Month: December 2015

Raw Christmas Treats

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I always like to make little sweet treats to give away to friends at Christmas, and wondered how I could give my raw treats a Christmas twist. In the end, I came up with this very simple variation on my SMIZ balls.

xmas smiz

For the balls, see my SMIZ Balls recipe in an earlier post.

For the ‘custard’ topping, melt 2 tablespoons cacao butter, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 3 tablespoons maple syrup and 1 teaspoon vanilla paste.

Whisk to combine, then refrigerate until almost set hard.

Spread about 1/2 teaspoon cacao mixture over each ball, and top with a dried cranberry.

These make the cutest gifts, without the sugar spike that comes attached with Christmas pudding!

 

Smoked Chicken, feta and pomegranate salad

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I have to share this salad I made tonight; it was delicious! I can’t really give a recipe because I just threw stuff in, but here’s the gist:

smoked chicken salad

One handful Soba noodles, cooked according to packet directions and drained

2 cups mixed lettuce leaves, ripped

1/2 cup broad beans, blanched and podded

handful snow peas, chopped

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 spring onions, chopped

100 grams crumbly Greek feta, roughly chopped/crumbled

1 smoked free-range chicken breast, chopped

handful walnuts, toasted

1 pomegranate

1/4 cup each raspberry vinegar and olive oil

 

Mix the noodles, vegetables, feta, chicken and walnuts in a bowl. Combine the vinegar and oil and toss through.

Cut the pomegranate in half and tap the back of each half to scatter the seeds all over the salad.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. That’s it!

 

Raw afghan biscuits

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Afghans are an iconic New Zealand biscuit, but with all that sugar and butter they are not really a lunchbox snack or everyday food.

I’ve created a recipe free from dairy, grains, gluten and sugar. It’s not technically raw as the maple syrup is processed with heat, but is close enough for me! I would still consider this a treat as it is high is healthy fats and natural sugars, but after a long run or heavy exercise session one of these biscuits would provide lots of energy as well as important nutrients. Oh, and the kids will love them too!

aghans

Biscuits:

2 cups raw cashew nuts, blended until breadcrumb consistency

1 cup desiccated coconut

2 tablespoons coconut flour

1/4 cup cacao powder

1/4 cup rice syrup

8 dried dates, soaked in warm water for 5-10 minutes

 

Icing:

60 grams cacao butter

4-5 tablespoons cacao powder

2.5 tablespoons coconut oil

2.5 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste

To make the biscuits, mix the finely blended nuts, coconut, coconut flour and cacao powder in a large bowl. Blend the drained dates and rice syrup until pale and creamy. Add this to the cashew mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

With damp hands, roll balls of mixture and flatten them onto a tray or plate. Refrigerate.

To make the icing, melt all the icing ingredients in a small pot. Put in the fridge (or freezer) until firm enough to spread on the biscuits without it dribbling straight off (about half an hour).

Ice biscuits and top with a walnut half.

Keep refrigerated for up to a week.