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

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

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

7 04 2013

It has been a cold, wet week so far and it feels like perfect soup weather! Soups are a great way to get loads of veggies in your guts without trying very hard. Make them on some bone broth and you get even more amazing health benefits like immune support, joint support, gut healing and reduction of inflammation. Cauliflower is from the same family as broccoli and cabbage, it contains many essential B-complex vitamins and loads of vitamin C. Cauliflower contains several anti cancer phyto-chemicals which have proven benefits against prostate, breast, cervical, colon, ovarian cancers. You could make a cream of broccoli version by substituting the cauliflower for broccoli & adding a couple of handfuls of baby spinach too.

1 carrot, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely diced
Coconut oil to sauté
1 heaped tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 small head cauliflower, chopped roughly
1 cup coconut cream
2 lge zucchini, peeled and chopped into 1/4′s (you don’t have to peel them, I just didn’t want green soup this time)
1L stock (vegetable, chicken or your own homemade bone broth)
Salt & pepper to taste
Fresh thyme to serve

In a large pot sauté the onion, garlic, ginger & carrot in the coconut oil until the onion is translucent. Add the cauliflower, zucchini & stock & bring to the boil. Reduce to a low heat & simmer for about an hour. Use a stick mix to blend until smooth. Add coconut cream & salt & pepper & blend until combined. Serve with some fresh thyme. Easy as.

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Categories : Lunch, Snack, Soups

Banana Cinnamon Cookies

20 03 2013

I love cookies. So much. I could eat them every day. According to the health foundation food pyramid, cookies are a ‘sometimes’ food. Well they can bite me, these cookies are an ‘everytime you work your ar$e off at the gym you can have one (or 3) kinda food’. They have some great healthy fat sources from the nut butter & coconut and only have 1 banana between about 12 cookies so are pretty low carb! High fibre, high iron, rich in B vitamins, potassium packed bananas are great fuel for our bodies. Many studies have also shown that adding cinnamon also helps lower the GI of high GI foods like bananas and assists in regulating blood sugar levels. I love cookies. Did I mention that?

250g of nut butter (I used almond but peanut/cashew/macadamia/ sunflower seed would work well too)
1 large egg
60 g coconut oil
1/3 cup raw organic honey or 1/2 tsp stevia powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 very ripe banana

Preheat your oven to 160C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Place your nut butter, egg, banana, coconut oil and honey (or stevia) in your food processor and process to combine. Add in your salt and spices and process to mix well. Add your coconut flour and baking soda and process one last time. You should now have quite a sticky dough. Spoon your cookies out on your lined tray and press them down to look like cookies. Bake for 10-15 minutes for a still chewy but nicely baked cookie. Remove from the oven and let cool. This made about a dozen cookies.

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Categories : Cake & Biscuits, Dessert, Snack

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