dairy free

Pastel Semlas

¼ cup coconut oil, melted (or about 75g local organic butter/vegan butter, melted)
1 cup oat milk
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cardamom
½ cup xylitol or erythritol
1 cup almond flour
1 cup rice flour
½ cup psyllium husk powder
1 local organic free-range egg (or 3 tbsp chia ½ cup water)

Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F degrees. Mix the melted oil (or butter) with the oat milk. Add in the rest of the ingredients. If using chia-water mixture, let it thicken to gel for about 10 minutes before adding). Stir well and leave to thicken for 20 minutes. Now the dough should be easily moldable so you can create round buns from it. Add a bit of rice flour, if needed. Form 8 small buns and place them on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until slightly golden. Let cool completely before cutting in half.

Fill with almond paste and coconut whipped cream (colored with pink pitaya powder or beet powder and/or turmeric).

 

Coconut Whipped Cream

2 can full-fat coconut milk (keep in the fridge)
1 tbsp coconut syrup (or for example maple syrup)
½ tsp vanilla powder

Take the coconut milk cans from the fridge and scoop out the white thick paste into a bowl. Add syrup and vanilla. Whip until fluffy. If the mixture gets too warm and runny, keep it in a fridge for a while so that it gets as thick as normal whipped cream. Use as a filling in semlas with almond paste.

 

Almond Paste

1 cup almond meal
3-5 tbsp coconut syrup or maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla powder or seeds from half vanilla bean

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl with a spoon. The dough should be easily moldable, like playdough, not too dry or crumbly. Add more syrup or almond meal if needed. Roll the dough into a pole (about 5 cm / 2 inches thick) and roll it inside a parchment paper or plastic wrap. Put it in the fridge and leave to thicken for at least 1 hour, or overnight. Cut the pole into 1 cm/½ inch thick slices. Use slices inside semlas with coconut whipped cream.

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Blueberry Crumble Pie

About 9 pieces

1 ⅓ cup gluten-free rolled oats
1 cup almond meal
⅓ cup coconut sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp cardamom
pinch of sea salt
1 cup coconut oil, melted
3 tbsp raw organic honey or coconut syrup

Filling:

1 cup blueberries
1 ripe banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
dropperful liquid stevia
1 cup blueberries & 4 tbsp chia seeds

On top:

Blueberries
edible flowers
coconut milk powder, optional

Dish size: 20 x 20 cm / 8 x 8 Inches

Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius / 350 F degrees. Cover the pan with parchment paper. Mix the base ingredients in a bowl with a spoon so that you get a crumbly but slightly moldable dough. Press about ⅔ of the crust dough firmly onto the bottom of the pan.

Prepare the filling. Mix 1 cup blueberries, banana, vanilla extract & stevia in a blender until smooth. Scoop into a small bowl and stir in the whole blueberries and chia seeds. Leave to thicken for 15 minutes. Spread the berry mixture onto the crust. Sprinkle on the remaining crust dough. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until nice & golden. Take out from the oven and let cool completely. Cut to pieces, top with blueberries and edible flowers and sprinkle on some coconut milk powder. Enjoy! Store in the fridge.

Lemon Cheesecake Chia Pudding

1 can full-fat coconut milk, kept in the fridge
juices from 1 medium lemon
1-2 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp local organic honey or maple syrup
½ tsp turmeric
4 tbsp chia seeds

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Leave to thicken for 5 minutes. Taste and add more sweetness or lemon, if desired. Stir and put in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight. Serve with cake crumble and popsicles of your choice.

Crumble:

½ cup pecan nuts
½ cup almonds
5 fresh dates, pitted
½ tsp cardamom
pinch of sea salt

Place the nuts and almonds in a blender and blend until fine crust. Add dates and spices: Blend until you get a crumbly dough. Taste and add spices, if needed.

Strawberry N’Ice Cream

2 cups fresh strawberries
1 ripe banana
1 cup cashew nuts
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
0,5 cup almond milk (or other plant-based milk)

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and prepare ice cream with the directions of the manufacture. If you don’t own an ice cream maker pour the mixture into a freezer-safe jar and freeze for 3-4 hours stirring the mixture every 30 minutes. Serve crusted nuts, small date pieces and a dash of cardamom.

Peanut butter Waffles with Roasted Apple Slices

For 2

2 organic eggs
½ cup unsweetened peanut butter
½ ripe banana (mashed)
1 tsp coconut oil
5 tbsp oat milk (or almond milk)
2 tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla powder

On top:

Roasted apples (recipe below)
Date caramel sauce (link to the recipe on my bio)
Whipped coconut cream (from 1 can full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated + some vanilla & honey or coconut syrup)

Preheat the waffle iron. Break the eggs into a bowl, add peanut butter, mashed banana, coconut oil and oat milk. Mix. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Dose some dough into the waffle iron and cook for about 2 min.

Roasted Apple Slices

2 sweet apples
Ceylon cinnamon

For roasting:
coconut oil

Preheat the waffle iron. Cut the apples into thin very slices. Grease the waffle iron with coconut oil. Place the apple slices inside the waffle iron, sprinkle on some cinnamon, close the lid and roast for about 2 minutes. Serve with waffles.

Champagne Cookies

½ cup almond flour
⅓ cup rice flour
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ cup xylitol or erythritol or coconut sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp vegan butter, melted
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
6 tbsp sparkling wine/champagne OR apple juice

Frosting:

5 tbsp coconut oil, soft, but not totally melted.
2 tbsp coconut syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp beet powder or pomegranate juice
+ ¼ tsp turmeric powder

Preheat the oven to 175 C / 350 F degrees. Mix flours, sugar and baking soda in a medium bowl. Mix in the melted butter & oil + champagne or juice. The dough should be easily moldable, soft but firm. Let sit for 10 minutes. Form small balls with your hands and press them into cookies onto a baking tray covered with baking paper. Press the sides slightly with your fingers to get a nice round shape. Bake for about 10-12 minutes until the cookies get a slightly golden color. Cookies should remain quite soft and rich, not go dry and hard. Let cool completely. Prepare the frosting.

Spoon the soft (white & room-temperature, not transparent and liquid) coconut oil into a small bowl. Stir in the syrup & vanilla. Add the colorant from beet powder, pomegranate juice and or turmeric powder. Mix vigorously with a spoon so that you get a nice pink/apricot colored mixture with no lumps. When the cookies are cool, frost them and top for example with shredded coconut or nonpareils. Place into a fridge so that the glaze hardens.

Vanelja’s Crepes:

Makes about 5 crepes

1 cup oat flour (or rolled oats blended to flour)
5 tbsp potato starch
2 tbsp coconut sugar
tiny pinch of sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sparkly water
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Preheat the skillet. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add vanilla, sparkly water and oil. Stir until even. Add a drop of coconut oil to the skillet and pour on some dough so that you get a thin round crepe. Cook until the surface looks dry, flip with a thin spatula and cook the other side. Prepare the rest of the crepes.

Caramel sauce:

6 fresh dates, pitted & peeled
3 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
+ little bit of water

Place the dates, peanut butter and vanilla into a blender and blend until smooth. Add a couple of tablespoons of water so that you get a smooth texture.

Raw Snickers recipe from It's a Pleasure cookbook by Virpi Mikkonen

Vanelja’s Snickers Bars

BASE:

5 tbsp grated raw cacao mass
5 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp local organic honey or coconut syrup or maple syrup

NOUGAT FILLING:

0,5 cup almond flour
5 tbsp peanuts
0,5 cup coconut milk
5 tbsp melted coconut oil
2 fresh dates
0,5 tsp vanilla extract

TOFFEE FILLING:

5 tbsp peanut butter
5 tbsp local organic honey or coconut syrup or maple syrup
¼ cup coconut milk
0,5 tsp vanilla extract
4 fresh dates, pitted

NUT FILLING:

¼ cup slightly ground peanuts
0,25 tsp sea salt

CHOCOLATE ICING:

¼ cup raw cacao mass
2 tbsp smooth nut butter
4 tbsp cold-pressed coconut oil
1 tbsp local organic honey or coconut syrup or maple syrup
0,25 tsp sea salt

Tin size approximately 6 x 8 inches

BASE. Melt the raw cacao mass in a warm water bath. Add the peanut butter and honey. Mix. Pour the mix into a tin greased with coconut oil or covered with parchment paper. Place into the freezer.

NOUGAT FILLING. Grind the peanuts in a blender. Add the almond flour, melted coconut oil, coconut milk, dates and vanilla extract. Mix well. Take the base out of the freezer, and pour the filling on top. Return back into the freezer.

TOFFEE AND NUT FILLINGS. Mix all ingredients in a blender.
Break ¼ cup of peanuts for example with a mortar & add a pinch of salt.
Take the dish out of the freezer and pour the toffee and nut filling on top. Smooth with a spoon. Return to the freezer.

CHOCOLATE ICING. Melt the raw cacao mass in a warm water bath. Add the nut butter, coconut oil and honey. Mix well. Add a pinch of sea salt. Bring the dish out of the freezer and pour the chocolate icing over the toffee filling. Pop back into the freezer for half an hour.

Take the dish out of the freezer. Cut and serve.

Vanelja’s Raw Chocolate Covered Gingerbread Fudge

⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
5 tbsp coconut sugar
5 tbsp coconut syrup
2 tsp gingerbread spice mix
½ cup almond meal
½ cup coconut flour (or rice flour or half & half)
1 tbsp flax meal

Frosting: Raw chocolate, melted

Place the coconut, coconut sugar and coconut syrup into a small pot and on medium/low heat bring to a simmer. Mix well. Pour in the spice mix and take from the stove. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, pour into the pot and mix everything into a smooth batter. Press pieces of the dough into chocolate molds or form tiny balls. Place into the fridge and let thicken overnight or for about 1-2 hour in the freezer. Take the fudges out from the molds and dip them into melted raw chocolate. Store in the fridge or freezer.

Chia Caramel Pudding:

1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup hemp seeds
3 fresh dates, pitted
1 cup almond milk or oat milk
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp chia seeds

Place all ingredients, except chia seeds into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl/jar and stir in chia seeds. Let thicken for about 15 minutes or longer.

Blueberry Nice Cream:

2 frozen bananas, cut to pieces
2 tbsp full-fat coconut milk, kept in a fridge
2 tbsp blueberries
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender until smooth soft serve. Taste and add some sweetened, for example raw honey, if you like. Serve with chia pudding.

Vanilla Crepes with Berry Coconut Cream filling

Makes about 5 crepes

Crepes:
1 cup oat flour (or rolled oats blended to flour)
5 tbsp potato starch
2 tbsp coconut sugar
tiny pinch of sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sparkly water
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Preheat the skillet. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add vanilla, sparkly water and oil. Stir until even. Add a drop of coconut oil on the skillet and pour on some dough so that you get a thin round crepe. Cook until the surface looks dry, flip with a thin spatula and cook the other side. Prepare the rest of the crepes. Set aside & prepare the filling.


Berry Coconut Whipped Cream:

1 can full-fat coconut milk, kept in a fridge
2 tbsp maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla powder
2 tsp blueberry powder

Open the coconut milk can and scoop out the white thick paste into a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and whip with a mixer until fluffy. If the mixture becomes too liquid, place it into a freezer for 10 min.

Filling and toppings:
berry coconut whipped cream
blueberries and blackberries
banana slices
peanut butter
coconut milk powder

Assembly:
Spoon about ¼ cup Berry Coconut Whipped Cream down the center of each crepe. Add a few banana slices and berries, whole or mashed. Roll up. Top with peanut butter, berries and coconut milk powder. Serve and enjoy right away!

GF & Vegan Pancakes with Pastel Pancake Spreads

Pancakes:

Makes about 7 small pancakes

1 ripe banana
½ cup / 1,5 dl oat milk (or for example almond milk)
½ cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Let the dough thicken for about 20 minutes. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Drop about 2 spoonfuls of the batter onto the pan and cook until the surface looks almost dry. That should take about 2 minutes. Flip, and cook until nicely browned on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter. If the pancakes remain too pale, lift the heat up a bit or if they get too brown, lower the heat.


Pastel Pancake Spread:

1 cup cashew nuts, soaked for 1 hour & rinsed
5 tbsp coconut oil, melted
½ cup coconut milk, kept in the fridge
2 tbsp coconut butter / coconut bliss
3-5 tbsp coconut syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
for the color: a tiny dash for example blueberry powder, beet powder, turmeric or blue spirulina

Place all the ingredients, except the colorant into a blender and blend until smooth. If the texture is too thick, add a bit of liquid from the coconut milk can so that you get a smooth spread. Taste and add more sweetness, if desired. Spoon the mixture in a small bowl and mix in the colorant you like, or divide the mixture in different bowls and make many color variations. Place the spread into a fridge so that it thickens a bit before serving.

Vanelja’s Raw Carrot Cake
with California Raisins

Base:
2 carrots, peeled & chopped
1 ½ cups raw walnuts
½ cup California raisins
7 fresh dates, pitted
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cardamom
½ cup almond flour

Frosting:
1 cup cashews, soaked for 1 hour & rinsed)
5 tbsp coconut cream
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Grind the carrots into popcorn sized pieces in a food processor. Add California raisins, walnuts and dates, vanilla extracts, salt, cinnamon & cardamom and pulse to mix. NOTE! The batter should remain coarse and have a cake-like texture so be careful not to over-blend it until smooth. Pour into a bowl and stir in the almond flour. Line a 7-9 inch springform pan with parchment paper and scoop the batter in. Spread and press down evenly.
Add the cashews to a food processor or to a high-speed blender with coconut cream, lemon juice, syrup and vanilla. Blend until silky smooth. The icing should resemble cream cheese. If needed, add a little water. Spread the icing over the cake. Pop the cake in the freezer for 3 hours. Bring back to room temperature and remove from the cake tin. Let thaw for 30 minutes. Decorate and enjoy! Store in the fridge and use within a week.

Gingerbread Sweetpotato Dream Cake

Well here’s a winter treat worth sharing. This creamy raw cake gets its surprising richness from sweet potato and gentle warmth from gingerbread spices. And lemme tell you that it is one heavenly union.

Made in collaboration with Electrolux Explore 7 blender and Asennemedia

As you may may have noticed from my previous blog post where I launched my new ebook Dreamy Season – Wholesome food for Holidays & winter, I’m kinda of a Christmas freak. Like I could actually eat Christmas related food the whole winter season and when it comes to Christmas recipes, my imagination seems to be endless.

One of my favorite nice cream recipes I’ve ever created is a gingerbread nice cream that has sweet potato in it. Homehow those two elements make a perfect match and I’ve been wanting to bring them together in some other dish too.

Gingerbread Sweetpotato Dream CakeElectrolux Explore 7 blender

The idea evolved when I got to test the new Electrolux Explore 7 blender. As the first thing I wanted to try with it was a smoothie. I’m kind of a smoothie nerd and my way to test a blender is to see how smooth it actually makes my smoothie. And I have to say I was kind of surpised. Blenders in this price group usually leave smoothies a bit grainy but this baby blended them smooth as velvet. Really nice job.

The second thing I wanted to test was a raw cake. The batter there is thicker than in a smoothie so it gives new challenges to the blender. Again, very nice, very smooth. One great feature in Explore 7 blender is that it’s designed in a way that though it makes mixtures smooth it doesn’t heat up the ingredients so it keeps everything fresh and the nutrients alive n´ kicking. It isn’t a blender for thick nut butters, raw cake crusts etc, but you can definitely make great soups, smoothies, raw cake batters, grind nuts and even make juice (!) with it. Plus it’s pretteehh.

Oh, and back to my sweet potato gingerbread matching mission. So when I challenged the blender with a raw cake I wanted to make something christmassy. Because of my christmas mania condition, you know. Then I remembered the heavinly union of the gingerbread and sweet potato in my nice cream and the idea was born. Also wanted to make a nut-free raw cake for a change, as people ask me about them constantly.

And it came one fine piece of cake, I have to admit.

Try it yourself to get yourself into Christmas mood and let me know how it resonates! And if the Explore 7 blender resonated, tune into my Instagram as I’m giving away one blender on my today’s IG post. See you there!

V

Vegan & gluten-free gingerbread cookies

Hello love! Check this out – One thing I’m really proud of is that I get such an amazing feedback about my recipes from you guys. I also get a lot of wishes on what kind of recipes you want me to create and share. And I always listen to them very carefully, so that I can serve in the best way possible. 

Upon your wishes, I have now created a luscious collection of wholesome and delish feel-good Christmas recipes, most of them suitable for the whole winter season, not only for the Holidays.

Dreamy Season ebook

My brand new ebook is called Dreamy Season and it contains 62 recipes and 141 pages, all made with love by Yours Truly. In this book I have gathered my all-time favourite winter recipes and treats – the ones I love to pamper myself & my family during the Holidays. I have to say that this has been truly a passion project for me, as I’m a crazy Christmas lady who could eat Christmas-spirited food the whole winter. 

Dreamy Season ebook serves wholesome & delish recipes for breakfasts, dinners, desserts and drinks, all perfect for the Holiday season – or for those moments when you just feel like enjoying some deliciously comforting winter food magic.

How about for example a bowl of Pink Morning Kiss Porridge or Golden Oatmeal, a piece of Christmas Toffee, selection of plant-based Cheeses and some Christmas Wreath Pizza? Or maybe a slice of Tofu Ham, goodies from the Christmas Platter, a piece of Chai Banana Bread or few mouth-watering Gingerbread Fudge or Snickers Moon Balls with a sip of Cloudy Apple Drink? All plant-based, naturally sweetened and gluten-free, all good for your body as well as to your soul and perfect for those comfy winter moments.

You can read more about the book from here and check out also the Dreamy Season menu. Note that this ebook is in English and it has some of the same recipes that can be found from my Finnish cookbook Joulukirja.

Vegan hot chocolate

plant-based tofu ham

What’s in the ebook?

* 62 recipes

* All plant-based

* Gluten free

* Dairy free

* Refined sugar free

* Beautiful colourful images

* Breakfasts, dinners, lunches, drinks, dips/basics, treats

* Simple & easy recipes + some more challenging ones

* Book full of comfort and pleasure

Dreamy Season ebook - Plant-based Christmas platter

How can you use this ebook?

  1. Click the PURCHASE button.
  2. Apply the discount code at the checkout.
  3. Pay for the ebook safely with PayPal of with your credit card.
  4. Wait for your page to redirect you to a page with a downloadable link.
  5. Download the ebook onto your laptop, iPhone or iPad. (NOTE! the download link will be available to you for 24 hrs and then it will expire.)
  6. Open it with your preferred program such as Preview on Mac, Adobe Reader or iBooks
  7. Go and make your Christmas dreamy!

Snickers Bliss Balls

And for the celebration of the launch I’m giving a big discount for you guys. During this week you will get the Dreamy Season only for €5,90 with the code DREAMY. (Normal price is €9,90.) So if feel good Christmas food resonates, apply the code DREAMY here and get your copy.

I really hope you will enjoy the ebook as much as I enjoyed – LOVED – creating it. And when sharing your creations from the book, remember to tag me @vanelja in so that I can see them.

Wishing you the dreamiest season, friend. 

Blueberry Dream Cake - Raw cake by Vanelja

Well hello, babes! Finally it’s happening, updated Vanelja.com has opened its doors and welcomes you to take a tour. Though it took quite some time to get this open, it has been heart-warming to notice how many of you regularly uses the recipes on my site, as I have got tons of messages from people asking when all the material will be returning. So sorry you’ve had to wait for them, but happy to know you’ve missed my treats!

Blueberry Dream Cake by Vanelja

And now when the new site is open I’m also beyond excited to launch my brand new grocery: Blueberry Dream Cake by Vanelja. It is a treat that I absolutely ah-dore and I’m just so super duper happy to start offering my all time favorite raw cake to people. I get asked almost weekly if I do catering or if I take orders for my dream cakes, and now I can finally say YES!

And this one is truly a raw cake of my dreams. If I should pick only one sweet treat to consume for the rest of my life, it would be my Blueberry Dream Cake, most def, no doubt about it. It has such a mouth-watering taste with the pecan based crust with a hint of cardamom and the rich blueberry filling. The texture is creamy and fluffy yet the cake is very fresh because of the white layer with some hints of lemon in it. I honestly start salivating even now when describing it to you, haha. And what’s lovely about this Blueberry Dream Cake is that there is no coconut flavor that pushes through, which I feel is a problem in many raw cakes.

Blueberry Dream Cake - Raw cake by Vanelja

I’ve made my Blueberry Dream Cake in collab with Green Street, a big-hearted Helsinki-based provider for raw cakes and other healthy food. The cake will be out very soon, at 15th of May to be exact, and you’ll be able to buy it from certain retailers, supermarkets and cafés in Helsinki and Stockholm. Gonna list down all the retailers here on my site soon! And if you want to have a whole cake, preordering is open NOW and the first deliveries start 15th of May. If you have some parties coming up this spring and summer, like graduation parties, family get-togethers, brunches for friends etc. you can preorder the cake HERE. It is a great thing to serve for a big bunch of people as it is vegan, gluten free and naturally sweetened, so it fits to most diets and most occasions. I prefer it as a weekend brekkie, as it is perfect for cozy slow mornings.

The decoration of these photos are not included in the cake, but it has a beautiful pattern on the surface (which you can see here) so it can be served as it is, or  you can finish it for example with some blueberries or edible flowers.

Blueberry dream Cake brekkie

At the moment the availability of my Blueberry Dream Cake is limited only to Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, but hopefully we’ll get the cake to wider reach too. Again, gonna be updating the retailers here on my site. And if you have a café and you’d think my Blueberry Dream Cake could match your selection, throw me a message!

But in the meantime, let me know how you like my cake and my new site! There are still some new features on their way + one surprise gift for you coming before the summer, so stay tuned – especially on Vanelja’s Instagram, as that is the place where I holler most often about my moves.

xo

V

Matcha Smoothie Bowl by Vanelja

Matcha Smoothie Bowls Vanelja

So Matcha Beauty Bowl

1 ½ frozen banana
½ cup steamed, peeled and frozen zucchini, cut to pieces
½ cup cashew nuts, soaked for 1 hour and rinsed
2 brazil nuts
2 heaping tbsp full fat coconut milk, the white paste
1 tbsp coconut oil
½ tsp vanilla powder
1 tbsp collagen powder (skip, if vegan)
1 tbsp tocotrienols
1 cup unsweetened oat yogurt (or unsweetened coconut yogurt or almond yogurt) +tbsp matcha powder

Combine all ingredients in a blender, except the matcha. Blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add some yogurt or plant-based milk if the mixture is too thick. Pour half of the mixture into a bowl. Mix the matcha with the remaining mixture. Fill a serving bowl with the green and white mixture, garnish the smoothie bowl with coconut flakes, edible flowers, apple coins and sesame seeds.

Healthy Christmas Cake by Vanelja

Hello friends! I thought I’d share this oh-so delicious and christmassy Gingerbread Coconut Bundt Cake recipe that got popular on my Instagram also here on my site, so that many of you’d find it.

Gingerbread Coconut Bundt Cake - vegan, gluten free and naturally sweetened.

I created this vegan & gluten-free cake with warm notes of gingerbread and juicy chuncks of dates originally for Risenta and have been preparing it several times already, as it is just sooo good and rich and delish. I try not to think about it too much now so that the cravings won’t hit me again or else I’ll find myself baking it again and eating it tomorrow the whole day…

But you go and make this! And let me know how you liked it!

Enjoy & Have a cozy Christmas!

V

Healthy Christmas Cake by Vanelja

Healthy Christmas Cake by Vanelja

(vegan, gluten free, naturally sweetened)

Cake:

5 tbsp ground flaxseed
½ cup water
1 ½ cup Risenta almond meal
1 cup Risenta rice flour
⅓ cup coconut sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
2 tsp gingerbread spice mix
½ tsp cardamom
tiny pinch of sea salt
1 can (400 ml) full fat coconut milk
½ cup coconut oil, melted
5 fresh dates, pitted
5 tbsp coconut syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
+ 5 fresh dates, pitted and cut to small pieces

Frosting:

3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
3 tbsp smooth peanut butter or white tahini
1 tbsp coconut syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

On top:

Coconut flakes
hazelnuts

Cake mold:

0.4-0.5 gallons (1,5 – 1,8 liters)

Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit (175 Celsius) degrees. Grease the bundt cake mold with coconut oil. Mix the ground flax and water in a small bowl and leave to thicken. In the meantime prepare the cake dough.

Mix the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Place coconut milk, coconut oil, 5 dates, coconut syrup and vanilla into a blender and blend until smooth. Mix with dry ingredients. Add also the flax mixture you made and mix well. Stir in the date cubes. Pour the dough into the cake mold. Bake for 55-60 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick comes out clean. Take out of the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes and remove from the mold. Let the cake cool down totally. Frost and serve! The cake is at its best after one night in the fridge.

Frosting:

Mix the coconut oil, nut butter and vanilla in a small bowl. If the mixture goes too runny, keep it in the fridge for about 15 minutes, mixing it couple of times. Frost the cake and decorate with coconut flakes and nuts.

More recipes on Vanelja’s Instagram!

Pink Golden latte by Vanelja

Hello Love! I’m here to give you some new inspiration for warm drinks – something that makes you thrive during the cold months and something super fun to try out at your coffee or tea break, at your breakfast or as your good night drink.

Pink Latte make from beet and vegan milk

I call them Dream Lattes (Or Soul Lattes – Sweet child has many names, as we say in Finlandas they sooth the soul in such a dreamy way. The happy pastel colors and nourishing ingredients make such a beautiful winter surviving combo that your average cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate just starts to feel bo-ooring.

 

I’m a person who loves variation and I have been switching between these Dream Lattes during the last months and I love to come up with new modifications and color combos. I have never ever believed in the phrase “Don’t play with your food.” Of course you should play – Always, in every single situation you get a change! Playfulness in life is something that makes us vibrate in such a high and light level and that’s the path to true happiness and wellbeing. Through joy, you know.

Pink Latte make from beet and vegan milk

Well anyways, what I was saying about these Dream Lattes, is that few months ago I enjoyed my golden latte with different kinds of spices every evening. Then I started doing the Pink Latte, in which I incorporated beet powder (or blended cooked beet with the milk) and that was a true eye candy for me, because my color taste has stuck to what it was when I was 5, like “All pink everything”. Lately I have been doing my Smaragd Latte which is a combination Blue Latte and Green Latte, that includes matcha, chlorella and/or blue algae. And as you can see all these lattes look like some water coloring session would have just taken place – but they actually are quite potions, I tell you! Big powerful color & herb therapy session in one mug.

Then I have some news to tell!

  1. Last weekend Vanelja won the award for The Best Food Blog at The Blog Awards Finland! Yayyyyy! That was something so so miraculous, that I’m still astonished.  My updates and posts happen mainly on Vanelja’s Instagram account, and I had thought that this kind of an award is targeted mainly to more old school type of bloggers, so it was so heart-warming to notice that the jury had considered also other channels this time.  You can read my thoughts about the victory here from my Instagram post. Wanna send a HUGE warm hug to all my lovely followers for supporting me and being part of this journey.
  2. Vanelja.com is under a renovation and a new beautiful site is building up. This site functions normally until the launch, but I won’t be posting here before the new site opens. But my IG is as active as normal, so no actual radio silence happening.

Pink Latte, Golden Latte, Green Latte and Blue latte to sooth your soul

So stay tuned, my bunnies, and please do try out some of these Dream Lattes – or all of them! Tag your creations on Instagram #dreamlatte and @vanelja so I’ll see them! 

Be love and stay golden!

 

V

Pink Latte, Golden Latte, Green Latte and Blue latte to sooth your soul

Pink Latte

1 cup unsweetened vegan milk (such as almond milk, oat milk or hemp milk)

1 tsp beet powder (or a small cube of cooked beetroot)

½ tsp ceylon cinnamon

⅓ tsp ground ginger

1 tsp raw organic honey or maple syrup or agave

1 tsp coconut oil

 

Golden Latte

1 cup unsweetened mylk (such as almond milk, oat milk or hemp milk)

½ tsp turmeric

½ teaspoon cinnamon

⅓ tsp ground cardamom

a pinch of ground nutmeg

1 tsp raw organic honey or maple syrup or agave

1 tsp coconut oil

 

Green Latte

1 cup unsweetened mylk (such as almond milk, oat milk or hemp milk)

1 tsp matcha powder

⅓ tsp chlorella

¼ tsp ashwagandha

⅓ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp peppermint extract or fresh mint leaves

1 tsp raw organic honey or maple syrup or agave

1 tsp coconut oil

 

Blue Latte

1 cup unsweetened mylk (such as almond milk, oat milk or hemp milk)

¼ tsp blue algae powder (like Blue Majik)

¼ tsp ashwagandha

⅓ tsp ground ginger

juices of half a lemon

1 tsp raw organic honey or maple syrup or agave

1 tsp coconut oil

 

Pour the milk into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk all the ingredients – except honey, if you’re using it. Cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan, let cool slightly and add the sweetener, honey or syrup. Top with ceylon cinnamon or beet powder, if you like. Enjoy warm!

Tip 1: You can also warm the milk and then pour all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and frothy.

Tip 2: If you want to play with colors, make different colors of lattes, scoop off some froth from the surface and mix the froths to different colors of lattes, like pink froth to golden latte, yellow froth to pink latte and so on.

You wanted recipes for lunch and dinner – I give you granola pizza!

What do you mean, that doesn’t look like your average everyday meal? My five-year-old ate that specific pizza as a dinner, straight from the photo background, after she’d came home from the kindergarten the other day. True story. That’s how we run things here at the Vanelja household.

Ok, to be honest (and boring), I have to admit that we do also eat so called normal food, every once in awhile, but that’s not on my blogging agenda today. Either. But, I give you a hint that in the near future I’m gonna launch something super exciting, that I know all you savory craving creatures will lovelovelove! So stay tuned!

And now back to this marvellous breakfast pizza. Such a whimsical weird creation it is. I always encourage people to play around with their food and experiment with familiar ingredients. And that is exactly what happens with this granola pizza. Your ol’ granola and yogurt breakfast, but in a new and refreshing form. Maybe not a totally new concept to all you trendy foodies out there, but something fun to try out, at least!

The crust is made from Vanelja’s Pink Granola (recipe below), but you can take the easy way and use whatever gluten free store-bought granola you like and stir in some berry powder or freeze dried berries to get that pretty pink hue. Then just top it with your favorite dairy free yogurt, berries, figs and flowers and cuteness overload and your favorite weekend brekkie is guaranteed. Although, I must say that this kind of a breakfast would give an extraordinary start also to a Monday morning, that’s when some extra magic and zest is usually needed the most.

Oh, before you run away after your granolas and yogurts, I just want to let you guys know that Vanelja is nominated at the Blog Awards Finland, in the food category – Yay! That would be my first award in my home counrty after 8 years (!) of blogging about health food. Phew – time really flies when you’re having a blast! So if you like what I’m doing, go click and leave a vote for me HERE. Only your email (Sähköposti) and your name (Nimi) is needed. Thank you, sugar – I mean, honey, raw and organic! haha!

V

Gluten-free & vegan Pink Granola Pizza

Gluten-free, vegan, dairy free & naturally sweetened

Crust:

2 cups Vanelja’s Pink Granola (recipe below) or granola of your choice with 3 tbsp pink berry powder or smashed freeze dried berries

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

¼ cup peanut butter (or tahini)

 

On top:

coconut yogurt or other dairy free yogurt

berries

figs

raw organic honey or syrup of your choice

edible flowers

 

Melt the coconut oil and peanut butter in a warm water bath. Pour all the crust ingredients into a bowl and stir well. Press the crust firmly into the bottom of a cake mold. (Cover the bottom with a piece of parchment paper.) You can also press the crust firmly onto a freezer safe plate and make it about half an inch thick round pizza. Freeze for about 30 minutes until the crust gets solid. Remove from the freezer, spread some yogurt on and sprinkle on some berries and fig slices. Pour a bit of honey or syrup on top and decorate with edible flowers. Serve and enjoy right away. Store in the fridge.

 

Vanelja’s Pink Granola:

1 small raw beet, peeled and cut to pieces

handful of raspberries

5 fresh dates, pitted

5 tbsp coconut syrup or organic honey

4 tbsp coconut oil, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

1 ½ cup rolled oats

½ cup almonds, chopped

½ cup coconut flakes

¼ cup sunflower seeds

¼ cup pumpkin seeds

¼ cup flax seeds

¼ cup hemp seeds

tiny pinch of salt

 

Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit degrees. Blend the beets, raspberries, dates, coconut oil and vanilla in a blender and blend until smooth. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and pour in the beet raspberry mixture you just made. Mix until dry ingredients are evenly coated. Pour the mixture on a baking tray covered with a parchment paper and spread evenly. Bake for about 10 minutes. Stir the granola and bake for 5-10 minutes more. Take out from the oven and let cool completely.

Hiya Honey! Look what I’ve got for you today – A dreamy and creamy blueberry thyme raw cake –  A cake that can also be found on the cover of the latest THRIVE magazine. That’s right, babe, my cake is an actual cover girl! So sooo amazing! There’s also a four page spread & a feature of me in the magazine in where I share some of my food secrets + many many other great features and recipes of super talented recipe creators.

I first created this blueberry raw cake in the spring with a collaboration with a Finnish salad and herb producer Järvikylä when I made an adaptation of their thyme blueberry cake and during the summer the cake photo has become easily one of my most shared and liked IG posts ever and it has been so much fun to see people making their own creations of it and posting them on their pages and sharing them with me. The beauty and magic of Instagram.

To celebrate my cover photo I thought to share the recipe here on my site too – So here you go, my friend, go and enjoy these blueberry filled dream bites!

V

(gluten free, dairy-free, naturally sweetened)

Base:

½ cup pecan nuts

½ almonds

7 fresh dates, pitted (or dried organic soft apricots)

a pinch of sea salt

 

Filling:

2 cups cashew nuts (soaked for 30 minutes & rinsed)

½ ripe banana

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

5-6 tbsp raw organic honey (or maple syrup or coconut syrup)

¼ cup oat milk or almond milk

fresh lemon juice from ½ lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup blueberries

a handful of fresh thyme leaves

 

On top:

blueberries

fresh thyme

 

Pan diameter: 18 cm / 7 inches

Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of a cake pan. Place the almonds and nuts into a food processor or a high-speed blender and blend until crust. Add dates or apricots and salt and blend until moldable dough. Press the dough firmly into the bottom of the cake pan. Prepare the filling.

Place all the filling ingredients (except blueberries and thyme) into the food processor / blender and blend until smooth. Add some dairy free milk, if needed, to get a smooth texture, still keeping it as thick as possible. Pour about ⅓ of the mixture into the cake pan and smooth out the surface. Add blueberries and thyme to the food processor / blender and blend with the remaining mixture. Taste and add some spices if needed. Spoon the filling into the cake pan and even the surface gently with a spoon so that you don’t mix the white and the purple filling. Top with blueberries. Place the cake pan into the freezer for about 2-3 hours or until the cake is solid. Remove the cake from the pan and place it on a serving dish. Let thaw for a moment. Sprinkle on some thyme leaves, serve and enjoy. Store in the fridge.

 

As seen on THRIVE magazine!

Vegan Chocolate Nice Cream with raw chocolate Cake chunks

It is time, to get your nice cream balls rolling again, baby!

You probably remember the N’Ice Cream book by me and my co-author Tuulia Talvio that was launched exactly a year ago, first in Finland and in the US and then later in the year in 6 countries, like in France, German and Chroatia. The book has found it’s home in the arms of so many healthy ice cream lovers around the world that it is hard to even realize. So thank you! There is no better feeling than when your passion inspires people, makes an impact and is even a part of a cultural change (the ever so lovely ice cream culture), like now for example when we’ve been witnessing many big brands bringing out their vegan ice creams with better sweeteners after the last summer in Finland.

We have not been talking about an ice cream revolution for no reason! * raised fist emoji *

To give it even a stronger boost we have now launched this Deluxe Edition of the Finnish N’Ice Cream book – as an ebook – with 10 new bonus recipes in it, which means now over 90 recipes for lovely delicious vegan, gluten free and naturally sweetened ice creams. And you can get it only for 8,90 euros.

Note, that this Deluxe Edition is only available in Finnish and as an ebook and you can download it here. We’ll try to find a way to get these bonus recipes out also in English in some form asap!

But so that you international readers won’t have to return with empty hands, here’s one faaabulous nice cream flavor for you to exploit: Deluxe Chocolate Nice Cream with Peanut Butter Swirls and Raw Chocolate Cake Chunks! I came up with it by accident when I decided to blend together chocolate mousse (from my Chocolate Pizza Post) and frozen banana. So freakingly delicious. Then I also stirred in some raw chocolate cake chunks and peanut butter swirls and I honestly almost started to cry when tasting it. That’s what pure pleasures can do to you. 

When scooping balls from this nice cream a song by Barry White, Can’t get enough of your love, babe, started playing in my mind:

“I’ve heard people say that
Too much of anything is not good for you, baby
Oh no
But I don’t know about that
There’s many times that we’ve loved
We’ve shared love and made love
It doesn’t seem to me like it’s enough
There’s just not enough of it
There’s just not enough
Oh oh, babe
My darling I, can’t get enough of your love babe…”

 

That kind of sums up the whole essence of this nice cream. You just can’t get enough of it – And you don’t even have to. As good stuff makes good to you.

V

Vegan Deluxe Chocolate Nice Cream

Serves 3

(vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free)

 

½ cup steamed sweet potato pieces

¼ cup cashew nuts, soaked for about 1 hour

3 fresh dates, pitted

¼ cup almond milk, or other dairy free milk

4 tbsp raw cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

 

3-4 frozen bananas

 

peanut butter

raw chocolate cake chunks

 

Place steamed sweet potato sliced, cashews, dates, almond milk, cocoa powder, vanilla ja coconut oil into a blender and blend until tick mousse. Add frozen and sliced bananas. Blend until soft serve. If your blender is small you can do this in two or three batches. Pour the soft serve in a big freezer safe container. Mix in the raw cake crumble and pour over some peanut butter. Freeze for about 30 minutes or until the mixture gets a bit harder. Serve and enjoy!

 

Raw Chocolate Cake Chunks:

½ cup gluten-free rolled oats

½ cup almonds

3 fresh dates, pitted

4 tbsp raw cocoa powder

a pinch of sea salt
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until crumble. Taste and add sweetener if needed. The dough should be quite dry but easily moldable. Roll into small chunks with your hand and sprinkle the nice cream batter with the chunks.

More Nice Cream recipes in the N’Ice Cream cookbook by Virpi Mikkonen & Tuulia Talvio

When you combine the biggest food passions of our family into one creation, you get something like this:

Gluten-free and vegan chocolate pizza filled with sweet potato chocolate mousse, raspberries and peanutbutter.

Soooo heavenly. Won’t be missing the traditional Easter desserts this year!

Refreshing and luscious weekend to all you bunnies too!

 

V  

Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, naturally sweetened

 

Pizza crust:

2 tbsp chia seeds + ½ cup water

1 cup almond meal

½ cup potato starch or tapioca flour

2 tbsp psyllium husk

a pinch of salt

½ cup olive oil

 

Preheat the oven to 390 Fahrenheit (200 Celsius) degrees. Mix water and chia seeds in a small bowl and set aside for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, put all the other ingredients into a bowl and mix. Add the chia gel and stir. For the dough into a ball and press or roll out on a parchment lined baking pan. Bake for about 15 minutes or just until the crust starts to become a very light golden brown. Let it cool down a bit before adding the toppigs.

 

Chocolate Mousse:

1 cup steamed sweet potato pieces

½ cup cashew nuts, soaked for about 1 hour

5 fresh dates, pitted

½ cup almond milk, or other dairy free milk

4-6 tbsp raw cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

 

On top:

nut crust

raw chocolate

raspberries

peanut butter

 

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth mousse. Add a bit more liquid if needed, so that you get a smooth mixture, but keep the mousse as thick as possible. Spread evenly on the pizza crust. Add the rest of the toppings. Serve and enjoy!

It’s always so fun to watch how people have different ways of reacting to the first rays of spring sun here in the North. After a long and dark winter people get so cute with their excitement. Some switch immediately into their light jackets and start to trip along with their small spring shoes even though the ground is still completely frozen. (Ok, that was totally a granny thing to say, but I’m a person who just hates to freeze and keeps her pantyhoes on until June. So yeah, I’m a granny.) And some optimistic people, like my dear partner, switches the summer tires on. And then go travel with the tram or taxi when the snow suddenly decides to return. (Like it tends to happen and like it also happened last weekend.)

 

And then there are people like me, whose first thought is: Ice Cream! It really is some chemical reaction that happens in my brain: Sunrays --> Must make nice cream.

 

During the last week I have managed to make nice cream from many different kinds of ingredients, for example from purple yam aka Ube. The color was so amazing so it just yearned to be blended into a nice cream. Check it out from my Instagram

 

The same thing happened a few days ago when I received a box of smoothies and breakfast bars from Semper. Naturally they started a new life as a nice cream. Well, some of them. Most of the bars ended up in the “quick snack stash” in our car and the smoothies in our refrigerators “panic shelf”, which is our family’s life saver. We are just so bad in routines, meal planning and all that wise adult stuff and the mealtimes manage to surprise us almost every time. Plus we usually move with super short notices so everything that is healthy and easy to grab along is totally needed in our household.

 

One of our favorite snacks are nice creams that can always be found in our freezer. Either we make nice cream from frozen bananas with frozen berries or fruits or almond butter or then we enjoy smoothie popsicles. It’s fun to have the familiar breakfast/snack, as in yogurt with berries and granola, in a form of an ice cream. The kiddo loves it and I don’t have to feel guilty for giving her ice cream or two as a evening snack. Win/Win. 

 

Oh, and all the nice cream lovers in Finland – or people who understand Finnish – the Finnish version of the N’Ice Cream book by me and Tuulia Talvio is coming out as an ebook in a month with some new bonus recipes. So stay tuned, if you wish to download a huge package of nice cream recipes into your phone or computer. In the meantime you can start your Summer of N’Ice Cream with these popsicles!

 

V

 

In collaboration with Semper 

 

Almond Yogurt:

2 cups raw almonds (soaked overnight or 3 hours)

2 ½ cups water

2 tbsp raw organic honey or maple syrup

1 probiotic capsule OR 1 package vegan yogurt starter OR 3 tbsp unflavored vegan yogurt with active bacterial culture

1 – 3 tsp agar agar (if you want your yogurt to be thicker)

 

Blend the soaked and strained almonds, water, and sweetener in a blender until smooth. Strain the mixture with cheesecloth on top of a bowl, so that you get a nice white almond milk. You can use the leftover almond pulp for example in crackers or bread rolls. If you want your yogurt to be thicker, add agar agar and boil the almond milk in a pot carefully for about 5 – 7 minutes. Take the pot from the stove and let it cool  down (to a body temperature). Pour in the probiotics and mix. Pour the yogurt into a sealable clean (boiled or washed in a dish machine) and dry glass jar. Close the jar with a lid or cover with a cheesecloth and a rubber band. Turn the oven light on, but do not heat the oven. The oven light should keep the oven warm enough for the yogurt. Place the yogurt in the oven with the light on and leave the yogurt to set for about 8 – 12 hours. The longer you let the yogurt ferment, the stronger and sourer the flavor will be. Store the yogurt in an airtight container/jar in the refrigerator.

 

Berry mixture:

-Blueberries, apple, fresh mint leaves and rolled oats OR Semper Fruit & Oat Blueberry, Apple, Mint Smoothie 

-Raspberries, pear, rolled oats OR Semper Fuit & Oat Raspberry, Pear, Aronia Smoothie

 

Add a big handful of berries, handful of rolled oats and a sliced fruit into a blender and blend until you have a thick and smooth smoothie. Add a drop of water if needed.

 

Oat Crumble:

1 cup rolled oats

3 fresh dates or ¼ cup organic raisins (soft and moist, not dry and hard)

1 tsp dried berry powder

OR 2 Crumbeled Semper Soft Oat Bars 

 

Blend the rolled oats and dates or raisins in a blender into a crumble or puree with a stick mixer.

 

Assembly:

Pour some almond yogurt into a bowl and add a few tablespoons of berry mixture. Stir gently few times so that you get nice swirls. Slice in some fresh berries if you like. Pour the mixture into a ice pop molds but leave a small space for the oat crumble. Fill the molds with the oat crumble or crumbled oat bars, add sticks and put into a freezer.

In collaboration with Semper.

 

I just love homemade yogurts. Dairy free homemade yogurts. There’s something magical in the whole process, which is sort of an alchemy or some other mystical procedure where you play with the forces of nature. Living cultures of good bacteria, to be exact.

I also love the fact that only sky seems to be a limit to what different kinds of yogurts you can prepare: With what ingredients and spices you make it, how strong and sour you want it to be and so on.  

When I was creating the yogurt recipe for this blog post I noticed that I have actually tried out quite a big range of different kinds of ingredients for homemade vegan yogurts and also managed to get at least one vegan yogurt recipe in every single cookbook I’ve ever made, no matter what the subject has been.  

In It’s a Pleasure – Sweet treats without gluten, dairy and refined sugar there are recipes for Coconut Yogurt and Almond Yogurt. In my Healthy Fast Food book (Only in Finnish) there are Fruit Bomb Yogurt and Chia yogurt and in the Christmas book (Also only in Finnish) there is this Oven Apple Yogurt made with Oatmeal and Apples. And also from the N’Ice Cream book you can find a recipe for Breakfast popsicles made from homemade vegan yogurt.

So it looks like I have a bit of an obsession about this theme. But a good obsession, I must say!

Because without that obsession I would have not for example created this Blueberry Quinoa Yogurt. …I knooow, it sounds quite quirky – Quinoa Yogurt. (Maybe I should have named it a Quirky Quinoa Yogurt, ha!) But at least here in Finland one of the most popular vegan yogurts are based on oats and well, quinoa isn’t that much different. Just remember to add enough berries (other berries will do also!) and sweetener as the taste of quinoa alone can be a bit strong. 

I was actually quite surprised after my first test batch when I tried to google if someone else had made something similiar, but couldn’t find anything. Nada! No quinoa yogurts on the market or quinoa yogurt recipes in the whole world wide web! Really? Gotta get my Quirky Quinoa Yogurt Factory running asap! Who’s in? Throw me an email and we’ll start a yogurt revolution together!

But now, will you excuse me, I have to get back to my office aka my bed and make new inventions. I got these ah-mazingly fluffy and soft Feel blankets & pillows from Familon with crispy duvet covers made from percale cotton to our new home and since then it has felt a surprisingly good idea to have a home office – and a studio – and a dinning spot – in the my bed.

I wish you a cozy and yogurt-filled weekend, my love!

Oh, and if you feel you don’t have time nor the patience for the fermentation process, you can as well eat the yougurt straight from the blender, as it can be enjoyed as a whipped porridge as it is!

V

In collaboration with: Familon 

2 cups quinoa (cooked)

2 cups oat milk (or some other dairy free milk)

½ cup blueberries (fresh or frozen and thawed)

2-4 tbsp raw organic honey or coconut syrup

2 capsules of probiotics

½ tsp vanilla powder

Cook the quinoa according to the instructions in the package. Let it cool. Pour the quinoa into a blender and add the oat milk, blueberries and the sweetener. Blend until very smooth. Add more liquid, if needed, to create as smooth texture as possible. Taste and add more sweetener or blueberries, if you like. Open the probiotic capsules and pour the powder to the mixture. Mix gently. Pour the mixture into a sterilized and totally dry glass jar. You can sterilize the jar with boiling water in a big pot (for couple of minutes) or washing it in a dishwasher. Make sure not to leave any water in the jar. Close the jar with a lid or cover with a cheesecloth and a rubber band. Turn the oven light on but do not heat the oven. The oven light should keep the oven warm enough for the yogurt. Place the yogurt in the oven with the light on and leave the yogurt to set for about 8 – 12 hours. The longer you let the yogurt ferment, the stronger and sourer the flavor will be. Take the jar from the oven, stir in vanilla ja put the jar in the fridge and let it cool. Consume within a week.
The swirls in the picture are created with a white Almond Yogurt – Get the recipe here!

Time to fulfil your wishes. Your nut-free wishes! Nearly every time I post a new sweet recipe I get messages from my lovely readers with allergies asking if it would be possible for them to prepare the recipe without nuts or almonds. Most of the times I have to disappoint them because nuts and almonds play such a significant role in many raw/health recipes, and the recipe just wouldn’t be the same if you substitute them with something else.

But now, my babies – now I have something magnificent for you! Something that is nut-free, raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and naturally sweetened, all at the same time. And delicious too! This one is truly a crowd pleaser.

And it doesn’t lay on coconut! Many times nut-free treats use coconut to get the creamy rich texture, but I know that the taste of the coconut doesn’t please everyone. And I have to admit that I don’t prefer a strong coconut flavor either and nowadays I use coconut in my recipes in veeery subtle ways so that the strong hippie vibe doesn’t push through. (All my love to hippies ♡)

So, therefore I picked a more neutral ingredient here that still gives a nice wholesome consistency. I picked chickpeas – le chick! Those brilliant little creatures that are so versatile, nutrient-rich and lovely. Then I accompanied them with fresh organic dates. Because dates are my no. 1 favorite sweeteners and they also add a nice little bonus to the texture and taste. I really could not survive without fresh dates in my kitchen.

Which brings to mind another quoestion I get asked a lot – Which dates do I use? Well, the ones that you can always find from my kitchen are fresh organic dates by Fontana that are sold in cardboard boxes in fruit ja vegetable section in supermarkets – at least here in Finland. I like the texture, the taste and the fact that they are organic. They are also easy to find because they are available very widely in the supermarkets – at least here in Helsinki. So I was very happy to pair up with Fontana with this post, because I actually use their dates A LOT.

And here’s my hot tip for a natural date sweetener:

Buy a package of fresh dates. Preferably organic. Take about 20 dates, take out the stones and place the dates in a blender. Add about 1 cup water and 1 tsp vanilla extract or ½ tsp vanilla powder, if you like. Blend until creamy and smooth sauce. Add more water, if needed. And if you like your sauce to be extra smooth, remove the date skins under a running water. Then pour the sauce inside a sealable clean jar. Now you have a lovely sweetener that you can use when baking in breakfasts or in any way you want. Store the date paste sealed in a fridge and you can use it easily for 2 weeks.

Now there you have it. Go ahead and make this date caramel paste & my Le Chick! Caramel Bars and serve them for example to your Valentine next week. Moi moi!

V

In collaboration with: Fontana organic dates

(Nut-free, Vegan, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Refined sugar-free)

 

Base:

1 cup chickpeas (cooked / from a can)

10 fresh dates, pitted

5 tbsp coconut flakes / shredded coconut

½ tsp vanilla powder (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

 

Caramel:

10 fresh dates

3 tbsp tahini (or your favorite nut/almond butter)

3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

3 tbsp water

3 tbsp coconut syrup (or raw organic honey)

½ tsp vanilla powder (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

a tiny pinch of sea salt

 

Chocolate frosting:

6 tbsp raw cacao butter, melted

4 tbsp coconut oil, melted

6 tbsp raw cacao powder

4 tbsp coconut syrup (or raw organic honey)

a tiny pinch of sea salt

 

OR about ½ cup of your favorite raw chocolate melted

 

Tin size: 17 x 12 cm / 7 x 5 inches

 

Base:

Cover the tin or the freezer safe container with parchment paper. Add the chickpeas into the blender and blend. Add dates, coconut flakes and vanilla and mix until a thick sticky mass. You may have to scoop down the sides of the blender in between blending. Taste and if you want add vanilla or other sweetener, for example coconut syrup. Spoon out the dough into the tin and even the surface with a spoon. Prepare the caramel sauce.

 

Caramel sauce:

Place all the ingredients into the blender and blend until sticky sauce. Add a drop of water, if needed, but try to keep the mixture as thick as possible. Spoon out the caramel sauce and spread onto the base mixture. Prepare the chocolate frosting.

 

Chocolate frosting:

Melt cocoa butter and coconut oil in a warm water bath. Add cocoa powder, syrup and salt. Mix until a nice sauce. Taste and add more some of the ingredients, if needed. Pour the chocolate mixture onto the caramel sauce. Put into the freezer and freeze for a couple of hours or until solid. Take out of the freezer and cut into bars. Let thaw for about 15 minutes before serving. Store in the freezer or in the fridge.

 

New year, fresh winds! A new edition of my very first cookbook, It’s a Pleasure – Sweet treats without gluten, dairy and refined sugar (in Finnish: Kiitos hyvää – Herkkuja ilman sokeria ja gluteenia) has just came out in Finland with new recipes in it. 

I’m really excited that I had an opportunity to design new stuff for this title, as I feel that although the book came out already two years ago here in Finland, the subject is still very topical.

Well, actually I can’t think of a time when healthy yet delicious sweet treats would go out of style. At least they are very much trending in our household all the time. And it was only 3 months ago when the book came out in the US, so it’s great to blow some new wind to these sails also in Finland! (I know there might not be that kind of idiom in English, but you get the point.)

So cake, muffins, donuts, cookies, chocolates, candies, ice creams and other heavenly goods, all without gluten, dairy and refined sugar. Gentle yet effective ease for sweet cravings with 86 recipes. Pretty luscious package, if I may say. And you’ll recognice the new Finnish edition by the green stamp it has on the cover. 

To celebrate the new edition I wanna give away one copy of the new Finnish title to one lucky reader. All you have to do is drop a comment and say hello here in the comment field and I will pick a winner (located in Finland) on Sunday 22nd at 22.00. (10 pm)

Of course I don’t wanna leave you guys from other counties with empty hands, so I’m giving away one copy of the English title, It’s a Pleasure too. So eeeveryone can join! And please do!

Here is also one of the new recipes from the new Finnish edition: my current No.1 favorite raw cake, Raw Licorice Chocolate Mousse Cake, with a super soft and tasty filling and crunchy truffles. Enjoy, babes!

V

(raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free)

Crust:

1 cup almonds

½ cup pecan nuts

5 fresh dates

3 prunes

3 tsp licorice root powder / licorice root extract powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp anise powder

½ tsp sea salt

 

Filling:

1 cup cashew nuts (soaked for 1–3 hours)

1 cup coconut milk (room temperature)

6 tbsp coconut syrup or raw organic honey

1 tsp tamari soy sauce

1 cup raw cocoa powder

pinch of sea salt

5 tbsp cocoa butter (melted)

5 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

 

Chocolate Licorice Sauce:

2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

2 tbsp raw cocoa powder

2 tbsp licorice root powder or licorice root extract powder

½ tsp vanilla powder

2 tbsp coconut syrup (or maple syrup)

a tiny pinch of sea salt

 

On top:

Small truffles made from the crust dough + black sesame seeds

raw cocoa powder

 

Tin/Cake mould size: 17 cm / 7 inches

 

Crust:

Cover the bottom of the cake mould with a parchment paper so that it is easier to remove later. Add the almonds and nuts into a blender and blend until fine crust. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until a thick and sticky dough. Check the taste and add more seasoning if you like. Spoon out the dough and put into a bowl, taking aside about 4-6 tablespoons of the dough, from which you’ll later make the truffles. Press the rest of the dough firmly onto the bottom of the cake mould. Prepare the filling.

 

Filling:

Toss out the soaking liquid of the nuts and rinse the cashews in cold water. Place the nuts into the blender and add the coconut oil. Also add the syrup and tamari. Blend. Add the raw cocoa powder and salt. Also pour in the cocoa butter and coconut oil. Blend until a smooth thick mass. Pour the mass into the cake mould. Even the surface with a spoon. Place the cake mold into a freezer for about 2 hours or until it’s totally firm. In the meantime prepare the truffles and the sauce. When the cake is firm, take it out of the freezer, remove from the mould, dizzle some shosola sauce on and decorate with the truffles you’ve made. Serve and enjoy. Store in the fridge.

 

Truffles:

Prepare small balls from the dough crust you had set aside. Roll the truffles on black sesame seeds pressing them firmly but gently so that the seeds stick and cover the balls evenly.

 

Chocolate Licorice Sauce:

Add the raw cocoa powder, licorice powder, syrup and salt into the melted coconut oil. Mix well so that you get a nice chocolate sauce.

More healthy sweet treats: It’s a Pleasure cookbook

Gluten-free, Vegan

6–8 pieces

 

1 ½ cups full fat almond flour/almond meal

½ cup coconut flakes / shredded coconut

7 tbsp flax meal

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg powder

½ tsp ginger powder

¼ tsp cardamom

½ cup coconut sugar

a pinch of sea salt

½ cup grated carrots

2 tbsp orange zest (from organic oranges)

½ unsweetened apple sauce

1 cup water

½ coconut oil, melted

 

Frosting:

1 cup cashew nuts (soaked for 30 minutes)

5 tbsp full-fat coconut milk (the thick white paste of coconut milk can be kept in the fridge)

4 tbsp coconut oil, melted

1 tbsp orange juice

3 tbsp xylitol or coconut sugar

½ tsp vanilla powder

 

On top:

orange zest

ceylon cinnamon

nut crust

 

the pan: 2 l / ½ gallon foil casserole

 

The cake:

Preheat the oven to 175 Celcius / 350 Fahrenheit degrees. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Grate the peeled carrot with a small/fine blade into another bowl. Add the orange zest. Add also the apple sauce, water and melted coconut oil. Mix. Add the dry ingredients from other bowl and mix well. Pour the batter into the casserole and bake about 40-45 minutes, until the surface has a nice tanned colour. Take the cake from the oven and let cool completely. The cake is very soft when taken out from the oven, but it will get firm when it cools. In the meantime prepare the frosting.

 

Frosting:

Take the soaked cashews, toss the water and rinse the nuts. Place the nuts into the blender. Take the coconut milk can from the fridge and scoop out 5 tbsp of the white thick mass from the can and put to the blender. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Add a drop of coconut milk so that the mixture is smooth, but still keeping it as thick as possible. The texture should resemble thick greek yogurt. Check the taste and add some spices or sweetness if you like.

 

Spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake. Place the cake into the fridge and let it thicken overnight.  The following day add some orange zest and sprinkle some cinnamon and/or nut crust on top of the cake. Serve and enjoy! Store in the fridge and use within 3 days.

And so has the week before Christmas started. The perfect time to start fueling up hard core with all the lovely christmas flavors, spices and Holiday treats and taking the Christmas in with all your cells and taste buds. Showering with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, anise and ginger. Living the Christmas to the fullest! Like they say. Or like I say, at least.

Although I have a strong tendency to flip into the Christmas insanity, my passion is mainly focused on the food & the mood, not so much on the material stuff. Well okay, I have installed a small set of fairy lights (aprox. 8 meters long) on the balcony and a humble (only a half meter big) star on the window, but otherwise I mainly believe in peace & love kind of Christmas. Because when you just stop, breathe deep and be present then you are in the very essence of Christmas.

And it is just so much more romantic just to burn candles and enjoy small dishes and treats with christmas flavors all around the christmas time than to go bonkers with decoration and to stress over huge Holiday dinners that take insanely long time to prepare. 

“You get the most beautiful Christmas by returning back to basics: To the simple and tasty food that makes you feel good and to small handmade ornaments and gifts that touch the heart.”  Like we say in our new Christmas book that I made with my ever-so-lovely friend Riikka Kantinkoski. The book is all about a low-key Christmas with easy, natural and rustic interior ideas and healthy (gluten-free, dairy-free, naturally sweetened and mainly vegan) recipes for the Holidays and for the whole winter time. The book, called Joulukirja (“The Christmas book”) came out a few weeks ago and I’m super proud of it. Go check it out, if you happen to be in Finland and hang around bookstores!

The Gingerbread Porridge in this post didn’t make it into the book, but it most certainly would have if I just would have came up with it a bit earlier than last week. But hey, luckily I can share it with you guys now!

I got to use lovely Gluten-free & Deluxe products of Lidl in it, for example Gluten-free Rolled Oats, Walnut oil, Dates and Clove & Cardamom Mills. Those spice mills are especially my favorites because you can just go ahead and grind lovely christmas flavors on just about everything with them! On your porridge, on stews and casseroles, on cakes and other treats – or even on your cranky neighbour that needs to get into Christmas mood.

…I bet Lidl wouldn’t sign the last recommendation for use, but you get my permission.

Or even better, go ahead and prepare this Gingerbread oatmeal to the Grinch of your life and I bet you’ll see a warm light start shining through his/her eyes. I mean, this stuff really brings the Christmas. 

Be good, my friend & eat a lot of porridge.

V

(In collaboration with LIDL)

Serves 4

2 cups oat milk

2 cups water

1 1⁄4 cups gluten-free oatmeal

1 ½ tsp gingerbread spice mix

pinch of sea salt

3 fresh dates

1 tbsp walnut oil (or almond butter)

Top with:

apple bites

crushed walnuts or almond flakes

ceylon cinnamon

crushed clove

crushed cardamom

ginger bread pieces

raw organic honey or maple syrup or coconut syrup

oat milk

Pour the oat milk and the water into a pan and bring to a boil. Add oatmeal, salt and spices. Chop the dates into small pieces and put on the pan. Cook in a medium heat for 5-7 minutes until the porridge is cooked. Stir in the walnut oil or almond butter.

Dose the porridge into serving bowls. Top with apple pieces, crushed ginger breads and almond flakes. Sprinkle on the spices and add a drop of honey or syrup. Pour some oat milk on, if you like. Serve and enjoy!

Makes 15-20 pieces

Caramel

  • 15 fresh dates
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1-2 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • a pinch of sea salt
  • 15-20 pecans
  • 4-5 tbsp unsweetened peanut butter or almond butter

Icing

  • 4 ounces dark chocolate or raw chocolate

On top

  • flaky sea salt

Pit the dates. Put the dates, coconut oil, water vanilla extract and salt into the blender and purée. Caramel should be thick and smooth. Spoon the caramel in a freezer-safe container and put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes so that it thickens a bit and is easier to handle.

Line a small baking sheet with a parchment paper. When the caramel sauce has thickened, take about teaspoon-sized dollops of the caramel and place onto the prepared baking sheet and mold the caramel into balls. Press a pecan into each ball. And then add about half a teaspoon of peanut butter on each pecan nut and place the tray into a freezer. Freeze for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime melt the chocolate on the top of a double boiler / in warm water bath. Take the pralines out of the freezer and dip each of them into the chocolate icing. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and return them to the freezer just to set. Bring out, serve and indluge. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Recipe from the book IT’S A PLEASURE by Virpi Mikkonen

About 4 big or 6 small pieces

Vanilla n’ice cream:

  • 3 ripe bananas (frozen)
  • 1 can full-fat coconut milk (kept in a fridge overnight)
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder

Slice bananas into smaller pieces and put into the blender. Open a coconut milk can and scoop the white thick paste (about 2/3 cup) into the blender with bananas. Add vanilla. Mix until smooth. If your blender is not very powerful prepare the ice cream in two baches. Pour the ice cream mixture in a large freezer-safe tin and freeze for about 15-30 minutes. In the meantime prepare the cookies.

Chocolate Cookies:

  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1 cup oat flour
  • 4 tbsp raw cocoa powder
  • 3 tbsp flax meal
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder
  • 8 tbsp water
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • 4 tbsp maple syrup or coconut syrup

Preheat the oven to 175 C / 350 F degrees. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add water and melted coconut oil and syrup. Mix. The dough should be now easily moldable. Add a bit more water or flour if needed. You should be able to make a big ball out of the dough with your hands.

Place a dough ball between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll out to ½ inch thickness. Cut the dough into rectangles with a knife or use a cookie mold. Place the cookies gently on a baking tray covered with a baking sheet. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely. The cookies can be a bit soft when you take them from the oven because they will get crispier as they cool.

Chocolate frosting:

  • ½ cup coconut oil, melted
  • 3 tbsp raw cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp coconut syrup

Mix the melted coconut oil, cocoa powder and coconut syrup in a small bowl.

Assembly:
Scoop about two spoonfuls of the ice cream and place it on the back side of one cookie. Place another cookie on top of the ice cream and press down gently. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Drip some chocolate frosting on top on the sandwiches and sprinkle some shredded coconut on. Freeze for 30-60 minutes. Enjoy!

MORE HEALTHY VEGAN ICE CREAM RECIPES FROM THE N’ICE CREAM BOOK

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Crust:

  • 1 cup pecan nuts
  • 5-7 fresh dates, pitted
  • ½ tsp cardamom
  • a tiny pinch of sea salt

Filling:

  • 1 cup cashew nuts
  • ⅓ cup cacao butter
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil
  • ½-1 cup coconut milk (room temperature)
  • ¼ cup coconut syrup (or maple syrup)
  • ½ cup raw cacao powder
  • a tiny pinch of salt

Chocolate sauce:

  • 3 tbsp coconut oil
  • 3 tbsp raw cacao powder
  • 2 tbsp coconut syrup (or maple syrup)
  • a tiny pinch of sea salt

On top:

  • pecan nuts
  • raw cacao nibs
  • coconut flakes

Tin diameter:

  • 7 inches / 18 cm

Crust:

Chop the nuts in a blender. Add the dates and cardamom with nuts and blend into crumbly dough. Press on the bottom of the cake tin.

Creamy Filling:

Mix all ingredients in a blender until you have a smooth creamy mixture. If needed, add more coconut milk to get smoother texture but still keeping it as thick as possible. Taste and add seasoning or sweetness if desired. Pour the dough into the cake tin over the crust and put the tin into a freezer for 2 hours or until solid.

Chocolate sauce:

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Drizzle on top of the raw chocolate cake.

Decorate with nuts, cacao nibs and coconut flakes. Try also fresh berries and n’ice cream! Serve and enjoy!

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3 INGREDIENT VEGAN APPLE PIE

  • 3 sweet apples
  • 1 ⅓ cup (3 dl) rolled oats
  • 4 tbsp melted coconut oil
  • +ceylon cinnamon on top

(pan size: 7 inches/18 cm)

Preheat the oven to 425 F/225 C degrees. Cut 2 apples into pieces and place into a blender. Puree until smooth. Add rolled oats and coconut oil. Blend well. Cover the bottom of a cake pan with a parchment paper and grease the sides. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Cut one apple into very thin slices and cover the surface on the pie with apple slices. Top with plenty of cinnamon. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the color is nicely golden and the sides and the surface look done and dry. Take it out from the oven and let it cool. Serve and enjoy! Store covered in a room temperature.

(gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugarfree, vegan)

6-7 pieces

  • 3 tbsp chia seeds + 1 cup water
  • ½ cup coconut whipped cream (about one can of full-fat coconut milk kept in the fridge)
  • 1 cup full-fat almond meal
  • 4 tbsp full-fat coconut flour
  • 2 tbsp psyllium husk
  • ⅓ cup coconut palm sugar (or for example xylitol or erythritol)
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp cardamom
  • 1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

For greasing:

  • 2 tbsp water + 1 tbsp maple syrup

 

TIP: If you don’t like almonds, you can replace almond meal with 1/2 cup of coconut flour. In that case you can replace the chia -water mixture with 3 organic eggs. Whip the eggs with the sugar until light and fluffy and then add to dry ingredients with whipped coconut cream. Always add enough flour or whipped coconut cream so that the dough is nice and fluffy, not crumbly and dry or too sticky or loose.

Preheat the oven to 350 / 175 C F degrees.

Mix chia seeds and water in a small bowl and leave to thicken.

Take the coconut milk can from the fridge and scoop out the white thick paste into another bowl. Whip until fluffy.

Mix the dry ingredients in a third bowl. Add the chia mixture and the coconut whipped cream and apple cider vinegar. Mix. Leave the dough to thicken for about 10 minutes. The dough is ready when it’s easy to handle and you can mold buns from it and they’ll retain the ball shape without flattening. Add flour if needed. Mold small round buns from the dough on a baking tray covered with a baking paper. Grease with water-syrup mixture. Bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes until buns get nice golden color. Take from the oven and let cool totally. In the meantime prepare the fillings. When buns are cooled, cut off the hats and fill with almond paste slice and coconut whipped cream. Dust lightly some coconut flour on or sprinkle on some shredded coconut. Serve and enjoy! Store in the fridge.

COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM

  • 2 can full-fat coconut milk (keep in the fridge)
  • 1 tbsp coconut syrup (or for example maple syrup)
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder

Take the coconut milk cans from the fridge and scoop out the white thick paste into a bowl. Add syrup and vanilla. Whip until fluffy. If the mixture gets too warm and runny, keep in a fridge for awhile  so that it gets as thick as normal whipped cream. Use as a filling in semlas with almond paste.

ALMOND PASTE

  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 3-5 tbsp coconut syrup or maple syrup
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder or seeds from half vanilla bean.

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl with a spoon. The dough should be easily moldable, like playdough, not too dry or crumbly. Add more syrup or almond meal if needed. Roll the dough into a pole (about 5 cm / 2 inches thick) and roll it inside a parchment paper or plastic wrap. Put it in the fridge and leave to thicken for at least 1 hour, or overnight. Cut the pole into 1 cm/½ inch thick slices. Use slices inside semlas with coconut whipped cream.

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Preparing time: 25 minutes

Cake:

  • 4 organic eggs
  • 10-15 fresh sweet dates
  • 1,5 dl raw cacao powder

Cake tin diameter: about 17 cm / 6,5 inches

Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 Fahrenheit degrees. Grease/oil the sides and the bottom of the cake tin. Cut pieces of parchment paper to cover the bottom and the sides. Remove the stones from the dates and add all the ingredients to the blender. Blend until smooth. Pour the dough into the cake tin and bake for 20-25 minutes until the surface looks dry. Watch out not to dry the cake too much (a tough job!). Let the cake cool completely before you remove the cake from the tin. Notice that the surface will come down quite a bit. Enjoy with chocolate mousse and nut crust or whipped coconut cream and berries!

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE FROSTING

  • 1 can (400 ml) full fat coconut milk (kept in the fridge)
  • 3-5 tbsp raw cacao powder
  • 1 tbsp organic honey (or coconut syrup)

Take the coconut milk can from the fridge and scoop the white thick paste into a bowl. Add cacao powder and sweetener and whip with a mixer until mousse. Taste and add more cacao or sweetness if needed. Use as a frosting.

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Vegan meatballs:

( 8-10 pieces)

  • ½ heaping cup sun-dried tomatoes
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds
  • ½ cup chickpeas
  • 5 tbsp flax meal (or flax seeds)
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tbsp Tamarin soya
  • black pepper
  • a pinch sea salt

For frying:

  • 5 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil

Sweet potato pasta:

  • 1 big sweet potato
  • 2 cup marinara tomato sauce

On top:

  • vegan parmesan cheese (recipe in Kiitos hyvää Pikaruokaa cookbook!) or original organic parmesan cheese
  • fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit/200 Celsius degrees. Measure sun-dried tomatoes into blender and blend until quite smooth. Add rest of the ingredients and blend. Pour the dough into a bowl and form small balls with your hands. If the dough feels too wet add a little bit of coconut flour or other flour. Pour generously oil onto a pan and fry the meatballs for about 5 minutes, until they get a nice brown color. Transfer the meatballs onto a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Bake for about 15 minutes. In the meantime prepare the sweet potato noodles.

Peel the sweet potato and prepare noodles with a spiral slicer or julienne peeler. Add 1 tbsp oil onto a pan and cook the nools for one minute. Add the marinara sauce and cook for about 10 minutes.
Take the meatballs out of the oven. Dose some noodles on plates, add meatballs on top. Grate some vegan cheese or parmesan cheese on top and sprinkle on some fresh basil leaves. Serve and enjoy!

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Gluten-free & vegan

Serves two

Porridge:

  • ½ cup pureed sweet potato (about 1 small sweet potato)
  • 2 cups oat milk (or for example almond milk)
  • 1 ½ cup gluten-free rolled oats (preferably jumbo-sized)
  • 1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp cardamom
  • A pinch of sea salt

On top:

  • Crushed pecan nuts
  • Maple syrup (or organic local honey)
  • Ceylon cinnamon

Make the sweet potato puree: Peel the sweet potato and cut into small chunks. Steam until soft. Place the chunks to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the oat milk and the sweet potato puree into a pot, bring up the heat and whip until mixed. Add spices and rolled oats. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes, depending of the type of oats used. Serve with crushed pecan nuts, cinnamon and maple syrup. Enjoy!

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Muffins:

  • 1 ½ ripe banana
  • 3 tbsp peanut butter
  • ½ cup rolled oats
  • 3 organic, free range eggs
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees / 175 C degrees. Grease the muffin cups. Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture in muffin cups and bake for about 15 minutes. In the meantime prepare the caramel sauce and frosting. When muffins are ready, take them out from the oven and let cool. Spoon some frosting on top and pour on some caramel sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Peanut butter frosting:

  • 1 can full fat coconut milk (kept in a fridge)
  • 3 tbsp peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp organic honey
  • 1 ripe banana (sliced in small pieces)

Open the coconut milk can and scoop out the white thick paste in a bowl. Add peanut butter and honey. Whip until fluffy. Fold in the banana pieces.

Caramel sauce:

  • 7 tbsp coconut sugar
  • ½ cup coconut milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • a pinch of sea salt

Place the coconut sugar and coconut milk in a pan. Stir gently on a medium heat until the mixture is well mixed. Let the sauce simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and salt. Store in a glass jar in the fridge and use within two weeks.

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Gluten-free, paleo & dairy-free

1 cup almond flour

2 tbsp coconut flour

¼ cup tapioca flour/starch (or potato starch)

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp ceylon cinnamon

½ tsp cardamom

2 organic eggs or two flax eggs (great flax egg recipe here )

1 cup coconut milk or almond milk or oat milk

1 tbsp organic honey or coconut palm sugar

2 tbsp melted coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Take another bowl and add eggs, coconut milk, coconut oil and vanilla extract and whip gently until slightly foamy. Mix with the dry ingredients. Brush coconut oil into the surfaces of the waffle iron. Pour mixture onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown or prepare waffles following the instructions of the manufacture. Serve with coconut butter and cinnamon or with banana slices, peanut butter and whipped coconut cream.

(dairy-free, vegan, nut-free)

  • 2 ripe pears
  • ½ onion
  • 1 can full fat coconut milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 organic vegetable broth cube
  • 100 g (3.5 oz) spinach leaves
  • a bunch of fresh parsley
  • a bunch of fresh coriander
  • a pinch of sea salt
  • blackpepper

On top:

  • olive oil
  • seeds
  • +cashews, if you like

Peel onion and pears and cut to pieces. Add a little bit of olive oil to a pan, add onions and pears cubes and sauté for a couple on minutes. Add coconut milk, water, vegtable broth cube, spinach leaves, parsley, coriander and cook for 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour in bowls, add a drop of olive oil and sprinkle some cashews and seeds on top. Serve and enjoy!

Tip! For extra creaminess, add ½ cup to the soup mixture cashews while cooking!

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PEACH COCONUT YOGURT

Vegan

1 can full fat coconut milk (refrigerated overnight)

4 peaches

2 probiotic capsules

1 tbsp organic honey or maple syrup

½ tsp vanilla powder

Rinse the peaches and remove stones. Spoon out the white thick paste from the coconut milk can and put it to a blender. Add peaches and puree. Open the probiotic capsules and pour the powder into the blender. Add also the honey and vanilla powder. Mix. Add some of the transparent liquid left in the coconut milk can if you want your yogurt to be more runny. Now you can enjoy your yogurt as it is or leave it to ferment: Wash a glass jar with boiling water and dry it carefully. Pour the yogurt mixture into the jar and seal with a mesh fabric or a cheese cloth and a rubber band. Put the jar of yogurt in the oven, but do not turn the oven on, just close the oven door and turn on the oven light. Let the yogurt sit there overnight or for about 7 hours.
Enjoy with cinnamon granola, peanut butter and peach slices!

CINNAMON GRANOLA

Gluten-free & Vegan

1 cup raw cashews

1 cup raw almonds

½ cup pumpkin seeds

½ cup shredded coconut

5 tbsp flax meal

5 tbsp water

3 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

1 tbsp organic honey or maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp sea salt

Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper and preheat the oven to 300 F degrees. Put cashews, almonds and pumpkin seeds to a blender and blend until slightly chopped. Pour the mixture into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes stirring after 10 minutes. When the mixture is golden brown, remove the granola from the oven and let it cool. Store in sealable glass jar.

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  • 3 frozen bananas
  • 5 tbsp rum
  • 2 tbsp almond liqueur
  • 3 tbsp organic raisins
  • 1,5 tablespoon raw cacao powder
  • 1 tbsp organic honey (or coconut syrup, stevia or sweetener of your choice)
  • 2-3 tbsp almond milk (or other milk), if needed
  • 3 rkl raw cacao nibs

Peel the bananas and cut them into small coins. Put the bananas into an airtight container and freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight. In the meantime pour the almond liqueur and rum into a small pot ja bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and add raisins to the alcohol mixture and let marinate until the bananas are frozen.

To make the ice cream, add bananas into a blender and pulse until a crumble forms. Keep on pulsing until the bananas start to form a smooth texture. You might have to scrape down the sides of the blender a few times. Add the marinated raisins, chocolate, vanilla and sweetener and keep on pulsing until you get a smooth and creamy ice cream texture. Mix in the raw cacao nibs and stir with a spoon. Scoop into a bowls, serve and enjoy! If the ice cream melts too much while you process it, you can freeze it a little bit before serving.

* More healthy, dairy free ice cream recipes in Kind Ice Cream for You e-book!

(gluten-free, milk-free)
About 5 pieces

You need:

  • Chocolate cake crumble
  • Melted raw chocolate
  • Coconut whipped cream
  • 1-2 bananas
  • Pecan nuts
  • About 1 cup sized glass jars

Steps:

  1. Prepare the cake cumble by making chocolate muffins.
  2. Melt the raw chocolate or prepare it yourself.
  3. Prepare whipped coconut cream.
  4. Crumble your chocolate cup cakes and add into the bottom of the jars.
  5. Add some sliced banana and chopped nuts and pour some melted chocolate on.
  6. Add some whipped coconut cream.
  7. Crumble in some more chocolate muffins.
  8. Add banana slices & chocolate sauce & coconut whipped cream & top with chopped nuts.
  9. Serve and enjoy!

Chocolate muffins:
(Gluten-free, milk-free)

  • 2 cups full-fat almond flour
  • 2 cups buckwheat flour (or gluten-free oat flour or 50:50)
  • 1 cup raw cacao powder
  • ½ cup coconut sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3 organic eggs
  • 1 cup melted butter (or coconut oil, or 50:50)
  • 1 cup oat milk (or a dairy-free milk beverage of your taste)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • a pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit (175 Celsius) degrees. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the eggs in another bowl, add melted butter/oil, milk and spices. Add the mix dry ingredients and stir. Spoon the batter to muffin moulds (or a small cake pan) and bake in the oven for about 25-35 minutes. Muffins may be a little soft in the middle. Allow to cool.

Raw Chocolate Sauce:

  • 5 tbsp raw cocoa powder
  • 1 cup almond milk (or any dairy-free milk beverage)
  • 2 tbsp organic honey
  • a small pinch of sea salt
  • (+ 1 tbsp almond butter if desired)

Add cacao powder to a bowl and stir in the almond milk for a small amount at a time, until you reach desired thickness. Add honey, salt and almond butter and stir until smooth.

Coconut Whipped Cream: Get the insturctions HERE.

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  • 2 fresh figs
  • 2 cup pistachio milk (or 0,25 cup pistachios and 2 cup of water)
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 banana
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • +1 tsp rose water (optional)

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Check the taste and add some seasoning or sweetness if desired. Enjoy!

PISTACHIO MILK

  • 2 cup pistachios (salt-free)
  • 4 cups of water
  • 2 tbsp of organic honey (or one fresh date)
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder

Soak the pistachios in the water for a few hours. Drain the soaking water and rinse pistachios. Place nuts, 3 cups of water, honey and vanilla to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the nut milk through a fine sieve, cheese cloth or nut milk bag. Store the pistachio milk in the refrigerator in a sealed bottle or a glass jar. Shake before use and enjoy! Use within a week.

More delicious smoothie recipes from VANELJA´s free e-book: Creamy Smoothe Guide!

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Cake:

  • ½ cup coconut flour
  • ½ cup almond flour
  • ½ cup raw cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp psyllium husk
  • 1 tsp vanilla powder
  • ½ cup oat milk
  • 6 organic eggs
  • 5 tbsp organic honey or coconut palm syrup
  • 5 tbsp cup coconut palm sugar

Filling:

  • about 5 tbsp almond butter

Stracciatella filling:

  • 2 cans full fat coconut milk (refrigerated overnight)
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder
  • 1 tbsp organic honey or coconut syrup
  • 5 tbsp raw cacao nibsOn top:
    grated raw chocolate

The pan diameter: 18 cm / 7 inches.

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit or 175 Celsius degrees. Grease the cake tin with coconut oil and cover the bottom with a piece of parchment paper so that the cake is easier to remove later.

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat the eggs in another bowl with honey and coconut sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes). Mix the dry ingredients and egg foam. Stir in the oat milk.

Pour the batter into the cake tin. Bake in the center of the oven for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. (In the meantime prepare the filling). Take the cake tin out from the oven and let the cake cool. Remove the cake from the pan and if necessary, help gently with a knife.

Stracciatella filling:

Take the coconut milk cans out of the fridge. Open the cans and remove all the solid coconut cream and scoop it into a bowl. Mix cream in a bowl with beaters until fluffy. Mix in honey or syrup, vanilla and cacao nibs. If the mixture gets too runny, place it in the refrigerator for a while.

Assembly:
Cut the cake in two parts. Spread almond butter on top of the first layer. Then add stracciatella filling. Add the second layer on top and spread stracciatella filling also on top of the cake. Decorate the cake by sprinkling on some grated raw chocolate. Serve and enjoy!

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1.Easy Ice Cream Pops:

(About 3 ice pops)

Ice-cream:

  • 2 large ripe bananas
  • 2 heaping tbsp almond butter or nut butter (for example peanut butter)
  • 2 tbsp raw cacao nibs

Puree the bananas and peanut butter in a blender. Add cacao nibs and mix gently. Pour the mixture into ice pop molds and freeze. When the ice pops are frozen remove the molds. Serve and enojy!

2.Luxury Ice Cream Pops:

(About 5 ice cream)

Ice cream:

  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 2 heaping tablespoons almond butter or nut butter (for example peanut butter)
  • a small handful of almonds
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder
  • 1 tbsp coconut syrup
  • About ¼ cup oat milk (or almond milk or coconut milk)
  • 2 tbsp raw cacao nibs

Chocolate frosting:

  • ¼ cup raw cocoa mass
  • 2 tbsp cold-pressed coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp honey or coconut syrup
  • a pinch of sea salt

(Or use melted raw chocolate or sugar-free dark chocolate for frosting)

On top:

  • Crushed nuts or almonds or coconut flakes

Add bananas, peanut butter, almonds and a little bit of water into a blender. Puree until smooth. Do not add too much water so that the mixture does not become too runny, because then the ice cream can become grainy. Add honey or stevia, vanilla and raw cacao nibs. Stir softly. Pour the mixture into ice pop molds and freeze. When the ice pops are frozen prepare the chocolate frosting. Melt the cocoa mass and coconut oil in a warm water bath. Add syrup and salt. Stir. Take the ice creams out of their molds and frost them with chocolate. Sprinkle on some nut crust. Serve right away or store in the freezer.

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About 8 bars

Coconut filling:

  • 3 tbsp mashed potatoes
  • 3 tbsp organic honey (or maple syrup)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 dl grated coconut
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil

Raw Chocolate Frosting:

  • ⅔ cups cacao butter, melted
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • ⅔  cup raw cocoa powder
  • 4 tbsp organic honey or coconut palm syrup
  • a pinch of sea salt

OR use one melted dark chocolate bar

Coconut Filling:

Peel and cut the potatoes. Boil in water until done. Mash the potatoes with a fork. Put three tablespoons of mashed potatoes in a bowl. Add vanilla extract and honey. Stir. (Mushi becomes a liquid at this point!) Stir in the coconut and the molten coconut oil. The dough should be so thick that it may be lurking ball. If necessary, add grated coconut. Shape the dough into small bars on a dish. Put batons for half an hour in the freezer to solidify.

Chocolate Frosting:

Melt the cocoa butter and coconut oil in a warm water bath. Add cocoa powder, honey and salt. Stir. Check the taste and add more sweetness if desired.

Take the coconut bars from the freezer and dip in chocolate. Store in a fridge until served.

Check out the Clean Bounty Bar VANELJA video!

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Crust:

  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 4 fresh dates
  • ½ tsp cardamom

Creamy Filling:

  • 1 cup cashew nuts
  • ½ cup almond milk (or oat milk or other desired milk drink)
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 2 tbsp organic honey
  • ½ cup cold-pressed coconut oil (melted)
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • ½ tsp cardamom
  • ½ tsp ceylon-cinnamon
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder

Raspberry Filling:

  • 1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries
  • 1 tbsp organic honey
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds

Coconut Whipped Cream:

See the instructions HERE.

On top:

raspberries
cardamom/cinnamon

Dish diameter: about 7 inch or 17 cm

Crust:

Place the nuts into a blender. Blend until crumble. Wash dates and remove stones. Add dates with nuts and puree into crumbly dough. Add cardamom. Cover the bottom of a cake tin with a piece of parchment paper. Press the dough on the bottom of the cake tin. Prepare the filling.

Creamy Filling:

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Taste and add seasoning or sweetness if desired. Pour the filling on top of the crust. Put in a freezer. In the meantime prepare raspberry filling.

Raspberry Filling:

Puree the raspberries in a bowl and mix with honey. Add chia seeds and melted coconut oil. Let thicken for about 15 minutes. Take the cake from the freezer and pour the raspberry layer on top. Put the tin back into the freezer for about a couple of hours. In the meantime prepare the coconut whipped cream.

Coconut Whipped Cream:

See the instructions HERE.

Take the frozen cake from the freezer. Allow to melt for a moment. Apply coconut whipped cream and raspberries on. Serve and enjoy. Store in a refrigerator.

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Smoothie:

  • 1 cup cashews
  • 1 ¼ – 1 ¾ cups almond milk (or oat milk or other desired milk drink)
  • 1 banana
  • ½ tsp cardamom
  • ½ tsp ceylon cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla powder

Mix all ingredients (except the raspberry layer) in a blender until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add enough liquid to get the desired thickness. Taste and add seasoning or sweetness if desired. Put in the fridge until you’ve made the raspberry filling.

Raspberry layer:

  • 1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries
  • 1 tbsp organic honey
  • 3 tbsp chia seeds

Puree the raspberries in a bowl and mix with honey. If you use frozen raspberries, let them thaw and use only the berries, not all the juice. Add chia seeds and allow to thicken for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the coconut whipped cream.

Coconut Whipped Cream:

Get the Instructions HERE.

On top:

cardamom & cinnamon
raspberries

Assembly:

Pour smoothie to glasses until half full . Add a layer of raspberry filling and fill up the glass with smoothie. Add coconut whipped cream on top. Sprinkle some cardamom, cinnamon and raspberries on. Serve and enjoy!

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(gluten-free, grain-free, yeast-free, milk-free)

Approx. 10 pieces

Muffins:

  • ½ cup coconut flour (full-fat)
  • 5 tbsp raw cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 4 organic eggs
  • ¾ cup melted butter or coconut oil
  • 5 tbsp organic honey (melted)
  • 5 tbsp strong coffee
  • ½ cup oat milk (or other dairy-free milk)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Caramel filling:

  • ½ cup melted butter (or coconut oil)
  • ½ cup unsweetened peanut butter
  • 4 tbsp organic honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp oat milk (or other dairy-free milk)
  • 3 tbsp almond liqueur

Coconut whipped cream:

  • 2 cans full fat coconut milk (kept in the refrigerator overnight)
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder
  • 1 tbsp organic honey or coconut syrup

Muffins:
Preheat the oven to 200 Celcius degrees / 390 F degrees. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk the eggs, butter, honey, milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Mix with dry ingredients. Add coffee, stir and leave the dough thicken for about 5 minutes. Spoon the batter in muffin tins and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Muffins can be a little soft in the middle. Allow to cool before frosting.

Caramel filling:
Melt the butter, honey and peanut butter into a smooth paste in a saucepan. Add vanilla extract and oat milk and stir. Scrape the mixture into a bowl, and put it in a refrigerator for a moment. Whisk with a hand blender/beaters until creamy. Spread or pipe the frosting on top of the muffins. Put the muffins in the fridge for a moment and prepare the coconut whipped cream in the meantime.

Coconut whipped cream:
Take coconut milk cans out of the fridge. Open cans and remove all the solid coconut cream and scoop it into a bowl. Mix cream in a bowl with beaters until fluffy. Mix in honey or stevia and vanilla. If the mixture gets too runny, place it in the refrigerator for a while.

Take the muffins from the fridge and frost them with coconut whipped cream. Serve and enjoy! Store in a refrigerator.

 

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Chocolate Pudding Breakfast Cake

Crust:

1 ¼ cup gluten-free rolled oats

4 tbsp sesame seends (or other seeds you like)

½ cup soft dates

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

a pinch of sea salt  

 

Filling:

1 ¾ cups oat milk (or coconut milk or other dairy-free milk)

¼ cups chia seeds

¼ cup raw cocoa powder

4-5 tbsp coconut oil (heaping tablespoons soft oil. or alternatively 4 tbls melted cacao butter)

1 ripe banana

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 soft dates

if more sweetness desired, use honey for example

 

Topping: (not necessary)

Coconut whipped cream. Get the recipe here.

 

(Size of the pan: max 7 inch or 4 x 8 inch / 17 cm or 10 x 20 cm)

Prepare a small cake tin by putting a piece of paper on the bottom of the tin so that the cake is easier to take out later. Prepare the crust by mixing all ingredients in a blender or use a hand blender. Mix only a little bit so that the dough is easy to mold but the rolled oats do not get grinded into pulver. Taste and add seasoning or sweetness if desired. Press the crust onto the bottom of the cake tin. Prepare the filling.

Put all ingredients in a blender and puree. Taste and add sweetness if desired. Pour the filling into the cake tin and put the tin into the freezer for at least an hour, or until it gets solid.

In the meantime prepare the coconut whipped cream for the top. (Cake goes also well without.) Get the recipe here.

Take the cake from the freezer, remove from the pan and let it melt for a little. Cut the cake into pieces while it is still slighly frozen. Add some coconut whipped cream on top of the cake and sprinkle some raw chocolate, muesli or cocoa powder. Serve and enjoy! Store in a refrigerator.

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  • ½ cup rice syrup (or organic honey or coconut palm syrup)
  • ½ cup almond butter (or nut butter of your taste or 1 cup butter)
  • 3 tbsp oat milk (or other dairy-free milk)
  • 3-4 tbsp black licorice root extract powder or grated liquorice root extract stick
  • 1 tsp ground anise
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder
  • a tiny pinch of sea salt

Pour all the ingredients to a saucepan. Bring to boil. Stir constantly and turn the stove to low temperature. Heat the mixture stirring slowly for about 5-20 minutes. If you want it to be really thick and sticky, cook only for about 5-8 minutes. If you like softer toffee, cook for 10 – 20 minutes. To test if the toffee is ready, drop a tiny bit of mixture into a bowl of cold water. Toffee is ready when you can mold a soft but solid ball of it with your fingers. Pour the mixture into chocolate molds or spread to a silicon-lined or parchment-lined board or plate. Let cool in the fridge. If you spread the toffee onto a sheet, break it into bars or smaller candies. Wrap it for example in greaseproof paper or store in a jar. Serve and enjoy! Store sealed in a cool room temperature or in a fridge and use within two weeks.

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1 big or 2 small persimmons (remove skin if not organic)

½ avocado

2 tbls chia seeds

2 tbls pumpkin seeds

2 tbls almond butter (unsweetened)

1 tbls hemp protein powder

1 cup coconut water or oat milk or other liquid desired

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

On top:
sliced persimmon
cinnamon & nutmeg
seeds

Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth. Add as much liquid as you need to get the consistency you want. Check the taste and add some spices if desired. Pour in bowls and add toppings. Serve and enjoy!

  • 1 dl coconut flour
  • 2 dl almond flour
  • 1 tablespoon psyllium husk
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 dl coconut palm sugar
  • 0,5 dl of organic honey
  • 6 eggs (whites and yolks separated)
  • 4 dl champagne
  • juices of 1 orange

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Grease a baking tin with butter or coconut oil.
Mix the dry ingredients (except sugar) together in a bowl. Separate the egg yolks and egg whites in separate bowls. Whisk the egg whites until peak arises. Add honey and coconut sugar with egg yolk and beat for couple of minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Mix the dry ingredients and egg yolks together. Stir in the champagne and orange juice. Add the egg white foam gently, so that the mixture remains fluffy.

Pour the batter into the greased tin and bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool. In the meantime prepare the orange chia jam and orange coconut whipped cream (see the instructions below).

When the cake has cooled, remove it from the pan (with a help of a knife, if necessary), and divide the cake into three or four parts. Frost the the layers with orange chia jam and orange coconut whipped cream. Sprinkle some coconut flour on top and decorate with flowers.

ORANGE CHIA JAM – See the recipe HERE.

ORANGE COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM

  • 2 cans of full fat coconut milk (refrigerated overnight)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla powder
  • 1 teaspoon honey or for example stevia
  • 1 tbsp orange zest

Take coconut milk cans out of the fridge. Open cans and remove all the solid coconut cream / white stuff and scoop it into a bowl. Mix in a bowl with beaters until fluffy. Mix in honey or stevia and other flavoring. Use right away. If the mixture is too runny, place it in the refrigerator for a while. Store the leftover in the fridge and use within 3 days.
Convert DL to CUPS for example HERE!

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(gluten-free, grain-free)

  • 125 g organic butter
  • 1,5 dl coconut palm syrup
  • 1 tablespoon peanut butter / almond butter
  • About 1- 2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cardamom, 1,5 teaspoon bitter orange peel + 2 teaspoon ginger powder + 0.5 teaspoon clove OR about 3 teaspoons ginger bread spice mixture
  • 1,5 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 organic egg
  • 4 – 5 dl almond flour (the exact amount depends on how fatty the flour is. if the almond flour is full fat, you need it a little bit more because it does´t absorb liquid that much)
  • 2 dl potato strach

Pour butter, syrup and nut butter into a pan and heat the mixture until it melts. Stir. Remove the pan from the heat, add the spices and let cool. Stir in soda and egg. Mix well. Add the flours and mix to a smooth and thick dough that you can mold. Add more flour if the dough is loose and sticky. Let the dough stand in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day bake gingerbreads. Preheat the oven to 200 celcius degrees. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper. Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface. Keep the rest of the dough in the refrigerator in the meantime. Sprinkle flour over dough your rolling. Roll dough to a scant ¼-inch thick. Cut out cookies with desired cutter. Bake in the oven for about 5-10 minutes (depending on the thickness of the cookies) until the gingerbreads will receive a beautiful brown color. The lower time will give you softer cookies!

Take out from the oven, let cool, serve and enjoy!

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(raw, nut-free)

Chocolate:

  • 1,5 dl of cocoa butter, melted
  • 0,5 dl cold pressed coconut oil
  • 1,5 dl raw cocoa powder
  • 4 tablespoons organic honey (or coconut palm syrup)
  • a pinch of sea salt

OR Use about 2 dl of melted raw chocolate or sugar-free dark chocolate.

Soft caramel filling:

  • 10 soft Dates
  • 2 tablespoons cold pressed coconut oil, melted
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 0,5 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • a pinch of sea salt
  • plus Caramel Stevia drops (optional)

Melt the cocoa butter and coconut oil in a warm water bath until liquid. Add cocoa powder, honey and salt. Stir. Check the taste and add more sweetness if desired. Pour a little bit of the chocolate mixture in the bottom of a chocolate molds or ice cube molds. Place the mold in the freezer and prepare the caramel filling in the meantime.

Soak the dates for about 15 minutes if they are not super soft. (with completely dry dates this recipe will not work) Remove the stones from dates. Remove the skins of dates, if you want your caramel to be very soft caramel or if your blender is not super effective. Add the dates and melted coconut oil into a blender and mix. Add enough water to get the mixture smooth, soft caramel-like purée.

Take the mold from the freezer and add a dab of caramel filling in each mold with a little spoon or a piping bag. Fill the molds with the remaining chocolate. Put the molds back into the freezer for about half an hour. Take out, serve and enjoy! Store in a refrigerator.

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1 of cans coconut milk (about 4 dl)

½ tsp bourbon-vanilla

¼ tsp ceylon cinnamon

¼ tsp cardamom

1 ½ – 2 tbsp organic gelatin powder/flakes/ + ½ dl cold water (or use agar agar)

2 tbsp raw honey or little bit vanilla stevia

Mix coconut milk, vanilla, cardamom and cinnamon in a saucepan and heat gently at the same time. Dissolve the gelatin into cold water in a cup and pour the mixture into a saucepan with other ingredients. If you want a vegan version, use agar agar. Warm the mixture on low heat for a couple of minutes (or bring to boil if you use agar agar) and allow the gelatin to melt into the liquid properly. Do not bring the mixture to boil when using gelatin. Stir in honey or other sweetener. Taste and add seasoning or sweetness if desired. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool down slightly. Pour the mixture into small bowls or cups. Slip in cinnamon sticks to give more taste. Put the pudding into the fridge to solidify for about one hour, or until the mixture is thick enough. Serve and enjoy as it is or, for example with banana slices!

Pst. You can control the thickness of the pudding with the amount of gelatin. I prefer a soft but solid pudding, so I added ½  tbls gelatin to 1.7 cups of coconut milk.

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  • 1 tbsp of chia-seed + ½ cup water
  • 1 ½ cup almond flour (you can substitute part of this with the almond pulp left over from making the almond yogurt)
  • ½ cup oatmeal
  • ¼ cup potato flour
  • ½ cup hemp seeds
  • ¼ cup of linen seeds
  • 1 ½ tsp psyllium fiber husk
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 ½ cups of water (or some dairy-free milk)
  • ¼ cup melted butter (or coconut oil)
  • 2 tbsp hemp oil
  • 1 tsp local honey
  • ½ tsp of apple cider vinegar
  • a pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit/200 Celsius degrees. Mix chia seeds and oat milk in a small bowl and let it sit for about 15 minutes until you get a gel-like mixture. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add water, melted butter/oil, chia gel, honey, apple vinegar and salt. Allow the dough to swell for a couple of minutes. The dough should be soft, plump, like a yeast dough – not dry. If necessary, add some flour or liquid.

Take pieces of dough and roll them into balls and put them on a baking tray covered with a baking sheet. Sprinkle some poppy seeds on top. Bake the buns for about 30 minutes in center of the oven until they are nice and golden. Take out of the oven, let them cool a bit, serve and enjoy!

2 cups raw almonds (soaked overnight)

2 ½ cups water

2 tbsp raw organic honey or maple syrup

1 probiotic capsule OR 1 package vegan yogurt starter OR 3 tbsp unflavored vegan yogurt with active bacterial culture

1 – 3 tsp agar agar (if you want your yogurt to be thicker)

Blend the soaked and strained almonds, water, and sweetener in a blender until smooth. Strain the mixture with cheesecloth on top of a bowl, so that you get a nice white almond milk. You can use the leftover almond pulp for example in crackers or bread rolls. If you want your yogurt to be thicker, add agar agar and boil the almond milk in a pot carefully for about 5 – 7 minutes. Take the pot from the stove and let it cool down (to a body temperature). Pour in the probiotics and mix. Pour the yogurt into a sealable clean (boiled or washed in a dish machine) dry glass jar. Close the jar with a lid or cover with a cheesecloth and a rubber band. Turn the oven light on but do not heat the oven. The oven light should keep the oven warm enough for the yogurt. Place the yogurt in the oven with the light on and leave the yogurt to set for about 8 – 12 hours. The longer you let the yogurt ferment, the stronger and sourer the flavor will be. Store the yogurt in an airtight container/jar in the refrigerator.

STRAWBERRY BUTTER

  • 5-7 fresh strawberries (or ½ cup of freeze dried strawberries)
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • a pinch of black pepper & sea salt

Melt the butter until soft. If you use freeze dried strawberries, put them into a blender and puree until powder. Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until the mixture is smooth. Let the butter thicken a little bit in the fridge.

VEGAN STRAWBERRY FRESH CHEESE

  • 5-7 fresh strawberries (or 1 cup freeze dried strawberries)
  • ½ cup cashews (steeped for at least an hour)
  • 1 ¼ cup plain tofu
  • 1 tbsp juice of a lemon
  • 1 tsp coconut syrup
  • 1 tbsp almond oil (or other mild vegetable oil)
  • ½ tsp bourbon vanilla
  • a pinch of black pepper
  • a pinch of sea salt
  • 3 tbsp almond milk (or other dairy-free milk or water)

If you are using the freeze dried strawberries, first chop them into a powder in a blender. Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth thick paste. Line a small bowl with a plastic wrap and press the mixture tightly into a bowl with a spoon. Cover the bowl and let the cream cheese sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning make a ball or stick from the mass. Serve for example with breakfast buns. Store in the refrigerator in a sealable jar or wrapped in foil or plastic wrap.

Try Strawberry butter or Strawberry spread for example with these poppy seed bread rolls!

Chia pudding:

  • 5 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 cup almond milk (or other dairy-free milk)
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder

 

Licorice smoothie:

  • ¼ cups almonds
  • 2 dried figs
  • 1 banana
  • 2 cups almond milk (or other dairy-free milk)
  • 1 ts vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp raw chocolate powder
  • 1-4 tsp black liquorice root extract powder (or grated liquorice extract stick)
  • banana slices between the parfait

 

Chia pudding:
Make the chia pudding by adding chia seeds, almond milk and vanilla in a jar, stir after 30 minutes and let then sit 2 hours or overnight in a fridge. The longer you refrigerate the pudding, the thicker it will be.

Liquorice smoothie:
Add all the ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth. Add enough liquid to make it smooth but not too watery.

Assembly:
Add about ¼ cups of smoothie in a big glass. Spoon in chia pudding and add then sliced banana. Top with the liquorice smoothie. Grate some liquorice extract stick on top. Serve and enjoy!

 

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(Raw, gluten-free, dairy-free)

The dish diameter about 8 inch or 17 cm

Crust:

  • 1 ¼ cup almonds
  • 5 soft dates
  • a pinch of sea salt

Filling:

  • 1 ¼ cup cashews (about an hour steeping)
  • ¼ cup almond milk (or other milk drink)
  • 2 tbsp of manuka-honey + 1 tablespoon of organic honey
  • ¼ cup lemon squeezed juice
  • 1 tsp bourbon-vanilla
  • ⅔ cup melted cold-pressed coconut oil (replace partly or completely with melted cocoa butter if you dislike the taste of coconut)

frosting:

  • 1 ¼ cup blackcurrants
  • 1 tbsp manuka-honey + 2 tbsp of domestic organic honey
  • 1 tbsp melted coconut oil or cocoa butter
  • 1 tsp of bourbon-vanilla

Chop the almonds in a blender into a fine crust. Mix soft dates and salt in. Cut a round piece of baking paper in the bottom of cake mold so that the cake is easier to transfer later. Press the dough firmly on the bottom of the cake mold. Prepare the filling.

Puree all ingredients, except the coconut oil in a blender until smooth thick paste. If necessary, add a little bit of liquid, if the blender is too lazy to agitate the mixture, but keep the mixture as thick as possible. Melt the coconut oil and pour in the blender. Stir the mixture until smooth. Check the taste and add some spices if desired. Pour the mixture into the bottom of the dough onto the cake mold and put the tin in the freezer. Prepare the glaze in the meantime.

Puree the blackberries, honey, vanilla and melt coconut oil/cocoa butter until smooth. Check the taste and add some spices if desired. Take the cake mold from the freezer and pour the glaze on the surface of the cake. Put the cake back in the freezer for about two hours. Take out to room temperature, serve and enjoy!

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About 5 cup cakes

Crust:

  • 20 gingerbreads
  • 3 tbsp melt cold-pressed coconut oil

Chocolate mousse:

  • 10 oz soft tofu
  • 3.5 oz raw chocolate or dark chocolate
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp coconut palm sugar (or other desired sweetener)
  • a small pinch of sea salt

Crumble the gingerbread with your fingers. Add coconut oil and mix. Press the crust into small cupcakes molds and put the cups in the fridge for a while. In the meantime make the chocolate mousse.

Melt the chocolate. Put the soft tofu in a blender and puree. Add the melt chocolate and spices. Blend until smooth thick mixture. Add the chocolate mousse on top of the cupcakes with a spoon or with a piping tube. Sprinkle some ginger bread crumble on top. Place the cupcakes in the fridge for a while. Take them to a room temperature for a little while before serving. Indulge.

½ cup soft butter

¼ cup almond milk (or other milk drink)

1 tbsp local honey

vanilla seeds or ½ tsp vanilla powder

Put softened butter, almond milk, honey and vanilla in a bowl and beat until creamy, fluffy and white. Store in a refrigerator. Spread over chocolate bread for instance. Works wonderfully with chocolate bread.

  • 4 bags of chai tea
  • handful of fresh mint leaves
  • juice of half a lime
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp rganic honey or coconut palm syrup
  • 1 cup full fat coconut milk (the cream mixed in)
  • 2 cups water

Add 2 cups of water and the tea bags in a pot and bring to boil. Add crushed mint leaves and let steep for about 10 minutes, or longer if you want the taste to be stronger. Strain out mint leaves and remove tea bags. Add in 2 dl of cold water. Add the mixed coconut milk, honey, vanilla extract and lime juice. Mix. Fill the ice pop molds and freeze until firm. Enjoy!

Tip: You can pour the coconut milk & chai tea mixture into the mold with varying intensity, freezing one section at a time to create nice patterns.  Of course an easier way is to pour the mixture in at once, the taste is at least as good.

Popcorn :

  • ¼ cup organic popcorn kernels
  • 2 tbsp cold-pressed coconut oil for frying
  • a pinch sea salt

Add coconut oil into a large pot. Heat the oil, add the corn kernels and close the lid. Bake until all of the corn kernels are popped. Rock the boiler so that the grains do not burn. Add a pinch of sea salt. Prepare the chocolate mass.

Rosemary raw chocolate :

  • 1 cup melted raw cacao mass (or cocoa butter + raw cocoa powder)
  • 2 tbsp cold-pressed coconut oil
  • 3 tbsp local organic honey
  • 3 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
  • a pinch sea salt

Grate the cocoa mass into a heat-resistant bowl. Add coconut oil. Melt the mixture. Add honey, rosemary and salt. Taste and if necessary, add sweetness or some spices.

Take about one fourth of a cup of popcorn and mix about half of the chocolate mass in a bowl with the popcorn. Place the chocolate popcorns on a flat dish / plate with a spoon. Sprinkle more popcorn on top and pour in the remaining chocolate. Sprinkle some chopped rosemary on top of it all. Put the chocolate popcorn in the freezer for about 15 mins. Enjoy! Store in a refrigerator.

( gluten-free, dairy-free )

  • 4 dl almond flour (or coconut flour)
  • 1 dl raw cocoa powder
  • 1 dl coconut palm sugar (or 6 tablespoons of locally produced honey )
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3 organic eggs
  • 1 dl melted butter ( or coconut oil )
  • 1.5 dl oat milk ( or rice milk, coconut water, etc.)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Pinch of celtic sea salt
  • + 3 tablespoons raw cocoa nibs (optional, but recommended)

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees (Celcius). Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add eggs, melted butter/oil, liquids and spices and mix. Stir in some raw cocoa nibs to give the cup cakes some crunchiness. Spoon the batter into cup cake molds and bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes. The center of the cup cakes should remain a little bit soft. Allow to cool before frosting.

Raw chocolate glaze

  • 1 dl of dates
  • 4 tablespoons of raw cacao powder
  • 3 tablespoons melted extra virgin coconut oil

Mix all ingredients in a blender to a smooth paste. If necessary, add a few tablespoons of water to make the mixture soft. Apply generously on the cup cakes.

Sprinkle some raw cocoa powder or grated raw chocolate on top.

Vegan

  • 1 ¾ cups cashew nuts
  • 1 ¾ cups coconut milk
  • 2 probiotic capsules
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder or seeds from vanilla bean
  • 1-2 bananas

 

Soak the nuts for a couple of hours, or use without soaking. Blend nuts, banana and coconut milk in a blender at full speed until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into a glass jar. Open probiotic capsules and pour the powder into the jar, mix. Cover the jar, for example, with folded gauze/fabric and secure the mouth of the jar with a rubber band. Leave the mixture at room temperature for 6 to 12 hours. The longer you ferment it, the stronger the taste. Add vanilla and cool the yogurt in a refrigerator. Store in a resealable jar in the refrigerator and consume within one week.

  • 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
  • 1 tbsp of chia-seeds (optional)
  • 1 ¼ cups almond milk (or for example oat milk or rice milk)
  • 1 tbsp unsweetened smooth almond or nut butter of your taste
  • 1 tbsp organic honey or coconut syrup
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder / vanilla seeds
  • ½ tsp of Ceylon cinnamon
  • On top: banana slices

 

Pour all other ingredients except the banana into a jar and stir carefully with a spoon. Close the lid and leave the mixture to sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning top with banana slices and enjoy your lovely breakfast!

  • 1 cup oat milk (or coconut milk or other desired milk drink)
  • 5 – 8 tbsp chia seeds (depending how thick you want the pudding to be)
  • 4 fresh and pitted dates
  • 2 tbsp of smooth peanut butter or other nut butter (e.g almond butter)
  • ½ dl of raw cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

 

Add all ingredients to the blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and add some spices if desired. Let the mixture thicken for 15 minutes or over night. Serve for example with almond crust, banana slices or coconut flakes. Enjoy! Store in a sealable jar in the fridge.

  • 1 box of organic grapes
  • 1 tsp of honey
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Wash the grapes carefully. After rinsing, dry the grapes. Put in a freezer and freeze for about one hour. Puree the frozen grapes, for example in a blender. Stir in the honey and vanilla. Pour into a bowl and enjoy.

ALMOND MILK

  • 2 dl of almonds
  • ½ dl of water
  • 2 dates
  • ½ tsp pure vanilla powder

Soak the almonds for 5 hours or overnight or use without soaking. Blend almonds, dates, and water into a smooth mixture in a blender. Strain the pulp for example with a cheese cloth. Season with pure vanilla powder.

/

OAT MILK

  • 2 dl rolled oats
  • ½ dl water
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp pure vanilla powder
  • ¼ tsp sea salt

Rinse oats and soak them for about half an hour or overnight. After soaking, rinse the oatmeal in order to get out the “oat slime”. Put the oatmeal to a blender with the water. Add water if you want your milk to be more watery. Blend at full speed for about 15 seconds. Strain the milk and remove the remaining pulp for any future use. Rinse the blender and pour the milk back in. Blend again and strain again. Add desired spices. Store in a fridge and use within 4-5 days. Shake before use!

/

SESAME MILK

  • 2 dl sesame seeds
  • ½ l of water
  • 4 dates
  • ½ tsp pure vanilla powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Soak the sesame seeds for about 6 hours or overnight. Soak the dates in separate container. Rinse the seeds. Add the water, seeds and dates into a blender. Blend at full speed for about 30 seconds. Strain. Add the spices and stir. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight bottle or jar and enjoy within 4-5 days. Shake before use!

+

CASHEW MILK

  • 2 dl cashew nuts or other desired nuts
  • ½ l of water
  • 2 dates

Soak the nuts overnight, or use without soaking. Rinse and blend all together, season/sweeten as desired, strain and enjoy.

HEMP MILK

  • 2 dl hemp seeds or other seeds of your choice
  • ½ l of water
  • 2 dates

Soak the seeds overnight or use without soaking. Rinse, blend with water, season as desired, strain, enjoy.

RICE MILK

  • 1 dl of rice
  • 0.8 l of water
  • vanilla bean

Boil the rice and vanilla bean in water until the rice is cooked. Remove the vanilla bean and blend the mixture in a blender. Allow to cool down, sweeten if necessary and strain the drink.

QUINOA MILK

  • 1 dl quinoa
  • 0.8 l water
  • 2 dates

Rinse the quinoa. You might want to soak them overnight and rinse in the morning again. Cook quinoa in water until done. Pour into blender and add a couple of dl of water. Blend and add more water if necessary. Spice up/sweeten as you like and strain the drink.

  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp organic honey
  • +1 tbs juice of a lime (try also pineapple juice!)

Blend coconut milk, vanilla extract (or vanilla powder) and honey in a blender until smooth. Pour mixture into popsticle molds and freeze. Enjoy!

  • 1 cup organic butter
  • 1 cup cold-pressed organic oils according to your taste (e.g. olive oil, almond oil, hemp oil, flax seed oil…)
  • spices and herbs such as dill, rosemary, thyme, black pepper, lemon peel and garlic.

Let the butter melt at room temperature until soft. Scoop it into a blender and add oils. Blend until smooth. Add spices you want. Pour the mixture into a box or jar and refrigerate.

  • 2 cans of full fat coconut milk (refrigerated overnight)
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder
  • 1 tsp honey or stevia for example

Take coconut milk cans out of the fridge. Open cans and remove all the solid coconut cream / white stuff and scoop it into a bowl. Mix cream in a bowl with beaters until fluffy. Mix in honey or stevia and other flavoring. Use right away. If the mixture is too runny, place it in the refrigerator for a while. Store the leftover in the fridge and use within 3 days.

Coconut pancakes

(gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free)

3 tbsp coconut flour

¼ cup coconut milk ( store in the refrigerator in order to get the coconut whipped cream from the same can)

3 tbsp of extra virgin coconut oil

3 organic eggs

½ tsp baking powder

2 tbsp honey

a pinch of sea salt

+1 tsp vanilla extract (optional but warmly recommended)

Melt the coconut oil until liquid. Open coconut milk can, scrape out the white thick cream attached to the lid and place it in a bowl and put it in the fridge. (You will use it to make the whipped coconut cream.) Add the liquid part of the coconut milk and all the remaining ingredients into a bowl and mix with a hand blender until smooth. The dough should be somewhat thick, but pourable. If the dough feels too thick, add a little coconut milk.

Heat a frying pan until hot. Use a small dab of coconut oil for frying. Fry the pancakes over medium heat. When a pancake is bubbling in the middle and the edges start to get some brown color, gently push a wide spatula under the pancake from every direction and then turn the pancake over. Fry until light brownish.

Serve with coconut whipped cream and chia-strawberry jam!

(gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free)

Cake tin diameter: 17 cm

BASE:

2 soft steamed beets

3 organic eggs

0,5 cup raw cocoa powder

0,5 cup almond flour (or for example coconut flour)

0,5 cup fat / oil (for example organic butter, olive or coconut oil, or 50:50)

5 tbsp organic honey

1,5 tsp baking powder

1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ tsp nutmeg

½ teaspoon of cinnamon

2 tablespoons rum (optional)

Pinch of sea salt

Set the oven to 175 Celsius degrees. Peel, chop and steam the beets so that they become a little bit soft. (You can keep some of the dyed water for coloring the cake filling). Stir in the beets and eggs in a blender. Add raw cocoa powder, almonds and melted butter / oil, honey, baking powder and psyllium husk powder. Season with vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, rum and sea salt. Cut a circular piece of baking paper on the bottom of the cake mold, so that the cake is easy to move later. Grease the sides and pour the batter into the tin. Bake the cake in the oven for 35-45 minutes. Stick a match stick into the cake to test if it’s ready – if no dough sticks on it when you pull it out, your cake is baked. Take the cake out of the oven and allow to cool before cutting and decorating.

PINK FILLING:

0,5 cup macadamia nuts (or, for instance cashew nuts)

5 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp organic honey

Juice of half a lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt

+Pink colour by adding e.g. red beet juice or some berry powder.

Chop the nuts, for example in a blender. Add melted coconut oil, honey and lemon juice. Mix until smooth. Add vanilla extract and a little bit of salt. Mix. Colour the filling, for example by adding some water left from steaming the beetroots, or by using some berry powder.

GORGEOUS CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

8 fresh Dates

5 tbsp raw cocoa powder

5 tbsp coconut oil

1/4 cup water

Pinch of sea salt

Puree the dates and melted coconut oil in a blender. Add water and raw cocoa powder. Mix to a smooth paste. Add a dash of sea salt. Add some water, if the mixture is too thick.

STACKING:

Place the cooled cake on a serving tray. Cut the cake in half horizontally with a sharp knife. Spread the light pink filling on the bottom piece of the cake. Grate some raw chocolate or raw cocoa mass into the filling. Place the upper half of the cake on upon filling. Frost the cake with chocolate glaze. Grate some raw chocolate or raw cocoa mass onto the surface. Decorate the cake with dried berries and chocolate covered berries. Serve and enjoy! Store leftover cake in the refrigerator.*