Chocolate caramel sandwiches

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Frances

 
These yummy chocolates are late! They were meant to be my valentines post but ‘ better late than never’ is being applied. ( I just hope ‘ better never than late’ isn’t the verdict!!!). My two children gollop these down and they are one of my husbands favourite sweet treats . I know that sometimes dairy and refined sugar ‘free’ desserts might not feel as indulgent, as rich, or as creamy as regular desserts, but once you reduce refined sugars from your diet your taste buds change quite quickly and it’s not long until you find regular desserts and chocolates too sweet. However when I had friends over I produced these chocolate sandwiches and everybody felt they were simply a delicious, slightly indulgent, chocolate treat, not like the majority of healthy treats. Your tastebuds won’t feel cheated of flavour with these I promise.

Makes approx 10-12 mini sandwiches.

Ingredients

• 2 energy balls (from previous post) broken into 10-12 pieces.

• 6 dates

• splash of water

• dark chocolate 70% 120g.

• sea salt optional

Method

Push each of the broken pieces of the energy balls into the base of a mini cupcake case. Place in the fridge.

Next make your ‘caramel’ by blending the dates and a splash of water until smooth. Place about a small teaspoon on top of each of the energy ball mixture in the mini cupcake cases. Put back in the fridge.

Finally melt the dark chocolate and dollop about a large teaspoon over the caramel until covered. Place in the fridge until hard. You may sprinkle sea salt on top of the chocolate if you like, or a goji berry for decoration. Personally I like a sprinkle of salt.

Here’s the juicy bit. . .

Dates are a wonderful substitution for sugar. They are sweet, sticky and contain many vitamins, minerals and are unrefined. High in iron and calcium they are particularly beneficial for vegetarians and vegans. B vitamins in dates aid the metabolism of foods like fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Dates also contain fibre, antioxidants and good levels of potassium.

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Raw chocolate energy bites.

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Frances

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These balls not only taste delicious but are really good for you too. They are perfect to satisfy a sugar or chocolate craving and because they are dense with raw superfoods, these tasty bites are an excellent bridge between meals if you’re feeling peckish. You can use whatever nuts you like, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts or a mixture. If you have time to spare you could activate your nuts. This process of activating certain foods removes the phytic acid. Nuts, grains and seeds produce this acid as a defence measure to protect themselves. This acid reduces the absorption of some nutrients in the food, iron for example. I’ll do a post on activation soon.

Portions 10 – 12 bites.
Prep – 10 mins.
Cooling – 1 hour.

Ingredients

• 1 cup nuts ( 200g approx)
• 1/4 cup goji berries (40g approx)
• 1 cup or 7 pitted medjool dates
• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
• 3 tbsp coconut oil -melted
• 2 -3 heaped tbsp raw cacao ( you can add more or less depending on how chocolatey you like them)

Method

Blend the nuts in a food processor until broken to a thick crumble like texture.

Add the goji berries and blend.

Next blend in the dates.

You can then add and blend the three remaining ingredients, desiccated coconut, raw cacao and coconut oil.

Using your hands roll the mixture into 10 or 12 balls.

Finally roll each ball in desiccated coconut and place in the fridge to harden for approximately 1 hour.

Store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Here’s the juicy bit. . .

Raw cacao is a fantastic superfood. It is chocolate in its raw, unprocessed form. When we say chocolate is good for you, it is this raw cacao, which commercial chocolate is made from, that we are referring to. The milky, sugar laden processed chocolate bars in supermarkets are stripped of most of the valuable nutrients found in the raw cacao bean.

Raw cacao is high in iron, & calcium. A 10g serving supplying 33% and 18% of the RDA respectively. It also contains good amounts of protein, fibre and vitamin C.

It rates very high on the ORAC scale ( oxygen radical absorption capacity), providing a rich source of antioxidants.

Added to smoothies, homemade brownies or raw desserts, cacao is a tasty way to eat healthily.

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Super Green Smoothie

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Frances

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I got my husband a nutri bullet for his birthday last month and we’re really lovin it. It’s such as easy way to get greens into your diet in a tasty and raw way. You don’t really think you’re drinking down a whole portion of spinach or whatever green you choose. I generally try to add fruits not high on the GI scale like grapefruit or berries as I’m trying to watch my sugar intake. These smoothies are quick to make and give you a great burst of energy. My husband used to be a big meat eater but he’s reaching for his morning smoothie now instead of eggs or meat as he feels much more invigorated and more alert. I hope you get to make the switch one morning from your regular breakfast and try this smoothie to see how different your energy levels change and alertness improves.

I wanted to also say, as a newcomer to blog writing since October 2014, I’m thoroughly enjoying the recording of my culinary creations. However unexpectedly, the most difficult part of preparing a post is the photo taking.
With two young enthusiastic children with keen appetites, trying to assemble the photographic scene without anything being disturbed is nearly impossible. I’m posting a series of photos to demonstrate my trials and tribulations of photographing food. Enjoy!

Portion – 1

Ingredients

•  a handful of kale or spinach
• half grape fruit- peeled and sliced into segments
•one kiwi peeled and sliced
• half an avocado- flesh scoped out
• small banana
• water

Method

Place all the ingredients into the nutri bullet and whizz until fully blended.

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Anytime Guacamole!

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Frances
Anytime Guacamole

Anytime Guacamole

I used to think guacamole was solely a dip. A luscious, green, creamy dip to scoop a salty nacho into or to be added to a hungry looking enchilada. How wrong I was! By chance I discovered that guacamole is very versatile and can be spread on toast for a satisfying breakfast, can be used as a creamy addition to a rice dish, used as a sandwich filling with crunchy cos leaves or used in the traditional manner as a dip. Most people have their own way to produce the perfect guacamole, add red onion or not, maybe some chopped tomatoes, chillies, or coriander, there are numerous possibilities. Here I’m keeping it simple but deliciously moreish. . . .

Prep – 5 minutes
Portions – 2

Ingredients

2 avocados mashed
1-2 garlic cloves
Juice 1 lime
Salt & pepper
1 plum tomato chopped optional
Chilli flakes optional

Method

Mix the avocado, garlic, lime juice and salt & pepper together in a bowl and your done!

Here’s the juicy bit . . .

Fats can be categorised as 1) trans fats or hydrogenated fats 2) saturated fats and 3) unsaturated

Trans fats are man made unnatural fats and should be avoided. Hydrogen atoms are added to a fat through a process which alters its natural chemical makeup in order to give it a longer shelf life. You’ll find trans fats in foods like pre packaged cookies, pastries and margarine.

Saturated fats are mainly found in meat and dairy products. These fats can increase ‘bad cholesterol’ AKA low density lipoprotein or LDL. Cholesterol can raise blood pressure and lead to hardening of arteries among other conditions. Saturated fats are best limited in your diet.

Unsaturated fats are found mainly in plant sources. They have a range of health benefits as they help increase good cholesterol AKA high density lipoprotein HDL and decrease LDL thereby reducing cholesterol. These fats are further divided in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated depending on their chemical makeup. Omega fats, 3 and 6 are examples of polyunsaturated fats and are essential in our diet as we can’t make these fatty acids.

Avocados are rich in oleic acid which is an omega 9 fat. These are monounsaturated fats. Oleic acid is also found in olives and olive oil. Since oleic acid comes under the unsaturated fats category its health benefits include reducing LDL and increasing HDL. It’s also has anti inflammatory properties which helps reduce inflammatory conditions in the body like arthritis. Avocados also contain vitamin E which benefits the skin, fibre and antioxidants.

 

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Snack attack

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Frances
Snack attack!

Snack attack!

We all get the the munchies from time to time. Whether it’s late morning, a mid afternoon slump or night time nibbles, the desire for a pick me up snack hits us all. With busy schedules at work or at home with little children this is when it’s all too easy to reach for a handy ‘treat’, biscuit and coffee, tea and buttered toast, chocolate bar or crisps. I’ve a sweet tooth and and have fallen prey to this temptation numerous times. As an ex nurse on a busy ward, very often not getting a lunch break or afternoon tea break there were always boxes of chocolates or biscuits available to munch on and give me a burst of energy to keep me going for a few hours. However as we all know this isn’t a good way to sustain energy and depletes us in the long run. I began opting for 70% dark chocolate instead of sugar laden milk chocolate. This worked very well and surprisingly I now find milk chocolate too sweet. But chocolate as delicious as it is does not always hit the mark, so I came up with this super simple speedy snack! Nut butter on oat crackers with sliced banana. Simple, quick and tasty, Mmmmmm!

Ingredients

• oat or rice crackers
• nut butter – I use almond and cashew
• banana

Method

Spread your chosen nut butter onto the crackers and top with sliced banana.

Here’s the juicy bit . . .

If you have problems sleeping bananas may be able to help you. Packed with the amino acid tryptophan, this converts to serotonin and melatonin which helps calm us and aids restful sleep.

Peanut butter is probably still the most commonly used nut butter. Unfortunately peanuts easily grow a mould. This mould produces toxins called aflatoxin. Aflatoxin Is a carcinogen which has been shown to have a connection with liver cancer. Because of this peanuts are usually heavily sprayed with anti fungals. Almond, cashew and walnut butters are a good alternative. Seed butters are also available if you have an allergy to nuts.

 

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