Coconut Cacao Cookies

Making gluten-free and dairy-free cookies are extremely difficult. It is very hard to get that soft, gooey texture that flour based cookies have. This is because they haven't got the most important ingredient in baking which is, gluten. It is the protein when flour and water mix; this creates the strength and elasticity gluten makes in baked goods. But this recipe does a pretty good job at creating tasty soft cookies! (plus there is no guilt felt when eating these!)

Coconut is used a lot in my recipes and comes in many tasty different forms - coconut milk, coconut oil, coconut flour, coconut water and coconut sugar. I always have most of these ingredients stocked up in my kitchen, as I use them in most of my daily recipes too. Coconut flour and desiccated coconut is a fantastic flour replacement and thickener for foods like, pancakes and curries. I also love the taste of coconut in both savoury and sweet!

Own Photo

One 1/4 Cups of Coconut Flour

One Teaspoon of Baking Powder

1/4 Cup of Raw Cacao Powder

1/4 Cup of Raw Cacao Nibs or Dairy-free Chocolate Chips

One Cup of Desiccated Coconut

1/2 Cup of Coconut Nectar/Sugar (Can find this Online or in most Health Food shops)

Three tablespoons of melted Coconut Oil

Two Eggs

Teaspoon of Vanilla Essence

Pinch of Salt

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees and line a tray with baking parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl mix the coconut flour, baking powder and raw cacao powder.

Follow by stirring through the raw cacao nibs/chips and desiccated coconut.

Whisk the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl, then add the ingredients to the dry mixture. Combine all the ingredients with a large spoon until they are completely mixed together.

Roll the mixture into small balls then place onto the tray and press down with the palm of your hand. They should start to resemble cookie-like shapes.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. 

I suggest using this brand of Coconut Flour. Tiana also do a great Coconut Sugar to.


Recipe inspired by - https://lovingearth.net

Enjoy

MB

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Spicy Salmon Parcels

Last night I wanted to eat something fresh for dinner that was also packed with lots of vegetables. This recipe never fails as you can throw it together after a busy day at work.

Salmon has some great health benefits; it is packed with Omega 3 from its fatty acids which helps control inflammation. Salmon is also a high-quality protein full of minerals like potassium, which you also find in bananas and avocados.
The best Salmon to buy is Wild Alaskan Salmon because it isn't farmed therefore has a completely natural diet. This means it has a higher Omega 3 fat content compared to farmed salmon, that have a grain and corn based diet. 

Gluten-Free

Dairy-Free

(This will make enough for 2 servings/people)

Two Salmon Fillets (Preferably Wild Alaskan)

Prawns - (I use cooked and peeled, saves me the hassle)

A handful of thin Asparagus 

One Courgette 

One Red Pepper

A handful of Organic Chestnut Mushrooms

One Spring Onion

The Sauce

Three tbsp of Gluten-Free Soy Sauce

Two tbsp of Organic Honey

One tbsp of Fish Sauce

One Fresh Chilli

Thumb-size of Ginger

Sprinkle of Chilli-Flakes

Juice of half a Lemon

Coconut Oil

Salt + Pepper for Seasoning

Tin Foil for Parcels

Lay the Salmon in the middle of an A4 size piece of tin foil and add the prawns on top.

Chop the pepper and courgette into thin equal strips so that they cook evenly.

Then finely chop the mushrooms and tidy up the ends of the asparagus. 

Lay the chopped veg evenly around each side of the salmon.

Chop the spring onion finely and sprinkle over the salmon and vegetables.

For The Sauce - add the soy sauce, honey and fish sauce in together and mix fast into they all merge together. 

Chop the fresh chilli and ginger finely and sprinkle into the mix. Ginger is another great anti-inflammatory and adds a lot of flavour.

Squeeze the lemon and stir until everything is mixed evenly.

Add seasoning to your taste and pour over the salmon and vegetables.

Sprinkle over the chilli flakes for some extra heat and add a teaspoon of coconut oil to speed up the cooking process.

Roll each side of the foil in together so that they meet. Once the sides have connected roll them together so that they make a parcel shape. Push in the ends so that no air or juices escape. Make sure that you leave some space at the top so that the salmon will slightly steam.

Put in the oven that has been preheated to 180 degrees for 10-15 minutes or, until the salmon is a soft pink all the way through and vegetables are tender. 

Serve and eat from the foil.

(I have added a nutty spinach rice salad with mine.)

I will also be taking the left overs cold to work today!

Enjoy

MB

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I'm Back!

I'm back from Turkey, feeling extremely sun-kissed and overfed! 

I got to eat lots of delicious rich Turkish food; aubergines, cinnamon baked rice puddings and chicken shish. They have all inspired me to make some of my own similar food. (Once I am out of holiday-mode!)
I also still managed to make my hot gluten-free porridge oats most morning. Which I cooked with frozen raspberries then, topped with honey and fresh fruits from the Turkish market. Somehow they managed to taste a thousand times better when you are eating them in hot early sunshine!

Kalkan Breakfast

It really makes you appreciate how good The UK is with gluten/dairy intolerance. I am someone who likes to have a completely gluten-free diet and putting this into practice abroad can be sometimes be both difficult and frustrating, at times. (They like to randomly sneak in a teaspoon of flour or pasta into rice, duh!) None the less, I managed to stuff myself with lots of lovely yummy food!

The next few weeks I will be coming up with lots of new recipes so I can get my body back into a healthy regime. Before I am off again to France, where I plan to eat lots of Moules-Frites! 

I am also very excited that my mother, (FB) (who taught me everything there is to know about cooking) brought me home a present today! A giant marrow that was grown in her friend Alison's garden. Its nearly as big as me! I will be stuffing it, wrapping it and cutting into it, so lots of recipes will soon follow!

Molly and The Marrow

MB

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Raw Nut Butter

This raw nut butter is better than shop bought ones, as there isn't any added sugar or palm oil. Just yummy healthy ingredients that aren't baked. 

Raw foods aren't cooked or baked which means the natural enzymes and nutrients aren't killed making it a healthier way of eating. Plus it is much quicker to make. 

I don't believe that a completely 'living' and a raw food diet is the way forward. As well as our body finding it hard to digest some of the raw foods, it means we would miss out on a lot of tasty baked treats!

150g of your choice of nuts. (I like cashew, almond, and pecan the best)

The more oil the nut has the better, as this releases when being ground to get the butter-like texture and taste.

Tea-spoon of Coconut Oil

Sprinkle of Salt

Cinnamon for added taste

Food Processor 

Add all the nuts into the food processor and blend using the S blade tool. 

The oils of the nuts will release once they have been ground and mixed enough. This takes quite a bit of time, normally from 15-30 minutes. You have to be patient as it seems like it will never happen and then suddenly it does. 

Once the nuts are starting to look a little more like butter, add the coconut oil in to give the nuts are little added help. This should move the process on a lot quicker. 

You will then see when the texture becomes more butter like, sprinkle in some salt and a bit of cinnamon and finally mix to get all the flavours through.

Magic - your raw butter is now complete!

Own Photo - www.instagram.com/mollybuszard

I am away in Turkey for a week, trying lots of delicious tasty food. Blog post and pictures to follow.

Enjoy

MB 

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Hot Gluten-Free Breakfast Oats

Gluten-Free Breakfast Oats

The best and easiest breakfast for when your in a rush in the morning or simply can not be bothered. (Think Saturday morning hangover!) 

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Gluten Free

Dairy Free

One Bowl of Gluten Free Oats

Coconut or Rice Milk (Dairy-Free)

Cinnamon

Coconut Oil

Choice of Fruit - Banana/Raspberries/Blueberries

Honey or Raw Nut Butter

A sprinkling of Pumpkin Seeds

Put the gluten-free oats into a bowl and pour over enough milk so that they are covered. Then stir with a spoon making sure all the oats are coated with the milk. Put in the fridge over night. The oats will absorb the milk so that they are delicious and gooey in the morning!

Take them out of the fridge and warm a non-stick pan up on a low heat. Add a teaspoon of coconut oil into the pan.

Add the oats and stir until warmed through. You can add additional milk as the mixture sometimes can become quite dry. I like to add my cinnamon at this point so that the oats soak up the flavour while cooking!

Put into a bowl and top with whatever ingredients you would like, get creative with different tasty ingredients!

I like to add blueberries and raspberries, honey and pumpkin seeds! Simply but so tasty! This dish is perfect for waking you up and warming you through!

MB

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Indicating Remission

Great news to start the weekend with! 

Just received a letter from my doctor and after my appointment a couple of weeks ago they have said that my current disease activity is that I am indicating remission. This really does prove that through a mixture of medicine and a healthy diet plan, you can manage chronic diseases like this. All the hard work is paying off.

 Although I do still have a little while to go.

Rheumatoid Arthritis being an auto-immune disease means that my body's immune system is attacking itself and tissue by mistake. What both me and the medicine are trying to do is revert and fix my immune system. That is why I always make sure that I eat high anti-inflammatory foods whenever I can.

The anti-inflammatory foods that I eat mostly are, oily fish like salmon and mackerel. These are packed with omega 3, which I also take as a supplement. Also I try to put spices like ginger, turmeric and garlic in most of my dishes, especially stir-fry's or curries. These spices contain a natural high anti-inflammatory compound. You can also buy turmeric as a supplement too!

Cherries are known to be very good too. I love cherries so I have no problem with cramming a few of these in whenever I can.

Olives, grapefruit, seeds and nuts, blueberries, green tea, dark leafy greens, the list is endless of great foods to eat that can help towards reducing inflammation and pain!

The list for what not to eat is also endless, but we will save that for another day!

MB

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Guacamolly

Most shop bought guacamole is either full of sugar or dairy products like cream. My version of guacamole is fresh, colourful and tastes just as good! It is so quick and easy to make - I can now whip it up in seconds without looking at the recipe! Great for breakfast, lunch and dinner or having as a tasty dip! 
This guacamolly is gluten free, dairy free and Autoimmune Paleo.

What You Will Need:

Two Avocados

Squeeze of One Lime

Two Tablespoons of Organic Olive Oil

Half a Red Onion Chopped Finely

Salt  +  Pepper to Season

Top with fresh mint or just another drizzle of olive oil!

Firstly cut the red onion into small fine pieces and put to one side.

Cut in half and remove the stones of the avocados - then scrape out all that lovely green flesh! Put the avocado flesh into a mixing bowl, along with the lime, olive oil, salt and pepper. Using a potato masher, mash the ingredients together until it becomes the consistentancy you want. Stir through the red onion and spoon into your favourite serving bowl.

Roughly chop the mint and sprinkle on top or add another splash of olive oil and some black pepper!

This recipe works everytime, takes a quick 5 minutes to prepare/make and I never get bored of it!

Enjoy!

mollybhealthy

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