Here is a quick and easy ice cream recipe (see the raspberry version here)  which uses fruit as a base instead of cream, sugar and eggs. I hope you like it!

Recipe: Berry and Banana Soft Serve

Recipe info/allergen info: This is gluten-free and can be made dairy-free if using dairy-free milk.

Serves: Makes one serve.

Ingredients:

• 1/4-1/2 C. milk (any kind you like: full fat dairy, coconut milk etc)
• 1 tsp. chia seeds
• a handful or so of frozen mixed berries
• a few slices of fresh banana

How to:

1.  Blend milk and chia seeds.
2. Add the berries and banana slices and blend until it becomes a soft serve texture/consistency. If you find it isn’t the texture you desire you can add more berries or banana; alternatively you can place the it in the freezer for about 10 minutes to harden a bit.
3. Enjoy!

I’ve mentioned before that I personally don’t consume grain products everyday (see sweet breakfast omelette – what to eat when you don’t eat toast), which is mostly due to the fact that most stores don’t carry products I deem worthy of consuming. For instance if you look at the label of  most commercial ‘sourdough’ breads, you may notice that there are around 30+ ingredients (most of these ingredients are not real food and are from refined products; sourdough should just contain a few ingredients  (yeast, water, flour and salt, usually)). These commercial grain products I usually find disapointing so I don’t buy them (they also aren’t that nutritious as well!).

Apart from slow-cooked oats, I like to have bread and other grain products as more of a treat, rather than an everyday staple (most are refined anyway). But if you make them yourself they can be so more nutritious & really delicious! As a treat,  I made a batch of delicious Hot Cross Buns (HCBs) for Good Friday. These HCBs were made using wholemeal spelt flour (rather than wheat), buttermilk for extra flavour and to help them rise and I added dates instead of sultanas or currants!  So if you would like a healthier while still delicious version of HCBs I hope you give these a go :).

Now onto the recipe…

Recipe: Buttermilk, Spelt and Date Hot Cross Buns

Allergen info/recipe info: This recipe does contain gluten (so this recipe is not suitable for those who have issues with gluten/celiacs), dairy and eggs. It is lacto-ovo vegetarian-friendly.

This recipe is a little bit denser than regular HCBs due to the wholemeal spelt flour.

Makes: 6 HCBs.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. buttermilk (or the same volume of whole milk mixed with 1 tablespoon of active culture yoghurt or kefir)
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 tsp. yeast
• 1.5 C. wholemeal spelt flour (or sprouted spelt flour), sifted
• 2 tsp. mixed spice
• 1/2 C. coconut or rapadura sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1 orange, zested
• 1/4. C. dates, pitted and chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp. of vanilla seeds
• 2 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
• milk, to glaze the HCBs

For the crosses:

• ~2 Tbsp. extra spelt flour
• 1 tsp. coconut sugar
• enough water to form a paste

How to:

1. Bloom the yeast: Heat the buttermilk in a saucepan on low heat till just warm. Turn off the heat and pour the warm buttermilk in a jug. Mix in the honey and sprinkle the yeast on the top of the buttermilk. Leave to bloom (it gets bubbly & the yeast gets activated) for around 10 minutes.
2. Sift dry ingredients: In a large bowl sift the spelt flour, coconut sugar and mixed spice. Stir in the fennel seeds, orange zest and chopped dates.
3. Mix wet ingredients: Beat the egg into the buttermilk and add the vanilla extract & melted and cooled butter. Pour the buttermilk-egg mixture into the flour.
4. Mix, Knead & Rise: Using clean hands (or a butter knife) begin to mix the mixture together. Knead it for a few minutes (I just kneaded it in the bowl) or until it becomes elastic (you may knead to add a bit of extra flour to the bowl or board if the dough is too sticky). Leave the kneaded ball of dough in the bowl and cover it with a tea towel. Leave this in a sunny warm position in your kitchen for around 2 hours (or overnight) or until it doubles in size.
5. Divide: When it has doubled in size, divide the ball of dough into six equal portions. Knead each individual portion once again until elastic.
6. Rise again & Preheat Oven: Place these pieces into your chosen greased baking tray (I used one around cm wide and cm high). Place each piece about 1-2cm apart. Place this tray covered with the tea towel again and leave to rise for another hour. In the last 10 minutes of rising preheat your oven to 160 degrees C.
7. Score & Bake:  Now get the tray with the dough balls in it and using a knife cut two lines across the top of each one to form a cross. Bake the HCBs in the oven for 15-25 minutes at 160 degrees C (fan-forced) or until they are light brown and cooked through. To test if they are cooked you can poke a skewer in one of them and if they are sticky then it isn’t quite ready yet.
8. Make cross mixture (optional): (in some of the HCBs I didn’t add the paste cross- see the 2nd picture) Make mixture for the ‘crosses’ by mixing together ~ 2 Tbsp. spelt flour, 1 tsp. coconut sugar and enough water to form a thick paste.  In the last 6 or so minutes left of cooking the HCBs pipe the cross mixture into the scored crosses and spoon/brush a little bit of milk over the HCBs. Bake until they are cooked through.
9. Serve when hot with a bit of butter.
10. Enjoy!

Update 6/4/12: Variation – Homemade Buttermilk, Spelt and Date Hot Cross Buns (With Chocolate!)

How I modified the above recipe:

• For the first rise I left it to rise & ferment overnight (rather than the 2 hours below) at step 4.
• I’ve made a varation on the above recipe my adding 1/4 C. of G & B organic milk chocolate (chopped into small pieces) to step 5 (I worked the chocolate chips into each of the 6 pieces of dough).

Whether or not you celebrate Easter/Passover I hope you enjoy the long weekend!

Since I made the 2 ingredient raw chocolate mousse (below) I have been dreaming of making the mixture into a delicious chocolate and coconut mousse tart! So, that’s what I did!

I combined the chocolate mousse recipe with the  date caramel from the almond chocolate cake (aka. the Mocha Brownie Cake)  I made some time ago.

I wanted to make the base quite simple so I used coconut as the main ingredient (the base was inspired by the coconut pumpkin pie (below)).

This also makes the base (as well as the whole recipe) gluten-free. It is also dairy-free.

And refined-sugar free.

Above: the tartlets before they were put in the fridge to set.

Above + below: The Chocolate and Coconut Fudge Tartlets (with a date caramel layer) after they have set.

I dusted them with a bit of cocoa powder and they were ready to eat. Both my taste testers really liked them so I hope you will too!

So please try out my recipe for Chocolate Coconut Fudge Mousse and Date Caramel Tartlets and let me know how they go!

Recipe: Chocolate, Coconut Fudge Mousse and Date Caramel Tartlets

Recipe info/allergen info: This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar free.

Makes: around 9 or so tartlets (depending on how big or small you make the tarlets) + left over chocolate coconut fudge mousse.

For the tartlet shells:

Ingredients:

• 50g dried unsweetened coconut
• 1 tbsp. coconut sugar
• 2 egg white
• 1 egg yolk

How to:

1. Grind coconut in a coffee grinder (or small food processor) or until it resembles a coarse meal.
2. Add the coconut sugar to the dried coconut.
3. Lightly whip the egg whites and mix the coconut sugar-coconut mix into the egg whites.
4. Lightly beat the egg yolk and mix it in.
5. Grease a tray with coconut oil and put about a teaspoon in each of tartlet holes in the tray. Mould the mixture in each compartment of the tartlet tray.
6. Then cook the tartlet shells for around 10 minutes at 170 degrees C or until lightly browned.
7. Using a spoon take out each tart shell in the tray and leave to cool.

Above: the tart shells after baking and cooling.

For the Date Caramel layer:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. dates, chopped into small pieces and soaked in a bit of water

How to:

1. Chop about 1/2 C. dates that have been soaking in a tablespoon or so of water to soften for about an hour.
2. Then in a food processor blend the dates and water until a smooth date caramel-like consistency forms.
3. Now put about 1/2 a tsp. of the date caramel in each cooled tart shell.

For the Chocolate Coconut Fudge Mousse layer:

Ingredients:

• coconut meat and water of 1 young coconut (here is ‘how-to’ video on how to open a young coconut)
• 1-2 tbsp. of cacao/cocoa powder (more or less depending on how chocolately you like it).
• 1 or 2 dates to sweeten (optional)

Note: this amount will make much more than the amount you will need for the tartlets.

How to:

1. Blend together the coconut meat and water of the young coconut and the dates to sweeten (if using).
2. Add the cacao/cocoa powder and blend until you have a thick mousse-like texture.
3. Now spoon this mixture into the tartlets. Put the tartlets back into the tray and leave the tartlets in the fridge to chill and set.
4. Enjoy!

 

Here is a delicious dessert recipe which uses a fresh pear slices instead of filo pastry for a healthier twist on the traditional Baklava recipe.

Recipe: Fresh Pear Baklava

Alleregen info/recipe info: This recipe contains nuts.

This recipe can vegan/vegetarian if using coconut oil instead of butter.

Ingredients:

• 1 pear
• ~1/4 C. nuts* (a mix of macadamias, almonds, pistachios and walnuts is nice).
• 1 tsp. coconut oil or butter/ghee
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• a drizzle of raw local honey
• cinnamon extra, to sift on top
• optional: yoghurt or home-made vanilla ice cream (to serve)

A few tips on finding healthier nuts and seeds & preparing them:  Nuts and seeds can be made easier to digest to by having them sprouted or soaking and then drying them in a dehydrator. Here is how to sprout nuts and seeds. I’ve always found the freshest nuts are at farmers markets, but wherever nuts are solds often (meaning the batch of nuts is not sitting around for months and weeks) can be a good indicator as to how fresh it is. Also if you taste a nut such as a walnut it shouldn’t taste ‘bitter’ this is an indication the fats in the nuts are randcid (they have oxidized).

How to:

Make the pear ‘pastry’ slices:

Using a mandolin carefully slice a whole pear length ways to produce a lot of thin pear slices. They will act as the ‘pastry’. Line up the pear ‘pastry’ together and cut the pastry in half so you have two mounds of pastry (i.e. for two serves). Set these aside.

Now make the filling:

Chop the nuts into very small pieces. In a pan heat the coconut oil/butter/ghee add the nuts, cinnamon, lemon juice and vanilla and cook for a 1 minute or so. Take this off the heat.

Now to arrange the Fresh Pear Baklava:

Take each slice of pear add a bit of the nut mixture, then another slice of pear on top of that and so on. Do this for both lot of pear slices.

Serve with a bit of left over nut mixture (if there is any) and a drizzle of honey & serve with yoghurt or home-made vanilla ice cream.

I like to post a range of recipes for different diet styles, because no one diet fits us all. We’re all individuals which means we don’t all eat the same way. Today I have a vegan recipe which happens to be raw. Though this recipe could also really be eaten by those who follow a paleolithic style diet, gluten-free diet, dairy-free diet as well as a WAPF style diet and an egg-free diet too.

I know many of you liked the recipe I posted two weeks ago for the Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse (below). So I know you will like today’s recipe!

It is a similar kind of recipe. This time I’m sharing a recipe for a Raw Vegan Mango Custard. Like the Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse, this recipe only has two ingredients: mango and coconut. It is dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo/vegan/vegetarian and of course delicious. Though this recipe is a bit different from a traditional custard recipe as it is free of dairy and eggs. I love how yellow it is, it’s as if it did contain the bright yolks from pastured eggs (but it doesn’t).

Recipe: Raw Vegan Mango Custard

Allergen info/recipe info: This recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free and paleo, vegan and vegetarian-friendly.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 1/2 quantity of coconut cream from a young coconut (not sure how to open a young coconut? read the tutorial or watch the video here or on YouTube)
• 1/2 flesh from a fresh mango

How to:

Add the coconut cream and mango to a blender or food processor and blend until very smooth. Pour in a small dish, cover and leave in the fridge to set. Add dried shredded coconut if you desire. Enjoy!

Are you a fan of custard? I’d love to know what you think of this recipe, please share your thoughts below in the comment section. 

Here is another healthy recipe for those who follow the Paleo Diet or for those who just want a protein rich breakfast.

Recipe: Paleo Zucchini & Goats Cheese Hash Browns

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 2-3 zucchini
• a few tsp. of chevre goats cheese, crumbled
• salt and pepper to taste
• butter or coconut oil

How to:

Grate the  zucchinis. Put them in a colander over a bowl and add a tsp or so of salt: this helps draw the water out of the zucchini. Leave this aside for an hour or so (or overnight for the next day).

When ready to cook, squeeze out the water from the zucchini. Add the zucchini to a bowl with 4 whole eggs and mix together. Crumble in some goats cheese. Season to taste.

Add the butter or coconut to a hot pan. Spoon out the mixture and cook on both sides until cooked.

Enjoy!

Michelle

© Copyright: 2009-2012 Michelle Robson-Garth. Please ask permission first when using any text or images on healthfoodlover.com. See the disclaimer here. Have a look at the recipe index for more health food lovin’ recipes. Join the Facebook page & follow Health Food Lover on twitter.

This Raw Chocolate Mousse is lusicous, creamy and a ‘guilt-free’ treat (though I don’t think any treats should induce guilt!). It doesn’t contain any sugar (other than those naturally present in the coconut ‘meat’) but is still really delicious!

Recipe: 2 Ingredient Raw Chocolate Mousse

Allergen info/recipe info: This recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free and sugar-free.

I found the mousse was sweet enough for my taste without any sugar added in it, as coconut cream I find naturally as a sweet taste. However if you find that is isn’t sweet enough for you, try adding

Makes: 1 serve

Ingredients:

•  1/2 – 1 C. coconut cream from a young coconut (Click here to learn how to make it)
• 1/2 – 1 Tbsp. cacao powder (or carob powder), sifted (I found about 1/2 Tbsp was good for me, but you may like a much stronger chocolately taste so feel free to increase it to your linking) or for those who are sensitive to caffeine try using carob powder
• optional extras: dried shredded coconut, cacao nibs, walnuts, pitted cherries, sliced strawberries etc.

How to:

1. Make the coconut cream (or use store bought coconut cream).
2. Mix in the cacao powder into the coconut cream until smooth and creamy (you can can blend it in a blender or food processor for a really creamy consistency).
3. Pour into a container and chill in the fridge until firm.
4. Add any optional extras on top of the mousse.
5. Enjoy!

Variations:

Raw Cherry Chocolate Mousse: At step 2 add in a few pitted cherries along with the cacao powder and coconut cream and blend in until smooth and creamy.

Raw Peppermint Chocolate Mousse: At step 2 add 2 or 3 fresh mint leaves along with the cacao powder and coconut cream and blend in until smooth and creamy. You might like to use Chocolate Mint leaves instead of regular mint varieties.

Raw Dark Chocolate Mousse: At step 2 add an extra tablespoon of cacao powder and follow the rest of the instructions above.

Raw Carob Mousse: Follow the directions as above and use carob powder instead of cacao powder.

Michelle

© Copyright: 2009-2012 Michelle Robson-Garth. Please ask permission first when using any text or images on healthfoodlover.com. See the disclaimer here. Have a look at the recipe index for more health food lovin’ recipes. Join the Facebook page & follow Health Food Lover on twitter.

I love coconut! There are so many ways to use coconut in different recipes both sweet and savoury. If you have never used a young coconut have a little read about them.

Also if you’ve never opened a young coconut, here is the tutorial I wrote on how to do that (click the small picture below):

How To Open A Young Coconut

Here are other recipes that feature coconut:

How to make ‘Instant’ Coconut Ice

Recipe: Tropical Whole Fruit Juice + How To Make Juice In A Blender (Video & Recipe)

Homemade Bounty Bars (With Real Food Ingredients)

How to Make Dairy-Free Coconut Cream from a Young Thai Coconut

How to Make Dairy-Free Coconut Cream from a Young Thai Coconut

Allergen info/recipe info: This recipe is dairy-free, sugar-free , egg-free and gluten-free. Also no BPA (Bisphenol phosphate) as you would get from canned coconut cream!

This coconut cream freezes well.

Makes: about 1/2- 1 C. of coconut cream

Ingredients:

•  Coconut ‘meat’ from one young thai coconut
• 2 Tbsp. coconut water from the young thai coconut (or enough coconut water to make a creamy consistency)
• 1 tsp. lecithin granules (non-gm soy or sunflower lecithin granules) (optional- it makes it extra creamy)

How to:

Scrape out the coconut meat from a young coconut. Add it to a food processor or blender along with the coconut water. Add lecithin if using and blend until you get a thick coconut cream! Easy! Use however you may use coconut or a dairy-based cream.

You can use it on:

A fruit salad mixed with passion fruit

Michelle

© Copyright: 2009-2012 Michelle Robson-Garth. Please ask permission first when using any text or images on healthfoodlover.com. See the disclaimer here. Have a look at the recipe index for more health food lovin’ recipes. Join the Facebook page & follow Health Food Lover on twitter.

Recipe: Healthier Homemade Cherry Ripe

Adapted from this recipe for my homemade bounty bars.

Recipe info/allergen info: This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and refined sugar free.

Ingredients:

• 1 C. fresh cherries, washed, chopped and pits removed
• 1 C. macadamia nuts
• 1 C. medjool dates, chopped & pits removed
• 5 Tbs. shredded coconut (preservative-free)
• 3 Tbs. coconut oil, melted
• 300-400g dark chocolate* (you can look  for brands such as Cocolo which use rapadura sugar in their chocolate)

How to:

1. Slice each cherry open and discard the pips.
2. Put the cherries in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add the macadamia nuts and blend/process until you have a paste. It doesn’t have to be completely smooth.
3. Add the dates and blend until the dates have broken down. Stir in the shredded coconut and melted coconut oil until it has all mixed together.
4. Pour into a baking paper lined & coconut oil greased tin. Put the mixture into the fridge to chill until set. When they seem like they have set, cut them into small squares and place them in the freezer to harden.
5. When the squares have hardened, begin tempering the chocolate as below.

*you may need more or less depending on how small or big you make the squares: the smaller they are the more chocolate you will need; if they’re larger you’ll need less chocolate (as you will have less surface to cover).

Tempering Chocolate:

These steps are taken from my homemade bounty bar recipe. 

You Will Need:

• a metal bowl (wider than the saucepan)
• a smaller bowl, filled with water and ice
• a saucepan, filled with 3 cm of water
• a metal or plastic spoon (not wooden)
• a digital cooking thermometer (optional, but very helpful)
• the amount of chocolate you have decided to use (as in the main ingredient section)
• baking paper
• a flat board (to rest the chocolates on)

How to temper the chocolate:

1. In a small sauce pan place a few cms of water in the bottom. Get it to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer.
2. Place your metal bowl over the now hot water (and heat turned down to low) and add the dark chocolate. Stir the chocolate with your metal spoon until it melts. Put your thermometer in and make sure it doesn’t go above 48 degrees Celsius (118 F).
3. When it reaches 48 take it off the hot saucepan and put it in your ice water bowl. Keep stirring. Wait till it cools down to 26 degrees.
4. When it has cooled down, turn your saucepan on again and place your metal bowl over the saucepan, now with the heat on. Put the thermometer into the chocolate and wait till the temperature of the chocolate reaches 48. When it’s at that temperature, turn off the heat. Your chocolate is now ready to use!
5. Simply place your cherry squares into the chocolate with a fork and completely cover it. Tap your fork with the covered cherry square against the side of the bowl so excess chocolate comes off. Then place your chocolates on a lined tray until the chocolates harden!
6. Once they have hardened keep in the freezer to stay firm. Enjoy these treats!

Tips for tempering chocolate:

• Make sure you don’t get any water or steam in your chocolate at any stage while tempering. Water= chocolate death!
• Use only metal or plastic spoons to stir the chocolate.
• If you let your chocolate go over 48 degrees C then its gone- you can’t use it any more.
• It’s a good idea if you have one to use a thermometer to test the temperature when you’re heating a cooling the chocolate. I used a digital thermometer.
• Having said all that, you don’t really need to temper the chocolate- but it does help to coat the cherry ripe squares properly.

Michelle

© Copyright: 2012 Michelle Robson-Garth. Please ask permission first when using any text or images on healthfoodlover.com. See the disclaimer here. Have a look at the recipe index for more health food lovin’ recipes. Join the Facebook page & follow Health Food Lover on twitter.

I hope you enjoy this bright, summery dessert!

Recipe: Chamomile, Ginger and Mango Sorbet

Allergen info/recipe info: This recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, wheat-free and refined-sugar free (the mango gives the sorbet some sweetness).

Ingredients:

• flesh of 1 mango (pip and skin removed), chopped
• 1 cup of chamomile (Matricaria recutita) tea, chilled
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ginger (skin peeled off)
• water

How to:

In a jug add the mango, chamomile tea, fresh ginger and enough water for the whole mixture to equal a litre. Pour this into a blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth. Pour this into a ice cream maker and follow the manufactures directions.

or

You can pour this whole mixture into a shallow container (that will fit in your freezer). Put a lid on the container and every 40 minutes scrape the mixture to break down the ice crystals and keep doing this until the mixture freezes. Then scoop out and enjoy when frozen.

Caution: This recipe is not suitable for those who are allergic to chamomile or the Asteraceae family. Chamomile can reduce absorption of iron (so have iron supplements away from Chamomile). Ginger also may not be safe for those on medication and those who have reflux, peptic ulcers, gall stones and blood thinning medication. If you are unsure whether Chamomile or ginger is okay for you it’s best to seek advice from your qualified health professional and an experienced Naturopath or herbalist. When in doubt you can just take out the ginger and chamomile tea and replace it with the same amount of water.

Michelle

For more dessert recipes have a look at the recipe index.

© Copyright: 2011 Michelle Robson-Garth. Please ask permission first when using any text or images on healthfoodlover.com . See the disclaimer here. Have a look at the recipe index for more health food lovin’ recipes. Join the Facebook page & follow Health Food Lover on twitter.