.Thermomix Cooking: Birdseed Bars with NO refined sugar.

Sharing a recipe for Birdseed Bars today - with no refined sugar! And they can be nut, dairy and gluten free too if you make some simple changes. These homemade muesli bars are sweet and chewy with tonnes of flavour. I can even manage to get my pickiest kids to have a little piece with afternoon tea so that makes it an instant winner in my books! 

There are lots of recipes for homemade muesli bars out there, but most of them are laden with sugar, honey and peanut butter. Probably better than a store-bought bar, but still not ideal. These are much tastier and filling than anything you will buy in a box! The best thing about them is that you can make them with pretty much any dry ingredient you have around or want to add in...leave the oats out and replace with lots of chopped nuts, increase or decrease quantities of seeds, etc. Work with what you like to eat and what you have in the pantry!

This recipe is for Thermomix cooking, but you can easily make it on the stove too by toasting the dry ingredients in a dry pan (stir often and check that it doesn't burn!) and then bring the wet ingredients to boil for 4 or 5 minutes in another pan.

Birdseed Bars
100g rolled oats
60g sunflower seeds
60g pumpkin seeds
40g sesame seeds
20g chia seeds
80g coconut
40g wheatgerm
120g butter or coconut oil
120g rice malt syrup
160g dried fruit, chopped (sultanas, apricots, dates, cranberries, goji berries, etc.)

Place dry ingredients (not fruit) into Thermomix bowl and toast for 5 minutes on varoma temperature, reverse speed 1. Remove from bowl and set aside.
Place butter or oil and rice malt syrup into Thermomix bowl and cook for 6 minutes on varoma temperature, speed 4.
Add toasted dry ingredients and dried fruit into bowl. Mix together for 20 seconds, reverse speed 3.
Spread mixture into a square cake tin lined with baking paper. Press down firmly.
Place in the fridge to set and cool completely. Slice. 
Best kept stored in a container in the fridge.

VARIATIONS:
To make gluten-free, leave out the oats and replace with more seeds, nuts, puffed rice, quinoa flakes, etc.
As long as your dry ingredients measure about 400g, you can pretty much add anything you like to the mix!
A small handful of cacao nibs are a delicious addition.

.Wholefood Simply - the cookbook.

Wholefood Simply - the cookbook. If you are interested in healthy eating without feeling like you are missing out on "treats" then this cookbook is for you.

I've been a reader of the Wholefood Simply blog for awhile now and have tried many of their recipes. Recently I received a copy of the new Wholefood Simply cookbook to review and it is awesome. Bianca Slade is the author and creator of Wholefood Simply and she is doing all the right things. Providing us with super simple, easy to cook recipes that focus on eating whole foods (not processed junk) yet still taste great. Wholefood Simply has really taken off in the last year or so, ticking all the boxes for people dealing with allergies and food intolerance as well as for people who simply want to make healthier eating choices. I'm the first to admit that I have a sugar addiction and love my sweet treats, when ever I get on a sugar-free kick I always turn to Wholefood Simply to provide me with some alternative snack and sweet foods that will satisfy my sweet cravings!

The cookbook is made up of 50 of the most popular Wholefood Simply recipes. I started to put a marker in the pages of the recipes I wanted to try and ended up giving up because I was marking more pages than I was skipping! The Crispy Crunchy Crackers (pictured above) looked quick and easy and I knew they would be a great snack for Harvey especially when he started to get whingey around dinner cooking time - a good cracker to break bits off and throw to him on the floor while he sits at my feet and waits for dinner! They are just as the name suggests - crispy and crunchy, a little bit sweet and choc-a-block full of my favourite chia seeds that will fill you up for a long time.

I also wanted to make another batch of lemon slice - I've made it before and it is my absolute favourite. I love lemon anything and this slice is great. Especially because it's healthy, but still really rich and sweet. I substitute the maple syrup for rice malt syrup because I prefer the subtle flavour but other than that, it's a great guilt-free sweet treat...eating a piece is just like grabbing a handful of macadamia nuts, dates and coconut. I like eating it from the fridge rather than the freezer because I don't like frozen treats much, I also think the flavours are more intense when it isn't frozen. Anyway, the flavours in this slice get better over a few days, so make sure you don't eat it all at once!

Caramel slice, baked banana custard, coconut ice, chocolate mousse, jersey caramels, date & orange muffins, raspberry bliss icecream and so much more - Wholefood Simply is a delicious guilt-free, clean-eating cookbook that will be enjoyed by all. 

You can purchase a copy of the book here. 

Check out and try heaps of Wholefood Simply recipes here. And make sure you look out for the second Wholefood Simply cookbook that will be released very soon - Wholefood Simply Mixed.

I'm off to nibble a piece of lemon slice before dinner...because it's good for me, right?!

.Chocolate Slabs.

 

Christmas time always means a bit of naughty cooking. It's the time of the year when you can cook up all sorts of yummies without feeling too guilty! 

We have a family tradition, probably one of our favourites, to cook yummy treats, package them up then drive around doing a "knock and run" on the doorsteps of friends and family. Jaron and I love it even more now that the older kids are big enough to get themselves in and out of the car and are getting super speedy and stealthy in their tactics! They are getting caught less often and get such a thrill trying to stay out of view.

Usually we cook up a few batches of things like rocky road, coconut ice, chocolate truffles and shortbread for knock and run. There is always plenty left over, I make sure that it is all packaged up in the fridge so that I'm not tempted to eat it all and it always comes in handy for times when you need a quick gift for someone or friends drop in and you want to share a treat with them.

This year I decided to do something a little different and made up a ridiculous amount of what we call "Chocolate Slabs." I guess the are similar to recipes you see around for chocolate bark but I made mine in rectangle slabs kind of like a little block of handmade chocolate.

A recipe isn't really necessary for these, if you can manage to melt chocolate then you are set! 
I had three rectangle Tupperware containers (these ones to be exact) that I used as a mould for my slabs. Make sure you line the base with baking paper, I didn't bother lining two of the sides and because the sides of the containers are a little flexible the chocolate slabs came out without any troubles. So, after melting the chocolate I covered the base of the conatainers with a thin layer (about 5mm) of chocolate then topped the melted chocolate with what ever concoction of toppings I could come up with. I put mine in the freezer to set then took them out when they were hard and re-used the containers and baking paper over and over again.
These ones were made using milk chocolate then topping with smarties, chopped clinkers and raspberry lollies that I had chopped in half. I think some lolly bananas would have been yummy in these ones too.

I also used this silicone muffin tray to make smaller, bite-sized chocolate slabs. They are really cute and looked great packaged up with the other flavours. I'm sure you could use any silicone muffin liners or ice trays though.

These ones are white chocolate with toasted coconut flakes, dried cranberries and pistachios.

I took inspiration from fruit and nut chocolate with these ones and topped milk chocolate with dried apricots, sultanas, cashews, pistachios and almonds. It is delicious and would be yummy using dark chocolate too.

To make the almonds extra yummy, I spread them on a baking tray and drizzled them with rice malt syrup and sprinkled some salt over. Then baked them in a moderate oven for 10-15 minutes stirring 3 or 4 times. I call them "sweet and salty nuts" and they are so tasty. You could also use honey or maple syrup for these.

I love rocky road and didn't want to miss out on some this Christmas so made a rocky road chocolate slab too. Milk chocolate is topped with mini marshmallows, raspberry lollies and sweet and salty almonds. Finished off with a drizzle of melted chocolate.

And finally another white chocolate slab topped with dried apricots, toasted coconut flakes and pistachios. I didn't think I would like the white chocolate versions as much as I do, they are so yum!

So, if you have still got to do a bit of Christmas cooking or are looking for something tasty and unique to give away for gifts, get cooking some chocolate slabs. They are super easy, stress-free and taste amazing!

Make sure you package them up nicely for presents, we popped ours in some flat cellophane bags, sealed with a bit of washi tape and the kids made some cardboard toppers to put on the top of them. If you haven't tried knock-and-run with your family before, go out one night after dinner and choose some friends or neighbours to do it to. It really is so much fun and your kids will love it!

I had a few more ideas for chocolate slab toppings that I haven't tried out yet...
 - chopped up peppermint crisp bars
 - red & green m&ms
 - crushed candy canes
 - chopped oreos, tim tams or mint slice biscuits
 - lolly bag (lots and lots of different mixed lollies)
 - coconut and glace cherries

If you have any other good topping ideas, I'd love to hear them. Feel free to leave them in the comments for future reference!

.Texas Sheet Cake.

Mmmm...this is the best chocolate cake ever. This is the one that we grew up on, the quick dessert when we were having people for dinner or on Sunday evening. It is moist as can be and feeds a crowd. Fuss-free to make (you don't even need to get the beaters out) and any left-overs can cut into pieces and frozen for school lunches. It is always a winner and gets gobbled up though so left-overs aren't likely.
I've tried making this one in the thermomix, but it was a flop so if you're thinking of giving it a go, try at your own risk! 

Texas Sheet Cake

225g butter
1 cup water
4 Tbs cocoa
2 cup SR flour
2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Tbs vinegar
1 tsp bicarb
1 Tbs vanilla

Place butter, water and cocoa in a saucepan. Mix over heat until melted and boiling.
Place flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, bicarb and vinegar in a small bowl and whisk well.
Mix all ingredients together in the large bowl.
Pour mixture into greased cake pan and cook in a 200 degree celsius oven for 30-40 minutes.

For the icing, I put a bit of softened butter (maybe 4 Tbs?) into a bowl then add icing sugar and cocoa and milk to make enough. Mix with a spoon and spread over cooled cake.

.Healthier snacks.

If you follow me on Instagram (make_it_perfect), I did promise awhile ago that I would share some recipes for some healthier snacks that I've been cooking lately. 

About a month ago I got all hard core and decided that I was going to quit sugar...I was awesome for about 2 weeks and then school holidays kicked in and Harvey stopped sleeping and I lost motivation. I felt great while I was doing it though and it really wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I read "I Quit Sugar" by Sarah Wilson, it is a quick, interesting and motivating read and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to make some healthier changes to their eating habits. Although her approach is extreme, even if you aren't wanting to totally get rid of sugar there are a lot of good tips to take away and make little changes for good in your diet. She uses rice malt syrup a lot as a sweetner - you can get it at health food stores or the health food section in Coles. It is a little midler in sweetness than honey but really yummy especially drizzled over some greek yoghurt.

Another recommendation is "Sweet Poison" by David Wilson. I bought his cookbook and it has a whole heap of yummy sweet recipes that are all fructose free. David is an advocate for using dextrose (a form of pure glucose) in replacement of sugar in cooking, I managed to track some down in Coles but you won't find it in the baking aisle - this stuff is used for brewing beer so look in the home brew section! In my experimenting I think that dextrose is best for cakes and muffins, not so good fro anything you want to stay nice and crisp like biscuits. Here's a picture so you know what you are looking for:

So, if you are like me and a total sugar/sweet/chocolate addict, these two books and websites are great to help get you educated and make some changes...I'm trying to get motivated to get back on track before the silly season rolls in!

When it comes to eating well, I don't have a problem with breakfast, lunch and dinner...it's the snacking in between that kills me. Particularly if I'm really hungry, I always find myself reaching for a quick sugar hit to keep me going. I'm sure that there are lots of people out there just like me, so here are a few recipes that I've been using that are much healthier than the originals and taste just as good too!

BLISS BALLS

If you do a google/pinterest search for bliss balls, you will come up with HEAPS of great recipe ideas. Basically they are made with a combination of nuts and dried fruit, plus other good things to give extra flavour.

The ones on the left are chocolate bliss balls made with:
1 cup cashews
2 Tbs raw honey or rice malt syrup
1 tsp vanilla
8 mejool dates
2 Tbs cacao or cocoa powder
2 Tbs coconut oil
Place all ingredients into the thermomix or or processer/blender and process until smooth. Roll into balls and roll in coconut. Chill and store in fridge.

The ones on the right are apple and apricot bliss balls. I didn't write down the exact measurements but I used dried apricots, dried apples, almonds, brazil nuts, coconut oil and rice malt syrup, then rolled balls in coconut.

CARAMEL POPCORN

This caramel popcorn has become one of our all-time favourites. I love that it is good for us and still just as yummy as a sugar-laden homemade caramel popcorn recipe.

1/2 cup popcorn kernels, popped
3 Tbs coconut oil
1/3 cup rice malt syrup
1/4 tsp salt
pinch baking soda

Heat coconut oil, rice malt syrup and salt in saucepan until bubbly. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until it becomes golden and a bit thick. Add baking soda and mix quickly.
Place popcorn in a large, greased baking dish. 
Pour caramel over popcorn, mix to coat.
Bake in 140 degree celsius oven for 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes.

RASPBERRY & APPLE MUFFINS

This muffin base can be used for any fruit muffins - try replacing white sugar in cakes or muffins with dextrose. It isn't as sweet as white sugar so the taste won't be exactly the same. Also, dextrose soaks up liquid in a recipe so you might have to add a bit of extra liquid to get the mixture to the usual consistency.

2 cups SR flour

1 cup dextrose

2 eggs

3/4 cup olive oil

1 cup buttermilk (or milk mixed with a Tbs vinegar)

250g frozen raspberries

1 apple, grated

Place flour and dextrose into large bowl. 

Whisk eggs, oil and buttermilk together in a sepearate bowl.

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined.

Stir thorough fruit.

Divide between 12 muffin holes and cook in moderate oven for about 20 minutes until cooked through.

The one thing that has been an absolute lifesaver, especially when I get to that 3pm slump (and could easily devour a block of chocolate if I had one around!) is green smoothies. I tried making green smoothies ages ago and they were always yucky, I can't remember what I did at the time to know why they were so gross, but I was really turned off! A friend shared some recipes and samples with us at a recent Relief Society activity and they were so good - I am hooked now and can't do without my afternoon green smoothie! They are also great if I can't be bothered cooking dinner (the kids have them with a piece of toast!) or I've been too busy to eat properly throughout the day. 

You can add pretty much anything you want to a green smoothie, the key is to blend them like crazy because if you are left with any lumpy bits from the greens it can be a real turn-off! I blend mine for 1 minute on speed 10 in the thermomix, and sometimes a little longer if it needs it.

My favourite combination is:
handful baby spinach
handful baby kale
1 orange
1 lemon
1 cup frozen mango
1 banana
coconut water (or water or almond milk)

YUM! There are heaps of recipes and ideas on this website, Simple Green Smoothies. I've played around with lots of different combinations, but I can't beat the one above.

Hopefully these recipes and ideas help you out with some healthier snack options. I'm already feeling motivated to get back on track!

.Fish dish.

Here's a favourite meal of ours. It's quick and super easy to make and (most importantly) delicious. Even the kids will eat it which pretty much makes any healthy meal a winner in our house.

First, take a couple of pieces of good quality white fish. I used pink ling here. Place a big piece of baking paper (enough to wrap around the fish a few of times) in a baking dish and put the fish in the middle. Top the fish with lots of different seasonings and sauces - this always changes for me depending on what I've got around, but usually includes ginger, garlic, parsley, dill, tumeric, salt, pepper, soy sauce and honey. Then slice up a lemon and pop that over the top.

Next, chop up heaps of veggies into thin strips. Once again, depends what I've got in the fridge but usually includes red and green capsicum, zucchini, celery, carrots, spring onions, etc.

Pile the veggies on top of your fish.

Using the baking paper, wrap everything up and fold the edges over making sure that there are no gaps in the baking paper.

 

Bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes until the fish is cooked through.

Remove from oven and serve fish and veggies with some couscous or rice. We like couscous that has been cooked in stock with some sultanas, pistachios and pepitas mixed through. Enjoy!

.Fancy some weekend cooking?.

Confetti Cookies
Recipe here


Edna's Lemon Curd Teacake
Recipe here
Thermomix recipe here

Melting Moments
Recipe here

Homemade Muesli
Recipe here

.Thermomix Cooking: Choc Peanut Granola.

 

The original recipe for this tasty granola comes from this great blog. I have changed things up a bit and modified the instructions to make the granola in the thermomix before cooking it in the oven.

The end result was less chunky oats and more crunchy clusters - my kids will often screw their noses up at whole oats, but made and cooked this way, they think this granola is a tasty snack! We haven't had it for breakfast, but it is nice to grab a small handful of when you are having a craving for chocolate during the day - fills you up, satisfies the craving, and it's good for you!

Choc Peanut Granola

 

2 apples, peeled

130g peanut butter (I used homemade peanut butter)

100g maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbs milk 

300g rolled oats

20g chia seeds

3 Tbs cacao (or cocoa) powder

Place apples in thermomix. Chop on speed 4 for 10 seconds.

Scrape apple from sides of the bowl. Cook on 100 degrees, speed 2 for 5 minutes until soft. 

Puree on speed 9 for 10 seconds.

Add peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla and milk to pureed apples. Cook on 80 degrees, speed 1 for 2 minutes.

Add rolled oats, chia seeds and cacao to wet mixture, mix together on speed 4 for 20 seconds. Mixture will be quite wet.

Spread granola onto lined baking trays.

Bake in 160 degree oven for up to 1 hour, stirring to break granola up into little clusters every 10-15 minutes.

Granola will not become hard and crunchy in the oven, it will get crunchy as it cools. To test if granola is ready, take a little bit from the tray and sit on a plate to cool. Test for crunchiness when cool and cook for longer if required.

.Thermomix Cooking: Quinoa Porridge.

I always try to have a breakfast that will keep me full up until lunch time and toast and cereals just don't cut it. CADA is still a favourite but I've had it so much that if I overdo it I get sick of it very quickly. A couple of times a week I'll have porridge made with oats for breakfast. I'm not crazy about it, but I keep eating it anyway. It does fill me up, but feels really heavy sitting in my stomach and makes me feel bloated. 

Last week I decided to give quinoa porridge a try. And I'm so glad I did because it is absolutely divine! It is delicious and a bowlful keeps me going for about 4 hours with no yuck, heavy, bloated feeling. I like to sweeten mine with rapadura sugar - maple syrup is good too. You can easily customise this porridge to suit your tastes - have it with or without yoghurt, berries, fruit and nuts. At the moment I'm enjoying a simple banana - and I usually don't eat bananas but they are really good mixed through the porridge!

 

Quinoa Porridge

85g quinoa
125g water
125g milk
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
100g milk
2 Tbs sultanas
sweetner of choice (maple syrup, honey, sugar)
fruit/nuts/yoghurt to serve

Before cooking quinoa, you need to wash and rinse it REALLY well to get rid of the naturally-occuring insect repellant the plant produces which causes a bitter taste. Some people like to soak their quinoa for an hour or so first, but I am never that organised so just rinse it through a fine sieve a few times.
Place quinoa, 125g water, 125g milk, vanilla and salt into thermomix. Cook for 15 minutes on 90 degrees, reverse, speed 1.
Add 100g milk and sultanas. Cook for 10 minutes on 100 degrees, reverse, speed 1.
Leave porridge for 5-10 minutes to soak up extra liquid.
Spoon into bowls and add sweetener of choice. Garnish with what ever fruit, yoghurt or nuts you like! 
This recipe makes enough for two serves. I put the second serve in the fridge and re-heat it to eat the next morning.

.Fancy some weekend cooking?.

Nanna Cooper's Kiss Biscuits
Recipe here

Smartie Cookies

Recipe here

Chocolate & White Chocolate Muffins
Recipe here

Happy Cooking!

.Triple Chocolate Browine Mousse Cake.

This time of the year is a busy time for birthdays in our family. We celebrated Jaron's 34th and Nancy's 1st birthdays last Sunday. On order for Jaron's birthday cake was a Triple Chocolate Brownie Mousse Cake (original recipe found here.)

This cake is delish but so very rich. It easily serves more than 10 people. Next time I make it, I think I will halve the brownie base quantity and add more chocolate mousse. It was good how it turned out, but there is always room for improvement!

Triple Chocolate Brownie Mousse Cake

 200g block milk chocolate, chopped
190g butter, cut into cubes
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup plain flour
1 Tbs cocoa
3 eggs, lightly beaten
100g white chocolate chips
200g block dark chocolate, chopped
2 Tbs boiling water
2 tsp powdered gelatine
600ml thickened cream
1/3 cup sugar
3 egg yolks

Place milk chocolate and 160g butter in a glass heatproof bowl. Place over a saucepan of simmering water. Cook, stirring occasionally with a metal spoon for 2-3 minutes or until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius. Grease a 6cm deep, 23cm round springform cake pan. Line base with baking paper.
Combine brown sugar, flour and cooca in a bowl. Stir in egg and cooled melted chocolate mixture until combined. Fold in white chocolate chips. Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked. Cool completely in pan.
Place dark chocolate and remaining 30g butter in a glass heatproof bowl. Place over a saucepan of simmering water. Cook, stirring occasionally with a metal spoon, for 2-3 minutes or until melted and smooth. Cool slightly.
Place boiling water in a small bowl. Sprinkle over gelatine. Whisk with a fork until gelatine has dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly. Add gelatine mixture to chocolate mixture. Stir until well combined.
Using an electric mixer, beat cream and sugar until soft peaks form. Add egg yolks. Beat to combine. Add chocolate mixture. Beat until just combined. 
Spoon mousse mixture over cold brownie. Smooth top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or until set.
Top with fresh and chocolate-coated raspberries before serving.

(To make chocolate-coated raspberries, simply dip frozen raspberries into melted dark chocolate. Place on baking paper lined tray and refrigerate until needed.)

We sadly missed Nancy's formal birthday celebrations because we were on a little family getaway, so I made some cupcakes so that the kids got to sing to her anyway. After a tip from my cupcake queen making friend, this is my go-to cupcake recipe now. It always works and the cupcakes are fresh for a couple of days after making them. I've never bothered with the swirl and usually just make them vanilla flavoured though.

And here's the cutest little one year old ever ready to devour her (third) birthday cake!