Mango-Matcha Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut milk

• 1 cup frozen mango (or fresh mango and add a handful of ice cubes)

• 2 heaped tbs coconut yogurt

• 1 tbs chia seeds

• 1/2 tbs matcha (green tea powder)

• 1 tsp Rice malt syrup (sweeten as desired - optional)

• Ice cubes

Method

Add all ingredients to your blender or nutribullet and blend until combined. If you use fresh mango, you may opt for no sweetener, I found the store bought mango I used to be very under ripe.

Raspberry Jam Doughnuts

If there's a treat that reminds me of the school canteen, it's the jam doughnut. These pillowy balls of dough, oozing with jam and rolled in sugar are just divine. And even better HOME MADE. A good quality jam makes all the difference between these guys and your store bought jam doughnuts. 

INGREDIENTS

• 3.25 cups plain flour

• 0.25 cups caster sugar

• 3 tsp dried yeast

• Pinch of salt

• 1 cup milk, warmed

• 100g butter, melted

• 3 egg yolks

• Canola oil, to deep-fry

• 1 jar (370g) Bonne Maman raspberry conserve

• Caster sugar, to dust

METHOD

1. Add flour, sugar, yeast and salt to a bowl. Mix throughly.

2. Make a well in the flour mixture. Add in milk, butter and egg until dough comes together. This mixture will be very sticky. 

3. Knead on a floured surface until smooth. Place in a greased bowl and cover. Set aside to prove in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled.

4. Knead for 2 minutes. Roll out until 1cm thick. Using a 7cm round cutter, cut out circles from the dough. Don't cut centres. Place on a lined baking tray. Set aside for another 30 minutes to prove in a warm place.

5. Deep-fry at 180 to 190 degrees celcius for 1 minute each side. Place on paper towel to drain oil. 

6. Spoon jam into a piping bag with a 5mm piping tip. Push tip into the side of the doughnuts and fill. Roll in caster sugar. 

Easy Pancakes with Blueberries and Maple Syrup

I love pancakes. Having them for a weekend breakfast brings back the nostalgia of my childhood, when my parents used to make pancakes for me on the weekends. They are so simple to make and you can have fun topping them with almost anything you like. For these I chose blueberries and maple syrup.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups milk

• 2 eggs

• 2 cups self-raising flour

• 1/3 cup caster sugar

• Butter, for pan

METHOD

1. Place flour and sugar into a large bowl. Mix to combine.

2. Create a well in the centre and add milk and egg. Whisk until combined.

3. Heat a fry pan over medium heat and add a small amount of butter to the centre. Coat pan with butter.

4. Place a 1/4 cup of the pancake mixture into the centre of the pan and cook for a few minutes until bubbles appear on the surface. Turn and cook until other side has browned. Move onto a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining mixture.

5. Top with maple syrup and fresh blueberries or your choice of toppings.

Coconut Yogurt & Blueberries

This is a really simple a quick breakfast, when you don't have much time in the morning but still want something satiating and satisfying. The warmed blueberries are perfect for a colder morning. You could even lightly grill slices of banana to add to this as well.

INGREDIENTS

• Passionfruit Coyo - or other coconut yogurt

• 1 Banana, sliced

• Handful of frozen blueberries

• Loving Earth Buckinis

METHOD

1. Put frozen blueberries in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1-2 minutes until berries and warm and juices are oozing.

2. Add coyo, sliced banana, warmed blueberries to a bowl and top with buckinis.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Brownies

Deliciously gooey and soft, these brownies will go down a treat! Made with sweet potatoes, dates and maple syrup, these are a healthier option to your white sugar laden standard brownies.

THE BROWNIES

• 500g sweet potatoes (about 2 medium)

• 12 medjool dates

• 6 tbsp of pure maple syrup

• 100g ground almonds

• 2 tbsp of melted coconut oil

• a pinch of salt

• 100g ground oats

• 6 tbsp raw cacao powder

THE ICING

• One medium sized avocado

• 3 tbsp cacao powder

• 3 tbsp maple syrup

METHOD - THE BROWNIES

1. Start by pre-heating the oven to 180C (fan), then peel the sweet potatoes. Cut them into chunks and place into a steamer for about twenty minutes, until they become really soft.

2. Once they are perfectly soft and beginning to fall apart remove them and add them to a food processor with the pitted dates.

3. Put the remaining ingredients into a bowl, before mixing in the sweet potato date combination. Stir well.

4. Place into a lined baking dish and cook for about forty-five to fifty minutes, until you can pierce the brownie with a fork and bring it out dry. Remove the tray and allow it to cool for about ten minutes – this is really important as it needs this time to stick together.

METHOD - THE ICING

1. Place all three ingredients into a food processor and process until combined. Add more maple syrup if necessary.

2. Spread a layer of icing on brownies, slice and enjoy!

Credit: Recipe for brownies from Deliciously Ella

Raspberry & Cacao Smoothie

The tartness of the raspberries combines so beautifully with the sweetness of the honey and the touch of cacao. This is a rich, nutrient packed smoothie, that will have you saying YES to chocolate for breakfast.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup frozen raspberries

• 1 banana, sliced

• 1/2 avocado

• 1 tbsp honey (or to taste)

• 1 tbsp cacao

• 1 cup coconut milk (or other plant milk)

• Extra berries and cacao, to serve

METHOD

Add all ingredients to blender and blend until combined. Serve topped with fresh berries and more cacao.

Raspberry Chia Pudding

Raspberry Chia Pudding

Simple and easy breakfast or dessert recipe, meaning 'strength' in the Mayan language, chia seeds are packed with fibre, protein and Omega-3 acids, and are high in vitamins and minerals.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup plant-based milk (coconut, almond)

• 3 tbsp chia seeds

• 1 tbsp maple syrup (plus extra)

• 2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)

• Shredded coconut, extra raspberries, sliced almonds (optional)

METHOD

1. Place chia seeds, milk, and maple syrup in a bowl, stir until combined.

2. Place mixture into the fridge and leave to rest for 1 hour, or overnight.

3. For the raspberry layer, place raspberries into a pot on medium heat, add extra maple syrup (1 tbsp) if desired.

4. Once bubbling, reduce the heat and continue cooking on low heat for 5 minutes, until it has thickened.

5. In a glass, layer chia pudding and raspberry compote, and top with desired toppings.

Oat Pancakes

These are really simple 4 ingredient pancakes that you can top with any healthy (or not so healthy) ingredients you desire, a great alternative to regular pancakes using oats, which contain soluble fibre, slowing digestion and reducing blood sugar spikes.

BANANA OAT PANCAKES

Serves 2

Ingredients

1.5 cups oats
1 banana
1 egg
1 cup soy milk
Toppings to serve: Banana, Dark Chocolate (melted), Cashews, Granola, Dessicated Coconut

Method

01. In a blender (or bowl) combine banana, egg, oats and soy milk. Stir or blend until combined.
02. Heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat.
03. Fry spoonfuls of batter until golden brown on both sides.
04. Serve with toppings and a drizzle of melted dark chocolate.

Dairy-Free Choc Mint Ice Cream

I was delighted when I first tried out this recipe for mint choc ice cream from Loving Earth, as the outcome was so much better than I expected. I've tried some raw desserts before that despite following the recipe haven't turned out as close to the stated dessert as I expected. But this ice cream is super creamy, super minty and super delicious. It even contains a little bit of Spirulina, but the taste is completely masked by the other yummy ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup raw cashews (150g), soaked overnight, washed & drained

• 1 cup coconut cream (250ml)

• 1/3 cup coconut nectar

• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

• 1/4 tsp Spirulina

• Few drops peppermint essential oil (more or less to taste)

• 1/2 cup cacao nibs (or raw chocolate grated)

METHOD

1. Blend cashews, coconut cream and coconut nectar in a blender until smooth and creamy.

2. Add coconut oil and blend until combined

3. Add peppermint oil (add more or less to liking) and spirulina and blend until combined.

4. Pour into metal loaf tin. Stir through cacao nibs.

5. Cover tin with foil and freeze overnight until set.

6. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving to soften.

I recommend adding more or less peppermint oil as you like (if you don't have food grade peppermint essential oil, you can use peppermint extract, it's less concentrated so you will need to use more - e.g. 1 /2 - 1 tsp adjust to liking.

Also, if you aren't used to cacao nibs - they are quite bitter - so if you prefer something sweeter you can use grated raw chocolate to keep it dairy free, otherwise you can use any variety of chocolate chips. 

Recipe modified from Loving Earth

Oats with Honey Poached Pear

Blueberry Muffins