You know that feeling when you come across the most perfect recipe in the world, and you just HAVE to tell everybody about it? Well a couple of weeks ago, thanks to my latest copy of Good Food magazine, I found these Raw Millionaire’s Shortbread.

For all us gluten + dairy-free peeps out there, finding a recipe that’s as good as the original can often be an impossible find. So when I stumbled across this one, it felt like I’d struck gold big time. It was like winning the bloody lottery. CHA-CHING!

These vegan, gluten-free chocolatey treats are made with dates, cashews + maple syrup, and are so sticky and moreish, that they rival your everyday Millionaire’s Shortbread. They are also raw, refined-sugar free, and made with all-natural ingredients – so they don’t feel as naughty!

I’ve made these little beauties a few times now, and each time they’ve turned out perfect!

I think these nutrient-rich sweet treats are easy enough to whip up for any occasion, and would be perfect for a bake-sale. I recently made them ahead of time, before some friends came over for dinner. With them already chilling in the fridge, they made for such an easy dessert! All I had to do was cut them up and serve with some vegan ice-cream, and they went down a treat!

I hope you have as much fun making these Raw Millionaire’s Shortbread as I did! Let me know what you think by tagging your creations #heartandbowl, or leaving me a message in the comments below.

These vegan, gluten-free chocolatey treats are made with dates, cashews + maple syrup, and are so sticky and moreish, that they rival your everyday Millionaire’s Shortbread. They are also raw, refined-sugar free, and made with all-natural ingredients – so they don’t feel as naughty!

Raw Millionaire's Shortbread

Following on from my obsession with avocados, I’m bringing you this Raw Courgetti Salad with Creamy Vegan Avocado Dressing! It’s been a while since my Summer King Prawn Courgetti recipe, so I thought it was about time I get spiralizing again for the blog!

One of my favourite ways to have spiralized veggies, is to smother them in this creamy vegan avocado dressing. Avocados are fast becoming one of my favourite ingredients to use, because they’re great in both savoury and sweet dishes. Its creaminess makes it so versatile for all sorts of recipes. One of my all time favourites sweet treats is this Avocado Chocolate Mousse, which is my go-to dessert to whip up quickly on an evening.

This courgetti salad is so light and quick to make, that it makes the perfect speedy lunch or dinner in the summer months, when you don’t want to be sweating in the kitchen! You can even double up on the ingredients, and make this for a friend, or pack some up in a air-tight container and take it to work the next day!

I hope you like this Courgetti Salad with Vegan Avocado Dressing! Don’t forget to #heartandbowl if you make this, or let me know what you think in the comments below.

Raw Courgetti Salad with Creamy Vegan Avocado Dressing

This week I’m bringing you a little recipe that I’ve designed especially for Wren Kitchens! They got in touch with me a few weeks ago, and asked me if I’d like to get involved in their #LittleKitchen campaign.

The campaign aims to inspire kids into the kitchen, to get them more involved in food prep and kitchen activity. For Wren, the kitchen is the heart of the home. They want to show that the kitchen is a place for family to gather, talk, laugh, and most importantly cook + enjoy wholesome, nutritional meals together.

Loving the idea of the campaign, I was super keen to get involved. For my recipe, I wanted to go with something fun, creative and simple – so I came up with these pretty Fruit Skewers!

They make great healthy snacks, that don’t take hours of prep or cooking time, and are an easy way of getting kids to eat their 5-a-day. Or is it 7-a-day now?! Either way – these skewers are the way forward!

This recipe allows kids to do two things they love.

I know that if you offer kids the chance to do either of these things, you’ll find it easy to get your little ones into the kitchen! This is because food prep needs to be something more that just a bunch of boring fruit and vegetables. You need to bring them to life, give them character.

So these fruit skewers allow children to put their personality into their cooking. They get to cut out their own favourite shapes with cookie cutters, and then build-their-own colourful skewers. It’s really fun and interactive for the whole family, and can be made different every time with new fruits or shapes. It’s even a great way of introducing new fruits that they haven’t tried before!

Once the fruit skewers are made, it’s time to get dipping! Kids will love getting messy when they dunk their skewers in the homemade chocolate dip, or coat them with yogurt. Eating these together is a great social activity, where you can show off your creations and share the different dips.

This recipe features in the #LittleKitchen e-book which you can now download for FREE here. It’s packed with so many healthy and innovative recipes, to help encourage your little ones in the kitchen!

Good luck making these Fruit Skewers! Remember to tag your creations with #heartandbowl + #LittleKitchen if you make them, or leave me a message in the comments below!

Fruit Skewers – #LittleKitchen Campaign

Three guesses what I’ve been eating a bucket load of lately?

Chocolate chia pudding. A hella lot of chocolate chia pudding.

No seriously, it’s scary how much I’ve been eating this. Pretty darn addicted. I am warning you now, because it could happen to any of you. Get out whilst you still can! Go on, go!!! Or, y’know… continue reading. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Also, don’t be deceived by the term ‘pudding’, because this is so damn healthy, you can eat it for breakfast as well as dessert!

One of the great things about it is that you can make it the night before, which only takes a matter of minutes, and then it’s ready to go first thing in the morning. Knowing I’ve got a jar of this prepped in the fridge, gives me that extra motivation to get out of bed in the morning!  So bewitched under it’s sweet, sweet spell…

Chia seeds have been considered a superfood for a while now. That’s because they are high in fibre + protein, and are packed with calcium, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids.  A tablespoon of chia seeds contains more calcium than a glass of milk, more omega 3 than salmon and more antioxidants than blueberries! Wowzah. I’ve used 8 tablespoons in this recipe alone. That’s a lot of good stuff.

As chia seeds are so high in protein, this pudding keeps you fuller for longer, and is great for boosting energy – so it really does make the perfect breakfast! Not only that, it’s also gluten, dairy and refined-sugar free.

When soaked in milk, chia seeds absorb the liquid and swell up to become gel-like. The result is rich, smooth and creamy! Once you’ve soaked the seeds overnight, all you have to do is give it a good stir, and add your desired toppings.

I’ve gone with some banoffee-style toppings, but you can top with your choice of fruit, nuts and seeds!

Good luck making this Chocolate Chia Pudding! Remember to tag your creations #heartandbowl or leave me a message in the comments below.

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Ok, ok – can we all just take a quick moment to admire my new chopping board? How friggin’ cute is that!? It was bought for me as a Secret Santa gift this Christmas, and it brings a smile to my face every time I look at it. I’ve been so excited to feature it in some photos on the blog – and today I finally get to show it off!

With it being National Breakfast Week (isn’t every week National Breakfast Week?) I thought I would bring you this Super Green Smoothie Bowl. It’s a great, simple breakfast that’s packed with greens, and takes less than 10 minutes to make. Plus, you can have loads of fun playing around with customisable toppings!

Most conventional breakfast cereals, bars, pastries and even fruit-based smoothies + juices, have way too much sugar for first thing in the morning. Even those claiming to be healthier options can often have hidden sugars. This isn’t a great way to start your day, because you’re already setting yourself up for sugar-crashes later on in the day.

Green smoothies are a great healthy alternative, because the base is made from mostly vegetables, so you get all of their goodness without too much sugar.

My Green Smoothie Bowl is a healthy and easy way to instantly turn a smoothie into a meal. The smoothie is slightly thicker than normal, and has some added blend-in ingredients + toppings, to elevate it from a simple snack, to a substantial breakfast.

The natural sweetness from frozen mango, is balanced with creamy avocado, and nutritient-dense spinach + kale. I’ve also added a pinch of green matcha powder for a little energy boost!

When it comes to the toppings, I have used:

While these are my suggestions, there are tonnes of amazing toppings you could try! Why not sprinkle over some sunflower seeds, or some raw/roasted nuts for an added crunch?

The beauty of this breakfast is that you can make it different every time by mixing up the toppings. The possibilities are endless! Dollop of nut butter? Sure! Slice of Banana? Sure! Go with whatever you fancy, or whatever is in your fridge/pantry!

I hope you enjoy this Green Smoothie Bowl! Remember to tag your creations #heartandbowl or leave me a message in the comments if you make this!

Super Green Smoothie Bowl – #NationalBreakfastWeek

So here we are! The finale, the pièce de résistance, the ultimate showstopper! Completing my Christmas menu is this rich, dark and sumptuous Chocolate Orange Tart! It also just so happens to be, a raw, no-bake dessert, that’s free-from gluten, dairy and refined sugar. Wowzas. Who said Christmas couldn’t be both indulgent and healthy?

There’s something about the combination of chocolate + orange that screams Christmas to me. Maybe it’s because I always used to receive a Terry’s Chocolate Orange in my stocking each year! I felt like I had to get this classic flavour combo into my festive menu.

I also love the colour pop that the pomegranate seeds add to the dish. These little red jewels are in season during the winter, making for a nice Christmassy touch. They add a sharp sweetness, which works well with the bitterness of the cocao.

I’ve made this tart a few times now, and I love how the crunchy texture of the coconut crust contrasts with the smooth and silky chocolatey filling.

The filling is naturally sweetened with honey, oranges and dates, but still feels oh so decadent.

This tart can be prepped in 20 minutes (not including the soaking + chilling time), leaving you more time to enjoy the festivities. It’s a no-brainer! People will think you’ve spent hours slaving away in the kitchen, when you’ve not even had to turn the oven on!

If you’re hosting a festive dinner party, this is also an ideal make-ahead dessert. Just like my Spiced Parsnip Soup starter, it can be whipped up beforehand, which helps take the stress out of the evening. All you need to do is remove the tart from the refrigerator 10 minutes before serving, then sprinkle over some cocao powder, pomegranate seeds and orange zest to decorate.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my three part Free-From Christmas Menu! If you’ve missed any of my previous posts, you can check out my full menu below:

Winter Beef and Apricot Stew {GF + DF with Vegan option}

Let me know if you make this Raw Chocolate Orange Tart, and don’t forget to #heartandbowl with your creations! But most of all, I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

Raw

Raw Millionaire's Shortbread

Raw Courgetti Salad with Creamy Vegan Avocado Dressing

Fruit Skewers – #LittleKitchen Campaign

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Super Green Smoothie Bowl – #NationalBreakfastWeek

Christmas Menu – Raw Chocolate Orange Tart