Tag Archives: sweet treats

Ginger & Cocoa Rawnie | Raw, Vegan

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5-ingredient, no bake brownies that are rich, chocolately, slightly nutty and more than moreish. The addition of fresh ginger creates an extra special combination of flavours.Ginger Cocoa Raw Brownie | The Tofu DiariesThese raw brownies or “rawnies” take the raw snacks I have talked about in the past to another level; this is perfectly acceptable dessert territory. You could serve them with whipped coconut cream, a scoop of vegan ice-cream or, failing that, still feel free to munch on them as an extra special indulgent mid-afternoon treat.Ginger Cocoa Raw Brownie | The Tofu Diaries Ginger Cocoa Raw Brownie | The Tofu Diaries Ginger Cocoa Raw Brownie | The Tofu DiariesIngredients:

200g dates, roughly chopped

2tbsp mixed seeds (I used milled seeds)

2tbsp tahini

4cm piece of ginger, finely chopped

2tbsp cocoa powder, plus extra to dust

Method:

1. Add all of the ingredients together into a high-powered food processor and blend until combined.

2. In a small baking tray, dust the bottom with a light layer of cocoa powder. Press the rawnie mix into the tray – you can level it out and get rid of your thumbprints by rolling a cup across the top.

3. Dust the top with another light coating of cocoa powder. Place in the fridge and when you are ready to eat it, slice into bars.Ginger Cocoa Raw Brownie | The Tofu DiariesI’m entering this into Simplyhealth‘s healthy smile recipe competition. Did you know that, as an anti-inflammatory, ginger can help you to keep your smile healthy by supporting healthy mouth tissue? I certainly didn’t but I’ll be taking any excuse to include it in my recipes along with some of these other smile-supporting healthy foods!

What sweet treats have you made recently?

Peppermint & Goji Bliss Balls | Raw, Vegan

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Delicious bite-sized sweet treats, with a hint of peppermint, packed full of fibre, antioxidants, calcium, essential amino acids and a source of vitamins and minerals.Raw & Vegan Peppermint & Goji Bliss Balls | The Tofu DiariesThere are just so many good things to say about bliss balls. There is the endless possibility for creating different combinations and flavours. They don’t require any baking or lengthy prep and are ready to eat right away. They keep well in the fridge for around a week (if you can restrain yourself, that is). Most of all, they satisfy any sweet craving whilst being full of nutritious ingredients. They do contain naturally occurring sugars but as far as sweet treats go, I’d say they are pretty guilt-free.Raw & Vegan Peppermint & Goji Bliss Balls | The Tofu DiariesAm I bit late the party only just creating my first ‘bliss balls’ recipe? Well, maybe. They’ve been on my radar as something I wanted to try out and experiment with creating my own flavours but it’s only recently, after moving out of a shared house and into somewhere I can have nice kitchen things and have the space for them, that I’ve invested in a good blender/food processor.Raw & Vegan Peppermint & Goji Bliss Balls | The Tofu DiariesI’ve had some amazing similar treats in restaurants and in pre-made raw bars, but this was my first time of making raw bliss balls. To get started I actually made a few different varieties, including some delicious lemon-flavoured ones and a batch minus the coconut so Pete could get involved (since he isn’t a coconut fan). The peppermint ones however were the stand out of the bunch and the ones I wanted to share.

Most ingredients in the recipe can be mixed up and changed to your taste though – the tahini can be switched for a nut butter, nuts can be used in place of seeds, cocoa powder instead of coconut and so on.Raw & Vegan Peppermint & Goji Bliss Balls | The Tofu DiariesMakes around 6 balls

Ingredients:

20(ish) dates, roughly chopped

2tbsp mixed seeds

1tbsp dried goji berries

1tbsp tahini

1/4tsp natural peppermint flavouring/essence (I used flavoured stevia liquid)

Desiccated coconut, for coating

Method:

1. Add all of the ingredients (bar the coconut) to a food processor. Blend until it has broken down into a sticky, fine mixture. If your processor isn’t too powerful, give the seeds a quick whizz before adding the other ingredients.

2. Remove the blade from the food processor. Using your hands, bring the mixture together and roll into small palm-sized balls.

3. Cover the bottom of a plate or wide dish with the coconut and roll the balls in it until they are full coated. Enjoy!Raw & Vegan Peppermint & Goji Bliss Balls | The Tofu DiariesHave you made bliss balls before? What is your favourite flavour concoction?

Don’t forget to enter my Nibnibs giveaway!

Superfood Snacking – Punku Quinoa Cookies

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As far as superfoods go, quinoa seems to pretty much have it all: a complete protein full of minerals and amino acids. It is low in fat, cholesterol-free, high in fibre and a good source of iron. Not only that but it is also incredibly versatile. There are a lot of recipes out there that demonstrate the creative ways it is being used, such as in baking or pizza bases (that probably deserves a whole post of its own).

I love cooking with quinoa and have featured a few of recipes on this blog such as my Spiced  Quinoa Medallions and Curly Kale Quinoa. I’ve yet to try making anything more adventurous using quinoa though, so I was excited when I recently heard about Punku’s quinoa cookies and was offered the opportunity to try them out.Punku Cookies 01Punku Cookies 02

Punku offer two varieties of cookie, orange & mango and chocolate chips, with an orange & cranberry variety on its way. Made from organic Royal Quinoa, their vegan cookies are wheat, gluten, dairy and egg-free. Deliciously crunchy, I found the cookies to be that ideal balance between satisfying my sweet cravings whilst not actually being particularly sweet in taste.

The fruity flavours of the orange & mango variety hit you immediately with a mellow nuttiness that rounds it off beautifully. The chocolate chip ones are more subtle, with just a hint of cocoa, but have a moreish quality about them.Punku Cookies 03

Each cookie comes individually wrapped in a box of twelve. This makes them really convenient for popping your bag as a snack and removes some of the temptation to scoff a whole box (as I might have done had they not been individually wrapped). I’ve been taking one of each flavour to work everyday; one to accompany my morning coffee and one to go with my afternoon coffee. That’s the theory anyway, they haven’t always made it past lunchtime. The boxes clock in at £4.99 each. The packaging is very simple and clean-looking, although I would love to see them reflect their Bolivian roots a little more.Punku Cookies 04

Punku Cookies 05The word ‘Punku’ comes from Aymara, the language native to some parts of The Andes, meaning ‘door.’ A perfect metaphor since Patricia Estivariz, Punku’s founder who grew up in Bolivia, aims to open doors both here in the UK and in Bolivia; by bringing high quality, healthy, and natural foods from Bolivia to the UK and by creating education and health programmes for their employees in Bolivia.

The impact of quinoa’s rapidly growing popularity in Western countries has pushed prices up and made growing quinoa a more attractive trade. As more families in Bolivia become dependent upon quinoa crops, it is even more important that companies behave in socially responsible ways so it really is wonderful to hear about the positive impact Punku are striving to create.

To find out more about Punku, visit their website.

Have you ever tried any unusual quinoa foods or recipes? Share below!

Vegan Cuts Snackbox Review

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Vegan Cuts Snack Box is a monthly subscription box, crammed full with vegan goodies and delivered to your door each month. Run by a small team and originating from Ottawa, Canada, Vegan Cuts’ aim is to get more people to shop ethically by shopping vegan. By introducing subscribers to an array of vegan products, the snack box is a great way to find your new favourites. As someone who can’t get enough of trying new foods, I was delighted when Vegan Cuts asked if they could send me a box to review.

Vegan Cuts Snack BoxMarch’s snack box was curated with Bianca from Vegan Crunk, and shipped on March 24th. It took about a week and a half to reach me here in the UK; terrible for someone as impatient as I am, but all the more exciting when it finally arrived. It turns out few things are more exciting on a Thursday morning at work than having a box of unknown treats drop onto your desk!

Vegan Cuts Snack Box 31. Ocho Candy

This was a bite-sized square of dreamy coconut wrapped in dark chocolate. Sweet, but not sickly, the coconut centre was creamy (and didn’t “dry out” in your mouth like coconut can) and the chocolate rich but not bitter.

Verdict: My biggest complaint here would be that it simply wasn’t big enough. Next time I would like a box full of these, please.

Vegan Cuts Snack Box 22. Oogave LOCA Soda

An organic soda made only from natural ingredients, this is the perfect antidote to sugar-filled soft drinks whilst still giving you a fizzy kick. I received a can of the diet root beer flavour. Now I’ve never tried root beer before, but being a being a big fan of ginger beer I mistakenly thought they would be a similar beast. They’re definitely not… I would describe the taste as having two layers – one vanilla, one medicine-y herbal. I can’t compare this with a regular root beer having never tried it but I think I would have preferred this to have a slightly lighter taste.

Verdict: Even though I’m a fan of very strong flavours, I actually couldn’t finish the can. I do, however, suspect I could develop a taste for it given time.

3. R.W. Garcia Salt & Vinegar Tortatos

The packet, completely accurately, states they ‘taste a lot like potato chips* and a little like tortilla chips.’ I briefly had a wild idea of saving half of the pack and making a salsa (spicy with lots of fresh coriander since you ask) to accompany them but, of course, I ate all of them too quickly.

Verdict: These were absolutely incredible and doubly good for being salt & vinegar flavour! They were also a big hit with my colleagues who tried them.

*crisps, since we’re in the UK here.

Vegan Cuts Snack Box 44. Deeply Rooted Drink Blend

I’ve never tried a drink supplement before so was very intrigued by the long list of fruit and vegetable ingredients. Seeing that it contained ‘a whole day’s worth of superfoods’ in one packet, I was even more curious. You simply add the powder to water (it doesn’t say how much so I filled a regular glassful). The drink is blueberry flavour; though the blueberry is definitely noticeable, it also smells a bit like vegetable bouillon, which I guess makes sense given the vegetable ingredients.

Verdict: I’m not 100% sure that I would want to drink this again – the earthy flavour mixed with the fruity blueberry didn’t quite work for me – but as I had two sachets I intend to try the other one with warm water so I’ll let you know how that goes.

5. Explore Asian Soybean Noodle Soup

This made a very easy lunch, taking only a few minutes to boil the kettle and leave to stand. You add in the seasoning yourself and, as a very nice touch, you can add in your own salt allowing you to control the sodium level. As someone who virtually never cooks with salt (has anyone noticed that in my recipes…?), I really appreciated this as a lot of similar foods can be very high in sodium. I received this noodle soup pot in “vegetarian beef” flavour – it had a slightly perfumed aroma with the star anise really coming out. After feeling a slightly numbing sensation after a few mouthfuls, I checked the ingredients and, sure enough, it also contained Sichuan pepper! The noodles remained firm, giving it texture right to the end.

Verdict: Having something so simple to make but not full of salt and other additives in my cupboard would be perfect for the odd lazy lunch. Would love to try this in the other flavours too.

I’m sure there isn’t anyone out there who doesn’t know how to prepare ramen, but I made a fun little gif anyway!

Noodles on Make A Gif

6. Vigilant Eat Mulberry Maca Espresso Oatmeal

Now for a perfect breakfast pot – to this you can add cold water, hot water, or any kind of milk (almond would be ideal). I opted for hot water. The flavour of the oats, mulberries, cocoa nibs, and espresso were an absolute dream… I don’t think I could rave about this one enough! Full of superfoods, it felt like I was getting the day off on the right foot.

Verdict: I have to have more of this!

7. Garden of Life Vanilla Chai Protein Powder

This was another drink powder made from raw, organic ingredients. I mixed mine with water but wish I’d waited till I had some soy or almond milk to mix it with as I don’t think it quite worked with water – I used the amount suggested on the packet but it still had a slightly powdery texture in my mouth. The flavour was very subtle too so I might have added in something to sweeten it up slightly.

Verdict: Make with milk not water!Vegan Cuts Snack Box 1According to the card in the box, there should also have been an Earnest Eats granola bar but sadly this was absent from mine (possibly why I had two Deeply Rooted sachets?).

Overall verdict: The best things about this for me were the element of surprise and excitement about getting a box of goodies that could contain absolutely anything (well, anything vegan of course!) and getting to try so many new things all at once.

The box costs $19.95 a month. Postage is free within the US and $15 internationally ($8 to Canada or Mexico). With the combined cost of the box and shipping, it does add up if you’re based in the UK but getting to try products that might not be available here does go some way to making up for that. Overall, I was very impressed and would definitely find myself looking forward to it each month if I did subscribe! Find out more about the Vegan Cuts snack box here.

Are you signed up to any foodie subscription boxes? How do you find them and which one would you recommend?

How Sweet It Is…

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Last month I was so excited to have discovered, and tried for the first time, Goody Good Stuff sweets that I wrote a little review of their strawberry & cream gummies. So you can imagine how over the moon I was when they offered to send me their range of vegan sour sweets to try out. Finding good veggie sweets is a hard enough task and Goody Good Stuff also have a wide range of completely vegan ones too. What’s more, they’re all super yummy.Goody Good StuffGoody Good Stuff have spent over fifteen years perfecting their animal-free goodies, making sure they still have the same gummy texture without the need for gelatine. Some gelatine-free sweets can end up either too gooey or break up in your mouth too easily, so just how much effort that has gone into to these certainly shows and they really do have a chewy satisfying texture without being too gluey.Goody Good Stuff 1Cola Breeze – I really miss cola bottles and these were everything I’d hoped they would be, not much on the sour side but bursting with flavour

Mix & Match Sours - these ones weren’t particularly sour, but were nice and fruity. Each one was a mix of two flavours so there was a lot of variety in the bag

Goody Good Stuff 2Cheeky Cherries – now these ones were sour! Cherry works really well combined with a sour taste and it gave these a delicious fruity tang. Possibly my favourite… Goody Good Stuff 3Sour Fruit Salad – these weren’t sour at all but had a really juicy fruit flavour, each one tasted very distinct just like they should be! Goody Good Stuff 4Koala Gummy Bears - for such little bears these have a lot of flavour and are super sour Goody Good Stuff 5Summer Peaches – these were definitely one of my favourites, with a really juicy, fruity flavour. These ones were the biggest hit with the non-veggies I shared a few with.

You can find out more about Goody Good Stuff here and check out where to find them near you here.

What are your favourite vegan sweets?