Nutbutter energybars

Hi loves,
Today I was scrolling through my Instagram pictures and found an oldy but goody of my nutbutter energy bars! Weirdly enough I never got around to posting the recipe.. I think it was because I forgot to make a decent pic (still haven't got one but I will upload a close up somewhere this week!) These babies are packet with beautiful ingredients and give you that extra whoop whoop when you feel like taking a nap or when you need to perform at your very best and you could use some extra energy!

Nutbutter energybars
Ingredients:
1 very ripe banana
1 cup spelt oats 
1/2 cup (ground) mixed nuts
1/2 cup medjool dates
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
1/4 cup buckwheat
2 tbsp chiaseeds
2 tbsp nutbutter (I went for almond butter)
2 tbsp coconutoil
2 tbsp cinnamon powder
3 tbsp dried cherries

Directions:
Start by preheating your oven to 280 degrees. While your oven is doing all the hard work, you'll have more than enough time to whip up these yummy bars. In your foodprocessor mix the banana, nutbutter, coconut oil and the dates. Process until you have a nice and smooth mixture.
Add the rest of the ingredients (except the cherries) and pulse until combined. Line a baking tray with baking paper and pour in your energybar mixture, place the cherries on top. Put into your oven for about 20 minutes. Let it cool and cut into individual bars. Perfect to take with you to work or school! Enjoy!!

Love,
Sanne

Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

Morning loves! Hope everyone is doing really well! As it is almost weekend I decided to share a snack I make almost every Sunday afternoon: crispy sweet potato fries! They are extremely easy to make and you can enjoy them within 30 minutes, which is the reason why they are such a hit in our family!

Health Benefits Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are extremely good for you as they are full of wonderful vitamins, iron and magnesium:
- Sweet potatoes are high in vitamin B6. This vitamin helps reduce chemicals in our bodies. Homocysteine chemicals have been linked with degenerative diseases, including prevention of heart attacks!
- Sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin C. While most people know that vitamin C is important to help ward off cold and flu viruses, few people are aware that this crucial vitamin plays an important role in bone and tooth formation, digestion, and blood cell formation. It helps accelerate wound healing, produces collagen which helps maintain skin’s youthful elasticity, and is essen­tial to helping us cope with stress. It even appears to help protect our body against toxins that may be linked to cancer.
- Sweet potatoes contain Vitamin D which is critical for immune system and overall health at this time of year.  Both a vitamin and a hormone, vitamin D is primarily made in our bodies as a result of getting adequate sunlight. You may have heard about seasonal affective disorder (or SAD, as it is also called), which is linked to inadequate sunlight and therefore a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D plays an important role in our energy levels, moods, and helps to build healthy bones, heart, nerves, skin, and teeth..
- Sweet potatoes contain iron. Most people are aware that we need the mineral iron to have adequate energy, but iron plays other important roles in our body, including red and white blood cell production, resistance to stress, proper im­mune functioning, and the metabolizing of protein, among other things.
- Sweet potatoes are a good source of mag­nesium, which is the relaxation and anti-stress mineral. Magnesium is necessary for healthy artery, blood, bone, heart, muscle, and nerve function, yet experts estimate that approximately 80 percent of the popula­tion in North America may be deficient in this important mineral.

Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
4 medium sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons of coconut oil

1 tablespoon red pepper powder

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

Sea salt

 

Directions

Soak your sweet potatoes in a bowl for 2 hours (cold water!). After the two hours, rinse and dry them with a towel - this step is not necessary but will make your fries very crispy and yummy! 

Preheat your oven to 420 degrees.
peel and cut the potatoes into this slices. In a bowl, mix the coconut oil and the spices. Add the fries and mix till they are all covered. Take a baking tray, covered with baking paper, lay the fries on the tray and make sure they are separated - otherwise they won't become crispy!
Bake the fries for 30 minutes, flipping them every 10 minutes.
ENJOY!! 

Love,
Sanne

 

Sweetest, darkest, strawberry-chocolate cake EVER!

When people think of preparing vegan recipes, most of them assume a few things: It's going to be difficult buying substitutes for animal products, it's going to be time-consuming to prepare, and it won't be very satisfying to eat. With my birthday coming up real quick I want to take away a lot of these misconceptions about vegan food. Starting with this mindblowing chocolate cake.  I love the challenge of adapting recipes for people's favorite foods so when my friends and family told me they all loved chocolate cake (who doesn’t?) I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to surprise them all with this sweetest, darkest strawberry-chocolate cake ever!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweetest, darkest strawberry-chocolate cake EVER
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups speltflour
1 cup coconut flower sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 cup warm water
1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Handful of strawberries

Handful of chopped walnuts

2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. In your foodprocessor, mix together the speltflour, the coconut flower sugar and the baking soda. When blended together, add the water, vanilla, coconut oil and the apple cider and pulse again until you have a smooth consistency.

Add the berries together with the lemon juice into a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until the fruit softens and begins to break downs. Remove from the heat.

Pour the cacaomixture into a baking tin and blend in the strawberry jam as well as the chopped walnuts.

Place into your oven for 30 minutes, until your knife comes out clean.

Let the cake cool off completely (approx. 2 hours) before serving.

ENJOY loves!!

Sanne

 

 

Homemade Vegan Walnut Brownies

Morning loves!! I hope you've all had the most amazing weekend! We are experiencing the most pleasant weather here in Amsterdam so I have spent my days mostly outside. Still it gets chilly in the evening which for me was the perfect time for some baking. I was thinking about some new treats when it hit me.. I have NEVER made vegan brownies! Which is insane, thinking brownies were my favorite for a long long time - before I turned to a vegan diet.

Brownies can be easily made vegan, payaya, black beans, tofu and sweet potato are known for being an excellent base. I went for sweet potatoes because I returned from the farmers market with 2 big bags (I eat them everyday).

Vegan Walnut Brownies
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes
1 very ripe, small banana
1 cup of ground walnuts
1/2 cup of ground almonds
20 dates (soaked overnight)
3/4 cup of almond flour
5 tbsp raw cacao powder (carob powder will do fine too)
4 tbsp agave syrup
pinch of cinnamon

Directions
Start by preheating your oven to 180 degrees celcius. Place your two potatoes into your microwave (3 minutes for every 200 gram on 750 watt) until they are really soft and beginning to fall apart. Peel the skin of your potatoes and add them, together with the banana, dates and the agave syrup, to your food processor. Pulse until you have a smooth and creamy consistency. Add the almond flour and pulse again till its completely absorbed. Add the almonds, walnuts, cacao powder and your cinnamon.

Scoop the mixture into a (lined) baking dish and place into your preheated oven for about 20 minutes until the brownie is dry from the inside (pierce the brownie with a fork). Place the brownie on a baking tray and allow it to cool of for at least 20 minutes.

Enjoy with some homemade almond milk!

Love,
Sanne

Spelt-Banana Muffins with Walnuts

Morning sweethearts!
Hope you are all doing wonderful and are ready for a new delicious recipe!
I have been experimenting with cupcakes and muffins lately as my birthday is coming up real quick..
Last week I posted a recipe for these delicious vegan muffins and after some adjustments I came up with a renewed, supereasy version!




















Spelt-Banana muffins with walnuts
What you need
1 cup dairy free milk (I used coconut milk)
14 dates (8 medjool dates)
1 large ripe Banana
1/2 cup Spelt flour
handful Walnuts
1/4 cup Coconut Oil
1tsp baking soda

Directions
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
In your food processor, blend the banana with the dates and coconut milk until you have a smooth mixture. Add the Coconut Oil and pulse again. Stir in the 1/2 cup of Spelt Flour, the baking soda and the walnuts. Pulse until everything is combined.
Pour the mixture into your muffin tins and bake in your oven for 25 minutes until they have a golden crust and aren't moist on the inside. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack before serving.

Love,
Sanne

Nutbutter Chocolate Granola

Last night my boyfriend was watching football, which isnt really interesting me, so after a polite 5 minutes of oeeh´s and aaaaw´s I sneaked into the kitchen to try out this recipe that I has been on my mind all day -- Crunchy Nutbutter Chocolate Granola! Perfect when you want to spice up your smoothies and soy yoghurt. This is also delicious with cashew milk or almond milk.

Nutbutter Chocolate Granola
What you need
1 cup buckwheat (buckinis)
1 cup of coconut flakes
5 tbsp of raw agave syrup
3 tbsp of nutbutter (I used almond butter)
3 tbsp of carob powder
3 tbsp coconut oil
Handful of mulberries

Directions
Start with preheating your oven to 120 degrees celcius/250 degrees fahrenheit. Melt the coconut oil and mix together with your agave syrup and nutbutter until you have a smooth consistency. Add the buckinis, coconut flakes and carob powder (leave out the mulberries) and swirl until everything is covered with your nutbutter paste. Line a tray with baking paper and pour your mixture onto it. Place the tray into your oven for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes take out and let it cool. Add the mulberries (puffed quinoa and cacao nibs work wonders too) and ENJOY!

Love,
Sanne

Chocolate Muffins

Morning loves! Hope you all have had an amazing weekend! I know I did because I finally had time to do some baking.. expect some lovely recipes this week! I have been meaning to make some muffins for quite some time. Ever since I visisted Antwerp and had some delicious vegan muffins at this little pastry shop. So this weekend I finally bought a muffin tin and made these delicious and healthy chocolate muffins.They are literally bursting with flavor, perfectly sweet and moist, and have wholesome ingredients like flaxseed, banana, cacao and dates.

Chocolate Muffins
What you need
1 cup buckwheat flour (almond and spelt flour will work too)
1 cup potato starch
3 large ripe bananas
1 cup medjool dates
3/4 cup raw cacao powder
1/2 cup plant based milk (I used almond milk)
2 tbsp baking powder

Directions
Preheat your oven to 395 degrees. In your food processor, blend the bananas, dates and your milk until you have a smooth consistency. In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix together. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and stir. If the batter is still a bit dry you can add a bit more milk.

Scoop the batter into your muffin tin, top with goodies you like (I went for cacao nibs and puffed quinoa), and place into your preheated oven for about 20 minutes until they have a golden crust and aren't moist on the inside. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack before serving.

Enjoy!!!

Love,
Sanne

Banana Mango Bowl

Morning loves!! A quick post before I have to start my day! As I am always on the run, I live on simple, healthy and delicious dishes. 
Especially in the morning, when I only have 5 minutes to spare to make my breakfast, I swear by this yummy banana-mango bowl! So specially for you loves, some delicious breakfast inspiration! 

Banana Mango Bowl
What you need
2 bananas
1 mango
2 passionfruits
handful raspberries
handful raw shredded coconut
5 tbsp coyo (coconut yoghurt)

Directions 
Garnish your coconut yoghurt with all the toppings and ENJOY!

Love,
Sanne

Bananabread with Red Currants (Vegan and Glutenfree)

Hi lovelies! I hope everyone has had a wonderful valentine and valentines weekend. Filled with love, laughter and lots of delicious treats. Besides the usual yummy vegan chocolates I made, I really outdid myself with this bananabread filled with lots of red currants. The best part? This loaf is vegan, oil, refined sugar and glutenfree so you can eat more than one slice (which of course we did!!).

Banana-Red Currant Bread
What you need
3 ripe bananas
3 flax eggs (3tbsp ground flax mixed with 9tbsp water)
1/2tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
Handful red currants

What to do
Preheat your oven to 175 degrees celcius.
Prepare your flax eggs by mixing the 3tbsp of ground flax together with 9tbsp of water. Set aside for 10 minutes. Pour the old fashioned oats in your foodprocessor and pulse until you have a rough flour and mix with your coconut and almond flour. Mash the bananas until you are left with a creamy consistency without lumps. Mix the bananas with the baking powder, coconut flour, almond flour and oats flour until everything is covered and add the flax eggs & currants. 
Pour into a baking tin of your choice and bake for 40 minutes.
Enjoy!!

Love,
Sanne

Love your Berries

Why berries are a girls best friend..

Health Benefits Berries
The antioxidants in berries can help your body fight oxidative stress caused by free radicals that can lead to illness. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants can help improve your health, protect your skin and hair, and prevent certain diseases. All fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, but nutrient-rich berries are some of the absolute best sources.
There are several powerful antioxidants that appear in berries, including anthocyanins, quercetin, and vitamin C. Anthocyanins give berries their vibrant color, reduce inflammation, and may help prevent and manage arthritis. Anthocyanins work together with quercetin to help slow age-related memory-loss. Quercetin can also decrease the inflammatory effects of chemicals in the synovial fluid of the joints for people with inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.
Vitamin C is another strong antioxidant found in berries. It is largely responsible for the health of collagen, which helps maintain cartilage stores and aids in joint flexibility. Eating vitamin C–rich berries will contribute to radiant skin and healthy hair.

In addition to antioxidants, berries are “juicy foods,” which means they contain mostly water. Juicy foods are great for losing weight because they fill you up quickly, since their high water content bumps up the volume while driving down the calories. Berries also contain fiber and folate. Fiber aids in weight loss and helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Folate may protect against cardiovascular disease and age-related memory loss, and since folate contributes to the production of serotonin, it may also help ward off depression and improve your mood.

So love your body by loving berries!!!

Blueberry Coconut Icecream

Hi lovelies! I hope you are all doing well and having a wonderful day. 

I have been craving some vegan icecream for a while now. So when I got home from the farmers market last saturday I immediately started experimenting with all the delicious fruits I bought. This blueberry coconut cream is a real winner!! I just can't get enough of it so I have been eating this as breakfast, snack and dessert for the past few days! LOL! Supereasy, Superfilling, SuperYUMMY!

Blueberry Coconut Icecream

What you need

1 cup frozen blueberries

2 frozen bananas

1 cup coconut water

5 tbsp coconut flakes

What to do

Mix all the ingredients together in your foodprocessor or blender and pulse until you have this lovely thick and creamy consistency. Scoop into a little bowl and place in your freezer for 10 minutes. This gives you the time to prepare the topping. Think; berries, goji, chia, buckwheat, coconut flakes, hemp, mulberries & cacao nibs.

After 10 minutes take out your icecream and top with all the goodies.

Enjoy!

Love,

Sanne

Rawberry tarts

Hi loves!! Hope you all had an amazing weekend!  I did because I finally got to try out these raw berry tarts that were in my head since christmas.. Supercute and supereasy for when you have NO time to bake and you still want to serve your guests something healthy and delicious.

Rawberry tarts (serves 4)
What you need
1 cup of medjool dates
1/3 cup of almonds
1/3 cup of walnuts
4 tbsp of goji
Handful of your favorite berries
1 tbsp of lemonzest

What to do
Place your dates into the food processor and pulse until you have a smooth consistency. Add the almonds and the walnuts and pulse again until you have a date mixture with chuncks. Take out and gently fold in the goji berries. With your hands, sculpture 4 beds for the berries and place them in your freezer for about 5 minutes. Take out and top with your favorite berries, the lemon zest and some mint!

ENJOY!!

Love,
BeautyBlends

Raspberry icecream bowl with passionfruit

Hi dolls!! Hope everyone is feeling wonderful! Since it is getting colder outside I have decided to treat myself to a bit of summer! Yesterday I came back from the farmers market with 3 big bags of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.. absolute heaven! I had to get creative because a went a bit overboard (3 bags.. serious?!) and these beautiful products deserved to be used in some delicious dishes. So first thing I came up with was this amazing raspberry icecream bowl -- dont you just LOVE nature's colors?! -- supereasy to make, I only used fresh fruits and it was truly a sight for sore eyes!

Raspberry icecream bowl (raw, glutenfree, oil free and refined sugarfree).

What you need

2 cups of rapsberries

2 bananas

1/4 cup coconut water

Garnish

handful of strawberries 

1 passionfruit

3 tbsp goji berries

What to do

Place the bananas and 1 cup of strawberries in your fridge (preferably overnight). Once they are completely frozen place the raspberries and the bananas in your blender and add the other cup of (non frozen) raspberries and the coconutwater. Blend until you have a thick creamy, beautiful colored, consistency. Scoop the mixture into a bowl and garnish with passionfruit seeds, strawberries and goji... ENJOY!!

Love,

BeautyBlends

Goji Bites.. an alround snack!

Hi sweets! Today I got an amazing snack for all of you! Goji bites. You have probably heard of the superfood goji but for those who have not, a little bit about this beautiful food:

Health benefits Goji berries

Goji berry, also know as wolfberry is a bright orange-red berry grown in the north, central and western areas of China. As they are easily damaged it is common for them to be dried to preserve. Goji berries have been used in traditional Chinese medicine to manage diabetes, fever, eye problems, blood pressure and fatigue. They can be eaten raw, cooked or dried (they look a lot like raisins) and can be used in herbal teas, juices and medicines. Goji berries benefit your health in many ways: protect your liver, help eyesight, improve fertility, strenghten the legs, boost immune function and improve circulation

The blue-red color found in goji berries as wel as in blueberries, acai berries, cranberries, strawberries and cherries are natural antioxidants which helps protect the body against oxidative damage. They are also rich in Vitamin A which protects the skin from damage, helps maintain vision and benefits the immune system.

Enough reasons to celebrate these little miracles! 

Goji bites (glutenfree, refined sugar free).

What you need

5 tbsp gojiberries

5 tbsp buckwheat

5 tbsp hempseed

5 tbsp puffed quinoa

2 tbsp chia

2 tbsp raw honey

3 tbsp coconutoil

What to do

Mix all the ingredients exept the raw honey and coconut oil in a bowl. Melt the coconut oil on low heat and take of directly when totally melted. Pour this over your superfood mixture and add the raw honey. Stir until everything is covered with the honey and coconut oil. 

Pour the mixture into your favorite mould and place in your fridge for about 15 minutes. Take out and.. ENJOY!!!

Love,

BeautyBlends