Tag: vegan

No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bites

No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bites cover page

I LOVE desserts. I love them SO much that I sometimes I wonder if I was born with 32 sweet tooths instead of just one. Okay, bad dad joke- I couldn’t help myself! Anyways, you know what I love just as much as dessert? Making healthy food taste just. like. dessert. You read that right- healthy food. Meaning nuts, fruits, spices, no sugar. You get the gist. 

No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bites

Besides the fact that its for my favorite meal, there are a number of reasons why I love this recipe. I’ll give you my top three:

  • Healthy to the core- Made with raw, wholesome ingredients like cashews and dates, that actually help with the refuel and recovery process. 
  • NO BAKING- less mess to clean and no risk of burning these delicious treats. This also means no more excuses for those of you who “don’t know how to cook” 🙂 
  • Prep time takes all of about 10 minutes- As long as you can remember to soak your cashews, you can whip a batch together after your morning workout with minimal effort. Don’t worry if you forgot to soak your cashews. You can hack this by boiling them on low heat for about 15 minutes. 

No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bites3

Okay I lied, I’m giving you my top four. My absolute favorite thing about this recipe is how fresh all of the ingredients taste. There is just something about the combination of fresh blueberries, juice from a real lemon, and fresh mint leaves that has the power to fill any void imaginable!

The process to “no bake” these is simple. I prefer to take a blend-blend-freeze approach.

No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bites

Step 1: combine ingredients for your crust (the bottom layer) in a food processor or high powered blender. When combined pack tightly into the bottoms of a lined muffin tin. 

Step 2: combine ingredients for your filling (top layer) in a food processor or high powered blender. When combined, spoon mixture into muffin pans and top with fresh blueberries. 

Step 3: place muffin pan in the freezer for about four or so hours until “cheesecakes” are frozen. Once these babies are nice and solid, remove them from the freezer and transfer to an airtight, freezer safe container for safe keeping. This will help prevent freezer burn. 

No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bites

When you’re ready to enjoy, I suggest placing them on the counter to thaw for a few minutes before digging in. This will help make sure you’re able to bite through them and will really help the flavors stand out! 

No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bites

Bon Appetite! 

No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bites

No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bites
Yields 12
A perfect guilt free dessert, these No Bake Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars are refreshing & full of flavor! They’re so delicious that no one will ever guess they're made of mainly fruits and nuts.
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Crust (bottom layer)
  1. • 1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
  2. • 1/2 cup raw pecans
  3. • 1/2 cup raw almond slivers
  4. • 4 dates, de-pitted
  5. • 1 TBS cinnamon
  6. • 1/2 TBS nutmeg
  7. • 1/2 TBS raw honey
  8. • 1/3 cup virgin coconut oil
  9. • Dash of sea salt
Filling (top layer)
  1. • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  2. • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight (or at least three hours) and drained
  3. • 5 dates, de-pitted
  4. • Handful of fresh mint leaves
  5. • 2 TSP fresh lemon juice
  6. • 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
  7. • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. • Soak cashews overnight or for at least 3 hours. Drain water.
  2. • Make crust (bottom layer) by combining hazelnuts, pecans, almond slivers, dates, cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, coconut oil, and sea salt in food processor or high powered blender. Pulse and blend until all ingredients are completely combined.
  3. • Scoop crust into lined muffin pan tins and pack tightly.
  4. • Make filling (top layer) by combining blueberries, soaked and drained cashews, dates, mint leaves, lemon juice, coconut milk and vanilla extract in food processor or high powered blender. Blend until all ingredients are completely combined.
  5. • Spoon blueberry filling into muffin tins and garnish with fresh blueberries, lemon zest, or mint leaves as desired.
  6. • Transfer muffin tin to freezer until frozen (at least 4 hours).
  7. • Once frozen, remove cheesecake bites from muffin tin and transfer to an airtight, freezer safe container.
  8. • Place cheesecake bites on counter to thaw, serve and enjoy!
Notes
  1. • Store in airtight, freezer safe container for up to one month
  2. • Additional dates can be added to increase sweetness
  3. • Soak cashews at room temperature overnight (preferred) or for at least three hours. If you're short on time boil cashews over low heat for ~15 minutes until soft. Drain water and use in recipe.
God Save the Quinoa https://www.godsavethequinoa.com/

Recipes for endurance athletes

 

Eggplant Meatballs

Eggplant Meatball Recipe

Add a healthy spin on your favorite Italian dish by using hearty eggplant in lieu of meat to make these delicious, flavorful “meatballs”. If you are not regularly eating eggplants, you should consider doing so. This is one vegetable that has no shortage of health benefits and this eggplant meatball recipe is the perfect place to start!

 

Eggplant Meatballs

Eggplants contain many different vitamins such as Vitamin C, Folate, B Vitamins, and Vitamin A, to name a few. These vitamins are important because they help improve your body’s overall health, boost your immune system, and can even help improve resistance to various diseases. You’ll also find Phosphorous, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium in eggplants. These minerals are known to help prevent arthritis, osteoporosis, and heart disease. Last but not least, eggplants are an excellent source of Dietary Fiber. Consuming foods with Dietary Fibers are good for you because they help you feel full after a meal, keep your digestive system working properly and protect against colon cancer. At 35 calories per cup, eggplants are one veggie you can’t help but love! 

 

Eggplant Meatballs

True story- when I first made these my husband walking into the kitchen and asked, “why are you making meatballs”. For those of you who are not aware, I do not eat meat. That being said, I do eat fish (there’s no way I could stay away from sushi) and I do cook meat, but only for others to enjoy.

When I told him what I was making, eggplant meatballs over my favorite zucchini noodle recipehe seemed a little confused. He was taken aback by the fact that I was using eggplants to make “meatballs” and remained skeptical, wondering how a veggie-on-veggie dish was going to fill him up.  

Eggplant Meatballs

I have to be honest, it did take a little bit of convincing him that  “no, these will not taste like rubber”, “yes, you will like them”, and “no, I’m not making you eat tofu”. Whether he believed me or not, I guess I will never know. He was a trooper and helped me roll the steamy eggplant concoction sitting in my food processor into the delicious “meatballs” pictured below. 

Eggplant Meatballs

Once your “meatballs” are arranged on a cookie sheet, pop them in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes. As these cook, they should change color and turn a darker shade of brown and the outer shell should become firm, but not burned. If you can stick a fork through them while they’re still in the oven, let them cook a little bit longer. You should expect the very bottom of your meatballs to be darker and crispier than the tops. Don’t worry- this is perfectly normal! The non-stick cooking spray you sprayed on your foil lined cookie sheet is the culprit. 

Eggplant Meatballs

Personally, I love serving these over zucchini noodles. My Favorite Zucchini Noodle Recipe is perfectly timed with how long it will take these “meatballs” to cook in the oven. Start cooking your zoodles immediately after you put your “meatballs” in the oven to avoid waiting around or snacking before dinner. This recipe is posted on my blog.

If you want to mix it up a little and incorporate these “meatballs” into other dishes throughout the week, I also enjoy eating these with whole wheat pasta (any kind) or over a dark leafy green salad with fresh tomatoes and quinoa. I’d love to hear what types of dishes you paired your eggplant meatballs with!

Eggplant Meatballs
Yields 25
Add a healthy spin on your favorite Italian dish by using hearty eggplant in lieu of meat to make these delicious and flavorful "meatballs".
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Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
50 min
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
50 min
Ingredients
  1. • 1 TBSP EVOO, divided
  2. • 1/4 cup water
  3. • 1 (1 pound) eggplant, unpeeled cut into 1 inch cubes
  4. • 1 tsp salt
  5. • 1 tsp black pepper
  6. • 1 TBS paprika
  7. • 1 medium red onion, diced
  8. • 2 cloves of minced garlic
  9. • 1 can of cannellini beans, drained
  10. • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  11. • 1 cup of panko bread crumbs
  12. • 1 tsp red chili flakes
Instructions
  1. • Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with foil, spray with non-cook spray and set aside.
  2. • Cut eggplant into one inch cubes, pressing out excess water with a paper towel.
  3. • Heat 1/2 TBS EVOO in a non-stick skillet on medium heat. When heated, add eggplant cubes and 1/4 cup of water. Immediately season eggplant cubes with salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir ingredients occasionally for 10 - 15 minutes, until eggplant is tender. (You should be able to cut an eggplant cube in half with your spatula) When ready, transfer cooked eggplant cubes to a food processor.
  4. • Add the remaining 1/2 TBS EVOO to the skillet followed by diced onions and minced garlic. Cook until onions are translucent, about 3-5 minutes, then combine with cooked eggplant cubes in food processor.
  5. • Add drained cannellini beans and chopped parsley to food processor and pulse until contents are well combined and chopped. Stir contents with a spatula between pulses as needed. Ingredients should be chopped, not pureed.
  6. • Transfer ingredients from the food processor into a bowl. Stir in panko breadcrumbs and red chili flakes until well combined. Add salt for taste.
  7. • Roll into golf-ball sized meatballs and distribute evenly on foil lined cookie sheet.
  8. • Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until meatballs are browned and firm when poking with a fork.
  9. • Remove from oven, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
  1. • Serve with whole wheat pasta or zucchini noodles.
  2. • Drizzle fresh marinara or basil pesto on top for delicious results.
  3. • Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
God Save the Quinoa https://www.godsavethequinoa.com/
Fabulous recipes by Mandi at godsavethequinoa.com