Spiced Eggs

It has been a busy couple of weeks! Three weeks ago, Hungry Male and I flew down to Dunedin for my Nephew's first birthday. It was really nice being able to go back home and see everyone, since they were all together for the birthday party. We had a Hairy Maclary theme, and my sister made an amazing Hairy Maclary cake!

We had a weekend to ourselves and then for the following week we had house guests, as Hungry Male and some friends were taking part in the 90 Mile Classic IRB race. For those of you uneducated in Surf Life Saving language, this was an event where they raced one of the orange surf boats 88km down 90 mile beach, with a couple of transition stages in between. I was the support driver and had to follow them down the beach and make sure their petrol was ready at the transition stages. It was really nice getting to head further north for a weekend, even if it was quite a busy one, as I have never been up that way before and we even had enough time to go to Cape Reinga.

Because I was trying to catch up from a hectic weekend, necessity was the mother of invention when it came to lunches, as it was mostly a case of trying to figure something out from what I had in the cupboard and fridge. These eggs were one of my creations. 

I was actually a little obsessed with eggs this week and I had these on crackers, in salads and on toast. They were really a bit of a life saver. I boiled up a bunch of eggs on Monday night and that did me for almost the rest of the week.

Now I haven't quite perfected the easy-to-peel boiled egg yet, so if anyone has any tips please tell me! This batch I added a little baking soda to the water and peeled them under cold water, however, the shell still took a bit of the egg white off with it.

So if you are stuck for lunch or snack inspiration, give these a go!

Ingredients

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

Place the eggs in a saucepan with a pinch of baking soda and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil and boil the eggs for 6 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat then put the eggs immediately into cold water. Once the eggs are cool to touch, gently peel them while holding under running water.

On a small plate, place the paprika, sesame seeds and cumin seeds. Roll the eggs in the spice mix until well coated. Serve on toast, on crackers or in salads.

Enjoy xx

Apricot Surprise Muffins (Refined sugar free)

Hi All! I hope that you have enjoyed your weekend. I fit in a spot of shopping yesterday and got a couple of nice things. I managed to find a blouse for work and a striped dress from Valley Girl (gotta love cheap and cheerful). I don't expect these to last that long since they were really cheap, but they will be good for a season or so. I also got a nicer sweater for work from Farmers.

It is very hard to even imagine winter when it is still pretty consistently in the mid 20s up here in Auckland, but I don't want the colder weather to creep up on me and have nothing to wear for work!

I also got out for a bit of Mountain Biking yesterday evening. I'm still very much a beginner at this, and as a result my technique isn't that great. Because of this, I did take a bit of a journey off my bike and onto the ground. Ouch! Luckily I only have a couple of scrapes and bruises to show for this.

I realise that I have been a little bit slack with the recipes lately. It's not that I haven't been creating anything, but I just haven't been taking the time to photograph and document it. I promise to try harder in the future :)

As this week's focus for the 12-week challenge is cutting refined sugar for one day I thought that I should post a recipe that allows you to still enjoy sweet food without all of the refined sugars. I definitely have a sweet tooth, so anything that allows me to indulge in a healthier way is a winner in my book.

These muffins have been sweetened using brown rice syrup, as it doesn't play havoc with blood sugar like refined sugars do and it is a relatively natural alternative. If you don't have access to brown rice syrup, I definitely think that these muffins would work with honey. If you do try let me know! These muffins also feel a bit more like a treat thanks to the creamy 'surprise' that they have in the middle.

Enjoy xx

(Makes 12 regular-sized muffins)

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup wholemeal flour (you could use all wholemeal but they will be stodgier)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
3/4 cup brown rice syrup
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup cream cheese
1 tsp brown rice syrup

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. and line a muffin tin.

In a large bowl, sift the flours, baking powder and baking soda. Stir through the dried apricots.

In a separate bowl, beat together the brown rice syrup, eggs and milk. Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients, and fold together until just mixed.

In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese and brown rice syrup.

Fill each muffin hole about 1/4 full with mixture, then add 1 tsp of cream cheese mixture. Fill each muffin hole evenly with the rest of the mixture.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the tops are golden and the top of the muffin springs back when gently pushed.

Eat within 1-2 days, or freeze for later.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Hi everyone, hope that your week so far is going well. After having a few quieter weeks to try and decompress after a crazy semester, I actually need to start getting some dissertation work properly underway before the next crazy semester begins! This means that I have been neurotically timetabling my days, but hey, it seems to work for me and I had such a productive day yesterday!!

This weekend I am heading to Queenstown to catch some of the Winterfest events. I think some of the planned action will be going to watch some ice hockey, ice skating, going to a concert and maybe heading up the mountain to watch the slope style competition. Should be heaps of fun and the place we are staying in is quite flash with our own spa!! I cannot wait! Since the weekend is likely to be not quite as healthy as usual, I am trying to balance out with lots of nutrient-dense foods during the week. I will also try to pack lots of healthy snacks so that I'm not eating junk all day long. Where we are staying also has a kitchen which makes it easier to have healthy lunches etc. I will document some of what I am eating via my instagram (@libbysfood) so check it out!

This smoothie recipe is a fantastic way to increase your veggie intake for the day. I will warn you that if you don't like pumpkin pie, do not go near this smoothie, but if you love it like me, this is a fantastic way to get all of the flavours without all of the sugar. Unfortunately in New Zealand, or at least Dunedin, we don't get tinned pumpkin that is already nice an pureed, so I just used some steamed pumpkin that we had from dinner the night before. You can easily play around with quantities to adjust it to your taste.

NB. Medjool dates are fantastic in smoothies, but if you don't have any you can sub in dried dates that you soak in boiling water for 10-15 minutes.

Ingredients
1 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin
2 Tbsp rolled oats
2-3 medjool dates
1 tsp maca powder (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup milk of choice (almond would be nice)

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until really nice and smooth. Took me about 40 seconds all up.

Healthy Hot Chocolate

It's snowing!! Well if you can really call hail and sleet snowing, however, it has settled on the ground in Dunedin and therefore shut down most of the schools. I am currently on dissertation leave at the moment so it hasn't affected me too much. One thing it does mean is that i am very keen to just stay inside with lots of warming food.

This hot chocolate definitely fits the bill! I came up with this last week when I was trying to watch the amount of sugar I was consuming. This actually makes a great afternoon snack as it is quite filling. I will note that I tried this with both full-fat cows milk and with an almond milk/ coconut  milk blend (both were delicious!). I know that there is a lot of debate around full fat dairy vs. low fat dairy, but at the moment I find full fat dairy much more satisfying. You also have to watch low fat dairy as often extra sugar is added to improve the flavour.

This would probably work with almost any type of milk so let me know what you used and if it tasted any good!

Ingredients
1 cup milk of choice
2 tsp raw cacao or cocoa powder
1-2 tsp rice malt syrup or honey (depends on your sweet tooth)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon for sprinkling (optional)

In a mug mix the honey/rice malt syrup, vanilla and cacao to form a paste. Add the milk stirring to combine a little. Heat in the microwave for a minute or so, depending on your microwave. Stir very well to make sure that the paste has fully combined with the milk.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!

Valentines Treat- Raw Double Layer Freezer Brownie

Valentine's Day is just around the corner so I thought that I would get somewhat into the spirit by creating a special treat to give to any loved one. Valentine's Day isn't really anything for Hungry Male and I. Every year I tend to get quite jealous when I see all of the girls carrying around their over-priced flowers, but then Hungry Male points out that he would much rather just spoil me randomly throughout the year and there doesn't need to be a special day for it.


My logical side fully understands this reasoning.


My not so logical side is still waiting for flowers :)



Even though I don't really 'do' Valentine's I still thought that it was a great opportunity to come up with a sweet treat, because really, Valentine's is about sweet not savoury. This particular treat is full of goodness, with lots of fruit and nuts and no refined sugar.

Ingredients
1 cup dates, chopped
1 avocado, removed from skin
1 cup mixed nuts (I used a combination of raw peanuts and almonds)
1 Tbsp real maple syrup or honey

1 cup cashew nuts, soaked for 2+ hours in cold water

In a food processor, add the dates, avocado, nuts and maple syrup. Whiz in the processor until well broken up and clumping together. Press the mixture firmly into a metal slice tin using your hands.

Wipe out the food processor. Drain the cashews and add to the food processor with 2 Tbsp water. Whiz for around 30 seconds, thens crape down the sides and repeat until the mixture has turned creamy. Spread over the top of the date mixture.

Place in the freezer for 2 hours. If you want heart shaped bites, use a heart shaped cutter, pressing firmly down. If not cut into small squares. Store in the freezer.

GF Apple Crumble Muffins

I am so excited to share this recipe with you!! These muffins just ticked so many boxes.

First of all they are the first gluten free recipe that I have successfully developed (after a horrible, dry first attempt).

If you choose not to use the crumble topping, they are refined sugar free (they are just as delicious without)

They are nutritionally good enough for breakfast with fibre, protein and some fruit in there.

All of this and they got hungry male's seal of approval.

The only downside of these muffins........

..... They were all gone in less than 48 hours.

I suppose that just means that I will have to make some more. Since I am really busy at the moment that may be a bit of a challenge, but I have found that if I schedule in some baking time as 'me' time, I get yummy food and get to have some time to myself away from study.

These muffins use oat flour, which isn't readily available in New Zealand, but don't worry about that as it is ridiculously easy to make. I either make a big batch by whizzing up rolled oats in my food processor or to make smaller batches just throw some into the magic bullet. I have also made these muffins with apples, but tonight when i make them, I am going to try them with some peaches for a change. I will keep you posted on how they go.

Ingredients
1.5 cups oat flour
0.5 cups almond meal/flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup apple puree (I steamed 3 peeled green apples and then used my stick blender to puree.)
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup butter, melted (Could use coconut oil to make dairy free)


1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup almond meal/flour
2 Tbsp oats

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a muffin pan

In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, almond flour and baking powder and cinnamon.

Whisk together the apple puree, egg, honey and butter, then add to the dry ingredients.

Gently fold together until just mixed. Fill the muffin tins until 2/3 full.

In a small bowl, rub together the butter, sugar and almond flour and oats until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle the crumble topping on top of the muffins.

Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean (These muffins are very moist).

Leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing muffins from the tin.

Apricot Muffin Bars

Today's post is going to be on the subject of breakfast. I am a sit down and eat kind of breakfast girl. Oh and I must eat my breakfast. Those of you who know me know that I am not pretty without my breakfast! For me this means that I like to be able to eat something substantial in a bowl or plate.

However, as much as I do try to do this it is not always possible. My hair will not behave, I spent a little bit longer in the shower as it was so nice or warm, or I just got busy doing other things. Now like I said, not having breakfast just isn't an option for me so I find it really handy to have a couple of things in the freezer or pantry that I can just grab.

More recently, hungry male decided that he liked the convenience of grab and go breakfasts and the extra 5 minutes they gave him in the morning. His solution was just to grab a couple a muesli bars and while that's not the worst breakfast in the world, it could be a whole lot better. My concern is generally the amount of sugar in them.

Due to this I was inspired to make these muffin bars with no refined sugar in them. I initially made apricot ones as I knew that dried apricots would really help to sweeten them up, however, I am very keen to try them with some other dried fruits. I also amped up the nutrition of these bars by using oat flour instead of ordinary white flour.

Delicious, nutritious and so quick and easy. That's what I call a perfect breakfast on the run!

Ingredients
1 cup chopped, dried apricots
1 cup oat flour (grind oats in a food processor or magic bullet)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk (if needed)
1/4 cup reserved water from the apricots
1/4- 1/2 cup honey (this will depend on how sweet you want it)
1/4 cup dark chocolate chunks (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Place the chopped apricots in a microwave safe bowl and cover with water. Cover with glad wrap and place in the microwave for 3-4 minutes or until the apricots are very soft. Drain the water, reserving 1/4 cup. Using a stick blender or potato masher, puree the apricots (stick blender works best).

In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder and baking soda and chocolate chunks if using. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, reserved apricot water, and honey. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold till just combined. If the mixture looks very dry add the 1/4 cup milk.

In a greased square cake tin (approx 20x20 cm), spoon in half the mixture and spread out as evenly as possible. Spread the pureed apricots on top followed by the other half of the mixture.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden on top and cooked through. Leave to cool then cut into 16 pieces (4x4).

NB: I haven't tried this with other tried fruit but it should work.

Better Made At Home- Bounty Bar Bites

I am all finished with my second week at uni. Apart from a couple of research proposals and some readings things haven't gotten too busy just yet. This have given me some time to think up ideas for the blog and do some experimenting in the kitchen.

I was thinking the other day, that while I try to have a relaxed attitude to food and not completely restrict myself to completely unprocessed foods, there are quite a few foods that I really like that are heavily processed and have a lot of sugar in them (yes I have a major sweet tooth). What really sparked my interest was a bounty bar. Wikipedia describes these delights as a coconut filling enrobed with milk or dark chocolate. What they are is freaking delicious! However, they are really quite a simple concept.

As they are one of my favourite chocolate bars, I was inspired to get into the kitchen and make my own! I challenged myself to make a version that was completely refined sugar free so that I could enjoy them without guilt. I have given you two versions in this post. One is completely refined sugar free and uses a chocolate coconut oil coating. The other uses normal semi-dark chocolate to coat it. To be honest the normal chocolate ones look better and do taste slightly better, but if you are trying to reduce refined sugars, the sugar free ones are more than satisfying.

This recipe is also linked to my last post about how much I love coconut oil. Coconut oil was the perfect ingredient to bind them together. You could potentially use butter as an alternative to bind the coconut but I haven't tried it so therefore cannot vouch for its taste or success.

So welcome to the first post in the 'Better Made At Home' series.

Ingredients
1 cup dessicated coconut
5 Tbsp melted coconut oil
2 Tbsp honey

In a medium bowl stir all of the ingredients together thoroughly until the coconut is binding. You may need to let the mixture sit for a few minuted for the coconut oil to firm up for this to happen.

Using a rounded spoon (I used my Tablespoon measure) scoop out the mixture and firmly press into a half circular shape. Alternatively you could try to mould it with your hands. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Either melt 4 rows of semi-dark chocolate or melt together 4 Tbsp coconut oil, 2 Tbsp honey and 4 tsp cocoa powder. If using the coconut oil option, let it sit to firm up until it is melted chocolate consistency.

Take the frozen coconut mounds and gently coat them in chocolate using two forks. Place back on the plate and then place in the freezer until completely set (about another 30 minutes)

Deliciously Natural Banana Bread

Welcome to the first post of the new blog! After updating the blog, I created a Facebook page to make it easier to keep up with what's going on. Thank you so much to everyone who liked my page so far! You can find my Facebook page here.

I thought that since I had changed my blog to have a more real food focus, my first recipe should fit in with this. Everyone I know loves banana bread, but it is often full of white sugar. I decided that I wanted to have a go at getting rid of this refined sugar, while still having a delicious tasting banana bread.

I chose to use dates to sweeten this as dates create a really great caramel-like sweetness that lends itself really well to banana bread. While this may not be quite as sweet as some banana breads, I still really liked it and I thought that because it was slightly less sweet, it would make a really great breakfast on the go. I was also really impressed because this banana bread stayed moist for ages!

If you have a go at this banana bread, let me know how it goes!

Ingredients
1 cup dates
2 bananas
2 eggs
1/4 butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 cup white flour
1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Turn the oven on the 180 degrees C. and line a loaf tin.

Place the dates in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to sit for 10 minutes to soften, then drain.

Place the dates in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until they start to break up. Add the bananas, eggs, butter and milk and process until well mixed.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined. If the flour is not combining, add some more milk to thin out the mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and gently smooth out the top. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. If the banana bread starts to brown too much on top, just place a little foil over the tin.

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack.

This will stay moist for a couple of days. If you do have any left in a few days, it is also really great toasted.

Cookie #2- A healthier Chocolate Chip Cookie

I like cookies as much as the next person, however cookies tend to involve a bit of sugar. Despite having quite the sweet tooth, sugar and I don't have the best relationship... it gives me migraines if I eat too much.

It is for this reason that I love these cookies, a delicious sweet cookie without the sugar overload. These cookies can either be sugar free or made with a little bit of sugar. These use banana to naturally add sweetness, but if you are not a banana fan (AKA hungry male) these could also be made with apple puree.

Makes 12 cookies

Ingredients
1 large banana (or 1/2 cup apple puree)
1/4 cup peanut butter (You could you a hazelnut spread too)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking powder
4 Tbsp chocolate chips
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup plain flour
1 Tbsp stevia powder or 1/4 cup sugar

1. Mash together the banana and nut butter until very creamy.
2. Stir in the vanilla essence.
3. Add the other ingredients and stir well.
4. Scoop tablespoon fulls of mixture on to a baking tray.
5. Bake at 180 degrees C for 12-15 minutes.
6. Halfway through cooking, flatten the cookies put with the back of a metal spoon.
7. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Choc Chip Cookie's 2 Ways

The other day I bought myself a huge cookie jar, so today I set about baking some cookie to fill it. I decided that I wanted to bake some delicious treat cookies as well as some healthier cookies that I can scoff down without getting a sugar overload. Therefore I made 2 versions of chocolate chip cookies.

Think of this as like online cookie dating. You can read the two profiles of the cookies and choose which one is the best for you. I will post one recipe today and the other one tomorrow.

Cookie #1= This cookie is your traditional, American soft-style cookie. Think soft, chewy and full of chocolate chips. I don't usually dip cookies into milk, but if I was going to, this would be the cookie. A hungry male favourite.

Cookie #2= This is the ultimate guilt-free cookie. This cookie is for those who like their cookies a big more chunky and hearty and the bonus? You won't get a sugar overload with these and get some health benefits while eating them. Perfect to feed children who you don't want on a sugar high.

Recipe Cookie #1

The recipe for this cookie comes from "Real Girls Eat". It makes extremely delicious, soft, chewy cookies. However, these are more of a 'sometimes food' cookie.

This recipe is also a great time saver. You can whip up a batch of cookie dough, cook half of the cookies then and then freeze the other half of the dough for later.

Makes 30-40 cookies

Ingredients
230g butter
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs
3 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 cups chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the 2 sugars (Beat with an electric mixer for around 5 minutes until creamy).
2. Beat in the vanilla essence.
3. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
4. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt.
5. Add the chocolate chips
6. Fold all of the ingredients together until just combined.
7. Place the mixture in the fridge for 1/2 and hour.
8. If not using now, shape the mixture into a log, roll in plastic wrap and freeze.
9. Roll tablespoon-full lots of mixture into balls and place on a baking tray (These spread heaps, so give them plenty of room).
10. Gently flatten the balls with a fork.
11. Bake at 180 degrees C. for 9-10 minutes or until the edges are golden.
12. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Bliss Balls

Here's a yummy wee snack that is a great to satisfy that mid afternoon sweet tooth. The dates give them the sweetness while also giving you some fruit and the nuts give these balls a nice texture. A batch of these can be made up in the weekend and kept in the fridge for the rest of the week. 

Ingredients

150g dates

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1 Tbsp cocoa

1. Place all of the ingredients in a food processor.

2. Process until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

3. Taking tablespoon amounts of mixture roll them firmly into balls.