This week

I have been enjoying my new green smoothie-breakfast routine

 

 

I love starting my day with a boost of chlorophyll and alkaline loaded foods and my current fave is spinach, kale, celery and some variety of fruit (berries, pear or apple) and a little fresh ginger. Sadly I have been using my Kenwood blender as my Vitamix broke after just THREE uses (I know!). Fortunately a new one has arrived today and sometimes we just need to accept that not everything works perfectly first time round, fingers crossed we have better luck this time round.

 



 

The kids have been enjoying making their smoothies and all I need to do now is to figure out how to change the colour of spinach and kale (there goes the chorolphyll!) so it can be added to their smoothies, fat chance I reckon!

 

 

We have enjoyed lazy mornings in pj's, no time pressures, no routine and its been bliss. There's been an obsession of walking  around in Mum's heels and wanting to put make-up on whilst listening to ' Let it go' (can I blame Frozen here?!), I promise it has nothing to do with me in my usual attire of heals and a pinny (oh he can but dream on!).

 

 

 

 

I have been glaring at this pile of books in the kitchen that I need to sort through, but its been glaring back all week and I suspect the trend might continue a little longer. Do you have this book cluttering tendency around your kitchen? We have them scattered around all over, but somehow it all blends in, this pile however (a result of book overflow in other areas) is now blocking the door, so it really is time to sort it out. Maybe next week...

 

 

 

Oh yes spot that The Great British Sewing Bee book there, it's so exciting that it is back on our screens and I can't wait for it to start 'unravelling'.

 

There has been lots of drawing and making

 

  

reading and baking

  

 

 

and even a little more 'raw' experimenting

 

We had our first trip to the garden centre for this year and for once the owner roped the kids in to do some chores, whilst I could leisurely peruse the packets of seeds. How is it that the kids are so happy to do 'jobs' for other people yet all I need to do is mention the j-word to send them running in the opposite direction?!

 

 

I enjoyed an evening sorting through seeds and making plans. I'm a girl who likes a good plan and these sorts are the best!

 

 

 

We have enjoyed some glorious and sunny days, mornings mostly with rainy afternoons

 

 

 

 

but it was not all grey, this gorgeous original painting was my latest find at the charity shop, I must say I chuffed to bits!! 

 

and last but not least I have been enjoying these gorgeous Protea and fynbos all the way from SA courtesy of my special man!

 



 

I hope you have enjoyed your week/half term, sadly there has been no time for crafting, but that will all change next week when these little monsters return to school. There's a little DIY on the cards for the weekend, but more on that another time.

 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

 

Warm Wishes

Hannapat

xoxo

 

 

 

 



Healthy Fruit, Nut and Oat Bar - a recipe

Today I want to share a fabulous recipe that I experimented with this week. I was hoping to do a great big post all about sugar, but it seems that I lost my tussle with time, so it will have to wait for now.

As some of my regular readers will know my current fad is reducing the amount of sugar we consume in our diets and this little experiment is nothing short of a really healthy alternative for a snack that is not only filled with good nutrients, but also pretty low of sugar, especially fructose. I know what you're thinking right now, but surely fructose is good for us!! The answer is yes it can be if taken in the right form, but if I am honest I think that generally speaking we are all pretty ill informed about this subject matter. Unfortunately I don't have time to go into any detail tonight, but I promise to shed a little more light on this subject during the next couple of weeks, but for now here is the recipe for anyone interested. I promise you won't be disappointed.

 

 



 

Healthy Fruit, Nut and Oat Bar

Ingredients

1 cup organic puffed rice (no sugar added!)

1 cup gluten free oats

1/2 cup shredded Coconut

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 brazil nuts

1/2 pumpkin seeds

1 cup dates (I use madjool dates)

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup nut butter

2-3 tbsp. Rice Malt Syrup

 

Method

 

I use a general cup measurement, so there is no need to be concerned about the differences that comes with some interpretation of cup measurements.

 

Simply measure out all your dry ingredients and process them all together in your food processor. I prefer a fairly processed mixture, but this is really up to your own preferences. I want the kids to eat it, so I don't really want big chunky pieces of nuts and dates peeping through. Then add your dates, as mentioned I used madjool as they tend to be a little softer, but if yours is hard, you can always soak it for up to an hour before you want to make this. Whilst it is processing, melt the coconut oil using a double boiler method, therefore just putting the oil in a bowl hovering over simmering hot water. You loose a fair amount of the nutrients if you melt it directly, so use this method instead. For the nut butter, I use this nut butter which is a blend of peanuts, cashews and hazelnuts, but you can just use peanut butter or any nut butter of your choice, or you can simply make your own if your food processor has the capacity to do it. Add the nut butter to the oil mixture and then add your rice malt syrup. I specifically chose rice malt syrup as it is fructose free. It has the consistency of honey and taste a little like a mild golden syrup with a hint of malt, but it works a dream.

 

Rice malt syrup is made through cultivating organic brown rice with enzymes in order to break down the starches and then cooking it until it becomes a syrup consistency. It therefore contains carbohydrate, maltose and small amounts of glucose, but no fructose whatsoever, which makes it a really good substitute for honey or syrup.

 

Once the coconut oil, nut butter and syrup is thin and runny, add it to your dry mixture and quickly process for a  minute or so just to ensure that it is all properly combined. Line a swiss roll tin or something similar with some parchment paper and scrape the mixture into your tin and then pop it in the fridge for a good hour or a little longer to give it time to set. Once it has set, you can cut it into the desired size, freeze some and keep the rest in the fridge if you like or in an airtight container outside. Personally I kept mine in the fridge, but I am sure it will be absolutely fine outside.  They freeze really well too! I got around 35 slices out of mine, so if you want less you can always half the recipe if you like.

 

  







 

I hope you have fun trying out this recipe, do let me know how you get on please feel free to ask any questions. I would be very interested in your feedback. We enjoyed a few slices during out 'Stitch and Bitch' on Friday and I have to say that this bar has been going down a treat and everyone is enjoying it. Since starting my quest to learn a little more about the implications of sugar to our bodies, I am struggling to find healthier options for the kids for snacks as so many of the so called 'healthy snacks' are loaded with sugar. This makes a pretty scrumptious snack that the kids will enjoy too! As you know nuts are pretty high in fat, so don't indulge in too many at once. I find that one slice gets me through my hunger periods during the day.

 

 

The good news is that our new toy (vitamix) arrived on Friday afternoon and we have already been having heaps of fun playing with it. So far we have made some soup, smoothies, and some ice cream, in fact the kids made their own ice cream, so they are loving my their new toy!

 

 

Before I go I just wanted to say thank you for all your lovely comments about the progress on my Spring throw and first quilt. In fact I finally got around to making the binding for the quilt on Friday and it is now waiting to be hand stitched, not my first love, but it will be worth it!

 

Wishing you all a happy and creative week.

Warm Wishes

Hannapat

xoxo

Raw Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake

 Good morning all you lovely people. I hope you all enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable weekend. For us it was a fairly slow one, but with quite a few things to do around the house. We still seem to be in the January clear-and-sort-out mode, which seems to be falling slowly in place. In between it all we have been enjoying some of this gorgeously delicious Raw Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake, by Ani Phyo.

 

 

 

 

Earlier this month, I treated myself to this lovely book by Ani Phyo, as I felt it fitted in perfectly with my new outlook on a journey to wellness. The book if filled with '85 Easy, Delectable Sweets and Treats' all without wheat, gluten, dairy or any processed sugar. Ani Phyo has divided the book into ten sections: Frozen Treats, Cakes and Tartlets, Chocolate and Fudge, Crisps and Cobblers, Puddings and Parfaits, Cookies, Fruit Simples, Sun-Baked Treats, Sauces and Kreams and Sparkling Desserts with Wine and Champagne.

 

 

 

Thus far I have only tried two of the recipes and they have both been very delicious. The first was 'Peacan Pie Cookies', which is very much like the Naked Bar's peacan pie, but definitely a bit yummier. This cake however is in a league of its own.

 

 

The cake is made up of processed dates, cocoa powder and walnuts, which to be honest baffled the socks off me as I just didn't understand how this crumbly mixture was going to hold its own once assembled and iced

 



 

and as it turns out I was right. The idea is that you divide the mixture between two sandwich tins and then set aside whilst you make the icing. Amazingly they held their shape once turned out, but started crumbling once I attempted the icing. So, I figured that I would pop it back in the food processor, add a few more dates and then packed them really tightly by pushing the mixture firmly into place (a bit like working with putty) and then I popped them in the freezer for a good few hours, which seem to do the trick.

 

To make the ganache, you simply process some dates, agave syrup, cocoa powder and some avocado and amazingly

 

you have THE most delicious ganache. This stuff is seriously yummy and the good news is that it is healthy too!

 

 

 

 Once the glitches were all ironed out it was really easy to assemble the cake. The recipe calls for adding a layer of raspberries in between the two cakes, but I was a little worried that it would make the cake soggy over the course of a few days. Having seen how the raspberries behave on top, I think I will give it a go next time as the raspberries really compliment the delicious flavours of this cake beautifully. For anyone interested in trying this recipe, you can find it here.

 

 

 

 

On Friday I had a little 'stitch and bitch' session at home with a friend as we were both desperate to finish some cushions that we had started long before Christmas. It was a really enjoyable morning and seeing that we are both on MyFitnessPal and avoiding sugar, this cake seemed like the perfect treat whilst stitching. I will say that we both thought the cake is much tastier than many other chocolate cakes, even the kids and hubby loved the cake (yes it is all gone!) and for us the thing that struck us the most was that there was no nasty post sugar cravings that you so often get when eating refined sugar and simple carbohydrates. I honestly never thought that I would put the words cake and healthy in the same sentence, but here it is loud and clear and to top it, it is actually really delicious.

 

 

 

 

The good news is that I finally finished this cushion I have been working on for a while. I have never spent this long on making a cushion and I must confess that working with velvet can be quite tricky and therefore calls for a great deal of hand stitching to get everything firmly in place before it starts dancing under the foot of your machine.

 

 

I am really pleased with the end result and love the use of doilies on cushions. I also love the colours of this fabric and I think it compliments this little space beautifully. I still have another one in the same fabric to make, but this time I will take my time and do it properly from start to finish to ensure that pesky un-picker is NOT required.

 



 

 

Before I go I would like to thank each and every one of you who left such supportive and loving comments on my post about my plans for this year. It is really wonderful to know that there is so much love and support out there. So far it has been hard going as it doesn't come natural for me just to be still, so it is a challenge, but then I have always been very fond of challenges, so I will keep that in mind when things get tough. As for the yoga, it seems to be aggravating the shingles in my body, so I am toning it right down to breathing and trying to find ways in which it will work in harmony with my body. For now it is all very much trial and error and it is definitely affecting my health, but the art lies in listening to my body and it is not going to happen overnight. This is going to be a long process, one that will take time to tune in and find the pathways that needs to gel together in order for my body to be in its optimal position whilst my mind follow hand in hand. It is all to easy for our minds just to lead the way without any regard for the needs of our bodies and for me this is most certainly my biggest challenge.

 

 

A big welcome to my new followers, I am so touched that you have decided to stop by and I hope that I will get to know you all a little better over the months ahead. I am also a little behind in catching up with many of your lovely blogs, but it will hopefully happen during this week.

 

Sending you all much love and wishes for a creative week ahead.

 

Warm Wishes

Hannapat

xoxo