Orange-Chocolate Cake with Beets, Honey, Chia Seeds & Spelt Flour

If you love the beets as much as I do that this recipe is definitely for you. On my blog I have about twenty different recipes with beets, but there is nothing like this dessert. Chocolate and beets may sound to be a strange combination, but in fact they go very well together. This cake has an interesting texture and taste, chia seeds give it a crunch and beets chunks feel like small pieces of fruit, very sweet and colorful. Coconut oil adds an amazing aroma to this unique dessert. Try it and see for yourself, have a little culinary adventure in your kitchen. Don't forget to put a kettle on, while baking a cake-))

Gingery Pumpkin-Apple Soup with Roasted Carrots (Dairy-Free, Vegan)

With its sweet, earthy taste, butternut squash soup with apples and ginger is my favorite for the month of October. I like to play with spices when I am cooking pumpkin soup, but you can use your favorite seasonings and herbs. The roasted carrot chips are a perfect addition to this soup.

Apple & Pumpkin Strudel Parcels with Fall Spices & Coconut Oil (No sugar)

When fall comes, what makes us want to bake so much? I wonder...

Is it the changing colors on trees, or the cool evenings, or the orange pumpkins sticking out from the ground? Or the kids coming home from school and you like to surprise them with aromatic sweets? Or maybe everything together: the new beautiful season is born and you like to bring it into your home - mixing spices, honey and chocolate. The magic of the fall makes the feeling at home even dearer.

Whole Grain Amaranth Cookies with Pumpkin Jam

Amaranth Cookies with Pumpkin Jam are a nice change for the cookie jar. These spicy autumn amber beads are decorated with pumpkin jam that is delicious!

Oat Breakfast Cakes with Three Different Seeds, Cashew Nuts & Dried Berries

These nutty, golden oat breakfast cakes are filling, not too sweet and very healthy. I just love them with my coffee in the morning. Experiment with whatever seeds, nuts and dried berries you have on your shelf.

Sesame Oat Square Bars with Pear Compote

Some things always turn out well, including these wonderful little desserts - Sesame Oat Square Bars with Pear Compote. This healthy version uses the coconut oil and no eggs. Excellent treats/snacks for any time of day. Enjoy and have a good weekend!

Banana Coconut Muffins with Dried Blueberries and Hemp Seeds

Last Friday after a long walk in the park, I arrived home to a lovely package on my porch. The package was to me from Bob's Red Mill-)) I received the coconut flour, dried blueberries and hemp seeds. I started thinking of recipes immediately. What to make? Cookies, pancakes, cake… I decided to bake banana muffins using all three ingredients. The following muffin recipe is both delicious and easy to make and are ideal to be served as breakfast or healthy snack. Thank you very much, I am very pleased with the quality of the products!

Coconut Flour is a delicious, healthy alternative to wheat and other grain flours. It is very high in fiber, low in digestible carbohydrates, a good source of protein and gluten free. It lends baked goods an incomparably rich texture and a unique, natural sweetness.

Dried Blueberries have no sugar or additives of any kind, just the wonderful concentrated natural flavor of blueberries. They're simply sweet and plump blueberries that are great for snacking or right out of the bag. They are a great addition to muffins, pancakes, waffles, quick breads, cereal, snacks, or cookies.

Hulled Hemp Seeds is high in Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids and an excellent source of protein- containing all of the essential amino acids.


Makes 6 regular sized muffins.

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs room temperature (I used organic, free-range eggs)
• 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil (or melted butter)
• 2 mashed ripe bananas
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup organic coconut flour (from Bob's Red Mill)
• 2 Tbsp almond meal
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup dried blueberries (all natural from Bob's Red Mill)
• 1 Tbsp hulled hemp seeds (from Bob's Red Mill)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Thoroughly grease a 6 cup muffin tin with coconut oil or line with paper muffin liners.
Melt coconut oil. Make sure the other ingredients are at room temperature. Wisk the eggs, bananas, coconut oil, honey and lemon extract together. Add the coconut flour, almond flour, baking powder, and whisk together until smooth.



Fold in dried blueberries. Pour into muffin cups. Sprinkle with hemp seeds.

Bake at 375° F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean. Pop muffins onto a wire rack to cool, then store in a container and refrigerate. Flavor is best one day after baking.

Healthy Banana-Carrot Cake with Blackberries (no sugar, no butter)

Leonie de Sounin says of the carrot in her delightful book Magic in Herbs:

"So delicate is this vegetable that it is predestined by nature just to be taken from its cool ground and eaten right on the spot, crisp and fresh. Yet if you take it home and cook it, then please don't scrape this lovable rosy thing of charm. Just place it in a little boiling water. After a while the skin comes off easily and the carrot underneath looks just as alluring as in its original state."



Ingredients:

• 2 banana, large and ripe

• 3 eggs

• 3/4 cup almond milk

• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup oats
 
• a pinch of salt
 
• a pinch of saffron

• 2 carrots, shredded

• 1 cup walnuts, ground
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds (optional)
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil + more for the tartlets
• roasted almonds for serving
• blackberries with syrup for serving
• apricot jam for top (optional)

Direction:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Mash the bananas with a fork, add the eggs and coconut oil and whisk together. Add almond milk, brown rice flour, oats, chia seeds, vanilla, salt and saffron and stir around. Shred the carrots and ground the walnuts, add to the mixture and stir around.



Grease the inside of 2 large 8-inch tartlet tins with coconut oil. Pour the batter into the tins and bake for about 30 minutes. Serve the cakes while they are warm, together with blackberries  and roaster almonds.

Tip: If you like the cake to be a little sweeter, brush the top of the cake with a warm apricot jam.



Happy Spring!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Flax, Chia and Hemp Seeds - It can't be better than this

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Flax, Chia and Hemp Seeds - It can't be better than this. These are protein-packing cookies, with just enough sweet, and wonderful combination of healthy seeds.
Adapted from Namely Marly

 

Ingredients:

• ½ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup coconut oil
• 1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 Tbsp corn starch
• 3 Tbsp soy milk or water, cold
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds
• 1 Tbsp hemp seeds (hemp Seeds can be purchased at most health food stores, I bought my at Vitacost)
• 1 Tbsp flax seeds
• 1 cup chocolate chips, dairy-free

Tip: Make these cookies gluten-free by using 1 cup brown rice flour and 1/2 cup buckwheat flour.

Fact: Long recognized as an excellent source of nutrition and energy, hemp foods have been used by humans for over 12,000 years all around the world, and continue to be one of the top-rated superfoods.

Directions:

Heat your oven to 350F.

 

In a large bowl combine the peanut butter, coconut oil, sugar, and vanilla.

 

In a separate small bowl combine the ground flax seed, corn starch, and soy milk (or water). The corn starch will want to get kind of clumpy. Stir it up a bit to keep that from happening. Then add the vinegar, let it sit for just a second or two and pour it into the peanut butter mixture. Stir well.

 

In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients: flour, oatmeal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir until combined. Add the chia, hemp, and give the dry ingredients another little stir.

 

 

Now stir together the dry and the wet ingredients. If the mixture seems a little bit too dry, feel free to add another tablespoon of soy milk (or water). Then add the chocolate chips and stir everything one last time.

 

Make 1 – 1 1/2 inch balls and placed them and inch or so apart on a baking pan. Bake anywhere from 10 – 12 minutes depending on your desired crunchiness.

 

Note: The cookies come out of the oven on the puffy side, but just wait a minute or so and they’ll deflate. After they cooled they were the perfect cookies – crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside.

  

Blackberry No-Bake Cheesecake - Pre Valentine's Day Dessert

It's never too early to start your Valentine's Day with beautiful dessert like Blackberry Cheesecake. You may do it day before and surprise your loved one in next morning -)

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 cup graham crackers crumbs
• 1/2 cup instant oatmeal
• 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, softened
• few drops of vanilla extract

For the filling:

• 1 envelope powdered gelatin
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar (if you like more sweet add more sugar)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 cups blackberries, washed and drained
• 1 cup blueberries, washed and drained for serving

Directions:

To do the crust: Mix together graham crackers crumbs, oatmeal, sugar, salt, coconut oil and vanilla. Press into the base of round spring-form pan, and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 12-15 minutes. Remove from an oven and cool completely at room temperature.



To do the filling: Soak the gelatin in a 1/4 cup cold water (for about 10 minutes), and then put on a fire and warp up, stirring, until dissolved. Mix together cheese, heavy cream, sugar and lemon juice. Puree blackberries in a food processor(a blender will work fine) then strain through a cheesecloth-lined strainer into a bowl. Mix the berry mixture with cream cheese mixture.

Start stirring cheese mixture slowly, while pouring the warm gelatin, after ingredients have combined, let it stand for a few minutes until it start thickens.



Now spoon over the mixture evenly into the chilled base, smooth the surface, and refrigerate for about 4-5 hours, but best to leave overnight.

Before you unlock the spring form pan, run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake.
Serve with some blackberries and whip cream if you like.

Tip: You may do variation of cheesecake in cups.