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Recipe: Flourless chocolate cake
Everyone needs a recipe for flourless chocolate cake in their arsenal for those times when they need a dessert for their chocolate-loving gluten-free or low-carb friends. Despite using milk chocolate, this cake eats like a dark chocolate cake. This is because there is no added sugar and there is additional cocoa powder. If you like sweet cakes, feel free to either add some sugar or other sweetener. You could also use drinking chocolate powder (sweetened with either sugar or natural sweetener depending on your needs), which will make the cake less intense in the chocolate front. This recipe uses cold brew concentrate or espresso to complement the chocolate flavour. You…
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Recipe: Chocolate peanut butter protein shake
This recipe is for the chocolate + PB combo lovers out there. It is great as a post-workout drink if your next meal is a few hours away or can sub for breakfast as it is high in protein and reasonably filling. This shake can be made dairy-free depending on the protein powder you use. I used natural grass-fed whey protein isolate (WPI) from 180 Nutrition. I’m also a big fan of the True Protein natural WPI. For a dairy-free/vegan version, you can use pea or rice protein (or a blend) from one of the brands mentioned before. I used peanut butter powder from True Protein. Other supplement shops also…
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Recipe: Peruvian hot chocolate
In Perú there’s no such thing as Christmas in July. Instead, we eat and drink all the wintery Christmas stuff in the middle of summer. The large Christmas eve dinner of roasted turkey (or suckling pig), applesauce and/or mash, Russian salad, rice, etc. is followed by hot chocolate and panettone. Peruvian hot chocolate is made with blocks of bitter cooking chocolate that are simmered with spices and then mixed with evaporated milk and sugar. It is not a “light” beverage by any stretch of imagination. However, when the weather cools down, our bodies crave hot beverages that provide energy and comfort. Hence, I’ve created a version of Peruvian hot chocolate…
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Recipe: Macadamia coconut and lime bliss balls
Bliss balls are the perfect snack when you are not that hungry and/or you intend to share. You can bring them to the office, the gym, picnics, etc. These macadamia, coconut and lime bliss balls are not only delicious, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan but also sugar-free. (That does not mean you should eat the whole batch, though). Enjoy! I normally use Macro macadamias and shredded coconut from Woolies. Use a natural sweetener, such as this one or this one.
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Recipe: Lamington bliss balls
These tasty snacks are called lamington bliss balls because they share two key ingredients with the Australian iconic cake: chocolate and coconut. As they are not real lamingtons, you don’t have to wait until the next Australia Day to make or eat them :). The hardest step of this recipe, besides melting the chocolate, is waiting for the chocolate to dry. These lamington bliss balls are gluten-free and can be made dairy-free/vegan depending on the chocolate you choose. Enjoy!
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Recipe: Zucchini & carrot brownies
Wondering how you can consume 5 serves of vegetables? Do you want to sneak more veggies into your kids’ diet? Although these zucchini & carrot brownies are a once-in-a-while treat, they are a certainly a healthier alternative to regular dessert. The texture of these brownies is on the soft, cake-y side due to the coconut flour. If you prefer denser brownies, keep your eyes peeled for upcoming recipes.
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Recipe: Double chocolate, adzuki and black sesame bliss balls
Double chocolate, that’s all you need to know. Don’t worry about the hippie stuff 🙂 Ok, ok, as you can gather from the recipe name, these balls have beans in them. Beans are a great source of fibre, low GI carbohydrate and a decent source of protein. They can cause gastrointestinal discomfort to some people, which can be minimised by preparation steps such as soaking, sprouting and fermenting. This recipe came about because I had rescued some adzuki beans from going in the bin. Since these beans are commonly used in desserts, I thought I’d make myself a healthy treat with them. I though I would continue with the Asian…
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Recipe: Licorice salted chocolate mousse
I learned from a young age that salt accentuates sweet flavours (my grandma taught me to eat watermelon with salt). Later, in culinary school, I learned to always add salt to chocolate desserts – chocolate mousse included – and sugar to tomato-based dishes. That’s why there was no doubt in my mind that Saltverk’s licorice sea salt would pair beautifully with a simple, rich chocolate mousse. There are a million ways to make chocolate mousse. Classic ingredients include dark chocolate, eggs, butter and cream. Nowadays, there are lots of hipster versions using ingredients such as avocado, cacao powder (or even hipster-er: carob), coconut cream and cashews (of course, soaked overnight…
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Product review: Peak Chocolate Bar by True Protein
Yes, this is a chocolate bar sold as a fitness supplement. This is the sort of thing that gets my coach fired up about the money-driven fitness supplement industry, but I could not resist and had to try it as soon as it got released. Given the ingredient list (80% dark choc, creatine monohydrate, BCAAs, organic caffeine, and Himalayan rock salt), I expected it to be at the very least a decent chocolate bar, even if it didn’t accelerate muscle growth and increase energy as promised. Nutrition wise, each 25g serve (1/2 bar) provides 2.5g protein, 4.7g CHO (of which 3.6g are sugar), 70mg caffeine, 1.5g creatine monohydrate and 1.0g…
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Recipe: Cacao maca smoothie
Confession time: despite being Peruvian, I don’t like maca. I do try to get some in my diet because it’s meant to help with hormonal balance, but I have to find ways to disguise its flavour. I’ve been making a smoothie mix with the dry ingredients listed below, which I multiply 3 or 4 times and store them in a jar, making it easy to chuck in the blender in the morning. I’ve used avocado and/or coconut milk for thickness and fat content. I don’t use any sweetener (IMO you don’t need any if using coconut milk, anyway) but that might be overkill for you, so go ahead and add…
