Euphoria Nuggets Recipe

Makes 15-20 nuggets

Ingredients

1 cup shelled sunflower seeds

1/3 cup pitted dates

½ cup almonds

1/3 cup raw dark blue agave nectar

3-5 tablespoons raw cacao powder

Pinch of nutmeg and/or cinnamon

Pinch of sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a food processor, process the sunflower seeds and dates into a fine meal. Add the remaining ingredients and process until sticky and blended together. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to harden and then roll into one-inch balls.

Megy’s recipe modification: coat the balls in coconut shavings.

The Karma Chow Ultimate Cookbook

Melissa Costello is founder of Karma Chow and creator of The Vital Life Cleanse, is the personal chef to celebrity fitness guru Tony Horton, creator of the workout system, P90X ®. Costello is a certified nutritionist and wellness coach and author of The Karma Chow Ultimate Cookbook which is where this recipe and more than 125 other plant-based recipes can be found.

I was provided a copy of the cookbook to review and I was immediately struck with not only the fact that many of the recipes didn’t have a ton of ingredients to make them but taste was a big part of the recipe creation. As more and more people make the conscious decision to incorporate a vegan diet into their lives, it’s important that people don’t feel as if they are sacrificing taste in the process.

With her “keep it simple” and “make it tasty” approach, Costello offers a broad selection of dairy- and animal-free appetizers and desserts, breakfasts and dinners as well as holiday and company-worthy menus to try. Recipes include comfort-food favorites like Mac and Cheeze, Karma Burgers with Chipotle “Mayo,” Pad Thai in Peanut Coconut Sauce, Banana Carob Bread Pudding and, according to Costello, Cardamom Chocolate Chippers, one of Horton’s favorites.

We made the Euphoria Nuggets this weekend and to say they were a hit would be an understatement. Most of the eight ingredients were either already in our pantry or very easy to find at the grocery store.  We added coconut shavings to the balls after we rolled them to add a coconut taste to them (we got the idea because the accompanying photo in the cookbook had one ball with the coconut shavings and another without it).

A bonus is that the recipe is kid-friendly (young children can help you measure and add the ingredients into the food processor as well as roll the balls) and kid-approved. And when I say kid-approved, I mean it. My meat and potatoes loving daughter not only devoured the first one I let her try but she asked for a second and a third nugget. I’m sold.

The Euphoria Nuggets, because of their size, make them ideal travel companions in a small container on a road trip or airplane ride. They are loaded with protein, healthy fats, natural sugars and flavors. But they aren’t just for kids. They are great for marathon runners or athletes who need to restore their glycogen levels on the go, too.

We have several vegan, plant-based, raw and vegetarian cookbooks in our house but this one will definitely be put to use in heavy rotation.

What’s your favorite vegan dessert?

~Megy

Recipe from The Karma Chow Ultimate Cookbook by Melissa Costello. (HCI; October 2012; $18.95/Paperback: ISBN-13: 978-0757316333). http://www.hcibooks.com/.

Megy Karydes is founder of Wandering Tastes, a lifestyle and travel site that is meant to inspire adventure and exploration through traveling and food.