Tag: ingredients

Sharing an Oatmeal Biscuit recipe

Today I am sharing a recipe for Oatmeal biscuits. After my last post on Oats, my mother shared her biscuit recipe with me. I made some very minor changes to it and have shared it with you here.

I made the recipe using quinoa flour for a wheat free biscuit, and I added nutmeg.

The rapadura sugar gives the biscuits a richer colour without being overly sweet. The result is a mildly sweet biscuit that pairs well with a cup of tea.

 Oatmeal Biscuits

Makes approx. 20 small biscuits

 Ingredients

220g Spelt flour  
(I used Quinoa)

60g rolled oats

1 ½ tspn ground cinnamon

½ tspn ground nutmeg

1 tspn salt

1 tspn baking powder

60g Rapadura sugar

60g butter (melted)

20g Maple syrup

1/3 cup milk of your choice

 Method

Process oats to fine breadcrumb like consistency

Add flour, salt, baking powder, spices and sugar and pulse to combine, add butter, syrup and process till combined.

Add milk one tablespoon at a time until a smooth dough forms and starts to ball up and feel slightly tacky . (the amount of liquid required can vary depending on the type of flour you use)

I put all the dough onto a large piece of cling wrap and rolled it into a sausage shape. Then using a sharp knife I carefully cut off slices to create the biscuits. I then used a fork dipped in water to press the biscuits into shape.

Bake in preheated 175 C oven
 for 15 min

If you like a crisp biscuit –

Let them cool completely, then bake a second time for 10 mins at 170 c.

 I hope you enjoy these biscuits.

Till the next post,

 Live clean n Prosper

Cacao Paste, it’s healthy!

Todays post is about Cacao Paste.

In February last year I wrote about the benefits of Raw Chocolate and posted a recipe.

Yesterday I went to buy more ingredients for making my chocolate and I came across Cacao Paste. I talked to the store owner who informed me that is could be used in a number of ways. It is most popularly used for making chocolate.

So I decided to give it a try, as well as do a bit of research to find out a bit more about it.

 So, what is Cacao paste?

Cacao paste is created when whole cacao beans are fermented, sun dried and roasted at temperatures below 47°C. They are then ground into a paste or liquid, commonly called cacao liquor. This liquid quickly solidifies at room temperature and the result is cacao paste, which is then dried.

Because no heat is used in this process, cacao paste retains its natural properties. Cacao paste is naturally about 55% cacao butter and is an extremely smooth product. Cacao paste is 100% pure organic cacao. No additives, sweeteners or anything else.

 It’s healthy

Not only does cacao paste provide a delicious, chocolatey taste, but it’s also packed with health benefits. It contains more antioxidants than blueberries, black and green teas, and red wine. These antioxidants give cacao the power to lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and risk of stroke.

A single cacao bean contains 54% fat (that’s the cacao butter), 31% carbohydrates (mainly fibre with a tiny amount of sugars), 11% protein (including arginine, glutamine and leucine), 3% polyphenols (flavonols and proanthocyanins) and less than 1% trace minerals including magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus.

Cacao has been studied for its ability to reduce blood pressure and has been shown to produce “a small but statistically significant effect in lowering blood pressure by 2-3mm Hg in the short term”. It contains phenylethylamine, which controls pleasure and the feelings you get when you are in love. It also acts as a stimulant and can improve mental alertness. Cacao also contains serotonin and dopamine – which also stimulate good moods and ‘pleasure’ feelings.

Cacao also contains great levels of magnesium, which is an essential mineral during times of stress and helps you to feel more relaxed.

 How do you use it?

Cacao paste is recommended for use in several ways. It seems it can be used in any recipe that requires unsweetened chocolate.

Small chunks can be added to dried fruit and nuts to create your own trail mixes, or grate fine shavings over ice cream or sweet desserts. It is also suggested to use it to make a rich, European style ‘hot chocolate’.

I used it to make my Raw chocolate. It was recommended to use the paste instead of ½ of the cacao butter. I did this. The chocolate actually started to set at room temperature. It also gave the chocolate a very rich texture, however, I found that it started to melt a little quicker as I held it.

I think next time I will try making the recipe with 70grams cacao butter and 30 grams of the paste. Check out my recipe page for the recipe.

Enjoy,

Till the next post,

 Live clean n Prosper.

My Zucchini Bake or Slice recipe

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Today I’m going to share another recipe. Last night Scott and I got together with a group of friends and I brought along a Zucchini Bake, sliced to share. I received a number of requests to post the recipe today, so here we go.

This Zucchini bake can be made gluten free, it is a healthy meal option and is great for lunch boxes.

The recipe is easy to make and is one way to get children (or fussy adults) to eat vegetables. You can substitute or add different vegetables depending on your preferences. However, I think Zucchini should always be included for the bake to work.

Nutritionally, the Zucchini is one of the very low-calorie vegetables and its peel is an excellent source of dietary fibre. Zucchinis are an excellent source of potassium, and also contain moderate levels of the B-complex group of vitamins.

Ingredients

3 x medium sized zucchinis

2 x medium carrots

1/2 onion or 2 spring onions finely chopped

2 x rashers of bacon finely chopped

(alternatively, I have made this using chicken and also tuna)

1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

1 x tbsp mixed herbs

a little bit of chilli or peppers gives a nice bite

1 x garlic clove – crushed

1 x tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup flour (I use coconut flour)

5 x large eggs

extra grated cheese to sprinkle on the top

 

Method

First preheat your oven to 180c

I use a grater attachment on my food processor to quickly grate the zucchini and carrots. If I don’t have grated cheese, I put  a small piece of cheese in as well.

Put the grated ingredients into a large mixing bowl and add the bacon, onion, garlic, cheese, herbs and mix together.

Add the eggs, oil and flour and mix to combine. Transfer the mix into a baking dish and bake for 40 minutes.

At the 30 or 35 minute mark, sprinkle the extra grated cheese on the top of the slice and return it to the oven.

This bake works really well as a main meal. We cut it into 6 large pieces and serve it with a salad. It also is great as a slice to share , as it tastes equally good cold. Just let it cool a bit before cutting it into squares.

It’s really easy to swap out the meat ingredients or add extra ingredients. Mushrooms and cauliflower also work well. If I add cauliflower, I only put in 1 carrot. The trick is to get the right balance of vegetables and eggs, otherwise it won’t hold together. I have found this out by experience.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe and have fun putting your own spin on it.

 

Until the next post,

 

Live Clean n Prosper

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