Ginger, Coconut and Oat biscuits

I have my beautiful friend Bethany to thank for this delicious, healthy treat. She made a batch and served them with homemade coconut ice cream (also delicious and healthy!) wedged in between. Are you drooling? I've made several batches of these since and if you're a ginger lover then these will be your new best friends!  

Ingredients

 (double the recipe if you would like)

4 tbsp of coconut oil at room temperature

3 tbsp of 100% maple syrup

2 tbsp of buckwheat flour

2 tbsp of milk of your choice

2/3 cup of rolled oats

1 tsp ground ginger

* (I added an extra teaspoon, or you can use freshly grated)

a tiny pinch of ground clove

a drop or two of vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Place all the ingrediants together in a mixing bowl and stir through. 

Taste, add extra ginger if you need.

Using a spoon, place small pieces of the dough onto a tray lined with baking paper leaving space for spreading.

Use the backside of a spoon to flatten the dough as thin as you can. 

Bake for around 15-18 minutes until they are golden brown around the edges.

When they are warm the biscuits will be soft however they will become crispier as they cool.

If you're living in Victoria, this recipe is the perfect excuse for staying indoors in the warmth and getting your baking on!

Enjoy!

The new year- as it was.

Why hello 2014. Yes I am back. It's been awhile since posts and these last few weeks I have had every intention of writing the very first two-thousand-and-fourteen blog post but each time, I would continue to ponder and I'll be honest, simply forget. A lot has happened in the last 7 weeks. No, actually thats an understatement. A mammoth amount has happened in the last 7 weeks. From finishing our jobs, to moving back to Victoria, to celebrating Christmas and New Years, to getting married (a separate post to come!), to honeymooning in Lombok and the Gili's, to starting our new jobs and finally, succeeding in the hunt for a house. We sure have bulk-achieved. 

With all the craziness over and long-lists ticked off, we are settling back into life in Victoria...as Mr and Mrs! I'm excited about this year and what's ahead. No longer is my brain in "wedding-mode" but instead I have created a new list of goals and to-do's. Continuing my healthy lifestyle and love of cooking will result in more blog posts about meat and wheat free delights! This also includes keeping up my good exercise habits. Since having to join a new gym, I've began a Saturday morning boxing class- the best way to start a weekend! 

I'm giving my camera the ultimate workout this year and hope to go the next step with my photography and pursuing my dream of becoming a people photographer. Travel may or may not be on the cards. Having returned from our honeymoon, I began to feel a little sick and tired of flying, however that feeling soon passed when I received my regular members emails from every single travel website I've signed up to. Mr wants to do the Camino de Santiago, something I am very much considering. Hello Sangria and Paella!

All of this while being surrounded with the love of family and friends, weekends strolling the streets of the city, being lazy at home or planning my next trip to the West to see all who I miss dearly.

I have to caption photo 2- Christmas day and my mother, in her true form, raced out to the garbage truck man only to hand him a Christmas gift and say thanks. Bless her kind heart.

Chocolate, caramel and pecan slice (raw and vegan)

The Christmas festivities have once again begun. BBQ's, dinners, lunches and end-of-year-work-do's are in full sail and if you're like me who is wondering how to stay healthy over the silly season with all the delicious food that we get to indulge in, here is a dessert that is completely guilt-free. This one is a real winner. When you combine cacao, fresh dates, pecans and a few spices together, your taste buds will love you forever! One of these slices should be enough to make sure you skip the Christmas dessert table.

Ingredients

(Makes 12 slices)

Cake:

1 cup pecans

1 cup freshly pitted dates

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons raw cacao powder

Caramel icing:

3/4 cup freshly pitted dates

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon each of Cinnamon and nutmeg

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Water, as needed- around 3/4-1 cup depending on how thick you would like your icing.

Topping:

Handful pecans

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

To make the cake, put the pecans in your food processor and process until they become small crumbs. 

Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it all begins to stick together. 

Press the mixture firmly into a square or rectangle cake/slice tin.

Leave in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

To make the caramel icing: blend all the ingredients until smooth, adding water as needed to get a caramel consistency. 

Cut the cake slice into 12 individual square pieces. 

Using a knife or spatula, spread a generous amount of the caramel icing on top of each slice.

Top off with pecans and a sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon!

Zucchini Fritters

The older version I had of this recipe used regular flour and it was (and still is!) a quick, easy and yummy meal to put together when you just can't be bothered but still have the dedication not to opt out on unhealthy food. Almond meal has been a total life saver for me since going wheat-free and is a great substitute for recipes that require regular flour. I serve my yummo fritters with a generous spoonful of natural yoghurt, a drizzle of raw honey and some rocket just for that extra dose of leafy greens! 

Ingredients

(Makes around 12 fritters, depending on the size you make them)

2 medium size zucchinis

1 cup  green peas

1 bunch parsley chopped 

4 spring onions, sliced

Pinch Himalayan sea salt

Black pepper grinded

zest from 1 lemon

3 eggs

½ cup almond meal or 2 tablespoons of Coconut flour

Optional

Crumbled feta (add to mixture)

Natural yoghurt and raw honey (to serve)

Grate the zucchini into a large bowl. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and mix through and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Squeeze out all the moisture from the zucchini with your hands. An easy way to do this is to grab handfuls of the zucchini and squeeze out as much liquid as you can, placing it into another large bowl.

Add parsley, peas, spring onion, pepper, lemon zest, eggs and almond meal.

Mix well until combined. If needed, add some extra almond meal.

Using a large spoon to help form your fritters for cooking, cook in a pan over a medium heat in a little grape seed oil for 2-3 minutes each side or until cooked through.

Lately

These last few weeks I feel like I've been travelling in 5th gear and I know I won't be slowing down anytime soon. My marking feels like it is endless, reports are next to do, I battled through a throat virus the week before last which resulted in me being voice-less for two days (not the funnest thing for a teacher), we started packing our house for the big move home and on top of all that, training for my second triathlon at every spare moment I could get.

But a midst life's total craziness and never-ending-to-do-lists, I have still found a moment or two to spend behind my camera, capturing a few special moments- places that I will miss and people that I love.

1-3> After a short coastal drive, I stopped at City beach to soak in the sun and the sand. Pure bliss.

4-5 > Perth has some of the best beaches in the world. Fact. Cottesloe beach is by far my favourite and the number one place in Perth I will miss.

6> Pete and that mo. I'm jumping for joy as Movember comes to and end.

7-8> Sunset at Cottesloe. 

9> "Mietta" the lamb. This little cutie came from my brothers farm after her mum got terribly sick and could no longer look after her. My nephews have taken her under their wing and Mietta now thinks she is part of the family.

10> I love flowers.

11> Outside toys

12-16> My three adorable, mischievous, fun-loving nephews.

Happy Wednesday!

Spelt, Oat and Date scones

I am always on the lookout for delicious, healthy, breakfast recipes. Cereal has been entirely eliminated from my diet not just because of wheat but also because of their extreme processing and high sugar content that a majority of cereals contain. Bread is also limited although I came across a Fremantle bakery who produce a brand called "Whupper bread", a 100% Rye loaf, however at $6 a loaf, it's not something I take for granted and will only indulge in slice or two every so often. I find sometimes breakfast can get boring. Porridge, fruit, muesli, yoghurt, repeat. Breakfast in the morning needs to be easy, made quickly and at most times consumed fast, unless I negotiate with myself an earlier wake-up time (yeah, right).

So when I baked these, Pete gave me an enormous high-five. They must be good. Spelt is an ancient grain that is kind to the digestive system making it a great choice for those who have wheat sensitivities, has a low gluten content and is high in protein and fibre. They are perfect for breakfast topped with your favourite organic jam and complemented nicely with a cup of tea or an afternoon snack before a workout. Bliss!

Ingredients

2 cups wholemeal spelt flour

2 teaspoons allergy-free baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

100 g of coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup of your choice of milk (soy, dairy, nut, seed or rice)

1 cup fresh pitted dates cut into chunks

1 cup  rolled oats

*Makes 12 scones approx.

Preheat your oven to 200 C.

Combine spelt flour, baking powder and cinnamon.

Gently pour in the coconut oil and mix with your finger tips or a spatula.

Add the dates.

Combine milk, honey and vanilla separately, then pour into the dry ingredients.

Mix lightly to form a soft sticky dough.

Sprinkle half the oats onto a working surface and then place the dough on top, flattening down slightly, then sprinkle the rest of the oats on top.

Using a spoon, gather a small handful of the dough at a time, form into "odd shaped" balls and place onto a lined baking tray. Use the back of the spoon to flatten the balls slightly.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes. My favourite treat ever! However since going wheat-free I don't remember the last time I ate one. The most amazing cupcake stall at the Fremantle markets has me drooling each time I visit there and it's a battle not to give in. I'm not a huge fan of cake-icing in general but I do admire how creative people can be with cupcake icing toppers, sometimes it looks too good to eat! So my little cupcakes I kept icing-free and they are just as yum!

When I came across this recipe on Healthy Chef, it was love at first sight. Who knew that you could have wheat, sugar and GUILT-free cupcakes that taste divine? And just to top off how great they are, they are so easy to make and a perfect recipe for those who are time restricted but still want a quick, healthy, yummy treat. I put one in my lunch bag today and I am hanging out for that recess bell!

Ingredients

3 cups of almond meal 
1/2 cup unsweetened cacao powder
2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
4 free range organic eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
125 ml (1/2 cup) cold pressed coconut oil or light olive oil
125 ml (1/2 cup) your choice of milk (dairy, nut, seed, rice)
3-4 tablespoons Manuka honey or rice malt syrup.

*Makes 16-20 cupcakes- depending how big/small your patties are*

Preheat oven to 160 C (fan forced) or 180 C no fan.

Combine and mix together almond meal, cacao powder and baking powder in a bowl.

Add the eggs, oil, milk and honey/rice malt syrup then mix well to form a smooth batter.

Spoon into small individual cupcake tins/patties.

(I used small paper cupcake patties that I purchased from 'House'. They worked really well as the cupcake doesn't stick to the paper and they have a variety of cute designs!)

Bake for 25-30 minutes until puffed and cooked through.

Enjoy!