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Tag Archives: chia


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there may be trouble ahead brownies

When the going gets tough, my first instinct is to panic. Not very helpful when you are a mum of four. My second instinct is to bake something with chocolate in (although that’s not an instinct I reserve for a crisis, as you know).

Of course, as is always the case, ever since I wote my rather up-beat (totally out of character) optimistic post about sleep deprivation then things have  been falling apart around here. The six year old has a nasty case of the chicken pox (meaning his three younger brothers will have it too, within a couple of weeks) and the man of the house is feeling under the weather. So we’ve been eating lots of virtuous healthful stuff..lots of ice cream ..the odd lollypop, and absolutely no cod-liver oil (my attempt to convince B that a spoonfull of fermented fish oil would do him the world of good were spectacularly unsuccessful).

To calm the situation I made these cake/brownies, because B likes the chocolate prune combo and he has rather been calling the shots today.  Started off by stewing half a cup of prunes with half cup blueberries, a couple of spoons of chia seeds. Melted about 50g dark chocolate and 50g butter over the top. Whisked 4 eggs with 1/4 cup of raw sugar (really seeing how low I can go with the sugar now.. )  with 2 cups ground almonds and 1/2 cup cocoa powder. Blended the prunes etc and chocolate. Mixed it all together with a couple of spoons of yogurt and baked it for about 30 minutes. It’s far from being the best cake I’ve ever made (funny how a bit of stress really seeps into the baking .. or is that just me? )  but if nothing else the act of mixing the thing up, melting the chocolate, and smelling it baking, went a little way towards calming my nerves. Sadly my nerves were almost immediately shattered again by young T dropping a dozen eggs on the wooden floor (whilst attempting to lend me a hand). Eggs are no fun to try and clean off a wooden floor.

So that sums up day two of this little adventure in spots and pox and stuff. It’s going to be a long few weeks. If you’d like to cheer me up you can pop over here and give my little blog a vote. You don’t need to register on the site, you just need to scroll down and down and down until you find me.. I think I’m cruising around the 200 mark. You can vote once a day for the next few days if you’re really game. I’m not particularly a competition type of person but I impulsively registered for this and it will make me smile to see a few votes by my name amidst the chaos of the days ahead. Thanks.


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pear, prune and chia butter-less chocolate almond cake

Here’s a revelation… at least for me… cake doesn’t need butter in to taste good. It’s not that I have any particular desire to cut back on butter in my life – it’s just I’d run out and wanted to bake. I’m a buttery person so don’t think I’ve ever baked without butter before and was slightly stunned to see it didn’t make much difference (possibly because my recipes are rather untraditional anyway!). If anything it was lighter and spongier which is always a bonus for a gluten free cake.

Half a cup of pitted prunes and a chopped pear stewed in a little water with a couple of spoons of chia seeds. Over the top about 60 – 70g dark chocolate melted. Meanwhile whisk 3 eggs with 1/2 cup raw sugar. Add 1 cup ground almonds, about 3/4 cup brown rice flour and 1 tsp baking powder.

When the chocolate is melted blend it with the prunes and pears (there should be very little juice because the chia seeds will absorb all the water. Add half a cup of plain (full fat) pouring yogurt. Mix the chocolate paste into the rest and bake. I iced mine with a little melted milk chocolate mixed with a teaspoon of greek yogurt ..it was Thursday afternoon after all, and that’s a reason to be festive around these parts.

 


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prune, chia, pumpkin and flaxseed brownies (gluten free)

Don’t be put off by the healthy sounding title. These may be packed with super-seeds but they taste like really good chocolate brownies. You can trust me on that because I am something of an expert on brownies and chocolate cake in general. So are my kids. It’s always a good indicator how something tastes when they all want seconds, and then they fight over who’s second slice is the biggest.

I eat ground pumpkin and flaxseeds every day as part of my super-seed breakfast, but the kids mainly get seeds when I add them to baking… more justification (as if I need it) to keep a steady supply of fresh stuff coming out of the oven.

Start by stewing half a cup of pitted prunes in a little water. Over the top melt around 60 – 70g dark chocolate, 50g butter and 2 tablespoons of chia seeds. The chia seeds will hydrate as the butter / chocolate melts. When it’s all molten blend the prunes with the chocolate mix (or just mash it together if you don’t mind lumps).

Whisk 3 eggs with 1/2 cup raw organic sugar (or any other type .. I blow with the wind when it comes to sugar and this is what I have in the cupboard at the moment).  Add about half a cup of ground pumpkin / flaxseeds. I use an old coffee grinder.. and if you’re reading this thinking ‘what a hassle to grind up seeds’, then rest assured, it’s really not. It will take about 10 seconds and these are nutritional gods, so it will be worth it.

Beat in about a cup and a half of ground almonds, and a couple of spoons of cocoa powder. (You can switch some ground almonds for rice flour if you want and skip the cocoa powder if you’re less of a chocofreak – you’re aiming for about 2 cups dry stuff, including the ground seeds, per 3 eggs).

Add the chocolate / prune mix and pour it into a greased square cake tin. It will take about 30 mins to bake. You can ice it, if you’re an icing kind of person. I used a few squares of melted milk chocolate mixed with a spoonful of greek yogurt. Obviously it would be healthier to omit this step but you know, these are brownies made with super-seeds, they can carry a little icing and still stand proud.

This post is linking up with http://www.simplysugarandglutenfree.com slightly indulgent Tuesdays


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beetroot, prune, chocolate chia cake (gluten free)

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying most kids don’t really like beetroot. Of course, kids are strange and unpredictable creatures, and there are probably some who do. I certainly don’t live with any. So when I pulled a nice fat beet out of the ground,  at the community garden yesterday, I assumed it would be consumed by the adults of the house. Then I bumped into Dave, the school caretaker. We got talking about the blog, and kids, and food. We talked about creating recipes that would get the kids excited about the community garden produce. Now, if you read my kid-food-wisom page, you see I believe inspiring kids to like adult food, rather than creating specific kid recipes. But talking to Dave got me thinking. Specifically thinking about beetroot and chocolate cake. Let’s face it – chocolate cake is about as exciting as it gets. It seemed like a sign. Me holding the beetroot and Dave talking about trying to come up with some recipes that would get the kids into the garden produce.

I started by putting about a half cup of pitted organic prunes in a little water to stew with the beetroot (peeled and cut into chunks so it would soften quickly. Over the top I melted about 70g of dark chocolate, 50g cubed butter and a couple of spoonfuls of chia seeds.

After about 10 minutes I caught the prunes  / beetroot just as they were beginning to boil dry – the ‘boil dry’ is never a good idea, I only mention it to illustrate the point that there wasn’t a lot of juice in the mix. I put everything in the little blender and buzzed it into a very think, absolutely gorgeous deep red chocolate-y paste.

Putting the paste to one side I whisked 3 eggs together with half a cup of granulated sugar, 1 and 1/2 cups of ground almonds, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1 tsp gf baking powder and 1/4 cup of brown rice flour. Then whisked in the chocolate paste and poured into a cake tin. Once again I failed to register the baking time,  but probably around 25 minutes.

Finished with icing. Made with a few squares of milk chocolate and a spoonful of greek yogurt. Can happily report the community garden beetroot was shared by the entire family – including the youngest who reached out and swiped some of  my slice while I wasn’t looking.


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blueberry, raspberry, apple and chia lunchbox muffins

The kids decided not to take advantage of the extra hour in bed with the clock change. Seems to go that way every year. No point feeling resentful.. they’re only little, after all. So we had a whole extra hour this morning, and baking is always a good way to use up a spare moment.

Cover about half a cup of chia seeds in a little fresh apple juice to hydrate (or water is OK but we happened to have some apple juice open). Beat together about 50g of melted butter with 1/2 cup sugar (I used granulated but probably any kind would be OK – or maybe replace with honey and grated apple / pear if you don’t like sugar),  2 spoons natural yogurt. Then in with 2 eggs, 2 cups self raising flour – the chia seeds which will be a think gunk by this time and then 1/2 cup of blueberries and 1/2 cup of raspberries – or any other kind of fruit… hell, throw in some chocolate chunks if you like ..it is Monday morning after all. You could use coconut flour and rice flour and an extra egg if you wanted gluten free but they would be a bit denser.

Slap it into some muffin cases and bake for 15 mins – this made 9 this morning but it really depends whow much mix you put in each one, plus as I never measure anything (aside from with an assortment of tea-cups – whichever are to hand) it’s always pretty random. I think  one of the world’s great myths is that baking is an exact art, that requires preparation, and beating, and fluffiness, and creaming, and weighing, and processing, and makes lots of mess (although this bit is always true baking with kids). Honestly, as long as you put roughly the right amounts in, and the ingredients are good, then you will get a good result without too much faff. Obviously if it’s something special, or you have plenty of time to spare, then you can break out the scales and the kitchen aid.. and probably get a better result.. but in my experience it’s rarely a disaster if you don’t follow an exact formula (or any formula at all).


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Blueberry, strawberry, chia and honey ice-blocks

I’ve got a new ‘instant’ ice block maker. It’s not the kind of kitchen gadget anyone could really claim to ‘need’ but boy does it make ice-block making more fun. The trouble with the old-style ‘put them in the freezer and wait for them to freeze’ technique is that it takes so long. By the time the kids have opened the freezer 500 times and poked them and asked ‘are they ready yet?’ everyone’s lost their rag and the whole thing seems like too much hassle so you all pile down to the dairy for jelly-tips.

So I’m feeling pretty good about my new piece of kit. Yesterday we squeezed fresh oranges and blended the juice with some raspberries – the kids were so excited watching them freeze before their eyes I didn’t dare try and delay the eating by taking a photo. Today we simmered some frozen blueberries and strawberries in a bit of water with chia seeds and a spoon of honey , blended it  and 10 minutes later here it is.


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big blueberry, prune and chia chocolate almond cake (gluten-free)

Cook half a cup of pitted organic prunes with a cup of blueberries and a couple of spoons of chia seeds in a little water.  After a few minutes it’s ready to blend (with the cooking juice).

It looks like this when you blend it up – kind of like jam!

Beat about 100g melted butter with a cup of soft brown sugar and 3 or 4 big scoops of yogurt. Then beat in the prune mix, 5 eggs, 2 cups ground almonds, 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup cocoa powder and a tsp gf baking powder.  Took about 20 – 25 mins to bake. Gluten free cakes don’t come out looking as puffy and fabulous as wheat flour cakes (in my opinion) which is a great excuse to give them a nice shiny coat of icing. For this one I melted a few sqs of milk chocolate and mixed in a spoon of greek yogurt.


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super-seed breakfast

I put this up on the facebook page a couple of days ago but couldn’t do a blogpost as away without wifi and so here it is.

The thing with breakfast is that everyone knows it’s the most important meal of the day but if you happen to be a busy parent with a handful of kids who have places to be and before you can haul them to their places you gotta make their lunches and unload the dishwasher and peg a load of laundry….it can be hectic around the breakfast hour I tell you. I could go for the old classic cereal and toast thing but I’m not a huge fan and I’m getting some pretty bad vibes about too many grains from Nourish-ed so I’m thinking I need something that packs a bigger punch. Something more nutrient dense that will carry me through the madness of the morning and often beyond because my kids are not so great and letting me have a little down time for a relaxing lunch break. Nourish-ed recommend greens and protein – steak and salad (yes really) but clearly even if my stomach could face it my schedule wouldn’t allow it (I know I could pre-prepare the greens and quick fry the steak but those leaves take a lot of chewing you know!) . So this little super-seed combo is my take on a nutrient dense breakfast. I’ve been having a variation of it for the last 6 months or so and it’s pretty darn good and very quick to prepare.

A handful of blueberries (I keep a big bag in the freezer), some chopped dried organic apricots, slivered almonds, a couple of spoons of live organic yogurt and a sprinkle topping made of mixed seeds (I used chia and sesame whole and then grind a load of pumpkin, flax and sunflower seeds in a coffee grinder – the ground seeds keep for a while in the fridge but apparently buying pre-ground is not so great – more Nourish-ed wisdom!). I like to lace mine with a little pure maple syrup but I have an exceptionally sweet tooth and am pretty open to the idea of pouring maple syrup on stuff – it would probably be healthier not to.

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