It’s still summer, and the recent east coast heat wave is not letting us forget it. I took it easy with my running this week, walking in between my speed intervals and postponing my Thursday run to Friday in hopes of cooler weather. The heat really took it out of me, and what my body needed more than anything was rest. So that’s what I gave it! (Along with some awesome food…)

    Here is another potluck-friendly recipe for all those summer picnics. It’s not only amazingly easy, but it takes advantage of one of my favorite farmer’s markets finds: fresh basil. And I promise it will wow your friends like it did mine.

    This walnut basil pesto is entirely vegan, and I promise that, thanks to the texture of the walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes, no one will miss the cheese.

    Walnut Basil Pesto

    2 C fresh basil

    1/2 C walnuts

    Juice of two lemons

    1/4 C olive oil

    2 cloves garlic

    8 sun-dried tomatoes

    Salt to taste

    Walnut oil to taste

    In your food processor, combine all the ingredients except the walnut oil. Transfer to a bowl and add a drizzle of walnut oil to finish.

    If you’d prefer not to turn on your stove in the heat, go with raw walnuts. I toasted mine a bit to really bring out the flavor.

    One extra touch I added: a drizzle of walnut oil over the final product. This was a housewarming gift from a foodie friend, and I’ve been dying to use it. It was the perfect finisher for this pesto, but if you don’t have any, just drizzle a bit of olive oil on top for presentation.

    This was the ideal condiment for the olive focaccia my friend Julia got at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket. Julia also contributed the following gorgeous and incredibly tasty salad:

    Definitely check out the collaborative blog that Julia and two of her friends write, Victual Culture. It’s full of yummy food pictures and thoughts, and maybe Julia will post her recipe for this salad. I can tell you that it had quinoa, currants, and arugula and was delicious.

    Hope you’re all staying cool!

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: ,,,,,,, | 2 Comments

  9. Cold Leek, Apple, and Walnut Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

    July 4, 2010 by justgathering

    It’s a hot holiday weekend, and I’ve been cooking up some cold salads for summer potlucks. Here is one I found particularly satisfying. Enjoy!

    Cold Leek, Apple, and Walnut Salad with Israeli Couscous

    Makes 4 servings. Double or triple if you’re taking it to a picnic to share!

    1/3 cup Israeli couscous

    2 leeks, stemmed and sliced thinly

    1 apple, julienned

    1/2 cup walnuts in small pieces

    Touch of canola oil to get the apples cooking

    Boil the leeks in a pot of salted water for around five minutes. Separately, cook the couscous. In a pan, saute the apples in just a bit of oil. Once they start browning, add 1/4 cup of the maple dijon vinaigrette and allow them to simmer for 7-10 minutes, pushing them around as the dressing begins to glaze. Combine leeks, couscous, and apples, and add a bit more of the vinaigrette. Cool in the fridge for an hour or so before serving.

    Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

    Makes about 1/2 cup, enough for the couscous with some leftover

    4 T maple syrup

    4 T dijon mustard

    2 T apple cider vinegar

    2 T canola oil

    zest of a lemon

    pinch of salt

    very generous pinch of pepper (more for an extra kick)

    Happy Independence Day to all, U.S. readers and otherwise. Cheers to the spirit of independent eating: to refusing to buy into a diet of nutrient-deficient processed food, to making oneself what one consumes, and to navigating and examining life, meal by meal.

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | 3 Comments

  10. Runner’s Balls

    April 2, 2010 by justgathering

    Tellin’ it like it is.

    I got wind of these coffee-enhanced snack balls through a spectacular fellow blogger at Social Workout, who linked to the original recipe at Mark’s Daily Apple. These babies pack some serious energy!

    I tweaked the recipe a bit according to what I had on hand, and they turned out fabulously. Here’s what I threw in the food processor:

    1/2 cup raw almonds

    1/2 cup raw walnuts

    1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

    4 tablespoons raw almond butter

    6 medjool dates

    2 tablespoons ground coffee

    3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut

    Mix it all up and then use a teaspoon to scoop it out and your hands to roll it into balls. Easy as pie. Wait, way easier than making pie.

    They may look like poo, but they taste like heaven. And at about 70 calories each, with a one-two protein/caffeine punch, they are the perfect pre- or post-run snackie, which is why I’ve been playfully calling my version Runner’s Balls. Sometimes food needs to be silly.

    Category eat. | Tags: ,,,,,,,,, | 3 Comments