About me

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I've changed my life around and now I am enjoying The Lighter Life. I love cooking and especially baking lovely desserts, but I wanna stay away from little no-no's like too much sugar and fat. I live in Belgium where the 'low-carb and low-fat movement' is just starting to begin so I found myself looking for recipes with easy to find ingredients and metric cooking measurements. Since they were hard to find, I decided to make my own! My desserts may never win beauty contests, for baking with bio ingredients will mostly give you flat cakes and pies. But lord will they win over your taste buds and still have you fitting into your skinny jeans. I invite you all to try out some recipes, adapt a couple where you see fit and above all, learn to enjoy the lovely taste of freshly baked, healthy goods.
Posts tonen met het label chocolate. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label chocolate. Alle posts tonen

zaterdag 9 november 2013

Moist Chocolate Cake

A cake so moist, it sticks to your fingers and everything it touches. That's my latest quick and simpel recipe!


It was late, I was watching a movie and I suddenly just needed something sweet, something gooey. This moist chocolate cake was the result. I didn't really think about it. I just threw some ingredients in a pot, whisked them together and voila.

I love it when my weird impromptu kitchen adventures turn into something yummy and lighter than store bought desserts. 

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana, mashed
3 medium sized eggs
100 ml low fat cream cheese
1,5 tbsp dark brown sugar
50 gr milk chocolate, melted
50 gr almond flour

Way to do it:

  1. I can't make it any easier....just whisk all the ingredients together!
  2. Put the batter in a pie dish and bake for about 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees.
  3. After 15 minutes of baking, you can poke the cake with a skewer. If it comes out clean, take the cake out. We want it to be as moist as possible.
  4. Let cool or give into your urges and eat it while it's warm. 

I enjoyed my first piece with some light vanilla ice cream. The warm chocolate with the cold ice cream was just heaven. In the morning, I enjoyed my second piece with a cup of breakfast tea. If possible, it was even better due to the overnight time of letting the cake set.

No added fat, but low fat cream cheese,
         A ripe banana for the sweetness, making the addition if sugar minimal,
                                                    No white flour but a little bit of almond flour for body,
                                                                                               And some milk chocolate for the taste....

Enjoy
xx

dinsdag 29 oktober 2013

Almond cookies with chocolate

NO ADDED FAT!

I can't write it any bigger without it being stupid but that is what makes these cookies so great. They are low in fat, yet very tasty and sturdy so you can take them along and enjoy them the entire day.

I was gonna take pictures, but then it got dark, and then  I forgot....and then I ate them all.
Woops :D

Ingredients:

For the cookies:
200 gr ground almonds (almond flour)
100 gr icing sugar
1 tsp liquid honey
4 egg whites
A pinch of salt

For the chocolate:
4 egg yolks
1 tbsp liquid sweetener
2 tbsp no-added sugar cacao powder

Way to do it:

  1. We start with the cookies. Add the almond flour, honey and icing sugar in a bowl.
  2. With a fork, lightly wish 2 egg whites until the liquid turns white. Add it to the almonds and stir with a wooden spoon.
  3. Whisk the remaining 2 egg whites with a pinch of salt until you can turn the bowl upside down. Then add to the batter and gently fold it in.
  4. Line a baking tray with baking paper and evenly place out the dough. Mine are about a full tablespoon each. Bake for 10 minutes at 180degrees C.
  5. Now for the chocolate. Add all the ingredients to the 4 egg yolks and whisk. Let rest until the cookies come out.
  6. When the cookies have baked for 10 minutes, take them out and add a dollop of chocolate mixture to each cookie. The chocolate will run over the cookie making it look good but not 'too perfect'. I don't do pretty pretty, I do yummy yummy!
  7. Place the tray back into the oven and let bake for another 5 minutes. 
  8. When they are done, let them cool before you move them to a plate or stuff them into your mouth.

Enjoy
xx

zaterdag 1 juni 2013

Chocolate cake with avocado and banana

May I just say...wow! If I was a religious girl, I would thank the lord. Instead, I'm going to thank nature for blessing us with the combination of chocolate and avocado.

We have to get serious...you can't make a decent cake without butter. It just wouldn't taste right. So if ever we want to indulge, we'll have to settle for a little bit of fat. NOW, that's so not true anymore! Substituting butter with avocado is genious, delicious and healthy. Avocado is fat, yes, but good fat!


If you are looking for a chocolate cake that won't make you feel like a cheater, then look no more. Yummy, rich, healthy and a definite hit with the entire family...my chocolate cake with avocado and banana.

And oh, did I mention this cake is so easy to make?

 

Ingredients:

 

2 ripe avocados
2 ripe bananas
3 eggs
3 tbsp liquid sweetener
100 gr almond flour
100 gr dark cacao powder
100 gr of assortment of nuts (I used almonds, peanuts and cashew)

Way to do it:

  1. Cut the avocado's in two and spoon out the flesh. Add with the mashed bananas in a bowl and stir.
  2. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients (liquid sweetener, almond flour and cacao) and whisk again.
  4. Finally gently fold in the nuts.
  5. Transfer to a baking tin lined with baking paper and bake for 35mins in a preheated oven at 180degrees C.
  6.  
Let the cake cool before you take it out of the baking tin. You don't need to top the cake with any icing, it's packed full of flavor and it's very moist. However, adding some maple syrup or honey can never go wrong.

A good movie, a cup of great coffee in my new favorite mug (I got it at a second hand store and I'm just so in love with it.) and some home baked deliciousness. Yes...my life is pretty perfect.

Some of you may have already noticed, I'm a baker who loves simple and easy recipes. I don't like to huff and puff in my kitchen and I definitely don't like doing the dishes. So, you can expect many more recipes like this chocolate cake with avocado and banana, easy, yummy and healthy.

If you want to make a cake lower in carb, leave out the bananas and add a little more almond flour. I promise you, it'll taste great. Now if only I would stop myself from taking another piece....

Enjoy and till next time,
xx

donderdag 9 mei 2013

Icetray Chocolate Base Cheesecakes

A low carb treat for those warm summer days you can make in about 5 minutes? It must be magic. Put your ice cube tray to good use and make your own ice bon-bons. You can substitute the Greek yogurt for cream cheese, but it's basically the same. I made mine using Alpro Soya plain yogurt because I love the taste. You can make these with any yogurt or cream cheese you like. Play around with taste and you'll always have a great outcome.



What's great about this also, is that you can make small sizes. So make a tray with yogurt, make one with vanilla pudding... the choices are endless!

Ingredients:

125 ml non-fat plain Greek yogurt or Alpro Soya Plain yogurt
1 teaspoon liquid artificial sweetener
60 g dark chocolate

Way to do it:

  1. Blend the yogurt and sweetener and set aside.
  2. Gently melt your chocolate in the microwave or be a real chef and do it au bain marie.
  3. Coat a pre-chilled, clean ice cube tray with some vegetable oil. Let the excess drain out.
  4. Using a spoon pour the chocolate into each ice cube mold and make sure to fully coat the bottom using your spoon.
  5. Fill each ice cube mold with the yogurt filling.
  6. Top with a dollop of chocolate.
  7. Place in the freezer for 2-3 hours.



To eat, remove from freezer and then, gently twisting the ice cube tray, remove as you would an ice cubes. Eat immediately.



Depending on which ingredients you use, these babies are so low in carb that feeling guilty is not necessary. Mine come out to not even 1 carb per cube.

I hope you like them and let me know what you think!

Enjoy
xx

dinsdag 12 maart 2013

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

Hi Everyone,

I just can't stop making cookies!
I love them with a cup of tea to end a stressful day or with a cup of coffee in the morning for that sweet kick-off. This time, I shelved my almond and went to work with coconut and man did that work out.
If you try only one thing on this entire blog, try this! They are easy to make and low in carb.

Ingredients:

2 large Eggs
3 tbsp low fat cream cheese
150 gr soft butter
a tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp sweetener (or to your taste)
120 gr shredded coconut
1 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
60gr melted dark chocolate( the less carb the better. Mine was 16gr per 85gr
60gr dark chocolate chopped

How to do it:


  • Preheat over to 170 degrees C.
  • In a bowl add butter, cream cheese and sweetener. Then add the eggs, vanilla extract and the melted chocolate.
  • Add the baking powder,salt and shredded coconut.
  • Finally, gently stir in the chopped chocolate

  • I made 11 big cookies with my dough. The dough is strong enough for you to roll little balls with, making a nice shaped cookie. Place them evenly on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Bake for about 15min at 170 degrees C. During the baking, the cookies will loose some fat. Don't worry about that. It's normal and it results in an even 'healthier' cookie.

    Afterwards, gently move them to a plate to cool.

    Depending on how big you make them and which ingredients you use, this entire recipe contains about 22gr of carbs. So that's about 2 gr of carb per cookie. Still way less than any cookie you can buy in the shops. And less expensive. Besides, they make your house smell amazing all day.

    Do leave them overnight if you can resist their smell because I found the taste and texture is better the next day.

    Note: You can also add some white chocolate chunks or replace the melted chocolate with non sweetened cocao powder for a cookie with even less carbs. Use this recipe as a base for further recipes and add maybe maple sugar for a sweet cookie, or more sugar and vanilla for a rich vanilla cookie. Experiment, you know I will....

    Enjoy
    xx

    zondag 10 maart 2013

    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

    zaterdag 23 februari 2013

    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