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!

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!

 

Panisse are a type of delicious french chick pea chip (or fry for our US friends). Normally these are made with chickpea flour (besan/garbanzo flour) but me being the lover of whole, real food and the nutrition-maximizing gal I am, I made them using the whole chickpea and sprouted them myself. (Here is a little guide on sprouting legumes, beans, nuts and seeds). So I hope you enjoy this slightly healthier take on Panisse and please let me know what you think!

Recipe: Sprouted (or Soaked) Chickpea Panisse

Ingredients:

• 1 c. dried chickpeas
• water (to soak or sprout the chickpeas)
• water extra
• a small amount of olive oil
• coconut oil/ghee/butter to cook the panisse
• salt, freshy cracked pepper and freshly ground coriander seed, to serve

How to:

1. Soak the dried chickpeas in water for a day or two. When they’re soft, you can drain the water away and use them (see step 2) or you can continue and sprout them by rinsing the chickpeas in water a few times a day for a few days until they sprout.
2. Now if you’re ready to cook: drain any remaining water away from the chickpeas and give them another rinse and drain the water away again. Add these chickpeas to a blender or food processor and add enough water form a watery mixture. Blend until smooth. Don’t worry if you add too much water- it will cook away (see next step).
3. Now add this mixture to a saucepan and on low heat and whisk it until it forms a thick porridge-like mixture.
4. Get a large-enough plate and spread a bit of olive oil on it. Now spread the chickpea mixture onto the plate and cover it with another similarly-sized plate or cling wrap and place this in the fridge to set until firm. Then cut this mixture into chip/fries sized pieces.
5. When it is firm, it’s time to cook! Heat a small amount of your fat of choice in a cast-iron pan and cook the chips on both sides until golden.
6. When they are all cooked, sprinkle them with a bit of salt, freshly cracked pepper and freshly ground coriander seed.
7. Enjoy!

Chia (Salvia hispanica) is a seed rich in the vegetable pre-formed form of essential fatty acids (EFA) but you need enough of certain nutrients to convert it (fish is a source of the formed animal EFA). It is also a source of soluble fibre and the seed becomes mucilaginous when it contact with water. Many websites make elaborate claims for Chia, however many of these claims are not supported by the scientific literature so unless something is backed up by good research, be careful what you read (1).

Due to Chia’s mucilaginous properties, in cooking and creating recipes Chia can be quite useful. It can aid as an egg replacer (though it won’t have the same nutritional properties as eggs), it can be made into a gel, it can thicken ice creams, puddings and smoothies.

The chia recipe I’m sharing with you today is Chai Fresca. It is a refreshing citrusy drink made with chia. In my version of Chia Fresca i’ve used lime and also added blueberries.

Recipe: Blueberry & Lime Chia Fresca

Alleregen info/recipe info: Chia is gluten-free and dairy-free. This recipe is vegan/vegetarian/paleo friendly.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (or more) of water
• 1/4 lime, juiced
• a few blueberries
• 1/2- 1 Tbps. chia

How to:

Pour the water in a glass and stir in the lime juice. Add the blueberries and chia seeds. And stir the Chia seeds for a few minutes so they do not become lumpy. Enjoy!

Note: The longer the chia sits the thicker the drink will become.

Reference:

1 – http://www.benthamdirect.org/pages/content.php?RRCT/2009/00000004/00000003/0006RRCT

When we want to eat food to make us feel energetic and happy (which is what food should do), we need to stick to whole, real foods. This because our body needs more than just carbohydrates to produce energy. There are many micro-nutrients we need for optimal mitochondrial function (mitochondria are the “energy factories” of our cells). This is why whole foods need to make up the base of the diet (and refined and processed foods are ideally avoided).

Article: How to get more whole and nourishing foods in your diet

In this Green Energy Soup I cooked the kale for a very short time (until soft but still bright green) and served it with a bit of cream cheese. 

Many of the nutrients in the foods in this recipe are supportive to your mitochondria . These nutrients include magnesium (from the Kale), antioxidants (such as vitamin A from the butter/ghee & beef; vitamin C from kale), vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, (these B vitamins from the kale, seaweed and beef)  iron (non-heme from kale & heme iron from beef, respectively), cysteine (an amino acid from beef), and manganese (from kale & garlic). Seaweed is also a source of iodine (important for thyroid function), kale contains chlorophyll and ginger has anti-inflammatory properties.

If you haven’t seen it watch the video by Terry Wahls and how she overcame her MS by feeding her body well! Inspiring stuff!

Article: How to be time savvy for your health

Recipe: Green Energy Soup (A Mitochondria Supporting Recipe)

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

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• coconut oil or butter or ghee
• 2 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp. fresh ginger
• 3 potatoes, washed and skin kept on or 3 parsnips or 1/4 – 1/2 cauliflower
• a few cups of bone broth (Here is How to make Bone Broth)
• 2 whole small bunches of kale (stems kept on & bottom end of the bunch cut off), washed and chopped roughly
• 2 nori sheets (optional)
• meat from the bone broth (enough for two people)
• a dash of sesame oil
• salt and pepper to taste

How to:

1. In a pot add the oil of choice, the onion garlic and ginger. Cook until the onion is soft and then add the potatoes (or the other veggies listed) and the bone broth and cook with a lid on and the heat set at low until it the potatoes very soft.
2. Now add the kale and cook for a few minutes or until the kale is very soft but still bright green (I cooked mine a bit longer than I should have which is why in the first picture the colour is a bit more dull than the second picture above).
3. Add the seaweed sheets and cook for one more minute.
4. Now in batches add this soup to a blender and blend until smooth.
5. Serve with a dash of sesame oil, the meat from the bone broth and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Enjoy!

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. 

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.

Here is a delicious and fresh thai beef salad recipe.

Recipe: Coconut-Water Marinated Thai Beef Salad on Cabbage Leaves

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

Vegan/Vegetarian Options: This recipe can exclude animal products if you use tempeh instead of beef.

Serves: 1 or 2 as an entrée.

Ingredients:

The Coconut Marinade:

• 1 porterhouse steak, cut into chunks or long strips (depending on what you like) OR use tempeh instead
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• a dash of tamari* (tamari is a wheat-free soy sauce)
• a dash of toasted sesame seed oil
• a dash of fish sauce
• 3 Tbs. fresh coconut water (from a young coconut)
• 1/2 tsp. mashed ginger
• fresh coriander leaves
• fresh mint leaves
• fresh red or green chilli, finely sliced  to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground pepper
• coconut oil

To make the salad:

• 1 or 2 cabbage leaves
• 1/2-1/2 fresh red onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 1/2 cucumber, cut into cubes
• 1 carrot, sliced into matchsticks
• extra mint leaves
• extra coriander leaves
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced (white part only)
• sesame seeds
• a bit of extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

*If you prefer not to include tamari (a kind of soy sauce) that is fine, just add some extra coconut water.

How to:

Make the marinade by combining all the marinade ingredients. Then add the meat to the marinade, cover it and leave it in the fridge for a few hours. After it’s marinated cook the beef. While it’s cooking, prepare the salad by putting the cabbage leaves on a plate, add the red onion, cucumber, carrot, mint, coriander leaves and sesame seeds. When the meat is cooked add it to the salad and drizzle it with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

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.

Even though animal products can be beneficial in the diet, it can be good to vary ones diet by having some vegetable-based dishes every now and again. Here is recipe for a vegetable curry that I made last week which I’m sure you’re going to love!

Recipe: Slow-Cooked Eggplant, Mushroom and Swiss Chard Curry

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

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil or butter
• 2 onions
• 3 small cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
• 1.5 tsp. turmeric root powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander seed powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seed powder
• 1/2 lemon grass (the lighter part only)
• 1 large eggplant, chopped into large chunks
• 1/4 pumpkin, peeled and chopped
• 100g cup mushrooms, washed and cut into quaters or half
• fresh coriander/cilantro stems, washed and chopped
• 2.5 C. water or vegetable stock or bone broth
• 1 bunch swiss chard, leaves torn off the stems
• 400ml coconut milk
• fresh coriander leaves
• 1/2 a lime
• salt and pepper

How to:

1. Heat a large pot and add the coconut oil. Chop the onions into small pieces, crush the garlic and cook both of these together until the onions are translucent.
2. Add the turmeric powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and fresh ginger. Stir it to prevent it burning and saute it for a few minutes. Turn off the heat.
3. Chop off the top part of the lemongrass and discard it. Finely slice the lemongrass and then put it in a mortar and crush it with the pestle until you get a paste-like texture. Add this to your pot.
4. Prepare the eggplant by chopping it into chunks. Peel and chop the pumpkin into chunks. And wash and cut the mushrooms in quaters. Add these three ingredients to the pot to and cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the water or bone broth along with the fresh coriander stems. Leave this to simmer on medium for 4 hours or low  for 6 hours (I cooked it for on low for 6 hours) or until all the veggies are soft, but not mushy.
6. In the last 15 minutes of cooking pour in the coconut milk into the curry and add the torn swiss chard leaves. Simmer for 5 or 10 minutes more or until the swiss chard has wilted. Add fresh coriander leaves, a sprinkle of lime juice and season the curry with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Enjoy!

Variations:

This curry is a low-protein meal so you if you would like to increase the protein content you can try the following:

• Try cooking this with a cup of soaked or sprouted lentils. The lentils need to be added around the same time as the eggplant.
• Try adding (around 500g-1kg) of beef to the recipe, again adding it at the same as the eggplant.

Looking for other eggplant recipes? Try these Baked Eggplant Chips with Tahini, Lemon and Honey Dip.

What are you favourite ways to cook eggplant?

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.

Here is another fresh summery salsa recipe! The last salsa recipe I posted was a Jalapeno, Mango and Tomato Salsa with Chilli and Lime Prawns. With this recipe, instead of a raw salsa (like the previous recipe)- this salsa is a cooked one. The benefit of a cooked salsa is that you will get the nutritional benefit from the tomatoes being sauteed which allows you to have improved absorption of the Lycopene (an antioxidant). It also makes it taste delicious! Eating the capsicum bowl (which will be explained below) allows you to get some heat-sensitive nutrients as well, such as vitamin C.

Above: Jalapeno, Mango and Tomato Salsa with Chilli and Lime Prawns

Below: Lime Flavoured (Cooked) Tomato, Avocado and Capsicum Salsa

Recipe: Lime Flavoured (Cooked) Tomato, Avocado and Capsicum Salsa

Allergen info/recipe info: This recipe can be dairy free, and is gluten-free and sugar-free. It can also be made vegetarian or vegan (depending on whether or not you use butter in the recipe).

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 red capsicum (bell pepper) (see directions below)
• 1 C. cherry tomatoes, quatered
• 1 tsp. butter or coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp. coriander seed powder
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
• ~ 2 Tbsp. fresh coriander leaves
• a few wild olives, pitted and sliced
• salt and pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 fresh lime juice (depending on taste preference)

How to:

1. Cut the capsicum into three so you have two ‘cup-like’ pieces and one middle ring. Remove the seeds from the capsicum. Set the two ‘cup’ pieces aside.
2. Take the middle capsicum ring and chop it into small pieces. Cut the cherry tomatoes into quaters.
3. In a hot pan, add the butter or coconut oil and cook the coriander powder, capsicum and cherry tomatoes until just soft. Turn the heat off.
4. Stir in the cut up avoacdo, coriander leaves and the olives. Season with salt and pepper. 
5. Now spoon the salsa mixture into the two capscium ‘cups’ and drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and fresh lime juice.
6. 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.