Caramel Slice – Vegan, Healthy, Refined Sugar Free & Gluten Free

A different, healthy take on the classic caramel slice that doesn’t take away any of deliciousness  but only the animal products and adds a kick of health!

Base Layer:

1 cup Oats (used GF oats for Gluten Free)
1 cup Dates (soaked prior)
1 cup almonds

Blend, adding splashes of water when necessary till the mixture holds well.

Press mixture well into a cling wrap lined baking tin and pop in the fridge while preparing your caramel layer.

Caramel Layer:

1 cup dates (soaked prior)
4-5 tbsp tahini
crack of salt

Blend well, add splashes of water when necessary to combine mixture.

Add to the baking tin and spread evenly onto the prepared slice base and pop it back into the fridge.

Chocolate Layer:

Melted chocolate. I used a chocolate making kit from Meraki & Co. but you could also melt down your favourite vegan chocolate and use that!

Pour on top of the caramel layer in the tin, making sure it covers well.

Store in the fridge until the top layer has hardened.

To serve, use a hot knife to cut the slices otherwise you’ll end up with a beautiful mess like I did… not that that’s a bad thing 😛

Recipe inspired by laurasmess.me

 

 

Emergency, Low Fat & Nut Free Muesli

Have a hankering for some cereal? Have no muesli left?

Try this!

Step One: puffed brown rice, raw rolled oats, buckinis/raw buckwheat, hemp or chia seeds, shredded coconut, cinnamon, @coconutmagic coconut sugar & goji berries… mix it all up in a bowl.

Step Two: sliced banana & some sliced fresh strawberries, pop it on top of the bowl of muesli.

Step Three: if you desire (you know you wsnt too!) top with desicated coconut, more @coconutmagic coconut sugar, hemp seeds & some goji berries.

Step Four: blend 1 banana with some (about 250ml-ish) vanilla @almondbreezeaus (or dairyfree milk of choice) and pour it on top!

No measurements, just super quick & easy delicious muesli!

Fruit Popsicles

A super simple idea for summer & it’s great for kids!

– 330ml Natural Raw C coconut water
– 1 cup of frozen fruit, I used frozen kiwi.

Blend the coconut water & fruit together until smooth. Pour into popsicle moulds & store in the freezer for at least 3 hours till frozen.
To serve you may need to heat up the popsicle mould with some hot water so the ice block will come out.

Easy Food Swaps for a Healthier Life

“Everything you eat either feeds disease or helps fight it” – my favourite quote!
Small changes can make all the difference so here’s some healthy swaps you can make in your diet this week and continue for life! They’re so easy you wont even go back to your old ways.

● Oils & Butter – Coconut Oil. When pan cooking food, I usually just cook with a splash of water when possible.
● White Pasta, Bread & Flour – Wholewheat or Gluten Free.
● Refined Sugar & Artifcial Sweeteners – Coconut or Rapadura Sugar, Honey, Rice Malt Syrup, Stevia or Natvia.
● Peanut Butter – Natural Nut Butter (read the label and make sure it’s just Nuts with maybe a tiny bit of salt.)
● Tomato Sauce – Tomato Paste. Mix it with a few spashes of water to make it more runny if needed.
● Cows Milk – Dairy free Milk (Almond, Coconut, Oat, Rice or Soy) Almond is my personal choice.
● Fruit Yoghurt – Greek Yoghurt or Coconut Yoghurt or have a dairy-free smoothie with toppings instead!
● Salted Nuts – Raw Nuts.
● Coffee – Green or other Herbal Tea.
● Cocoa Powder – Cacao Powder.
● Store Bought Muesli & Bars – Homemade is best.
● Cereal – Oats, Brown Rice Puffs or Homemade Muesli. Smoothie bowls are also a great idea as you can add toppings.
● Packaged Stir Fry & Pasta Sauces – Make Your Own.
● Beef Mince – Turkey Mince or use firm tofu for a vegetarian/vegan option.
● Canned Fruit in Syrup – Fresh Fruit
● Icecream – Banana Nicecream (recipe on my blog) and probably the best thing you’ll ever eat.
● Chocolate – Vegan Chocolate (you can make your own eg. the peanut butter cup recipe on my blog or you can buy some from health stores eg. Loving Earth or Pana)

Two Layer Chocolate & Caramel Smoothie

Super sweet and delicious dessert tasting smoothie that you can have for breakfast.. or anytime of the day! Made with wholesome ingredients & superfoods making it 100% guilt free.

Caramel Layer:
1.5 frozen bananas
1/2 tsp mesquite powder
2 pitted dates i soaked prior
blended with coconut water
– set aside & make the chocolate layer.

Chocolate Layer:
2 frozen bananas
handful of baby spinach
1/2 tsp maca powder
sprinkle of cinnamon
2 heaped tsp cacao powder
blended with coconut water
– pour into a jar & then carefully pour the caramel layer ontop.

My Go-To Zucchini Oatmeal

Oats are rich in manganese which helps the body synthesize fats and is also high in phosphorus, copper, bitoin, vitamin b1, magnesium, fibre, zinc & protein.
– they lower cholesterol levels
– can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
– stabilizes blood sugar levels and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes
– the high fibre content helps keep a happy digestive system.
– contains immune system boosting beta glucans, making them perfect for winter breakfasts!

I always soak my oats overnight as they activate during the soaking process making them easier to digest and they also cook faster!

Adding Zucchini to your morning bowl of oatmeal sounds odd – I know. But trust me, you cannot taste them! It provides body to the oatmeal & extra nutrients!
Zucchini is a source of manganese, folate, fibre, vitamin C & A.
– It’s low calorie
– Lowers cholesterol & blood pressure
– Helps prevent cancer, heart attack & stroke
– Contains anti-inflammatory agents
So why not give it a go & add a veggie boost to your brekky!

● soak overnight:
– 1 cup rolled oats
– 1 tsp chia seeds
● in the morning add
– 1/2 cup grated zucchini
– 1 piece of fresh fruit, either banana, pear or apple. With apple and pear, just chop into small pieces and with banana you can mash it in.
● cook in a pot on medium heat with dairy-free milk of choice, water or coconut water, adding cinnamon & coconut sugar to taste and more milk to achieve your desired texture. it should only take a few minutes to cook.

I like to add maca powder & serve with with lots of toppings like berries, other fruits, coconut shreds, seeds & nuts or nut butter!

Raw Vegan ANZAC Cookie Bliss Balls

● blend in a food processor:
– 1 cup oats
– 1/2 cup dates, covered in water & soaked for a minimum of 15 minutes prior.
– 1/2 cup almonds
– 1/4 cup shredded coconut
– 1/2 tsp mesquite powder
– 1 tbsp coconut sugar
– 1 tbsp linseed or chia seeds
– 2 tsp @coconutmagic coconut oil
● add tsp’s of date water (water dates were soaking in) to combine – i added about 1tbsp + 1 tsp.
● roll into balls or you can even flatten into cookie shapes!
● pop & store them in a sealed container in the fridge leave for 20 minutes before you try one.. don’t get me wrong – they taste great beforehand too!

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

Peanut butter cups that are sugar free, dairy free, vegan and only packed with good fats and antioxidants!

RECIPE: (makes 8)
each for top & bottom layer:
– 4tbsp coconut oil
– 3tbsp cacao powder
– 1 tbsp coconut nectar (can sub for liquid sweetener of choice)
● melt these on the lowest heat on the stove to combine and pour into moulds (i used silicone ones). pop in a sealed container & into the freezer and leave for about 15 minutes.
● when they are set smooth a tsp of peanut butter on each one & pop back into the freezer while you re-make the chocolate mix as you did earlier for the base.
● pour an even amount of chocolate as you did for the bases ontop of the peanut butter & pop back into the freezer.
enjoy when they are set & store them in the freezer.

Easy Peasy Raw Vegan Snickers Inspired nIcecream Cake

Icecream cake – an old let’s face it, still current, favourite. I wanted to make a cake for my Mum’s birthday so i whipped up this baby! Everybody loves banana nicecream, especially when it involves chocolate & peanut butter.

It’s free of dairy, sugar, gluten & nasties and packed with healthy fats, vitamin b6, b2, c & e, biotin, magnesium, managnese, folate, potassium and antioxidants. SO much better then your average icecream cake.

Prep a round cake tin with a removable bottom and line the base & sidea with cling wrap
BASE:
– 1 cup dried, pitted dates (soak in warm water 15 minutes prior)
– 1 cup almonds
Blend the above in a food processor, scaping down the sides when necessary, until sticky and combined well.
Press firmly into the bottom of the prepped cake tin and pop into the freezer while working on this next layer.

Peanut Butter Flavour Nicecream
– 550g ripe frozen bananas
– 1/2 cup coconut milk (i used light)
– 1/3 cup peanut butter
Blend the bananas & coconut milk in a food processor until bananas are granulated.
Add the peanut butter & keep blending until smooth, scraping the sides when necessary.
Once fully smooth like soft serve, add it to the base in the cake tin keeping it as even & smooth on top as you can.
Wrap the cake tin in glad wrap so it doesn’t get freezer burn.
Pop into the freezer for an hour (I left mine overnight)

Chocolate Flavour Nicecream
– 240g frozen ripe bananas (approx)
– 2 tsp cacao powder
– 2 tbsp coconut milk
Follow the same instructions as above.
Pop in the freezer for at least 2-3 hours & then remove it from the cake tin & decorate!

I decorated mine in peanut butter, raw chocolate drizzle made with cacao powder & coconut oil & put some crushed peanuts & raw peanut butter cups on top.
*I have a recipe for the peanut butter cups on my blog.
Once it’s decorated store it in a sealed tupperware/plastic container in the freezer. I kept the cake tin base at the bottom of mine so it was easy to pick up.
Store it on the bench for about thirty minutes – one hour (depending on the weather) before serving.

Healthy Vegan Anzac Cookies

I’m not a huge lover of cookies, but my favourite one’s are ANZAC biscuits! ANZAC day is coming up so it’s the perfect time to make some! Free of refined sugars & gluten and filled with goodnessn these babies are guilt free!

– 1 cup rolled oats
– 1 cup oat flour
– 1/4 cup shredded coconut
– 3 tbsp coconut sugar
– 3 tbsp melted coconut oil
– 1 tbsp macadamia oil (can sub for more coconut oil)
– 2 tbsp rice malt syrup
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 2 tbsp water

preheat oven to 150°
mix all igredients in a large bowl until well combined & moist.
form into balls. note: they may not stick together well – try your hardest! haha.
place each ball on a baking paper lined baking tray.
press each ball gently to flatten into a more cookie shape – mine were about 1cm thick.
bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, till lightly golden.

makes about 15 – store in a sealed container when cooled.