Superfood Chocolate Clusters

Had no doubts that this would be a winner when I saw this recipe online.

Love the surprise of the different flavours and textures in every crunch <3

Ingredients:

½ cup raw almonds

¼ cup raw cashews

¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
¼ cup coconut flakes
1/8 cup goji berries

1/8 cup raw cacao nibs

1/8 cup dried cranberries
120 grams dark chocolate (I made my own with cocoa butter, cocoa and honey- recipe below).
Couple of pinches of sea salt

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together except for the chocolate
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of hot water on the stove
Mix melted chocolate into the dry ingredients until covered
Scoop about 2 tablespoons out and lay on baking paper

Chocolate recipe:
50g cocoa butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1/8 cup honey

Melt cocoa butter in a bowl over a pot of boiling water on stove.
Let it cool down for 2 minutes
Mix in cocoa and honey

Cookie Dough Bites!!!

These are soooooo yummy! Another one of them recipes with very few ingredients, takes little time to make and the yummiest little treats.

Recipe (makes 10 bites)

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1½ tablespoons coconut milk
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ tablespoon + ½ teaspoon raw honey or maple syrup
¾ cup almond flour
3 tablespoons chocolate chips, plus more for drizzling (i made my own chocolate - recipe below).

Method:
Melt the coconut oil in a bowl over a pot of water on stove and allow to cool
Combine all ingredient together except for the chocolate for drizzling
Put dough in fridge for 10 minutes
Melt chocolate for drizzling
Roll cookie dough into balls and place on a plate or tray lined with baking paper
Drizzle the melted chocolate on top (it should harden due to the doughs coldness)


Chocolate recipe:

50g cocoa butter
1/4 C cocoa
1/8 C honey or maple syrup or maple syrup

- melt cocoa butter in a bowl over a pot of water on stove and allow to cool
- mix in cocoa powder and maple syrup or honey
- place in fridge
(I made this before making the cookie dough and crushed them into pieces instead of using chocolate chips. I used the rest for chocolate drizzle once melted)

Beautiful Berry Banana Bread

Was so exited to make this as I had never even tried banana bread before. It was nice to be able to taste the individual ingredients and texture within the banana flavour. Found that I had to allow the bread to cool before eating as I hadn't dried the berries enough so make sure you dry the berries well before adding it to the batter!

Enjoy the beautiful flavours x

3 ripe banana, mashed

9 free eggs
½ cup coconut milk
1/4 cup stevia or other natural sweeteners
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped or any other nuts
1 cup of raspberries or blueberries or other berries

- blend together mashed banana, eggs, coconut milk, sweetener, salt and vanilla
- after washing blueberries, pat them dry with a paper towel and add into batter
- combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk into batter
- Pour into pan and bake at 175C for 60 minutes

Deep Tissue Massage Everyday Please

It was a couple of years ago, while completing my massage certificate that I unexpectedly experienced the amazing benefits of a deep tissue massage. As part of the course we received a massage 4 days in a row and since I like to feel a bit of pain with my massages I was very grateful that the girl who I was partnered with knew how to get right in there. I’m not keen on the feathery strokes. And although that may relax some people, it does the opposite for me because I’m lying there thinking, “Gosh! when are you going to put some force into those knots and release them.” Anyway! After the series of massage therapy my body felt SO different. I felt wobbly, light and movable (though I did feel pain for a couple of days). Physically I had never felt like that before and I remember thinking to myself “THIS is how my body is supposed to feel.”

If you have ever felt any relief from a massage like I have then you would probably understand why I would get a 1 hour deep tissue massage EVERY day if I could!!! My shoulders are tense almost 100% of the time and when I have been working at the desk for a while, pain can come with it too and it is not until then that I treat myself to a deep tissue massage. Never feel bad for splashing out a bit when you do get massages because apart from improving stiffness and muscle pain, deep tissue massage can also help with other issues which means your truly caring for yourself. These issues include:

- poor blood circulation
- low energy
- low mood
- poor digestion (I can always relate with improved digestion after a massage. I always always always feel hungry afterwards and I love it. Makes me feel like my body just went through a deep cleanse.)
- weight loss issues
- toxicity
- headaches
- stress
- sleeping problems
- injuries

These benefits are explained by the relaxation response which is the changes that occur in the nervous system and the mechanical response which are the physical changes.

Relaxation response:
Your heart rate drops, breathing slows, blood pressure goes down, stress hormone production decreases, muscles relax and serotonin (happy hormones) levels may also increase.

Mechanical response:
Soft tissue relaxation and normalization (muscles, connective tissue, tendons and ligaments) occurs. Blood circulation increases as a result of the changes in soft tissue and chemical changes due to the relaxation response.

Why is it important that blood circulation is improved?
Good blood circulation means that cells and organs are able to access the nutrient supplies from   your blood so that they are healthy. It also means that oxygen and nutrients are supplied to damaged tissues (eg sports injuries or tense muscles) and speed up the healing process.

Why is it important that muscles are at a relaxed state?
When muscles are contracted, nerves are compressed and could cause pain. When muscles are relaxed, the nerves that live around it are free to function and can improve the health of organs that share the same neurological pathway.

I hope you now know that getting a massage is not all pampering. It is a means of caring for your body and your health. So! If you’re ever in South East Asia do what I did, get a massage everyday!!! It’s so much cheaper there and I can guarantee that 90% of the time they will know how to get in there! And I don’t mean in a happy ending sort of way. But you will surely come out happier and healthier anyway :)

Miso Soup with Lots of Goodies

Easy to make up lots of goodness!

1) Boil 3 cups of water with 2 tablespoons of miso paste in  small pot

2) Add edamame beans and boil for 4 minutes

3) Add tofu cubes, mung beans, seaweed, and mushrooms and boil until cooked

Blueberry Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

Freshly Baked Blueberry Banana Peanut Putter Muffins on a Rainy Sunday Morning

(from Dr Libby's Real Food Chef)

 Recipe (makes 12 small muffins):

 Ingredients:
 2 Small bananas
 2 eggs
 1 cup peanut butter
 1 cup blueberries
 1 teaspoon baking powder
 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

 1) Preheat oven
 2) mash bananas and mix in beaten eggs
 3) fold in peanut butter
 4) add in baking powder and apple cider vinegar and blend well
 5) mix in blueberries
 6) pour into muffin trays and cook for ten minutes

Blueberry White Chocolate Cup Cakes

(recipe from Dr Libby’s Real Food Chef)

- I replaced some ingredients for ingredients that I had already and also cheaper alternatives – *mentioned in brackets
- this makes a BIG cake - I made little cup cakes as you can see

Ingredients:

Base:
¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup almonds (soaked in warm water for at least 3 minutes)
6 chopped dates
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup sesame seeds
½ cup dessicated coconut
1/3 cup tahini (*I used peanut butter)
¼ cup cocoa nibs
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon water

White chocolate filling:
100g cocoa butter (* I used coconut oil)
½ vanilla bean
1 cup raw cashew nuts
¼ cup maple syrup
Juice of ½ lemon

Blue berry topping:
100g cocoa butter (* I used coconut oil)
1 ½ cup raw cashew nuts
2 punnets of blueberries
¼ cup maple syrup (* I used agave syrup)
Juice of 1 lime

Method:

Base:
- Process the pumpkin seeds, almonds  and dates in a food processor
- Add the rest of the base ingredients and grind until well mixed – set aside

- Melt the cocoa butter in a small pan on low heat. Put vanilla bean in and let it soften while butter melts.

- Process the cashew, maple syrup and lemon juice in a food processor.
- Remove the vanilla bean and pour the butter into the nut mix and blend until smooth.

Topping:
- Melt cocoa butter and set aside
- Process the cashew nuts and blueberries
- Add maple syrup and lime juice
- Add the butter and blend

Assemble:

1) Press the base into a 20cm (8 inch) tart pan with a removable rim (or if making cup cake then use cupcake pan).

2) Pour the white chocolate filling over and freeze for 15 minutes
3) When white chocolate is set pour the blueberry topping o top
4) Freeze until the topping is set