If Christmas isn’t your favourite time of the year then maybe these will change your mind. Like wise if you aren’t the biggest choc mint fan… these jingle balls will definitely change your mind! They are my all time favourite protein balls and are a Christmas must! Perfect way to enjoy the silly season whilst maintaining your protein levels and reducing your intake of artificial sugars!
Continue reading “SPIRULINA MINT JINGLE BALLS”
If you follow any health or fitness foodie on instagram you are bound to have come across Matcha Green Tea Powder. Not only does it have the most beautiful green colour and make everything look stunning, it is amazingly good for you too. Just like regular green tea which is packed with antioxidants, matcha is great for your insides and metabolism. Green tea not only speeds up your metabolism and gives you energy, it is great for detoxing and weightloss! Continue reading “MATCHA COCONUT BALLS”
Don’t pay $18 at a cafe when you can make it at home so easily. You don’t need to buy frozen acai either, I love using Acai powder from Tropeka. Shop at your local Health food store and they will have many brands. So here is my classic Acai bowl recipe. Simple and looks oso vibrant and healthy. Go NUTS with the toppings (pardon the pun) It is super delicious and who doesn’t love spooning their food! Continue reading “ACAI BOWL”
Now if there is ONE thing that I have failed at most in the kitchen – it is healthy and clean alternatives to chocolate chip cookies. In fact all types of clean cookie attempts have ended up in the cupboard or freezer for months on end and eventually in the bin. It doesn’t matter WHAT I tried, they always turned out more like rubber door stops than edible delights… until now! The biggest life lesson going around is ‘when you get knocked down – get back up’ and so I thought I would try ever so hard to redeem myself and bake some sugar-free healthy cookies once and for all. I tried a completely different technique and didn’t use any protein powder or eggs in the hope that they would resemble an actual cookie with a crunch factor. I was so surprised by the final result that I made a second batch the following day. These cookies store great in the freezer and are the perfect cookie for that afternoon sugar craving or late night crunch without ruining your healthy lifestyle. These cookies are sweetened with a date paste made from 100% organic raw medjool dates and low GI organic coconut sugar. I love cooking with (and snacking on) Medjool dates. They are natures number 1 sweet fix without the nasties and come down of the ‘white stuff’. Dates are packed with fiber for a healthy digestive system and full of essential nutrients and minerals. Try my sticky date pudding >> recipe here.
THE BEST EVER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
About 16 cookies – GF SF V P DF – 15 minutes
15 medjool dates (pitted) soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes
1 cup almond butter
1 cup spelt flour (could also use wholemeal flour or quinoa/buckwheat etc)
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 Tbs flax meal or ground chia seeds
1/4 cup boiling water
1 cup roughly chopped dark chocolate (quality matters – I use 70-85% Lindt dark or Raw Dark Loving Earth)
3 Tbs coconut oil melted
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon (you can omit this but I am a cinnamon addict so added it without thinking twice)
1/4 cup coconut sugar
METHOD
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Line baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
Soak dates in boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Drain. Pour dates into food processor and process until it forms a paste. You may want to add a dash of hot water if it is not soft enough.
Mix the flax meal with 1/4 cup boiling water until a gooey gel forms. Add this to the food processor.
Add the almond butter, coconut oil, vanilla and coconut sugar and pulse until combined.
In a large bowl mix the ‘dry’ ingredients together. Pour date almond butter mixture into dry bowl and combine with a wooden spoon. Add the dark chocolate chunks and stir.
Roll into balls and place on baking paper. Flatten with a fork or your fingers and place in oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
Cookies will be soft and delicate until they cool down. Allow to completely cool before transferring. I like to store mine in the freezer for that extra crunch and it also stops them from crumbling.
Enjoy!!
K
Note; I didn’t have flax seed meal at the time so I just added whole flax seeds for an extra crunch factor. If you do this you must omit the 1/4 cup boiling water as this is only for the flax ‘gel’. If your mixture is dry – add a little more boiling water. It should be sticky!
You can be a little bit creative with your cookies and add some extras like coconut, chia seeds, orange rind or goji berries… :)
A couple of weeks ago it was my turn to make something sweet for girls night! I asked the host what her ultimate dessert would be that I could recreate a sugar-free healthy version of. After an almost instant reply of “ummm sticky date pudding??” I was a little stumped because sticky date puddings are usually made of butter and brown sugar – big No No’s! BUT it didn’t take long before I was completely mind blown from the healthy versions of sticky date desserts all over the internet. I decided to go with the amaaaaazing looking Loving Earth recipe because I practically drooled on my screen as soon as I read it. And let me just tell you it blew everyone’s mind and you couldn’t tell that there wasn’t a single grain of refined sugars in sight!!!! This is the real deal minus the nasties. The cake itself didn’t take too long to make either. I chose to make 1 single large cake but 4-6 mini individual loafs would also have been a treat. Dates are packed with fiber and have so many nutritional benefits for you body. They are one of the very best sweet and versatile foods that can regulate the digestive process and are great natural unrefined sweetener whilst also offering a rich dose of several vitamins and minerals. Some health specialists have suggested eating 2-3 dates a day is necessary for a healthy and balanced diet and digestive system. This dessert is the perfect combination of natural sugars, proteins, carbohydrates and essential fats to give you the energy boost you need without the ugly sugar high and crash. Kids will also love it ! and salted caramel sauce?? need I say more!!!
STICKY DATE PUDDING WITH SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE
serves 6 – GF P V SF DF – 50 minutes
CAKE
4 teaspoons Coconut Oil (for greasing)
200g Salted Caramel L.E Chocolate >> SHOP HERE
3 tbsp Coconut Oil
80ml almond mylk
1 cup buckwheat flour or almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup Coconut Sugar
1 cup medjool dates, pitted
½ cup boiling hot water
250ml almond mylk
80–120g coconut cream
SAUCE
1 cup coconut cream
1 cup medjool dates, pitted
100g Salted Caramel Chocolate >> SHOP HERE
2 tbsp Lucuma or Maca Powder (optional)
2 tbsp coconut sugar
½ tsp salt
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease the loaf pan, mini loaf pans or large cake tin with the coconut oil.
Put the chocolate, coconut oil and 80ml almond milk in a double boiler. Gently heat until the chocolate has melted. Stir until smooth, remove from the heat and set aside. (you could do this in the microwave if you wanted to)
In another bowl, put the flour, baking powder, salt and coconut sugar. Stir together.
In a blender or small food processor, blitz together the medjool dates and water until the dates are just broken up. Add 205ml of almond milk and mix until combined. Gently fold in the through the caramel chocolate mixture.
Divide the mixture into the prepared mini loaf tins or large cake tin and place into the oven.
MINI LOAFS: Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the edges and top are just cooked – you still want the middle to be slightly gooey as it will keep cooking once removed from the oven.
LARGE CAKE: Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the edges and top are just cooked – you still want the middle to be slightly gooey as it will keep cooking once removed from the oven.
FOR THE SAUCE
Whilst the puddings are baking simply blend in a blender the dates and coconut cream until smooth. Place into a saucepan over a low heat with the caramel chocolate, Lucuma/maca, coconut sugar and salt. Keep mixing until the chocolate has melted and everything is combined before removing from the heat.
Remove cake from oven and gently poke/stab cake with a knife to create holes. Pour 1/2 of the sauce over the cake and let it seep into the holes. This is where the moist ‘pudding’ factor takes place. You want it to be nice and moist.
Place back in oven for 5-10 minutes. (Note: You do not need to place the mini cakes back in the oven)
When ready to serve, gently run a knife around the edge of the pans to loosen the small puddings or cake. Place on serving plates and serve with hot caramel sauce. Enjoy immediately! A blob of vanilla bean or coconut ice cream would be an absolute match made in heaven here. I also shaved some extra caramel chocolate on top.
Thanks Loving Earth for this incredible recipe!!!
ENJOY !
K
I recently got my hot little hands on a box of the NEW Loving Earth chocolate range and COULD NOT wait to dig into the raspberry cashew flavour! Boy was it incredible. Just what I was expecting and more. I decided to whip is a super cheeky afternoon delight using my new products teamed with my all time favourite bare blends. Try this smoothie – it is mouth watering!! Add ice if you like it extra thick and enjoy it with a spoon! Like me! The berries powder is super high in antioxidants and the healthy essential fats and protein from the cashews and powder help decrease the rate of sugar absorption into your blood stream.
RASPBERRY CASHEW CHOC SMOOTHIE
Serves 1 – GF DF R V P SF – 5 minutes
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
small handful unsalted cashews
2 squares NEW raspberry cashew Loving Earth Chocolate >> SHOP HERE
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp Bare Berries powder >> SHOP HERE
1 scoop Dark Cacao WPI powder >> SHOP HERE
ice (optional)
METHOD:
Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
Top with some extra chocolate shavings and cashews and enjoy
K
Here is why this smoothie is so jam packed with nutritious goodness;
RASPBERRIES/BERRY POWDER; high in antioxidants they are great for all things beauty. Your skin, your hair and that radiant glow are all thanks to antioxidants found in berries. Raspberries are low in fructose (fruit sugars) and can be the perfect ingredient in your next smoothie. They also offer a bounty of health benefits, from helping control weight to possibly helping prevent cancer* (Live Strong.)
GREEK YOGHURT; is a great calcium source which is vital for healthy and strong bones. It also provides the body with added protein and prebiotics for healthy gut bacteria. For people who have intolerances to foods sometimes the problem starts when your gut bacteria is out of whack. So before you cull the dairy and yoghurt why not scull it instead and see if your tummy is happier.
PROTEIN POWDER; double nutritious if you use cacao protein powder too. Protein in smoothies makes them a wholesome healthy light meal or snack on the go. The protein aids in muscle recovery and will keep you fuller for longer
CASHEWS; packed with healthy unsaturated fats cashews can help lower cholesterol levels and improve heart health. They are actually lower in fat than many other nuts which a lot of people do not know. Cashews are also great for reducing diabetes and blood sugar levels, so next time you are having some fruit or sugar – grab some cashews.
CACAO; super high in antioxidants this is the number 1 reason health professionals and foodies eat chocolate. Hint Hint; The darker the better because it contains the most cacao. Cacao is natures energy source and a high antioxidant known for its ability to cross your blood-brain barrier to help protect your nervous system.
My birthday is A MONTH away and so naturally I am already planning my raw wholesome sugar free cake which I plan on eating the whole thing. I came across this Vanilla Choc Berry layer cake and my mouth dropped. It is definitely in the running to be my 25th Birthday Cake! The Merrymaker Sisters >> Website HERE are two lovely local ladies from Canberra (yeah Canberra!!!) and are taking the Paleo life by storm. This layer cake is perfect for the gluten, dairy and sugar intolerant, is super healthy and looks amaze!!! Try it today! Continue reading “RAW VANILLA CHOC BERRY LAYER CAKE”
Three of the most yummiest things on the planet smashed into one glorious looking dessert. Peanut butter, chocolate AND cheesecake! Need I say more? Just make sure you get the following ingredients and allow yourself over night to make it. This raw vegan dessert is going to impress even the biggest of anti raw food sweet tooth’s. Thanks to Emily from This Rawsome Vegan Life blog for the recipe. #featurefriday Continue reading “FEATURE FRIDAY – VANILLA AND CHOCOLATE CHUNK PEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKE”
When it comes to healthy eating – indulging in commercial hot chips is a no no. Of course the occasional hot chip intake isn’t going to do us any harm but there is a rising trend in hot chip alternatives that are taking over? Sweet potato chips and now even zucchini chips are making their way onto menus at popular cafes and takeaway joints. Polenta chips? Parsnip chips? Even eggplant chips? But what about brussel sprout chips? Continue reading “CRISPY BRUSSEL SPROUT CHIPS”
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”
KATIE MORGAN 