We have been continuing the theme of hiding veggies in cakes, ostensibly to diversify the consumption of my daughter, although really if I am honest, it's just another excuse to bake cakes! Today's endeavour is beetroot brownies and quite a success, partly due to the 100% cacao chocolate that went into them and lots of it. What you need: 250g unsalted butter 180g 100% cacao chocolate 3 medium eggs 300g coconut sugar A pinch of sea salt 150g wholemeal self-raising flour 300g b

This is quick pudding you can make when you think there is literally nothing in the fridge. One reader tells me she is a baked apple purist, rubbing the skin with a little coconut oil and baking them with nothing but a cinnamon stick inside the core. These are slightly more decadent using butter, coconut sugar, dried fruit and spices. Delicious served with ice-cream, cream or yoghurt and leftovers work well with y0ghurt for breakfast. What you need: 4 apples 80g butter 2 tbls

Here is a chewy, fruity bar with hints of chocolate from the cacao nibs. However, the key to a really successful is granola bar is to use the grains, seeds, fruits and nuts that you like, so do feel free to vary them. For example, you can substitute the dates for raisins, opt for sunbutter (sunflower seed spread) rather peanut butter if your school is nut-free, or use agave rather than maple syrup. You don’t need to cook them if you like them really gooey, alternatively bake

This is a super quick family pudding using fresh bananas and a homemade chocolate sauce which contains just three ingredients: cacao powder, coconut oil and maple syrup. Is it therefore dairy-free and refined sugar free. You could sprinkle some dessicated coconut on top or shavings of frozen coconut cream, for a dairy-free ice-cream effect. Simply pop a carton of coconut cream in the freezer... If you do apply this chocolate sauce to ice-cream or anything frozen, it will hard

As I previously mentioned, baking is not my forte, so when I find a winning combination, I am most pleased! These are super easy and highly addictive plus can be frozen for packed lunches. What you need: Butter for greasing 1 cup applesauce 1 egg 2 tbs coconut oil 1 tsp vanilla essence 3/4 cup coconut sugar 1 cup oats 1 tsp ground cinnamon 3/4 cup wholewheat flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 cup raisins Pinch of salt Method: Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease wi

What you need: 100g pumpkin seeds 1-2 tbl of soy or tamari sauce. Method: Chuck 100g pumpkin seeds in a skillet with 1-2 tbls of tamari (if gluten-free) or soy sauce. Heat until the sauce first goes gloopy then is absorbed. This takes a couple of minutes. Serves 2 children as a snack. #ta #tamarisoypumpkinseeds #pumpkinseeds #refinedsugarfree #iqs #healthysnacks #kidshealthysnacks #lunchboxideas #packedlunchideas

I am going to my daughter's school today to celebrate all the January birthdays, so being the responsible (mean) mother that I am, I decided to make some sugar-free cupcakes. While these are void of refined white sugar, I have instead used a new (to me) sugar alternative called SugaVida, which is organic, unrefined with a low GI. It is also rich in B vitamins, with 1 teaspoon providing your entire daily requirement of B12. The sugar is harvested from the blossom of the Palmyr

These were just an excuse to use my new coconut flour. The recipe is from Empowered Sustenance and a pretty good result re bake, texture, lightness and moisture BUT why did I expect the foul-smelling, raw buckwheat honey (also a new purchase) to smell less like cow manure after a 15 min bake?! Is this stuff always like this?! A good reminder of garbage in is garbage out... I would definitely try this gluten-free, vegan, paleo recipe again but with a sweeter smelling honey...

In my previous corporate job, my erstwhile colleague, Fella, would often do a cake run when we hit our sugar lows, at about 4pm most days. However, for the times when we couldn't leave our desks, we had no option other than to hit the secret stash in her bottom drawer: a packet of digestive biscuits, a jar of Nutella and a knife. It certainly hit the spot. This is my slightly healthier version containing just 4 ingredients. Like Nutella, it is chocolatey and hazelnutty, but a

Homemade Raw Chocolate - definitely one of the best things I have made this year and I do not say that lightly! It is also super quick and easy. 10 mins prep and an hour or so to set in the freezer. I flavoured it today with orange zest resulting in what can only be described as the finest Terry's chocolate orange you have ever tasted, then plunged almonds and raisins in other bits resulting in a healthy, raw version of Cadbury's Fruit N' Nut! You could flavour it with cardam

Pear and Vanilla "Dotty" Oatmeal There are many flavoured oatmeals in the shops but these are often full of artificial ingredients, added sugar and can be expensive. This recipe takes no longer to make than normal oatmeal and is free from refined sugar and a welcome variation on the usual oatmeal toppings. See if you get the same question from your kids "Mummy, why are there dots in my porridge?" Put your oats onto cook in your milk of choice and while it does, slash open a v

Banana Yoghurt Lollies. Bananas go off so quickly in the summer but don't throw them out! Just before they go beyond the point of no return, peel and chop them into lumps and freeze in a ziplock bag. You can use them in smoothies instead of ice or blend with yoghurt and freeze into moulds. The ratio of yoghurt to fairly unimportant and no need to add any other sugar. If you are lactose intolerant, you could use milk kefir, almond or coconut milk. More ideas for lollies here #

Wintery looking weather calls for warming breakfasts! So, here is apple, cinnamon, raisin and maple syrup oatmeal for the kids and I although there is every chance I may have a second breakfast if my husband demands bacon and eggs... Place 2 cups of oatmeal, 2.5 cups of your milk of choice and a teaspoon of ground cinnamon/cinnamon stick in a saucepan and cook slowly for around 5 mins, or more depending on the size of your oats. Once the porridge is almost cooked, peel an a

Frozen Pomegranate Seeds! Not my idea, but one of Mango Menus' readers, and just like the Frozen Grapes post from last week (albeit slightly more time consuming getting the damn seeds out...). Like grapes, they too have a high natural sugar content so freeze like perfect little pellets of sorbet/sherbet. An ideal healthy treat for the kids to replace raisens in this HOT weather as they stay cool for longer and act as a natural icepack to whatever else you are carrying. For t

Frozen Grapes! Such a simple but effective idea... They freeze so well. When they come straight out the freezer they are obviously a touch hard but defrost quickly since they are small plus it's HOT here, so a few minutess later they are almost like perfect balls of sorbet/sherbet given their high natural sugar content. Since void of refined sugar they are a great healthy snack option for kids, will last longer in this heat if you take them for packed lunches/picnics AND act

Woo hoo! Food52 picked the instagram of our Best Ever Lemonade as their favourite last week! This is void of refined sugar and contains just 2 apples (golden delicious best for juicing) and 1/5 of a lemon, pips n' all! Great way to start Saturday off with the kids... See all our juice and smoothie ideas here. #lemonade #besteverlemonade #food52 #refinedsugarfree #juices #juicing #juice #applelemonjuice #goldendelicious

Bangkok was the destination for my husband's weekend cricket trip (yeah, whatever...) leaving me carte blanche to experiment in the kitchen with "healthy weird sh-t", as he would put it. These were however an unmitigated and moreish success, containing nothing but the ingredients in the title. I couldn't think of a catchy name although am sure if my husband were present, his feedback would have included the words "animal droppings". Since refined sugar free, they are perfect