Raw Vegan Snacks: Asian Broccoli Bites

One can never have too many crunchy, savory snacks when they're this nutritious.  And as someone who craves salty and sour foods, I had to find healthy ways to curb those cravings.

I was at Sprouts Farmer's Market recently, and perused the "raw foods" section, where they had sale tags on several items.  Charlotte always gets super excited when shopping this aisle.  We have a routine on the weekends, and this routine usually involves letting her pick a snack at Sprouts.  This trip, she picked up a bag of Garden Ranch Broccoli Bites by Rhythm Superfoods.  They were SO good!  Crunchy, salty, savory little bites of green goodness.  The next week, we tried another variety, Asian Citrus.  These were also amazing.  They got me thinking...  I can make something like this at home!  As I've discussed before in my kale chip post, I love the convenience of pre-made raw food snacks, but they can get pretty pricey.  When I have time, I like to make my own versions at home and save some cash. 

Recently, I set out to make my own Asian-style broccoli bites and they did not disappoint.  For the cost of one bag of pre-made snacks, I got about 3-4 times as much by making them at home.  With a few simple ingredients and some patience, these are quite easy to make, but will taste pretty special.

Asian Broccoli Bites

Equipment Needed:  Large bowl, blender, dehydrator w/non-stick sheets, or oven w/baking sheet

3 heads of broccoli, florets only (Juicing the leftover stems is a great way to use them.)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds (soaked for 1-2 hours and drained)

2 tbsp. miso paste (white, brown, or chickpea will all work)

1" fresh ginger, peeled

1 garlic clove

2 limes, juice only

2 tbsp. tamari, soy sauce, or Bragg's Liquid Aminos

3 small dates/2 medium dates or 1 tbsp. maple syrup

1/2 cup filtered water

Cut the broccoli florets into bite-sized pieces and add to a large bowl.  Add all other ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour the sauce mixture over the broccoli florets, and stir/massage until all broccoli pieces are coated in sauce.  Lay the broccoli bites in a single layer on non-stick dehydrator sheets.  Set the dehydrator to 115 degrees for 12 hours.  After 12 hours, flip the bites over and dehydrate for another 12 hours.  Continue to flip every so often until they're completely dried.  Ours took about 36 hours to finish.  Once the broccoli is crunchy, they're ready to eat.  Depending on the thickness of the broccoli, they may require more or less time to dry completely.  If you don't have a dehydrator, just place the broccoli bites on a baking sheet, turn the oven on the lowest temperature, and prop the door open.  Follow the same time recommendations as with the dehydrator.  These could probably be baked as well, but I haven't tried them baked yet.  If you bake them, let me know how they turn out.