Raw chocolate nut bars

Makes 10-12 bars depending on how big you cut them. This is not a sweet bar so taste your mix and add more syrup if you like

 

Ingredients

2 cups mixed nuts and seeds, I have used almonds, brazil, cashews, sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of shredded coconut
1/4 cup +2 tbsp raw cacao
1/4 rice malt syrup
about 2 tbsp water

Method
Blitz nuts/seeds in food processor until pretty fine, add rice malt syrup, blitz briefly, then add 1 tbsp at a time and pulse, you want in to come together as a dough. Press really firmly into a 20 x 20cm tin lined with baking paper. Cut into 12 fingers/bars/squares, you can roll into balls as well. You can store these in an airtight container and keep on the bench.

Steak marinated in a lemongrass, mint and coconut with roasted pumpkin, beetroot, creamed kale and avocado.

Serves 4

4 pieces of your choice of steak

1 bunch kale, washed and chopped- stir-fried with garlic and 150 ml coconut cream and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
The marinade for the steak is a handful of mint, 2-3 garlic cloves, 1/3 stem of (the white part) lemongrass and blended with enough coconut milk to make a thick paste.

300g beetroot and 300g pumpkin, cut into chunks cooked with coconut oil in a roasting dish with herbamare or salt and roasted at 200C for 30-35 minutes, depending on what size you cut them. Cook the steak in a pan or bbq until your liking. Serve with ¼ avocado for each plate.

Coconut flour, vanilla date cookies

These have an almost chewy outside with a shortbread middle hard to describe really! but totally delish, gluten/grain/egg free, low in sugar. Makes 12

Ingredients

5 tbsp coconut flour

100g butter

2 medjool dates

2 tsp rice malt syrup-you can use honey or maple

2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Blitz in a food processor until it forms a dough, will be a little sticky. Roll into 12 balls and flatten with your fingers. Bake at 160C for 15-20 minutes, will be golden brown. Leave on the try for 5 minutes then put on a rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Cheesy garlic, bacon potato bake

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
 
1 kg potatoes, scrubbed, 2mm slice
500ml pure cream
1/2 brown onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 rashers middle bacon
1 tsp each of garlic/onion powder
salt and pepper


Method
 
In a pan cook the garlic, onion and bacon for 2-3 minutes. Mix the cream with all the seasonings. In an ovenproof dish put in your potato and bacon mix, pour over the cream mix and bake at 180c for about an hour. After 45 minutes sprinkle over 1 cup of grated cheese, continue baking until potato is cooked through and cheese is golden brown. If it is browning too much put over some tin foil.

Lemon Polenta Cake

Ingredients

 

130 g almond flour
130 g desiccated coconut
130 g fine polenta (or yellow cornmeal)
1 t baking powder
zest and juice of 2 lemons
250 g soft butter
1/3 cup of honey
4 eggs (55 g each)room temperature

Icing

125g soft butter

60ml (1/3 cup) honey

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Beat butter and honey together until light and fluffy. Add your lemon juice little by little, beating in between. Add zest and combine.

Method

Combine ground almonds, coconut, polenta, baking powder and lemon rind, and set aside. Using electric mixer beat butter and honey until pale and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Fold in dry ingredients and lemon juice until just combined. Pour mix into greased and lined 9-inch/24-centimeter round cake tin (not springform) or a silicone bundt mould and bake at 325°F/160°C for one hour or until golden and just coming away from the side of the tin.

Remove from the oven and cool in the tin.

Allow to cool completely in tin before turning on to a plate, as the cake falls apart easily while warm.

Spread the lemon icing over the cake when cooled completely. 

Store in an airtight container on the bench. The icing will go firm in the fridge.

 

Hazelnut chocolate fudge slice

Ingredients

½ cup of coconut oil

¼ cup of honey

2 eggs- beaten together

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup of gluten free four

60g blanched hazelnuts -1/2 cup, chopped

½ cup of raw cacao powder

½ cup of almond milk

Icing

½ cup of ayam thick coconut cream –this is the top layer when you open the can-save the liquid for smoothies etc

¼ cup granulated sugar like coconut sugar or rapadura

¼ cup of raw cacao powder

60g blanched hazelnuts- ½ c

3 tbsp coconut oil

Method-Icing

Put the nuts in a food processor and blitz until chopped, add your vanilla, sugar, coconut cream and coconut oil, blitz until smooth. It may look like it is splitting- when smooth add your cacao, then it all comes together.

Method-base

Preheat oven to 180c

Line a 20x 20 cake tin with baking paper

In a small pot melt honey and coconut oil.

In a medium bowl put in your flour and cacao powder.

Add your 2 beaten eggs, milk and vanilla to the flour mix, add your oil/honey mix. Mix well then add your hazelnuts, mix again.

Spread into your prepared cake tin and bake for 20 minutes.

Take out and put on a cake rack to cool.

Ice when cool. Store on bench in an airtight container, or you can put in the fridge but he icing will go firm.