Raw Vegan BBQ Carrot Sloppy Joes

Have I mentioned that living in Hawaii is expensive? Unless you have your own land which produces enough that you can live off of, it is. Hopefully one day my family will be able to afford a small plot of our own land, but until then we are living in a condo. Soon we will likely begin container gardening on our small lanai, but even then we will need to buy a lot of food. Farmer's markets are great source of inexpensive organic produce, but they also fall on very specific days. But this recipe is made from organic ingredients bought from one very affordable store... Costco.

I have never been a huge fan of Costco in the past. It usually conjures up images of someone purchasing 15 large buckets of cheese puffs. But with prices as high as they are out here I joined starting for the cheaper gas, and took a look into the food section. While most stuff there is not anything I would eat, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of organic products they offer. I now regularly buy baby carrots, romaine, mixed greens, coconut oil, frozen peas, frozen corn, and chia seeds- all organic!

The only problem is you are buying in bulk, so it is a LOT of lettuce and a LOT of carrots. Luckily, we eat a lot of produce in this family. I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is a good one to share with anyone who claims going raw is "too expensive". These sloppy joes also a fast week night dinner solution.

3 heads of romaine (for leaf boats)
3 cups baby carrots
3/4 cup dates, pitted
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon coconut aminos
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
dash of cayenne
pink Himalayan salt to taste

Excluding the romaine, add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until you have your desired sloppy texture. If necessary, drain excess fluid. Pull off large romaine leaves, fill with sloppy mixture and serve!