Tag: cashew

No Bake Vegan Date and Nut Bars

Well Dined | No Bake Vegan Date and Nut Bars

I recently moved to a new house about 35 minutes from my old one, but I still have a gym membership near my old place because I need to use up some training sessions before I quit.  So I’ve been driving over there twice a week to train.  I’m used to drinking a protein shake on the way to the gym, working out, then getting lunch.  But now with the extra drive (and waking up earlier), I’m getting hungry by the time I get to the gym – and that is no good for working out!  So here is where these (vegan, paleo, gluten-free) date and nut bars come in handy.  I throw one in my bag straight from the freezer, and by the time I get to the gym they are thawed, so I eat it before heading in.  They fill me up and give me a boost of energy – perfect!

These are also great for healthy homemade snacks or desserts, and especially for people with food allergies (other than nuts, obviously).  I bet kids would love them.

Well Dined | No Bake Vegan Date and Nut Bars

The crust is made from nuts, date, and coconut –  most of which is pressed into the bottom of a pan, and the rest is sprinkled on top later.  The original poster is a big fan of soaking and drying nuts before eating them to remove the phytic acid that can make them difficult to digest.  I tried it for this recipe and it took quite a bit of time (I dried them in the slow cooker overnight), but if that is too much work for you it’s okay to just use raw nuts.  The original recipe also calls for brazil and macadamia nuts, but these are a bit hard to find and a little expensive.  I recommend raw cashews as a replacement.

Well Dined | No Bake Vegan Date and Nut Bars

The filling is made from dates, dried figs, and orange zest – yum. (more…)

Thanksgiving 2013

Well Dined | Thanksgiving

We alternate our Thanksgivings each year between our families in Texas and Oregon.  This year was an Oregon year!  (Read here for our last visit.)  My in-laws live in beautiful Bend, OR – which is such a nice town.  Check out the gorgeous mountain view from our hotel room!  We stay at the Oxford hotel when we visit, and I definitely recommend it.

Well Dined | FamilyWe hadn’t seen most of the family in 2 years, and 3 years for sister Kailey!  So it was really nice to be all together again.

Well Dined | Thanksgiving

We had quite the spread, as usual.  We were so excited to see each other that we spent all of Wednesday talking and didn’t get any prep work done!  So we didn’t end up eating Thanksgiving dinner until actual dinner time, which was fine by us!

Well Dined | Thanksgiving

Here’s Mom carving up that beautiful turkey!  They made sure to get one that was humanely raised.

Well Dined | Thanksgiving

I’d like to give a special shout-out to this gorgeous salad made by my Chef sister-in-law.  It was in keeping with her gluten- and dairy-free lifestyle and it was AWESOME.  It had two kinds of raw kale (massaged to remove bitterness), roasted beets, fennel, toasted walnuts, and pomegranate seeds.  I need to get the recipe from her for the yummy cashew dressing.

What was your favorite dish this year?  Leave a link or recipe in the comments!