Paleo/Vegan Dessert Recipes

Thinking of desserts but want to eat clean at the same time? Well, these recipes are just thought of specially for you! So, enjoy making them and tucking into some fabulously delicious goodness :)

Paleo Brownies (Makes 16 brownies)

Ingredients

• 1 cup blanched almond flour
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 4 ounces baking chocolate
• 7 Medjool dates (1/2-2/3 cup) pits removed
• 3 large eggs
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• ½ teaspoon vanilla stevia

Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse together almond flour, salt and baking soda
2. Pulse in squares of dark chocolate until the texture of coarse sand
3. Pulse in dates until the texture of coarse sand
4. Pulse in eggs
5. Pulse in coconut oil and stevia until mixture is smooth
6. Transfer mixture to a greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish
7. Mixture will be very thick, smooth with a spatula
8. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes
9. Cool for 2 hours, then serve

Paleo Pie Crust (Makes 1 pie crust)

Ingredients

• 2 cups blanched almond flour
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 egg

Directions

1. Place flour and salt in food processor and pulse briefly
2. Add coconut oil and egg and pulse until mixture forms a ball
3. Press dough into a 9-inch pie dish
4. Bake at 350° for 8-12 minutes

Paleo Honey Cake/ Lebkuchen (Serves 12)

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup palm shortening
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup raisins

• Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves
2. In a separate bowl, combine honey, shortening and eggs
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry, then stir in raisins
4. Grease and flour an 8-inch cake pan
5. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes

Paleo Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups blanched almond flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• ¼ cup golden flaxmeal
• ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 5 eggs
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. Place almond flour, coconut flour, flax, salt and baking soda in a food processor
2. Pulse ingredients together
3. Pulse in eggs, oil, honey and vinegar
4. Pour batter into a greased 7.5 x 3.5 magic line loaf pan
5. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes
6. Cool in the pan for 2 hours

Paleo Fruitcake (Makes 2 fruitcakes)

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup dates, chopped
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup dried cherries
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
• Stir in dried fruit and nuts
• In a medium bowl, combine eggs, oil, coconut sugar, vanilla and citrus zest
• Stir wet ingredients into dry
• Scoop batter into 2 greased mini loaf pans
• Bake fruitcakes at 350° for 20-30 minutes
• Cool and serve

Paleo Cookies(Makes 32 cookies)

Ingredients

• 3 cups blanched almond flour
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• ¼ cup agave nectar or honey
• 1 tablespoon orange rind

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda and nutmeg
2. In a smaller bowl, mix together coconut oil, agave and orange rind
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry
4. Separate dough into 2 balls and place each on a piece of parchment paper
5. Cover each ball of dough with another piece of parchment paper and roll out to ⅛ inch thickness
6. Place in freezer for 30 minutes
7. Use cookie cutters to cut out cookies
8. Bake at 350° for 5-7 minutes
9. Cool and serve

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies(Makes 12 cookies)

Ingredients

• 1 cup blanched almond flour
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter or sunbutter
• ¼ cup agave nectar or honey
• 2 tablespoons palm shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a small bowl combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
2. In a medium bowl mix together peanut butter, agave, shortening and vanilla with a hand blender
3. Blend dry ingredients into wet with hand blender until well combined
4. Scoop dough 1 tablespoon at a time onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
5. Use a fork to flatten in a criss-cross pattern
6. Bake at 350° for 6-12 minutes until golden around the edges

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Muffins(Makes 8 muffins)

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
• ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or palm shortening
• ½ cup agave nectar or honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup fresh baked pumpkin (or winter squash), well packed

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves
2. In a vitamix puree oil, agave, eggs and pumpkin until smooth
3. Stir wet ingredients into dry
4. Place paper liners in muffin pan
5. Scoop batter into paper liners
6. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes
7. Cool for 2-3 hours

Gluten Free Pie Crust

Ingredienst

• 1½ cups blanched almond flour
• ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ cup grapeseed oil
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
2. In a small bowl, combine grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla
3. Stir wet ingredients into dry
4. Pat dough into a 9½-inch glass pie dish
5. Bake at 325° for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown

Interested in more clean eat recipes? Check them out here! For Detox diets, juice cleanses and meal plans, do check out our blog!

Avocado Fudgy Brownies | Healthy Brownie Recipe

Brownies!! These fudgy, chocolate, gooey, moist and oh so delicious squares of joy would just make anyone’s mouth water. However, whenever we crave for some brownies and look at their recipe, some people may be turned off by the amount of calories and fats one bar of brownie contains. Think that all your hopes of sinking your teeth into a nice, warm brownie is gone? Fret not! These small little chocolaty temptations are just made healthier with this fantastic recipe! Do try it out and satisfy that chocolate craving of yours ;)

Ingredients

• 1 avocado, pitted
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1.5 cups water
• 3/4 cups chocolate chips (nondairy)

Methods

1. Preheat oven to 350º F/ 170º C .
2. Get avocado good and smashed; this can be accomplished with either a) a spoon, b) a mixer, or c) multiple tequila shots.
3. Combine avocado with wet ingredients (syrup, vanilla extract, water).
4. Sift together dry ingredients (cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking powder.)
5. Add dry to wet in several batches, mixing after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips, then pour batter into greased 9×9 baking dish.
7. Bake for ~ 35-45 minutes (insert a toothpick/skewer in the middle to test doneness).
8. Remove from oven and place on baking rack. Let cool for at the very least 20 minutes – they need to firm up before cutting into smaller squares.
9. Plate up: serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

Do try out this recipe or you if you want to skip the fuss of washing up the dishes and just enjoy some freshly baked, fudge, chocolatey brownies, do get yours today here! Fuss-free, Guilt-free and oh so GOOD!

20 Fun-filled Activities To Do This Easter

So Easter is just round the corner and who is excited and looking forward to the long weekends? I know I am and in case you have nothing planned, here are some activites you can do!

1. Paint eggs. Armed with a colouring set, box of eggs, and newspaper spread over the kitchen table, painting your own Easter eggs can be fun.
2. Learn about chocolate. Try making your own chocolate and have fun at it!
3. Throw a tea party. Serve tiny food - mini eggs will be popular -and enjoy the company and food..
4. Build an indoor den. Blankets draped over furniture will do for younger children. Older ones might prefer to convert the cupboard under the stairs.
5. Enjoy your voice with some karaoke. Get your family or friends and just sing your lungs out.
6. Play party games. There's no reason why musical statues, musical chairs and blind man's bluff should only be trotted out at children's parties.
7. Do experiments. Kitchen-table science is educational as well as entertaining. Baking soda, vinegar and food colouring are the key ingredients to create a foaming lava from a worktop volcano.
8. Put on an Easter play. Act out or create your own mini drama and just be creative!
9. Get cooking. Children love spending quality time in the kitchen. Teach them - or learn yourself - how to make hot cross buns.
10. Revisit old board games. Rainy days will fly by with a few rounds of Monopoly or Cluedo.
11. Get reading. The long weekends are great to simply quiet down and enjoy some “me” time.
12. Go on an Easter egg hunt.
13. Invite the girls round. Together, you can catch up movies, TV dramas or simply just have fun!
14. Take the family out. The long weekends are perfect for family activities
15. Prepare your lawn. Have your garden in order and get ready for some egg hunting!
16. Make a charity donation. Go through your cupboard rooting out all those tight-fitting, out-of-vogue items of clothing you haven't worn for six months.
17. Retail Therapy. No time to shop during a normal day? The short holiday is great for you to go outside and pamper yourself with some shopping.
18. Get moving. Get your exercise gears ready and get that body moving!
19. Get creative in the kitchen by trying out new recipes and bakes. It is a great way to share your bakes with others too!
20. Wind down with a relaxing spa or massage and get ready to enjoy the weekends!

Of course, Easter is not complete without going to church so do remember to give thanks and for those non-Christians or Catholics, enjoy the long weekends and Happy Easter all!

How to Get Slim Tights | What Affects Our Tigh Shape

How To get Slim Thighs

The thigh gap has been an aim that many females out there aim to achieve. In order to get that slim thighs, we need to know the cause of what is preventing you from achieving those beautifully sculpted, slim thighs.

Causes of BIG thighs

1. GENDER

Women and men have sex-specific fat deposits. Sex hormones affect fat distribution. Estrogen directs fat deposition around the pelvis, buttocks, and outer and inner thighs, while testosterone store fat in the belly area. This makes it more difficult for women to shed fat from the hips, butt and thighs (stubborn fat). While it is obviously the bane of many a woman’s life, there is a biological advantage – this type of fat is thought to play a role in fertility and lactation. Interestingly, it appears that during lactation, this stubborn fat is not quite so stubborn and easier to budge than normally.

2. BODY SHAPE

Your body shape will have significant bearing on the size of your thighs. Pear-shaped women will suffer the worst of it, with large thighs and butt, while cone-shaped women will have slim thighs and legs compared to the rest of their body. You cannot change your body shape and if you are pear-shaped you will have to work harder to slim down those thighs.

3. FAT

Your thighs may simply be large because you have a lot of fat in this area - fatty thighs. As explained above, most women will have a natural tendency to deposit fat in their outer and inner thighs. Unfortunately, this means that this is one of the last places fat then the shift. For women legs tend to slim around a body fat percentage of 18%. Therefore, you can strip away thigh fat, to get slim thighs, but it will take time.

4. MUSCLE

Another reason for large thighs is the presence of large thigh muscles. Muscle is made up of muscle fibers which also vary in size. People with Type II muscle fibers (large) commonly found in sprinters and power athletes tend to have larger thighs than Type I fibers (small) generally found in endurance athletes. Muscular thighs, even if thighs are toned, means larger thighs. There are a couple of causes of big thigh muscles you may be able to do something about, to slim thighs:

• Natural tendency to gain a lot of muscle in your thighs with exercise. High-resistance/ high-incline exercise (e.g. treadmill or elliptical trainer) or spot reduction exercises for your thighs/ inner thigh exercises may have made you thigh muscles bigger. Sports such as ice skating and dancing also tend to produce powerful thighs. Therefore, if you have been doing these type of exercises that target thighs in a bid to get slimmer thighs, you may need to rethink your workout strategy.

• You are genetically programmed to have large muscles (mesomorph body type), but you may also have a lot of fat around the muscle. Stripping the fat from your outer and inner thighs will slim thighs significantly and reveal some beautifully defined legs underneath that thigh fats.

Construction of thighs

To understand how to slim thighs you need to understand thigh anatomy. There are several layer making up your thigh. The first layer is skin. Under the skin is a layer of fat.This thigh fat surrounds the thigh muscles. When you gain weight, the fat layer gets much thicker making the thigh bigger. When you exercise thigh muscles get larger, which in turn makes the thighs bigger. That’s why, when wanting to slim thighs, you need to think about both thigh fat and thigh muscle. Both go up and down in size, influencing the proportions of your thighs.

Exercises to do for slim thighs:

• Squats
• Lunges
• Inner-thigh presses
• Hip extensions

However, if you want to have slim thighs, you will not want to use weights when doing these exercises. Using weights would cause muscle formation.

Diet to achieve slim thighs

Besides exercising, your diet also plays a crucial role in allowing you to achieve those slim thighs. Here are some diet tips :) Also, you will need to burn more calories than you are consuming so that you can lose weight and shed off fats around the thighs.

1. Drink Lots of WATER

• Hydration is key! That means drinking lots of water(not sweet drinks). Water is healthy, plentiful, cheap, and tastes good. Water flushes out harmful toxins, carries nutrients to cells, and provides a moist environment for bodily tissues that need it.

• Avoid sodas, energy drinks, concentrated juices, etc. They make shaving off those pounds really difficult due to their high sugar content.
• If you don’t like water, drink green tea. They are a good source of antioxidants and have negligible calories. Green tea also protects cells from free radicals.
• Drink a cup of tea or a glass of water right before a meal to lower your cravings

2. Healthy Eating

• Carbohydrates: Complex carbohydrates are absorbed more slowly by your body, keeping you fuller for longer hours. Complex carbohydrates include oats, whole-wheat products, and unprocessed grains such as brown rice.

• Protein: Choose lean meat like fish and poultry. Other forms of good protein include beans, soy products, and nuts.
• Fruits and vegetables: While it may be hard to believe, there are actually better fruits and veggies than others. Look for super foods like kale, blueberries, and swiss chard.
• Good fats: Omega 3 fatty acid and monounsaturated fats are good for you system and will actually help you lower your cholesterol. Nuts, olive oil, seed oil, and fish all contain these ‘good fats.’ Trans and saturated fats are the things that will make your thighs larger. These include most processed food, candy, cakes, etc.
• Dairy: Stick to low-fat dairy products. Yogurt is especially great, as it contains bacteria that help you digest and process food efficiently. Dairy products are also a good source of protein and calcium

A diet rich in carbohydrates causes the body to release insulin which converts glucose (sugar) into fat. The low-carb diet structures your meals around proteins, soy-products, vegetables, fruits and nuts to avoid this. To get slim thighs, go easy on the carbohydrate intake :)

*Healthy Eating places in Singapore tp check out!

Sleep

As we all know, sleep is often overlooked. We need to get our beauty rest so that our worn out bodies can repair and maintain itself.

• When your body doesn't get enough sleep, it produces a hormone called ghrelin(stimulate our appetite) and lowers levels of another hormone called leptin that tells your brain when you are full. In other words, when you don't get enough sleep, your body has a bigger appetite and your brain doesn't send as many signals to your body that it's full.
• People with sleep apnea, which causes breathing cessation for periods of time during the night, are also more likely to be overweight.

With a healthy diet and exercise, those stubborn fats round the thighs would surely shed off. Just be patient and always remember to EMBRACE your body and love it even though it may not be perfect :)

How to Make a Healthier Cake| Tips on How to Bake Healthily

How many of you love to eat but would constantly need to control your diet as you are afraid of putting on weight? Have a sweet tooth and want to satisfy that sweet craving of yours but do not want to consume too much refined sugar? Here are some awesome ways you can have your cake and eat it!

Healthier Cake Tips:

• Applesauce is your friend

Applesauce is a great substitute for sugar or fat when baking a cake (just don’t try to replace both at the same time). When subbing for sugar, applesauce can be used as a replacement in a 1:1 ratio — just be sure to reduce the amount of milk, water, or other liquid in the recipe by ¼ cup for every cup of applesauce added. To cut down on oil or butter, start by replacing half of the fat with applesauce (for example, a recipe using 1 cup oil would be reduced to ½ cup oil and ½ cup applesauce).

• Swap white flour for something a bit healthier. Skip white flour for something healthier, whether it’s whole-wheat flour, nut flour, or a mix of a few different types. White, or “all-purpose” flour is processed in a way that removes the bran (the outer layer of the wheat grain) and germ of the wheat, taking away all the healthy stuff like fiber.
  
  
• Slim down the toppings. If you’re already chowing down on cake, there’s no need to top it with more refined sugar! Instead of traditional frosting and candy toppings, try frosting with something lighter, such as fresh whipped cream (or coconut whipped cream!) or meringue. Instead of sprinkles or candy, top with fresh fruit or antioxidant-rich dark chocolate.
  
  
• Cut down on fat to save unnecessary calories. In addition to applesauce, there are a number of easy and healthy recipe substitutions to help cut back on unnecessary added fat in all kinds of baking recipes. (Not that fat is unhealthy, just that, why add extra if you don’t need to? Save your fat allowance for that hunk of Brie cheese in the fridge!) One of our favorite substitutes is mashed banana. Just one cup of mashed banana works perfectly in place of 1 cup of butter or oil (just be prepared for a big banana flavor kick, too). For chocolate cake, ¾ cup prunes pureed with ¼ cup boiling water makes another great substitute for butter (seriously!).

Looking for some healthy, yummy and freshly baked moist cakes? Head on over here to get your tummy satisfied!

Want to find out how to substitute other kitchen ingredients to serve up healthier dishes? Check them out here!