Baked Beet Falafels

Okay, I like beets now..it's a thing. I also love falafel's so why not mix the two? You get an incredible color from these and they're delicious. This was my lunch today, I just broke the falafel up on a Flatout wrap, added some kale, crunchy cole slaw mix, bell peppers, cucumber and topped with a little bit of Drew's Organics peppercorn ranch dressing. So good! I wish I would have gotten a better picture of the whole falafel! Oh wellll.....let's make 'em!

serving size: 12 falafels

What you need:

• 1 can of chickpeas
• 2 medium sized cooked beets, diced
• 1-2 teaspoons minced garlic
• little bit of avocado oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• handful of parsley

What you need to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
3. Honestly, I threw all of the ingredients in my food processor and processed! That easy
4. Form into 12 balls and smoosh them down on the parchment paper
5. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake 15 more minutes
6. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Vegan Beet Sauce with Quinoa Pasta and Spinach

I was inspired to make this after seeing someone I follow on instagram do a beet pasta sauce. I am definitely just starting to like beets, like..I despised them a month ago but here we are! And I mean, the pasta is freaking pink! How could you not love it? Anyways, I've been giving beets a shot ever since Valentine's day dinner. I had a beet salad with my meal and it was so so so good. So, here's me, tryin' to like beets with this awesome pasta dish! Enjoy

serving size: I was only working with 8 ounces of dry pasta so my serving size was 4

What you need:

• 2 cooked beets (I used Love Beets already cooked beets cause I'm lazy)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 cup veggie broth (chicken works here to, just won't be vegan)
• 1/2 cup boiled cashews
• 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• one yellow onion, chopped
• frozen spinach
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 box of pasta (I used Andean Dream's quinoa shells)

What you need to do:

1. Boil your water for your pasta
2. Add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to a separate pan and heat over medium high heat
3. Add your beets, veggie broth, drizzle of olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper, garlic and onion powder, cashews and nutritional yeast to a blender (not food processor!!!)
4. Blend until creamy
5. Once your pan with the olive oil is heated through, cook onions for about 6 minutes then add in your spinach and garlic and cook til warm/not frozen
6. Drain your pasta and add to your spinach/onion mixture
7. Throw your sauce on top of the pasta and cook for about 3 minutes, until warmed and flavors are blended together
8. Viola, you're done!
9. Top with vegan cheese, green onions or whatever your heart desires
10. Eat, eat, eat

Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes

I made these for Valentine's day but really they're delicious any time of the year. Mine didn't turn out as red as I woulda liked and I think it's because I used actual beets instead of a beet powder but not sure. I definitely want to make these again with the powder and see how they turn out.

Serving size: 12 muffins

What you need:

• 2 cooked beets
• 1 cup sweetened or unsweetened almond milk
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole wheat flour + 1 tablespoon
• 1/2 cup of cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• salt

What you need to do:

1. Preheat over to 375 
2. Grease a muffin tin
3. Puree your beets in a food processor 
4. Whisk together almond milk and lemon juice
5. Add in sugar, coconut oil, vanilla extract and beets
6. In a separate bowl add the flour, cacao powder, baking soda and salt and mix together
7. Mix the wet with the dry ingredients
8. Add your mix to the greased muffin tray
9. Bake around 23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
10. Let cool around 10ish minutes
11. You can make a quick icing out of confectioners sugar and water! (I used Swerve's confectioners sugar!)
12. YUMMMMM