bos.kitchen

Cranberry and pistachio energy bars

30th December 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

These cranberry and pistachio energy bars have been a firm favourite in my house this month. They’re so quick to prepare and compared to traditional energy bars, which in my experience tend to be dry, flavourless and tough, these are moist, sweet and incredibly moreish. The best bit is you can easily swap the ingredients around depending on what you have in your pantry- I love flexible recipes. The perfect way to use up all of those leftover bags of dried fruits and nuts from Christmas. Pistachio and cranberry is a wonderful combination though, so I’d recommend grabbing these if you can. They freeze really well too, so I’ve been making a big batch on a Sunday to enjoy through the week.

Feel free to add in your favourite superfoods, nut butters, dried fruits, coconut shreds, whatever you fancy really, just keep the proportions of wet to dry ingredients the same and you’ll struggle to go wrong.

I’ve worked all through the Christmas period and now I’m off for three whole days and I can’t wait to cook and shoot again, I really miss it if I can’t take pictures every day. I’m going to be rustling up some turmeric lemonade today, after spotting this beautiful recipe on my friend Janine’s blog. Take a peek here to check it out, the photography is stunning and her blog is a joy to visit. If you’d like to follow her on Instagram, you can find her at @nutsandblueberries.

Hope you’re staying warm, my sweet peas! Wishing you a very happy New Year, roll on 2017!!!

Cranberry and pistachio energy bars

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
1/ 4 cup chia seeds
1 cup pitted dates
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup almond butter
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup shelled and roughly chopped pistachios
1/4 tsp pink himalayan salt

Preheat oven to 190•c. Pour oats, almonds, walnuts and seeds onto a baking tray and spread out evenly. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, until slightly golden.
Add dates and 1/2 cup of hot water to a food processor and blitz until a date caramel has formed. Add date mixture and toasted oat mix into a large bowl.
In a small pan, gently melt maple syrup, coconut oil and almond butter. Once combined, add to the large mixing bowl with the date caramel and oats. Stir well until everything is coated. Now mix through the cranberries, pistachios and salt, leaving a few pistachios and cranberries for the top.
Line a small square baking tin (mine was 8×8 inches) with parchment paper- leave a little hanging over the sides so it’s easy to remove later. Flatten the mixture down with your hands or the back of a spoon. Now add your remaining pistachios and cranberries to the top.
Set in the freezer for 30 minutes, or an hour in the fridge. Cut into 12 bars and store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Clementine sesame raw cookies

14th December 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

Hey babes! I’m sorry for being away a lot lately, life has been pretty hectic this month and the days are so short my time for photography is very limited (I should probably get an artificial light but I’m too stubborn). I’m back with this wonderfully easy raw cookie recipe though- full of festive ingredients to get you in the Christmas spirit. There’s something about cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger that makes my heart happy, they smell truly magical together.

Sweet, citrusy, delicately spiced and full of vitamins, they’ll help to keep you snacking healthy this Christmas. They’re vegan, refined sugar free and no bake- meaning less washing up and minimal prep time (less than 10 minutes). They’d be a great cookie to make with little ones too.

I can’t believe this year is almost over. What a year it has been. I could never have predicted just quite how unpredictable it could be. It’s been a rollercoaster in every way possible but thankfully I’m ending it on a huge high and I’m so grateful to the universe for everything it has thrown my way.

I’ve learnt that sometimes bad things need to happen so you can see things as they really are. And it’s far better to have your eyes wide open than be blinded to the truth, however painful it may be. I’m ending the year on a massive high with somebody I truly love and everything feels like it is going to plan for the first time in my life!

Fortunately my new man has taken to this whole vegan malarky like a fish to water, so I have an excuse to make loads of food again. The whole raw cookie thing was completely unchartered territory for him, so I knew I had to create something extra sweet and delicious to make a good first impression (the green smoothies are still too ‘funky’ for him at the mo hehe). These babies hit the spot for sure, although he didn’t get to enjoy that many as I wolfed them down in less than two days. I’d love to know if you try these, either leave a comment below or please take a pic and tag me on Instagram – @bos.kitchen, it would make my day!

Stay warm and nourished, sending you a big hug and an even bigger bag of cookies.

Clementine sesame raw cookies (makes about 16 small cookies, or 12 big ones)

1 cup oats
1 cup cashews
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/4 tsp himalayan pink salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup agave/maple syrup
1/4 cup melted cacao butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 clementine, juice and rind
1/4 cup dairy free choc chips
1/4 cup dried cranberries/sour cherries other dried fruit

Add oats, cashews, walnuts and 1/4 cup of the sesame seeds to a food processor and grind to a flour.
Add salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to the blender and pulse briefly to combine.
Tip dry ingredients into a bowl and stir through the clementine juice, agave syrup, melted cacao butter and vanilla until the dough comes together. It should be very moist and smell awesome (feel free to taste test at this point)!
Now stir through the choc chips, 1/4 cup sesame seeds and cranberries. Shape into little balls and flatten into a cookie shape. Sprinkle with extra sesame seeds and clementine rind. Eat right away, or pop them in the fridge to firm up. Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.

Chia bliss balls

12th December 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

It’s getting so cold here lately. It takes a lot to tempt me out of the house if I’m honest! It’s not all bad though, I love nothing more than drinking endless cups of tea whilst rustling up new recipes in the kitchen when the nights get longer. A whole host of new seasonal ingredients and comforting winter recipes are tempting me every day, I’m bubbling over with ideas!

There’s a few basic recipes that I always fall back on whatever the weather and these balls are one of them. The beauty of a bliss ball is that it requires hardly any cooking, minimal ingredients and it is almost impossible to get them wrong. The results are instant too, no need to wait for them to cook! My kind of recipe. I tend to become a bit of a snack monster when I’m cold, so a bliss ball can be just the thing to stop me reaching for something carby and sugary before dinner.

As well as being incredibly tasty and addictive, these babies are packed with goodness, oats, almonds, seeds, chia, dates and spices.

These are so easy to make, I’d love to know what you think if you try them!

1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup almond flour
3 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp flaxseed
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1 tbsp cacao (optional, leave out for a plain version)
1/2 cup soft pitted dates
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp coconut oil
4 tbsp maple syrup

Toppings –

Chia seeds, cacao powder, sesame seeds
1. Add all dry ingredients to your food processor and pulse briefly to combine.
2. Add in dates, vanilla, coconut oil and maple syrup and pulse until a dough is formed. Add more flour if it’s too wet, or a little water if it’s too dry.
3. Roll in chia seeds, cacao and sesame seeds and store in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.

Chocolate and peanut butter marble cake

22nd November 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

Do you like cake? Do you like chocolate and peanut butter? Yes? Well you’re in the right place, my friend. This chocolate peanut butter marble cake has been sent to satisfy your cake cravings. This was actually a treat for my boyfriend, who has been rambling on about a special cake for the past few weeks. He kept saying he doesn’t want anything fancy, just a ‘marble cake’. I dread to think what I’m going to have to make when he tells me his idea of ‘fancy’!

This baby is so easy to prepare but looks like it takes a lot of skill to bake (perfect for wowing that special someone). You can make it in a loaf tin, or two sandwich tins for a traditional cake. I bet it would be lush with a peanut butter cream in the middle. It’s made with spelt and plain flour, but feel free to sub with all spelt if you prefer, or a gluten free plain flour. I used ‘aquafaba’ for this cake too, which is basically the liquid from a tin of chickpeas or white beans. Sounds gross, but works amazingly well as an egg substitute and I promise it doesn’t leave any chickpea flavour at all.

Do you have a favourite cake? Please let me know if so in the comments below as I really enjoy veganising cakes. This cold weather has got me craving baking time too, so I’m on the lookout for new baking adventures!

Chocolate peanut butter marble cake

Dry

1 cup plain flour
2/3 cup spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup avocado or coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup cacao powder

Wet

1/4 cup aquafaba liquid
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup nut mylk (I used almond)
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 180•c and line a loaf tin or two sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.
Mix all dry ingredients apart from the cacao together in a bowl. Add all wet ingredients to the mix apart from the boiling water and stir well to combine. Add a little more almond mylk if you need to loosen the peanut butter.
In a medium bowl, mix 1/4 cup cacao with 1/4 cup of boiling water. Now add half the cake mix to this bowl and mix to incorporate.
To the remaining batter, add in 1/4 cup boiling water and mix. Now you should have one bowl of chocolate batter and one bowl of plain batter.
Spoon dollops of each mix into your prepared tin. Once complete, swirl through with a chopstick to create the marble effect.
Bake in the oven for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Stores well in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Pear bliss balls

9th November 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

I do love a bliss ball, a healthy, refined sugar free morsel of energy can keep you going when you’re trying to hold out until tea time. I adore pears, sweet, juicy and delicately flavoured, they are such a pretty fruit. I decided to combine my two loves this month and the pear bliss ball was formed!

These are almost raw, apart from the pear puree- but they’re still refined sugar free and thanks to the puree you’re getting a fair bit of fruit in each bite too.

These little cuties are packed with all the good stuff – nuts, fruit, oats and chlorella. This superfood has the highest chlorophyll of any plant and is a whopping 56% protein. It alkalises the body, improves digestion (I can vouch for this) and increases energy, it’s powerful stuff! You can’t even taste it in these balls, so these would be great for little ones too. If you don’t have chlorella you can try using wheatgrass, matcha or spirulina instead.

Pear bliss balls – Makes around 16

4 pears, finely chopped
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp coconut sugar
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup almonds
1 cup pecans
1 1/2 cup oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp all spice
1-2 tsp chlorella (I always use Organic Burst)
1/2 cup pitted dates
Cacao nibs, mint leaves and cacao powder for decoration

Make your pear puree by adding pears, water, coconut sugar and lemon juice to a small pan. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for about 20-30 minutes, until sweet and thick. Set aside to cool.
Add almonds and pecans to a food processor and pulse until small, crumbly pieces. Add in oats, cinnamon, all spice and chlorella and pulse again until combined. Add dates and 3/4 cup of pear puree and pulse until a dough is formed. If it’s too sticky, add a few more oats, tbsp at a time. If it’s too dry, add a little water until the mixture comes together.
Shape mix into little pear shapes. The best way to do this is to make a ball, then start rolling the top half of the ball flat on a board with your finger, to make a little pear shape. Add a little cacao nib for the stem and mint for the leaves and dust lightly with cacao powder. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Green Goddess dip

16th October 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

I’m so excited to share this with you – my Green Goddess dip. If there was a bowl of self-love, this would be it.

This dip is gonna get you glowin’ girrrrl…or boy, if you’re cool enough to be reading this.

It’s my quick fix when I need a bit of a detox. I had this for a snack after breakfast today and I’ve only just remembered I need to eat dinner. It’s kept me full and energised all day! That is no mean feat. Healthy dips like this are incredibly easy to whip up and you can also use it on pasta, tortillas, burritos, sandwiches, rice cakes, baked potatoes… you get my drift. I just love having something like this in the fridge for those random savoury hunger pangs I often get in the evening.

I’ve loaded this with beautiful, powerful ingredients to help nourish and detox. First up- my favourite superfood, spirulina- packed with chlorophyll that removes toxins from the blood. It’s also loaded with iron, essential for all cell renewal in the body.

Kale actually activates detoxifying enzymes in the liver and is rich in antioxidants – hello gorgeous skin! Garlic improves circulation and boosts the immune system, which is a good job because I eat garlic every damn day. Avocado clears and nourishes the skin and is full of vitamins A, B, C, E and K- I’ll take all of them today please!

I hope you have a hot minute to make this dip. You may just be rewarded with energy, good health and the glow of a Goddess.

Green Goddess dip

3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 large handfuls kale, roughly chopped (include the stems)
Juice of 2 lemons
5 tbsp avocado oil
2 medium sized avocados
2tsp organic spirulina (I use Organic Burst)
1 tin cannellini/white beans, drained and rinsed
Handful of parsley
1/4 tsp salt
Black pepper, to taste

Add garlic to the food processor and pulse briefly to chop.
Add all other ingredients, pulsing until smoothy and creamy. Taste, season and adjust as needed.

Coconut waffles with raw chocolate sauce

5th October 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

Oh hello there! I can’t believe it’s October already! Time is really flying this year and last month was the most hectic month yet. I now have two new kittens (Harry and Sushi) in my life and they are just about the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Have you ever tried to be in a bad mood with two tiny balls of fluff laying in your arms kissing each other? Well I have and it’s impossible. They definitely keep me on my toes. All I need to do now is train Sushi to stop climbing me like a tree when I’m about to feed her and we’ll be in crazy cat lady heaven. Life admin has taken over this month and I’ve been a bit behind with posts and photography but I’m ready to go again now, so expect some weekly updates for the rest of the year. I have a whole backlog of recipes I need to publish!

I am a true coconut lover, I think I have five jars of coconut oil at the moment, shredded coconut, coconut chips, coconut butter and coconut sugar. I also have coconut scented toiletries too, it never ends! It seemed only natural that I should indulge my coconut fantasies in the form of waffles. They didn’t disappoint. These coconut waffles are light and crispy and the raw chocolate sauce turns these beauties into something pretty special. You can keep the waffle batter for up to four days in the fridge, so this is a great recipe to make in advance for a lazy weekend. I added spirulina to the chocolate sauce, just to sneak some of my fave superfoods in. The recipe makes a lot of sauce, so you can make some raw chocolate with the rest (just pour it into a tray and set in the freezer), or just continue making waffles and chocolate sauce the whole week, which sounds like a great idea to me.

Coconut waffles

1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp water)
1 cup plain flour (can sub plain gluten free flour)
3 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Raw chocolate sauce

1/2 cup organic cacao powder
1/2 cup organic coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp Organic Burst spirulina (optional)

Make your flax egg by mixing ground flax seed with water. Stir well and leave to rest to form a gel while you make the rest of the waffle batter.
Add all waffle ingredients to a food processor and blend until combined. Add flax egg and pulse again. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add a little more water if you need to. Chill batter in the fridge while you make chocolate sauce.
Add cacao powder, coconut oil and maple syrup to a small pan and heat very gently until the coconut oil has melted. Take off the heat and stir through spirulina, if using.
Turn on your waffle maker and pour in chilled batter. Cook until golden on both sides, then top with raw chocolate sauce, toasted coconut chips and fruit.

Chia jam tarts

23rd September 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

These jam tarts are sugar and gluten free and contain my favourite superfood, chia seeds. …

Cacao buckwheat breakfast cups

19th September 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

This month has been full of change. In a really good way. So far I’ve been to a festival in a forest, spent five days in London with my best friend and made some really interesting new connections. It’s only the 19th already! I feel like I’ve learnt to embrace this rollercoaster of a year and welcome whatever else is coming my way with open arms. I definitely don’t feel like I’m the same person I was at the start of the year. It’s weird how sometimes a few months can make you feel like you’ve grown so much. I am truly grateful for the lessons this year has taught me. Without all of them, I wouldn’t be in this place right now. It’s a good feeling knowing it was all for a reason. I have so many plans for the next few months too, so it looks like the end of the year will continue to be eventful!

Anyway, back to breakfast cakes…. these little buckwheat babies are so simple to make and although they look like sweet little tarts, they are loaded with goodness. These raw, gluten free shells are free from nuts and sugar, and a couple in the morning will keep you going until lunch. Buckwheat is a super nutritious whole grain, great at fighting off those mid morning hunger pangs. Cacao is a natural anti depressant and improves your mood.. sounds like perfect Monday morning fuel to me! Load them up with yoghurt and your fave fruits, or make the shells in advance and decorate before serving. I guess these would make great party snacks too. I’m tempted to make them even smaller, into little canapés… I love tiny things! Unless we’re talking jars of peanut butter, then the bigger the better…

Cacao buckwheat breakfast tarts

For the tart shells (makes about 8 small tarts)

1 cup buckwheat
1 tsp lucama powder (optional)
1/2 cup cacao powder
1 cup dates, pitted
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
100ml water

For the filling

1/2 cup non dairy yoghurt
1 vanilla pod (deseeded)
Fresh fruit
Black sesame seeds and mint for garnish

Roughly pulse buckwheat, lucama and cacao in a food processor until starting to crumble.
Now add the dates, coconut oil and water and pulse until the mix comes together in a ball. Add water a tbsp at a time if it is too dry. You should be able to squish it between your fingers without it falling apart.
Take out golf ball size lumps of dough and flatten in your palm. Press into a cupcake mould (I used a silicone one). Pop in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up.
Mix vanilla pod seeds with non dairy yoghurt and spoon into your tart shells. Garnish with fresh fruit, sesame seeds and mint. Store in the freezer for up to a month. Best eaten after thawing out for 15 minutes.

Golden roti,curried carrot falafel and masala corn

7th September 2016 by bos.kitchen Leave a Comment

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Indian food. If I could eat one cuisine for the rest of my life, it would be Indian! I just love the complexity and layers of flavours and the huge variety of vegetarian dishes. Enter these vibrant golden roti with curried carrot falafel and masala corn.

This dish is a fusion of all the things I love, with a healthy twist to celebrate my lovely friend Janine’s carnival on her blog and Instagram page. The idea is to create a healthy version of our favourite ‘fast food’ and this recipe, although it looks quite long is actually very quick to prepare and satisfies all my ‘fast food’ cravings. It’s full of flavour and gives me everything I crave when hunger strikes- veggies, spice and protein. You can prepare the curried carrot falafel and masala corn in advance, so you only have the roti to make on the day, then you can eat this in less than 10 minutes! Check out the details on her blog here or if you’re on Instagram, use #healthyfastfood4 to see all the entries so far. I particularly love Tiina’s sweet potato sandwich with cashew cheese. Drool!

Golden roti, curried carrot falafel and masala corn

If you’re making the whole thing, make the carrot cakes first, then the corn masala and the roti last.

Serve with veggies of choice- I used tomatoes, shredded cabbage and massaged kale. For a speedy meal, prepare the carrot falafel mix in advance, store in the fridge and then shape and fry while you make your roti.

Curried carrot falafel

1 tin chickpeas, drained and dried with a towel to remove any liquid
3 large carrots
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp chili seeds
1 tsp coconut oil

Chop your carrots into small chunks and boil until soft. Drain, allow to cool, then mash in a large bowl with the chickpeas. Stir through the spices.
Heat a skillet over a medium heat and add the coconut oil. Shape into little balls or patties and lightly fry until golden.

Corn masala

2 fresh corn on the cob
1 red onion
1 red chili
thumb size piece of ginger
2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp coconut/avocado oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp garam masala

Heat a medium pan on medium/high heat with the coconut oil and add corn, onion, chili, ginger and spices. Fry for 7-8 minutes, then add the garlic and garam masala and cook for 5 minutes more, taking care not to let the garlic burn.

Golden roti

200g fine cornmeal
100g plain flour (can sub gluten free)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp avocado/coconut oil
1 chili, sliced very finely
3/4 cup hand hot water

Mix cornmeal, flour, salt, turmeric and oil together in a medium sized bowl with your fingers or a fork, until crumbs.
Stir through the chili and add the water a little at a time, until a smooth dough is formed. Knead for a minute or two until soft and pliable. Split dough up into golf ball size pieces.
Heat a frying pan or skillet to a medium/high heat and brush lightly with a little coconut oil. Roll out roti into small disks, around 5mm thick. Lightly fry roti for three minutes each, turning half way through cooking.