Category Archives: Sweets

Functional Sweet Treats with reishi!

08 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by in Chocolate, Gluten Free, Natural Health, No bake/ Raw, Superfoods, Sweets, Vegan

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Functional Sweet Treats

Functional Sweet Treats

These are packed with good stuff! They taste pretty amazing too, if I don’t say so myself. Tomorrow I am helping to give a demonstration to nutrition students, it is on how to use medicinal mushrooms ( I did this morning, it went well 🙂 ). I am bringing along sweet goodies made with reishi mushroom powder. Reishi has been used for thousands of years. It is one of if not the first medicinal food to be written about, in China roughly 2,000 years ago!Paul Stamets is a good name to look up if you want know more about these natural powerhouses, his Ted talks are a good intro.

Savoury is generally they way we go when it comes to mushrooms but why not with cacao? Or blueberries? Think of the antioxidant levels! Picture the immune boosting! Discover their adaptogenic properties!! Imagine the tastiness!

Here we go Functional Sweet Treats

    • Two dessertspoons of goji berries. Soaked over night in just enough water to cover them. I used water kefir.*
    • Half a ripe avocado- should a bit of give to it when pressed and be going a dark sap green colour.
    • Two big dessertspoons of blueberries
    • A flat dessertspoon of organic coconut oil
    • Two generous dessertspoons of raw dark agave/ date syrup / maple syrup. Whichever you prefer.
    • A generous cup plus two dessertspoons of ground almonds
    • Two generous teaspoons of raw cacao powder
    • A sachet of reishi powder which includes mint, licorice, star anise and stevia. Great for those adrenals. *
    • Optional: Half a teaspoon of pre-gelatised maca powder
    • A half teaspoon of vanilla powder or the scraped inside of one vanilla bean.
    • A quarter of a teaspoon of good quality sea salt or himalayian pink salt.
    • A third of a cup of organic desiccated/shredded coconut. For sprinkling on top or rolling in.

*This is about double the goji needed. I do more incase some stay a bit hard and eat the left overs. Yum.

*If you are using reishi capsules make sure there are not tons bulking agents, these could change the flavour. One capsules may do, go by taste.

Grab your soaked goji berries. It really is up to you what you would prefer. I don’t want goji lumps on my cacao reishi fantasticalness so I cut or shred my softened gogis. If you like big hits of the gogi then just chop them in two. Put them to one side for use as a topping later.

Mash your avocado and coconut oil together. Add your one dessertspoon of the blueberries and mash again. Should be a creamy paste.

Add the liquid sweetener and Mash MASH mash… again. Add the other spoon of blueberries and mix through. I press this less, as I like having more whole pieces of blueberries too.

Colourful even in the orange light of my kitchen diner.

Colourful even in the orange light of my kitchen-diner.

In another bowl combine all the dry ingredients (except for the coconut, that is for on top). Make sure there are no lumps of ground almonds or cacao. Sprinkle the salt in so it is evenly dispersed.

Dry goodies

Dry goodies

Add the dry things to the omega rich, mct containing, antioxidant abundant….stuff. Mix, stir, combine and merge the ingredients. Pressing the mixture to make sure the fats are taken up well.

Here is the one I used

Here is the one I used

My preferred Option A: You can roll them into teaspoon size balls. Prepare a plate with your gojis and one with coconut. Roll the balls in goji and then roll them in the coconut. Pop them on a dish and stick them in the fridge to set. They need to live in the fridge (and die in your tummy) as they will go squidgy when left unchilled.

Option B: Get a 7.5 inch cake tin/ tart dish and spread the mix a one centimetre deep. Ah the mixed measurements! That is 20cm cake tin and a quarter inch thick! 😉 You can the sprinkle and press the goji and coconut on top. Pop in the fridge for fifteen minutes. Take out and cut into one inch (2.5cm) squares. Put in the freezer to set. It is happier in there all the time really. It gets shy and melty at room temperature.

Hope you like these!Xs Aissa

P.S. There is a wealth of info on line but here are a few of links about reishi!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-stamets/reishi-mushrooms_b_2200808.html

http://www.alive.com/articles/view/17705/reishi_mushroom

And for a bit more of the nitty gritty science bit http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92757/

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Fluffy Red Velvet Aduki Truffles

02 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by in Chocolate, Gluten Free, No bake/ Raw, Superfoods, Sweets, Vegan

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These are fluffy with a gentle sweetness; as a result they are easy to eat. Don’t be deceived by their soft melty-ness they are super filling. The aduki beans and almonds mean one are two are more than enough at a time. I store them in the fridge or freezer to keep them firm.

You will need a cup for measuring, a plate, a bowl and some sort of blender. I use a hand held one which works fine.

Fluffly Aduki Cocoa truffles or Red velvet Aduki Truffles?

Fluffly Aduki Cocoa truffles or Red velvet Aduki Truffles?

Fluffy Red Velvet Aduki Truffles 

    • Nine unsulphered dried apricots
    • Optional: A spoon of dried mulberries

Soak these in a some water for at least an hour and then chop them.

    • A generous mug of cooked aduki beans roughly 240g. If you used canned ones make sure they are well drained.
    • Two dessertspoons of date syrup. If you are more used to normal sweets you may want to add a spoon of agave/maple syrup too!
Adukis and syrup

Adukis and syrup

Mash these together with a fork, you will be blending it so don’t worry about squashing every bean.

Dry Stuff

    • Half a cup of ground almonds
    • A quarter cup of cocoa or raw cacao
    • A dessertspoon of raw carob
    • A teaspoon of vanilla powder/ scraped insides of two vanilla pods*
    • A pinch of salt about a quarter of a teaspoon
    • Optional: Half a teaspoon of maca powder
    • Optional lovely extra: Orange zest

*If you want to use vanilla essence don’t! Vanilla bean paste in sugar would be fine but alcohol based extracts aren’t so good in raw sweets.
Mix the dry ingredients together, pressing out any lumps.

    • Two thirds of a cup of desiccated (shredded) coconut
    • Twenty four organic almonds, finely chopped

Put these on a dinner plate. You will be rolling the mixture in them.

almonds etc

Put your chopped fruit into the adukis. Give things a mix. Stir in your dry ingredients.

Grab your hand blender and start blending! Use a low setting at first, it is better for your blender. The ingredients will get quite fluffy and a pinky chocolate colour. Should have called them Red Velvet Aduki Truffles 🙂 You know I will, they were called fluffy aduki cocoa truffles.

Rinse your hands in cold water. If your hands are too warm handling the concoction you may find it all melting to goo. By the dessertspoonful gently roll the aduki truffles into the nuts and or the coconut. It was a warm day here and I found everything going a bit squashy. So work quick if you are having good weather!

Put them in the fridge or freezer to set for half an hour. I store mine in the fridge as they are lovely cold and it keeps them firm. I am a messy chef so while they are setting I try and get the mix off my hands, the cupboards and every surface. Works up the appetite anyway!

Xs Aissa

 

 

Barleygrass Balls!!!

26 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by in Natural Health, No bake/ Raw, Superfoods, Sweets, Vegan

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These are one of my favourite things to make. They are super easy, fast, tasty and filling! I’ve played around with the ingredients a bit and I will give you alternative options at the end.

Sooo green - should have posted these on Paddy's Day!!

Sooo green – should have posted these on Paddy’s Day!!

You will need two small bowls, measuring cups or just a regular mug , a dessertspoon and a teaspoon.

  • One dessertspoonful of Barleygrass powder or juice powder
  • A bravely large pinch of sea salt prob a quarter teaspoon
  • Three quarters of a cup of organic ground almonds
  • Two dessertspoons of organic virgin coconut oil or one and one of cashew nut butter
  • Two dessertspoons of raw dark agave or do one spoon and one of maple or yacon syrup
  • There are a couple of options in regards to flavouring you can..
  • A: Use a at least a third of a teaspoon of a good quality peppermint extract
  • B: If you have access to a food grade organic peppermint oil use five drops

Get one of the bowls, put in your coconut oil and mash it a bit so it softens.

Add your extract- mash again.

Add your agave syrup and mix until it is all combined well.

Now put your ground almonds in the other bowl and poke it a bit so there are no lumps.

Add the salt and barleygrass to this and give it a stir

Add your dry to the wet and mix it well. Really get in there press the mix together so the fats are taken up well into the dry. It should all hold together to form a ball like a biscuit/ cookie dough would.

Ready your teaspoon, run your hands under cold water (so when making the balls they don’t go all melty). By the teaspoonful roll the mix between your two palms to form little balls and drop them into the bowl you had used for the dry stuff. When done stick them in  the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up. Taa- daah! Fabulously a source of antioxidants, chlorophyll, protein (all 9 amino acids in barleygrass), MCTs and magnesium amongst other things, also really yummy!

Troubleshooting!
If you have been over generous with your ground almonds and it is a bit dry you could add a splash more extract, add a bit of warm water or non diary milk that has not been in the fridge (if it is cold the coconut oil will re solidify and form bits). If too wet just add more ground almonds.

Recipe options
A thing I change up a lot is the coconut oil. I often do one spoon coconut oil and add in one big dessertspoon of a nut butter. The ones that work best are cashew or blanched almond.
In regards to the peppermint flavour it really is up to you how strong you like it, I prefer them really minty! I have also used spearmint – a smidge bit toothpastey but nice for a change, also did just plain vanilla using a half teaspoon of vanilla powder or teaspoon of vanilla bean paste.
The reason for using agave is it is relatively neutral in flavour

Really hope you like these! X Aissa