SUNFLOWER SEEDED BRITTLE

Sunflower Seeded Brittle . Sprouted Kitchen

This is a big year for cookbooks. Many I am looking forward to cooking from here this spring and a good handful to anticipate for fall. One of these, which coincidentally comes out the same day as ours, is the plant-based My New Roots from Sarah Britton. Sarah is seriously about clean eating. Not just a "I love salad" kind of plant-based, but the "ice cream made with cashews" sort of commitment. If you've read her blog, it's inspiring to get a glimpse of how she views food as medicine. She writes her recipes with not only flavor in mind, but packs in maximum nutritional value. As a holistic nutritionist, she saves her prose for educating readers about the benefits of the foods she uses and I have learned so much from her. Sarah's cookbook is beautiful and encompasses her sweet enthusiasm for the work she does. I will say there are a number of ingredients featured you wouldn't find at a regular super market, but if you frequent a health food store or buy things online, lucuma and maca powder will find their way into your pantry. I have bookmarked a beautiful looking strawberry frozen yogurt, kale, onion and olive spelt calzones and must try her Life Changing Loaf of Bread that made it's way from the blog to book pages. It's one to add to your list for sure.

This brittle reminds me of a Kind bar, those sweetened nut bars for on the go, but better and fresh tasting. Lots of seeds and snappy sesame strewn throughout. Mine turned out more chewy than crunchy which is not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps more cooking time or a little less brown rice syrup next time if I want more crackle. These would be perfect for traveling or kids school snacks. Portable, a mellowed sweetness and lots of seedy crunch. I think you could play around with the nuts and seeds, change the dried fruit and make them yours. Either way, these will for sure be made again and on my list for edible gifts. 

Congrats, Sarah!

Sunflower Seeded Brittle . Sprouted Kitchen

Sunflower Seeded Brittle . Sprouted Kitchen

• SUNFLOWER SEEDED BRITTLE // Serves 4-6 as a snack
• Recipe from My New Roots
• 1 1/4 cups sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, raisins or cherries, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
• scant 1/2 cup brown rice syrup

Sunflower Seeded Brittle . Sprouted Kitchen

Sunflower Seeded Brittle . Sprouted Kitchen

Sunflower Seeded Brittle . Sprouted Kitchen

Sunflower Seeded Brittle . Sprouted Kitchen

Preheat the oven to 325'. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the sunflower seeds, coconut, sesame seeds, dried fruit, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and stir well. 

In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil over low heat. Add the syrup and whisk until uniform. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and fold\ quickly to incorporate it before the mixture becomes too sticky. Spoon the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and smooth out the top with the back of an oil-greased spatula.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool cool completely on the baking sheet.

Crack the brittle into pieces and store them in a sealed container at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Sunflower Seeded Brittle . Sprouted Kitchen

SPICY LENTIL SUMMER ROLLS + TRAVEL SNACKS

From our door to Paris with one layover, we had about 14 hours of travel time. I'm a multiple mini-meals lady, so one cardboard box of vegetarian mush on the flight over wasn't going to cut it for the whole stretch. Per request, I wanted to share a typical travel snack pack. I keep a few things in mind when packing food for the road/air. Bear with the stream of consciousness.

First off, food will likely be at room temperature for a few hours so choose items that are alright to be out awhile. This covers most vegetarian options, but worth saying. Those foods should have a good constitution - greens that hold up dressed, like kale or a broccoli salad, rice or noodle bowls packed with vegetables and sauce, wraps or sandwiches with lots of crunchy items inside. I try to keep the choices lower in salt (planes keep you puffy as is). While I am all about reusuable containers on a normal basis, storing food in plastic bags or disposable containers (I steal these from salad bars and tuck them away for circumstances like this) are easiest here. Something you don't mind throwing away or recycling. Lastly, bring an empty reusable water bottle and fill it up past the security check. Sure you get water on the plane, but I like to drink more than that wimpy cupfull once or twice a flight. It's nice to have throughout the trip as well. I loved Sarah of My New Roots recent post about travel foods too. It reminded me that I forgot to make these peanut butter bites.

This likely sounds high maintenance to a few of you, but it is totally worth the few moments of planning ahead to have fresh, light food while traveling. I went to bed at 2am the night prior but at least I had good snacks! Hugh would never take the time to pack food, but appreciates it greatly when the pretzels and peanuts have worn their welcome. Minimal bit of time invested, big reward.

sprouted kitchen

My backpack full of snacks:

kale salad: chopped lacinato kale, hard boiled eggs, parmesan, thinly sliced celery and lemon vinaigrette (extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, white of a scallion, honey, salt and pepper)

summer rolls: recipe to follow

"favorite things" trail mix: roasted/salted pistachios, montmorency dried cherries, dark chocolate chips, toasted coconut flakes

maple chocolate chip cookies: I'll post this recipe eventually, good heavens. A version of these.

good greens bars: these are the emergency snack. Most "energy bars" are full of lots of soy and crap. These have the most virtuous list I've seen. Not my first choice of whole foods focused snacks, but they don't take up a lot of space and plug up hunger when you've gone through your fresh items.

sturdy fruit: apples, bananas, oranges

SPICY LENTIL SUMMER ROLLS // Makes 6

I made these the late afternoon before leaving, and everything held up fine a full day later. I did not pack a dipping sauce. As you can see my snack bag was quite full as it was, and I have had sauce taken by security (what is my life?) but a peanut sauce would be so tasty if you aren't dining on an airplane.

I made used the end of my homemade sriracha, but the bottled sort works great too. Carrots and beets were the last vegetables in my fridge, a combination of sprouts, cucumber, lettuce or sweet peppers would be great here depending what you have.

sprouted kitchen

• 6 rice paper wraps (you can typically find these in the asian section of well stocked markets)
• 1/2 cup cilantro sprigs
• 1 1/4 cup grated carrots
• 1 1/4 cup grated beets
• 1 large avocado
• 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils
• 1-2 Tbsp. sriracha (see note above)
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
• pinch of salt

sprouted kitchen

Set up your roll workspace. You need a large bowl of warm water and a damp dish towel to work on. Set out your cilantro, carrots, beets, avocado and in a small mixing bowl, combine the cooked lentils with siracha, sesame oil and pinch of salt. Taste and adjust heat as desired. Remember this is what flavors the entire roll.

Working one roll at a time. Put the wrap flat into the large bowl of warm water, being careful to not let it curl up, until soft, about one minute. Lay the wrap down on the dish towel. Down the center, like a burrito, layer the cilantro, small handful of the carrots and beets, a few slices of avocado and a modest 1/4 cup of the lentils. Fold over the top and bottom ends over the filling, tuck the right flap over and then roll to close. Repeat with remaining wraps.

Enjoy or if traveling, store in plastic wrap for easy transport.