Date and Oat Hotcakes

September 30, 2017September 30, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

Hotcakes are a regular feature on our breakfast menu – especially on the weekend when we have a little more time together.

I have made lots of different versions over time, Vanilla Almond hotcakes have been our standard, but these one are free of any oil or butter and the mild sweetness comes only from fruit. A great source of fibre and they’ll fill you up and keep you fuelled for ages!

The kids love them and they freeze really well, so they are great to pop into lunchboxes.

This recipe makes a large batch …. I have given up on making batches that are any smaller since they are so quickly demolished here and I never wind up with any left overs to freeze. This makes 45-50 hotcakes. But go ahead and halve the recipe if you don’t have quite as large a hungry hoard to feed!!

3 cups, wholemeal spelt flour OR 2 1/2 cups plain GF flour mix
1/2 cup seeds or nuts of choice
1/2 cup rolled oats OR quinoa
4 tsp GF baking powder
8 medjool dates, pitted
1 overripe medium banana
1 tbsp sunflower seed butter
2 3/4 – 3 cups milk of choice (we like unsweetened vanilla almond)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
butter of choice to serve

Place the dates in a small container, cover with the boiling water and add the vanilla. Set aside.

In your processor/blender/bullet/thermal cooker, place the seeds and oats and blitz until fine (Speed 9, 10 seconds).

Add in the baking powder and flour and mix again until well combined (Speed 5, 12 seconds).

Pour out dry mixture into a large bowl and set aside.

In your processor/blender/bullet/thermal cooker, place the dates and water, banana, seed butter, milk and blend, blend, blend until very smooth (Speed 7, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat). Start by using the smaller amount of milk.

Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and whisk together until smooth*, if the mixture is too thick, add in the remaining amount of milk and whisk in.

*This whole mixture is too much for the bowl of a thermal cooker. But if you are making a half batch, at this point just add the dry mixture back into the wet mixture that is still in the bowl and mix on speed 4, scraping down every 10 seconds until it is well mixed and smooth.

Pour the batter into a hot, lightly greased frying pan, wait until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and cook until both sides are golden brown.

Top with butter of choice and serve.

20170930_084814-1 — That’s a biiig stack!!

Enjoy 🙂

Pomegranate Poached Pears

June 14, 2017June 14, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

My gorgeous sister in law recently gave me some beautiful fat, juicy pomegranates (thanks Mish!) and I was dreaming up ways to use them, when I noticed the pears that I had bought the previous week sitting, a bit past their best, in the bottom of the fridge. And there next to it was the pomegranate juice I’d used in another recipe …. I like to be creative with what I’ve got on hand and avoid waste …. so we had a very delicious, and very easy, dessert!

500ml Pomegranate juice
1 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
peel of 1 lemon, sliced
6 medium pears
1 cup pomegranate seeds
Optional: toasted slivered almonds

Place juice and sugar in bottom of slow cooker, whisk together and cook on high for 10 minutes.

Whisk in spices and add lemon peel.

Core and slice pears into quarters. Peeling is optional (I tend to leave it on for more fibre)

Place pears into the slow cooker juice mixture, place lid on slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours. Add in the seeds and cook for a further 30 minutes with the lid off.

Remove lemon slices, and serve warm, sprinkled with the almonds (if using), with a cream, ice cream, yoghurt or custard that suits your diet. Alternatively, serve cold on top of breakfast porridge, or granola, use as the fruit base in dessert crumbles or blitz in your processor until smooth and use as a fruit puree.

20170606_195926-1 — I love it with my crunchy granola and natural yoghurt for dessert!

Enjoy 🙂

Sweet Spiced Pumpkin Loaf

June 5, 2017June 6, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

This delightful, fragrant loaf is like a cross between my Sticky Date Cake, Banana bread and Pumpkin Scones!!

It is just perfect with an afternoon cuppa or in a lunchbox to fuel busy little bodies and brains at recess time.

Plus, no oil, no eggs, no dairy and very low sugar make it a healthier ‘cake’ option.

See below the recipe for a Coeliac friendly option too.

200g butternut pumpkin
6 medjool dates, pitted and halved
1 cup very hot water
1/4 cup coconut sugar
50g sunflower seed butter
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
2 tsp GF baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1 medium, very ripe bananas
1/4 cup pepitas

Place roughly chopped pumpkin into Thermal cooker or food processor and process until well chopped, Speed 6, 8 seconds.

Now add dates, water, sugar and bicarb in the Thermal cooker and cook at 110C on speed 2 until the mix comes to the boil (a few minutes), then a further 2 minutes.

Add in the banana and seed butter and start processing on speed 3 and working your way up to speed 5 for about 12 seconds, or until the mixture is fairly smooth and consistent.

(Do this in a saucepan over a medium heat with regular stirring and then transfer to a food processor or blender to do this without the thermal cooker)

In a large separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and spices (speed 5, 8 seconds).

Pour the pumpkin and date mix into the flour mix and fold together until all combined. Don’t over mix.

Pour into lined loaf tin and sprinkle with the pepitas

Place into a preheat 160C oven for 35mins or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Cool in tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow to mostly cool before slicing. Serve on it’s own or even serve with some cream or ice cream for dessert.

To make this cake Coeliac friendly replace the spelt with 1.5 cups of plain GF flour mix and 1/3 cup of almond/seed meal.

For a lower sugar version remove the coconut sugar and add another 2 dates.

This is a moist cake and freezes and defrosts beautifully – Enjoy 🙂

Crunchy granola

May 1, 2017March 29, 2021 ~ desertcook ~ 3 Comments

I love granola!

It always seems like such a cafe style, luxurious breakfast item to me. I am not really keen on the store bought variety though because as well as being expensive, they also tend to be loaded with oils and sweeteners (and coconut … why?!).

Well – here’s a way to enjoy your granola that’s kinder to your pocket and to your body!

2 1/2 cups rolled oats (use puffed rice or quinoa flakes for the GF option)
1 cup chopped nut or seeds of choice (today I did almond, hazelnut and pepita)
1 tbsp Date Paste OR maple syrup
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt flakes
1/2 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp sunflower seed butter (or other nut butter that suits)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

In a small saucepan mix together the date paste/syrup, oil, seed butter, salt, spices and vanilla.

Stir over low heat until just melted and well combined (Speed 2, 90C, approx 2 mins).

In a large bowl mix together the oats and nut/seeds until evenly combined (Speed 4, 8 seconds).

Add the wet mix into the dry and mix until evenly coated (Speed 3, 20 seconds).

Pour onto a lined baking tray and spread out into a thin, even layer.

Place into a preheated low oven (approx 140C) and bake for 30 mins.

Allow to cool. If you prefer not to have clumps in your granola, stir it around as it cools to avoid any sticking together.

Store in air tight container and use as you would any cereal … add milk to it, or as a topping for your yoghurt. Or, I use this as the filling in my baked pears/apples.

Why not add in some toasted coconut, if that’s your thing, or a handful of dried fruits if you’d like a sweeter version?

Enjoy 🙂

Oat Milk

April 6, 2017June 15, 2021 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

My little miss loves her oat milk. We have found a great brand that is unsweetened and free from weird additives …. my only problem is the price. $3/L or more …. eek!!!!! Works out to over $430 a year!

Not helpful for this tight budget. So, for this month we are leaving those 12L on the shelf and making them ourselves.

So easy and so cheap!! You do need a good high powered processor and a nut milk bag or a cheese cloth for straining.

1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup boiling water
4 cups water (boiled and cooled)

Optional extras:

pinch pink salt
1 tsp vanilla beans paste
1 tsp maple syrup OR date paste

Place oats in a bowl and pour over the boiling water. Allow to sit for about 15 mins before draining and rinsing gently. ** You can skip this step if you are in a hurry, but you might find that your milk is a little slimy in texture.

Place soaked and drained oats and all remaining ingredients into your blender/processor and blend on high speed until very smooth. (Start on speed 5, working up to speed 7 for about 20 seconds).

Strain the mix through the milk bag into your milk bottle/container and use your hands to squeeze out any excess.

You can discard the remaining pulp, or to get the very most of your money and your food, spread it out on an oven tray and dry it out on a low heat in the oven then use it in baking (works like almond meal).

Just like the life of the store bought milk, this will store in the fridge for 3-4 days – shake well before use.

lIt is creamier and thicker than the store bought variety so you may want to thin it out by adding a little extra water if that suits your taste preference.

This makes 1L.

Enjoy 🙂

Choc Banana Breakfast Bars

April 6, 2017July 9, 2021 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

Well, breakfast, or any time you need a filling snack to fuel you well!

These are a twist on my Banana Oat Biscuits. Super easy to make from stuff I always have in my pantry and quick enough that you can have a batch knocked up for breakfast in 5 minutes!

The fibre, great fats and protein help to boost your energy levels and keep you full for a while and the cinnamon in the mixed spice is useful for stabilising blood sugar levels … what’s not to love?!

See below the recipe for a Coeliac version and a few extras.

2 large bananas, very ripe
3 cups rolled oats
1 tsp mixed spice
1 heaped tbsp sunflower seed butter (or other nut butter)
1tbsp cocoa
1tbsp honey/maple syrup
2tbsp almond meal
3 tbsp milk of choice (unsweetened almond is great here)
3 tbsp aquafaba OR 1 whole egg
Pinch salt flakes

In your blender/processor/bullet/thermal cooker add the bananas, milk, aquafaba, honey and seed butter until smooth. (Speed 3 working up to speed 5 for 15 seconds).

In a large bowl use a whisk to mix together the remaining dry ingredients.

Pour the wet mix into the dry and fold together until well combined.

If using your blender or thermal cooker or processor to combine the two mixes use a low speed, so that you don’t shred the oats.

Place into a lined baking dish (mine is 25cm x 18cm), smooth and press down firmly.

Place into a preheated moderate oven for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool before slicing. Makes about 12 bars.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge or even in the freezer.

Extra Options:

To make these coeliac friendly use 2 cups puffed rice and 1 cup rolled quinoa in place of the oats.

For nut free use a seed meal OR replace with 2 tbsp of wholemeal flour

For a sweeter option you could mix through some chopped dried fruit (dates or sultanas are my favourite but cranberries or apple work too)

20170405_081134-1 — This little dude takes aaaages to get going in the morning so breakfast is often ‘on the go’ for him – these are perfect!

Enjoy

Chocolate protein hotcakes

March 26, 2017April 6, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Hotcakes are a very popular weekend breakfast in our house. I love that they can be loaded with goodies to make them nutritious and filling. This version is a twist on my Vanilla Almond hotcakes.

They got absolutely demolished …. 4 very full little people at the end of breakfast!!

1 1/2 cups, wholemeal spelt flour OR 1 1/3 cups plain GF flour mix
1/2 cup of my chocolate protein drink mix*
2 tsp GF baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk of choice – I like unsweetened vanilla almond milk (add an extra splash if you use GF flour)
1 small overripe banana
1 heaped tbsp sunflower seed butter (or other nut butter that your diet allows)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 tbsp aquafaba (liquid drained from a can of chick peas) OR 1 whole egg
vegan butter/butter/nut butter to serve

*If you haven’t made the Choc Protein Drink – then you can roughly replicate it with 1 tbsp cocoa, 1 tbsp coconut sugar and 2 tbsp almond or seed meal.

For a nut free/lunchbox safe version make sure you follow the nut free version of the Protein Drink mix

For a more chocolately version, replace the sunflower seed butter with some of my chocolate seed spread or choc hazelnut paste!

In a large bowl whisk together all of your dry ingredients (Speed 4, 10 seconds). Then set aside.

In a blender/food processor/bullet/thermal cooker, place the banana, milk, sunflower seed butter, vanilla, aquafaba/egg and blend until well combined (Speed 6, 10 seconds)

Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and whisk well to combine. (Speed 4, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat).

Pour the batter into a hot, lightly greased frying pan, wait until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and cook until both sides are a deep golden brown.

Top with butter of choice and serve warm.

They freeze well too – I make double batches and freeze sandwich style with a filling in between for an easy, filling, low mess snack.

Enjoy 🙂

Date and carrot loaf (or muffins)

March 25, 2017March 25, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

We have busy afternoons after school most days. Filled with activities for very boisterous, active kids! The parents at these activities are forever digging into their bags for goodies to fend off the cries of “I’m huuuuuungryyyyyy”. A while ago, a friend had date loaf for her kids to keep them going at Jujitsu (Hi Kylie!).

It inspired me to have a go at my own. I’d grown up with my Mum’s version, but these days I’m after less oil, sugar and refined ingredients …. and look for any excuse to hide bonus goodies. So these ones were created. Hope you enjoy them – they’re are like a cross between traditional date loaf and a carrot cake!

10 medjool dates
1 tsp bicarb soda
1tsp instant coffee (optional)
1 cup boiling water
2 medium carrots
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce*
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 1/4 cup wholemeal spelt/ rye flour
1/2 cup rolled oats/quinoa/desiccated coconut
1 rounded tsp GF baking powder
Pinch pink salt flakes
1/2 cup chopped walnuts OR 1/4 cup each roasted sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

* To make my apple sauce I just core my apples and cut them into quarters (don’t peel – keep the benefit of the skin’s nutrients!) and steam them until soft with a little bit of water and a pinch of cinnamon and then blend or process until you reach the consistency you like. (Speed 2, Steam Temp for about 10-12 minutes, then turn off temperature and increase speed gradually up to 6). I make it in bulk and store it in reusable squeezy pouches in the freezer.

Remove and discard the seeds from the dates, then place them in a bowl, sprinkle over the coffee (if using) and bicarb soda and then pour over the boiling water. Set aside.

Use your processor to blitz the oats into a flour (Speed 6, 8 seconds) then set aside

Grate or process the carrot until fine (drop onto blades spinning on speed 5, then up to speed 6 for 8 seconds).

Add the apple sauce, vanilla and all of the date mixture to the processor and process until smooth and well combined (start on speed 4 then gradually work up to speed 6 for 15 seconds).

In a separate bowl, whisk together the oat flour, flour, baking powder, salt and seeds/nuts. If you haven’t used the coffee, an added teaspoon of cinnamon here.

Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and fold together until combined.

Spoon into a lined loaf tin or muffin holes. Place into a pre heated moderate oven, until well risen and golden. Takes about 25 minutes for the muffins or 50 minutes for the loaf.

Allow to cool. Makes about 14 muffins.

20170325_095356-1 — Toddler tick of approval – My cheeky boy as he pinches his 3rd one!!

If you want a sweeter more desserty kind of treat, you can top them with an icing made from whipped cream cheese (dairy or soy), sweetened with maple syrup and a pinch of cinnamon. A scattering of extra nuts or seeds on top is yummy too.

Enjoy 🙂

I haven’t made a coeliac friendly version of this one yet. I’d try 1 cup of a GF flour mix, and maybe have another tablespoon of flour to add in if it looks too thin. Let me know if you try!

Popeye pancakes

March 8, 2017March 8, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

After the success of my Hulk muffins and with the continued abundance of spinach in my garden I thought I’d try my luck at making a super healthy green breakfast pancake.

Pancakes are a very regular breakfast in our house – I love that I can add in whole grains and great fats and protein to fill hungry tummies and power little brains for a busy day – my vanilla almond hotcakes are our standard so I thought I’d change those ones up a bit …. and cross my fingers 😉

These were incredibly well received …. to my surprise, Harry (my most avid green avoider!) ate 2 of then and then said “Hey! These are green! What did ya do to ’em?!”. I told him it was spinach and it’d make him strong like Popeye. He just shrugged and ate another 3!!!!!!! Ellie loved them so much that she has taken a couple of them to school for lunch, sandwiched together with a nice thick layer of Chocolate seed spread in the middle.

These are loaded with fibre, calcium, protein, iron, magnesium and more – What a win!!!!!

A few notes:

You’ll need a good blender/high powered processor/nutribullet/thermal cooking machine for this one.

This is a double sized batch – there’s just no point making single batches with my hungry hoards any more!!! I freeze the left overs in a zip lock bag and use them for morning tea. It makes about 45-50 pikelet sized – so go ahead and halve the recipe if you don’t need as many!

My kids are used to eating things with added spinach (even if they are not aware of it!!) so if this is a new idea for your kids, maybe start with 150-200g of spinach instead of the 250g I used.

250g fresh spinach
2 cup spelt flour (I did half wholemeal) OR 2 cups plain GF mix (I like half each Bob’s red mill all purpose and white wings)
1 cup rolled oats/rolled quinoa/desiccated coconut
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 very ripe banana
8 medjool dates, deseeded
1 cup boiling water
2 cups milk of choice
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp fat (coconut oil melted/vegan butter/light tasting oil etc)
4 tsp GF baking powder
Pinch pink flaked salt
1 rounded tsp mixed spice.

Place the dates in a small bowl and cover them with the boiling water, and the vanilla, then set aside.

Place the oats and seeds into your blender/processor etc and process until you have a fine flour (Speed 7, 8 seconds, scrape and repeat).

Add in the spices, salt, baking powder and flour, then process again until evenly combined. The set the dry mix aside.

Into your processor tip the spinach, the dates and their water, the milk, your fat and the banana. Blend very well until the mixture is smooth. You may need to pulse and scrape down the sides of your processor a few times. You want the mixture to be very smooth – not to have stringy bit of spinach left in it!! If you’re using a Thermal cooker, start on speed 4 for about 8 seconds, the gradually work up to speed 8 for about 20 seconds. Then scrape down and repeat.

Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and use a whisk to combine well. (I found this double batch to be too heavy for my thermal cooker, but if you are using a single batch, then add the dry mix into the wet that is in the bowl and process on speed 4 for about 10 seconds, the crape down and repeat for another 6-8 seconds).

Look at that colour!

Pour the batter into a hot, lightly greased frying pan, wait until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and cook until both sides are golden brown.

Enjoy them warm or cold with your choice of topping.

20170308_072607-1 — Crazy babies! Harry has butter and a drizzle of honey and Ellie has Chocolate Seed spread

Chocolate Seed Spread

March 7, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 4 Comments

My kiddos see their friends eating that famous store bought chocolate spread …. but since the first ingredient is refined sugar, followed by hydrogenated oil, it is not something I really want to feed them! So a couple of years ago I set about making a sweet hazelnutty choc spread of my own – and it has been a winner (you can find it here).

However, as it is based on hazelnuts, to care for those kids who are allergic, I don’t want to send it to school. So more recently I have made a seed based version – and the kids didn’t even tell the difference! So here’s my healthy and lunchbox friendly chocolate spread – hope you like it as much as we do!

1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 heaped tbsp cocoa (or 1 flat tbsp cacao)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp flaked pink salt
160 mls boiling water
8 medjool dates (pick the big fat juicy ones!)
Optional: 1-2 tbsp maple syrup OR coconut sugar

Roast your seeds first. I did mine on a tray under the grill (and watched them very carefully!!!), they only take a few minutes.

While the seeds are roasting, seed the dates and cover them with the boiling water. Add the vanilla and salt to the water.

Process the seeds for 10 seconds on speed 10. (This will take longer in a food processor). Their oils release best while they’re hot so if you’ve bought roasted seeds, place them in a hot oven for a couple of minutes first).

Add in the cocoa and sugar (if you’re using it) here. Scrape down sides and use speed 6 in 45 seconds intervals, scraping down in between until you get a paste like consistency.

Add the date mixture, water and all, to the seed mixture and process again until well combined (Speed 4 for 10 seconds in the gradually increase to speed 7 for 15 seconds, scrape and repeat until mixture is smooth and very well combines). Add maple syrup at the same time (if you are using it) as the date mixture.