one hungry mami has moved house!

Hi lovelies,

Just letting you know that One Hungry Mami is moving to it's own domain.  Yay!
I'm super excited and I hope you will all still follow me over on the new blog - www.onehungrymami.com

Peas, love and mungbeans

Brenda

Donut resist temptation

Did you know that donuts are world wide?  Yes they may come in different shapes, some with holes, others without, at times filled, or coated with some other delicious toppings, but yes, donuts are world famous. 

And infamous.  Let's be honest, where's the nutritional value in deep fried refined flour and sugar?  

But before you misjudge my tone and take me to be an uppity health freak chief inspector of the fun food police, let me continue.

What if I told you there was a way to have your donut and eat it too! Without feeling like you've just overloaded your system with a crazy cocktail of chemicals that is.

Well good news, here's two super easy recipes to get you rolling those little circles of yum.

The following recipe is adapted from one by Maz Pugoy, founder and creator of my all time fave raw vegan cafe in Sydney, Sadhana Kitchen.  You can find the original recipe here. It utilises a dehydrator which I don't own so I just froze mine.  Worked out great.

Cinnamon Donuts with Salted Caramel Glaze

Makes 8 small donuts

Ingredients

Cinnamon Donuts

3/4 cup raw almonds

1/4 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/4 activated buckwheat flour*

1/4 cup flaxmeal 

1 Tbsp. lacuma

1 Tbsp. mesquite

3-4 pitted dates (soaked for 1 hour)

1 tbs coconut nectar

2 tsp cinnamon powder

pinch of Himalayan pink salt

Salted Caramel Glaze

4 TBS coconut oil melted

2 TBS of mesquite powder

1 TBS lucuma powder

1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt (or to taste)

Toppings of choice (optional)

I used peanut crumbs, goji berries, cacao nibs, pistachios and dessicated coconut.

Method

Place nuts and coconut in food processor and process until it looks like fine crumbs.  Add the coconut, buckwheat, flaxmeal, lucuma and mesquite and process to combine.  Add the rest of your ingredients and process until it starts to lump together.

Roll mixture into small balls and insert finger into the middle to create the whole.  Shape it into a little donut.  Repeat with all the mixture until it's all used up.

Place in the freezer.

For the glaze, mix all ingredients together until they are really well combined.  If it's cold, you'll need to act quickly as coconut oil solidifies pretty quickly.

When glaze is ready, take donuts out of the freezer and dip into the glaze to coat the top.  Place on a clean plate and continue until you have coated all donuts.  

Add your toppings if you are using.

And your done!

I stored mine in the freezer.

Apart from donuts, I'm also obsessed with matcha.  It's not just that I love all things Japanese, I also just love the taste.  I remember the first time I ever had matcha, it reminded me so much of lucuma ice cream.  It has that same powdery subtle flavour.  

I'm not ashamed to admit that Starbucks soy matcha latte (unsweetened) is my guilty pleasure!

So, that was my inspiration for the next donut recipe.

Vanilla Donuts with Matcha Chocolate Glaze

Makes 8 small donuts

Ingredients

Vanilla Donuts

1 1/2 cups almond meal

1 1/4 cups dried shredded unsweetened coconut

1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt

3 Tbsp brown rice syrup

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Matcha Chocolate Glaze

1 tsp of matcha powder (I used Kenko tea which you can find here)

2 TBS of raw cacao butter (melted)

Stevia drops to suit taste

4 TBS non dairy milk of choice 

Method

For the donuts, place all ingredients in the food processor and process until it resembles fine crumbs but holds together.

Roll mixture into small balls and place hole in centre and shape like a donut.  Repeat until the mixture is finished.  Place donuts in the freezer whilst you make the glaze.

For the glaze, combine all the ingredients and mix well to dissolve the matcha powder which can clump together.  It can be strong so you may need to use less depending on your taste.

Once ready, take out the donuts from freezer and dunk into the glaze to coat.  It should harden on contact with the cold donuts so if you are adding toppings, do it quickly so they stick to the glaze.  

Repeat with the rest of the donuts and serve.

Again, I keep mine in the freezer.  You just never know when you might need a donut fix!

P.S I also got featured in a new magazine called Australian Gluten Free Life.  It's a magazine about, yes, you guessed it, all things gluten free.

I answer a lot of questions which I get asked about a lot and also has some of my recipes, so check it out!

It's been a busy week in my kitchen so see you soon with more recipes!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

Stew it up

Now that the weather is getting cooler, it’s been so much fun coming up with tasty and hearty dishes that keep me satisfied and feeling nurtured.

The following two recipes are stews, which I love making as they are super simple, fast and last well in the fridge for a couple of days so you can either freeze the left overs, or keep it for tomorrow’s lunch and/or dinner.

You’ll have to forgive me as I’m writing the recipes way after the fact so hopefully my memory serves me and I don’t leave out any ingredients!

Black Bean and Quinoa Stew
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves
1/2 brown onion, diced
1 cup chopped pumpkin
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 cups of chopped silverbeet
1 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup of chopped capsicum
1/2 cup of quinoa, soaked and rinsed
1 can of organic black beans, rinsed really well
1 vegan stock cube
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 cups of water

Method

In a large pot, add 1/4 cup of water, the garlic and spices and gently cook until they are fragrant.

Add the vegetables, except the silverbeet and beans, and give it a good stir so that they are covered with the spices and garlic.
Add the water, quinoa and stock cube.

You may need to crush the stock cube once it’s in the pan, and stir to combine.

Bring to the boil over medium heat, then, lower heat to simmer and cover with lid.

Check after about 15-20 minutes to see if the quinoa is cooked. Adjust seasoning at this stage and if you feel it’s too dry, add some more water.   If you feel there’s too much liquid, cook it for a bit longer with the lid off so some of the liquid evaporates.  Add the beans and silverbeet and cook for a further 5 minutes.  Basically you just want to warm the beans through and keep the silverbeet vibrant and green.

Serve into bowls and eat.

I eat this on it’s own or with some cauliflower mash.

Spiced red lentil and Root Vegetable Stew

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup red lentils, soaked overnight and rinsed

1 brown onion, diced

1 parsnip, diced

1 swede, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 sweet potato, diced

1 red capsicum (pepper), diced

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 Tbs of freshly grated ginger

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

5 fresh curry leaves

1/2 Tbs of turmeric

1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper

2 tsp of ground coriander

1/2 tsp of Himalayan pink salt

2 tsp of tamarind puree

1 cup of water*

1 can of organic canned tomatoes

1/4 cup coconut milk

fresh coriander and coconut kefir to garnish

some papadums for dipping and scooping**

Method

Add some water to a large saucepan and add the spices and ginger over a medium heat.   Once it becomes aromatic, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, a few minutes.

Add the veggies and stir to cover with the spices, cook for about 5 minutes, then add the lentils, canned tomatoes and water.

Stir to combine and bring it to the boil, then lower heat to low-med, cover with lid and leave to cook for about 25 – 30 minutes, until the vegetables and lentils are soft.

Once the vegetables and lentils are ready, stir in the coconut milk and tamarind puree, and stir gently to combine.  You don’t want to mash the vegetables!  You can adjust seasoning at this point if required.

Serve on it’s own, topped with a generous tablespoon of coconut kefir and some fresh coriander.

*You may need more water, but start with 1 cup.  You want it to be thick and saucy not soupy.

**I used store bought papadums which I just prepared in the microwave.

As you can see, I didn’t add any oil when I made the above recipes because you just don’t really need to.  However, I know some people love to fry up their spices so feel free to use some coconut oil if you so desire.

Hope you enjoy the above recipes and that they make you feel warm and toasty all over!

Please let me know if you have any problems with the recipes, like I said, I’m relying on my memory (gasp!), which if I believe what my husband tells me, is pretty unreliable!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

Bend it like Caroline

You know what I love the most about social media? Apart from connecting with like minded individuals, you also meet some people who inspire you.

This happened to me when I first started seeing Caroline's pictures on Instagram.  Apart from her amazing yoga skills, what got me about her was the aura that she had.  There was just something about her that made me want to know more about her. Her vibrancy literally jumped off the screen and yelled out that there was something more  about this girl.

In a world of superficiality and sometimes make believe, Caroline's authenticity really drew me.

So, being the inquisitive being that I am, I decided to approach Caroline and asked her to share her story.

Here she is, in all her sunny splendour and in her own words.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? 

I’m originally from Denmark in the Northern Hemisphere but decided to take a leap of faith to further progress in my career and move to Australia when I was 20. Almost 4 years later I’m still here and proud to call this my home. I specialise in Digital Marketing/E-commerce helping both new and well-established business find their feet in the Digital Jungle by creating innovative & sustainable strategies.

On the sideline – where you may know me from – I practise yoga, train and I’m a BIG (mostly Vegan) foodie. It changed my life when I was diagnosed with cancer as 22 year old and have used the past few years battling this disease and kickin’ its butt! I believe the reason I recovered was because of my lifestyle change into eating raw, vegan, nutritious food and practising mindful yoga every single day.

What is your eating philosophy?

I try to eat completely vegan 90% of the time. I believe in eating what my body feels like, and I don’t limit myself by counting calories. As I’ve made the transition into a healthier lifestyle I don’t have many cravings any longer, but if I crave something sweet I’ll normally have one of my vegan, raw treats that are waiting in the fridge to be eaten :)

When and why did you decide to start eating this way?

When I was diagnosed with cancer in mid-April 2012 my life was turned upside-down in more ways than one.

However, it wasn’t until January 2013 I really turned my life around and became a healthy foodie.

The reason? A few months earlier someone broke me inside. So very badly. I’ve never felt pain like that before. Pain in my heart, my body and my mind. Mix this negative, depressed and sad state of mind with chemo, lots of medicine and not a lot of food you have a bomb that’s bound to go off.

When I went into cardiac arrest in hospital in December 2012 (I still thank the Universe every day for bringing me back to life) and waking up in ICU to my loving friends I knew something had to change. If I wanted to live and beat cancer, beat anything that would come at me I needed to change everything. Nutrition, exercise, mind-set and much more.

And so I made my way through the jungle of different approaches to healthy, clean, raw eating, lost 20 kg’s and have finally found my way to become 90% vegan. Beating cancer and being in remission from January 2014 was the best thing to happen to me in my life and to this day I still believe I owe it all to my nutrition, yoga, positive thinking and the amazing souls that fill my life with joy. Your mind is so much stronger than what you think it is!

Have you noticed any difference since changing your eating philosophy (if any)?

Absolutely. The biggest difference that most people can/could see was probably when I dropped 20 kilo’s. My skin started clearing up, I sleep better, my energy is always on a high, I recover quicker when I train, I feel happy and positive about life.

Have you met any barriers to eating this way, if so, how did you overcome them?

I had a lot of people in my life disagreeing on the lifestyle and eating philosophy changes I incorporated. A lot of people thought I did this to lose weight and just to look good – a lot of people thought I took it too far, because I think they didn’t fully understand the extent of my mission. They liked life the way it was & was scared of changes – even if it wasn’t their own life who was going through a change. However I knew I ultimately did this to save myself from being beaten by cancer. And to live life.

What is your favourite dish to make?

I LOVE to make my vegan, raw, sugar-free treats. They’re so tasty and there’s nothing better than seeing the look on people’s faces when they try one and say: “So, you’re saying this is healthy? This is good for me? How is that possible? It’s SO tasty!”

Unfortunately a lot of people are very narrow minded when it comes to living a vegan, healthy lifestyle. They basically think you eat carrot & sellery-sticks and nothing else.

What ingredients are a must-have for your fridge/pantry?

My fridge and pantry are always fully stocked – that also helps me to make the best decisions when it comes to eating healthy and if you’re in a rush. My fridge is always full of fresh veggies, fruits & berries from the markets along with almond & coconut milk, herbs to add spice to my dishes and of course cold water.

In my pantry I always keep stables like canned beans, coconut oil, grains, dried spices, flours, dates and raw cacao.

Juices or smoothies? What do you prefer and what combination?

I prefer smoothies much over juices. I’ve never really been on the ‘juice-bandwagon’, however this doesn’t mean I won’t ever have a juice – I do. But I believe in eating food in their most natural way and this means keeping the ‘meat’ of the fruit instead of just consuming the juices.

My favourite smoothie is a Banana & Blueberry smoothie with Vanilla Vegan Protein from BodyScience. YUM!

Sweet or savoury?

SWEET! I do have a massive sweet tooth, so I’m happy I’ve got a lot of vegan, raw, sugar-free treats up my sleeves ;)

Can you share a fave recipe with us?

Absolutely.One of my favourite treats are my Raw Peanut-butter & Coconut cups. They are vegan, raw, sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and egg-free.

Ingredients:

Almond Base layer:

1 cup almonds

6 tbsp organic virgin coconut oil

1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 tsp rice malt syrup

Pinch of rock salt

Peanut & Coconut Butter layer:

1/3 cup raw peanuts (unsalted)

1 tsp rice malt syrup

1/2 tsp rock salt

6-8 tbsp organic virgin coconut oil

1 tsp desiccated coconut

Chocolate layer:

1/4 cup organic virgin coconut oil

4 tbsp raw cacao powder

1/2 tbsp rice malt syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

8 medjool dates

Pinch of rock salt

Directions:

To make the Almond Base Layer: Combine almonds, coconut oil, vanilla bean, salt & rice malt syrup and blend until you can make a dough that’ll easily stick together when you handle it with the hands. If too dry, add a tiny bit more coconut oil.

Take a muffin-form with place for 6 and add the dough, pressing down firmly. Let it sit in the freezer.

To make the Peanut & Coconut Layer: Combine peanuts, rice malt syrup, salt, coconut oil and desiccated coconut to a blender and keep blending for 4-5 minutes, scraping down the sides until a paste This peanut butter will have a thicker consistency. Add more coconut oil to make it more runny if you wish.

Grab your almond-base layer from the freezer and roll a small ball out of the peanut butter, adding one to each cup of the muffin-form and pressing them down on top of the almond-layer slightly so they squeeze out to a flat ‘pancake’.

To make the Chocolate Later: Combine coconut oil, raw cacao powder, rice malt syrup, vanilla bean, dates and salt in a blender and blend until completely smooth.

Take your muffin-form and spoon over the chocolate on each cup. Put them back in the freezer and let them set for 30 min – 1 hour.

Can you describe your day on a plate?

8am: I will start off my day with either gluten-free oatmeal with fresh fruits & vegan protein from BodyScience or a kale & tofu scramble.

10am: by this time I’ll be starving, so I’ll have a handful of raw nuts and a cup of peppermint or ginger/lemon tea – perhaps with a piece of fruit too.

12.30pm: LUNCH-TIME! Any time I can eat is a good time :) I normally have a big raw salad with lentils or chickpeas for protein and added nuts/seeds for crunch dressed with fresh lemon juice and S&P.

3pm: For a snack I’ll have carrot & red capsicum sticks with some homemade hummus or roasted pumpkin dip and another cup of tea.

7pm: For dinner I normally like to keep it light – I won’t have that many carbs for dinner so it’ll be another load of fresh veggies, normally steamed as I like a ‘hot’ dinner. When it’s winter I like to whip up a little carrot & pumpkin mash to go with my veggies. It’s so delicious and easy!

9pm: I’ll normally have a bit of fruit or one of my vegan, sweet treats to curb my cravings :)

How do you stay fit?

I train 6-7 days a week. I train weights for 1 – 1 1/2 hour every morning + yoga afterwards or in the afternoon. I don’t do much cardio at all – my body doesn’t respond to it anymore after having played handball for 14 years.

If you had limited time and space, what would be a kick-ass work out that you would do?

I would do a combination of my arm & legs workout you can find on my Instagram and mix it up with skipping in between every other set. You’ll be sure to get your heart rate pumping and sweat on your forehead!

Seeing your yoga pictures is such a treat and you have inspired me to take up yoga, thank you for that! But how did you get so bendy?

A lot of people ask me this & I’m still not quite sure what to answer. I always thought I was rather flexible however when I took up yoga 9 months ago I was proven very wrong!

I’m the type of person who doesn’t have a bone of patience within me – if I want something I keep going at it until I have it or can do it. It’s been a lot like that with yoga too. It’s so addictive because it changed me as a person. It changed my mindset and my body. And so when something you love to do and makes you feel so good every single day it’s hard to not keep at it. I strive for progression not perfection though. Give your body time to get used to the poses. You may look back at yesterday and thinking nothing has changed however when you look back at the weeks and months you can see the progression so clearly.

If you could give someone a piece of advice regarding adopting a healthier lifestyle, what would it be?

Life is too short not to nurture and value your body for what it is. You only have one body and it has to last you an entire lifetime. Don’t be scared to adopt a healthier and more positive lifestyle – take one step at a time and make small changes if you’re scared of turning your life upside down instantly. We, as human beings, are creatures of habits – keep at it and soon your lifestyle change won’t be something you think about so much – it’ll be just what it is; your lifestyle.

If you want to see more of Caroline, please head over to her blog www.greenresolutions.com and also find her on FB: www.facebook.com/greenerresolutions and Instagram: carolinehgroth

Keep inspiring Caroline!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

Caramel Slice

It's no secret I'm a sweets kinda gal, so when I got a request for a caramel slice, I jumped at the chance.

With Mother's Day on my mind, I set out to make a sweet little treat my mami would love and one that I would also be happy eating. 

Whilst these are a healthier version than your average caramel slice, they should still be seen as a treat and enjoyed as such.

I find them really rich, so I suggest cutting them up into small squares and keeping them in the freezer, ready to be eaten whenever the urge attacks!

And don't fear, they are gluten free, refined sugar free and raw vegan.  Hooray!

Caramel Slice

Makes 12 3x3cm squares

Ingredients

Base

1/2 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup activated buckinis

1/2 cup dessicated coconut

10 pitted medjool dates

1 tsp of vanilla extract

2 TBS of coconut oil

Caramel

1/2 cup tahini

1/2 cup coconut nectar (or rice bran syrup/maple syrup)

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 tsp of vanilla extract

pinch of Himalayan pink salt

1 TBS of raw mesquite powder*

Chocolate

1/3 cup coconut oil

4 TBS raw cacao powder

4 TBS coconut nectar (or rica bran syrup/maple syrup)

1 TBS of coconut cream

Method

Base

Place all ingredients in the food processor and pulse until everything resembles fine crumbs and sticks together.  Add more dates if needed.

Press mixture into the bottom of a square cake tin that you have lined with baking paper.

Press down on mixture, spreading it evenly.  I use the bottom of a glass to smooth it out.

Place in freezer whilst you make the rest of the components.

Caramel

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend it until it's all super smooth and delicious.

Pour this over your prepared base, and smooth it out with a spatula so that you get even cover.  Place in the freezer whilst you make the chocolate.

*Mesquite powder is a high protein meal that contains good quantities of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc, and is rich in the amino acid lysine as well. Its low GI of 25 helps maintain stable blood sugar levels.

It has a lovely flavour that tastes a bit like caramel which is why I used it here.

Chocolate

Mix all of the ingredients together really well, making sure there are no bubbles.  The coconut oil needs to be liquid for this so if it's hard, just place the coconut oil jar in some boiling water to melt before you add it to the rest of the ingredients.

Once it's all mixed, you need to work quickly as it will start to harden, making it difficult to get an even spread.

Pour the chocolate over the caramel and spread evenly with a spatula.

Place in the freezer to set for about 30 mins or better yet, a couple of hours.

When ready, use a hot knife to slice it into pieces for you to enjoy.

Now was that one of the easiest things you ever made or what?!  

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

Baking wunderkind

From the first time that I stumbled across Zainab and her creations, I was instantly in foodie love.  Apart from her photography skills, this girl can bake!  
Her creations are as delicious as they are beautiful and they inspire me to get my oven mitts out and get to it!

But baked treats aside, I was also intrigued. 
Who is the girl who makes all these elaborate and delightful goodies?
There's was only one way to find out and that was to ask her.
In today's blog post, I interview Zainab, the brains behind the recipes, the eye behind the lens, a true baking wonderkind!

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I'm a 16 year old vegan girl from Sydney, Australia who's in love with baking and photography. I started baking when I was 7-ish and discovered photography soon after I started my food blog (la gallette). I come from a Persian-Iraqi background I can can speak both Persian and Arabic (but not fluently)! I'm your total nerd! Maths is my drug of choice and I'm obsessed with it (weird I know!). I'm quite a shy person but once you get to know me, I'm all sorts of crazy!

What is your eating philosophy?

I believe in eating enjoyable healthy, nutritious foods, feeding your body what it needs but still maintaining a balance. Finding the balance is the key.

When and why did you decide to start eating this way? 

It's actually quite a long story, but I'll try to fast forward it up a bit...

I was never the healthy type. I was overweight when I was about 10 and I decided to go on a diet, the only thing is that I had no idea what I was doing. It was bad, I would eat half an apple a day for a period of 3 months. I was deteriorating, I became nauseous and tired. My body was giving up on me but I lost a total of 25kg. I went from overweight to underweight. I had a hard time with food, I viewed it as the enemy and shortly after I developed a bad relationship with food. I became bulimic and had body-image issues.  Eventually, I recovered and discovered the real meaning of health and healthy eating.

Have you noticed any difference since changing your eating philosophy (if any)?

I've become happier and healthier. Ever since I've opted for a vegan diet, I've noticed a jump in my step!

Have you met any barriers to eating this way, if so, how did you overcome them?

There aren't many barriers but the thing that slowed me down was definitely what others think. Being a vegan, of course caused some negative attention from friends and family but I overcame that.

What is your favourite dish to make?

Ooh, that's hard! But I'm going to have to go with a classic chocolate cake. I can't help myself when it comes to these babes!

What ingredients are a must-have for your fridge/pantry?

I have to have the vegan-baking essentials, like: 
Dates, coconut oil, brown sugar, oats, quinoa, almonds, green tea, bananas, chia seeds, natural peanut butter and a whole lot of fresh fruit and vegetables!

Juices or smoothies? What do you prefer and what combination?

Smoothies, for sure! Banana, pineapple, coconut with a bit of lime zest is my all time favourite. 

Sweet or savoury?

SWEET! Gimme all the sweet stuff in the world!

Can you share a fave recipe with us?

I have way too much favourite recipes, but I’m currently loving these triple coconut drizzle slices, they're really easy to make as well:

Ingredients

Coconut cake:
5 tbsp coconut oil, melted 
1/3 cup coconut palm sugar (or any other natural sugar)
400ml coconut milk
1 cup white spelt flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 tsp vanilla extract

Drizzle:
1 tbsp almond milk
1/2 cup icing sugar
chopped hazelnuts, pistachios and almond

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a square baking tin with grease proof paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until combined and pour into the prepared tin, smoothing the batter all the way out to the sides. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly golden. Cook before icing and sprinkling with chopped nuts of your choice.

If you could give someone new to this lifestyle a piece of advice, what would it be?

Treat your body with love, don't neglect it, feed it with nutritious fuel and most of all, don't give up! You deserve the best.


So there you have it, the gorgeous girl behind the lens and the oven mitts!
Please head over to Zainab's blog, La Gallette, apart from being a feast for the eyes, there's also a ton of delicious recipes that'll keep you busy.  
You can also find Zainab on Instagram: @lagalette 

Thanks Zainab for being so lovely in sharing your time and your recipes, you are a beautiful soul & I can't wait to try more of your yummies!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

*All images provided by Zainab Alasadi and used with her permission

Anzac Biscuits with Homemade Nutella

My husband loves biscuits, and Anzac biscuits are one of his fave all time biscuit.  So I set out to make some vegan friendly Anzac cookies that still tasted good, with the right amount of crunch.

For those of you who are wondering what Anzac is, it's actually a public holiday for us Aussies, to commemorate and remember those who have died in military operations.

The Anzac biscuit was originally called 'soldier's biscuit' and it came about from family who were wanting to send their loved ones supplies that would last without refrigeration, withstand the travel and also pack a nutrient punch.  Enter the Anzac biscuit.

Here's an old recipe that I found and which I've adjusted to make it vegan.

Anzac Biscuits

Makes 16

Ingredients

2 cups of organic wholegrain oats

1 cup of organic spelt flour

2/3 cup organic panela (you could also use caster sugar)

3/4 cup desiccated coconut

1/3 cup golden syrup

125 g of organic coconut oil

1 tsp bicarb soda

2 TBS hot water

Method

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Celcius.  

Place the oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl and mix well to combine.  Place the golden syrup and coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat until melted.  

Combine the bicarb and water together and add to the coconut and golden syrup mixture.  It will bubble, just keep stirring it and then pour it over your oat and flour mixture and mix well to combine.

The mixture will be crumbly and won't stick together completely, don't fret, this is fine!

Place one tablespoon of the mixture onto lined baking trays and flatten to make rounds.  Make sure you leave some room between biscuits for spreading.  

Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.  Take them out and leave to completely cool before you lift them off otherwise they will fall apart.

Be patient, the crunchy biscuit that you end up with will be worth it!

Now you can eat them as is, crumbled over ice cream, or stuffed with some delicious homemade nutella!

Homemade Nutella

Makes approx. 370 mls

Ingredients

150 g of raw hazelnuts

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 TBS raw cacao powder

4 TBS raw coconut nectar (or maple syrup)

1/8 tsp of Himalayan pink salt

1 TBS EV coconut oil

1/2 cup almond milk*

Method

Place the nuts in a food processor and process until they begin to form a paste.  This will take a while, and you will need to scrape down the sides intermittently.  I found that I had to stop and start as the motor was heating up!

Once it's start to form a paste and you can see that the oils are starting to get released, add the coconut oil and continue processing until it starts getting smooth.  Add the rest of the ingredients and process a little bit more, until it's all creamy and spreadable.  You can stop here or do what I did which is added it all to my vitamix and blended it on high for about 30 seconds.
This gives it a really smooth and creamy texture, more than what I got when I did it with just the food processor alone.

Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes before you start spreading.

The colour of the nutella will darken if left exposed to the light/air.

I keep mine in a glass container with a tight fitting lid.

*I used store bought almond milk because it has a milder flavour than homemade as I didn't want the delicate hazelnut flavour to be over powered but choice is yours.

Hope you enjoy the recipe and please let me know if you try it.

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

waste not

So as promised, here is a recipe for almond milk.  It's so ridiculously easy that I'm looking forward to making lots of other nut milks.

My first advice is to buy a nut milk bag, they are not very expensive and you should get a lot of use out of it.  I have tried using a clean dish towel before but it does let a lot of the pulp in, making your nut milk thicker, and that's ok if that's what you like.

The following recipe is for basic unsweetened almond milk.

Almond milk
makes 2 cups

Ingredients
1 cup raw almonds
2 cups of water

Method 
Soak the raw almonds in lots of water for 48 hours.
Once soaked, rinse well and drain.
Place almonds in a powerful blender with 2 cups of clean water (use filtered if possible).
Blend until mixture is super smooth.
Pour mixture into nut milk bag, making sure you have a bowl to catch the nut milk!
Squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can.
Pour prepared milk into a glass bottle with tight fitting lid, it should keep in the fridge for 2 days.

Now at this point, prior to bottling, you can add your flavours.

So normally I would add some organic vanilla extract and a couple of drops of stevia or a date to give it a tiny bit of sweetness.

Was that the easiest thing ever or what?
You can do that to every nut you desire.

So, with delicious fresh almond milk in tow, I decided to make a yummy turmeric almond milk.

Why do I love turmeric so much?
Simple really, turmeric is an overall healing spice.  Apart from being a powerful anti-inflammatory, it also has anti-tumour and anti-microbial properties.  
It's the bright yellow pigment, curcumin, that makes turmeric the pharmacological powerhouse that it is.

Here's what you need:

Tumeric Almond Milk
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients
Prepared almond milk (as above)
2 pitted medjool dates
1 TBS raw coconut nectar
1 1/2 tsp of ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp of cardamon
freshly cracked pepper*

Method
Blend all ingredients together until smooth.
*adding the black pepper means that piperin, the active ingredient in black pepper, increases turmeric absorption, making it up to 2000x more powerful.  Hand me the grinder!!

Whilst you can have the turmeric almond milk cold, it also makes a delicious and nourishing drink when warm.  
To keep it raw, I just blended mine again in the vitamix until it warmed up a bit.  

So I bet you're wondering about the almond pulp right?  No, don't throw it in the bin!  There's many things that you can do with almond pulp, here's one of my favourite ways with almond pulp.

Almond Hummus
Makes about 500 mls

Ingredients
Left over almond pulp
1 large zucchini
small handful of baby spinach
1 garlic clove
1 tsp of ground cumin
juice of half a lemon
1/4 cup of water
Himalayan pink salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method
Blend all ingredients together in a powerful blender, you will need to scrape the sides down to make sure you get a smooth consistency as it's quite thick.  Don't be tempted to add more water, you just need to push the ingredients down with the blender tool to get all the ingredients blended up.
Store in a glass container with a tight fitting lid.  Should keep for about 3 days.

The reason I love this hummus so much is because it still has that delicious smooth consistency and taste but is completely raw.  I've tried making raw hummus before using sprouted chickpeas, but it didn't taste as good as this!

I also use the hummus as a salad dressing, it's the bomb!

Peas, love and mungbeans,

xxb