:: vanilla slice (raw, vegan, gf, df, sf) ::

Raw Vegan Vanilla Slice

I thought I'd just take a minute to link you over to Wholefood Simply's website which is chockas full of amazing raw desserts. Very allergy friendly. My only caution would be consuming too much fructose in the form of dates. A lot of her recipes are bound together with Medjool dates. I often half the amount of dates and add some coconut oil. But if it's your first time following the recipe, it might be best to stick to the original. If you don't have Medjool dates (pricey!), I use dried dates but double the amount because they are so small, and soak in hot water for 5 minutes.

Recipe here.

:: it's a good day for guiltless indulgence ::

Quirky Cooking's Chocolate Banana Cake
{ sugar free ~ gluten free ~ dairy free ~ optional vegan}

Coconut Cream Chocolate Frosting

by The Whole Pantry App

{ sugar free ~ gluten free ~ dairy free ~ vegan }

:: coconut cream centred chocolates (SF, DF, GF, V)::

Good things come in small sizes.

Whoops, I'm drooling over my own blog post already!

I've been making my own 'chocolate' for a while now and I've always just poured it onto a tray to break into pieces, or put it in little round silicon cupcake papers to pop out. It dawned on me the other day though, that I actually do own chocolate molds. And at the rate this particular chocolate recipe sets, I knew it wouldn't be too hard to coat the inside of the mold, let it set in the freezer for 1 min, and then fill the centre with something yummy, before sealing off the bottom. I wasn't sure how they would pop out, as I didn't even think about greasing the mold, but they just popped right out. And they taste GREAT.

Coconut Cream Centred Chockies

(sugar free, gluten free, vegan)

Makes approx 20

Chocolate Mixture

• 6 Tab cacao/cocoa powder
• 3 Tab virgin coconut oil
• 3 Tab smooth peanut/almond butter
• 1 pinch pink Himalayan salt (or sea salt)
• 12 drops NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia (or 1 teas stevia powder)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over very low heat. Stir occasionally

Coconut Mixture

• 1 bag (500g-1kg) shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup coconut cream

Blend shredded coconut on high in Thermomix or high powered food processor until runny & sloppy. This could take 3 mins in a TM, or 15min in a food processor. Add the coconut cream and blend till thickened (couple of seconds).

Assembly Method:

1.  Dribble a bit of your hot chocolate mixture into the bottom of each chocolate mold and rub it up the sides with your finger. Pop the mold in the freezer for a minute. While you're waiting, roll some small balls of the coconut cream mixture.
2. Take the mold out of the freezer, hopefully it hasn't all gone completely hard, and rub the settled chocolate up the sides of the mold again. Return to freezer. Roll some more white balls.
3. Take the completely set chocolate out of the freezer, press a coconut ball into each mold and pour the rest of your hot chocolate mixture over the coconut cream.
4. Return to freezer and wait till completely set (1/2 hour) before DEVOURING.

Note: You will have tonnes of coconut cream/butter left over. It's yum and keeps for ages. Keep rolling it into balls for a sugar-free snack for yourself. You could even make another batch of chocolate and roll them in it. I pressed some into mini silicon cupcake molds and topped with a bit of remaining chocolate.

:: almost-impossible brownie::

This DECEDANT chocolate brownie is 'almost impossible' because it's grain-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, egg-free AND sugar-free.

WHAT IS LEFT?!

I recently recieved a very exciting email in my inbox, from a dear New Zealand friend who announced that she was making time to come and stay with me on her upcoming trip to Australia. I just LOVE visitors, especially ones that stay a night or two. So I was all for the idea, especially as it was 2.5 years since we last saw each other.

Emails organising transport, girly plans once she arrived etc, went back and forth. Then a couple of days before arriving, she decided to remind me (thank goodness she did) that she was not only dairy and wheat intolerant, but allergic to peanuts and, wait for it.... EGGS. If any of you have tried the Paleo diet, or even just wanted to 'eat clean' for a while, you'll realize there are a LOT of eggs involved. The dairy and wheat part wasn't so scary; I've cooked without those many times. But EGGS usually were the turn-to when creating a dairy/gluten free dessert or cake. So we could have just eaten meat, veg and fruit for the whole visit but that didn't sit well with me. You've GOT to give a guest dessert, especially after dinner on the first night. So I took it upon me as a most interesting challenge.

It so happened I'd been eyeing a coconut-milk, choc-mint icecream recipe a couple of days before, so started straight into that. The recipe did call for one egg, but I guessed it could be left out without too much difference. I found the recipe here (but note, I wasn't that impressed with it in the end. Bit of bother). So with that setting in the freezer, I tried to think of what to serve it with. Wouldn't a brownie be perfect? There has got to be a vegan brownie recipe out there. I googled. There were dozens. I scanned multiple ones, and after closing tabs on those with weird ingredients or that were based on 'black beans', I narrowed it down to this one.

Not a lot to it, I had all the ingredients, and threw it all in the thermomix (food processor will work just as fine). As the author promised, it had a super thick consistancy, and I mashed it down into the tin figuring it would probably cook into a dry rock. I put it in the oven and turned to lick the bowl (not optional). I nearly dropped the thing in total shock. The mixture was SO good. So far, it tasted just like a bad brownie mix. I was really surprised.

The oven alarm finally went off, and I painfully left it for a few moments (ie. 5 seconds) to cool and sliced off 'that wonky looking bit'. GOOD GRAVY it's a brownie. It was just like a true brownie. Every bit as dense, moist, gooey, rich and chocolatey. I rushed another wonky bit into Jason's face, and he was floored. He agreed, it was just like the real, bad boy version.

So without further ado, the recipe, with thanks to Deanna from The Mommy Bowl.

Vegan Sugar-free Brownies

4 ounces (113 g) dates (about 23 medium dates, or about 3/4 cup)
1/3 cup boiling water
2 T. ground flax seed
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup (112 g) coconut oil
1/2 cup (28 g) cocoa powder
2/3 cup (50 g) almond meal
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3/4 teaspoon of powdered stevia (to taste)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease an 8″ x 8″ baking pan.

In a small bowl, combine dates, boiling water and flax seed. Allow to sit for 10 minutes while dates soften.

Put coconut oil in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coconut oil is creamy. Add date mixture. Pulse until dates break up, and then process for 5 minutes until mixture is smooth and creamy.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the shredded coconut. Pulse until mixture is thick and well-mixed. Taste for sweetness and add more stevia if desired. Stir in coconut.

Spread batter in prepared pan. (It will be very thick. That’s normal.) Bake for 20 minutes, or until knife inserted in brownie comes out mostly clean.

This was my friend Felicity's review, "So this is what a brownie tastes like! I've never had one before."

So proud to serve you your first safe brownie, girly! x

:: week 8 sugar-free, OVER! ::

It is with immense pleasure (and relief) that I announce the end of my 8 week sugar detox!

*fireworks, please*

So I'd gone roughly 60 days without a single bite of 'normal' chocolate, cookie or cake. And yes, as soon as it was over, I was super keen to find out how I'd go once I tried naughty food again. I dove in, had a massive cheat day, and consumed all the stuff I'd had 'waiting'. I couldn't wait to gauge my response.

First thoughts? It was boring. 

Fully boring. Everything I'd been eating/cooking/baking/trying for the last 8 weeks was way more interesting and tasty. Here I was thinking I was 'missing out' for 8 weeks while everyone else ate whatever they wanted. It wasn't me that was missing out at all - everyone else had been missing out! To know the true taste of whole foods, lovingly mixed with amazing spices, releasing flavours found in nature is a wonderful thing. Real food is awesome.

When I think that it has been 8 weeks since I began, that was a mighty-fast couple of months. You might think it went slowly, but no, it probably feels like about 3 weeks ago I was invited to do the 'experiment' of 8 weeks sugar (fructose) free by my new friend Jemima. I had already bought the book "I Quit Sugar" by Sarah Wilson, but hadn't read it. Turns out you don't actually have to read the whole thing before starting - you just read the introduction and then one chapter each week. Sarah gives you the instructions for that week, and some recipes to try. She made it really simple, and had some incredible recipe ideas (she's all for being economical too, which helps, as I'm not a fan of expensive recipes) which I will be implementing into our regular menus.

I was hoping to have fully worked out my system by the end of this, but I can't say that's the case. I was enjoying the yoghurt/ricotta/cottage cheese/cheddar recipes but I'm wondering if my body is really that happy on dairy... will work on that. I'm very happy without wheat though, and came across a really nice paleo bread recipe. It is YUM. I found I don't have a loaf tin, so I had to resort to a pretty bunt pan. I must invest in a loaf tin though, as it was a real success and even toasts well.

So to conclude, I highly recommend giving the 8 week detox a go, even if you have no intention of keeping off sugar forever. You'll open up for yourself a whole new world, and learn to be in control of yourself & your 'cravings'.

:: week 6 sugar-free ::

Ahhh last week (Week 6) was a nice one! Here I was allowed to add a bit of sweetness back into my life after 3 weeks of absolutely none (besides that sugar-yogurt-cheat-bloat-fail). Things like fruit (1-2 pieces a day) are back in, along with things sweetened with stevia & rice malt syrup.

I went straight to the to the top with Sarah Wilson's Crunchy Nut Cheesecake.

This beautiful baked cheesecake has a base of hazelnuts & almonds set with butter. The filling is cream cheese (some homemade by letting homemade yogurt drain in cheesecloth), some coconut oil & cream, dash of vanilla, and sweetened with rice malt syrup. After making the batter for the filling, I licked the bowl completely clean (naturally) and thought to myself, "Oo that's sweet... might put less rice malt syrup than recommended next time." But when Jase was given a piece, he said he liked the texture but it wasn't sweet enough, so didn't want any more! So my taste buds have obviously recalibrated.

Second on the sweet menu was the Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate.

my. word.

Mighty, mighty good. This is a can of coconut milk simmered with raw cacao powder, pure peanut butter, a pinch of salt & rice malt syrup. It was a very filling cup of chocolatey wonder. Definitely doing this again when I need a chocolate knock-out.

Even with these yummy delights, last week was also a really hard week. My entire family were here for it and brought so many treats with them. Including a giant box of Anvers (a quaint chocolate factory in Tassie, the best ever) fudge 'seconds' (*sad face*). I've kept some for when the detox is up and I decide to have a cheat day. But boy oh boy, there was more than one occasion where I came this close to just 'doing it' and eating a piece of fudge, or brownie... I'm actually very surprised I didn't.

TWO WEEKS TO GO!! I actually still have a sweet tooth (did you figure that out?) which is supposed to be gone by the end of the detox. But, there are still two weeks to go, so I'll wait it out and see where my sweet tooth sits by the end.

And WELCOME to Karen, Jessica, Kimmie & Sarah who have all bought the book and going to give the detox a go! That's all it takes guys.. not a life-long commitment to leave sugar out of your life, but a "give it a go" attitude. You will see how you feel at the end, and work out what foods you might then want to leave out of your life.

:: week 5/6 sugar-free ::

Week 5 is done and I'm so excited to enter Week 6, because now the 'no-sweetness-whatsoever' part is over, and I can start adding in small amounts of healthy sweetness back into my life. 1 piece of fruit a day, things sweetened with stevia, and rice malt syrup. It's really important that I don't go nuts now, though the point is that by this stage I'm not supposed to be feeling the need for regular sweet treats.

I've had my moments (especially when with friends) where I really wondered what I was doing as they all ate their way through blocks of chocolate, but at the end of the evening it was a good feeling to know that I'd only eaten yogurt, nuts & homemade cheese biscuits & crackers for 'dessert'. They all understood though, and thought I was very brave (I wasn't feeling the bravery but had to stick it out by that stage lol).

The timing for Week 6 couldn't be better, with my whole family up here from Tasmania for a week! Most of them are meeting their nephew and grandson for the first time. I welcomed their arrival with a sugar-free celebratory cheesecake from "I Quit Sugar." Oh it was beautiful.

Other recipes I tried from the book this week were:

.parsnip fries tossed in almond butter.

(surprisingly amazing)

 

.curry coconut chicken meatballs.

(no flour/breadcrumbs)

If you want to know the fast answer on why we need to quit the sugar fructose as opposed to glucose (what rice malt syrup is), and also the top 5 things you should cut out of your diet (highest in sugar/fructose), then click and read this quick link. It's by Sarah Wilson, the author of "I Quit Sugar" and she has so much valuable information for all of us.

I will be posting a photo of the cheesecake after I slice myself another piece tonight. Mmm-mmmmm!!

:: week 3 sugar free ::

So here I go, commencing my third week of the sugar detox. This is where the weaning process ends, and the absolutely-no-sugar-in-body starts. So for the next 3 weeks, I won't be eating any fruit. 

Sounds a bit silly, but when you realize that an apple can contain about 7 teaspoons of sugar (fructose, which is the sugar that makes us fat) it gets a bit scary! It kind of makes sense to me though, because in the past when I've tried to be 'healthy' and just have fruit for lunch, I find I don't lose any weight at all. In fact, I usually still end up bloated and gain a bit of weight! Once the detox is up, I will go back to fruit, but only 1-2 pieces a day.

Did you know that when we eat things that are sweetened with glucose, nearly every cell in our body can use it, so it's usually "burned up" immediately after consumption. But when we eat things that are sweetened with fructose (table sugar is 50% fructose/50% glucose), our liver is responsible for metabolising it, and it's usually too much for the liver to handle - and it turns it to fat. So when we have a big bowl of fruit salad, sure we might be getting Vitamin C... some fiber... etc, but the amount of sugar that our liver gets hit with mostly gets converted into fat cells.

Veggies are full of all the same vitamins & minerals as fruit, so I won't be missing out! And I've been very satisfied snacking on things like this below. Yes, that's cream cheese.

:: homemade chickpea crackers ::

(gluten-free, vegan, have the snap of a high quality cracker, and tasty!)

:: on quitting sugar... for good ::

I have been toying with the idea of completely giving up sugar for a while now. In fact, Jase and I had it on our diaries to 'give it our best shot' after I'd finished all the chocolate in the house, and after he had finished all the Jarrah coffee sachets. 

It's not that we aren't already pretty healthy eaters already. I barely bake with sugar, except when expecting guests and we don't do desserts much ourselves after dinner. But, we do do chocolate. And we do do the odd icecream. And Jase does do a lot of those powdered-sugar-laden-coffee-combos. Sure it might not be a lot compared to your average Aussie, but the point actually is (*takes deep breath*), we shouldn't be eating any.

Soooo much easier said than done. 

It's not about weight gain. It's not about bad teeth and stinky breath. It's not even about bloating or cellulite. It's all the hidden things. Stuff that goes on, on the inside of our bodies that should truly have us fleeing from the stuff. Did you know....

Sugar/fructose:

• Inhibits our immune system, making it harder to fight off viruses and infections
• Upsets the mineral balance in our bodies, causing deficiencies as well as interfering with mineral absorption (makes taking them multivitamins pretty irrelevant sometimes...)
• Messes with fertility
• Speeds up the aging process (Hey yeah we all want that! Pass the chockie!)
• Has been connected to the development of cancers of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, lung, gallbladder and stomach
• Is linked to dementia
• Causes an acidic digestive tract, indigestion and malabsorption
• can cause a rapid rise in adrenaline, as well as hyperactivity, anxiety and loss of concentration

 The research is growing to show sugar is indeed poisoning us. Studies are proving sugar to be the biggest cause of fatty liver, which leads to insulin resistance. This then causes metabolic syndrome, which is now being seen as the biggest precursor to heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

It's making us sick! Sugar isn't just a bunch of naughty, empty calories. Some leading scientists are saying it's responsible for 35 million annual deaths worldwide.

(above information from "I Quit Sugar" by Sarah Wilson)

This book, "I Quit Sugar" is selling out. I went to BigW where it was on special and there were none left! After 10mins of searching, I turned away disappointed and suddenly spotted one all alone on a shelf.

Sarah Wilson provides an 8 week rescue plan, completely thought through to make your transition to a sugar-free lifestyle a whole heap easier. You can't just 'drop it', you need to replace it with lots of the things that satisfy, mainly, proteins. She has simple recipes with everyday ingredients. And I secretly love that she does dairy.

So no, all the chocolate is not out of the house. And I have an unfinished tub of Halva that I've been spooning my way through. But it's all got to wait, because a friend of mine kicked me in the rear and has got me going through this detox plan, starting this week. Doing it with a buddy is a great idea, so it's game on.

Actually this plan also bans all fruit, which I don't agree with as a lifestyle. But this detox plan is about killing our need (yes, we are all addicted to sugar!) for something sweet. Whether it's a 'healthy' sweet or not. We want to crave stuff that's going to give us life and make us feel 

AWESOME.

As Sarah says, "We don't respond well to 'restrictive thinking'. You're doing this not because you have to, but because it might make you feel better."

I'll be blogging a bit of my journey as I go. Say hello to my breakfast this morning, and my very first ever poached egg! Quite a bit of fun actually.

I can do this!

:: skinny cinnamon vanilla cheesecake squares [no sugar] ::

It's been a few days since I have posted. 

Things have been a whirl of excitement, stress & puppy pee. 

This weekend has been entirely dedicated to boxing up our belongings (with the exception of Jason's b-day dinner last night, which will be blogged soon). I can't believe how many boxes it takes to empty just one kitchen cupboard. Ugh! But in amongst all that, I found a spare 5 mins to create another glorious sweet treat, totally guilt free. Actually it's good for you. So listen up, and give it a go.

 

Skinny Cinnamon Vanilla Cheesecake Squares

(adapted quite a bit from Damy Health)

 Makes about 20 squares

Prep time: 10 mins, if that.

Setting time: Not really sure, I put it in the fridge and forgot about it.

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Pitted Dates
• 1 Cup Raw Walnuts
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1 Tab Honey

Filling Ingredients:

• 500g Cottage Cheese
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 Cup Non-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt (or vanilla yogurt)
• 2 Tbsp Honey
• 1 rounded teas. Stevia
• 2 Tab gelatine (dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water just before you need it)
• A sprinkle of cinnamon for the top

Directions:

1. Using your food processor bowl and blade blend all cheesecake filling ingredients (except the gelatine & cinnamon) until smooth and set aside in a separate bowl.
2. Rinse your food processor bowl and blade process all crust ingredients until dough like consistency with visible chunks of nut.
3. Line an 8×8 baking pan or glass dish with baking paper.
4. Press crust mixture evenly into baking dish.
5. Get a hand whisk and gradually pour the dissolved gelatine into the filling, while whisking fast.
6. Pour filling over the crust.
7. Thinly sprinkle your cinnamon over the top.
8. Cover with glad wrap and chill overnight.
9. When you’re ready to serve, cut into squares and serve immediately.

They are full of protein from the cottage cheese, good fats from the walnuts, and only natural sugars.

It is no where near as fiddly as 9 points.. it's basically just put everything in the processor and whizz (base and filling separately of course).

Now I'm going to go eat a few, because there's no guilt here today!

Hannah