Quinoa stuffed baked sweet potato

Oh my sweet hallelujah, I created the mega lunch to end all lunches. Seriously, I can't stress enough how delicious this was. So so so easy too. And so wholesome. Kept me full for hours, this will be a new staple in my life for sure. Versatile too (this is just one way you can fill a baked potato!)

Ingredients: 

1 sweet potato/ normal potato (if you like), with a small cross incision in the top 

Lemon juice 

As much quinoa as you like (I didn't measure it but I got leftovers from it which is good!) 

Whatever vegetables you want to use (for the stir fry part I used cherry tomatoes, capsicum, zucchini, carrot and a little spinach, and then for the quinoa part I used spinach and mushrooms) 

Tahini, hulled or unhulled (I used Mayver's food) 

Olives, or any other toppings you would like (it's optional) 

Oil of choice, for cooking 

Method: 

I put the sweet potato on a piece of baking paper in the oven, and put it on 180 degrees celcius. Check as it's cooking, but it should take around 20 or so minutes (depending on the size/ length of your potato) 

Meanwhile, in a pot, add your quinoa and some cold water to the stove and bring it to the boil, and then to a simmer with the lid on, stirring occasionally. 

Put some coconut oil in a hot pan (or whatever oil you're using) and when it has melted, add your vegetables (except the tomatoes and the spinach) and saute until almost fully cooked, and then add your tomatoes. Keep them cooking for a minute or so more, until the tomatoes have started to blister, and then add the spinach. Remove from the stove and place at the bottom of the bowl, except for the spinach and the mushrooms. 

When the quinoa is fully cooked, drain it and add lemon juice and the vegetables you're tossing through and stir to combine. Then, when the potato is ready, remove it from the oven and split it open in the bowl, and spoon your quinoa mixture on top of the potato. 

In a small bowl or ramekin, add tahini, lemon juice and a little bit of water and combine (adding more or less of ingredients if required to perfect consistency) until a runny dressing consistency. Then, add it to the dish. 

And eat it all up and smile at how delicious it is :) (well, I did anyway) 

I also had it with an Organic Burst acai maqui banana coconut water smoothie topped with chocolate Loving Earth buckinis and JT's coconut essence coconut chips, and of course a block of Pana Chocolate because lunch dessert is absolutely a thing. 

Vegan "Ice Magic" (chocolate hardening sauce)

Guys. Remember ice magic? That stuff you used to pour on your ice cream or frozen desserts and it would go all hard and crunchy and delicious and it was the love of our lives? But so full of processed crap and no good for us?

Well, I have a version that will make your mind, body and soul sing (I don't call myself feedingmindbodysoul on instagram for nothing, hehe)

SUPER EASY. Super tasty.

Pictured: The "ice magic" on top of Sticky Date nana ice cream. Recipe in index for this one. 

Ingredients:

Melted loving earth chocolate (depending on how much you want to make, I used 2-3 squares for this one)
A tablespoon of coconut oil (would need more for more sauce, or less for less sauce)

Method:
Melt the chocolate (whatever chocolate you are using, doesn't have to be L.E. but it is my favourite hehe) until almost entirely melted (still in tact) and then add the coconut oil and stir/ combine until it is mixed together thoroughly, then quickly add to whatever you are using it for. It will eventually harden and be amazing.

Enjoy that, eat it all up and smile for me baby!

Sticky Date "nana ice cream"

Oh boy, do I love sticky date. So.much.yum. Dates really are just too delicious to even try to explain. I'm sure (or hope) you agree. Combined with maca… flavour sensation. Combined with bananas… even better. Unf.

So here is my recipe for a dish that combines all three rather nicely, if I do say so myself.

Pictured: Sticky date nana ice cream, topped with raspberries, fresh banana, Loving Earth Chocolate Buckinis, JT's Coconut Essence Coconut Chips, vegan "ice magic" hardening chocolate sauce (recipe in recipe index) and chunks of Square Bar! 

Ingredients: 

7-8 frozen bananas, frozen at least over night 

Almond milk, a few splashes (just enough to blend) 

A few chopped dates 

Maca powder (optional, but recommend. I recommend this one) 

Method: 

Chop dates into small chunks, and add to blender with maca powder (if using, as much as you like really!). Then, add your frozen bananas (broken into chunks so you don't break your blades) and a splash or so of almond milk (you can add more during blending process if required) and blend until all combined in a smooth ice cream consistency. 

Place in a bowl, and top with your desired toppings (the more the better if you ask me hehe). 

You can use as many or as little bananas as you like, I personally enjoy a large bowl of the stuff because it's so damn tasty, but live your life poppets :) 

Carrot Cake Pancakes

Pictured here: carrot cake pancakes, topped with coconut yoghurt, a cacao peanut butter sauce, banana, blend co superfood sprinkle and some raspberries! 

As you probably know, I love my carrot cake. A lot. It's just so delicious and such a fun way to get some veggies in, if you don't like them :)

I love carrot cake oatmeal and usual carrot cake on illegal levels, but carrot cake pancakes… unf. They make take the cake(s) on this one!

I add maca (from Organic Burst) because not only does it add an extra level of deliciousness to my meals, it gives me a good hit of energy in the morning to keep me going, and it has so many nutritional benefits, and balances out your hormones… how good is that? But it's optional, but I do recommend. You can barely taste it anyway, depending on how much you put in of course.

Go wild with the toppings, experiment with what you like best. I always try to mix it up, more fun that way.

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup buckwheat flour (this flour works best as the carrot is too moist for other flours I have tried) 

2 flax "eggs" (or chia eggs, 2 tbsp of flax to 6 tbsp of water, ideally left for as long as possible in the fridge) 

1 carrot, grated finely 

1 tsp of baking powder 

As much maca as you please (I use this one, and go crazy with it) 

1 ripe banana, mashed (you can leave some out for topping if you want, I used a whole one though) 

1/2 cup of plant based milk (I used almond milk) 

As much cinnamon and nutmeg as you want (I won't limit you here, go wild) 

1-2 dates, chopped into small pieces (optional again, I love it though) 

Method: 

Make your flax eggs first (or make overnight) and leave in the fridge for as long as possible. Then, grate your carrot finely and put it in a big bowl. Add your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, maca, spices) and mix til combined. After that, mash your banana and add it to the bowl with your other wet ingredients ("eggs", milk and your chopped dates) and mix until everything is combined.

Grease a non-stick pan with coconut oil, and then cook your pancakes one by one in your desired size/ thickness, until you have made the whole batter. You should flip after a minute or so, or when it starts to go golden on the bottom and bubbles form at the top.

Add yoghurt, a sauce, lots of yummy toppings, a scoop of banana ice cream, or even some icing would be cool! Don't hold back. Enjoy that stack and enjoy your day beautiful people!

Chocolate Chunk Raspberry Brownies

So I wasn't prepared to post this recipe because I was like "this is the biggest guessing game ever and it probably won't work out too well" but YOU KNOW WHAT. I have too little faith in myself! These were really gosh darn tasty, if I do say so myself. And then I was like "ugh but they could be even better than this, this could be just mediocre for their potential…" but so many lovely folk asked for a recipe anyway so you know what? I just decided to give it a crack and post it and see (if any of you make them) what you think, if they are good enough.

 Warning: because of the raspberries, part of the mix might appear a bit more moist and wet than the rest of it when it's fully cooked. Don't panic, it's just the fresh fruit playing part. You'll just have a little moist bit in the brownie when you bite in… so delicious. 

Ingredients: 

1 cup of almond meal (either make your own or store bought) 

2 tbsp of olive oil (you could use any oil but I like olive oil in baking) 

1 cup of dates, pitted (can be chopped if you like) 

3-4 tbsp of cacao powder (depending on how rich you like your brownies) 

1/3 cup of rice flour and 1/3 cup of buckwheat flour (experimenting with the flour combos is okay, just make sure you're ready to adjust liquid amounts!) 

1 tsp vanilla essence 

2 tbsp baking powder 

2/3 cup of applesauce (you could probably also used mashed banana if you like, or flax eggs even) 

2/3 cup almond milk (I think I added a splash more during the mixing process, play by ear) 

Optional: maca powder (as much as you like if you're using it, really) 

My add-ins (also optional and you could add nuts or whatever else you wanted to) raspberries and Loving Earth dark chocolate, chopped 

Method: 

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius. 

In a blender,  combine your almond meal, dates, oil, cacao, maca and vanilla until it makes a biscuit crumble-like mixture. 

Combine blended ingredients with the rest of your ingredients (except your raspberries, if you're using) and adding the milk slowly and mixing whilst adding, until a desired consistency is reached. Mix in half the raspberries until combined.

Pour mixture in a baking tin/ loaf tin, pop on top a few raspberries and spread evenly and allow to bake for 20-30 minutes.  

Tip: don't remove the brownies from the tin for at least 1-2 hours after baking, to prevent lots of cracking. 

AND ENJOY. I personally ate them really quickly because I love brownies… but up to you. Freeze them if you want them to last longer, so you can always have a little snippet of heaven ready for you when you are. 

Lots of love! 

Caramel Apple Pie Pancakes

I used to love Apple Pie. Especially with whipped cream. Whoops. Not sorry about it.

But when I became a coeliac with a dairy allergy and then a vegan, all of those dreams of being able to just simply go to the bakery and pick up a good old apple pie or an apple turnover, still piping hot and all, died. They have been long dead. I haven't done that kind of thing in years. If I could, I would. Believe me. Every day (hehe).

BUT LET US NOT GET ALL SAD NOW. These pancakes… wow. It was a taste of my childhood again. A taste of pre-ballet training program, Mum's shout kind of afternoons. And it tasted good man. It tasted so good. Next time, I will be trying with coconut yoghurt, for the full blown effect. Try it with me. Here comes the recipe loves…

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup Brown Rice flour 

1/4 cup Buckwheat flour (you can use all the one type of flour if you want) 

1 tsp Baking powder/ soda 

Maca powder (as much as you like, I use this one) 

1 apple, half very finely chopped or grated and the other half in bigger chunks, all peeled 

2 flax or chia eggs (1 tbsp flax or chia to 3 tbsp of water is one egg, so two of those) 

1/2 cup of almond milk/ any plantbased milk 

1 banana, mashed (you can leave half of the banana out for decoration if you like, in which case don't mash the whole thing) 

Optional: cinnamon (not really an option, you need cinnamon in there c'mon guys hehe but as much as you like, I personally put illegal amounts in there) and maca powder (not necessary, but I love maca and it gave it the caramel flavour) 

Method: 

Make your flax eggs first and foremost, and pop them in the fridge for a little while. In the mean time, peel your apple and cut it in half, with one half for the poached apple and the other for the pancakes themselves. For the poached apple, cut them into bigger chunks. Put a saucepan of water on to boil and coat your apple pieces in a mixture of vanilla, cinnamon and maca and pop them in the boiling water. Reduce the heat so that the apples can simmer for 10 minutes or so, until soft. Remove from the heat. 

Move onto the pancakes now! Put all the dry ingredients (so the flour/s, the baking powder, and the cinnamon and maca if you're using them) in a bowl and combine. Then, add the wet ingredients (mashed banana, flax eggs, milk) and the grated or finely chopped bits of apple and mix with the dry ingredients, until all mixed together. 

Heat a pan with oil of choice (I used coconut oil) and make your pancakes one by one until all the mixture has been made. Feel free to reheat your poached apple too, and serve it all hot hot hot! 

I topped mine this morning with Mayvers Coconut Peanut Butter (about half a jar… at least), the rest of the banana, the poached apple and Blend Co sprinkle. But it would go with so many things! Coyo, berries, maple syrup, whipped coconut cream…. the options are limitless. 

Go crazy kittens!  

Tiramisu Pancakes

I am Italian, and come from a large Italian family who love to cook (and eat). Before becoming allergic to gluten and dairy and now being a vegan, I would eat a whole batch of my Nonna's tiramisu with a spoon in one sitting, no sweat. Now, it makes me feel sick to think about it, because I know how badly my body would react. And ever since becoming allergic and not being able to eat it, nothing has ever quite lived up to it. I've tried raw tiramisu cakes countless times and yet… they are delicious, but not the same.

UNTIL NOW.

Holy dooley these pancakes change everything. I am in love. My favourite things: coffee, cacao, coconut. All in one. Boom. Bingo. So easy too. But they seem so decadent, but in a sophisticated way.

I also changed around the recipe for the batter for these bad boys, so they were extra fluffay today (so fluffay, I'm going to die!)

Pictured: Tiramisu pancakes topped with Coyo yoghurt, homemade raw cacao sauce, banana, blend co superfood sprinkle and Loving Earth Raw Caramel Chocolate shavings 

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup buckwheat flour and 1/4 cup brown rice flour (the new addition was adding 1/4 cup brown rice flour in place of 1/4 cup buckwheat flour, and I liked it!) 

1 tsp baking powder/ soda 

1 tbsp maca powder (optional, or as much as you like) 

1 as ripe as possible mashed banana (I just started a new banana for decoration purposes, the more banana in the pancakes the better in my opinion) 

2 flax or chia eggs (2 tbsp flax/ chia to 6 tbsp water) (tip: it's best to make these at least half an hour before, or even the night before if possible) 

1/2 cup almond milk/ any dairy free milk 

1 tbsp sweetener, if desired (coconut sugar, agave, maple etc.) 

As many coffee granules of espresso powder as you please (depending on your tastes for coffee flavour) 

Method: 

Combine all dry ingredients (so in this case the flours, the baking powder, the maca powder) and mix mix mix. 

 Then add all wet ingredients  (time for the milk, "eggs", sweetener if you're using it) and combine with the dry. Mash your banana and add it to the mixture, in addition to the coffee, and don't stop til you've mixed it all up! 

Heat a pan with oil of choice (I use coconut oil) and cook pancakes one by one, until your stack is complete. Add the toppings that make your heart sing. Mine were coyo yoghurt, raw cacao sauce (recipe following), banana, blend co sprinkle and some Loving Earth caramel chocolate I grated up mmmmhmmm baby. 

Raw cacao sauce: 

Ingredients- equal parts cacao powder, coconut oil and sweetener (as much sauce as you want to make, I used 1tbsp of each for this recipe) 

Method: 

Melt the coconut oil (cold pressed) with the cacao powder and sweetener until runny and combined. It will harden and thicken, so pour it on top as you please. 

And enjoy babies!