Author: Kayla

10 of The Best Healthy Lunchbox Tips

So, you have come a long way, and there is hardly any packets in the lunchbox anymore. Lunch consists of: sandwich, apple, banana, yoghurt and a biscuit and muesli bar. Sounds ok huh?

What if I told you that there could be up to TEN hidden teaspoons of added sugar in this lunchbox? The recommended daily intake of added sugars from the World Health Organisation (WHO) is 4 teaspoons for a 5 year old (and a maximum of 8) this has just blown the sugar intake through the roof in just one meal! Let me explain; Fresh and fruity fruit yoghurt: just over 4 tsp sugar*. 2 superwine biscuits: 1 tsp. Muesli bar: around 3 tsp on average depending on the bar. Jam or honey in a sandwich: 1-2 tsp And just like that you have 8-10 tsp of added sugar all packaged up nicely in a healthy looking school lunch. Marmite and even some peanut butters have added sugar in them, it’s everywhere and unfortunately we have to become detectives to scope this out!

So what could you do about this? The trick is not to change everything at once, not only would that be hard work for you, your kids would probably be feeling pretty overwhelmed too if their lunchbox suddenly changed overnight. Make the changes small, easy for you to manage and sustainable – something you can do, and stick to, so you don’t look back. Some small, simple tips (choose one):

  • Replace the sandwich filling to something like ham, salami, egg or cheese Spreads: We slowly got rid of things like marmite and jam from the house, so they are not even an option.
  • Next time you run out of jam or Nutella, don’t replace it. We make homemade jam by blending up berries and adding some chia seeds and a tiny bit of honey.
  • Read the labels, make sure you get a peanut butter with no added sugar.
  • Try using plain Greek yoghurt instead of flavoured and add some fresh fruit to it, berries are perfect for that, fresh in summer, or frozen in winter. Even stirring a teaspoon of honey through plain yoghurt will have nothing on the sugar content of a brought flavoured pottle, you could try this with the intention to reduce it completely after a few weeks. For dairy free options, flavoured coconut yoghurt, does tend to have a little less sugar than some other dairy brands, but still check the label and try and choose the least sugar.

The lunchbox I described is one of the better lunches I’ve seen in the classroom, but just because it’s what everyone is packing, does it make it ok? (I’ll leave that to you to decide). There is no protien, fat or vegetables in this lunchbox – some ideal forms of fuel for little bodies to learn and grow. I will share my tips on how to add these in, in the coming weeks.

If you need a hand getting lunchboxes sorted I have created a Lunchbox Planner resource that comes with 70+ healthy, real food, minimal prep or fuss food ideas and 12 healthy lunchbox recipes. You can check it out here.

Come Back next week for tip #2 🙂

*one teaspoon of sugar is about 4 grams.

My kids lick the bowl has a fantastic blog post which shows how much sugar is in everyday items and how it correlates to WHO’s recommended daily intake. It’s been expertly calculated and put into easy to read visuals! I used this to help me with my lunchbox example. I highly recommend checking it out!

Kayla

20 fun and delicious recipes you can make with your kids

In New Zealand right now, we are entering our 5th week of Lockdown due to COVID19. This means that the kids have been off school, kindy and daycare for over 4 weeks, and many parents are finding themselves homeschooling, as well as working from home during the day as well. I homeschool Ashton anyway, so that part is no different for us. However we are used to having free access to the library, museum and pools to fill our days, along with meet ups with friends and trips to beaches and parks! Not only have we had to adapt to life without these, but two mornings a week, Ashton and I usually spend some 1:1 time, while my 2 and 4 year olds go to daycare. Now the lot of us get to spend 24/7 together, while Chef Ashton Dad works extra hours, and unusual shifts, as an ‘essential worker’.

I’m hearing from lots of parents who are struggling with getting their kids motivated to complete set classroom work, being sent electronically by schools and teachers. I don’t blame the kids, some days I don’t feel motivated to do anything much after being stuck in house for over a month. I also don’t feel motivated to do a whole lot in the kitchen that might get destroyed by my little helpers, or forgotten about due to 486 demands that take place every minute they are awake.

Thankfully I have somewhat of a solution to both problems, a collection of recipes that are quick, easy and suitable for the kids to help with. I can confirm all these recipes have been tested for toddler, preschooler and snarky school kids approval, and functionality. They stand to still come out as intended, even with the messiest mixers and germiest fingers. It keeps them busy, and we are filling our fridge and cupboards with snacks and food. Which the demands for, seem to be never-ending! The other bonus is that as a trained teacher, I can wholeheartedly confirm that cooking, food prep and baking with the kids counts as science, maths, literacy and health education! There are so many valuable learning opportunities to have the kids help in the kitchen, so don’t feel bad if they are struggle with motivation for worksheets or projects, if you are busy spending time baking, playing board games and exploring the world (read house, and backyard haha) together.

Choc Almond Cranberry Bliss Balls
Easy Easter Chocolate
Real Food Jelly Lollies
Hot Cross Buns – Gluten, dairy, egg, grain free
Easy Waffle Hashbrowns
Waffles – Free from gluten, dairy, egg, nuts
Chocolate Avocado Mousse
Gluten, dairy and egg free vanilla cake
Hummus
Super Simple Muffins
Meatballs – 4 ways
Mac and Cheese – Gluten free, dairy free, soy free, yeast free, egg free, nut free
Quicker than take-aways Thai curry
Double Chocolate Caramel Slice
Seed Crackers
Chocolate cake – real food and top 8 free!
Crispy Chicken Burgers
ANZAC Biscuits
The Most delicious ANZAC biscuits. Gluten, dairy, oats, soy, egg, nut and coconut free.
Apple Crumble Slice
This apple crumble slice is tangy and delicious and can be made free from gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, nuts and coconut

Kayla

Healthier ANZAC Biscuits

These are the ANAZC biscuits for you if you are avoiding just gluten or dairy, or maybe nothing at all but just want a healthier Anzac biscuit option. If you are avoiding a bunch of stuff commonly found in Anzac biscuits (like butter, oats and coconut) then this recipe here for everything free Anzac biscuits is what you are looking for. They are also every bit as delicious as these ones.

Print Recipe

Healthier Anzac biscuits

The Most delicious ANZAC biscuits. Gluten, wheat, soy, egg, and nut free with a dairy free option
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time12 mins
Servings: 12 Biscuits

Ingredients

  • 70 g Butter (you can sub coconut oil for dairy free)
  • ¼ cup Honey
  • ½ tsp Baking soda
  • ¼ cup Coconut sugar (Or you could use, any sugar, more honey, maple syrup, agave, date syrup)
  • ½ cup Gluten free or buckwheat flour
  • 1 cup Rolled oats (we use quick cook oats, for gluten free – use gluten free oats if availbale, and tolerated, or quinoa flakes)
  • ½ cup Ground sunflower and / or pumpkin seeds OR almond meal if it doesn’t need to be nut free
  • ½ cup dessiccated coconut

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 190 deg (fan bake).
  • Melt the butter and honey in small pot. Stir togther. Add the baking soda and watch the magic happen! It will puff and rise. Stir for a minute while it reacts.
  • Combine with the rest of the ingredients and gently mix everything together.
  • The mix should feel sticky but hold together when you scoop with a spoon.
  • With wet hands gently shape into approx 12 balls and place them on a lined & greased baking tray. Flatten slightly with a fork, they may spread when baked.
  • Make sure the oven is well preheated before putting the biscuits in, as this helped to reduce any drastic spreading! Cook for 10 – 15 minutes or until they start to turn golden – keep a close eye on them – they can burn quickly! Take them out and let cool on the tray and then a baking rack for as long as you can torture yourself with them, then store in an airtight container if you don’t eat them all at once!

Kayla

Apple Crumble Slice | Gluten Free, Healthy

This Apple crumble slice is super versatile. It’s free from the top allergens, plus coconut. Can be made with any fruit. And you can also layer the fruit on the bottom of an oven proof dish, and crumble the whole mix over the top to make fruit crumble! I actually find we only need half of the mix for fruit crumble, and the other half freezes great, and can be used to make another fruit crumble later on.

This recipe is healthy enough for everyday, (or breakfast even!) and lunchboxes, if you are wanting to make an extra sweet treat, or you are serving people used to sweet baking, then you can use 3/4 cup of sweetener instead of 1/2.

Make it grain free / Paleo

You can make this recipe paleo by substituting the oats, seeds and flour for almond meal – so 2 cups almond meal + 1 cup tapioca. Or 1 cup ground seeds, 3/4 cup almond meal and 3/4 cup tapioca.

Which sweetener?

The sweetener is fairly flexible, this recipe is designed for a liquid sweetener such as honey, maple, brown rice syrup etc. If you use a granulated sweetener such as coconut sugar, then you will need to add approximately 1/4 cup water to ensure the current texture. It only just comes together, so you denote want it too wet.

Print Recipe

Apple Crumble Slice

This apple crumble slice is tangy and delicious and can be made free from gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, nuts and coconut
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Course: Breakfast, Snack, treats

Ingredients

  • ½ cup oil (olive oil, coconut oil and butter all work)
  • ½ cup sweetener e.g maple syrup, honey or coconut sugar
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp baking soda + 1 tsp vinegar (OR 2 tsp baking powder)
  • 1 cup mixed seeds or almond meal
  • 1 ½ cup flour rice flour, buckwheat, spelt or gluten free blend all work fine
  • ½ cup rolled oats or quinoa flakes

Apple Filling

  • 4 apples You can use any other fruit
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 Tbsp sweetener optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°c fanbake.
  • Peel and core the apples. Dice them and add to a pot with ¼ cup water, cinnamon and sweetener if you are using.
  • Cook over medium heat with the lid on for about 10 minutes, then when apples are softened, take the lid off and allow any liquid to evaporate, before setting the cooked apples aside.
  • If using seeds, grind them in your blender or food proccessor to form a flour. Place all the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix everything together. If it seems a bit dry and crumbly, add 1 Tbsp of water at a time, until it holds together nicely, when pressed.
  • Line a square slice tin with baking paper, and grease it.
  • Place half of the mixture on the tray and press down to spread out and form the base of the slice.
  • Spread the apples (now hopefully slightly cooled) on top of the base.
  • Take the remaining mixture and crumble it with your fingers on top of the stewed apples or fruit.
  • Cook in middle or lower rack in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden and the slice has risen.
  • Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin (you can put the whole tin in the fridge or freezer to help speed it up!) before removing and slicing. Store in the fridge or freezer.

Kayla

ANZAC Biscuits

Print Recipe

Allergy Friendly Anzac biscuits

The Most delicious ANZAC biscuits. Gluten, dairy, oats, soy, egg, nut and coconut free.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Course: biscuits, Snack, treats
Keyword: ANZAC, baking, biscuit, biscuits, coconut free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, nut free, soy free, treats
Servings: 12 Biscuits

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Oil (you can sub coconut oil if coconut is ok)
  • ¼ cup Honey
  • ½ tsp Baking soda
  • ¼ cup Coconut sugar or other granulated sugar (for RSF you could use more honey, maple syrup, agave, date syrup)
  • ½ cup Gluten free or buckwheat flour
  • 1 cup Quinoa flakes (or oats, if oats are ok)
  • ½ cup Ground sunflower and / or pumpkin seeds OR almond meal if it doesn’t need to be nut free
  • ¼ cup sesame seeds (these make a nice sub for the coconut)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180 deg (fan bake)
  • Melt the honey and oil in small pot. Stir togther. Add the baking soda and watch the magic happen! It will puff and rise. Stir for a minute while it reacts.
  • Combine with the rest of the ingredients and gently mix everything together.
  • The mix should feel sticky but hold together when you press into a ball.
  • With wet hands gently shape into approx 12 balls and place them on a lined & greased baking tray. Flatten with a fork.
  • Cook for 10 – 15 minutes or until they start to turn golden – keep a close eye on them – they can burn quickly! Take them out and let cool on the tray and then a baking rack for as long as you can torture yourself with them, then store in an airtight container if you don’t eat them all at once!

Kayla

Gluten, dairy and grain free Hot Cross Buns

I don’t like to take up too much of your time, or make you scroll 500 miles to get to my recipe. So in keeping it as simple as possible, these are pretty much what they say – gluten, dairy, soy and grain free hot cross buns. You could probably make them nut free too, if you needed, using sunflower flour, which I have added notes about below.

I must add, these hot cross buns, are quite ‘muffiny’ and I have found that in fact if you are after that slightly chewy, more bready texture, that lends itself to hot cross buns, then my egg and coconut free version, hits the spot for that. Which is surprising, given the ‘allergy friendlyness’ of it, which often takes us further away from the real thing, not closer! It turns out that over the last two years of being gluten, dairy, soy, egg and coconut free, I have become quite accustomed to creating some delicious, allergy friendly food. And even though we are now able to have eggs and coconut again, I hope to still include these options in all my recipes for you. Let me know if you have any questions, I now have a messenger feature on the website to make that easier for you, hooray!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups almond meal*
  • 1/2 cup tapioca
  • 1/3 cup coconut flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon 
  • 1 tsp of each ginger, cloves and nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup honey or other sweetener
  • 2/3 cup coconut oil
  • 3 eggs 
  • 1/3 cup dried apricots, diced (we use Ceres Organics preservative free)
  • 1/3 cup dried Cranberries (we use Ceres Organics, refined sugar free)

The Crosses:

  • 1/8 cup almond meal
  • 1/8 cup tapioca
  • A tiny dash of sweetner
  • 1 tsp of water at a time

*If you are nut free you can substitute the almond meal with sunflower meal (either homemade by blitzing sunflower seeds in a blender or food processor until they are a flour, or store brought). If you cannot have nuts or seeds, you can make hot cross bun flavoured muffins using this recipe, and adding in the above spices.

What to do

Preheat the oven to 180°c fan bake

Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl together.

Melt the coconut oil and add to a seperate bowl, with the honey, and eggs. Whisk them all together, then mix into the dry ingredients. Leave everything to sit on the bench for ten minutes. Put it into the fridge if you are in a hot climate. This gives a chance for the liquids to absorb a little and the coconut oil to firm up which will help you scoop and roll the mix into balls.

Line a square slice baking pan with greased baking paper. Once the mixture has sit for 10 minutes, scoop out large tablespoon sized portions. Grease your hands, then very gently form into balls and place them, just touching in the baking pan. This should yield 12 of the same size buns. If you don’t want to muck around with this, they will cook nicely in a well greased silicon muffin pan.

The Crosses:

Combine the almond meal and tapioca, and a dash of sweetener in a bowl, add the water 1 tsp at a time, until it is a thick, but pipeable consistency. Add the mix into the end of a piping bag, with the smallest nozzle. Or into a glad bag, and just cut a very small snip off the corner. Pipe the mix over your buns to make the crosses.

Bake for 20 minutes. The buns should be starting to turn golden on top. The ones around the edges will be well cooked, but check the buns in the middle, they might need an extra few minutes. I have found that when they are just a little softer to touch, they continue to cook after I take them out of the oven and when left to sit for a while, end up cooked through.

Remove the whole baking paper with buns still on top, to a wire rack to cool. Don’t worry about removing the paper from underneath until they are cooled properly.

Enjoy as is, or cut in half and spread with dairy free spread, or butter if you can have it.

Kayla

Hot Cross Buns – Gluten, dairy, egg, grain free

These Hot cross buns are all the spiced, warm bready delight I could have hoped for in a gluten, dairy, soy, egg, nut and coconut free bun. The secret is in the psyllium husk, which helps to give it that springy bread feel. For some reason I only developed the recipe to make 4 buns because I honestly thought, when I could make a version with other stuff in it, why would anyone need to share my everything free buns. But it turns out my family love this version the best, and even myself, who can now have eggs and coconut, actually enjoy this recipe the most. So from now on I’m going to be making a double batch, every time. Below, I will include the double batch measurements for you, in case you would like to come back and do the same! Happy hot cross bun making, i’d love to know what you think of these, and as always happy to answer any questions. If you would like to check out the gluten, dairy and grain free version you can find that here.

Print Recipe
4.5 from 2 votes

Gluten, dairy, soy, egg, grain free hot cross buns

Gluten, dairy, soy, egg, coconut and grain free hot cross buns. Options to make nut free as well. These give a pleasingly bready texture with the perfect amount of fruit and spice to satisfy all your hot cross bun cravings.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Course: Breakfast, celebration, easter, Snack, treats
Servings: 4 Buns

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Almond meal or sunflower flour for nut free (Make your own by blending sunflower seeds to a fine flour)
  • 2 Tbsp psyllium husk 
  • ½ cup tapioca flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder  (for grain free use 1/2 tsp baking soda)
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp each ginger, nutmeg and cloves
  • ½ cup almond milk (or rice milk, hemp milk for nut free)
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp sweetener 
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 
  • ¼ cup dried apricots (chopped)
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries 

The Cross

  • â…› cup almond meal or sunflower flour
  • â…› cup tapioca flour
  • 1 tsp of water at a time

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180°c fanbake.
  • Put all the ingredients in a bowl together and mix.
  • Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes so the psyllium husk can do its thing, and soak up the liquid.
  • Divide the mixture into 4 (or 8 if you have doubled the mix) You should now be able to gently shape the buns with greased hands, into balls, then flatten them slightly. They can be rustic, if you handle the dough for too long it will start to stick.
  • For the crosses:
    Combine the almond meal and tapioca in a bowl, add the water 1 tsp at a time, until it is a thick, but pipeable consistency. Add the mix into the end of a piping bag, with the smallest nozzle. Or into a glad bag, and just cut a very small snip off the corner. Pipe the mix over your buns to make the crosses.
  • Line a square baking pan with greased baking paper. Place the buns touching one another in the middle of the pan. ( if you have doubled the mix they will take up most of the pan)
  • Cook for 20 minutes (or 35 minutes if you have doubled the mix).
  • The buns should be starting to turn golden on top. The ones around the edges will be well cooked, but check the buns in the middle, they might need an extra few minutes. I have found that when they are just a little softer to touch, they continue to cook after I take them out of the oven and when left to sit for a while, end up cooked through.
  • Remove the whole baking paper with buns still on top, to a wire rack to cool. Don't worry about removing the paper from underneath until they are cooled properly. You can eat them warm, but give them 20 minutes to cool down a little first.
  • Enjoy cut in half and spread with dairy free spread. Or toast them first in the oven before spreading.

Double The Buns:

If you would like the double the mix, I have made it easy for you here. Follow the instructions as above.

  • 2 cup Almond meal or sunflower flour for nut free (Make your own by blending sunflower seeds to a fine flour)
  • 4 Tbsp psyllium husk 
  • 1 cup tapioca flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder  (for grain free use 1/2 tsp baking soda)
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp each ginger, nutmeg and cloves
  • 1 cup almond milk (or rice milk, hemp milk for nut free)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp sweetener 
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar 
  • 1/3 cup dried apricots (chopped)
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries 

Kayla4 Comments

Strawberry Mousse Cake | Allergy Friendly

This year, I decided that I needed a new Christmas dessert recipe. Something light, and fresh, and of course something allergy friendly that I could share with guests who thought it was as equally delicious as we did! The texture of this Strawberry Mousse cake is like light fluffy mousse, ice cream and marshmallow, all rolled into one.

There are options for a vegan version, and an egg free version below. I hope you enjoy it as much a we did! If you have any special requirements, please sing out and I can help you out with what you need!

There is also a nut free base recipe at the bottom of the recipe.

I have also successfully halved the sugar in this recipe, and it was still delicious and what I’d consider a fairly low sugar dessert, with the reduced amount. But being Christmas, and serving other people who are used to sweet desserts, I have used 1 cup when serving to our guests.

You might also be interested in this mousse tart which is dairy, soy, egg, gluten and nut free, but contains coconut. And if you are browsing other Christmas dessert ideas, you can find my celebration recipes here.

Print Recipe

Strawberry Delight Mousse Cake

Prep Time20 mins
Time to Set6 hrs
Total Time6 hrs 20 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Gluten free
Keyword: allergy friendly, coconut free, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, paleo, soy free

Ingredients

  • 2 egg whites
  • 250 g punnet of strawberries
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup maple syrup, or honey you can also use a finely granulated sugar
  • Optional: 1 tsp beetroot powder for colour

Base

  • 1 cup almond meal or whole almonds
  • ½ cup nuts
  • 1 cup dates
  • ¼ cup cocoa butter or coconut oil
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

The Base:

  • Line a spring form cake tin with baking paper on the bottom (you can also do the sides if you wish, but I only do the bottom). My tin is 18cm diameter.
  • To make the base, put the whole nuts in the food processor or blender and blend until broken up into crumbs. Add the dates, almond meal if you are using, melted cocoa butter or coconut oil and vanilla, Blend until well combined and turn out into your lined tin. Press down to cover the base of your cake tin evenly. Set aside while you make the top.

The Topping

  • *Cut the tops off the strawberries and place into a blender or food processor. Blend well until they are all broken down. You can just dice them and put them in the bowl with the rest of the ingredients instead, and the beater will break them up, but I prefer them blended first.
  • Combine all of the other ingredients in a large bowl along with your blended strawberries. Use an electric egg beater or stand mixer to whip everything for about 5 – 10 minutes until you get stiff peaks. That is when you pull the beater up from the mix, a peak forms that stands upright and stays there without folding over too much.
  • Pour the mix over the top of your base and put into the freezer for 3-4 hours. You can also make ahead and keep this in the freezer until needed. Its best served and eaten frozen and will melt quickly in the heat.
  • Bring it to room temperature for 10 minutes before gently opening the springform tin to release the cake. Either plate and serve, or pop back into the freezer until needed.

Notes

*The mousse topping is very delicate and fragile. If you need to transport it, adding some gelatin at the stage of beating the eggs can help make it a bit sturdier for travel and prolong its structure against the heat. 
Bloom 1 tablespoon gelatin in 2 tablespoons cold water, heat gently until melted and add to the egg whites / strawberries and whip as per instructions. You must make sure the gelatin is properly dissolved and heated first. 
Print Recipe

Strawberry marshmallow delight Cake

Egg free, but not vegan Ive renamed this version Strawberry Marshmallow delight, as its more marshmallowy than the other two versions which are more like a mousse / ice cream. To be honest, I think this version is my favourite!
Prep Time30 mins
Chill time4 hrs
Total Time4 hrs 30 mins
Course: Dessert
Keyword: cheesecake, chocolate avocado mousse, coconut free, dairy free, dessert, egg free, gluten free, paleo, refined sugar free, strawberry

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup gelatin
  • 1 cup maple syrup or honey
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 250 g punnet of strawberries

Base

  • 1 cup 1 cup almond meal or whole almonds
  • ½ cup nuts
  • ¼ cup cocoa butter or coconut oil
  • 1 Tablespoon  vanilla extract

Instructions

Base

  • Line a spring form cake tin with baking paper on the bottom (you can also do the sides if you wish, but I only do the bottom). My tin is 18cm diameter.
  • To make the base, put the whole nuts in the food processor or blender and blend until broken up into crumbs. Add the dates, almond meal if you are using, melted cocoa butter or coconut oil and vanilla, Blend until well combined and turn out into your lined tin. Press down to cover the base of your cake tin evenly. Set aside while you make the top.

Filling

  • Combine the gelatine with the water in a saucepan, and heat gently until the gelatin is melted.
  • Cut the tops off the strawberries and place into a blender or food processor. Blend well until they are all broken down.
  • Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl along with your blended strawberries. Use an electric egg beater or stand mixer to whip everything for about 10 – 20 minutes (if you use a hand held egg beater, beg, bribe or pay someone to hold the beater, or ask them to clean the kitchen around you while you are stuck holding the beater!) After 15 – 20 minutes the mixture should double in size and begin to look glossy and thick, and that’s how you know it’s done. In my experience it takes bloody ages … put that Kitchen Aid on your xmas wish list pronto! Once it’s done you need to work quickly because marshmallow can seize quickly and without notice and you don’t want that to happen*.
  • Pour it over your base and set in the fridge for a couple hours. It can be frozen and thawed before serving too.
  • Gently open the springform tin to release the cake. Carefully peel away the baking paper from the sides. Either plate and serve, or pop back into the fridge or freezer until needed.

Notes

*If it does seize, or set before you’ve poured it, a very gentle heat (i’m talking like 5 seconds in microwave) can melt it back for pouring. But you really want to avoid that as you will lose some of its beautiful light fluffiness.
Print Recipe

Strawberry Delight Mouse cake – Vegan

Prep Time30 mins
Chill Time4 hrs
Total Time4 hrs 30 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: vegan
Keyword: allergy friendly, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, soy free, strawberries

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup chickpea brine the brine in the can of chickpeas! Also known as aquafaba
  • 1 cup fine sugar*
  • 250 g punnet of strawberries
  • â…› teaspoon cream of tatar
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons freeze dried strawberry or raspberry powder Optional, but highly recommended

Base

  • 1 cup Almond meal or whole almonds
  • ½ cup nuts
  • ¼ cup cocoa butter or coconut oil
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

The Base

  • Line a spring form cake tin with baking paper on the bottom (you can also do the sides if you wish, but I only do the bottom). My tin is 18cm diameter.
  • To make the base, put the whole nuts in the food processor or blender and blend until broken up into crumbs. Add the dates, almond meal if you are using, melted cocoa butter or coconut oil and vanilla, Blend until well combined and turn out into your lined tin. Press down to cover the base of your cake tin evenly. Set aside while you make the top.

The Filling

  • Cut the tops off the strawberries and place into a blender or food processor. Blend well until they are all broken down. You can just dice them and place them in the bowl with the rest of the ingredients instead, and the beater will break them up, but I prefer them blended first.
  • Mix all of the other ingredients in a large bowl along with your blended strawberries. Use an electric egg beater or stand mixer to whip everything for about 10 minutes, until you get soft peaks. (That is when you pull the beater up from the mix, a peak forms that stands upright then folds over). They will be more soft than the egg version as aquafaba doesn’t hold up quite as well.
  • Pour the mix over the top of your base and put into the freezer for 3-4 hours. You can also make ahead and keep this in the freezer until needed. Its best served and eaten frozen and will melt quickly in the heat.
  • Gently open the springform tin to release the cake. Carefully peel away the baking paper from the sides. Either plate and serve, or pop back into the freezer until needed.

Notes

*icing sugar, castor sugar, or you can run coconut sugar through a blender or food processor to a fine powder, and use that. You can also absolutely use maple syrup, but aquafaba is a temperamental wee thing and does prefer the bulk of granulated sugar, it means your end result holds up a bit better.

Nut free base

1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup dates
1/4 cup cocoa butter or coconut oil
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

To make the base, put the seeds in the food processor or blender and blend until broken up into crumbs. Add the dates, melted cocoa butter or coconut oil and vanilla, Blend until well combined and turn out into your lined tin. Press down to cover the base of your cake tin evenly. Set aside while you make the top.

Kayla5 Comments

5 quick gluten, dairy and egg free weeknight meals

Here are 5 easy, and healthy weeknight dinners, that are free from dairy, gluten and eggs, most can also be free from nuts as well. The bonus about most of these is that you can very easily double the portion and have a meal that lasts two nights, or another full family meal for the freezer. They all freeze well and are generous sized portions that easily feed my family of 5. They are picky-eater-friendly with lots of hidden veggies. 

This is a family favourite, free from dairy, gluten, soy and also has options for egg free. Its quick and easy to throw together on a busy night. Who said creamy pasta was a thing of the past!
If you are after a meat free meal, then you could try this Veggie Nacho recipe instead. This is naturally free from dairy, gluten, soy, eggs, nuts, and coconut. Is packed with veggies that no one will notice, and lends itself well to batch cooking to put some in the freezer.
This Recipe has 8 hidden veggies in it, and is free from gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts and coconut. The veggies come together to make the beautifully textured and richly spiced butter chicken sauce, with cauliflower lending its creamy texture to balance everything perfectly.
This recipe is a firm favourite with everyone who has tried it. Free from dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, nuts and coconut, and also nutritional yeast, which you find in most dairy free ‘cheese’ recipes. This is easy to throw together and my buddy eater’s plates are always licked clean.
Perfect for quick Friday night fake-aways! Actually quicker than ordering out! If you need a coconut free curry, then try this Beef Curry here instead – you can put it in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to dinner made on Friday night.

Kayla

Creamy chicken, bacon & mushroom spaghetti

 

You Need

1 250g dried spaghetti pasta – I use Ceres organics quinoa + rice spaghetti*

2 cloves garlic 

4-5 rashers of bacon 

400g chicken sliced 

200g mushrooms, sliced

Seasonal greens – I used asparagus and spinach, could also use broccoli, kale, zucchini, whatever you have. 

Sauce 

1 cup chicken broth or stock

1 clove garlic 

1/2 cup macadamia nuts (could also use cashews) nut free – see below*

2 tsp tapioca flour OR 2 egg yolks 

salt + pepper to taste. 

What to do

Cover the nuts in boiling water and leave to sit. 

Cook the spaghetti as per packet instructions. 

Sauté the chicken, bacon + garlic in some olive oil, then add the veggies and sauté until cooked through. 

Drain the water from the nuts and add to a blender with all the other sauce ingredients. Blend high speed until smooth. 

Drain the spaghetti and add to the chicken bacon and veg. Pour the sauce in and cook over low heat until  everything is combined and sauce has thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

*grain free – you could make zucchini noodles 

*Nut free – you could try replace the nuts with 1 cup steamed cauliflower + 2 T olive oil and either some nutritional yeast or 1 tsp garlic powder and a squeeze of lemon juice. Or you could use the sauce recipe from my everything free Mac + cheese 

Let me know if this doesn’t fit your requirements, and as always, i’ll see what I can suggest for you 🙂 

Kayla