Coconut and Muscovado Sugar Cookies

Hi everyone.

The days are getting shorter, the nights are longer so I am finding myself in need of serious comfort food. Only problem is, comfort food is usually very high in fat and calories so a definite no-no when you are watching your figure and you want to eat healthy.

This recipe is not my lowest in calories because it does contain sugar and fat, but due to the right ingredients, it's still healthier than store-bought cookies and due to the easiness of the recipe, you can whip these up in under 15 minutes...and that's including cooking time!

Ingredients:

 

100 gr muscovado sugar (donkerbruine basterdsuiker)
2 eggs
100 gr white flour
100 gr shredded coconut
2 tbsp soft coconut butter

Way to do it:

1. Add the sugar to the eggs and beat until the mixture starts to lightly foams. About a minute should do it.
2. Add the flour and shredded coconut. Mix again until combined.
3. Add the coconut butter, cut into small pieces and use your mixer to break down the pieces. if some remain, no worries, they will melt in the oven.
4. Line a baking tray with baking paper and design your cookies whichever way you want. You can just make one big cookie and then brake it into pieces, or you can use a spoon to make little scoops. Due to the coconut butter melting, the cookies will spread out substantially.
5. Bake for 12 minutes at 200 degrees C.

I made about 11 big cookies with my mixture and I simply love them.

The Health Benefits
Substituting white sugar by dark brown unrefined sugar means you forgo the 'bad' sugar. Unrefined sugar has no chemicals injected into it and therefore it still contains some nutrients such as calcium, iron, magnesium, & potassium. So you get the taste + a little extra your body can use.

When you choose coconut butter instead of normal butter, you get many benefits. Coconut can lower blood cholesterol, is full of lauric acid which kills bacteria and fatty acids boost brain functions. It's known as a superfood!

The same goes for the shredded coconut. It's high in fat, but high in the good fats, the ones your body does need.

Enjoy
xx

Soft serve banana and peanut butter ice cream

This one is a quick and easy way to deal with overripe banana's (which I sorta always seem to have) and to fulfill your cravings of ice cream on hot summer days. With 25 degrees outside (don't laugh, for Belgium that's insane) this soft serve banana and peanut butter ice cream hits the spot on all levels.

And a big plus, you don't even need fancy tools for it. Forget expensive ice cream makers, all a girl really needs is her blender.

Ingredients:

2 frozen banana's, peeled and cut into small pieces (peel them before you freeze!)
A dash of soy or regular milk to help your blender move things around
Half a tablespoon of peanut butter

Way to do it:

1. Combine all ingredients in the blender and blend to a thick, ice cream texture. If too dry, add a little more of milk. Because the banana's are so ripe, you don't need to add extra sweetener.
 

And it's just that simple. You can whip this up in under 5 minutes. This is a generous serve for one so just multiply the ingredient's if you want to let other people enjoy this delicious, low fat, summer treat.

Feel free to add extra ingredients but make sure the mixture doesn't get too liquid. Because it's a soft serve, the ice cream melts very quickly so eat right away.

Enjoy
xx

 

Apple buckwheat breakfast scones

Hi everyone, I hope you are doing fine. Summer is just around the corner and that means that the bikini season is ready for kick-off. With it, our bodies need to be in top shape so we can enjoy a summer freed of worries.
I've been experimenting with some new ingredients so watch out, unlike my other posts, this recipe is not really low carb. However it's very healthy due to it's low fat and the addition of buckwheat flour. Buckwheat flour is gluten-free and so amazingly good for you! It has high quality protein, it's rich in iron, very high in antioxidants, it's filled with many minerals and vitamins such as zinc, copper, and niacin and it contains a high level of rutin, which is an anti-cancer agent. Can this get any better?

So for this recipe, I felt like making something a bit less sweet and these apple buckwheat scones are a great way to start of your day. They fill you up, they are delicious and they are also easy to take with you if you don't have time in the mornings for a sit down breakfast. You can keep them for up to three days.

 

Ingredients:

250 gr buckwheat flour
2 tbsp stevia
3 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
100 gr soft butter (not melted)
120 ml low-fat yogurt or cream cheese
2 eggs
1 big apple

Way to do it:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. In a bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and turn over with a spoon so they are combined.
3. Add small chunks of butter. You don't want to melt the butter, otherwise your dough will not be 'crumbly' enough. It's okay if chunks of butter remain in the batter.
4. Mix in the eggs and cream and turn around with the spoon. Gently add in the apple with your hands. I cut my apple in small cubes. The apple will add a gently touch of sweetness to the scone.
5. Put the dough on your baking tray, lined with baking paper and press down into a circle of about 5cm height. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 200 degrees or until golden.

They are so yummy! The buckwheat gives them a more nutty flavor than regular flour so that's why I didn't add macadamia nuts but of course, feel free to play around with the recipe as much as you like. Try adding blueberries or other kind of fruits to the mix. You won't be disappointed!

You can eat them without anything extra with just a nice mug of coffee or tea, or, I smeared one with jam. Delicious!

Enjoy
xx

Amazing Low Carb Waffles

Ingredients:

3 tbsp melted butter
2 large eggs
a pinch of salt
A teaspoon baking powder
50gr coconut flour
50gr almond flour
250 gr cream cheese
2 tbsp sweetner (or to your taste)

Way to do it:

Take the cream cheese and add the sweetener to your liking. I used about 2 tablespoons. The sweeter you make the chese, the sweeter your waffle will be.

Mix in the melted butter and whisk until smooth

Add the eggs and mix well.

Then you add both flours and the baking powder with the salt.

Grease your waffle iron with some left-over melted butter but not too much. Then bake your waffles. Spread out the batter to make sure the entire area is covered. The waffles need to bake longer than regular waffles do so have patience and check once in a while to see if they are done. I have quite a bad waffle iron so mine didn't cook regularly on both sides, but they are still so yummy!
Also be careful when you take them out. The waffles are very fragile when hot. Especially when they are under-cooked. Transfer to a plate and let cool.


I Hope you enjoy them as much as I did and working with the cream cheese gave me some great ideas. Next up, cream cheese cookies!


See you soon,
Enjoy
Xx

Ps: Feel free to adapt the recipe. I haven't tried it myself but I think that a few teaspoons of cocoa powder would make for some excellent chocolate waffles. Or leave out the sweetener for a waffle you can top with cheese.

Chocolate Birthday Cake

Hi Everyone,

I'm back with my first cake recipe so read on if you enjoy delicious jet low carb desserts!

It was my birthday on the 8th of march and for a dinner celebration on the 9th at my family's house, I really wanted to indulge in a nice dessert. One I could share with the entire family but that didn't leave me feeling like a cheater. Therefore, I took out my favorite cakes cookbook (this one, an old one but so good with many lovely and easy recipes) and adapted it to a low carb successful formula.

I hope you like it. This makes a very dense cake so you probably won't need to eat more than one piece.

Ingredients for 1 cake:

100gr almond flour
1 tbsp instant coffee powder
3 big eggs
2 tbsp sweetener (or to your taste)
60gr dark chocolate
60gr ground coconut
a couple of drops vanilla essence
1 tsp baking powder and salt to match it

175g cream cheese
15ml Amaretto
2 tbsp sweetener (or to your taste)
2 tbsp soft butter

How to do it:

Preheat over to 190 degrees C.

Separate the whites from the yolks and beat the whites stiff.

In the bowl with the yolks add the sweetener, melted chocolate, coffee powder, baking powder, vanilla essence, ground coconut and almond flour.

Gently fold in the egg whites. This will give the cake it's height and make your dough more moist.

Bake for about 25minutes at 190 C. Check while it's cooking because all ovens are different.

Afterwards let the cake cool and in the meantime we can make the filling.

Mix the cream cheese with the sweetener, soft butter and add the Amaretto.

I would suggest putting it in the fridge to harden. This will make the smearing a lot easier.

At this point you could add some extra topping. I didn't because the cake is moist enough. But anyways, here's the ceipe if you want to do it.
You'll need:
120gr soft butter
3 tbsp sweetener
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk

Whisk the butter in a bowl to loosen it up and make it creamy.

Add the sweetener, vanilla extract and cocoa powder.

The egg yolk is optional but I would suggest you use it. It gives the topping a nice glaze.

Now it's time to assemble the cake.

Cut your cake in half horizontally, making two nice flat discs.

Generously add the cream cheese filling and put both halves back together. Don't push them down, you want the extra height.

Finish with the optional topping. You can decide wither you want a thick layer on top or if you want to wrap the entire cake in chocolaty goodness. It's your cake so do as you please.

And there you have it. A wonderful yet low carb choclate cake for the entire family to enjoy. The carb amount on this one is higher than my other recipes, but hey, It's my party and I'll indulge if I want to.

Till next time,
Enjoy
xx

Crazy Cauliflower Chocolate Brownies

There are those out there on the lovely internet that are truly magnificently insane. And amongst them is this woman. She has a recipe, so crazy that many would shy back to try it. But I'm telling you, you simple have to try it. It takes a little bit more work than I'd normal be up for but it's so worth it!

When you are craving, and you need that little bit of chocolate but without messing up your diet, this is the way to go. You can find the original recipe here but below is my version.

Ingredients:

250 gr raw cauliflower

150 ml almond milk (I used Alpro Soya)

80 gr dark chocolate (I got Stevia chocolate at the local Bio shop)

100 gr cup butter

3 tbsp cream cheese

3 eggs

100 gr ground almonds (almond flour, also at the local Bio shop)

4 tsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp sugar equivalent

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt to make the baking powder work
50 gr coconut flour(optional)
A few drops op Vanilla essence (optional)

Directions:

1. Puree your raw, washed, cauliflower and add to it the almond milk. Make sure its completely smooth and that there are no chunks.  
2. Melt the butter and chocolate. I just did it in the microwave. Less clean-up after :D   
3. Mix the melted butter and chocolate with the cauli and milk mixture.  Give it another good blend.  
4. Add the eggs and again stir it till everything's mixed.  
5. Now one by one, add all of the dry ingredients into the bowl with the mixture.  Stir after each addition.
6. I also added about 3 drops of vanilla essence. You don't have to, but I found it gave the brownies an extra 'sweet' flavor without adding extra carbs.

Grease a baking pan and spread the batter evenly into it.  Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for about 35 minutes. Near the end, poke it with a knife. If the knife comes back clean, then you have a winner! Cut in cute little squares.
Note: They are quite brittle when they are still warm so I'd advise you to let them cool before you cut.

And there you have it, insane isn't it?
Don't tell people what's in them. Wait till they compliment you on how the brownies taste and then tell them they that just ate vegetables. They won't believe you... but you and I now know that it's true.

Sorry I didn't include pictures. They were eaten before I had the change :D

Enjoy
xx

Low Carb Red Velvet with icing

Hi everyone, here goes for my first recipe!

2 Weeks ago on friday, Me, my brother and my sister had a sibling day planned. We went to the museum and afterwards we played boardgames at my brother's house. Good ol' family bonding time.

However, I knew it would be hard for me to say no to delicious snacks sush as cookies and chips...so I made my own snacks. I adapted the red velvet recipe from my Hummingbird Bakery cookbook to make it very low in carb. Even with the added icing, it's only about 2 carbs per cupcake. So don't be shy and grab another one before they're all gone.

I wouldn't say they are as good as regular 'real' red velvet cupcakes, otherwise life wouldn't be fair. But my brother did eat about 5 of them so they couldn't be bad right :D

Ingredients:

for the cupcake
100ml almond milk
120g butter
About 3 tbsp sweetener
2 large eggs
20 g cocoa powder
40ml red food coloring (doesn't add to the taste but it can't be red velvet without adding a little red)
A few drops vanilla essence
300 g almond flour
Half a tsp of baking powder
A finch of salt to make the baking powder work
for the icing
250g cream cheese (try and look for the one with the least carbs. I used a bio non-fat one)
3 tbsp sweetener

Way to do it:

Pre-heat your oven to 190 C and place your cupcakes molds in a special cupcake tin. That makes them easier to carry and they will keep their lovely shape.
Use a mixer to mix the butter and sweetener. To this you add your eggs and mix again.
Add your coca, red food coloring and the vanilla essence.
Now you can add in the almond flour and the milk.
At the very end you add the baking powder with a pinch of salt. Mix everything very well for a couple of minutes.
Divide evenly over the cupcake papers and bake in the oven for about 18 to 20 minutes.
While they are baking, you can make the icing. Simply add the sweetener to the cream cheese and mix it till it's smooth.
When the cupcakes are done, let them cool completely and then add the icing. You can decorate with a dash of cocoa powder if you please.

Note: all sweetener is different so try as you go. Too much sweetener will make your creation taste too 'chemically' so I would advise you use my amounts as guidelines but see what works for your sweetener.

Enjoy
xx