The base of this dressing is:

1/4 cup cashews (or other nuts)
1/4 cup water
OR some plant-based yogurt (I looove Raglan coconut yogurt)
1 to 2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon coconut sugar (or other sweetener)
salt and pepper to taste
a bunch of herbs (my favourites: parsley and dill)
additional options: chopped spring onions and/or minced garlic…

Instructions:

1. If using the nut option, blend cashews with water until smooth (a small bullet blender is best for this).
2. Transfer creamed cashews (or yoghurt) to a dressing jug or serving bowl.
3. Add apple cider vinegar, coconut sugar, salt & pepper to taste and stir well to combine.
4. Then either shortly blend some herbs or chopped them finely and stir into the dressing as well.
5. Store chilled until serving. Use within approx. 3 days of making.
Enjoy!
Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.
 

With temperatures rising I also seem to be getting into the mood for soups. As weird as that may seem. They are such an easy dish to make, perfect for an evening where not much time is at hand to cook dinner.

Do you cook dinner every night? I’m putting a real effort into having regular home-cooked meals. Combined with a bowl of fresh salad from the garden. It just feels so good to nourish my body and soul with fresh vegetables. Even though sometimes it’s a bit of a burden, having to prepare yet another meal. But once I sit there and enjoy the delicious and nutritious flavours, I am glad that I made the effort.

This soup is one of those recipes that can be easily and quickly made. And you can view it as a base for other vegetables. Once you get into the habit, it’s easy as to cook it up. I love how it is vegan and gluten-free but also nut-free, which makes it light and not too filling

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Creamy Broccoli Soup with Roasted Pumpkin (Vegan, Gluten-free, Nut-free)

This vegan broccoli soup is one of those recipes that can be easily and quickly made. And you can view it as a base for other vegetables.

Course Soup

Cuisine German

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword Creamy, nut-free, Pumpkin, Soup, soy-free

Servings 2 large portions

Equipment

• stick-blender

Ingredients

• 400 g pumpkin
• 1 small onion finely diced
• 1 to 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoon rice flour
• 400 ml coconut cream
• 1/2 cup water
• 300 g broccoli or more if you like
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder or more if you like
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 190° (top-/bottom heat). Chop pumpkin into little cubes.
• Place pumpkin cubes on lined baking tray. Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt. Bake until soft and slightly browning (approx. 30 minutes).
• In the meantime, saute the onion in a medium sized pot, either using cooking oil or a small amount of water.
• When the onion has softened and turns slightly golden, add minced garlic and let cook for another minute.
• Sprinkle with rice flour and quickly stir to combine. Pour in the coconut cream and 1/2 cup water. Add ground nutmeg, salt and chili. Bring to the boil.
• Once it simmers, add the broccoli and let cook on low heat until it softens a little (I prefer not to overcook it). Blend it with a stick blender. Serve with the roasted pumpkin.

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

I used ground pistachios to dust some truffles before. Now I had these freshly cracked macadamias and a desire for a quick chocolaty snack. And off I went to try this combination again! Delicious, sticky, dark chocolaty is all that I can say. …and perfect for school snacks, party food or as a home-made gift

And as always this recipe is vegan, gluten-free and free from refined sugar You can also use different nuts to macadamias. These other nuts (for example walnut, hazelnut, almond) would require soaking i water for approx. 8 hours).

Makes approx. 12 truffles:

1 cup (130g) macadamias
3/4 cup (105g) dates, pitted and chopped (use more if you like it sweeter)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (40g) FAIR-TRADE cocoa or cacao powder
12 pistachios

approx. 40g pistachios for dusting

Preparation:

1. Place macadamias and dates in a high-speed blender. Pulse to fine crumbles.

2. Transfer mixture to a bowl. Sift in cacao or cocoa powder and mix well.

3. Take little portions of the mixture and form balls. Then pop in one pistachio and smooth the surface of the ball.

4. Pulse the pistachios for the dusting in a powerful mini-blender to crumbles. Transfer the ground pistachios to a small bowl.

5. Place one chocolate ball at a time into the bowl with the ground pistachios. Then lightly swing the bowl to make the ball roll in the ground pistachios until it is evenly covered.

6. Store in fridge in an air-tight container.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

I created this no-bake kiwifruit vanilla slice recipe quite a while ago. With fresh kiwifruits now popping up on the shelves again, I had to make it again…and share the vegan and gluten-free recipe with you

While this recipe calls for green kiwifruit which can be quite tangy, the overall flavour is more on the mild & sweet side of things

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No-Bake Kiwifruit Vanilla Slices / Cake (Vegan, Gluten-free, No Refined Sugar)

I created this no-bake kiwifruit vanilla slice recipe quite a while ago. With fresh kiwifruits now popping up on the shelves again, I had to make it again…and share the vegan and gluten-free recipe with you

Course Cake

Cuisine New Zealand

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan

Keyword cake, Kiwifruit, no bake, No Refined Sugar, raw, Slices, Vanilla

Servings 1 Cake (17 x 28 cm)

Equipment

• high-speed blender
• 17 x 28 cm form cake tin

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 200 g macadamias (or almonds, preferably soaked in filtered water for at least 8 hours, then drained)
• 140 g dates pitted and diced
• 1-2 tablespoon water if using dry nuts

For the vanilla layer:

• 280 g cashews soak them for approx. 6 hours, rinse and drain
• 140 g dates pitted
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence or vanilla paste

For the kiwifruit layer:

• 300 g kiwi-fruit peeled
• 45 g fresh spinach
• 35 g dates pitted and diced
• Chopped pistachios and shredded coconut for garnish optional

Instructions

• For the crust, pulse the nuts to fine crumbles, using a high-speed blender. Transfer to a medium sized bowl.
• Pulse the dates to fine crumbles and add to the bowl. If using dry nuts, add one or two tablespoon water until the dough is relatively sticky.
• Line cake tin with baking paper. Scoop dough into cake tin and spread it evenly. Place in fridge or freezer while preparing the vanilla layer.
• For the vanilla layer, blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour into cake tin and spread evenly.
• Then, without cleaning the blender, blend kiwifruit and dates until smooth, then add add spinach and shortly blend until smooth.
• Scoop kiwifruit mixture in dollops onto the vanilla layer. Then use a teaspoon to swirl it all through. Add garnish of your choice.
• Place in freezer until set. Cut when still firm and let then defrost further before serving.

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

 

 

When I was a kid I used to love those after dinner mint chocolates. That flavour of peppermint and chocolate seemed so delicious. Turns out you can create a very similar flavour in the form of an vegan and gluten-free mint & chocolate ice-pop!

To make the green color you can use either fresh mint, or spinach with a few drops of mint essential oil.

For approx. 10 ice-pops you’ll need:

For the ice pops:
1/2 cup (70g) soaked cashews (for a nut-free version omit the cashews and use plant-based milk instead of water)
2 1/4 cup (560ml) water
1 cup (140g) dates, pitted
one handful of fresh mint or spinach
3-5 drops essential mint oil (if needed)

For the chocolate:
40g cacao, melted
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon finely ground coconut sugar
2 tablespoon FAIR-TRADE cacao or cocoa powder
cacao nibs if desired

Preparation:

1. Blend all ingredients for the ice pops in a high speed blender until smooth, but add the greens towards the end.

2. Pour into ice pop molds, place lid on top, insert popsicle sticks and place in freezer until set.

3. Once ice pops are frozen, take them out of the molds and place in freezer.

4. Prepare the chocolate drizzle by mixing all ingredients in a cup that has been placed in a bowl with hot water. Stir well until dissolved.

5. Take ice pops out of freezer and drizzle with chocolate (using a teaspoon), sprinkle with cacao nibs if desired. Please note: the sauce will be enough to cover one side of each popsicle. If you wish to cover both sides better double the amount.

6. Place in container in freezer or serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Soups are amazing, winter or summer! They are super easy to make, offer a whole bunch of variation and allow to pack them with lots of healthy stuff.

Dark leafy greens are one of my favourite ‘superfoods’, they are loaded with important nutrients and should be part in a healthy diet. I love them in my breakfast smoothie, but they are also amazing in soups. And lets face it, it isn’t that easy to have a good daily amount in our meals. But with this green power soup you can quickly add dark leafy greens to your lunch or dinner

For 4 portions you’ll need:

400g kumara (sweet potato, alternatively normal potato)
1 broccoli
1 onion
1 big bunch leafy greens of your choice (kale, chard etc.)
1-2 cups green peas

1 tablespoon coconut oil  (for low-fat option use water instead)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
salt & pepper to taste
4 cups water

Preparation:

1. Peel sweet potato and cut into even sized chunks. Peel and chop onion into small cubes.

2. Heat  coconut oil (or water) in pot and cook onion until golden brown. Add cumin seeds, 4 cups water and sweet potato and bring to the boil. Let simmer until softish (approx. 5 minutes).

3. In the meantime cut the broccoli in smaller chunks. Add to the pot when the sweet potato is softish. Let simmer for a few minutes until slightly tender. Don’t overcook.

4. When broccoli is tender, take off stove and add the dark leafy greens. Stir them into the soup until wilted. Then use a stick blender to blend until smooth.

5. Add green peas and salt & pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Here in New Zealand it is getting really cold at the moment. Another good reason to cook up something spicy that warms you up!

I have used only green veges in this recipe but you can use it as a base for any kind of seasonal produce. You can also try different spices. Enjoy!

For 2 big portions you’ll need:

1 small broccoli
2 courgettes
1-2 green capsicums
1/2 onion
1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon whole coriander
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
some fresh (or dry) chilli
2 teaspoon ground turmeric
salt to taste

1 can coconut milk

Preparation:

1. Cut the broccoli into bite sized pieces. You can use the trunk also, after peeling off the thick skin. Chop the courgettes into slices. Halve the capsicums and remove the seeds and stalk. Cut them into strips or chunks.

2. Peel and chop the onion into small cubes. Peel and mince the garlic into a small container to add it later.

3. In a large frying pan, heat up the coconut oil and cook the onions until they start to turn golden. Then add the coriander and cumin seeds and let cook for a few more minutes. Stir occasionally.

4. Add broccoli and capsicum and let cook for 5-10 minutes. Then add courgettes and chilli and cook for another 5 minutes.

5. Pour in the coconut milk. Bring to boil. Then turn off the heat and add turmeric as well as garlic. Salt to taste. And there you go!

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Kale belongs to the group of leafy greens which are very important for a healthy, well-balanced vegan diet. They also are a fairly good source for calcium. [1]

For 2 portions you’ll need:

4 small to medium potatoes (400g)
1/2 onion
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon whole coriander
20 drops liquid smoke
salt & pepper to taste

3 cups water

5-6 large kale leaves (or more)

Preparation:

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into small cubes. Peel and chop half of the onion into small cubes. Wash the kale, trim off the thick stalks and then pluck it into smaller chunks.

2. Heat the coconut oil in a medium sized pot and cook the onions until they turn golden. Then add the coriander and let cook for a few more minutes, stirring constantly.

3. Add 3 cups water and bring to boil. Once it is boiling, add the potatoes and cook until tender (about 15 minutes).

4. When the potatoes are soft, add the kale leave chunks and stir through the hot liquid. You don’t really need to let it cook, it is just fine if they only wilt.

5. Take the pot of the stove and blend it with a stick blender. Add liquid smoke and season with salt & pepper to your taste. Sometimes I like it with some extra cashew cream and chili flakes.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

[1] The Vegan Society – Vegan-friendly sources of calcium

So I have tried another dish with this yummy leafy green: a creamy, vegan silverbeet mushroom sauce that doesn’t need any dairy – perfect with pasta! It also works well in a baked dish. I recommend using more water in a baked dish though.

Update October 2019: I have slightly changed the preparation of the silverbeet (swiss chard). It is relatively high in oxalic acid. These days I first blanch it in hot water, then drain the water before using the greens. I also love blending up the greens. It creates this delicious green colour And you can also use other greens, even a big bunch of basil – one of the best herbs for pasta dishes

For 2 big portions you’ll need:

1/2 cup (70g) cashew nuts (blanched almonds or macadamias work well too)
1 cup (250ml) water
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 heaped tablespoon rice flour
a few pinches chilli powder

1 tablespoon cooking oil (I prefer coconut-oil)
1 small onion, finely diced
300g mushrooms, sliced or quartered
1-2 garlic cloves, minced

approx. 250g silverbeet (or more), blanched
1 cup (250ml) water

Preparation:

1. Start by preparing the cashew cream by blending the cashews with the rice flour, spices and water until smooth. Place aside.

2. Preheat a pot or pan with the cooking oil. Saute onions and then add the sliced mushrooms. Cook on low-medium heat until the mushrooms have softened and are cooking in their own juice.

3. Stir in minced garlic and cook for another 2 minutes or so, stirring constantly.

4. Add the cashew cream and gently bring to the boil. Let simmer for a few minutes.

5. In the meantime, place the freshly blanched silverbeet in the blender with one cup water and blend shortly.

6. Pour the blended silverbeet into the pot and stir well to combine. Gently warm up and serve. Tastes great with pasta

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Well, it didn’t take long find out – and I was impressed! It’s a pretty healthy dish because you use a big bunch of fresh & raw herbs. There are actually 7 herbs used in the traditional recipe.

I can’t remember those herbs, but I created my own version which is just as yummy.

You can basically use any kind of flavoursome herb such as parsley, chives, young beetroot leaves, borage, onion, garlic, rocket, dill, mint, dandelion etc.

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Green Sauce (Vegan, Gluten-free)

In Germany, I lived in the area around Frankfurt am Main for a while. Shortly after I had moved there, people told me about one of their regional food specialties: green sauce. I thought that it sounded pretty odd and couldn’t imagine how it could taste. Well, it didn’t take long find out – and I was impressed! It’s a pretty healthy dish because you use a big bunch of fresh & raw herbs. There are actually 7 herbs used in the traditional recipe. I can’t remember those herbs, but I created my own version which is just as yummy. You can basically use any kind of flavoursome herb such as parsley, chives, young beetroot leaves, borage, onion, garlic, rocket, dill, mint, dandelion etc.

Course Sauce

Cuisine Frankfurt, German

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan

Keyword Green Sauce

Servings 4 portions

Ingredients

• 1 big bunch of herbs see above
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 cup 14g cashew nuts (soaked in filtered water for at least 4 hours)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon mustard
• 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon horseradish optional

Instructions

• Wash the herbs and chop as fine as possible. You can also blend a portion of the herbs to make the sauce creamier. Transfer to medium sized bowl.
• Peel and mince garlic, add to bowl.
• Peel and chop the onion very fine and add to the bowl.
• Blend the cashew nuts with the 1 cup water until it is a fine cream, pour into the bowl.
• Add salt, pepper, mustard, vinegar and lemon juice and stir well to combine.

Notes

Enjoy and “guude Abbo”!

Tastes really nice with boiled potatoes and fried tofu strips.

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.