Though it has been challenging thinking of new recipes to post 4 times a week there are so many bloggers who made this experience look easy. I am sure they are hustling and sweating behind the camera like the rest of us. Well at least I hope I am not the only one with shaky caffeine hands and a kitchen that looks like a bomb went off.

These are just a few of my favourite VeganMoFo bloggers:

Fork and Beans 

She has turned the ghoulish into adorable (I mean terrifying…) vegan AND gluten-free Halloween treats for everyone to enjoy. Bravo!)

Vegetarian Snob 

LOVE the Lazy Sunday recipe idea! Especially the Tempeh Bacon Quiche, the Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls, all of them really!

Olives for Dinner

I have drooled over these recipes and amazing photography.

Popcorn and Nooch

I am glad someone loves movies and television as much as I do and then recreates it into amazing meals.

Zsu’s Vegan Pantry

Burgers for an entire month? Sign me up! Thanksgiving, Irish, Eggplant Sriracha, Gyro….the list goes on! 

To the fine creators of VeganMoFo, I applauded your hard work to build an annual vegan food-sharing community. Because of this event, I discovered sites and accounts that I fell in love with and have bookmarked to check on the regular. My hat goes off to you!

 Now why would I include a borderline dessert as a staple? This is not just your average dessert since it has protein (from the hemp hearts) and omegas (from the chia seeds). I feel it is important that every kitchen have a little something-something kept the freezer for your work/school week because it always kept me from buying (although vegan) the not-so-good for you “snack foods” out there. I would be in a store after school or work and could tell I was getting a little hangry, I just needed something to get me home but thankfully with these guys in the freezer waiting for me I could talk myself out of grabbing a chocolate bar or a bag of chips. I would think to myself “Why waste the calories/money in a treat that I don’t really want?” and put that snack down and wait until I got home. Now I pack one or two in my dinner that I take to work since I don’t get a break (ever!) but need a little boost when it is blindingly busy or when a table is particularly rude to me.

They are quick, easy and can be made in one bowl. Hooray! Oh did I mention that they are vegan, gluten free and insanely delicious, especially right out of the freezer. The roasted almond butter melts as you chew it, revealing new flavours like coconut, nutty oats, caramel-y dates and chocolate. Swoon! For this recipe I used my One-Ingredient Roasted Almond Butter (another staple!) to make these balls however I am sure any almond butter of your choice will do.

So if someone asks why a little protein-filled dessert is considered a staple, tell them to try it first and if they still don’t get it, just stop talking to them. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life. Haha! Saw that one on Pinterest and I felt it applied.

It has been such a pleasure for me to share with you some of my favourite recipes that I make every week. Thank you all so much for the lovely comments and blog love! I am so grateful for all the readers of my site and there is plenty more coming from my kitchen after VeganMoFo has ended. Check out Tuesday’s post for the final recipe of this month long vegan food fest. I have been saving the best for last. 

Happy Sunday!

The post One Bowl Chocolate-Caramel Almond Balls {No-Bake, Vegan & Gluten-Free} appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

At first, I did not want to put up this recipe since it does only contain one ingredient but it is a staple in my kitchen and it is just one of those things I make almost every week. While peanut butter is still my personal favourite nut butter, almond comes in at very close second place since I find it a little more versatile than peanut butter as I seem to use it everywhere: on a hot piece of thick cut rye toast, in a protein packed smoothie, swirled into chocolate desserts and even in between pancakes with bananas and tons of maple syrup or just on a spoon. Hungry yet?

While raw almond butter packs a more nutritional punch, roasting almonds brings out their natural flavour and aroma. Making your own almond butter is so easy even with the extra step of roasting the raw almonds yourself. Roasting them requires a watchful eye because they can go from perfectly roasted to inedible in a flash. ALWAYS check your almonds as they are cooking, especially the last few minutes. After that let them cool for a little bit, toss them into a food processor, get some earplugs and whirl away!

My food processor is technically broken so I was able to take the lid off while it processed. It is extremely dangerous and don’t do it!

You will have to scrape the almonds down with a spatula as you go and a little bit around the 6-minute mark this happened in my batch….I was surprised but I broke it up with my spatula and continued to process.

At the 12-minute mark, it was looking more familiar. Just took a little patience and I was rewarded with delicious, smooth and creamy homemade almond butter. I immediately toasted some bread and spread on a thick layer. Food doesn’t have to be complicated it just has to be good.

The post One-Ingredient Roasted Almond Butter appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.