Apricot Oatmeal Bars (Sugar free)

Delicious with a cup of tea or coffee, good in a lunch box too or an after school snack.

Ingredients:

• 70g coconut oil, melted
• 3/4 cup apple mousse
• 400g oatmeals
• 100g maple syrup
• 25g date syrup
• 100g rice flour
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Filling:

• 100g sun dried apricots
• 1 blended apple
• 100g dried dates
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Pour boiling water on dates for 10 minutes. After this time, drain dates from water.

Mix 200g oatmeals (should look like flour).

Add 60g coconut oil, apple mousse, vanilla extract, date and maple syrups. Mix well.

Put the mixture into a big bowl and add the remaining oats, flour, baking powder and salt, Mix well using your hands.

Use 150g of a mixture to prepare crumble topping.

Press the remaning oatmeal mixture into the prepared pan to form an even bottom layer.

Bake until the surface is puffed up and looks dry and slightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Blend all the ingredients for the filling to get smooth mixture.

Pour the filling on the top of the baked cake.

Prepare toppig. To the oatmeal mixture add 10g coconut oil and desiccated coconut. Mix well.

Top the crumb mixture, making sure to distribute to the edges and the corners to form a border.  Press down gently to secure.

Bake about 18-20 minutes, until the crumb topping is lightly browned around the edges.

Cool bars completely in pan on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Summer Smoothie

Summer is a great season for smoothies. There are plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
This smoothie is great after workout outdoors becasue it's loaded with proteins.

Ingredients (2 glasses):

• 1 banana, peeled
• 2 handful blueberries
• 1 plum
• 2 small apricots
• 1/2 tsp guarana
• 1  scoop whey protein (I used taste cherries)
• 1 cup cooled milk

Instructions:

Blend everything together until smooth.

Enjoy!

Mango Banana Muffins (sugar free)

Moist and crunchy muffins made with mango, banana, yogurt, whole grain rice flour, and toasted coconut.
Perfect for evening snack or to work.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole grain rice flour 
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp honey 
• 2 bananas
• 1 cup of mango chunks
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, for topping

Instructions:

Blend banana, mango chunks, greek yogurt, melted coconut oil, honey and egg. You should get smooth puree.

To fruit mixture add all the remaining ingredients and gently fold everything together. 

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Fill muffin tins almost to the top. Top with coconuts.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Risotto with Chickpeas

Risotto is Northern Italy’s answer to pasta. The dish is made with short-grain, glutinous rice that grows in the Po Valley. This type of rice is unique in that it is able to absorb a great amount of flavor from everything it is cooked with, while also remaining firm in texture.

You can add everything you love to risotto. Today I am gonna show you how to make healthy, super easy risotto with chickpeas.
It's a perfect dish for Sunday dinner.

Ingredients (for 2 servings):

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 150g Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups warm vegetable broth
• 1 tsp turmeric
• a pinch of saffron 
• large handful of Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup chickpeas (garbanzo beans), cooked or canned and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:


In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the rice and gently toast it in the oil. You're not really looking for color on the rice, you're just trying to get each grain nicely coated in oil.
Deglaze the pan with white wine while stirring. Cook until the liquid has cooked down quite a bit, until the rice is almost dry and you can no longer smell the alcohol from the wine. 
Add the hot bfrroth to cover the rice completely and give it a stir. Turn up the heat on the rice until the rice is simmering throughout. Reduce the liquid until the rice is almost dry again, stirring frequently as it cooks down.
Add more broth to barely cover the rice again, give a stir and let the liquid reduce about halfway, stirring frequently.
Add saffron, turmeric and broth to barely cover the rice again.
Once the rice is tender, add Parmesan cheese while constantly stirring. Once it is thoroughly incorporated into the rice, stir in the chickpeas and parsley and remove from heat. 

Enjoy!

Millet-Corn Tart with Red Currants

This gluten-free and sugar-free tart is perfect for evening snack or in the morning for a breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked millet
• 1 cup milk
• 5 tbsp maple syrup 
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup red currants

Instructions:

Blend millet, milk, maple syrup, honey and vanilla extract until smooth.

Add flour and mix all,

Put the mixture into baking sheet.

Add the red currants on the top.

Bake at 180 °C for about 35-40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Oven Roasted Vegetables with Arugula

Oven Roasted Vegetables. Easy recipe but when you add fresh arugula and pumpkin seens the dish becomes extraordinary.

Ingredients:

• 5 small carrots, sliced
• 5 small potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 1 white bell pepper, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 2 small onions, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 250g cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
• 1 can corn and green peas
• salt and ground black pepper
• mixed herbs
• 2 tbsp walnut oil
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 2 handful of arugula

Instructions:

Arrange vegetables in a baking dish or roasting pan in a single layer.
Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and toss to coat well.
Sprinkle with pepper, salt and mixed herbs.
Roast in oven at 180°C for about 30 minutes until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally.
Serve with arugula and pumpkin seeds.

Enjoy!