Berry Coconuty Cheesecake – so healthy!

April 30, 2012 · 29 Comments

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.

Why I heart my thermomix

April 26, 2012 · 48 Comments

Meet ‘THERMY’ – my third baby. Thermy is over three years old now and I don’t know what I did before it and I don’t know what I’d do without it! It truly has taken our goal of healthy, clean eating to a whole new level.

If you have never heard of a thermomix, you need to take a look at the website! It is a fantastic all-in-one cooking machine. In fact, I think you could easily throw away all of your other kitchen appliances, microwave and oven and live quite happily with just a thermomix.

My Natural New Age Girl has already informed me that when I die, the thermomix goes to her.

I sleep with one eye open.

Thermy lurve

Everyone in the family uses it. The kids make CADA or porridge for their breakfast and smoothies and drinks for their after school snack. They love whipping up custard (none of that nasty packet stuff either), sorbet or rice pudding if they feel like dessert. The Natural New Age Dad has been known to knock up soup, risotto or a pasta dish if he has to cook. All in all, it gets used at least once a day, mostly 4-5 and often 10 times or more.

What I love most, is that I can make so many things from scratch that previously were not feasible given my skill level, patience level and time factor! Now, I whip up homemade jam, tomato sauce, mayonnaise, bread, curry pastes and spice mixes in the blink of an eye. I even mill my own flours and almond meal. It really makes it easy for families to significantly cut down or eliminate processed foods altogether.

It makes anyone look like a domestic goddess. Would you like some homemade raspberry jam on those homemade scones? How about I whip us up some garlic prawn risotto for lunch?

Guaranteed to incite what is known as ‘thermy-envy’ amongst your friends!

raspberry jam, blueberry jam, vegetable stock, mayonnaise

If you are keen to have a look at some recipes, check out my Thermomix recipe category. I even have a thermomix board on Pinterest!

Do you have a thermomix? What is the thing you ♥ the most about it?

Just so you know, I don’t sell them! But, I probably should, huh? 😉

Click here to find out more about the Veggie Smugglers Thermomix cookbook!

Make your own healthy chocolate drink mix!

March 26, 2012 · 60 Comments

Let’s face it, no matter how much slick marketing they like to spin, the chocolate drink mixes on the market are anything but healthy!

Refined white sugar form the base of these drinks….. and don’t even start me on the artificial additives! While that’s okay in moderation, some kids find it hard to be moderate with chocolate milk. Making your own version at home is not only cheaper, but it’s chockful of nutrients that growing young bodies need. This has a healthier sugar, is high in fibre, gluten free and all natural.

I found this great recipe some time ago on the Thermomix forums, posted by Cathy. The kids love it and I am happy they are drinking something that is good for them.

Healthy, Homemade Milo

So, this is what you need:

3 tablespoons flaxseeds

2 tablespoons organic sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons organic sesame seeds

2 tablespoons organic pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/3 cup organic almonds

1/4 cup organic brazil nuts

1/4 cup organic cashews

1/4 cup organic pecan nuts

1 cup raw organic cacao powder

1 cup organic rapadura sugar

So, this is how you do it:

Grind all the nuts and seeds together first – use the thermomix on speed 9 for about 10 seconds or use a strong food processor or coffee grinder. The aim is a fine powder, not a paste!

Add cacao powder and rapadura and mix thoroughly. Test a little bit in some milk first – your kids might like it with a little more sugar as rapadura is not as sweet as normal sugar.

To use, just put about 4 teaspoons in a glass of milk and stir briskly. It won’t dissolve completely because of the nuts and seeds. Store it in the fridge for up to two months. If you don’t use a lot, keep it in the freezer.

You can use it in baking, on top of icecream – the possibilities are endless! I have even used it to make yummy truffles – roll teapsoonfuls of homemade nut butter in it!! Ohhhhh, so good!

I love to chat, so if you make it, come back and let me know how you went and if you liked it!

Crunchy Chicken Strips – Healthy Chicken Nuggets

March 10, 2012 · 22 Comments

Just say no to nuggets!

I won’t start with a rant about processed chicken nuggets. I just won’t. You can watch Jamie Oliver (my hero) show kids what are in chicken nuggets here.

Let’s not focus on the negative, let’s focus on the positive. This recipe I am going to share with you is quick, easy, crunchy, gluten-free, tasty and a whole lot healthier than a processed nugget. It will serve four people, generously – but, they are so yummy, I bet the kids go back for seconds!

This recipe does use processed corn flakes and although they are not a totally healthy food in the strictest sense, I still think they are an okay option for every now and again. Use the Norganic brand I have suggested as a much better alternative to the leading brand which contains an obscene amount of salt. Find them in the health food aisle of major supermarkets. I wouldn’t rely on the leftovers for a good, low GI brekky for the kids though – save them for cooking or an afternoon snack. Right, ready to go?

Okay, so this is what you need:

500g or 2 large free range or organic chicken breasts

3 Cups of Norganic brand organic corn flakes (best option)

3 tablespoons of homemade mayonnaise recipe below (or use Norganic mayonnaise you if you don’t want to make your own)

3 teaspoons of dry oregano

2 teaspoons organic Vogel’s Herbamare (or salt, optional)

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius and line a large tray with baking paper. Cut the chicken into strips and coat with the mayonnaise. You can pop them in the fridge at this point and crumb when you are ready.

Crush the corn flakes with your fingers in a large bowl or use the food processor/ thermomix. Be careful though, we don’t want powdered cornies, just the size of breadcrumbs would be good. 😀 Add the oregano and herbamare.

Coat the chicken in the cornie crumbs. Press on gently.

Place on the tray and spritz with some oil (I use my own oil sprayer with macadamia oil as a better option to cooking sprays). You can pop the chicken in the fridge at this point and bake when you are ready.

Bake in oven for approximately 10 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown and crispy.

A really nice dipping sauce (pictured in the first photo) is natural yoghurt mixed with some mango chilli chutney or sauce. You could serve these in a wrap (Sorj or Mountain Bread brand are best) with lots of salad or just with steamed veges on the side like I did.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe. Stay tuned, because I have a few more recipes for you that also make great alternatives to chicken nuggets. I will post the recipes for you soon. As always, if you try them out, please come back and let me know if you like them and what the kids reckon!

My garlicy mayo (with a whiff of apple) recipe !

So this is what you need:

250g grapeseed oil

1 small clove of Australian garlic, crushed

1 organic egg yolk

1 teaspoon organic Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon organic apple juice concentrate

Good crack of black pepper

Good crack of pink Himalayan sea salt

So, this is how you do it:

Start with all ingredients at room temperature. Add everything except the oil to a food processor. Whizz for a minute or so until well mixed and starting to thicken. In a thin, slow stream, add the oil while the blades are still running. You may need to scrape down the sides. Take your time with this so the mayo doesn’t split. Store in a glass jar in the fridge – it will last about a week. Thermomix people, you can follow the basic mayonnaise recipe in the EDC book, just substitute these ingredients! 🙂

You might also like to try some other ‘just say NO to nuggets’ recipes. Find them here.

Pineapple Mint GreenTea Green Smoothie

March 5, 2012 · 21 Comments

Have you joined the green smoothie revolution yet? I love them. We all know we have to eat greens, but sitting down to a large bowl of spinach is not always possible (or fun). Green smoothies are a great way to get a big dose of vitamins and minerals in a form that is easy to digest. They are different to freshly squeezed juices, because you use the whole food and the fibre is still intact. They are fantastic if you feel a cold coming on or you are feeling a bit rundown. I absolutely love the flavours in this one I have come up with. Not too sweet, but with a nice zing from the mint. If you don’t like mint, this recipe is also really yummy with a half a lime (with skin) instead of the mint.

I need to mention green tea. I hate the stuff. It tastes like grass to me!! But, I know the health benefits are substantial. So, I was looking for ways to drink it, without drinking it. Then it came to me – hide it in a smoothie! Genius (if I do say so myself!). Now, if you want to get reaaaaaaally tricky, you could make up a heap of green tea ice cubes and use them!

Ready to make it? This recipe will give you enough smoothie for two to three large glasses.

Pineapple Green Tea Green Smoothie

Vital Stats: Gluten Free, Grain Free, Nut Free, Egg Free, Vegan

Okay, so this what you need:

300g of fresh, ripe pineapple

1 pear

large handful of baby spinach leaves (I like spinach because it doesn’t have a strong flavour – in fact, you can’t even taste it!)

half a handful of fresh mint (I throw in the stalks too)

1/2 cup green tea (made with two organic green tea bags and cooled down)

2 teaspoons of Inliven (or other green powder), optional

large handful of ice

So, this is what you do:

Chop up the fruit roughly and chuck everything into your thermomix or strong blender. Whizz the heck out of it. I like to go slowly up to speed 10 and then blend for about one and a half to two minutes, just to make sure it’s all smooth. Pour into glasses :

the mummy glass or

the kiddy glass !!

Actually I use the kiddy glass a lot too. It’s a fabulous insulated BPA free tumbler from Oggi with a screw on lid and a non-spill straw. You can get them from kitchen stores. Perfect for green smoothies on the go too. Sip one on your way to work in the car instead of that coffee!

Now, a chat about kids and green smoothies. Is it universal that kids have an aversion to green? Or is it just that their young palates prefer sweet things? Anyhow, I had to use all my clever mum tricks on mine before they grew to love green smoothies.

Spinach in my drink??? they cried ! Are you serious??? I am sooooo not drinking that !!!

The next time I made a green smoothie, I put it into stainless steel travel mugs. Here darlings, try this lovely smoothie I made you – just keeping it cold in the travel cup.

Mmmmmm yummy they say. Open the lid I say! Ha Ha…… green smoothie. One point to Mum!

Now, they happily drink green smoothies (as long as I use spinach – some other greens are really bitter and they really make a fuss about that!). Try it out on your kids – you might need a bit of clever marketing – younger kids might think alien juice is pretty cool! It is a fantastic way to boost their daily nutritional intake or to use as a meal replacement if they are feeling a bit sick.

If you would like some more ideas for green smoothies, the fabulous Jess Ainscough at The Wellness Warrior is giving away a FREE ebook filled with over 80 green smoothie recipes. I downloaded it. Awesome.

So, if you enjoyed this, let me know! Do you have a favourite green smoothie recipe? I would love to hear it.

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Dairy-free ‘cheese’ spread

February 29, 2012 · 7 Comments

I love cheese. I loooooooove cheese – fetta, camembert, wensleydale, parmesan, vintage cheddar, ricotta, triple cream brie … you name it, I love it.

Unfortunately, as I get older I notice that cheese doesn’t like me all that much. Let’s just leave the rest to your imagination in the name of good taste!

So, as well as cutting back on my cheese consumption, I have been playing around with some dairy free ‘cheese’. Inspired by a recipe on the thermomix forum, I have tweaked and tweaked (I love saying tweak!) and found a version that I think is really tasty and also tastes rather cheesy!

Even if you are not a dairy-free person, this is still a lovely recipe to make in its own right. It is delicious spread on crackers or raw vegetables.

So, this is what you need:

1/2 cup macadamia nuts

1/2 cup almonds, blanched

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon savoury yeast flakes (find it in the health food store) what is it?

1 tablespoon red onion (you can use white, but I find it a bit too strong)

1 – 2 teaspoons (or to taste) Vogel’s Herbamare (find it in the health food aisle of the supermarket or health food store) what is it?

So, this is how you do it:

You can soak your nuts overnight in some filtered water if you like. Why would you soak your nuts? Find out here. (I can hear you tittering !!) 😀

If you have a thermomix, throw the onion onto the running blades on about speed 7. Add all the other ingredients and whizz the heck out of it on speed 7-8 for a minute or so, scraping down as you go. It should be light and fluffy.

If you don’t have a thermomix, grate the onion first and then put everything into a strong food processor and whizz the heck out of it. It should be light and fluffy.

I like to let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours for the flavours to develop. Serve with crackers (check out these) or raw vege sticks for a really good snack or lunch!

My kids and their friends love this dairy free ‘cheese’ spread and fight over the last bits. It’s all in the marketing with kids…. if I had told them it was a dairy free cheese alternative, they would have complained it wasn’t cheese. I just tell them it’s a yummy savoury spread !! 😛

As always, if you give it a go, come back and chat to me and tell me how you went.

Healthiest pancakes EVER …. they’re green !!

February 21, 2012 · 26 Comments

Thanks to Facebook, I found out it was Pancake Day (or Shrove Tuesday) today ! Never wanting to miss an excuse for pancakes, I decided to whip up a batch of our favourite pancakes from one of the best healthy recipe blogs around, Health Food Lover.

Of course, you know I never make a recipe the way it tells me to. I am a serial tweaker. So here is my version of Michelle’s fabulous Green (Spinach) Pancakes recipe.

Healthiest Pancakes Ever…. They’re Green!

So, this is what you need:

3 organic eggs

1 large handful of washed baby spinach

1 and a 1/2 large bananas

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 cup wholemeal spelt flour

1 tablespoon chia seeds

coconut oil for cooking

to serve:

vanilla yoghurt or cashew cream

blueberries

So, this is how you do it:

Whizz the heck out of the spinach and eggs in a food processor, blender or thermomix. You don’t want any identifiable green leaves or the kids might freak out !

Chuck the banana in and whizz again. Stir in the flour, chia seeds and almond meal.

For those of you with a thermomix, I made the almond meal in the thermy, then added the spinach, banana and eggs and blitzed on speed 10 for 20 seconds, scraping the bowl. Then I added the spelt flour and chia and mixed on reverse, speed 5 for about 10 seconds or until it was combined.

Heat up the coconut oil in a pan (medium high heat) and fling in tablespoons of pancake mix. Turn when little bubbles appear.

Serve with the vanilla yoghurt on top and the blueberries. Do not tell children there is spinach in their afternoon snack….. they will never know!! There is no spinach flavour, just delicious banana!

Well, okay, my New Age Natural Girl, did twig something funny was afoot because they were GREEN, but she loved them. So did my New Age Natural Boy – none left for Dad !

Some tips:

* you can make these pancakes fully gluten free by replacing the flour with almond meal

* you don’t need to add sugar to the mix if you are serving it with fruit and yoghurt, but if you aren’t you might appreciate a tablespoon or two of rapadura sugar in it

* don’t let this mixture sit for too long before cooking as chia seeds gel up

Happy Pancake Day !!

Make your own additive free taco seasoning !!

February 20, 2012 · 57 Comments

Make your own additive free taco seasoning!!

I did a quick look at the packet taco seasoning today at the supermarket and was sad to see that the first ingredient (that means it has the highest percentage) is either salt or sugar (white and refined).

Some of them have lots of artificial additives too. I think this recipe is just as tasty with a fraction of the salt and sugar (heck, you can even leave it out if you want!)

The kids always go back for seconds – that’s normally a good sign, right?

TACO SEASONING:

Vital stats: gluten free, dairy free, nut free, vegan, egg free

Okay, so this is what you need:

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)

1 teaspoon oregano flakes

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon rapadura or coconut sugar

1 teaspoon pink himalayan salt

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon onion powder or flakes

1 tablespoon garlic powder

I like to use organic spices and herbs for this – Simply Organic or Gourmet Organic are my favourite brands.

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Mix all the ingredients together. Easy huh?

If you have onion flakes you may want to grind to a powder. You can do this by hand with a mortar and pestle or with your food processor. If you are lucky enough to have a thermomix, then grind on speed 10 for 10 seconds.

That’s it. Now you can store the seasoning in an airtight container or use it straight away. You could make a double batch and have some for next time. You could make lots of batches and give it away as gifts !

How to use it:

♥ Make taco mince using 500g mince and one batch of this seasoning.

♥ Rub it into a shoulder of pork and throw into the slow cooker for a delicious Mexican Pulled Pork.

♥ Fry with some strips of chicken, onion and capsicum to make fajitas.

♥ Rub it on a whole chook or chicken pieces and make my Mexican Chicken.

♥ Sprinkle on baked potato wedges and serve with sour cream and guacamole.

♥ Add to mince and shape into hamburgers. Serve in a bun or soft tortillas.

♥ Toss through a drained can of chickpeas and some oil and roast in the oven until crispy.

♥ Liven up a beans and rice dish.

♥ Add to mayo or sour cream to make a tasty dressing.

What else do you use it for?

Healthiest Chocolate Mousse EVER !!

February 6, 2012 · 31 Comments

This is a recipe you are going to have to trust me on, okay? Its main ingredient is avocado. Yep, avocado. Normally a savoury type ingredient – yes. However, its smooth, velvety texture makes it perfect for mousse.

I first saw the idea for this on Masterchef – anyone remember the hippy Skye Craig? She made one and astounded the judges and it inspired me to play around and make one myself.

No-one in the family is even going to cotton on to the fact that this is based on avocados. It doesn’t taste like avocados, it tastes like chocolate mousse!! Trust me !!

The other awesome thing about this recipe is that you don’t even have to cook it and it’s super quick to make.

Healthiest Chocolate Mousse Ever!

Vital Stats: Dairy free, gluten free, egg free, nut free, vegan

This is what you will need:

2 avocados sliced, choose organic if you can, as avocados are heavily sprayed

1/4 cup organic raw cacao powder

1/8 to 1/4 cup organic maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (not vanilla essence – that stuff is nasty)

1/4 cup coconut milk or cream (choose one in a BPA free can)

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Now, here’s how to make it:

Mix all ingredients except coconut milk or cream in a blender, thermomix or a food processor for a few minutes until nice and smooth. You can also just mash it in a bowl with a fork if you have no electrical help.

Gradually add in the coconut milk to the consistency you prefer. Test it for sweetness….add more if you are a real sweet tooth.

That’s it. Super easy, super quick and perfect for those times when your avocados all ripen at once and you need to use them up. Serve with some fresh strawberries for dipping. Mmmmmmmm…….Healthiest Chocolate Mousse, EVER!

Trust me, trust me….. this is SO delicious. So, make some and report back. Tell me how much you LOVE it. 😀