Category Archives: Recipes

Healthy Recipes

Mango Coconut Ice-Cream with Coconut Turmeric Balls

These two dessert recipes come from a collection by Louise Hendon who specialises in AIP (Auto Immune Paleo). The Autoimmune Protocol is a diet that helps heal the immune system and gut mucosa, addressing inflammation in the gut that causes autoimmune disease.

These recipes are quite simple to make and the flavours are wonderful! I already had the coconut butter in the fridge so that made it easier.

This can be made a day before if you were having guests for dinner or just to share with a friend.
This is a great combination of mango, coconut, turmeric and raw ginger.

Mango and Coconut Ice Cream with Turmeric and Coconut Balls

Mango Ice Cream 2

1 cup chopped mango chunks frozen
1/4 cup coconut cream (from the top of a  can of refrigerated coconut milk
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated as topping
2 tablespoons raw honey

 

Instructions

  1. Let the mango chunks defrost for 5 minutes at room temperature.
  2. Blend the mango, coconut cream, shredded coconut, lime juice, and raw honey well.
  3. Place on tray in freezer, whip up a couple of times every half hour just so it doesn’t go solid.
  4. When serving top with grated ginger.

Coconut Turmeric Balls

  • 1/14 cup (100g) shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup (120g) coconut butter
  • 1 tablespoon (6m) turmeric powder
  • 3 tablespoons (45ml) raw honey

Melt coconut butter and honey slightly. Stir in the shredded coconut and turmeric powder into the mixture.
Spoon mixture into ice cube trays and freeze for 2 hours.
Let balls defrost for 10 minutes before enjoying them.

Arrange as desired maybe with a sprig of mint of mint on top of the ice cream.

 

The Coffee Alternative

 

The Coffee AlternativeCoffee

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not normally a coffee drinker and instead of having a herbal tea, like I usually do, I made this very healthy simple alternative so I didn’t miss out on this delightful ritual of sipping hot frothy milk through an array of spices with friends. We do know that coffee can be dehydrating and over stimulate the skin causing problems.

Turmeric Latte
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon molasses (organic unsulphured)
1 cup almond milk or milk of choice
Mix cinnamon, cardamom and a little sea salt to sprinkle
Place turmeric and molasses in cup, pour on hot milk and sprinkle spices and sea salt on top.
Health Benefits
Turmeric is anti-inflammatory and contains powerful anti-oxidants, the molasses contains iron, cinnamon helps to control blood sugar levels and cardamom is a digestive aid.
Just some of the many benefits.

 

 

 

A Favourite Summer Salad

A Favourite Summer Salad,
If you like sun-dried tomatoes and olives you will love this. Using kale breaks away from using traditional lettuce and the  kumara is sweet and crispy. Avocado (or guacamole) is also a nice addition and gives a lovely texture on the side to this salad.

KALE, SUN-DRIED TOMATO, OLIVE & KUMARA SALAD

Kale Salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 large kumara, peeled or well scrubbed
2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil
salt and pepper
200g kale, coarse ribs removed
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons BESTOW BEAUTY OIL
juice of 1/2 lemon
100g sundried tomatoes in oil (drained weight) finely chopped
100g pitted black olives, finely chopped
100g pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 200deg C fan bake
Cut the kumara into cubes, place onto a roasting tray with either the ghee or coconut oil, salt and pepper. Bake 45 mins or until crispy.
Add the kale to a food processor and pulse a few times to break it down into little pieces. Tip it into a large salad bowl with BESTOW BEAUTY OIL, vinegar, salt and pepper, the lemon juice, sun-dried tomatoes and olives. Toss the salad well so all the ingredients are evenly coated in the dressing.
When the kumara chunks are cooked remove from the oven and stir them through the salad.
Finally, heat a frying pan over a medium heat and dry-fry the pine nuts for a few minutes or until golden brown. (Watch carefully when cooking these as they burn easily.) Remove from the heat and sprinkle on to the salad.

This tastes delicious warm or cold.

Health Benefits
Bestow Beauty Oil offers a blend of cold-pressed organic plant oils, formulated to deliver the best balance of healthy fats for clear, glowing skin, moisturising your skin on a cellular level.

bestow beauty oil

 

 

 

 

 

Golden Sauerkraut

Golden Sauerkraut

Travelling through Cambodia last month I purchased some powdered wild organic turmeric.  I decided to add the turmeric to the sauerkraut I was making, it has such a beautiful rich golden colour. The health benefits of combining the turmeric in the sauerkraut, will be endless I’m sure. Something so simple to make and include with your meals that has such an impact on your health, providing beneficial bacteria for the digestive system. It controls inflammation in the body that is at the root cause of most diseases,


Sauerkraut Image

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a brief history of fermentation from the Weston Price Foundation website

It may seem strange to us that, in earlier times, people knew how to preserve vegetables for long periods without the use of freezers or canning machines through the process of lacto-fermentation. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying bacteria. Starches and sugars in vegetables and fruits are converted into lactic acid by the many species of lactic-acid-producing bacteria…The ancient Greeks understood that important chemical changes took place during this type of fermentation. Their name for this change was “alchemy.” Like the fermentation of dairy products, preservation of vegetables and fruits by the process of lacto-fermentation has numerous advantages beyond those of simple preservation. The proliferation of lactobacilli in fermented vegetables enhances their digestibility and increases vitamin levels. These beneficial organisms produce numerous helpful enzymes as well as antibiotic and anticarcinogenic substances. Their main by-product, lactic acid, not only keeps vegetables and fruits in a state of perfect preservation but also promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestine.1

To Make the Sauerkraut

1 cabbage
3 carrots
3 Tbs grated ginger
1 teasp turmeric powder
2 teasp fennel seeds
Chilli (optional)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp sea salt

Slice cabbage finely or put through your food processor, place in a large bowl.
Peel and grate carrots, add to the bowl with the cabbage.
Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl.
Mix thoroughly with your hands, making sure everything is coated well.  Start to massage the  cabbage mixture, the salt should draw out the moisture of the cabbage and begin to get juicy and soft. Keep massaging until the cabbage shrinks in size and the mixture is juicy.
Place cabbage mixture into sterilized jars, making sure the vegetables are packed tightly to avoid air from getting in. Cover the sauerkraut mixture with any remaining liquid left in the bowl.
I then place a  cabbage leaf over the sauerkraut to make sure all the vegetables are bathing in the liquid and to prevent oxidation. Close with an airtight lid. Always make sure you place your jars in a dish to catch any liquid that may bubble over.
Leave the jars to ferment at room temperature for about 7days depending on room temperature, small bubbles will appear through the mixture. I then place in the fridge for at least another week to further the fermentation process, the flavour improves with time., the longer the better.

Serving Suggestions

Make yourself a probiotic salad, this adds a real zing to any salad, I love it on home made flaxseed crackers with either tahini, nut butter of choice or avocado.

 

 

 

 

 

Quinoa Porridge

Quinoa Porridge

Quinoa Porridge3/4 cup of quinoa seeds (soaked overnight)

1/2 cup of coconut milk

1/2 cup of water

!/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 tablespoon of lakanto or any other sweetener if desired

1 tablespoon of Bestow Be Cleansed for an extra fibre boost

Soak the quinoa seeds overnight. In the morning, rinse it thoroughly and drain.

Place quinoa, Bestow Be Cleansed, coconut milk, water, lakanto and cinnamon in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over high heat. Stir well to mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

You can add more fluid to the recipe if you like your porridge thinner or it appears to be drying our during cooking.  Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 mins, stirring often.

You can serve it with almond or rice milk and your Bestow Beauty Oil for a good dose of those important essential fatty acids.

Alternative ideas – A quicker alternative is using the powdered quinoa (Quinoa Cereal from Ceres) instead of the whole seeds. This doesn’t require pre-soaking and cooks in five mins.  Just remember to add 1 1/4 cups of fluid to every 1/2 cup of powder.

 

 

 

Mini Berry Tarts

mini-berry-tarts

 

 

 

 

 

MINI BERRY TARTS
Base
1/2 cup of butter or *coconut oil, melted
250 grams of almond meal or ground almonds
1 tablespoon of raw honey
1 tablespoon of Bestow Be Cleansed (optional)
Filling
Coconut custard (see below)
Fruit topping
You can use any sliced fresh fruit or berries. We have used
frozen berries that have been thawed.
Makes 8 tarts.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Make the coconut custard (see below)
Mix all the ingredients together, line 8 mini tart tins with
 baking paper and press a tablespoonful of the base
mixture into each one. Spread the mixture evenly around
the sides and the base.
Prick with a fork a few times and bake in the oven for
ten minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven, cool completely then remove from
the tins.
Assembly
Fill the cooled tart shells with coconut custard, cover with fruit,
dust with coconut flour (optional) and
sprinkle with chopped pistachios (optional).
*For a dairy free option use coconut oil.
Coconut Custard
3 eggs
300ml of coconut cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or 1 vanilla pod, scraped
2 tablespoons of coconut sugar
Whisk the three eggs together in a large bowl.
In a medium saucepan and over a moderate temperature,
heat the cream, vanilla paste and coconut sugar.
Stir constantly so that the cream does not burn or boil.
When it is frothy and close to a simmer remove from
the heat.
Very slowly add the cream mixture to the eggs while constantly
whisking. When it is all combined place
back on a low heat.
Keep stirring constantly, the mixture will take about 10
minutes to thicken. It’s important that it doesn’t  boil.
 as it will then curdle. You should now have a lovely velvet
coconut, caramel custard.
For a thicker custard you can add a teaspoon of cornflour
 mixed with a little water, and heat for a few more
minutes.

Easy Paleo Baklava Bars

Paleo Baklava Bars

This is not wrapped in pastry but still tastes good with this mix of toasted nuts and honey.

Baklava Bars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¼ cup honey

¼ cup tahini or almond butter

½ cup almond meal

1 dash cinnamon

2 tbsp coconut flour

1/8 tsp salt

1tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil

½ cup hazelnuts

½ cup walnuts

 

  1. Chop nuts place in pan with almond meal, coconut oil, and salt until lightly toasted. Mix in honey until it bubbles, then remove from heat and let cool for 5 mins.
  2. Next place nut mixture into a bowl and mix in almond butter or tahini extract and coconut flour.
  3. Spread and flatten into 8×8 dish to cool.
  4. Refrigerate or freeze for 30 mins.
  5. Cut into squares.

 

I store mine in the freezer and nuts can be varied. Pecan, pistachio and macadamia nuts are all nice. Choose your combination.

 

Recipe thanks to Cottorcrunch.com

 

Paleo Lemon Cake

Paleo Lemon Cake with Coconut Butter Glaze

If you like the taste of lemon, this is for you, it is very ease and rather delicious. My tip here is just make sure you really sift and blend flours together before adding to the liquid mixture.

Paleo Lemon Cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 180deg C and line a loaf tin.

  • Ingredients
  • 5 eggs
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup tapioca starch
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • Pinch salt
  • 1/3 cup coconut butter, for glaze
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup, for glaze
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice for glaze
  1. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon juice and lemon zest.
  2. Add the coconut flour, tapioca starch, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
  3. Transfer to prepared loaf tin. Bake for 40 mins or until a toothpick inserted in centre of cake comes out clean
  4. Cool completely before glazing.
  5. In a small bowl mix together the coconut butter, maple syrup and lemon juice for the glaze. I placed the bowl over hot water and this brought it together nicely.
  6. Spread on cake.

Coconut butter is very easy to make if you have a high powered blender or can be bought premade.

Here is the recipe from my Quirky Cooking book by Jo Whitton

  1. Place 400g desiccated coconut into high powered blender.  Process for at least 2 minutes scraping down sides of bowl.
  2. Add melted coconut oil very slowly for another minute gradually increasing speed until you have achieved a smooth consistency.
  3. Store in jar, will go solid when kept in fridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy Anzac Cookies

Healthy Anzac Cookies

This recipe I know you will love, it comes from our Bestow Treats 2 Journal by Janine Tait & Sheryl Nicholson.

Anzac biscuits

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Makes 24 cookies.

  • 2 cups of almond meal
  • 1 cup of silvered almonds
  • 1 cup of macadamia nuts, chopped finely
  • 2 cups of coconut, desiccated
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup of rice malt syrup (or honey)
  • 1/2 cup of coconut oil, melted
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda

Combine almond meal, slivered almonds, macadamia nuts, desiccated coconut and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix well. Place rice malt syrup and coconut oil into small bowl and mix.  Add baking soda and stir well until dissolved. Pour liquid into dry ingredients and mix together until well combined.

Shape a tablespoonful of the mixture into a ball. They will be quite sticky so to press them flat, cover the bottom of a jar with glad wrap and press firmly down on to the cookie mixture ball until you have a nice flat shape. Place on the baking tray.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden – make sure you keep an eye on your cookies as they brown quite quickly. The biscuits will be very soft when they  come out of the oven so leave to cool for ten minutes before transferring biscuits to cooling rack to harden.

Muesli Bars

Muesli Bars

Muesli Bars

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup almond meal
  • 1 cup desiccated coconut
  • 1/2 cup flaked almonds
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup or sweetener of choice ( this quantity can also be reduced)
  • 1/4 cup sultanas
  • 3 medjool dates, pitted and chopped roughly

Method

  • Preheat oven to 150 degrees C
  • Line a square 8x8inch tray with baking paper
  • In a small pot gently warm the coconut oil and maple syrup until it as melted and combined
  • Add the water and baking powder and mix together with a fork or whisk
  • In a bowl add the rest of the ingredients and mix in the coconut oil and maple syrup mixture
  • Press the mixture into the lined tin and cut into bars
  • Place into the oven and bake for approx. 45 mins until golden brown.  I like mine really golden and crunchy so baked them a little longer
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 mins in the tray then transfer to a cooling rack.