Raw Chocolate Coconut Truffles (vegan, raw, gluten free, sugar free, nut free)

I arrived home from work yesterday in one of those give-me-all-the-snacks moods. You know the mood I'm talking about, right? I'm not the only one? Considering Easter is this weekend, I have chocolate on my mind, and I had been wanting to give raw vegan truffles a go so these proved to be the perfect opportunity. Chocolate + snacks + raw vegan goodies = yes please! I know most raw vegan truffles have dates as their base, but we didn't have any dates in the house, and lordy they're so expensive here! So I made do with what I had on hand, and they turned out fabulously delicious, naughty-tasting but definitely not bad for you in the slightest. You could very easily add anything you want into these babies; the buckwheat is optional, as are the chia seeds, but both add a delicious bit of crunch. You could try adding in almonds or walnuts, or basically any nut or seed, if you so desire.

Hope you all have a wonderful, chocolate-filled Easter!

What you need:

1 tablespoon of raw cacao powder (I use Loving Earth)
1.5 tablespoons of raw coconut oil, room-temperature
1.5 tablespoons of liquid sweetener of choice (maple, honey, rice malt, etc)
Half an avocado
1/2 of a cup of desiccated coconut
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
A pinch of sea salt

1 teaspoon of maca (optional)
2 teaspoons of chia seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon of raw buckwheat (I used Loving Earth's caramelised buckinis) (optional)

What you need to do:

Mix together the cacao powder, coconut oil and liquid sweetener, until it's a delicious chocolate-y mess.
Add in the avocado, and mash it up well until everything is mixed together nicely.
Add the coconut, cinnamon, sea salt, maca, chia, and buckwheat, and mix everything together.
In a small muffin tin lined with small patty pans, dollop a couple of teaspoons of the mixture into each patty pan. Pop into the freezer for 15-20 minutes, to allow the coconut oil to re-solidify.
This is where it gets fun and messy. Making sure your hands are nice and clean, roll the mixture from each patty pan into a ball (it'll be a little sticky!). Roll the balls in your choice of more coconut, or cacao powder, or both.
Pop back into the freezer, and eat whenever you can't wait any longer! The longer they spend in the freezer, the more truffle-y they become, but I totally understand if you don't hold out for that ;)

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Dark Fudgy Chocolate Avocado Cookies (gf, vegan)

If you like your chocolate nice and dark, then I promise you will love these cookies. They're rich and fudgy, chunky (almost brownie-like), and verging on bittersweet. They also just happen to be, you know… Really good for you. I know, I'm pretty happy about it too.

You know those times where you just really. want. chocolate? One of those times is the reason these cookies came about. I just really wanted chocolate. Rich, dark, sinful-tasting chocolate. And boy did they do the trick. They may have even done the trick a bit too well - I was a whirl of energy for the rest of the afternoon and well into the night. Maybe eating like, half of the batter (yes I licked the spoon, and ran my fingers around the bowl, and I expect the same from you) and then two cookies straight from the cooling rack, and then another one once they'd cooled down was a bit excessive… Just a friendly reminder that cacao does have a bit of caffeine in it, so these bad boys aren't great for a pre-bed snack! I speak from experience. No regrets.

But anyway! Let's talk ingredients. I used amaranth flour because it's what I had in the pantry, but I'm 98% sure that coconut flour would work just as well. If anyone tries that out let me know how it goes! If you want to use other flours, just remember that amaranth and coconut flour are very absorbent flours, so you'd have to play around with the liquid/dry ratio. I also used raw cacao powder, which is the unprocessed, unheated, much more nutrient- and mineral-rich, natural form of cocoa powder, and it also tastes much richer than cocoa powder. In saying that, I'm sure cocoa powder would work well, and if you're sensitive to caffeine/prefer not to eat cacao, then try using carob powder instead!

I completely adore the addition of avocado into any desserts. If you haven't ever tried avocado chocolate mousse, then I absolutely recommend giving it a go. I've fed it to friends before who don't normally like ~vegan~ ~healthy~ food and they've loved it! The use of avocado in this recipe is what gives the cookies their delicious fudginess.

Finally! I used Loving Earth's chocolate buckinis in this recipe, which are oh so heavenly, but I am well aware that many of you wouldn't have these in your pantry (especially if you don't live in Australia. If this is the case, I'm so sorry that you miss out on the goodness that is Loving Earth, and I hope they sort out international postage stat). Chocolate buckinis are basically a mix of activated raw buckwheat, coconut flakes, goji berries, raw cacao powder, and coconut sugar. As a substitution, mix together 3/4 of a cup of raw buckwheat, a tablespoon each of coconut flakes and goji berries, and a tablespoon of coconut sugar.

Enough talk. We need cookies.

What you need:

1/2 cup of amaranth flour + an extra tablespoon
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup of raw cacao powder
1 cup of Loving Earth Chocolate Buckinis (see above for substitutions)
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
Pinch of salt

1/3 cup of almond milk (I'm sure any milk would work just fine)
1/2 an avocado, mashed
2 tablespoons of maple syrup/agave/coconut nectar (don't skimp on this, when I say tablespoons I mean like… heaped tablespoons) (the cookies aren't ridiculously sweet, which is what I love about them, but if you've got a mega sweet tooth then maybe add extra)

What you need to do:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius, and line a tray with baking paper.
Mix together your flour, baking powder, cacao powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the buckinis and stir in well.
In a separate bowl, mash the avocado. Add the almond milk and your sweetener of choice, and mix together until very well combined.
You should have a nice sticky batter, which holds together well.
Dollop onto your cookie tray. You should have 12 pretty big cookies.
Pop into the oven for 25 minutes. Try not to eat them all at once!

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Hot Cross Bun Muffins (Vegan and Gluten Free)

I find there's something so nostalgic and cosy about Easter time, and I completely adore it. Maybe it's the shift of the seasons happening at this time of year, the summer warmth giving way to the colder and cosier months. Maybe it's the fond memories that I have of chocolate-fuelled long weekends spent running around my grandparents' home in the mountains (I can't say much has changed…). Maybe it's the understated and easy-going nature of Easter, compared to Christmas, as families come together to spend time with each other, without that seemingly inescapable stress that Christmas time brings. Maybe it's simply that smell of baking hot cross buns, the scent of cinnamon reaching every corner of the house.

As I've grown older, hot cross buns have steadily overtaken chocolate's prime status as my favoured Easter treat (!) and I find myself hanging out for them in the months leading up to Easter. I just can't say no to a freshly-toasted, dried-fruit-studded, cinnamon-spiced, subtly sweet homemade hot cross bun (especially when paired with a cup of tea!). But I think it's their fleeting, transient nature that I love most - with only a few weeks out of every year in which to make the most of their goodness, they take on a somewhat ephemeral quality.

These muffins were very much a trial-and-error experiment. I obviously wanted to bake up some hot cross buns myself, however I've had zero time for bread-making lately, so I thought why not take the whole yeast step out of the mix and see what I end up with? I basically ended up with scones, which were fabulously delicious and hot-cross-bunny (heh) regardless. I then played around with the recipe, remade them, and ended up with these muffins instead. The texture is deliciously soft, and subtly sweet, studded with currants and a hint of citrus, and to top it all off, I made the cross out of raw cacao for extra deliciousness. Plus, they're vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free - much unlike the buns you find in supermarkets.

Hope you enjoy them as much as my family and I did!

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A summery raw lemon coconut "cheesecake"

Yesterday was a perfectly warm, sunny, cloudless Summer's day here in Sydney, and I spent it by the seaside at Nielsen's Park in Vaucluse, with good friends and good food. I wanted to make a deliciously summery but nutritious dessert, and lemon and coconut are basically a match made in heaven (kind of like banana and PB… mmm that's next on my to-make list). So here is the recipe for the lemon and coconut raw vegan cheesecake that some of you may have seen on instagram. Grab your loved ones and a picnic blanket, this cake is calling you.

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Design Inspiration: Geoffrey Bawa

Geoffrey Bawa is without a doubt the most renowned, influential and celebrated architect in Sri Lanka, and whilst I was in Sri Lanka, I learnt exactly why. Bawa was born in 1919 and spent his childhood in Sri Lanka, before moving to England for college, followed by many years of travelling and working around the world. It wasn't until 1948 that he returned to Sri Lanka, and it was then that he bought an abandoned rubber estate at Lunuganga which would later became his country home, and, arguably, the birthplace of "tropical modernism".

Now a boutique hotel, Bawa's country house at Lunuganga is made up of various small buildings scattered across the grounds, almost like little farmhouses, surrounded by exquisite gardens. In perfect harmony with its natural surroundings, each room is opened out to maximise and invite in light and air. Peaceful, tranquil, organic are all words that spring to mind whilst wandering the grounds of the property. It was somewhat of a spiritual experience, even, to witness such perfect unity between man and nature, and the incredible simplistic and natural approach Bawa took in his work.

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Vegan carrot, orange and ginger cookies

Grain free, refined sugar free and vegan carrot, orange and ginger cookies with crunchy buckwheat and cacao bits! These cookies. They're addictive. I'm warning you now. But they're also ridiculously good for you, so it's all fine. In fact, I wouldn't judge you if you ate them for breakfast… I might just join you. But aside from that, they're the perfect mid-afternoon snack to tide you over til dinner, the perfect I-need-a-treat-with-my-cup-of-tea snack, the perfect damn-it-it's-only-11:30am-and-I'm-ready-for-lunch snack, or the perfect middle-of-your-shift-at-work snack when you just need SOMETHING to nibble on (which is how these came about…). There are so many wonderful flavours in these cookies - a little bit nutty from the buckwheat, a little bite from the freshly grated ginger, fruity-sweetness from the orange zest and juice, little bites of deep, earthy chocolate from the raw cacao, plus they're a little bit carrot cake-y! They kind of taste like a muesli cookie except minus the muesli… Does that make sense? Just try them, you'll understand.

Ingredients (note: unfortunately I'm a very erratic experimental baker and don't measure my ingredients perfectly, so use your discretion to decide whether to add more or less of anything… eek)

1 and a 1/4 of a cup of buckwheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
A teeny pinch of sea salt
1/3 cup of raw buckwheat groats
1/2 cup of cacao nibs
1 tablespoon of coconut sugar (this is totally optional, depending on how sweet you like your cookies!)
1 grated carrot (about a cup's worth)

1/4 cup of maple syrup/agave syrup/honey if you're not strict vegan
1 tablespoon of soft coconut oil
Juice of half an orange (just eat the other half, nom)
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and grease a tray (I use coconut oil to do this) and/or line with baking paper.

Mix the buckwheat flour, salt, baking powder, optional coconut sugar, buckwheat groats and cacao nibs all together in a bowl. Add the carrot and mix.

In a separate bowl, combine the coconut oil, maple syrup/honey/agave, and orange juice, then add the grated ginger and cinnamon. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Here, I actually added an extra tablespoon or so of buckwheat flour because I thought the mixture was little too wet, but judge it for yourself. The mixture should still be reasonably wet and sticky!

Dollop tablespoons of the mixture onto the tray, shape them a little if you wish, and then pop them into the oven for 15 minutes! Devour, and try not to burn your fingers when they're fresh out of the oven and you juST CAN'T HELp yourself.

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Caramelly banana mango chia breakfast smoothie

During summer, I crave nothing more than fresh fruit smoothies for breakfast. Aside from being a completely delicious and refreshing brekky option, they're incredibly versatile and they pack a serious nutrition punch. I'm constantly playing around with my smoothie ingredients - so many different fruits, different combinations of fruit, coconut water or almond milk, different powders, greens or no greens… I could go on. But I won't. Instead I'll leave you with this morning's creation, which turned out deliciously caramel-like and super-satisfying.

You'll need:

3 frozen bananas
1 mango

Blend these two up together, so they're nice and creamy (it may be tempting to just eat it all like this… I won't blame you)

1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp maca powder
1 tsp mesquite powder
1 tblsp chia seeds
Coconut water/almond milk/water (entirely up to you, all are delicious)

Add all these tasty, super body-lovin' ingredients and blend it up. Add as much liquid as you want, until you reach your desired consistency - if I'm having a smoothie bowl, I'll use less liquid so it's nice and thick, but otherwise I probably add a cup or so of liquid.

I topped my smoothie with some raw buckwheat groats, which added a tasty crunch, but the possibilities of toppings are also endless (coconut flakes, more chia seeds, berries, cacao nibs… Get experimental!)

Sip away!

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Banana peanut butter bars

Grain free, refined sugar free, wholesome banana peanut butter bars with cacao chips, walnuts and buckwheat. Phew. Was that a mouthful, or what? A delicious mouthful. These babies are the perfect energy-packed, goodness-filled, tasty snack for busy mornings, hectic afternoons, as a little something to tide you over until dinner, or for dessert! I basically threw whatever I had in the pantry that I thought would be delicious into these bars, so a few of the ingredients are optional add-ins. And if you have other ingredients on hand that you think would go nicely, feel free to play around!

The buckwheat groats, cacao nibs, and nuts make for a delicious balance of textures, and the banana flavour is subtle but, paired with the peanut butter, perfect. Every ingredient is nutritious, and the bars are protein-packed with healthy fats (coconut! Nuts! Buckwheat!) AND lovely carbs (bananas!), so they're basically a square meal, amiright…?

I'm sure any other flour would work just as well but remember that coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture, so if using another flour, make sure you reduce the amount of water you add. You could also use a different sweetener instead of coconut sugar if you don't have any on hand!

Ingredients:

¾ cup raw buckwheat groats

¾ cup coconut flour

½ cup coconut sugar

½ cup cacao nibs (optional, but delicious)

½ cup of walnuts (optional, or any other nut!)

Pinch of salt

1 tsp of baking powder

2 eggs

½ cup of water (more or less, as required)

1 Tblsp of soft coconut oil

2-3 mashed bananas (I used three smallish ones)

½ cup all-natural peanut butter

1 Tblsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the coconut flour & sugar, salt, baking powder together, before adding the buckwheat groats, cacao nibs and walnuts and mixing it all up. Add eggs and stir through well. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas, add the peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and coconut oil (you're allowed to eat a spoonful of this fab mixture… Or two… I ~~won't~~ can't judge).

Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture, stir together well. Add the water so that you have a lovely dough that sticks together well.

Pop into a lined and greased tray, push down so it’s all nice and flat. Bake for 25 minutes on 180 degrees Celsius, leave to cool, cut into squares/rectangles/however you fancy, and nosh!

These actually taste even better the day after as the peanut and banana flavours mature, so if you have the patience/restraint, save a few for that reason… If not, I certainly won't hold it against you.

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Sri Lanka

From India, we headed down to Sri Lanka, flying into Colombo where I met with my parents and two siblings. Michelle and Charlie left us here to begin their own adventures, and after one night at the beautiful Galle Face Hotel in Colombo (a must-stay, simply to sip a gin and tonic as you watch the sun go down over the Indian Ocean!) we made our way to the town of Anuradhapura. Here we explored the ancient Buddhist ruins, dagobas (or stupas), and saw the Bodhi Tree and its surrounding temple.

We made our way to Sigiriya, where we climbed the famous rock fortress. Dating from the 3rd to the 5th century, this elaborate fortress palace was built into the rock at the top of a mountain, and still has beautiful rock fresco paintings which are marvellously in tact. We also went on a fabulous, although very wet and rainy, elephant safari and saw many, many elephants in the wild. What was probably the most poignant happening of all, however, was the night we were invited to have dinner at the little mud hut of a local family, who made us the most amazing traditional Sri Lankan meal on their clay stove (complete with eating with our hands!) and sang us Sri Lankan songs.

Our next stop was Kandy, where we visited the Sacred Temple of the Tooth, and then on up into the mountains and tea country, where we stayed in Nuwara Eliya. Here we drank lots of delicious ceylon tea, and did a magnificent 9km walk (for which we had to wake up at 5am for!) in Horton Plains National Park to World's End - a breathtaking look-out across the mountains and valleys and forest. Our next stop was Udawalawe, and here we went on another elephant safari where we got ridiculously close to some very noisy young elephants!

Our final stop was Hikkaduwa, a famously hippy beach town along the east coast of Sri Lanka. Here we spent four wonderful days relaxing, seeing wild sea turtles, swimming, surfing and snorkelling. We also made the journey to the famous architect Geoffrey Bawa's house, which I fell in love with (and which I haven't included photos from in this post as I'm planning on doing a separate post for it). From Hikkaduwa, we made our way back up to Colombo where we departed for home.

Here are some of the photos I took on my iPhone 4s of the wonderful Sri Lanka.

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India

Despite having spent a very significant portion of my year last year overseas, I was blessed enough to be eased back into real life very slowly upon my return with the opportunity to go to India and Sri Lanka. A family friend was going to India for the birthday of a close friend and was taking her daughter Michelle, a year younger than me, and Michelle's friend Charlie, and asked if I wanted to come too. Six years ago, I travelled to India with my family, and I have the fondest memories of that holiday - India was like nothing I had ever seen before, it was the most amazing cultural learning experience, and ever since then I've intended to return. So, of course, I said yes!

Straight after Christmas we set off, and after an initial (major) hiccup involving flight stuff ups we arrived in Mumbai, where we spent the majority of our time. We also spent time in Madhya Pradesh, around Jabulpur, where we stayed in a tiger sanctuary, went on safari, and took a boat ride in the village of Bhedaghat, down the Narmada River, which is lined with magnificent limestone cliffs.

We were in Mumbai over New Year's Eve, and man was it a party! The group of people we were with, mostly from the States, knew people who lived in Mumbai, and so we spent the night dancing on the rooftop terrace of their friend's apartment, drinking and feasting, and honing our Bollywood dance skills. Mumbai was filled with much drinking, a huge amount of delicious eating (ah, authentic Indian food…), lots of shopping, with a bit of culture thrown in. We visited the famous Gateway to India, as well as the former Prince of Wales museum, which had a wonderful collection of not only Indian sculpture and historical artefacts, but also Nepalese and Tibetan displays.

From India, we made our way down to Sri Lanka, which I'm in the process of making a post about! In the mean time, here are a few of the photos that were taken on my iPhone 4s in India.

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The home stretch: Berlin

I write this from the warmth of a sunny spot in my backyard, a world apart from the fast-approaching European winter that these photos were taken in. Somehow four months hurricaned past me, and this post is the last of the adventures of my wonderful, whirlwind time backpacking around Europe.

The endlessly fascinating and multilayered city of Berlin was my final stop. The first couple of days I was there, I was blessed with sunshine and not-completely-freezing weather. The sun was going down at around 4pm and then the icy cold would set in, so I spent the short daylight hours that I had walking everywhere. I visited the Berlin Wall memorial site, the absolutely impressive Jewish museum, the victory column and the wonderful surrounding park, the Brandenburg gate, soaked up the festivities of the Chrismas markets, and hunted down lovely cafes to hide away in with tea and soup.

The past four months were some of the greatest months of my life, and included some of the highest highs and lows that I've ever experienced, from which I have come away from stronger, wiser, and more self assured than I could have ever hoped to be.

Here is the final installment of my European photos, taken on my iPhone. Stay tuned for future travels; I've got some pretty exciting adventures planned for January.

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