Nancy’s Mince Pies! gluten and dairy free!

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Dr Nancy P

It’s mince pie time again! whoop! It’s so hard to find plant-based, dairy and gluten free mince pies that don’t taste like cardboard so I decided to make my own and boy are they good! I could eat these by the dozen… and in fact I do!

This recipe has been posted here before but has recently been featured over at Pure Form Fitness Kitchen so I thought I’d repost for you 🙂

and here’s a little video of me making them too :

For the Pastry:

4 oz Buckwheat flour
2 oz ground Almonds
5 tbsp Agave nectar
Up to 6 tbsp Water

For the Mincemeat:

3 oz Bramley apples, cored and finely chopped
6 oz Mixed dried fruit (I prefer raisins, currants, cranberries and apricots)
1 oz Vegetable suet
2 oz Raw sugar (coconut palm or dark raw muscovado)
Juice and grated zest of half an Orange
1 level tsp of ground allspice
1 pinch ground Cinnamon
1 pinch ground Cloves
1 pinch grated / ground Nutmeg
1 small handful chopped Almonds
1 tbsp Date syrup

Make the pastry first. Put the buckwheat flour and ground almonds in a processor and add the agave. Pulse and gradually add the water until it forms a dough. You may find you need more or less water. If it is too wet add a little more flour. Once it is forming a firm dough remove, wrap in cling-film and place the mixture in the fridge. You can do this by hand if you prefer – just ensure you mix the flour and almonds thoroughly.

Put all the ingredients for the mincemeat into a saucepan. Cook on a low heat, stirring frequently. Cook until the apple is soft and the mixture is thick – it may take some time. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180 C/ gas mark 6.

Lightly oil a mini muffin tin with almond, coconut or hazelnut oil. Remove pastry from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Roll it as thin as you can – a few mm. Use a round biscuit cutter to cut out the bases. Place them in the tin. Place in an oven to blind bake for 5–10 mins. Keep an eye on them – this pastry browns quite fast. Once the edges are brown and the middle is firm remove them. While the cases are in the oven take a smaller star shaped (or any shaped) biscuit cutter to cut out the “lids”.

Roll and cut out the pastry cases and lids

Place a generous helping of mincemeat in each of the cases and place your chosen “lid” on top. Lightly oil and sprinkle with a little cinnamon and raw sugar.

Fill the cases and add the lids

Place the pies back in the oven and bake until golden (5 – 7 mins but check regularly). Keep a careful eye on them. You want the tops to brown but be careful the bases don’t burn. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 mins, then remove and place on a wire cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Amazing Protein-Packed Flapjacks – dairy and gluten free

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Dr Nancy P

I get hungry, especially after a workout and I love a good flapjack or energy bar but I hate the fact that so many of the store bought ones are just full of sugar. Many of the ‘healthier’ versions I’ve bought are tasteless and unappetising so last Saturday, after a full on day, I thought I’d create some homemade protein flapjacks – full of good things!

I thought I’d do a little video to show you them in the flesh – so here goes:

and the finished product:

These don’t take long to put together and you can always substitute things if you don’t have them in the cupboard or don’t like them.

You will need:

300g rolled porridge oats (gluten-free or spelt if you want)

100g desiccated coconut

100g flaked almonds

100g Pumpkin seeds

215g dried, soft Prunes

315g dried dates

175g Almond butter (or your nut butter of choice)

100g Liquid sweetener (I used rice malt syrup but you can use agave, maple syrup, honey etc)

2 tbsp Coconut oil (measured when solid)

4 tbsp Vanilla protein powder (any brand you like – or you can also omit this)

4 tbsp Water

2 generous tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat the oven to 170 C.

Line a baking tin (I used a 20 x 20cm one) with baking paper. Mix the oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds and coconut together and pour into the baking tin. Place in the oven for 20 mins or until starting to brown. Make sure you turn regularly with a wooden spoon so the whole mixture gets toasted.

While that’s in the oven pop the dates and prunes into a blender or food processor and blitz to a paste. You may need to keep stopping to scrape the mixture back down in to the bowl. It doesn’t need to be completely smooth – a few lumpy bits are good!

Remove the oats from the oven and stir the protein powder through the mixture. Allow to cool.

Put the date mixture, nut butter, liquid sweetener, coconut oil, water, cinnamon and salt in to a large saucepan and heat very gently. Stir and allow the mixture to come together. Remove from the heat and pour the oats into the liquid mixture and mix really well.

Using a spatula scrape the mixture back into the lined baking tin and press down firmly. Then allow to cool and pop in the fridge. Do make sure you lick the saucepan (once it’s cool enough!!!) because the mixture is divine when warm! 🙂

Once it’s chilled you can cut in to slices. It makes the perfect post workout snack on the go and is great to pop in to lunchboxes too!

The Primal Kitchen Energy Bars – a review

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Dr Nancy P

Any company founded by one woman, some nuts and a blender is always going to be good and The Primal Kitchen is no exception if these bars are anything to go by!

I spotted one of these bars in a local health food shop some time ago and quickly realised that not only did they sound delicious but the company was based locally in Surrey. I’m always keen to promote and support local enterprises, and review potential snack options for you all and I was lucky enough to be sent some of these bars to try.

There are currently three flavours available (though there’s a delicious sounding Hazelnut & Cocoa fourth on the way!) – Coconut & Macadamia, Almond & Cashew and Brazil Nut & Cherry. They’re made with no more than 5 ingredients and are full of whole foods and free from gluten, dairy, refined sugars and grains.

I train a lot and am always on the look out for healthy, portable snacks to refuel with. and these tick the boxes on that score. Although in an ideal world we’d all be making our own protein-packed healthy snack bars, in reality it’s just not possible all the time. These are a great source of protein and good fats, bursting with energy for when you need to grab something on the go. They’d be great for children too.

So on to the bars – the Coconut &Macadamia bar was my first to try. This was really good – I love the combination of coconut with macadamia. It was chewy but with lovely big chunks of nut and had loads of flavour. It also looked great too.

The Almond & Cashew Bar was very tasty. Not too sweet, and not too bland with a really good balance between the nuts. It looks great and again has lovely chunky bits of nuts. I also like the fact that it’s not too oily (as some other similar bars can be).

I saved the Brazil Nut and Cherry one until last – both with trepidation and excitement. I’m not a big fan of Brazil nuts, but I LOVE cherries… so I was really keen to taste this one. Would the cherry beat those Brazil nuts and win me over? Well indeed it did! This is probably my favourite (though it’s so hard to pick one!).The sweet tartness of the cherries balances the Brazil nuts perfectly and I actually loved the combination. I often find Brazil nuts too rich for me but combined with the cherries they were great!

They all looked homemade – which I love, and they were all really filling which is great. I also love the packaging and design of the products. They’re designed for people following a Paleo diet, but would suit anyone avoiding gluten, dairy or refined sugars in their diet and are great for anyone Paleo, or not, who wants a grain-free, healthy snack bar. The bars have been created by Suzie Walker, a Nutritionist, and you can really taste the love and thought that’s gone in to these and it’s brilliant to see snack bars which aren’t just full of sugar and other rubbish actually competing with the big boys. These bars are now available in Ocado and other online shops (see list here) and will soon be in Tescos too.

So go try them! I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Homemade healthy coconut “bounty” bars! Dairy and Gluten-free

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Dr Nancy P

I made these a while ago but totally forgot to put the recipe up! Bad Nancy!

These are delish – a great alternative to a traditional “Bounty” bar and FAR healthier! They’re made with raw chocolate so they’re full of antioxidants and the coconut centre is pure coconut, nothing else!

You will need some sort of mould for this – it can be any shape and any size you like! I’ve gone for a rectangular one as I happened to have one in my cupboard but anything will do.

For the chocolate you will need:

1 cup Cacao butter (melted)

1 cup Raw Cocoa powder

1/3 Cup Maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)

For the filling you will need:

A few tbsp desiccated Coconut (adjust quantity to taste)

Coconut butter – the amount will depend on the size of your chocs so start with a small amount and it’s easy to make more as needed. You need to make sure you use a whole coconut flesh butter, rather than coconut oil. I used the Artisana brand.

Start with the chocolate. Mix the cacao butter, cocoa and maple syrup together and ensure there are no lumps. Pour a small amount in to the mould – remember you are filling this so don’t fill the mould – probably aim for a third of the mould. Save enough to cover the filling later. You will probably find that it settles at the bottom leaving the sides with only a very thing layer. This is ok – just pop it in the fridge for now. After about 5 mins check it and as it’s beginning to solidify just swirl the mould around so the chocolate coats the sides too. Place back in the fridge until set hard (15 mins should do it).

Now prepare the filling. Just melt the coconut butter gently in a warm pan, stirring all the time. Add as much desicated coconut as you want to get the desired texture and then pour in to the chilled moulds. Place back in the fridge immediately until this has set (at least 15 mins)

Cover the top with more of your raw chocolate mix (you may need to re-warm it if it’s started to set). Pop straight back in the fridge until properly set – 30 mins or more.

These are best kept in the fridge until you want to eat them and then remove them and allow them to warm very slightly at room temperature for a few mins before serving. I made my chocolate layers just a little bit thick… but I quite like that! 🙂

Enjoy!

Guilt Free Goodies – a review

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Dr Nancy P

I had the great pleasure this week of being sent a beautiful box of treats from Guilt Free Goodies.

This UK, home-based business is run by Natasha and her partner, who produce homemade, all natural, healthy goodies – from granolas, nut butters to delicious treats and cakes. They’re perfect for anyone looking for dairy-free treats, diabetics and those wanting refined sugar-free treats (only natural sweeteners are used) or following the “paleo” diet. They’re also great for anyone who’s just health conscious and wants to watch what they eat. They can also make most of their products (granola, bites, energy balls and butters) suitable for vegans (some products do contain egg or honey).

I was sent this delightful selection of:

Peanut butter surprise muffin

Cashew butter, coconut and blueberry energy balls

Honey and peanut granola

Salted caramel almond bites

The first thing I noticed is how lovely the packaging was – all the items are beautifully packaged with lovely little touches like the handwritten notes. They’re also really securely packaged so nothing was damaged in transit.

As instructed I popped the almond bites in the freezer (top tip – highly recommended!) and the first item I tucked in to was the cashew, coconut and blueberry energy balls. After a busy morning teaching spin and bodypump I was famished and needed something quick to munch on. These really hit the spot – full of goodness and flavour. Really satisfying and tasty too – not too sweet but sweet enough to satisfy 🙂

Later that afternoon I was in dire need of a boost so thought I’d try the granola next – I served it with some homemade compote from my friend Colette and a big dollop of soya yoghurt.

It was absolutely divine – crunchy and crisp with a great mix of nut and fruit. The sweetness wasn’t overpowering either which was great. I had to eek it out as otherwise I’d have eaten it all in one go! As it’s full of good fats (from the nuts) it really sustained me for my evening classes which is exactly what I needed. This would be just as good served with a little almond milk or yoghurt for brekkie, or as a decadent treat you could serve it with some coconut yoghurt or ice cream for dessert! Yum!

I saved the muffin for a mid-morning snack with a cuppa. This was a really nice treat. Now it’s not like a traditional muffin so don’t be surprised. It’s a lot smaller but it’s also much denser. I really like this about it – it’s moist and squishy (in a good way!) and although small it’s exactly the right amount for a snack. I loved the peanut butter in the middle of this one. The nice thing about these muffins is that they really fill you up in a way traditional muffins just don’t.

I saved the best until last – the almond bites. I was most excited about these – they looked delicious and I’m such a sucker for anything almond-based so I had high hopes.

I was not disappointed in the slightest. These were so good! They’re definitely best out the freezer – the base goes all crispy and the caramel stays soft. The combination of the caramel, a whole almond in the middle (!), and lovely chocolate on the top is just fab!

So all in all I was really impressed with all these products. They certainly live up to their reputation and satisfy your cravings without ruining any of your hard work!

I just love that this is a home-run business, run by someone who clearly puts their heart and soul in to their products. I’d definitely recommend them so do go and try them. You can also buy hampers or sample boxes and they’d make great gifts for the health foodlovers in your life. I’m really looking forward to ordering some of Natasha’s other products now – especially the loaf cakes and nut butters! 🙂

You can find out more about the products and place orders from their facebook page – here: Guilt Free Goodies or their new online shop here: Guilt Free Goodies Eshop.

Do check them out! and if you do let me know what you think 🙂

Blackberry and cinnamon cakes with blackberry and mint swirled cashew cream!

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Dr Nancy P

I managed to get a mahoosive haul of wild blackberries last weekend so decided I’d better find some ways to use them! I fancied a light, muffin/fairy cake kinda thing for tea so came up with this little beauty. They’re delicious on their own, but if you want something a bit special then serve them with this blackberry and mint swirled cashew cream for a bit of afternoon tea!

For the cakes you will need:

1 cup of non-dairy Milk
1 tsp Cider apple vinegar
1 1/4 cups Gluten-free flour or Spelt flour
2 Tbsp Cornflour
3/4 cup Raw unrefined sugar/ coconut palm sugar
3/4 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp Himalayan rock salt
1/3 cup Olive oil
2 1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
Blackberries – couple of handfuls (depending how large they are!)

For the cashew cream you will need:

A cup of cashew nuts (or however many you want to use!)
Some water
maple syrup/agave syrup/rice malt syrup (optional – to taste)
handful of Blackberries
handful of fresh Mint leaves
A blender/ vitamix

Soak the cashews overnight in water (so that they are well covered).

To make the cakes:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Put the milk and vinegar together in bowl and whisk together, then leave to curdle for a few minutes. Add the milk mixture, oil, sugar and vanilla extract to a large bowl and mix together. Sieve the flour, cornflour, cinnamon, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into the liquid mixture and stir well until no large lumps remain. Gently stir the blackberries in to the mix. Pour into cupcake liners in a muffin pan – this should make approximately 15 cakes. Make sure the blackberries are covered with batter (you may need to just gently push them down).

Place in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Once done place on a wire rack to cool.

To make the cashew cream

Drain and rinse the soaked cashews and then pop them in to the blender. Start by adding about half as much water as cashews to the blender and give it a blitz. Continue adding water until the cashews are smooth and you have the consistence of cream that you want – less water, thicker cream! If you want to add some sweetness add your choice of liquid sweetener to taste.

Smoosh the blackberries up a little bit with the back of a knife, and chop the mint finely. Stir it in to the cream and adjust quantities to taste.

Serve your cakes with a big dollop of the cream and a sprig of mint!

Fruity Raw Chocs

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Dr Nancy P

As you’ll know from my recent raw choc recipes (see here and here) I’ve been having loads of fun playing around with my raw choc and raw white choc recipes, and my collection of freeze-dried fruit powders. The results were awesome!

The fruit powders work brilliantly with both the dark and white raw choc and they add an amazing tartness and freshness to the chocs. They also make the white chocs look very pretty 🙂 (I get my fruit powders online from here)

You can make solid chocs of one flavour or you can use the flavoured white chocolate to add colour and patterns to dark chocs. They come out looking amazing! If you are very clever (and more patient than I am 😉 ) you can add different colours to different parts of your mould to highlight certain details 🙂 The world is your chocolate box! Warning though – if you’re anything like me your entire kitchen will be covered in raw choc when you’re done! Is it wrong that I considered licking it up to clean it….. (don’t judge me 😉 )

Now I couldn’t decide which of my freeze-dried fruit powders to use so I used them all (separately!). I think my favourite were raspberry, passion fruit and cranberry – I love the tartness of them 🙂

So all you need for the dark chocs is:

1 cup Cacao butter (melted)

1 cup Raw Cocoa powder

1/3 Cup Maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)

Freeze-dried fruit powder of your choice – approx 1 tsp – adjust to taste

For the white choc you need:

1/4 cup melted Cacao butter

1 tbsp Cashew butter

1 tsp dry dairy-free milk powder – rice, coconut or soya milk powder (This is optional but it makes the chocolate creamier so is worth it if you can find it)

1 tbsp unrefined raw Icing sugar (adjust to taste)

1/4 tsp Vanilla extract

Freeze-dried fruit powder of your choice – approx 1 tsp – adjust to taste

The method is the same for both – melt the cacao butter and then stir in all the other ingredients. Mix well.

Now for the fun! and mess…. You can do whatever you like! I made a load of small quantities of chocolate of various flavours. Then I filled some moulds full of that flavour which worked well. Then I had some fun….. either carefully dribbling one flavour in to the mould or liberally splashing it around to create a beautiful marble effect. Splash one flavour at a time, then pop in the fridge to set before doing the next.

Place in the fridge between each one until you’re finished. Allow to set properly in the fridge and store in there until you want to eat them!

Dairy Free Raw White Chocolate!

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Dr Nancy P

I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for a while now. White chocolate is one thing that’s pretty hard to come by if you’re trying to avoid dairy so I wanted to come up with an easy to make alternative and I think I’ve found it!

I made some plain white choc ones, some mixed with dark raw choc and for some I added some freeze-dried raspberry powder to give a yummy raspberry choc!

If you have some interesting chocolate or ice moulds you can have some fun with a mix of white and dark raw chocolate (see recipe for raw chocolate here)

You will need:

1/4 cup melted Cacao butter

1 tbsp Cashew butter

1 tsp dry dairy-free milk powder – rice, coconut or soya milk powder (This is optional but it makes the chocolate creamier so is worth it if you can find it)

1 tbsp unrefined raw Icing sugar (adjust to taste)

1/4 tsp Vanilla extract

Optional – (Freeze-dried raspberry powder – approx 1 tsp – adjust to taste)

Melt the Cacao butter and then stir in all the other ingredients. Mix well and then pour in to moulds. Pop in the fridge until set. Enjoy!

Chocolate Coconut Treats

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Dr Nancy P

This is a super simple Easter recipe for some yummy little melt in the mouth coconut chocolate bites. In fact it’s not really a recipe at all it’s so simple! 🙂

All you need is some of this wonderful stuff – Artisana Cacao Bliss. It’s just chocolate coconut butter, made from coconut flesh (not the coconut oil).

If you can’t find this then you can use the normal Artisana Coconut Butter and just add raw cocoa powder to it (to taste).

All you need to do is melt the coconut butter in a pan on a very low heat. I like this just the way it is but if it isn’t sweet enough for you then you can add some maple syrup to taste. Once it’s melted all you need to do is pour in to moulds – egg shaped or otherwise! Pop in the fridge for 20 mins to set. If you’re doing eggs remove from the fridge and mould. Warm the back of the eggs using a hair dryer or a warmed spoon just to melt it slightly, then press 2 halves together. Place back in the fridge for a few mins.

Enjoy!

Raw Chocolate filled eggs and fruity eggs

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Dr Nancy P

Well… it is Easter… and I happen to know someone who loves raw chocolate so it gave me the perfect excuse to whip up a batch of raw chocolate eggs.

I fancied having a bit of a play with all the exciting things in my cupboard – peanut butter, pecan butter, coconut butter, freeze dried passion fruit powder, freeze dried cherry powder, freeze dried cherries, freeze dried raspberries so decided I’d make a batch of medium filled eggs and some little mini fruity eggs!

You will need:

1 cup Cacao butter (melted)

1 cup Raw Cocoa powder

1/3 Cup Maple syrup (or other liquid sweetner)

A selection of fun things to fill or flavour them with! Your choice – nut butters, coconut butter (this isn’t the same as coconut oil – I use the Artisana brand – available online), freeze dried fruits etc.

Egg moulds (or any other shape!)

Filled eggs

Mix the cacao butter, cocoa and maple syrup together and ensure there are no lumps. Pour a small amount in to the egg mould – you are filling your eggs so don’t fill the mould – probably aim for a third of the mould. You will probably find that it settles at the bottom leaving the sides with only a very thing layer. This is ok – just pop it in the fridge for now. After about 5 mins check it and as it’s beginning to solidify just swirl the mould around so the chocolate coats the sides too. Place back in the fridge until set hard (15 mins should do it).

Add your filling

If you’re using nut butter then add a tsp or two and you can then sprinkle in some freeze dried fruit if you fancy it (raspberries work well with peanut butter). Remember to do an even number of each filling (unless you want eggs half one flavour, half another).

If you’re using the coconut butter use a whole coconut flesh butter, rather than coconut oil. I used the Artisana brand.

It’s easier to work with if you melt it very gently in a pan – just until it’s runny and then just pour it in to the eggs and pop straight in to the fridge.

Once the filling has set, cover with a layer of chocolate. You don’t have to do this but it makes it much easier to join halves later in a relatively neat way!

Allow to set in the fridge until really well set (at least 15 mins).

Put your halves together!

Pop your eggs out the mould and then you can either use a small amount of melted raw chocolate to sandwich them together, or you can use a hair dryer on a low heat to very gently melt the back of the eggs (be super careful as raw choc has a very low melting point so handle the eggs as little as poss and be gentle with the hair dryer). Once melted press the halves together and pop back in the fridge!

Then eat!

Fruity eggs

Take your raw choc mix and stir in to it your freeze dried fruit or fruit powder of choice. I split my mixture and in one half I added 1 tbsp freeze dried cherry powder and a handful of crushed freeze dried cherry slices. In the other half I added 1 tbsp freeze dried passion fruit powder and a handful of freeze dried mango pieces. Mix well and then pour in to your egg or whatever shape moulds.

If you want you can add a little powdered or crushed freeze dried fruit to the mould before you add the chocolate – it makes the eggs look pretty 🙂

Pop in the fridge for at least 15 mins. Remove and stick the halves together with a little melted raw choc or using a hair dryer to melt the backs a little as before.

Enjoy! 🙂

Pure and Simple Bakes

delicious, healthy, vegan friendly, low gluten bakes – have your cake and eat it!

Tag Archives: vegetarian recipes

Nancy’s Mince Pies! gluten and dairy free!

Amazing Protein-Packed Flapjacks – dairy and gluten free

The Primal Kitchen Energy Bars – a review

Homemade healthy coconut “bounty” bars! Dairy and Gluten-free

Guilt Free Goodies – a review

Blackberry and cinnamon cakes with blackberry and mint swirled cashew cream!

Fruity Raw Chocs

Dairy Free Raw White Chocolate!

Chocolate Coconut Treats

Raw Chocolate filled eggs and fruity eggs

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