Persimmon Pudding

I had never eaten a persimmon before, the other day I made my way to the wonderful Vasse markets just outside of Busselton and decided to try them. The next day I came across this Persimmon pudding recipe and thought it is meant to be!! The recipe is so simple to make and not knowing what to expect from a simple chia seed pudding and this new found fruit, I was surprised how much I loved this pudding!! Chia puddings are in my opinion one of the best foods on earth, so HEALTHY, so SIMPLE, VERSATILE and so intriguing how little seeds can form a nutritious gel!

I have previously made a banana pudding (yum!) or with cacao, but there are endless possibilities to what flavours you can make :) Try this one and see how amazing these puddings are yourself, they also make a great breakfast!

 

Persimmon Pudding

Ingredients
1.5 cups nut milk (Almond! You could use Rice, coconut or Oat milk)
2 ripe persimmons, peeled, stem side removed, cut into pieces
4 tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch Himalayan salt
1 dash ground cinnamon

Methods/steps

Place chia seeds and milk in a bowl, stirring periodically until the liquid is absorbed.

Transfer to a high-speed blender

Add in vanilla, salt and persimmon

Blend, place in serving dishes, sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!

I also topped mine with some coconut and a few blueberries :)

 

It was a perfect (and healthy!) desert for a Tuesday evening :) 

 

 

I hope you enjoy yours too ;)

 

Rockin Raw

xox

Peppi Cafe and Community Gardens

They are the hidden gems that bring us back to nature, remind us of the basic beauties of living, the foundations of health and well-being, they bring us friendships and growth, a sense of belonging and of course the best nutrition for our body to thrive in life itself... Community Gardens are the diamonds in the rough.

I had heard of the Community Gardens in Busselton and had an image of one or two vegetable boxes that have as much weeds as edibles hidden away for those few people who love gardening without a garden of their own, all the same I love the idea of community gardens and had to visit myself. It took a couple of months I admit but when I finally got to them I was pleasantly surprised!

What I found was a large block of land filled with a variety of fruits and vegetables, scarecrows, compost bins, chickens, a small skate ramp, potting shed, small greenhouse and even a colourful windmill and small playground for children!! This was the most organised and best community garden I have seen, AMAZING!! I fell in love right away :) They have busy bees every weekend and markets every 2nd weekend to sell produce or for others to bring other made products to sell.

And on the edge of the garden was a wonderful little café overlooking the gardens known as Peppi Café. Naturally is has organic and fresh grown produce, with a small but wonderful selection of roasted lasagne, vegetable bakes and risotto's, salads, soups, raw cheesecakes, brownies, bliss balls and of course a wonderful variety of fruit and vegetable juices, coffee's and teas and smoothies! The quirky nature of the café was complete with an art gallery inside and a few bits and bobs for sale including home made jams and chutney... yum!
They also do all day breakfast from chocolate chai pudding to the traditional eggs benedict! I can't wait to try the breakfasts :)

It was hard to pick but I went for the chai tea with almond milk and an orange, coconut and almond cake. I loved listening to the older ladies behind me marvelling over their coffee and a raw lime cheesecake! The man opposite me was sitting with his coffee sipping away over a newspaper and lady in front had ordered a lovely warm vegetable soup with crusty bread again taking in the beauty of the green garden with her newspaper close by.

I had never been to a café by myself but this was definitely one I will be back to many times. The atmosphere is one of being thankful for the beauty of nature and simplicity life gives us in times of stress and our busy lives. I sat back with my oxford handbook of clinical medicine but found myself gazing over the gardens taking in my surrounds, a little sun and solitude thinking 'this is the simple beauty of life'. Then an authentic teapot of steaming almond milk chai tea was placed in front of with my treat of cake and I was in bliss :)

It was the best hour of the past few weeks and while it seemed to pass all too quickly, on my way back to the hospital ED for some more medical prac I was almost a different person to the hour before in my stressed and slightly down state from a those busy days that catch us in life.

So what did I take away from this?

1. Take the time to do or see things that interest you, you can be left pleasantly surprised with what you find and get out more than you first thought.
2. Find time for YOU, it can be as simple as a walk outside, a quick coffee break or even a massage or sit down to a favourite movie. But in our busy lives we need to remember to stop every now and then and take time to care for ourselves, pause life before it goes on fast forward.
3. Never underestimate the positive effects being involved in the community can bring to your life, you can meet new people, learn new skills and most importantly improve your well-being and health on a whole
4. When I have my café in the not too distant, it will have a community garden, windmill, wishing well, balcony overlooking the gardens, chickens and children's playground... I may even build around it my white picket fence :) 

Please when you visit Busselton have a visit to the Community gardens and Peppi café! You will not regret it :)

Rockin Raw

xox

Quinoa Flake Porridge with Cacao & Berries

While I love my raw buckwheat, oat and chia seed breakfast I have heard so much recently about Quinoa flakes and the wonders of another superfood from the Inca's! So naturally I bought myself a pack of Organic Quinoa Flakes to try :)

 

Quinoa are at least 13% protein which makes a great breakfast option and can be increased with the addition of nuts and seeds and of course but totally optional, 'Sun warrior protein powder!!' (can you tell I love it? :P) Like many other foods, the less handled it is the higher the nutrition content meaning whole quinoa (not flakes) are even more nutritious. The flakes are still nutritious and good for on to go cooking. They are a good oat substitute for those who are gluten intolerant.

To prepare my quinoa flakes I mixed 1/3 cup of flakes with 2/3 cup boiling water and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Then I added a teaspoon of cacao powder, shredded coconut and raw protein powder (optional) topped with mixed berries! In love with rice milk I also added some milk to help mix the protein power in better :)

 

The flakes are quite bland on their own, you can just have the flakes on their own without the extra's or top with some honey and stewed apples, banana, cinnamon or berries, maybe  a mix of sunflower seeds, pepitas? I love the extra goodness in my quinoa flake porridge :)

 And the close up... :)

Rockin Raw

xox

Doubly Nice Raw Passion Slice

Raw Choc-Oat Passion Slice

It had been a while since I became adventurous with raw foods but yesterday I was back into it and this time full steam ahead!
 

Having soaked whole oats for 3 days I didn't really have a big recipe in mind all I knew was I wanted to use oats as oppose to the usual walnuts and almonds used in other slices like brownies. As fresh whole dates can be expensive I also tried using sultana's, these worked well but I am still a believe that nothing beats dates in raw goods!

This recipe can be turned into so many different flavours, I found it hard to choose what to do so naturally in my excited raw stake, I combined some! The bottom layer is a mimic of my raw brownie recipe but with oats, sultanas and this time banana. I can't wait to try this by itself as raw banana and peanut butter slice! And the top? It could easily be a coconut and spirulina slice or even yummy truffles on their own, but being adventurous I added passion fruit pulp too! The combination may sound a little crazy and hard to describe, but I was satisfied with the taste of the combo, so much that I think this is my best (and most out there) raw food slice so far :)

Give the recipe a go and make one flavour, try another or make a combination! I know I will be getting adventurous again with these flavours soon!

Ingredients
1 cup whole oats soaked 2-3 days, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup sultanas (or dates)
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cup raw peanuts
¼ cup sunflower seeds
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 banana
1 tsp cinnamon

Bottom layer
1 tablespoon cacao powder

Top layer
½ teaspoon spirulina
¼ cup almonds
Pulp of 2-3 passion fruits (you can use pulp from a can if you don’t have real ones but real is better!)

Extra coconut and passion fruit for topping

Raw soaked whole oats :)

Method
Combine oats, coconut, peanuts, sunflower seeds, vanilla, cinnamon and banana in a food processor and process until the mixture clumps together (around a minute).

Divide the mixture in 2, for the first half add the cacao and process together, spread over a grease proof paper lined baking tray.

Add the second half of mixture to the food processor and add the spirulina, passionfruit and almonds and process until combined.

Spread the spirulina and passion fruit mix over the cacao base and sprinkle with coconut and extra passion fruit.

Place in the freezer and when set cut into small squares. Keep in the freezer as this can get soft if left out too long.

Tip for next time - try dehydrating the oats for a few hours OR the bottom layer before adding the spirulina layer on top. This will help it set firmer and may be kept longer out of the freezer :)

Enjoy a Doubly Nice Raw Passion Slice!

Rockin Raw

xox