Cinnamon Cakes

Two reasons why this next creation came into place.

                       1 = I had just bought a new silicon baking tray and I wanted to use it.

                       2 = I've been wanting to make something heavy with cinnamon. 

It can be as simple as that. So I dove into the kitchen, added some of my favorite ingredients in a bowl and whisked away. With no added fat, this cake is easy on the hips yet very yummy on the tongue.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp dark brown unrefined sugar
3 tbsp buckwheat flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
3 medium eggs
A handful of your favorite nuts (I used peanut)
160 ml soy milk

Way to do it:

1. Combine all dry ingredients (not the nuts)
2. Add the eggs and whisk till everything is combined.
3. Add the soy milk and whisk for a good minute.
4. Plop in the nuts and give it a stir with a spoon.
5. Divide over your tin and bake, in a pre heated oven, at 200 degrees for about 25 minutes.
6. Let cool before you transfer them.

This recipe is a little bid different from my usual ones because of the soy milk. This time the batter is very liquid, but a longer baking time still results in a delicious and light cake.

To make it sweeter, you can top with some powdered sugar dissolved in water, making a nice glaze, or you can dip them into cinnamon sugar (just mix some cinnamon with white sugar)

Enjoy
xx

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

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

Lemon Bars with Cream Cheese

Hi everyone.

I've been wanting to make lemon bars for so long, but I never found a recipe that ticked off all my criteria. For a recipe to be Stevie Friendly, it needs to be

- easy and no fuss
- not drenched in bad fat or loaded with sugar
- not take to long because you know I have no patience

and

- it must not make a mess of everything because I hate, hate, HATE doing dishes.

So, I simply decided to dive in, head first, and create my own lemon bars.
And I'm so happy I did.

Ingredients:

For the base:
150 gr flour
100 gr soft coconut butter (normal butter is fine too)
A pinch of salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp lemon juice

For the filling:
3 tbsp low fat cream cheese
2 eggs
2 tbsp liquid sweetener
Juice of 1 lemon
100 gr flour

Way to do it:

1. We start with the base. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and stir with a spoon to combine. Add the coconut butter and use your hands to 'melt' it into the mixture. It will become very crumbly and dry. Add the lemon juice and water and use that liquid to form a dough. Roll the dough into a ball, put it in cling foil and let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
2. Now we make the filling. Add the cream cheese, eggs, liquid sweetener and lemon juice into a bowl and whisk until combined. Add the flour and make sure there are no lumps left. It will be very liquid but don't worry, that way our crust will soak it all in. Leave it into the fridge until you are ready to use it.
3. After the crust has rested for 30 minutes, take it out and line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll out the dough and bake in a pre-heated oven on 180degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes.
4. Take the baking tray out and pour the filling over the crust. Bake again for another 10 minutes.
5. Take out of the oven and let them cool before you cut them. Transfer to a plate and they are best if you keep them in the fridge.

And these people, are no fuss, no muss, deliciously low sugar Lemon Bars.

I must admit, you can't call these low in fat...compared to stuff you would buy in the store yes, but not to other stuff you can find on my website. However, I did use coconut butter and some sources say it's the 'healthiest' butter there is. But it's still butter off course, this isn't a perfect world :-(

It was my first time making these, so it's still a work in progress. Next time, I'm going to add some cacao powder to the base and I'll prob add some more lemon juice because in my opinion, they could be a little more sour.

Keep checking back for new recipes and let me know what you think.

Enjoy
xx

Blueberry crumble bars

Feast your eyes on this!



Doesn't it look wonderful? This, my sweet friends, is what happens when it's sunny and with bikini season at the back of your mind, you start craving something sweet. This recipe, although light in calories, isn't very light on the stomach so you only need a small piece to get filled up.

I got the original recipe here, but for added healthiness, I substituted most of the sugar by honey and sweetener. I also chose to use half white flour, half buckwheat, because the good nutrition of buckwheat strengthens the body and upps your immune system. Granted, there is some butter here and if I make new versions of this recipe, I'm going to try and cut down some of the butter. But for now, just marvel at their deliciousness.

Ingredients:

100gr white sugar
2 teaspoons liquid sweetener
1 teaspoon baking powder
150gr white all-purpose flour
150gr buckwheat flour
200gr soft butter cut into small pieces
1 egg
a pinch of salt

400 to 500 gr fresh blueberries
1,5 tablespoons honey
50gr white all-purpose flour

Way to do it:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C and grease your baking pan. Use any which one you like. I used a big, round, spring form but if you wanna make bars, I would suggest a square one.
2. In a big bowl (you need the extra space for the mixing) mix 150gr white four, 150gr buckwheat flour and baking powder. Add in the egg, liquid sweetener, salt and butter. Use your hands to knead the dough into a big ball. This could take some time but it's really worth it in the end.
3. Take half of the dough and spread it out evenly into your prepared tin. Pad it down all the way to the sides.
4. In a new bowl, sprinkle blueberry's with the honey and then add the flour. Turn the blueberry's over so that the honey and flour sticks to them. Then spread them out evenly over your batter.
5. Take the remainder of the dough and cover up all the berry's. Again, take some time to cover all of them, basically sealing them in.
6. Bake for 30mins at 200 degrees C and try to show restraint once the amazing smell of the baked fruit hits your nose.
7. Take out of the oven when the top turns slightly brown and leave to cool before cutting into bars or squares, as you prefer. They keep best in the refrigerator and they are even better the next day.

You can also leave the cake/pie/bars, whatever you wanna call it, into it's original form and serve as a lovely summer alternative to fattening pies and cakes. The crust, once cooled, cuts well so you can serve a nice piece of pie and maybe even add some lime or lemon sorbet for the ultimate summer dessert!

Enjoy,
xx

Litlle Coconut Bites

Hey my sweet-loving friends. I hope you have enjoyed my recipes so far, so here's a new one. At about 14g of carbs for the entire recipe, it's a god sent. These little coconut bites are lovely with a cup of tea or coffee and might just be that little easy solution to your sweet cravings.

 

Ingredients:

4 egg whites 

2 teaspoons liquid sweetener
150 g coconut

A few drops of vanilla essence

 

Way to do it:

1. Seperate the egg whites from the yolks. We won't need the yolks so either you keep them for a later recipe or you throw them out.
2. Add the sweetener to the whites and heat them up in a pan but don't let them boil. Stir all the while until it's one nice blend.
3. Add the coconut to the mixture and keep stirring.
4. Last, you add a few drops of vanilla essence, just for extra taste.

Gently, form little balls of the batter with your hand. Watch out, they are very fragile until you cook them.

Lay the balls out on a baking tray and spread them out. Don't make them too big. Bake at 180 C for about 10 minutes.

This recipe is very, and I mean VERY low in carb...and...in fat! So two for the price of one! Easy, only good coconut fat and very low carb...damn life can be good!



Enjoy
xx

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

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 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

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

Almond Macadamia Cookies

Hi Everyone,

I'm back with a new recipe!
After my hazelnut cookies really did the trick of keeping my sweet cravings in check, I decided I needed more! I made another batch of cookies because I love how they are so low in carb and I don't have to feel bad for indulging.
My cookie routine: I have one in the morning before my meals with a nice cup of strong coffee and in the evening, I have another one (or two...) with some lemon tea and really, it doesn't even feel like I'm dieting.

Ingredients:

2 large Eggs
150 gr butter
a tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp sweetener (or to your taste)
200 gr Almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
60gr Macadamia nuts, chopped

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 vanilla extract and butter.

Add the sweetener and mix again.

Add the baking powder,salt and almond flour.

Gently fold in the egg whites. This will give your cookie it's height.

Finally, gently stir in the chopped nuts

Divide the dough evenly into about 15 little heaps of dough and place them on a cookie sheet. Make sure they are far enough apart because they will spread out a little. Bake for about 12 minutes at 190 C for soft cookies, go to about 17 minutes for crunchier ones.

Afterwards let them cool before you move them to a plate.


Depending on how big you make them and which ingredients you use, this entire recipe contains about 17gr of carbs. So that's about 1,2 gr of carb per cookie!

Leave them overnight because I found the taste and texture is better the next day.

Note: You can also add some white chocolate chunks but I couldn't find any with reduced calories. Now I found some on so I'll be back soon with some white chocolate creations :D

Note 2: For added yummyness, you could smear the top of the cookies with some low sugar jam. Only do so right before you're about to eat them because otherwise, they will make the cookie too mushy.


Enjoy
xx

Hazelnut Cookies

Ingredients:

2 large Eggs
150 gr butter
a tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp sweetener
120 gr Hazelnut Butter (you can use peanutbutter if you prefer)
1 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
40gr of Stevia dark chocolate chunks (try and find the one with the less carbs, I found mine in a bio shop)

Way to do it:

1. Preheat over to 190 degrees C.
   
2. Separate the whites from the yolks and beat the whites stiff. In the bowl with the yolks add the vanilla extract and butter.
3. Add the sweetener and mix again.
4. Add Peanut butter and mix till well combined.
5. Add the baking powder and the salt. Then you add the chocolate chunks
6. When your batter is done, gently fold in the egg whites. This will give your cookie it's height and yummyness
7. Divide the dough evenly into about 15 little heaps of dough and place them on a cookie sheet. Make sure they are far enough apart because they will spread out a little. Bake for about 15 minutes at 190 C

Afterwards let them cool before you move them to a plate.

Depeding on how big you make them and which ingredients you use, this entire recipe contains about 20gr of carbs. So that's about 1,5 gr of carb per cookie!

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