With cacao nibs, roasted hazelnuts, dried raisins and cranberries
Did you know that homemade chocolate is easier to make than you might think, you only need the right ingredients and thanks to super.nature, that is possible! You just need cacao butter and cacao mass, some sweetener and that’s it!
Recipe
Ingredients
• 200g cacao mass
• 100g cacao butter
• 4-8 tbsp of coconut sugar, depending on how sweet you want it
Add if you like: cacao nibs, roasted nuts like hazelnuts for crunch, dried raisins and cranberries for extra sweetness and sea salt to enhance the chocolate flavor.
Method
1. Melt cocoa mass and cocoa butter in a water bath.
2. Whisk in coconut sugar when the cocoa mass and cocoa butter have become liquid.
3. Taste if the chocolate is sweet enough.
4. Add the desired flavors and additives.
5. Pour the chocolate into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
6. Cut into pieces with a knife and enjoy!
Ps: a thoughtful idea is to give it away as a gift.
Did you know that chocolate is good for the heart, brain and mood!
And did you also know that homemade gifts gives you these mental health benefits:
• It improves your well being and life quality.
• It regulates your mood and can reduce stress.
• Can give fewer symptoms of depression.
So by taking these benefits in regard, let’s combat the long dark hours with chocolate to cheer up and stay healthy mentally. Oh and it just gets better by giving it away, remember what I mentioned above;)
Barcelona is heaven on earth when you wanna eat great brunch in town. There are so many amazing cafés to go eating and enjoy delicious, colorful dishes from their menus. With some research and evaluation, I came across eatmytrip on google. They did not disappoint. A cozy little place but with an abundant space full of passion and love, I felt immediately at home. I loved their originality in interior, platings and flavors. It was an adventurous experience by the atmosphere and the different tastings of food components. And who doesn’t love new things to try and explore right?
Their menu offers vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, so it’s a place for everyone to enjoy. I tried their alps brunch; so delicious with the combination of truffle, Parmesan and cheese together with roasted potatoes, mushrooms, poached eggs and pickled onion. It’s symphony to my ears and truly satisfied my tastebuds. The gluten-free seed bread was also pitch perfect with it.
Then, the açaí bowl like no other I’ve tasted before! So creamy, so yummy and I loved that it didn’t have lots of seeds from the berries sticking to my teeth! The color of the smoothie was beautiful, the toppings bringing it next bevel with mouthwatering sweet mango and strawberries, accompanied by crunchy buckwheat granola, coconut chips and gluten-free chocolate chip cookie. Another star component of the dish being so gooey and moist.
Can you see what I mean?
But the brunch didn’t stop right there you see.. I had to finish it in style with their chocoloco pancakes and man that made me loco by how amazing they were. From how beautifully they plated it, to harmonizing the flavors of crunch by red velvet crumbs to creamy coconut mousse and hazelnut ice cream. However, topping it off with fluffy well made American pancakes. I loved that they went loco with the chocolate sauce because that’s the way it should be if the dish says so right? Still day dreaming about them, no doubt I’m coming back for more!
Take a closer look of them guysMatcha latte served in a dead skull cup, this is what I mean by how cool they are by being so original!
So if you are in Barcelona and want to enjoy a top notch brunch place, this is the café to go. Enjoy and don’t hold back.
It’s weekend and you might be wondering what to treat yourself with and how to satisfy your sweet tooth? Well, don’t you worry, cause I’ve got you covered. These chocolate raw balls are so delicious, they are nut free, dairyfree, vegan, glutenfree and refined sugar free! It got a rich chocolate flavor, with a hint of coffee and a yummy crunch from the buckwheat! The recipe is from talented Tiril Refsum, in her book “Rågodt”.
These are perfect to make on a Sunday as you can save them up for the week when the hangry mood strikes or you need a quick snack in between your busy schedule. Also not a bad idea to reward yourself with a treat after a good long day of work either;)
The ingredients you’ll need are simple:
• Dates
• Shredded coconut
• Cacao powder
• Espresso shot (2 tbsp) or 1 tsp of coffee powder
• Coconut sugar / brown sugar (if you don’t have any of ingredients play around with honey or maple syrup but then see with the consistency of the dough)
• Salt to enhance the chocolate flavor
• Whole buckwheats
Just mix all ingredients in a food processor except the buckwheat until the dough becomes sticky. Then you can add in some buckwheat to your preferring and pulse lightly with the food processor so that it’s mixed with the dough. After you can roll them into balls and cover them with either cacao powder or shredded coconut.
As this is a recipe from the book of Tiril I won’t share the exact measurements but the ingredients are there for you to try it out and make the delicious healthier treat/snack.
Refrigerate them after you have rolled them into balls! Then after 30 min, you can enjoy them;)Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge and they last for a week:)
Sinus health is something I want to discuss about in this blog post. Through my experience, I have realized that some foods trigger my sinus and immune system. It’s due to cross allergies you eat that affects your pollen allergy. In my case, I have grass pollen and foods like oats, peanut butter, legumes, tomatoes and wheat triggers that immune response, affecting my health. When I got the news I was kind of devastated since that has been my diet for so many years, however it all made sense to me. Therefore, I could choose to either feel like a victim or make a choice of seeing the opportunity in changing my well being. I made a commitment to look at solutions, how could I replace other foods and still enjoy? That’s why I changed my mindset into looking at recipes replacing porridge or overnight oats to smoothie bowls for breakfast, in addition to making a grainfree granola as topping which is the recipe I will share with you here!
I hope this is insightful for you and that it can make you reflect on your own personal experience to make those necessary changes into feeling better!
What’s without a doubt is that making this granola is way healthier than the store bought cereal loaded with sugar;)
It’s glutenfree, grainfree, vegan and refined sugar free! And better because of chocolate..
Ingredients
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 1/4 cup cacao powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• I also added some almonds and walnuts. If you would want to swap them for some of the other seeds instead you can, or add them to your liking as I did.
Instructions
Mix all ingredients together until all ingredients are well covered with the maple syrup and oil. Then spread it out evenly on baking sheet with parchment paper.
Bake on 160 degrees for 15 minutes, then allow to cool to room temp for 45 minutes-1 hour before breaking into clusters.
You can store it in an air tight container or glass jar and you’ll have your granola ready for your breakfast with yoghurt or milk or on top of your smoothiebowl!
Making healthier choices everyday is a step towards better well being. But don’t be misled, balance is so important, like everything in life. Therefore, don’t be too hard on yourself in the first place and enjoy the journey! Here I had made myself a healthier version of what I love; waffles. It can be difficult understanding or being open about if it will still taste great when made healthy. However, I can assure you, it’s no problem at all and with those toppings it’s nothing to miss.
These waffles are gluten-free, dairyfree, plant based, vegan and refined sugar free! They also have a hidden vegetable in it… Carrot!
Ingredients
• 5 dl oats
• 2,5 dl buckwheat flour
• 1 banana
• 8 dl plantbased milk (I used oat milk)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 shredded carrot
Instructions
1. First add all ingredients except the shredded carrot in a blender. When the batter is smooth, then you can stir in the carrot with a spoon.
2. Heat up your waffle maker and add some coconut oil to it so that the batter doesn’t stick.
3. Have your favorite toppings with it! I love both savory and sweet, the options are so many! On the picture I had homemade hazelnut and chocolate spread with slices of strawberries and coconut yoghurt on top. For the savory part, I did homemade beetroot hummus with slices of avocado, olives, pesto, afalfa sprouts and chili flakes. The combinations are so so good!
Enjoy a nutritious waffle and congratulations on taking one step further on your journey towards healthier food choices.
Luksussjokolade kake from the recipe book “Rågodt” by Tiril Refsum
I absolutely adore the idea that there is a healthier version of cake since I have a sweet tooth. A person I admire is Tiril Refsum who makes raw cake with healthy ingredients and without refined sugar. They are gluten-free and vegan, and they taste amazing! So therefore, I had to try making a raw cake for the first time. I found the perfect recipe translated to English: luxurious chocolate cake. The name already said everything, I had to make it. The perfect occasion for it, was the celebration of 17th of May, Norwegian’s constitutional day. I was so happy by the response I got from friends and family, they loved it! So here is the recipe with some ingredient adjustments and I hope you’ll bake it with success like I luckily did hehe.
Ingredients
Cake base
• 3 dl oats
• 1 dl almonds
• 3 tablespoons peanut butter
• 4 tablespoons cacao powder & 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 13 medjool dates without stones
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
Espresso cream
• 4 dl coconut cream
• 4 dl soaked cashews
• 3 cups espresso
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
• 1/2 dl melted coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
Chocolate cream
• 4 dl coconut cream
• 15 medjool dates without stones
• 2 cups espresso
• 2 dl cacao powder
• 1 dl melted coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
• 1/2 salt
Caramelized nuts
• 2 dl pecan nuts
• 1 dl almonds
• 1 dl walnuts
• 4-6 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
Instructions
1. First you need to soak your cashews. Simply put them in a bowl with water for 4 hours or you can leave them in the fridge overnight.
2. Make your first layer, the cake base by adding all the ingredients in a food processor. After you have mixed them throughly, add some more syrup or coconut oil if you need so that the texture is sticky to form the cake base. Press the batter with either your fingers or a spatula on a round cake mold with baking paper.
3. Next layer up is the espresso cream. With the coconut oil, you just need to melt it either by microwave or heated pot. Let it to rest a bit. For the espresso, leave it for cool down so it’s not too hot mixing together with the other ingredients in the blender. Here you need to use a smoothie blender to achieve a silky consistency due to the cashew nuts, since it can be grainy if not well blended. Spread half of the cream over the cake base and put it in the freezer till the cream has set.
4. Do the same process with the chocolate cream! But here it’s good enough using a food processor to achieve the silky creaminess! Spread half of the chocolate cream over the espresso cream layer and put the cake back into the freezer.
5. Have all the ingredients to the caramelized nuts in a bowl and stir until it sticks well together. Spread 2/3 of the nutmix over the last layer. Then spread the rest of espresso layer on top and put the cake back in the freezer to everything has stiffened.
6. Lastly spread half of the chocolate layer left and finish with the remaining caramelized nuts. Put the cake back in the freezer for at least 2 hours. And when the cake layers have settled you can have it in the fridge so that it becomes more like a mousse texture rather than ice!
Tip: you can have chocolate chunks or cacao nibs on top too! And a cup of coffee with it for the coffee lovers will make the dessert complete:)
Enjoy x
Step 2: the cake base, mixing all ingredients in a food processor Step 3: making the espresso cream layer in a smoothie blenderStep 5: spread out 2/3 of the caramelized nuts on top of the chocolate cream layerLast step: spread the rest of the caramelized nuts on top and it’s done!
Even though it’s a long process to make the cake and will take you up to 3-4 hours letting the cake settle in the freezer in between, it’s all worth it in the end. The cake taste like heaven.
These treats are perfect as snack or when you’re having a sweet tooth! Healthy and tasty, they’re so good. You just need some dates, nut butter, coconut oil, buckwheat flakes and for flavor cacao and coffee powder! Put that in a food processor, roll them in chopped almonds and shredded coconut and keep them refrigerated.
The recipe is super easy and they are healthy! The only downside is that it takes time making them. But, I will say that it will teach you patience and to enjoy the process!
So how we make them? You’ll need almonds, medjool dates, dark chocolate (at least 70%), some shredded coconut, for coloring; juice of raspberries and turmeric powder, and some nicely chopped pistachios!
Ingredients:
1. 150 grams of almonds
2. 3-5 medjool dates without stones
3. One plate of dark chocolate to melt
Instructions:
1. First cook the almonds for around 5-10 minutes.
2. Then they should be ready to take off the skin and you’ll get your blanched almonds!
3. Put them into the food processor and blend together with 3 or 5 medjool dates, this depends how sweet you want your marzipan to be.
4. When you have gotten a nice texture, use the batter to form your Easter eggs!
5. Melt the dark chocolate on low temperature and cover your formed eggs with help of a skewer you stick through them or with a spoon.
6. As toppings, mix shredded coconut together with 1/2 to 1 tsp of turmeric powder to get the yellow color and for pink, mix the shredded coconut with juice of raspberries. Chop some pistachios and you’ve got a touch of green!
7. When you have finished off with the chocolate and toppings, let them cool in the fridge for some time.
8. A tip, take a glass and cover it with aluminum foil, then simply stick your skewer through it so it stands. That way you’ll have perfectly rounded eggs!
Here you see the texture of blanched almonds and dates blended in the food processorHere you see the chopped pistachios, shredded coconut with the natural coloring addedVoila! Enjoy your healthy Easter treats!
Note: if you want stronger coloring than I had, simply add more of the raspberry juice or more of turmeric powder. You won’t notice the taste.
When in Brazil, you have to try their sweet treat.. The brigadeiro. The traditional one is like a truffle, while the picture shows a brigadeiro tart. They also do brigadeiro cake!
I ate the brigadeiro tart at “Bio” restaurant by the famous chef Alex Atala. He also runs the restaurant DOM, which was rated the 4th best restaurant in the world in 2012.
This is the Brigadeiro Cake I was talking about.. It was amazing! You can find it at the market called “Empório Santa Maria” in São Paulo. It’s a food store to begin with, but inside they have the delicious cakes waiting for you. From cheese cake to meringue and lemon tart, you will go bananas, it’s hard to control oneself when you see all the choices. However, the choice is seriously easy after tasting the Brigadeiro cake!
Bloom with food 