Sweet Potato Brownie

Recipe adapted from I Quit Sugar

Makes 16 slices

Ingredients

oil for greasing
3 tablespoons coconut flour
2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
¼ teaspoon gluten free baking powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of sea salt
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
50g dark chocolate, melted & cooled
1 cup sweet potato puree, cooled
3 eggs, whisked
¼ cup coconut oil
⅓ cup rice malt syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Grease a 20x20cm baking tin and line with baking paper
3. In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl add the wet ingredients, including sweet potato puree and whisk
4. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well. Pour into lined tin and spread evenly
5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean
6. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares

Notes & Tips

To make sweet potato puree: cut sweet potato into evenly sized chunks. Place into a steamer for 20 minutes or until they become really soft. Add to food processor and puree until smooth.

Dairy free option- use brown rice protein powder

Gordan Ramsay's Broccoli Soup

This is by the far the most easiest soup I've ever made! Yummy and super healthy- it's also a great way to get some greens into your diet

Ingredients

2 medium broccoli
1.5L water
1 tablespoon salt
olive oil

Method

1. Bring water to a boil in a large sauce pan. Add salt. Add broccoli and boil rapidly for 4 minutes. Your broccoli is ready when you can piece it with little or no effort.
2. Remove broccoli using a slotted spoon and put into a blender. Pour the broccoli water to fill the blender half way. Add a pinch (or more) of salt. Use several pulses on your blender to break the broccoli up and then puree for several seconds.
3. Pour soup into a bowl. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and serve at once!

Gluten Free Banana Bread

I had some leftover ripe bananas sitting in my fruit bowl today. Not wanting them to go to waste nor put them in the freezer since I often forget about the things I put in there, I decided to make banana bread. Since I'm trying to cut out wheat and refined sugars from my diet at the moment, I made a gluten-free version. This banana bread is much lighter in texture and healthier to eat. It's also very simple to make and very tasty. Making this at the start of the week means I now have something healthy to snack on for morning or afternoon tea. Especially since I still enjoy eating desserts :)

Recipe adapted from Teresa Cutter's The 80/20 Diet recipe book

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups mashed ripe banana (about 2 large bananas)
3 eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons rice malt syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup coconut oil
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups almond meal
2 teaspoons chia seeds
chopped walnuts, to decorate (optional)
1 extra banana, sliced, to decorate (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease base and sides of a 7cm deep, 11cm x 21cm (base) loaf pan. Line with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at both long ends. 
2. Combine the mashed banana, eggs, rice malt syrup, vanilla extract, coconut oil, cinnamon, baking soda and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the almond meal and chia seeds. Mix well until combined. 
4. Pour batter into loaf pan. Decorate the top of banana bread with sliced banana or a handful of chopped walnuts. 
5. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Lift onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 10 even slices.

Notes & Tips

• Cover the top of the cake with foil if over-browning
• Keeps in the fridge covered for up to one week

Chocolate Protein Balls

I first came across chocolate protein balls when I was watching the reality tv show Recipe to Riches. In this show, everyday home cooks have the opportunity to take their home recipe and turn it into a product to be sold at Woolworths supermarkets. Each week, there are different food categories and contestants battle it out to be the final winner in that category. Viewers can then buy the winning contestant's product, straight from the supermarket shelf the day after the episode goes to air! The more products that are sold, the greater chance the contestant has of seeing their product on the supermarket shelf permanently and win the competition/tv series. I absolutely love watching this show. It's very inspiring, interactive and entertaining. Someday, I wish I can create something worthwhile to enter!

In season 2, I think on the third week, they had a health food category and the product that won was called "Choc Bombs". Basically these were chocolate protein balls made from cashews, dates, chia seeds, cacao, protein powder and coconut oil. I bought this product and absolutely loved it. They were a great snack to eat on my way home from work when I would feel peckish and since they were individually packaged, I was able to conveniently keep them in my handbag. Since purchasing this product, I've wanted to try making my own protein balls. I found a few recipes online and I tried the one from Women's Health magazine today since it had the ingredients most similar to the Choc Bombs. The taste was pretty spot on! Next time I make this recipe, I'll try adding the chia seeds and coconut oil.

Makes 16 balls

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews

2 tablespoons rice malt syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 medjool dates, pitted

2 tablespoons cacao powder

½ cup desiccated coconut, for coating

Method

Place cashews into a mini food processor and blend until smooth

Place remaining ingredients (except the desiccated coconut) and mix until well combined

Roll a tablespoon of the mixture into a ball

Roll ball into dessiccated coconut until evenly coated

Place ball on a plate lined with baking paper

Place in the fridge to set

Notes & Tips


You can cheat and buy cashew butter rather than making your own-  I wasn't able to find any in my health food store though.

I found rice malt syrup in the health food section of Coles supermarket. If you can't find this product, substitute with honey instead and adjust the sweetness to your taste. 

Easy Beans

Budget friendly, healthy and tasty baked bean dish that is easy to make as a mid-week meal.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
250ml (1 cup) passata (tomato pasta sauce)
125ml (½ cup) water
1 tbs golden syrup
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
400g can cannellini beans, drained
2 tbs chopped fresh continental parsley

Method

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft. Add the carrot and cook for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add passata, water, golden syrup, paprika and cayenne pepper to the pan and stir until well combined. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens.
3. Add cannellini beans. Turn off the heat and allow the residual heat to cook the beans. Stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on buttered toast or with garlic bread.