Pregnant At Christmas? Indulge In These Healthy Desserts
Raw Christmas Cake
| Makes 1 cake |
Ingredients
250g (8oz or 1 ⅔ cups) fresh medjool dates, pitted
zest from 1 orange
250g (8oz or 1 ⅔ cups) organic dried apricots, chopped
250g (1 ½ cups) almond meal
2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground ginger
Whipped coconut cream or thick yoghurt to serve
Golden Turmeric Custard to serve (recipe below)
Fresh figs or cherries to garnish
Method
Combine dates, orange zest, apricots, almond meal, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a food processor. Blend until the mixture is combined and looks like fine breadcrumbs.
Spoon the mixture into a large bowl. Your cake mix should come together when lightly squeezed. If not, add a few tablespoons of orange juice.
Press the cake into a small 15cm (6 inches) baking tin, lined with baking paper or glad wrap for easy removal. Rest in the fridge for 2 hours to set.
Invert the cake and remove the glad wrap.
Arrange onto a serving plate and garnish with figs or cherries, yoghurt or your choice of toppings.
Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
*This recipe was created by the talented Teresa Cutter aka The Healthy Chef and is from her cookbook Healthy Baking.
Golden Turmeric Custard
| Makes 1 jar |
Ingredients
2 mangoes
1 x 400g can organic coconut cream
½ tsp ground turmeric or Zandi Organics Turmeric Wellness Latte
1 orange, juiced
Method
Remove the flesh and skin from the mango. Combine in a blender with coconut cream, turmeric and the juice of 1 orange.
Blend until smooth and creamy.
Pour into a glass jar and store covered in the fridge until needed.
*This recipe is also one of Teresa Cutter’s from her incredible Healthy Baking cookbook.
Hazelnut & Raspberry Brownies
| Serves 12 |
Ingredients
⅓ cup extra virgin olive or coconut oil
¾ cup raw cacao powder
½ cup coconut sugar
3 free range eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups hazelnut meal
½ cup whole hazelnuts
¾ cup chopped dark chocolate
¾ cup frozen or fresh raspberries
fresh raspberries, mint leaves and a dusting of raw cacao to serve
Method
Heat oven to 170°C and line a 15x15cm (or thereabouts) baking tin with greaseproof paper.
In a bowl which together oil, cacao, coconut sugar, eggs and vanilla until creamy.
Add hazelnut meal, chopped hazelnuts, dark chocolate pieces and mix.
Pour into lined tin or dish, press raspberries around the brownie mix and then place in middle of oven to cook for around 20 minutes. You want the middle a little bit gooey.
Serve warm or cool in tin completely, then slice and enjoy. Garnish with fresh raspberries, a dusting of raw cacao powder and fresh mint leaves.
Gingerbread Cookies
| Serves 4 |
Ingredients
Gingerbread
2½ cups almond meal
3 medjool dates, pitted
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp gluten free baking powder
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 egg
Icing
½ cup cashews
½ cup coconut butter
Method
For the Gingerbread
In a food processor, process the almond meal, dates, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and baking powder until crumbly. Add the egg, honey and coconut oil and mix until a soft dough forms.
Take the dough out of the processor and flatten it between 2 sheets of baking paper with a rolling pin. Make sure the dough is at least 5mm thick as this will make sure your gingerbread men are nice and soft. Refrigerate for 1 hour to allow the dough to firm up.
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Using whatever cookie cutters you’ve chosen, cut the dough into shapes. Squish any leftover dough back into a ball, roll it out and cut more shapes. Repeat until all the dough has been used up.
Line a flat baking tray with parchment paper and gently lay out your gingerbread. Place gingerbread in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place them on a wire rack to cool.
For the icing
Once gingerbread has cooled, place cashews and coconut butter into a blender and process until smooth. Place icing into a piping bag with a small circular tip and decorate your gingerbread. Have fun.
