Orange Chocolate Biscotti

Sometimes I want a biscuit alright??? We're all human, and get cravings for those things we really shouldn't be eating...BUT...I made a choice to eliminate refined sugar and grains from my diet, not only to achieve weight loss goals but primarily for health reasons. I don't want to fill my body with foods which are so heavily processed that they're more chemicals than actual food.

I do keep stressing than the recipes I post here for desserts should be used in moderation since most of them contain large amounts of nut flours which are pretty calorific. Even still...I love that I can make biscuits or dessert and not feel like I've undone my week of hard training, and still stick to not eating refined sugars and grains. I think it's for that reason that I've been so successful in changing my lifestyle... It's sustainable, and that's the most important thing when it comes to changing your habits. 

So back to the biscuits.... I LOVE this biscotti... and thankfully my friends all love it too so they're always willing to make sure that I don't polish off the lot! Moderation remember?! 

• 100g almond flour
• 25g coconut flour (or almond flour if you prefer)
• 30g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 4 tbsp raw organic honey
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tbsp orange zest
• 75g chopped walnuts

This is super easy to make... 

Preheat oven to 170c (fan).

Throw everything into a bowl.

Mix until you have a stiff dough. 

Since it's a dry mixture (it's supposed to be!) you'll probably have to get stuck in with your hands to get the mixture to form a firm ball. 

Next shape into a slightly flattened log. 

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes & lower the temperature to 150c. 

Leave to cool for 20 minutes.

Slice at a diagonal angle, using a really sharp knife (otherwise it'll crumble and crack). 

Place the biscotti back in the oven (lowered temperature) and bake for a further 15 minutes. This dries them out, and gives you that crunchy crumbly texture that makes biscotti so delicious! 

The biscuits should be firm when you remove them from the oven. Don't over bake them as the do firm up more when they cool... over baking results in brick-like biscotti! 

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Dairy free pesto

As much as I try not to over-think my nutrition (it's easy to obsess), I'm always mindful of little things that may be hindering my progress, or potentially damaging my health. Store bought condiments can contain all sorts of ingredients we wouldn't expect to find in them, and since I do my best to avoid sugar and artificial preservatives, I usually make my own... just to be sure... (this isn't obsessing alright??!!)

I've said before that I've nothing really against dairy, but I don't make a habit of including it in my diet simply because I feel better without it. I don't think pesto lacks flavour by omitting it, so I always go dairy free. I've raved about the benefits of spinach before, so won't bore you again!

I use walnuts instead of pine nuts since they have so many excellent health benefits. They're a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids, making them a brilliant anti inflammatory food. If you have any sort of autoimmune disorder like eczema, psoriasis, arthritis or multiple sclerosis, you should be including walnuts in your diet....even if you don't, include them anyway because they're great for heart, hair and skin health :)  

You could use a mortar and pestle for this, but honestly a food processor is the way to go here. 

• 100g baby leaf spinach
• 4 garlic cloves
• 75g walnuts
• 1 tsp almond butter
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• pinch of sea salt
• 75ml walnut oil 

Add all ingredients except walnut oil to food processor and blitz until well combined. 

Drizzle walnut oil in slowly with the processor still running. Don't add all the oil in one go, or it won't mix evenly and you'll be left with a green oily mess. Be patient and just add a little at a time. 

Once you have added all the oil, your pesto is ready to use. 

If you don't use a lot of pesto in cooking, you can freeze it in an ice cube tray and just pop out a cube whenever you need some fresh pesto. It will taste far superior to store bought pesto, and only takes 5 minutes to prepare. 

In general, it's not the little things like condiments that are wrecking our progress, but still it's good to know exactly what you're eating so I do like to make it myself. 

Out of curiosity, and pure nerdiness (that is totally a word!) I took a look at the ingredient list for Sacla Classic Basil Pesto which seems to be stocked in most supermarkets.  And we have...glucose, 'flavourings'... what sort of flavourings? Not sure I want to be eating unidentified 'flavourings' to be honest... oh and we have potato flakes...that's not one I'd have guessed was in there. My point is, we can go to all the effort of omitting dairy, wheat or sugar etc from our diets, but they can creep in where we least expect it. It's not the end of the world, and no it's not likely to kill you... but if you're concerned about where your food comes from, you might want to think again before buying condiments. 

Gooey raspberry brownies

I'm slightly addicted to the Great British Bake Off, and now that there's an Irish Bake Off too... I've got baking on the brain. I even rescheduled my training session in the gym to make sure I'm home in time to watch it... that's dedication! In fairness, that's dedication to both training and cake... I don't like to neglect the important things in life :)

I had an hour to kill this afternoon, and decided to bake brownies...a girl can never have too many brownie recipes after all... In my book, brownies are supposed to be fudgey rather than cakey, and have slightly chewy edge (that's why you always, always go for a brownie cut from the corner of the tin..they're the best!) These brownies are all that, and more... they're rich, chocolatey and best of all, they're grain, dairy and refined sugar free.. 

Brownies:

• 4 eggs
• 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 tsp organic vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 tbsp coconut flour (you can replace this with 1 1/2 tbsp almond flour)
• 75g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• pinch of salt
• 50g walnuts, chopped coarsely
• 50g fresh raspberries

Raspberry jam: 

• 50g fresh raspberries
• 1 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce

Preheat oven to 160d. Line an 8x8" square cake tin with greaseproof paper. 

Start by making raspberry jam. Simple add raspberries and apple sauce to a saucepan and cook until you have thick raspberry purée. Set aside to cool. 

Whisk liquid brownie ingredients in a large bowl. 

Add in dry ingredients, mix well. 

Next add walnuts and raspberries.

Stir until combined. 

Pour brownie mixture into lined tin. 

Finally drizzle raspberry 'jam' over the brownies and swirl into the mixture with a skewer. 

Bake in preheated oven until just set (approx 15 minutes). Since ovens vary, I suggest you keep an eye on them to make sure they don't over-bake. 

You'll get 12 brownies from this recipe, and since they freeze well, you have no excuse for eating them all!!