I used to be a huge soy milk fan until I started learning about how bad it is for you. Cafes seem to be catching on and now most offer almond milk as an option. As usual though, even when you think you’re making a healthy choice you often find out you’re not. This pretty much happens the minute you buy something pre-packaged. Some bottled almond milk is ok but most still contain sunflower oil and sweeteners like raw sugar, agave or rice malt syrup.
I had a go at making my own almond milk but found it a bit watery. Then I discovered cashew milk! OMG it’s creamy and makes a great latte. And the best thing…it’s just cashews and water, no hidden nasties! Plus I collect the pulp and add it to smoothies or dry it to put in my home-made granola. Here’s what I do: In a large glass jar/jug put one cup of cashews. Cover with filtered water (tap would be ok if there’s no other option). Leave for at least two hours, I prefer overnight. Rinse cashews, get rid of the soaking water. Add cashews and approximately 1 Litre of water to your thermos/Bellini/food processor/smoothie maker. Blitz on speed 8-10 for approximately 45 seconds. You want the pieces to be tiny like breadcrumbs. Depending on your machine you might need to blitz some more. Strain. I strain mine through a normal old sieve but you can use a nut bag or muslin if you want to. Store in a glass jar or jug for up to three days in the fridge. I make a morning latte (there’s no way I’m giving up my caffeine habit!) by frothing it like normal milk and adding it to my shot of coffee. Delish! Not only is it cheaper to make it yourself, you can use the left over pulp! I collect mine in a container and when I’m heating up the oven I put it on a paper-lined try and bake until it’s crisp. Add it to granola or use it as a flour in cakes and bliss balls. Sometimes I just add it wet to smoothies and bliss balls.
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These gluten, dairy and nut free muffins are perfect for lunch boxes and make a great grab ‘n’ go breakfast. You will need: 1 ½ cups of gluten free flour (or regular if you’re not GF) 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda 1 cup grated carrots 1 cup chopped pitted dates ¼ cup oil (macadamia is best, light tasting olive oil or coconut is also fine) ¼ -½ cup of honey or rice malt syrup, melted (depending on your desired sweetness level) ½ cup coconut or alternate milk (I like the consistency coconut milk adds) 2 eggs This is a super simple recipe. Bellini/Thermomix/food processor Heat oven to 180 degrees. Roughly chop the carrots so they’re not too big for your machine. Whizz them up on speed 6 for 5 seconds. Add the dates and whizz on speed 6 for 10 seconds. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, oil, honey, milk and eggs to the bowl. Mix on speed 3 for 20 seconds to mix it all up. Pour into muffin tins and bake for approximately 20 minutes. Old School method: Grate your carrots and finely chop the dates into a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined. Pour into muffin tins and bake for approximately 20 minutes. Good luck having any left for school! I'd love to hear your feedback so please comment here or on my facebook pages. :) There are two appliances I absolutely adore; my Bellini and my slow cooker. Slow cooking makes life so much easier on work days and leftovers are always great for lunches or the freezer. For this recipe I utilise both appliances to make prep really quick but you can definitely chop your ingredients if you don’t have a thermo. You could even chop the veggies the day before so you can literally dump and run in the morning.
I use a little external timer on my slow cooker for days when I’m out for longer than the cooking time. It switches off before we get home but the food inside stays nice and hot. I literally walk in the door and dish up the food! This Mexican Chicken is a hit in our house. Last week our 5 year old polished off two big bowls and then took leftovers in a thermos to Kinder the next day. Success! You will need: 1 Kg chicken breast 1 medium sweet potato, scrubbed and cut into 1 cm thick slices 1 tin of chopped tomatoes 2-3 tablespoons of taco seasoning, depending on your spice preference (see following recipe to make your own) 1 large or 2 small onions, peeled and quartered 3 sticks of celery 2 carrots 1 green capsicum (I use rough quantities of veggies and even throw in the odd zucchini. It’s a great fridge cleaning meal!) We have had an excess of mandarins this year. They are delicious straight from the tree but I wanted to invent another way to use them and so I came up with this low sugar, gluten and dairy free cake.
Please keep in mind we do not eat a lot of sugary foods and so this cake is quite tart. If you are new to low sugar you might like to double or even triple the sugar and wean down from there. Oranges also work a treat in this cake. Use two medium size instead of the mandarins. Ingredients: Approximately 4 mandarins depending on the size. Mine weighed 360 grams. 250 grams almond meal 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ cup coconut sugar (regular sugar or rice malt syrup would also work) 5 large eggs Need a pep up? Got 3:30itis? Don’t reach for the chocolate, reach for these! The perfect make-ahead treat loaded with healthy cacao, coconut oil and nuts and topped off with a splash of peppermint oil. Delish!
To your Bellini, Thermomix or food processor add: 150g pitted dates 30g shredded coconut (I use organic to avoid sulphites. You can get Macro organic at Woolies or Health food shops generally stock it). 15g cacao 120g almonds 3 drops of pure peppermint oil (I use doterra oils but you could use peppermint essence if you can’t get your hands on some. Bare in mind you will not get any health benefits from essence) Mix it altogether for 20 seconds on speed 8. Add 30g coconut oil (doesn’t need to be melted but melted is fine) Mix again for 20 seconds on speed 8. Mixture should be crumbly and stick together when pinched. If it is too dry, add a little bit more coconut oil or a few more dates. Taste it to see if you find the peppermint strong enough. Roll a teaspoonful at a time into balls and put in the fridge (or freezer if you really can’t wait!) until they are hard. Super Simple Salmon Patties
Perfect for a quick dinner or a lovely lunch. You can make these ahead of time and simply reheat in a sandwich press for a super-quick, super healthy meal. You will need: 120g almond meal 2-3 spring onions, chopped finely 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 3 large eggs 1 400g tin salmon (or you could try tuna) 3tbs parsley, chopped 1 lemon rind, grated 1 tbs Dijon mustard Salt and Pepper Whack all your ingredients in a bowl and mix very well. Mixture should be a bit runny and sticky but able to be formed into patties. Wet your hands. Scoop out a couple of tablespoons and form into a patty shape using your hands. Fry in oil (I used olive but coconut would work just as well). They will take a couple of minutes to become browned on the outside and more solid. Try not to overcook them as they’ll become too dry. Either serve straight away or refrigerate for later. I cooked these on a Sunday and reheated them in the sandwich press on Tuesday. While they warmed up I let Bella (my thermal cooker) make the hollandaise and I fried some chopped cabbage and steamed some broccoli and carrot. Super simple! Try them with my Super Simple Lemon Hollandaise in the thermo. You will need: 4 egg yolks 130g unsalted butter 1-2 TBS lemon juice Salt and pepper Insert the whisk attachment to your thermal cooker. Add all the ingredients and cook for 8 minutes, 90 degrees, speed 3. I often halve this sauce recipe and it works just fine. Please note: The hollandaise contains butter and therefore is not dairy free. I'd love to hear how you go making my recipes so please leave me a comment. Break your fast with a bowl of super fast chia porridge. High in Omega 3's, calcium, magnesium and antioxidants, chia seeds are a great start to your day. Coconut milk is high in fat, keeping you feeling full for longer. Grab a pot, turn on the stove and breakfast will be ready in no time! You will need: 25 grams of chia seeds (I used black) 80 grams of coconut milk (I used the Aldi 95c kind with just coconut milk and water, no nasties) Approx 2 tablespoons of water Whatever you'd like on the top. I happened to have tinned peaches and strawberries. A sprinkle of cinnamon. Put the chia and coconut milk in a saucepan. It was freezing where I am this morning so my coconut milk was rock hard. Give it a smoosh with the back of a spoon and add about 2 tbs of water so it's slightly runny. (If your coconut milk is really watery perhaps leave out the 2 tbs of added water). Don't stress if your coconut milk is not runny, the heat will melt it. Put in over a low heat on the stove and stir consistently for a few minutes. You really only need to heat it through until it becomes slightly thick like custard. Pour it into a bowl and leave to cool while you prepare the fruit. Top with fruit of your choice (some nuts are nice too) and a sprinkle of cinnamon. If you're a sweet tooth you might like a dash of maple syrup to sweeten it up. Almost as easy as bought cereal but a heap healthier. Pat yourself on the back ;) Well the name says it all really, doesn't it? If you like caramel slice, ditch the sugar laden traditional type and let your taste buds come on a roller coaster ride of natural sweetness with me. This one won't leave you feeling gross, you'll struggle to overeat because the nuts and coconut oil will satisfy you. Add it to your bucket list ;)
Please note; this recipe is designed for a thermal cooker (Thermomix, Bellini, etc) but you could definitely try it using a food processor and a saucepan. Let me know how you go. Bucket List Caramel Slice Base 1 cup pitted dates ½ cup almonds 2 tbs coconut oil Filling 1 cup pitted dates ½ cup coconut oil ¼ cup almonds 2 tbs coconut milk/cream Top ¼ cup coconut oil ¼ cup maple syrup ¼ cup cacao Line a loaf pan with baking paper. Add the base ingredients to your Bellini/Thermo. Blitz on speed 9 for approximately 20 seconds. Scrape down sides, checking for any large chunks that may need to be re-blitzed. Press the base mixture into the pan. Without cleaning the bowl, add the coconut oil. Heat on speed 2, 90 degrees for 1 minute, until melted. Add dates and almonds. Using speed 9 blitz for 20 seconds. Mixture will look separated and not very caramel like. Add the coconut milk/cream and heat for 1 to 2 minutes on 100 degrees, speed 2. The mixture should be gooey and resemble traditional caramel sauce. Pour over the base and put it in the freezer to cool. While it’s cooling, add the cacao, coconut oil and maple syrup to your machine. Heat on 80 degrees, 1 minute, until smooth and combined. Pour over the base and return to the fridge or freezer. Try to leave it for at least an hour before you hoe in. I suggest making a double batch because the first one won’t last long! If you’re packing this for lunches make sure you either put it straight in the fridge at work or pack an ice brick as it’s prone to melting in high temperatures. Enjoy and tick it off your bucket list! Going gluten free was a big deal for my kids. They were worried about what they'd eat, what people would say and how on earth they'd live without the up to 10 slices of bread they'd readily polish off a day! Breakfast was my first hurdle. I didn't want them just replacing wheat bread with gluten free. Firstly, it doesn't fill you up much and secondly, it often contains so much rubbish you may as well just eat wheat bread!
So along came some soggy bananas and I got to thinking... This banana bread is awesome toasted for breakfast, lunch, a snack and anything else in between. It'll keep you full and contains waaaay less sugar and store bought versions. Eat it fresh, freeze it, whatever, just get it in ya belly. Go on, enjoy! Banana-rama yummy-in-my-tumma bread 1 1/3 cups Gluten Free Self-raising flour 1 cup almond meal or whole almonds 1/3 cup coconut sugar 1/4 cup coconut 1 tsp cinnamon 3 eggs 3 mashed bananas 1/2 cup melted coconut oil 2 tsp vanilla Thermomix/Bellini/ other thermal cookers or food processors
Old school style
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