Oven Baked Zucchini Fries

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Have you heard of nutritional yeast before? Don’t get confused with brewer’s yeast for beer or dry yeast for bread. They are not the same! I didn’t know how to use these yellow flakes until now.

It’s used by vegans and vegetarians since it has a good source of vitamin B12 that is lacking in a vegetarian diet. Not only is it delicious but it is a fantastic alternative to cheese. It contains low sodium, low fat, no sugar, 18 amino acids, and vitamin B. Its yellow colour comes from Riboflavin (vitamin B2), important for proper use of oxygen and metabolism of fatty acids, carbs and fatty acids. Nutritional Yeast also contains Niacin, Thiamin, Biotin, and Folic Acid as well as minerals, Selenium, Chromium, Zinc, Phosphorous, Magnesium, and Potassium, plus beta-1, 3 glucan, a type of fiber that may aid the immune system and help to lower cholesterol. It is the perfect supplement for any vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. A common use is to sprinkle some of the flakes on popcorn, soups, salads, pastas or baked potatoes much like you might add salt or pepper.

I tried a half teaspoon by itself and surprised how much it tastes just like Parmesan cheese. Then I nod. I wish I knew about these magical flakes a lot earlier. It’s creamy, cheesy and yummy! I couldn’t wait to use this on chips. Ah, sorry not talking about those deep fried potato chips. I meant baked zucchini fries! I am so obsessed with zucchinis. Grill them and mix with beans and salads, stir-fry, stuff them and bake in the oven, make raw noodles, grate and put them in cakes and muffins, dip raw sticks in hummus for snack, WOW what else? 🙂
Zucchini ChipsIngredients

Zucchini cut into fries
1 teaspoon of coconut oil
2 teaspoons of nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of Himalayan salt

Other recipes say adding breadcrumbs to cover the zucchini sticks completely. I didn’t have any gluten-free breadcrumbs at home and left it out, but feel free to add some. I’m going to try sweet potato next time, but maybe cut into thinner sticks to get more crispy chips. It was delicious! Try this tonight x

Posted in: Baking, Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes, Snack, Vegetarian

GF Chocolate Bars

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GF Chocolate Bar

Who doesn’t like chocolate? When I have a piece of chocolate or chocolate bar from the packet, it tastes sickly sweet, full of sugar and preservatives. You can make a guilt free treat at home with all healthy ingredients and it is actually good for you. Cacao (not cocoa >.<) is raw with all enzymes and powerful antioxidants. Had a bad day? Grab this bar and enjoy a big mouthful! Cacao contains the amino acid and tryptophan which leads to the production of serotonin, a happy hormone. The super bean contains oleic acid which is linked to lower bad cholesterol and a great source of magnesium, iron, copper, calcium, potassium and zinc.

I always keep a bag of raw cacao powder in my pantry and use for baking muffins and cakes, making little truffles, chocolate mousse, chocolate milk, and chocolate bars. Don’t limit yourself using cacao! You can even add to your salad and salad dressing. Sprinkle cacao nibs over salads for extra crunchy and bitter sweet flavour. You will be surprised 🙂

Ingredients (10 mini bars)

100g almonds and hazelnuts
1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
2 teaspoons of cacao powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 table spoon of coconut oil
1 table spoon of coconut butter
5 Medijool dates
1 medium sized banana

Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until it comes together. If it is too crumbly, add a squeeze of lemon or a teaspoon of water. Pour the mixture into a tin or container and press firmly. Set in the freezer for an hour and then cut into pieces.

Posted in: Dessert, Gluten Free, My recipes, Snack, Vegetarian

World of Scones

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SconesI wasn’t familiar with scones until I came to Australia. I remember I tried them at my Pilates teacher’s house a few years back. It was a weekend private course at her house to become a Pilates instructor. She had a beautiful townhouse in Fremantle overlooking the ocean. Her husband was babysitting their grand-daughter during the day. She was so shy saying hi behind her grandpa’s legs and ran away from us. Then about 4pm-ish, we were a bit sluggish after hours of learning and overwhelmed by so much information in so little time. Wanting to have some sugar-kick! This little girl came into the room with a little basket of scones and, of course, jam and cream on the side. She told us she made them for us with a shy smile. How cute! We all sat around the fireplace (it was winter time!) and shared a little scone with her. It kind of looked and tasted like KFC biscuits when I tried it for the first time. Rich buttery taste and soft fluffy inside. It reminded me of the cornmeal bread I used to like when I was little. I’ve tried to bake scones at home several times since then. Sometimes it turns out to be okay, but other times it doesn’t rise, fail! I didn’t realise how hard making scones is. It definitely got harder since I need to make a gluten-free version now, too. My tips for making good scones are…

  • Firstly, use cold butter. Yes, butter. It is better to use butter in scones than coconut oil. As it melts into the dough in the oven, it creates beautiful layers.
  • Add a knob of cold butter into dry ingredients and cut into little pieces with your knife or fork. Then start massaging with your fingers until the dough comes together.
  • Don’t work your dough too much. Otherwise scones will not rise because kneading converts the protein in flour to gluten.
  • Gently fold the dough in half and in half again, a few times to get flaky and layered scones.
  • Don’t pat the edges of the scones after cutting them.
  • Bake them for a short time in high heat. I bake for 15-20 minutes in the 200 preheated oven and take them out to cool.
  • If you have any other tips, please share with me 🙂

Ingredients (make 8 little scones)

2 cups of gluten free flour blend
1 teaspoon of baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cold butter
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk*
1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips for chocolate chip scones
1/2 cup of cooked pumpkin for pumpkin scones

*You might need more or less milk depending on what flour you use and how moist your pumpkin mixture is.

Posted in: Baking, Breakfast, My recipes, Snack