by Siobhan | Jul 6, 2017 | Breakfast, Desserts, Grainfree, Lunch, Popular
Didn’t think there could be a healthy, tasty, low sugar AND low carb donut? Well think again because I created one!
I was so careful with this recipe to strike the right balance between using low carb coconut flour (which I’ve found in Tesco before) but also making sure that it was really moist too, I finally nailed the recipe and I’m super proud of it!
PLUS, as I used lemon zest and juicy blueberries for flavour it means it’s also refined sugar free, but as always feel free to adjust it to your desired sweetness/tastes, you can use vanilla extract, some liquid stevia if you have it or a drizzle of honey if you like, it’s entirely up to you.
A note on coconut flour
I have been able to get a 500g bag of fat reduced coconut flour in Tesco for £3 on offer or £3.75 normal price, now although it’s more expensive than other flours one thing to remember is that this fat reduced version is VERY absorbent meaning you need far less for recipes, usually 1/3 of normal flour. For example, this recipe only needed 35g, for my sweet squash loaf I only needed 40g, therefore a 500g although more expensive will last you a long time. Furthermore, if you’re looking for high fibre, low carb baking options then this is definitely an ingredient you should consider.
Tiana is another brand that’s fat reduced and is available in Holland and Barrett.
Benefits
As this recipe is high in fibre and good fats, low carb and low sugar it also means it’s quite a good option/treat for anyone with diabetes as I often hear from one of my friends that their diabetic siblings don’t really have much choice of treats that aren’t filled with lots of different artificial sweeteners/weird ingredients.
These donuts are made with real food, nourishing ingredients so you can even have them for breakfast and not feel guilty, seriously I’ve done this, it makes your early starts much better, try it and thank me later, hehe.
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by Siobhan | Jun 27, 2017 | Dinner, Grainfree, Lunch, vegan
Even if you’re kale-phobic chances are that you’ll like this salad due to the delicious, juicy pomegranate seeds which give a lovely pop but also lend loads of flavour to the kale base, plus the creamy tahini (sesame seed paste) lime dressing on the kale also covers the flavour meaning this is one dish that even the kale haters won’t have to force down!
If you’re not a lover of tahini either then you can sub it for almond butter.
To bulk out the rest of the salad I used leftover cucumber, sweet red pepper and flaked almonds but you can use whatever salad/veg you have in your fridge.
Nourishing nutritional benefits
Due to the mix of kale, tahini and almonds this salad is also a good source of plant based calcium for those who are dairy intolerant/vegan. See here for more info on plant based calcium.
Annnnnd the kale is also a good source of Vitamin K1 which is great for bones so it’s a double wammy in terms of bone benefits which is great for anyone who may be on a dairy free/vegan diet and finally the pomegranate seeds are an excellent source of antioxidants, so your body will love you for eating this one!
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by Siobhan | Jun 20, 2017 | Desserts, Grainfree, snack, vegan
This recipe is really simple, I promise. Plus, you can get the ingredients at pretty much any shop and can use whatever fresh fruit you can get your hands on/needs to be used up.
Another major bonus is that it doesn’t require any cooking and if you don’t mind a slightly crumbly base then it can be eaten straight away, woo hoo!
It would also be a great thing to bring to a party/bbq as it’s gluten free and if using a non dairy based thick yogurt then it’s suitable for those with dairy allergies too, plus by using lots of different coloured fruit it can look really pretty so is bound to impress!
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by Siobhan | Jun 12, 2017 | Advice, Breakfast, Grainfree, snack, vegan
So it comes to that time of year again when everyone is trying to get that bikini body for their holidays. I still see lots of people, especially women, reaching for all sorts of expensive potions and processed shakes to achieve this, but let’s keep in mind that these are short term fixes (if they even work at all!) and usually involve some sort of laxative effect….fun.
So why not try a real food, nutritious way of starting your day combined with a good exercise plan for the time leading up to your holidays and actually properly care for and nourish your body this year? Go on, your body deserves it.
I designed this smoothie based on foods that have beneficial effects on metabolism and exercise performance (see below for more details) meaning it’s great to have first thing in the morning and best combined with some exercise. Don’t forget to fill the rest of your day with wholesome nutritious meals as well, try my avocado pesto, green omelette, chilli Pb stirfry or rainbow summer squash salad.
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by Siobhan | Jun 5, 2017 | Breakfast, Desserts, Grainfree, Lunch, snack
I purposely made this recipe with two different flours meaning it’s suitable for many different types of diets/requirements.
I’m quite fond of spelt flour but this time I used buckwheat flour instead so that it would be gluten free (but if you tolerate gluten and can only find spelt then you can use it instead), I’ve also included a coconut flour recipe meaning that this version is grain and gluten free but also lower carb and suits paleo/grain free diets.
Coconut flour low carb version
Healthier Buns
Out of curiosity I decided to look into the specific nutrition of each version using an online nutrition calculator and found that they are far lower in sugar, calories and fat than your typical store bought ones, plus they’re made with real food ingredients and sweetened mostly (or completely if you omit the honey) with fresh fruit making them a far healthier option in my opinion and also contain quite a bit of fibre to boot!
For the calculation I used the options of 1 tspn honey and medium fat milk, the results per bun are:
Buckwheat version
-122 calories
-12g carbs
-4.7g sugar
-6.6g fat
Coconut version
-103 calories
-8.2g carbs
-4.9g sugar
-6.7g fat
Buckwheat flour version
Recipe Notes
The major key to the distinctive bakewell taste of this recipe is the almond extract as this gives the unique marzipan flavour, without it they’ll still be nice buns but the flavour won’t be as good or as distinctive so I highly recommend getting it which should be easy as I found mine in a big Tesco store in the baking aisle.
I used a reduced fat coconut flour meaning that you need to source yours carefully as some still have all the fat in it meaning the recipe won’t work the same. I used The Groovy Food company’s coconut flour which I managed to find in a large Tesco store on offer too! So do keep an eye out for it, you don’t always have to go to health food shops to get ingredients like this anymore.
As always I prefer to use as little added sweetness as possible so I’ve tried this recipe with and without honey so simply adjust it to your sweet tooth.
As mentioned before I used buckwheat flour this time so it would be gluten free but if you only have spelt flour then that will work too.
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by Siobhan | Jun 2, 2017 | Advice, Grainfree, Health
I’ve been making a lot of my own milks recently and thought I’d share one of my favourites to show people just how easy making your own actually is. Not to mention how much cheaper it is as well, pretty much everyone will have some desiccated coconut in their cupboard for baking purposes and it’s quite cheap to get these days. When you consider how much that entire bag costs and how much milk you can get out of it, it works out to be soooo much cheaper, so if you often feel a bit ripped off buying pre made milks then I highly recommend giving this a go. It’s also great to have the know how incase you find yourself needing plant based milk but don’t have any in the fridge and can’t get to the shops.
Another benefit of homemade is that it’s free from any emulsifiers/thickeners which some people may be allergic to or can’t have due to dietary lifestyles. There are brands out there that make milks without anything added which you can get if you needed to, one of my favourites is the Oatly organic version which is simply, oats, water and a pinch of salt.
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