Beef Egg Rolls w/ Ginger Carrots and Coconut Oil

Surprise, Surprise -- because I love a good challenge (and because I already eat lots of vegetables so I figured this couldn't be too difficult) I decided to go VEGAN for the month of December. No worries, as I have a very carnivorous boyfriend, expect some of the same meat-friendly recipes (in moderation, of course.) But, on the contrary, I'm excited to share with you all some of my "get creative" meals here and there in the great big mix of holiday classics and boyfriend-friendly meals. Starting with these awesome egg rolls. Make them in large numbers for a party, or just a few for your dinner.

Servings: 2 (3 egg rolls make one full meal)

What You'll Need:

• 1 package egg roll wrappers (I found a brand named Nasoya that makes a pack of 20 wraps for $3.99 -- plus you can refrigerate the ones you don't immediately use -- win!)
• 1/2 package meatless crumbles (vegan fake meat; but feel free to use half a pack of ground beef if you're not down for the cause)
• 1 tablespoon chopped ginger 
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic (they make these awesome squeezie tubes now for both ginger and garlic; find them in the salad area of the grocery store)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 large carrot
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

The Step-by-Step:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium pan, spray some cooking spray. Heat the meat with the garlic and stir until combined (if using ground beef, stir until the meat is no longer pink.)
3. Turn the heat down to low, and with the spoon, scoot the meat to the side of the pan, and respray the open space. Using a grater, grate the carrot into small shreds right in the open space. Add the ginger and coconut oil to the carrots, and stir. After about 5 minutes, turn off the heat.
4. Take a egg roll wrapper and spoon a little bit of the meat in a line down the middle of the wrapper. Repeat with some of the carrots, but on top of the meat. Use your fingers to make the line as neat as you can.
5. Wet your fingertips with a little water, and fold up the egg rolls (see pictures below.)
6. After you've wrapped all the egg rolls and placed them on the pan, use your fingers to wipe a little olive oil on each of them. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Optional tips: Serve with chopped green onion and teriyaki sauce.

xoxo n

And for the record -- I was mistaken, being vegan is difficult.