Health & Yum by Tatiana

A healthy and wholesome take on Bounty! 2 weeks ago I posted on Instagram my raw vegan Oreo cookies; today it’s Bounty balls! A perfect snack or dessert option!

Ingredients

Coconut filling

1 ½ cups coconut shreds or flakes

¼ cup coconut oil, solid or melted

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

For the chocolate topping

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

¼ cup cocoa powder

2 tablespoons maple syrup

½ teaspoon flaky sea salt

Method

Make the coconut filling: Add all filling ingredients to a blender or food processor: coconut, coconut oil and maple syrup. Blend until you get a wet and sticky mixture, with smaller coconut bits.

With you hands roll into small balls and freeze for 15-20 minutes.

Make the Chocolate Topping: Mix all your ingredients together in a bowl.

Last step is to dip each individual coconut ball in the chocolate topping.

Place back in the freezer and either keep them stored there or move them to refrigerator.

Oh Paris, je t’aime!

I tend to visit Paris regularly as my younger brother goes to university there. It is such a charming city with so many cultural and social activities, and most importantly (for me at least) a highly dynamic and exciting food scene – be it new vegan/ gluten-free café concepts, new organic products etc.

On my last visit back in September, I went prepared with a list of new places to try! However, the ones I randomly landed on were the best!

A great spot for breakfast is Café Maréva a 100% gluten-free and organic café. It specializes in waffles and also serve divine breakfast smoothie bowls! If you are sharing with someone, I would recommend going for a savory waffle (avocado and veggies for example!) + one sweet topping (e.g. praline or chocolate) + red fruit smoothie bowl!

I absolutely hate food waste – since I regularly prepare my own almond milk, I end up with a lot of “almond pulp” (residues)! As it’s filled with nutrients and add a great texture to cakes, I decided to use it as a main ingredient to make cookies! It turned out soft, spongy, light and oh-so flavorful especially with homemade caramel! 😻

Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups almond pulp

1/2 cup dried shredded coconut

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp cacao powder

1 pinch sea salt

Method

1. Combine all ingredients together except cacao powder then divide into 2 bowls.

2. Add to one of the bowls 1 tbsp cacao and combine well (best to use your hands!). You will have 2 batch of cookies – chocolate and vanilla!

3. Form both mixtures into little cookies and place in the dehydrator for up to 5 hours at a light temperature (~105’F). If you like it crispier you can leave it longer

Caramel

Ingredients

1 cup pitted dates

2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

Warm water

Method

1. Soak dates in warm water to soften making sure the water fully covers the dates.

2. Blend the dates with coconut oil and 3/4 of the dates soaking water.

3. Refrigerate (it lasts up to 5 days)