Apple 'Biscuits'

I know what you're thinking ... "These have been done before" and I know they have been. But Seriously... with how healthy and delicious they are, I can't NOT add them to my collective!

The possibilities are endless when it comes to toppings you can put on these bad boys. And! If you have made them before no doubt you will know that spreading the butter of choice onto the apple or pear slice can actually be a bit difficult, especially if it's cold, so I thought I'd offer a couple of suggestions!

I have made these for every birthday that my little boy has had and they are always a hit with the kids! He is now three. And whats more exciting, is if you cut them into wedges instead of slices, you actually can make apple 'Nachos'. Pretty cool hey and amazingly great for kids parties!

I think the reason I love this recipe so much, or just these apple slices in general, is you can set everything out like a little assembly line, and then let the kids go to town. It's a really great idea to get them involved in the kitchen, and let them experiment with their individuality and creativity. What's more, is if you choose the right ingredients, you can get them to eat something really healthy. And they will eat it, because they made it. My little boy LOVES helping in the kitchen to make these 'biscuits'. He gets so excited with all the toppings he can choose! It does help to have a little bit of prep always done to make sure there's always something to sprinkle on top, but we usually have these things at the ready because we sprinkle similar things onto our paleo granola, and coconut yoghurt in the mornings!

Things like sugar free and dairy free chocolate chips work really well, but the ones in the pic above I made myself from my own Raw Chocolate Recipe. You can get the recipe HERE, and then you can either find a mould, or just simply put a little bit of the melted raw chocolate on a spoon, and make splatters onto parchment paper. They will be a little bit smaller than the drops in the picture above, as I use a mould, but will taste the same and rock your little one's socks just as much!

Sometimes when I have some sitting around, we also drizzle a little bit of our home made paleo Caramel Sauce over the top. If I do the caramel sauce, I usually omit the chocolate unless it's for an event like a party. The reason being is that you don't need that much sugar on any normal day. The apple already packs a sweet punch and depending on what you pop on the top, you really want to make sure you don't over do it. Just remember, just because they're natural sugars, they are still sugars and you can still have too much of them. If you would like the Caramel Recipe to drizzle over these bad boys (or to drizzle over wedges of apples to make 'nachos') click HERE.

When it comes to choosing the right apples to use, I have found pink ladies are the best! Especially if you are using somewhat bitter ingredients on the top! They're deliciously sweet and crispy. However, If you do have some sweeter toppings in mind, then I would suggest a good old Granny Smith apple because they are slightly more sour in comparison. Also, don't forget to choose Organic Apples if you can as the skin is eaten. 

The reason why it is important to consume fibre with any type of sugar, is because consuming fibre and fructose slow the spike in blood sugar. This is why I like to puree dates and use the puree to sweeten a lot of things. The naturally occurring sugar in dates is wonderfully flavourful, while the remaining fibre helps to regulate blood sugar. Prunes are also wonderful for this because of their high fibre content.. however sometimes the flavour of prunes gets me like *vom*. The flavour really doesn't match every thing, so use them with caution if you are trying to use them as a natural sweetener. 

Because this recipe isn't heated at all, I really love adding a sprinkle of pro biotic powder over the top of my little 'biscuits'. It's a great nutritional kick, and if you use cacao in your toppings then the pro biotics are being consumed with a pre biotic which is great to feed the bacteria and will be an awesome addition to your gut bacteria! So why not hey?!

As per usual, leave me some feedback if you give it a go! xx Much Love!

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Recipe

Time - 15 Minutes - 

Serves - 2 - 

What you need:

1 Pink Lady Apple Room Temperature

Peanut/Cashew/Nut Butter of Choice

Toppings of choice... I used:

Raw Chocolate Drops ( See recipe link in article above )

Cut Dried Apricot

Himalayan Salt

Pro Biotic Powder

What to do:

Get a Mug or cup of Hot Water and a butter knife. Place the knife in the Hot water to warm the knife blade. 

With a sharp knife, or a Mandolin, Slice your apple to your desired thickness. I recommend about a half a centimetre thick. Don't core the apple as the core has wonderful fibre and nutrients in it. Instead just push the seeds out. 

Open your Nut Butter of choice, and using the warm knife spread the butter over the apple slice. If the Butter starts to solidify and pull away from the apple, warm the knife again. 

Add your toppings of choice. Not too many, just enough to make it look pretty. 

Sprinkle Himalayan Salt (it tends to balance the sweetness out) and then sprinkle pro-biotic powder over the top. 

YUM!

Baby Rice Bites

As parents, we are always trying to find nutritious recipes for our children... and with a lot of us battling the clock daily, it can be really hard and exhausting (not to mention a heinously time consuming task) to pre make foods and freeze them. 

Let's be honest... make ahead meals are a STEALLAR idea! They really are. But with our lives being so full on these days, the only time we really have to un wind is in the evening - if you're kids go to bed early enough and before you pass out after a massive day - or the weekend - and then it's family time and you're stuck between time with the family, washing, dishes, cleaning to get ready for the week ahead. So really... having to sacrifice MORE of your relaxing time or special one on one time with your Luvahh to get everything ready and prepped for the week ahead... to me is just unfair. 

So I thought I'd share what I do to help myself get ahead for the week, but also keep on top of the diets for all in the family by making nutritious meals without sacrificing as much time as I would have too if I did week ahead prep with freezable meals. 

Each to their own, but this is what I do and it works. 

SO! Whenever I'm cooking a meal, I always make a little extra when what I am making is foods that can be re heated and re served... like pasta sauce, mashed sweet potato, etc. This isn't limited to just dinner. I also do it for what ever we have for breakfast and lunch! But what if I'm not making meals that can be re heated? Or something spicy that my babies aren't ready to try yet? Then I simply make other things, when I have a lull in what I'm cooking. For example, If I am cooking Roast chicken and vegetables, I peel and grate extra vegetables to make baby food, and put a pot of water on so it's there if I need it. Sometimes I'll make some rice, or GF Quinoa Pasta, or Quinoa, even chick peas and lentils. All of these things are great because you can put them on to cook and not have to tend to them much and you can always leave the grated vegetables raw (my fave), or if you chop them then throw them in the pot as well with what ever grain or legume you are cooking. The brilliance in doing this is, if you don't need the water in the end, you can just empty the pot, run a tea towel around it and put it back in the drawers. I do this while the chicken is cooking and I'm waiting to put the vegetables in the oven.  I like doing it this way because this is time I wouldn't be sitting and relaxing anyway because I'd be cooking dinner, so it makes sense to me to just re arrange the things I'm doing and be more constructive with the time I am actually in the kitchen. 

When I made these little Rice bites, I was cooking a vegetable frittata. It already had carrot and zucchini in it, so I grated extra for these bites and left them to the side. When the Frittata went into the oven, I then measured and got the rice ready. While the rice was cooking, I organised my storage for the rice bites, and when the rice was ready, I added the vegetables and placed the lid back on to cool while we ate. Then the frittata was ready. I pulled the frittata out of the oven to cool on the bench until able to the handled and tidied up while cooling. Served Dinner, once everyone had finished eating, the rice and vegetable mix was cool enough to be handled and I rolled into the balls and stored them away. 

It's all about utilising the time you DO have and doing the most you can in that time! I realise this method isn't for everyone, but it certainly works for me! I am a busy mum of 3 under 3, I run my own business from home and am studying - so at the end of the day I want to sit down with my tea, and relax. Not run around the house and go to bed all stressed wondering if I've done everything. This is why I've found this method extremely helpful.

Anyhow! On with the rest!

In our house, I follow a STRICT Paleo lifestyle for myself. I have so many health concerns that are upset by grains, processed foods, additives, sugar, dairy and am coeliac so no gluten here ( and there wouldn't be even if we weren't a coeliac household - shits nasty )... so we generally don't have things like rice laying around. For our three year old son and hubby, they follow the same eating practices that I do. However since having the twins, I have just wanted to introduce things like Rice, Teff, Chickpeas, Lentils etc to them, so there are no adverse reactions in future. They don't eat this stuff all the time, but in my personal opinion, I feel it is important to introduce a wide range of foods to babies as young as you can. So I always keep a pack of chick peas, Organic Arborio Rice, and Quinoa etc on board just so they have a little variety every now and then. 

If you are going to feed your bubs rice, I ask this with sincere PLEADING! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEEEEE only give them organic rice. Rice crops are sprayed with arsenic to rid rats from the crops... which means, you guessed it, arsenic remains on the rice when you feed it to your family. This includes all rice snacks, normal rice, rice cakes, biscuits, you name it. Please only ever choose Certified Organic and make sure it has the logo that ensures the product is properly certified organic and not just trademarked. ( Yes, companies can pay for a trademark for Organic which means the product doesn't actually have to be organic ). Apart from the rice being organic, please make sure when you feed your little ones that you give them organic produce where possible. This is important because we want them to be eating the skin on vegetables and fruits to make sure they are getting great amounts of fibre and pre biotics for their little digestions. I understand not everyone can afford to do this... and you know what - if you don't do it at all that's totally fine. But here's a simple suggestion if you can't afford a completely organic produce shop but want to do the best by your fam - If you eat the skin, buy organic, if you throw the skin away you can choose normal veg and fruit. This way you are getting the best of both worlds, price and health.

This recipe is so simple you'll love me for it. And it makes about 6 - 7 serves of Rice bites so you can freeze them and pull them out in the morning to defrost in the fridge as you need them. When making these, you need to use a sticky rice like Arborio. I like to keep food for the babies as simple as possible (actually, even for us all) as our digestion can only handle so much at a time. The less ingredients something has, the easier it is for the body to break down and absorb the nutrients. This is why I like using a sticky rice, so I don't have to add a binding agent like Egg or Chia seeds...it also limits the amount of time in the kitchen and your dishes while eliminating needing to do a second lot of cooking to cook through the egg if that's what you use to bind the mixture together. So sticky rice = less fuss, less mess and lessssss stress!

When adding the vegetables to the pot, since the veggies for this are grated, I prefer them to be raw. It ensures maximum nutrients and enzymes remain in the food, so I only ever add the vegetables to the pot once the rice has already absorbed all the water and the heat is turned off. Of course you can add them earlier if you like, it's totally up to you. I just prefer maximum nutrients through less heat administration. 

Well! Since I've told you all my tips and tricks, I best get on with the recipe!

As usual, if you give it a go, let me know in the comments and share far and wide to make sure we are showing mums and dads all over how easy it can be to make something nutritious for our little loves!

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Recipe

Serves - 6-7 depending on size rolled.

Time - 20 Minutes plus Cooling and Rolling Time - 

Age - 8 months +

What you need:

1 Cup Organic Arborio Rice

Water amount as per the absorption method instructions for the rice on the packet ( handy hint - use bone or vegetable broth instead of water for added nutrition)

1 Whole Grated Organic Carrot

1 Whole Grated Organic Zucchini (including stem on the top)

What to do:

Cook your rice as per the absorption method on the back of the packet of rice you are using with the water or broth.

Grate your Carrot and Zucchini and give a little squeeze to get rid of some of the water. It doesn't have to be extremely dry, just to rid the excess. 

Once the Rice has absorbed the water (or broth) add the grated veg and mix thoroughly. 

Let sit until cool enough to handle. 

Once you are able to handle the mixture, roll into balls. The size will be up to your discression based on how old you little one(s) is/are.

Serve Warm, or place in container and refrigerate. You can also freeze them and then pull them out in the morning the day you need them. 

I find my twins enjoy about 4 each per serve (if they aren't having anything else with the meal)

Voila! Enjoy!

Turmeric Choc Chip Cookies - Paleo

YUM! I am SO excited to share this recipe with you! It was a bit of a fluke which makes it all the more exciting! These turned out so deliciously chewy I had to be careful we didn't eat them all at once! 

So today while the whole of the nation were engrossed in the horrible cruelty filled day that is horse racing (it's Melbourne cup day), I decided to have a date with my kitchen and do something that makes my heart and soul sing, instead of make my heart ache and break in half which is what seeing those poor horses be whipped does to me. 

So I turned off all Social Media, TV, Music and I was just at one with the baking. It must have done me well because this recipe worked like a treat (and to be honest... I have never made cookies before so it was a gamble!)

If you have recently seen the front page of my website, you will notice if you scroll right to the bottom that every now and then we have a quote by someone amazing in the land of natural health. Today I changed it to "Every time you Eat or drink, you are either feeding disease or fighting it". Since being diagnosed with Hashimotos Auto Immune thyroid disease, this is the mantra I live by. Everything that I put in my mouth - and my families mouth, I want to benefit us. This is why these cookies are filled with good fats, anti inflammatory ingredients, pre biotics and Turmeric. 

Having an Auto immune disease puts me at higher risk for inflammation within my body, and also means that my children have a pre disposition to developing the same disease, if not others. Therefore I take the Food As Medicine principle very serious in our house. That was the driving force behind adding Turmeric into the cookies. I didn't want to add pepper which you should normally do when consuming Turmeric ( It increases the Bio Availability of the Curcurmin ) as the cookies really aren't very sweet anyway. So I added the Cinnamon to aid in absorption of the anti inflammatory benefits of the curcurmin. 

When you are buying Turmeric, It will really see you well to buy a good quality product. You want to aim for 4-5 % Curcurmin. Curcurmin is the yellow pigment in Turmeric which is where all the health benefits lie. You can usually get a good grade Turmeric from your local health food store. You can use supermarket turmeric... but ... with all the processing that foods go through, I wouldn't trust it and the curcurmin value is quite low. You can tell this by the light colour that it is. 4-5 % Curcurmin is a really really deep gold colour. Just beautiful. 

I often cook with Turmeric. So much that I barely have a white shirt that doesn't have yellow stains. But as you know, the minute you apply heat to anything, it loses nutrient value. This is why I try to add it into so much that we consume... although weirdly enough.. this is the only recipe it is in so far in my blogged recipes! I'll have to blog the recipe for my Veggie turmeric curry. It really is a winner! 

Anyway, it's cookies for now! I look forward to sitting tonight once the tribe are in bed, and enjoying a warm Golden Milk Latte with a couple of cookies. I have a mad fascination with Channel 33 ( The Food Channel ) and my SB ( Secret Behaviour ) when no one is home or awake is sitting with good food, a great drink and watching the food channel. It is pure decadence. Mind you... I spend most of my time criticising the chefs for cooking unhealthy foods, and one woman in particular who thinks she's super healthy but the recipes are really just junk food. So that's me in spare time. I criticise people and eat food.... hahahahahahah. Seriously though if you're a foodie like me you probably would be doing the exact same thing.

SO enjoy! As per usual... let me know what you think if you give the recipe a go. And don't forget to share with your friends and family! This is a great alternative for little tikes birthday parties instead of all the processed sugar filled crap on the shelves! Happy Baking!

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Recipe

Serves - 8 - 

Time 45 Minutes

What you need:

Baking Sheet and Baking Paper

Hand or Stand Mixer

1 1/4 cup almond flour

1 Tablespoon coconut flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 Cup coconut sugar ( I did between 1/3 Cup and 1/4 Cup )

6 tablespoons Coconut Oil ( Room Temperature )

1 teaspoon mollasses

1 large egg

4 Lines 85% Dark Loving Earth Vegan chocolate

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Turmeric.

What to do:

Preheat your oven to 180 Degrees Celsius and line a Baking sheet with Baking Paper. 

In a stand mixer ( or hand mixer ) mix the Coconut Oil and Coconut Sugar until well combined. Once combined, add the egg and molasses and whip again until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Almond Flour, Coconut Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, Turmeric, and Cinnamon. With a wooden spoon mix until combined. 

With your Vegan chocolate, chop to chunk size pieces. 

Incorporate your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients with the mixer on low speed. Once all of the dry ingredients are in the bowl, turn to a medium speed and mix well until combined. 

Once combined, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and stir in chocolate chips

Scoop a teaspoon size of dough and roll between your hands, then push down with your thumb in the middle and place on the baking tray about an inch apart. 

In 180 degree oven bake for 10 minutes or until the bottoms are golden. 

Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to cooling rack. 

Let sit until firm. They will be chewy and delicious in no time! 

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This is my little Cookie tester and Model. Pretty Cute huh :)

Healthy 10 Minute Pasta - For Kids!

I think every parent has those days where you really CBF cooking... to the point that you're not even phased if you don't eat yourself. But then you remember that you have little humans that rely on you, and you can't just Not Adult... so you get your bum off the couch and make something simple. Maybe Toast. Maybe Eggs. Maybe even a bowl of cereal...perhaps you even opt for the greasiest and just do a take away night! After all... kids don't really mind do they? But for the rest of the night you feel a little bit guilty inside that you haven't fed them something as nutritious as what you probably could have. 

Well I don't know about you, but I felt like this  A LOT when I was pregnant with the twins and I still had to feed my 2 year old... and I'd been working all day. Because we follow an anti inflammatory lifestyle here, and we have many intolerances/don't keep junk food in the house and I refuse to give my family nasty cheap food - our take away is usually grill'd burgers. And believe me when I say - Holy shit that gets expensive! $50 minimum on takeaway to feed three of us... and because I could barely walk from being pregnant with twins, sadly this happened around 2-3 times a week. Bye Bye Money. I was like Beyonce throwing money at Maids... but I was throwing money at the waiters at Grill'd and making them feed me. 

So if you're a mum... a dad... a grand parent.. or a special person... and just want to SIT DOWN... may I suggest that you try this 10 minute pasta! Truth is, it only takes 10 minutes because that's how long the pasta takes to cook. The sauce itself is literally done in 5 minutes! You don't even have to chop anything. All you need is a blender or food processor... and a saucepan for the pasta of choice. 

We use Orgran Gluten Free Pasta for our son, Seth. It's made from Rice and Corn (I know not anti inflammatory however it does the job as a once off every now and then) and it comes in fun shapes! The pic above is their 'Out Back' animals pasta and Seth loves going through and looking at the Koala's and Kangaroos. So it's super fun for the tots! Not to mention, they also include spinach and other veggies in the pasta to make it fun colours. The sauce is also considered raw which is great because it means the nutrients in the vegetables are still intact and therefore packs a great nutritional punch. 

We don't eat dairy in this house, and the substitute I LOVE when it comes to cheese on pasta is Nutritional Yeast! It has the most wonderfully cheesy flavour but is packed with Protein and B Vitamins! I highly recommend it. Little mate thinks it's cheese ( the poor love haha) so he always asks for it on his meals. It really does contain great nutritional value and it's quite well priced! I usually use the Bragg's Nutritional Yeast, however Wholefood Merchants were out of Bragg's this fortnight so I am trying the Lotus brand... tastes the same and was a bit cheaper which is a win!

So here you go. Some relief for parents EVERYWHERE! It doesn't look the prettiest.. but hey it's gunna come out looking much worse... amirite?

As usual, let me know how you go if you give it a try and let me know what your little ones think! It really packs a punch of flavour and hey - why not even mix it through some Quinoa pasta for an easy meal for yourself?

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Recipe

Serves - 2 - 

Time 10 Minutes

What you need:

Blender/NutriBullet/Food processor 

1 Organic Tomato

1 Clove Garlic

1 Handful Spinach Leaves

1 Teaspoon Tomato Paste

1/6 of an Onion (literally just a couple of Rings)

1/2 Teaspoon Italian Herbs (Oregano or Basil will work too)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Nutritional Yeast

Salt & Pepper

1 Cup Animal Pasta (=2 Serves for small People)

What to do:

Put a saucepan of Water on and cook Pasta as per your Pasta packet instructions.      

While the water is boiling, in your blender add your Tomato, Spinach, Garlic, Onion, Herbs, Tomato Paste and tablespoon of Olive Oil and a pinch of Salt & Pepper. Blend until all combined. 

Once the pasta is cooked, scoop 1/2 cup of the Pasta water out and keep it in a cup to the side and then drain the Pasta.

Once the Pasta is drained, add it back to the Pot and pour the Sauce from the blender over the pasta. Mix well and then add the half a cup of pasta water. This will thin the sauce out and ensure it evenly covers the pasta. 

Serve into the bowls and top with Nutritional Yeast and Voila! 

I told you it was simple, didn't I? xx   

Gut Loving Mint Choc Smoothie

What do you think when you think of Smoothie? I bet it isn't 'Decadent', 'Rich' and 'Amazingly Good For You' all in one go!

I've starting mucking around lately with Blue Green Algae and Chlorophyll because I've been doing a bit of research as to how to increase nutrients into our diet in different ways. Normally with supplements, I'm quite picky because our gut can only absorb so much at one time. I mean don't get me wrong, if you see our 'Medicine' Cabinet, It is chocked full of Supplements, but all of those are taken on different days at different times and all of them are staggered unless its the usual, Magnesium before Bed and Calcium upon waking. So when I came across a recipe with Spirulina, I was like BAHH I'm not adding anything else. But THENNNNN I saw that its powdered and you can actually just add it to food and drinks! 

Salads, Smoothies, Drinks, Soups - you name it! These little powdered beauties can be added nearly anywhere.  

So I did it! I found Blue Green Algae (Spirulina depending on the brand you buy) and Chloraphyll. The Algae is in a powder and Chloraphyll is a liquid, with Mint Added! First of all when I opened the Chloraphyll, I put it in water with Ice, and it was amazing. SO refreshing and I can't wait to have this as a go to in Summer! *watch this space for an exciting array of iced teas*  

The Algae caught me off guard. It has the strongest most pungent smell which truth be told, turned my stomach a little bit. But once you mix it with anything, you can't taste it really because you don't use too much of it.  

I do warn you though, I think I over did it the first time I used the Algae... and the toilet was my friend that afternoon. TMI I know but I have to be honest. If you asked me to describe what came out... the answer would just be - Green - 

So go easy with it.  

If you aren't aware of the benefits of Spirulina or Algae, you can do some reading Here, and Hereare the benefits of adding Chloraphyll to your diet.  

I've searched high and low for information on if this is safe for children, and there has been nothing to indicate that it isn't unsafe. So I happily fed this to my 3 year old. He bloody loved it, and he's alive... so the proofs in the pudding! 

So there you go! If you have the stuff give it a go, and if you're up for incorporating more nutrients into your diet - but keep it fun - then this is definitely for you! The Chlorophyll I use in this particular Smoothie is by Grant's. It was only $14.00 for a bottle. But you can use any powdered Spirulina provided it's by a reputable company. There shouldn't be many issues.

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Recipe 

Serves -2- 

Time: 10 Mins

 What you need: 

1 Banana 

3 Tablespoons of Coconut Yoghurt ( No Sugar ) 

2 Cups Coconut Milk 

1/2 Teaspoon Algae 

2 Teaspoons Minted Chlorophyll 

1 Tablespoon Great Lakes Collagen/Gelatin

1 Small Handful of Spinach 

1 Tablespoons Cacao and 2 Tablespoons Extra Coconut Milk Blended together 

 - Any Toppings you like. I did Hazelnuts, Cashews, Brazil Nuts, Cacao Nibs, Chia Seeds, and a small scoop of Coyo -  

 What to do: 

In a Blender ( I used a Nutri Ninja ) add the Banana, Yoghurt, Milk, Algae, Chlorophyll and Spinach, and blend until there are no lumps and a smooth consistency is reached. If you want it more liquidy, then just add more milk.  

Mix your cacao and milk together to form a chocolate paste and pour around the sides of your glass.  

Pour in the smoothie and top with your toppings! 

I also made one in a bowl - however, it was harder to eat because it was so wet (if that even makes sense?) So if you do it in a bowl, take a quarter of the liquid away so its more Smoothie Bowl Consistency!