Last summer I spent quite a bit of time helping test recipes for the newly released cookbook, Crave Eat Heal. I had a lot of fun, especially because I tried a lot of the recipes on a family I worked for. We did taste tests and they love a lot of the recipes that ended up in the cookbook. The No Bake Breakfast Cookies were a hit, and super easy to make with young children.

Author Annie Oliverio, is the creative powerhouse over at An Unrefined Vegan. Her cookbook features fun, tasty, inventive recipes and gorgeous photographs taken by Annie herself. To find out more about Annie, check out this interview over at Urban Naturale.BlogTourBannerCEH

Crave Eat Heal opened up my eyes to a variety of ingredients, flavor combinations and techniques I had never used, or even thought of using, before.

Inside, you will find a wide range of recipes and gorgeous photographs that will spark your creativity in the kitchen and fuel your desire to find satisfying alternatives for even your  (or your family’s) peskiest cravings.

I have personally tested at least 50 of the nearly 140 recipes in this book. Many of these recipes have made their way into my regular rotation. Most of the ones I tested are also kid-approved.

Many recipes have options like replacing stevia with other sweeteners like maple syrup, using an oven instead of dehydrator, using gluten-free grains and other adjustments you can make for specific dietary requirements. What you won’t find are refined sweeteners, processed foods or animal products.

Here are a few of our kid favorite recipes from Crave Eat Heal:
Baked Almond Butter and Apricot Oatmeal
Tempeh Bacon
“Parmesan” Cheez
Coco-Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies
Creamy Scrambled Tofu
Gabby’s Oatmeal Creme Brulee for One
Butternut Squash Queso

Two adult favorites, besides the ones listed above, are:
Raw/Not Raw Barley Bowl
Brussel Sprouts Salad

We love this recipe and often use dried blueberries instead of the cherries, about 1 tsp maple syrup instead of the stevia and unsweetened sunflower seed butter. The cookies can also be chilled and formed into little cookie balls. I love the addition of teff. This recipe doesn’t use very much, so you can always add a few tablespoons to morning porridge. That’s actually one of my favorite ways to eat teff.

“These are great for breakfast on the go, a mid-afternoon treat, or a post-workout snack.”
-Annie Oliverio

Gluten-free, Oil-free, Quick, Easy

NO-BAKE BREAKFAST COOKIES

12 cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup natural almond or peanut butter
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbsp. non-dairy milk or water
1/4 tsp. vanilla-flavored liquid stevia
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. teff
1 Tbsp. hulled hemp seeds
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
1/2 cup dried tart cherries, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS

In a food processor, pulse the oats until broken into small pieces.  Pour the oats into a large bowl and add the teff, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and cherries.

Add the nut butter, applesauce, coconut milk or water, stevia, and cinnamon to the processor bowl.  Process until very smooth and scrape the mixture into the bowl with the oats.  Stir until the mixture is thoroughly combined.

Divide the oat mixture between 12 muffin cups and using damp fingers, press the mixture down to create a flat surface.  Refrigerate the cookies until firm.  Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Suggestions:

For a chocolate cookie, omit the cinnamon and add 1 Tbsp. cacao or cocoa powder and 1 Tbsp. cacao nibs.
Try using one ripe banana instead of the applesauce.
Use your favorite dried fruit in place of the cherries.
If you prefer, use maple syrup in place of the vanilla-flavored stevia.  Start with 1 Tbsp. maple syrup plus 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract.
If you don’t have or don’t want to use teff, use additional hemp or chia seeds.

Recipe and photos reprinted with permission from Annie Oliverio and Front Table Books.