Preparation

Melt cacao butter in a small saucepan over a low heat. Allow to cool.

Add maple syrup to the cooled cacao butter, then stir in cacao powder and salt.

Line a slice tin with greaseproof paper and pour the chocolate 1cm thick.

Sprinkle the nuts, currants and coconut evenly over the top. Refrigerate to set then cut into squares.

* Recipe sourced from www.drlibby.com

This is a simple vegetable dish which can be enjoyed warm or cold.  A great option for making a big batch and having ready in the fridge as a quick lunch meal filled with nutrients. Carrots provide beta-carotene which the body then converts to Vitamin A.  Vitamin A is an antioxidant which helps to prevent inflammatory response from happening within the body (Arulselvan et al., 2016). Colourful vegetables are jam packed with phytochemicals which can increase communication within the cells of the body, providing many health benefits including helping the body’s immune system to function optimally (Yoo et al., 2018).

Tania – National Health & Wellness Facilitator

Ingredients

Preparation

Preheat oven to 180°C.  Line two baking trays with baking paper.

Chop the vegetables into bite size cubes, keeping the zucchini and capsicum separate.

In one bowl, toss the squash / pumpkin, carrot and kumara together with a splash of olive oil and half of the garlic.

In another bowl, toss the zucchini and capsicum with the remaining olive oil and garlic.

Add a pinch of salt and pepper to each bowl of vegetables.

On one of the trays, place the squash / pumpkin, carrot and kumara.

Put the zucchini and capsicum on the other tray.

Put both trays in the oven and bake for 30 -40 minutes, stirring a few times to cook evenly.

Remove the tray of zucchini and capsicum, while leaving the other tray to cook for a further 10 minutes.

Mix the dressing while the tray of zucchini and capsicum finishes cooking.

Remove the last tray from the oven and combine all of the vegetables together in a serving dish or large bowl.

Add the dressing, stir and sprinkle the sunflower seeds over the top.

* Do not add capsicum if you are allergic to nightshade foods *

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

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

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 **

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

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!