Healthier lollies after some practice

So I've had a few goes at the gummy lollies now - afterall, I have a whole container of gelatin!

Here are my finding:

Maple syrup has the most sweetness and flavour for the quantity, and it's paleo for those who prefer.

Coconut sugar is also great but turns lighter coloured gummies caramel coloured.

Frozen berries make great lollies

If I put in vanilla I only put a couple of drops, we don't need it.

The gelatin must go into cold liquid...

Lime lollies are like sour gummies and awesome!!

It's all about the presentation, if they look good, they will be more likely to be eaten. Try some natural food colouring from the health food store. 

Put them in a container you cannot see into if you don't want them eaten all at once!!

Green Lime and yellow lychee lollies

My recipe is very basic now, using ratios of:

• 1/3 cup fruit/juice
• 1 heaped tablespoon of gelatin
• about 1 tablespoon of sweet stuff

Mix it all together while cold, let sit for 5 minutes, it should go thick. Simmer for 5 minutes then let cool a bit again before pouring into jelly moulds.

They take about 15 minutes in the freezer. Store in the fridge, covered.

Enjoy!

Lime, Lychee and Raspberry Sugar Free Lollies

Turning the Naked Chef into the Lactose and Gluten Free Paleo Chef

I've always loved the challenge of cooking for various diets and food allergies without anyone needing a "Special" meal. So for our upcoming family reunion I have challenged myself to make a dish that everyone can eat, to the best of my knowledge...

I don't think taste and satisfaction should be sacrificed for dietary requirements, so I'm starting with Jamie Oliver recipes. As he uses whole foods and fresh quality ingredients, he's usually almost Paleo anyway. It just requires some tweaking.

So we start with a favourite that we've been making as per Jamies recipe and taking to paleo events for a while now, the Granny Smith Pork & Rice Salad. It's already lactose and gluten free so we just need to replace the rice and honey (dressing) to make it Paleo!! Easy! So we now have the Granny Smith Pork & Quinoa Salad - dressed with a Maple syrup dressing. Pictures to follow.

• chopped sea salt and ground peppa
• 750g free-range pork belly
• olive oil
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 2 granny smith apples - cored and chopped
• 1 handful of shelled walnuts (roughly 50g)
• 2 teaspoons of maple syrup (or honey, rice malt, palm sugar)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 orange
• 300g quinoa (or basmati/wild rice)
• 2-3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• a large bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley - finely 

Jamie Olivers Granny Smith's Pork & Rice Salad

• 2 spring onions, trimmed, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 200c. 

Fill a large saucepan with salted water and an ovenproof frying pan put both on a high heat. Slice the pork into 1.5cm chunks. Put a splash of olive oil into the frying pan followed by the pork, bay and rosemary. Season well. Fry and stir frequently for 25 minutes or until the pork is golden and crispy. At this point remove the bay and rosemary and pour away the fat (keep for baking potatoes or something).

Quarter the apples, then remove and discard the cores. Cut the apples into rough chunks about the same size as the pork and add to the frying pan with a splash of olive oil, the walnuts, maple syrup (honey), thyme leaves and the juice squeezed from the orange. Stir well and place the pan in the oven for 20 minutes or until the mixture turns dark.
Meanwhile cook the quinoa in the boiling salted water according to the packet instructions. Drain and allow to steam dry. Add the oven ingredients to the quinoa and add a couple of tablespoons of cider vineger to the oven pan and de-glaze the pan. Add this to the quinoa and meat mixture. Add the parsley and spring onions and toss together well. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Jamie Olivers Chestnut Pumpkin Soup

Ok so this next one I haven't tried yet but it looks straight forward enough.

So the only ingredients not usable in this one is the bread and perhaps the rice/pearl barley. The bread could be either left our or replaced with paleo bread, and the rice could be replaced quite successfully I think with cauliflower rice. If you need a little more starch add arrowroot powder or root vegetables such as parsnips.

I also am thinking of taking along some boiled eggs, chia puddings (we love these right now mixed with fresh blueberries), and some fruit. 

So that's my plan, sorry for the lack of actual results, but I was keen to share! 

Healthier Lollies

Lexi is having a birthday soon, well in a few months and I've been wanting to make some lollies without processed sugar for the kiddies. 

I did the usual research, which these days means Pinterest and little else... and come up with a plan! I had thought to use Vegan gelatin but after some reading decided real gelatin might not be that bad for us. 

I decided on making some strawberry and cream Gummies that I found here, but with about half the gelatin and using Palm sugar and Rice bran syrup instead of honey and maple syrup. Next time I think I'll water them down a bit and perhaps use less vanilla, Hubby suggest mashing the strawberries instead of blending to give a chunkier texture - I'll think about it... The blender does actually do the mixing for you so you would need to mix the gelatin in water before adding it to the fruit.

Considering how much natural sweetener these have in them they are still not as sweet as store bought lollies and so it makes me wonder how much processed sugar is really in those sweets and why would let our kids down them by the bowl full?!

Verdict? The toddler liked them but asked for a banana instead of more. *Shrug* who can compete with the awesomeness of bananas?! The adults really liked them and are planning the next batch already!

Healthy-ish chocolate Fudge stuff!

It's my own fault, but Lexi loooves chocolate!! So here is a healthier way to eat chocolate. It's also dairy and gluten free if you need and you can hide all sorts of other healthy foods in it if you are worried your kids are not getting enough of certain vitamin etc.

Recipe is courtesy of my good friend Heidi who makes the yummiest kids food.

(Heidi's Blog to come)

Add whatever you like eg walnuts, green barley/spiriting powder, acai berry powder etc etc

Stir. Transfer to a lined tin. Freeze for an hourish. Cut up and enjoy. Keep in fridge or freezer as melts easily, especially in summer!!! 

And don't worry, it's toddler approved!

Enjoy!