Cool Ideas for Easter (that aren’t chocolate)

March 24, 2017 · 7 Comments

Cool Ideas for Easter (that aren’t chocolate)

This ancient pagan celebration has somehow turned into a commercialised chocolate-fest!

The pressure is on parents to make Easter another Christmas but with copious amounts of cheap, nasty chocolate. It’s easy for kids to get caught up the hype.

Okay, so how do you participate in Easter, enjoy some chocolate and not be a party-pooper?

My tips are to go back to basics.

Create family traditions based around making Easter treats together (homemade hot cross buns and Easter eggs are really not too hard to do!) You can put a limit on treats or let the grandparents supply the chocolate while you get the kids something else for their Easter basket.

When it comes to chocolate, buy smaller amounts of good quality, fair-trade chocolate and really savour it.

Here are some more ideas and alternatives for you.

♥ Bamboo Easter Signs

These bamboo signs are hand made in Melbourne and start at just $15.00 You can get a generic one or get it personalised with your kids’ or family name! Check it out here.

♥ Recycled Sari Easter Basket

At just $9.95, this gorgeous Easter basket is made from recycled saris and ethically made in Bangladesh. I want one of these for myself. Just adorable! Get it here.

♥ Terracotta Bunny Lantern

Perfect for the person in your life who doesn’t want chocolate for Easter but you still don’t want them feeling left out. It makes a gorgeous decoration for the house at Easter as well. Get it online here.

♥ Organic Crochet Bunny

Beautifully hand-made in Australia using organic cotton, you can get one of these adorable bunnies here.

♥ Wooden Counting Rabbits

This set of eco-friendly counting rabbits with carrots can be used as a puzzle or free play. Totally safe for kids with non-toxic paints and plantation timber.

Get it online here.

♥ BBYO Bunni Water Bottle

For those too old (or cool) for toys, this Bunni water bottle is super cute. The bottle has no plastic at all and is heat resistant so you can use if for water or hot drinks! Get it here.

♥ Oxfam Unwrapped

Gift some chickens or a goat or a myriad of other life saving things to those in need. Check out Oxfam Unwrapped here.

♥ Gingerbread Bunnies!

I am such a fan of Gingerbread Folk’s products. They are handmade in the Blue Mountains and contain no artificial nasties. The bunnies are wrapped individually in compostable packaging and perfect for baskets or for hunting! Get them online here.

♥ Healthy Marshmallows

The very clever Jo Whitton from Quirky Cooking has just come out with this yummy, all natural, honey-sweetened marshmallow recipe just in time for Easter. It’s so easy to make and relatively inexpensive too. Try out some different flavourings and have fun! Get the recipe here.

♥ Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

A really fun project to do with the kids is dyed eggs. Using natural ingredients like turmeric and beetroot, Mommypotamus shows you step by step how to do it. Read more here.

♥ Cute Eco Easter Bags!

Super easy, eco-friendly and really, really cute. A great way to share your homemade treats. Find the tutorial here.

♥ You might also like to read:

Healthy Homemade Easter Eggs

Your complete guide to a Healthy Easter

Healthy Hot Cross Buns

Healthy Easter Ideas

Chocolate Cherry Tart (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

December 8, 2016 · 6 Comments

We don’t eat a lot of desserts or sweets but every year for Christmas Eve, I make up something special for dinner.

This year I was thinking about chocolate and cherries because, you know …… yum!

Mandy from Crio Bru Australia kindly sent me some Vega Real flavour and I turbo-chocolated this tart with it.

Without sounding too food-wanky, the Crio Bru gives it a whole new delicious depth of chocolatey flavour. Vega Real is my favourite flavour but you could use any of the blends (probably not Mint or Mojito though).

What is Crio Bru? It’s ground cocoa beans that you can use in cooking or brew up to make a delicious hot or cold drink. It has loads of health benefits and the perfect substitute for coffee!

You only need a small piece of this tart – it’s rich and filling but I haven’t made it overly sweet. The best thing is you don’t even need to turn on the oven.

I really hope you enjoy it. If you make it for Christmas or any time, send me a photo!

Chocolate Cherry Tart

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Vital Stats: gluten free, grain free, dairy free, vegan, raw

This is what you need:

Base:

1 cup almonds, soaked

1 tablespoon cacao

1/2 cup medjool dates

1/4 cup Crio Bru

Filling:

2 cups cashews, soaked

1 cup medjool dates

1 cup coconut cream (get one in a BPA free can)

2 tablespoons Crio Bru

1/2 cup cacao

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt

2 scraped vanilla pods or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

200g fresh cherries

Garnish:

Extra Crio Bru
Extra cherries

This is how you do it:

Soak the almonds and cashews for a few hours or overnight. This just softens them down and makes them easier to work with and digest.

Process the base ingredients until smooth.

Press into a 20cm baking paper lined flan dish or springform pan. I use the back of a soup spoon to get it nice and smooth.

Place in the freezer until firm.

Meanwhile, infuse the coconut cream with the Crio Bru in a saucepan on a low heat for ten to fifteen minutes. Let cool completely, don’t strain. The whole lot will go into the filling.

Whizz up all the filling ingredients except the cherries. Keep going until it’s nice and smooth.

I like to test it now to check the flavour. If you like really sweet things you may need to add in a drizzle of maple syrup or if you want it really dark and chocolatey, go another tablespoon of cacao.

Pit the cherries (I got a kid to do this!! but you can buy cherry pitters) and place cut side down on the base.

Whack in the filling and smooth the top out.

Cover and refrigerate until set.

Decorate with fresh cherries and sprinkle over some more Crio Bru.

Store in the fridge and bring out just before serving.

You could also use frozen cherries or fresh or frozen raspberries.

Want some more Crio Bru recipes?

Choc Hazel Bliss Balls

Crio Bru Christmas Cake

Crio Mac

Double Chocolate and Berry Biscuits

Homemade Chocolate Chai Syrup

(this post is sponsored)

Beautiful Gifts for Mother’s Day

April 17, 2016 · 1 Comment

Beautiful Gifts for Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is coming up and I have some of the hottest gifts around for natural new age mums! Whatever you do, I hope you have a magical day with your family and soak up the love.

♥ Love You Mum Gift Pack from Happy Skincare

Aaron and Phoebe have put together a limited edition pack for Mother’s Day! This is one of my all time favourite skincare ranges – 100% natural, vegan and not tested on animals. In fact, I got my mum a set for Christmas and she loves it!

If you get in early, you also get the pack in a gorgeous fair-trade organic cotton toiletries bag. Sales from this bag help support Freeset and their mission to help the women trapped in Kolkata’s sex trade.

Get it here. 10% off with the code: NNAM

♥ Insulated Food Jar

Now that the weather is warming up, get Mum a stainless steel food jar. They are just the ticket for taking hot soups, casseroles or curries to work or out and about. No microwaves required or buying lunch out and spending a fortune! Biome have a great range available but I have this Thermos one pictured and LOVE it. It’s wide enough to use with a spoon straight out of the jar and it keeps food hot for hours.

Browse here.♥ Lavanila Natural Perfume Gift Box

This cute gift pack has 5 mini roller ball perfumes. With a base of Madagascan vanilla, these perfumes are all natural and contain 100% pure essential oils and natural botanicals. There is a scent for every mood! They are great for popping in the handbag too.

Get it here.

♥ Happy Mama book

My gorgeous friend Amy Taylor-Kabbaz just released her new book, Happy Mama! This book is the collected wisdom from Amy’s makeover from strung-out parent to happy, self-loving mum. Including interviews with working mums, psychologists, counsellors and spiritual leaders, it is full of practical and empowering advice that will help you change the way you feel about motherhood so the whole family can flourish.

Get it here.

♥ Mandala Platter

I am seriously lusting after this gorgeous mandala style platter from Maxwell and Williams. It’s on sale at the moment too – 30% off! It comes gift boxed…. I hope the family is reading this!!

Get it here.

♥ Bahen & Co Chocolate

Sublime!! This hand-crafted chocolate from Margaret River in WA is stone ground in small batches using vintage machinery. Bahen and Co support farmers, fair trade and ensure there are no children working on the cacao farms. There are no weird ingredients, flavours or additives. Choose from plain chocolate, salted Australian almond or chilli salt!

Check them out here.

What are you getting your mum (or yourself) for Mother’s Day??

Healthy Easter Ideas

March 16, 2015 · 4 Comments

Healthy Easter Ideas

It’s that time of year again! I have a round up of some of my favourite ideas and blog posts to keep you healthy and happy this Easter.

♥ Chocolates

♥ Moo Free Easter Eggs. This range is so popular at Easter time! As well as being dairy free (Moo Free, geddit) they are also organic, vegan, gluten free, non gmo, egg free and fair trade. All while tasting like high quality milk chocolate. Be quick – these go fast!

♥ Organic Times Easter Egg. Made from organic swiss chocolate and sweetened with rapadura, this chocolately egg is also fair trade and palm oil free. I also love the other chocolate range that Organic Times does which includes chocolate coated almonds, licorice, ginger and more. Find that range here.

♥ Chocolate Gingerbread Bunny Biscuit. So cute and a great little addition to the Easter basket. They come individually wrapped in compostable packaging and are handmade in the Blue Mountains. Free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives, eggs and GMO-free, there is also a gluten free option.

♥ Alter Eco Velvet Truffles. Confession time – I buy these for myself and hide them from the kids. The are soooooo delicious! You can also feel virtuous eating them because they are organically grown, fair trade, GMO-free, gluten free and have compostable wrappers. The smooth balls of Peruvian chocolate with a melty, silky centre oozing with pure coconut oil and milk chocolate will make this a perfect gift for anyone. HOT TIP: Get a pack for yourself, you won’t be sorry!

♥ Crio Bru. This is the chocolate you have when you are not having a chocolate. Just 100% pure roasted cacao beans, Crio Bru the most healthy hot chocolate ever! Brew it in a plunger, thermomix, coffee machine or on the stove for a rich, chocolately hit without sugar and all the nasties. The Vega Real is my favourite blend, but there are heaps to try and they are all different.

♥ Gifts

I know many of you like to keep the chocolate to a minimum and pop a few non-food gifts into the Easter baskets. Here are some perfect ideas.

♥ Bilbys! These are made from 100% natural fibres and non-toxic dyes. They are hand woven by fair-trade artisans in Sri Lanka.

♥ Interactive sticker card from Oxfam Unwrapped will educated kids about how chickens help developing countries.

♥ Love Mae Bamboo Dinner Set. So eco-friendly – this set is biodegradable and contains no toxins or formaldehyde. Super cute.

♥ Nest Eggs by Kate Knapp. The most gorgeous non-food gift for teenagers or adults! Inside is a collection of Kate Knapp inspiring illustrations and thought provoking quotations. Kate is a favourite in our family!

Homemade Easter:

If you want to make some chocolates yourself this year, here are some great starting points:

♥ Chocolate Making Ultimate Pack. Cyndi O’Meara from Changing Habits has everything you need for making healthier, homemade chocolates! The cacao wafers are amazing!

♥ Cute Eco Easter Bags! Super easy, eco-friendly and really, really cute. A great way to share your homemade treats. Find the tutorial here.

Browse some of my other Easter posts for some recipes and ideas:

Healthier Hot Cross Buns

Healthy Homemade Easter Eggs

How to Make your Own Healthy Chocolate for Easter

Seven Sensational Healthier Chocolate Recipes

Homemade Chocolate Bars

Macadamia Chocolate Fudge

December 11, 2014 · 4 Comments

This fudge is so quick and easy to make.

Once you have the base sorted, you can top it with anything you like! Try all different types of nuts, coconut, goji berries, ginger or any dried fruit. For a supercharged nutrient boost, add some Superfoods for Kidz powders.

It’s not sickly sweet and it’s packed full of nutrients. Enjoy!

Macadamia Chocolate Fudge

Vital Stats: Gluten free, grain free, dairy free, egg free, refined sugar free

This is what you need:

2 cups sulphur-free dates ( I like the Honest to Goodness brand)

2 cups organic cashews

1/2 cup organic raw cacao

2 tablespoons organic maple syrup

1 vanilla pod, scraped or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup organic macadamias, chopped

This is how you do it:

Soak the dates in some boiling water for ten minutes or so. Squeeze the excess water out.

Place into a food processor or thermomix with all the other ingredients (except the macadamias).

Pulse or turbo until smooth and well combined. I like it with a little bit of cashew still showing, but do it to your preference.

Using wet hands, press into a small slice tin that is lined with baking paper.

Sprinkle the chopped macadamias over the top and press down gently into the mix.

Refrigerate until firm. Cut into squares to serve. Keep refrigerated or freeze.

Choc Berry Mousse Tart

May 19, 2014 · 8 Comments

Making your own healthy desserts does not have to be complicated.

Keep it simple and you are more likely to make this than reach for a chocolate bar!

The lovely Emily from Conscious Foodie is sharing one of her raw desserts with us today to show you just how easy and delicious it really is.

Choc Berry Mousse Tart

Vital Stats: gluten free, grain free, vegan, dairy free, egg free, nut free

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 large avocado

1 tablespoon raw cacao powder (can adjust depending on how rich you like it)

2 teaspoons maple syrup (can adjust depending on how sweet you like it)

Raspberries, blueberries (any berries you have) and shredded coconut to garnish

Method:

Blend the avocado, raw cacao powder and maple syrup in a blender until shiny and smooth. Spoon mixture into a small tart tin and set in the fridge for a couple of hours. Sprinkle with berries and coconut. Enjoy! This mousse keeps for a couple of days in the fridge. Feel free to use any sweetener – honey and dates would work well. Maybe double the mixture so you have extra, it’s pretty tasty!

About Emily:

Emily is a Wellness Coach, the creator of conscious-foodie.com and the author of Transform Your Life in 8 Weeks. She is on a mission to spread the word about natural wellness and health, nutritional wholefoods, clean organic living, a sustainable future, self love, gratitude and kindness. When she’s not writing you can find her juicing her greens, meditating, walking barefoot, sitting in the sun, drinking peppermint tea and making raw desserts.

Website Facebook Instagram

Chocolate Chip Brownies

April 25, 2014 · 21 Comments

Chocolate Chip Brownies

I have been playing around with this Chocolate Chip Brownies recipe for a while, tweaking and fiddling until I got a texture I liked. It’s moist, fudgy and quite delicious (if I do say so myself). 😉

I hadn’t used choc chips in cooking for ages. Everytime I checked the ingredients of ones at the supermarket, I bought them back on the shelf in a hurry. I boycott Nestle products and avoid anything I know has palm oil, soy, hydrogenated oils and artificial additives.

Thankfully, I found some awesome organic dark chocolate buttons at Nutra Organics. Their Wholefood Pantry Range chocolate buttons are dairy free and have no artificial weird stuff.

Chocolate Chip Brownies

Vital Stats: Gluten free, Dairy free, Grain free, Nut free

This is what you need:

1/2 cup organic coconut flour

1/2 cup organic cacao powder

1/2 cup organic virgin coconut oil

3/4 cup honey or maple syrup

1/2 cup Wholefood Pantry chocolate buttons or chopped dark chocolate

6 organic, free range eggs

1 teaspoon bicarb soda

1 teaspoon vanilla or scraped vanilla pod

This is how you do it:

Pre-heat the oven to 180° celsius. Whack some non-toxic baking paper into a slice tin (mine was 28cm x 19cm).

Put all the dry ingredients in the thermomix and mix speed 5 for 10 seconds.

Add wet ingredients (and choc chips) and mix, reverse, speed 5 for 10 seconds or until well combined.

If you don’t have a thermomix, simply mix dry ingredients in a bowl and then add wet ingredients and mix lightly with a spoon until well combined.

Scrape out the mix into the slice tin, smooth it down.

Bung in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until cooked.

Cool on wire rack. Eat and enjoy!

Are you a lover of Brownies?

Healthy Homemade Easter Eggs

April 14, 2014 · 22 Comments

Healthy Homemade Easter Eggs

Why would you make your own Easter Eggs?

Well, I can think of several good reasons!

♥ Making your own treats means you know exactly what is in it

♥ Most ‘commercial’ Easter eggs are very high in refined sugar, contain a lot of nasty additives and hydrogenated vegetable oils and also palm oil (which while is okay for our health is not so good for our orangutans)

♥ Homemade stuff always tastes better (yep, it’s the love)

♥ It’s part of the slow food movement – slow down, enjoy making and eating food so it becomes mindful

♥ Homemade takes time and effort – you are less likely to over-indulge in treats if it’s harder to access

Of course, we don’t always have time, so there are other good options out there you can source – organic, fair trade and allergy friendly.

If you do have time, here are some awesome recipes you might like to take a crack at.

Hippy Hoppy Healthy Easter Bunny from The Hippy Homemaker

Make your own “Lindor Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles” from Damy Health.

Chocolate Covered Katie has some Healthy Creme Eggs.

Healthy Indulgences also has a healthier take on Creme Eggs!

The clever Chocolate Covered Katie makes Healthy Easter Bunnies.

Ricki Heller makes these nomolicious Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Easter Eggs.

Coconut Bunnies! You can also make these chocolate too. Cleverness from Chocolate Covered Katie.

Jo at Quirky Cooking has these amazing homemade Ferrero Rochers! Gluten free and dairy free.

The Earth Diet has some ideas for healthy Chocolate Easter Eggs, including white chocolate.

Do you make your own Easter Eggs??? Share with us your recipes and links!

Want more?

Healthy Homemade Chocolate Bars

Healthy Easter Guide

April 2, 2014 · 106 Comments

Healthy Easter Guide

Easter doesn’t have to be difficult for those of us who want to be healthy or have allergies.

It just takes a little bit of hunting around! I have a round-up of the best healthier Easter alternatives from some fabulous online stores.

♥ Biome Eco Store

Celebrate Easter with Banjo The Carob Bunny, a delicious carob Easter egg made with Australian grown carob and real cocoa butter. Only the purest natural ingredients are added to blend a mild, naturally sweet smooth carob Easter egg. 100% palm oil free, gluten free, preservative free & caffeine free.

Biome also has vegan dairy free eggs and chocolates to help those with allergies celebrate Easter.

♥ Gingerbread Folk

Karen and Dom make cute Choc-Gingerbread Bunnies that are individually packaged in compostable wrappers. These are ideal to send to school instead of chocolate, to use in an Easter egg hunt or decorate place settings at Easter lunch. The bunnies are a chocolate gingerbread flavour and are all natural, no colours, flavours or preservatives and totally egg-free!

♥ Allergysave

Sonya, the allergy expert from Allergysave has done it again and created a fabulous e-book filled with Easter recipes.

Having food allergies no longer means missing out! Easy Allergy Free Easter is full of delicious recipes for anyone with food allergies or diet restrictions. All recipes are FREE from Gluten and the Top 8 food allergens (Peanuts, Tree nuts, Wheat, Dairy, Eggs, Soy, Fish and Shellfish). Many recipes are also free from refined sugar. Available to download now at the Allergysave website here.

Want more?

♥ Coming up this month on the website – Healthy Chocolate Recipes, Gifts for the Easter baskets that aren’t chocolate, Healthy Hot Cross Buns and more….

♥ Check out my Healthy Easter Guide from last year and my Guide to a Happy, Healthy Easter from the year before for more Easter ideas.

♥ Search ‘chocolate’ in the search box for all my yummy chocolatey treats!

Have a happy, healthy Easter!

Choc-Hazel Bliss Balls

March 18, 2014 · 22 Comments

Choc-Hazel Bliss Balls

Now I am a bit of a bliss ball addict, but these are something really, really extra special.

After I made up this variation, I had to get everyone to come running and try them and officially declare me a genius!

Yes, they are that good. Think nutella, think ferrero rocher but healthy!!

Choc-Hazel Bliss Balls

Vital Stats: raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, refined sugar free

Okay so this is what you need:

1 cup pitted sulphur free dates

2 tablespoons Crio Bru (I used the new flavour, Maracaibo)

2 tablespoons organic raw cacao powder

2 teaspoons Heilala Vanilla Bean paste (secret ingredient)

1 cup hazelnuts, skin removed

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Process the dates, crio bru, cacao and vanilla until well combined in a food processor or thermomix. Add hazelnuts and pulse or turbo until they are finely chopped. Use damp hands and roll them into balls. Store in the fridge or freezer.

Exclusively for NNAM readers, you can use this code to get 10% off everything in store: CHRISTMAS10 until 15 December 2016 at Crio Bru here.

(sponsored)

Cool Ideas for Easter (that aren’t chocolate)

♥ Bamboo Easter Signs

♥ Recycled Sari Easter Basket

♥ Terracotta Bunny Lantern

♥ Organic Crochet Bunny

♥ Wooden Counting Rabbits

♥ BBYO Bunni Water Bottle

♥ Oxfam Unwrapped

♥ Gingerbread Bunnies!

♥ Healthy Marshmallows

♥ Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

♥ Cute Eco Easter Bags!

♥ You might also like to read:

Chocolate Cherry Tart

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Want some more Crio Bru recipes?

Beautiful Gifts for Mother’s Day

Healthy Easter Ideas

♥ Chocolates

♥ Gifts

Homemade Easter:

More:

Macadamia Chocolate Fudge

Choc Berry Mousse Tart

About Emily:

Chocolate Chip Brownies

Healthy Homemade Easter Eggs

Healthy Easter Guide

♥ Biome Eco Store

♥ Gingerbread Folk

♥ Allergysave

Want more?

Have a happy, healthy Easter!

Choc-Hazel Bliss Balls

Choc-Hazel Bliss Balls