No-Bake Summer Treats

With the arrival of summer and hot weather, it's hard to justify turning on the oven.  But, my sweet tooth hasn't gone away.  Thank goodness I've found a few delicious no-bake summer treat recipes.

First is Chia Seed Pudding, courtesy of the May/June issue of VegNews. 

 This is a photo of the serving for my husband, since he loves bananas. I happen to loathe them, but they did make the pudding look a bit more interesting.  The serving suggestions also include berries, though I didn't have any fresh on hand at the time I made this.  If you haven't seen chia seeds before, they are very small and plump up in the pudding rather like tapioca.  Chia seeds are touted as one of the newest "must have" health foods.  (I suggest buying from the bulk bins the first time if you are going to try this to see if you like it--then you only need to get the half a cup and you don't have to pay the crazy prices for a whole bag.)  The pudding is tasty; the seeds are perhaps a little more bitter than sweet so you do have to add a few tablespoons of agave (also, we always buy unsweetened almond milk, so probably if you use sweetened this would be plenty sweet).  I can't find a link to the recipe, and don't want to post it here due to copyright issues, but if anyone wants a copy I'm happy to send it. It's super easy to make and all you do is refrigerate one hour before serving.

Second is N0-Bake Energy Bites from GimmeSomeOven  Huge thanks to my friend Wendy for finding such a wonderful vegan recipe and making these for me and my sister last week--she was even thoughtful enough to use agave instead of honey and I thought it turned out great.  Here is my own attempt.  I used ground flax seeds instead of the wheat-germ so I think this could also be gluten-free if you have gluten-free oats.  I also added a few carob chips.  Yummy! 

Both recipes are also much better for you than the typical baked goods like cookies and cakes.  Here's to an oven-free, tasty and healthy summer! :-)