Avocado and carrot rolls

Healthy shack never been easier. Simple to put together, great appetizers and good for you.
Place them on your table and watch them disappear! 

Ingredients:

1 avocado

1 - 2 carrots 

Use a potato peeler, peel long pieces of carrot.

Chop the avocado into cubes and fill the carrot strips with avocado.

You can also try different combo, cucumber with avocado, carrot and hummus, cucumber with carrot cubes or carrot with green celery pieces.

Healthy snacks

Just a quick post before Christmas, here are two of my favorite snacks that keeps my sugar craving under control. I was so amazed when I tried the combo green apple and nut butter AND THEN I  tried medjool date stuffed with nut butter and it's soooooo good folks it blows your mind.Medjool dates do contain sugar but they don't produce such a blood -sugar high when you eat them as the fibre in them slows all down. Rich in selenium, copper, B vitamins and antioxidant medjool dates don't come cheep but they worth every penny!

You will need:

medjool dates

green apple

nut butter such as peanut or almond butter

Take the pit out of the dates and stuff them with 1 tsp of nut butter

or 

slice a green apple and make a sandwiches using your favorite nut butter!

Delicious and nutritious ! 

Avocado dressing

I have been making this dressing for a while and I must say I am addicted to it, not so much as  I am addicted to peanut butter and coffee but near enough.
Right, lets get to the point: if you never had it before - have it now, it will transform your lunch bowl into a goodness lunch bowl.
It's healthy and it's quick , it's simply delicious!

Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado

1 mince garlic clove

juice of half lemon or lime

2 Tbsp thick yogurt or soya yogurt 

salt and pepper 

Put all ingredients into a measuring glass jag, using a hand blender pulse it until it's smooth and kind of runny. Pour over your favorite salad, potatoes, fish or anything you like....

For mouth-watering goodness bowls, I always combine:

 grain such as brown rice, quinoa, millet, frekeeh, bulgur

add cooked pulse such as butter beans, green lentils or chick peas

add roast / steamed veggies such as sweet potato, celeriac, cauliflower or broccoli 

add grated raw carrots or beetroot 

add fresh tomatoes, rocket leaves, fresh chili, parsley 

and pan fried seeds

Mince pies with a twist

This pies are so easy and quick to make and the taste is nothing like the taste we get from the shop-bought mince pies.
I am using a homemade mincemeat prepared in advance and I am using all butter puff pastry - no trans fats in these pies !
Have a happy and healthy Christmas everyone!

Boozy pecan mincemeat recipe:

3 apples, chopped

500 gr dried fruits

60 gr pecans, chopped

100 gr light muscovado sugar

1 orange, zested and juiced

1 lemon, zested and juiced

2 tsp ground mixed spice

2 tsp ground cinnamon

good grating nutmeg

5 or 10 Tbsp brandy or rum

150 gr butter

Put all ingredients except butter in a bowl, cover and leave overnight to marinate.

The next day, sterilise five 350 ml jars and their lids using your oven.

While you jars are drying put the fruit mixture in the oven as well and adding the butter on the top of the fruit for 20 minutes.

The oven should be heated on 110 C.

Divide the mixture between the hot jars and put the lids on.

Leave to cool.

These will keep for up to 6 months in a cool and dark place.

Mince pies:

350 gr all butter puff pastry ( the best one you can afford )

1 jar of mincemeat

icing sugar ( optional )

Roll the pastry flat 3-4 mm thick

Spread the mincemeat all over the pastry and roll it.

Cut the long pastry into 12 peaces.

Place the pastry peaces on a baking tray or muffin tin, buttered 

Bake the pies for 25 minutes on 200 C .

Dust with icing sugar  before serving.

Посна потица / Vegan nut bread

Potica is festive bread prepared for Christmas! It's nutty, it's rich, it's sweet, it's beautiful. This is vegan version and because of it, I can make it any time in the year and enjoy it fresh or toasted... 

Потребни состојки:

350 гр брашно

пола лажиче сол

1 лажиче сув квасец

3 лажици мед 

2 лажици масло

вода по потреба

**********************

150 гр мелени ореви

2-3 лажици кафеав шеќер

1 лажица какао

1 лажиче цимет

1 ванилин шеќер

+ масло или посен маргарин за премачкување

Замесете тесто од наведените состојки и оставете го да се крева околу 45 минути.

Во меѓувреме измешајте ги оревите со останатите суви состојки. Премачкајте со масло калап за печење на лебот.

Тестото ставете го на побрашнета површина и со сукало развлечете го тенко почнувајки од средина. Тестото редовно треба да се поткрева за да не се залепи за површината на која работите. Треба да добиете тесто со ширина од околу 1 метар Х 60 см.

Со пекарска четка премачкајте го тестото со масло или стопен и оладен маргарин и посипете го на целата површина со смесата од ореви.

Замотајте го тестото како ролат, ке добиете долго и тенко тесто во облик на змија.

Во припремениот калап за печење ставете го тестото, преклопувајки се додека не го 

"собере" целото тесто.

Оставете го тестото да се крева 1 час покриено со крпа.

Печете на 180 степени околу 45 минути.

Оладете го лебот пред да го сечете.

По желба посипете го со шеќер во прав.

Ingredients:

350 gr flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp instant yeast

3 tbsp honey

2 tbsp oil 

water

***********

150 gr ground walnuts

2-3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 tbsp vanilla sugar

+ oil or melted vegan butter 

Place the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, add 200 ml water together with the honey and oil and make a dough. Add more water if needed.

Place the dough into a clean mixing bowl, cover it with tea-towel and leave it to rest for 45 minutes.

In a meantime mix up the dry ingredients for the filling.

Now the tricky bit: place the dough on a flowered surface, using a rolling pin, roll the dough starting from the middle. As you work continually pick up the dough from the table, not only to help in stretching it out, but also to make sure that it isn't sticking.

You should get 1 meter x 60 cm dough.

Now, using a pastry brush, brush the dough with oil or melted vegan butter and sprinkle the walnut mixture all over the dough. Roll the dough gently, you will get a long rope shape.

Gently lift it up and place it into a greased loaf tin in the shape of U and then repeat until all "rope" is in.

Cover the tin with tea towel and leave it to rest for 1 hour.

Bake the bread on 180 C for 45 minutes.

Cool it down completely before you slice it.

Sprinkle it with icing sugar if you wish.

Vegan Winter Bliss Food

Are you vegan?? Do you want to be vegan?? You don't know how to start? I've got the answer!
Flirt with plant and clean food every now and then, you don't need to embrace it all in one go, make friend with food you never eat before, get connected with the nature in your own way, meditate, kiss the people you love more, dance and just be happy ........
I have read so many books about veganism but there is only one worth mentioning The Kind Diet and here is her blog packed with very useful info, real stories and tips 

Recipe for the falafels:

2 cups of semi cooked brown lentils

1 clove of garlic

juice of half lemon

lots of parsley

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp flour

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse it.

Using you hands make 12 falafels, place them in a baking tin and bake them on 180 C

for 20 minutes.

The recipe is from here

Recipe for the flax crackers:

120 gr white bread flour

40 gr wholewheat flour

40 gr rye flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp of sesame seeds

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 tsp poppy seeds

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp flax seeds 

150 ml water

First, place the flax seeds into a small cooking pot with 150 ml of cold water.

Cook them on medium heat for 5 minutes after they boiled.

Cool down the mixture before you add to the dry ingredients, add the oil and make a dough.

Wrap the dough with cling film and leave it to rest for 20 minutes on room temperature.

Roll the dough into a rectangle shape as tin as possible and cut it into a strips.

Prick them with fork and place them into a baking tray. 

Bake the crackers for 12-14 minutes on 200 C.

The recipe is from this blog

Hummus:

300 gr cooked chick peas

1 tbsp tahini 

2 -3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

juice of half lemon

salt and pepper 

water

Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse it until smooth!

Spread it , dip into it, love it, it's full of well needed calcium.