Glimpse into chocolate and walnut muffins

On this Foodie Friday, I wanted to make a simple sweet for a friend's birthday. I am loving baking with cacao of late, so apologies, here is another chocolatey recipe!! Mmm mmm!

I love adding walnuts into baked treats. They add an amazing taste and texture, and have many healthy benefits. They have good quantities of omega 3 fats, protein and fibre, and melatonin (which helps regulate sleep). They contain antioxidants and vitamins for healthy hair and skin, and are good for heart and brain health, decreasing your risk of cancer, and can destroy harmful free radical chemicals. Pregnant women can reduce their baby's risk of allergies by eating the fatty acids, and men's fertility can even be boosted by the little walnut! All these sound to me like awesome reasons to throw a few almonds into your baking!

Glimpse into No Bake Lemon Slice

For this week's Foodie Friday, I am looking at the humble lemon, and am giving you a tasty, super easy, no bake slice recipe which I made up recently. I have struggled to post lately because I haven't been well, so I apologise for my silence!

Lemons (and other citric fruits) are considered the lowest fructose containing fruits. Therefore they are great for use in meals and drinks for those of us with fructose malabsorption. They also have health benefits such as helping to improve skin health and beauty. They can have a calming effect so are good in stressful situations, and can help with metabolism, digestion and the elimination of toxin build up in the body. They also have antiviral qualities, with vitamin C, and can boost energy.

Soak up the benefits in this nutritious no bake slice.

No bake lemon slice

Base

1 cup quinoa flakes or gluten free oats

1 cup almond meal (or LSA - linseed, sunflower and almond meal)

1 cup desiccated coconut

200g dairy butter

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 lemon rind

1/3 cup coconut oil

3 tbsp rice syrup

2 tbsp chia seeds

1/2 cup rice milk (if needed*)

Icing

2 cups dextrose

1 1/2 tbsp melted butter

3 tbsp lemon

Line a 20 x 30 cm tray or airtight container with baking paper.

Mix all the base ingredients together well.

Press the mixture into the lined tray or container.

Refrigerate until firm.

Combine the icing ingredients well til smooth.

Spread icing over slice base.

Refrigerate until firm.

Cut into squares.

Store in sealed or covered container in the fridge or freezer.

*You may find your mix is wet enough without the rice milk, or you may just desire a few splashes. 1/2 cup creates quite a moist slice, but it still is firm. A fork is in order to eat it with though!

Glimpse into chia seeds

Foodie Friday week 10

Chia seeds are amazing little things. They can be used as a gelatinous gel when soaked in water to replace eggs in baking, in smoothies to make them thick, as crusts and coatings, in puddings for a healthy twist, in breakfasts for an extra hit of nutrients...so many options for such tiny seeds! They are tasteless, but provide a great texture to foods.
Did you know that it is a member of the mint family?

Glimpse into cinnamon

Foodie Friday week 7

Good afternoon! Happy Foodie Friday! 

Yes, I know. It is Saturday. Oops! The first Foodie Friday of the new series should have begun yesterday, but as most of us know, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has its moments which make a regular routine unrealistic! I may have to change Foodie Friday to a bi-monthly thing, rather than weekly, but I will see how I go!

Today's ingredient is cinnamon. I use it all the time, such as in the Passion Pleasers I posted about on Sunday. Other recipes I have created on my blog which use cinnamon are:

• spiced pineapple syrup cake
• choc banana quinoa cookies
• zuchinni brownies
• breakfast cakes
• quinoa breakfast bowl
• nut, seed and banana bread
• waffles
• power balls. 

It is delicious, and can be used in sweet and savoury dishes, and in meals, treats or drinks, and in an oil for therapeutic use. Even if you don't use it as the feature flavour in a dish, it can be a hidden added nutrient!

Cinnamon was once highly valued in trading, more so than gold, and it is not hard to see why. 

Just half a teaspoon a day can help lower your levels of bad cholesterol (LDL - low density lipoprotein). It contains manganese, calcium, iron, and dietary fibre. It has anti fungal, antibacterial, anti parasitic, anti-clotting and anti inflammatory properties (amazing!). It is a natural food preservative due to its ability to prevent bacterial growth.The smell can boost brain activity, and cognitive and memory function, and can relieve nervous tension. It can help improve the pain from arthritis, headaches, migraines and menstrual cramping. It keeps blood sugar levels steady, so is great for weight loss and type 2 diabetes.  It is also safe for people with Fructose Malabsorption and following a FODMAP diet. To top it all off, it is delicious! 

What a fantastically beneficial ingredient to add to your meals and drinks! 

Glimpse into Passion Pleasers

My mantra for baking is if it is healthy enough to eat for breakfast yet tastes deliciously naughty, you are on a winner! These cake squares fit this motto, and are super easy and quick to make!  

 All you need is:

 

1/4 cup nut butter (I used almond, brazil and cashew butter)

1/4 cup tahini

1/3 cup rice syrup

2 large bananas

1/3 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

*170 g passionfruit pulp

 

All you  need to do is: 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Line a baking pan with baking paper. Any size you have will do, but one about 20cm x 20cm will make a good thickness.
3. Pop all the ingredients into a blender or food processor; hold back with half of the passionfruit pulp and save it for later. Blend until smooth.
4. Pour the mixture into the pan evenly.
5. Top with the leftover passionfruit pulp.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until firm and golden. Keep an eye on the topping, as it will burn. If it starts to catch, cover the pan with a piece of foil.
7. Let it cool and slice into squares.

************************************************************************************
The fun part...alternative additions:
 
*Instead of passionfruit pulp, use about 100g of one or two of the following:

• chopped dark chocolate or choc chips
• berries (frozen or fresh)
• drained, crushed pineapple
• dried blueberries, cranberries or pineapple
• crushed nuts
• quinoa flakes or gluten free oats (you may need to add a little water if your mixture becomes dry when blended)
• chopped pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds or toasted sesame seeds

*You could also try:

• 1 tablespoon of raw cacao
• 1 teaspoon of ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger
• 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons of LSA -linseed, sunflower seed and almond meal (you may need to add a little water if your mixture becomes dry when blended)
• Whole round slices of pineapple at the bottom of the tray, and then pour mixture over the top for a pretty and fruity pattern.

I hope you enjoy these nutritious treats, any time of the day! And they keep getting better...only the blender and pan to clean!! Winner!!

Glimpse into choc chip cookies

For New Year's Eve, I decided to make a quick and easy batch of cookies. I know, I know...I make up a lot of cookie recipes! But I love them! So easy to make and so yummy to eat! I used a different combination of ingredients this time, and they turned out to be probably the best cookies so far. Slightly crunchy but soft in the middle...yum!

 

Glimpse into spiced pineapple syrup cake

With the wet weather recently, I have fancied a spiced fruity teacake! After an unsuccessful search with Mum one day for an open café that sold cake I could tolerate, I decided to sit at the kitchen bench and create one.
This cake is moist, gooey and tropical! It is delicious and decadent warm, and great cold!

Spiced Pineapple Syrup Cake.