Cauliflower Mash

Banana, carrot and date loaf (gluten-free)

I have made this loaf a few times now, and I am so happy with it. It is deliciously moist, and full of flavour. It's also super easy to make, which is always a bonus. It has bananas, carrots, pecan nuts and dates in it, which all go so well together. I can't decide if it's more like a carrot cake or a banana bread. Hmmm...

This was a real treat! This is a very impressive, but also easy dish to create. It's very fragrant and the spices are not overpowering at all. The main ingredient is prawns, but you could do a selection of seafood if you prefer not to only have prawns. The sauce would go beautifully with chicken too.

I saw a tv programme a while back which made a bread out of sprouted buckwheat. I couldn't find the recipe anywhere, so I decided to try and my own version. I need a bread which is grain-free, dairy-free and egg-free. Not an easy feat! I've been making my Paleo Bread recipe for a while, but I needed a change. I definitely prefer this new bread.

Interestingly, buckwheat is not actually a grain, even though it has "wheat" in its name. Buckwheat is a seed. Buckwheat is a pseudocereal, which is a type of grain that doesn't grow on grasses like other cereals, yet is used in a similar way. It is gluten-free, a good source of fiber, and rich in minerals and various plant compounds, especially rutin.

Chia seeds are often referred to as a “superfood”. Chia seeds come from the plant Salvia hispanica L., and were at one time a major food crop in Mexico and Guatemala. Chia seeds are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants, iron, and calcium. They are contain a decent amount of protein. By weight, they’re about 14% protein, which is very high compared to most plants.

I made this tart for dessert yesterday for a family dinner and it was really lovely. It is not too sweet and has quite a distinctive almond taste which goes very well with the pears. The recipe was originally inspired by a recipe posted by Yuppiechef, but I changed it a bit to make it dairy-free.

These brownies are made with sweet potatoes as the main ingredient, and are the most delicious brownies I have ever tasted (in my unbiased opinion, haha!).They are moist and decadent. They were pretty easy to make, and inexpensive too, which is often a challenge with Paleo baking.

Ratatouille has become one of our regular breakfast accompaniments. It's so easy to make, and you can make a huge batch and have it over the week. We love it with a pork sausage or some other breakfast meat as a hearty, delicious wintery breakfast. You don't need to be too strict on the ingredients either. If you have a vegetable which you need to use up, add it to the recipe.

I bought myself a spiraliser this week. So, naturally I am spiralising everything that I can get my hands on. I've just tried a sweet potato, which made delicious curly crisps in about 15 minutes (including cooking time)! I bought a very simple Oxo spiraliser, which you need to operate manually, and it works just fine. I have made zucchini pasta a few times this week already, and I am completely hooked. It's easy to use, and very easy to clean.

Pecan nuts go best in a pie. They just do. These little bars are fairly easy to make and with relatively few ingredients. I experimented with a "flax egg" in this recipe, and it worked very nicely.

I absolutely love brussel sprouts (after being terrified to even try one my whole life). I think that they are such magnificent little things and when you combine them with crispy bacon, they are delicious. What doesn't go well with bacon?!

I didn't know what to make for dinner, and so I decided to try and make some egg-free sweet potato rosti. They turned out so beautifully, I just had to share them. They are pretty easy and quick to make and went very well with avocado and smoked salmon for a light meal.

Kombucha is hot on the health trends at the moment. It is a fermented drink which is prized for its health benefits. It is a sweetened tea which is fermented with a "SCOBY" (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast). It is a nutrient-rich beverage which aids digestion and assists with gut health due to its probiotic nature. Apart from all of the goodness which it brings, it also tastes delicious! Don't be alarmed by the sugar in the recipe. The sugar is necessary for the fermentation process and gets consumed by the SCOBY, so you won't end up with a high-carb, sugary drink. The sugar is the food for the healthy bacteria and enzymes, acids and probiotics are the result of the fermentation. The sugar content is actually very low once the fermentation phase is complete.

My banana and carrot muffins were such a hit, that I decided to convert them into a chocolate muffin for another tasty snack option. These have since taken over in my kitchen, and I am making the chocolate ones more often than the banana and carrot option. The recipe is paleo and vegan being gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free.

Oh my word. I think I have just found my new favourite thing... These little truffles are insane! One of the yummiest things I have ever tasted. We are having them for dessert tonight! They are paleo and vegan with no added sugar or other nasties. They are also dairy and gluten-free.
I found the recipe on Pinterest and made a few changes to get the recipe below.

One of my favourite hearty meals is moussaka. The combination of savoury mince with cheese and aubergines is delicious and such a satisfying, comforting meal. This meal is just as delicious, but is egg and dairy-free.

I like to make a huge pot of savoury mince every now and then, which I freeze into meal-size portions. It makes for a very quick and easy dinner or lunch.

We recently went on holiday to Mauritius, and while we were there we had an amazing dinner at an Indian restaurant called Amari. We went there to celebrate my birthday. As a spoil, the chef very kindly made me a small birthday cake. It was amazing! He made the cake a healthy one, and it was a raw carrot cake with a cashew icing. Since then, I have been trying to work out what he put in the cake so that I could replicate it at home. I spotted a recipe this afternoon on foodmatters.com which sounded like it might be a close match to what I have been looking for. I made their recipe (with a few tweaks of my own) and it was pretty close to my Mauritian birthday cake!

I needed to find a paleo muffin recipe that was egg-free. This has been rather a challenge as almost all baking seems to need eggs in order to be light and fluffy. This banana muffin recipe was a hit, and we polished them off in just 2 days. I now make a fresh batch every 4 to 5 days, and I have been making a few changes to the recipe as I go along. I have amended the recipe below. The recipe is very quick to prepare, and made 12 muffins. It's gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free.

Sauerkraut is ridiculously simple to make. It takes a small amount of manual labour and some patience, but the actual method is very very easy. And extremely cheap to make too. It's become a household staple in our home, so having homemade sauerkraut available all of the time is great.

Sauerkraut has many health benefits as it contains natural probiotic bacteria and digestive enzymes. The commercial sauerkraut is often made with vinegar, rather than following a natural fermentation process (which is where all of the benefits come from).

These raw, bite-size treats are so easy to make and they are very moreish. I made a batch two days ago, and they were finished in two days. They are low-GI and are naturally free from gluten, dairy, eggs and sugar. The oats don't comply with Paleo (strictly speaking), but if you are able to tolerate oats, then these are a win.

I made this batch with pecan nuts, but you can make them with any nut of your choice. I have made a batch with cashew nuts and they turned out beautifully.

Oh my word. This stuff is amazing... My new favourite thing to make with my NutriBullet. It is actually a problem, because every time we open the fridge, we take out a spoon (or two) of this delicious treat. You can adapt the recipe and make it with any nut of your choice, and you can play around with different flavours too. In this recipe, I added a bit of cinnamon and honey to it. Oh dear... I think it might not last the weekend!

We had this soup at friends last week, and we really enjoyed it. Georgie was kind enough to share the recipe with me - and here it is (with one or two tweaks). It is a completely raw, cold soup. Full of goodness and nice and light. I am serving it as a starter for our New Year's Eve dinner this evening.

My friends Lee and Georgie introduced us to this Paleo chocolate mousse last night. It was so fantastic, that I decided to make a batch myself for dessert for Christmas lunch. What a win! And, it's so easy to make. It is quite rich, so you don't need a large helping. The dates are very sweet, so this does not require any additional ingredients to provide the sweet chocolate taste which we all love! This recipe will comfortably feed 6 people.

I have seen plantains mentioned on so many Paleo websites and I have been wanting to try out a recipe using them for so long. I saw a crate of plantains at my local vegetable store on the weekend, and I just had to buy a couple. Now I regret that I didn't buy more! These pancakes turned out so beautifully and were delicious with a slightly sweet taste and a light and slightly crispy texture.

These balls are a paleo and AIP-friendly alternative to your traditional fruitcake. The best part is that they take about 15 minutes to make!

This is a super easy ice cream recipe which takes about 10 minutes to make (plus freezing time of 5 hours). It's made with fresh cream and eggs and your choice of alternative sweetener. It's suitable for people following a low-carb lifestyle.

I needed to find something that was AIP-friendly that fitted the category of a sweet treat. These tasty little coconut balls are absolutely delicious. They are naturally gluten-free, nut-free and egg-free. Very quick to make and they store well in the refrigerator.

These delicious little balls are a great snack and are packed with goodness. They are naturally gluten-free and sugar-free and they are suitable for a Paleo lifestyle. They took me little over half an hour to make.

Apple and pear crumble (gluten and sugar free)

I felt like apple crumble all day today, so I decided to try and make a new recipe to feed my craving. It's sugar and gluten-free and only took 10 minutes to prepare, before going in the oven. Because there is no gluten, it is quite crumbly, but that is part of the charm of a crumble. You must serve this with whipped cream... Heavenly!

I found this recipe on Pinterest (by Ditch the Carbs) and I've been keen to try it out. These little balls of yumminess are delicious and pretty healthy too. Perfect if you feel like a little something for dessert or with a cappuccino in the afternoon.

My sister-in-law made the most amazing soup for a family function recently. This is it!

The flavour of the tomatoes and the red peppers is intensified with the roasting. A new family favourite.

I found some good looking mussels at the fishmonger a couple of weeks ago, so I have been keen to make them into a traditional mussel pot. It turned out beautifully! We had it as a main meal with a slice or two of toast, and it was very filling.

My friend, Vanessa, shared this recipe with me. The main ingredient is dessicated coconut, which is quite unusual (I would have expected coconut flour), but it really exceeded my expectations. I'll definitely be making this one again.

My husband's favourite thing is cheesecake. Finding a great gluten-free option is quite a challenge. We are having a big family gathering tomorrow, so I have made this baked cheesecake for our dessert. I can't wait!

Piquanté Peppadews

I have been growing a Peppadew bush in my veggie garden for a couple of months now. It is such a beautiful plant with the loveliest little red bells. It is almost ornamental! Peppadews are something unique to South Africa (as far as I know) and are basically small sweetish peppers. They are not very spicy like a chilli, but also not as light in taste as a red bell pepper. Once pickled, they go beautifully in salads or as an accompaniment to sandwiches, omelettes, pizzas etc.

This recipe is based on the Lemon and Vanilla Cheesecake recipe in the Real Meal Revolution for Kids. I made a few tweaks. It is pretty quick and easy to make and is suitable for diabetics and gluten-free diets. I think I prefer baked cheesecakes, in general, but as far as a fridge one goes, this one passes the test.

Pork belly is our favourite favourite... And it is so easy to make. It takes a few hours to cook, so tackle this when you have some time. The meat is very soft, due to the slow cooking time, and the top is deliciously crunchy with the crackling.

My friend Greg made some brownies similar to this for us last weekend, and we couldn't get enough of them! They are suitable for a low carb diet, diabetic friendly and gluten-free. They have a beautifully soft smooth texture and they go exceptionally well with whipped cream or ice-cream.

Zucchini rosti with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce

I made these yummy zucchini rosti for dinner with smoked salmon and a hollandaise sauce. It's probably more of a breakfast type dish, but it was really a treat, and nice and light for dinner.

Hollandaise sauce

Hollandaise sauce is one of those things which always sounds like a "mission" to make. I have the easiest, and fabulously tasty recipe to make it. And it literally takes a couple of minutes to make. Don't make it before you need it, as it is best eaten straight away.

This recipe has been in the family for as long as I can remember. I have converted it to a gluten-free cake, but it is just as yummy as ever (if not even yummier!). It is a deliciously fruity Christmas cake and if you leave it to mature a little (with a healthy dose of sherry poured over it), it will last in the pantry for months. It is also great to take a piece on a long run or cycle for some extra energy.

Living in sunny South Africa, we are having salads to accompany our gammon and roast chicken for Christmas lunch today. I thought that this cool melon salad would complement it beautifully.

I had some fresh green asparagus in the fridge which I have been wanting to use. I tried it in a crustless quiche together with some spicy chorizo, onion and cheddar cheese. It came out beautifully!

Carbonara is a very simple "bacon and eggs" sauce which is a beautiful accompaniment to any type of spaghetti. I made baby marrow or courgette "spaghetti" with mine this evening. It was incredibly quick to make and almost as quick to eat!

Gosh! It's been a while since I have posted something. I have been wanting to try this recipe for a while now. It's a light creamy pasta made with white wine and shrimps. I have used baby marrow "linguine" as my pasta, but you can just as well serve this on normal pasta. Something fairly delicate would work best it think, like linguine or angel hair pasta.

Two ingredient banana and egg pancakes

My dear friend Caryn told me about this recipe. It is so simple and quick to make, and you only need two main ingredients. It's naturally Paleo and gluten-free and makes a super breakfast. I added a few extra things to give it a little more flavour, and they turned out so well.

I served mine with whipped cream and strawberries. They go well with peanut butter too!

I'm always on the look for new interesting vegetable ideas. Someone mentioned to me that radishes are great for roasting. Thought I'd give it a try this evening, so I roasted them with some pumpkin pieces. The radishes taste a bit like a cross between a roast potato and a roast onion - quite delish!

This is a really easy and quick breakfast to make. The avocado and the feta make it nice and filling, and it kept me full until lunchtime.

Moroccan lamb tagine with dates

Moroccan cooking is often a combination of meat together with sweet fruits. The cayenne pepper and spices offset the sweetness. Serve with cauliflower cous cous.

This pasta with bacon, onion and tomatoes is such a tasty meal. It is LCHF, healthy, can easily be Paleo if you leave out the cream and the cheese. I just can't think of eating regular pasta now that I have experienced how amazing this zucchini works as a pasta alternative.

This is a deliciously fragrant take on butternut soup. It incorporates Thai curry paste and coconut cream, both very typical Thai cuisine ingredients.

This is the same recipe as the one I used to make the almond and raspberry roulade. I have just changed the filling to lemon curd and whipped cream. It makes 8 or 9 servings (although my brother, Andrew, said that it was actually only enough for 4 servings!).

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