Chocolate peanut butter mousse - Plant based Christmas!

This dessert is decadent with a capital D. My favourite part about it besides from being dairy and refined sugar-free is the fact that when I indulge in this dessert I don't feel guilty and nor should you! This dessert is such a wonderful relief from the sugar-heavy desserts that surround us at Christmas. You can make this and serve it freshly made or you can freeze it for those mid-week sugar cravings. A spoonful or two of this dessert will halt any sugar fiend out there. If you reframe your thinking of 'treating yourself' away from sugary treats and toward healthy nourishing indulgence then your body and health will thank you! I would love to hear from you guys if you would like to see more healthy options on the blog! Let me know in the comments below! Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

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Ingredients: 

• 4 large bananas, sliced and frozen 
• 2 tablespoon cacao - I use superfood cacao. 
• 2 tablespoon peanut butter - I use 100% peanut butter from my local health store
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

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Instructions: 

Add the bananas to a food processor and blend for 5 minutes or until it becomes light and fluffy. It might take longer depeneding on the heat of your kitchen and strenth of your blender. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until well combined. Keep it in the fridge until serving. 

Serve cold in glasses topped with Cherries or mint. 

This mousse can be frozen to make chocolate nice cream for a later date. 

Merry Christmas 

-Melissa
 

Buckwheat porridge with caramelized banana

*Serves 1

This is a really great meal if you are bored with your usual, mundane breakfast. It is easy, delicious and different. Banana is decadent and sweet paired with the crunch of the almonds this breakfast is enough to satisfy any cravings! 

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Ingredients:

• 300g buckwheat
• coconut oil
• 1 ½ cups almond milk
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 teaspoon agave or raw honey
• 1 banana, sliced to your liking
• 1 handful raw almonds

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Instructions:

Soak the buckwheat in water overnight, then drain and rinse.

In a medium frying pan over a medium heat add a teaspoon of coconut oil and fry the buckwheat until golden brown, about five minutes.

Add the almond milk, cinnamon, turmeric, vanilla, and honey. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. Dish the porridge into a bowl and set aside.

In the same frying pan, add a teaspoon of coconut oil and the banana and fry on a medium heat until sticky and caramelized, roughly five minutes. Once caramelized, add the banana to the porridge. Top with almonds and serve.

Health fact:

Buckwheat is high in fiber and gluten-free. Combined with the turmeric which is anti-inflammatory, this breakfast will pack a punch, and what is breakfast for if not for energy!

-Melissa 

Blueberry banana bread

I have always been a bit of a fiend for a sugary crust. 
The specific crunch that sugar can create on a crust is perfection. 
Think back to that moment of bliss when you closed your eyes and did a little happy dance over that morsel you just popped in your mouth. 

I suppose it's all about the simple things. Simple things that have the ability to invoke a powerful emotional response.
Complex in their simplicity - these moments and experiences always have so much more going on that meets the eye. 

Unfortunately, it is oftentimes the simple things that are most taken for granted.
In a recent collaboration with Country Road, I had to stop and think about the simple things in life. 
The basics that move me. 

Baking in my kitchen is a staple to my happiness. Only then am I in my element with all my senses being nourished.
To smell a fresh loaf of bread in the oven, to breathe it in and have your heart warmed by it is a simple pleasure that I could go not without. 
In one breath, it has the power to bring my entire childhood back into the here and now rendering me overcome with memories long since forgotten and a lingering feeling of nostalgia that can last for days.

After much thought, I decided to combine my thoughts on these 'simple things' and share something truly special with you.
The Result?

A simple yet sentimental loaf of banana blueberry bread with the ultimate sugary crust.
The baking is a labor of love and smelling it will bring you untold happiness and, well, tasting? You decide. 
Create a moment of reflection for yourself.  

What are your simple things? 

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Serves: 6 cooktime: 1h 30m

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas, smashed - don't have ripe bananas? Put them in the oven at 100 degree Celsius for 40 minutes
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup desiccated coconut
• ½ cup of blueberries (frozen or fresh)
• 1 fresh banana sliced to top the bread.
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

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Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Grease your bread loaf tin a 4x8 inch or 10 x 20cm

In a large bowl using an electronic mixer mix the butter and the mashed bananas.

Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla.

Add the baking soda and salt and mix it into the batter

Add the flour and coconut and beat, do not over beat the batter. Using a spatula gently fold in blueberries. Be carseful to not break them as you will get a blue banana bread. Top the bread with the sliced banana and sprinkle the top with the sugar. This will result in a perfect crust.

Add your mixture to your baking tin and bake for 1 hour.

Allow cooling on your cooling rack in the tin for 15 minutes and then let it cool further out of the tin.

-Melissa

This blog post is sponsored by Country Road. All homeware can be shopped here.
 

banana bread

There is something so deeply nostalgic for me about banana bread. The minute I smell it, it takes me back to warm memories of my childhood, my grand parents and school lunch boxes.

I remember eating it in the holidays at my grandparent’s house after digging in the garden for worms with my grandfather. A great cup of sweet tea and loads of butter always accompanied it. Shortly afterwards we would go fishing with the worms we caught in his strawberry patch.

I was never short of a sandwich trade when ever I opened my lunch box and the wonderfully sweet smell of the banana bread would float out and kiss the noses of my friends. They would all lunge at the opportunity of grabbing a bite or a trade!

This banana bread is great because I have kicked it up a notch with a rich cream cheese frosting, which is silky smooth. You can always leave it off and just have it with butter. Plain or not this banana bread is quick to make and stays beautifully in the fridge for any occasion.

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Serves: 6

Ingredients:

•   3 ripe bananas, smashed - don't have ripe bananas? Put them in the oven at 100 degree Celsius for 30 minutes

•   1/3 cup melted butter

•   3/4 cup sugar

•   1 egg, beaten

•   1 teaspoon vanilla extract

•   1 teaspoon baking soda

•   Pinch of salt

•   1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

•   1/2 cup pecan nuts, chopped

•   1/4 cup desiccated coconut

•   250g cream cheese

•   1 tsp. vanilla extract

•   1/3 cup icing sugar

•   1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Pecan nuts for decoration

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instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180°c

Grease your bread loaf tin a 4x8 inch or 10 x 20cm

In a large bowl using an electronic mixer mix the butter and the mashed bananas.

Next mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla.

Next add the baking soda and salt and mix it into the batter

Add the flour to the batter and mix it in, careful to not over beat the batter.

Lastly add in the pecan nuts and coconut. Mix again just until all the ingredients are evenly combined.

Add your mixture to your baking tin and bake for 1 hour.

Allow to cool on your cooling rack in the tin for 15 minutes and then let it cool further out of the tin.

Now lets get started with the cream cheese frosting:

Sieve your icing sugar into your mixing bowl.

Add all the remaining ingredients and mix. Do not over mix the cream cheese or it will go too soft.

Ice your banana bread and top with pecan nuts for decoration.

Enjoy!

-Melissa