Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars

9 05 2013

I’m not sure if you are up to date with my latest body experiment but I had my food allergies tested to try & get to the source of my dodgy gut. Result are in and it’s a pretty dire outcome, though it could be worse…. I could be allergic to bacon or coconut. I will share the whole saga in another post but dairy in all forms is a massive one (adios whey protein), almonds (that’s pretty annoying), mushrooms & bananas & pineapple (not ideal but I will cope), sugar cane (who cares), wheat/gluten (no surprise & don’t care). There are more, but they are the main ones. Then comes eggs. My biggest SADNESS is EGGS!!! I freaking love eggs, I eat them all the time, every day for breakfast at least (perhaps my problem). BUT, it is ok because, if it is going to make me feel better then I am all over it. No eggs for at least 4 mths then we will reintroduce & see how we go. Until then I need some new breakfast ideas.

These protein bars are low carbohydrate, I have snuck some veggies in there to keep me from getting scurvy, high in protein & have some healthy fats as well. I freeze mine as individual bars for the days when I need brekkie or a snack in a hurry. See eggs, I don’t need you.

1 cup grated carrot
1 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated (you could use a tsp or ground ginger instead)
2 cups mixed nuts/seeds (choose whatever you like)
1/2 cup protein powder (vanilla or flavorless)
4 tbs ground flax or chia mixed with 1/4 cup water (or 2 eggs)
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup nut butter, coconut butter or seed butter of your choice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Pinch salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup coconut (optional)
1/2 tsp stevia powder (or 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup)

Preheat oven to 170C. In a bowl (or I used a food processor) mix zucchini, carrot, coconut oil, water, nut butter, ginger & flax, chia mix or eggs and combine well. Add the spices & protein powder & stevia (or honey) and mix again. Add all remaining ingredients and blend to just combine. Line a cake tin or loaf pan with baking paper and pour the mixture in & flatten out. Bake for about 20-30 mins until cooked, sprinkle with a bit more cinnamon, allow to cool before slicing into bars. These can be stored in the fridge or freezer.

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Categories : Breakfast, Cake & Biscuits, Snack

Peppermint Choc Cups

28 04 2013

Did you know you can be addicted to sugar? A lot of people are, I used to be one of them. Sugar is like heroin, when you are addicted you NEED it, you just must have it. Well, if you haven’t worked it out yet, sugar makes you fat, not to mention causing inflammation in your body, causes brain fog, slumps in energy, causes insulin resistance, just to name a few of the problems. Learn more about what sugar does to your body & how to kick the habit HERE or HERE.

These are another version of my Peanut Butter Cups minus the nut butter. They are sugar free & the perfect little morsel to knock that sugar craving on the head. Loaded with healthy fats & low carb. Tell me how much you love me later ;)

3 heaped cups shredded coconut
2 tbs coconut oil
1tbs raw cacao
Few drops peppermint oil
Stevia (or maple syrup to taste)
1/4 tsp vanilla powder or extract

Add the coconut & coconut oil to your food processor & blend until it becomes a runny, smooth liquid. Divide mixture into 3 separate bowls. In bowl 1, add the vanilla powder, mix well then spoon into the bottom of your silicone cupcake moulds- you want about 1.5cm in the bottom of each. Now pop these in the freezer while you do the rest. In bowl 2, add the cacao & a dash of stevia to the coconut butter & mix well to combine the set aside. In bowl 3 add a dash of stevia & a few drops of peppermint oil & mix well. Taste & adjust as required.

Remove the moulds with the plain coconut butter mixture from the freezer, spoon over the chocolate mix and pop back in the freezer for about 15 mins. Once these are set you can repeat with the final peppermint mix so you now have 3 layer chocolate cups. Pop them back in the fridge or freezer to set.

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Categories : Cake & Biscuits, Dessert

Peanut Butter Choc Chip Ice Cream

21 04 2013

This happened on Sunday night. It was a taste explosion. It made Trav & I very happy…. Well until we ate too much then we just felt sick. Anyone else have issues with eating in moderation? Damn food for being so delicious! It’s not even that I have no self control or that I don’t realise I’m full, it’s that I know, that if there is any left, Trav will just eat it all and that’s not fair. Seriously, the guy must have a tapeworm the size of an anaconda. So much food! How does one person eat so much food?? I need my own fridge…. With a lock on it ;) Or a retina scan opening device so he can’t just cut the lock off…. But that would be annoying if I needed him to get something out of the fridge for me, and, I can’t afford another fridge, let alone one with retina scan technology locks. I’ll just stick to my original plan, eat it all.

500ml coconut cream
200ml almond milk (or milk of your choice)
2 big tbs crunchy peanut butter (or nut butter of your choice)
1/2 cup dark Choc chips (I used my Coconut Rough without the peppermint)
2 eggs
2 very ripe bananas
Dash stevia or 1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract

In a food processor blend coconut cream, milk, banana, eggs, stevia/ maple syrup, cinnamon & vanilla until very smooth. Allow this to chill completely in the fridge for a few hours then pop it in your ice cream maker. Just before it is done churning add the choc chips & peanut butter and allow to combine. Pour into a container & pop it in the freezer to set for about an hour before serving if you want it to be “scoopable” or else you can eat it straight away if you like it as soft serve.

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Categories : Cake & Biscuits, Dessert

Sweet Potato Muffins with Coconut Crumble

20 04 2013

When I went to the markets this morning I bought the worlds biggest sweet potato, it weighed almost 2kg. Well I don’t know whether it is ACTUALLY the worlds biggest, I didn’t check the Guinness Book Of Records, but it probably is. Luckily I had The Fitographer with me to be my packhorse and carry the loads of food I kept purchasing. Marry a strong man ladies, that is my advice, they are very useful.

Inspired by the always talented and lovely Sarah from Ingredients of a Fit Chick, I used her sweet potato muffin recipe and added a few bits of my own. If you haven’t visited Sarah’s BLOG you really must, she loves coconut almost as much as I do so in my eyes that makes her an awesome chick. We’d probably be besties if we lived in the same country. She also has heaps of great recipes and does loads of cool things. You’ll like her.

Wet Stuff
1 cup sweet potato, steamed & puréed/mashed
2 tbs coconut oil/ghee, melted
3 eggs (use flax-eggs for vegan alternative)

Dry Stuff
2 1/2 scoops (90g) of whey protein powder (vanilla or flavorless) (use vegan protein if required)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2-3/4 tsp stevia powder (depending on how sweet you like it or 1/2 cup honey/maple syrup)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla powder (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

Topping
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup almond meal (or coconut flour if you want to keep this nut-free)
Dash stevia (or 2 tbs maple syrup/honey)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup egg whites

Preheat the oven to 160C. You will need 3 bowls. Mix all the dry ingredients well in one making sure you get rid of any lumps. Mix all the wet ingredients in another bowl until smooth. Mix all the topping ingredients together in a small bowl until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until completely combined, try not to overmix this. Spoon this mixture into muffin/cupcake containers so they are about 3/4 full. Spoon the topping onto the top of each muffin and press down gently. Bake for about 10-15mins. They will continue to set a bit as the cool. Don’t overcook them or they will taste like cardboard. Remove from oven & allow to cool slightly, I chucked a blob of ghee on mine while it was still warm. So delicious. Coconut butter or nut butter drizzle would be amaze too. This made 12 cupcake sized muffins. You can freeze these or store them in an airtight container in the fridge…. That’s if they last that long, they taste best fresh out of the oven.

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Categories : Breakfast, Cake & Biscuits, Snack

Caramel Walnut Cookies

12 04 2013

Mmmmmm the sweet smell of cookies. There is something very comforting about cookies and these ones are a perfect match for a cup of tea/coffee/smoothie/water. Really any excuse to eat them will suffice. They are sweetened only with a few fresh dates so won’t have you off your face on a sugar high. Ever notice how walnuts look like little brains? Well that is because they are smart little nuts. They are LOADED with vitamin E which is an excellent antioxidant, rich in omega 3 fatty acids which provide an excellent anti inflammatory action for our bodies and contains lots of important B-complex vitamins. What clever little nuts.

On a totally different note, I had my food allergies tested last week after being inspired by my wonderful friend Belinda @ Intensity PT (you can read her article HERE) to get to the root of my dodgy gut. Results should be in this week, if I am allergic to coconut the outcome could be dire….. At least I could still eat these cookies.

3 cups walnuts (you could try using another type of nut, I haven’t so I am not sure how it would go)
6-8 fresh dates (if you like things really sweet, go with 8)
1 tbs lucuma powder (OPTIONAL- you can leave this out)
1/2 tsp vanilla powder (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Extra walnuts to decorate cookies

Preheat your oven to 160C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Add the walnuts & all other dry ingredients to your food processor & blend until the walnuts are a rough flour. Add all other ingredients & blend until a smooth batter forms. It will still be quite sticky. Wet your hands with water and roll the batter into balls and place on the baking tray, flatten them out slightly to cookie shapes. This should make about 12 cookies. Place in try oven for about 15 minutes. You can leave them in a bit longer if you want a crunchier cookie. Once you remove them from the oven, allow to cool for about 10 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. These freeze well if you want to store them in the freezer, I keep mine in the fridge.

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Categories : Cake & Biscuits, Dessert, Snack

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