Cane sugar free – Page 2 – Bit of the Good Stuff

Chocolate Peppermint Cream Bars. Raw. Dairy-Free. Gluten-Free. Vegan.

Published on June 12, 2015 by Sharon14 Comments

If you’re a long-time reader of my blog, you may remember my sad attempt to grow veggies a few years back. Everything I planted quickly got devoured by the gazillion veggie-loving critters that live in our garden. Some plants literally disappeared overnight :/

I’ve long since abandoned the veggie patch dream and my latest strategy is to leave the patch in a semi wild state and observe what will happily grow there with no intervention on my part. So far, amongst the multitude of wild flowers and “weeds”, I have three edible crops that are flourishing – Golden Raspberries, Lemon Balm and Chocolate Mint!

Continue reading “Chocolate Peppermint Cream Bars. Raw. Dairy-Free. Gluten-Free. Vegan.” →

Orange Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Dairy Free. Vegan.

Published on April 24, 2015 by Sharon13 Comments

Each month, I eagerly anticipate the delivery of The Vegan Kind subscription box. I love the diversity of products included in the boxes. There’s usually a sweet treat (this month we were spoilt with two high quality chocolate treats), a savoury snack, as well as a fab new vegan beauty, toiletry or cleaning product.

In addition to these goodies, I always get very excited when I see ingredients in a box. My brain immediately starts whizzing with new recipe ideas and I can’t wait to get in the kitchen and start creating.

This month we received a package of Coconom ginger coconut sugar. I’ve mentioned in previous posts how much I love coconut sugar and though I use it all the time, I’d never tried this particular sugar before. It’s infused with real ginger and tastes amazing! My family are huge ginger fans so this product was spot on for us.

As soon as I spied the sugar, a recipe sprung to mind that I knew it would be perfect for – Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I often make these cookies as they’re a family favourite, but this week I decided to add an extra dimension of flavour by adding in some orange zest. Not only did they taste delicious, but they smelt wonderful too. As they baked, the kitchen was filled with the most beautiful orange aroma.

These cookies got a big thumbs up from the family and my Tuesday night study class. I’ve already baked four batches this week and I’ve still got plenty of ginger coconut sugar left for more recipe experimenting. Next up, I’ve got my eye on The Vegan Cookie Fairy’s Banana Ginger Butterscotch Muffin recipe (featured on the TVK recipe card). They sound really yummy!

[print_this]

Makes 9-10 cookies
Hands on time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 12 minutes
Ready in: 35 minutes

Ingredients
45ml / 3 TBSP soya (or almond) milk
35ml / 3 TBSP organic rapeseed (canola) oil (or other neutral-flavoured oil)
40g / ¼ cup coconut sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ TBSP zest from an organic/unwaxed orange
47g / 1/3 cup fine wholemeal (wholewheat) or chapatti flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
pinch of ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
70g / ¾ cup rolled oats
45g / ¼ cup raisins

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) / 350F. Line a large baking sheet with non stick baking paper.

Using a strong fork, whisk together the milk, oil and sugar until fully combined. Whisk in the vanilla extract and orange zest, then set to one side.

Place the flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined. Sift the flour into the wet ingredient bowl. Stir in the oats, and lastly the raisins.

Scoop slightly rounded tablespoons of dough and spread them out on the prepared baking sheet. Press the dough balls into cookie shape (these cookies don’t spread much). Bake for 12 minutes, or until lightly golden in colour. Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes (they firm up as they cool) then transfer to a wire rack.

These cookies will keep for about a week stored in an airtight container. They also freeze really well. I often make a double batch and freeze half for lunchboxes and after school snacks.

[/print_this]

Products used in this recipe
Tesco Organic Rapeseed Oil, Organic Oranges, Chapatti Flour
Coconom Coconut Sugar
Steenburgs Organic Fairtrade Vanilla Extract
Mornflake Superfast Oats
Crazy Jack Organic Raisins

Gluten-Free Trial
So far, I’ve had one attempt at a gluten-free version of this cookie. I subbed the wheat flour with oat flour and added 1/2 TBSP ground flaxseed to the wet ingredients. Sadly I found them a bit too dry and ‘claggy’, so I’ll need to try a different GF flour. Lil’ L and M didn’t mind them so much though. They scoffed the lot.

Did you get this month’s TVK box? If so, I’d love to hear what you thought of it. What was your favourite product? Impossible for me to choose a favourite this month as I loved it all!

Chocolate-Coated ‘Strawberry Coconut Ice’ (Vegan / Dairy-free)

Published on February 13, 2015 by Sharon11 Comments

When I was young, I used to love the tins of Quality Street that we shared as a ‘treat’ at Christmas. My eyes lit up every time I opened the lid and saw all those shiny, bright wrappings. Usually people have a Quality Street ‘favourite’ but not me… I loved all of them bar one… and that was the hard toffee penny in the gold wrapper. In fact, I’m wondering whether anyone actually likes those toffees. In my house, they were always the last ones left in the tin.

[Source]

My taste buds have changed a lot since I was a kid and now, even the thought of eating a Quality Street chocolate makes me feel queasy. I just don’t like the taste of cane sugar anymore, nor the nauseating feeling it leaves me with for hours after I’ve eaten it. However, as you’ll have seen on my blog, I do still love chocolates A LOT. It’s just that these days, I prefer to make my own and fill them with ingredients that make me (and everyone else) feel great.

This week I’ve been having fun creating a new chocolate to share with friends and family this weekend. I daren’t admit how many I’ve eaten this week but it’s well into double figures. Good thing I’m running a lot at the moment!

This new chocolate is a healthy hybrid of two of my favourite Quality Street chocs – the Strawberry Delight and Coconut Eclair. Its flavour and texture is not dissimilar to ‘coconut ice’ (or a strawberry flavoured bounty!) but it tastes fresh and ‘real’ rather than sugary and processed. It’s really yummy!

It’s super easy to make too! It’s simply a case of whizzing coconut and strawberries together in a food processor, popping them in the freezer to firm up, then coating in dark chocolate. I like to make my own raw chocolate, but you could easily melt down a bar of chocolate or some choc chips if you prefer.

At Christmas time, I was really lucky to win a Twitter giveaway hosted by Sevenhills Organics. The prize was £250 worth of superfoods! In my amazing haul, was some beautiful cacao powder and cacao butter, which I used to make these chocs.

I’ve never seen cacao butter in buttons before. As well as being super cute, they’re much easier to use than the solid blocks that I normally buy. You simply pop them straight in the double boiler – no messing about with chopping or grating. I’ll definitely be buying these again!

The sweetener I used for these chocolates was Clarks Carob Fruit Syrup. If you’ve read my other raw choc posts, you’ll know that I love the subtle flavour of carob fruit syrups in my chocs. I’ve used Sweet Freedom before and the Clarks Carob Fruit Syrup is similar in taste, though much lighter and thinner in texture. It’s a fairly new product and currently only available from Ocado (I was sent some samples to trial). If you can’t get hold of carob fruit syrup, or you wish to make the chocolates raw, then organic agave nectar is a good substitute.

[print_this]

Makes about 20 chocolates (freezable)
Hands on time: 30 minutes Freezing time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ready in: 2 hours

Ingredients

Strawberry ‘Coconut Ice’
100g / 3½ oz / 1 cup desiccated coconut
3 TBSP virgin coconut oil, melted
2½ TBSP carob fruit syrup (or organic agave nectar)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
37g / 1¼ oz / ¼ cup fresh or frozen strawberry slices

Raw Chocolate
55g / 2 oz / ½ cup & 2 TBSP cacao powder
60g / 2 oz / ½ cup cacao butter (finely chopped or grated if in a solid block)
2½ – 3 TBSP carob fruit syrup (or organic agave nectar)

Method
Whizz the desiccated coconut in a food processor for a few seconds to make it finer. Add the remaining ingredients and process until completely combined and it starts to stick together (this will take a couple of minutes). Stop now and then to scrape down the bowl.

Transfer the mixture to a sheet of parchment paper and shape into a rectangle about 1cm / ½ inch thick. (I aim for a rectangle 18cm x 9cm (7 x 3½ inches) so it’s easy to divide into equal pieces). If your mixture is too firm to smooth and level by hand, place another sheet of paper on top and use a rolling pin. Freeze for at least an hour.

To make the chocolate, prepare a double boiler by placing a small amount of water in a saucepan and a heat-proof bowl on top. Gently heat the water. Place the cacao butter in the bowl and leave it to melt. Once melted, whisk in the cacao powder followed by the syrup. Taste test and add more sweetener, if needed.

Remove the ‘coconut ice’ from the freezer and slice into squares. Drop one square into the chocolate bowl and quickly coat it in chocolate (I use two teaspoons for this). Shake off the excess, then place it back on the parchment paper. Repeat until all the pieces are coated in chocolate. Place in the fridge or freezer until set. They will keep for up to five days in the fridge or for weeks in the freezer stored in an airtight container. Remove from the freezer and leave for a couple of minutes to defrost before eating.

[/print_this]

Products used in this recipe (UK stockists)
East End Desiccated Coconut
Essential Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
Clarks Carob Fruit Syrup (Sweet Freedom and Organic Agave Nectar will work too)
Steenburgs Organic Fairtrade Vanilla Extract
Sevenhills Organic Cacao Powder
Sevenhills Organic Cacao Butter
Magimix Food Processor

Did you have a favourite Quality Street as a kid? If so, let me know as I’d love to try my hand at recreating it at home! 😀

Easy Vegan Waffles & VonShef Waffle Maker UK Giveaway

Published on January 5, 2015 by Sharon338 Comments

I have always loved waffles. There’s something about those cute indented squares that makes them such a pleasure to eat. I especially love them this time of year, warm straight from the waffle maker or toaster. They make such a yummy breakfast or mid-afternoon snack.

Lil’ L shares my love of waffles and can easily get through a dozen a week. He says there are two Autumn/Winter foods that he’ll never get sick of and that’s apple crumble and waffles!

These vegan waffles are so easy to make! It’s simply a case of blending up the ingredients (I use my Froothie for this job), scooping the batter into the waffle maker and waiting 3-4 minutes. And then they’re ready to eat!

We use a slightly thicker version of our breakfast pancake batter for these waffles. To replace the egg, we use a banana or two small-medium organic apples. On balance, I prefer the texture of the waffles made with banana as it’s slightly firmer and more robust. The riper the banana, the stronger the flavour will be in the waffles. For the mildest flavour, use ripe yellow bananas rather than brown ones.

The batter also includes wholegrain flour and oats for protein and slow release energy. The waffles happen to be fat free and cane sugar free too. This means they’re scrumptious and healthy, so perfect for treating the kids (and yourself!) Lots of Lil’ L’s friends have tried these waffles and they’ve all given them a big thumbs up.

While his friends tend to prefer them with a simple drizzle of maple syrup, Lil’ L loves to fill his squares with little pieces of chopped walnuts or pecans, for some crunch…

… while I love to top mine with raspberries and chopped almonds ♥

The waffles in the photo below were made using GF flour. I was so delighted to find that the recipe works gluten-free too as it means all our GF friends can tuck in too 😀

We make the waffles small enough so that they’re easy to pick up, fit in the toaster, and so you can scoff two or three at a time (‘cause one waffle is never enough 😉 ). We often make them as an afterschool snack, then leftovers get stored in the fridge for breakfast the next day. A quick warm through in the toaster and they’re ready to be served.

Here’s how we make our basic vegan waffle…

[print_this]

Makes around 10 waffles
Hands on time: 20 minutes Ready in: 20 minutes

Waffle batter
1 ripe banana, sliced
180ml / 6 fl oz / ¾ cup soya milk
140g / 5 oz / 1 cup wholemeal (wholewheat) flour (or use a GF flour mix if needed e.g. Doves GF Brown Bread Flour)
50g / 1¾ oz / ½ cup rolled oats (use certified GF, if needed)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
2 TBSP maple syrup

1 tsp oil or coconut butter, for greasing

Suggestion toppings
Maple syrup
Chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds
Fresh or frozen berries

Method
Place the milk and banana in a high speed blender and blend until smooth (alternatively you can use a bowl and hand blender). Add all the remaining batter ingredients and blend to combine. The batter should be thick, but pourable. Add a touch more milk if needed, to attain the desired consistency. (If you’re using GF flour, you will need around 4 tablespoons of extra liquid). Pour the batter into a bowl and leave to rest for a few minutes (this can happen while the waffle maker heats up).

When the waffle maker is hot, brush with oil or coconut butter using a silicone brush. Drop two tablespoons of batter into each of the four waffle quads. Close the lid and leave to cook for 3-4 minutes before checking (with the VonShef Waffle Maker, I leave the waffles until the green light goes out). If the waffles are golden brown, they are ready. Transfer them to a wire cooling rack while you prepare the remaining waffles.

While the waffles are cooking, prepare your toppings.

Serve warm with a drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkling of your favourite nuts and berries.

Any leftover waffles can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Heat them through in the toaster before serving.

Products used in this recipe (UK Stockists)
Tesco Chapatti Flour, Doves Spelt Flour or Doves Farm Gluten Free Brown Bread Flour
Mornflake Superfast Oats, available from Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, The Co-operative
Clarks Original Maple Syrup, available from most major UK supermarkets

[/print_this]

Forks are optional 😉

We purchased our waffle maker last October while it was on sale, and we’ve been really happy with it. It’s easy to use and, even with all our batter experimenting, we’ve yet to have a single waffle fail (which is pretty incredible!) The machine’s simple to clean too… while it’s still warm (but not scorching hot) I just wipe it over with a piece of kitchen towel.

While I’ve seen the waffle maker selling at a range of prices these past couple of months (the RRP is £64.99) you can get some amazing offers if you keep a watch out. It’s currently selling for £24.99 on Amazon and, at this price, you can’t really go wrong. We use ours 3-4 times a week and have made hundreds of waffles, so we’ve definitely had our money’s worth.

Giveaway Time!

I’m not sure how many of my readers have waffle makers, and it seemed a bit unfair to share a waffle recipe without giving you the opportunity to make some yourself, so I contacted Designer Habitat and they have kindly offered to give away a VonShef Quad Waffle Maker to one of my lovely readers ♥

To be in with a chance of winning, simply leave me a comment under this blog post answering the question featured in the Rafflecopter below. Do make sure you tick the box in the Rafflecopter to register that you have done so. There are a number of additional ways you can enter in order to increase your chances of winning. You will find these listed in the Rafflecopter. All entries will be verified prior to the winner being selected.

This giveaway is open to UK residents aged 18 and over (sorry international readers)

The closing date is Friday 16th January 2014 at midnight GMT. The winner will be selected at random and notified by email. The winner will have 7 days to respond. If they fail to do so, another winner will be selected at random.

New to Rafflecopter? It’s pretty easy! Simply click on ‘Use Your Email’ and enter a name and your email address (rest assured it won’t be published anywhere). You can also log in using your Facebook account, if you wish. A quick demo of how to use Rafflecopter can be accessed here.

* If you experience any technical problems when trying to enter the Rafflecopter, let me know in the comments section below and I’ll submit your entry for you *

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone! xx

Orange Spiced Hot Chocolate (Dairy-free / Vegan)

Published on December 24, 2014 by Sharon5 Comments

For my last recipe of the year, I thought I’d share one of our favourite Winter drinks – Orange Spiced Hot Chocolate. It’s really easy to make and tastes amazing!

I love the chocolate and orange flavour combo, especially this time of year ♥
How about you?

You can buy ready-made orange flavoured hot chocolate blends, but I find they often contain a lot of cane sugar. I don’t tolerate cane sugar well these days (especially in drinks) and just one cup of the shop-bought blends can leave me feeling queasy for a good hour or so, which is no fun at all :/ My sweeteners of choice for this drink are coconut sugar or maple syrup. Both add a delicious caramel-like sweetness to the drink.

This winter, my preferred milk for this drink has been Oatly. Just a few seconds of whisking produces the most amazing froth! I buy the long life ‘Ambient’ cartons that are fortified with calcium, riboflavin, D2 and B12 (the one in the blue carton). The Oatly milks contain very low levels of gluten so, if you’re super sensitive to gluten, it would be best to use another milk such as soya, almond, rice or coconut drinking milk. I’ve used all of them, and they all work well in this drink. It’s just that some are thinner, and some froth better. All taste good though!

[print_this]

Makes 1

Hands-on time: 5 minutes Ready in: 5 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup non dairy milk
½ TBSP cocoa powder
½ TBSP coconut sugar or maple syrup
¼ tsp pure orange extract
Cinnamon stick

Method
Give the carton of milk a really good shake, then pour a cup’s worth into a small pan. Gently heat through. When warm, whisk in the cocoa powder using a balloon whisk. When fully incorporated, whisk in the sweetener and orange extract. Taste test, and add more sweetener or orange extract, to taste. Pour into a cup and serve with a cinnamon stick.

Products used in this recipe
Oatly Enriched Oat Drink
Green & Blacks Organic Cocoa
Biona Organic Coconut Sugar or Clarks Original Maple syrup
Star Kay White Pure Orange Extract (bought from Lakeland)

[/print_this]

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone ♥
I look forward to catching up with you in 2015!

Chocolate Orange Chia Pudding

Published on November 24, 2014 by Sharon19 Comments

I first shared a recipe for chocolate orange chia pudding back in February 2012 and, to this day, it remains one of my family’s favourite desserts ♥ It’s such a simple pudding to make and, since I originally posted the recipe, I’ve refined the method so that it’s even quicker. Honestly, this recipe could not be more easy! The original photo I took doesn’t do this pudding justice, so I thought it was time for a re-post with the updated recipe and some shiny new photos.

Since that original post, chia seeds have become much more popular here in the UK. You can buy them in most health food shops, and even supermarkets have started stocking them. They’re also widely available (and often much cheaper) from online stores. I find they can vary a lot in price, so I always shop around for the best deal.

Since I use them daily in smoothies and puddings, lately I’ve been buying the Sevenhills 1kg bags as they work out much better value. You can buy them in a range of quantities though, so it’s probably a good idea to start with a smaller bag if you’re trying them for the first time (Holland & Barrett are currently selling a 100g bag for £2.49).

So why do I love chia seeds so much?

Well, there are two main reasons. The first is their amazing nutritional profile. Chia seeds are very high in dietary fibre, a good source of ‘complete’ protein, and rich in omega 3 essential fatty acids. They’re also hydrophilic and can absorb around 10 times their weight in water, thus helping to keep us nicely hydrated. Their fibre, fat and protein content, along with these hydrophilic abilities, means that the seeds are a great source of slow release energy, they help to balance blood sugar levels, and they keep us feeling full up for hours. Adding a spoonful to smoothies is a great way to keep hunger pangs at bay.

Chia seeds contain a range of trace minerals, and are especially rich in manganese, phosphorus and calcium, which are all important for good bone health. A 28g / 1 oz serving provides 30% of the manganese RDA, 27% of phosphorus, and 18% of the calcium RDA. The seeds also contain a multitude of antioxidants, including the flavonoid quercetin, which has anti-inflammatory and antihistamine properties.

The second reason I love chia so much is that they make the most incredible chocolate puddings! Once blended with some cacao or cocoa powder and a little liquid, they transform into a delicious, silky smooth pudding that will easily rival any shop-bought chocolate dessert. And unlike the shop-bought varieties that tend to be laden with sugar and little nutritional value, these chia puddings are refined sugar free and packed with nutrition.

I used to soak the chia seeds in liquid for an hour or so until they’d transformed into a gel-like substance before blending them up, but these days I literally throw all the ingredients straight in the blender. High speed blenders are best for this job as they’ll blend the seeds smooth in a matter of seconds. Since I’ve had the Froothie, making chia puddings has been a breeze.

Lil’ L absolutely loves these puddings and sees them as a real treat. It’s great to be able to treat him to something that’s so nutritionally packed and full of healthy goodness.

[print_this]

Serves 4
Hands-on time: 10 minutes Ready in: 10 minutes

Ingredients
80ml / ⅓ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (1-2 juicy oranges)
300ml / 1¼ cups non dairy milk
64g / 6 TBSP chia seeds
30g / 4 TBSP cacao powder (or regular cocoa powder)
4 soft pitted dates (e.g. Medjool)
½ tsp orange extract
Maple syrup (or agave syrup), to taste

Suggested garnish
Dark chocolate, finely chopped or grated
Orange zest

Method
Place the orange juice and milk in a powerful high speed blender, followed by the remaining ingredients (I use my Froothie 9400). Give them a stir until they are coated in liquid, then blend until silky smooth. Stop now and then to scrape down the sides. Taste test and add a touch more orange extract or sweetener, if desired.

Pour into small ramekins or cups, sprinkle on the garnish and chill until ready to serve. It will keep for up to five days in the refrigerator.

[/print_this]

Have you tried chia puddings before? If so, what’s your favourite flavour combo? If you’ve posted any recipes or pics, please do share the links below x

SaveSave