Sweetly Raw Crunchy Morsels
A few posts ago I mentioned posts ago, I recently pulled my dusty dehydrator out of the closet. It seems that our cold, snowy Canadian winters inspire me to spend a lot of time in the kitchie, and it's also the time of year that I use my dehydrator the most. I don't forsee using it much this winter, especially now that I've incorporated cooked food into my diet, but the other day I felt like tossing together a few easy goodies.
As my health has gotten better, my digestion has drastically improved. When I was going through the brunt of feeling ill, most foods aggravated my gut and I was often in a lot of pain. I am now able to eat nuts, seeds, buckwheat, and dried fruits again, and feel fine.
You saw the recipe for the Chili Seeds, which I also made this time last winter. A little something crunchy makes a fabulous addition to salads, squash, or noodles, so I go through periods of keep a supply on hand (if I make a large amount, I store them in the freezer). I had a hankering for some Cheezy Kale Chips - they're my favorite flavor. I don't even use a recipe when I make these. I just go by taste and consistency. Basically the coating is a cashew cheeze sauce. This time I used cashews, sunflower seeds, miso, nutritional yeast, water, garlic, red pepper, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, himalayan salt, and cayenne.
Sweet crunchy nuts come to mind when I think about holiday snacks (here are all the ones I made last year). Besides serving them as part of snacky platters for guests, they're excellent as ice cream and pudding toppings. I've found that coatings stick much better to dry nuts than wet ones which is why I soak and dehydrate mine first. They don't necessarily need to dry for too long, but long enough to dry the outside, because you'll dry them for longer with the coating.
Lucuma Vanilla Nuts
2 cups soaked, dehydrated walnuts
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup cashews
4 tablespoons palm sugar
3 tablespoons lucuma powder
3 tablespoons yacon syrup or honey
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pinches salt
Toss all ingredients together. I like to mix them with my hands!
Spread on teflex sheets and dehydrate at 115F for 8-10 hours or until dry.
Periodically move them around on the sheets to allow for proper drying.
Maple Cinnamon Pecans
5 cups soaked, dehydrated pecans
1/2 cup maple syrup
6 drops stevia
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon mesquite
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 pinches salt
Follow the same directions as the vanilla nuts.
Here are a few pics of my snowy neck of the woods. My dad made this neat bird feeder from an old log. Can you see the Blue Jay in it?
I couldn't resist getting a shot of this cute chickadee.
7 Comments
Beautiful bird and SCRUMPTIOUS recipes!
aww sweet chickadee! i made your chili seeds and they were scrummy yummy! xo
Glad you're ok with the nuts and seeds again: that must feel so good. You've made such speedy healing progress.<br /><br />Those nuts and kale recipes sound delectable. I don't have a dehydrator, but dry my nuts etc in front of our heater!<br /><br />Snowy up here too!<br />love<br />Ela
Delicious looking nuts! Heather, I am wondering...have you ever sweetened the nuts with only stevia? I don't do well with any sweeteners, including agave, but stevia and I get along really well. Do you think it would taste yummy? I would love to know what you have tried and if you think it would work!
Michelle and I have been loving Lucuma lately! We use it all the time :) So those nuts sound perfect!!! YUM<br /><br />HUGS<br /><br />~Lori
Mmmm! Everything looks yummy! Great snacks for everyday or the holidays. :) And I love chickadees! We see them all the time around here too. They're one of my faves.
Thank you for this vanilla lucuma nut recipe! (It looks like you used all pecans there; did you?) I'm on a lucuma kick lately, and those sound amazing.