Nut Balls with Tahini Coconut Yoghurt Sauce

Could you go without meat for a week? Go on give it a go.

How long can you go without eating meat?

Can you go a week without eating meat- this week is your chance to give it a go. The 23rd of March to the 29th of March is Meat free week- an initiative set up in 2013

What is meat free week?

Meat free week is an opportunity t,o as a collective give up meat for a week-

Why give up meat for a week?

Three very simple and profound reasons

Health- the over consumption of meat and dairy leads to a whole array of common diseases including arthritis, diabetes, heart failure, bowel cancer and the list goes on.
The Environment- the environment suffers from the over consumption of meat and by learning how to eliminate it from your diet or even reduce it, will ensure your children's children's children get to live a life in a beautiful world. More animal production means more land being cleared from food for the animals and more seas being dredged of entire eco structures.
Animals- most meat is still consumed from animals in factory farms where animals are treated brutally. By choosing to reduce your meat intake animals can be farmed in more traditional methods and by eliminating meat from your diet altoghether you can increase for example the fish population in the world (which is rapidly declining). On average one person eats forty cows in their lifetimes that is a lot of animals being killed to keep just one human alive. It really does seem excessive to me when you can live so healthily without even killing a single animal.

How can i give up meat and still have plenty of energy?

At first when you give up meat your body will detox so you may feel like you have limited energy but if you balance your vegetarian meals you will soon see that you will have even more energy than when you were consuming meat. Below is a great list of ideas and a delicious recipe for your meat free week.

What if i live a meat free life already?

And for those of you who are already vegetarian you may say this is easy for me and why should I bother with meat free week? If you help promote meat free week you could encourage others to learn how to eat less animals in their lives and maybe just maybe help influence a few people to have a healthier diet by becoming vegetarian.

Now on to the ideas and recipe which will make your meat free week full of ease

Go buy yourself some hemp seeds- they may seem expensive but they go a long way and they are a complete protein- 3 tablespoons will give you enough protain for one meal. Take them with you when you go out to eat this week incase you find yourself eating out and can't find a vegetarian option with enough protein.
Combine your meals so you have complete protein here are some ideas beans and rice- make a pot of mexican beans and eat them with rice- chop up a stick of celery and fry in oil and then add the rice water and salt -serve with a tomato salsa (a great salsa recipe in a previous blog) and some lovely organic lettuce Pasta with a tomato sauce but also make a pesto too to go with it then with the pasta and the nuts in the pesto you will have a complete protein- if you are gluten free get a gluten free pasta made from grains
Sign up for my weekly blog so you can get the free ebook on iron rich recipes- so many great ideas here (sign up to the right of this blog)
For breakfast have fruit salad with activated buckwheat and some nuts- there is your complete protein- nuts and grains but if you really want to treat yourself get yourself some coconut yoghurt to add to it too
Make some bliss balls - with lots of nuts- (recipe on blog. Search to the right of this post.)
Nut balls and tahini sauce - eat with a grain or some beans to get a complete protein

Nut Balls with tahini coconut yoghurt sauce

250g any nuts you like (except peanuts)

150g mushrooms

1 very small Spanish onion chopped finely

6 sundried tomatoes (the dried ones not in oil)

1 tsp finely chopped thyme

¼ cup rice crumbs

1 tbsp chia seeds juice of half a lime or a small lemon good splash of tamari

For the sauce

¼ cup tahini

¼ cup coconut yoghurt

juice of 1 to 2 limes

¼ cup to 1 cup water

salt to taste

Pour boiling water over the dried tomatoes. Grind the nuts in a food processor and place in a mixing bowl. Add the mushrooms to the food processor until pureed. Then roughly cut the sundried tomatoes, reserving the water. Puree the tomatoes in the food processor. Soak the chia seeds in ¼ cup of the sundried tomato water, you may need more water- as you want the chia seeds to soak up the water and bloat a little. Once the chia seeds are bloated mix with the nuts, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms then add the thyme, lime juice, onion and tamari. Roll the mixture into balls and place in a greased or baking paper lined tray and cook in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes or until a bit crispy on the outside. For the sauce mix all of the ingredients together, using more water and more salt if you think it needs it

For more info on meat free week https://meatfreeweek.org/

Categories:Snacks/Sides Mains Sauce/Dips

Tags:nuts tahini tomato