vegan

Vanilla Nice Cream & Chocolate Chia Pudding

Nice Cream:
2 frozen bananas
a dash of vanilla powder
2 tbsp oat milk

Place the ingredients into a blender and blend until soft serve.

Chia Pudding:
1 cups oat milk
3 fresh pitted dates
2 tbsp raw cocoa powder

Place the ingredients into a blender. Pour the mix into a jar and stir in 1/4 cup chia seeds. Leaving to thicken for 10 mins, stir and put into a fridge for 1 hour or more.

Fill half of a bowl with vanilla nice cream and the other half with chocolate chia pudding. Top with your favorite topping, for example banana slices, coconut shavings, raw chocolate and dates.

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Bellini Chia Jam

4 fresh peaches or 1,5 cup canned peaches, cut to pieces
1 tbsp juices from a lemon
4 tbsp maple syrup
⅓ cup prosecco
3 tbsp chia seeds

If you’re using fresh peaches, place them into a small saucepan cook on low heat until softened. If you’re using peaches from a can, use them as they are.
Place the fruits, lemon juice, syrup and prosecco into a blender and pulse a few times. Pour the mixture into a jar and stir in the chia seeds. The more you add chia seeds the thicker the jam will be. Leave to thicken for 10 minutes, stir and allow to cool completely and thicken more. Store sealed in the fridge.

Vanelja’s Mother’s Day Cake

vegan, gluten-free

Cake:

½ cup oat milk
4 tbsp ground flax seeds
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
⅔ cup applesauce, unsweetened
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup almond meal by Risenta
⅔ cup oat flour (or grind rolled oats in the blender)
½ cup coconut sugar
2 tsp baking powder
tiny pinch sea salt

Filling & on top:

Coconut whipped cream or soy whip
fresh berries
banana
almond flakes

Tin diameter: 16-18 cm / 6,5 – 7 inches

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F degrees. Mix the oat milk and ground flax in a small bowl and leave to thicken for 10 mins.

In the meantime measure the coconut oil, applesauce, apple cider vinegar and vanilla in a big bowl and stir well. Mix the almond meal, oat flour, coconut sugar, baking powder and salt in another bowl and mix then with the wet ingredients. Stir in also the flax gel. Grease a cake tin with coconut oil and pour in the cake dough. Bake for about 40-45 mins, until a toothpick comes out clean. Note that the texture of the cake should be a bit moist.

Take the cake out of the oven and let cool completely. Split the cake in two with a sharp knife. Fill with coconut whipped cream or soy whip and banana slices. Set the other half on top of the lower half and frost the cake with coconut whipped cream or soy whip and place lots of fresh berries on top. Finalize with edible flowers.

Vanelja’s Apple Pie

Plant-based, vegan, gluten-free, naturally sweetened

2 tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp water
1 ½ cup rolled oats
½ cup almond meal
¾ cup coconut sugar
1 tsp baking soda
tiny pinch of sea salt
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
½ tsp cardamom
⅔ cup natural oat yoghurt or almond yoghurt

On top:

1-2 sweet apples
½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
almond flakes

Cake tin diameter: 18-20 cm / 7-8 inches

Preheat the oven to 225 C / 430 F degrees.
Measure the ground flax and water into a small bowl or drinking glass. Stir and leave to thicken for 5 minutes.

In the meantime place the rolled oats into a blender and blend until flour. Pour into a bowl and pour the rest of the dough into a bowl and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Stir in also the flax gel. Cover the bottom of the cake tin with a piece of parchment paper. Separate 2 tbsp batter into a small plate and pour the rest of the batter into a cake tin and smoothen the surface.
Remove the cores from the apples and cut the apples into very thin slices. Stack the slices in overlapping rows into a circle on the dough. Press the slices gently so that they go a bit deeper into the batter. Add small chunks of the remaining batter you had set aside here and there on top of the apple slices. Sprinkle on some cinnamon. Top with a small handful of almond flakes. Bake for about 25-30 minutes until you get a nice golden color.

Take out of the oven and let cool slightly. (Note, If you’re using a smaller cake tin you might have to bake the cake a bit longer to get it done. Cover then with a foil to prevent the apples from browning.) Serve for example with vanilla nice cream or vanilla sauce of your choice.

Blackcurrant Oat Yogurt Bites

Makes about 12

½ cup oat yogurt 
½ cup blackcurrants
2-3 tbsp cashew butter (or other nut butter)

Pour the yoghurt into a bowl and stir in the blackcurrants. (If you like it to be sweeter, stir in a couple of drops of stevia or sweetener of your choice.) Spoon in the cashew butter and lightly stir with a spoon so that it leaves nice white stripes. Spoon into chocolate molds or ice cube molds and freeze for a couple of hours.

Vanelja’s White Hot Chocolate

(for two)

1 can (400 ml) full fat coconut milk
¼ cup oat milk or almond milk (I used Kaslink Aito Kaurajuoma Barista)
1 ½ tbsp cocoa butter, grated
1 tbsp maple syrup (or a couple of drops of stevia)
1 tbsp coconut butter, for extra creaminess
½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon, ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp vanilla powder & a pinch of sea salt

On top:

Oat Whip or Coconut whipped cream (I used Kaslink Aito Kaura Vispi)
1 tsp beet powder or pink pitaya powder
Ceylon cinnamon
grated cocoa butter

Measure the coconut milk oat milk, maple syrup, coconut butter and spices into a pot and bring to boil while stirring constantly. Take off the heat and taste the mixture. Add some of the spices or sweetness, if desired. Prepare the whipped cream in a bowl. Stir in some beet powder to give it a nice pink color. Divide the white hot chocolate into two mugs and top with whipped cream, cinnamon and grated cocoa butter. Serve & enjoy while hot.

 

Summer Kisses

12 cookies (recipe below)⠀
whipped coconut cream (recipe below)⠀
12 big strawberries⠀
raw chocolate or dark chocolate
⠀⠀
p e a n u t b u t t e r c o o k i e s:⠀

1 cup almond flour⠀
¼ cup xylitol (or erythritol or coconut sugar)⠀
1 tsp baking soda⠀
½ tsp vanilla powder⠀
½ cup peanut butter⠀
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted⠀
pinch sea salt⠀

c o c o n u t w h i p p e d c r e a m:

2 cans (á 400 g) full fat coconut milk or coconut cream, kept in the fridge
2-4 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract⠀

Cookies: ⠀
Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit degrees. In a large mixing bowl combine all the ingredients and mix well. Divide the dough into 12 small balls. Flatten the balls with your fingers on a baking tray covered with baking paper to get round cookies. Bake for 10 minutes, until golden. Take out of the oven. Let cool completely. The cookies are really soft at this point. They will harden in 30 mins or so. ⠀

Whipped coconut cream:
Scoop out the white thick paste from the coconut milk cans into a bowl. Add syrup & vanilla. Whip with a stand mixer. If the mixture becomes too runny, place it in the fridge for a while.⠀

Assembly: ⠀
Place the whipped coconut cream in a piping bag. Place one strawberry on top of each cookie. Frost the cookies with the whipped coconut cream so that it totally covers the strawberry. Place the cookies into the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour so that the frosting hardens. Dip the whipped cream top in melted chocolate. Pop back into the fridge to harden. Top with flowers.

Big Fat Chocolate Smoothie

1/4 cup almond butter
1/2 avocado
3 tbsp raw cocoa powder
3 tbsp chia seeds
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or oat milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
some stevia or maple syrup to taste
tiny pinch of sea salt

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add more sweetness, if desired. Leave to thicken for 10 mins (in the fridge if you like it cooler). Enjoy as it is or top for example with berries & nut butter.

Chocolate Frosted Blueberry Nice Cream Balls

2 cans full fat coconut milk
4 tbsp white almond butter (or norman almond butter or some nut butter)
⅓ cup blueberries (preferably wild blueberries)
1 pipet vanilla stevia

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add more sweetness, if you like. Pour into a bowl and chill in the freezer for 45 mins so that the mixture gets cold. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and prepare ice cream according to the instructions of the manufacturer. If the ice cream is not hard enough you can still freeze it for 1 hour in the freezer. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can just freeze the mixture in the freezer for about 3 hours, or until you get a good consistency, stirring the mixture every 30 minutes. Thaw on the counter for 5 minutes.

Scoop out balls from the ice cream and keep them in the freezer for 30 minutes. In the meantime melt some raw chocolate or sugar-free dark chocolate. Dip the ice cream balls in the chocolate so that they get a nice thick frosting. Freeze 10 more minutes or more so that the chocolate hardens. Serve and enjoy! (If the ice cream feels too hard, let it thaw a while before serving.)

Gingerbread Tiramisu Dream Cake

Cream filling:
1 cup cashew nuts, soaked for 30 mins & rinsed
½ cup oat milk or coconut milk or 1:1
2-3 tbsp juice from a lemon
4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp coconut syrup or some liquid stevia
½ tsp vanilla powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt

Mocha filling:
½ cup cashew nuts, soaked for 30 mins & rinsed
½ cup almond meal
4 tbsp raw cocoa powder
¼ cup coffee (I used Lost Leaf espresso blend by Keakoffee through Slurp)
¼ cup oat milk or coconut milk or 1:1
4 tbsp coconut syrup or some liquid stevia
1 tsp gingerbread spice mix
4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
pinch of sea salt
+ 1 tbsp rum, if desired

Tin size: 15 x 15 cm

Place all the ingredients of the cream filling into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add some of the spices or sweetener, if desired. Pour into a bowl. Place then all the ingredients of the mocha filling into the blender & blend until smooth. Taste and add some of the spices or sweetener, if desired. Pour the mocha filling into a cake tin covered with parchment paper. Pour the cream filling on top. Sprinkle some cocoa powder on top and freeze until solid. Take out of the freezer, let thaw for 15 mins & enjoy!

Berrylicious Cacao Dream Cake

Crust:
1 ¼ cup almonds
6 fresh dates, pitted
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp coconut butter/coconut manna, melted (or coconut oil, melted)
pinch of sea salt
½ tsp cardamom

Base:
2 cups cashew nuts, soaked for 1 hour & rinsed
½ cup full-fat coconut milk
juices from half a lemon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (or ½ tsp vanilla powder)
½ cup coconut oil, melted (prefer neutral taste)
¼ cup maple syrup

Cacao filling:
Half of the base filling + 3 tbsp raw cacao powder + ½ cup Yosa Cocoa Oat Drink (or ½ cup oat milk and 1 tbsp more raw cacao powder)

Berry filling:
Half of the base filling + ¼ cup raspberries (and/or blueberries) + 4 tbsp Yosa Oat Snack Forest Berries (or ¼ cup more berries)

Crust:
Place a piece of parchment paper onto the bottom of the can tin. Place almonds into a blender. Blend until fine crust. Add the rest of the ingredients. Blend until moldable dough. Separate about ½ cup of the mixture into a bowl. Press the rest of the dough firmly onto the bottom of the cake tin. Roll the dough you separated into small balls.

Filling:
Place all the base filling ingredients in a blender. Blend until as smooth as possible. The mixture will remain quite crumbly at this point. Separate half of the mixture into a bowl. Place the cacao filling ingredients into the blender. Blend with the remaining base mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into the cake tin. Freezer for 30 mins. Wash the blender, pour in the remaining base mixture and add in the berry filling ingredients. Blend until smooth. Spoon the pink filling on top of the cacao layer. Freeze until solid. Decorate with the truffles you’ve made. Let thaw for about 30-45 mins. Enjoy!

Happy Chubby Cookies

keto & vegan
makes about 15

1 cup almond flour
3 tbsp coconut flour
1 tbsp flax meal
¼ cup peanut butter
¼ cup almond butter
½ cup oat milk
1 – 1 ½ tsp of liquid stevia
½ tsp cardamom
pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius / 400 Fahrenheit degrees. Mix the almond flour, coconut flour and flax meal in a bowl. Stir in the peanut butter, almond butter, oat milk, stevia & spices. Mix well. Taste and add more sweetness, if desired. Place the bowl into a freezer, for about 30 mins. The dough should be thick and a bit sticky but easily moldable.
Roll the dough into balls and place it on a cookie sheet or tray covered with parchment paper. Press down the cookies twice with a fork, or with your fingers or with a glass or plate with a nice pattern in it. If you use glass, put a bit of melted coconut oil on it so that the dough won’t stick. Bake for 15 mins until slightly golden. Take out of the oven & let cool. Dip the cookies into melted chocolate & enjoy!

Mocha Dream Cake

Crust:
½ cup pecan nuts
½ cup almonds
7 fresh dates, pitted
½ tsp cardamom
pinch of sea salt

Filling:
2 cups cashews, soaked for 1 hour and then rinsed
juices from half a lemon
½ cup coconut oil, melted (with neutral taste)
½ cup coconut syrup
⅓ cup oat milk +2 tbsp instant coffee & 3 tbsp raw cocoa powder

On top:
Raw cocoa fudges or raw chocolate

Pan diameter: 18 cm / 7 inches

Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of a cake pan. Place the almonds & nuts into a blender and blend until crust. Add dates, cardamom and salt and blend until moldable dough. Press the dough firmly into the bottom of the cake pan.

Place all the filling ingredients (except instant coffee & raw cocoa powder) into a blender and blend until smooth. Add some oat milk, if needed, to get a smooth texture, still keeping it as thick as possible. Pour half of the mixture into the cake pan and smooth out the surface. Add coffee & cocoa powder to the blender and blend with the remaining mixture. Taste and add some of the 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 two fillings. Place the cake pan into the freezer for about 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. Serve & enjoy!

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.

Roasted Vanilla Pears

4 ripe pears, cut in half & seeds removed 3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp coconut syrup (or maple syrup)
1⁄2 tsp vanilla powder

Cashew Cream, for serving
1 recipe Nut Crust, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit / 200° Celcius. Place the pears on a baking tray. Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan on low heat. Add the coconut syrup and vanilla and mix well. Pour the mixture evenly over the pears and bake for about 20 minutes or until the pears are soft. Remove the pears from the oven, top with Cashew Cream and Nut Crumble. Serve and enjoy!


Cashew Cream:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 30mins & rinsed
1⁄2 cup water
1 tbsp coconut syrup (or maple syrup)
1⁄2 tsp vanilla powder tiny pinch of sea salt

Place all the ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.


Nut Crumble:

1/3 cup pecans
1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 fresh dates, pitted & chopped

Place all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until a crumble forms.

Vanelja’s Licorice Nice Cream

4 ripe bananas, frozen & cut to pieces
3-5 tbsp coconut milk (or almond milk)
2 tbsp dark tahini
1 tsp licorice extract powder (or 3 tsp licorice powder)
1/2 tsp activated charcoal
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Blend until soft serve. Add a bit more liquid, if needed. Taste and add some of the ingredients, if needed. Enjoy right away or freeze for 30 mins.

Vanelja’s Avocado Goddess Burgers

Makes 4

4 ripe but firm avocados
herbs
4 pineapple slices
organic mayo/ vegan mayo
fresh coriander
salad leaves

Veggie burgers:

Preparation time 25 min
Approximately 10 pcs

2 dl sun-dried tomatoes
1 dl sunflower seeds
1 dl cashew nuts (or for example hazelnuts or seeds)
1 red onion
1 tbsp Tamari sauce
pinch of sea salt
black pepper
+ any other spices to your liking

Heat the oven to 200 Celsius degrees. Rinse the sundried tomatoes and place them into a blender or a mixer. Add seeds, nuts and mix to a flour type crumb. If your blender is very small do this in two batches. Transfer mix to a bowl. Chop in the onion. Add soy sauce and spices. Taste and add any spices to your preference. Shape to about 10 small burger patties to a baking sheet lined tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Store in the fridge and use within a week.

Use for example with avocado buns which you prepare by cutting an avocado in half, removing the skin and stone and filling the avocado burger with a salad leave, veggie patty, mayo (vegan, if you like), pineapple slice and fresh coriander. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and enjoy!

Snickers Moon Balls

Makes about 12 truffles

2 cups peanuts
½ cup raw cocoa powder
7 fresh dates, pitted
3 tbsp maple syrup
pinch of sea salt
peanut butter
100 g / 3,5 oz raw chocolate or dark chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit degrees.
Spread the peanuts onto a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Roast the nuts in the oven for 15 minutes stirring once after 10 minutes.

Let the nuts cool and pour them into a blender. Blend until fine crust. Separate about ¼ cup of the mixture into a small bowl. Add cocoa powder, pitted dates, maple syrup and salt into the blender. Blend until moldable dough. Take about 1 tbsp of the dough and create a ball. Press your thumb inside the ball to create a hole. Add about 1 tsp peanut butter into the hole. Press the sides of the truffle to cover the hole. Prepare the rest of the dough the same way. Dip each ball into melted chocolate. A good tip is to use a toothpick for dipping. Sprinkle on the peanut crust you saved. Freeze the truffles for 1 hour. Serve and enjoy. Store in the fridge or freezer.

Vanilla Choco Nice Cream Sandwiches

About 4 big or 6 small pieces

Vanilla n’ice cream:

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

Place all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. You may have to scoop down the sides. Pour the ice cream mixture into a freezer-safe tin and freeze for about 30 mins. 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 easily moldable. Add 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 cookies 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 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 backside of one cookie. Place another cookie on top of the ice cream and press down gently. Drip some chocolate frosting on top of the sandwiches and top with shredded coconut. Freeze for 30-60 minutes.

Vanelja’s Raw Magnums with PB & Jam

(Makes about 6 popsicles)

Ice cream:
1 cup cashews, soaked 5 hours or overnight, then rinsed
½ cup full-fat coconut milk
½ cup coconut yoghurt, natural & unsweetened
1 tsp lemon juice
1 dropperful liquid stevia
1 tsp xylitol
1 tsp vanilla extract

Jam:
2/3 cup raspberries
3 tbsp chia seeds

Filling:
peanut butter

Frosting:
raw chocolate or dark chocolate

Place all the ice cream ingredients into a blender and blend until super smooth. Add a bit more liquid, if needed, but keep as thick as possible. Taste and add sweetness, if desired.
Pour the ice cream mixture into ice cream molds and freeze for 2 hours until solid. In the meantime prepare the chia jam.
Mash the raspberries and stir in the chia seeds. Add some stevia, if you like. Leave to thicken for 2 hours.

Take the ice cream pops from the freezer and remove the molds. Spread about 1-2 tbsp peanut butter on top of each popsicle. The spread on the chia jam. Put in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Melt the chocolate and dip the ice creams in it. Top for example with peanut butter swirls or coconut flakes. Put back into the freezer for 30 mins, until solid. If you store the popsicles in the freezer longer, let them thaw for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Bread Pizza

9-10 slices of oat bread (100% oat)
tomato purée
organic mozzarella or vegan cheese
artichoke hearts (canned)
cherry tomatoes
loads of fresh herbs, such as basil, oregano & rocket

Cut the breads into sectors and form a round pizza base from them. (You can save the excess bread slices you cut off and for example bake them in an oven to make crackers.) spread tomato purée on top of your pizza base and sprinkle on plenty of cheese. top with artichoke hearts & sliced tomatoes. Bake in 200 C / 400 F degrees for about 10 minutes until the cheese has melted. Take out of the oven and serve with lots of herbs.

Vanelja’s 3 Ingredient Plum Pie

2 cups sweet plums, cut into slices
1 ⅓ cup (3 dl) rolled oats
4 tbsp melted coconut oil
+ 1/2 tsp cardamom & 2-3 tbsp coconut sugar or erythritol for extra sweetness, if desired

Pan size: 7 inches/18 cm

Preheat the oven to 425 F/225 C degrees. Place half of the plum slices in a blender. Puree until smooth. Add rolled oats and coconut oil. Blend well. Taste and add some coconut sugar and cardamom, if desired. Cover the bottom of a cake pan with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Cover the surface of the pie with the remaining plum slices. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until nicely golden and the sides and the surface look done and dry. Take out from the oven and let cool. Serve and enjoy for example with coconut whipped cream. Store covered at room temperature or in the fridge.

Creamy Almond Butter

4 cups almonds
sea salt
vanilla
honey
raw chocolate

Place the almonds in a food processor/blender. Process for about 5 minutes, scrape down the sides a few times in between blending. Flavor with sea salt, vanilla, honey or raw chocolate.

Strawberry Creamsicles with Raw Chocolate Frosting & Clover Flower Sprinkles

2 cups organic strawberries
1,5 cup cashew nuts (soaked for 1 hour)
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
few drops of stevia

Cut strawberries into pieces snd remove stems. Add strawberries, soaked&drained cashews and coconut oil into a blender and blend until smooth. Add vanilla and a few drops of stevia and mix. Check the taste. Pour the mixture into ice pop molds and freeze until solid.
Frost with melted raw chocolate and sprinkle some clover flower pieces or for example nut crust on. Serve & enjoy!

Midsummer Pancake Cake

serves 6

Pancake:

1.5 cup full-fat almond flour
1 cup gluten-free oat flour
3 tbsp ground flaxseeds

5 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp coconut sugar
pinch of sea salt

2 cups oat milk
1 tbsp coconut oil

Coconut Whipped Cream:

2 (14-ounce) cans of full-fat coconut milk (refrigerated overnight)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp coconut syrup or raw organic honey

On top:

3 ripe bananas fresh berries

Open the coconut milk cans and scoop the white thick paste into a bowl. Add the vanilla and syrup and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. If the mixture becomes too runny, place it in the fridge or freezer until firm.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add oat milk. Mix. Leave to thicken for about 10 min. Cover a baking tray with parchment paper and grease it with coconut oil. Pour the dough onto the tray. Spread evenly so that the pancake is about half-inch thick. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Take from the oven and let cool. Prepare the coconut whipped cream.

Cut the pancake into 6 equal-sized pieces. Pile the pieces into a cake and add coconut whipped cream and banana slices in between pieces. Frost with coconut whipped cream. Top with berries. Serve and enjoy!

Chai Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tbsp flaxseed meal and 5 tbsp water (or 2 local organic eggs)
½ cup oat milk or almond milk
2 cups almond meal
1 cup rolled oats
1 ½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
¾ tsp cardamom
¼ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp erythritol (or coconut sugar)

Pan size: Approx. 20 x 10 cm / 8 x 4 inches

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F degrees. Grease a loaf pan and set it aside. Mix the flaxseed meal and water in a bowl and let thicken for 5 mins. In a big bowl mix all the ingredients. Pour into the loaf pan. Bake for 40 mins or until done inside. Take out of the oven and let cool completely. Serve for example with peanut butter and raspberry chia jam.

Vanelja’s Healing Hot Chocolate

(Keto & Plant-based)

2 cups oat milk (or almond milk)
1 tbsp instant Chaga powder
1 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp raw cacao powder
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom
½ tsp vanilla powder
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of sea salt
1 dropperful liquid stevia (or 2-3 tbsp erythritol or maple syrup)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend well. Pour into a pot and bring to boil. Serve hot for example with frothed oat milk and crusted raw chocolate and almonds.

Lemon Cardamom Cookies

(keto & plant-based)

1 cup almond flour
¼ cup erythritol or xylitol
1 dropperful liquid stevia
3 tbsp coconut oil or grass-fed butter, melted
lemon zest from one lemon
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp cardamom

Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit degrees. Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix with your hands until moldable dough. Cover a baking tray with a baking sheet and divide the dough into 8-10 balls. Flatten the balls with your fingers. When flattened you can cut them with a cookie-cutter into a certain shape or leave them round. Bake for 8-10 minutes until slightly golden on the sides. Take out of the oven and let cool completely before removing them.


Glaze:

¼ cup erythritol, powdered
2 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp vanilla extract

Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix. If you don’t have powdered erythritol you can make it by blending normal erythritol full-speed in a blender so that it turns into powder. (Remember to close the lid well!) Spread the glaze on top of the cookies and decorate with dried edible flowers and leave to set for 10 mins before serving.

Pumpkin Curry & Cauliflower Coconut Rice

Pumpkin Curry:

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves
1-2 tsp ginger, grated
1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp curry
2 tsp ground cumin
1⁄2 tsp ground cardamom
500 g butternut squash, peeled & cut to cubes
200 g can chickpeas, drained
a handful of green beans
400 g can tomato sauce or diced tomato
400 g coconut milk

Heat a large pan and add the onion & garlic. Cook stirring for 2 mins. Add ginger,
cinnamon, turmeric, curry, cumin & cardamom. Cook for 2 mins. Add the tomato sauce & coconut milk. Bring to boil. Add the butternut squash, chickpeas & green peas. Cook covered on low heat for 25 mins. Taste and add seasoning, if needed. Meanwhile, prepare the cauliflower rice.

 

Cauliflower Rice:

1 medium cauliflower
1 tbsp coconut oil
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ cup coconut milk

Cut the cauliflower into small florets and place them into a blender or food processor with the shredder blade. Pulse into fine rice-sized crust, not into a puree. Heat a large pan with coconut oil in it. Add the cauliflower rice and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the salt and coconut milk. Serve warm with the pumpkin curry.

Blackcurrant Tea Buns & Blackcurrant Chia Jam

1 ½ cup almond flour
¼ cup coconut flour
2 bags Clipper Blackcurrant Black Tea
5 tbsp psyllium husk
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt

1 cup hot water
2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

On top: sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 175 C / 380 F degrees. Cover a baking tray with a baking sheet. Mix the almond flour, coconut flour, tea (cut the tea bags open and pour the tea mixture in the bowl), psyllium husk, baking powder and salt in a big bowl. Pour in hot water, apple cider vinegar and oil. Stir and leave to thicken for 10 mins. The dough should be now soft and easily moldable. Form 6 small balls from the dough and set them on the baking tray. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until slightly golden. Take out of the oven and let cool completely.


Blackcurrant Chia Jam:

1 cup blackcurrants, fresh or frozen
2-3 tbsp chia seeds
1 dropperful liquid stevia or 2 tbsp maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla

Measure the blackcurrants in a bowl. If using frozen berries, thaw them first. Stir in the chia seeds, sweetener and vanilla. Leave to thicken for 10 minutes. Taste and add seasoning, if needed. Store in a sealable jar in the fridge and use within a week.

Snickers Popcorn

⅔ cup / 2 dl popping corn kernels (or 100 g ready popcorn)
¼ tsp sea salt
½ cup peanut butter, unsweetened
2 tbsp erythritol
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp raw cacao powder
2 tbsp crushed raw chocolate or dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 150 C / 300 F degrees. Prepare popcorns according to the instructions of your popping corn package. When ready pour the popcorns into a big bowl and mix in the salt. Place the peanut butter, erythritol, coconut oil and cacao powder in a saucepan and cook on low-medium heat stirring constantly so that you get an even sauce. Pour the sauce on top of the popcorns and stir. Stir in also the crushed chocolate chunks. Pour the mixture on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool. Enjoy!

Gingerbread Fat Bombs

(Keto, Vegan)

makes 12

Truffles:

2 cups almond flour
3-4 tbsp erythritol, powdered *
1 dropperful liquid stevia
8-10 tbsp local grass-fed butter, melted OR IF VEGAN: mild coconut oil, melted
2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
½ tsp powdered ginger
½ tsp cardamom
1 tsp nutmeg

Glaze:

5 tbsp erythritol, powdered *
2 tsp water
½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon

Place all ingredients into a bowl and combine. Taste and add seasoning or sweetness, if desired. Mold into balls. Freeze for 30 mins. Prepare the glaze.

Measure the erythritol, cinnamon and water into a small bowl and combine. When the truffles have hardened & cooled a bit, spread about ½ tsp of the glaze on top of each truffle. Sprinkle on some cinnamon. Store in the fridge.

*You can make powdered erythritol in a blender by blending erythritol full speed for 10 seconds in a high-speed blender.

Cinnamon French Toasts with Apple Jam

4 oat breads (I used Vaasan Ohut Kaura 100)
⅓ cup oat milk
1 ½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom
½ tsp vanilla
2 tbsp erythritol or xylitol
+ 1 tsp coconut oil for frying

On top:

Whipped coconut cream
Apple Chia Jam

Toast the oat bread slices in a toaster to get them really dry and crusty. Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat. Pour the oat milk into a small bowl and stir in the spices and sweetener. Dunk each bread slice in oat milk mixture for a few seconds. Don’t over-soak them so that they don’t become soft. Place in pan and cook on both sides until golden. Serve with whipped coconut cream and apple chia jam.

Apple Chia Jam:

2 apples
¼ cup water
4 tbsp chia seeds
½ tsp vanilla powder
½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon

Blend one and a half apple in a blender and blend until smooth puree. Cut the one apple halve into tiny cubes. Place water into a small pot and add in the apple cubes. Cook on low-medium heat for a few minutes until apple cubes soften a bit. Take off the heat and pour in the apple puree, spices and chia seeds. Leave to cool down and thicken. Store in a sealed jar in a fridge and use within 5 days.

Vanelja’s Strawberry Dream Cake

Crust:

1 cup almonds
½ cup pecan nuts
4 tbsp raw cocoa powder
5 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp almond butter
1 dropperful liquid stevia (or 2 tbsp organic honey or maple syrup)
pinch sea salt

Filling:

3 cups raw cashew nuts, soaked for 1-5 hours, then rinsed
1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen & thawed)
½ cup coconut oil, melted
½ cup full-fat coconut milk
3 tbsp juice from a lemon
2 dropperfuls liquid stevia (or 4 tbsp organic honey or maple syrup)
½ tsp vanilla powder

Can tin: approx. 23 x 23 cm / 9 x 9 inches

Cover a cake tin with baking paper. Place the almonds and pecans into a high-speed blender or food processor. Blend until fine crust. Add the rest of the crust ingredients and blend until well combined. Press firmly into the cake tin.

Place all the filling ingredients into a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add a bit more liquid, if needed, so that you get the mixture super smooth, still keeping it as thick as possible. You may have to scrape down the sides occasionally. Taste and add some sweetness, if desired. Pour on top of the crust and smooth out the surface with a spoon. Freeze for 2 hours or until solid. Let thaw for 30 mins before serving. Top with LOADS of fresh berries, the more the merrier.

Blueberry Fig Dream Pie with Lavender

Filling:

2 cups cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour
1 cup oat milk, or other vegan milk
7 tbsp coconut syrup (or organic raw honey, if not vegan)
5 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla powder
1 cup coconut oil, melted
3 fresh figs
3 tbsp blueberries
1 tsp dried lavender


Crust:

1 ⅔ cup almonds
⅓ cup coconut flakes
6-7 fresh dates, pitted
tiny pinch salt

Tin size: 18-20 cm / 7-8 inches

Prepare the crust first. place the almonds and coconut flakes into a blender or food processor and blend until fine crust. Add the dates and blend until moldable dough. Take about 4-5 tbsp dough and set aside. Press the remaining dough into a cake or pie tin so that you cover also the sides. Take the dough you set aside and press it to a 0,5 cm / 0,2-inch thick plate for example on top of parchment paper. Cut with a small cookie cutter to get about 6 small cookie dough pieces, for example flower-shaped. Prepare now the filling.

Place all the filling ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth mass with no crumbs. If needed, add just a little bit more liquid to get it smooth, but keep the mixture as thick as possible. taste and add some of the spices or more sweetness, if needed. Pour the mixture into a cake tin on top of the crust. Place the cookie dough pieces on top and place them into a freezer for about 2 hours or until solid. Take out of the freezer and let thaw for about 30 minutes. Top with some fresh blueberries and lavender, if you like. Serve and enjoy!

Thick Mint Chocolate Smoothie

1 banana⁣
½ cup frozen spinach⁣
½ cup chickpeas⁣
2 tbsp almond butter⁣
5 tbsp raw cacao powder⁣
Big handful of fresh mint or peppermint leaves (or ½ tsp natural peppermint extract)⁣
1 cup oat milk⁣

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add more cacao or mint, if desired.

Tip! For the decoration, you can use coconut yoghurt and stir in some spirulina powder & peppermint extract.

Chocolate Pancakes

1 ½ ripe banana
1 cup rolled oats
¼ cup raw cocoa powder
½ cup oat milk
1 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp raw cocoa nibs

Place all ingredients, except the cocoa nibs, into the blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the cocoa nibs and leave to thicken for 5 minutes. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Drop about 2 heaping tablespoons of the batter onto the pan and cook until the surface looks almost dry. Flip and cook the other side too.

Baked bananas

2 ripe bananas
Ceylon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 175 C degrees. Cut the bananas lengthwise and sprinkle on some cinnamon. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until soft. Serve with pancakes.

Blueberry Oats

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup water
1 cup oat milk
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
½ ripe banana, sliced
1 cup wild blueberries, frozen

Add oats, water, oat milk, ginger and banana to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Stir in the blueberries and cook for a couple of minutes on low heat. Serve with baked banana, fresh date slices, tahini, seeds & berries.

Homesoul Cookies

2 very ripe bananas
½ cup peanut butter
1 ½ cup rolled oats

Optional add-ins:

3 tbsp raw cocoa nibs
1 drop of liquid stevia or 1 tbsp local organic honey or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon and/or cardamom
a small handful of berries, raisins, chopped dates etc

Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit degrees. Mash the bananas in a bowl with a fork. Stir in the peanut butter and rolled oats. Taste and add spices or sweetness, if desired. Form cookies with your hand on a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Cook for 10-15 minutes until dry and slightly golden.

Summer Passion Pudding

1 cup oat milk
1 ripe banana
2 tbsp juice from lemon
4 dandelion flowers (optional)
5 tbsp chia seeds
2 passion fruits

Blend the oat milk, banana, lemon juice & dandelion flowers in a blender until combined. Pour into a jar/container and stir in the chia seeds. Leave to thicken for 10 mins and stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve with passion fruit and for example with oat yoghurt & granola.

Vanelja’s Feel-good Blueberry Pancakes

Makes about 7 small pancakes⠀

1 ripe banana⠀
1⁄2 cup rolled oats⠀
1⁄2 cup oat milk (or other vegan milk)⠀
1 tsp baking powder⠀
1 tsp vanilla extract⠀
1⁄4 cup buckwheat flour⠀
1 tbsp coconut sugar⠀
1 tsp coconut oil, melted⠀
1/2 cup blueberries⠀

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Let the dough thicken for 10 minutes. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Drop about 2 spoonfuls of the batter onto the pan, drop a few blueberries in 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. Serve with peanut butter & blueberries.

Vanelja’s Crunchy PB Chocolate Seed Donuts

(Makes about 6)

¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup hemp seeds
¼ cup sesame seeds
¼ cup pine nuts
100 g / 3,5 oz raw chocolate or dark chocolate, naturally sweetened
3-4 tbsp peanut butter

On top:

dried rose petals, if you like

Measure the seeds and pine nuts into a bowl. Melt the chocolate and pour it onto the seed mixture. Stir well. Spoon a little bit of peanut butter on the bottom of donut molds. If you want to use rose petals, add them before the peanut butter. Add a couple of spoonfuls of chocolate seed mixture into the donut molds on top of the peanut butter. Spread evenly. Freeze for 2 hours or more until the chocolate gets hard. Take out of the freezer and immediately remove from the molds. Serve and enjoy. Store in the freezer.

Loaded Breakfast Sweet Potatoes

Serves 2⠀

2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean

On top:

coconut yoghurt, unsweetened⠀
pecan nuts⠀
hemp seeds⠀
almond butter⠀
a few slices of banana, or for example apple⠀
+ a good dash of Ceylon cinnamon ⠀

Preheat the oven to 425 F / 220 C degrees. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork (around 8 times.) Bake for 40-45 mins, until soft. Let cool. Split the tops open with a knife. Add the toppings and enjoy. Pst, PLENTY of cinnamon is not a bad idea.

Creamy Goddess Avocado Pasta

Sauce:

2 avocados, peeled, stone removed & diced
juices from half a lemon
1 cup zucchini, cut into small cubes
¼ cup cashew nuts
2 garlic cloves
5 tbsp Tesco Free From Basil Pesto
¼ cup oat cream or oat milk
big handful of fresh basil leaves
pinch of sea salt
some black pepper

Pasta:

Tesco Free From Tagliatelle Pasta (or other gluten-free pasta)

On top:

pine nuts
basil leaves
organic parmesan or vegan parmesan
extra avocado, optional
edible flowers, optional
lemon zest, optional

Cook the pasta until tender according to the instructions of the package. Place all the sauce ingredients into a high-speed blender or a food processor and blend until smooth. If needed, add a bit more oat cream/milk to get the texture as smooth & creamy as possible. Pour the sauce on top of the pasta, stir gently and top with pine nuts and basil leaves. Enjoy while warm.

Pumpkin Pie Nice Cream Sandwiches

Nice Cream:

5 ripe bananas, cut to pieces & frozen⠀(+3 tbsp maple syrup, if desired)
¼ cup pumpkin puree⠀
¼ cup coconut milk⠀
1 tsp ground cinnamon⠀
¼ tsp ground ginger⠀
¼ tsp ground nutmeg⠀
¼ tsp ground cloves⠀

Cookies:

Tesco Free From Stem Ginger Cookies

Place the frozen banana slices, pumpkin puree and coconut milk into a high-speed blender or food processor. Measure in all the spices. Blend until smooth. Taste and add some of the spices, if desired. Pour into a freezer-safe container and freeze for 1 hour. Once solid, scoop out an ice cream ball and place on top of a cookie. Top with another cookie and press slightly. For extra pleasure, dip in melted dark chocolate. Serve & enjoy right away.

Pink Apple Beet Oatmeal⠀

The Apple Beet purée:

3 apples, cut to pieces & cored⠀
1 small beet, peeled & cut to pieces⠀
1 tsp fresh ginger minced⠀

The Oatmeal:

1 cup oat milk⠀
1 cup water⠀
1 cup rolled oats⠀
pinch of sea salt⠀
½ tsp cardamom⠀

Prepare the puree by blending the apple cube, the beet cubes and the ginger in a blender until smooth. Set aside. Cook the oatmeal according to the instructions of the rolled oats package. Stir in ⅔ of the apple beet purée you’ve made. Taste and add more spices, if desired. Dose into serving bowls, top with some apple beet purée, peanut butter and seeds & nut crust of your choice and some oat milk. Enjoy warm.

Dalgona Chaga Coffee

2 tbsp instant Chaga coffee
2 tbsp xylitol or coconut sugar
2 tbsp boiling hot water

Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whip with a hand mixer for about 2-3 mins until fluffy and holds stiff peaks.
Spoon dollops of whipped coffee on top of your drink, such as strawberry milkshake.

Strawberry Shake

1 can full-fat coconut milk, cooled
1/2 cup strawberries, frozen
1 ripe banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
+ optional: 1/2 tsp turmeric & couple of grinds black pepper

Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Caramel Apple Smoothie Bowl

Smoothie:

1 ripe banana
2 apples, cored & chopped
1 fresh Israeli Medjool date, pitted
½ cup rolled oats
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cardamom
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground ginger
1 cup oat milk

On top:

fresh Israeli Medjool dates, chopped
granola of your choice
apple slices (cut in shapes with a cookie cutter, if desired)
peanut butter

Place all the smoothie ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Continue blending until the smoothie is not super cold anymore so it is better suitable for cold winter climates. Top with chopped Medjool dates, granola, apple slices & peanut butter.

Vanelja’s Simple Choco Crepes

Makes about 8 crepes

1 cup chickpea flour
⅓ cup raw cocoa powder
1,5 cup oat milk or other vegan milk
3 tbsp coconut sugar

Place the chickpea flour, cocoa powder, milk and coconut sugar into a blender and blend until smooth. Leave to thicken for 5 minutes. The batter should still remain quite runny so that you can prepare thin crepes. Preheat a non-stick pan in the middle heat. Measure about ⅓ cup of the batter on the pan and spread with a spoon until a thin crepe. Bake for 50-60 seconds. Flip gently with a thin spatula and bake slightly on the other side too. When all the crepes are done, let them cool a bit. Fill with coconut whipped cream and fruits & berries of your choice. Drizzle some peanut butter on top. Serve and enjoy!

Nectarine Breakfast Popsicles

Chia milk:

1 cup rice milk
4 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp coconut syrup (or organic honey)
⅓ tsp vanilla powder

3 nectarines

Granola:

5 tbsp almonds
5 tbsp pecan nuts
2 fresh dates
½ tsp cardamom
pinch of salt

Add rice milk, chia seeds, sweetener and vanilla in a bowl. Mix and leave to thicken for about 15 minutes. In the meantime prepare the granola.

Remove the stones from the dates. Puree the dates, almonds, nuts and spices into a crumble with a blender.

Cut the nectarines into thin slices and drop them into ice pop molds (2-3 slices each). Fill the molds with chia milk mixture leaving some space for granola. Sprinkle some granola in each mold, add the sticks and freeze for about 4 hours or until frozen.

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

1,5 cups oat milk (or coconut milk)
6 tbsp chia seeds
3 fresh dates (pitted)
2 tbsp nut butter
5 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add more sweetness if desired. Pour into jars and let the magic happen in the fridge overnight.

Oat Chia Porridge

2 cups oat milk
1 tbsp cashew butter
1 cup rolled oats
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Place the oat milk and nut butter in a pot and bring to boil. Add the rolled oats and cook in low heat for 10 minutes. Take the pot from the stove and stir in the chia seeds and the lemon zest. Let thicken for a couple of minutes. Serve with fresh blueberries, nut butter and oat milk – Enjoy!

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.

Fresh Start Smoothie Bowl

1 frozen banana
½ mango
juices of half a lemon
big handful of baby spinach leaves
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
½ teaspoon grated fresh turmeric
a handful of fresh mint
a handful of fresh lemon balm
water

On top:

blueberries
kiwi fruit
pineapple
nuts and golden raisins

Cut the banana and mango into pieces and place them into a blender. Add the lemon juice, spinach, ginger, curcumin and fresh herbs. Add so much water that you get the consistency you like. Blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl. Top with blueberries, kiwi fruit, pineapple and nuts and golden raisins.

Tahini Licorice Nice Cream Popsicles

3 frozen bananas, sliced
5 tbsp oat yoghurt
1 tbsp tahini
2 fresh dates, pitted
1 tbsp licorice root extract powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth soft serve. You can do the blending also in smaller portions. Drizzle some tahini inside popsicle molds and fill the molds with the soft serve. Place the ice cream sticks and freeze. Frost with melted raw chocolate and decorate with sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Coffee Cocoa Turmeric Smoothie

1 banana
2 tbsp flax seeds
1-2 tsp ground coffee/coffee powder
1 tbsp raw cocoa powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coconut oil
rice milk or other dairy-free milk

Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend well until smooth. Add just so much liquid that you get a nice thick consistency. Let thicken for about 10 minutes. Enjoy for example with coconut whipped cream!

Pure Pleasure Breakfast Bowl

oat yoghurt
chocolate pudding
cinnamon roasted bananas
granola
peanut butter
coconut flakes
raw chocolate

Chocolate Chia Pudding

1 cup oat milk
3 fresh dates
2 tbsp raw cocoa powder
4 tbsp chia seeds

Put the oat milk, pitted fresh dates and raw cocoa powder in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour in a bowl or jar and stir in the chia seeds. Let thicken for about 15 minutes or overnight.

Cinnamon Roasted Bananas

Cut the banana into 2 pieces and slice the pieces in half. Sprinkle some cinnamon on the pieces. Add some coconut oil to the pan and fry the banana slices for a couple of minutes until they get a nice tanned color. Serve with the breakfast bowl.

Strawberry Raw Cake

Crust:

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almond flakes
5 fresh dates, pitted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:

2 cups cashew nuts (soaked for 1 hour and rinsed)
1/2 cup fresh strawberries
1 ripe banana
1 cup oat milk (or almond milk)
5 tbsp organic local raw or coconut syrup
juices of a half lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

On top:

Fresh strawberries

Cake tin: 18 cm / 7 inches

Cover the bottom of the cake tin with a piece of parchment paper. Place the rolled oats and almond flakes into a blender. Add also the dates and vanilla. Puree until moldable dough. Press the crust on the bottom of the cake tin. Prepare the filling.
Place the cashews into the blender and blend until fine crust. Add the strawberries, sliced banana, oat milk, honey, lemon juice, vanilla extract and coconut oil. Blend until a thick paste. Taste and add some sweetness or vanilla, if needed. Pour the filling into the cake tin. Place the tin into the freezer and leave for 4 hours or until the cake is solid. Take out of the freezer and let thaw a moment. Top with strawberries. Serve and enjoy!

Chocolate Vanilla Chia Popsicles with Cherry Mash

2 cups almond milk (or oat milk or coconut milk)
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 ripe banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp + 4 tbsp white or black chia seedsv
3 tbsp carob powder or raw cocoa powder
2 tbsp almond butter (or tahini)
3 fresh dates, pitted + 1 cup cherries

Place almond milk, sunflower seeds, bananas and vanilla extract into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour about ⅓ of the mixture into a bowl or jar and stir in half of the chia seeds. Leave to thicken. Add carob/ raw cocoa powder, almond butter and dates into a blender and blend with the remaining mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into another bowl and stir in the remaining chia seeds. Leave to thicken for about 15 minutes.

Mash cherries with a fork on a plate and set them aside.
Spoon some chocolate mixture into popsicle molds, add in some cherry mash and fill the molds with the white mixture. Stir a couple of times, add in the popsicle sticks and place into a freezer and freeze for about 2 hours or until the popsicles are totally frozen.

Overnight Seed Porridge with Berries

1 cup Risenta Seed Porridge Mixture (or make your own mixture for example with rolled oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds and date slices)
1 cup water
1,5 cup oat milk (or almond milk)
½ tsp cardamom
pinch of sea salt
a small handful of blackberries
a small handful of blueberries
½ banana, sliced

On top:
seed butter or nut butter of your choice

*1 half-liter glass jar*

Mix the Seed porridge mixture with water, oat milk and spices in a bowl. Drop some berries and banana slices in the bottom of a glass jar. Pour the porridge mixture into the jar. Close the jar and leave it in the fridge overnight. In the morning add a bit of oat milk, if needed, top with seed butter or nut butter and enjoy!

Blueberry Crumble Bars (Vegan, gluten-free)

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
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 and vanilla extract in a blender until smooth. Scoop into a small bowl and stir in the whole blueberries and chia. Leave to thicken for about 15 minutes. Spread the berry mixture onto the crust. Sprinkle on the remaining crust dough. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the pie gets a nice golden color. Take out from the oven and let cool completely. Cut to pieces, top with blueberries and flowers and sprinkle on some coconut milk powder. Store in a fridge.

Vanelja’s Gingerbread 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
1,5 tsp gingerbread spice mix
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.

Blueberry Dream Smoothie

1/2 cup blueberries
1 cups rolled oats
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup coconut milk, from the fridge
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup or more oat milk

Place all the ingredients, except oat milk into a blender and blend until smooth. Add so much oat milk so that you get the right thickness. Enjoy!

Rose Strawberry Soft Serve

5 tbsp full-fat coconut milk (the can be refrigerated overnight)
3 ripe frozen bananas
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 tsp vanilla extract (or ½ tsp vanilla powder)
1-2 tsp organic rose water
2 tbsp organic maple syrup, optional

Toppings:
Raw Chocolate Cookie Dough Balls (recipe below)
almond butter
fresh strawberries, sliced
coconut flakes
crushed almonds
edible flowers

Start by preparing the Raw Chocolate Cookie Dough Balls (recipe below). Open the coconut milk can and scoop out 5 tablespoons of the white thick paste to a high-speed blender. Add bananas and strawberries and blend until smooth. Add vanilla and rose water and blend again. Taste and add more spices or a bit of maple syrup, if needed. Pour the soft serve into bowls. Top with a drizzle of almond butter, strawberries, coconut flakes, and crushed almonds. Add a couple of Raw Chocolate Cookie balls as well. Serve and enjoy right away!

Raw Chocolate Cookie Dough Balls

makes 6-8 small balls

1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup almonds
5 fresh dates, pitted
3 tbsp raw cacao powder
½ tsp ground cardamom

Place pecans and almonds in a blender and grind until rough crust. Add dates, cacao powder and cardamom, and pulse until you get a nice moldable dough. Pour the dough into a bowl and with the help of your hands, form small balls. Place the balls into a freezer for a few minutes to set. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

Vanelja’s Favorite Buns

(Vegan, gluten-free, yeast-free)

Makes about 9 rolls

2 tablespoons chia seeds + 0,5 cup of water
2 cups almond flour
0,5 cup buckwheat flour
0,5 cup potato starch
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp psyllium husk
1,5 cup oat milk (or other dairy-free milk or water)
1/2 tsp maple syrup or liquid raw organic honey honey
0,5 cup melted vegan butter or coconut oil (or 50:50)
1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat the oven to 200 Celcius degrees. Mix chia seeds and water in a small bowl and let it sit for about 15 minutes until you get a gel-like mixture. Mix almond flour, buckwheat, potato starch, baking powder and psyllium husk in a bowl. Add oat milk, melted butter and/or oil, chia gel, liquid honey and salt. Allow the dough to swell for a couple of minutes. The dough should be soft, plump, like 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. Bake the buns for about 25 minutes until slightly golden. Take out from the oven, serve and enjoy!

Vanelja’s Chocolate Muffins

1 cup organic gluten-free flour blend
½ cup almond flour
5 tbsp raw cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
tiny pinch of salt
½ cup coconut sugar
1 cup oat milk or other vegan milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup peanut butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 175 C / 350 F degrees. Cover a muffin pan with muffin liners or use silicone molds. Mix flour blend, almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and coconut sugar. Melt the coconut oil and peanut butter in a warm water bath until liquid. Stir in the oat milk, apple cider vinegar and vanilla. Mix with dry ingredients. Pour into muffin molds and cook for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool.

Vanelja’s Chocolate Waffles

Makes 3-5 waffles, depending on the size of your waffle iron

1 cup oat milk, or other vegan milk
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup maple syrup (or raw organic honey)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups gluten-free flour blend
½ cup oat flour, or rolled oats
¼ cup raw cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
tiny pinch sea salt

Combine oat milk, melted coconut oil, syrup, apple cider vinegar and vanilla. In another bowl mix all the dry ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir well. Taste and add sweetness or some spices, if you like. Let thicken for 5 minutes and preheat the waffle iron. Grease the waffle iron with coconut oil and prepare the waffles according to manufacturer instructions. Enjoy for example with coconut whipped cream, banana slices and berries.

Vanelja’s Cashew Cream Frosting:

2 cups cashew nuts, soaked for 1 hour
3-5 tbsp coconut milk or other vegan milk
½ tsp vanilla powder
¼ cup maple syrup or raw organic honey
1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
3 tbsp lemon juice

Rinse the cashew nuts you have soaked and place the nuts into a blender. Add coconut milk, vanilla, syrup, cinnamon and lemon juice. Blend until smooth mixture with no crumbs. Add a little bit more liquid to get it as smooth as possible, but keep the mixture thick like cream cheese. Taste and add more sweetness with some of the spices, if needed. Use as a spread. Store in the fridge.

Vanelja’s Raspberry Chocolate Truffles

1 cup almond flour/almond meal
½ cup coconut flakes
4 tbsp coconut butter
¼ cup raspberries
4 tbsp maple syrup or coconut syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:

Raw chocolate, melted

 

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth dough. Pour the dough onto a plate and form truffle balls with your hands. If the dough feels too soft, add some almond meal so that you get a consistency that is easy to mold. You can also keep the truffles in the fridge for 1 hour which helps them to harden. Dip the truffles into melted chocolate and freeze for about 1 hour. Store in the fridge.

Vanelja’s Blueberry Latte

1-2 tablespoons blueberries
1,5 cup oat milk, or other vegan milk
1/3 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla powder

Place all ingredients into a blender. Then warm the mixture quickly in a saucepan. Taste and add more spices, if needed. Enjoy with coconut syrup or raw organic honey. Enjoy right away!

Vanelja’s Blackberry Dream Cake

Crust:

1 cup almonds
7 fresh dates, pitted
½ tsp ground cardamom
tiny pinch of sea salt

Filling:

3 cups cashew nuts, soaked for 1 hour
5-10 tbsp full-fat coconut milk, kept in the fridge (the white thick paste)
juices from half a lemon
⅓ cup coconut syrup
1 cup coconut oil, melted
2 tsp vanilla extract

⅓ cup blackberries
⅓ cup raspberries
½ cup blackberries for the decoration

Cake tin diameter: 16-18 cm / 6-7 inches

Prepare the crust and place the almonds in a blender and blend until fine crust. Add dates and salt and blend until moldable dough. Cover the bottom of the can tin with a piece of parchment paper so that the cake is easier to remove later. Press the dough into the bottom of the cake tin. Prepare the filling.

Place the cashews, coconut milk, lemon juice, syrup, coconut oil and vanilla in a blender and blend until a very smooth mixture. Add a little bit of liquid, if needed, so that you get a smooth texture with no crumbs, but keep the mixture as thick as possible. Taste and add more sweetener, if you like. Pour half of the mixture into the cake tin and smooth out the surface with a spoon. Drop a handful of blackberries or raspberries here and there into the mixture. Place the raspberries into the blender and blend with the remaining mixture until smooth. Spoon the pink mixture on top of the white layer into the cake tin. Smooth out the surface with a spoon. Freeze for 2 hours or until solid. Take out of the freezer & remove from the cake tin when frozen. Let thaw for about 30-60 minutes before serving. Top with berries, pumpkin seeds/pistachios & coconut whipped cream drops.

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.

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.

Vanelja’s Cinnamon Donuts

1 cup oat flour
½ cup almond meal
½ cup potato starch
2 tbsp ground flax
½ cup + 5 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla powder
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup oat milk (or other vegan milk)

Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius or 350 Fahrenheit degrees. Grease the donut pan. Mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl. pour in the applesauce and oat milk and combine well. Leave to thicken for 10 minutes. Pour the dough into donut molds. Bake for about 20 minutes, take out from the oven, let cool, remove from the molds and sprinkle on some cinnamon and coconut sugar or icing of your choice.

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. 

Gingerbread Sweet Potato Dream Cake

Gingerbread Sweet Potato Dream Cake

(nut-free, plant-based)

Serves 2

Base

⅔ cup oat flakes (or for example hazelnuts)

4 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

1 tsp gingerbread spice mix

pinch of sea salt

Filling

1 big sweet potato, peeled & steamed (or 1 ½ cup sweet potato puree)

½ cup coconut milk (kept in the fridge)

¼ cup coconut oil, melted (preferably mild taste)

2 ripe bananas, cut to pieces

5-8 tbsp maple syrup or some stevia

1 ½ – 2 tsp gingerbread spice mix (or 1 tsp ceylon cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground cardamom)

  • 2 tablespoons almond butter, if you like

Dish size: 15 x 15 cm / 6 inches

Base

Place the oast or nuts into a blender and blend until crust. Pour the crust into a bowl and stir in maple syrup, coconut oil and salt. The mixture should be now easily moldable so that you can create a ball from it. Cover a dish with a parchment paper and press the dough onto the bottom of the dish.

Filling

Place the sweet potato cubes, coconut milk (the white thick paste) and coconut oil into the blender and blend until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add some of the spices or sweetness, if desired. Pour the mixture into the dish on top of the base crust. Freeze for a few hours until solid. Take pour of the freezer and let thaw for 15 minutes before serving.

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

Sweet potato slices with pink hummus

Sweet potato slices with pink hummus

VANELJA’S ROASTED SWEET POTATO SLICES WITH PINK HUMMUS & AVO

2 sweet potatoes, peeled
sea salt
black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius / 400 fahrenheit degrees. Slice the sweet potatoes into half inch slices. Spread the slices onto a baking tray covered with baking paper. Pour on some olive oil & sprinkle o salt and black pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the sweet potatoes feel tender. Take out from the oven. Let cool slightly. Spread on some pink hummus and top with avocado slices and microgreens or herbs + finger salt. Serve & enjoy right away!

PINK HUMMUS:

1 or a half small beet, peeled & steamed or roasted
2 cups canned chickpeas, drained
(save about ½ cup aquafaba/liquid from the chickpeas)
2 tbsp tahini
juices from half lime
5 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
pinch of salt
ground black pepper

Blend the beets and chickpeas together in a blender or food processor until slightly combined. Add the rest of the ingredients. Blend. Add some aquafaba so that you get a smooth consistency.

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 Easy Bliss Balls

Healthy Easy Bliss Balls

Vanelja’s Easy Almond Bliss Balls

(makes about 15 bliss balls)

1 ½ cups almonds (raw or dry roasted)

7 fresh dates, pitted

½ tsp ceylon cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

tiny pinch sea salt

+ sesame seeds on top

Blend almonds in a blender until fine crust. Add fresh dates, pinch of ceylon cinnamon and nutmeg plus a tiny pinch of celtic sea salt. Blend until mouldable dough. Form tiny balls and roll them in sesame seeds. Keep in the fridge or freezer for a moment to get them nice and cool.

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.

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.

 

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!

(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.

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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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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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, 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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MIXED BERRY OAT GALETTE

Crust:

  • 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
  • ½ cup almond flour
  • 1 tbsp psyllium earusk powder
  • ¼ cup butter (room temperature) (or coconut oil)
  • 1 organic egg (or ¼ cup water + 3 tbsp chia seeds)
  • 1 tbsp organic honey (or coconut syrup/sugar)
  • a pinch of sea salt
  • optional: 1 organic egg for brushing, which protects the surface from drying and helps to bind the texture.

Filling:

  • 2 cups fresh berries of your choice, for example a mixture of strawberries, cherries, blueberries, blackberries
  • 1 – 3 tbsp organic honey (or coconut syrup)
  • 1 tbsp tapioca flour or potato starch

1 egg for brushing (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F degrees. Put the rolled oats, almond flour and psyllium powder into a bowl. Add butter and work the dough with fingers to make the mixture crumbly. Add egg (or chia gel which you’ll get after mixing water and chia seeds and let them sit for 5 minutes) and honey (or coconut syrup) and salt. Work the dough again with your hands to mix everything. Place the dough into a small bowl and put into a fridge for about 30 minutes. In the meantime prepare the filling.

Slice the berries and combine all the ingredients of the filling in a small bowl.

Take the dough out of the fridge and put it in between two baking sheets. Roll it into a circle and make it about half an inch thick. Pour the mixture in the center of the dough circle, leaving the sides empty. Fold the sides up. If the dough cracks in some places, fix them by pressing the dough gently with your fingers. Beat one egg in a bowl and brush the sides of the galette with the egg. Bake the galette in the oven for about 25 – 30 minutes until it get’s a nice golden tone. Remove from the oven and let it cool. Serve and enjoy!

  • 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!

(Dairy free, Gluten free, Refined sugar free, raw, vegan)

Ice cream:

  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 1 can (400 ml or 1 ¾ cups) full fat coconut milk (refrigerated over-night)
  • ½ cup (120 ml) peanut butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • a tiny pinch of sea salt

In the middle:

  • ½ cup raw crushed peanuts (or hazel nuts) + 0,25 tsp sea salt

Caramel filling:

  • 6 fresh dates (pitted)
  • 2 tbsp coconut syrup (or organic honey)
  • ½ cup (120 ml) un-sweetened peanut butter
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • a tiny pinch of celtic sea salt
  • ½ cup coconut milk

Chocolate frosting:

  • 4 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
  • ¼ cup cacao butter (melted)
  • 4 tbsp raw cocoa powder
  • 3 tbsp organic honey or rice syrup (or sweetener of your choice)

On top:

  • ½ cup crushed raw peanuts (or hazel nuts)
  • 2 tbsp coconut syrup (or organic honey)

Cake tin diameter: 9 x 19 cm / 3.5 x 7.5 inch

Ice Cream:

Cover the cake tin with parchment paper so that the cake is easier to remove later. Put the bananas, peanut butter, coconut milk and vanilla to the blender and blend until smooth. Taste and if you want, sweeten for example with coconut syrup or honey. Pour the ice cream mixture into the tin.

Crush the peanuts and add a pinch sea salt. Add the crushed nuts on top of the ice cream and make the caramel filling.

Caramel filling:

Place all the ingredients into a blender but only half of the coconut milk. Blend until smooth. Add more coconut milk if needed so that you will get the consistency of a smooth caramel sauce or make it as runny as you desire. Pour about half of the filling into the cake tin on the top of the ice cream. Place the tin into a freezer for about 3 hours or until solid.

Chocolate frosting:

Whisk the ingredients until you have a smooth sauce. Taste and add more sweetness if desired.

Assembly:

When the ice cream is solid remove the ice cream cake from the tin and place it onto a serving plate. Pour the rest of the caramel filling on top of the ice cream cake. On top of the caramel filling pour the chocolate frosting. Sprinkle some crushed peanuts on top and pour some syrup or honey on. Let the cake melt a little while in the fridge so that it is not completely frozen, serve and enjoy!

Note! Kind Ice Cream for You e-book is temporarily out of stock!

Crust:

  • 2 tbsp chia seeds + ½ cup water (or 2 organic eggs)
  • 1 ¼ cup almond meal
  • ½ cup potato starch
  • 2 tbsp psyllium husk
  • a pinch of salt
  • ½ cup olive oil

Filling:

  • 5 oz mozzarella
  • 5 tbsp feta cheese
  • about 3 sliced artichoke hearts
  • about 5 cooked green bean
  • 1 crushed garlic clove
  • green olives
  • black pepper
  • dried herbs

On top:

  • Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit/200 Celsius degrees. Mix water and chia seeds in 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 seed mixture (or 2 eggs) and stir. Place the dough on a parchment lined baking paper and press or roll the crust to be about half an inch in width. Bake for about 12 minutes or just until the crust starts to become a very light golden brown. Take out from the oven, add the toppings and put back for about 5 more minutes, or until the cheese is well melted. Take out from the oven, sprinkle some olive oil on top, serve and enjoy!

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The dish size: about 8 x 6 inch or 20 x 15 cm

  • 1 can (1 ⅓ cups) chickpeas, rinsed & drained
  • ¼ cup almond butter (or nut butter or seed butter)
  • 5 tbsp organic honey (or 5 fresh dates)
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (+ 0,5 ts cinnamon if you like)
  • a pinch of salt
  • ¼ cup raw cacao nibs or grated raw chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit / 175 Celsius degrees. Grease the pan or use baking paper. Add all the ingredients, except the raw cacao nibs into a blender or a food processor and blend until smooth dough. Stir in cocoa nibs and pour the batter into the pan. Bake for about 20 minutes until the sides get a nice light brown color. Allow to cool, 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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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!

  • 3 oranges
  • 3 tbsp local raw honey
  • 1 tsp orange flower water
  • 3 tbsp chia seeds
  • 3 tbsp orange zest

Puree the oranges in the blender until the mixture is smooth. Add honey and orange blossom water and stir. Taste and add sweetness, if you want. Pour the mixture into a clean, sealable glass jar and stir in the chia seeds and orange zest. Leave to thicken, stir after 15 minutes and put the jar in the fridge for about 1 to 5 hours. Use on top of pancakes or other goodies! Store in a refrigerator in a closed jar. Use within a week.

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!

POPPY SEED BUNS

(gluten-free, yeast-free)

About 9 rolls

2 tbsp chia-seeds + 0,5 cup of water

2 cups almond flour

½ cup buckwheat flour

½ cup potato starch

2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp psyllium husk

1 ½ cup oat milk (or other dairy-free milk or water)

½ tsp liquid honey (optional)

½ cup melted butter or coconut oil, or half and half

½ tsp sea salt

+poppy seeds on top

Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit/200 Celsius degrees. Mix chia seeds and water in a small bowl and let it sit for about 15 minutes until you get a gel-like mixture. Mix almond flour, buckwheat, potato starch, baking powder and psyllium husk in a bowl. Add oat milk, melted butter and/or oil, chia gel, liquid honey 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 25 minutes in center of the oven until they are slightly golden. Take out of the oven, serve and enjoy!

Try for example with strawberry butter!

Approximately 6 – 8 pieces

  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 cup / 2,5 dl shredded coconut
  • ½-1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit/175 Celsius degrees. Mash the banana with a fork in a bowl and add the coconut flakes and cinnamon. Mix. Taste and add seasoning or sweetness if desired. If the banana you used is very big, and the dough feels too wet and sticky to mold, add more coconut flakes. Shape the cookies into balls on a baking sheet and press them to about 0.2 inch/ half a centimeter thick cookies. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the biscuits get a delicate golden brown color. Allow to cool and enjoy.

  • 1 cup oatmeal
  • 1 cup buckwheat flakes
  • ½ cup grated coconut
  • 4 tbsp raw cocoa powder
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 3 tbsp cold-pressed coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp almond butter (or any nut butter)
  • 4 tbsp almond milk (or oat milk, coconut milk, etc.)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • a pinch of sea salt 

    Measure the dry ingredients in a bowl. Melt honey, coconut oil, almond butter and almond oil to a liquid mixture. Pour the mixture into a bowl over dry ingredients. Add vanilla extract and a small pinch of salt. Mix. Taste and add more seasoning if you want. Roll the dough into about a tablespoon-sized cookies on a baking tray or plate. Put the biscuits in the freezer for about half an hour. Serve and enjoy! Store in the freezer or in the refrigerator.

  • 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.

  • 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!

  • romaine salad, or any other desired salad
  • carrots
  • celery
  • avocado
  • sprouts
  • watercress

Try also cucumber, bell pepper, spring onion, parsley, basil, mint, beans, lentils or feta cheese!

THE SAUCE:

  • 1 tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp of tahini (a paste made from sesame seeds)
  • 5 tbsp of sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp of Tamari soy sauce
  • ½ – 1 clove of garlic
  • juice of half a lime

Prepare the sauce by mixing the ingredients into a smooth paste with a spoon. Crush the garlic and stir.

Place a lettuce leaf or two to make a base. Spread the sauce you made all over the lettuce leaf. Grate the carrot or cut it into thin sticks. Cut the celery into long narrow sticks. Do the same with the avocado. Arrange celery, grated carrots and avocado on the other side of the salad leaf. Add the sprouts and herbs. Close the wraps by rolling. The paste on the salad should keep the rolls together. Serve and enjoy fresh!

  • 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!

OAT CRACKERS

  • ½ cup flax seeds
  • 3 tsp psyllium husks
  • 1 ¾ cup water
  • 2 ½ cup gluten-free rolled oats
  • ½ cup seeds, such as sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and / or pumpkin seeds
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tsp sea salt

Mix the flax seeds, psyllium husks and water. Allow to thicken to a gel-like mixture for about half an hour.

Set the oven at 360 Fahrenheit/ 180 Celsius. Grind half of the rolled oats into flour in a blender. Mix the oat flour you just made with the rest of the oat flakes and seeds in a bowl. Pour in the flax-gel you made. Add water and sea salt. The dough will be thick but you should still be able to easily scoop it with a spoon. If necessary, add a little water. Apply the dough on a baking tray covered with parchment paper and spread it to about 0.4 inch thickness. Make sure that the dough is evenly spread so that it bakes evenly. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Take the baking tray out of the oven and cut the dough with a knife into pieces of desired size. However, do not attempt to remove the pieces yet! Lift the bread (while still on the parchment paper) from the baking tray and place it on an oven grid. Bake for another 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 210 Fahrenheit/100 Celsius and remove the bread from the oven. Remove the pieces of bread and turn them upside down on the oven grid. Dry the bread in the oven for about 30-45 minutes.

Note! Crunchiness of the bread depends on the drying time and the thickness of the bread. Thin bread will naturally be drier than a thicker one.

(about 12-15 pieces)

  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 1 ¼ cup oatmeal
  • 2 tbsp honey or coconut palm syrup
  • Spices, such as vanilla powder/seeds or cinnamon.

Mash bananas and oatmeal with a fork to make them a thick and sticky dough. Add seasoning, such as vanilla, honey and/or cinnamon. Shape into small balls. If the dough is too runny, add a little oatmeal, but not too much so that the dough does not get too thick & the balls don’t get too dry. Arrange the balls on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Bake at 350 Fahrenheit/175 Celsius degrees for about 15 minutes. Keep the snack balls in a closed glass jar in the refrigerator and use within a week.

  • 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.