Honey Gift Jars

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I cannot believe Christmas is only a week away.

You can see people everywhere shopping for Christmas gifts at the shops. From Custom Dog Blankets to everything beautiful. It is just a crazy time of the year.
I don’t like buying presents just for the sake of buying because you have to for Christmas. I like more of a surprise thoughtful gift whether or not it is small just like the custom slides. Christmas for me is to have a family time with some carol songs and good food back home, not much buying presents.

Daniel and I got invited to Christmas lunch from his friend this year. So I made infused honey jars for them, inspired by Sarah B from My New Roots.I was lucky to come across her blog a while ago when I was searching for some healthy recipes. She puts up awesome photos of food, recipes and her stories, which I’m so addicted now. I haven’t actually followed any of her recipes yet, though her post on this edible gift idea rang a bell for me. It is personal, healthy, pretty, versatile to use, simple to make and special.

I put cinnamon sticks, star anise, pink pepper corns, walnuts, fennel seeds and sliced ginger in the jar, and covered honey over it. Decorate with Christmasy ribbon and let it infuse. I made a big jar for myself as well to have it in my tea or on my breakfast muffin or on salads (maybe with Gorgonzola cheese, walnut, pear and rocket leaves?). It is sitting in my fridge now looking so pretty. I cannot wait to try it 🙂
Lunch3

Posted in: My recipes, Snack \ Tagged:

Raw Cheese Cake

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I’ve been craving for nice cool sweets as a snack recently and been meaning to try to make “raw cheese cake” to see what all those fusses are about.

So here it is…my very first attempt to make “raw cheese cake” with no cheese. This delicious dessert is gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free, but has a full of flavour and nutrition in it!

I soaked 200g of raw cashew nuts in water for about 6 hours, then drained and washed them. Put them in the blender with two table spoons of coconut oil, a cup of frozen blue berries and a heap teaspoon of maca powder. Whiz all up until you get a nice smooth texture. Pour into the mold and set in the fridge before you serve. You can also keep them in the freezer for a hot summer day!

Did you know cashew nuts have a lower fat content than other nuts? 75% of this fat content is unsaturated fatty acids, and 75% of this unsaturated fatty acids is oleic acid a.k.a omega-6, which is good for your cardiovascular system. Cashew nuts are high in antioxidant and a good source of protein, fiber, potassium, vitamin B, folate, magnesium, phosphorous, selenium and copper. On top of that, soaking nuts not only releases the enzyme inhibitors but also starts the gemination process, which releases the good enzymes and nutrients.

This awesome dessert blew my mind away!

Firstly, it has a beautiful creamy texture like a real cheese cake. It is super-easy to make – no baking involved, don’t need to measure ingredients accurately. You can be creative with ingredients to make other types of cheese cake, for example, lemon, green-tea, chocolate, you name it! It is incredibly easy to digest cause it is made of soaked and blended nuts. It definitely fills you up with a little piece and satisfy your sweet tooth or teeth 🙂

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

Power balls

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My morning routine is getting up early (well..3am all this week..damn insomnia!), going for a morning walk for an hour and having a shower.

My breakfast is mostly smoothie or tea with a couple of home-made muffins. I did try some oat porridge and muesli before, but not a big fan of it.

I have the best concentration after my breakfast, so try to get some studying and reading done.

It has been almost a month since Daniel and I started studying for French getting ready for our holiday next year.

We go to the class every Thursday night together though I find myself I have to try a lot harder to catch up with other students.

I am certainly enjoying learning new language although it is very challenging in terms of pronunciation and grammar (masculine and feminine >.<).

Taking all these into my brain requires so much energy than doing anything else.

I always have some snacks handy in the fridge.  I made a few of these raw gluten-free power balls this morning.

Simply blend a small banana, natural protein power, black chia seeds, cacao powder, cinnamon powder, ginger powder, goji berries, LSA and one chai tea bag.

Ingredients can change depending on what I have in the cupboard or my mood (?). It helps me to cut down my cravings on sweets and last until lunch time.

It is heaps better than those sweets or snacks from the packet for sure 🙂

 

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

Icy Poles

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I made these icy poles last week and kept in the freezer for a hot summer day.

I blended about two cups of watermelon, squeeze of one lemon and handful of mint. Ah! don’t forget a sprinkle of cayenne pepper for a kick:p

Being a Korean, I like hot spicy food even in sweets e.g. chilli chocolate

This icy pole is so refreshing and hydrating for you, and better than store-bought ice creams >.<

I’m going to experiment different flavours of icy poles this summer with seasonal fruits.

Mangoes, peaches, strawberries, kiwis, what else????

Posted in: My recipes, Snack

Banana Choc chip muffin

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2013-12-05 11.58.57

Baking always calms me down. I don’t know why.

I didn’t get a good sleep last night and wasn’t feeling concentrated while doing my study this morning.

So I decided to do some baking 🙂

I like home-made muffins and bars at home as it’s a lot healthier than those from the bakeries or cafes.

Very simple ingredients – ripe bananas, choc chips, cacao powder, eggs, self-raising flour, walnut oil, pear puree (that I made on the weekend to use for cooking and baking)

Chocolate and banana flavour marry well together.

Posted in: Baking, My recipes, Snack