Superfood Fruit & Nut Chocolate Bars

Chocolate love with good for you,
 Superfood Chocolate Fruit & Nut bars.
Once you start making your own raw chocolate there is just so many combinations you can make. One of my favourite is a healthier twist on the classic fruit and nut bars.
Simple. Healthy. Delicious.

Ingredients
1 cup coconut oil, runny room temperature

1 cup organic rice malt syrup  (I often use less as we don't like it too sweet)

6 tablespoons cacao powder

2 heaped tablespoons Nutra Organics Super Greens Plus Reds (oh yeah all that goodness! Optional)

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
*1/2 teaspoon pink himalayn salt 

*1/2 cup peanut or macadamia butter

*1/2 cup sunflower seeds
*1/2 organic raisins
*1/2 cup walnuts
*1/4 sultannas
*1/4 cup macadamias
*1/4 cup goji berries

Now my biggest TIP is you want your coconut oil but for the best consistency when mixing for a smooth chocolate I put mine in a bowl and place in the fridge for about 10 minutes or so until it is just crystallizing around the edges, when it reaches this point it will blend with the other ingredients beautifully with a wooden spoon, no fancy equipment needed.

Mix the coconut oil and rice malt together well.
Then add cacao and greens powder, salt, then the nut paste.
Mix together very well.
Stir in all the nuts, seeds and dried fruit, stir through.
Line a baking tray or dish with baking powder.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the tray, smooth down.
Place in the fridge until set, (usually at least 3 hours depending on the thickness you make it), remove, slice up into chocolate bar shapes on a chopping board, place in a sealed container and store in the fridge ready to eat!
I do recommend putting on a high shelf otherwise your kids will slowly but surely shorten your supply when you are not looking! Haha ;P
If you are REALLY desperate for a choccy fix, (like need right now) and I "may" have done this, you can set it super fast in the freezer hehehe!

Bek Xx

Chocolate Strawberry Smoothies

How exciting is it when something really healthy for you tastes like pure indulgence?

Really good right?
With an abundance of such stunning fresh strawberries on the Sunshine Coast this time of year and always having a love of chocolate, this smoothie to me is just soooo good it is almost addictive!

Chocolate Strawberry Smoothies
Ingredients
(per smoothie - if using a large blender to make multiple adjust quantity to suit.)
1 cup of washed, fresh and really ripe strawberries.
1/2 cup spinach
1/4 cup kale
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 heaped tablespoon cacao
1 teaspoon raw honey (optional)
1 cup almond milk (or favourite alternative)
1 frozen banana for creaminess (optional you can leave out.)

1 teaspoon super greens powder (optional)

Extra cacao to sprinkle on top.

Extra strawberries for serving.
Ice if desired.

Method.

Blitz all the ingredients in a high powered blender or nutrabullet.
Serve in a tall glass.
Sprinkle with cacao powder and sliced strawberries on the glass.
Enjoy!!

Notes
You can of course add a good quality protein powder and even some oats if you ant a really dense smoothie for say after the gym.
Strawberries are an excellent source of Vitamin C and manganese and are said to have many health benefits including anti inflammatory and anti cancer properties, and people that eat them, fairly often are said to have decreased cardiovascular disease risk

Kid Tips
Kids love this one, the sweetness and colour from the ripe seasonal strawberries makes it such a hit!

Zucchini & Chia Seed Moist Choocolate Cake

You always need chocolate right??

Zucchini and Chia seed, Moist  Chocolate cake 

A chocolate cake with some added goodness.
After 3 years being a tagged on recipe on another post I have finally out this chocyliscious baby on a post all of her own! x

A beautiful, moist chocolate cake (with added goodness).
Most of us love a chocolate cake and if you are going to have a chocolate cake why not have one with some goodness inside!

Ingredients

• 125g butter
• 1 cup coconut sugar (or swap for stevia)
• 1 tsp good vanilla
• 200g dark chocolate, chopped
• 3 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 cups zucchini finely grated
• 4 free range eggs
• 1 cup almond meal
• 3 cups gluten free self raising flour, OR 2 cups organic self raising flour OR wholemeal spelt with 2 teaspoons baking powder.
• 1-2 cups whipped cream or whipped coconut cream for dairy free
• jam (I use homemade or sugar free with stevia/fruit juice sweetener )
• walnuts
• fresh strawberries to serve

Method

• Pre heat oven to 180`c
• Grease and line with baking paper 2 x 20 cm cake tins
• Gently melt chocolate and butter
• Combine chocolate butter mixture in a bowl with the sugar
• Add in vanilla essence, eggs
• Mix in almond meal and flour, mix together well
• Fold in zucchini and chia seeds
• Pour mixture into lined tins
• Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until springs back when touched
• Turn both cakes onto a wire rack to cool
• Once cold place one cake onto a dish, spread with a generous layer of rosella conserve and then a layer of whipped cream and some sliced fresh strawberries
• Assemble second cake on top (arrange it flat bottom on top for a neater topped cake), top with whipped cream and decorate with walnuts and fresh strawberries
• Enjoy!

Notes

• Use milk chocolate for a milder version
• Leave the cream out and instead make and use a dark chocolate icing in its place
• Squash can be used in place of zucchini if you find you have lots of them growing in your garden!
• Swap walnuts for more fresh fruit or even choc chips!
• Use wholemeal spelt flour – this does make the cake heavier so I recommend adding in some vanilla yogurt if you use any type of wholemeal flour

Rebecca xx

Triple Chocolate Icecreams. Refined Sugar Free

There is some things that just never get old, like creamy, chocolate ice creams.
Just before our school holidays started and the gorgeous Sunshine Coast Spring weather hit, I started to play around with some different healthy ice-cream ideas for my kids.
They have already had so many times my Mango, Macadamia Honey Ice-Creams, Dairy Free Blissed Out Banana Splits, my smoothie icy poles and my many versions of banana ice creams.
So I wanted to do something different, new and exciting for them these holidays.
My oldest does not take to sugar well at all, in fact when she has some it takes her at least half a day to recover and she literally becomes like Hammy from over the hedge!

Image Source

So sugar, is not her friend. And for me, on a healing journey of my own, its not my friend either so bringing together elements of things I already make and cook I put together these triple chocolate ice creams - and made many of them complete with a hard choc top too, and they are soooooo good!

And being on my own healing journey - a major part is living refined sugar free, as cane sugar is very inflammatory for everybody - mummy might have been seen on occasion not just having one with the kids in a family fun moment of an afternoon but also sneaking one of these out of the freezer to enjoy in a quiet moment in the garden too shhhh hehe ;)
They are really lovely - give them a go. Trust me Xxxx

Triple Chocolate Ice Creams

(refined sugar free)

Ingredients
Note: These ice creams have three components - I promise, all are easy and pretty quick to do. I got all three ready at the same time with a bowl and whisk, blender and a saucepan. X
Chocolate ice cream
3 cups of a good cream (here on the sunshine coast I use Maleny Dairies)
1 teaspoon organic vanilla paste
2 teaspoons cocoa (I used dutch processed but you could use normal, cacao or even carob)

2 tablespoons stevia (or coconut sugar or raw honey if your prefer)

Choc fudge flavour layer

2 bananas

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons nut butter (I use nut butters from my local health food shop, supermarket ones will contain sugar)

1 tablespoon stevia (or honey)

1 tablespoon cocoa (see earlier note)

Hard choc

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup cocoa

Tiny pink Himalayan salt

1/4 cup rice malt syrup

ice cream moulds

paddle pop sticks (food grade)

ALSO - see notes!

 

Method

• Have some clean ice-cream moulds or plastic cups ready to go and clear a good space in the freezer.
• In a large bowl whip the cream with the stevia, cocoa and vanilla until nice and fluffy and whipped, set aside.
• In a blender place all the choc fudge layer ingredients and process until nice and smooth, depending on size and ripeness of bananas you may want to use a little more or less water to get a nice consistency.
• To make the hard choc you need melted coconut oil, so either your lucky and its warm enough that it is already runny or you will need to gently melt some like you would chocolate.
• I like my coconut oil to be melty but slightly still a little whipped looking, so from runny coconut oil I place it in the fridge for a little while until it is still runny but very lightly crystallised around the edges, it just seems to blend better for chocolate like that and you need the coconut oil cool to touch for the ice cream creating step as well.
• Mix your (cool) coconut oil with the rice malt syrup and cocoa and salt very well. It needs to be well blended.

• In your moulds arrange the 3 components in layers as desired. My kids loved the ones I made that had a hard choc bottom, for these I just started with a small amount of the hard choc, then choc ice cream, then choc fudge then hard choc for a surprise centre then topped with choc cream. But you could do as many layers in any pattern you like, have fun with it!.
• Cover the exposed tops with aluminium foil or cling wrap or similar.
• Freeze until completely set.
• To serve run the bases under warm water or sit briefly in a bowl of war, water until they are easy to remove.
• Enjoy!

Notes

• With some I also used a butter knife to mix the layers just slightly, running the knife back and forth through the mixture just a little.
• TIP to make the ice creams look really pretty, make sure after each layer you wipe down the sides so once frozen you get a very defined layered look.
• If you wish you can also alternatively simply use a good quality melted bought dark chocolate for the hard chocolate parts of these ice-creams.

Tiddler Tips

• I would probably use less cocoa and a mild, organic one and not something as strong as cacao or dutch processed cocoa personally. You could also try carob versions.

Eat beautiful. Live Well. Be Happy. Stay Calm.
Bek XXX
PS if you make these - I would love to know! So please share your picture with me on facebook, twitter, Instagram or simply hashtag on social media #cookingwithbek or #beautifulfoodwithbekRecipe and food photography copyright RebeccaMugridge2014

Bek's Chocolate Wrap Up. Healthy & Moorish Chocolate Easter Ideas From The Vault

Happy Easter everyone!

I hope it is safe, joyous and delicious for all.

For me I love Easter and the wonderful thing is you can enjoy and celebrate all things chocolate without gain 3 kilo's, truly you can! Easter, to me is about family and friends, good food, a celebartion and of course, chocolate.

But if your going to enjoy some delicious chocolate why not make it beautiful home-made your body will love and you wont have to run off for several weeks!

On the Sunshine Coast we also have the delight of the Easter weekend Kenilworth Cheese Festival complete with a kids "cheese hunt" as apposed to an egg hunt, cheese rolling ( a lot of fun!), cheese factory taste testing, wine taste testing and numerous gourmet and interesting stalls to delight. a pleasant way to spend Easter Sunday and a savoury break!

Looking for some delicious, healthy chocolate inspiration?

Bek's chocolate wrap

 Fruit and Nut Healthy Chocolates

 (gluten free, dairy free, vegan, refined sugar free)

Moorish Fruit & Nut Chocolate Slice(gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, vegan)

Spelt, Beetroot and Walnut Chocolate Brownies
(refined sugar free)

Sour Cherry, Spelt Chocolate Biscuits(Refined Sugar Free)

Chocolate Macadamia Ice Cream

Choccyliscious Muffins ( No Added Sugar)

Moist Fudgey Chocolate Cake Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Dairy Free

Zucchini & Chia Chocolate Cake

Beautiful Beetroot & Yoghurt Chocolate Muffins

Raw Energy Date, Pecan, Macadamia Chocolate SliceGluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan, Raw, Refined Sugar Fee

Chocolate Raspberry, Goji SliceGluten Free, Dairy Free, Almost Raw, Vegan, Refined Sugar Free

Blissed Out Banana Split with Chocolate Sauce & Coconut Ice Cream(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Grain Free, Vegan, Almost Raw, Refined Sugar Free)

And this I had to add in even though it is not my recipe, this unbelievably scrumptious creation is based on a recipe by Nutra Organics found on Natural New Age Mum, and has fast become a staple at our house for a delicious, easy to whip up in just moments treat!
Get the NNAM sensational original recipe post HERE
(plus you REALLY need to follow that blog it is beyond awesome!)
Nutra Organics Superfood Choccy Fudge My tweaked version is:

1 cup coconut oil, runny room temperature

1 cup organic rice malt syrup  (I often use less as we don't like it too sweet)

6 tablespoons cacao powder

2 heaped tablespoons Nutra Organics Super Greens Plus Reds (oh yeah all that goodness!)

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
*1/2 teaspoon pink himalayn salt 

*1/2 cup sunflower seed butter

*1/2 cup sunflower seeds
*1/2 organic raisins
*1/2 cup walnuts
*1/2 cup whatever I feel like adding, could be dried figs, prunes, macadamia's, peppita seeds etc
Sooo yum!
I mix the coconut oil and rice malt, then add cacao and greens powder and salt, then paste, then mix all well.
pop in a lined tray and put in the fridge until set, remove, slice, return and store to fridge, putting on a high shelf otherwise your kids will slowly but surely shorten your supply when you are not looking!
If you are REALLY desperate for a choccy fix, like need right now and I "may" have done this, you can set it super fast in the freezer hehehe! 

Happy Cooking!
Eat beautiful, be active, live well, be happy
Bek XXX

Little paleo chocolate cakes and a MerryMaker sisters workout

Exercise we all know is important for a healthy, happy body but it can also be fun and a great way to socialise, spend quality time with our kids, make friends, challenge ourselves and find our inner strength and love for our bodies as well.

Putting the FUN and the planning back into fitness for 1 week thanks to Fitness First I swapped my unstructured and untimed long pram walks and swim laps at the pool, for a very exciting, very specific and wonderfully challenging routine created by the dynamo duo The MerryMaker sisters

Do you do the exact same exercise routine each week?
Have you ever tried changing it up a bit? Challenging yourself? Adding specific structure? It feels amazing, even if you think you are pretty fit, a new routine or exercise feels so energising and motivating.

I was a little bit worried at first about fitting it in completely and space wise as a single mum of two kids and all that, as the Merry Maker sisters are two young, child free ladies with that thing called spare time!
BUT I already am pretty good at fitting in a hand weights routine and some great deep stretching at night after the kids go to bed so I made it work (maybe not the best time of day to be working out, but it sure is the easiest and quietest!!) It would have also been a great one to do at the gym like in a Fitness First Gym's functional area and you could even combine it with a great gym class to make a fantastic session and also so you have the added safety of experienced personal trainers on hand to make sure you are doing everything correctly, which is so important.

What the girls put together was fun and very motivating.

I used to go to the gym a lot before my second baby, ok I almost lived there! And this routine made me (and my body) remember how good it really feels to take part in a structured work out, a work out that challenges you and makes you want to do more, be more, feel empowered in your body as well as doing exercise for mood and health like walking.

So I have had a great exercise week, OK except for one particular component I have to be honest, the pull ups! I seriously need work to get them happening properly!

What was my work out?
I am sharing it's outline with you, fellow mummy readers so you two might be inspired to shake up your routine a bit. I do highly recommend always seeing a personal trainer and your medical professional prior to undertaking and new exercise and it makes such a difference if you can learn a new routine under their watchful eye, ensuring correct posture and of course because you feel so much more motivated!!.

DIRECTIONS this is a functional fitness based regime. High intensity for a short amount of time. This would be for intensity level 8-10, though it could also be for lower intensity with lighter weights. Use weights that you feel comfortable with. These workouts can be completed in the new Fitness First functional area. We’ve added a yoga/walk for recovery.

Day 1
4 rounds for time (25 minute cut off)
10 shoulder push Press
30 skips
10 pull ups (assisted if required)
30 skips
20 push ups
30 skips
20 kettle bell Swings
Day 2
24 minutes, as many rounds as possible:
3 push ups
4 pull ups
5 box Jumps
Day 3
4 x 3 minute rounds of:
500m row sprint
Maximum amount of back squats in remaining time
3 min rest
*each back squat takes 1 second off your row time.
Day 4
20 minute cut off:
400m Run
21 x pull ups
21 x kettle bell swings
400m Run
15 x pull ups
15 x kettle bell swings
400m run
9 x pull ups
9 x kettle bell swings
Day 5
Every 2 minutes for 20 minutes complete:
5 x deadlifts
10 x weighted sit ups
Maximum amount of pull ups in the remaining  time
Day 6
Flow yoga/ Body Balance class at Fitness First OR leisurely walk.

NOTE: I didn't have a kettle bell handy over the week and couldn't make the gym due to a hectic schedule so modified with hand weights and the pull ups well, keeping with honesty were a bit of a challenge....
I am yet to master pull ups well, ok really at all in sets if I am being honest, and actually even when I was training in taekwondo and boxing and the fittest shape of my life  before baby number 2 I had trouble with these so achieving them and achieving them well is something on my goal list and something I know I need to get coaching for specifically in the gym to get there with an expert trainer that gets me and my body and what I need to do to get there, that can teach me, guide me and make it happen. This is what I plan to do as my youngest starts kindy soon and I will be hooking up with experts like Fitness First to get me back into my fittest body ever - hello Summer bikini's this Christmas!

And on top of the workout to soften all the sore muscles from the week I also made a delicious little recipe by these gorgeous girls, one I had to make twice as my kids swiped the first one, I tweked it a little - as you do right! I reduced the cacao - because it makes my kids hyper! Used coconut sugar and increased the liquid as we found it just a teensy bit dry. The Merry Maker sisters one pot paleo chocolate cake  which we enjoyed with lovely fresh strawberries from our garden.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cacao 

1/2 tablespoon of coconut flour

1 free range egg

1/2 tablespoon of coconut sugar

1/4 cup /coconut/almond/dairy/soy milk

Method

Mix all the ingredients together and then very quickly (because it is that sponge like coconut flour) pour into ramekins and bake in the oven (we do not use or recommend microwaves at all which is what the sisters use in this, but you can do it which way you prefer, though I strongly discourage use of microwaves)
Don't leave the room as they bake super quick! You will know they are done when they have a lovely baked smell and a crunchy top, depending on oven and size of ramekins could be 1-5 minutes. 

Notes

• Another version we made (but didn't exactly measure - sorry) we doubled the recipe and added natural yoghurt which really amped up the moistness and made it even more palatable than before :)
• This does only make a small quantity.
• Swap the coconut sugar for stevia or raw honey.

Thank you Fitness First for shaking up my routine and putting the challenge, motivation, precision and FUN back into my workouts, not to mention finishing it off with healthy chocolate!

#lifeisgood #changeforethebest #Fitnessfirst #beahealthyhappymum #sponsoredpost

BEK XXX

Chocolate Raspberry Goji Slice (No Baking needed)

I love chocolate, I do and I came to the realization that because I do, let's face it I am going to be eating it a lot and for most likely the rest of my life! Soo I decided that on top of store bought chocolate delights I would like to have some chocolate recipes up my sleeve that had some nutritional benefits in them!

This slice was such a surprise hit with my kids and taste testers I really liked it but thought the unsweetened fruit layer would be too sour but everyone, especially my kids (who whenever I make it I find sneaking bits out of the fridge and leaving tell tale crumbs on the floor) love it!

Chocolate Raspberry Goji Slice

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cacao butter ( I get mine from health food shops, maleny iga, Kunara (used to be known as The Natural Foodtsore on the Sunshine Coast)  You can also buy it online.
• 1/4 cup cacao powder
• 1/4 cup dark coconut sugar (it should be nice and rich and brown not the processed white stuff, again health food stores, baking shops, good supermarkets)
• 1/4 cup rice malt syrup (I actually got mine from my local Coles but also from health food shops etc)
• 1 &1/2 cups dried, unsweetened raspberries. (You can do this yourself with a dehydrator or you will most likely need to go to a health food/bulk dried food and ingredient type shop for these, you could also use other dried unsweetened fruit of choice)
• 1/2 cup goji berries
• 1 cup coconut oil ( I use coconut essence )
• 3 & 1/2 cups desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup rice malt syrup
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup almond milk
• pinch pink himalayan salt

Method

• Grease a slice tray with a little coconut oil and line with baking paper. 
• Place the raspberries and goji berries together in a bowl and cover with water, allow to sit and swell.
• In a large bowl combine the desiccated coconut, rice malt syrup, 1/2 cup of the milk. Mix together well. It should be a thick, sticky consistency. If it is too dry you can add a little more milk or rice malt syrup but you do not want it too runny.
• Press the desiccated coconut mixture firmly into the tray, pressing it down evenly.
• Chill in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.
• In a saucepan place the cacao butter and put it on it's lowest possible setting, let it very gently melt to a liquid. Do not leave.
• Remove melted cacao butter from heat and allow to cool slightly.
• Add in the rice malt syrup stir together.
• Add in pinch of himalyan salt and cacao, stir together.
• Lastly add in the coconut sugar and stir it all together well, it should be nice and still have a liquid consistency to be able to pour it on top of the slice and not come into a clump.
• Drain the berry mixture and spread them out evenly over the coconut layer in the tray.
• Pour the cacao chocolate mixture even over the top, use a spatula to ensure it is evenly covering the slice.
• Cover and place the slice in the fridge for at least 4 hours, best left overnight.
• Remove and slice up.
• Store in the fridge.

Notes

• For taking in lunchboxes place in a container on top of an ice brick to keep it from melting. It does not melt as fast as coconut oil chocolate but will still be effected by heat.
• Great for entertaining, after school treats and late night choccy foxes

Toddler Tips

• Cut into small pieces, as toddlers can take awhile sometimes to eat things this can get a little messy on a hot day so I would recommend some wipes handy ;)
• Toddlers really like the sweet with the sour fruit combo!

(C) RebeccaMugridge2013

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Bek XXX

Fruit and Nut Chocolates and Slice

Fruit and Nut Chocolate Delights

(GF, DF, Refined Sugar Free)
I love Cadbury fruit and nut chocolate and I also love experimenting in the kitchen and creating different twists on classic recipes and food.
My grandmother, who was a great chef always said, "There are no new recipes, there are new personalities in food." I think this is never more true than today and I believe it is what makes food so exciting.

I love to put my own style and ideas and twists into my cooking, always have. Recently a friend of many years remarked how I have always been one serving food and cooking, even when we were young, carefree and partying teenagers - yep I was the one feeding everyone and bringing baskets of salads and baked goods, up early with the cooked breakfasts camping.

I guess I get it from my mother, who got it from her mother, who got it from her mother... Yes I come from food loving women, don't you love how things run in families? Cooking and beautiful food has always been around me, as has being in commercial kitchens and seeing my mother make food for delighted customers, I realised back then that people enjoying food is an experience and people enjoying your food is exhilarating!
It became one of my great loves and passions in my life.

I love cooking shows and I was delighted to watch an episode The Great Australian Bake Off where all the contestants had to make the exact same recipe.
All the variables were the same. Same room, same room temperature. same oven types, same equipment. same amount of allotted time, same ingredients, measuring devices.
And YET not any of them were the same in the end result!
This was a delight to see at it reinforced to me what my grandmother always said. We are all so different, we are all beautiful, unique personalities and like with art and no two artists being the same, food is no different and no two cooks are exactly the same either.
We each have our own personality with our food and our cooking, and that makes cooking and food wonderfully exciting!!

While inspired by the timeless classic this recipe is definitely not Cadbury chocolate or even intended to be just like it in any way, it is rather very very different, it is the end result of much eating taste testing and experimenting in my kitchen and it is a recipe both my kids love and that has made it a winner in our house alone!

Fruit and Nut Chocolates

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup organic cocoa butter. ( I use Cacao Power certified organic pure raw cocoa butter, you can buy from health food shops, I got mine from Maleny IGA it is the edible natural fat of the chocolate bean)
• 1/4 cup organic rice malt syrup ( I got mine from Coles supermarket in Nambour, so it is quite a common product to find)
• 1/4 cup cacao powder
• pinch pink Himalayan salt
• 2 cups assorted chopped dried fruit and assorted chopped nuts of choice (only roughly chop the nuts so there is interesting texture)

Method

• In a saucepan very gently over a low heat melt the cocoa butter.
• Once melted add in the other ingredients and stir together until well combined.
• Have chocolate molds ready (I actually used miniature muffin trays for the ones pictured)
• Fill molds about 1/3 with chocolate mix.
• Sprinkle in fruit and nuts into each one.
• Top with chocolate mixture.
• Place in the fridge to set, at least 1 hour depending on size of molds used.
• Remove from molds when firmly set, serve.
• Keep in a sealed container in the fridge.

Notes

• Use your imagination and put your own personality on them! Try different fruit and nut combo's, salted peanuts is rather nice!

Toddler Tips

• Make them nice and small so they are perfect for little hands.
• These are great chocolates to give the kids, knowing they are refined sugar free and have lots of antioxidents in them and no hidden nasties.

Fruit and Nut Chocolate Slice

This is sooo YUM!! It is hard to keep this for long at our house!\

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup organic, raw cocoa butter (see notes above)
• 1/4 cup cacao powder
• 1/2 cup organic rice malt syrup
• pink pink Himalayan salt
• 2 cups chopped dried fruit and nuts ( I have used figs, prunes, cashews and peanuts)
• 1 &1/2 cups macadamia paste (I use Nutworks beautiful natural macadamia paste)
• 1 &1/2 cups desiccated coconut (I also buy this at Nutworks as it is a great price and in bulk)
• 2 tablespoon organic rice malt syrup

Method

• Very gently melt the cocoa butter over a low heat.
• Once melted stir in  cacao powder and 1/2 cup rice malt syrup and pinch Himalayan salt.
• In a large bowl combine the macadamia paste, coconut and remaining rice malt syrup. Mix well.
• Press the macadamia mix into a baking paper lined tin. ( I use chemical free baking paper called "if you care" which I get from Organics on a Budget, also where I got my cacao powder)

• Mix together your dried fruits and nuts, they should all be roughly chopped so there is still plenty of texture but in smaller, easier to eat pieces. Personally I love the combination of dried figs, prunes, cashews and peanuts.
• Sprinkle a little extra Himalayan pink salt over your fruit and nut mixture (optional)
• Put this fruit and nit mix as a layer on top of the base, spreading out evenly.

• Pour the chocolate mixture over the top and place in the fridge to set.
• Once set, (allow a good 2 hours or do it overnight)remove from tin by lifting out the baking paper carefully, place on a chopping board, removing the paper and slice into desired bars or sqaures.
• Store in a sealed container in the fridge using baking paper between layers.
• Enjoy!

Notes

• This is such a great recipe to add your own personality too and come up with your own favourite combo! Try things like sultannas, dried apricots, cranberries, goji berries, dates, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts.
• Perfect for entertaining and for a beautiful table setting like at Christmas time.
• Done up in a glass jar tied with ribbon makes a beautiful gift.

Toddler Tips

• Both my kids LOVE this slice, my toddler does however take a bit longer to eat it and does get very chocolatey messy!!
• If putting in lunch boxes, put a piece in a sealed container in the freezer the night before and include a small ice brick or frozen drink in their lunch box. Cocoa butter chocolate doesn't soften as quickly as coconut oil based chocolates but it will soften in hot temperatures.

*Note for more chocolatey inspiration check out:

The Coconut Mama - absolutely amazing website full of coconut love, including her gorgeous chocolate ice magic! Natural New Age Mum's Chocolate Bars >> Yes, all your favourites made healthy or allergy friendly!

Happy Cooking
Bek XX

I really appreciate the support you all give me dear blog readers, my books, my blog, my recipes, my journey and my cooking - it all means so much!!
Love Bek XXX

Reipe and photography (c)RebeccaMugridge2013

My recipes are a collection of beautiful food to me and as such on my blog and in my books you will find a diverse range. In amongst them I have vegan, vegetarian, raw, nut free, dairy free, gluten free, sugar free, local food, seasonal food, health food, detox food, slimming food, protein rich food and many that are not any of those things too...!

Chocolate Love - Sour Cherry Spelt Chocolate Biscuits

I love chocolate.
The trouble is it doesn't always love my waistline me back!
So while I keep my store bought chocolate to occasional treats I love to make home-made choccy goodies for me and my children, especially for my kids as I try to keep the chemicals in their life to a minimum.
These are our latest love...

Sour Cherry, Spelt Chocolate Biscuits

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil ( I use Jt's Coconut Essence )
• 2 tablespoons rice malt syrup ( or raw honey or stevia - you can increase the amount to suit your personal sweet tastes, this worked well for our family, if you do increase it will change the mixture as it is a liquid so you will need to tweak accordingly )
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla paste
• 1 &1/2 cups wholemeal spelt flour ( I got mine from coles )
• 1 & 1/2 cups of macadamia meal ( I use Nutworks ) 
• 1/4 cup sour cherries ( I used the Morello brand in a jar - but if you can find dried sour cherries ( I seem to have a lot of trouble on the Sunny Coast!) they would be lovely in this - just tweak the mixture if needed so it is not too dry)
• 2 tablespoon cacao ( if you want them super chocolately increase this)
• Tiny pinch Pink Himalayan Salt
• Optional > 1 tablespoon SuperFoodsForKids Choc Berry Chunk (because why not and it's yummy and organic!)

Method

• Preheat oven to 180'c
• Your coconut oil should be really soft or lightly melted, if it's not gently and on a low heat melt it to a pliable consistency.
• Combine coconut oil and rice malt syrup in a large bowl.
• Blend in the vanilla paste, cacao and salt.
• Mix through the spelt flour and macadamia meal mixing until it looks like a biscuit dough. (I would recommend tasting at this point to make sure it is sweet enough for your liking - if not add some more sweetener and then tweak the dry ingredients as needed.
• Drain well and then stir through the sour cherries. 
• Line baking trays with baking paper - (I use if you care - chemical free, ethical baking paper ) 
• Roll mixture into balls and arrange on baking trays.
• Press down the balls with a fork and if desired press in some sour cherry pieces and loose macadamia meal for decoration purposes.
• Bake for approximately 10 minutes depending on your oven. I would stay close and keep and eye on them.
• Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.

Toddler Tips

• I like to make really tiny ones for little hands.
• You can mix in some choc chips or cacao nibs if desired.

Notes

• To make these even more decadent, we dipped the bottoms of ours in homemade cacao chocolate. There are so many gorgeous home-made choccy recipe getting around on the internet, we have tried and tweaked many, some we liked, some we really didn't. We finally came up with this and love to use it:

Easy Cacao Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup cacao butter ( I got mine in a large container from Maleny IGA)
• 2 tablespoons rice malt syrup
• 3 tablespoon cacao
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• tiny pinch pink Himalayan salt

Method:

• Melt the cacao butter very gently on a low heat or as you would chocolate with double saucepans over boiling water. 
• Remove from heat and in a bowl mix the cacao butter and rice malt syrup, stir in the vanilla paste, cacao and salt, make sure it is well blended.
• Allow to cool a little but so it is still runny.
• Dip the bottoms of cooled biscuits into the chocolate, you may want to spread a little on as well. 
• Place the biscuits chocolate side up on a tray and place in the fridge to set.
• Keep the chocolate biscuits in a really air tight container in the fridge - if they last that long!

If your finding yourself in choccy love right about now - let me tempt you further into the wonderful world of healthier, alternative chocolate.

The absolutely incredible Natural New Age Mum - aka Sonia who is one of my absolute favourite bloggers and healthy lifestyle advocates of all time on all things living natural and healthy put together the most incredible post Healthy Home-Made Chocolate Bars

Yes many of your favourite chocolate bar indulgences in healthier, preservative free taste bud loving yum!
Isn't she gorgeous doing that!

And another of my favourite healthy living and food bloggers, who takes food pictures that literally make you drool, made these......

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites

To me I see these and a organic wine pot of herbal tea and Mr Darcy on TV would be a rather lovely night in .Visit her foodliscious blog HERE and check her out on Facebook too and say HI!

And of course I have lots of  chocclisciousness for you like:

Chocolate zucchini and chia seed cake

Beetroot and Yoghurt Chocolate Muffins (no added sugar)

No added sugar, fudgey, gluten free choccy cake

Raw energy date, pecan and macadamia slice
(no cook slice)

Chocolate macadamia ice-cream (easy)

You can also enter the word CHOCOLATE in the search this blog feature on the top right hand side of this blog and then scroll through, you will find LOTS, yes, I do have a bit of chocolate love going on!

Happy Cooking
Bek XXX

Macadamia Bliss Balls and Real Food Festival 2013

On the Sunshine Coast we love our food and our local food producers, and we do love a festival!

The Real Food Festival is a definite highlight on the calender and 2 days of incredible food and presentations.

Sponsored by Nutworks I was delighted to present LOCAL FOOD BLISS and made a selection of delicious Bliss Balls featuring gorgeous local Sunshine Coast products

This image was taken by the very lovely

Chocolate Delight Bliss Balls

2 page feature in the Hinterland Times

About to go on stage pictured here with my Fab Slabs chopping boards,

 Naughty Naturopath Mum

In the audience it was so exciting to have the talented foodie talents of Cooker and a Looker and Naughty Naturopath Mum, two very talented women I admire very much and to see the kids in the front row enjoying the choccy nutty goodness of the bliss balls.
You can read the feature on my cooking presentation at the festival in the Hinterland Times HERE, "Back to basic's - that's all it takes!"As the lovely journalist and author Dale was there during my live cooking demonstration.

As you can see my oldest LOVES nutworks products very much

This is the macadamia paste I talk about and use all the time

So what did I make in Local Food Bliss??
Well bliss balls naturally! Bliss balls mad with gorgeous NUTWORKS products

Macadamia Bliss Balls

CHOC macadamia bliss balls
Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup Nutworks macadamia paste
• 1 cup Nutworks macadamia meal (like almond meal but with gorgeous macadamias) see notes
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/4 chopped Australian prunes
• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/4 cup raw or to taste, organic honey - I used a local one that I got from Nambour's Health Beat
• 2 tablespoons organic cacao (can use cocoa - if I use ordinary cocoa I tend to use Planet Organic brand)
• 8 drops liquid chocolate stevia OPTIONAL ( I use the drops by sweet leaf)
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla paste
• 1/2 cup dessicated coconut extra
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds

Method

• Mash the banana until nice and smooth consistency
• In a large bowl combine the banana and macadamia paste, honey, vanilla and drops if using. Mix together well.
• Now add in the coconut, macadamia meal and dried fruit, combine it all together really well.
• Using your hands, (yes I am a really hands on, old fashioned feel and experience the food type of cook ;) make sure it is all well combined and then take small amounts and roll between your hands into balls. If it feels too moist/runny add a little extra nut meal and coconut, it should be sticky but not too runny/gooey. If it is too dry, add some more mac paste or mashed banana.
• Fill two bowls with the extra coconut and sesame seeds.
• Dip your balls as you make them into either coconut or sesame seeds and place in an air tight container, continue until all the mixture is gone.
• Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Serve.
• Keep in the fridge - see notes for variations.

Blonde Bliss Balls

Toddler/Kindy/Prep Tips

• These are fantastic for toddlers - I make mine some small ones and they are a great go to snack that tastes sweet.
• For NUT FREE schools/kindy's in place of nut butter use a sunflower seed paste. You can make your own by roasting sunflower seeds and then blitzing in a food processor or thermomix or look out for one in your health food store and supermarkets, esp a roasted one as they have much better flavour and swap the nut meal for a *very small* amount of coconut flour, like 1/2 a tablespoon. Coconut flour absorbs 20 times it's weight in moisture so a little goes a long way!

Notes

• To make the blonde bliss pictured above - simply omit the cacao and choc stevia drops and add some vanilla.
• The mix may need a slight tweak depending on how big your bananas are.
• Add some MACA powder. Maca root powder is an amazing superfood high in Iodine and even said to help regulate hormones which is said to help with fertility, menstrual cycle and even sex drive in adults and many other health benefits. safely consumed by adults and children alike and livestock in many places, readily available from health food shops.
• Add some organic protein powder like Nuraorganics thriving vanilla if you want to.
• Dip in runny coconut chocolate and allow to set so your bliss balls are choccy covered goodness!
• Try variations like blonde vanilla and goji berry, choc fruit and nut (add some nice crushed nuts), apricot and walnut, pistachio vanilla with goji berries. Have fun with it!

Bek xx