Facebook has been going viral with the news that the majority of our frozen berries in Australia are contaminated with nasty chemicals that are banned in this country.

This has angered and outraged many of you. I am glad. It is not something we should put up with!

I wanted to blog about it, just to make sure all of you had seen the news and had some information about alternatives.

Please also be aware that you would also have to be wary of any products containing berries that are not organic or Australian. So, read your jam labels for example!

Okay, so this is where it all started. A report on Today Tonight investigated frozen berries found in the major supermarkets. Now, at this point we are relying on their information. While I am not a fan of these sort of TV shows, I am assuming this information is correct. I would love to know if anyone else has information to back this up.

You can watch the segment here:

Okay, so what do we do about it?

* Stop eating berries. I don’t really recommend this! Berries are a nutrition powerhouse. Filled with antioxidants, they are a cancer-fighting food. Read more here.

* Buy local berries. Look for berries grown and packed in Australia. We have stricter food laws than other countries like China and Chile. However, berries are one of the ‘dirty dozen‘ and are still heavily sprayed.

* Buy organic berries. This is my personal preference. Look for certified organic berries though as these farmers have to be accredited by an independent agency. Here are some of the brands I found.

These organic ones from Creative Gourmet are still from Chile, but they have an organic certification, so technically they should be totally chemical free. I have found them in the freezer section at Coles and Woolworths.

The oob brand can be found at Woolworths, in the freezer section. They are also certified organic and come from New Zealand and sometimes Chile.

These are fresh certified organic berries from New Zealand.

Obviously, try to source organic berries or berries from local farmers markets if you can, to decrease your carbon footprint.

Here are some organic Australian berry farmers that you may be able to source organic berries from.

Sunny Creek Organic Berry Farm, located in South Trafalgar, Victoria. You can go and pick your own or buy their jam online.

Elgin Organic. Frozen products available in Sydney.

Kate’s Organic Berries. Located in Swansea, Tasmania.

Berry Organic Farm. Located in Victoria, available in Melbourne at selected farmers markets.

Moondarra Blueberries. Located in East Gippsland, Victoria. Available in various farmers markets and retail outlets.

Still fuming? I am sending feedback to the offending companies, complaining about their product.

Here are the links if you want to do the same:

Woolworths contact form. Woolworths Select brand berries.

Coles contact form. Coles brand berries.

Creative Gourmet brand contact form.

So, I hope that this information has been somewhat helpful. As always, knowledge is our best defence. We cannot rely on our government to protect us. Do your own research and make your own decisions on what to feed your family.

Now, for something fun and positive – my best berry recipes! Enjoy!

Blueberry breakfast slice.

Healthy raspberry chocolate.

Frozen blueberry and yoghurt drops.

You might also like to read : Is your dried fruit safe?

Superfoods for Kidz and Nutra Organics use only ORGANIC berries in their superfood powders.

Try the C-Berry Blast or Acai Berry Blend

(click here to buy from my NEW affiliate shop).

I have had a life-long love affair with cheesecake. My mum used to make an awesome mango cheesecake, sweet and rich! Unfortunately, all that sugar, dairy and wheat just doesn’t love me anymore.

Recently, I started hearing about all these healthy people making ‘raw’ cheesecakes. Now to be honest, when someone said ‘raw food’, I wasn’t exactly that excited. It just didn’t really appeal to me. It sounded weird – hippy food! Until I tried it – if this is what raw food tastes like, count me in!

I have made a few different ‘cheesecakes’ now, but this one I made up at Easter time, inspired by this recipe, is my favourite. It’s so darn healthy, I would serve it up to my kids for breakfast!

It’s raw, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, high protein, low carb. The best bit though……. it tastes flipping amazing!!

Try it, tell me what you think.

♥ Berry Coconuty Cheesecake ♥

So, this is what you need:

2 cups organic almonds, soaked overnight*

2 cups dates

1/2 cup organic cacao powder, (not cocoa)

1 teaspoon organic cinnamon

3 cups organic cashews, soaked overnight*

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries, defrosted a little

3/4 cup sweetener of your choice – honey, maple syrup, rice malt syrup

1 cup virgin, organic coconut oil

1/2 cup organic lemon juice

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (not essence)

1/2 cup filtered water (if needed)

* Why would you soak your nuts? Good question. Not only does it make the nuts softer and easier to process, soaking makes nuts easier to digest. Read more here. If you can’t manage overnight, at least do a couple of hours of soaking. Use filtered water.

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Drain the almonds well and place in your thermomix (or food processor) with the dates, cacao powder and cinnamon.

Blitz until it forms a crumb and is sticking together a little. Add a touch of filtered water if needed.

Place a piece of baking paper into a large, spring form pan or two glass pie dishes. (That’s what I did – one for later!)

Press the cheesecake base into the dish, smoothing it with the back of a wet spoon. Place in the fridge.

Now, fling the rest of your ingredients into the thermomix or food processor and blitz!

It should be very smooth and creamy. Keep going until it’s a nice texture! Use the water if it’s looking a bit too thick.

Pour this mix onto the base. Put some cling wrap over it and chuck into the freezer.

Leave it overnight or at least six hours.

To serve, take it out of the freezer for about ten minutes and cut into slices.

You could serve it with some fresh berries or even make a berry sauce with some more berries and honey, thickened with cornflour.

I find you only need a small serve. The nuts in this ‘cheesecake’ make it really filling.

~yum~

Now, if you are keen to get into this ‘raw cheesecake’ craze, you could also try this recipe from the beautiful girls at Like Chocolate for Women. Or try my mango version of this recipe.

I love comments. Do you have a recipe for a raw cheesecake? Do you love raw cheesecakes? Talk to me.

Berry Beware! What’s really in your fruit?

Berry Coconuty Cheesecake – so healthy!

♥ Berry Coconuty Cheesecake ♥

~yum~