Raw Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Bliss Balls

Raw Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

My grandma made the best oatmeal molasses raisin cookies.  I can still smell them!  Lots of fun was spent in the kitchen at my grandparents house.  Sweet memories.

My Raw Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are guilt-free, gluten-free, healthy and very tasty.  They go pretty quick too, so next time I'll make a double batch... maybe even triple. 

in the dehydrator - smells so good!

No worries if you do not have a dehydrator as you can eat these cookies completely raw!  You can form them into cookie shapes or Bliss Balls (see below) - they taste like oatmeal cookie dough! 

Raw Vegan Bliss Balls - Oatmeal Raisin

For this batch I did a little of both and Mark took them to work to share.  I rolled some in hemp heart seeds, some in coconut sugar and the rest I left plain.  Shredded coconut would be a nice topping too... so many choices.

Here's my simple recipe for a yummy healthy treat.  You can adapt to fit your likes.

Raw Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Bliss Balls

1 heaping cup of soaked steel cut gluten-free oats (rinsed and drained) - or regular oats
1 cup flax meal
1/2 cup walnuts (soaked and dehydrated - optional)
2 Tbs hemp heart seeds
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp Roasted Saigon Cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt

Put into food processor and pulse to combine.

Add in:
1/2 cup packed medjool dates (or dates of choice), process until well combined and can hold it's shape when rolled into a ball.

Add in 1/4 cup full of golden raisins and pulse a few times to mix in.  You can leave the raisins out if you like.

For dehydrated cookies:

Form into balls, sprinkle with a tiny bit of coconut sugar (or sugar of choice) and flatten.  Put onto mesh dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 115 degrees for approximately 4-6 hours or until desired doneness.  Time will vary due to weather, location, dehydrator, etc.

For bliss balls:

Form into round balls and if desired, roll into coconut shreds, hemp seeds, coconut sugar... or leave plain.  I love them plain.

Store them in the fridge or freezer - if they last that long. 

Peace,
Rocki

Rocki's Raw Vegan Hemp Cheese Sauce

Raw Vegan Hemp Cheese Sauce

Today was such a beautiful day all around.  We got some needed work done around the house in the morning, prepared veggies for Mark's lunch for tomorrow, played barber and cut Mark's hair, went for an awesome bicycle ride and now relaxing on the couch until it's time to create dinner. 

Oh wait, I forgot one little detail... made a batch of my hemp cheese.  Yum yum yum!

We sat down to have lunch and dug right into our veggies and cheese sauce.  I dunked my zucchini into the bowl of deliciousness, took a bite and looked at my cheesy zucchini - it looked like a half moon.  Mark's exact words were: "Well, they say the moon is made of cheese."
He always makes me laugh!

Not only is this cheese sauce gluten, dairy and nut-free, but it is super healthy and guilt-free!  Okay, on with my recipe as I'm wanting to dig back into the cheesy goodness.

Rocki's Raw Vegan Hemp Cheese Sauce

1/4 cup water
1 red bell pepper
1 large garlic clove (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
3 TBS nutritional yeast (heaping)
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 TBS raw apple cider vinegar
1 Serrano chili pepper, seeds removed (or pepper of choice)
1 cup hemp heart seeds

Put everything into your blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  You can add more water if you want a thinner consistency.  Sometimes I add a little tahini for added creaminess.

Living in the southwest we tend to love heat, especially in our food.  Well, actually it took Mark a long time to realize that ketchup was NOT salsa (silly boy).  Now he loves heat in his food too :)  But no worries if you don't as you can change the flavor of the cheese by omitting both peppers and enjoy as is or add herbs and spices of your choice.  You can also use a yellow bell pepper instead of the red.  So many choices.

Time to eat.  Chow for now.

Peace,
Rocki