Raw Lemon & Raspberry Mini Cheesecakes

I have absolutely saved the best for last team! This is a recipe I created from scratch and it’s my all time fave. These perfect little cheesecakes are delicious – you will never want to eat regular cheesecake again!  It is perfect for a summer treat and made with wholesome ingredients. They are gluten free, vegan and refined sugar free.   Just remember to soak your cashews the day before, but otherwise a very easy recipe.

Male these for your family for Christmas and they love you for it!

Ingredients

Base:

1 cup cashews

1 cup almonds

½ cup coconut

½ cup soaked dates

1 TBS maple

Lemon Filling:

2 cups of cashews, soaked overnight

400 grams coconut cream

½ cup pure maple syrup

½ cup cacao butter, melted

Juice of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Pinch of salt

Method:

For the base, soak your dates in boiling water for 10 mins. 

Combine the nuts and coconut in a blender and blend until fine.
Drain the dates and add to the blender along with the maple syrup and blend until combined.  The mixture should hold together well and be sticky.

Spoon one table spoon at a time into silicon cupcake trays, press down with the back of the spoon and then pop in the fridge while you make the fillings.

Make the filling:
To make the filling, add all of your lemon filling incredients into the blender and blend until smooth and glossy, approx 3-5 minutes.

Pour into molds to about half way, leaving room for the raspberry layer on top. Return to fridge.

To make the raspberry layer, add 1 cup fresh or freeze dried raspberries to your lemon filling and blend for a minute, or until completely blended.  Pour into your molds, filling to the top. Sprinkle freeze dried raspberry on top. 

Set in the freezer up to 4 hours, or overnight. 

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Halloumi, Asparagus & Avocado Salad

This week I went over to my friend Annalee’s house to teach her this amazingly delicious and super easy recipe. Annalee is a makeup artist & vlogger from New Plymouth, her kitchen is honestly heaven! It makes me so excited to build our house and my dream kitchen! Asparagus is still in season, and so is avocado - and I’m pretty sure halloumi is Annalee’s favourite food, so, match made in heaven!

Halloumi, Asparagus & Avocado Salad

1 small block halloumi cheese
1 bunch asparagus
1 avocado
1 bag spinach
2 free range eggs
Cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion

Heat a pan over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil and 1 heaped tsp butter, when heated, add in slices of halloumi cut approx 1/2 cm thick. Pan fry until browned on each side - watch while it cooks as it will burn easily.

Add a little more oil and butter to the pan in order to pan fry your asparagus. Fry for approx 3-4 minutes. Should be nice and crunchy. Season well.

Hard boil your eggs in boiling water for 10 mins and then put in cold water to cool.

Once everything is cooked, lay a bed of spinach in a bowl and then add in all of your other ingredients on top.

For the dressing mix together:
Juice from half a lemon
3-4 TBS olive oil
1 TBS wholegrain mustard
1/2 TBS mayonnaise if you want to make it creamy

Raw Chocolate Tart

And we have a winner. When I think about yummy Christmas food, I think of chocolate. Am I right? I have always loved baking for my family at Christmas time and usually something with chocolate is in the mix. When coming up with my menu for this baking series, I knew there needed to be something in there for chocolate lovers everywhere.

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegan & refined sugar free. Oh, and also surprisingly easy.
Remember to soak your cashews at least 4hrs in advance of making! The longer you soak them, the creamier the mixture will be.

Serve with fresh strawberries or raspberries.

Ingredients:

Base
2 cups natural cashews
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup pitted dates
3 TBS cacao
2 TBS pure maple

Chocolate Filling
2 cups (250g) raw cashews (soaked for minimum 4 hrs)
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup coconut oil, melted
50g cacao butter, melted
1 teaspoon maca powder (optional)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
100ml (about 7 tablespoons) nut milk of choice
¾ cup raw cacao powder

Method:

The cashews for the filling need to be soaked for a minimum of 4 hours (recommend longer).

To make the base, place all of the dry ingredients (nuts and cacao) into your blender and blitz until crumbly. Add your drained, soaked dates and maple and blitz again until the mixture is combined. Mixture will be sticky. Pop your base into a tart tin and press into the base and up the sides. Place in the fridge while you make the filling.

To make the filling, place all ingredients back in your blender and mix until smooth, this will take anywhere from 3-7 minutes depending on your blender. Pour the filling over your base and place in the freezer to set.

Serve with strawberries or raspberries along with some plain coconut yogurt.

Can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Tropical Smoothie

1 cup coconut milk (preferably from the can, good quality)
1 banana
1 cup fresh or frozen tropical fruit like mango, pineapple, paw paw
1 TBS fresh coconut
1 TBS chia seeds
2 TBS cashews
1 cup ice

Combine all of the above into a blender and combine until smooth. Top with a nut blend or some fresh coconut.

Boysenberry & Banana Smoothie Bowl

Now that summer is here, or at least feels like it is, we are going to be making Smoothie Bowls on the regular at our place. I love coming up with new flavour combo’s based on what I have in my cupboard or freezer.

This is my absolute new fave, and with the boysenberries, it’s high in vitamin C!

There are a few important things to remember - first, you need a good blender. If you have a bullet or smaller blender you may not get the result you are after, or it just might take a while. You have to BLEND BLEND BLEND! Secondly, I used to just throw everything in and blend all at once, but I do think it works out better if you add the liquid in slowly as it’s blending. Makes it harder to add too much and end up with a smoothie.

Make sure you add lots of good stuff on top, especially crunch!

PS. The immune blend mentioned below is a health blend from The Wholesome Co.

Boysenberry & Banana Smoothie Bowl

1.5 frozen banana
1 Cup frozen boysenberries
1TBS chia seeds
1/4 cup liquid
Optional:
1 TBS Acai powder
1 TBS The Wholesome Co Immune Blend

Method:

The key is in the blending, add only a tiny bit of liquid and start to blend, adding more slowly as it mixes. Once you get nice and smooth and to your desired consistency, you’re done!

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Thanks Countdown for this fabulous recipe! I made this recipe today after receiving some new healthy products from Countdown that they are putting on price lockdown. How good is that? Healthy products at lower prices every day. Healthy eating is something I feel really strongly about, and I’m so stoked that healthy options will be more accessible and easier for everyone.

Enjoy this super easy and quick chocolate pudding!
PS. if you don’t like the chia pudding consistency, once it’s set, blitz it until smooth!

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond milk

• 1/3 cup black or white chia seeds

• 1 Tbsp cacao powder

• 1/2 cup blueberries, plus extra to serve

• 2 Tbsp raw honey plus extra to drizzle

• 2 Tbsp mixed nuts, chopped

• 1 Handful cacao nibs, to serve

Method

1. In a large jug, combine milk, seeds, cacao powder and honey. Mix well. Set aside 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent clumping.

2. Add blueberries and stir until combined. Pour evenly among 4 serving glasses or bowls. Chill for 30 minutes.

3. Serve topped with extra blueberries, cacao nibs, nuts and a drizzle of honey.

PB & J Raw Slice

I love peanut butter and jam on bread. Give me some thick grainy bread - toast it and I’m done.
It’s one of my favourite things ever.

I love the combo of a good quality peanut butter with a delicious fruity jam or jelly, so when Pics Peanut Butter here in NZ sent me some of their new Boysenberry Jelly to try, I knew I wanted to create a ‘me’ version of a PB&J treat. After eating several teaspoons straight from the jar (oops), I decided to make a wholesome PB&J slice that I could enjoy, and take me back to my childhood of PB&J sammies!

I actually used the base of my Best Raw Caramel Slice recipe, added oats & peanut butter to the the mix to bulk it out a bit more, and then added a layer of the jelly mixed with chia seeds so that it would set. On top of that, of course, some Pics Smooth Peanut Butter.
Swirl it around so it gets all mixed together!

It’s goey, messy and utterly delicious.

For The Base

• 1 cup cashews

• 2/3 cup almond meal

• 2 cup wholegrain oats

• 3 tbs. coconut oil

• 3 tbs. smooth Pics Peanut butter

• 3 tbs. cacao powder

• 1 tbs. 100% maple or rice malt syrup

Jelly Layer

• 6 tbs. Pics Boysenberry Jelly

• 2 tbs chia seeds

Peanut Butter Layer

• As much peanut butter as you like!

Method:

Blend together all of the dry base ingredients until it becomes a fine crumb. Add in your wet ingredients and blend again. Mix will be quite wet. Place into the bottom of a 20inch pan and set in the freezer.

In a small bowl, combine the jelly and chia seeds. Take out your slice and smooth over the jelly layer. Return to set for an hour or two.

Once set enough, add some smooth peanut butter and swirl it around to get the PB&J blended.
Cut into squares and enjoy!

xx

Crunchy Almond, Pecan & Raspberry Granola

I put granola on everything. Smoothies, bowls, coconut yogurt - you name it, anything creamy and I’ll put some crunch on it. I buy a variety of nut granolas to use as toppings, but also like to have my crunchy oat granola on hand as well. Oddly enough I don’t really use it like regular granola, but the boys do and love it. 

This is a very lose recipe - play with quantities for how much you’d like to make, up the things you like and omit the things you don’t.  I have packed this recipe full of things we love, and opted to add some Glowing Skin Mix from The Wholesome Co.  Any extra nutrition you can get away with adding, add!

Crunchy Almond, Pecan & Raspberry Granola

In a bowl combine:

3 cups organic rolled oats
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans
2 TBS Wholesome Co Glowing Skin Mix
2-3TBS of butter or coconut oil (I used DF Olivani)
2-3TBS honey or maple syrup

Once mixed, pour the granola mix on to a baking tray and bake for approx 15 mins or until brown checking every 5 mins and stirring to stop any burning from happening. 

Once out of the oven, add in freeze dried raspberries & cranberries.

 

Peanut Butter Cacao Bliss Balls

I made these Peanut Butter & Cacao Bliss balls to accompany the Raw Peanut Butter Cheesecake I made on Friday, but they are so good I made an extra batch the next day to keep in the fridge.   

They are peanuty, chocolatey and sweet. WIN! Plus of course, super easy as everything goes in the blender and you just blitz until you get the right consistency. 

I suggest also blitzing up about 1/4 cup peanuts to use to coat them once you've done rolling them into even sized balls. 

Peanut Butter & Cacao Bliss Balls

Ingredients

1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup raw cashews or almonds
1/4 cup coconut
1 heaped TBS Pics peanut butter
1 TBS cacao powder
1 TBS cacao nibs (optional)
1 TBS pure maple syrup
6 large medjool dates, soaked in boiling water for about 5 mins

Drain your dates but keep the water in case you need for consistency.
Add everything into a blender and blitz until well mixed.  Test mixture to see if ok to roll, if not not sticky enough, use water from the dates 1 TBS at a time until you get the right texture for rolling. 
Roll into balls and roll one half into some blitzed peanuts (to make a peanut crumb).  I had some chocolate ganache which I drizzled over as well. 
Pop into the fridge in an airtight container to set. 

Raw Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheesecake

I've been wanting to attempt a raw / vegan cheesecake for ages. Whenever I have them out somewhere I always think they taste incredible, but for some reason they intimidated me.
Lets break it down though. Really, all we have here is a base (all in the blender), filling and a simple ganache on top, not dissimilar to all the other slices I make.  

With friends coming over tonight it was the perfect excuse. The hardest part was actually deciding on flavour - next time I will go for blueberry, but for my first try I decided on Peanut Butter using my fave PB from Pics. I spotted this recipe on Julia & Libby's website a while back, all I did was make a few adjustments with the topping, opting for a chocolate ganache layer on top.   I also made some peanut butter and cacao bliss balls to go on top, which I will post the recipe for tomorrow. 

It gets all the ticks from me - it's refined sugar free, choc full of protein with all of those nuts, it's vegan (completely dairy free) and gluten free. 

So lets do this!  Honestly, it was easy and it's SO SO decadent and delicious, perfect for a special occasion or slicing and popping in the freezer to eat piece by piece!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust

• 1.5 cup almonds

• ½ cup raw peanuts

• 8 medjool dates, pitted and soaked for half an hour in warm water.

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

• 1 tablespoon cacao powder

• Pinch of salt

Filling

• 2 cups of cashews, soaked overnight

• 400 grams coconut cream

• ½ cup maple syrup

• ½ cup peanut butter, melted

• 1/2 cup cacao butter, melted

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• Pinch of salt

Chocolate Ganache

• 3/4 cup coconut milk

• 1 block dark Ghana whittakers chocolate chopped into chunks

Instructions

1. Line spring form tin with baking paper. Place all crust ingredients into food processor and pulse until grainy-mixed texture. Press crust down into cake pan evenly and place into the freezer.

2. Place all cheesecake ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Spread evenly on top of base using a knife or spatula. Place in the freezer for 3 or more hours.

3. Once the cake is set, make your ganache. Place your coconut milk in a pot and heat on low until it starts to steam - don't let boil.  Once hot, take off the heat and mix in your chocolate which will melt slowly. Fold until the ganache goes glossy

4. Pour your ganache over top of the frozen cheesecake. I used a squezzy bottle but you can do this however you like. 

5. Cake is best stored in the freezer.

 

Chocolate Dipped Date & Peanut Butter Bites

This honestly could not be easier and it feels so decadent. I like to make up around 10 and pop them in the fridge for an after dinner treat with my peppermint tea. 

Chocolate Dipped Date & Peanut Butter Bites

10 large medjool dates
Some Pics Peanut Butter
2 rows Whittakers dark ghana chocolate

Split your dates in half if they aren't already, and with a knife, fill it with peanut butter.
Put aside.

Meanwhile, in a pot, melt down your Whittakers dark chocolate. You can melt in the pot or use a double boiler, if using just the pot be very careful not to burn the chocolate. 

Once melted, take one date at a time and dip one side or as much as you can get in there without burning your hands!

Pop in a container and into the fridge to set. 

Boosted Berry Coconut Yogurt

You all know I'm a mad, crazy smoothie fan. To me, it's the number one way to get a whole lot of amazing ingredients all in one meal that tastes half decent.  But I understand we don't always feel like smoothies all year round, or every day.  Unless your me, of course.   I have recently started thinking outside of the box when it comes to boosting meals.  Add spinach to things that maybe you wouldn't normally (what could go wrong?), the amazing overnight oats recipe featuring chia seeds, fruit and LSA mix, or just packing in loads of grated veges into meatballs, patties, egg slices etc. You get the message.  

My latest trick is boosting my coconut yogurt, or just plain unsweetened if that's what you like.  I love my nutra bullet and have a tendency to blend everything in sight, so today I got busy experimenting with upping the nutrition in one of my fave things - coconut yogurt. 

The recipe below is really yummy and turns it from being a snack into a meal, I turned it into a bowl so I could add a bunch of toppings, but you could use it as the topping on your oats, granola or dessert - it's that good. 

Think of things that are good for you and experiment with blending them in to the yogurt. I popped in some chia seeds, a banana, some blueberries and topped with a nutty cacao blend and some more blueberries + chia seeds.  I also included some of The Wholesome Co immune health tub blend, which has a berry flavour and was so perfect for this and I know it has so many incredible ingredients to help boost my immunity at this time of year. 

These health tubs are basically natural blends of different ground ingredients designed to help different areas -  she has designed a hormone balancing one, glowing skin, breastfeeding, pregnancy and immunity.  I love this idea because it is just using natural foods to help boost your system and they are so easy to add to your diet via smoothies, baking or as a topping.  I am trying to do this more and more and am on a journey of learning about what different foods can do for you - it's a big wide world!  Of course, you can create these blends yourself or buy specific items to help you with whatever you need, I just like the convenience of getting directly from The Wholesome Co AND ranging from $29.99 and $39.99 I am not sure you could buy all the ingredients for that!

Here's my recipe for my boosted coconut yogurt, feel free to omit the immunity blend, or if you'd like to try, use 'balanceproject' as a code for 15% off.  This is not a sponsored blog by the way, I just love this stuff!

Boosted Berry Coconut Yogurt
1/2 cup coconut yogurt (I used Raglan Strawberry & Acai flavour)
1 banana
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup ice
1 TBS chia seeds
1 heaped TBS immune health blend (see above)
a few TBS almond milk to add moisture for blending

Pop everything in the bullet and give it a whiz!   Add to your fave granola, or top with your fave granola - whichever you prefer. 

Raw Banoffee Bites

This recipe is up there with my absolute faves, like my Raw Salted Caramel Slice (see blog below this one), it is sticky, sweet and even good for you.  This recipe comes from one of my fave little NZ businesses, The Wholesome Co. They specialise in wholesome baking subscription mixes plus wellness tubs. I am a fan. Being that I have a sweet tooth, having some wholesome treats on hand is such a plus for me.  This recipe is from her Wholesome Treats V2 ebook and she has kindly let me share with you all.   I recommend making a batch and popping them in the freezer for when the sweet urge hits!

Raw Banoffee Bites

Base

½ cup almonds
¼ cup buckwheat groats or you can use an extra ¼ cup almonds
½ cup coconut
2 tbsp coconut oil
½ cup dates

Caramel

1 ripe banana
½ cup dates
¼ cup coconut butter or you can use regular butter
¼ cup maple syrup or rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup coconut cream

Topping

100g dark chocolate
1 tbsp coconut oil 

Method

Soak both lots of dates in two separate bowls of warm water for around 10-15 minutes and drain. 

Place the almonds, buckwheat, coconut, drained dates, and coconut oil into a food processor and blitz until combined.

Spoon the mixture evenly into 6 silicone moulds or muffin tin. Or you can make as a slice.

Place the base mixture in the freezer while you prepare the banana layer.

Place the banana, coconut cream, drained dates, vanilla maple syrup or rice syrup tbsp of the coconut butter into the food processor. Blitz until smooth. 

Pour evenly over the top of the base layer. 

Add the coconut oil chocolate into a small pot and melt gently.

Spoon evenly over the bites and return to the freezer. 

The Ultimate Green Smoothie

Give your body what it needs with this sweet & delicious smoothie filled with green good stuff.
A great intro to Green Smoothies.

Serves 2

1 cup almond or coconut milk
1 x banana
1 x pear
5 x green grapes
1 x golden kiwifruit
1 cup kale & spinach blend
1 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp LSA mix
1 cup ice

Blend until completely smooth and top with some delicious crunchy granola or nuts.

Acai Bowl Recipe

If you are like me, you hear a lot of hype about acai.
Acai bowls seem to be everywhere, well at least all over instagram.  Because I am often searching for healthy, nutritious recipes, the acai bowl features heavily.  So what is acai?  It is a berry found in the Amazon (sounds exotic already) and is deemed a superfood because of the myriad of wonders it does.  The benefits boast aiding digestion, promoting skin health, boosting your immune system, helping your heart and has anti ageing effects. Plus, hell, it's purple. Say no more - I'M IN!

With all this in mind, today I decided to make my own Acai Bowl. It was a hit (with me) and I'm pretty sure Acai will become a regular superfood in our household. First up you are going to need some Acai Powder. I opted for an organic powder by Goodhealth, which is stocked at my local small town pharmacy.

I played around for a little while today to see what worked, and came up with a really delicious bowl for lunch. Feel free to play around and put your favourite toppings on, be your own experiment and enjoy!  In my very short Acai Bowl career I have learned that for a successful bowl, you need a creamy, thick smoothie base and some nice textures on top, think crunch and texture.

Acai Bowl Recipe

Blitz together the following:
1 x banana
1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 Tablespoons acai powder
1 Tablespoon nut butter (I used Peanut Butter)
Up to 1/2 cup coconut milk or almond milk (adjust amount until you get a creamy, thick consistency)

Pour into a bowl and then have some fun decorating! 

Toppings:
Blueberries & Banana or other fresh fruit
A crunchy nut & seed cereal or granola - I love Cathedral Cove Raw Paleo Super Cereal
Almonds
Chia Seeds
Goji berries
Coconut
More nut butter if like me, you love it!

Let me know if you have a favourite acai bowl recipe, I'd love to see how everyone uses this wonderful superfood.

J xx

Pancake Sunday! A DF/GF/SF Recipe to Save.

We love pancakes in this house. It's been a long standing tradition to have pancakes (or waffles) on Sunday.  We had a great recipe for good old fashioned pancakes with white flour & sugar.

When I started changing my lifestyle and eating, pancakes disappeared from the menu for a while - until I decided to experiment with some healthier versions.   I consulted Google and found a recipe by The Paleo Running Momma and decided to try my own from scratch. Instead of white flour, a tapioca flour and coconut flour mix is used, along with mashed banana, eggs and coconut milk.   SUCCESS!   These Paleo banana coconut flour pancakes are so perfectly fluffy, moist and sweet that you won't believe they're grain free, dairy free, and refined sugar free!

They were light, fluffy, rose well and absolutely delicious. The boys downed them pretty quick, I was so happy with them. Below is the recipe, which is the original from Paleo Running Momma with only 1 small change (I used rice malt syrup instead of maple).

Please don't assume that just because these are 'Paleo' that they aren't as good as 'the real thing'. Give them a go. It's a great alternative if you're GF or are trying to stay away from white flour - or even if you're not.

I get creative with toppings - some of our faves are fresh cut fruit salad with coconut yogurt, frozen berries heated in a pan for 10 mins and poured on top (YUM) and todays experiment was banana, pear and peanut butter.  They are wonderful plain with maple syrup too.

Here's the recipe!

Paleo Banana Pancakes

Ingredients

• 3 eggs

• 2 small/med overripe bananas mashed well

• 1/2 cup almond or coconut milk

• 1-2tbsp pure maple syrup

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 6Tbsp coconut flour

• 3Tbsp tapioca flour (buckwheat flour also works well)

• 1/2tsp baking soda

• Pinch salt

• coconut oil for greasing pan/griddle

Instructions

1. Whisk together all wet ingredients. Combine the dry ingredients separately, then add them to the wet mixture and stir until well combined and smooth.

2. Heat a fly pan over med low/med heat. These pancakes will cook more evenly if they cook on a lower setting for a bit longer.  They will burn if too hot!

3. Coat the pan with a thin layer of coconut oil, no too much, since you will add more after each batch.

4. Spoon the batter by about 3-4 tbsp carefully into the hot pan and smooth into an even circle, 3-4 inches in diameter. Do not crowd! You can keep the cooked pancakes on a parchment lined baking sheet in 200 degree oven until ready to eat.

5. Allow each pancake to cook on one side until edges are dry, bubbles form on the surface and the bottom is deep golden. Carefully flip and cook the second side until golden. Repeat for all pancakes, greasing the pan lightly with coconut oil between batches and adjusting the heat as necessary.

The Best Raw Chocolate & Salted Caramel Slice!

I have been experimenting with buying raw treats over the past 7 months and discovering a whole new world of amazing refined sugar free treats.  I've made some as well as I love to have a little stash in the freezer!  I must confess that pretty much all of the slices I have tried have been really really good - both made and bought, much better than I expected.  If you've ever doubted that raw can be as good as 'the real thing', then you absolutely need to try and see for yourself!

Of all my experimenting, the one that always gets me, no matter where I buy it from, is a caramel & chocolate slice or peanut butter and chocolate protein slice. Holy moly, caramel made from dates and coconut cream is out of this world good.

After dabbling with a few basic raw recipes I decided it was time to try the cream of the crop - a trip layer caramel slice.   It's delicious, utterly drool worthy and not as hard as I expected. Want to give it a go?  Here's the recipe, adapted from The Merrymaker Sisters. I'm gutted I didn't get any photos side on, and to be honest mine was a bit slapstick as I was in a rush - but in an ideal world, you should be three definite layers.

PS - Remember this is a treat and not something you should go crazy on.  Although refined sugar free, these types of slices are still high in natural sugars, so something you should eat in moderation.  Good luck with that!  Pop it in the freezer so that you don't get tempted to eat all at once.

Salted Caramel Choc Slice

For The Base

• 1/2 cup cashews

• 1/3 cup almond meal

• 3 tbs. coconut oil

• 2 tbs. cacao powder

• 1 tbs. 100% maple or rice malt syrup

For The Caramel Filling

• 1 1/2 cups dates

• 1/2 cup coconut milk

• 1/2 cup coconut oil

• 1/2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

For The Choc Topping

• 1/2 cup coconut oil

• 2 tbs. cacao powder

• 1 tbs. 100% maple or rice malt syrup

• 1/2 tsp. pink Himalayan salt (optional)

Method

• Line a 20 x 10 cm (8 x 4 inch) loaf tin with baking paper.

For The Base

• Place all the base ingredients in to a food processor (we use our Vitamix). Whiz until well combined, it will be a little sticky and crumbly.

• Press this mix in to the prepared tin, ensure it is pressed evenly.

• Place the tin in to the freezer to set

For The Caramel Filling

• Using the food processor (don't worry about washing it) place all the caramel filling ingredients and whiz until completely smooth (it will take around 5 minutes).

• Pour this delicious mixture over the top of the base and return to the freezer.

For The Choc Topping

• Using the food processor (again, don't worry about washing it) add the raw cacao, coconut oil and maple syrup, mix until completely smooth.

• Pour the choc topping over the caramel filling, shake the tin slightly to even it out. I gave it a bit of a swirl!

• Sprinkle with Himalayan pink salt if you like things extra salty.

• Return to the freezer for about 1 hour or until completely set.

• Once set, cut into slices and store back in the freezer!

4 Must Try Chia Pudding Recipes!

There are a few things that have become absolute staples in our house over the past 9 months, and chia pudding is one of them. So simple, easy and yummy.  Plus, did you know Chia seeds are higher in Omega 3 that Salmon? Super duper good for you. They also absorb liquid, so you can pretty much create any flavour you want with liquid - and then just add the chia seeds to give it bulk.

I have made many renditions of Chia Pudding, you can literally do anything, and I have.

I've come up with a few absolute favourites that I'm going to share below, but first things first - I'm going to give you a recipe for a basic, plan vanilla pudding, and then you can use that as a foundation to build on.   You can't go wrong with Blueberry or Chocolate Peanut Butter, plus I've just made a special edition pud using Misty DayPlant Potions tonic powder.

Which will you try first?

Basic Chia Pudding

2 cups coconut milk (unsweetened)
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 tsp maple syrup or rice malt syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Blitz or whisk together everything except the chia seeds. Once blended, add the chia seeds and whisk again.
Pop in a jar and refrigerate for an hour.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Pudding (my fave)

2 cups coconut milk (unsweetened)
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 tsp maple syrup or rice malt syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 TBS cacao powder
1 TBS natural peanut butter

Prep your jar(s) by putting a little peanut butter in the bottom.
Blitz together coconut milk, syrup, cacao, vanilla and peanut butter.
Add chia seeds and mix with a whisk, pour into jar on top of the peanut butter.
Refrigerate for an hour

Blueberry & Vanilla Chia Pudding (Aiden's fave)

2 cups coconut milk (unsweetened)
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 tsp maple syrup or rice malt syrup
1 tsp tsp vanilla
1/2 cup blueberries

Prep your jar(s) by putting a 1/4 cup blueberries in the bottom.
Blitz together coconut milk, syrup, vanilla and and 1/4 cup blueberries. Save a couple to go on top!
Add chia seeds and mix with a whisk, pour into jar on top of the whole blueberries.
Refrigerate for an hour

Misty Day Chia Pudding with Strawberries

2 cups coconut milk (unsweetened)
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 tsp maple syrup or rice malt syrup
1 tsp tsp vanilla
1 TBS Misty Day tonic
* I used 'Moxie Brew' which is cacao, beetroot & asparagus
1/4 cup frozen strawberries
Blitz together coconut milk, syrup, vanilla and the tonic.
Add chia seeds and mix with a whisk, pour into jar and place some strawberries on top - they will sink, this is fine.
Refrigerate for an hour

Roasted Moroccan Chickpea, Cabbage & Broccoli Salad

Hot summer days mean salads for dinner in our house, and I admit, I'm not the most original in my salads usually (green salad anyone?), so I have been experimenting with new salads over the past month and this is one of my new faves.

This salad is simple, refreshing & tasty.  You can change up the flavour by mixing through whatever salad dressing you think will go with it (would be lovely with a creamy dressing) or I have popped a basic recipe for a lemon dressing that I really like.My advice would be to not add the dressing until you are serving, as the chopped salad stays fresh in the fridge for 3 days without the dressing. Just add dressing as you serve.

Make it is easy, and just two steps - quick chopping of the raw ingredients, and roasting up the crunchy stuff  in the oven.

Chickpea, Cabbage & Broccoli Salad

Ingredients

For the oven:
1 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 TBS Moroccan seasoning

For the main salad:
1/2 Red cabbage finely chopped
1 x head Broccoli finely chopped
1 x Carrot grated
1/2 avocado
Fresh baby spinach leaves

First, prepare the chickpeas and almonds. If using canned chickpeas, drain and dry with a paper towel. In a bowl, toss in olive oil and mix through the morroccan seasoning.
Place the chickpeas on a lined baking try and add the almonds. Bake for 15-20 mins at 180 degrees.

Next place the salad ingredients in a bowl for serving.  You can use any dressing you fancy or have handy, I make the following and it's super yum, simple and quick.
Mix up the following in a bowl; extra virgin olive oil, whole grain mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper

Top your salad with the roasted chickpeas and almonds, and enjoy!