Category: Sweet Treats & Snacks

Healthy “Oreos”

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My son loves Oreos, so I wanted to come up with a healthier version for him.
Buckwheat is gluten-free and is considered a wholegrain, even though it is not in fact a grain. It lowers cholesterol and blood pressure; contains antioxidants and easily digestible protein; is high in fibre and helps to combat diabetes.
I’ve used coconut blossom sugar to replace regular sugar. While it is still a sugar and shouldn’t be consumed in large amounts (like any form of sugar) it is a much better option than processed cane sugar. It’s made by evaporating the nectar of coconut blossoms, so is raw, unrefined and unbleached. This means that it retains nutrients, notably zinc, iron, calcium and potassium. It also contains a fibre called inulin, which makes it much lower GI than regular sugar.
A good rule to remember is that not all calories are equal – you always want your calories to be as nutrient dense as possible. So if you are going to have a treat which contains some form of sugar, rather go for a natural form of sugar which has a higher nutritional value.

Ingredients

For the cookies:
110g organic virgin coconut oil
110g organic coconut blossom sugar
2 eggs
55g raw cacao powder
1/2 tsp organic vanilla powder or extract
1/4 tsp Oryx Desert Salt
280g buckwheat flour
2 tbsp ground flax (you can grind whole flax seeds in a coffee grinder or use pre-ground)
1 tsp aluminium-free baking powder
2 tbsp water

For the filling:
1 cup raw cashews
60ml raw honey
30ml coconut oil
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/4 tsp vanilla powder
1/4 tsp Oryx desert salt


Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Sift the cacao powder to remove lumps. Combine with the other dry ingredients and set aside. Cream the coconut oil and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time while beating. Add the dry ingredients and combine well. Add the water only if the dough is a bit dry or crumbly.

Dust your work surface with extra flour and roll the dough out to about 2mm thickness. Cut out into 5 or 6cm circles. Bake on a cookie tray lined with baking paper or silicone mats for 10 – 12 minutes. Allow to cool.

To make the filling, combine all the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Sandwich two cookies together with the filling and allow to set.
Makes 24 cookies.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Lauren & Raine

Maca-Chilli and Lemongrass-Wheatgrass Chocolates

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Chilli & Lemongrass Chocs

The mayans believed that cacao was the drink of the gods, and with good reason! Raw cacao is high in magnesium and all the B vitamins; it promotes cardiovascular health and aids digestion; it is high in anti-oxidants, neutralising free radicals in the body and thereby preventing cancer. Cacao also promotes mental well-being due to containing phenyethylamine and theobromine, organic compounds which stimulate the release of serotonin and dopamine in the brain. No wonder we feel so good after eating chocolate!

Making your own raw chocolate is simpler than you would think, and means you get all the incredible health benefits of raw cacao without the added sugar, dairy or chemical additives. Make sure to buy organic and raw cacao products, rather than regular cocoa, which has been processed and stripped of nutrients.

Ingredients

For the flavoured caramel centres:

50g organic virgin coconut oil
70g raw almond butter
100g runny raw honey or 85ml organic maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
1/4 tsp Oryx desert salt
1 tbsp maca
a pinch of cayenne
5 drops organic lemongrass essential oil
1 tsp wheatgrass powder

For the chocolate:

75g raw cacao paste
25g raw cacao butter
30ml runny raw honey or organic maple syrup
1/4 tsp organic stevia leaf powder (alternatively, use an additional 30ml honey or organic maple syrup)
pinch of Oryx desert salt

 

Method

To make the caramel, place the coconut oil, almond butter, honey or maple, vanilla and salt into a blender and blend for a couple of minutes. You want everything to melt together into a creamy consistency, and the mixture will change colour as you do this. It’s important to blend for long enough, as opposed to just mixing everything together, to get the right consistency. If it doesn’t look right yet just keep on blending!

Divide the mixture in two. To one half add the maca and cayenne, and to the other add the lemongrass oil and wheatgrass powder. Taste each mixture for flavour – you may want to add another pinch of cayenne or a drop of lemongrass, according to your preference. Place the flavoured caramels in the freezer to set while you make the chocolate.

Place the cacao paste, cacao butter, honey or maple, stevia and salt in a glass or stainless steel bowl which can fit over a saucepan. Bring some water to a simmer in the saucepan, and set the bowl over it. The trick with chocolate is to only ever use gentle heat, and to heat all the ingredients together. If you try to melt the cacao over direct heat, or add cold honey to it once it’s been melted, it will seize. Use a whisk to stir the chocolate until everything is melted, well combined and glossy.

Fill your moulds with chocolate one third of the way, making sure to use only half of the chocolate.  If you don’t have moulds, ice trays work just as well. Place in the freezer until set. Now use a small spoon to make a little ball of the set caramel and drop into the centre of the mould, trying to avoid the sides of the mould. Use the maca-chilli caramel for half of the moulds and the lemongrass-wheatgrass caramel for the other half. Fill the moulds with the remaining chocolate so that it pours around the caramel, and covers it. Place in the freezer again until set.

These chocolates do need to be kept in the fridge as they can melt at room temperature. I keep mine in a glass jar, and they can last up to a month (at least, that’s the longest mine have ever lasted before being eaten!)

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

 

White Chocolate and Flaxseed Blondies

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White chocolate flax blondies

I love an afternoon snack with a matcha latte, and especially as I’m breastfeeding, I need extra energy but I have to make the effort to eat healthy snacks with great nutrients in them so I added flaxseeds to this one for omega 3 essential fatty acids – essential when breastfeeding. These went down a treat in my house and unfortunately I wasn’t left with many for myself!

Ingredients

1 tbsp coconut oil
50g cacao butter
3 tbsp organic natural peanut butter
3 eggs
Pinch Himalayan salt
2 tbsp flaxseeds
70g coconut palm sugar
2 tbsp pure maple
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g ground almonds
Vegan white chocolate chips

Method

Preheat the oven to 160. Line a square silicone baking tin with baking paper and grease with coconut oil.

Melt the coconut oil and cacao butter in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan with boiling water. Once it’s melted, add the peanut butter and stir until it all melts in together.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl and once beaten, add the coco palm sugar and whisk with a fork until totally combined. Then add the salt, vanilla and maple and mix.

Add the peanut butter mixture and mix well, then add the ground almonds and flax and mix until combined.

Flatten the mixture out into the prepared baking tin and put in the oven for 20-25 minutes. In my oven it only needed 20. You want it to be moist but cooked through but don’t overcook otherwise it will go dry.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Coconut Ice Cream

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Coconut Ice Cream

Making ice cream has always been one of my favourite things to do in the kitchen. It also holds a special place in my memory – when I was 15 a family friend tasted my chocolate ice cream and was so impressed she suggested that I go to chef school! It hadn’t even occurred to me, so that experience was what inspired me to attend chef school.

When I started cutting out dairy and refined sugar I knew that ice cream would be first on my list of things to reinvent. This ice cream is a perfect replacement for traditional vanilla ice cream. It can be eaten on its own or served with something like my Raw Chocolate Tart. It can also be used as a base for other flavours. Omit the coconut flakes and try adding cacao nibs and a few drops of peppermint essential oil, fresh raspberries, or finely chopped dates and nuts. The options are endless – use your imagination!

Ingredients (makes about 600ml)

400ml coconut cream
45ml organic virgin coconut oil
a pinch of Oryx Desert Salt
a pinch of vanilla powder
1/4 tsp stevia leaf powder
45ml raw honey
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/2 cup organic coconut flakes

Method

Place the coconut cream, coconut oil, salt, vanilla, stevia, honey and egg into a high speed blender and blend for about 4 or 5 minutes, until the mixture has heated through, thereby cooking the egg.

If you don’t have a high speed blender, simply blend the mixture until smooth or even use a whisk to combine. Then transfer to a saucepan on a very gentle heat. Stir continuously to prevent the egg from scrambling. There should be steam coming off the custard but it must never boil. To check if the egg is cooked, dip the back of a spoon into the custard and then draw a line across the back of the spoon with your finger. Hold it horizontally and if the custard doesn’t drip it is cooked. With experience you can also taste when it is done. Traditionally ice cream was made with raw egg, so as long as you have good hygiene practices in the kitchen it’s not paramount that the egg be fully cooked. However, cooking the egg does thicken the custard thereby giving a creamier texture to the ice cream.

Place the coconut flakes in a frying pan and lightly toast them over a medium heat. Keep your eye on it and toss regularly as it can burn quite quickly. Turn out onto a chopping board and use a knife to chop into smaller pieces. Add to the custard.

If you have an ice cream machine, simply pour the custard into your prepared machine and churn until done, then transfer to a suitable container and store in a freezer.

If you don’t have an ice cream machine, pour the custard into a sealable container and place in the freezer. Use a whisk to stir the mixture every 20 to 30 minutes. By breaking up the ice crystals regularly as it freezes you achieve a smoother texture. You should do this for at least 2 – 3 hours, until the mixture starts to freeze into a smooth ice cream. At this point you can just leave it in the freezer to freeze completely.

Remember to remove the ice cream from the freezer 5 – 10 minutes before serving, to allow it to soften.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

The Best (Healthy!) Lemon Drizzle Cake

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Lemon Drizzle Cake

Both of us love lemon drizzle cake. There’s nothing better than that sweet, moistness with a slight crisp to the coating – it’s a British staple! But the traditional recipes all require the usual unhealthy ingredients that we like to stay away from: flour, sugar, butter etc. So Raine and I put our heads together to come up with this healthy substitute and guys, we don’t mean to blow our own trumpet, but this cake is quite possibly even better than the traditional kind!

It’s totally gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free, but it’s not vegan as we had to use eggs. Just make sure you get organic, free-range eggs and good quality ingredients all round.

I have to apologise for the slightly burnt edges – I’m waiting on a new oven! Anyway, please give this cake a go. It’s so easy to make and just to die for!

Ingredients

100g ground almonds
70g coconut palm sugar
2 organic, free-range eggs
100g vegan margarine (we thought coconut oil might make it a bit too oily. You can get a good quality, non-hydrogenated vegan margarine from your local health shop)
1 tsp baking powder
Zest of one lemon

For the coating:
2 tbsp raw cacao butter
Juice of one lemon

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease a loaf tin with a bit of coconut oil.

Put the ground almonds, coco palm sugar, eggs, margarine, baking powder and lemon zest in a large bowl and mix well.

Pour into the prepared cake tin and place in the oven for around 30-35 minutes until the edges start to come away slightly from the sides and the top is spongey.

Prepare the coating by melting the cacao butter on a very low heat in a saucepan. Once melted, turn off the hob, squeeze in the lemon juice and mix. Pour this over the cake while it is still warm and remove the cake from the tin once cooled.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Healthy Honey Cake

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Honey Cake

This is a healthy take on my mum’s original Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) honey cake and it really is just as delicious as the original.

When I ran this blog with Raine, she added a gorgeous touch by adding rose water and cardamoms. I’ve left it as optional in the ingredients so you can decide if you want to use it or not.

Shanah Tova to all my Jewish followers – may you have a sweet AND healthy year!

 

Ingredients

225g clear runny honey
2 large eggs
110g coconut palm sugar
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp applesauce (optional, for added moistness)
250g ground almonds
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp baking powder
150ml warm water
2 tsp rose water (optional)
1/2 tsp ground cardamoms (optional, if using rose water)

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees.

Grease and line a 25cm square cake tin.

Warm the honey in a thick-based saucepan until it thins.

Beat together the eggs and sugar until thick and creamy and stir in the oil and honey (and applesauce if using).

Mix together the ground almonds, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the warm water.

Fold the dry ingredients and water alternately into the beaten mixture.

Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake in centre of oven for about 1 ¼ hours but check after 45 mins as all ovens will bake this differently. It will be treacle-like.

Leave the cake in the tin for 10 mins then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. The cake can be served plain or brushed with honey and sprinkled with flaked almonds.

Happy new year!

Lauren

Chocolate Mousse

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chocolate mousse

This sugar- and dairy-free dessert is so simple and quick to make, and guaranteed to impress. By using raw chocolate and only a small amount of honey you get a mousse which is rich in flavour and not overly sweet, but even kids love it.
You could use organic store-bought almond or coconut milk, but I much prefer the flavour of homemade. You can make coconut milk by blending 160g fresh mature coconut flesh with 350ml hot water and then straining it through a nut milk bag or muslin cloth (this will make 420ml of milk.) Check out the link below to see how to make almond milk.

Ingredients (serves 6)

420ml coconut or almond milk
150g raw chocolate (I use Gayleen’s Decadence Baking Slab, available at The Organic Emporium)
30ml raw honey
45ml organic virgin coconut oil
1/4 tsp Oryx Desert Salt
1/2 tsp vanilla powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg

Method

If you’ve made the coconut milk yourself it should still be hot. If not, warm the milk in a saucepan until just below boiling point. Pour it into a high-speed blender, along with the chocolate, honey, coconut oil, salt and vanilla. Blend until the chocolate is melted and is well combined. With the blender running, pour the eggs into the blender through the hole in the lid. Continue to blend for another 2 minutes. At this point there should be steam coming off the mixture, thanks to having heated the milk, as well as the friction from the blender heating it further. Therefore the eggs will be cooked.

(If you’re not satisfied that the temperature is high enough to have cooked the eggs you can pour the mousse into a saucepan and cook it over very gentle heat, stirring continuously and never allowing it to boil. You need to be careful when using this method that you do not overcook the egg, thereby scrambling it. To check if it’s ready dip a spoon into the mixture and then wipe your figure down the back of the spoon. The mixture should not run down the line you have created when held horizontally.)

Pour the mousse into a pretty serving dish, or into individual bowls (I used champagne glasses.) Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until set, preferably overnight. If you’re in a hurry you could place it in the freezer for a couple of hours and then transfer to the fridge. To serve, place halved strawberries on top of the set mousse.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Raw Chocolate Orange Brownies

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Raw Chocolate Orange Brownies

Being pregnant I am hungry quite a lot of the time but I try to nourish my body with as many pure ingredients as possible to give my baby the best start in life. If I’m hungry, I eat, and by making snacks like these and keeping a batch in the fridge, there is always something healthy to snack on when I fancy something sweet.

Everyone loves a chocolate brownie, but we all love it better when it’s guilt free. I had a load of Jaffa oranges left from my juicing so thought about doing a sweet variation on my usual raw brownies.

The raw cacao, as we know, is full of organic, pure nutrients and, like the almonds, is a great source of protein. Look no further for a snack for the kids that isn’t full of rubbish, is made with pure ingredients, and will take you no more than 15 minutes to make. This really is the easiest recipe with so few ingredients, anyone can make these!

Ingredients – (do double up if you want to make enough to last a while. This recipe makes about 8 small brownies)

1 heaped mug almonds (make sure to soak in purified water for at least 6 hours)
15 organic medjool dates
3 heaped tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tsp organic pure maple syrup
Juice of one orange
Zest of the orange

Method

Once the almonds have been soaked, rinse and pat dry with a paper towel, then put in the blender and blend until it almost turns into an almond butter.

Scrape away the sides then add the dates, cacao, maple, orange juice and a quarter of the orange zest. Blend until well incorporated.

Grease a silicone loaf tin or square tin with a little coconut oil, spoon the mixture in, smooth the top over with a spatula and put in the freezer for an hour and a half.

Remove from the freezer, sprinkle the remainder of the zest on top, cut into brownie slices and store in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Nutella Cake with Banana Caramel Frosting

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IMG_1783 (3)

I needed to bring a cake to a dinner party that was gluten free – for a gluten free person, dairy free – for a kosher person, sugar free – for a diabetic and egg free, but of course I still wanted it to be yummy! Here is what I came up with… And I called it a Nutella cake because it is chocolate and hazelnut… (BTW someone got confused when we use the term ‘cups’ to measure things. It really is as simple as using a cup to measure. A normal size mug is usually the best way to measure a cup.)

Ingredients

3 cups buckwheat flour
Half tsp baking powder
3 large bananas
1 and half cups almond or hazelnut milk
Just under a cup of maple syrup
3 tbsp coconut palm sugar
1 cup hazelnuts
Half cup vegan chocolate chips

Frosting:
1 banana
Half cup maple
4 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp almond butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 / gas mark 6.

Measure out the buckwheat flour and baking powder and put it in a large mixing bowl then set this aside.

Add the bananas, almond milk, maple syrup and coco palm sugar to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour this mix into the flour and mix well.

Add the hazelnuts to the blender and blend until they form a flour, then add this into the bowl and mix well.

Lastly, add the chocolate chips and mix evenly.

Get two springform cake tins of the same size and cut baking paper in a circle the same size as the bottom of the cake tins and put one in each, then grease with coconut oil.

Distribute the mixture evenly between the two tins and bake in the oven for around 25 minutes. You want it to be moist but not undercooked.

You can make the frosting while it is baking by putting all the ingredients in the blender and letting it blend non-stop for at least 2-3 minutes, if not more, until a caramel-like consistency forms.

Once the cakes are ready, leave to cool fully. Once cooled add half the frosting to one cake, then place the other one on top and top with the rest of the frosting. You can serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Raw Chocolate & Coconut Mousse

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Chocolate Coconut Mousse

Pregnancy has got me craving something sweet after a meal (or all the time?!) and although I am totally happy with my 80%/20% lifestyle in which, during the 20% I allow myself to eat out, have the odd pizza or have a processed chocolate bar, I have to remember that my continued remission is not something to take for granted; it is a product of continuous maintenance on my part and that maintenance comes in the form of diet and homeopathy. If I get slack on either one I could see the arthritis coming back at any point and now, more than ever, with a baby on the way, I need to make sure that I stay strong and healthy, especially because carrying extra weight could also impact my joints if they are not kept healthy and supple enough. It is constant work, this keeping healthy business, but I can’t think of anything more worth it.

Sometimes people say to me, ‘we can’t afford to eat organic’ or ‘I don’t have time to make those meals’. In some cases this is very true, but a lot of people who say these things to me would happily go out on a Saturday night and spend £150 on a meal, or buy a new pair of shoes, or spend the evening in front of the TV. There is nothing more precious than our health and prevention is better than cure so ditch the dinner out and save yourself some money and put it towards buying organic, and spend an extra hour in the kitchen once or twice a week preparing fresh lunches and snacks like this one here. I have to sacrifice many things to be able to afford organic food, superfoods and my supplements, and it shouldn’t just be a case of ‘well that’s ok because you had a disease but I don’t’. Because if you ever get diagnosed with something, from arthritis to cancer or the millions of others that people suffer from, you will wish you did all you could to prevent it, for you and your children. There are ways around EVERY SINGLE HEALTH ISSUE, you just need to be willing to work hard enough and remember that a lifetime consuming the chemicals that are found in every single thing you eat or drink that isn’t organic, WILL lead to disease. Don’t do it to your bodies, not in this day and age when there are so many options. Enjoy an organic, superfood lifestyle! And if you need any help getting started, feel free to drop us a line so we can help.

Ingredients

Chocolate mousse layer:
Half cup pecans
1 frozen banana
Half an avocado
Half a cup of almond milk
1 heaped tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tsp maple syrup
Half tsp vanilla extract

Coconut mousse layer:
2 frozen bananas
The cream from the top of a can of organic coconut milk (save the watery part for cooking)

Optional toppings:
Raw cacao covered goji berries
Desiccated coconut

Method

You will need a high speed blender to make the ‘ice cream’ from bananas. I use a Vitamix.

Put the pecans in the blender and blend well until they form a fine meal. Then add the banana and blend until smooth, followed by the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Add this to fill just over half a small glass.

Wash the blender out then add the 2 bananas for the coconut layer until smooth but not melting, then add the coconut cream and blend quickly so combined but not melting.

Add this to the top of the chocolate layer then top with your choice of toppings. I used cacao covered goji berries and desiccated coconut.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as my husband and I will enjoy it after our dinner tonight!

Love,
Lauren

P.s. I had some leftover from the coconut layer so I used this as a milk / yoghurt replacement with my homemade granola this morning. Was lush!

Coconut mousse granola