Raw Chocolate Coated Ginger Biscuit bites.

No more guilty snacking...

So, recently I started (again) to eat a lot healthier, I am trying to eat fully raw, as I feel that I am in need of a detox.

But I knew that I would miss snacks like chocolate, and biscuits (cookies US).  So I had a look around the raw food community to try to find something that would hit the chocolate 'Hobnobs' spot!

I didn't find anything that seemed to tease my taste buds, so I thought, 'I can make something myself'.

Here is what I came up with, and let me tell you, they are NOT going to last long in this house, my kids have tried them, and love them.

Ingredients:

Filling:

2/3 Cup of Oats

2/3 Cup of Dessicated Coconut

8 Dried Pitted Dates, or Medjool Dates (approx)

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Teaspoon Macca Powder (not essential, I just like to add it to snacks for a little more goodness)

1-2 Teaspoons Pure Maple Syrup

Pinch of Sea/Pink Himalayan Salt

1 Inch Chunk of Fresh Ginger, (skinned and finely chopped)

1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger.

Chocolate Coating:

1 Cup Raw Cacao Butter (if you grate it, it melts quicker)

Pinch of Sea/Pink Himalayan Salt

2 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup

2/3 Cup of Raw Cacao Powder.

Prepare a tray, cover with either baking paper or a silicon mat.

Method:

Add all of the FILLING ingredients EXCEPT the Maple Syrup, to a food processor, mix until it is all finely chopped and blended, like a crumble, now try to bind a small amount in your fingertips, if it holds well you will not need to add the Maple Syrup, if it is a bit loose, slowly add a teaspoon of syrup at a time until the mixture starts to bind well.

Now for a messy part..... take a teaspoon full of the mixture at a time in your hands and roll it into balls until all of the mixture is done.

Place them onto your baking paper/silicone mat.

Refrigerate them while you make the chocolate coating.

For the Chocolate Coating:

Put warm/hot (but not boiling) water into a large bowl or pan, about 1/3 of the bowl.  Now take the Raw Cacao Butter and place it into ANOTHER smaller bowl or jug, DO NOT PUT THE CACAO BUTTER INTO THE WATER.

Now, as you would use a Bain Marie, melt the cacao butter by placing its bowl into the warm water, as the smaller bowl slowly heats up, it will melt the butter. Stir it until all lumps have gone, and you have a liquid.

Now add the Sea/Pink Himalayan Salt, the Maple Syrup and the Raw Cacao Powder.  Stir it until it is smooth and free of lumps.

Another messy part.... take the biscuit balls out of the refrigerator and dip each one into the melted chocolate coating, cover each ball, waiting for the excess chocolate coating to drip off before placing it back onto your baking/silicone sheet.

Once each ball is covered, place them back into the refrigerator for about 1 hour to set.  

Once they have set, remove them from the sheet, and store in a container in the refrigerator for up to a week (pffft! lets be realistic here)

They wont last that long in our fridge, while I have been sitting here writing my blog, they have been demolished by the kids!!   I would hide some if I were you :D

You can omit the ginger if you prefer,  I made some plain ones, they are just as yummy.   You could get adventurous and add all sorts of things, blueberries, cherries, or even add cacao powder to make a double choc version.  The possibilities are endless.

Let me know how you get on, and if you do make any other flavours, I'd love to hear about them.

I hope you enjoy your snacks, it is so good to find food that tastes amazing, and is still healthy.

Please share this recipe with your friends and family, or even better, make them some to enjoy straight away.

Gluten Free Savory Snack

Got the Munchies?

Trying to stay healthy in a world flooded with sugar, gluten, E numbers and many more nasty additives, (too many to list) is proving very difficult, not to mention costly.

I love snacks, my kids love snacks, but I am finding it hard to find healthy, tasty snacks for us all that don't cost 4 times as much as the usual 'buy one bag of Monster Munch for a £1 and get 4 free'.

Ugh!

I did the normal morning routine this morning, I had my fresh green juice, and off I went on the school run feeling quite good.

By the time I had got home, I was STARVING!!

I am getting a bit tired of homemade waffles, which are delicious, but I fancied something savoury for a change. (Waffle Recipe on request)

So this is what I made, and I love them, so I thought I would share them with you. They are easy to make, quick, tasty, and CHEAP!!

So here is what you will need....

2 cups of Oats

1 cup of Rice Flour

2 Eggs

1 cup of Rice/Coconut Milk

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Granules

1 Tablespoon of Tamari/Soya Sauce

Half Cup of Grated Cheese

Coconut Oil

Put the Oats into a blender and blend until it has made flour.  Add the Rice Flour, Eggs, Milk, and Tamari Sauce.

Season with Salt, Pepper and Garlic Granules.

Blend until it is smooth, like a drop pancake batter. If it is too thick, add more milk, if it is too runny, add more rice flour.

Now add the Grated Cheese, Stir to mix in the cheese.

Heat a frying pan over a Medium-High heat. 

Melt about a quarter Teaspoon of Coconut oil, and pour in some of the batter, enough to make a small pancake, (like a large drop pancake)

Let it bubble up until the top is not runny anymore, and flip over to cook the other side.

Flip it a couple of times to ensure the 'pancake' is cooked through.

Turn out onto a chopping board and cut into triangles.

I love these on their own, but they are also nice with soup or as a snack with cherry tomatoes, carrot and cucumber sticks.

Delicious hot or cold.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do.

It would be lovely to hear how you got on with making them.  Let me know if you made any other variations of them please, I am always looking for yummy ideas xx

Raw Chocolate Spread

So easy to make.....

Ready to eat in 5 minutes!

Are you ready for this?

Let's get straight into it...  If  you are anything like me, you do not want to wait too long for Chocolate!!

Ingredients:

2 Bananas

6-8 Majool Dates

5 Tablespoons Raw Cacao Powder

2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

1/4 Teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt

1/4 Cup Coconut Milk

1 Tablespoon Coconut oil

2 Teaspoons Nut free Peanut Butter

Method:

Put all of the ingredients into a blender, (I use a Nutribullet)

Blend until smooth.

You can pop it in the fridge for a while if you prefer, but I couldn't wait that long.

I spread mine on rice crackers with sliced bananas or raspberries.

It will keep in the fridge for 3 days, but really, I don't think it will be around that long.  

Let me know how you get on, and what you use your Raw Chocolate Spread for.

Nut Free Peanut Butter?

Yes, and it is yummy!

Just a quickie today.

I have a son that has a nut allergy, and most recipes I find on my quest for a healthier diet, contain nuts, or nut butters.

Well today I made a breakthrough!

My Yummy Salad

I hit gold!

As I always do around lunchtime, I set about making myself a tasty, nutritious meal.  I got my large salad ready (huge actually), and decided I would like a dressing, something cheesy, without the cheese.  
So I popped some ingredients into my blender, and out came this delicious treat, purely by mistake, but boy I am delighted.

'But what has this got to do with nut free peanut butter?' I hear you cry...  Well it tastes just like peanut butter and it looks just like smooth peanut butter.  BINGO!

I didn't make a cheesy dressing, but what I did make was so good, I just had to share it with you.

_____________________________________________________________________

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of Sunflower Seeds
2 heaped tablespoons of Oat Flour
2-3 heaped table spoons of Nutritional Yeast
1 tablespoon of Paprika
A good pinch of Ground Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon of Sea Salt or Pink Himalayan Salt
1/4 cup of Coconut Milk (add more later if you like it thinner)

Method:
Add all of the ingredients into a blender, (I used a Nutribullet with the small cup)
Blend for about 30 seconds, then scrape down the mixture and blend again for a further 30 seconds, or until you have the desired consistency, if you find that it is too thick, add a little more coconut milk and blend again.
Taste, and add a little more salt if needed.
I scrapped all of the 'Nutless Peanut Butter' out into a container and popped it in the fridge.  And with the remaining mixture in the blender, (I hate to waste anything) I added a little coconut milk and blended until the sides of the blender had no more mixture stuck on them, and I added this to my salad as my dressing.
DELICIOUS!

I had to try a little more of the 'Nutless Peanut Butter', so I grabbed a chili cracker that I made yesterday, and spread some on that, yum (do I say yum far too often?)

Please excuse the bright pink tub!

Please let me know how you got on with this recipe.  I would love to hear what other uses you find for my 'Nutless Peanut Butter'

Enjoy xx

Crispy Chocolate Protein Thins

Oh Yummy, are you ready for a tasty treat that is also healthy, and vegan?

You are going to love these!

First I had lunch..
Boiled egg, rice crackers, Quorn ham style slices and salad
The tomato dressing is yummmmmm!  I will post that another day.

  

I have been trying to cut out junk food, and stick to a healthy diet for quiet a while now, but one thing I struggle with is snacking out!!    

I simply love treats, all things chocolate and yummy.  You can probably guess that it is not easy having a sweet tooth when you are trying to be healthy, and so I started searching for inspiration for yummy healthy snacks, ones that hit the spot, but don't add inches to my hips, or a guilty feeling in my gut.

I came up with these, Chocolate thins, I was messing about with some ingredients that I had in the cupboard, and they turned out to be a real hit in the household.   I have 2 very hungry children, they never seem to stop snacking out, and apples were getting a bit boring for them.

Here is what I used....

INGREDIENTS LIST

1 Cup dried dates

1 Cup of Oats

1/2 cup of Sunflower Seeds

1/4 Cup of Chia Seeds

1 Tablespoon of Hemp Protein Powder

-

1 Large Banana Mashed

1 Teaspoon of Macca Powder

1 Tablespoon of Coconut Oil

1 Tablespoon of Coconut Palm Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon of Pink Himalayan Salt or Sea Salt

2 Heaped Tablespoons of Raw Cacao Powder.

-

First, put the oven on to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the shelf just above the middle of the oven.

Now pop the Oats, Dates and Sunflower seeds and Hemp powder into a blender (Nutribullet if you have one) and blend until they resemble breadcrumbs.

Put the mashed Banana into a bowl, and add all of the other ingredients, including the blended Oats mixture.

Mix until everything is combined well.

Now on a baking sheet, put a silicon mat, or a non stick paper, just make sure it is non stick, as the mixture may stick to paper as it bakes.

Thinly spread the mixture out on the sheet, as thin as you can, and pop it into the oven for about 10 mins.

Remove it after 10 mins, it should now be easier to roll out, as it should have dried out a little bit and loose its stickiness, roll it out a little thinner with a rolling pin.  Pop it back in the oven for another 10-15 mins.

Remover from the oven and cut it into small squares while it is still hot, if you leave it until it is cold it will probably break up and be a big mess.

Now if you can, leave to cool, they will crisp up a little more, and they are DELICIOUS!!! 

Please remember, they are a TREAT, and not to be eaten in bulk, as tempting as it may be, the raw cacao in these will give you a boost, and in my experience, if you eat too many, you will get a little bit too much of a buzz ha ha ha!!

Let me know how you get on with them, I would love to try different flavours,  maybe add orange rind or chili flakes!!

I hope you enjoy these as much as we have. 

Mary xx

Free Organic Milk Kefir Grains

FREE ORGANIC MILK KEFIR GRAINS

December 2014

I live near Peterborough UK and have had my kefir grains for a few months, they are organic and have only been used with organic whole milk.

For those that know the nature of Kefir, you will be aware that these multiply when happy, and I have way too many now.

If you would like a free grain please get in touch by leaving a comment and I will get back to you to arrange a time for you to collect it.

Of course there will be limited amounts, so get your order in fast.

I will not be sending it through the post as I have not got the required packaging.

If you are new to the world of Kefir, here are a few links for you to do your own research to find out the health benefits.

http://www.kefir.net/

http://www.culturesforhealth.com/kefir

http://draxe.com/kefir-benefits/

Jaffa Drizzle Cake

Another yummy treat for you to try.

I use all organic ingredients where possible.

INGREDIENTS

140g Butter, nice and soft

200g Self-raising flour

1 teaspoon of Baking Powder

200g sugar

3 Large eggs

6 Tablespoons of Milk

Zest of 2 Large Oranges finely grated

 TO FINISH

6 Tablespoons of Orange juice

100g sugar

100g Dark Chocolate

METHOD

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C/gas.4. 

Butter and line with grease proof paper the base of a 1.2-Lt loaf tin. 

Put all of the cake ingredients into a bowl and beat with a hand whisk or wooden spoon for 3-5 mins, until light and fluffy. 

Spoon the mixture into the tin and level the top.

2. Bake for 40-50 mins, until the top is golden brown and firm to touch, you can also do the 'knife test' just to make sure the center is cooked. 

Meanwhile, heat the orange juice and the sugar gently in a small pan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. 

When the cake is cooked, remove it from the oven and spoon the orange juice mixture over the cake. 

Leave to cool IN THE TIN until safe to touch, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

3. Break up the chocolate and melt it in a bowl over another bowl/saucepan of hot water. 

Drizzle this lovely stuff over your cake either using a spoon and a side to side motion, creating a drizzled affect, or just pour it on and let it cool to a thin layer.

Now cut yourself a slice and sit back and enjoy.

Homemade Vegan Spread

Spreads like margarine

I saw a video on YouTube where a lovely lady made a vegan spread (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvEjvPVbjrs) using Coconut oil, olive oil and water.

So I thought I would give it a go, But, it didn't turn out so well for me, and being unwilling to throw anything away, I decided to try and make it better.

 The problem seemed to be that it was separating and causing the spread to kind of crystallise, which really was not at all appealing.

So this is how I make my vegan spread, it has worked really well for me.

Ready?

Firstly you need your ingredients:

1 cup or 8 fl oz of melted Coconut oil

1 cup or 8 fl oz of Olive oil

1/3 cup or 5 tbsp + 1 tsp filter water 

You will need the following equipment:

Hand blender

Measuring jug

Glass jar

Small saucepan

Spoon

Firstly, I should mention that I use pure unrefined organic extra virgin oils, I buy them from here 

 http://www.realfoods.co.uk/shop?Search=oil

It is a great shop, but more of that another time.
(check out the update at the bottom of the post)

The Coconut oil is solid, but melts easily at room temperature, take roughly 6 large tablespoons of the solid oil and pop it into either a glass jar, or a bowl, this will melt into a liquid, so make sure that it is big enough to hold the melted liquid,

See, it's melting! I did not need to turn the heat on, as the water was hot from the kettle, (this water is not in your ingredients as it is not going into your margarine) pour hot water slowly into the saucepan to gradually heat the glass jar, or alternatively you can just put some boiling water into the pan and pop your bowl over the top and wait for it to melt the oil.

Almost melted, just a little left to go.

Once it is all melted, grab your measuring jug and pour in your melted coconut oil, it should be 8 fl oz, you might not get the measurement right the first time, so just pop some more oil on to melt and top it up to 8 fl oz. 

Add your Olive oil and water.

Now it is time to get your hand blender and blend them all together, BUT, you have to be gentle to start with, I know a lady that hit the blend button and the whole mix went all over her and her kitchen, Ooops!

So, put the blender right to the bottom of the jug, and pulse the mixture, a tiny blast at a time until it is happy to be blended, you only need to blend it until it is all mixed together. It will be a nice margarine colour.

Now cover it and pop it into the fridge for a couple of hours.

At this point the lovely lady in the video said that it is ready, BUT this is where I found that it separated and was not very 'spread' like.

So, once it is solid, take it out of the fridge, 2 hours is plenty of time, and give it a stir with a spoon, it really does not look too great at this point, but don't worry, it will.

Not looking too nice hmmm?

Time to blend again, don't worry it shouldn't spray everywhere this time, give it a good blend to give it that 'margarine' texture.

A bit more....

Lovely! Now you need your jar.

Spoon the mixture into your jar, pop the lid on and into the fridge, and that is it!

You just made your very own vegan spread.

It will need to be kept in the fridge as it will melt if you leave it out.

If for some reason the spread does separate, water will be at the bottom of the jar, just put it all in a jug and blend it again, but it shouldn't happen. 

Hope you enjoy your spread making and eating, let me know how you got on.

xx

Update:

I recently tried a new recipe, using REFINED coconut oil in place of unrefined coconut oil, and grapeseed oil instead of olive oil.

I also added 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast and a half teaspoon of sea salt.

If you don't like the taste of coconut oil, this recipe is much nicer, there is no taste from the oils.

It is the closest I have got to the taste of butter.

Soup in summer!

A wonderful friend of mine, who happens to live next door to me, recently passed over the garden fence a load of courgettes of varying sizes and shapes.   Knowing that I, and I alone would be the only one that would enjoy them in our household, I decided to make what us mums call 'cover up' food; a healthy, veg packed sauce for pasta, that the kids would love and eat, and then hold their mouths open in disbelief when I announced AFTERWARDS that they had indeed just eaten a ton of veg and loved it!!
Once I had made it into a sauce/soup, my 4 year old daughter walked into the kitchen and to my amazement said 'mmmmm! that smells yummy, can I have some please', well when I had come round and picked myself up off of the floor, I gave her a taste, and she loved it! 
When tea time rolled around I gave both the kids and the hubby the choice of spag bol or soup, (incidentally, the spag bol had a good 2-3 ladles of the soup in it), my daughter chose the soup, as did the hubby, and my teenage son chose the spag bol.
Both my daughter, age 4 and my hubby said, without being blackmailed, that they loved it, and my son, well he didn't say anything, he is a teenager! but he ate the lot.
So, as you do, I skipped into the kitchen and wrote the recipe out,this is one I want to remember for sure!!
I wanted to share it with you, for a couple of reasons, 1 - it was a hit with the kids and is full of goodness and 2 - it is a recipe that I have NEVER seen before, so I think you may like to try it.... so here it is, my home made SPICY COURGETTE AND COCONUT SOUP!!!

2 x Garlic cloves chopped
2 x red onions chopped
1 x medium potato chopped
8 x courgettes chopped
1 teaspoon mint
half teaspoon chili powder
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
half teaspoon paprika
half teaspoon turmeric
half teaspoon cumin
2 x teaspoons of Marmite or 2 stock cubes
2 x tablespoons oil for frying
boiling water
6 cubes of home made coconut milk or 1 tin of bought* 
2 tablespoons of honey or sugar

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the chopped garlic and onion first, fry for a few Min's and then add the rest of the veg. Fry for a good 5 Min's or until tender then add the seasoning, herbs and spices. Stir well and pop the kettle on to boil, you will need enough water to cover the veg mix. Add the Marmite or stock cubes to the veg (not the water yet) and stir well, leave to cook for 1-2 Min's and then add the water and half of the honey or sugar. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 Min's until the veg is very soft.  Remove from the heat and with a hand blender or a liquidiser pulse the veg mix to a smooth consistency with no lumps.  Stir well and add the coconut milk.  Now taste the soup and add any further honey or seasoning to taste, you may want to add more boiling water too if you don't like your soup/sauce as thick as it is at this point.

Break up a fresh loaf of bread and enjoy with your soup, or add this soup to your favourite pasta sauce for a healthy boost.

Well I do hope you enjoy it, but more to the point I hope that your family do too and come back for seconds!!

*To make the homemade coconut milk simply buy a pack of dessicated coconut and put into a liquidiser and pulse until it turns into a liquid, yes a liquid, and it will, without adding anything else, when it is in liquid form, pour into ice cube trays and freeze, use in any recipes that use coconut milk, or to soups/sauces or curries that turn out a little too spicy for your taste buds.

My Chocolate orange cookies

MY CHOCOLATE ORANGE COOKIES

150g Plain Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

75g Rolled oats

125g Soft Butter

75g Dark brown sugar

100g Caster sugar

1 Egg

1 tsp Orange flavoring

Grated zest of 1 large orange

Juice of 1 large orange

75g raisins

200g dark choc drops

Preheat oven to 180'c/gas mark 4 and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Measure the flour, baking powder, salt and oats into a bowl.

Put the butter and sugars into a bowl and beat until creamy, beat in the juice and flavouring, and then add the beaten egg.

Add the orange zest to the dry flour mix, beat into the butter mix and then fold in the choc drops and raisins.

Place a teaspoon of mix onto the tray, evenly spaced to allow for spread.

Cook for approx 15 Min's, they will be golden brown when ready, and very soft, so allow them to cool for a couple of Min's on the tray before putting onto a cooling rack with a spatula.

Now make a cuppa and enjoy!!!