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

Salmon Chowder

10 04 2013

Due to the miserable cold, wet Brisbane weather this week, and my current ‘can’t be bothered chewing’ attitude, my soup obsession has well & truely spiraled out of control. As part of my mission to ‘Calm the f$ck down’ and not be such a Rushing Woman, (as per the book I am currently reading), I need to eat slower. Chew my food properly. Not do a million other things while I am eating. I am finding this VERY difficult. I hover my food. It’s not my fault, it’s what coming from a big family does to a person. Survival of the fittest. So because I am struggling to masticate (what a weird word) properly, I have taken the lazy way out & created food that I can drink :) This probably defeats the purpose but it’s where I’m at right now.

Cream of Cauliflower soup was followed by Creamy Broccoli & Parsley soup this week and now we have reached the pinnacle of soups, the chowder. I have eaten chowder only once in San Francisco and never cooked it before so I would suggest I am hardly the expert on chowder. In saying that, I am the expert of my tastebuds & this tastes freaking tops so if it’s not “chowdery” enough for you then I say “NO SOUP FOR YOU”! Get it? Seinfeld? Oh whatever. Just eat the chowder. It’s good for you you. And it’s delicious. Go, get chowdering. What a cool word “chowdering”, use it in a sentence sometime this week please.

300g bacon, diced (preferably nitrate free if you can find it)
500g salmon fillets, chopped in half (skin and bones removed)
1 leek, sliced
2 cups carrots, diced into small pieces
1 litre chicken stock/bone broth or vegetable stock
500ml full fat coconut milk
1 tbs fresh dill
Salt & black pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, cook the bacon until it’s nice & crispy. Take out 1/2 the bacon & set aside. Add the leeks to the remaining bacon and continue to sauté until the leeks are tender. Add the carrots and cook until they start to soften. Add the stock, dill, salt & pepper and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. Use a stick blender to blend this until smooth. Return to the heat, add the coconut milk, bring to the boil again then add the salmon fillets to the soup, make sure they are covered with the soup, and let simmer until they are easy to break apart. Gently flake the salmon pieces apart and stir gently. Serve in big bowls, sprinkle with a bit more fresh dill & the remaining bacon.

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Categories : Dinner, Lunch, Soups

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

Dark Choc Orange Hot Cross Buns

1 04 2013

Every year for the last few years Trav & I have hosted “Brisbane’s Best Hot Cross Bun” competition. Our family & friends all come over, bring buns that they have made or bought, all buns are carefully tasted & judged and voted upon. This year it was a tie between my Dark Choc Orange Buns & my mum’s Molten Chocolate Hot Cross Buns. This year to help burn off the sugar from the event we thought we’d introduce an extra Easter tradition. Handball. The kind you play in primary school. It was epic. There were some awesome moves. My young cousins flogged everyone but that obviously doesn’t count because they are ‘current players’ whereas the rest of us had all come out of ‘retirement’ for the event. Here’s my bun recipe.

Buns-
100g Lindt Intense Orange Dark Chocolate, chopped roughly
3/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 heaped tsp nutmeg
1 heaped tbs cinnamon.
1 tsp stevia powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
125g organic grassfed butter cubed
Zest & flesh of 1 orange (purée the flesh in the food processor/blender)
3 eggs – whites & yolks separated

Crosses-
1 heaped tbs coconut flour
1 tsp cacao powder
water

Preheat your oven to 170C. Prepare you cupcake cases (I used silicone), I made about 12.
In a large bowl add all your dry bun ingredients as well as the orange zest and mix well.
Add the butter and rub into the mixture with your fingertips until it is kinda like a crumble texture.
Add the egg yolks and orange puree & stir well to combine. In a separate bowl beat your egg whites until soft peaks form and then gently fold these through the rest of the mix. Spoon into your cupcake moulds and place aside while you make the mixture for your crosses.

Crosses- Pop coconut flour & cacao in a small bowl & use the back of a spoon to flatten out any lumps. Gradually add drops of water while stirring to form a thick paste. I just used a spoon to gently drizzle the cross on the top of each bun but you can use a piping bag or ziplock bag if you prefer.

Pop them into the oven for 25-30 mins. Allow to cool slightly before removing from silicone moulds & placing on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Here’s how mine looked…

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This is a collage of the days events….

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And the weirdest family photo ever…..

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