This recipe is super easy, anyone can do it, it's not complicated at all and it takes seriously, next to no time, perfect for the time poor, or the really hungry!
Best of all, it's raw so doesn't require any cooking and it also keeps really well. You can even freeze the cookies and then just fill them with the caramel when you are ready to serve them (highly recommend this).
Thumbprint Cookies with Caramel Centres
Makes 8
Ingredients
For the cookies
10 pitted medjool dates
1/2 cup of shredded coconut
handful of raw pecans
1 tsp of vanilla extract
For the caramel
10 pitted medjool dates
1 TBS of mesquite powder (optional)
pinch of Himalayan pink salt*
1/4-1/2 cup of water
Method
Place all ingredients for cookies in the food processor and process until mixture starts to stick together. You should be able to roll them into a ball. If the mixture is too dry, add more dates, if too wet, add more coconut.
Roll them into small balls and press them flat, making a dent in the middle with your thumb.
Set aside.
For the caramel, place all ingredients in the blender and process until super smooth. Start with 1/4 cup of water and add more if too thick.
Mesquite powder will add a caramel flavour to the sauce so I highly recommend you use it. Also, whilst I don't add salt to my food anymore, I really think it brings out the caramel taste in this recipe.
Once it's done, add some to the centres of the cookies.
I would recommend that you freeze the cookies for at least 1 hour as they will be soft otherwise, which is totally fine if you like it like that.
The recipe for the caramel yeilds quite a bit, about 1 1/4 cups so just store it in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid and you can use it to your hearts content. Some ideas for this caramello deliciousness are:
- on top of your oats
- on top of pancakes
- as caramel fudge for your ice cream
- on top of bananas and topped with some coconut
Now for something completely refreshing and fat free, some fruit pops! Perfect treat for this hot and steamy weather we're having here in Oz at the moment.
Watermelon and Berry Pops
Makes 8
Ingredients
4 cups of watermelon
1 cup of berries of choice (I used strawberries and blueberries)
1/2 tsp of vanilla stevia liquid (optional)
Method
Blend the watermelon and stevia together until smooth. Add it to your pop moulds and add your berries.
Place paddle pop sticks in the centres and freeze overnight.
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
Salads are also great for summer, here's one I did today that was so tasty, even without the salt! I really suggest you try it. You could also double or triple the amounts and serve this as a side dish.
Asian Greens Salad with Mango and Poppy Seed Dressing
Serves 1
Ingredients
200g of mixed Asian baby greens
125g of mango, thinly sliced
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/2 TBS of dried cranberries
1 TBS of sunflower seeds
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp of poppy seeds
1 tsp of dijon mustard
a few bits of alfalfa sprouts (optional)
Method
Mix the poppy seeds, mustard and lemon juice together well.
Arrange the rest of the ingredients on a plate and top with the dressing and sprouts.
How simple was that?!
As you can see, I'm all about fast and easy. I don't believe that good, healthy food should be tedious or time consuming. I know the pressures of being a busy parent/person, that's why I'm always trying to come up with delicious recipes that are time saving but still pack a flavour and nutrient punch.
Here's a really good example of cutting time but still getting a really good, hearty meal into you.
All you need is some cooked brown rice or grain of choice and the rest is raw. I always make a cup of brown rice or other grain and store it in the fridge for when I'm ready to use. 1 cup of uncooked rice usually yields 2 meals for me (1 cup each serve).
So let me introduce you to the humble Dragon Bowl. This is the simplest and easiest meal to make, and best of all, you can add whatever vegetable you have in the fridge and it will still be so damn tasty! The secret is in the dressing you use.
I chose to use a tahini dressing for this and gave it a bit of an Asian flavour by adding some raw coconut aminos, which basically tastes like soy sauce without the soy (duh!).
So, in this little dragon bowl I have 1 cup of brown rice, 1/2 cup of shredded carrot, 1 cup of shredded purple cabbage, 1 cup of chopped kale and 1 cup of shredded cos lettuce (under the avocado). I added some avocado to it, not much because I've got the good fats of the tahini, and voila!
You could also add some sriracha hot sauce on this, BOOM!
So go do it!
Peas, love and mungbeans
xxb