March 30, 2014

Repost - How to NOT care what people think


Talking with my friends and family, especially women, most of us care a great deal what other people think. Worry and anxiety over your appearance, your personality and your actions plague our every day thoughts. I am victim of second-guessing myself... changing your outfit three times before you leave the house, trying to say something witty in conversation but it coming out all wrong, or reliving that embarrassing moment when you walked into a pole in the middle of a busy shopping mall. Yes, I did that.

Ultimately low-self esteem is responsible for us caring what others think. If you think you are pretty rad inside and out, then you aren't going to let other peoples' opinions affect you. You will be able to shake off those negative comments!

Not caring what people think is the hokey pokey to getting through each and every day—it’s what it’s all about. (GET IT?) I don’t know if not caring what people think comes before or after liking yourself, but I think learning to do either will help with the other.

Self-esteem is the kind of thing that sucks basically for every girl, no matter what your circumstances, probably because you are constantly told you can and should be better. 

“Be yourself!”-type stuff isn’t effective without the exhausting breakdown we’re about to get into.

I've taken this from a fantastic post I read on Rookie Magazine online. The writer split her advice into three parts: wearing what you want, your physical self, and your internal self. Let's get into it...

1. Wearing What You Want


People respect people who wear what they want because they wish they could be that courageous. The problem is that for this to work, you have to be courageous. Or at least, at first, appear to be. You have to convince yourself you don’t care before you start actually not caring. It's the fake it before you make it stuff.

Read interviews with people like Lady Gaga and cool old ladies who don’t give a shit if someone thinks what they’re wearing is weird—in fact, they invite it. Certain mantras will stick with you, and you’ll just have to repeat them to yourself throughout the day, on the day you choose to wear something “weird.”Healthy brainwashing, right? Here’s a gem from the late Isabella Blow, fashion editor and muse to Alexander McQueen: “My style icon is anybody who makes a bloody effort.” I typed it from memory, because this is one of my arsenal of phrases that go off in my head whenever someone is being a tool. I just love that.

You have to challenge anyone who gives you a funny look with a look of your own. Or don’t acknowledge them at all, because they’re not worth it! 

What will happen is that you will walk by and go on with your life feeling good that nobody’s got you down, and they’ll stand there a little dumbfounded. Maybe eventually they will grow up and realize how stupid it is to care about how other people look, and to expect people to care that they care, or maybe they’ll stay an asshole forever. You’ll probably never see them again. If you do see them again, because they’re a classmate or friend, their opinion might not be worth valuing. I get that it’s hard to just cut off communication with someone, and no one wants to do that over a single incident, but you just know now to be a little more critical of their opinions or views when they offer them. You don’t have to take what they say personally.

I think most people are afraid of dressing a little stranger or cuter because they’re afraid people will think they think they’re so great. 

Like people will be like, “OH, SO YOU’RE ALL ARTSY NOW?” Nobody will say this if you act like it’s no big deal, as opposed to constantly checking yourself in trophy-case reflections or whatever. If anyone does say it, you look at them, give one of the more subtle “you are an idiot” bitchfaces, and say, “…No?” Watch them squirm.

As long as you’re into what you’re wearing and it makes you more comfortable with yourself, it doesn’t matter if someone else thinks you’ve put together a perfectly composed outfit. Actually, the effect of your confidence will only add to how stylish your outfit seems. It’s like the best catch-22 ever.

Ignore the 'people-deciding-your-image-for-you thing'. Don’t let them. Make them feel stupid for trying. This might feel cruel at first, but have no shame or guilt. You have every right to wear whatever you want, and if someone is so narrow-minded that they need to get on you about it so that the world is easier for them to understand, they might need a reminder that it doesn’t work that way. They’re the ones who think so highly of themselves that they expect you to care what they think of your shoes. You’re just trying to have a good time. (Oh, and this strategy is not reserved for people who have reputations for being obnoxious and opinionated. It is not a contradiction to be nice or shy or whatever you think of yourself as, and still have to be like, every once in a while. 

Relax, bro, I’m just trying something different.

It comes down to this: if you dress “weird,” kind old ladies will come up to you on the street and tell you that you made their day. And that will make your day. It’s the most delightful thing.

2. Liking Your Body/Face


Is being thin a prerequisite to being the protagonist? You know this occurred to me last week when I was re watching one of my favourite childhood movies, My Little Pony. I mean I watched this VHS on repeat when I was six years' old, so much so that more than 20 years later with no intermittent viewing, I could recall every line.

The two girls in the story were brave, intelligent and thin. They were also incredible cute, with long blonde hair and a face that would rival any Disney sweetheart.

In this article, the writer noted a comment she garnered on her blog from a young girl noting that depsite her absence from mainsteam media, in all her reading, the protagonist was almost always skinny. And wanting to be a protagonist means wanting to be someone, as most people do. Apparently, your story is only worth hearing, you’re only someone, if you’re skinny—it’s like, the blueprint of a human. Once that’s down, you’re allowed to be as interesting and protagonist-y as you want! Apparently.

No matter how much people our age have been raised on girl power and believe in yourself and you are beautiful, ignoring the beauty standards of the culture we live in is close to impossible. And as this lady pointed out, these standards and expectations exist outside mainstream culture like reality TV and tabloids; they exist in punk and indie cultures, in “artsy” Tumblr cultures that are all about looking like a fairy, but only if you’re a skinny white girl. I often find myself guilty of the 

“Everyone should love their body!…EXCEPT ME” 

mentality, where you believe in body acceptance on a theoretical level, but are still hard on yourself about conforming to those standards. You know they’re bullshit, and you know you’re worth more than your looks, but you still can’t help feeling guilty or anxious over something like your weight or proportions or whatever thing is left on the constantly updated to-do list handed to us monthly by way of magazine headlines. Like, OK, say I got my “bikini body”—next month I’m going to learn that my eyes are way too far apart, then that my chin is a little too floppy, until I need to start ranking my earlobe shape on a 1-10 scale.

I think a big reason many girls shy away from calling themselves feminists is that they’re worried they won’t be able to live up to this idea of a Strong Woman, and that there’s no room in this club for anyone who isn’t 100% comfortable with herself all the time. You can totally be a feminist who has insecurities. Feminism isn’t about pretending we all feel like Wonder Woman, it’s about being honest when we don’t, and having the conversation on why that is.

But what if you don’t want to live in a bubble? What if you don’t want to totally reject the majority of our culture and live in a John Waters gang of outcasts, forever plagued by your secret desire to read Cosmo? What if you want to enjoy tabloids and reality TV and looking at shows from Fashion Week and photos in Vogue, but without letting the beauty stuff get to you? I think as long as you are discerning, you can totally be a part of that. 

But when you catch yourself thinking,God, I wish I looked like that, you have to remind yourself that the person in that ad is heavily Photoshopped, or sat in a makeup chair for three hours, or both. It’s not about pretending you don’t feel that way and keeping it all down and putting on a Strong Woman face, it’s about being honest with yourself when you start to feel this way.

3. Liking Your Brain/Personality/Soul/That Stuff


Prettiness is not only about being physically attractive. There’s a prettier kind of personality, you know? 


More smiley, more agreeable, charming, less likely to challenge someone on what they say or call them out for being an asshole. And because our culture, for a long time, associated girl with feminine with pretty, but not smart, there’s a message out there that you can only be one or the other—pretty or smart, feminine or funny, Sarah Palin or Hillary Clinton. Mindy Kaling wrote in her book that she has dealt with having to decide whether to be pretty or funny her whole life.

In reality, of course, plenty of women are both smart and pretty, funny and feminine, etc. This is why pop culture needs more strong female characters. Not like, I’m a superhero and I’m supersexy and STRONG and my boobs look really good in this catsuit but oh wait I’m totally two-dimensional. Like, multifaceted, with many layers. Like, you know, human. Can we get a list going in the comments of characters like this? Mad Men is great because its women are just as multidimensional as the men. I love Lena Dunham for writing characters like this. I love the characters of Ghost World and Dreamgirls and The Royal Tenenbaums.

When it comes to becoming the person you want to be, you have to know who you want to be first. And it’s hard to know what we, as girls slash women, really want. I may want to look a certain way because I know it will get me respect and people will pay attention to what I have to say. But I don’t really want to look that way, I “want” to look that way because it’s what they want, and I’ll benefit somehow, but I don’t know who comes out on top in the end.

The root of your confidence in all three of these not-caring-what-people-think subtopics is knowing that you, ultimately, believe in everything you look like or do or say, whether someone else challenges you on it or not. But that is a lot of pressure and responsibility! Because you probably don’t know what exactly you want—and we’re all young and human, so there’s no rush—you will probably find that you don’t believe in everything you ever look like or do or say. Someone might criticize you, and you’ll think about it, and you’ll agree with them. This is fine. It’s all part of figuring out what makes you feel most like yourself and, in turn, most comfortable with yourself. Nobody is perfectly consistent, and anyone who expects people to be that way is just trying to make the world easier for them to understand. This is what we call laziness, and not the awesome kind where you eat a lot of stuff and watch TV.


Just be wary, when you get down on yourself, of where the negativity comes from, especially if that place might be society or culture or whatever. I mean, I can’t even get started on all the fuckedupedness with the mixed messages we get about sexuality. We’ve all seen Black Swan, right? 


There will be bad days, where you feel like complete shit. Eventually it gets easier to recognize—somewhere between the point when you’ve been following a fight in YouTube comments and the point when you cried because you saw the VHS of Aladdin that you walk by every day sitting on top of your TV—that you are having one of these days. 

When you recognize this, spend the rest of the day being nice to yourself. There’s nothing you can do but get through it and know that you’ll wake up tomorrow and it’ll just be different. These are the days when you need to have some humility about the fact that you’re sitting in bed watching pirated episodes of Sonny With a Chance and eating peanut butter out of the jar.


“Self-esteem is for sissies. Accept that you’re a pimple and try to keep a lively sense of humor about it. That way lies grace—and maybe even glory.”

— Tom Robbins, Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates


This mindset is comforting to me in a way “everyone is beautiful!” is not.

I don’t want to believe that I should be concerned with being beautiful, I want to believe that I can be comfortable with myself even though I’m also the kind of person who follows everything that comes out of my mouth by cringing and questioning my own mortality. 


Yes, I get a little sad when I remember I’m too neurotic and too sarcastic, and that I choose to be loud or quiet at all the wrong times, to be a Sofia Coppola character, but also too vapid, too easily amused, to be as cool as Daria. But I’m not a Sofia Coppola character, and I’m not Daria, I’m me, and I want to look and act like me. And I’ll define me for myself, and it can be, like, this whole other thing that exists outside of body types and comparisons and references. I just wanna like what I like and do things I enjoy and have solid friends and be too busy experiencing this grand old thing we call life (holy SHIT where is my call from OWN) to worry whether I’m allowed to or not.

It’s easy to let your mouse slip to your webcam in a moment’s boredom and start wondering what’s so wrong with you that you can’t even get your eye makeup right, or realize you’ve been brushing your teeth for 10 minutes because you started staring at a blemish in the mirror. It’s inconvenient to seek out communities and role models who make you feel good about yourself when there’s all this other crap all around you.


It will always be harder to get to be someone who doesn’t care what people think, but that’s why you’re a tiny little awesome warrior for even trying. And isn’t that kind of exciting? Go forth, tiny warrior, and conquer.


Courtesy of http://www.rookiemag.com/2012/01/how-to-not-care-what-other-people-think-of-you/

March 26, 2014

Sugar-free Chocolate Truffles


These taste like the real thing, creamy and rich, with a sophisticated chocolate flavour perfect for grown ups. No butter or sugar in these truffles, I used cacao powder and a splash a coffee liquor to give the after-dark taste.

Sugar-free Chocolate Truffle

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of almond meal
  • 3 tablespoon of cacao powder
  • 3 tablespoons of Natvia
  • 2 scoops of vegan chocolate protein powder
  • 3 tablespoons of coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons of almond milk
  • 1/4 cup of chopped dried figs, soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes and drained (reserve a little of the liquid)
  • 1 tablespoon of coffee liquor 
  • sprinkles to coat - obv not sugar-free but really pretty

Method:

  1. Stir together all the dry ingredients and add the remaining wet ingredients. Mix together until the ingredients form into a ball. 
  2. Take a small spoonful of the mixture and roll into a ball. Coat in sprinkles and place in a container. Repeat until finished.
  3. Let set in the freezer for at least four hours.
*These will melt at room temperature.

March 17, 2014

My Little Paris Kitchen: Puy Lentil Salad with Beetroot and Dill Dressing

Thank you to Chubby Hubby for the pic


Watching the Food Channel is one of my guilty pleasures and I absolutely love zoning out to cooking shows featuring exotic recipes from all over the world. My Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo is about a very cute English girl whose set up a teeny tiny restaurant in her Parisian apartment. Equipped with a compact oven and a love for French food, Rachel whips up traditional dishes made easy. While most of her dishes are pretty rich and decadent (typically French really), I love getting inspiration for flavours. On the latest episode, Rachel made a gorgeous colourful salad with lentils and beetroot. It was such a lovely recipe, I had to post it for you.


Rachel Khoo 'My Little Paris Kitchen'


Puy Lentil Salad with Beetroot

Ingredients:
  • 1 medium size beetroot
  • 200g Puy lentils
  • 1 bay leaf (if you cannot find fresh ones, it is ok to use dried bay leaves)
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 200g fresh soft goat’s cheese
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Dill vinaigrette
  • ½ bunch of dill*
  • 2 tablespoons sunflower oil (or any neutral flavoured oil – I used grapeseed oil)
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • A pinch of sugar

Directions:
  1. Start by roasting the beetroot. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees and wrap the beetroot in foil before placing on a baking tray. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the beetroot is tender (but not mushy).
  2. Wash the Puy lentils in cold running water and strain. Put the washed lentils in a pot together with the bay leaf, thyme and a generous pinch of salt. Cover the lentils with cold water that is at least double the volume, and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. It is important to use cold water so that the cooking is even and the lentils don’t turn mushy on the outside and uncooked on the inside.
  3. While waiting for the lentils to cook, start on the vinaigrette. Using a food processor, put in the dill (including the stalks), oil, white wine vinegar, salt and sugar, and whizz them up. Taste and add more salt or sugar as desired. If you find the vinaigrette a bit stiff, add in a bit more oil to loosen the mixture.
  4. Once the lentils are cooked, drain and wash them with cold water to prevent them from cooking further. Remove the bay leaf and thyme, and set aside.
  5. Once the beetroot is roasted, peeled and finely slice it with a mandolin (always use the hand guard) or a sharp knife.
  6. To assemble the dish, divide the lentils equally among the plates. Place the sliced beetroot on top and crumble the goat’s cheese. Drizzle the dill vinaigrette and olive oil, and finish with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper.

Healthy Banana Bread: low in gluten, fat and sugar!


I think the pictures speak for themselves when it comes to the deliciousness of this banana bread. The caramel topping of fig, banana and coconut sugar with crunchy walnuts makes this recipe one of the most amazing pieces of your skinny sweets repertoire. By now I think most of us know traditional banana breads are packed with sugar and wheat, providing little nutrition and skyrocketing your blood sugar. My healthy banana bread is made with spelt flour, which is lower in gluten than regular flours, and made with maple syrup for sweetness. This is comfort food at its best, making you feel instantly happy and nourished.



Healthy Banana Bread

Ingredients:
  • 2 large bananas, mashed + 1 banana sliced for topping
  • 2 large eggs, whisked lightly
  • 1/4 cup macadamia nut oil
  • 1/4 of almond milk
  • 1 teaspsoon of pure vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoons of maple syrup
  • 4 tablespoons of Natvia sweetener 
  • 1 1/2 cup of spelt flour
  • 1/4 cup almond meal
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • For topping: 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar, 1 tablespoon of almond meal, 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, 2 sliced dried figs and chopped banana
Directions:
  1. Oil a brownie tin or loaf tin with coconut oil. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
  2. Mix together the mashed banana, oil, eggs, milk, vanilla, maple syrup, Natvia and ground spices until combined. Sift in the spelt flour and baking powder. Gently mix the the dry ingredients into the wet and add in the almond flour.
  3. Pour the mixture into the tin. Combine the coconut sugar and almond meal in a small bowl. Top the bread with banana, figs, walnuts and sprinkle over coconut sugar and almond meal mix.
  4. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until toasty and cooked through. 
  5. Take out of the oven to cool, before slicing to serve.
  6. Keep in an airtight container for a few days or individually wrap and store in the freezer for up to two months.

March 11, 2014

Fitspo vs Thinspo


Fitspo images, are they inspiring or insecurity breeding? Jess Ainscough, aka The Wellness Warrior, posted her thoughts on the hardcore fitness pics and how to navigate the fine line between promoting unattainable thinness and advocating a healthy lifestyle. Snaps of super fit girls tends to make you compare your own physique with these models, promoting feelings of guilt, shame and insecurity. I was glad to read I wasn't the only one who was feeling inadequate.

Exercise is essential for a healthy mind and body but it should be enjoyable, restoring and balanced. If you feel dread at the thought of dragging yourself to the gym, ask yourself why you are going in the first place? If the answer is because you want to give the Victoria's Secret girls a run for their money, maybe your motivation isn't coming from the right place. Don't get me wrong, I totally admire women who can transform their bodies and be athletic, confident and strong. Fit girls are empowering, inspirational and bad-ass. On the other hand, I don't think we need to create horrible amounts of stress, guilt and worry over missing a gym session or pushing yourself when you are tired because you are on the pursuit of perfection. There is other qualities to value about ourselves other than our athletic abilities. Our kindness, compassion, aptitude and creativity are also parts of who we are. We need balance.

I get much more joy out of walking along the beach with my puppies, than sweating until I’ve shed enough of myself that I look like Izabel Goulart. I admire her for the goddess that she is. But I admire the goddess in me more than to beat myself up striving to achieve her shape. 

Bad-ass Izabel Goulart


There’s a bit of a fine line between “thinspo” and “fitspo” ... be careful that these images you’re looking to for inspiration aren’t making you feel like crap in the process. If you can’t look at these accounts without comparing yourself to them, and in turn feeling inadequate, have the self respect to stop following them. Spend more time connecting with and showing gratitude for your own body – exactly the way it is.

We should always surround ourselves with people who lift us higher, and this extends to the images we choose to look at on social media as well. You have the power to create what kind of visual inspiration you’re surrounded by, so choose it wisely. - Jess Ainscough

March 09, 2014

Cute and Easy Cake and Party Planning Tricks

Great Gatsby themed party table at the Confetti Fair

Glitter, sparkles, cute cookie cut-outs and colour themes were aplenty at the Confetti Fair on Saturday. The Confetti Fair (Brisbane) gathered party planner extraordinaries and cupcake aficionados to share their wisdom on cake decorating, sugar spinning and flavour combinations. Each company had set up a table of sweet delights arranged in tantalising towers that had you instantly feeling like Willy Wonker was behind its invention. Craft mums and sugar-high girly girls sifted through polka dot cupcake liners and pastel pink paper straws to stock their (inevitably overflowing) pantries.


Glamour Gold Theme

Apart from being quite startled at the enthusiasm some have over discussing the multiple uses for mason jars (which in case you didn't know is THE essential party server), I learnt what the heck is fondant icing and how you manhandle the stuff at home to create some pretty impressive edible flowers to make even Martha Stewart proud. There was also a fabulous retro caravan that had been converted into a portable bar so that straight after the 'I DOs' you can fetch a drink at the end of the aisle and get the party started.


Sweet Dreams baby shower table by Kara

I'm pretty sure I inhaled a fair bit of glitter, which was sparkling through the air. That glorious sparkly stuff adorned jars, trays, cups, spoons and was even worked into macaron shells (I assume that last one was edible glitter but I didn't test the theory). Cake pops shaped in lips had me especially excited as they doubled for props in obligatory selfie shots.



A party-planning guru led a workshop on hosting ideas (I think she is famous, she party plans with Tori Spelling so that's pretty legit) and I thought I would share her super easy and quick ideas with y'all (Kara's a southern belle and referenced hunting super casually, if you know what I mean).


Milk jars topped with a decadent cookie for a take on 'milk and cookies'

1. GLUE AND GLITTER


Basically you can whack some PVC on anything, cover with glitter and you have glitzed up your party instantly. What I learnt that is amazing about this idea is that soak the item in water, and the glitter and glue washes right off! You can cover the first third of your glasses with glitter for a chic look, coat the outside of your cake display or glitter the handle of your cutlery. When done, you can simply soak the items in the sink with some warm water and they are back to their boring old selves. Genius.









2. PICK A THEME AND STICK TO IT


Do you dream in themes? Well party planners do. Get your creative socks on and think up a look or feel for your party. Baby Shower = Sweet Dreams. 30th = Gatsby. Little Girl Birthday = Princess (obviously). Engagement Party = Rustic Chic. You get it? Anyway once you have a theme you pick a colour scheme, which should consist of a main three colours. Think white, with accents of lilac, blue and yellow for a baby shower. Bold red and green with accents of yellow and gold for a Mexican fiesta. Pink, gold glitter and pearl white for my birthday... naturally. For more ideas, and an excuse to lose hours of your life, look up Kara's website.


Valentine's Day Picnic Party

Paper straws
Pink and Gold Theme

Signature Cocktails


3. CAKE, CAKE, CAKE

Okay so Julia Child said a party without cake is simply a gathering and she was right. You absolutely cannot have a party without a cake, it is just not right. Macarons are great and all and really pretty but when it comes to the sweet pièce de résistance you need a glorified sugar and butter creation (or stevia and coconut oil copy if you are a skinny sweet eater).



Rustic Cake at Kara's Rustic Chic Table
Arrow Cupcakes

Heart Cake Wreath Topper

Make your cake spectacular by cutting it into layers and icing it, covering it with edible pearls or making your own fondant shapes. It sounds like a job required for someone super talented but it actually isn't that difficult. Plus there are heaps of cute cupcake toppers and cake toppers you can buy these days.


Kitch Cupcake Toppers

Heart-shaped cut outs filled with icing

Another tip is to bake the cupcake and then cut out a small shape like a heart and fill it with icing. So simple, even a baking virgin could handle the task.


4. FINISHING TOUCHES

Cute little tricks can really make your guests nod in appreciation of your creativity and admiration of your domestic goddess ways. 

Here's a few quick and easy ideas to inspire you:
  • Serve punch with mis matched tea cups
  • Freeze edible rose petals in ice cubes for girly drinks
  • Cover balloons with lace cloth and fasted with ribbon to add a soft touch 
  • Use a stamp to print messages or shapes onto paper napkins to personalise 
  • Hang up paper decorations to transform your space
  • Set up a photo booth by hanging a coloured piece of material against the wall for a glamorous backdrop
  • Spray glitter basically on anything - and be prepared to see said glitter for weeks to come
  • Candles, candles, candles
  • Did you know you can buy a metal stamper? Means you can print on your own cutlery to make a special gift - ooh DIY project!
  • Make up gift bags or take home boxes for guests filled with lollies and novelty items

Make your own cupcake station



March 06, 2014

Raw Chocolate Banana Berry Tarts


At the markets last week, I was perusing one of my favorite aisles, the speciality baking items. An array of flours like tapioca, garbanzo and quinoa based are in company with cacao chunks, tahitian vanilla paste and pearlescent cake decorations. Always on the quest to find new and interesting flavors for my skinny sweets and treats, my eye caught on a collection of German flavourings. Presented in tiny tubes, I chose the butter-vanilla scent. My first thought was of popcorn when I considered the flavour concoction and I wasn't quite sure how to use the unique treasure.


Spending a leisurely afternoon experimenting with raw baking, I made raw chocolate tarts with a layer of banana and blueberries. Out of curiosity and adventurous baking, I decided to add a few drops on the butter-vanilla flavouring to the chocolate biscuit base of the tarts. The flavouring added a rich complex dimension to the biscuit that enriched the taste to feel more like a traditional sweet and just that bit more special. Of course this ingredient is not essential, you could use a teaspoon of vanilla extract as a replacement, but a few tiny drops make a big difference to the richness of the overall flavour combination.



Raw Chocolate Banana Berry Tarts

Ingredients:

Chocolate Biscuit Base

  • 2 cups of almond meal flour
  • 3 tablespoons of cacao powder
  • 3 tablespoons of Natvia stevia sweetener
  • 4 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
  • a pinch of Himalayan pink salt, ground
  • a few drops of vanilla and butter flavouring or vanilla extract
Fruit Layer
  • 1 large banana, sliced
  • 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries
  • 2 teaspoons of Natvia sweetener (if blueberries are quite tart)
Chocolate Topping
  • 1/4 cup of coconut oil, melted
  • 2 tablespoons of Natvia sweetener
  • 2 tablespoons of cacao powder
  • 2 tablespoons of vanilla/chocolate protein powder or coconut flour
  • tiny pinch of Himalayan pink salt, ground
Method:
  1. Combine all the base ingredients in a bowl and press a tablespoon or so of the mixture in the base of a silicone muffin tray. Pop in the freezer for 10 minutes.
  2. In a small dish, heat the blueberries in the microwave for 45 seconds with the stevia to extract the juices.
  3. Take out the silicone tray and top the biscuit base with sliced banana. Press the banana slices down with a spoon to fix onto the base. Top with a spoonful of the blueberry mixture.
  4. Combine the ingredients for the chocolate topping and whisk together. The stevia granules will slightly sink to the bottom so keep whisking before you put a spoonful on top of the banana and blueberry layer. 
  5. I sprinkled a little desiccated coconut onto each before I put back in the freezer for one hour to set.
  6. The coconut oil will melt at room temperature so keep in the freezer just before serving. A few minutes out of the freezer and they will be just perfect for eating.




March 05, 2014

Sugar-free Raspberry Chia Jam

Jam on toast just sounds like comfort to me. Problem is, most jams are made primarily of refined cane sugar and do not fit into my lifestyle. Considering fruit is so delicious and sweet on it's own, it makes perfect sense that you can create your own sugar-free jam. Keep in a jar for lazy Sunday mornings or bottle for friends and family to give a special and uber creative gift.

The secret ingredients to helping this jam set and upping the nutritional stakes in chia seeds! Chia seeds have a gelatinous quality to them when they are soaked in liquid, making them ideal for egg replacements or setting agents as they act as a binder. 

Sugar-free Raspberry Chia Jam

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup frozen raspberries
  • 1 tbsp of Natvia stevia sweetener
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons white chia seeds

Method:
  1. Combine frozen raspberries, juice of 1/2 lemon and stevia in a small sauce pan and heat over low. Mash berries with a fork and stir until broken down to a smooth consistency. If your berries aren't overly sweet, you may want to add more stevia so make sure you do a little taste test.
  2. Add chia seeds and mix well.
  3. Pour jam into sterilized jar (125 ml) and refrigerate for 1 hour to set.  
Enjoy!