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Barley, Chickpea & Date Salad Stuffed Aubergines

I didn’t get a lot of response to my question on facebook about if you wanted a sweet or savoury recipe next so I combined the two in these “Barley, Chickpea & Date Salad Stuffed Aubergines”!

Grain/bean/fruit salads are a summer lunch staple here, typically served in romaine lettuce boats, with perhaps a little diced avocado on top.

But to turn this salad into more of a dinner dish I fell back on an old forgotten favourite- roasted aubergine.

Lots of people I know claim not to like aubergine but I’m convinced they’ve probably just been served it undercooked as it’s pretty unpleasant that way. All it takes is rubbing with a little olive oil and salt and a good stint in the oven to get that soft, sweet, melt-in-the-mouth thing going on. Much more tasty.

It was a great base for this hearty salad and I’m a little bit in love with the warm/cool contrast too.

I actually used my quick cooking 5-grains from Clearspring (Emmer Wheat, Barley, Long Grain Brown Rice, Kamut & Wholegrain Oats) but I imagine most of you don’t have that to hand so I recommend barley instead for its chewy, unique texture. If you’re gluten-free you could use sorghum, buckwheat or even just brown rice.

I adore dates, especially the big, juicy Medjool kind, and since this dish is a little Middle-Eastern in style, they felt like a more than appropriate addition.

The recipe makes a lot but it keeps well in the fridge so you can eat it over a few days no problem.

…oh, and I recommend a side of non-dairy yogurt (I used coconut) and toasted pita!

Barley, Chickpea & Date Salad Stuffed Aubergines

Yield: 4 aubergine halves (2-4 servings) + extra salad

Barley, Chickpea & Date Salad Stuffed Aubergines

Ingredients

Barley, Chickpea & Date Salad
1-1/2 C Cooked chickpeas (1 can)
1/2 C Barley (OR other chewy wholegrain)
6 Medjool dates, chopped
1 C Cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 Red onion, finely chopped
1/3 C Chopped fresh parsley OR coriander
Dressing
2 Tbsp Olive oil
2-3 Tbsp Lemon juice
2 tsp Cumin
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Chili flakes
1/2 tsp Salt (OR to taste)
2 Medium-sized aubergines
Olive oil
Salt

Instructions

Prepare the salad first.
Cook the barley according to package instructions. Add to a mixing bowl along with the cooked chickpeas, halved cherry tomatoes, red onion and dates.
In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well to coat everything.
Stir through the chopped herbs.
Refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavours to come together.
Meanwhile, roast the aubergines.
Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Halve aubergines and make deep criss-cross score marks in the flesh with a knife (but don't cut through the skin). Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Place, cut side down, in a roasting pan and cook for 35-45 minutes, or until very soft.
Remove from oven and pile the salad on top.
Serve with toasted pita wedges & non-dairy yogurt.

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2014/06/18/barley-chickpea-date-salad-stuffed-aubergines/

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Healthy Mocha-Hazelnut Shake

Do you drink coffee? I actually don’t! I’ve just never got into it, despite having lived in Italy and France, both places with serious coffee cultures.

I love love love the smell of coffee, but the taste isn’t for me EXCEPT when it’s combined with chocolate of course! In that case, I adore it!

I’ve been making fresh almond milk probably twice weekly for some time now but was feeling like a change. We all know chocolate and hazelnut is one of those magical flavour pairings (Check out my Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Muffins or Raw Chocolate-Hazelnut Strawberry Jam Thumbprints if you agree!), so it made sense to give my mocha shake a hazelnutty base.

Hazelnut milk is just as easy to make as other nut milks- even easier in fact because hazelnuts don’t need soaking, since, unlike a lot of other nuts, they don’t have any (or very little) enzyme inhibitors. If you haven’t made your own nut milk before now’s your chance! You can make it as creamy as you like depending on how you plan to use it and avoid any unnecessary preservatives or fillers.

All you need is a high-powered blender. I use the Optimum 9400 from Froothie which is fantastic. It’s even more powerful than the famous Vitamix and Blendtec but much more affordable!

I also recommend a nut milk bag, like this one as it just makes things even easier and is reusable too. You can also use cheesecloth or a very fine sieve though.

One you’ve got your lovely creamy hazelnut milk and it’s nice and chilled, you’re ready to make the best shake you’ve ever had! And it’s healthy to boot! I used Organic instant coffee powder for the coffee flavour but you could use strong chilled espresso or even coffee extract if you want to keep this completely raw.

Rich, chocolat-ey and nutty. What more could you want?!

I was flying after drinking this. Maybe it was the little caffeine jolt for someone who’s not used to it…

Healthy Mocha-Hazelnut Shake

Serving Size: 1-2

Healthy Mocha-Hazelnut Shake

Ingredients

Hazelnut Milk:

1/2 C (75 g) Hazelnuts, soaked overnight
2 C (500 ml)Water

Shake:

3/4 C Chilled hazelnut milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 Tbsp Hazelnut butter
2-3 Medjool dates, pitted
1 Tbsp Raw cacao powder
1 Tbsp Cacao nibs
1-1/2 tsp Instant coffee
1 Small frozen banana
1/3 C Ice

Instructions

Hazelnut milk:
Blend together nuts and water using the highest setting on your blender, until as smooth as possible.
Strain the liquid through a nut milk bag, or a cheesecloth, draped over a bowl.
Squeeze, twisting from the top down, to get all liquid from the fabric and leave a dry pulp behind.
Store in the fridge ( I use these Luminarc glass jugs with lids)
For the smoothie:
Blend together hazelnut milk through to coffee until smooth. It may take a little time to pulverize the dates, depending on your blender. Add the frozen banana and ice and blend again.
Serve in a chilled glass.

Notes

For drinking the hazelnut milk plain or for cereal, tea, etc. I make it a little thinner with an extra 1/2 C water. Also, after straining I return it to the blender and blend in one large date and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract.

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2014/05/25/healthy-mocha-hazelnut-shake/

Even if you don’t think you like coffee I urge you to give this Healthy Mocha-Hazelnut Shake a try. The coffee enhances the chocolate and really gives the shake its wow-factor.
Enjoy!

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Raw Caramel Apple Swirl Smoothie

My birthday fell during a particularly busy week for me this year- last week, when I was getting myself organized to go off to Geneva for a month-long internship (That’s where I am now!). I was actually away the previous week too so I was rather frantically trying to get caught up on work and life as well as get prepared for the next trip.

I don’t usually do a lot for my birthday anyway but this year I didn’t even have the time to make a cake! Instead, I celebrated by drinking this rather delicious (and slightly extravagant) smoothie for breakfast.

In my last post I told you about my very happy recent discovery of Windy City Organics products and used their Rawmio Chocolate Hazelnut Spread in my raw cookie recipe. Today’s recipe features one of their Dastony nut butters. Just like the Rawmio spreads these are divine! What really makes them stand out is how amazingly smooth they are, far more so than any other nut butter I’ve had.

I knew my birthday smoothie had to be a little over-the-top and, after I’d ruled out chocolate, (as I’d just finished my Raw Chocolate-Hazelnut Thumbprints), I hit on caramel as a delicious and still decadent alternative.

This caramel is ridiculously good folks! It makes more than you “need” for the smoothie* but a good portion of it somehow disappeared when making it….

I opted to use naturally caramel-ly dates and the beautiful Dastony almond butter to make it lusciously rich and sweet, enhanced with just a few other simple ingredients.

I drizzled it all over my smoothie glass and then over the top of the frosty drink to get a little in every sip and give it its name- “Raw Caramel Apple Swirl Smoothie”.

*If you do have extra caramel it’s fantastic as a dip for fruit, drizzled on pancakes or ice cream, or you could try my Raw Chocolate-Hazelnut Strawberry Jam Thumbprints substituting this caramel for the raw strawberry jam.

Raw Caramel Apple Swirl Smoothie

2014-04-10 13:25:25

Serves 1

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Raw Caramel

5 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1 Tbsp Coconut nectar
2 Tbsp Raw almond butter
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/8 tsp Salt
1/3 C- 1/2 C Almond milk

Smoothie

1 Large/ 2 Medium apple (s), cored, chopped and frozen
3/4 C- 1 C Almond milk
1 Tbsp Raw almond butter
2 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Lucuma

Instructions

For the caramel, blend all the ingredients in a high-powered blender, scraping the sides down until completely smooth. Soak your dates in water in advance to soften them if necessary (I used my Tribest personal blender and didn't need to.
Set aside.

For the smoothie

Blend together all the ingredients in a blender.

To serve

Generously drizzle some of the caramel all around the inside of one or two glasses (I used a squeeze bottle). Pour in the smoothie and drizzle with extra caramel.

Coconut and Berries http://www.coconutandberries.com/

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Review: Rebel Kitchen Coconut Milk Drinks

An exciting new product has hit the shelves here in England! Rebel Kitchen Coconut Milk Drinks!

Growing up I loved chocolate, banana and strawberry milk as a bedtime snack and I know my nephews and niece now do too. Looking at the stuff I used to drink I see it’s marketed as an “irresistibly delicious, extra nutritious drink”.

Hmmm, I’m not sure I’m convinced…it was essentially just sugar and flavourings you mixed into milk. Although I don’t consume dairy primarily for ethical reasons, I don’t think it’s healthy either.

It definitely was tasty though so it’s pretty cool to find an alternative that is not only yummy but actually healthy too!

Rebel Kitchen’s Coconut Milk Drinks have just a few ingredients, all of which are real foods- Water, Coconut Milk, Date Nectar and Cacao, with the addition of Crushed Banana in the “Banana Mylk” and Orange Oil in the “Orange-Choc Mylk”. Nothing to complain about there.

We all know I’m coconut crazy too so the fact they’re made from coconut milk is a big tick in my box.

And isn’t the packaging adorable? As a (nearly!) 24-year old, I love it so I can imagine kids must go crazy for the cute little characters.

I struggled to pick a favourite flavour. Yum all round. They’re not cloyingly sweet at all and the individual flavours really stand out from each other. I gather testing is in process to add new flavours to the line so stay tuned! I’m hoping for strawberry as that was a definite childhood favourite…

Rebel Kitchen is a very new company so their products aren’t all that widely available in stores just yet. You can find them in London Whole Foods Markets, Lomax gym in Chelsea, inSpiral Lounge in Camden and The Natural Kitchen in Marylebone at the moment. Connect with them on Facebook and Twitter for news on the latest stockists.

But, those outside London, do not fear! You can also order online. They sell 3, 12 and 24 packs in each of the flavours as well as taster packs containing one of each variety.

Definitely not just for kids!

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(Disclaimer: Rebel Kitchen provided me with sample products for review but, as always, all opinions are my own.)

Review & Giveaway: Cocofina Organic Coconut & Date Bars

It definitely seems that there’s more and more awareness in the UK of the importance of eating whole foods and companies are stepping up to meet the demand. Cocofina is one which is fairly new to me but has actually been around since 2005 with their coconut water which is the leading brand in Europe and distributed by all of the top health food distributors.

You can imagine this coconut-loving girl’s delight on discovering that they’ve branched out from coconut water to other coconutty products! These coconut and date bars are exactly my sort of thing: A handy little snack to pop in your bag and have on hand, a healthy whole foods source of energy, and tasty too!

The only ingredients are dates, raisins, coconut and oats- no nasties in here.

Another thing which makes me happy to support Cocofina is that they’re donating 10p for every case of their products sold across the globe to Action Against Hunger and have pledged to raise a minimum of £5,000 every year.

- Action Against Hunger assists over 7 million people every year, in over 40 countries. ACF was chosen because of its ethical policies, global reach & incredibly low administration costs.

- Recognized as a leader in the fight against malnutrition, Action Against Hunger ACF International saves the lives of malnourished children while providing communities with access to safe water and sustainable solutions to hunger.

- With 30 years of expertise in emergency situations of conflict, natural disaster, and chronic food insecurity, ACF runs life-saving programs in some 40 countries benefiting seven million people each year.

To announce the partnership Cocofina have kindly offered to give away a whole case of their new Coconut & Date bars to one lucky reader!

Please enter via Rafflecopter below (Sorry this one’s UK only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cocofina are currently sold in 2500 specialty and premium stores such as Wholefoods, Holland and Barrett, Waitrose, and exported to 18 countries.

Website: www.cocofina.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cocofina/140783995935811

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CocofinaCoconut

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