by Siobhan | Mar 26, 2018 | Desserts, Grainfree, vegan
I’ve been loving the combination lately of cashew butter and some sweetness, it’s absolutely amazing! Plus as you’ll know if you’ve glanced at any of my recipes, I love to make my own chocolate treats so what better way or time to do it than Easter and by making a healthier version of a classic Easter treat -homemade creme egg!!
I’ve also included a sugar free option to sweeten the fillings with and you can use a very dark/diabetic friendly chocolate meaning they can be tailored for anyone who needs a low sugar option, although even with the liquid sweeteners it’s still low sugar overall per egg with a much richer taste meaning you eat less of them while still getting your chocolate creamy centred hit!
Tip: I used silicon egg moulds that I found in the pound store
Dark chocolate oozey goodness!
These are also a great thing to make with the kids to keep them occupied or for homemade Easter gifts and you could tailor them if needed, for example, add some orange oil extract for a choc orange flavour or colour the centre with something pink for a pop of colour (of course it would no longer resemble a creme egg, but would still look just as pretty).
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by Siobhan | Mar 21, 2018 | Desserts, energy balls, Grainfree, snack, vegan
When I first thought up this recipe I really hoped it would work well as I wanted to create a soft, indulgent yet healthier chocolate truffle and what better way to make that happen than by adding an entire avocado to the mix to give it a soft truffle like texture while getting all the skin and heart health benefits from both the avocado and cacao!
Soft texture, rich flavours, guilt free indulgence
Chocolate truffle benefits
-Filled with antioxidants
-More fibre than standard truffles
-Lightly sweetened and dairy free
-Great for nourishing the skin
As I’ve made these multiple times, I discovered that if you have a nice powder handy such as a dry berry powder or lucuma (fruit powder that has a caramel like flavour) to roll the balls in then you can reduce the liquid sweetener as more flavour is gained from the powders and as it’s on the outside of the truffles it’s the first thing to hit your tongue, so it kind of tricks your taste buds into thinking it’s sweeter than it is. Coconut works well too if you prefer that flavour combo over a sweeter one.
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by Siobhan | Mar 14, 2018 | Breakfast, Desserts, Grainfree, vegan
Ok, so let me start by explaining for anyone who doesn’t know what a shamrock shake is, it’s an American based minty green milkshake that a certain, highly famous burger chain created a while ago in celebration of St Patrick’s day.
If you missed it last year, check out my green St Patrick’s day omelette here.
As St Patrick’s day is approaching, I thought I’d create a healthier version using wholefoods and even better, make it sugar free!
After having to change up my diet to ease my gut issues it’s made me realise even more that not everyone can use standard ingredients or recipes which can be very frustrating and is why I’ve been wanting to create more sugar free recipes here for anyone who can’t, for whatever reason, tolerate traditional sweeteners, even the unrefined ones I tend to use such as honey or coconut sugar.
Plus, most shakes/smoothies tend to have a banana chucked in, which again, some people may need to omit or would like to change up every now and then so I’ve used liquid stevia drops in this recipe, reasons include:
-sugar free (so diabetics can use it)
-doesn’t cause digestive flare ups like other natural sweeteners may do
-doesn’t negatively alter gut bacteria like certain artificial sweeteners
-easier to measure out than uncut, green powdered stevia (which is the preferred form but as I mentioned harder to use and source)
As stevia is over 200 times sweeter than sugar you only need a little bit so measure it out carefully anytime you use it. You can find it online or in health food shops, try to find ones that aren’t diluted with other sweeteners and that are alcohol free.
creamy mint chocolate goodness
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by Siobhan | Mar 5, 2018 | Breakfast, snack, vegan
I absolutely love the soft texture and spices of these flapjacks, they’re delicious!
Flapjacks are one of my favourite snacks but most are full of refined sugar or other ingredients that aren’t good for you so swapping them out for these is a great choice.
My favourite way to eat them is slightly warmed, so either a few minutes out of the oven or else gently heat them up a little before tucking in will give the best results.
Nourishing gingerbread flapjacks
I used molasses in this recipe as it’s a key ingredient in traditional gingerbread recipes due to its rich flavour, it’s also a highly nutritious sweetener containing good amounts of copper, iron and chromium, however not many people tend to use it because of the intense liquorice like flavour, but when you mix it in the right quantities with other flavours you can get the best of both worlds. It is very affordable and in all big shops but if you can’t get your hands on it then you can use barley malt (contains gluten) or honey etc but obviously the flavour won’t be as traditional.
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by Siobhan | Feb 27, 2018 | Breakfast, vegan
With the weather yet again turning rubbish in the UK and the “beast from the East” coming soon, all this cold weather makes me really crave spices and hot, hearty food and this porridge recipe really is hot!
This may sound like a weird combination but chilli and chocolate is one of my favourite flavour combos ever!
If you like these flavours too then check out my chocolate chillana porridge recipe.
I really wanted the heat from the chilli/cayenne pepper and rich dark chocolate flavour from the cacao to come across so I haven’t overly sweetened this recipe, keeping the overall sugar quite low so adjust the recipe to your tastes.
Oats are a great heart healthy ingredient as they contain beta glucan which can lower cholesterol, the flaxseed provides anti-inflammatory omega 3 fats and the cacao powder, particularly this brand contains a very high amount of antioxidants and has an EFSA approved heart health claim attached to it as well.
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by Siobhan | Feb 12, 2018 | Breakfast, Desserts, snack, vegan
Make this soft, sweet berry banana bread for breakfast when you’ve a morning with some free time (not one where you need to rush out the door as it needs time to cook) or else use it as a single serving sweet treat which means you don’t have to make a big batch of something which is then lying around tempting you for the rest of the week.
This also counts as 1/5 day, is loaded with fibre and you can add some protein to this recipe to help achieve a feeling of fullness.
single serve banana bread/dessert
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