Easter is a holiday well-known for indulgence in delicious foods. This year, we decided to take on a challenge to keep to the traditional recipes and incorporate healthier alternatives. We wanted to avoid gluten, refined sugar, and artificial ingredients but still have delicious meals to enjoy. It turned out to be fun and not as difficult as we expected it to be.
We would love to hear how you keep the Easter menu healthy?
Main – Roast Lamb We suggest marinating and preparing the lamb the night before you cook it.
Ingredients: 1 leg of lamb
1 bottle Savannah or any beer
Dried thyme Organic olive oil
4 garlic cloves Himalayan salt to taste
Method: Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Cut the 4 garlic cloves in half
Make 8 incisions in various places in the leg of lamb and place half a clove of garlic in each incision.
Rub lamb with olive oil, thyme, and Himalayan salt. Place it into a ceramic roasting dish – with a lid – and pour Savannah into the dish.
Cover and roast at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 3 hours, turn over and roast for another hour.
To accompany this mouth-watering roasted lamb, we have come up with a couple of delectable complementary dishes that the whole family will love – and they’re healthy!
Method: Place chopped butternut and sweet potato in a roasting tray
Pour melted coconut oil over and sprinkle cinnamon
Roast in oven at 180 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until soft.
Method: Add the butter to a pan and melt
Add in broccoli florets, Tamari sauce, and water
Simmer for 5-7 minutes
Side dish 4 – Celery, apple, and walnut salad
Ingredients: 1 head of celery, leaves removed
3 Golden delicious apples, peeled and core removed
50g walnuts
Salad dressing: 1 tbsp raw honey
Juice of half a lemon
Method: Cut the celery stalks in half and then chop them into small pieces
Chop apples into small pieces
Place walnuts into a food processor and pulse them two or three times to just chop them into smaller pieces
Combine all three ingredients into a bowl.
Mix honey and lemon juice well and then pour over salad.
Side dish 3 – Tri colore salad
Ingredients: 2 – 3 ripe tomatoes
Mozzarella roll
Basil pesto
Method: Slice all the ingredients into circles
Layer each one on a plate, alternating.
Drizzle with basil pesto
Finally, the part you have all been waiting for, the dessert! Get the kids to join in and let them be creative with the decorating of the cupcakes!
Method (for the cupcakes): Place eggs, bananas, and coconut cream in a blender and blend
In a bowl, combine all your dry ingredients
Pour in the egg, banana, and coconut cream mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and combine well
Then mix in your shredded carrot and apple and combine well.
Pour the mixture into silicone muffin trays
Bake at 180 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown in colour and toothpick comes out clean.
Let them cool in the baking tray, then remove and arrange on a serving plate.
(Note: they may still be slightly moist inside, that is just the nature of the batter)
Method (for the frosting): Pour the coconut cream into a bowl and add in the jaggery powder and vanilla extract
Use a whisk to combine the ingredients well
Place into the freezer for about an hour to thicken.
Pour over cupcakes and arrange fresh berries on top.
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching! Thinking of ideas of what to do is not always easy, but I have you covered with these raspberry brownies which are a lot of fun to make and even more fun to eat!
So why not give these delightful brownies a try this Valentine’s Day! Make them for a special someone in your life or, just make yourself a treat, because you also deserve to spoil yourself!
I used frozen raspberries for this recipe, but you can swap them out for fresh raspberries. I didn’t use any sweetening or any forms of sugar, but you can add in some sweetness if you so desire. There was a bit of sweetening (i.e., honey) from using Gayleen’s Vanilla Dark Chocolate, but otherwise, I didn’t add in anything extra. This recipe is also gluten and dairy-free, but you can substitute the ingredients to suit your taste.
Savoury Gluten-Free Muffins Recipe: Rushing in the morning is a quite common start of the day for most of us living in the big city. With a little planning and preparation, we can make sure breakfast is ready or made quickly and we can start the day with a healthy meal and avoid queuing at fast-food eateries.
These savoury gluten-free muffins are really easy to make, super delicious, and they are great as a grab-on-breakfast or a healthy snack during the day.
Make them the day or evening before. Can be stored in the fridge for a few days.
Wash baby marrows, shred them and then squeeze the liquid out using a cheesecloth or by leaving them out on a paper towel for 15 minutes.
Wash and cut the mushrooms and cook them until all of their liquid has evaporated.
Wash and chop the leeks. Fry them with a bit of olive oil until they are soft and slightly brown.
Mix all eggs in a mixer or blender.
Add the olive oil into the egg mixture and blend/mix well.
In a separate bowl, mix the baking powder with the milk kefir, and then add it to the eggs and olive oil mixture.
Add the Gluten-free self-raising flour spoon by spoon until the mixture is thick enough. Extra flour can be added if necessary.
Lastly add the shredded baby marrow, mushrooms, leeks, crumbled feta cheese, and fresh dill to the mixture. Using a wooden spoon mix everything well.
Pour the batter into a silicone muffin tray (we used 2 trays with 6 muffins each) and bake at 180o Celsius for 35-40 minutes (or until golden brown on the outside).
Enjoy these light, savoury muffins with a fresh salad or a yogurt dip.
Perfect for lunch boxes or as a snack in gluten-free diet plans.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Fermenting veggies is one of the oldest traditional methods for preserving fresh produce. Fermenting cabbage is known as Sauerkraut. There are a variety of recipes and types of sauerkraut, depending on the culture and region. It can be made with only cabbage or with a combination of cabbage and other veggies and/or herbs.
Our Purple Sauerkraut includes two different colours of cabbage along with some brown onion for extra flavor. It took about 30 minutes in total to make – to cut and mix the ingredients and then to place it into jars.
It goes well as a side dish with chicken, steak, grilled meat, fish, and even breakfast eggs. It can also make for a delicious topping for burgers.
Red and white cabbage mixed with brown onion in a bowl.
Method:
Wash the white and red cabbage. Remove the outer leaves and cut them into thin slices.
Put into a large mixing box.
Peel the onion and cut it in slices. Add them to the cabbage.
Add the Himalayan salt and start massaging the cabbage and onion mixture with your hands.
Mix and massage for a few minutes until the cabbage softens and liquid builds up.
Transfer into glass containers; pack it tight by pressing with your fingers. Make sure the cabbage is fully covered in the juices.
Cover the jars with a cheesecloth or a thin cotton fabric/towel.
Leave at room temperature for about 3 to 10 days depending on the season. During summer the kraut will be ready within 3 to 5 days, meanwhile, in winter it might take up to two weeks.
The colour of this delicious homemade kraut will turn into a beautiful dense purple shade.
Once the kraut is ready, close the jars and keep them in the fridge.
Unopened the sauerkraut can last for up to 3 months. Once opened consume within a week.
One of the good things about being in lockdown is that families can spend more quality time together. For us it means celebrating three birthdays during April plus the Easter festivities. With plenty of time on everyone’s hands, we are having fun with taking cake making to new healthier levels.
We have been researching and learning a lot about viruses and immune responses and one of the facts we have discovered is that viruses don’t survive in an alkaline environment. So adding Spirulina to the cake seemed like a good idea – a cake that has an alkalizing ingredient! In addition, Baobab powder for an extra vitamin C boost and slightly tart flavour. Along with a gluten-free base to cater for a family member who is gluten-intolerant.
Raspberries (or any other fresh fruits such as berries, peaches, or grapes)
Method:
Start with making the sponge base. Mix the eggs with coconut blossom sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Add baking powder and cacao powder. Continue to mix. Add flour and mix well.
Prepare a small round baking tray (25cm diameter), oil it and dust with gluten-free flour (cassava flour). Pour the sponge cake mixture and bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 15min.
When it is ready take the cake out of the tray and leave to cool down on a rack.
For preparing the green layer start by blending the yogurt, coconut milk and sugar. Make sure the sugar has dissolved before adding the Spirulina and Baobab powder.
In a separate bowl, dissolve the gelatine powder with 4-5 tablespoons of boiling water.
Add the gelatine solution into the yogurt mixture and continue mixing for another 30-40 seconds.
Start arranging the cake in a spring-form pan (25cm diameter).
Lay the chocolate sponge cake layer at the bottom. If your sponge cake is larger than the cake form, cut it to fit the exact size.
Pour the Green Yogurt Mixture on top and put the spring-form pan in the fridge to set for about 30min.
Start making the yellow layer after the green layer is set in the fridge.
Blend the yogurt, coconut milk, mango and bananas until completely smooth in a blender. No need to add any type of sweetener as the fruits are sweet enough. Dissolve the gelatine powder the same way as with the green layer, but add 1-2 more tablespoons of boiling water. Add the gelatine solution to the yellow yogurt mixture and blend well.
Take the cake out of the fridge. Arrange half-sized slices of kiwi by the wall of the spring-form pan. Slowly pour the yellow yogurt mixture making sure the kiwi slices don’t move out of place. The yellow layer should cover the kiwi slices completely. Put the spring-form pan back in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
While waiting for the second layer to set, start preparing the glazing layer. Using a small cooking pot bring to boil the gooseberries, maple syrup and water. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 min. Leave to cool down.
Prepare the gelatine the same way as with previous layers and add to the gooseberries mix. Stir well.
Make sure the yellow fruit layer is set before pouring the glaze layer on top. Note that the glazing layer will start setting quicker than the yogurt layers. Arrange the cooked gooseberries towards the sides of the cake shape, making space in the middle for decoration with the fresh fruits.
Decorate as desired – we chose to make the number 23 with kiwi slices and put raspberries on the side. You can decorate it according to your personal preference.
Place the cake in the fridge and leave overnight.
When ready to serve, dip a long knife in a glass filled with hot water and drive the blade around the edge of the spring-form pan. This will help gently separate the cake from the form. Remove the spring-form and put the cake on a cake holder.
This cake can be sliced into 8, 10, 12, or even 16 slices.
Enjoy it!
It is gluten-free, refined sugar free & delicious!
Our daily diet should consist of a certain amount of greens, but more often than not, we don’t eat nearly enough. Snap peas are a delicious and crunchy element that you can add to your salads or any meal to get that extra bit of green goodness into your diet. They are rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, and manganese. Eating your greens is important, because they help to alkalise the body and they are rich in micro-nutrients that are essential for our body to function optimally.
Here is a quick and easy way you can incorporate snap peas into your diet:
