Pumpkin coconut pancakes with coconut fluff

Don't let the name fool you- these pancakes are sweet and delicious!!
A lovely friend of mine posted these on her Instagram account the other week. Foodporn at it's best!
She was kind enough to share her recipe with me- and happy to spread the love to my lovely blog followers.
I have tried (and failed) numerous times to make pancakes that are gluten free. They were always a disaster- falling apart when flipping, tasting uncooked. Frustrating and disappointing!!
These babies were easy and lovely to make! You need to leave them to cook for a little longer than a normal pancake, allowing them to get a good crust on the outside before gently flipping. And don't try and make them too big- I found the best size to make them was around the size of a large coffee mug base.

Recipe
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1/2 tin coconut milk,
3 tablespoons of coconut flour
1teaspoon of cinnamon (or whatever spices you like) I put a drop of vanilla stevia in mine.
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate,
pinch of Himalayan salt.

Sift flour, bicarb and spices and then whisk together with wet ingredients until a smooth batter forms.
In a medium hot, nonstick pan, spray coconut oil and dollop in batter. Cook until golden crust is formed, gently flip.

Coconut fluff-
Pop coconut cream in fridge until it sets.
Scrape off top layer of cream and whizz with beaters until 'fluff' forms.
Top with walnuts and enjoy!

Thanks Kate for your wonderful recipe!

Avocado coconut and lemon cheesecake

Stuck for yummy, nutritious ideas for dessert....or breakfast?
The best thing about eating healthy foods is that it doesn't matter what time of day you have them.
This lovely recipe is from my favourite blog- The holistic Ingredient. www.theholisticingredient.com
I sprinkled mine with a new found goodie 'bee pollen' - a powerful antioxidant, and some cacao nibs.

Overnight avocado, coconut and lemon 'cheesecake'.
Serves 1 and is best made the night before or at least 30 minutes before eating.

For the crust into your blender throw:
1 heaped teaspoon cacao nibs
1 small handful walnuts
1 dessert spoon coconut flakes
1 fresh medjool date

Blend until you reach your desired consistency. Mine is quite fine in this photo, next time I'll leave it crunchy for optimum consistency. Pop this into the base of your glass or dish.

For the 'mousse'
1/3 large or 1/2 small avocado
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/3 banana
1 tablespoon 100% whey protein powder (optional)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon greek or natural yoghurt
1.5-2 tablespoons lemon juice (or 5 teaspoons!)
1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated
1 teaspoon maca powder (optional)

Throw all of the ingredients into your blender and blend until smooth. Pour over your base and leave in the fridge overnight or on the bench for 30 minutes to allow the chia seeds to soften. Grab a teaspoon and go for your life!

Raw walnut brownie

Omnomnomnom
That's how I sum up this delicious Raw chocolate brownie.
This recipe is so so so simple, with only 4 major ingredients. It is gooey, rich and delicious with a little crutch. Everything I love in a dessert!
This recipe is from My New Roots - www.mynewroots.org

2 cups whole walnuts
2 ½ cups Medjool dates, pitted
1 cup raw cacao 
1 cup raw unsalted almonds, roughly chopped
¼ tsp. sea salt
Cook and try not to eat it all.....

Raspberry, mango, banana 'ice cream'

Yup, I'm making it again. Last night I thought I'd see if my icecream would work using frozen raspberries and mango, but left the banana at room temp. And it did!

First I whizzed up some cashews, then added the mango and raspberries. Once they were all whipped to look like icecream I added in the banana. It tasted great! Although not as creamy as when you use frozen bananas. But now you know you can still whip it up without using frozen bananas. 

So here it is, dolloped on top of some Greek yoghurt, sprinkled with my fav nut, walnuts. 

Breakfast parfait

'Everybody loves parfait' 

Quote one of my favourite movies... Yes, Shrek! 

Sunday's are our family day in the McDonald household, and usually we would head out for breakfast, but since it's bitterly cold here we stayed in our cosy house and I cooked up what I would normally order at our fav cafe. 

Home made granola with blueberries, raspberries and Greek yoghurt. 

My granola is very simple- chuck together the following- 

Cashews and almonds (smashed up in a pestle and mortar), pepitias, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut, oats, quinoa flakes and walnuts. 

Quantities are up to you depending on what you like most (I love walnuts so I put heaps in) it really doesn't matter.

1tbsp coconut oil, melted. 

Add coconut oil to nut mix, stir, coating as much as possible. Spread out on baking paper (I use silpat mats) and roast in oven on 150'C stirring frequently to make sure it doesn't burn. 

Take out of oven, let cool, then add in tblsp flax meal and tblsp chia seeds (if you like)

Alternate layers of granola with full fat Greek yoghurt and fruit. 

Mango and banana icecream

Simple, delicious, clean icecream? Yes please!

This icecream is awesome!!! Perfect for lactose intolerant people. Sugar free and gluten free- ticks all my boxes! 

Did I tell you it is simple?!

Recipe. 

1 frozen banana

1 cup frozen mango

1/2 cup cashews (omit if you like, but I like the creamy, nutty flavour)

In a food processor, blitz cashews until nearly creamy. Add in frozen mango and banana, blitz until it turns into icecream consistency (takes about 3-4min depending on power of processor)

Scoop out and enjoy!! 

Hubby brought home some organic raw chocolate by Loving Earth, so I popped two squares on top! Nomnomnom!

Enjoy!!

Lunch- Cauliflower, chickpea and bacon soup

My freezer is full of soup!! My lovely MIL stocked me up on her yummy pumpkin soup before Jimmy was born. She is a typical farm cook, and makes great hearty food, although not as 'clean' as I would normally eat!!

My yummy cauliflower soup is something I love to whip up on a cold day, and since today was miserable, I made a huge pot- enough for 5 generous meals. So I had one bowl, and I have 4 Tupperware dishes full in my freezer on top of the pumpkin soup! 

Recipe:

1 head of cauliflower, chopped

1 can of chickpeas

4 rashes of shortcut bacon, chopped  

2 onions, diced

3 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped

3L of the best chicken or vege stock (or 2L if you like it really thick, up to you)

Sauté onion and garlic. Add in bacon and cook until fragrant. Add in cauliflower and chickpeas and cover with stock. Simmer for 30min or until cauliflower soft. 

Blitz with stick mixer until smooth, and serve with cracked pepper to taste.

Tea tonight was clean burritos!

I love burritos!! But finding a nice, gluten free, clean wrap is near impossible! So here is my substitute! Good old iceberg lettuce. Hubby and Pip both still have wraps, and I've learnt from past failures that as good as cos lettuce tastes, it just doesn't cut it as a wrap! 

I also make my own mexican spice mix with coconut flour to coat the chicken instead of the packet mix which has gluten in it (and a heap of salt!) 

My two best creations

Here's a pic of my gorgeous two kidlets Pippa and Jimmy. Jimmy joined us not even 2 weeks ago and is settling in well! He's a typical boy- eats, grunts, farts and sleeps! 

Clean banana split

I love dessert. Always left room for sweets as a child, and still as an adult I can always manage to squeeze in sweets no matter how full I am!

This dessert is a new favourite- the chocolate avocado mousse is 'da bomb'- another great recipe from The Holistic Ingredient's eBook 'A nourishing kitchen' 

So essentially it's a banana with a scoop of full fat Greek yoghurt, chocolate mousse, chia seeds and walnuts. Delicious and full of goodness 

Raw super muesli slice

I love a healthy, filling snack. No carb highs or sugar crashes in this house please! This slice is loved by my 3yr old- she helps make it and loves that it is smothered in 'chocolate'

I put a mix of nuts, medjool dates, goji berries, cacao powder,rice malt syrup, and coconut oil in it, and top it off with 'chocolate' (cacao and coconut oil) 

I normally don't measure any ingredients- but next time I make it I'll try my hardest to write down what and how much and add it here.... 

Raw Chocolate banana cheesecake

Food porn alert!! This cake was so omg yummy!
This was my second attempt as a raw cheesecake. My first can be found here. It is totally decadent, rich and filling- everything you would expect from a full fat, dairy filled, sugar laden, naughty dessert...all of which this is NOT! Everything in this cake is good for you- bananas, cashews, cacao, coconut oil.... omnomnomnom!

Recipe from This Rawsome Vegan Life
http://www.thisrawsomeveganlife.com/2013/03/vanilla-chocolate-chunk-cheesecake-with.html#.UeYyQBZT91M

Raw blueberry cheesecake

I made this beauty a little while back- it was my first attempt at a raw cheesecake. My goodness I was not disappointed! It was delicious!! The original recipe has raspberries, but I changed to blueberries- use whatever you like!
Recipe from http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2011/01/raw-cashew-dreamcake-2/

Lunch! Sweet cacao omelette by The Holistic Ingredient

Delicious sweet omelette, topped with Greek yoghurt and blueberries. Easy, fast lunch!
This lovely lady has a wonderful ebook I suggest you check out and buy!!! http://theholisticingredient.com/a-nourishing-kitchen-ebook/

Breakfast green smoothie-

Breakfast needs to be filling and fast in our house (for me anyway)- Can't go wrong with a green smoothie- this one has a banana, mango (frozen as they're not in season here), spinach, whey protein isolate, chiaseeds, flax meal, Greek yoghurt. Whizz in the processor and wala. My 3 yr old always has one too... sneaky way to get some goodness into her!

The beginning of 'A cacao life'

Hi!
I'm new to the whole blogging world (well writing one...) I follow many other blogs, from the DIY, SAHM to clean eating/ exercise enthusiasts. Everyone of them inspires me in my day to day life, so here's hoping my blog may do the same for you!

So, why am I calling my blog 'A cacao life'? Well, recently I discovered this glorious product called raw cacao. It is everything I could ask for. Clean. Chocolate. Superfood. Guilt free. Gluten free. No nasties. Deliciousness! It's like having your cake and eating it too. I want my life to be as fulfilling and enjoyable as cacao.

This past 6 months I have been on a clean eating journey- discovering how the foods I put in my body are either my poison or medicine.
I discovered that I'm gluten intolerant, and i function 100% better without it in my life.
I found that 'clean eating' doesn't have to be boring- in fact it can make your food taste way better. Cutting out processed foods, gluten and sugar have impacted me so much, healthy eating has become my passion. I also LOVE to cook (I own a small macaron business, I'm currently on leave from and not sure I'll return).
Sharing my passion of healthy living, and educating people on their food choices is where I'm heading in this life. So 'A cacao life' seems a fitting name.

Hopefully you'll enjoy my blog as much as I will enjoy writing it!