Hi folks! Well I have a special treat for you today. I am so excited to be guest posting over at Flex Your Food. Their motto is "protect the environment, be healthier. save money. eat less meat." It's a site for people who are living a flexitarian lifestyle. Their site describes flexitarian as a semi-vegetarian diet focusing on vegetarian food with occasional meat consumption. I am striving to live that lifestyle more and more. My daughter has lived that way since she was small. She did not like meat growing up. I think it started due to her love of animals. Those who don't know we have a horse, 3 cats, a puppy, and 5 birds. Mini-me has long avoided meat. What started as a love of animals turned into a textural issue and now she just is plain picky. We do eat some meat, but it's limited by mini-me's and my views. We do not eat duck, lamb, veal, venison, or any game meat. She does not eat anything bird related but we do occasionally. When I was told to switch the puppy to venison for allergy reasons I was promptly told no. When I tried to give puppy a deer antler as a bone ( a friend gave me one to try that she bought) I was promptly told no. I always taught my kids to stand behind their beliefs so I suppose it should not shock me that mini-me is doing just that.
What I find amusing about mini-me's vegetarian upbringing is that I should have known before I had her. I was a big meat lover growing up. When I was pregnant with mini-me I could not eat meat at all. I actually got to the point where I could not prepare it or shop for it. I could not even walk down or near the meat aisle at the store. Should have been my first clue. I learned through her to adapt almost any meal to a vegetarian option. Many nights she would have the vegetarian option of what we were eating. It just became a way of life. So for anyone out there thinking it is hard to have some members of the family be vegetarian while others aren't I can assure you it is manageable. There are lots of meals that can be made easily both ways with very little effort. Trust me, I've been doing it for almost 18 years now.
Stop by  Flex Your Food to say hello to Tessa. I had talked to Tessa about what to make. I sent her some ideas and one thing I had been wanting to play with was a nut roast. They seem so vintage to me but hard to find recipes for. I had seen one in a cookbook but the ingredients where not my taste at all. So I decided to develop my own recipe. (For those who don't know recipe development is where my heart lies.) The trick seemed to be how to do it without turning this into a loaf or dessert. I knew I wanted to play with sweet additions as opposed to veggies. To me nuts just lend themselves to sweet. So I had to find a way to make sweet work without crossing the line. I think I succeeded but I will let you all be the judge. This is meant to be eaten as replacement to meat. People use it in lieu of turkey or ham at holidays. To me it seemed like meatloaf. It is a dense food. So the trick was to make the denseness work for it instead of against it. I have to admit I was terrified this would not work. I like fruit in salads so for me I could be a fruitarian more easily than a vegetarian. This worked for me. If you are more of a veggie person never fear, I have another one of these little beauties coming up using veggies. But I wanted my first stab at it to be all the flavours I love.
Ingredients
- ¾ c/90 g cashews finely chopped
- ¾ c/90 g pistachios shelled and finely chopped
- 1 c/100 g dried cherries
- 1 c/75 g shredded coconut
- 2 c/480 mL coconut milk
- 2 c/150 g oats
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbl flour
- 2 tbl parsley
Instructions
- Combine cashews, pistachios, dried cherries and coconut in a bowl and mix.
- Now add the coconut milk, oats, eggs, flour, and parsley. Mix well.
- Pour into a lined and greased loaf pan.
- Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until firm and top is browned.
- Let cool a little bit before slicing it.
- Serve with a big healthy smile!
Toodles and smoochies! xx
The Kitchen Noob
It's cool to think that there's a whole undiscovered world of vegetarianism out there. I find myself leaning more veggie due to health issues as well, more poultry and rarely eat beef.
That's a good term, Flexitarian, for those of us who might find 1 practical vegetarian recipe out of 5, and the other 4 we think are just weird. 😀
Dara
Great recipe! I am always looking for good Meatless Monday ideas. Well done.
Kim Bee
@The Kitchen Noob- There really is so much information out there now. My daughter grew up hating meat so I had to learn to adapt. We've adopted the meatless mondays and are adding a second day in as well. The possibilities are endless now. I like that term too. I never knew what to call mini-me but that is what she is now. Before she was vegetarian but now she eats some meat so flexitarian all the way. And yup, some of the recipes are odd. Some I love, some not so much.
@Dara- Thank you so much. I really enjoyed doing this one. It tastes incredible. We had it for dinner Monday night and it sure impressed me.
Trish
We are full time veg.... I think my own aversion to meat while I was prego with my first is what did it. But as a family - we have never looked back. People don't believe me -- but very truly when you get away from eating meat and potatoes for dinner, your diet becomes full of variety.
This nut loaf looks really good. I like sweet too!
Kiri W.
Sounds interesting - my mom loves every kind of nut, and she might really like this. I'll bring this recipe home to Germany over the holidays 🙂
Jackie @ Domestic Fits
I love this post! Reminds me of the first line in The Omnivores Dilemma, "Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants." And that loaf looks delicious.
Cucina49
What an interesting idea--I was a vegetarian for a few years, and it was a challenge to find a Thanksgiving main dish.
Ann
I didn't realize you couldn't eat meat when you were pregnant...I wonder if that had anything to do with Mini Me's being a vegetarian, or if - like you said - it just worked out that way!
Heading to Flex Your Food now!
Kim Bee
@Trish- That is impressive you have switched so successfully. I am really enjoying going meatless more often. I was vegetarian for a short time but back then there wasn't the variety there is now. I love the idea of flexitarian living. It suits us so well. Glad you like the nut roast. I am dying to do another one with veggies.
@Kiri- I would be honored to have you share this with your Mom. And all the way to Germany, I love it. I am a nut fanatic as well. I eat some almost every day.
@Jackie- I never thought of that but it does fit the same idea. Love it. It was so good, I was so nervous I would hate it. Lol!
@Cucina- I wish I had posted it earlier so people could have planned for it for Thanksgiving. It is so true. Finding a good holiday dish can be tough.
@Ann- I often wonder myself. For my son I wasn't eating meat prior to being pregnant, then when I was pregnant I could not eat enough meat. Spare ribs daily. B is a huge meat guy. Mini-me I loved meat, then go pregnant and could not go near it and mini-me hates meat. Something funny there. Odd bit of trivia too, I had braces on during mini-me, she needed braces. B never did. Lol!
Ruth Reynoso-Sance
It is wonderful that you support your daughter on her choice. I am now a vegetarian, I wasn't when I was a kid but I had that strong feeling about animals, so much that when I found out what veal was I started crying, in a restaurant! Pretty embarrassing to remember. My Mom never forced me to eat meat though, she was forced as a child and she really suffered.
Kim Bee
@Ruth- Thanks. I have a ton of food issues due to being forced to eat things I hated or was allergic to as a kid. I forced my daughter once, we both burst into tears and I never did it again. We always told her to try three bites of things she had never tried. But if it was something she was morally opposed to we never pushed. I had her friends mom call me once to tell me mini-me had told them she would not eat kfc in these exacts word "I have birds, I DO NOT eat birds." I thought she was mad but she called to say she wished her daughter had the courage of her convictions like that. Was never so proud of her. Kudos to your Mom. It's not easy to do, people feel free to slam you when your kid refuses to eat meat. I always hated that people felt the need to critique me as a parent for it when she was young.
FlexYourFood
Thanks for writing this tasty recipe! We loved having you and hearing all this feedback about flexitarianism. You rock!
Moogie
I just came by to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.
Chef Dennis
it is amazing to think about options non meat eaters have, I don't eat beef and rarely pork, luckily I love poultry and cheese.
thanks for such a delicious post and I'm on my way over to check out the recipe!
I know yours was earlier, so this is a belated Happy Thanksgiving!
Jill Colonna
Flexitarian? Never heard of this before and absolutely LOVE the expression. I was a vegetarian when I first came to France and gradually have been eating meats, but still veggie at heart. Guess I'm flexitarian, then? This looks a wonderful nut roast - off to check out the guest post! Hope you're having a super Thanksgiving.
Kim Bee
@Flex Your Food- Thank you. I enjoy rocking!
@Moogie- Thank you. That is very sweet of you.
@Chef Dennis- I seem to be a beef gal. But try to limit how many days a week I eat it. I am loving all the vegetarian options out there these days. I will be making this one again. Thanks, I hope your Thanksgiving is spectacular.
Kim Bee
@Jill- Isn't it an amazing term. I always wondered what to call mini-me when she gradually started eating some meat. She has been this way since she was really little. I remember her even as a baby not liking any baby food that included meat. She like veggies though. It was a hard road over the years, I caught so much flack for it from family and friends. Everyone thought I should force her to eat what we ate. I did once and ended up crying and never did it again. We worked with her doctor closely to make sure her diet never affected her health. She played competitive sports and it never hindered her in any way. I look back and am so glad I let her choose her own path. I hope this shows other parents to let them be themselves. It's one thing to not eat something because they just want dessert, but a whole different ball game when it's a moral decision.
We had our Canuck Thanksgiving last month so just another day in paradise her today. Hubs working, kids have school. I should get dual citizenship so I can celebrate both. Lol!
Parsley Sage
Pretty cool idea! We eat WAY too much meat. I think your nut roast looks AMAZING 🙂
Anne@frommysweetheart
Kim....I love that you are a flexitarian. I think it's a way of really just being conscious of what you eat. And kudos to mini-you for having her convictions. This looks really good. At first glance, I thought it WAS meatloaf. I had a friend who is vegetarian and made a lentil loaf for every major holiday. I think I like nuts better. Heading over to Flex your Food to check it out! : )
Lizzy
A nut loaf with fruit is one I could go for!! Off to read your guest post 🙂