Raw bonbons - delicious chocolate treats

These raw bonbons are super delicious and easy. It would be a shame if your never tried out this recipe! It takes only three basic ingredients and you will be ready in less than half a hour. I had a lot of visitors at home this week so they had to try out these chocolate treats. Everybody liked it and one of my friends even made her own raw bonbons for her family after I explained how easy it was!

The three basic ingredients to create the bonbons:
- raw cacao powder
- coconut oil
- ahorn syrup

You just have to heat the coconutoil in a little pan, add cacao powder and some syrup. That's it. I didn't use any measurements just went with what looked and tasted good. But I would recommend 4 tablespoons of coconutoil and one tablespoon of cacao powder for about 15 small bonbons. If you want sweet bonbons you can add some syrup.

I added goji, coconut and almond to the chocolate mix. The goji tasted especially good in this recipe! But you can use any dried fruit or nuts you like. Next time I will be using pistache and dried raspberry. Be as creative as you can and let me know what you used :)

After I put all the ingredients together I used a spoon to pour the chocolate mix into really small alluminium cups I bought at Flying Tiger.

After you poured in all of the chocolate mix make sure you lick the spoon you used because you have to wait a few hours before the bonbons are set in the fridge. The waiting really takes long when you know how delicious it will be.

Because the bonbons are mostly made of coconut oil, they will melt really fast in your warm hands. So it's not a good idea to serve them directly next to coffee or tea and you should not leave them out of the fridge. But still, it's worth it! I treat myself with one bonbon everyday so I can enjoy this delicious recipe for a very long time. And of course make sure your friends and family taste this delicious chocolate treat. ENJOY :)

Sweet quinoa breakfast idea - grainfree

If you can't or don't want to eat grains in the morning but you like a sweet oatmeal-like breakfast this is a perfect alternative. You probably have to adjust your breakfast or even your nighttime ritual but it's worth it.

To replace your oats you can choose quinoa! Quinoa are seeds in stead of grains. Look up the health benefits! You can use them like couscous or rice at dinner. But you should definitely try this easy alternative for a sweet grainfree breakfast.

It takes a litte over a quarter to make this breakfast but that's only because the quinoa has to cook for 15 minutes.

Ingredients:
- 50 grams of quinoa
- 250 milliliter nutmilk (I used my homemade cashewmilk to be sure it's not sweetened with refined sugar)
- optional: syrup or honey

Toppings:
- frozen berries or fresh fruits
- almonds

Wash the quinoa to get rid of the bitter taste the seeds have. The seeds are really small so you have to be a little creative to make sure your not spilling the quinoa. I use a cloth and a colander to wash the quinoa. I lay the cloth in the colander en then put in the quinoa, pour over water and make sure I wash everything. Then I carefully take out the cloth with the quinoa in it and put the seeds in a cooking pan. If you know a better option, let me know!

Cook the quinoa in the nutmilk for 15 minutes on a low fire. After 15 minutes your quinoa is ready to be eaten. If you like it to be a hot breakfast you should make it in the morning. Just add some syrup if you want your breakfast to be really sweet and top with some berries or nuts.

I make my quinoa breakfast in the evening so it can set in the fridge overnight. It then becomes less watery and it gets the structure of a pudding. So after I cook the quinoa I leave it to cool down. Then pour it into a bowl, add frozen berries and keep it in the fridge overnight. That way you have no cooking in the morning and your breakfast is like a really healthy and nutritious overnight oatmeal. You wont be hungry for a few hours!! ENJOY :)

Nutmlik leftover cookies

In my previous blogpost I told you about making cashew milk and what a waste it would be to throw all the nut leftovers away. That's why I want to tell you about the cookies I made from this delicious leftover pulp.

I improvised and put some ingredients together I thought couldn't fail.

Because I can't eat grains, dairy or refined sugar none of these product will be in this recipe.

Ingredients:
- nut milk leftovers from 1 liter of nutmilk, in my case cashews.
- a half cup of almond flour (I will explain how to make this but you can also buy it)
- 2 spoons of coconut oil
- a teaspoon of maple syrup
- two teaspoon of baking powder
- a hint of salt

To spice the cookies I used my current favourite spices: cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

To decorate you can put a nut on to but you can also add chocolate chips or raisins to the dough.

Set the oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Okay, now the most important part: how to make it! I will first epxlain very shortly how to make your own almond milk:

Take a half cup of almonds, pour them into a cooking pan, add enough water so that they're all under water. Cook this for three minutes. Take it of the pit and cool down with water. After the nuts are a normal temperature again you can remove the skin very easily. Do so. Than blend the skinned almonds in a food processor untill it looks like flour. And there you go, your own homemade almond flour.

Just keep the almond flour in you food processor, or add now. Put in the cashew pulp too and then added the coconutoil. Blend it together and add the baking powder, syrup and salt. It's now important to taste the dough so you can determine if it needs more syrup or salt. Then add the spices you like and taste again. Don't use too much spices but make sure you like the taste of your dough. Now is the time to add chocolate chips or raisins if you like. If your satified your dough is ready!

Put some bakery paper on a baking tray and take a spoon. Just take a spoon full of dough and put it on the bakery paper push it down and even it a little. I made ten cookies from this dough but you can choose to make twenty smaller ones if you like.

Put the dough in the over for 15 minutes but make sure you check every now and then. If you made bigger or smaller cookies the time will be a little different so keep an eye on your cookies. Your kitchen will be smelling amazing! ENJOY :)

Cashew (or any other nut you like) milk

Last week I went to the doctor and he told me to skip all the grains from my diet for a while. It had a lot of consequences for my foodplanning that week. But I especially needed a new alternative for the spelt milk I always used for breakfast. So I decided to make cashew milk from the big pile of nuts I had horded over the last weeks.

Making nutmilk is very easy! You can use any nut you like. For example: almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews or macadamia! Or mix it up if you like :)

For the ammount of milk I made (about a liter) I used one cup of soaked cashews. Soak them in water for about six hours.

Ingredients:
1 cup of soaked nuts
3 cups of water (I like it a bit thick)
something to sweeten it (for example maple syrup)

I made it taste like spicy cookies by adding a little bit of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. It's great for the darker days! But you can also add vanilla or any other spice you like!

To make the milk you use your food processor or blender. You blend the nuts and start adding the water. After it has all blended together you strain the milk by letting it drip through a cheescloth. If you don't have a cheesecloth, use some clean panty hoes (I did this)! I first poured it into a bowl, there I added the spices and a little drip of syrup. Give it a good stir and see if you like the taste. Adjust it the way like it. I than used a funnel to pour it into a bottle. Keep the milk in the fridge, but not for too long (I keep it for a maximum of three days).

There will be a lot of pulp leftover from the nuts. It would be a shame to throw al these healthy nuts away so I made cashew cookies form this pulp.

Recipe will be up next so you don't have to waste any food! ENJOY :)

Proven comfort food: raw sugarfree brownies with cashew cream

A few weeks a go I had a few friends in need. By accident I made this recipe at the begining of this week and it eventually proofed to be very good comfort food. I brought these friends this chocolate brownie topped with cashewcream to ease the pain and luckily it put a little smile to their faces.

A lot of people are emotional eaters and gain wight while they're sad. This is a healthy alternative for sugar loaded chocolate snacks.

I used a mortar and pestle to make the brownies but a food processor would make it easier. You also need a large flat plate to spread your brownie on.

I made small pieces because it's a heavy snack. About ten persons ate a piece of this delicious recipe.

Ingredients for 10 persons:

Sugarfree brownies:
- a half cup of sesame seed and sunflowerseeds
- a cup of speltflakes (but you can also use other flakes as you please)
- a half cup of walnuts (I really like walnuts in this recipe but you can replace them with other nuts)
- a half cup of pecan nuts (also replaceable)
- 3 tablespoons of cacao
- a quarter cup of ahorn syrup
- a vanillabean
- olive oil

Grind the seeds and flakes together untill they look like flour. Than chop the nuts. I crushed the nuts and seeds together with a mortar and pestle but you can also use a food processor. You can make it as smooth as you like, leave some chunks of nuts for a nice bite. Add the cacao, syrup and some vanilla, blend it together and try out what it tastes like. Add more cacao for more bitterness or add more syrup for some more sweetness but watch out, it should not get too wet. If you like the taste you created, you can put some olive oil on your large plate and spread the browniedough on it, make it as flat as you like and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. I ate it first with pineapple and cashew cream and later with frozen berries. Both combinations are very good.

The recipe for the cashew cream will be up next! So if you have a friend in need who could use a little comfort, think of this recipe. It will make them feel good without having to eat unhealthy food. ENJOY :)

Quick guilt-free chocolate mousse

This chocolate mousse is super simple and quick. You only need three ingredients to make the mousse and it's made out of fruit and vegetables! The only thing you need is a blender, a bowl, a banana, an avocado and some cacao powder.

I made this dish as a desert for me and my boyfriend and ate the remaining mousse for breakfast.

Ingredients for 2 persons:
2 ripe avocado's
2 ripe banana's
4 tablespoons of raw cacao
I added some ahorn syrup to sweeten the dish (it was a bit bitter)

Toppings:
Frozen berries
Gojiberries
Chia seeds

Add the peeled banana's, peeled avocado's and cacoa to a bowl. Add a little bit of water and blend it to a mousse. You can add some more water to smoothen it but don't add too much because it will be watery. Add the toppings just before serving. Et voilà: a delicious and healthy chocolate desert! ENJOY :)

Make your own muesli!

Buying muesli in the supermarket can be difficult if you have diet restrictions. Like for me, I can't eat sugar or wheat. Most of the muesli from the supermarket contains wheatflakes. And sugar is also a very commonly seen ingredient; the dried fruits are mostly sugarcoated. A good and yummy alternative is making your own muesli.

You can choose the ingredients that you like or that work for your diet. I chose speltflakes as a base but there are so many different options like oat-, rye-, quinoa-, amaranth- or riceflakes. You can also put different types of flakes together for some variation. After you have chosen a type of flake as your base the adding can begin! I like to add a lot of ingredients but you can also choose a theme and add only a few ingredients. The most commonly used ingredients in muesli are: dried fruit, nuts, and seeds.

For the muesli on the picture I added:
- raisins
- chopped dates
- chopped cashews
- almonds
- dried coco
- sunflower seeds

I also like to add pumpkinseeds for a good bite and superfoods like goji or incaberries but this makes it a lot more expensive. Another good alternative to add some sweetness is adding some small pieces of dried abricots. And if you can eat sugar you can ofcourse add chocholate (take a pure 85% chocolate). It takes a little time but you will be absolutely sure about what your eating. Keep the remaining ingedrients fresh so you can use them again and renew your muesli every now and then.

I soak the muesli in an unsweetened rice milk with almond taste and put it in the fridge before I go to bed. That way I can enjoy my muesli first thing in the morning. Add some fresh fruit or frozen berries and your breakfast will be absolutely delicious and healthy! ENJOY :)