Black Sesame Loaf

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black sesame loafI was so glad to find a bag of ground black sesame seeds at the Asian grocery today. I think black sesame seeds are nuttier and more fragrant compared to white or brown kinds. These little black guys are an excellent source of copper and a very good source of manganese. They are also a good source of calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, molybdenum, selenium, and dietary fiber. So what do these nutrients mean? Eating them helps to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, prevent osteoporosis, migraine and PMS, protect your liver from oxidative damage. Amazing right? They are good for you inside out, as well! Powerful antioxidants and antibacterial properties in them help to nourish and detoxify your skin. So we will all look glowing and dewy after eating them, in theory anyway 🙂

The way I like using them is lightly toast and sprinkle over salads or stir-fries or noodles. Nuttiness and crunchiness brings the dish up to another level. Don’t forget it looks pretty, too. I added ground black sesame seeds in my baking today. A slice or two of this black beauty has become my favourite breakfast and snack. Enjoy x

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
5 eggs
1/2-3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 cups of almond flour
1/2 cup of black sesame seed powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Gently whisk eggs in a bowl and add melted coconut oil, coconut milk and coconut sugar. Put all other dry ingredients in in a separate bowl and combine well. Add wet mixture into the bowl and combine well. Pour the cake mixture into a prepared loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven (180) for 40-45 minutes until cooked. Let it cool before slicing.

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

GF Goji Walnut Loaf

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Goji walnut loafI hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful autumn weather in Australia. I’m sure some of you are more engaged in exercises and sports as the weather allows us at the moment. I’m going to briefly write about changes in my exercise regime and healthy eating in this post. I know it is so confusing when someone tells you this works this doesn’t and so on. So I will keep it as a part of my story here. I really enjoy going to the gym everyday and do Pilates and stretches at home. I’ve done that for years hoping to keep my body in good shape and health. However, I had trouble putting on muscles and toning up as much as I wanted to. I then took some advice from a gym junkie, my brother, and changed my exercise program and diet, which I can totally see the difference in my body and strength. My weight hasn’t changed at all (it’s just numbers!!!!), but I feel so much stronger when doing daily activities such as carrying grocery bags. So here is what I do to tone up.

– 30 minutes pre-workout, I drink a cup of coffee or a glass of water and have some snacks e.g. a handful of dried fruits
– I start with a light cardio workout as warm-up and cool-down about 10 minutes each.
– Focus on weight training. Work on different muscle groups on different days. For example, I train the muscles that you use to pull (back muscles and biceps) one day, the opposing muscles (chest muscles and triceps) next day, legs following day
– Use a variety of exercises to train same muscle groups. For example, I do chest press, inclined bench press, cable across and push ups for chest muscles. 10-15 reps x 4-5 sets, 30-20 sec rest in between.
– Focus on technique e.g. eccentric control and breathing.
– Eat well after workout. This is what I didn’t do before, but you need to fuel up your body to facilitate muscle repair and recovery. Have plenty of water, carbs and protein within 30min to 1 hr.
– Rest and listen to my body. Really important! your body needs to rest. I do Pilates, yoga and light cardio on rest days.
– Sleep well. Adequate sleep releases growth hormone that is essential for muscle building.

Okay, enough on my story. This gluten-free wholesome healthy loaf is so easy to make and delicious. Cinnamon-y, coconut-y and chocolatey. It is my ready-to-go meal as breakfast and snack. Oh it is even better with a spoonful of nut butter or goat cheese on top (yes! protein boost). Happy baking x

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk
2 tbsp raw honey
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
50g chopped walnuts
50g goji berries
a pinch of salt

Lightly beat eggs in a mixing bowl and add in almond milk, raw honey and melted coconut oil. Then add other ingredients and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture into a prepared loaf tin and bake in preheated oven (180) for about 30 minutes or until cooked. Let it cool before serve.Goji walnut loaf

Posted in: Baking, Breakfast, Dessert, Gluten Free, My recipes, Snack

GF Vanilla Quinoa Pancakes

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January flew past so fast before I knew it. Isn’t that funny how time flies by as you get old whereas day by day goes so slow when you are a teenager. Apparently, that is because adults have more routines and things planned in their life than teenagers do. Teens are confused creatures, don’t know what they want to do or want to be and are also more likely a daydreamer and thinker. They are more creative and have more fun and laughs. I cannot agree more. I always make to-do-lists, plan my day/ month/ year and live in a rut without changing or challenging myself with new experiences. I’m sure we all have moments time to time asking ourselves ‘oh I used to love drawing’, ‘I wish I continued playing piano’, ‘I just want to sit down and read a book from cover to cover without getting disturbed’ or something like ‘I just want to relax and do nothing’. Why is it so hard to relax ourselves these days? We are stressed, worry too much, think too much, always surrounded by social media. It is so sad to hear people get withdrawal symptoms from not using computer, tablet or mobile phone. Imagine losing internet connection or mobile signal even for a day. What a nightmare!

Having all these in my mind, I enrolled myself to a 6-week photography introduction course this month. I’ve been meaning to learn how to use my camera properly. Learning something new always excites me and feel little butterflies in my stomach. I’m so looking forward to using new camera skills for my blog and travelling. I also decided to restrict myself using social media and internet since my addiction has reached a high level. I easily lose a track of time in an overwhelming amount of information and inspirations on the internet and instagram that keeps on flowing and flowing. Yep, time management!

How do you manage your time? What do you do for fun or relax?
quinoa pancakes
This pancake recipe is super easy to make and delicious. Simply double up the recipe to serve two people or more. Perfect treat for the weekend. Enjoy x

Ingredients (3 pancakes, serves 1)

1/2 cup quinoa flour
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp flaxmeal
2 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
a pinch of salt
1 egg
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tbsp coconut oil for frying

Lightly beat egg and milk in a large bowl. Add all dry ingredients into egg mixture and whisk to combine. Set aside for 5-10 minutes. If batter is too thick, add a little bit more of milk. Heat coconut oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Ladle batter into a pan. Flip when the bubbles start to form on top and cook for another 2 minutes. Repeat with the rest of batter. Serve warm with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.

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

Raw Peanut Butter Cookies

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raw peanut butter cookiesThe food we eat affects our mood and in turn our mood directs appetites craving for something sweet or savoury, carb-loaded or deep-fried foods. It would damage your health to just follow your heart and eat whatever you feel like eating, though also unhealthy to suppress your cravings. I’m so fascinated by the relationship between food and mood and health. It seems hard to achieve a total balance between all three though what matters is that we listen to our feelings, try healthy alternatives and feed our body with nutritious and delicious foods. Don’t you agree? I came down with some kind of bugs this week, feeling lethargic, headachey, blocked sinus, sore throat, etc. All I wanted was climb onto the bed and bury myself in there all day. However, it never happened. In fact, I came home after work and spent some time in my kitchen preparing meals and making little treats. Healing time for me 🙂

Who doesn’t like peanut butter? or Cookies? Peanut cookies? When making these neat and nutty little cookies, there is no fragrant aroma of baking cookies in the house you normally expect. Also because of the nature of their making, texture is quite dense and soft unlike the baked crunchy cookies. Though what you will get is incredible peanut butter yumminess, good nutrition and feeling good about treating yourself, thanks to refined sugar-free, gluten-free and low-carbs, I promise it is a pleasingly easy recipe and tastes wonderful. So tuck right in! 🙂 Only one issue is that they just don’t seem to last long in my freezer after I make them. A big mug of tea and a couple of these guys on the side is totally my weakness and a moment of indulgence.

Ingredients

1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup Medijool dates, pitted
1/2 cup organic peanut butter (if peanut butter allergies, use other nut butters)
1 tsp vanilla powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp maca powder
1 tbsp cacao nibs
a pinch of salt

Blend all up in a food processor. Make little balls and press with your favorite cookie stamp. Store in a airtight container in the freezer.

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

GF Pear Chai Tea Cake

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What kind of tea do you like? I visited T2 shop in Emporium in Melbourne CBD a few times just because I fell in love with a hundred variety of teas there. There is a lot of health benefits of drinking tea including detoxing, preventing cancer, improving your skin and even weight loss, but hey I just like the smell and taste that calms me down. Whatever reason you choose to drink tea, it is good for you 🙂

– If you are caffeine sensitive, it is probably best to avoid black, white and green tea later afternoon.
– Stick to chamomile and red tea (a.k.a rooibos tea from South Africa) which is caffeine free and very soothing for your digestion!
– Try spiced tea with coconut milk or almond milk and a few drops of stevia.
– Miss coffee? Try chicory root and dandelion. It tastes just like coffee without caffeine.
– Make iced tea in hot summer. Brew the tea. Just add sweetener and slices of your favorite fruits in a jug and keep in fridge up to 3 days.
– Use brewed tea and tea bag for baking such as rooibos, earl grey and chai tea.

I made this tea cake vegan and gluten-free with no refined sugar. So it is not too sweet and quite dense in texture. Having a big dollop of thick vanilla yogurt or whipped coconut cream would be nice. Of course, freshly brewed chai tea on the side, too.
pear chai cakeIngredients

1 tbsp flaxmeal
1 cup of strongly brewed chai tea
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup of coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
100g brown rice flour
50g coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 pear sliced
a pinch of salt

Combine flaxmeal, brewed tea, melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Add other ingredients, except pear, into a bowl and mix well with a spatula. Pour the mixture into a prepared baking tin. Arrange sliced pear on top and gently press. Bake in the preheated oven (180) for 30 minutes or until cooked. Allow to cool in a tin for 10 minutes before slicing.

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