I have been a vegan for a few years now and I have go to say it’s remarkably easy. I feel better than I ever did when I was still eating dairy and occasionally eating meat.
I don’t miss cheese, or prosciutto or even eggs. Creating healthy vegan meals for my family has been fun, rewarding and even though I am not the perfect vegan (as I eat honey and sometimes eat the occasional piece of fish) I love the lifestyle and feel proud of my food choices.
That all being said, I do find it hard to find vegan appetizers that aren’t just hummus and carrots! I am sure many vegans would agree that going to a BBQ or a party where they are serving finger foods means NO VEGAN OPTIONS. There will be the charcuterie plate and dips all filled with dairy. Sometimes there will be the baked appetizers like the spring rolls and gyoza’s. But rarely will you find a delicious, vegan appetizer that wows the crowd.
Which is why I felt the need to create a beautiful, healthy, raw vegan appetizer to share with you all:)
WHAT YOU NEED
- 1 cup of raw sunflower seeds (soaked for at least 1 hour)
- 1 large celery stack roughly chopped
- 1 large carrot peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 small clove of garlic
- 1 large handful of cilantro
- 2 organic cucumbers
- 1/4 cup of lemon juice
- dash of olive oil (or any high quality oil)
- Salt and pepper
- toothpicks
WHAT TO DO
- Peel the cucumber into large ribbons using your vegetable peeler.
- To make the paté, place the drained sunflower seeds, celery, carrot, garlic, cilantro, lemon juice, dash of olive oil, and salt and pepper into the food processor and pulse until you get a chunky but uniform paté. Don’t blend for too long or you’ll make a hummus like mixture!
- Now it’s time to make the “rolls”. Place a spoonful of your sunflower mixture in one end of a cucumber ribbon and roll up. I secure the roll with a toothpick.
- Keep rolling until you have used all your mixture.
- Store in fridge until you are ready to serve. Can be made a day ahead.
Enjoy!
