The Veggie Gal

These Peppermint Chocolate Truffles are a great party appetizer.  Because they are covered in candy canes most people won’t realize that underneath that these babies are healthy goodness.  If you really want to make them pure healthy goodness and completely raw just omit the candy cane and add peppermint flavoring instead.

My little ones think these are the best Christmas treat around.  I guess I tend to agree since I grab a couple every time I walk past the plate.

You can really change up the nuts you use by your own taste preference or what you might have one hand.  This is a make by taste recipe so you just throw in the amount that looks good to you and taste as you go.  I used cashews because they have the most subtle taste and make for a creamy texture.  For the chocolate flavor you could add bakers chocolate, regular dairy free chocolate chips or regular cocoa powder instead of the cacao powder that I am suggesting.

For those who may not know, cacao powder is a super food and is the raw and unprocessed powder straight from the cacao bean where all chocolate comes from.  It is loaded with antioxidants and is super duper good for you!

Peppermint Chocolate Truffles

Makes: as many as you want

Nut of your choice (I used cashews)
Dates (if pretty dry soak for an hour or more and drain off the water or save the water for a smoothie later)
Cacao powder (or chocolate form of your choice-see above)
Agave nectar as needed (it is pretty sweet without it and you can use the soak water to add moisture if needed)
Candy canes, crushed (or peppermint flavoring)

Use a half nuts and half dates ratio (approx).  Place the dates, nuts, cacao powder and agave necatar (if using) into a high powered blender or food processor (I use a Vita-Mix) and blend until very smooth.  Taste as you go to adjust the flavor.

Place candy canes on a paper towel and cover with another paper towel and hit with a hammer to crush.  Remove the plastic and pour onto a large plate.

Roll the nut/date mixture into small bite size balls and then roll in the crushed candy canes and continue until you have gone through it all.  They will be sticky so it is best to place them on a cookie sheet and let sit out for an hour or so so they dry out a bit or you can just eat them right away.  ENJOY!

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Tags: Christmas appetizers, Gluten Free, Peppermint Chocolate Truffles, Raw Truffles, Vegan appetizers, vegan recipe, Vegan Truffles, Vegetarian

No pigs here folks!  GROSS!! But I do fondly remember the days as a kid that I was served the traditional pigs in a blanket.  Not knowing what I was eating I enjoyed dipping them into my mustard and ketchup combo.  The warm bread surrounding them was always browned to perfection and was the most appealing part to me and the only way I would actually eat a hot dog.  Little did I know the browning of that bread was probably caused by yellow dye #whatever.  Well I have found a way to recreate that memory and taste without eating any decomposing flesh or unnatural food coloring.  I can’t say the veggie dogs are the best for your health but they are 100 steps closer than the prior that is for sure.

Unlike the crescents that are vegan but are pure junk Pillsbury makes a French bread called Simply that is actually simply delicious and simple to make as well.  It has much less fat than their traditional refrigerator breads and it does not have as much junk as the others.  It is missing the yellow dye, high fructose corn syrup and artificial crap.  It is still white flour,sugar and oils though so not something to go crazy with but a nice thing to make for such holidays as the upcoming 4th of July or any other outdoor party event.

One little tip that makes the veggie dogs soft and less chewy is to boil them in a pan of water for a couple of minutes before rolling them in the dough.  I don’t mind just cooking them straight from the package but my husband prefers I boil them first.  You be the judge for yourself.

Veggie Dogs in a Blanket
Makes: 8 full size

8 veggie dogs of your choice
1 package Simply French Bread by Pillsbury

Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a cookie sheet.

Open dough out on the cookie sheet and cut it into 8 even pieces.  Roll each veggie dog from the very corner of the cut dough over to the other end and pinch the seam closed.  You can pull the dough down a bit if you need to adjust it.

Make sure that they do not touch and bake until the tops are browned, approx 18-25 minutes (keep a good eye on them!)

Let them cool then ENJOY with some of your favorite condiments and sides!  Some good side to try with them might be; Real Lemonade, Roasted Pineapple, Vegan Smores, Black Bean & Corn Salad with Lime,Pretty Pasta Salad, Potato Salad, Quinoa Mandarin Salad and the list to could go on.

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Tags: Dinner, Easy Vegan, Vegan, Vegan appetizers, vegan BBQ side, vegan pigs in a blanket, vegan recipe, Vegetarian, veggie dogs in a blanket

These are rich and creamy yet have a kick of spice from the scallion.  As appetizers they go fast so make extra because you can’t eat just one of them.

It is best to buy the thin scallions to keep the heat of the onion down to a minimum.  Put the cream cheese on as high up as you like it but I usually go only just above the white part.  I like Diaya vegan cheese the best for these but use what ever vegan cheese you like best.

Cream Cheese Scallions Rolled in Cheese

Scallions (green onions)
Vegan cream cheese
Vegan cheese

Clean your scallions, cut off the white roots at the end and if you want to you can cut some the top off since it won’t be eaten.  Dry the scallions completely because the cream cheese will not stick to them wet.

Scoop about a teaspoon of cream cheese into your fingers and roll it around the scallion, going up as high as you want and adding more if needed.

Roll in your favorite vegan cheese and slightly squeeze to make it stick.  That’s it!  ENJOY!

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Tags: Appetizers, Easy Vegan, Quick and easy, scallions, Vegan appetizers, vegan recipe, Vegetarian