Trail mix

A trail mix is a fantastic snack for any time of day. You can sprinkle it on your cereal, have it as morning or afternoon tea or something to nibble on before you go to bed. Nuts and seeds are full of great nutrients such as protein, zinc and magnesium. The best part about making a trail mix is that you can tailor it specifically to your taste adding your own choice of nuts, seeds and dried fruit.

Fruit free trail mix:

Soak and roast
-Almond
- Brazil nuts
-Cashew nuts
-Hazelnuts
-Pumpkin seeds
-Pepitas
-Sesame seeds
-Sunflower seeds
Then add some dried coconut pieces and some cacao nibs.

High antioxidant trail mix:

Mix together
-Almonds
-Brazil nuts
 -Hazelnuts
-Cashew nuts
-Walnuts
-Pumpkin seeds
-Sunflower seeds
-Chia seeds
-Raw cacoa nibs
-Goji berries
-Cranberries (sugar free)
-Sour cherries

Healthy home made chocolate

I have been attempting to make my own health raw chocolate all week with many failures. The first time there was not enough cocoa leaving just the flavour of cocoa butter. The second was edible but still not great as I used xylitol to sweeten the chocolate and it did not melt. This resulted in unsweetened chocolate with clumps of sweet xylitol scattered throughout.

For my third attempt I tried something different, which so far has worked best. It still requires some refining but you can play around with the recipe and decide the proportions that you like best.

What you will need:

chocolate

-1 ½ cups raw organic cocoa butter

-1/4 cup raw cocoa powder

-1/8 cup raw cocoa nibs (optional)

-3 teaspoons cocnut sugar

-6 drops liquid stevia

-vanilla, cinnamon, orange or mint (optional)

filling

-1/4 cup coconut oil

-1/8cup hazelnut butter

-1/4 cup maple syrup

-1/8 cup cocoa powder

First melt the cocoa butter and coconut sugar in a double boiler.  Don’t worry if the coconut sugar remains grainy and does not completely melt. Once melted add the cocoa, cocoa nibs (if you want a bit of extra crunch and like your chocolate bitter) and stevia.

Pour half of the mixture onto a plate or into moulds. Stick in the freezer to harden while making filling.

Whisk the coconut oil and hazelnut butter until combined. Add the maple syrup and continue mixing. Then add the cocoa powder and mix until a consistent smooth mixture forms.

Take the chocolate out of the freezer and add the chocolate hazelnut filling spreading it all over the top. Then pop it back into the freezer for about 5-10 minutes.

Once it has hardened pour over the remaining chocolate to cover the entire filling. Place in the fridge until hard and enjoy.

Any left over choc/hazelnut filling can be eaten as a treat on its own or spread on toast as a healthier version of nutella.

You can leave out the filling if you just want the chocolate on its own or add anything of your choice such as nuts or dried fruit.

Rosemary and Garlic infused Olive Oil

This recipe is so simple yet so useful and tastes wonderful too.
All you will need is:

1. A good quality virgin olive oil.
2. A clove of garlic
3. A sprig of fresh rosemary

Slightly crush the garlic clove and place in salad dressing jar (any glass jar will do). Brake off and wash a sprig of rosemary and add to the jar. Then pour in the olive oil until the jar is full and both the rosemary and garlic have been submerged in oil. Stick in the fridge and leave for 3-4 days. In this time the oil will become infused with the aromatic flavoures of the rosemary and the garlic. You can add more or less depending on how strong a flavour you like. You could also add any other herbs of your choice such as thyme or pepper.

This delicious oil can then be drizzled over salads, used as a marinade or put on toast instead of butter or margarine.

Salty Sesame Tamari Almonds

Nuts are always a great snack suggestion. They are high in protein, good fats and are full of minerals. One thing to keep in mind when having nuts is that they have certain substances in their skin that are hard for our bodies to digest. That's why it is a good idea to soak them before eating. Just like with legumes, soaking nuts helps break down these undigested substances in their skin making them easier for our digestive system. This way you will be able to absorb more of their great nutrition! All you have to do is put them in a bowl, cover them with water and leave them overnight. By morning you will have soft and delicious nuts ready for eating.

These tamari and sesame almonds give an extra bit of taste to normal almonds. All you have to do it pour tamari (or any soy sauce of your choice) over the almonds, then sprinkle over a bit of sesame oil and mix through so the sauce is evenly distributed over all the nuts. Pop them on a tray and into the oven on a low heat for approximately 1.5 hours.

Once they are ready let them cool and enjoy this salt tasty snack :)

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Paleo bread

                                                                         

        
With the Paleo diet all the rage at the moment I thought I would give Gwyneths Paleo bread a try. The bread is completely grain free, meaning it is perfect for gluten intolerant individuals or just people trying to cut down on carbs. The bread is very high in protein and fibre so it is very filling and will keep you satiated for quite a while. Its great for breakfast, with soup for dinner or just as a snack. I have been taking a piece to work as a mid morning snack to tide me over until lunch. It will keep for a week if you store it in the fridge.

 

Recipe:

1 ½ cups almod flour/meal

2 tablespoons coconut flour

¼ cup flaxeed meal

¼ teasponn sea salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

5 eggs

¼ cup coconut oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

·      Mix almond flour, coconut flour, flax, salt and baking soda in a food processor on pulse (I used a mix master and it turned out perfectly).

·      The add in eggs, oil, honey and vinegar and continue to pulse.

·      Pour batter into a greased 20 times 10 cm non stick or lined pan

·      Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 40 minutes.

I used LSA instead of flax and maple syrup instead of honey just because its what I had in the house and it was fine. I also added 2 tablespoons of chia seeds just too boost the fibre content a bit more and give the break more texture. Once the mixture was in the pan I glazed it with a whole egg and sprinkled sesame seeds over the top just to add to the appearance.

Naturally Nourishing Buckwheat Porridge

This morning I headed down to the kitchen but just could not decide what to have for breakfast. What I could decide was that I needed something warm and nourishing on this chilly morning. Luckily I spotted a packet of buckwheat porridge hidden in the corner of the pantry and immediately knew it would hit the spot.

Buckwheat porridge is a great alternative for those gluten intolerant people who can’t eat oats, or for anyone who just wants to try something different. You can buy it from the healthfood store or make it from scratch using buckwheat kernels.  This morning I was too hungry to make it from scratch so I used the packeted version.

I placed 1 cup of water on the stove and brought it to the boil. Once boiling I added 1/3 cup of buckwheat, turned down the heat and covered it letting it cook for about 10 minutes or until all the water had dissolved and there were little pock marks at the top of the buckwheat. Once the water had dissolved I added 2 teaspoons of coconut oil and some almond milk to add more of a creamy texture. I stirred until the milk had dissolved and I had the not too runny porridge that I prefer.

In my bowl I also added a tablespoon of LSA meal for extra protein and fibre, a sprinkle of cinnamon, some sliced banana and honey.  There you have it a highly nutritious, gluten free porridge that will definitely warm up your insides.

Quirky Quinoa Sushi

This is simply an alternative to the usual sushi made with rice. Instead I decided to try making it with quinoa due to the many wonderful health benefits it contains. I didn’t use any sugar or rice vinegar which made it healthier but also less sticky so cutting the roll had to be done with extra gentleness. You can always add the rice vinegar and sugar if you wish.

What you will need:

ANYTHING YOU WISH! The great thing about sushi is you really can use anything and make any variety of rolls you like. I made mine with cucumber, carrot, capsicum, avocado, egg and some tuna dip that I already had in the fridge from yesterday’s lunch.

First thing you will need to do is cook the quinoa. Place 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups of water in a saucepan and cook like rice for about 20 minutes. Don’t let it get to dry as you want it a bit mushy so its sticks to the seaweed. Once it is ready transfer it to a bowl to cool.

You will need to cut up the veggies of your choice finely which you can prepare while your quinoa is cooking.

I also added an omelette to my rolls which tastes great, adds some extra  protein and looks pretty too with the waves of different colours. To make the omelette I simply beat 2 eggs with a pinch of salt. I then fried it in a large fry pan so it was nice and thin. Cook for a minute then flip so it is dry on both sides. I then took it off the heat and cut it into a square shape.

I then put a piece of seaweed onto the sushi mat, lay then omelette on top and covered with quinoa, once it had cooled down. I put a fairly thin layer of quinoa and patted it down so it was flat. Make sure the qunioa goes right to the edges so you can stick the edge down when rolling. I then added then veggies in the centre and put down a layer of the tuna dip (which was just canned tuna, bit of mayonnaise and salt). Finishing off by drizzling a bit of sesame oil over the veggies as I just love the flavour!

 Then you are ready to roll. Roll the bottom of the seaweed up over the filling and press down. Then continue rolling so it looks like a log.

 Once it is in the shape of a roll you can cut it into piece and serve!