Fresh banana, pear and macadamia slice and our country retreat - Gluten, grain and sugar free options!

This ones for all those gorgeous peeps on FB and IG that showed interest in my recipe... I love that! I have a passion for showing people that healthy eating is exciting and yummy and wicked but not detrimental to your health. I hope you enjoy this recipe.. 

Monday cookup! Always includes a healthy snack for my husband to take back to work for the week. He is trying to shed a bit of .... fat! ew, that word!! Honestly he really doesn't have much, but at least he is keeping it in check. I try to keep his snacks low in fructose, grains and now carbs!! 

Everything in moderation is how we live. Although when our kids are here we are informed that apparently moderation is extreme to most of the population!! I wonder, am I the only one that gets shocked when I hear that people actually eat 'white bread'.. and cereals and cakes from coloured boxes! I thought they where just there for decoration in the supermarkets..

Here's the cake/slice I threw together, glad I am starting to measure things, it's becoming a habit now so that I can write up the recipe if I need too. I love the addition of the fresh fruit. It cuts down the concentrated sugars of dried fruits and adds nice mouthfuls of juiciness.  

 Fresh banana, pear and macadamia slice

Makes: 20x20 cake/slice

Ingredients:

1 cup oats

3 tbs coconut flour

2 scoops pea protein powder

1/3 cup xylitol or coconut palm sugar (I used xylitol)

1 tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla powder or essence

½ cup goji berries

½ cup macadamia halves

1 cup prunes sliced in half

1 ripe banana chopped

1 pear chopped

3 free range eggs

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

Topping

Coconut flakes

2 tbs coconut palm sugar or xylitol (I used coconut sugar)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven the 170-180 ^o c (350 ^o f)
2. Add all dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir thoroughly so the baking powder is evenly distributed throughout the mix
3. Add the banana and pear and mix again to cover the fruit with the dry ingredients so that they stay separated while cooking
4. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs and coconut oil, whisk them together so that the eggs and oil have combined then gently and thoroughly fold through the rest of the mix until you have a thick doughy mix. Don’t overdo it as it may result in a tough slice/cake
5. Turn into the 20x20 cm baking dish lined with baking paper. (easy cleaning!)
6. Sprinkle coconut flakes and sugar over the top before placing in the centre of preheated oven
7. Bake for 40 minutes
8. Let cool before slicing. It is a little bit crumbly but still delicious.

NOTES:

1. Use gluten free oats for a gluten free slice or almond meal for grain free
2. Whey protein powder or rice bran protein powder can be used if you don't have the pea
3. You could substitute raw or brown sugar if you need too
4. Use all xylitol for sugar free
5. You can substitute sultanas/raisins and dates for the goji berries and prunes. 
6. You can also use extra virgin olive oil or melted butter if you don't have coconut oil
7. Try to use as many organic ingredients as possible

It was my birthday last week and my dear husband surprised me with a retreat getaway for two nights. It was amazing and something we both really needed. We had the best time and just loved being in the country. Our cabin was perfect, the weather was perfect.. well basically it was Perfect!! Check out some photo's he got of the cabin and surroundings.... 

 View from our cabin

Sat in the sun and had breaky here on our last day

 Finished our morning walk climbing to the top of this hill

Half way down the hill

 We strolled around the creek

 Oh Yes!! hot tub time!!
Ripples on the Creek

Raw almond shortbread cookies

I received a request for these a few weeks ago from my bestie who owns a great online raw vegan business... RawPleasure.com.au ..... she makes me larf...... as she would say! hahahahaaa makes me larf just thinking about her, everyone needs a crazy friend, she is one of mine!
I made these a few years ago as a Christmas special for Kitz Living Foods when I owned it. I didn't do them for too long as they are very labour intensive when done on a large scale but as a treat for friends and family they are perfect. They also keep well.

 Almond shortbread cookies

Makes: 20-24 small cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups sprouted almond flour
1 cup sprouted buckwheat flour
2/3-1 cup Agave or raw honey
1 tsp vanilla powder or paste

Preparation:

1. Soak almonds for 7hrs and buckwheat for 3 hrs, rinse and drain then dehydrate until crisp. Usually 24hrs.
2. Grind almonds and buckwheat into flour in a blender or food processor.
3. Add remaining ingredients and blend until combined. You may need to finish kneading it with your hands to get a well combined mix. It is a very firm dough.
4. Roll into balls and flatten onto telflex sheets or roll out with a damp rolling pin and press into stars if you have cookie cutters. 
5. Dehydrate for 24-48 hours depending on how dry you want them. I did mine for the 2 days. They are  ice and firm but a bit sticky, so maybe err on the lesser amount of sweetener.

NOTES:

1. I used honey as I have stopped buying Agave due to it being very high fructose
2. It's easier to do it all in a food processor if you have both because it will be able to combine all ingredients properly. 
3. Honey give a slightly sticky cookie whereas the agave is not so sticky and has a lovely subtle tang from what I can remember.

Enjoy!

Miso Ratatoullie

So it's Mothers Day and my gorgeous kids are taking me out for lunch. So I decided I would just have a light breakfast so that I had a good appetite for lunch which I knew was going to be late as one was at work and would finish about 1-ish, the other had worked all night and had an hours drive to get here and the other has fallen asleep after a late night!!! I love veggies, I love ratatouille and I love miso.. and I figured, Well! the Japanese have miso for breakfast so here is the late breakfast I made myself.. and it was amazing. For a more substantial meal it would be good with some grilled fish, meat or even a poached egg which I think ill try one day.

Miso Ratatouille

Ingredients:

1-3 sticks Celery

1 Zucchini

½ Eggplant

2 cups Mushrooms

4-5 Asparagus

3 Tomatoes

1 red Capsicum
2-3 cubes frozen spinach

1 tbs ground Garlic and ginger

1 tbs Mixed herbs

Fresh cracked Pepper

2 large tbs Dark miso
2 tbs apple cider vinegar

Preparation:

1. Chop all ingredients into cubes and add to 1cm of boiling water.
2. Simmer and stir occasionally on a low heat until all vegetables are soft and it is getting thick and creamy.
3. Turn heat off and add cracked pepper, vinegar and dark miso and stir to combine.

Serve and enjoy!

NOTE:

You can add chopped onion. (I don’t as it seems to upset my tummy!)

Salted peanut, dark chocolate covered coffee bean brownies - grain free, sugar free and full of antioxidants.

I threw together a similar recipe for Mr J last week and he loved them! OMG, yes he does like some of the stuff I make him!! 16 year olds.. love em! Actually I tell a lie, he seems to appreciate that I make him healthy snacks and the fact is he would be eating much better food that a majority of teenagers these days as everything he eats comes from my kitchen and I don't do processed, coloured box food in my home... it's just doesn't happen. When challenged they get a quick reply.. "It's because I love you and I would feel like I was neglecting you if I fed you processed rubbish!".. needless to say I'm always cooking... lucky I love it!

Back to the brownies. Mr J's brownies are made with flour and coconut palm sugar. My husband tries to limit grains and sugar so he really appreciates his snacks without grains or sugar. I was a bit nervous about this one as I haven't had much success with coconut flour in cakes and brownies but he loved them. Coconut flour is the by product of coconut oil so it is very dry and absorbs a lot of moisture. The upside is that you don't need much but you do need a lot of liquid, usually eggs!! so you need lots of eggs. (reminds me.. I want chooks!)

Here is the recipe, it's easy and quick to put together.. like everything I make. I will add some notes at the bottom for substitutes. It also needs to be eaten with the first day or two as it tends to dry out.

   Salted peanut, dark chocolate covered coffee bean brownies

Makes: 20cm x 20cm brownie

Ingredients:

½ cup coconut flour

½ cup cacao powder

1 cup xylitol

½ cup salted peanuts (or salted cashews if you can’t do peanuts)

½ cup dark chocolate covered coffee beans

6 eggs

½ cup evoo or coconut oil

½ tsp vanilla powder or paste

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp aluminum free baking powder

Preparation:

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl making sure the baking powder is evenly distributed
2. Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients
3. Stir the wet ingredients to break up the eggs and incorporate with the oil
4. Fold into the dry ingredients until you have a nice wet batter
5. Pour into a baking paper lined 20cm x 20cm baking dish
6. Bake at 180^oc (350^of) for 40 minutes
7. Allow to cool before cutting.

NOTE:

1. Substitute salted cashews if you can't do peanuts
2. You could use stevia instead of xylitol for sugar free but make sure you use the equivalent of 1/2 cup of sugar. All stevia's seem to be a bit different.
3. If you are not concerned about it being sugar free use coconut palm sugar or similar.

Enjoy!

Raw Chocolate chip and chocolate fudge cookies - Simply delicious!

Got a request from a friends for these a couple of weeks ago! I love that. These are an old recipe I did for a short time when I had Kitz Living Foods. They were a real hit but on a large scale they are extremely labour intensive.. but in your home kitchen they are quick and easy.
I followed my recipe but I think they could be tweaked a bit, they are a bit datey for my liking so feel free to adjust the quantities, I think 50/50 with the dates and almonds would work really well also. If you are a real dark chocolate fan then add another teaspoon of cacao powder to the fudge cookies and increase the cacao nibs to 1/4 cup in the choc chip cookies..

 Chocolate chip and Chocolate fudge cookies

 

Chocolate fudge cookies and green tea

 Chocolate chip cookies

Each recipe makes about 12 small or 5 large cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups dried dates

1 cup soaked almonds 

1 tsp vanilla powder

1/3 cup cacao nibs

Preparation:

1. Rinse and drain almonds then grind until fine in a food processor
2. Tip the almonds meal into a mixing bowl
3. Add dates and vanilla to food processor and blend until smooth
4. Put the almonds meal back into the processor and blend until it is fully mixed and doughy
5. Take out the s-blade and mix the cacao nibs in with a spoon or knead it in with your hands
6. Press into egg rings for large cookies or smaller scone ring for smaller cookies
7. Place onto dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 41 degrees c (105 Fahrenheit)
8. Dehydrate for 24-36 hours

Chocolate Fudge cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups dried dates

1 cup soaked almonds 

1 tsp vanilla powder

1 tsp cinnamon

2 heaped tsp cacao powder

50 ml not water if needed

Preparation:

1. Rinse and drain almonds then grind until fine in a food processor
2. Tip the almonds meal into a mixing bowl
3. Add dates, cinnamon and vanilla to food processor and blend until smooth, if your dates are a bit dry add the warm water
4. Then add the cacao powder and blend 
5. Put the almond meal back into the processor and blend until it is fully mixed and doughy
6. Take out the s-blade and mix with a spoon or knead it in with your hands fi it doesn't all mix properly
7. Press into egg rings for large cookies or smaller scone ring for smaller cookies
8. Place onto dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 41 degrees c (105 Fahrenheit)
9. Dehydrate for 24-36 hours

NOTES:

1. I only have the small sunbeam food processor at the moment which didn't get the nuts as smooth as I would have liked, or maybe I just should have blended for longer. Do what suites you.
2. Don't forget to do a taste test before dehydrating to make sure it is chocolatey enough for you remembering that when it dehydrates it get a little bit stronger. These are still quite fudge when done so they don't get very concentrated!

Enjoy!

Powerhouse bars.. superfood goodness in a fruit-n-nut slice!

I Love it when my man is home, I can make and bake sweets and treats with as much goodness as I can muster up! He has to watch his sugar intake so I stick to fruits, xylitol (because he doesn't like stevia) and some dried fruits. Keeping things as low fructose as we can without compromising taste. It's not a low carb diet just low fructose, grains and gluten.

refer to notes for alternative for gluten, grain and dairy free options.

Powerhouse bars

Makes: 24 medium bars

Ingredients:

1 cup oats
1/2 cup rice flour
3 tbs coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla powder or similar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup goji berries
1/2 cup salted peanuts
1 cup dates -chopped in half
2 tbs chia seeds
2 tbs pepitas
2 tbs cacao nibs
2 dried bananas - chopped into 1 cm chunks
1/2 cup xylitol
2 eggs
150 ml buttermilk

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven the 180 degrees celcius
2. Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl
3. Make a well in the centre and add eggs and buttermilk then stir to combine and breakup the egg yolks
4. Mix through the rest of the ingredients until fully incorporated
5. Press into a 20x20cm baking dish lined with baking paper 
6. Bake for 35 minutes
7. Let cool before cutting

Enjoy!

NOTES:

1. For gluten free make sure the oats are gluten free
2. To make it grain free use almonds flour instead of the oats and rice flour
3. If you can't get the dried bananas use dried figs, apricots or sultanas/raisins
4. Flax seeds can be used instead of the chia seeds
5. You can substitute stevia for the xylitol but adjust portions as stevia brands are all different
6. Or you can substitute coconut palm sugar for the xylitol if you are not worried about sugar content
7. If you are dairy free just use an appropriate milk or yoghurt, either nut, rice, coconut or oat.

Doat Balls!! Low fat, quick, easy, healthy and cheap! with Gluten free option.

Doat balls, what are doat balls.... there date and oat balls! They are the quickest, easiest and yummiest balls you can make in 5 minutes. No machines needed, just your hands! With a little tweak you can make then higher in protein and they are naturally low in fat. Measurements are not exact so make to your taste, adding more dates for the sweet tooth  and less with more protein powder for a good fitness/gym snack/lower gi snack.

 this one has more dates in it... yummy and super sweet.

Doat Balls

Makes: about 6

Ingredients:

1 large handful of dates - see note 1
about 3/4 cup quick oats - see note 2
water to soften

optional:
1-2 tbs Protein powder

Preparation:

1. Grab the dates and moosh them up with your hands then place them into a bowl
2. Add the oats and protein powder if using with 1 tablespoon of water to start, you may need more but remember that the longer you massage it the softer it all becomes so don't add too much or they will be a sloppy mess. If that happens add more oats or protein powder.
3. Massage the dates into the oats and protein powder until you get a nice doughy ball
4. Pick yum-ball size pieces off and shape into small balls
5. Devour straight away or place into a container or zip-lock bag for later.

You can play with the measurements, the second picture has about 3/4 dates to 1/4 oats.. yes it was yum! but I have a very sweet tooth.

NOTE:

1. I used dry dates but mine are nice soft ones. Quite often when you buy the packets of dates they can be very dry, if that is the case then you will need to add a little more water to the mix to re-hydrate them. If you have time you can soak them in a little bit of warm water then mix in the remaining ingredients and you will not need to add the water.

2. If you are gluten intolerant use the gluten free oats. They will be much firmer and larger than the quick oats so grind them in a coffee grinder or blender to make them small and soft so that you get a nice gooey consistency.

Enjoy!