Healthy treats

Our youngest daughter turned 4 today!  As part of the Dutch tradition, parents usually prepare 'traktaties' for pre-school, birthday treats to share with all the kids.  We made raw cacao, nut and date energy balls which were a huge hit.

These little balls are sugar, dairy and wheat-free and packed with protein. 

Makes about 20 balls

  • 1 mug of almonds
  • 1.5 mug of pitted dates
  • 2 tablespoon of raw cacao
  • 1.5 tablespoon of coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoon of peanut butter (good quality, try to choose sugar-free)
  1. First put almonds in a food processor and grind until fine consistency.
  2. Add dates and rest of the ingredients.  Let it process until it looks quite sticky.
  3. Make little balls and refrigerate for a few hours. 
  4. Take out of the fridge before serving to soften.

Great as treats or as a snack! 

 

 

Celebrating Banana Bread

Rainy Saturday morning.  Hubby's birthday and I had no idea what cake to bake. I saw bunch of ripe bananas in the fruit bowl and there it was - my ingredients for banana bread!  

There's something heart-warming about banana bread.  It's great for breakfast or to enjoy with a cup of herbal tea.  

Free from gluten and refined sugars. 

  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 160ml organic honey 
  • 60g organic unsalted butter (you can also use melted coconut oil) 
  • 2 eggs
  • 250g gluten-free flour (I mixed buckwheat and almond flour)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 100g chopped pecans
  • 2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
  • 1 tbsp grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 180C and grease loaf tin with little coconut oil. Put butter bananas, eggs, honey, flour, baking powder and bicarb soda into bowl and blend with hand blender until smooth. You can also use a food processor. Add chopped pecans, flaxseeds and lemon zest and mix in with a wooden spoon. Pour the mixture in the tin and bake about 40min until cooked through (insert a skewer or little knife into centre and if it comes away clean, it's ready). Allow to cool before taking out of the tin.

Slice and enjoy!

 

Banana bread

Apple & Blackberry Crumble

This week has been all about apples. My family went apple picking over the weekend and brought home 6 kilos of organic apples!  

Apples are packed with phytonutrients that can help to regulate blood sugar and contain fibre to keep your gut regular. Low in calories apple is a perfect snack! 

Try this gorgeous apple & blackberry crumble!

Dairy, gluten and refined sugar-free 

  • 6 apples, cored and peeled
  • 2 cups of blackberries 
  • 1 cup of gluten-free oats
  • 1 cup of peeled almonds
  • half a cup of organic runny honey 
  • 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
  1. Chop apples and put these into a pan with blackberries, add little water and sprinkle of cinnamon and few tablespoons of honey.  Simmer for about 6 minutes until soft. 
  2. Make the crumble.  Put oats and almonds into a bowl and blitz with hand blender until resembles of breadcrumbs.  You can also use food processor for this. 
  3. Melt the coconut oil and honey and pour onto almond-oat mixture.  Mix in well.
  4. Put apple-blackberry mixture in a baking dish and place almond-oat mixture on top.
  5. Bake in 185C for about 30 minutes or until golden. 

Healthy and perfect dessert for the colder autumn days! 

Healthy lunch box

Packing lunch boxes can be a huge stress for parents and many of us are at loss what to make. I usually start thinking about lunches the day before but never get around to do these until the morning, when I only have about 15min to make them. 

Sandwich has been a staple school lunch for my daughter for some time as for many here in Holland.  I try to keep it healthy and done variation of the fillings; tuna, boiled egg, hummus, avocado etc.  Recently however she has gotten bored with bread and asked for alternatives (yay!). 

Bread, especially refined wheat (where that bran is removed), has little nutritional value as the processing removes fibre, minerals and vitamins.  Eating white bread does little to support your child's energy levels and mood.  Wheat can also cause digestive issues. If making a sandwich, choose  wholegrain or spelt bread.  

This morning I made really easy and simple egg muffins.

Yummy Egg Muffins (makes 6. 5min to prepare)

5 organic eggs

Splash of almond milk

Handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped

Half a red pepper, chopped

Whisk the eggs and milk together. Add the chopped vegetables and mix. Pour into muffin tray and bake in 200C for about 15-20min until golden on top.  

Egg muffins
Healthy lunch box

Chocolaty Energy Balls

I made these little bites for a client who recently had a baby.  These are packed with protein and good fats to keep  energy levels up and raw cacao (high in magnesium and antioxidants) to give extra nutrient boost.  

A perfect little snack when tiredness hits or when out & about with the little one.

Pure deliciousness!  

Make 12.

1 cup of mixed nuts (I used raw cashews and macadamias)

8 Medjool dates, pitted

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp hemp seeds

1 tbsp raw cacao

Blend all ingredients in food processor until well combined.  Roll balls with your hands and pop in a freezer to firm up.  You can also roll the balls in a shredded coconut.  

 

Chocolaty Energy Balls