Natural New Age Mum

Happy. Healthy. Holistic.

Almond Meal Banana Bread

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I know, I haven’t posted a recipe in an age!

Truth be told, I wanted to write this one down somewhere safe so I don’t lose it! I seem to be making lots of banana bread these days as the family run hot and cold with bananas. I can’t bear to waste them.

I love using almond meal in cake recipes as it’s so tasty and nutritious as well as making the banana bread gluten free. This recipe also happens to be dairy free (as long as you don’t serve it with lashings of grass-fed butter!!)

This almond meal banana bread has a beautifully soft and light texture and is not overly sweet. It’s super filling, so one piece is plenty.

Almond Meal Banana Bread


Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups almond meal

3 medium bananas (super ripe with black spots for best results)

4 eggs

1/4 cup melted coconut oil (or butter)

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup walnuts (optional but yummy)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 160oC. Line a loaf tin with some non-toxic baking paper.

Mash the bananas and whisk with the eggs, vanilla extract and coconut oil.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well (save a few walnuts for the top).

Pour into your loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 20-30minutes. Store in the fridge. Use a bread knife to cut.

*note: I like to keep the walnuts chunky but you can chop them up if you want.

To save time, I sometimes make this in the Thermomix. Just whizz the banana, egg, vanilla and oil on speed 7 for ten seconds, add other ingredients (except walnuts) and whizz on speed 5 for ten seconds or until it’s all incorporated. Add walnuts and mix in, on reverse, speed 5 for five seconds.


I have loads of other banana bread recipes if you want to try something different, but I hope you love this almond meal banana bread as much as we do!

Healthy Chocolate Birthday Cake

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This recipe is the our easy, go-to, never-fail birthday cake base. We have been making it for years and everyone always loves it.

Making a birthday cake can sometimes feel daunting but trust me, this is so, so easy! My kids make it all the time themselves without any worries.

Birthday cakes are so expensive these days and the weird additives in them makes a homemade one much more appealing! You don’t have to get fancy with toppings (unless you want to!)

Just some thick cream (so you don’t have to whip it) and some strawberries is all you need.

Quick, easy and so good! Best of all, it’s made with love.

What more could you want for your birthday?

Healthy Chocolate Birthday Cake

Vital Stats: nut-free, vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free options

Okay, so this is what you need:

3/4 cup self-raising flour (for gluten free, I use the self-raising Orgran brand)
1/2 teaspoon bi-carb soda
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/2 cup rapadura or coconut sugar
1 cup or 200g organic natural yoghurt (for dairy-free, use coconut yoghurt)
2 organic eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a round cake tin with toxin-free baking paper.

Sift together the flour, cacao and bicarb. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together.

Gently combine the wet and dry ingredients. Pour batter into the cake tin.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Hot tips:

This recipe is easy to double and bake in a lamington tin if you need to feed a crowd. It also freezes really well, so make it in advance if you are pressed for time.

This cake is not very sweet because that’s how we like our cakes! If you want it to be a bit sweeter, add 1/4 cup more sugar or don’t even worry if you are going to add a sweet icing.

We just usually top it with double cream (choose one without additives) and fresh fruit but if you need a healthy icing, check out these ideas.

Let me know if you make my Healthy Chocolate Birthday Cake! I love hearing from you. 🙂

 

 

Honey, honey….. what’s the best honey?

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Honey, honey….. what’s the best honey?

We were having a chat about honey in our Natural New Age Mum Facebook group the other day (email me to join!) and some of you weren’t aware of what honey is best to buy and which are best to avoid.

So, here I am today to share some information about honey with you!

Honey is a an original ‘superfood’. It can help with gut health, colds and flu, sore throats, wound healing and more. It’s high in vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidants and has natural anti-viral and anti-fungal properties.

What’s the best honey to buy?

Ideally, the best type of honey 100% raw, unfiltered, unpasteurised, local honey.

 

♥ Check that the honey you are buying is 100% honey. Unfortunately some of the honey you find in the supermarket can be mixed with plant sugars or high fructose corn syrup and even water! You are looking for 100% pure honey on the label, not just ‘pure honey’.

 

♥ Local honey can give relief to sufferers of seasonal allergies.  Because the bees are collecting nectar from the local plants that are troubling you, ingesting the honey can work in a homeopathic way and help you build up a tolerance.

Some supermarket brands supplement their honey with imported honey which does not always have the same stringent quality controls that we have. According to Choice Australia, imported honey is no longer tested for added antibiotics.

Of course there are other benefits of buying local – supporting your local beekeeper and the local economy, reducing food miles and the chance to reduce packaging by taking your own containers. We want to keep Aussie beekeepers in business and not forced out of the market with cheap overseas imports.

 

♥ Honey that is ‘raw’ means that it hasn’t been heat-treated or pasteurised. Heating honey over 35-45º celsius (the natural temperature of a hive) compromises the beautiful assortment of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and probiotics that are naturally present in honey.

 

♥ Unfiltered honey means just that – it hasn’t been filtered. The filtering process can remove bee pollen from the honey. Bee pollen is a powerhouse of nutrients and something we want to keep and consume. Filtering is a different process to ‘straining’ where the large chunks of beeswax are strained out but the pollen remains.

 

Where do you find good honey?

You should be able to find raw, local honey at your local markets. You might be lucky enough to find a beekeeper selling honey directly so you can ask lots of questions about their processes.

Most local health food store or green grocers sell it too. Some places may even allow you to buy your honey in bulk or to use your own jar to refill, which is a great eco-friendly option.

According to Simon Mulvany from Save the Bees, the brands to avoid are: Capilano, Allowrie, Barnes, Wescobee and Macro (Woolworths house brand).

If you can’t get something local and want to buy one online, Kitsa at Emporio Organico recommends this brand. 

 

What about organic?

Honey is one thing I don’t really worry too much about buying organic.

If you think about it, it’s pretty impossible to guarantee that honey is going to be organic anyway! As bees fly several kilometres from their hive, they could be collecting nectar from anywhere.

I am more concerned about making sure the beekeeper doesn’t use any toxic chemicals in their processes. An organic certification also costs a lot of money and small beekeepers may produce a mostly organic product but lack the financial resources to become certified.

 

What about baking?

If you use raw honey as a sweetener in baking, it does lose it’s goodness.

I still use raw honey in recipes occasionally when I want that honey flavour. That’s mostly because I still want to buy honey locally and support my local bee keeper and I don’t want to use imported or weird adulterated honey!

Maple syrup is a great substitute for honey in your cakes and biscuits and tolerates heating.

 

What about Manuka honey?

Manuka honey is amazing and very useful for many ailments due to it’s antibiotic properties. It is more a medicinal product rather than something you slather on your toast with gay abandon though! The price reflects this, so look at it is a healing remedy and use sparingly as needed.

The higher the MGO level or UMF level, the higher the bioactivity level. Check out Berringa Australia Super Manuka.

 

Why does it crystallise?

Over time you might find that your honey will crystallise, solidify and turn opaque. This just means that the enzymes are still active and you have a good honey!

Pop your jar in some warm water and it will liquefy again for ease of use.

 

Try my home-made Honey Cough Syrup!

I would love to know what honey you use – give your local beekeeper a shout out in the comments.

 

“Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best,” and then he had to stop and think. Because although eating honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.” ~ Winnie The Pooh

 

Resources and further reading:

Save the Bees Australia

Honey Lady

 

Warm Beetroot and Purple Carrot Salad

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I love getting a local fruit and veggie box every week. We have been eating more in season and trying more interesting ingredients.

Our last box had beetroot, red onions, purple carrots and rocket so I made a beautiful warm Autumn salad with them. It was so delicious I thought I would share it with all of you!

The salad will feed about four to six people as a side or two to three as a meal.

 

Warm Beetroot and Purple Carrot Salad

Vegetarian, gluten free, nut free, egg free

What you need:

3 small beetroot, peeled and cut into thick wedges

2 purple carrots, peeled and cut into thick batons

2 small red onions, peeled and cut into thick wedges

1/2 cup cooked French lentils

100g soft feta cheese

1 cup spinach

2 cups rocket

Dressing:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon orange juice

1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon seed mustard

finely grated rind of half an orange

1/2 small garlic clove, grated

pink salt and pepper

 

How to do it:

Pop the beetroot, carrot and onion into a large baking dish. Add a good drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast in a hot oven – 200°C for 30-40mins or until cooked through. Don’t let the onion break up into small pieces, or it will burn!

Wash spinach and rocket and spread out on a platter.

Arrange the warm vegetables, lentils and feta on top.

Make the dressing by putting all the dressing ingredients in a small jar and shaking well.

Drizzle the dressing over the top of the salad evenly.

Enjoy!

 

Now that I have a vegan and vegetarian in the house, I have started bulk cooking legumes again. It’s so easy to do – just soak them overnight and then cook the next day and freeze in glass jars! You can even cook them in the slow cooker.

 

Do you cook warm salads? What are your favourite combinations?

 

Kitchen Warehouse Australia Kitchenware Save

Cheese and Spinach Rice Cakes

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You know when you find something yummy and cook it so many times that everybody ends up hating it?

Yeah, that.

These rice cakes were on high rotation in my kitchen about five years ago until there was a protest! But they have made a reappearance and everyone is enjoying them again. I just have to pace myself now and not make them too often!

They are delicious hot or cold and make a very budget-friendly dinner with some salad or are great for lunch boxes too.

Whip them up when you have some leftover rice so it doesn’t go to waste. You can also throw in any leftover cooked vegetables or meat.

 

Cheese and Spinach Rice Cakes

Vital Stats: gluten free, nut free, vegetarian

 

This is what you need:

4 cups cooked brown rice

2 green shallots, finely chopped

2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

1 cup finely shredded baby spinach

100g tasty cheese, grated

50g parmesan cheese, grated

2 eggs

1/2 cup cream

1 small garlic clove, crushed

Herbamare (or salt) and pepper to taste

 

This is how you do it:

Preheat your oven to 180ºC and line a 12 cup muffin tray with some non-toxic muffin papers.

Whisk together the eggs and cream in a large bowl.

Add all the other ingredients and mix well.

Scoop into the muffin papers and press down slightly.

Sprinkle with more cheese if you like.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until firm and golden brown.

 

 

TIPS:

I have used the If You Care baking paper and cups for years now – nothing ever sticks and they are compostable and non-toxic.

Add whatever you like to the basic egg, rice and cream mixture. Some things that are also tasty in these rice cakes are: feta, sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, zucchini, char-grilled capsicum, chives, mushrooms and salami.

I always soak rice before I cook it, just to make it easier to digest and kinder on our tummies.

Use pure cream that doesn’t have any artificial fillers or thickeners.

My Chicken and Spinach Fritters are also brilliant cold in lunch boxes.

 

If you make my Cheese and Spinach Rice Cakes, let me know what the family thinks and upload a photo to my socials. 

 

 

Easy Muesli Bars

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This recipe is ridiculously easy to make. Just throw everything in a bowl, mix and bake!

As much as I love cooking, keeping up a constant supply of home-made real food for the family can be quite time-consuming.

So the easier the recipe, the more chance it is that it will be on high rotation in our house. I always make double batches and freeze too.

You can even get the kids making this one it’s so simple and fuss-free.

Of course you get the added benefits of it being much cheaper than buying muesli bars, there is zero packaging and you know exactly what’s in your food.

Give them a go and let me know what you think.

 

Easy Muesli Bars

Vital Stats: Wheat free, dairy free, nut free, vegetarian

This is what you need:

3 cups muesli

1/2 cup sultanas

2 bananas

1 egg

1 tablespoon coconut oil

 

This is how you do it:

Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Line a slice tin with non-toxic baking paper.

Mash the banana and whisk in the egg and coconut oil. Add the muesli and mix well.

Smooth into your slice tin with a spatula or the back of a wet spoon.

Bake for 20 minutes or until nice and firm.

Let cool before you slice with a bread knife.

 

Hot tips:

We make up our own muesli but any good quality muesli is okay. Ideally, try to get one that’s organic and without sulphur dioxide in the dried fruit.

If you want to make these for lunchboxes, just make sure your muesli has no nuts.  Use seeds, coconut and fruit instead.

 

Want more recipes?

10 Healthy Muesli Bars

30 Super Healthy Lunch Box Snacks

20 Nut-Free Lunch Box Snacks

 

Pomegranate, Lime and Mint Fizz

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Pomegranate, Lime and Mint Fizz

 

We got a Soda Stream last year for Christmas and it’s the best thing ever!

As we don’t drink alcohol anymore (too many health issues) and we are keeping our sugar intake low, sparkling mineral water with lots of ice and fresh lime makes us feel like we are having a bit of a special drink.

It’s also much more eco-friendly and economical to make your own mineral water at home, so there are wins all round.

I created this fizzy drink quite randomly – I had some pomegranate juice leftover from a recipe and I wondered what it would taste like mixed with some lime and mint. Ta da – it tastes delicious.

I love that it’s not sweet and sickly, but it is very refreshing and tangy. For those who want a bit of a kick, I reckon a dash of vodka would go more than alright.

I found an organic brand of pomegranate juice at Woolies – Nuris. It has not been reconstituted and it’s not too expensive. You could do fresh pommy juice too if you have a juicer.

 

This is what you do:

For each glass you are making add….

a generous portion of ice

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice (about half a small lime)

2 large mint leaves, finely shredded

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) pomegranate juice

top up with sparkling mineral water (about 200mL)

 

 

If you want to be extra-fancy, you can muddle (bartender lingo for mashing with a wooden stick thingo) the lime wedge and mint in the bottom of the glass first.

You can also decorate with some lime wedges and mint sprigs. A reusable straw is also fun – my kids love using straws!

It’s such a festive drink and really quenches your thirst.

I hope you love it as much as we do!!

Get Soda Stream here >>

 

 

 

 

Quinoa and Pomegranate Salad

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My parents came down for a visit a few months back and we tried out a cafe that had heaps of great reviews. The Golden Pig is in Newstead in Brisbane and if you get the chance to go, you won’t be disappointed! The food is sublime.

Mum and Dad has this yummy quinoa salad with some slow cooked lamb and we were blown away by the flavours. Of course we had to then try to recreate it when we got home. Sadly, it’s not quite as good as the original but it’s pretty close.

I have served the salad to a few visitors and they all really love it. I hope you do too.

 

Quinoa and Pomegranate Salad

Vital Stats: gluten free, grain free, dairy free, egg free, vegetarian, vegan, paleo

What you need:

5 cups cooked white quinoa

1 cup finely shredded baby spinach

4 finely chopped small green shallots

1/2 cup finely shredded parsley

1/2 cup finely shredded mint

1 large pomegranate, deseeded

1/2 cup roughly chopped pistachios

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

2 crushed garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste

 

How to do it:

Whisk up the lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt and pepper together or shake in a glass jar. Add to the rest of the ingredients and gently mix. I like to leave it to sit for a few hours in the fridge for the flavours to develop.

This salad will serve about eight to ten people as a side. We serve this with slow cooked, marinated lamb and a generous dollop of home-made hummus. Divine!

 

*Hot Tip

A lot of people tell me they hate quinoa!! You do need to give it a really good wash before you cook it as the outside of the grains have saponins which can be quite bitter. I soak it for a bit in some water and then rinse really well. I find adding a little salt to the cooking water also helps bring out the flavour.

 

This would make an awesome salad for the Christmas lunch menu! Find some more whole food Christmas recipes here.

 

Strawberry Coconut Slice (gluten free, dairy free)

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Strawberry Coconut Slice (gluten free, dairy free)

 

How good is strawberry season??? So cheap and so yum.

Strawberries are however one of the most heavily sprayed crops. If you can’t get organic, make sure you give them a good wash to get as much pesticide off as you can.

This slice is super soft and moist with a tang of fresh strawberries and a coconuty texture. It’s not overly sweet either, which we prefer, but feel free to add more coconut sugar if you like.

When strawberry season is over, use any fruit in its place. I think sliced fresh apricots or nectarines would be divine but also thinly sliced apple and pear would be good too – add some cinnamon!

I hope you like it as much as we do.

 

Strawberry Coconut Slice

Vital stats: gluten free, grain free, dairy free, vegetarian

 

This is what you need:

1 cup (around 150g) strawberries

2 cups almond meal

1 tablespoon coconut flour

1 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup coconut sugar

2 eggs

1 cup melted coconut oil

1 teaspoon bicarb soda

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

 

 

This is how you do it:

Preheat oven to 180° celsius. Line a slice tray (31cm x 20cm) with non-toxic baking paper.

Wash strawberries well, take off the tops and slice into three pieces, vertically (depending on how big they are).

Whisk the eggs, coconut oil, vanilla and sugar together well.

Add to the rest of the ingredients, except the strawberries and mix well.

Spread into the slice tray and smooth out the top. At this point it looks a little toffee like – don’t worry!

Now you can decoratively arrange the strawberries on top, pressing them in gently as you go.

Pop into the oven and bake for around 20-25 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Cool well on a baking rack. Slice gently with a serrated knife.

 

Let me know if you make it and what the family thought. I love to see your photos too – shoot me an email or upload to my Facebook page. 

 

 

Chicken and Spinach Fritters

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Chicken and Spinach Fritters

I love a good fritter! Crispy, crunchy, salty and savoury. Yum.

The good thing about fritters is that they are a great budget meal that is kid friendly too. Use up your leftover meat and veg and make them stretch further.

These Chicken and Spinach Fritters are a bit different to your regular flour/egg/milk fritter and the texture is amazing – crispy and crunchy on the outside and soft and cheesy in the middle.

If you like lots of flavour, add some herbs, spring onions or garlic but they are nice and plain for kids as they are.

Inspired and adapted from this recipe at Natasha’s Kitchen.

 

Chicken and Spinach Fritters

gluten free, nut free

500g organic chicken mince

1/2 cup gluten free plain flour

2 eggs, whisked

1/3 cup mayonnaise (homemade or choose a good quality one)

1 cup grated tasty cheese (watch out for additives)

1 cup shredded spinach

1/2 tablespoon Herbamare or good quality salt to taste

black pepper to taste

cooking fat/oil

 

This is what you do:

Whack everything in a bowl and mix it up well.

Heat a cast iron frypan over a medium to medium high heat with your choice of fat or oil.

Just make sure you use about two to three tablespoons so the fritters don’t stick.

Add about 1/4 cup scoops of chicken mixture to the pan.

Cook for around three minutes and then flip and cook another three minutes or until cooked all the way through.

Keep fritters warm until you have cooked them all.

Serve with homemade roasted tomato sauce and a big green salad.

This mix makes around 10-12 fritters.

 

Good quality mayonnaise without seed oils is hard to find unless you make it yourself. I use this one as it uses olive oil and some other amazing ingredients that are good for you!

My whole family thought these fritters were really tasty. You could add in some finely diced leftover vegetables or experiment with different cheeses too.

These fritters are really nice cold, so make a few mini ones for the lunch box the next day.

If you make them, take a photo and show me on Facebook!

 

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