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Recipes

These are recipes that staff and other members recommend.  They could be healthy, low energy to make etc.  If you’ve got a recipe to add – please contact us on [email protected] 

Chocolate gingernut and avocado cheesecake

Double Chocolate & Gingernut Avocado ‘Cheesecake’

This beautiful dessert is decadent, rich, moreish and a true crowd pleaser. It is surprisingly quite easy to make with a list of ingredients which aren’t difficult to come by as they are mostly your pantry staples. What is more to love? We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Tracey – Waikato Health & Wellness Facilitator

Ingredients

Base Chocolate Avocado Filling Chocolate Ganache
250g pack of gingernuts
½ cup desiccated coconut
130g butter, melted
330g dark chocolate, choppe
3 ripe Avocados
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
150g dark chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons cream

 

Method

Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm springform cake tin.

In a food processor, blitz the gingernuts until small crumbs form. Add the coconut and melted butter and blitz to combine. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and firmly press it into the base and sides of the tin. Place in the refrigerator for one hour.

To make the filling, place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir regularly until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Place the flesh of the avocados in the food processor, along with the melted chocolate and remaining filling ingredients. Blitz until smooth and well combined. Spoon into the cake tin and smooth out with a pallet knife or the back of a spoon. Return to the refrigerator for 3 hours.

Once the filling is firm, make the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water, stir regularly until melted, then remove from the heat. Add the cream and stir until glossy and incorporated. Spoon the ganache over the filling and use the back of a spoon to create a swirl pattern. Return to the refrigerator for at least half an hour or until the ganache has set.

* Recipe created for The Avo Tree by Olivia Galletly @ The Hungry Cook NZ

Chocolate gingernut and avocado cheesecake

LITTLE MAPLE WALNUT COOKIES

This recipe is inspired by one of my favourite ice cream flavours- Maple Walnut! They are gluten and refined sugar free, packed with micronutrients.

Luisa – Wellington Health & Wellness Facilitator

Ingredients

2 cups of blanched ground almonds
½ cup of shredded or desiccated coconut
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
50g of melted butter
½ cup of maple syrup
4 tablespoons of milk
24 walnut halves

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan bake). Line a baking tray with baking paper. In a large mixing bowl, mix everything but the walnuts together until well combined.

Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place on the prepared baking tray.
Flatten slightly with the back of a wet teaspoon and push a walnut half in.

Bake for 18 – 20 minutes until golden.

Remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

** These cookies will keep for up to a week in an airtight container **

Pumpkin and Cherry Tomato Risotto

Annabelle – WBOP Health & Wellness Facilitator

Ingredients

300g pumpkin, peeled and chopped (Try butternut for a change)

150 grams of cherry tomatoes

1 litre of vegetable stock (Organic if possible)

1 cup Arborio rice

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Lay the pumpkin in an even layer on a large, paper lined baking tray. Season with sea salt and cracked pepper and roast for 10 – 15 minutes or until tender.  Remove the tray from the oven, add the tomatoes and roast for a further 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the stock in a saucepan and bring it to a gentle boil, add the rice and stir well. Cook for 12 minutes or until the rice is cooked but still firm to the bite. Add the pumpkin and tomatoes. Cook for a further 6 minutes or until most to the stock has been absorbed and the rice is tender.

Food is first eaten with the eye – Garnish with bright and vibrant herbs or the zest of a lemon.

Butternut Squash and Turmeric Soup -Serves 2

This is a simple but very satisfying and nourishing soup I have been making for my lunches. I normally double this recipe to last a bit longer.  This recipe is from the Histamine Intolerance Cookbook. I am currently trailing a low histamine diet, to see if this helps reduce my allergic reactions from eating certain foods. Histamine diet rating for food is Low, Medium, or High.

Ingredients:

¼ White Onion (eliminate if allergy/sensitivity) (Low histamine)

1 Clove Garlic, minced (eliminate if allergy/sensitivity) (low Histamine)

2 cups Butternut Squash (Low Histamine)

1 cup Carrots (Low Histamine½ Red Bell Pepper (Low Histamine)                                                               

2 cups Vegetable Stock (Low Histamine)

½ tsp. Turmeric (Low Histamine)

½ cm Ginger (Low Histamine)

½ tsp. Maple Syrup (optional-Low histamine)

Salt, to taste (Low Histamine)

1 tbsp. Pumpkin Seeds (Low Histamine)

 

Instructions:

  1. Fry the onion and garlic on a low heat for 3-4 minutes until softened, and then add in the vegetables, turmeric, and ginger. Cook for 5-6 minutes
  2. Pour in your vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook on a light simmer for 20 minutes.
  3. Add the salt, and maple syrup if using.
  4. Transfer to a blender and process until smooth
  5. Sprinkle on the pumpkin seeds, and serve warm into your bowls

 

 

GLUTEN-FREE MUESLI

I am constantly on the hunt for healthy breakfast options that are suitable for my diet and entice me to eat breakfast, as I am often not hungry first thing in the morning but starving by 10am and lacking in energy. I decided to try out Chelsea Winter’s Gluten-Free Muesli from her latest cookbook Superfood I received as a Christmas present and have to say this is the most delicious home-made muesli I have tasted. I was however a bit alarmed at the amount of ingredients, but this recipe makes a huge amount, that can last for weeks in an airtight container. I serve mine with defrosted frozen berries and diary free yoghurt. If one can tolerate oats, a couple of handfuls can be added and/or addition of pre-puffed grains.

Karen Maxwell Wellness Facilitator

 

Gluten-Free Muesli by Chelsea Winter

Ingredients

DRY INGREDIENTS
2½ cups sliced almonds
2 cups sunflower seeds
2 cups buckwheat groats
2 cups desiccated coconut
2 cups shredded coconut or coconut chips
2 1/2 cups walnuts, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
1 cup sesame seeds

DRIED FRUIT
2 1/2 cups dried apricots, chopped (Sulphur -Free Apricots are available)
2 1/2 cups dates, chopped (not the fancy ones – or use other dried fruit such as sultanas)

WET INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup almond butter
1/3 cup honey (or use maple syrup)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 tsp salt

To make

Preheat the oven to 180°C regular bake and get your biggest oven tray ready (or a huge metal roasting dish if you have one). You may have to cook this in two batches.

If your roasting dish has sides, you can use this to both toast the dry ingredients and mix the final muesli. Or, use a huge mixing bowl to combine things at the end.

Add the dry ingredients to the roasting dish/bowl and mix well to combine. Transfer to the oven tray if necessary and bake until you see the top and edges going slightly golden (5–10 minutes). Give it a stir, and however long it took to cook the first time, keep baking in those intervals, stirring after each time, until the whole lot is a little toasty — about 3-4 times usually does it. The coconut chips will brown first, so make you sure keep stirring it so it doesn’t burn.

If necessary, tip it back into the mixing bowl. Add the dried fruit and mix to combine.

Heat the wet ingredients in a small saucepan until melted, then pour over the muesli and stir together to coat evenly.

Leave the muesli to cool completely, then transfer to airtight containers or jars. A jar of it looks very beautiful on the kitchen bench, and the rest is best stored in the fridge so that the oil in the nuts doesn’t go rancid in warm weather.

Serve with nut milk, stewed or fresh fruit, Chia Pudding (see recipe in Supergood) and yoghurt or coconut yoghurt. Stewed or canned black Doris plums are my favourite, or homemade stewed apple. And fresh berries if in season!

Chocolate Fudge Cake – Bridget Davis

Woohoo Christmas is racing towards us; I’ve started hunting down some recipes for the festive season. We tend to have a few visitors so quick and easy recipes are a must, as well as ensuring I can eat them myself. Here is a very tasty recipe for all occasions. Dress it up with some fresh fruit and yogurt for a lovely dessert.

Chocolate Fudge Cake – Bridget Davis

Ingredients

400gms Chocolate (use what works for you, DF, SF)

240ml full fat Coconut milk

90gm Fibre syrup or maple syrup

4 large eggs

Method

Pre heat oven 150degC and line a 20cm loaf tin with baking paper

Add chocolate, coconut milk and syrup into a saucepan over low heat, stir the ingredients together and allow them to melt until chocolate is smooth and flowing.

Remove from heat and allow it to cool for 5 minutes

Whisk eggs into chocolate mixture then pour into loaf tin. Place loaf tin into a roasting dish and fill with water until it reaches 2/3 of the way up the loaf tin.

Bake for 60 minutes

Allow cake to cool completely (overnight) before removing from the loaf tin.

Carefully slice the fudgy chocolate cake to serve.

Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.