Roasted Peanut Butter

We had some shelled peanuts in the cupboards that have been there for quite a while. We don’t use peanuts in a lot of cooking, which doesn’t make sense since they are one of the cheapest nuts, and they are quite nice. I decided though since these ones have been there so long to have a go at turning them into peanut butter.

I’ve noted previously that most nuts you can just process into a buttery form, but after doing some reading it sounded like roasting peanuts gives them a stronger flavour as well as helping to release the oils to make the butter.

So here it is, roast peanut butter, and it is very cheap and easy to make. I think I’ll be making it in the future instead of buying it.
Continue reading Roasted Peanut Butter

Roasted Pumpkin and Coconut Soup

I really like pumpkin soup, really like it. I wanted to have a go at making it without cream. Turns out, it is really, really good. If you like pumpkin soup, I highly recommend trying it based on coconut like this, it is amazing.

Of note though, even though it is fairly healthy, the coconut content does mean it is high in saturated fat, so eat responsibly and enjoy. Continue reading Roasted Pumpkin and Coconut Soup

Coconut Apricot Bread and Butter Pudding

Wifey absolutely loves bread and butter pudding, so I’ve been trying to find a way to make it a bit healthier for us.

A standard bread and butter pudding contains a lot of cholesterol, a lot of butter, milk and cream. There has to be a better way to make it though.

I’ve been doing some hunting around and I found a Thermomix recipe here that I really liked the sound of called a Coconut Caramel Bread and Butter Pudding. I don’t have a Thermomix so that’s a no go, but I thought I’d try adapting it.

The result?

Amazing. Continue reading Coconut Apricot Bread and Butter Pudding

Tasty Cauliflower Balls

Wifey was responsible this year for looking after the gluten-free food at her work Christmas party, so I offered to help as I had come across this recipe on Peta Latino that I wanted to try making.

It turned out to work a treat and for something so simple tasted absolutely fantastic. So good in fact I decided to make them again for our own Christmas lunch! It makes around about 40-50 balls depending on how big you roll and works well served or as finger food. Continue reading Tasty Cauliflower Balls

Frozen Raw Strawberry Macadamia Cake (Dairy and Gluten-Free)

I was looking for a good dessert recipe to use for Christmas lunch that is also healthy, after all, what’s the point of a healthy lunch only to have a very bad for you dessert?

Mum actually sent me this recipe a few weeks before hand and I had kind of forgotten about it until I happened across it again going through recipes I had set aside that looked interesting. This one fit the bill perfect, it would be nice and cool if Christmas day turned out to be a scorcher, it’s a little bit different to the typical vegan, gluten-free cake, and the flavours sounded amazing. So I went for it. Unfortunately I realised part way through that the original recipe called for a 6″ springform pan and I was using a 9.5″ one, but fortunately I was able to adapt from there on to work. The cake is a little smaller than it should have been if all the ingredients were directly proportional to the original, but frankly I think it is a pretty good balance and it would actually be too big if it were any bigger.

So, make sure you use a 9.5″ springform pan with these ingredient quantities.

That aside, I was surprised how easy it was to make for an amateur cook like me and the cake was a hit, the family all loved it and raved about it. This is definitely one to go in the “things to make again” collection. Continue reading Frozen Raw Strawberry Macadamia Cake (Dairy and Gluten-Free)

Tangy Avocado and Basil Dip (Gluten-Free)

It’s always nice to have some (at least reasonably healthy) chips or crackers and dip with a board game. Normally I’d just get some sour cream and mix it with my choice of flavouring, corn relish, french onion, etc. That isn’t much good though if you are trying to avoid cholesterol. Granted, depending on the chips you get, they are probably just as bad if not worse. Nevertheless though, a healthier dip became the first port of call.

I’ve made a thick guacamole before basically just with avocado, lemon juice and a little bit of chilli, but I wanted something a little different.

I came across this recipe on One Green Planet that sounded pretty good, a creamy avocado and basil dip that is completely vegan, gluten free and so on. Sounded good I thought, and even better, I already had most of the ingredients. A quick trip to IGA to pick up the remainder and I was set.

I’m not sure if green onions are shallots or not, but shallots are what I chose to use. I thought at the time as I was prepping it for the food processor that it seemed like a lot of onion for one avocado, and I think I was right. Tasting it I found it to be overwhelmingly oniony. Given this, I decided to adapt. Add some lemon juice as I’ve used in guacamole before to give it a bit of tang, add some macadamia nuts to take away some of the overpowering onion flavour and also add some additional thickness to counteract the lemon juice, and finally add another avocado.

The result, a delicious, tangy dip that is very good for you with lots of avocado and basil, both rich in healthy stuff and completely cholesterol free! In addition to being vegan, it’s also gluten-free and lactose-free, so you can serve it to most people. If you have someone with nut allergies, just leave out the macadamia nuts and you should be fine. Continue reading Tangy Avocado and Basil Dip (Gluten-Free)

Creamy, Vegan Risotto Pasta with Lemon, Asparagus and Pumpkin

This was originally meant to just be a creamy pasta sauce, but I actually had a leftover batch of red quinoa, freekah and brown rice that I made for another meal previously, so I thought I’d include it. The result, a creamy risotto style pasta that is absolutely divine.

In all honesty, this recipe inspired by Detoxinista is the best white pasta sauce I’ve tasted, and better yet, it’s vegan and cholesterol free. The sauce itself is also gluten and lactose free, so you can mix it up with your choice of gluten-free pasta and have a tasty gluten-free meal.

My version doesn’t look quite as good as the original I don’t think, but man does it taste good! Continue reading Creamy, Vegan Risotto Pasta with Lemon, Asparagus and Pumpkin

Carrot Cake with Nut Frosting (Gluten-Free)

Wifey and I had a slice of carrot cake at a cafe the other day, and have been wanting more since. Carrot cake shouldn’t be too bad for you right?

Well, looking at what goes into one normally, it’s not that brilliant really. A carrot cake normally has eggs in it to start with, so automatically we’ve got a good dose of cholesterol in there without considering anything else.

So I went on a hunt for a healthy carrot cake recipe. I found this one on Love and Lemons and decided to give it a try. It is a vegan, gluten-free, and lactose free carrot cake, so it should cater to most diets, and I can attest to how good it tastes as well.

I adapted it based on the ingredients I had on hand and thought that the overall result was very enjoyable and adds a strong nutty flavour to the cake. Give it a try. Continue reading Carrot Cake with Nut Frosting (Gluten-Free)