Exciting News!

I have exciting news! After having my blog viewed over 1000 times in the first month of its existence I've bitten the bullet and built my own website. You can now find me here. Thank you so much for visiting my blog and I hope to see you over at the new (much prettier) site.

Lots of Love,
Ellie Eats xoxo

Cacao Fruit and Nut Bars

I'm here to let you in on a little secret. Remember when they told you that if it tasted really good it's probably bad for you? Well, they lied. This is great news, because I don't often feel like eating sweet things, but when I do I tend to catch the next express train to Crazy Town and throw my self-control out of the window on the way there. It's normally when I'm feeling highly emotional (pretty much every four weeks), and I'm sure that chocolatey goodness has to be up there with laughter as far a good medicines go, right? 

I came across this recipe in another great cookbook - The Medicinal Chef. These nut bars (or 'Fabulous Fridge Cakes' as they are called in the book) are sweet, rich and chocolatey and exactly what you need on those days when all you want to do is lay on the couch, eat something decadent and watch trashy TV (or is that just me?).

Ingredients (makes 8 pieces)

8 tablespoons of pepitas and sunflower seeds (with extra set aside for the top of the bars)
3 handfuls of goji berries (with extra set aside for the top of the bars)
1 handful pitted dates
4 tablespoons cacao powder (found in the health food aisle of most grocery stores)
1 teaspoon desiccated coconut
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoon of melted coconut oil
4 tablespoons of pecans and walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon of dried apricots, chopped

Place the seeds, goji berries, pitted dates, cacao powder, desiccated coconut and cinnamon in a food processor or high-powered blender and pulse a few times to create a stiff coarse mixture. 

Add the melted coconut oil to the rest of the ingredients in the processor and blend at full speed until they have combined thoroughly into a firm paste.

Line a 20cm rectangular cake tin with baking paper, turn the mixture into the tin and press down firmly so that the mixture completely covers the base of the tin. Sprinkle the reserved seeds and goji berries  over the top, along with the chopped nuts and apricot, and press down lightly. Place in the freezer for about an hour, or until set firm. Slice into about 8 even pieces. 

Orange and Pepita Granola

Christmas is over, a new year is here and I feel more exhausted than I did before the holidays began! Did I eat far too much of my mother in-law’s delicious Christmas Pudding over the Christmas break? Yes (I regret nothing). Did I drink a little more red wine than I intended because my family’s Monopoly session started to get a little too serious? Possibly (It was a fight to the death/bankruptcy). Do I now feel like I’m carrying my own little Christmas pudding around my middle? Perhaps. No one can be perfect all the time, but everyone can eat a breakfast that tastes like perfection. I found this granola recipe in one of my favourite cookbooks - YumUniverse. I replaced some of the sweetener with orange juice and ended up with a granola that is crunchy, zesty and so tasty that I often eat it dry as a snack. 

Ingredients

Wet

• 1/4 cup of Blackstrap Molasses - found at most grocery stores (or sweetener of your choice)
• 3/4 Cup orange juice

Dry

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup almonds, roughly chopped
• Zest from 2 navel oranges
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Pinch of ground cardamom
• Pinch of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 150°C or 350°F.

Stir together wet ingredients in a small bowl.

Throw the dry ingredients into a large bowl and toss to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well to combine (you can use your hands).

Pour the mixture evenly onto two trays lined with baking paper, ensuring that they aren't overcrowded (the granola won't toast evenly otherwise). 

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the granola is golden brown and toasted.

Remove from the oven and allow the granola to cool and harden. Enjoy with your favourite non-dairy milk or by itself.

Raw Gingerbread Biscuits

I always start to feel really exhausted this time of year. Maybe it’s due to the numerous Christmas gatherings (which equals a higher intake of wine) or the ridiculously hot weather (which equals a higher intake of beer). Either way, when family pop by or I just feel like an afternoon boost when my energy levels sag, it’s always good to have something on hand so that I don’t reach for an unhealthy choice, like the copious amounts of chocolate we’ve received as Christmas gifts that I can’t seem to re-gift fast enough. (The beer we’ve been gifted however, can stay – a girl's got to have priorities.)

These raw gingerbread cookies can be eaten straight from the freezer and are so quick and easy to make.

Ingredients 

1 ¼ cup pitted dates

1 cup of walnuts

½ cup of almonds

1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon of ground cloves

¼ teaspoon vanilla

Place the dates in a bowl of warm water and soak for  about 10 minutes. Remove from water and squeeze as much liquid out as you can. Set the dates aside.

Blend all the other ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor (I used a stick-blender) until you get a fine consistency like flour.

Add in the dates and mix with your hands, squeezing the mixture together to form a dough (if the mixture seems too wet add more ground nuts).

Roll one tablespoon of the mixture in your hands to form a ball and if you like, slightly flatten with a fork to form a biscuit shape. You can also flatten out the mixture and shape with cookie cutters. Place biscuits into a container and pop in the freezer. Eat when chilled. 

Chia Seed Breakfast Pudding

I like to think I’m a morning person. And, I guess I am a morning person. I’m just not a very pleasant one - at least not when other humans are also trying to be morning people. Like my husband for example, who when rising early likes to turn on the TV, loudly. Or listen to guitar solos on Instagram, loudly. Or empty the cutlery from the dishwasher by throwing each knife, fork and spoon from the cutlery basket into the drawer; you guessed it – VERY LOUDLY. Honestly I’m getting irritable just thinking about it. Which is why, even though I like to think that I can get up and make a nourishing, tasty breakfast each morning, I’m not sure I can do it and stay happily married. Also, this little lady has to get paid so between trying to fit in a morning yoga practice, attempting to apply makeup in between sneezes because I may have indulged in a glass or two of wine the night before, even though I KNOW it’s going to cause me to have hay-fever (life is all about balance right?), and spending at least 15 minutes running around the house frantically searching for my keys/wallet/shoe – how do I ALWAYS misplace one shoe? It’s always comforting to know that even though my mind might be as scattered as leaves blowing in the wind first thing in the morning, I know that in my magic treasure box (also known as the fridge) I can pull out a jar full of the tastiest, breakfast-goodness I have ever had the pleasure of devouring.

I normally prepare a week’s worth of these on a Sunday afternoon and leave them in the fridge. You can either add the fruit and nuts or muesli before eating (in which case the puddings will keep for up to 5 days) or add once the pudding has set and then freeze the jars until ready to eat.

Ingredients (makes one jar):

• ¼ cup Chia Seeds
• 1 cup coconut milk

Add the chia seeds and coconut milk to the jar and stir well to combine (if not stirred enough some of the chia seeds can stick together and will not soften properly so you’ll end up with a chewy ball of chia in the middle of your delicious pudding).

Pop the jar into the fridge to set overnight. Once set, top with fruit, nuts and or muesli of your choice. My favourite combination is Mango, Strawberry, Passionfruit and almonds.