Cinnamon Quinoa bake - yummy breakfast

Found this great recipe on Pop Sugar Fitness today. Definitely one to try if you're bored of porridge for brekkie.

http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Cinnamon-Quinoa-Bake-21799042

Paleo chocolate brownies

This is my first time cooking with coconut flour and it worked really well! The brownies are more chocolate cake than gooey brownie but still delicious.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut flour
3 tbsp raw cacao powder
pinch of himalayan salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
4 eggs
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp chopped pecans

Method:

Mix the flour, cacao and salt. Stir in the eggs, vanilla essence and honey and blend with an electric mixer or in food processor/blender. Then add the melted coconut oil and mix well. Finally stir in the chopped pecans.

Spread mixture into a lightly oiled baking tray and cook in preheated oven at 180degrees C (350F) for about 20 minutes - keeping an eye on them so they don't over-brown.

Serve warm.

Fave new breakfast/dessert

So I made the most delicious breakfast to take to work this morning - who says you can't have chocolate for brekkie and still feel virtuous? Try it!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp raw cacao powder
2 tbsp chia seeds
200ml almond milk
1/2 tbsp lucuma powder (optional but adds a bit of sweetness)
1/2 banana finely sliced
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Mix the cacao, lucuma and cinnamon with a little almond milk gradually until you have a smooth paste. Then slowly add the rest of the milk and the chia and mix well (you could also blend if you prefer it smoother). Stir in the sliced banana and leave overnight.

Result - a delicious chocolately breakfast or dessert. Low carb, gluten-free, high antioxidants, and NO added sugar. Amazing.

Spelt flat breads

Although spelt still contains gluten, many people find that it's easier to deal with than other gluten flours. They also taste great and are so simple to whip up! These took me less than 30 minutes from start to finish.

Ingredients:

250g wholemeal spelt flour
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
150ml almost boiling water

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and then add the oil - stir well and then slowly add the water, stirring all the time. When the mixture starts to look doughy rather than 'flaky', use your hands to knead for around two minutes.
Cover with a wet tea towel and leave for around 15 minutes.

Heat a large skillet pan or heavy frying pan. Tear a small piece of dough from the ball and roll out into a flat disc on a floured board. Ideally make the disc as thin as you can without tearing.
Add a little spray oil or olive oil to the pan using kitchen roll to spread. Cook a flat bread for about 1 minute each side.

Serve with dips of your choice (hummus, babaganoush, tzatziki, taramasalata). You could also add spices like chilli or paprika, or herbs such as rosemary to your dough.  

Matcha, lime and coconut mousse

This gorgeous dessert is so simple to make - and healthy of course! It's packed with vitamin E from the avocado, antioxidants from the lime and matcha and just has a little sugar (brown rice syrup). As it's so rich, small portions are recommended!

Ingredients: Makes 8 small portions

2 ripe avocadoes
Juice of 1 1/2 limes
Zest of 1 lime
3 tbsp brown rice syrup (or honey)
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp matcha green tea powder
toasted dessicated coconut to decorate

Put all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Pour into serving cups, bowls or glasses and leave to chill for 2-3 hours (you can speed this up in the freezer!). Serve with toasted coconut or finely chopped pistachios.

Buckwheat superfood granola

This granola is crunchy, nutty and full of flavour - and it beats those sugary shop-bought versions hands down. You can add any nuts, seeds, dried fruit or cheeky extras (dark chocolate nibs!) you like.

Ingredients: Makes one large tupperware tub!
250g raw buckwheat
100g oats (leave out if you want it to be truly gluten free)
50g sunflower seeds
50g dessicated coconut
2 tbsp brown rice syrup (or honey)
1 tbsp coconut oil
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp minced/grated ginger
2 tbsp raisins or other dried fruit


Soak the buckwheat in cold water for a couple of hours. Drain and rinse. Then put in a large bowl with the oats, sunflower seeds, vanilla essence, salt and spices. Mix well. Next, add the coconut oil and syrup, stirring to coat all of the ingredients. Spread the mixture on a large baking tray lightly greased with coconut oil. Place in a pre-heated oven at about 180 degrees for around 50 minutes - stirring every 10 minutes to stop it over-browning. Half way through add the coconut and dried fruit and stir well.

Leave to cool thoroughly before putting into an air-tight container (if you can resist eating it straight away!)

 Did you know? Buckwheat is not a type of wheat at all - it's a seed. So it's great for gluten-free diets.

Pear and ginger chia loaf

Last week I made a banana bread as I needed something easy to take for brekkie on my early starts at the Tesco cookery sessions. This week I had some pears leftover so decided to experiment with a pear and ginger loaf. It turned out pretty well! You could use apple instead of pear and add any nuts, seeds or spices you have hanging around.

Ingredients:

2 ripe pears, grated

3 tbsp chia seeds

100g dates, soaked in hot water to plump and whizzed in food processor

100g flour (I used a combo of rye flour and quinoa flour)

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt

2 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp almond oil

100g natural yogurt

1 inch fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp cinnamon or nutmeg

2 tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional) 

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. 

Combine the flour, chia, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl combine the blended dates with the beaten eggs and stir in the almond oil.  Slowly add the date mixture to the dry ingredients and combine well, adding the natural yogurt when the mixture gets dry. 

Lightly grease a loaf tin with coconut oil, spray oil or butter and add the cake mixture to the tin. 

Bake in the oven for about an hour - covering with foil if the top starts to brown too quickly.