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 jam. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label jam. Alle posts tonen

maandag 1 juli 2013

Healthy Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Cookies, again...I know. But these are so delicious and healthy, I need to share.


I've been wanting to make oatmeal cookies for some time now, but after browsing the internet, I just couldn't find a recipe I liked...so I set shop in the kitchen and just went for it. It's amazing these worked out so well, because I just sort of winged it. And thank god for that because this recipe is amazing.


My new favorite cookies...until the next batch of crazy improv baking comes along :D

 

 Ingredients:

70 gr soft butter
50 gr grated coconut (coconut flour, coconut flakes, it's all the same thing)
1,5 tsp baking powder
1 ripe banana
2 tbsp red fruit jam
1 tbsp liquid sweetener
2 eggs
70 gr buckwheat flour
150 gr oatmeal

Way to do it:

  1. Put the soft butter in a bowl and mix in the grated coconut. Add the buckwheat flour and baking powder.
  2. Add the eggs and mix well.
  3. Add the ripe banana and mash it. Then add the jam and the sweetener. You could choose to add more sweetener and omit the jam or the other way around, depending on which you prefer. I prefer to keep it as natural as possible to I went with more jam.
  4. Mix everything well until the batter becomes kind off fluffy and then fold in the oatmeal.
  5. Divide on a tray lined with baking paper and put in a preheated oven and bake at 170degrees C for about 12 minutes.

  6. While they are cooking, these babies will make your house smell amazing. The aroma of the baked banana is just...mmmm. You'll have husband and kids running for the kitchen.

    The cookies do have some fat because of the butter, but you've gotta give a little to get a lot! And in this case, it's taste. What's a little bit of butter when you get the healthy benefits of banana, oatmeal, coconut and buckwheat all in one bite? I'm telling you, keep this recipe in your favorites bar because you'll be making them a lot.

    Enjoy
    xx


     

zondag 26 mei 2013

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.

  6. 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