Banana & Blueberry Wholemeal muffins (Sugar Free)

A few years back when I first started getting into health foods and creating recipes one of the first things I wanted to try was healthier baking. I have no shame in admitting I am a muffin/cake/sweet tooth addict! And one of my first missions was to try sugar free muffins, still sweet but only using the natural sugars of fruits, and what better way to try this than two of my favourite fruits bananas and blueberries!

Since I made them 2 years ago now my mum has loved having them for a midnight snack when she comes home from working night fill. So since it was a while ago I thought I'd post them again (now mum can find the recipe a lot easier rather than looking through archives ;))

Banana & Blueberry Wholemeal Muffins (Sugar free)

3 medium bananas mashed
1 peeled and grated green apple
1 egg
½ cup (125ml) water
125ml vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups (250g) wholemeal SR flour
1/3 cup White SR flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
2¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

PREPARATION METHOD Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 15 minutes

1. Preheat an oven to 180 degrees C. Grease 18 muffin cups, or line with patty cups.

 2. Mix together mashed bananas, egg, grated apple, water, and oil in a large bowl. Mix in flour, baking soda, and baking powder until mostly smooth (you will still see lumps from the banana, but that's okay!). Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 15 minutes. Remove muffins from tins, and cool on a wire rack.


TIP: if you would like to keep these vegan simply replace the egg with one tablespoon of ground flax seeds and 3 tablespoons of water set in the fridge for 15 minutes.


Enjoy! :)

Homemade Hummus

When one is studying, one needs good snack food available. With some chickpeas in my cupboard I excitedly turned them into a delicious homemade hummus which became a delicious snack AND lunch with carrot and egg salads, I was hooked :) Dips can actually be so easy to make! After a quick look I had all the right ingredients I needed and this was made in no time...

Homemade Hummus

600g rinsed chickpeas (about 1 can)
1tsp ground cumin
2Tbsp tahini
100ml Olive oil
3 cloves garlic crushed
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup water

Mix the rinsed chickpeas, ground cumin, tahini, Olive oil, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the water and blend again until combined.

And your hummus is ready!!

I love sprinkling sesame seeds on top, this is great with carrot, celery, crackers... or by the spoon ;) Hummus is a great source of protein especially for vegetarians and has been known to help lower cholesterol in the blood and has omega-3 fatty acids great for the health of your heart and joints!

xox

Paleo Pumpkin Brownies - Just for Halloween :)

Inspired by Halloween, this recipe was one of my 'study break' trials towrds the end of October with a need of some good brain food!! So I came across this Paleo Pumpkin Brownie  recipe made with cooked pumpkin... some hidden vege goodness which even my housemates could not tell was there!
Extra vegetables in delicious brownies?? Best. Brownies. Ever.

Paleo Pumpkin Brownie

1 cup cooked pumpkin
4 eggs
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp coconut oil
4 pitted dates
1/3 cup coconut flour
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp bicarbonate
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup cacao powder
1/3 cup shredded coconut (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a food processor blend the cooked pumpkin, eggs, honey, vanilla, coconut oil and pitted dates until smooth.
In a mixing bowl sift the coconut flour, cinnamon, bicarbonate, baking powder and cacao powder. Make a well in the center and add wet mix and mix until combined.
Add the shredded coconut (optional) and chopped walnuts and mix.
Transfer into lined lamination tray and bake at 180 degrees C for 25 min, cool and cut and enjoy!

I thought my brain was replenished after these ;)

xox

Tough Mudder Perth and Banana-Mudder Paleo Muffins!

In August myself, my sister and 2 of her friends decided to challenge ourselves with a new event... the Western Mud Rush! It is a yearly 8km event which saw us running through the WA equestrian stadium challenging our fitness and mental strength by crawling through mud, barbed wire, under trench tunnels and hay bales, climbing over Berlin walls, down a mud slide, carrying sand bags, jumping into an ice bath and so much more. It is a great mental and physical challenge while also incorporating some of the best sportsmanship you will see at an event. While there is a race in the first wave, for the other couple of thousand people the day is all about getting through the obstacles with your mates and helping other do the same no matter what. It was so much fun and as I obliterated fears of claustrophobia I had never gotten so muddy and been so exhilarated!!

This day was also the first I had heard of an even bigger mud event - Tough Mudder.

"Tough Mudder events are 20km hardcore obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie. With the most innovative courses, over one million inspiring participants worldwide to date, and more than $5 million raised for the Wounded Warrior Project, Tough Mudder is the premier adventure challenge series in the world."

And yet 2 months later I found myself at the start of the line for TM in Perth with my adrenaline pumping... these events are addictive!! So what did we do? Have a look here at the possible obstacles you can do. Our course was over a beautiful farm land where we ran through bush, small rivers, hills with great views, wheat fields and dirt tracks. Our obstacles ranged from crawling under barbed wire in mud, climbing Berlin walls, diving under mud barrels, carrying logs, climbing spider rope webs, trenching through thick mud, 'walking the plank' into muddy water, monkey bars, balancing beams, swimming on your back in mud water under a 20cm breathing space called 'cage crawl' (my most mentally challenging one which turned out to be easier than I thought!) trekking through ice water and going under (I almost didn't make it out from brain freeze!!), the infamous electric shock therapy and electric eel run and one of my favorites running up a half pipe leaping to grab the edge and be pulled over by your team mates in one of the last challenges known as 'Everest'.

A snapshot taken of me running through the 'Electric Shock Therapy'... still smiling!!

It took us a good 3 and a half hours running and walking and the feeling of crossing that line and getting awarded your orange tough mudder headband was such a great feeling of accomplishment, you have just finished what is regarded as one of the toughest events on the planet!

I wore my headband in Bunbury the next day, and the nods and smiles of approval I got from 2 fellow tough mudders wearing their bands and shirt was the nod of 'yep, I know what you went through too and it was awesome!' You suddenly have a special extended tough mudder family :)

And what I think helped get us through? Well I made some special Banana-Mudder Paleo Muffins which were sure a hit pre and post TM!! I love these they are so flavorsome and moist they have become my favorite muffin recipe which I am only too happy to share :)

Banana-Mudder Muffins (they will forever be called this haha)

3 large ripe banana's
4 eggs 
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup cacao powder (not cocoa!)
1/4 cup coconut oil melted

Method
Mix the chopped bananas, vanilla and eggs in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the flour, almond meal, cinnamon, cacao and baking soda and mix again until combined. Lastly mix in the melted coconut oil until combined.

Scoop equally into patty pan trays (12), add a slice of banana on top (optional) and cook in a moderate oven for 30-35min.

you could also make these as Choc-Blueberry muffins by adding a cup of frozen blueberries or add an extra crunch with chopped almonds or walnuts :)

On a final note, never let your mind get in the way of what you can achieve. The mind is the most powerful tool to the body and the only real freedom we have is freedom from fear... you can achieve anything you want to, you just have to believe it :)

xox

Paleo Lemon & Coconut Bread

While first starting Paleo you usually think 'where are all the carbs??' as you eliminated pasta's, grain and breads, but then you come to realise that apart from filling up with carbs from vegetables such as sweet potato and pumpkin, you are only actually eliminating the gluten based carbs. There are an abundance of Paleo recipes out there for breads and baking and in reality although you may not be use to the different ingredients at first they are quite easy to make!

So I was very exctied when i made my first Paleo bread. It actually turned into Lemon and coconiut bread as I had some delicious home grown lemons from a family friend I wanted to use. I based the recipe from 'Paleo Bread Recipes' and added a ripe banana and although I didn't make the glaze this time I may try it next time :)

 

Paleo Lemon & Coconut Bread

Ingredients

6 eggs
¼ cup coconut oil melted
zest from 2 lemons
juice from 2 lemons plus enough milk of choice (coconut milk from can or box, almond milk, etc.) to equal 1 cup
1 large ripe banana mashed (optional)
1/3 cup honey
2/3 cup coconut flour (only coconut flour will work here, organic is best:))
1 heaping teaspoon baking soda

Method

Preheat oven to 350.

Zest the lemons and squeeze out the juice, combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well.

Pour into a greased bread pan and bake for 35-45 minutes (mine was perfect at the 35 minute mark, but it may take up to 45 minutes) or until golden on top and middle is cooked through. If the top starts to get too brown towards the end of the cooking time, put some foil over the top.



 

 

Let to cool in the pan before turning it out on a rack to cool further. You can store the cake in the refrigerator to last longer :)

Enjoy!

xox

Raw Chocolate Cake with Raw Strawberry 'icing' (Jam)

I am a sweet tooth, I have no doubt about it! And I love muffins, and cupcakes, and cakes in general. Being on a 2 week Paleo challenge I have resisted the urge to make Paleo muffins also to see if I can resist my baking cravings for at least 2 weeks. I have to admit it has been hard some days and on Day 10 I thought 'why don't I make a raw cake instead??' So I looked through my various (multiple!) recipe collections and found a raw 'flourless chocolate cake'. It was actually easier than I thought and doesn't even require nut soaking time!!

I made a strawberry icing out of chia seeds the same as the raw strawberry jam recipe topped with delicious blueberries... it was a perfect muffin substitute!!

This is the original recipe for a full cake but I made 1/3 of the recipe and it turned into a nice 9x9cm cake 1.5cm thick which has lasted me 3 days :)

Raw Chocolate Cake + Raw Strawberry Icing

Raw Chocolate Cake with Raw Strawberry 'icing' (Jam)

1 1/2 cups walnuts or pecans (I used walnuts), unsoaked
Dash of salt
8 pitted medjool dates, unsoaked
1/3 cup unsweetened cacao or carob powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp water
1/2 cup blueberries to garnish (or any berries you like!)

Put the walnuts and salt in a food processor fitted with an S blade and process until finely ground. Add the dates, cacao and vanilla and process until the mixture begins to stick together, I had to add a tsp of water and a hint of cashew milk (I had it on hand). Add the water and process briefly.

Transfer to a serving plate and form into a cake around 15cm in diameter. Really you could make any shape you like, I might make a heart next :)

Decorate as it is with coconut, berries, cinnamon, banana, chocolate sauce, or strawberry icing!!

Raw Strawberry 'Icing'

This is actually a recipe for Raw Strawberry Jam but used as icing for this cake!

1 1/2 cups Sliced Strawberries
4 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
3 Tablespoons Water
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1 heaping Tablespoon Raw Honey or Agave

In a small bowl, combine the chia seeds with the water and vanilla. Mix and allow to soak for 20 minutes. Add the chia mixture to the blender with the rest of the ingredients.

Blend until just combined and still a little chunky. Pour into an airtight container and allow to sit in the fridge for about an hour to allow it to firm and gel up a bit more. Keep stored, covered, in the refrigerator. Will keep well in the fridge for up to a week.

The chocolate cake itself will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator or 2 weeks in the freezer but bring to room temperature before serving :)

You could also try moulding half the cake, adding a layer of fruit then the other half of cake on top as a layered chocolate cake.

I will definitely be making this again!! xox

Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies

Mmmm cookies... Sometimes I feel I am a muffin monster, but this recipe could easily make me become a cookie monster but a healthy one of course!!

I took these to a tutorial one Friday afternoon with my Uni peers and they could not believe they had chickpeas in them! They were definitely a hit :) The recipe usually has dark choc bits which would go nicely but I switched and used chopped dates instead, but which one you use is up to you :) I got this great recipe from a friend thanks so much for passing it on!!

Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups chickpeas canned or cooked patted dry with a tea towel
½ cup peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
¼ cup honey
a drizzle of olive oil (about 2 tbs)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup almond meal (optional but makes the mixture easier to handle)
a pinch of salt
2/3 cup chopped dates or dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a cookie sheet with baking paper & lightly spray with olive oil.
2. Add the chickpeas to a food processor with a steel blade and puree. Scrape down the edges, and pulse again a few times until the "dough" is completely smooth.

3. Add all the remaining ingredients (except the dates/dark chocolate chips) and puree again!

4. Pour the cookie dough into a bowl, and add in the dates/chocolate chips. The dough will be super sticky especially if you didn't add almond meal but this is normal :)

5. Scoop out heaping spoonfuls of dough and drop them onto the baking paper. (You can also form the dough into balls with wet hands, but this can get quite messy.)

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes, these are amazing warm out of the oven! Keep in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze some in a container to keep longer :)

You can now become a healthy cookie monster! Enjoy :D

xox

Raw Gingerbread Cookies

Hello Spring :) I don't know where the time has gone but I am so glad the sun is coming out and the days are becoming longer. I have had a good time experimenting with alkaline foods and salads as well as more raw foods and treats! At the same time I am getting into a new hobby - road cycling on Sundays :D there are beautiful roads and countryside to see especially in the South West WA. I love coming home after a good ride (45km now!!) to some delicious foods to nourish my body, protein pancakes are one of those goodies ;)

I have a few catch up recipes to post but I want to share with you these cookies I made from Lorna Jane and Rhi's Foodie bites....

Raw Gingerbread Cookies!

Makes 10-12 serves

1 cup desiccated coconut
1 ¼ cup macadamias
½ cup sunflower kernels
10 medjool dates
1 Tbs fresh ginger, grated
½ tsp. fresh turmeric, grated
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. coconut oil

Put macadamias, desiccated coconut and sunflower kernels into a food processor and blend until broken down into a crumb.

Add the rest of the ingredients, and blend again until well combined.

Grabbing a chunk of dough, roll it into a ball with your hands, and press it down, thinly, onto a lined baking tray or dehydrator rack.

Repeat for the rest of the dough.

Dehydrate the cookies in a dehydrator for 8-10 hours, or dehydrate in an oven at the lowest possible temperature for 12hours, or until the cookies are crisp. If you don't want to use the oven for that long you can always not have them raw and cook in a moderate oven for 10-15 minutes, they are have an awesome nutritional content to beat those sugar cravings!

I actually made about 20 small cookies and they were great snacks to beat those sugar cravings :) I found they were also great as a base to a raw cheesecakes, raw banana ice cream or if you don't want to go fully raw crumbled into some yoghurt :)

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

Broccoli Bites! aka my yummy green pebbles :) - Dehydrated

I came across this recipe from 'Raw food recipes' the other day and I just had to try it! I have only made sweet 'bites' or truffles before and I needed some more savoury nibbles to experiment with and get me through those daily cravings where you reach for any food in reach no matter what it is. Well I think I will be searching for these! They can be round balls or eve biscuits/crackers, I kind of made flat balls so called them my little green pebbles sort of like how you can get those sugar coated coloured almonds EXCEPT these are RAW, NUTRITIOUS, and basically awesome! :) What I did was slightly different to the recipe I found...

Broccoli Bites

2 cups of broccoli florets chopped ( I used a whole broccoli)
1/2 cup sunflower kernels
1/2 cup pepitas
1 brown onion diced
1 large clove of garlic
1/3 cup pine nuts
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon mixed herbs
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
cracked pepper to taste

Process the sunflower kernels and pepitas in a food processor until crumb like (its ok if you leave them slightly bigger, I like the texture!), you can use a coffee grinder if you have one.

Add the broccoli, onion, garlic, olive oil, herbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper and process until combined and smooth (well as smooth as it can be!) for around 45 seconds.

Leave in the fridge for an hour, then roll into teaspoon sized balls and flatten slightly on a dehydrator tray lined with baking paper or paraflex sheets. I made about 60 of these!!

Place in dehydrator for 2 hours, flip over and dehydrate for another 2-3 hours depending on how crisp you like them :) you can make these thinner or fatter, they store for about a month either way :)

If you don't have a dehydrator you can place them in a moderate oven for around 10-12 minutes I haven't tried the oven way so please watch them as they may need more or less!

I actually think these taste like a dip, they remind me of summer BBQs where you sit around with family and friends enjoying each others company over the taste of savoury treats waiting for your main to cook. I can't wait to experiment with others!

I made these on ANZAC day, not quite the traditional ANZAC biscuits but I thought the green symbolled our green land we have? It was a beautiful sunrise for the dawn service though, I have to share with you...

Beautiful Busselton, Beautiful Australia :)

I am currently soaking some whole raw oats to make different flavoured 'bites' and pebbles with, stay tuned for more flavours! .... I think I need a dinner party with all these :P any takers??

Rockin Raw

xox

My Moroccan Buckwheat crisps - Dehydrated

With my last flaxseed crackers being a success I was keen to try some more! This time I decided to make what I have called 'Moroccan crisps' following a similar recipe to my flaxseed ones with a Moroccan twist!

 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flaxseeds
1/2 cup buckwheat
1/2 cup pumpkin kernels
1 + 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sesame seeds
2 tsp Moroccan Spice
1 tsp mixed herbs
1/4/ cup Tamari
1 carrot grated
3/4 cup home grown sprouts

Soak the flaxseeds, buckwheat and pumpkin kernels in the water for at least an hour and a half to become a gel like consistency. Add the sesame seeds, Moroccan spice, mixed herbs, tamari, carrot and sprouts and mix together.

 

Divide the mixture in half and spread on 2 dehydrator sheets lined with baking paper (or paraflex sheets if you have them :)) into squares around 0.5cm thick. Placed in dehydrator at 45 degrees and dehydrate for 5 hours.

 

Peel the baking paper off the crisps and put back in for another hour. If the baking paper does not come off easily leave in for another hour and try again. you can increase or decease the time the crisps are drying depending on how you like your consistency.



Once dried, let the crisps rest before cutting into squares, rectangles or triangles and place in a sealed container in the cupboard or fridge :) These last around 2 weeks and are great topped with avocado, tomato, sprouts or used for dips!

Rockin Raw

xox

Raw Flaxseed Crackers - Dehydrated!

A finally made my raw flaxseed crackers!! Dehydrated style and I am in LOVE with them :D

They are a perfect addition to lunches topped with avocado, entertaining with dips or a snack for any time of the day! And they were really simple to make :)
 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole flaxseeds
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup tamari
• 1 carrot grated
• 1 capsicum grated
• 1 handful fresh spinach leaves chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh mixed herbs (optional)

 

Preparation: 

 

In a medium sized bowl, cover the flax seed crackers with water and allow to soak for at least 1 1/2 hours. The water will turn to a gelatinous goo. Check the mixture, and add more water if needed, aim for the mixture to be gooey, but not runny, and not too thick.

Stir in the tamari, I let mine sit another 10-15minutes. Then add the sesame seeds, mixed herbs, grated carrot, spinach leaves and capsicum. The capsicum was a little tricky to grate but worth it! . You can also get creative and add some extra flavors - a quirt of lime juice, minced ginger, chili powder or cayenne pepper - depending on your tastes.

 

Spread the mixture about 1/8 inch thick on a dehydrated paraflexx or teflex sheets, I left mine in Bunbury so used baking paper but beware it can stick a little!

 

Set your dehydrator to about 110 degrees, and dehydrate for 4-6 hours. Turn the mixture over pulling off the baking paper, if it is hard to get off leave in for another 2 hours or so before flipping. Once flipped dehydrate another 3 - 4 hours. If you like a crispy and crunchy cracker, dehydrate a bit longer. I like my flaxseed crackers a bit chewier, so I dehydrate them a bit less. Break or slice your crackers into pieces when finished dehydrating and they are ready to serve!

 

If you don't have a dehydrator you could easily made these in the oven, cook at 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until they are at a desired crunch! I was so happy with my new snack and they tasted better than I expected, almost like a raw pizza base! Topped with avocado, sundried tomato's or any other topping is bliss :) 

 

Rockin Raw

xox