Vegetarian Baked Egg Rolls

   I am not really down with fried anything (unless it's a once-in-a Blue-Moon hand-cut French fry) so naturally, I made my egg-rolls without the use of deep-frying. I kept the oven on a neutral temperature as well so that the EVOO would not become unstable yet I would still see slightly crunchy browning results. The use of oil should be to enhance a dish, not create an environment where free-radicals and carcinogens are created due to using heat that is not suitable for that particular oil. Food should be nourishing, not creating toxins within our body!

   And although these may not be the kind of egg rolls you are used to getting out of your Chinese Take-out, don't go adding meat to them because that would be a seriously poor food-combining choice.
     Also, please remember to use any type of Soy-based product sparingly or if at all. I am not a fan of soy because of it's harmful side effects (hormone disrupting, GMO, you name it) however the occasional use of fermented organic soybeans like Tamari is OK to use in this recipe in small amounts.

   You will also note that I provide the name of the brands of products I use in my recipe. It's not because they are paying me to do so by any means, but because I want you to be using the best product that is readily available no matter where you buy your food.

 Healthy and nourishing foods are only as good as the ingredients used and the vessel they are served in!

Recipe: (Make about 18 small egg rolls)

Egg Roll Mixture:

1/2 head green cabbage
5 carrot stalks (on the smaller side, I used some fresh from our CSA vs. the bagged kind)
3 garlic cloves
2 scallions
3 tbsp. cold pressed extra virgin sesame oil
1/4 cup gluten free low sodium organic tamari
1/4 cup filtered water
1 tsp. ground ginger (I use Simply Organic Spices and highly recommend them due to freshness and taste)
1 tbsp. nutritional yeast (I use Bragg's)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 package all natural egg roll wrappers (I use NaSoya since there are GMO-free but don't go thinking you should be eating soy products on the Reg.)
3 Tbsp EVOO (for coating)

Almond Butter Dip:

1/4 cup almonds (preferably soaked in water for 8 hours, rinsed and drained)
1 tbsp. unsweetened almond butter
1 tbsp. gluten free low sodium organic tamari
2 tbsp. lime juice (1/2 lime freshly squeezed)
1/4 cup filtered water
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 packet stevia (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Begin by washing vegetables and slightly chopping them to fit in a food processor. I used a food processor to chop up my ingredients because otherwise it is too time consuming to do them separately. I found they cooked much faster that way anyways. But if you don't have one, good luck as it will take you a bit = )

1.) Place vegetables in food processor until roughly chopped. I did mine in batches.

2.) In a saute pan or non-stick eco-friendly Wok, gently warm sesame oil on medium heat. Toss in vegetables so they are lightly coated in oil. Cook for several minutes until slightly tender.

3.) Add in tamari, ginger, Dijon mustard, and water. Cook for 1 minute. Add in nutritional yeast to thicken mixture and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool enough to add to egg roll wrapper, about 5 minutes.

4.) Coat a cookie sheet with coconut oil spray to prevent sticking. Remove egg roll wrappers from package and lay flat on a working surface so that the egg roll wrapper looks like a prism and not a square (I'm sure it comes with directions better than mine on the package).

5.) Place a 1/4 cup of mixture onto the middle of the wrapper horizontally spread. Roll bottom of wrapper up over mixture. Fold both end pieces in towards the middle so that they lay flat over the first layer. Roll the egg roll upwards away from you so you have one flat triangle piece to fold back downwards towards you. Seal wrapper using a pastry brush with EVOO. Place folded egg roll face down onto cookie sheet. Coat top layer with EVOO as well. Continue on until mixture is gone.

6.) Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until slightly brown.

7.) In food processor, combine above ingredients for almond butter dip. This mixture should be slightly chunky. Serve immediately.