feeding the fussy beast: toddler times (and cake)
It’s funny, when your kid first starts eating food (the solid stuff) it’s kind of amazing. Misty would eat anything…. pureed spinach & broccoli, my kooky millet-creations, home made teething rusks, you name it, the kid would eat it. Then it’s like a switch goes off around the 2 year mark, and your previously “I will eat ANYthing,” child turns into Fussy Mr. NoIDon’tWantAnyTypeOfSauceToEvenGoAnywhereNearMyRice. Frustrating.
Some days, Misty doesn’t eat. Oh, he will DRINK close to anything, but eat any solid food? You’re joking, right? Thank goodness for smoothies – I can blend anything into one and he will guzzle it down…ask the boy to chew though, and you are just tempting a tantrum. I suppose it’s an age thing – Misty has realised his own decision-making power, and is beginning to work out what he does and does not like. Perfectly normal and acceptable. I think kids actually have a really good grasp on intuitive eating – they eat when they are hungry and reject stuff they don’t like/are not hungry for. I really don’t get that “You will sit at the table until you finish EVERYTHING” mentality. Yes, of course kids need boundaries, but force feeding a toddler is not my style….. Misty will eat when he is hungry enough.
Misty is a grazer…. he prefers to have a bunch of snacks during the day instead of 3 set meals. Suits me, as that’s the way my eating-style rolls too. When he does decide to eat, I try and get as much nutritional value in as possible….. the following cake/slice has been a big hit. It’s high in protein and good fats, low in sugar and even involves some fruit.
The cake itself is not vegan – Misty (and Viper, on occasion) eats eggs, but the icing/frosting is vegan-friendly. I would highly recommend making a double batch of icing, and eating it as “fudge” on it’s own – when it is chilled it goes wonderfully firm. I’ll take icing over cake ANY day…. or maybe I’m just the fussy one?
Cinnamon-Raisin Cake with Carob-Peanut Fudge Frosting
(Grain/Wheat/Gluten/Dairy/Refined sugar free)
- 2C almond meal
- 2t ground cinnamon
- 1/4C rapadura sugar (or your favourite granulated sugar)
- 1/8t sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1C apple puree
- 1t vanilla extract
- 1t baking powder
- 1/2C raisins
- Pre heat oven to 170 degrees, fan bake.
- Whisk together eggs, vanilla and sugar.
- Combine almond meal, cinnamon, salt, and raisins in a mixing bowl.
- Add wet mix to dry, and finally fold through baking powder
- Pour into a lined baking dish, or silicone mould. I use a silicone pie dish which results in a cake that isn’t too high – around 2cm. If you want a smaller, higher cake, you may need to adjust the cooking time – just insert a skewer in the middle, when it comes out clean it is done.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool the cake completely before icing with the following recipe.
Carob Peanut Fudge Frosting
(Vegan:Gluten/Wheat/Grain/Refined sugar free)
- 1/4C soft coconut oil
- 1/4C peanut butter (I used crunchy, unsalted)*
- 1/8t sea salt (if using unsalted peanut butter)
- 1t vanilla extract
- 3T carob powder**
- 1T hot water
- 3T brown rice syrup***
*If you have a peanut sensitivity, tahini is a delicious substitution.
**Cocoa/cacao can be used instead.
***Or your favourite liquid sweetener – maply syrup, honey, coconut nectar etc.
- Mix all ingredients together well – the hot water will help get things moving.
- Spread on top of cake – or eat as is….. use as a topping for oatmeal, spread on fruit slices/toast/rice crackers. This fudge frosting will be soft at room temperature, but if you chill it, will firm up so it is more of a “fudgey” texture.
That little head in the background agreed with this offering. Hoo-ray.
Do you have a fussy child? Or are YOU the fussy one in your household!? If we are being honest here – I’m probably WAY more fussy than Misty, but I’m the adult here, right? I have ways of defending myself!
ways to re-purpose cookies (and a pro biotic fudge)
Who broke the cookies from the cookie jar? MISTY broke the cookies from the cookie jar. Argh.
Anyway, a few days ago, I was inspired to make cookies. Cookies aren’t my favourite thing to make, and so I rarely partake in the art. This day was different though – I was playing around with spelt flour, and felt the urge to make cookies. Misty generally loves anything “cookie” shape, so I thought I would make us all a treat, while trying out a new flour. Spelt flour was an impulse buy – no real dietary reason for the purchase, I simply wanted to try something new. Spelt still contains gluten, but is apparently more easily digested, and is higher in protein & B vitamins than traditional wheat.
These cookies turned out really nicely – they are amazing straight out of the oven (aren’t all cookies?) but after two days (I know, how did chocolate chunk cookies last that long in my house?) they had dried out a bit. Misty decided to swipe the whole container off the bench, smashing them to pieces. Bugger.
It’s no secret I hate to waste food, so if you you hang around until the end of the post, I will tell you how to create something delicious from a toddler-induced disaster.
Vegan Chocolate Chunk Spelt Cookies
(Vegan, wheat/nut/refined sugar free)
- 1 & 1/8C white spelt flour *
- 1/8t sea salt
- 1t baking powder
- 100g dark chocolate, cut into chunks
- 1/2C soft coconut oil – soft, not liquid (place in the fridge if necessary)
- 1/3C brown rice syrup (or alternative liquid sweetener)
- 1t vanilla extract
*If you are gluten sensitive, almond meal would be a good substitution here.
- Pre heat oven to 170 degrees C fan bake. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Combine flour, baking powder, chocolate and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Whip together rice syrup, vanilla and honey until well combined.
- Fold wet mix into dry, and either using clean, wet hands or spoons – shape into cookie shapes and place on your prepared tray.
- Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Cool on a wire rack.
- Best eaten within 2 days of making.
After eating about 1/2 of the batch, Misty (destroyer of all things) decided to take his frustration out on the remaining baked goods. Disaster. There is no denying the delicious-ness of cookies, even in crumb-form, so I decided to re-purpose them into a fudge-type slice. Obviously, you don’t need to make the spelt cookies just to try out the fudge recipe – use any cookies you like/have on hand.
Cookie Crumb Fudge
(Vegan, wheat/nut/refined sugar free)
- 2C cookie crumbs/broken cookie pieces (obviously, the flavour of the end fudge will vary according to what cookies you use)
- 1/2C kefir*
- 4T coconut butter
*I used coconut kefir, but if you eat dairy, cow milk kefir would be fine. Alternatively you could use 1/2C non dairy or dairy yoghurt to get the pro biotic factor into your fudge. 1/3C milk plus 2 pro biotic capsules would also work.
- Pulse everything together in a food processor until it forms a soft dough.
- Press into a lined tin, and place in the fridge to set.
- Cut into small squares and store in the fridge.
It may look ugly, but I tell you, it’s delicious. Even better than plain cookies. A little pro biotic sneakiness is always a good thing too – I can never convince Viper to eat kefir on it’s own or in a smoothie – but in fudge? No worries.
a tiny chocolate addict, plus lunch box treats.
So Misty finally discovered chocolate, this Easter past. After managing to avoid it up till now, I decided not to be a Scrooge (Easter Scrooge?) and let him indulge. It was however, 70% dark vegan chocolate – yes yes, Misty has good taste indeed. I think we have a chocolate fan on our hands.
Now everything chocolate-coloured is described as “Cock-o-Lat Buddy,” or in layman’s terms, “Chocolate Bunny.” There have been multiple demands for Cock-o-Lat Buddy as of late, and so I came up with this little snack bar which is perfect for the lunch box as it is nut free, plus satisfies a toddler-craving for Cock-o-Lat Buddy.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all about treats – I just don’t like the ones that contain numbers instead of FOOD, and cause my child to bounce off the walls for hours on end. Let’s just say that Misty is a highly spirited boy who does not need any more stimulation in the form of sugar in his life thankyouverymuch.
![DSCN0016[1]](http://fridgescrapings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/DSCN00161.jpg)
I love Whittaker’s chocolate – good old New Zealand confectionery. Their dark varieties are usually vegan which suits us just fine. Yes, I took a decent stash home in my suitcase after our recent trip – and have even convinced Viper that dark chocolate has some merits. (He who would only indulge in the lightest of light milk chocolate).
I didn’t add any sweetener to this recipe – I figure the small amount of sugar in the chocolate I used, plus almost a cup of dried fruit would do the trick, and it did. If you are a super sweet tooth, then a few tablespoons of a granulated sweetener such as rapadura, coconut crystals or raw sugar would work.
![DSCN0017[1]](http://fridgescrapings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/DSCN00171.jpg)
Chocolate Oat Brownie Bars
(Vegan: wheat/nut/refined sugar free)
- 2/3C oat flour
- 2/3C sunflower seed meal/flour
- 1/4C quick oats
- 1T cocoa powder
- 1t vanilla extract
- 1/8t sea salt
- 1/3C dried banana, roughly chopped – if you don’t have banana, something like tart dried apricots or even cherries would be delicious.
- 1/3C dark raisins
- 50g dark (vegan) chocolate, chopped into chunks
- 3T liquid coconut oil
- 1C non dairy milk (I used full fat soy)
- 1/2t baking powder
- 1/8t baking soda
- 1 flax “egg” (1T ground flax seed whisked with 3T water, and left for 5 minutes to gel
- To make the oat & sunflower seed “flours” simply grind/whizz oats and sunflower seeds in your food processor or spice grinder – it doesn’t matter if it is left a tad chunky – this just means more texture in the final product.
- Pre heat oven to 170 degrees C.
- Whisk together your flax egg, and leave it aside to gel while you prepare the dry ingredients.
- Combine oat & sunflower flour in a mixing bowl with quick oats, cocoa, salt, raisins, banana, and chocolate. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl. combine non dairy milk, flax egg, coconut oil and vanilla extract – again, mix well.
- Pour wet into dry, and finally add your baking soda and powder, gently folding through.
- Line a slice tin with baking paper(approx 15 by 30cm tin – if you use a larger/smaller pan you will need to adjust cooking time) and carefully pour in the mix. I wanted thin bars, so the mix is only about 2cm high in the pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes – it will feel firm(ish) to the touch.
- Cool completely in the pan before attempting to move – even popping it in the fridge is a good idea before trying to cut it into bars, otherwise you may end up with a pile of crumbs.
![DSCN0020[1]](http://fridgescrapings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/DSCN00201.jpg)
These were approved by both the toddler and the newbie to plant-based-eating (Viper). Chocolate always seems to be a winner, no? I dearly wish I could taste these – actually I dearly wish that I could taste ANYTHING – the season of cold & flu is upon us, and has struck me down with speed and ferocity already. 10 days of illness (and no taste buds) and counting. Eating really is extremely boring when you are unable to taste ANYTHING. Very very frustrating, and so I have to rely on the male members on my family to judge my kitchen experiments as the moment. These were a win.
![DSCN0022[1]](http://fridgescrapings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/DSCN00221.jpg)
holistic healing (and nut free caramel treats)
I’m quite excited. I’m delving into the world of homeopathy next week – without knowing too much about it (aside from having used a few over-the-counter remedies that I know aren’t of top quality). Sometimes it’s good to dive head first into a new thing, without the time for too many pre-conceived ideas concocted or judgements to be cast.
Basically, what really spoke to me about homeopathy (in what little I have read/heard on the topic) was that it looks deeply into who you are - on all levels – mental, physical, temperament and so on. You know I love ANYTHING that follows a holistic approach, yes?
I’ve experimented with all sorts of natural therapies in my time – reiki, naturopathy, herbalism, crystal healing, seeing a chiropractor, accupuncture – and they have all had their benefits in different ways, some more effective than others. I think being open to alternative healing is the first hurdle – if you make up your mind that it isn’t going to work, or it’s hippie mumbo jumbo, then of course you aren’t going to get the results.
What are your thoughts on natural therapies? Do you seek alternatives over conventional medicine/therapy? Ever tried homeopathy?
While I am seeking holistic healing, Misty, of course will go to kindy…. and needs a well stocked lunch box. His kindy is nut-free due to allergies, and so this little treat was fashioned out of what I had on hand in the cupboard. It’s basically raw, but then I went and toasted the coconut and sunflower seeds, because seriously – the flavours are so much more pronounced when you do. Feel free to keep everything raw if you wish though.
Caramel Buckwheat Bites
(Vegan, gluten/wheat/nut/soy/corn/refined sugar free)
- 3/4C sprouted, dehydrated buckwheat groats (or you could sub in 2/3C quick oats if you like – use certified gluten free if you are sensitive to gluten) If you’re unfamiliar with the sprouting process, here’s a How-To.
- 3/4C toasted coconut
- 1/2C toasted sunflower seeds
- 1 & 1/2T coconut oil (liquid)
- 2T rice syrup (or maple syrup, coconut syrup, raw honey – most liquid sweeteners will work)
- 10 pitted medjool dates
- 1/8t sea salt
1.In a dry fry pan, gently toast your coconut and sunflower seeds (separately) until lightly browned and fragrant. Set aside to cool
2. Chuck buckwheat groats in a food processor, and whizz until they are a reasonably fine powder.
3. Add in all other ingredients and pulse until a soft dough is formed.
4. At this point, you can roll into balls, or flatten into a lined baking tray for bars. Rolling the dough out between 2 sheets of baking paper with a rolling pin (or empty beer bottle as I did this morning) works well too. This would also make a yummy tart base for a raw(ish) dessert.
5. Chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. Slice into bars (if you haven’t made balls).
6.Store in the fridge.
I made 3/4 of the mix into bars, and the rest into little snack bars for Misty. The photo above was the very last ball, as he munched all the rest for breakfast.
In other news, Misty has worked out how to climb out of his cot. His method involves doing an unsupported headstand in the centre of his cot, hooking his feet over the bar, and launching up so his legs go over the side. Then he simply does a sort of upside down push-up and gets himself up and over. Nap/bed time has become quite interesting. Sheesh.
*I am submitting this recipe to Healthy Vegan Fridays*
crazy weather, caramel treats.
It’s been a crazy few days weather-wise in Queensland. Here on the Gold Coast we were extremely lucky not to get flooded out. Many communities further North (and South) has been slammed with torrential rain and extreme flooding. We feel pretty blessed right now that our only problems included washing not drying, being stuck inside and poor photography lighting. My thoughts are with those dealing with the devastation right now.
I’ve been playing around with a few options for desserts/snacks OTHER than just plain fruit. Don’t get me wrong, I love plain fruit but sometimes you just want something a little different, no? I made 2 different versions of this idea – my initial creation was to be a raw cupcake, but I didn’t really LOVE the presentation or fiddly-ness so I have changed it to be a “Bombe” – not of the baked Alaskan kind, but the shape sort of reminded me of one. Plus, when I froze the 2nd trial, it was like the ice cream filling of such “Bombe” desserts. The two versions are slightly higher in fat than the usual 80/10/10 desserts, but I have established that I need more fat in my diet for my skin issues…. nothing wrong with a bit of (good) fat, right? Coconut is a really important source of saturated fat for vegans – some cholesterol is needed for things like hormone production…. so don’t think I’m evil promoting the “dreaded” saturated fat here.
Raw Caramel Banana Bombe (or cupcake if you like, whatever)
Makes 4
(Vegan, grain/gluten/wheat/nut/corn/soy/refined sugar free)
- 1 large ripe banana (little brown spots are GOOD!)
- 4T coconut flour (if it seems too dry add up to 2T coconut milk/water)
- Scrapings from 1 vanilla bean
- Tiny pinch sea salt
- Pulse everything together in the food processor. It should be slightly wet, but able to stay together when shaped.
- You can either use cupcake moulds, and shape accordingly, or for the mini “bombe” look, simply roll in ping pong sized balls, flattening on the bottom so they stand.
- Spread with either of the Caramel Frosting options below:
You can simply spread the frosting on top, and chill in the fridge. The topping below is the one that uses the flesh/water of a whole coconut. It was nice, but not my favourite…. I definitely preferred option #2 which uses canned coconut milk.
If you pop the little bombes in the freezer, they get a hard outer caramel shell, and the banana centre stays kinda fluffy. So good on a hot day (or any time really).
Frosting Option #1 – Whole Coconut
- 2/3C coconut flesh (all the flesh from one medium coconut)
- 1/4C + 2T coconut water
- 10 pitted medjool dates
- 2t coconut oil
- In a food processor, pulse together all ingredient until smooth.
- Scoop in a dish and place in the fridge to chill – it will harden slightly.
This version (option #1) didn’t set quite as hard as the canned coconut milk version, but was still nice.
Caramel Frosting Option #2
- Place a 270 ml can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight – scoop off the top solid layer – it’s around 1/2C.
- 8 pitted medjool dates
- 1/16t sea salt
- Pulse in a food processor until very smooth.
- Chill in the fridge…. if you have a little piping bag, you could pipe swirls on a cupcake, or simply spread over the little bombe shape as I did. Leftovers are brilliant spread on apple slices.
Either way, it’s a new dessert that will be on a regular rotation – I’m thinking the addition of carob powder would be really nice. I like desserts that you have options with – you could enjoy these just chilled from the fridge, light and fluffy. OR freeze them for a few hours, and you have yourself a little frozen sweetie surprise.
The plus side of a weekend trapped inside, cowering from the crazy storm – plenty to be foraged for those who dare:
Mangoes, oranges, lemons – all fallen from (public) trees in some of our surrounding parks… plus a few gutter-finds. That makes me sound weird. Foraging fruit from the gutter? Waste not, want not – especially when it comes to free fruit.
fuel for a busy life (lunch box friendly)
Life never seems to let up, does it? It’s not going to slow down for anyone.
Not that I’m complaining, but this year has started off with a bang of busy-ness. Making lunches for both Viper AND Misty who has started at kindy (oh how they grow so fast!) working 2 jobs, yoga teacher training, plus domestic duties has me running around like a headless chook. Good thing I thrive on being BUSY.
My boys need lots of energy for their endeavours too, of course – and I want them to have quality fuel for their day. Viper would call these bars something along the lines of “Middle Earth Bars,” or “Hobbit food.” Basically this means that they are super dense, energy filled snacks that would definitely fuel a mission to Mordor, or a day at kindy. Also, I think Viper is poking fun at the look of my bars – unleavened bread, or a small windowless building, anyone? Looks aside, these are super tasty and filling…. plus Misty has deemed them Yummo.
These would be great for school lunches – nut free!
Apricot-Coconut Chocolate Chunk Bars
Vegan, wheat/corn/soy/ nut/refined sugar free.
- 1C quick oats
- 2/3C dessicated, toasted coconut*
- 3T toasted chickpea flour*
- 2T rapadura sugar (or granulated sweetener of choice)
- 1/2C chopped dried apricots
- 1/2C dark chocolate chopped into small chunks
- 1/2t ground cinnamon
- 1C almond milk (or desired milk)
- 1/4C soft vegan spread (nuttlelex, Earth Balance) OR coconut oil OR butter
- 1/4t sea salt
- 1t baking powder
- 1/8t baking soda
*Toasting really brings out the flavour of the coconut, and decreases to bitterness in the chickpea flour. Simply use a dry fry pan, stirring constantly until lightly brown and fragrant.
- Pre heat oven to 160 degrees C fan bake.
- Combine all ingredients except raising agents (baking soda/powder) and mix well.
- Fold through remaining ingredients gently.
- Scoop into a lined loaf pan and smooth out the top.
- Bake for 45-50 or until it feels firm in the middle. Turn off oven, leaving inside for a further 20 minutes.
- Place in fridge until fully cold.
- Slice into bars – store in the fridge.
I think the fact that I’m doing my yoga teacher training is my saving grace in this hectic schedule at the moment – I have to do yoga! It’s all kinds of winning in my book.
How do you cope with day-to-day craziness? What’s your favourite way to chillout?
toddlers and tea cakes
It’s funny how our natural instincts can be so strong, however we try to pull away from them – especially ones that tug at the maternal core of all women.
This weekend was a blast – we had the infamous Mopsy and her parents stay with us (for those who are not familiar, Mopsy is Misty’s closest partner in crime – cousins born on exactly the same day) – and the dynamic of 2 toddlers under one roof is a big change from a lone Misty. More chaos, mess and screaming, yes – but also WAY more fun, giggles and games. I must admit, I felt the old ovaries doing a series of flip-flops and felt the urge to cluck around at one point (and yes the below photo is VERY old, but too cute to resist).
These feelings are so strong, even though I know there is no way I am having another baby any time soon – Mother Nature’s way to keep the population cranking I think? Hormones?
Anyway, with friends and family all around us going for “Round 2″ in the sense of baby-making…. it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement of impending new life. (Don’t worry Viper, I’m not getting too worked up here!) I just think the whole process is rather magical, and although I’m a tad clucky, Misty isn’t going to be sharing his toys with a sibling any time in the near future – I will live vicariously through the babies of others (and hand them back with a small sigh of relief after a long cuddle).
Women-folk: Are you a “clucker”? Or do newborn babies scare you? Men: Do clucky females freak you out?
The following recipe is one I have been making consistently for WEEKS now – both Viper and Misty love these little cakes, and they are so quick and easy to chuck together. You can add any type of “add-ins” – I usually go for dried fruit and cinnamon, but Viper’s favourite is of course, chocolate chips (pictured at the end of this post).
Egg Free Tea Cakes
(Nut/seed/refined sugar/corn free)
- 1/4C soft butter
- 3T rapadura
- 1/3C raisins (or any dried fruit OR chocolate chips)
- pinch salt
- 3/4C milk
- zest of one lemon
- 3T lemon juice (around half a lemon’s worth)
- 3/4C organic plain flour
- 1/2t ground cinnamon
- 3/4t baking powder
- 1/4t baking soda
- Pre heat oven to 170 degrees on fan bake setting.
- Combine milk and lemon juice/zest in a small bowl, and set aside to curdle (about 5 minutes)
- Meanwhile combine all ohter ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk mix.
- Fold through gently until well combined (like you were mixing muffins – don’t go crazy on it!)
- The mix will seem very light and almost airy – this is the way it should be.
- Spoon into silicone cupcake (or paper) moulds – filling to about 3/4 full – and place on a large baking tray.
- Bake for 15 minutes – the cakes will rise up while cooking, but “deflate” slightly on cooling.
- Best enjoyed on the day they were made – super light and fluffy – otherwise store in an airtight container.
The icing in the picture above was some of the filling left over for this tart (coconut butter, tofu, lemon juice/zest and agave) – my take on a “cream cheese” style topping.
Viper’s chocolate-chip-ahoy cakes.
lunch-lady-lou (and nut free treats for the lunch box)
Viper is back to work, I’m back to making lunches. It’s quite a lot of effort, really, as I make it all from scratch. Packing lunches would be quick & easy if you just stuck to packaged snacks and the likes, but we all know that’s not really my style now is it? Anyway, I feel like I’ve been cooking for the masses – pasta salad, Mexican wraps, potato and zuccinni frittata, tea cakes and the following energy-boosting snack bar. He’s a hungry boy, our Viper.
Takes me back to my days at school and what I would have for lunch. My Mum is a pretty awesome baker and made a lot of our snacks herself (which, until you are doing it yourself, you never truly appreciate the effort that goes into it). We (my older sister and I) were never allowed those little packets of chips or anything like that, so I would say our lunch boxes were filled well with REAL food. When I got older, I had to start making my own lunch, which made for some interesting fare. I’m pretty sure I was very lazy back then, and my attempt at creativity would be Marmite and iceberg lettuce on a sandwich (which is actually REALLY good – alfalfa sprouts too). Peanut butter and jam was always a staple sandwich-filler as was cheese and Marmite (again, don’t knock it to you’ve tried it). We always had fruit – apples, pears, bananas – I’ve been a fruit bat for a long time.
What were/are your lunch box staples? Any crazy sandwich combos you are willing to admit to?
Anyway, the following bars are an easy-to-whip-up, tasty alternative to the processed candy bars masquerading as “healthy” snack bars on the supermarket shelves…. plus they are a lot cheaper which is always a bonus. Good for energy without the refined sugar crash.
Nut Free Oatie-Chocolate Energy Bars
(Vegan, wheat/soy/nut/corn/refined sugar free – gluten free* option below)
- 1/2C dark raisins
- 1/2C + 2T quick oats – *(if you want to make this gluten free you can sub in 3/4C dessicated coconut instead).
- 10 pitted soft dates
- 1t vanilla extract (optional)
- 3T coconut butter
- 1/4t sea salt
- 100g chocolate, roughly chopped or same amount in chocolate chips (I used an organic milk chocolate)
- Pulse all ingredients together except chocolate in the food processor until it all comes together in a very soft dough.
- You can either throw chocolate pieces into the food processor and pulse a few times, or remove dough and fold through yourself.
- To make bars, simple press into a baking tray or similar lined with baking paper.
- Pop in the fridge until set.
- Slice into bars, and store in the fridge.
These are great rolled into balls for little hands (and mouths) too – Misty always needs to grant approval, being my second in command in the kitchen of course.
new years and nectarines
It’s stone fruit season here. All those glorious gems – apricots, peaches, plums – and my personal favourite, nectarines. I went a little crazy and bought far too many of the latter….. my dehydrator has been running constantly, and my jars have been filling up with sweet sweet fruity jewels.
Sorry to disappoint, but I have no exciting tale of my planned New Year’s Eve’s adventures, or a list of melodramatic achievements I wish to pursue next year. Honestly, I don’t understand the hoo-ha that goes along with New Years – especially the whole resolution thing. It’s a grand idea to set goals and have aspirations, of course, but I don’t need a shiny new year to do that. All I can say on the subject of New Years is I am blessed to be here for another one. I hope you all enjoy your celebrations, nonetheless – I think I will go to bed and enjoy the extra hours sleep and lack of a hangover tomorrow.
Misty is on another one of his “I will only eat if it is a liquid in a bottle, therefore I shall not eat, but DRINK,” kicks. In an attempt to get something solid in his system, I whizzed up some little fruity truffles – all the goodness of breakfast in ball form. I know most of you won’t be in the midst of stone fruit season – if you don’t have access to dried nectarines, dried peaches or apricots would be lovely as well.
Breakfast Bites
(Vegan, nut, soy, wheat free, refined sugar free)
- 1C dried nectarinej
- 20 soft pitted dates
- 3/4C quick oats
- 1/2C flax seed meal
- 2T liquid coconut oil
- 1/2t cinnamon
- 1t vanilla extract
- 1/4t sea salt
- Pulse everything together until a soft dough is formed.
- Roll into balls and chill in the fridge until firm.
- Store in the fridge.
Although the first few offers were stashed inside unsuspecting toys….
…..these balls were finally pronounced “Oh Yum!”
Tell me about YOUR exciting NYE plans as I don’t have any. Maybe I can live vicariously through the tales of others?
Cooking tangents: an interesting take on dessert.
This post is going to be an absolute mish-mash. Maybe this will give you an indication of the way my mind works (a million miles a minute) – and my inability to focus/stick to any sort of structure. Yeah, I’m pretty susceptible to a tangent… even while in the act of cooking. Things started with popcorn, visited a sugar-free sweetener, and ended up with cream cake, Confused? Yeah, me too.
It makes sense to start at the beginning. I wanted to make something using popcorn: Misty is obsessed with it, and after the success of my Popcorn Balls, I knew I had to experiment. I thought I would just make snack- bars, but then I decided that I could use these as an “add-in” to baking – like a fruity chocolate chunk? It’s always good to have a nut free option on hand, right?
Nut Free Fruity Choc-Chunks:
(Vegan, nut/gluten/wheat/soy/refined sugar free)
- 4C (popped) popcorn
- 1C dark raisins
- 1/4t sea salt
- 3T cacao powder (or carob/cocoa)
- 2T coconut oil*
- 1T water
- In a food processor, pulse together popcorn and raisins until they are all ground up. Add other ingredients, adding coconut oil and water last – it will seem like it’s not going to come together, but it will!
- Press out to your desired thickness – the mix is very sticky and soft (rolling out between 2 sheets of baking paper works well) and place in the freezer overnight. This gives the popcorn time to soak in the oil, and it forms more or a solid bar.
- Cut into small chunks and store in the freezer (fridge if you use cacao butter as suggested below)
* If you want a more solid chunk that holds it’s shape out of the fridge for longer, use cacao butter in place of the coconut oil.
You can use these as a snack bar (cut into larger pieces) or as a alternative to plain dried fruit or chocolate chips in baking/desserts – I know, I know, they are nothing like a chocolate chip – just something yummy to have on hand when you don’t have chocolate. I hardly ever use/buy chocolate chips due to the fact I can’t find a decent vegan option – I usually just chop up a good quality dark chocolate, or make my own raw chocolate. This recipe makes about 1 & 1/4 C worth of chunks.
I recently received a nice little package from the people at Natvia/Vitarium **- a company that makes a stevia/erythritol blend. As you can see from the picture, they produce a range of sugar-free sweeteners for use in both drinks and baking. From my experience this blend is an easily accessible (from the supermarket) option for those who want to cut down sugar. Most products that boast being “sugar-free” are usually flashing red warning signs for me (toxic! chemicals! crap!) but not this stuff – it’s natural – hooray. My personal preference will always be NuNaturals Vanilla stevia (which I get from the US) but many people find straight stevia has a bitter after taste that is unpalatable. Natvia doesn’t have that bitter after taste thanks to the inclusion of erythritol, which really does mellow out the flavour, and makes it a fabulous ingredient for wherever you would usually add sugar.
I decided to combine an experiment using both Natvia’s Baking Blend AND the Mocha flavoured Drinking Chocolate – as well as including my latest Fruit Choc-Chunk creation.
Vanilla Cream and Chocolate Brownie Cake
(Vegan, gluten, wheat, nut, refined sugar free)
Brownie Cake Base:
- 1 & 1/2C cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2C brown rice flour
- 3T natvia baking blend*
- 2T mocha natvia drinking chocolate powder*
- 2T cacao
- 1/4t salt
- 1/2C coconut milk
- 1/2t vanilla extract
* If you do not have access to Natvia, simply use 1/4C granulated sweetener, plus 3T cacao powder and 2t ground espresso)
- Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor until well combined.
- Spoon mix into a lined loaf tin (make sure the baking paper has some decent over-hang to make getting the cake out of the pan easier) and bake at 160 degrees C for 25 minutes – it will appear cracked on top, and seem super dense – perfect!
- Keep cake IN the pan, chill in the fridge.
Vanilla Cream
- 300g silken tofu
- 3T coconut butter
- 3T cacao butter (or additional coconut butter if you do not have cacao butter)
- 2t lemon juice
- 3T Nativa baking blend (or your choice of sweetener – 2T agave – 15 drops liquid stevia etc)
- 1t vanilla extract
- 1/8t sea salt
- 2/3C Fruity Choc-Chunks (recipe above)**
**You can sub in regular chocolate chunks or any sort of dried fruit if you don’t want to bother making the Fruit Choc-Chunks – cherries and pistachios would make a very festive looking dessert.
- Blend all ingredients except Fruity Choc-Chunks together until very smooth.
- Fold the chunks into the mix.
- Pour on top of brownie base, and place in the freezer for at least an hour – until “set” but not frozen.
- Cut into slices/squares.
- Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
Yeah, I know, beans and tofu in one dessert? AND no sugar? Trust me – it’s an interesting process, yes – but the end result is delicious. Super high protein and without the sugar-induced coma.
Do you go off on tangents while involved in the cooking-process as I do? Tofu AND beans in a dessert – game to try? Or has the silly season gone to my head?
**Disclaimer – I received some samples of Natvia, but was under no obligation to post/review the products. I also received one of the Vitarium Banana-flavoured powders to add to milk (targeted at children) which contains cochinel (colour 120) which I obviously am not a fan of – and will not give to Misty.
Vegan. Stay at home Mum of Misty. Yoga teacher in training. Passionate about REAL food - creating it, eating it, sharing it. I can never stick to a recipe.
