Four Healthy Desserts That Taste Seriously Amazing!

OH boy, my sweet tooth is really coming out to play this week! I didn’t make a qualifying nationals total over the weekend, so I have to hold my weight until the next competition this Friday – Nothing but healthy eating for me, so that means getting creative with my food to keep the cravings down.

With that in mind, I wanted to share with you some of my favourite healthy recipes that cover a range of lifestyles and ACTUALLY taste amazing.

LISTED BELOW IN CLOCKWISE ORDER

HEMSLEY + HEMSLEY Apple Crumble with Ginger Crème

Having a gluten free family member means I am always on the lookout for scrumptious desserts. A couple of weeks ago I made this crumble, and minus cooking time it took me less than 10 minutes to whip together. A little squeeze of lemon juice across the apples, and the rest of the flavour is packed into the crumble. Perfect for a rainy day, and breakfast the next morning!

See the recipe here

DR LIBBY Raspberry and Macadamia Chocolate Torte

Probably the cleanest of the lot, this Torte is reasonably simple to make providing you have a food processor, but does need to be stored in the fridge. If you don’t quite feel ready to try the Avocado “Chocolate” Mousse, you could always substitute it for your own alternative – the base is still pretty tasty!

You'll have to purchase the eBook for this recipe here

Protein Mug Cakes

The perfect treat at the end of a hard day for one or two people. Have fun experimenting with different flavours until you find your favourite. Peanut butter, coffee, vanilla, orange and almond – anything goes!

See a couple of recipes here and here

Paleo Chocolate Lasagne – a little bit naughty but oh so good!

I’ve made this mouth-watering dessert a number of times now for family dinners and charity events. It’s OH so rich, goes such a long way and tastes far from healthy! I tend to pair it with some ice cream, or dairy free equivalent, but it’s just as good on its own. Definitely one to eat in moderation!

Recipe

Base

½ cup Butter or Coconut Oil

½ cup Coconut Oil

1⅓ cups Coconut Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Sea Salt

2 Eggs

½ cup Coconut Milk

¾ cup Cocoa Powder

1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips

1 cup Almond or Coconut Flour

Preheat oven to 180°C. Mix all of this together, pop into a lined tin and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Middle

200 gms Melted Chocolate

4 Eggs, Separated

100 gms Butter, Melted

2 tsp Coconut Sugar

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar and beat.

Place chocolate in a heat resistant bowl. Pop some water in a saucepan and place over heat. Put the bowl on top of the saucepan and melt over a gentle heat. Beat in the egg yolks and butter.

Add the chocolate mixture to the egg whites and fold through.

Pour on top of the base and chill.

Top 

Once chilled, top with whipped cream, chocolate chips and/or melted chocolate.

I'd love to hear what you think of any of these recipes, or if you would like to share your favourites please get in touch - I'm always on the look out for new kitchen inspiration!

Kai Carrier - Review and GIVEAWAY!

Having products that enable me and my partner to store food in an easy, accessible way is incredibly important when it comes to our lifestyle. It's a very rare sight to see us at home during daylight hours during the week, and over the weekend we are flat-tack between household chores, renovating and living life with our two gorgeous labradors, friends, and family.

I was told about the award winning brand Kai Carrier by a new Mama who was gifted some pouches to store her homemade baby food. As soon as I saw the product, I fell in love!! As a child, my mother would be forever purchasing snap lock bags and hand washing them - but they would only last so long. At last, the problem was solved with these eco-friendly, BPA, PVC and Phthalate free, storage pouches! 

With the click of the order button, my purchase of the Kai Carrier Pouch Pack was complete. An absolute bargain at $39, this combo pack consists of:

• 5x 140ml pouches with choke proof lids
• 5x 300ml pouches
• 5x Kai'cicle (Ice Block Pouches)
• 5x Snack Packs
• 2x 600ml pouches

If you head over to the Kai Carrier website you will find the range of products available singularly, and in combo packs - some even include handy tools to enable super clean pouches. There is a size to fit all purposes, and are tried and tested by Mama to be dishwasher safe, microwave safe, and freezable - here's a few ideas that might work for you:

• Homemade baby food - what can be better for baby!
• Frozen ice cubes - breast milk, oil/herb mixes, stock
• Soups, sauces, smoothies, recipe bases/stock
• Snacks - vege sticks, bliss balls, nuts, seeds
• Toiletries, travel essentials
• Damp cloths for sticky fingers

Did someone say... GIVEAWAY ???

I am so excited to announce that thanks to Kai Carrier, I have one Kai Carrier Pouch Pack to give away to one special follower. That includes 5x 140ml pouches with choke proof lids, 5x 300ml pouches, 5x Kai'cicle (Ice Block Pouches), 5x Snack Packs and 2x 600ml pouches!!

To be in to win, like Kai Carrier and Mama Told Me on Facebook, find and share the post, and tag a special friend that you would love to introduce to these amazing products. Entries will close Thursday 30th July.

And because you all mean so much to us, we have an amazing offer in place - using the code MAMA, you will receive 20% off all Kai Carrier products, valid until August 31st 2015.

Mama is so impressed, and I know you will be too!!

My Food Bag - Review

My personal journey has seen me turn my lifestyle around over the past three years, making me realise the importance of nourishment and providing our bodies with the right fuel to function. Too often I witness people getting caught up in a time warp - which allows bad habits creep in. It's my goal to do the research and seek out time savers and healthy alternatives, and share knowledge to enable you all to make small, yet significant changes for the better you.

It's no secret that the My Food Bag empire is growing rapidly, so I contacted them to see what all the fuss was about. Here's my review - Enjoy!!

There are three subscription options for My Food Bag:

My Gourmet Foodbag $142.00 - 4 recipes/meals weekly for 2 adults
My Family Foodbag $162.50 - 5 recipes/meals weekly for 2 adults and 2 to 3 children
My Classic Foodbag $192.50 - 5 recipes/meals weekly for 4 adults or a family of 5

There are also some great "bolt on" options for children's lunches and fruit.

In my household there are three adults, two males and one female. We all workout to various extents. Given this, I chose the My Family Foodbag. When ordering I had to give two weeks notice prior to delivery which would allow the team time to order my food, prep it ETC. I also got to chose my delivery period on the Sunday evening. Below is what arrived (excuse the photography!).

Each night, I simply took out the recipe from the book I received and got cracking. So simple and easy to follow! The only whoopsie I made was not prepping my ingredients first. 

The moment you've all been waiting for - here's what we ate for dinner each night!!

Monday - Mexican Spiced Fish with Kumara Wedges and Spinach Tomato Salad

Tuesday - Chicken and Vegetable Mee Gorgeng

Wednesday - Riccotta Cheese Dumplings in Tomato and Vegetable Sauce with Crispy Salad

Thursday - Italian Pigs in Blankets with Steamed Broccoli and Honey-Glazed Carrots

Friday - Rosemary Marinated Beef with Wedges, Broccoli-Pea Smash and Aioli

My Thoughts

Was there enough? Yes!! We didn't have leftovers every day, but the meals on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday definitely accommodated leftovers and we never went hungry afterwards. 

I love that My Food Bag uses top quality meat, dairy and produce. The only downside is that this doesn't accommodate for allergies. Checking out some of the expiry dates I was really impressed - for example, you would never find an expiry date for pita bread in a supermarket past a couple of weeks. Ours arrived with a months leeway! 

Some days I did mix things up a little and add in some different vegetables and flavours, but in my opinion that just adds to the beauty of this subscription. One awesome thing I have learnt from My Food Bag is portion control - not so much in the sense of how much food goes into my mouth, more so how much food is actually required to feed 2-3 people. I've always found it a struggle being from a family of six!! Each delivery also comes with a grocery list which includes kitchen staples required for the weeks recipes.

My Food Bag introduced us to some new meal ideas that I wouldn't have tried previously. It encourages the use of herbs and spices which have so many health benefits, as well as providing some beautiful flavour combinations. The simplicity of the recipes means that anyone can successfully make these dishes, and you have the cooking methods for life. 

All in all, if you find you are lacking in time, or want some fresh new meal ideas, you should definitely try My Food Bag for a week. By not being locked into lengthly subscriptions, you still have the freedom to work this around your schedule. Should you be away for a week, no worries!! You can do your own thing that week, and order when it's convenient again. Once you've set up your account at the time of your initial order, it's just a few clicks for future purchases - don't you just love the simplicity?!