I don't know about you but I ADORE peanut butter. During each of my pregnancies it was literally the only craving I had! So when I wised up and looked at the ingredients I was, well, a tad disappointed that I was going to have to eliminate it from our kitchen. Then I found out that you can make your own totally natural peanut butter from pumpkin seeds, so woohoo that brought a smile a back to my face!
This is pretty easy to make and actually tastes really close to store bought peanut butter, and you skip all the additives and sugar. Ingredients: 150g dried pumpkin seeds 2 teaspoons stevia 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons coconut oil To make this you will need a powerful food processor. Place the pumpkin seeds in the food processor and turn it on. You will need to go slowly and take consistent breaks so as to prevent the food processor from overheating. This process took me about 30 minutes to make with all the breaks. Just keep processing until you reach a peanut butter consistency. The seeds will slowly change from a seed form, to a powder, to a wet sand consistency, and eventually a smooth paste. Once you reach the right consistency add the stevia, salt and coconut oil and blend. Enjoy your nutritious and delicious pumpkin seed butter on toast, or as I do, by the spoonful!
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Sunday afternoon tea at my house.
Spot the veggie - !Veggieswhat? Mini spinach and cheese quiches + sweet potato & date truffles + sweet potato, coconut & avocado brownie bites + special Chilean sparkling wine thanks to hubby 👍 Zero sugar, zero refined ingredients, zero chemicals. dFor all garlic-lovers like myself (and fortunately my hubby also!) these little bread rolls are just yummy! And well, we all know how much kids love munching on a warm bread roll!
Ingredients (makes approximately 8 breadrolls): 150g wholewheat flour 5 oven cooked and crushed garlic cloves (for a tastier and less potent result its best to cook the garlic in the oven beforehand approximately 45 mins and then peel and crush the cloves) a handful of roughly crushed cashew nuts Salt and pepper to taste a pinch of turmeric a tablespoon of honey 2 teaspoons baking soda 120ml almond milk 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted Mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl except the almond milk. When evenly distributed add the almond milk slowly, constantly kneading. Once the dough is ready portion into approximately 8 bread rolls and cook on medium heat for 45 minutes or until lightely browned and a knife comes out dry. Most kids love all things "mini", that they can eat with their hands. These are deviously packed with seeds and spinach and are perfect for a super-healthy, light afternoon tea.
Ingredients (makes 6 mini quiches): How to make the base: 60g chickpea flour 20g chia seeds 20g sunflower seeds a pinch of turmeric salt and pepper to taste a teaspoon of coconut oil Water at room temperature Mix all the ingredients together and slowly add water, mixing constantly with a spoon until you reach a very thick paste consistency. With wet hands divide the mixture into your 6 mini quiche baking tin and press down. How to make the filling: 1 onion chopped 2 garlic cloves sliced 150g fresh Spinach 2 eggs Salt and pepper to taste a teaspoon of coconut oil 50g freshly grated cheese a tablespoon of honey Saute the onion and garlic over high heat using the coconut oil. Once nicely brown add the spinach and cook. Using high heat will prevent the spinach losing too much water. Once cooked take it off the heat and cut the mixture up into small pieces. Once cooled add the cheese, salt, pepper, honey and eggs and mix well. Pour over the 6 mini quiche bases and cook for approximately 40 minutes until lightly brown. Let cool and enjoy cold or hot! Everyone knows how healthy lentils are, but getting kids to eat them? Hmmm... Well, I thought why not add some sweet potato to give the soup a naturally sweet taste, so fingers crossed they will gobble up those lentils!
Ingredients: 300ml (use a measuring cup) lentils 750ml water (use the same measuring cup) at room temperature 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 2 large onions, peeled and cut into rough cubes a handful of coriander, roughly chopped 3 garlic cloves, finely crushed 1 teaspoon garam masala 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/4 teaspoon turmeric 1 tablespoon organic honey Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil Heat the coconut oil over medium heat and add the onions and garlic. Lightly brown and then add the sweet potato, continually stirring until the sweet potato is slightly brown (it will still be raw just slightly brown on the edges). Add the lentils and 600ml of water and bring the water to a boil. Add the cumin seeds, garam masala, salt, pepper, honey and turmeric and cover with a lid wrapped in a kitchen cloth. Once the water has been absorbed by the lentils add the rest of the 150ml water and coriander so the mixture takes on a soup consistency. Making sure the sweet potato is fully cooked take off heat and let cool. Enjoy with some of my fresh sweet potato bread rolls! These little indulgences are full of clean ingredients for kids to munch on, and are also ideal for Mom and Dad to enjoy over a glass of red wine once the kids are asleep!
ingredients: Makes 15 truffles 1 large sweet potato, steamed, peeled and mashed a handful of roughly crushed almonds 1 tablespoon ground coconut 200ml coconut milk 2 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons unsweetened cacao 8 deseeded dates a teaspoon of vanilla essence a pinch of cinammon shredded coconut for garnishing In a mixing bowl add the mashed sweet potato, crushed almonds, ground coconut, cacao, vanilla essence and cinnamon. Mash together with a fork until evenly mixed. Put the mash in a pan over medium heat and add the coconut milk and honey, stirring continually until an even liquid has formed. Put the dates in a food processor and blend until they form a paste. Add the dates to the mixture in the pan and cook for approximately 1 hour, until the mixture forms a thick paste which comes away from the sides of the pan with ease. Place the mixture in the freezer to cool for 30 minutes. Once chilled mould into 15 truffles and roll in shredded coconut. Once prepared keep in fridge until consumed. To all those moms who live by bananas and always have that pile of bananas in the kitchen for in between snacks; did you know that you can substitute eggs for bananas in most cake, bread and dessert recipes? If you are like me and constantly run out of eggs or forget to buy them among the millions of other things we have to remember, just add one large banana for every 2 eggs and you are good to bake!
Quiches are a great way to load your kids up with veggies without them catching on! This quiche is filled with veggies, seeds, nuts and other wholesome ingredients.
How to make the base: 100g chickpea flour 80g pumpkin seeds 1/2 tsp turmeric salt and pepper to taste Mix all the ingredients together and slowly add water, mixing constantly. Due to the nature of the chickpea flour you will end up with a thick paste not a dough as with traditional flour. Spoon the mixture into your baking tin and smooth it out with a spoon or with wet hands. For the filling: 5 leeks, separated and finely sliced 5 spring onions, separated and finely sliced 3 chopped garlic cloves a handful of roughly chopped basil 50g chia seeds 100g roughly ground cashew nuts 1 tablespoon honey 4 eggs 100g freshly grated cheese (Parmesan Regiano is a great cheese. Roquefort is also delicious but I wouldn't recommend it for small children due to the bacteria it contains). Mix all the ingredients together until evenly blended, especially the eggs Pour over the base, press down and cook in the oven on medium heat for 45 minutes - 1 hour until lightly brown. Let it cool and enjoy it fresh out of the oven or cold at any time! If your kids are anything like mine they love pancake! Why not try out totally natural version made with bananas instead of flour. Delicious and nutritious!
Ingredients (makes 3 large pancakes) 2 large bananas 4 eggs 1 teaspoon chia seeds 1 teaspoon ground coconut 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until there are no more pieces of banana. Pour 1/3 of the batch into a large pan over low heat (make sure you spray the pan well with extra virgin olive oil). Once one side is done carefully turn over and finish cooking. Repeat for 2 more pancakes. I like to serve it with some drizzled honey. When I told my kids we were making purple bread rolls, I could probably have added whatever I chose to the bread mix and they would have loved it. It's such a fun color and great to use in such a variety of dishes with a "purple" theme! It also happens to be my daughters favorite color!
Ingredients (Makes 8 bread rolls) 300g mashed up or finely chopped cooked beetroot 2 garlic cloves finely crushed 50g dried onions 150g wholewheat flour 30g chia seeds 30g ground flaxseed 1/2 teaspoon salt a pinch of pepper 1 teaspoon honey 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil room temperature water for the dough Mix all the ingredients until evenly blended. Slowly add the water kneading well until you reach the desired consistency. The dough should be easy to mould without sticking to your hands too much. Mould into 8 bread rolls and place onto a non stick baking pan. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until a knife comes out dry. I guarantee everyone will have fun with their purple breads! |