Snacks - My Wholefood Romance

Raw Chocolate Balls

November 28, 2013 By Meg With 16 comments

BallPopsHand Bliss Balls, Chocolate Balls, ‘Rum’ Balls, Tuffles; whatever you like to call them – they are delicious! There are approximately 4 million recipes online for different versions of these, and here’s why I like mine.

1. My recipe uses no dates. I don’t really have a problem with dates eaten in moderation, they are delicious and a natural fruit. They are however extremely sweet, and I find can often take over the flavour of raw desserts.

2. These balls are PACKED full of protein, good fats and nutrition from the nuts, seeds and tahini.

3. They are not overly sweet, and make use of the wonderful cinnamon, not only for flavour but to help with balancing blood sugar.

4. They are incredible easy to make, versatile, and use ingredients that you most likely have hanging around in your cupboard.

5. They are delicious and family friendly! If you need them for school lunches, just sub out the nuts with extra seeds.

BallPopIvy

So there you have it. Five great reasons to try out these balls. We have a birthday party coming up!!! (very exciting – any ideas welcome!) and so I fashioned them into ‘pops’ with the use of a fancy straw – kid appeal – very high – job done.

½ cup sunflower seeds

¼ cup hemp seeds (or quinoa flakes or pepitas)

¼ cup brazil nuts (or macadamias, cashews etc)

¼ cup tahini or almond butter (I used black tahini)

2 tbs chia or flax seeds

¼ cup coconut–desiccated, plus extra for rolling

2 ½ tbs raw cacao powder

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ cup of rice syrup or honey, or to taste

A pinch of sea salt

Up to a tbs water – depending on consistency

Blitz the nuts and seeds in a food processor or blender. …

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Best Acai Bowl Ever

October 17, 2013 By Meg With 14 comments

acaibowl1

Voted in my house anyway. Enter my latest obsession – ACAI BOWLS! These babies have been around for quite some time, I have just been a little slow of the mark with them.

Acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) is a berry native to Central and South America. It has a super fabulous list of nutritional benefits, including a ridiculous antioxidant status, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and has protein, essential fatty acids, fibre and a host of other vitamins and minerals. Acai bowls are more common place in Brazil, California and Hawaii, and having not been lucky enough to visit these places yet, I will have to be content with my home made number. I have also supercharged this version with a nice whack of protein, healthy fats, and a fabulous array of super foods, and kale of course (ha) which is also a superfood!

You can buy acai as powder or frozen in sachets. It is not the cheapest thing in the world, but you don’t need a massive amount. My local health food shop is wonderful enough to sell it in bulk, which is perfect if you have that option. Alternatively, you can substitute it with any other superfood powder of your choice. Even if you left it out all together the recipe would still be ace. Freestyle this one as much as you like, the recipe below is just a guideline and is a little unconventional. I do like the addition of protein and good fats such as the avocado, seeds and nut butter, as often they are just a blend of mixed fruit. A fruit only version is delish, but a few extra ingredients and you can totally pass it as a legitimate meal! It’s also a huge hit with kids!

acaibowls

Makes 2 bowls

1 cup frozen berries (any kind)

1/2 …

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Celery Leaf and Macadamia Pesto

September 2, 2013 By Meg With 5 comments

celeryleafpesto I love celery. Hubby doesn’t. But he’s away at the moment, so my house is currently celebrating this underrated vegetable. Celery deserves more than its “negative calorie” image. I admit in the past I have viewed it only as a vehicle for nut butter, but celery has a load more to offer us than that. Today I am celebrating celery in all its glory.

The quick nutritional run down is that it’s loaded with vitamin K, fibre and potassium, and it is wonderfully alkalising. Throw in antioxidants, a good dose of folate, vitamin A, vitamin C and a little calcium and magnesium, and suddenly celery is looking good. It also contains sodium (the good kind) and so is perfect for rehydration and balancing out the electrolytes when partnered with potassium and the rest of the vitamins and minerals.

celery leaves

But don’t forget the leaves! Often ignored, these fabulous foliage contain more vitamin C, calcium and potassium than the stalks. I use mine as I would parsley, so added to salads, or on top of soups, veg, or beany mixes. They work well juiced or in green smoothies, or you can get fancy and make delicious celery salt a la 101 Cookbooks. It’s so lovely to be able to use the whole vegetable to minimise waste and save some cash.

Making pesto with the leaves is a great example. They don’t keep well, so it’s a nice way of using them up. Use this recipe as a guide, this is how I like it, but you can add more or less of anything to make it your own. I had a complete disaster today in the form of my blender breaking (OMG…hence the lack of smoothie post today) so I made this in my mortar and pestle, which is the best way …

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Pimp up your Popcorn

April 10, 2013 By Meg With 4 comments

I had the most delightful day with my daughter yesterday, we went to the movies, then to the park, then pretended to be different animals for the rest of the afternoon (she’s three years old – just to put it into context). I feel pretty lucky to be able to have days like this! But I digress. Going to the movies is an expensive outing these days, especially once you add in the food and drink that you might buy once you’re there. BYO is the way forward, not just economically but nutritionally. I love popcorn! It’s such a fantastic snack, but the stuff that you get at the cinema is not. I won’t go on about it, we all know it’s not great; trans fats, fake butter flavour, popcorn lung, you get the idea.

Why not make your own and be the director of your own ‘choose you own adventure’ popcorn story! It’s fast, inexpensive, versatile, and you can make it into a legitimate nutritional snack – score!

Here’s what we took with us yesterday.

Almond, buckwheat, chia, sesame, goji, sunflower seed, coconut flake, dried mulberry, dulse flake, coconut oil popcorn.

My daughter was thrilled as her home-made popcorn was immediately coveted by the girls next to us, and she then proceeded to tell them all about how to make it – so cute!

I always start with the same base, and then add to that depending on the occasion.
I use coconut oil as it is safe to use at high temperatures.

1/4 cup popcorn kernels (organic and non-GM if you can)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
pinch sea salt
1-2 tsp dulse flakes

Tip number one:
Heat the coconut oil in a saucapan to a med-high heat, not too high or you will end up with burnt

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