BEETROOT BLISS BITES

Well I can't believe that the summer holidays are over and the kids are all back at school! It's not been much of a summer, although we have made the most of it! We are now the proud owners of an old classic VW Camper Van called Bruce and I just love him. Its so much fun, its like camping but all nice and cosy with a pull out cooker, a really comfy bed, an excellent cool box and loads of storage for all our stuff.
I have decided to extend my holidays until October to make the most of Bruce before the weather changes and the nights are shorter! I'm so good to myself!
We are going to a 3 day Festival in Inveraray at the beginning of September which I'm most excited about!
I'm also heading back to Wales to another Vegan Cooking Retreat run by my cool dude buddy Lee Watson of Peace & Parsnips fame, my favourite vegan cookery book!
So lots to look forward to and enjoy, lucky me!! 

I have a blessed life indeed.

So back to sharing some healthy recipes with you lovely people!

Another of my healthy obsessions is cookery books and the latest addition to my collection is; 

                               Veggie Desserts and Cakes by Kate Hackworthy

so for my first blog post in a while I thought I'd share a really simple recipe from her book.

I love veggies and eat shed loads of them so this book appealed to me big time!

I think we are all familiar with Carrot Cake, but this book takes the use of veggies in cakes to new levels! Parsnips, beetroot, cauliflower, kale, peas, sweet potatoes, aubergine, spinach, swede, and sweetcorn all get a mention!

I'm all for using sweet veggies in cakes but I'm yet to be convinced by cauliflower and kale!!

I once made a chocolate and cauliflower cake for the BBC Kitchen Cafe Programme which I was a guest on. The very smell of it was awful and was not improved  by the most luscious chocolate frosting. I couldn't even try it, the cauliflower smell was so strong and off putting! Maybe I just used a particularly strong cauliflower but I thought at the time that some things are just wrong and cauliflower and cake is one of them!! So needless to say I won't be trying that again!

On the plus side, there are many lovely recipes to try, so I thought I'd start  with these Beetroot Seedy Squares! I'm a big fan of beetroot and always have a few vacuum packs in the fridge.  
I adapted the recipe a bit, I used half the amount of beetroot and rolled them into balls instead of cutting them into squares. Beetroot although sweet has a strong earthy taste which can be overpowering and I didn't want to make a whole batch then discover that no one liked them! I can't stand waste so I played it safe and I'm delighted with the results.  These wee bites are a lovely colour so I decided not to roll them in seeds or coconut. I like them bare!! The beetroot flavour is very subtle and perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the dates. Mixed seeds, ( I used sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and linseeds ) add texture, loads of good fats, protein and minerals, oats contain soluble fibre and dates are just packed with everything a body needs!
So these wee nutrient dense power bites make a delicious healthy snack at any time of day or when you feel in need of an energy boost!
Also great for packed lunches and hungry kids!!
So overall verdict for these wee bites is a big thumbs up!  Next on my list are Pea and Mint Cupcakes, Sweet Potato and Pecan Blondies and Cucumber and Lemon Cake with Gin Icing!! I was sold at the Gin icing!! 

Kate also has a blog which is well worth checking out.

​So here is her recipe, slightly adapted...
BEETROOT BLISS BITES
Ingredients
Makes 25 wee bites

• 100g (2 small beets) cooked beetroot (I used vaccuum packed)
• 150g, 2/3 cup of pitted dates
• 150g, 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 215g, 1 1/2 cups, unsalted mixed seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, linseeds, chia, etc)
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1.  Add the beetroot, dates, oats, vanilla extract, half the seeds and the coconut oil to a food processor and blend until well mixed. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides a couple of times to get it fully combined.
2.  Put the mixture into a large bowl and add the rest of the seeds, mixing well with a wooden spoon to evenly distribute the seeds.
3. Wet your hands and take spoonfuls of the mixture and roll into balls. You should get around 25 depending on how big you make them! 
4. I left mine bare but you could roll them in desiccated coconut, powdered seeds, sesame seeds or raw cacao powder.
5. Store them in the freezer and eat them at your leisure! They will keep for ages.
6. You could replace some of the seeds with nuts and some of the oats with coconut for a wee change.

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