Tag: plant based

Nutty Brownies with White Chocolate Topping

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White Chocolate Brownies

I needed something indulgent for my birthday this week and what is more indulgent than a chocolate brownie with a white chocolate topping? I had never actually used raw cacao butter as a topping and I didn’t know how it would solidify on top of a brownie but I gave it a go and was so happy with the result. These brownies are just delicious. Soft on the bottom with the crunch of the nuts and crunchy white chocolate on the top.

The cacao offers heaps of bioavailable protein and the nuts and flaxseeds offer omega-3 essential fatty acids. These are gluten free, wheat free, grain free, dairy free, refined-sugar free, egg free and are vegan.

Brownie
1.5 cups almonds, soaked overnight
½ cup ground flaxseeds
½ cup raw cacao powder
½ cup dates, soaked overnight
4 tbsp coconut oil
4 tbsp organic natural maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch Himalayan salt
Handful dark chocolate chips

Topping
250g raw cacao butter
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp organic natural maple syrup

Method

Line a square cake tin with a piece of baking paper at the bottom.

Drain the almonds, pat them dry with a piece of kitchen roll then put them in the food processor and blitz until mainly a meal but still with some chunks as this is nice for the brownie.

Then add the rest of the brownie ingredients except for the chocolate chips and blend well. Turn out into a bowl and add the chocolate chips and mix well with a large spoon.

Press into prepared cake tin and put in the freezer while you make the topping.

To make the topping just put the cacao butter in a pan over a very low heat and very gently melt. Once melted add the rest of the ingredients.

Wait for the topping to totally cool before taking the base out the freezer and pouring this over the top. It will seem very transparent but it will harden. Put it in the fridge for an hour then cut into slices.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

 

 

Winter Detox Smoothie

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Avocado smoothie

It’s all about the detox this winter and although I usually juice my green veg as I prefer the texture, I also like to make the odd smoothie in the vitamix or nutribullet so that I can get the superfoods in like spirulina, and add an avocado which I don’t do when juicing. This one is great to get the metabolism going and boost the immune system on these cold winter days.

Ingredients

Half an avocado
Handful of kale
1 banana
100ml coconut water
1 tsp spirulina
1 probiotic capsule
1 tsb Manuka honey
2 ice cubes

Method

Add all the ingredients to your blender (I used a Vitamix) and open the probiotic capsule and pour it in. Blend, pour and enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Breakfast Parfait Extraordinaire

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Breakfast Parfait 1

Did somebody say breakfast parfait?? I haven’t done one of these for a while but I fancied pre-preparing some overnight oats and a chia pudding last night so threw together a parfait this morning with quinoa pops, almond butter and a top layer of blueberry banana acai ice cream and topped with the wonderfully vitamin K-rich mulberries.

Ingredients

Overnight oats layer:
Half a cup of gluten free organic rolled oats
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 tsp organic pure maple syrup

Chia pudding layer:
Half a cup of chia seeds
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp organic pure maple syrup

Ice cream layer:
1 banana, frozen
Handful blueberries
2 acai berry capsules, opened and emptied into the blender

Extras:
Almond butter
Quinoa pops
Mulberries

Method

The night before you want to eat this, make the overnight oats by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl, cover and leave in the fridge overnight. Do the same for the chia pudding.

In the morning, make the ice cream layer by putting the ice cream ingredients into a high speed blender to make ice cream.

Then just layer up all the ingredients and eat!

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Vitamin Packed Berry Smoothie Bowl

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Berry Smoothie Bowl

Ice cream for breakfast?? Who says you can’t be healthy and have fun! Smoothie bowls are one of my favourite breakfasts. You can literally put anything you want in or on them and you can pack them with vitamins and nutrients which is what I’ve done here. Once again, vitamins C & K and antioxidants are what I’m looking to increase right now as well as omega 3, as I approach the last few weeks of pregnancy, so I took this all into account by using blueberries (vitamins c and antioxidants), mulberries (vitamin k), acai berries (antioxidants) and flax seeds (omega 3), when making this simple, quick, delicious breakfast.

Ingredients

1 frozen banana
A large handful of frozen blueberries
2 dates
1 tbsp almond butter
2 acai berry capsules (sprinkled in)
A splash of almond milk

Toppings:
1 tbsp flax seeds
Handful organic dried white mulberries
Tbsp sunflower seeds
Handful fresh blueberries

Method

Simply put all the ingredients (except the toppings) into a high-speed blender and blend until a smooth, ice cream forms. The blueberries and banana being frozen will cause the blender to turn it to ice cream.

Spoon into a bowl and add the toppings.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Overnight Oats with Mulberries

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Overnight Oats Mulberries

It’s Vitamin K central round my house! As you have probably gathered from my recent posts, I am upping my natural intake of vitamin K in the last eight weeks of pregnancy to prevent having to give my baby the injection after birth. Mulberries are the highest natural source of Vitamin K so I’m stocking up! And what better way to have mulberries than in their natural form, to sweeten up my overnight oats. This was a really delicious breakfast bowl, I’m stuffed! And so satisfied.

Ingredients

1 cup gluten free, organic, rolled oats
2 cups almond milk
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tsp maple syrup (optional)

Toppings:
Handful of dried white mulberries
1 banana, chopped
A sprinkle of desiccated coconut

Method

Simply put the ingredients (excluding the toppings) in a bowl, mix well, cover, and leave in the fridge overnight. You don’t need to add the maple syrup, just depends how sweet you like it.

When you’re ready to eat it, add the toppings. Simples!

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

Chocolate Maca Chia Pudding

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Chocolate Chia Maca Pudding

People are constantly looking for healthy and easy to make alternatives to artificial, cardboard-like breakfast ‘cereals’ and toast. We are the biggest lovers of breakfast here at Two Kitchens! We have more breakfast recipes on our site than any other recipes.

This one is amazing for the whole family. It is packed with chia so it is full of bioavailable plant-based, organic protein, has maca powder in it so gives instant but long-lasting natural energy, the raw cacao is another source of plant-based protein, the almonds in the almond milk add calcium and you can add whatever fruit you like to it for more fibre and fruit intake. I added bananas but you can add strawberries or other berries too. The kids will honestly love this, you can send them off to school knowing they have been given the best start to the day and if you make enough, you can save some as a snack or even dessert for after dinner – so versatile!

Ingredients

1 cup almond milk
3 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp maca powder (I use Organic Burst)
1 heaped tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tsp organic maple syrup or other natural sweetener of choice
1 banana, sliced
Small handful organic vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Method

Put all the ingredients except the banana and chocolate chips into a saucepan and heat gently over a low heat. It will seem dry at the beginning but eventually it will all melt into itself, just keep stirring. You want it to heat but not boil as boiling chia seeds will take the goodness out of them but we still want them to soften and swell.

Once it’s ready, transfer to a bowl, wait for it to cool then leave in the fridge for half an hour. Alternatively you can make it the night before and leave in the fridge overnight. The chia will then swell even more and be softer.

Transfer to a glass or any bowl of choice and top with your favourite toppings.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Roasted Butternut Quinoa Salad

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Butternut Quinoa Salad

When people ask me what my go-to gluten free, yet easy to make, lunch is, I tell them quinoa. It takes around 10 minutes to make and you can either make it that day or the day before and keep a tupperware full in the fridge for a few days. You can also add to it whatever you happen to have in the fridge at that time. In order to make it a bit more filling, I added butternut squash to it this time. You can add some grilled halloumi too, if you fancy, I just wanted to keep this one dairy-free. Quinoa is such an amazing source of protein that you don’t need to add any meat or fish (you can if you want to – if it’s organic of course 🙂 ) But you don’t have to all the same. This will give you all the protein you need.

Ingredients

Quinoa (add as much as is needed for the amount of people you want to feed)
1 butternut squash
Half a cucumber
3 spring onions
2 fresh beetroot, steamed and chopped
Generous handful of cherry tomatoes
2 carrots, shaved into ribbons through a potato peeler
Handful of pine nuts
1 tbsp lemon juice
Pinch salt (I used Oryx desert salt here)
Black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Cook the quinoa as per the packet instructions. When it is ready, transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.

While this is happening, peel the butternut squash and chop into bite-size pieces. Transfer onto a prepared oven tray and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for around 40 minutes, stirring occasionally with a spoon to make sure all pieces are coated by the oil.

While it’s in the oven, chop up your vegetables and add them to the bowl with the quinoa.

Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper and stir well, then take the butternut out the oven and add to the top.

Serve straight away or wait until cooled and keep in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Fruit & Nut Loaf

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2

Once again my appetite has increased. Apparently this happens at the 23 week mark as the baby goes through a big growth spurt. I’m wanting to snack all the time so I’m needing to make healthy snacks that are filling and nutritious and this is honestly one of the best things I’ve made!

Ingredients

2 apples
1 tbsp coconut palm sugar
1/4 cup water
1 and 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1/3 cup pecans
8 medjool dates
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup almond milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon

For the glaze:
2 tbsp almond butter
2 tbsp almond milk
Pinch Himalayan salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 / gas mark 6 and prepare a silicone loaf tin by cutting enough baking paper to cover just the bottom then grease the whole thing with vegan margarine.

Prepare homemade applesauce by putting the apples with the water and sugar in a saucepan and cook until soft. When soft, mash the apples into a puree and add to a large bowl. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Chop the dates into small pieces and add these to the bowl, then put the pecans into a pestle and mortar and bash until chopped but not crushed into a meal, add to the bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix thoroughly.

Once mixed, pour into the loaf tin and bake for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven. It should come out the oven as soon as the fork comes out of the cake clean, you don’t want to over bake it.

Leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out onto a plate.

Make the glaze by mixing all the ingredients then spreading it over the top, If there is any left you can use this to spread on each slice as a spread.

Serve hot out the oven or once cooled.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren