Chocolate and peanut butter is such a great combination! I first tried this combination on my first ever trip to the USA and on a layover we tried some Reese’s Pieces whilst waiting for our next flight. I pretty much ate Reese’s Pieces daily throughout our holiday – not the healthiest but I was only 10 years old!
Most mornings I have a smoothie after working out when I need something quick before I head out the door. However, on days when I have a bit more time I love a smoothie bowl.
The flavour combinations are endless, just use whatever is your favourite smoothie combo but the trick is to use frozen fruit and less liquid so you get a thicker consistency. If you think the smoothie isn’t very thick you can pop it in the freezer for a few minutes until it firms up, this also helps the toppings not to sink!
This bark takes no time at all to make and is easy to throw together. If you don’t have goji berries or pistachios on hand then substitute whatever you have available.
Cacao powder is different from cocoa powder as it hasn’t been roasted, toasted or cooked and therefore retains all its health benefits. Cacao is known as one of the most powerful antioxidant foods available. It also has a high magnesium content which helps with the function of our digestive systems, brain, heart and bones.
I’ve become somewhat obsessed with radishes lately. I used to always love them finely chopped through a salad to give a peppery kick but then I tried them in my noodle broth and I fell in love with them when cooked.
Raw radish is quite peppery but something happens when you cook them. It is such a subtle flavour and not the peppery taste you would normally associate with them.
Everywhere you look these days people are talking about cauliflower ‘rice’. I’ve been making it for a while now so thought I’d share the recipe.
People probably wonder why not just use rice? Whilst most people can tolerate rice there are others who can’t seem to digest rice too well and this makes a nice alternative and it is so easy to make which always helps!
I normally add some vegetables to smoothies, however, when I made this without any vegetables it tasted too good to try to sneak some in and I didn’t want to ruin the great flavour.
I love using cashew nuts to make sauces creamy and they work great in smoothies too, if you’re not a fan of cashews, almonds would work just as well. I also leave the skin on the peaches but if you’d like a ‘smoother’ consistency, peel the peaches beforehand.
Serves 1-2
Ingredients
-1 banana, peeled
-2 peaches, stones removed
-1 cup almond or coconut milk
-small handful or cashew nuts
How To Make
Throw everything in a blender and blend until smooth.
Serve immediately.
Enjoy 🙂
Whoever came up the idea of combining honey and mustard together knows what they were doing, for me, it’s such a winning combination. I used to love having cheese sticks (when I could eat dairy) dipped in a honey mustard dressing, however, looking back now it was such an unhealthy snack to eat – deep-fried cheese and a thick dressing!
I decided to come up with a healthier dressing and this turned out great first attempt and now is a staple in my fridge most weeks. I use a dairy free coconut yoghurt which is quite thick so if you can tolerate dairy then natural yoghurt or Greek yoghurt would work well.
Ingredients
-4 very ripe bananas
-1 cup gluten free oats
-1/2 cup ground almonds
-2 heaped Tbsp. ground flaxseeds
-1 tsp. ground cinnamon
-1 Tbsp. coconut oil
-2 Tbsp. maple syrup
-1 egg
-pinch of salt
-1 tsp. baking powder
-1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
-1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
How To Make
Pre-heat oven to 180C/355F. Line a loaf tin with greased baking parchment.
Place all ingredients except 1 banana and the chopped walnuts in a food processor and blend until you get a smooth batter.
Remove the blade from the processor bowl and add in the walnuts and stir until combined.
Pour the batter into the lined loaf tin.
Slice the reserved banana and place the slices on top of the loaf.
Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes until browned and a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool slightly in the tin before placing on a wire rack.
Bread stores well in an airtight container.
Enjoy 🙂
Hello! I hope everyone has had a wonderful Summer. I’m back from an excellent vacation. First up was my beautiful cousin’s wedding and then I went to visit my gorgeous sister as she was renewing her wedding vows with her husband, lots of happy tears were shed this Summer.
I have also been busy practising and conjuring up lots of new recipes for the blog which I can’t wait to share with you.
I am really busy at the moment with college work, starting a new business and blogging and although there doesn’t seem enough hours in the day for everything I wouldn’t have it any other way – I think that’s the difference when you enjoy something in life, it’s not a chore!
I love a good bowl of soup as it’s super easy to prepare and you can pretty much throw anything in a pan! This soup works well for Summer as it’s lovely and light in flavour.
This recipe almost defeated me. I tried it so many times and I was never happy with the outcome for a number of reasons; too sweet, not sweet enough, didn’t rise, not gooey enough – I honestly thought I’d need to admit defeat and forget about it.
Thankfully a couple of weeks ago I had one last go and altered the recipe yet again and these delicious brownies were the result. At first I thought I’d had another disaster as they didn’t seem to set but I left them on the side to cool and they firmed up but still retained their gooey-ness. I had to taste test three in a row just to be sure I had finally got it right!!
I’ve since made the recipe a couple of more times and all were successful. Once you take the brownies out of the oven and allow to cool, when you slice them they will still be gooey, however, once you set them aside they’ll firm up further.
Makes approximately 9 brownies.
Ingredients
-1 cup mashed sweet potato (approx. 1 medium sweet potato)
-1 cup ground almonds
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1 egg, beaten
-1/2 cup cacao powder
-3 Tbsp. honey
-zest of 1 large orange
-2 Tbsp. chopped dairy free dark chocolate
How To Make
Pre-heat oven to 180C/355F. Line a small baking dish with oiled parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine all the ingredients until fully combined.
Pour batter into prepared baking dish and top with broken chocolate pieces if using.
Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the top starts hardening.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool, slice in to squares (they will still be gooey at this stage) and set aside to firm up further.
Enjoy warm or cold.
These keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Enjoy 🙂
Four Candles Kitchen 