When I think of winter and dessert I ALWAYS think apple pie or apple crumble. (that’s my dads influence for sure) The best part about living a healthy lifestyle is balance and enjoying the sweet things the right way. Continue reading “APPLE CRUMBLE”
Tag: dessert
FEATURE FRIDAY – HEALTHY VEGAN CARROT CAKE
Another week another feature Friday on the blog and I find myself scrolling through one of my favourites Sarah Bambey once again. Not only is she lovely and down to earth and her recipes ARE INSANELY gorgeous and delicious but most of all I just love her natural zest for life and ‘no bullshit’ attitude. Her blog is called ‘Pretend Health Freak’ because she is exactly that. She is not a qualified nutritionist, PT, chef or yoga professional – Just a girl pretending to be an expert on all things health. (with google these days aren’t we all?) Continue reading “FEATURE FRIDAY – HEALTHY VEGAN CARROT CAKE”
LEMON MERINGUE PIE – IQS
When you are living a sugar free lifestyle there are certain things that you just come to terms with giving up because there is no ‘healthy’ alternative way of making it. One of these things is Meringues. Continue reading “LEMON MERINGUE PIE – IQS”
FEATURE FRIDAY – PUMPKIN COCONUT SCONES
With Mother’s Day only a couple of days away it seems fitting that this weeks Feature Friday Recipe is Scones with Jam and Cream! YUM! The Merrymaker sisters have nailed this recipe and doesn’t it just look incredible! I will HAVE to make a batch this weekend and eat them. Continue reading “FEATURE FRIDAY – PUMPKIN COCONUT SCONES”
ORIGINAL FROYO
I am sure I have spoken about this PLENTY of times before but here is the OFFICIAL Froyo recipe page. What’s Froyo? Frozen yoghurt … and boy is it delish! Especially this home made version. Frozen yoghurt might sound like the healthier option to ice cream or soft serves but beware some varieties are laden with sugar and nasties. There is a reason it tastes to sweet… Continue reading “ORIGINAL FROYO”
CHOC-BANANA PROTEIN CHIA MOUSSE
Bananas are FANTASTIC and such a versatile fruit. They make smoothies thick and creamy, can be used to make ice cream or sorbet, mashed into home made fro-yo, mugcakes and delish pancakes and just taste damn good one their own straight from the peel (with a little spoon of peanut butter too). *Links to the recipes mentioned above at bottom of page. They are packed with fiber, potassium and magnesium and make the perfect go-to pre or post workout snack. They will keep you fuller for longer and help maintain bowl regularity. Bottom line – eat a banana a day to keep the doctor away!!!
I was peckish after dinner last Saturday night and wanted a quick-ish healthy dessert.. preferably chocolate thanks. I had my usual Friday Fro-yo the night before so thought I could adapt some of the ingredients and make a choc banana protein mousse. I used the chia seeds to add extra fiber, protein, essential healthy fats to the mix and also to help with the ‘mousse’ consistency without using gelatin or other artificial ingredients. Give it a go…
CHOC-BANANA CHIA PROTEIN MOUSSE – serves 1
1 scoop protein powder (chocolate or vanilla)
1 Tbs cacao powder
1 Tbs chia seeds
1 Banana mashed
2-3 Tbs milk or yoghurt
Simply mash and combine all ingredients in bowl or container (handy hint: put the lid on and shake it all around to combine). Pour into a smaller bowl or ramekin and place in fridge for up to 1 hour. The longer the better to allow for the chia seeds to expand and ‘set’.
Take out of fridge, top with granola, chocolate buckinis, sliced banana and cacao nibs and scoop away. This dessert it PACKED full of protein so it wont leave your tummy unhappy pre snooze either… aaaaaaand it tastes delicious!!!
ENJOY
K
PS. More recipes that contain the amazing BA-BA-BA-BA-NA-NAAAAA below:
Peanut butter pancakes recipe >HERE, Mug cake recipe >HERE, Nut free banana granola bar recipe >HERE, choc banana smoothie recipe >HERE, Choc-mint smoothie bowl recipe >HERE, strawberries and cream smoothie recipe >HERE, Banana bread recipe >HERE, Banana Date Muffin recipe >HERE
AFTER DINNER TUMMY GRUMBLE
Ever just have those days where no matter WHAT you eat for dinner, you are still hungry and in particularly craving something sweet? Yes we have all been there, especially us lovely ladies with hormones, moods and cravings that just cannot be explained right. Well it is okay to snack on something to kill the cravings and keep you satisfied. Let’s be honest – if you tell yourself you ARE NOT allowed to eat anything after dinner you will spend the whole evening craving something and then most likely smash an entire block of chocolate or in my case a solid 6 cookies or bliss balls from the freezer!!
Here are my 5 top recommendations for after dinner nibbles and treats. These foods are high in protein so will kill the cravings without ridiculous sugar highs that will keep you tossing and turning and counting sheep all night. They are also easy to digest to that stomach of yours can rest too and you wont wake up feeling full or bloated. Sounds good to me.
TOP 5 AFTER DINNER NIBBLES – BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE JUST NEED SOME
1. 3 Medjool Dates filled peanut butter and almonds; Take the pips out of 3 medjool dates. Spoon a teaspoon of peanut butter into each date followed by 3 almonds. Perfect little high protein sweet treat packed with fiber to fight artificial sugar cravings.
2. Greek yoghurt, fruit and frozen blueberries; full of protein and antioxidants this is the perfect little combo to assist with some youthful beauty sleep.
3. Protein microwave mug cake; this is the perfect high protein snack when you are craving a large slice of CAKE! It only takes 3 minutes all up and is packed with highly nutritious wholesome ingredients, protein and fiber. Bananas are a wonderful pre sleep snack and won’t keep your digestive system awake either. >>RECIPE HERE
4. Avocado chocolate mousse; creamy and delicious you won’t believe it’s avocado and not packed with artificial crap. Full of essential healthy fats and protein this is a wonderful post dinner snack and is easy to digest. >> RECIPE HERE
5. Homemade banana date muffin; high in potassium, magnesium and fiber, bananas help to relax overstressed muscles. They also contain serotonin and melatonin which are the brains key calming hormones. >>RECIPE HERE
So next time you have a little sweet craving post dinner – don’t beat yourself up about it and instead of having artificial sweetened lollies or chocolate indulge in one of these high protein quick fixes and enjoy a good nights sleep!!
K
BLUEBERRY COCONUT AND PISTACHIO TART
Ever get home from work and just feel like devouring cake? I hope you said yes because I am like this 90% of the time! Thankfully I have plenty of cakes, tarts, slices and balls stored away in my freezer for sweet emergencies or when guests come over unannounced and I need a healthy sweet treat to go with a cuppa. Our household often indulges in raw vegan sugar-free tarts for dessert in front of a Saturday night movie.
This Raw Blueberry coconut and pistachio tart I whipped up in no time over the summer holidays for the family and they were all very impressed. There was 4 pieces left over which mum kept in the freezer and pulled out for dessert when entertaining a couple of weeks later and once again… happy faces!
This recipe can be both raw or baked. It is more of a texture preference or whether you would prefer it serves hot or cold. However, all the ingredients used are ‘raw’ and unprocessed so it is considered and raw tart. I chose to bake the base and serve it hot with some Salted Caramel ice cream. Divine!
BLUEBERRY COCONUT AND PISTACHIO TART – 1 tart 8 slices
TART BASE
1 cup pistachios
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup coconut oil
8-10 medjool dates
2 Tbs honey or coconut nectar
Pre heat oven to 180 degrees. Place all ingredients into a food processor and whizz until combined. Press base into lined or greased tart tin. Tins with removable bases work best. Place in oven for 15 minutes until the almond pistachio base is nice and brown. Do not over cook otherwise it will be too crumbly. Set aside to cool
BLUEBERRY FILLING
2 cups cashews (soaked for 4 hours/overnight if possible)
3 Tbs honey or coconut nectar
1 cup frozen blueberries
200mls coconut cream or coconut yoghurt
Meanwhile, place all ingredients into cleaned food processor and whizz for 2-3 minutes until the cashews and blueberries are soft and creamy. Pour into tart tin and set aside.
COCONUT TOPPING
1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 egg white (optional – omit for vegan option)
In a bowl mix the shredded coconut with the oil and egg white. Once well coated top the blueberry filling with the coconut and place in hot oven for 10 minutes until the coconut is toasted and slightly brown. For raw option just top the blueberry layer with plain shredded coconut and set in freezer for 3-5 hours.
Store in fridge or freezer.
SERVE HOT: When you are ready to serve it – place the whole tart or selected slices on a baking tray and put in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve hot topped with ice cream or yoghurt. Highly recommend Murray river salted caramel connoisseur !!
SERVE COLD: take it out of the freezer and leave it to thaw for 10-15 minutes. Serve on a plate with some fresh berries or cream.
HANDY LITTLE TIP- If you have left overs or excess of any of the layers whilst making it – don’t throw it away. Make some small pieces or slice with the layers and cook it exactly the same. Perfect little bite size high antioxidant sweet treats.
K
PEPPERMINT CRISP CHOCOLATE STICKS
This recipe is by the incredible Adriana Harlan, author of “Living Healthy With Chocolate”. If anyone knows a thing or two about healthy clean chocolate treats it’s Adriana – and so I wanted to share this amazing recipe with you as choc mint is one of my serious weaknesses!! You will love it! P.s Mum – when you get back from your travels you MUST make this for Dad!!
PEPPERMINT CRISP CHOCOLATE STICKS – Paleo, GF, SF, DF
6 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
4 tablespoons raw cacao powder
4 tablespoons almond butter
2 tablespoons raw honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon peppermint extract
pinch of salt
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup pecans
METHOD:
- In a large bowl stir together the coconut oil, cacao powder, almond butter, honey, vanilla, peppermint extract and salt
- heat the mixture slowly on low heat over simmering water for 5 to 10 minutes until all ingredients are combined
- chop the pecans in a food processor
- add the chopped pecans and shredded coconut to the melted chocolate mixture and stir together
- pour in a brownie/slice tin lined with baking paper
- freeze until chocolate is set then cut into sticks. Store in airtight container in freezer.
Happy baking
K
NUT FREE BANANA GRANOLA BARS
There are so many healthy alternatives to sugar coated LCM and muesli bars on the market although many of them contain nuts making them a no-no for school lunch boxes and some work places due to strict allergy control.
Try these nut free banana granola bars. They are perfect to freeze and make for a wonderful lunch box idea. Not only are they nut free, but they are also gluten, dairy, refined sugar and soy free AND paleo friendly. Yep, these healthy bars tick all the boxes.
BANANA GRANOLA BARS – NUT FREE
3 cups old fashioned oats
3 large ripe bananas
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup pepitas/sunflower seeds
1/4 cup goji berries
1/4 cup diced dried apricots
1 Tbs chia seeds
2/3 cup apple sauce
3 Tbs honey or maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp sea salt
METHOD: Spread oats, coconut and seeds out on a baking tray and lightly spray with olive oil. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly toasted. Meanwhile mash bananas and add all other ingredients. Fold in toasted oat mix and pour into a lined brownie/slice tray. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 45-50 minutes until brown. *varies between ovens so just watch carefully after 35 mins. Cool in tin for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack. Cut into about 18 bars and store in the fridge. Great for freezing too!
Happy baking all
K
KATIE MORGAN 