Meal Plan Monday, for a happy new year!

So we've had an eventful Christmas time, I'll have to write a whole blog post to whinge about it, so I will just cut short to say this; at some point last week, my whole household was ill, house guest included!

Anywho, it's a new year and I'm finally back at work so what better time to get the life in order, right?

Between sickens, sleepless nights and the excuse that "it's Christmas!" - used until the 5th of January - our eating habits have gone down hill big time. I find that having a menu set for the week helps our routine a big deal, plus it saves having to run around the kitchen like a headless chicken trying to work out what to do for dinner.

So to start the year well, I'm back on Meal Plan Mondays with some wholesome dinners. I hope you like them ;)

Monday – Thai style Salmon soup

(I was addicted to this before pregnancy and haven't attempt making it again since, recipe to follow)

Tuesday - Sweet potato cottage pie with green veggie

Wednesday - *Jumbo Beef Balls with pasta for Dave and Harry and *vegetables for me

Thursday - Isabel's Chicken Nuggets with coleslaw for Dave / salad and veggie for the lill guy and I

Friday - Curried  Turkey

Saturday - Turkey & Veggie Meatballs with sweet potato mash

Sunday is my cheat day and I'll be off to my work's Christmas party - that's what happens when you work with hospitality -  so no planning here :)

 

*I'm doing a little detox myself this week and not eating dairy, grains or gluten

 

*Recipe for the Jumbo Beef Balls, from the Beyond Diet website

 

This is a very large recipe but you can easily half it.

 

Ingredients

2 lbs. lean ground meat (I use half beef and half turkey)
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried basil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 eggs
1 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, weight out 3oz balls and cook in pan on the stove. You can cook with Coconut oil if you want little more flavor. If you want to include a fat add butter to the pan. You can I like to sautee' onions to go with it..

 

PS: the recipe says to weight 3oz of meat for each meatball but that is for portion size only as I have to count how much protein I eat on every meal, you can easily just eye the size of the patties if you prefer.

 

I'm linking up to Mrs M's weekly linky, stop by for more great menu ideas #mealplanningmonday

Beauty Bites Wednesday - Week 2

So it seems I've chosen the worse time of the year to start this blog series as our lovely Seema is ultra busy on the build up for Christmas. Still I think we all deserve to be looked after so this week i thought I'd share a little secret I've learnt last week;

Facial juice

to give your skin a lovely glow make a juice with 
1 Carrots
1/2 beetroot
2 oranges (juice only, freshly squeezed)

to blend it all together - add a little water if you feel the need - then pass it through a sieve before drinking. Of course if you have a juicer that makes life much easier.

I had the juice a couple of times last week and this week since Monday but my skin feel great, the sight in the mirror is definitely a lot better already.

This combination makes this juice a great source of antioxidants, beta-carotene, vitamins C and B complex, folic acid, calcium, zinc, potassium, iron - important nutrients for beautiful and healthy skin.

This juice also helps to strengthen the immune system and protect the cardiovascular and digestive system.

So drink up and enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Brownies

Really nice treat for a cold winter afternoon, you wouldn't tell these are so healthy, sugar, dairy, gluten and grain free!

oh yeah - and super simple to make :)

Ingredients


2 Eggs
1/2 cup Almond Butter
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree
1/3 cup Maple Syrup
2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda


Directions

Preheat oven to 180C, Generously grease an 8 x 8 pan with either coconut oil or butter. I actually used a round flan dish and it was ok. In a medium bowl whisk the eggs. Add the almond butter, pumpkin, maple syrup and whisk mixing well. Add the rest of the ingredients and do a final whisk mixing well. Pour into prepared 8 x 8 pan. Bake for approx 25 min at 350. Edges will be golden brown and toothpick should come out clean. I cut it into 16 bars and figure 2 bars as a serving.

recipe from Beyond Diet

A healthy treat and my baby weight.

 

So I finally managed to take a step until loosing my pregnancy weight. I have lost about a stone so far and in general I feel a lot more energetic, even with the never ending sleepless nights. I was doing really well with my healthy eating until I caught a cold about month and a half ago and things well down hill from then. Mind you the healthy eating went a bit down hill but the weight loss actually kept on going, mainly because I still breastfeeding and that alone burns 500 calories a day so it is as if I've been eating naughty food but kept on exercising daily.

 

On the past week I finally managed to once again make the effort and get back into my healthy eating, that means cooking and bringing packed lunch as well as all the snacks for my day at the office.

 

I do work with a bunch of really nice people and working in the food and drinks industry means that a lot of us are big time foodies, that includes me. The majority of those really nice people are very skinny as well and tend to snack through the day.

 

I failed miserably on staying away from the treats draw in the office kitchen and just felt horrible and sluggish on the end of my working day, so off to the web I went to find a nice healthy treat that I couldn't bring with me to work as that way if I do loose control at least I'm not eating rubbish stuff that I don't know what is in it. Of course the idea is not to lose control but a backup plan is always good :-)

 

These no bake nut butter fudges are packed full of protein to keep you going through the day, a great pick me up for that afternoon energy low. It took me about 2 minutes to put it all together and I left it in the freezer overnight. Done!

 

Almond Butter Fudge
recipe from http://www.beyonddiet.com where I get lots of my healthy eating ideas from

 

Ingredients

1/3 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup almond butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder

I didn't have enough almond
butter and cocoa powder so added an extra spoon of peanut butter and it came
out perfect.

 

Directions

In a bowl add almond butter, coconut oil and maple syrup. Stir together until creamy. Add sifted cocoa powder and stir in until mixed well. Spread fudge mixture into pan.
Place pan/mold into freezer and freeze for 3 hours. Cut into squares - I divided the squares in half, rolled each half into a ball and rolled the ball in dry unsweetened coconut...scrumptious!!!

 

I made a batch last night and took to work today, they are so indulgent I no longer envy the people who can feast on stuff from the treats draw.  

Sent from Samsung Mobile

11 months, 3 weeks to a party

so Harry is now 11 and a half months, well, I say that but we do have a whole 3 weeks until his birthday. 3 week until my gorgeous little guy is no longer considered a baby. Really?

Yes really.

If you have you been reading this blog for a while you probable remember I am from a rather large family. Put that together with my passion for baking and of course I had to plan a nice birthday party for my little guy.

I just can't explain how much I love the whole party planning thing. It can be hard to get everything done - proper and in time - still I like sitting down and planning it all, with loads of help from google and amazon of course!

Choosing the them was easy, Harry loves In the Night Garden - specially Makka Pakka - so that was helpful to guide me towards the right table cloth, baloons and so on. To keep it cheap - I have just gone back to work and can't really spend much - we will not go full on with the themed decorations but that does helps when you have to decide on what invites and cake to make.

Also to keep it in budget, I'll be cooking most of the food. That's only possible because my sister is coming over from  Brasil (sorry can't write that with Z, that hurst) and that means an extra pair of hands, as a bonus those two hands are as used to organising parties as my own. One great idea I came up with - I know I know blowing my own trumpet here - was to serve pimm's cocktails to the grown ups. Since the party will happen on a picnic vibe I thought juice and water for the little ones and iced tea and pimm's for the big ones would be a good option in terms of taste and price.

I found a really nice sugar free recipe for the babies' cakes and will be topping it with this deliciously healthy sweet potato frosting, I know it all sounds a bit tree hugging but I promise you they are amazing and not too sweet either!
I will make the little ones their own individual cupcakes so they can play and smash and eat however they like. For the grown ups I'll make my favourite chocolate cake and I found these really cute hand made In the Night Garden baloon weights and am trying to find a way to use them as cake toppers. Wait and see.

That's it, I just can't control myself as I am super excited about through Harry's first birthday party and I can't wait to have our family and friends together, the only thing I'm sorry about is that my big Brazilian family won't be there with us but at least my sister will be here to represent them.

That's it, on the next few weeks I'll be putting it all together and keeping my fingers crossed for us to have good weather on that lovely day. What do you think of birthday party for little ones?

Sweet thing

I wrote this post about a week ago on my mobile when out and about with Harry as was finding impossible using the computer at all - little guy is going through hard times with his sleeping so mummy doesn't really do much more than look after him and once he is in bed I very much have dinner and am down for the night myself! Since the below I have already felt the difference, lost 2 lbs and didn't even have the headaches, or the cravings so if you're also struggling shifting your pregnancy weight, or any weight for that matter keep on reading, this might help you!

for a while now I've been a bit unhappy with my post natal figure. I know the celeb's baby slim type of body that we see on magazines aren't exactly an easy reality except for those that were born with exceptionally slim bodies. The big problem is that little guy is almost 4 months and in order to stop wearing my maternity clothes I had to buy a pair of jean 2 sizes bigger than i usually would. Energy levels is also a problem as I can't rely on a good nights sleep to recharge my batteries.

I've been trying to cut down on rubbish foods since Harry was born as i found that was specially important for breastfeeding but on a hard day  it can be tricky to go to the kitchen once he is down for the night
 and ordering a take away is only just too easy.

On the top of it all, I got myself into this habit of buying something sweet every day. It wouldn't be too bad if it was just "that little sweet" everyday but I end up over overindulgence and comfort eating. two old habits that I know only too well and that i fought hard to lose.

For the past few weeks I've been eating tons of chocolates and ice cream  a day that really got me down but the horrible stomach pains that hit me a few days ago really were the last straw. 

I knew I had to start from somewhere. I cant exactly diet and - for the record - i don't really believe in diets but in healthy eating habits. I had to be careful not too give myself too big of a challenge because, lets face it, who has the energy? So I picked two things that i know I'm "addicted to" and that really causes me to comfort eat and banished from my menu for the next two weeks. sugar and gluten. yap those are my big villains and hopefully, as I've seen happening before , my body will get used to it. Without the gluten to give me inflammations and the sugar to make me feel sluggish i should have a bit less of a hard time sticking to healthier foods and maybe start to gradually loosing my pregnancy weight.

now as i say my body is addicted to sugar n gluten, the second one is easier to get rid of by eating brown rice and loads of protein that keep me fuller for longer. The sugar can be a bit trickier - specially for the first few days when you could get headaches and bad cravings. With a little crying machine waking you up at night and demanding attention during the day headaches are definitely an issue but i know to keep my insulin levels balance to avoid that. Now the cravings..that is another issue all together. I have always been the one to crave all sorts of foods at all times of day and night and when you find yourself stuck at home all day or worse, becoming regular at lovely bakeries and cafes - for a cuppa and a chat with other mums - the craving bit can be hassle to deal with.

to help me through the next couple of weeks i made myself these delicious sugar free treats and was pleasantly surprised this morning when i found out how creamy and indulgent they feel!

choc-banana lollies

1/2 cup of coconut milk

2 ripped bananas

1 tbsp good quality cocoa powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

raw honey or maple syrup to taste (quantity will depend on how sweet the bananas are)

put it all in a blender until all liquidized then pour into lolly mould and freeze. Is that simple!

this little dinner got me a bit downhearted with the feeling that the summer is almost over, I do not feel the need of stews and creamy dishes until the cold is approaching. in the other hand, with dishes like this I certainly know that the winter can't be all that bad.

220 g of chicken breast cut into cubes

2 tbs of organic butter

1 onion or 4 shallots

2 tomatoes - chopped

1 bell pepper - chopped

1 cup of organic coconut milk

slowly heat up 2 tsp of organic butter (I should be using raw butter but I don't seem to find that to buy here in London, any suggestions?), add 1 onion or 4 shallots, fry them with some powder garlic and cumin, make sure the butter does not burn and turn brown. Add the chicken, tomatoes and peppers. Once the chicken is cooked add the coconut milk and simmer for about 10 minutes in low to medium heat. Adjust the seasoning with some sea salt and black pepper to taste and serve is in a bed of salad, you could also have it with some brown rice.

a couple of weeks ago I discovered this great healthy eating plan names Diet Solution Program, the whole idea is to eliminate processed foods and eat loads of delicious fresh, natural and organic foods that will nourish you and keep you healthy allowing your body to slowly get into the correct weight.

this recipe is just a sample of a great meal that was well within the DSP and still is the kind of thing I would've cooked on a lazy Saturday morning which was the case today.

One thing has to be said, this is no miracle solution, I'm finding relatively easy but have gradually started cutting down on processed foods months ago but I see on the website - they have a really good community as a support tool - that some people struggle a bit, mostly when they went from being junk food addicts to a brand new super healthy life style.

I will be talking a bit more about the philosophy behind this program but for now I leave you with this very simple but super healthy recipe:

OMELET (lactose free by the way, I think for the first time in my life i am eating omelets without lashes of cheese)

2 eggs

1 rash of bacon (make it organic and without Nitrate)

1/2 cup of peppers

1/2 cup of spinach

3 olives

1 shallot

2tsp of butter

salt, pepper and dried chives for seasoning.

beat the eggs with salt and pepper to taste.reserve

put the butter into a cold frying pan (I actually use a wok because mine is non stick) and add the chopped shallots, its important that the pan is cold at the beginning at this will allow the butter to heat up slowly.

do not let the butter go brown, put the shallots to the side and pour in the eggs. add all the other ingredients and then turn the omelet. that is it! read and delicious!!!

I am on a gluten, lactose and grain free week and that is why there was no cheese and I did not serve it with bread.

note: the first 2 weeks you can choose to go gluten and lactose free, this is basically to give me a kick start and after loosing 800g in 5 days I have to say it's working!

I will be back with more details about the ideas behind the program and loads more great recipes!!!

 

Let's brunch

I woke up very late today and fancied omelets for breakfast. Unfortunately I didn't have any baked beans but looking around the cupboard and fridge I thought that at almost 2pm, brunch was in order. 

Breakfast burritos my way - for 2

2 wholemeal tortillas

2 tbsp re-fried beans (on the rush I used tinned ones)

1/2 red onion (chopped)

1 large roasted pepper in brine and vinegar (chopped)

2 eggs

1 tbsp fajitas seasoning

a splash of milk

OMELET - beat the eggs with a splash of milk, salt and pepper and the fajita seasoning.  Using a non stick pan, fry the omelet and stuff it with cheese, smocked sausages and olives (that's what I had at home but the great thing with omelets is that you can always play around and add whatever you fancy). ONE IMPORTANT TIP IS NOT TO COOK IT FOR TOO LONG SO THAT IT KEEPS ITS JUICES

re-fried beans -  fry the half onion in a couple of oil sprays. add the pepper then stir in the beans and add a splash of water to make is creamy. 

warm up the tortillas, cut the omelet into 4 slices and serve them inside the tortillas with the beans on the side. You could also cut into more slices and roll the tortilla up. I know, that does not sound like breakfast burritos at all but I like to full myself sometimes!!!

small and powerfull things

During the weekend the head thinks a bit more about food and I am trying my hardest no to fall for the old tricks and spend my days off spoiling my weekly efforts. I wanted a quick, filling and tasty and this came in handy. 

 3 oat cakes - I like Nairns

30g of extra light cream cheese

2 tbsp or sweet corn

1/2 shredded carrot

dries chives and cracked pepper to season

Simple but delicious and filling, just what I needed.

when you feel a bit peckish what do you reach for?

making sarnies healthy again

TODAY'S MENU

SALMON AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO OPENED SANDWICH

Had a really busy morning, worked out for 30 minutes before getting ready for work and I new I would have to walk around London due to work events so decided do something quick and easy and as the thought pop up in my mind also did the fancy for a sarnie.

As I had some steamed salmon ready in the fridge the solution was easy

2 slices of wholegrain bread - I buy a seedy one from Salisbury's that is so yummy and has only 69 calories per slice.

1 small salmon fillet - steamed

4 chunks of sun-dried tomatoes

30g of cream cheese (I use Philadelphia extra light - one good trick is to buy the little pots that are 1 serving and very practical to take to work)

1 hand full of green salad

6 stalks of broccoli

6 baby carrots

Cut the broccoli in half length to make it quicker to cook, give it a wash and microwave it for about 2 minutes. Baby carrots are nice and soft so just chop them in small peaces; you could even leave them whole and have the whole plate as finger food.

while the broccoli cooks toast the bread then just spread it with the cream cheese, cut the tomato into small pieces and spread that and the chunks of salmon over the bread.

season the salad and veggie with very little salt some black pepper and olive oil - it I was at home would've probably used some balsamic vinegar as well and maybe even some fromage frais.

It made a lovely lunch in a whole and just as feeling as any other of my dishes because it still offered enough whole foods!! Also the amount of raw food helps a lot! If you are in a hurry and need a quick healthy lunch, what would you make???

back to baking

After a good while with no posts here and a whole month holiday in Brasil (my dear dear home) I come back with some really good gluten free cake recipes. 

After a whole week suffering from a terrible jet lag, at this time of year there is a 4 hours difference between here and Brasil, I have finally had a good night sleep and woke up in the mood for some baking and although what's in the oven at the moment are the chocolate chips cupcakes (that I've posted here before, only this time they have white chocolate chips and I'll be eating them as muffins, so no icing) today's post if of an amazing butternut squash chocolate cake with icing an all that I first made in June this year and had to repeat the recipe every single  weekend until we went on holiday in the beginning of July...yap...it is that good!!!

I would recommend to replace aaaaaaaany chocolate cake you are addicted to AND have doubled the recipe for a very very large birthday cake on for mum’s surprise party!!!

Light Chocolate Cake 

(from Harry Eastwood’s Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache)

You will need

3 medium free-range eggs

160g caster sugar

200g peeled and grated butternut squash

120g white rice flour

3 tbsp good-quality cocoa powder

80g ground almonds

1tsp baking powder

1tsb bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp salt

125ml buttermilk

for icing

50g unsalted butter, softened

200g icing sugar, sieved

50g mascarpone

4tsp cocoa powder

small pinch of salt

preheat the oven to 180 Celsius, line two 18cm diameter x 5cm-deep loose bottomed tins (I only used round tins on the first time, after that I used a regular rectangular one and cut the cake in half to make a square one, I liked better that way) with parchment and brush a little vegetable oil over the base and sides.

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl for a full 4 minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the grated butternut squash, followed by the flour, cocoa powder, ground almonds, baking powder, bicarb of soda and salt. Add the buttermilk before beating again one last time to make sure all the ingredients are well introduced to one another!!!

Pour the mixture evenly into the tins (if using 2 tins) and bake it for 30min.

Once cooked remove the cake from the oven, unmould and peel of the parchment, leave it to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the icing, using the back of a wooden spoon beat the butter with 100g of the sugar in a large mixing bowl. It will look wrong at the beginning but trust us, it does work!! Once your mix becomes a paste beat vigorously for 10 seconds to loosen the butter even further. Add the mascarpone, cocoa powder, salt and remaining sugar, beat again to combine. Refrigerate for 15 minutes before using for better texture, then spread in the middle and top of the cake. Do not use the icing while the cake still warm or it will run.

Well…that is it!!! Amazing cake and super healthy! To make it 100% gluten free just change your baking powder for a no gluten one!!!

After baking 12 muffins and 1 large carrot cake in less than an hour I have to say, I missed my kitchen!!

The cutest cupcakes I have ever baked!!!

A couple of months ago my other half's family was getting together and after tempting people for so long with cupcakes pics on Facebook I decided to bring some nice cakes to live up the day. I saw this recipe Harry Eastwood's book and wanted to try for a while and with the summer on its best I decided that a strawberry recipe was on demand!!! I know I know..its not summer anymore but if you cant get nice strawberry you can change the flavour by changing the jam and the fruit on the top!!! very versatile recipe...and most important, yummy too!!!

2 medium free-range eggs
160g caster sugar
200g courgette, peeled and finally grated
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g white rice flour
100g ground almonds
2tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
Some good quality strawberries jam
50g unsalted butter, softened
150g icing sugar
50g mascarpone
12 strawberries for decoration

Preheat the oven to 180C and line the muffin tray with the paper cases.

Whisk up the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl until they are pale and fluffy (about 4 minutes).

Whisk the grated courgette and the vanilla extract into the egg mixture and mix to incorporate(remember to only grate the courgete just before adding to the recipe its important that they are as fresh as possible so they will give to your cake all their moist). Whisk in the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt until everything is completely combined.

Using a large spoon, ladle a couple of generous spoonfuls of the mixture in the the bottom of each paper case. Add a teaspoon of jam then cover with a small spoonful of after mixture, in order to seal in the jam. The ration should be roughly 2/3 of batter at the bottom the jam, then 1/3 of batter on the top or you’ll end up with jam splitting out the top of the cake or sinking into the bottom.

Bake them for 20 minutes until risen and blonde on the top. Cool the cakes in the tin for 10 minutes and after that leave them to cool in the fridge for 20 minutes before icing.

For the icing; beat the butter with 50g of icing sugar by hand, in a large bowl(the tip here is to use the back of a wooden spoon and some elbow grease). Mix it until you have a paste. Using the same technique, mix in another 50g of sugar and the mascarpone until you have a paste again. Finally add the last 50g of icing sugar which should combine easily this time. Refrigerate until the cake have cooled completely (this icing is a bit smooth so cooling is paramount.)

Ice each cold cake with the help of a butter knife (if you don’t have a straight spatula), using a small tablespoon of the icing at each time. Top it with a strawberry and return it to the fridge to allow the icing to set. The cupcakes can stay in a airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

VERY IMPORTANT TIPS!!!

Don’t be tempted to use a electric blender for the icing that will liquefy the mixture. Also be sure to follow the step one by one as that will allow the ingredients to combine slowly giving the icing the right texture and you will end up with a very moist and fluffy cake toping.

i HAVE TO SAY THAT THIS ONE CAME OUT WRONG, HIHIHHIHI...THE JAM SANK STILL IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! THE ONES i TOOK TO THE FAMILY DAY HOWEVER WERE PROPER!!!

ps: to make it 100% gluten free make sure to use gluten free baking powder!!!

Ginger Millies - guilt-free cakes

Just as I decided to talk about food here at the Cosmic I spoke about these Ginger Millies; they are cheeky little cakes well worth a try. With less than 100 calories each is the perfect treat to have in your freezer. Freeze the cakes without the icing and take it out of the freezer from 30 minutes to an hour before attacking it!!! Oh yea…they are also a lot of fun to make!!!
1 medium egg
50g caster sugar
100g butternut squash (peeled and finely grated)
Finely grated zest of ½ unwaxed lemon
25g white rice flour
50g ground almond
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground ginger (i also used a bit of freshly grated ginger to give it a bite!)
Small pinch of salt

Pre heat the oven to 160C and line 2 trays of baby muffins (the recipe if for those tiny little liners but I used the fairy cake so of course I ended up with 12 cakes rather than 24).
In a large mixing bowl whisk together eggs and sugar for a couple until you get a fluffy and pale mix. Add the butternut squash and lemon zest, beat again until fully incorporated.
Add flour, ground almonds, baking powder, ground ginger and salt (if using) and mix it well for a minute or so to combine everything that is in the bowl. With the help of 2 small spoons pour the batter until the liners leaving dry about 0.5cm of the paper. Once the cases a filled give them a nice bang on the surface, do it 4 to 5 time, that will settle the dough and help making the top a bit more flat. Bake it for 15 to 20 minutes.

ICING
125g icing sugar, sieved
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp water
Pink food colouring paste

One of the easiest icings I have ever tried!!! Just combine the sugar. Lemons juice and water with a fork until smooth, it takes a bit of a work out but that you go, today you can spend a bit less time at the Gym!!! In the recipe she recommends colouring the icing but really there’s no need, still if you decide to give it some different colour you can run a little colouring paste on it as indicated of just add a couple of drops of food colouring but no more than that. If you aren’t using the icing until later then place clean film direct on the top of it to avoid drying out. This icing is very light and tasty and a thin layer on the top of your cake should do. A good tip to spread the icing is to use the back of a teaspoon and a glass of water, dip the spoon on the water and that will help you frosting your cupcake!!!

Baking Friday

Just over a month ago I bought this book that I just looove and have already spoke about it here,, the name is Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache from Harry Eastwood. Today having arrived home happy and ready for a 5 days break I decided to treat myself to a very nice dessert but didn’t want to be too naughty as that is already going to happen during our trip to Cardiff. Book in hand, I picked one particular veggie and went for it. I didn’t really have all the ingredients at home but decided to try the recipe anyways. The cake is beautifully fluffy and I’ll have to try it again with the choc chips as that will be the perfect complement to this bitter chocolaty cake that can definitely doble as a double choc chip muffin as you top up the chips by another 50g, but don’t add more than that as they will sink and the cake will become heavy.

So here is the recipe for this guilt free cupcake…I’m not posting the instructions for the icing first because

I used a bit of left over I had in the fridge and that wasn’t the one in the book, so the naughty chocolate icing recipe will stay for a next time.




3 medium free-range eggs (I like the idea but used regular ones)
180g Demerara sugar (didn’t have it so used 100g caster and 80g regular sugar)
2 tbsp strong coffee or boiling water if you don’t like coffee (I also added a bit of vanilla here)
250g peeled and finely grated carrot
120g white rice flour
50g ground almond
40g good quality cocoa
2tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
100g chocolate chips (any colour you like) – I didn’t have any at home so made without it

I use electrical whisk all the way on this recipe. The instructions say it will give you 12 cakes but I managed to get 11, I think she meant 12 on fairy cake size and I’ve made muffin size ones.

Preheat the oven to 180C and line the cupcake tins with paper cases.
In a large bowl whisk together the eggs and sugar for a full 5 minutes until mix quadrupled in volume and extremely fluffy.
Whisk in the carrot and coffee. When they are fully incorporate, beat in the flour, ground almond, cocoa, baking powder and salt mix it with a electric whisk until they are well combine. Fold in the choc chips with a spatula until they are scattered hither and thither.
Spoon them into the tin filling until about 0.50 cm from the edge. Bake it for 25 minutes them cool them as usual cupcakes. Make sure to cool them completely before icing them.

There are a few tips on this book that go for pretty much every recipe so I’ll only post them here
Flour – all the recipes are with rice flour but you can use regular plain flour as well, I’m trying the gluten free option as my tummy appreciates that but they have all been tested with both versions.
Veggie – if like me you like to have all the ingredients measured and ready before hand then make sure to leave the grating bit for last as this way you keep the freshness of the veggie and all the juices as well. When grating them use the finest bit of your grater. On the book Harry tells you not to use a food processor but I know it works well for carrots so this time I’ve cheated!!!