A Recipe for Raw Chocolate | 'Cooking With My Smallest Chef | Raw Vegan Toddler / Children Ideas

Opeie decided that he wanted a kitchen for Christmas whilst shopping in Ikea . He was so excited by the idea of making things and cooking that I couldn't wait for Christmas morning to come . ( Even though we celebrate Christmas Day on Boxing Day in our house ) It was totally worth the wait ! 

Opeie has been cooking up a storm in his Diner but the other day he asked if we could make some chocolate together , as chocolate making is one of my favourite things to do , I quickly started melting the Cacao Butter , while Opeie carried the equipment from the main kitchen , to the Diner kitchen . 

{ I need to get some non-glass containers for him to play with however, as yesterday these fell off the shelf and almost smashed. Any ideas of nice plastic, bpa free containers, comment below! }

I decided to use his empty advent calendar tray as a mould so we could talk about recycling as we made them . Despite being 2 1/2 Opeie understands the concept very well .I'd like to get some good 'Ice lollie' shapes ones so that we could make raw ice cream too, but all the ones I've had in the past don't support well, and the ice cream always topples off.... anyway...

We also made "raw Reece's peanut butter cups " which I'll come to later-  if you're wondering why there's peanut butter on the table . 

I'd recommend using a toddler safe bowl while making these, something that has grip to the bottom as you don't want a chocolate-y mess everywhere, we used our trusty Oxo Tot bowl from the Small & Large Set  as I knew these wouldn't move around while Opeie was stirring. I'd also recommend using a silicone whisk as i find the metal ones are abit slippy if they get the cacao butter on the handle, which happened to us (we didn't have one however)

To make enough chocolate to fill 25 small moulds and to cover 12 Raw Reece's . 

0.5 cups melted Cacao oil / butter 

0.5 cups melted coconut oil 

12 tablespoons cacao powder

6-8 tablespoons maple syrup or agave

Pinch of salt 

Scraped vanilla pod 

••••••••••••••••••••••

Mix the melted  cacao butter & coconut oil together, Add the salt , vanilla and syrup ( I prefer to use less syrup - around 6 tablespoons , and opted for agave ) 

Once mixed, slowly add the cacao powder, whisking to make sure it's not lumpy . 

Fill the moulds until almost at the top , we decided to use the moustache moulds we had for Christmas also since there was a little left over . When they're all full - put in the freezer for 15 minutes to set, or the fridge for 30 mins if you're not impatient ! 

(  Opeie's favourite part, licking the utensils clean afterwards ) 

When the moulds are cool - pop out of the tray and eat , or store in a airtight tub ! Enjoy ! Have you made anything nice lately ? Are you on a post Christmas diet ? Is your New Years resolution to loose weight & be healthier ? 

Raw Wednesday - Butternut Squash & Apple Soup | Raw Vegan Soup

Hello Guys!

I've started doing raw Wednesday since I'm making more of an effort to make raw food as it's so good for you, and gives you so much energy in return for alittle prep work.

In your high speed blender, add
1.5 cups butternut squash
1/2 an onion
1 whole cored apple
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
pinch of salt
herbs that you like best, i used oregano
pinch of pepper
clove of garlic

Blitz for 5-10 minutes on high. 

30 second Raw Carrot Coriander Soup • OmniBlend recipe

From this ^ ...... A cup of coconut milk , 3 washed organic unpeeled carrots , a pinch of cumin, 1/4 of a Kallo vegan stock cube , salt & pepper ....

Pop in the OmniBlend .... Pulse  3 or 4 times.... Blend on high for 3 - 5 minutes depending if you want it hot or warm & raw

I made this yesterday  morning as I felt awful, I think I caught a bug off one of my patients. I came out in a vile rash, flu symptoms, and in the evening nausea. Luckily after loads of vitamin C smoothies I'm better ! 

Do you like raw soup ? Tell me your favourite !

Downloadable recipe: OmniBlend prepared Vegan Raw Protein balls

Do you want to prepare a totally healthy healthy, raw snack in 5 minutes that's transportable? Yes??! Well ok then..... let's get going making tasty, inexpensive protein balls! I used the OmniBlend to makke the dough in under a minute- it is fantastic for creating raw food.... don't forget to check here for a discount code too!

 

Download here for free

Healthy ice cream • Vegan • Raw • Soya Free

Ice cream is one of the best things to eat in summer & winter - in my opinion! 

I love it with hot steamed rhubarb, apples, pears, blackberries in winter ! Delicious! 

It's super simple to make too. 

Peel & chop some bananas, freeze .

Freeze any other berries you want to use, cherries, raspberries and blueberries are my personal favourite . 

Put in a high speed blender , of through a twin gear juicer on the Ice cream setting - we have a Tribest GreenStar. Stir in raisins / raw chocolate chips or cocoa powder . 

It comes out like sorbet/ ice creamy delicious dessert which you can freeze and store and then scoop ( leave it to soften on the counter for a couple of minutes) 

Raw Vegan Caramel Recipe • With Coconut oil , almond butter , maple syrup, agave • UK vegan food blog

I've been wanting to make some raw caramel for a while, to use in other recipes, and as a dip for the boys fruit, or as a topping on things , it was annoying me that I couldn't seem to think of what to use . 

In a food processor ( mine isn't that good, it was a really cheap one ) if you have the attachment for ' creaming ' use that, if not the regular blades should work . 

Add 2 teaspoons of Vanilla

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup Coconut butter

1/2 cup maple syrup ( dark and pure )

1/3 cup almond butter

2 teaspoons agave 

Put everything in the food processor , and blend, stopping to check every few minutes .everything at   the bottom / sides are bring mixed in ok - blend in food processor for around 5 minutes until it thickens .

It will become thick & gloopey like the Caramel you know and love ! 

( I made raw vegan " Snickers Bars" and " Toffee Crisp" style dessert snacks today and oh my goodness ! Amazing and healthy ! ) stay tuned for the recipe ! 

Raw vegan brownie recipe, Banana & cacao brownies • Healthy , detoxing , Raw foods

Fudge Brownie Banana Brazil Nut Bites:

Quick recipe for you all , I'd been craving something Brownie-ish and thought of this : 

4 overly ripe bananas

7 tablespoons of Coconut Butter melted

4 table spoons raw Cacao

12 Brazil nuts

2/3 cup of raisins

1/4 cup agave

Put everything in a food processor appart from raisins and Brazil's . Blitz until smooth, add Brazil's and chop up into small chunks, then stir in raisins . 

 

( coconut butter is not the same as Covonut oil, Coconut butter is the coconut meat ground down until its liquid, coconut oil - the meat of the coconut is pressed to make oil) you could use coconut oil however it just won't taste as rich ....)

Transfer to a mould tray and put in the freezer for 12 hours - 24 hours ( depending on the temperature ) they freeze and are easy to handle, but melt as you bite them ! 

Diabetic Vegan Friendly Shortbread Recipe | Vegan UK Mom | Blog | Diabetes

This week I wanted to make something alittle different that I've not tried. I decided to make some diabetic friendly shortbread for my lovely collegue at work, as she has diabetes. I work around alot of diabetic patients, but as that's not my main job role I still don't fully 100% understand diabetes, but I do understand the frustration of not being 'able' to eat exactly what you want / when you want. 

However, one thing I do understand is that diabetics have to watch their sugars, and I started looking around a few weeks ago for some alternatives to refined sugars, and found Coconut sugar on Goodness Direct. It has a low GI , and is better for you, diabetic or not as the sugar is released slower giving you less of a sugar 'hit' and a more steady energy boost.

"The claim to fame is that coconut palm sugar has a low glycemic index (35), likely, in part, because it contains inulin, a type of fiber that can slow glucose absorption."




You use the following:

• 200 g Organic Plain Flour
• 100 g Coconut Sugar
• 200 g Pure 'Butter' Vegan Spread / Your usual Butter
• 100 g Semolina 
• A sprinkle of white sugar for decoration - optional.
  
  
  Set the oven to 160'c .... 140'c if it's fan assisted.
  
  Put everything in a food processor / bowl and mix until you create a ball of dough
  
  Butter a tray or round springform cake tin and press the dough flat to the edges.
  
  Use a knife to prick all over the shortbread and create lines in the edges.
  
  Bake for 45-50 minutes, remove from oven. Prick centre with a knife, if it is still buttery and soft bake for a further 10 minutes.
  
  Cut into pieces, if your like my boss at work, you might like to ignore this and have a whole slab  that's meant to be four fingers.!
  
  Let it cool & Enjoy!

Organic Banana Dairy Free Ice Cream Lollies | Vegan | Soya Free |Gluten free | For Children

With Opeie and I being Vegan, minus soya (and most gluten 99% of the time ) , Seth and Pauly being on limited dairy I wanted to think of a way to get them to be able to Enjoy a frozen dessert that's not a sugary / fructose syrup sorbet type thing .

So I came up with the idea of freezing bananas and sticking them on Ice lolly sticks initially .

Here's how I made them-   ( It seems pretty simple, but they can go wrong!)

Chop/ break up peeled bananas to the size you'd like - I do some smaller for Opeie as he's only a toddler.

Push lolly sticks into the bases of the bananas. Be careful not to push them too far - if if comes out the other end the banana will break up & it won't be a lolly .

Pop them in a air tight bag and freeze for an hour or two .

Remove from freezer and enjoy ... Or....

As a really indulgent treat - I like to add a layer of melted chocolate - either home made organic Raw chocolate or Organic Moo Free chocolate .

I melted around 3/4 of a 100g bar of  Moo Free Chocolate over a pan of boiling water . 

Once melted - and not hot , roll the bananas around in the melted chocolate , or drizzle the chocolate over with a spoon . As the bananas are frozen the chocolate should set immediately - if not within a minute .

Pop in a zip lock bag and store for 1 month maximum - these last about 1 week in our house- we all love them ! Enjoy !

Comment below with your vegan ideas for desserts !

Energy drink - orange & beet root raw vegan

Sometimes I need a little pick up during the day, especially on mornings when Opeies been awake a lot during the night.

This is my go to drink & is so simple & easy! 

I posted It on Facebook and people were asking me about it & then I went to work and got asked about it. 

Here's how to make it- 

2 peeled oranges 

1 unpickled beet root 

Put through a juicer & presto yum! 

Making your own vegan raw almond milk / UK Vegan Mom, Parenting Food blog

Yesterday I was on the nut run - a.k.a going to Holland & Barrett for 2KG of peanut butter , pecans , almonds, pines, and loads of different seeds .

Whilst I was there the lovely lady and I got chatting about me being vegan minus soy ( I miss soya :(  a lot !) and we talked about Almond milk . I had made my own that morning do I mentioned it and she said how she wanted to make some also , so this is for you Holland & Barrett lady. 

Soak 100g almonds over night and then peel the following day, of if you don't mind the skins leave it on . ( Pauly peeled ours while I was at work , he's a keeper!)

Measure 1.5 lts water and add to blender , I preferred filtering my water first through my Bobble filter  as ours tastes vile. 

To the water add 2-3 table spoons agave, and 2 tablespoons co yo yoghurt if you'd like pro-biotic qualities . 

Add half the nuts (50g) and whizz until its all blended together . 

It's so much richer than Alpro or Blue diamond . We store ours in a air tight glass bottle from Ikea or Wholefoods. 

It keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge.