Peppermint Protein Balls

Do you need nut-free snacks for school or kindy? But still want something that will fill them up? We do. And it means we need to get creative because at home we use nuts and nut butter in practically everything! 

These bliss balls are packed with fibre and protein and my 4yo LOVES them. They are the perfect high energy snack for a big kindy kid. Just don't mention the chickpeas! 

PEPPERMINT PROTEIN BALLS

1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup dates
2 heaped tbs raw cacao
1 ts vanilla extract
5 drops Peppermint essential oil*
-
Desiccated coconut (to roll the balls in)

Add all ingredient to your food processor or Thermomix and blitz until the mixture clumps together (about 10 secs / SP 8).

Roll spoonfuls into balls and roll in desiccated coconut.

Store in the fridge or freezer.

Makes approx 18 depending on how big you make them. 

Mine tend to get bigger as I go along because I get sick of rolling them! 😂

Make sure you like and share this recipe if it would be helpful for others and don't forget to let me what your little ones think when you make them! xx

*I only use and recommend doTERRA essential oils. Click here for a quick guide to essential oils, doTERRA and how you can get your own (no matter where you are in the world!)

Wild Orange Chickpea Blondies

I was searching for the perfect guilt-free treat for Mother's Day and came up with these!

If you're a fan of the combo of chocolate and orange you will love them. And even better, they're free from gluten, dairy, nuts and refined sugar!

I've since made another 2 batches of these and both times left the chocolate off the top. 

This makes them less rich and the ideal treat for my kids' lunchboxes. 

They have no idea it's healthy and the chickpeas give them a hit of protein as well.

Wild Orange Chickpea Blondies

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup gluten-free plain flour
1/2 ts gluten-free baking powder
pinch salt
10 drops Wild Orange essential oil
50g dark chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Green & Blacks organic 70%)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with paper and set aside.

In a food processor or Thermomix, beat together the chickpeas, eggs, syrup and coconut oil until smooth (30 seconds / SP 7). Add remaining ingredients (except for chocolate) and mix until just combined (10 seconds / SP 4). Scrape down the bowl as needed.

Pour batter into prepared tin. Sprinkle over chopped chocolate and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in the tin before slicing into 16 pieces.

Leave the chocolate off and they make the perfect lunchbox treat too.

Enjoy!

Susan x

Jam Drops (free from Gluten, Dairy, Nuts and Refined Sugar)

Do you have a picky eater?

I feel your pain.

My picky eater has recently gone from picky to downright ridiculous and we are left with very few foods that he finds acceptable.

He's started rejecting a few favourite recipes that I have healthified so for these, I kept it really simple.

A 'white' dough with homemade raspberry jam (that I blitzed the chia seeds for by the way so they wouldn't get spotted and rejected). The things we do!

These freeze beautifully and being nut-free they are perfect for school lunches or a quick after-school treat.

I hope your kids enjoy them as much as mine!

Jam Drops
Free from gluten, dairy, nuts and refined sugar

2 cups gluten-free flour (I used Orgran brand)
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 ts gluten-free baking powder
pinch salt
1/3 cup rice malt syrup
1/3 cup + 1 tbs coconut oil
1 ts vanilla paste
1 egg

Jam to top (I adapted my strawberry chia jam recipe found here - note that I blitzed 1/2 cup chia seeds in the Thermomix first to make a powder and used some of that to make the jam)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, coconut, baking powder and salt. Add all remaining ingredients (except jam) and mix until well combined. You should have a stiff dough that can be easily rolled into balls.

Roll spoonfuls of mixture into balls and place on the prepared tray (I got 20 from this batch). Use your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon to make an indent for the jam.

Place a small amount of jam on each biscuit, 1/2 ts or so.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. I rotated the trays halfway through.

All to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes approx 20

Jam drops are such a nostalgic treat for me. And these ones even more so because they remind of an Iced Vovo which I loved as a child! What's your favourite childhood bikkie? xx

Nut-free Bliss Balls

So I was feeling really organised - I'd chosen a handful of favourite recipes to prep and freeze for school lunches and was all set to start. Then I remembered that my youngest is starting kindy and all the food we provide has to be nut-free. *face palm*

At least I remembered now and not on the first day!

So back to square one with the recipes.

I whipped up these nut-free bliss balls to go in the freezer and will add 1 to his lunchbox every day. I got 16 out of this batch so they should last us about 6 weeks as long as sneaky fingers don't sneak them out of the freezer!

If your child will notice and freak out about the visible green from the pepitas, by all means, roll the bliss balls in coconut to cover them up. Mine don't care luckily as I had run out of desiccated coconut!

With the dates, these are definitely not a low-sugar option but they tick lots of other boxes and will be a great high energy snack for my very active 4-year-old.

Enjoy!

Nut-free Bliss Balls

1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pepitas
1 cup dried dates (soaked in boiling water for 5 mins and drained)
1 heaped tbs raw cacao
1 ts vanilla extract
pinch salt
5 drops Wild Orange essential oil (optional - I only use and recommend doTERRA)
2/3 cup desiccated coconut (optional - extra to roll the balls in)

Place the dates in a small heat-proof bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soften for 5 minutes. Drain and place into your food processor or Thermomix bowl.

Add all remaining ingredients and process until the mixture is sticky and clumps together (TMX SP 5 / 30 secs).

Roll mixture into balls and if desired, into desiccated coconut.

Store in fridge or freezer.

Makes approx 16

What are your favourite nut-free school snacks? Please share some recipes below as I need a refresher!

Susan xx

Raw Chocolate with Tahini and Orange

Have you made your own chocolate yet?

If you have, you'll know it's both a good and bad thing. Good because it's so easy and so delicious.
Bad because is so easy and so delicious!

We LOVE raw chocolate at our place and I love experimenting with different flavour combinations!

The base recipe is always the same - cacao, coconut oil and whatever sweetener you like.

I generally use rice malt syrup because it's fructose free, not too sweet and it has a very neutral flavour.

Some other great combos I've made before are:
- peanut butter and honey
- almond butter and cranberries
- rocky road with Quirky Cooking's honey sweetened marshmallows, goji berries and cashews
- plain with peppermint, ginger, cinnamon, cardamon or grapefruit essential oils

This combination of tahini and wild orange is my new favourite and it's been a hit with the kids too (even though tahini is a bit of an acquired taste).

So why use tahini? So many reasons not the least of which is, it's delicious!

Tahini is sesame seed paste and a great alternative to nut spreads like peanut butter if you have allergies. It's really high in good fats, amino acids, vitamins and minerals and has been shown to be beneficial for heart health, helpful for balancing hormones and improving nutrient absorption (https://draxe.com/tahini/).

It also pairs beautifully with both chocolate and orange!

Raw Chocolate with Tahini and Orange

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup raw cacao
1/4 cup rice malt syrup
1/4 cup tahini (organic and unhulled if possible, but you may prefer hulled tahini as it's lighter in flavour)
generous pinch of salt
5 drops of Wild Orange essential oil

Place all ingredients in a small pot over. Place over very low heat, just to melt the coconut oil, and stir together until smooth. Pour into a lined slice pan or silicone baking pan. Store in the freezer and break into pieces to serve.

What's your favourite chocolate flavour? x

Superfood Bliss Balls

What a week! I don't normally post on a Saturday but after attempting to write up this post for days now is my first chance! Mr 2 has been home from daycare this week with some sort of virus that caused conjunctivitis and just as it started to clear he broke out in spots. Before having children I had no idea there were so many illnesses that caused spots! Being the third child we didn't even take him to the doctor (he's completely fine now by the way).

Anyway between having a clingy and sick 2 year old hanging off me, and trying to complete two whole subjects before the September school holidays,  I haven't had a whole lot of spare time.

So this week, yet again, bliss balls saved my life.

I have made a ton of different bliss balls over the past few years, but it was actually only once I had my third baby that I really appreciated them. When Mr 2 was very little I used to make a batch of bliss balls every week and had them stashed in the freezer for a quick breakfast, a mid-afternoon pick me up or a late night snack while feeding.

This week there quite a few times when I was hungry but didn't want to make anything from scratch, so I grabbed 2 of these from the freezer and was completely satisfied.

These ones are a little different in that I have specifically chosen ingredients to suit my health at the moment. There is no gluten, nuts or refined sugar and they have an extra boost of superfoods. Think antioxidants from the raw cacao, zinc from the pumpkin seeds, calcium from the tahini, fibre and essential minerals from the dates, good fat from the coconut, along with the amino acids, minerals and hormone balancing properties of maca.

Oh, and they're totally delicious!

As with anything containing chia seeds, make sure you check your teeth before venturing out in public!

Superfood Bliss Balls
Recipe by me

2 tbs (20 g) raw cacao
1 tbs (15 g) maca powder
1/4 cup (40g) chia seeds
1 cup (150g) pumpkin seeds
1 cup (65g) desiccated coconut
40 g tahini
1/4 tsp sea salt
80 g semi-dried dates
30 g coconut oil
zest of one orange

Place all ingredients into the food processor and blitz until the mixture clumps together (Thermomix 20 seconds / speed 6).

With damp hands, roll spoonfuls of mixture into balls.

Makes about 20

Store in the fridge or freezer.

What's your go-to snack?

Chocolate Bliss Balls (Nut free, Coconut free)

Well love it or loathe it, today is Valentine's Day!

We don't really celebrate it as such but do tend to have something a bit more special for dinner and I will often bake something chocolate-y for us all to enjoy. This year, being determined to keep some treats in the freezer at all times for school lunches and afternoon tea, I decided to just make a batch of chocolate bliss balls.

Yep another bliss ball recipe. I love them! They really are perfect little morsels of deliciousness.

Our school doesn't have any nut restrictions so I don't really need to make things nut free but I think it's good to mix things up a bit so we're not eating the same things all the time. I tend to avoid dates as they are so high in fructose but as a treat now and then (and especially on Valentine's Day) I'm not going to worry about it, especially as they are also a great source of fibre and oh yeah, they're delicious!

The only reason these are coconut free is that we were almost completely out of coconut! Totally unheard of in this house as there is usually coconut in all forms - coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut oil, coconut water, shredded coconut and desiccated coconut #coconutaddict.

So whether you are celebrating Valentine's Day or not, I hope you had a wonderful day!

My (Nut free, Coconut free) Chocolate Bliss Balls

3/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tbs chia seeds
2 tbs raw cacao
1 ts vanilla extract
1/4 ts sea salt
1/2 cup dried dates
2 tbs coconut oil

Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until the mixture is sticky and clumping together (TMX 10 secs / SP 8).  Using wet hands, roll the mixture into balls and store in the fridge or freezer.

Make approximately 16

Fluffy Father's Day Pancakes

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads!!! I hope you are all being spoilt this morning.

My hubby missed out on breakfast in bed this morning as we have to be up early and all pitch in to be ready for swimming at 8am. BUT I did make him a yummy breakfast. Apologies for the terrible photo, it was very dark and very early!

These were some of the lightest and fluffiest pancakes I've made, which you can't always say about pancakes made without wheat flour and buttermilk (I've made some real duds over the years believe me!).  Hubby and the kids LOVED them and they were the perfect start to Father's Day.

Hope you're having a great weekend :)

Fluffy Father's Day Pancakes

2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
1 tbs aluminium free baking powder
1 tbs coconut sugar
pinch salt
2 eggs
1 ts vanilla extract
270ml can Ayam coconut milk
1/2 -2/3 cup rice milk (or any  milk you like)
maple syrup and banana to serve
coconut oil for cooking

Place a large pan over medium heat.

In a large bowl place the flour, baking powder, coconut sugar and salt and whisk together. In a jug or small bowl, mix the eggs, vanilla, coconut milk and 1/2 cup of the milk together.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until only just combined. The batter should be thick but if it is too thick and sticky add more milk, a little at a time until it is smooth and spoonable.

Drop some coconut oil into the pan and swirl to coat. Place spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan (I can fit 4 pancakes in my 10 inch pan). Cook until bubbles appear on the surface then turn and cook for another 2 minutes or so until golden brown and cooked through.

Place directly onto serving plates and top with sliced banana and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.

Enjoy!

Banana Bread (Wheat, Dairy, Sugar and Nut Free)

I have been attempting to bake extra batches of things lately to stash in the freezer for after-baby. While I really should be focusing on dinners I can't seem to stop baking! I've had 2 very ripe bananas burning a hole in my fruit bowl (so to speak) so when I saw The Natural New Age Mum post a blog on not 1 or 2 but 8 different banana bread recipes, their fate was sealed!

The one I chose and adapted was from Mamacino, another favourite blogger of mine. While bananas are high in fructose I made it lower by using dextrose instead of regular sugar along with a few other little changes. It was absolutely delicious! Really moist and with a great banana flavour. The kids and I loved it and we still have over 1/2 the loaf in the freezer.

This one's a winner!

Easiest Banana Bread
(Wheat, Dairy, Sugar and Nut Free)
Adapted from Mamacino

1 cup white spelt flour
½ cup wholemeal spelt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 mashed bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Grease a loaf pan and line with baking paper.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, bananas and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until it is just combined. Pour the mixture into your prepared pan.

Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes or until the top springs back and a skewer comes out clean when you test it. Leave in the pan for five minutes and turn out to cool on a rack.

Lovely warm from the oven with a big smear of butter (if not dairy-free) or slice and freeze to make wonderful toast.