Right now, my home smells like Autumn; it smells of cinnamon, cloves, and orange and a distant memory I can’t quite grasp. This walnut cake is resting and cooling (the hardest part of the process!) This is a delicious Greek cake made with grape molasses and olive oil so no nasty refined sugars. All credit for this goes to an excellent Greek lady called Deppy whose website is Greek Cooking Made Easy I love her plant-based recipes (although she features all Greek recipes) and this is a winner! It’s fairly simple and I had all the ingredients in my store cupboard – the mix of spices makes this irresistible!
Category: Sweet Spot
Orange Tahini Biscuits
I could have posted my own photo of these delicious little biscuits but they disappeared rather quickly! I made these on a Monday night after work, so that shows you how simple they are. I really loved the flavour of these biscuits and they go really well with a cup of tea or coffee. I would probably double up on the ingredients and make a bigger batch as they won’t be around for long 🙂Â
Longevity Apple Pie Bars
Another Blue Zone recipe that combines flavour and health. I love apples and oats so this is a winning combination for me. I do enjoy fruit but sometimes you just want a sweet treat or a snack that feels comforting. You don’t have to compromise on flavour in order to eat in a healthful way – these bars can be eaten for breakfast or for a snack with a cup of tea or coffee. Cheap, simple and Vegan.
Spiced Apple Cake with Pecan Crumble Topping
A hit! I have had to hide this cake as it had taken a pounding! A lovely, autumnal cake with healthy ingredients and a delicious crunchy, crumb topping. Its always good to share the love and the cake 🙂 It does have a few ingredients but everything goes into a food processor for the cake mixture so its pretty easy. I think if you want to impress vegan friends then this is the recipe. Use organic flour if you can and experiment with your spice levels – this combines my personal favourites of cinammon and mixed spice. Cinammon has a lot of health benefits and should be used generously!
Continue reading “Spiced Apple Cake with Pecan Crumble Topping”
Jewish Honey Cake
With winter really settling in and the days becoming gloomy and grey I have felt the need for a bit of a comfort food hit and to be honest a sweet treat to look forward to! I am sooo over working from home – I even miss the people that used to annoy me in the office! This Jewish honey cake was one of the first healthier cakes I tried to make and my kids ate every last bit – so I knew I was onto a winner. Like all of the recipes I post you can swap and change spices and use what you have – unless you are inviting friends over – experiment with flours and spices – doesn’t matter if it looks perfect – its about taste!
Koulourakia (Greek Cookies)
These are vegan, healthy and easy to make – although I had an epic fail the first time I made them! The recipe for these delicious Greek biscuits came from Kyria Georgia, our wonderful holiday landlady from Aroni in Chania, Crete. She brought these upstairs to us fresh from the oven (she came every other day with one of her fabulous home-cooked dishes :-)) needless to say – they were demolished very quickly! These are my favourite cookies to have with my mid-morning coffee on my balcony and think about my next trip to Greece 🙂 The original recipe featured ammonia bicarbonate (this is really old school Greek and makes the biscuits extra crispy), however, the strength of the one I ordered must have been industrial as it tasted like petrol! I have adapted the recipe a bit – but these came out really well and were fun to make! Continue reading “Koulourakia (Greek Cookies)”
No-Bake Granola Bars
As Gino DiCampo the Italian chef says ‘maximum flavour, minimum effort’! These are the sort of recipes I love. I made these this week and needless to say they are all gone :-0 They get better after a few days and are definitely naturally sweet enough to ward off any sugar cravings. These are sweetened with dates and honey and are also filling so an all-round winner!Â
Simple Lemon Cake
This very simple cake was a hit with my kids (who can be harsh critics!) I was able to knock this up whilst listening to a bible class live from America! I turned the microphone and video off so they couldn’t see me baking 🙂 before long the house smelt of lovely lemon sponge and the children started drifting towards the kitchen to find out what it was. This is not fancy but it is just right with a cup of tea and coffee 🙂
Delicious Banana Muffins
These muffins are a great way to use up overripe bananas and they really taste sweet and delicious – I had to grab these early this morning as they were the last 2! and my son wanted one to eat on the way to school 🙂 the bananas give a natural sweetness and the addition of coconut sugar make them taste almost like golden syrup. the texture is really good, moist and dense – I shall be making another batch this afternoon!
Raw Cacoa Energy Balls
These little gems are surprisingly filling and give you that mid-morning sweet treat without the guilt! They did not last very long and even the kids had a couple (if they knew they were made of dates they may not have!). Dates are very good for you and are a good source of energy – they are also full of fibre and antioxidants. They have a low glycemic index so will not cause a sugar spike but help to regulate blood sugar levels – so a couple of these will do the trick at break time 🙂
Easy Peasy Pancakes
These pancakes are great for kids and can be thrown together really easily. You can add any number of little extras; chopped bananas, blueberries, figs, strawberries etc. If you don’t want to use honey, you can use maple syrup or agave nectar. This is a great little recipe if you have guests staying over and want to make a delicious breakfast.
Olive Oil Cookies
These should really be in the Greek Zone but it’s getting quite busy over there! I love these biscuits – they are vegan and very simple to make – you can still enjoy a mid-morning cup of coffee and a biscuit without feeling bad 🙂 You can always swap the sugar for coconut sugar or Stevia if you want to. I love anything with cinnamon or cloves and these do not disappoint.
Caribbean Ginger Bites
The credit for this recipe goes to Made in Hackney – my favourite place to spend a Sunday afternoon with complete strangers learning how to cook different plant-based recipes and then sitting and socialising, eating what we have made – my idea of a rocking good time! (yup – I’m old!)
Vegan Fruit Cake – Fanouropita
This lovely spiced fruit cake is a guilt-free pleasure! The recipe makes up to a fairly hefty sized cake – It didn’t last very long I’m afraid 😦 my boys devoured it – helped by my husband. (I may have had a small slice !)
It’s pretty easy to throw together and your kitchen will smell amazing while it’s cooking. The fact that it’s pretty healthy to eat is an added bonus.
Vitality Kitchen 
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