Food

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

V

In collaboration with: Fontana organic dates

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Serves 4

2 cups oat milk

2 cups water

1 1⁄4 cups gluten-free oatmeal

1 ½ tsp gingerbread spice mix

pinch of sea salt

3 fresh dates

1 tbsp walnut oil (or almond butter)

Top with:

apple bites

crushed walnuts or almond flakes

ceylon cinnamon

crushed clove

crushed cardamom

ginger bread pieces

raw organic honey or maple syrup or coconut syrup

oat milk

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

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

Life has had quite hectic twists and turns lately. Sometimes I wonder how it is even possible for me as one human being to cope with all these projects I have managed to gather in my life. But in some weird way person kind of multiplies herself, expands time or makes other magic tricks when stuff just needs to be done. And there is no time to sit around when a revolution awaits! A food revolution, you know, in which I try to take part with my work.

A part of my revolution dream has now become reality as my very first cookbook about healthy sweet treats, that came out in Finland some time ago has now been released in the US and it goes by the name It’s a Pleasure. I’m so happy about the outcome – the book looks and feels super pretty and nice and I hope it can help to transform globally the way people feel about sweets with it’s over 80 recipes for cakes, candies, cookies, muffins, ice creams, chocolates and other sweet treats – all without guten, dairy and refined sugar. Because there is just no better way to indulge than to savor with treats that left you feeling light, healthy and satisfied!

Try for example these overwhelming pralines. I have prepared big batches of them lately and people have LOVED them. And no wonder. The best pralines combine many elements: a soft filling, a texture that snaps nicely and something crunchy. Also, a hint of saltiness is a big plus. These chocolates are all of the above and can be created with very simple and wholesome ingredients.

Please, just try them! And if you wish to have a copy of It’s a Pleasure, throw me a message here below before Oct 10th and I’ll pick two winners to whom I’ll post the book next week – in Finnish or in English, you choose!

Until then – Viva la revolucion!

V

NUT CARAMEL CHOCOLATES

The time has come!! The N’Ice Cream book about healthy vegan ice creams by me and Tuulia has come out today in the US. And I’m over the moon excited! The Finnish version of the book got sold out in a week here in Finland and I hope the international audience will love the English version just as much.

Several people have now said to me that the N’Ice Cream book feels like the ultimate summer saver for them, and that makes me sooo happy. Because that is exactly what this book was designed to be. To enable a feel-good summer with healthy, naturally sweetened and gluten-free vegan ice creams, ice pops, sorbets, soft serves, instant ice creams, ice cream cakes & cookies, waffle cones, sauces, jams and all that jazz. And also our very best tips on how to prepare delicious ice cream easily without an ice cream maker.

You can now buy the book from:

If you like to have more n’ice cream inspiration, come and follow our Instagram: @nicecreambook where we share pics & tips and give shout-outs to peoples beautiful nice cream creations. Be sure to tag your n’ice cream photos #nicecreambook and @nicecreambook so that we can see them!

And now, ladies and gents, I'm happy to introduce these treats I have for you: Lovely lovely Vanilla Chocolate N’ice cream Sandwiches that I made inspired by a couple of recipes from the N’Ice Cream book. They just might be the perfect summer snack. And the perfect way to celebrate the launch of our book. Note that you can always just skip the cookies and make the instant ice cream base and enjoy it with this super quick chocolate sauce, if your ice cream cravings won’t wait!

And then there’s still one more thing: A giveaway! I’m giving away one copy of the N’Ice Cream book. Just write a short hello and why you would like this book to the comments below and you’re in! You’ve got time to participate until midnight Sunday the 22nd of May. And the giveaway is this time open to US, Canada & Finland. Good luck, my friends!

V

VANILLA N'ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

We made a fun little video with my man about this 3 Ingredient Vegan Apple Pie I had developed and I suddenly thought it might be a good idea to share the whole version of the recipe here too. Although it is insanely simple and you can basically see the whole procedure from the video!

The recipe is from my new and – happy to say – no. 1 best-selling cookbook in Finland Kiitos hyvää Pikaruokaa (meaning healthy fast food) and I personally feel this recipe here is one of the most relaxed ways to make an apple pie I have ever encountered. I’m glad that it popped into my head somewhere from the cosmos one cloudy day when I really needed a quick comfort food.

So check out the video HERE – and see how the magic happens!

I hope you’ll try it and love it as much as my family does!

V

One of my favorite things in the world is problem solving and finding a solution. Give me an overhand knot and I’ll untangle it. Tell me something is impossible, I’ll find a way. Show me a problem, yo, I'll solve it.

Because in my world, there ain’t no problems, just solutions not yet found.

And that is exactly what a vegan semla (aka shrove bun, a traditional sweet bun filled with whipped cream and almond paste or raspberry jam and consumed for example in Finland, Sweden and in Estonia at Shrove Tuesday / Pancake day.) without gluten, dairy, yeast and refined sugar appeared at first.

Sure, I had made gluten free and yeast free semlas many times before, but they always included eggs. With eggs it is easy. With eggs everything is easy. And then, on the other hand all the vegan semla recipes they include usually white flour and yeast. With white flour and yeast it is easy. Even a baby can do it.

But to make a vegan semla, that has a nice and soft texture, that doesn’t crumble, that has a heavenly taste and none of those belly swelling ingredients – THAT was a tricky equation. That was something I just had to get involved.

So I made my math and baked the first batch. Disaster. The taste was good but the texture was horrible. Let’s modify the recipe and make another batch. Buns come out all flat. Ok, the third version usually always works. Not this time. The taste is great, the texture is better, but buns remain raw on the inside no matter how long I bake them. And finally when they are done, they look horrendous.

At this time a normal person would just say, oh well, let’s just eat pancakes then!
But a maniac like me – is just getting started.
So I roll my sleeves, take a deep breath and go to the mattresses.

I twist the recipe here and there, pour a little bit more of this and less of that. Change the baking temperature and add a new ingredient. In my head the buns should come out brilliant, but you can’t never be certain when it comes to baking. There is always a bit of magic involved, and a lot of chemical reactions happening that are hard to predict. But with high hopes I send my buns to the oven. And with a growing excitement I take them out, split them and fill them. …And with happy tears in my eyes I finally eat them.

I’m in love with these semlas. My family is in love with them too. Please do try them also. With the vanilla flavored coconut whipped cream and super easy homemade almond paste. They just belong together. This equation equals love.

V

Pst, Check out also my other shrove bun inspired recipes:

Creamy Raspberry Cardamom Smoothie & Creamy Raspberry Raw Cake

SEMLAS

After a long development I can proudly announce that I have captured the essence of a chocolate cake. And here comes the news: A delicious chocolate cake can be done with only just 3 ingredients!

And before you say anything, like "3 ingredient chocolate ain't no news, miss!, let me clarify: this ain’t one of those 3 ingredient cakes, that has been spreading in the internet, which includes store-brought chocolate, which actually contains a big bunch of different ingredients. No, no, no.

This cakes includes solely 3 basic NATURAL ingredients: Organic eggs, dates and raw cacao powder. Yep, that's all you need.

You can of course refine the recipe for example with vanilla powder, cinnamon or a tiny pinch of chili. And top with super easy chocolate mousse, or whipped coconut cream and berries!

The recipe is from my brand new cookbook, and I feel it is a good example of how simple you can make cooking, and still enojy nice flavors and clean ingredients.

And then to the muse of my cake! I have dedicated this cake to my friend’s amazing ethical fashion brand Lovia. Lovia’s clothes and accessories are produced in Helsinki, Finland and they use mainly recycled and organic materials in their clothes and accessories. I recommend to take a look at their beautiful and unique products, photos and films at their site.

Lovia’s pure, wild, clean and dark style made me think of deep chocolate flavors and pure basic ingredients used in a new and innovative way. And the outcome was truly somewhat magical!

As a christmas present Lovia wanted to offer 30 % discount to Vanelja’s followers during this weekend. With the code LoviaVanelja30 you can get the discount when shopping at their online store before the midnight of 13th of December.

So have some chocolate cake folks and make your weekend merry!

V

3 INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE CAKE

Baby, It is dark, rainy and cold outside but my heart is shining brightly!

The reason for this glow is that my book about healthy fast food can be now finally found in the bookstores in Finland!

And may I just say: Pheeeew.

I’m feeling SO relieved. And happy. But not at all super hyped like I was when my first book was released a year ago. Now the feeling is more trusting, confident, calm and collected. I can be proud about the outcome and I know that this book will be the most used cookbook in our household! My husband, who is quite a lazy cook, has been cooking from the book many times already. So my main mission here is accomplished: Get the guy to cook!

Small step for the humankind, big achievement for my family. Huge.

Hopefully other takeaway lovers and lazy cooks will also find the book inspiring!

The book offers over 80 recipes for healthy, easy and quick vegetarian dishes, all without gluten and refined sugars. Most of the recipes can be done totally vegan. And the best part here is that the dishes can all be done less than in 30 minutes and they come with super simple ingredient lists.

I don't mean to brag but isn't that just great?!

And because many of you have asked me about the English version, I can now say that I’m in the progress of getting the book translated into English, but it will be a project for the next year. Let’s see then in what form it will eventually come out!

But here's as a tasting, some examples from the menu of my book:

For breakfast:

  • 3 x Easy Pancakes
  • 3 x 3 Ingredient Smoothies
  • 3 x Energy Bars
  • Blueberry Ginger Porridge
  • Cinnamon Jar Porridge
  • Chocolate Oat Porridge
  • Coconut Oat Breakfast Rolls
  • Easy Dairy-free Cheeses
  • Fig Pear Crumble

For Lunch & Dinner:

  • Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Curry Peanut Butter Sauce
  • Asian Green Wraps
  • Nepalese dish with 3 ingredient Naan Bread
  • Quick Curry with Sweet Potato Noodles
  • Sunshine Pasta
  • Avocado Pasta
  • Shiitake Seed Risotto (rice-free)
  • Eggplant Pizzas
  • White Pizza
  • Beetroot Pizza
  • Sweet Potato Pizza
  • Burrito Bowl with Chili Sin Carne
  • 3 x Easy Mayo (egg-free)

For Dessert:

  • 3 Ingredient Chocolate Cake
  • 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cake
  • 3 Ingredient Apple Pie
  • Almond Soft Serve
  • 2 Ingredient Cookies
  • Wholesome Banana Muffins
  • 2 Ingredient Apple Donuts
  • Melon Cake for Kids

And lots and lots of more dishes and treats! A small introduction of the book can be found here.

Have a lovely week, Friend!

xxx

V

One year ago I dreamed about a cookbook that would save our family meals.

My dream book would have recipes that would take less than 30 minutes to make, preferably only 15 minutes, ingredients lists should be nice and short, they would not include gluten, dairy or refined-sugars and most of the recipes should be vegan. The book should offer wholesome recipes for breakfasts, dinners, lunches, snacks and for sweet treats. Kid-friendly recipes would be a big plus and also if the book could also offer better alternatives for pizzas and burgers, my man’s favorite meals. All in all, the recipes in the book should be healthy, super easy and super delicious.

Too sad there wasn’t any book like that on the market. I went through a big bunch of cookbooks and waited for a hero that would fly into my arms and save those moments where the stomach is empty and the mind goes blank at the same time. There were nice recipes here and there but a book that would fulfil ALL my needs just didn’t seem to exist.

So, I had to make it myself. And I did.

Two weeks from here my next cookbook about healthy fast food is going to be released in Finland. The Finnish name is Kiitos hyvää Pikaruokaa, and I’m proud to say that the book offers EXACTLY everything I just described above!

I am so thrilled and I can’t wait to get it in my hands – For one since I actually cook the recipes from the book everyday, and I can’t remember all my recipes in detail, and I don’t wanna go on searching for them from my computer all the time, so I really need to get the book in my kitchen and in my hands – ASAP!

Gonna let you know more about the book later, but I’m sure you guys are going to appreciate it as well. Who would not love healthy and tasty fast food!

But now, to today’s meal! This vegan meatballs and pasta recipe is not actually from my upcoming cookbook, because I created it after the book had already gone to print, but it makes an excellent and simple everyday meal also. I’m just loving this easy pasta made from sweet potato and the rich taste and great texture of these vegetarian meatballs! If you ask me it's quite an excellent mimic of the Italian classic meal, with a healthy and fun twist.

V

VEGAN MEATBALLS AND SWEET POTATO PASTA

Hello darlings, it’s been a while! Actually over a month since my last post. …Oops. I could say that I have been working like crazy and have been doing this and that and the third, which would be very much true, but as my mother always says: only a lazy person counts her work. So let’s trust her and forget explanations and concentrate on the present, and on the most essential – the goodies I brought you!

I have been doing some collaboration with Oatlet Store, which is a brilliant webshop that deals oat-based products. And as a big fan of all oat related I have been super excited to test their gluten-free oat products from Provena and to design new recipes with them.

One of my absolutely favorite thing that came out of my laboratory is this pre-christmas sweet potato oat porridge. It is just insanely tasty, comforting and rich! And it includes my favorite ingredients at the moment: Sweet potato, cinnamon, cardamom, pecan nuts and – jumbo-sized oat flakes. Oh-my-god – TOTALLY different thing than those small oat flakes, that taste like a cardboard, especially after you’ve tasted jumbo ones. So delicious, and you get beautifully textured hearty porridge out of them.

I’m planning to make this sweet potato oat porridge my family’s official christmas porridge that will be consumed every morning until christmas. Well, at least on the weekends. And maybe only in December. I would rather like this to give nice taste memories to my kid than to cause any food traumas. It is too good to be overdosed. …Although I have a tiny hunch I’m gonna do it personally anyways.

But hey, with this pre-christmas porrdige I have also a pre-christmas gift for you: With the code VANELJA you get -20 % discount when shopping in Oatlet Store and the discount is available for two weeks from now. Oatlet Store ships throughout the EU. And if you want a tip, I can recommend at least, surprise surprise, these Provena Gluten Free Jumbo Oats and also Provena Gluten Free Whole Grain Oat Flour for baking.

Have a lovely November, stay warm and eat a lot of porridge!

V

SWEET POTATO OAT PORRIDGE

It was exactly one year ago when I opened the doors of Vanelja and introduced it to the world for the first time. And in my very first blog post I then wrote:

“Nothing in Vanelja is permanent, no goals has been set. That makes it possible to grow to whatever direction life takes it to. It is exciting to see what kind of flowers will Vanelja bloom in when the fertilizers are freedom, passion and pleasure!”

And wow, what beautiful blossoms have I been able to witness during this first year! I have been just amazed by all the opportunities, connections and people life has sent through my blog.

During this year I have made great new friends from different parts of the world, I have also made 3 cook books (insane, I know! do not try at home), been featured in international media, websites and blogs, been picked by Instagram to their suggested users list, been nominated in the Saveur Food blog Award and actually winning the award in the Best-designed blog category. And then there are also some huge huge things I can’t yet talk about that have started to seed during this year.

So may I just say: Phew. And thank You. Thank you life, thank you dear You, thank you universe. I promise to continue following my dreams. And as Elsie De Wolfe said:

“I am going to make everything around me beautiful – that will be my life.”

And I’m also going to make lots of these delicious banoffee-muffins, which you should try also. They too taste like a dream.

V

BANOFFEE MUFFINS

Hello lover, I just dropped by to tell you that in case you were wondering what to make for lunch this week or prepare quickly in the evening, here is the recipe you have been looking for! It is especially designed for these late summer days when the sun is still nicely warming our noses but you can already feel that the chill of fall is on it’s way.

The recipe is super simple, it’s quick to prepare, takes less than 15 minutes and the ingredient list is nicely minimalistic. So it has exactly those features that an excellent everyday food should always have. And it of course tastes heavenly.

It is a spinach soup with a twist. The soup is made of ripe, juicy pears and fresh spinach leaves accompanied with coconut milk and a nice bunch of fresh herbs, coriander and parsley.

I’m loving how it is creamy and smooth, fresh and earthy, all at the same time. I couldn’t wish for better elements from my power soup.

I hope you’ll find it is a perfect match for your late August days too!

V

PEAR SPINACH SOUP

Did I hear someone wondering why it is so quiet in Vanelja and why the lady of the house has not been posting ANYTHING for over five weeks (which equals an eternity in the world of internet)?

Well, let me explain. It is because of the incredible tradition we have here in Finland called a summer holiday month. Yes, a holiday MONTH. In my country people just totally stop working for about 4 – 6 weeks in the summer time. No joke. They travel to their summer cottages, soak their feet in some of our thousands of lakes or in the Baltic sea, wander in forests picking berries, laying around in their hammocks and watching the clouds go by. And if you are an employee you get actually paid for doing all that. Plus your employer gives you also a big monetary reward when you return to work, as a thank you for coming back. I’m still not pulling you. Welcome to Finland.

Although, as I’m nowadays an entrepreneur and outside of that financial support system when being on a vacation, but still, what can you do, I’m a true Finn, I need my holiday month. Also I’m a true believer of freedom which means that you do what ever your heart desires and sometimes it might just be something else than blogging. Like swimming in the sea and picking cloudberries.

But now I have returned from my big Finnish summer adventure and trying to re-teach myself on how to use the internet. I’m starting gently and for the time being my bed is my home office and my pajamas are my uniform. That is why it also felt natural to share you guys a breakfast recipe, because my week has mainly felt like an eternal morning, or a Sunday.

This dairy free peach coconut yogurt and cinnamon granola enjoyed with peanut butter is just a perfect thing for hazy lazy times like this.

And the super soft bed linen you see in the pictures, that are decorating my headquarters, those I got from ever so lovely Evencki. I think it wash actually the linen that made me think of peaches in the first place. The color and the tender softness. Both perfect for a week of Sundays.

V

Galette. The word which commonly refers mainly to certain pies is associated in my mind with a crazy person. As “galen” means “crazy” in Swedish and “galette” could then easily be a crazy person in Italian, or something.

In my head I see a passionate woman with a messy hair and flour dust all over her face who is so crazy about pies that she doesn’t have time to polish it and fiddle with it, so she just mixes whatever fruit or berries she can find, throws the fillings in the center of the dough and sort of slaps the sides in the middle so that the pie barely keeps it’s form and then swooshes it into the oven! And when the pie is done, she eats it while still standing in front of the kitchen counter with her apron on. Sucking her fingers in between devouring because the pie is still way too hot, but at the same time way too tempting and delicious for her to keep her fingers away from it.

Well, the reality is much more boring, and galette means just a flat cake, usually a rustic berry or fruit filled pie. Or quite surprisingly, a thin man. But not a crazy baker. Only in my head. And possibly in yours too now.

So with that image in your mind I suggest you to try this luscious gluten-free berry galette that is super simple to make. And even though nothing usually beats freshly baked pies this pie is actually maybe even more delicious if you happen to have the willpower to save it for the next day.

When I did the first batch I savored it immediately.

Yes, with my apron on, in front of the oven. Yes, I am the messy crazy baker lady described. Yes, you already knew it, I know.

But, with the second batch I managed to save a few pieces until the next day. And boy was it moist and tasty then!

Next I’m going to make one pie to be eaten right away and one to be saved until the day after. I’m also planning to try this base with peaches and raspberries and with apples and cinnamon. Strawberries & rhubarb I already tried, and It was heaven! Pears and figs would work with this one too
And why not also savory fillings! Like mushrooms and onions, or roasted vegetables and herbs. Or squash and ricotta!

Ok, apparently my summer is going to be just totally “galette”. Hopefully yours too!

V

Try this galette for example with vegan vanilla ice cream, they are match made in heaven! Healthy ice cream recipes can be found in our Kind Ice Cream for You eBook.

I have to say my life is super full at the moment. Actually even a little bit too packed for my taste. My calendar is full with work, meetings and photoshoots, my hands are full with things to do both in home and also in work field, and my head is crowded with stuff I need to remember and take care of. Surprisingly, even though it usually never goes together with a hectic life, my heart is full also – and it is just bursting with gratitude!

One reason for that is this unforgettable incident I had last week in New York at the Saveur Food Blog Awards where Vanelja was nominated as one of the finalist. And you can’t believe this – the craziest thing happened: Editor’s Choice for Best-designed Blog! As in Vanelja was picked to be the winner by the editors from the almighty Saveur magazine!

high-fives with my graphic designer friends Leena Oravainio & Lotta Niemien who helped to build this site and with all you followers, readers and lovely friends and supporters! You guys made this happen!

It is such a huge honor and such a recognized award that I am still totally overwhelmed and it is still hard for me to understand that it actually happened. The whole event, the award, all the amazing people and fellow bloggers I met. The whole experience was like from a dream. Especially when I was totally jet-lagged and was feeling quite surreal even in the first place.

So now, we need to party. Because that's what we people do when something big comes our way – we celebrate and throw a party to mark these big happenings and changes in our lives to somehow make them feel more real, right? First we ask someone to pinch ourselves and then we party.

And because it is summer and I’m just all about ice creams at the moment, as our e-book about healthy dairy-free & refined-sugar-free ice creams, Kind Ice Cream for You just got launched last week, I decided that we celebrate with ice cream. Yay!

This one is an adaptation of one “Instant Chocolate Ice Cream” recipe from our book which can be enjoyed as a soft serve or as a more solid ice cream. I chose to flavor it with a little bit of rum and raisins just to make it more festive. And because rum & raisin is my all time favorite ice cream flavor. And well, because alcohol just gives a nice boost to certain occasions. Though here the rum is first brought to a boil so there’s no change/risk of getting tipsy. …Although, you just might do it anyways because of the intoxicating raw chocolate and the super rich flavor!

So enjoy, live life to it’s fullest and celebrate all the big and small treasures life throws to you. For example now with these luxurious party ice cream balls flying your way!

V

Remember to follow me on Instagram and tag your ice cream photos with #kindicecreamforyou or #kindicecream!

RUM & RAISIN CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

It has arrived! Our e-book about healthy ice creams is finally out! And I must say that I am deeply and utterly in LOVE with it. Hands down, it must be the loveliest cook book I have ever encountered. And that is my totally objective opinion. If me and my partner-in-crime Tuulia Talvio would have not made it I would still love it to pieces! Hahaa!

But the most amazing thing for me here is how this book took even myself by surprise. Because when we started making it this winter I would have never guessed that it would become so big, beautiful and comprehensive as it is.

First we planned to make just a nice small e-book about healthy, dairy-free, refined-sugar-free and gluten-free ice creams with few nice recipes with few nice pictures. But the project kept on growing and growing until one day we realised that we have a real book in our hands, well, on our computer screens – with 130 pages and over 60 recipes, great pictures – and last but not least, a beeeautiful layout, thanks to my dear friend, a super talented graphic designer Leena Oravainio.

So here I am now, super proud, deeply happy and a little bit teary over our kind and beautiful new-born book, Kind Ice Cream for You. And I really want you to meet her, so go ahead and
read more about it in the book’s official website: www.kindicecream.com.

You can buy the book through my SHOP or through www.kindicecream.com or by going straigh HERE. All the roads lead to the same destination. NOTE: E-BOOK IS TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK

So be free to share, download and spread the love! We have really poured our love and passion in this one, so we are very grateful for all the help you can give in spreading our kind ice cream message! #kindicecreamforyou #kindicecream

Take care, be Kind and have a lovely ice-cream-filled June, my friend!

V

Hi Honeys! I have been in silence here for quite some time, mainly because I have been soaking my feet in the golden sands and foaming waters of Venice Beach, LA and also enjoying the blooming spring of New York and tried to keep myself as far from computer as possible. With a quite great success, as you may have noticed.

The other thing that is keeping me busy elsewhere is my book project, well, actually TWO book projects that I´m currently working on. (Gonna hype more about them later! But may I just say that there will be coming up some insanely delicious stuff made with a big and shining heart!) And because there is only one me and only certain amount of hours in the day and a soul that seeks also for relaxed family time so that easily equals some tranquility in this channel.

But, now I got you something special to make up my absence: A luxurious and truly amazing chocolate cake in a jar recipe that I designed a while ago to one Finnish web site but hadn´t posted it here yet. This layered sweetie has it all – the creaminess, some crunchiness, the rich cake layer and above all delicious taste and wholesome ingredients!

And it is actually very simple to assemble even though the instructions may seem quite complicated by a first glance. You just layer some clean chocolate cake crumble, raw chocolate sauce, banana, nuts and coconut whipped cream in a jar and then spoon the magic in your mouth! simple and sensational.

Please let me know the level of your love when you decide to try it! At least my heart expanded to the maximum already with the first bite.

V

CHOCOLATE LUXURY CAKE IN A JAR

I have a huge spring time crush happening here. The target of my affection is oh-so creamy and dreamy home-made pistachio milk. What a charmer. The color of this heavenly nectar is so beautiful that I could just sit and watch it´s tones through my drinking glass forever. …If I would not be so eager to gulp it down in a heartbeat.

Pistachio milk is perfect for example in making raw cakes and ice creams and it´s a loveliest base for smoothies too! In today´s smoothie recipe I connected pistachio milk with figs. And boy did it turn out delicious!

I warmly recommend you try it out on some lovely spring day. And also a bunch of other delicious and fresh smoothie recipes from my free e-book, Creamy Smoothie Guide!

And hey, while you´re here could I ask you to take a minute (or more like 30 seconds) and vote for VANELJA in Saveur Food Blog Awards in the best-designed blog category, as my blog is one of the finalists. Your vote would mean a world to me! As this whole being-in-the-finals already did. You need to registrate first but it only takes a second and you won´t get any junk mail.

So Click & Vote for VANELJA and pure pleasures! Thank you darling, I send you loads of love in return!

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PISTACHIO FIG SMOOTHIE

“She´s a smooth operator, smooooth operator…”

I am so happy to announce that I have created something really cool for you guys. I have been a real “smooth operator” and collected my all time favorite smoothie recipes and best smoothie tips inside of virtual covers of an e-book. The Creamy Smoothie Guide includes 34 pages packed with delicious recipes, mouth-watering photos and hot tips + a formula for a perfect green smoothie. This e-book is a gift from VANELJA to you! You can now download it from HERE.

At the same time you´ll be able to subscribe to VANELJA mailing list which means that you´ll be privileged to get more pure pleasures, recipes, news and quality content, such as this smoothie guide, to your email about once in a month. No non-sense spamming, I promise. Just diamonds.

So go ahead and download your Creamy Smoothie Guide and make your blender buzz! I hope the guide can channel even a drop of that inspiration and energy to you that these liquid lovers give to me! Feel free to share love and tell about VANELJA and The Creamy Smoothie Guide to your friends in your channels:

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TWEETABLE: A LOVER OF SMOOTHIE? GET THIS FREE CREAMY SMOOTHIE GUIDE WITH 34 PAGES FULL OF MOUTH-WATERING RECIPES, PICS & TIPS!

Thank you!

V

I have always found it very interesting to observe how different people react on new things, when they hear great news, new opportunities arises or something good happens. Some go openly bonkers screaming and jumping from happiness, some start panicing and turn the good thing into something scary and intimidating and some swallow their joy and let just a slight smile escape through their lips even though they are dancing and moshing inside.

And then there are people like me who´s natural reaction for something good is to bake a cake. (After the going-publicly-bonkers-phase.) For me a cake represents a deep and intense joy and something ultimately festive. The whole procedure including designing, cooking, eating, food styling and photographing a cake is something that my soul finds very relaxing, joyous and gratifying. For me creating a cake is art on it´s best.

This weekend I have been celebrating with this phenomenal Stracciatella Chocolate Cake that was my reaction to one magnificent news I received on friday. It is born from pure happiness and bliss. When I served the cake people were just chewing it in total silence for a while, then they took a deep sigh and bursted into a praise. Like music to my ears.

I´m not going to tell just yet what was the thing that inspired me to make this super tasty and creamy and luscious piece of work, that I will announce tomorrow on my social media channels (Instagram & Facebook). Now I just wanted to share my happiness in the form of this cake and wish it can pass on some of my great mood and love to all of you!

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STRACCIATELLA CHOCOLATE CAKE

Who ordered a super tasty grain-free and yeast-free pizza? Hold your tablecloths! Here comes your waitress with so jaunty dance moves that even the pale white pizza on my tray almost blushes.

But what can you do when you have created something so tasty and phenomenal – A delicious white pizza that is build on a gluten-free, yeast-free and vegan pizza crust and which is one amazing combination of a crispy pizza and and a rich savory pie – with a hint of flaky mouthfeel to it. It is simply a hit!

I first planned to post it on friday, which is a classcial pizza day, but then thought, screw that, I´m probably going to make it on every evening this week so I must give others the opportunity to do that also. And preparing this “pizza pie” takes less than 20 minutes so you could actually make it even on your lunch break.

And wait, before you run to buy the pizza ingredients I want to highlight also these two gluten-free Vanelja Pizzas, that you could also find interesting:

Butternut Squash and Sage Pizza

Cauliflower Pizza

Try these out and find your favorite!

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WHITE PIZZA

These last days I have been so grateful for all the feedback and daily messages that I am receiving from the people who have bought my KIITOS HYVÄÄ -cook book (in Finnish) and who have cooked something that has blown their mind away and taken them to healthy treats heaven. That is absolutely the best thing for me as a cook book author. To success to inspire and give new ideas for clean eating. And to read, hear and see the reaction of the people when they notice how good, let´s say for example a raw blueberry cheese cake or raspberry candy sticks can taste or how delicious a Cherry Garcia ice cream made mainly from hemp seeds, raw chocolate and honey can be!

After my book was published in December it has been the best selling cook book (for 3 months already!) for example in this Finnish online book store. And that is beyond amazing! It says clearly that people are tired of that shabby, shitty and bloated feeling they get from the traditional pastries, and that they want to feel good not only when they are dropping that piece of cake into their mouths but also afterwards. And no-one wants to give up their pleasures and sweet treats! And actually no-one has to, you just have to pick better ingredients and maybe learn few new tricks.

At the moment I´m looking for a publisher in the US and in Europe so that I could get the book in other languages also, for aaaall you people with sweet n clean cravings out there! Many of you have been asking for an English version, and I also heard a funny rumor that such would be published any day soon. But as far as I know it is not happening just yet, although I took it as a sign, so maybe in the near future it will be not just a rumor but also reality. Fingers crossed!

In the meantime I will share one of the most loved recipes from the book – Sea Salt Toffee Candies aka Nut Butter Toffee! We also made a video of them sponsored by the great nu3.fi. CHECK IT OUT!

And because all the feedback that I have received from these I really have to give a word of caution: These golden cuties seem to be truly addictive stuff. They are super easy to make and they taste delicious. Before you notice you´ll be making another batch. And another, and another.
Regardless, please do try!

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SEA SALT TOFFEE CANDIES

Everything easygoing feels now very tempting. Or maybe those kind of things always attract me like a light bulb attracts the fly. Light-hearted, bright and laid-back essence just feels the right way to be. Ask for example from golden retrievers, daisies or from these carefree little blondies!

So the recipe of the day is called Flourless blondies, Flourless Chickpea Blondies, to be exact.

Once again, a surprise ingredient! Peas. But you´d never guess by the delicious taste what they are actually made of. And that is because they get their genius side kick from banana, almond butter, honey and vanilla extract and maybe, if you will, from a pinch of cinnamon too. So good, I promise!

And I love the way how they are super easy to make, just blend all ingredients in a blender, pour into a pan and bake. Ta-daa! And the whole procedure takes less that 30 minutes from the moment you start having cravings until the moment you pop them out from the oven. My kind of darlings!

And speaking of darlings, I would love you to be one too and vote my blog at Saveur magazine´s annual food blog awards, in case you like my recipes, photos and videos or find this page inspiring! Nominations close on March 13 so you´ll have two more days to vote. Getting nominated would mean a lot to my work.

Thank you and have a lovely and light-hearted rest of the week!

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FLOURLESS CHICKPEA BLONDIES

Sunny summer greetings from the grey and rainy Finland! You dear blogger is totally in shining summer vibes here even though the weather gives us no reason to actually celebrate just yet.

The cause of my mental summer trip is that I´m preparing here one super nice surprise for you guys for the upcoming spring and summer. So inspired by that I have taken kind of a head start here, wearing floral pants, eating ice-cream and all that.

And speaking of ice-cream. I found this old recipe which is actually one of my most loved vegan ice-cream recipes that is maybe familiar to some of my Finnish readers who followed my old blog. Because it is truly a crime to hold this delicious recipe for myself I decided to put it online again and translate it of course also to english.

So here they are, my super delicious vegan ice-cream pops that are easily made with only just 3 ingredients. And when you add just a few bonus seasonings you´ll get yourself a really luxurious treat. I recommend to try them in both ways!

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DAIRY-FREE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM POPS

I´m all about secret ingredients. Like in cooking adding stuff that would suddenly feel weird and totally wrong for example in sweet treats. In my KIITOS HYVÄÄ healthy treats cook book (in Finnish) there is for example a recipe for Mint Pistachio Brownie that includes black beans, a Sweet Chocolate frosting that is made from avocado and a Caramel Mud Pie of which magic lies in sweet potato. Unexpected and therefore interesting. And extra interesting – and quite essential – it is also that the one who eats the dish would never ever guess.

And this is how we get to today´s topic. Which is a chocolate bar recipe that is also found in my cook book. These rich and creamy coconut bars, also called as Clean Bounty Bars are simply de-licious.

But. If I would tell you that one of the main ingredients in these delicious looking coconut chocolate bars is in fact potato would that spoil your appetite? I hope not, because that is truly the case.

Mashed potato is one of the key ingredients in these babies and I don´t know what it actually does to them but it makes them taste goood. And makes the texture and mouthfeel oh so goood.

And the most surprising thing while making these bars happen when you mix the mashed potato with honey – it turns into liquid! Crazy magic potato!

I promise that after these chocolate bars you´ll never look the good ol´ potato at the same way.

And hey, check out how the magic really happens and watch this Clean Bounty Bars VANELJA video!

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CLEAN BOUNTY BARS

I had made something super sweet and cool to pamper you in this Valentine´s Day but some higher forces threw so many small obstacles on my way when I tried to release the post that I realised it is just better to lift my hands, leave it and post it some other day. When the stars align, wind blows from the right direction and the time is ready.

“If you gotta force it, just leave it alone. Relationships, friendships, ponytails. Just leave it.”

Said someone somewhere in some Pinterest picture.

I think it is a good thought especially now at Valentines. When you are at ease love comes and what is meant to happen happens. No need to stress, fuss and hustle. All is good.

Here are my 3 favorite clean chocolate treats for you to prove it. They´re all pure good. Make them to your loved one or show yourself some self loving and care.

Sweet Valentine´s Day, my friend.

V

I love theme foods and traditional treats that are consumed only in one specific feast and only once a year. And I also love love love spring and every small promise and hint that says that spring is actually and finally coming and bringing the light back. So those two loves combined it is no wonder why I am so inspired and excited of the upcoming Shrove Tuesday (which is for me the first solid promise of spring) and it´s treats.

In many countries Shrove Tuesday is know as the Pancake day, that naturally means that the day is celebrated by consuming pancakes. In Finland we have that pancake thing also, but even more common treat is the “Shrove Bun” which is this sweet baked roll that is halved and filled with raspberry jam or almond paste and whipped cream. People go always nuts about them! And argue every single year which is the BEST and the REAL filling for Shrove Buns – raspberry or almond paste. (I must say I love them both but in the end I would lean towards raspberry jam.)

As delicious as the Shrove Buns are there is one problematic thing about them. They include wheat, yeast, white sugar and dairy which makes many peoples belly bloat. Especially because for many people one bun is just not enough.

That is why I have created these alternative treats that you can consume generously and still feel fresh and great afterwards! Last year I created this gluten-free, yeast-free and dairy-free Shrove Buns (sorry the recipe is only in Finnish here) and this year I made this Shrove Smoothie as in Creamy Cashew Cardamom Raspberry Smoothie AND also Raw Shrove cake as in Raw Creamy Rasperry Cake which are both inspired by the traditional tastes of the Shrove Bun.

So this year no-one needs to feel like a gas balloon or decline from treats anymore. How wonderful is that! And how wonderful is also that the sun has been actually shining here for two days already (which feels like a miracle after this exceptionally dark and gray winter)!

So hurray for the sunshine and Shrove Tuesday and enormous amounts of treats! Spring is coming and love is in the air, and in the smoothies and cakes and buns!

V

RAW CREAMY RASPBERRY CAKE

This cake was born to be a legend. I first released the recipe over two years ago in my old blog and it immediately gained a great success. I haven´t got that much comments and feedback from any of my other recipe. Both raw cake and traditional cake lovers seemed to love it. And no wonder. It combines creamy vanilla frosting, deep chocolate flavors and banana. You just can´t go wrong with those simple and always stylish ingredients.

The recipe found its way also into my healthy treats cook book and now I think it´s time to release it again online – in the name of democracy. Classics belong to everyone.

So help yourself and stick your spoon into what I would modestly call one of world´s best raw cakes.

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RAW CHOCOLATE COCONUT CREAM CAKE

I´m a true believer of pleasures. Good amount of lazy enjoyments keep your brain working and new ideas flowing.

I have had quite a hectic time in the beginning of this year and one thing that keeps my mind clear from all the work fuss are my midday hot showers. No matter how worried, stuck or stressed I feel when I step into the shower I always leave with calm feeling and fresh new ideas and realizations. Sitting under a hot running water for about 15 minutes in the middle of my home office day is my everyday pleasure and meditation technique numero uno.

Look for example these caramel filled mocha muffins with vanilla coconut whipped cream frosting. These babes were born while one of my midday showers. Well, the idea was born there. And while they might not be any world changing innovation I think they are still truly remarkable. So luscious and tasty and soft and lovely! And I have heard amazing feedback from many people about these muffins. Someone called them life savers. So maybe there might be some world changing potential in them after all.

So I say relax your brains and go ahead and seek for pleasures and enjoy! Lazy time can be very productive. You can start with these muffins.

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CARAMEL FILLED MOCHA MUFFINS

I must say – and it might come as a surprise when thinking of my profession as a food editor, recipe artist and a cook book author – but I´m a quite terrible cook.

And that is when it comes to normal, real food, meaning warm dishes, meals and dinners. In that area of cooking my imagination just stops and mind goes blank. I have maybe two kinds of dishes that I can handle well: the other one is oven roasted or steamed vegetables and the other one is veggie soups. Oh yeah, there´s also a third one I like to serve and that´s called “Let´s go out to eat.” That´s something that is served in our family many times a week. And I´m not proud of it. It´s just that I might miss a chromosome that makes mothers eager to cook meals for their family. My man misses that too. His cooking chromosome, I mean. Well, maybe mine too.

Okay, I think I would have the basic skills one needs in preparing good meals, but it is the passion and interest that I lack. Even though the inspiration would be found everywhere. Cook books and internet are bursting delicious recipes, but for some reason mostly the sweet stuff catches my eye. Or snacks. Or breakfast things. That part of cooking makes my eyes sparkle and mouth water.

This being said it might not be a surprise that I´ll once again serve you guys something from that field. It is a great invention of mine called a Breakfast Cake. It unites granola and chocolate pudding. It is truly a brilliant thing. It´s really soft and fudgy and can barely hold a shape of a cake. But it can, and that is why it´s called cake, not just a pile of pudding and granola. It is not too sweet because in the morning too much sweetness for me is like loud noise to tastepuds. You will want to wake up your senses gently.

The other great thing besides the subtle and delicious taste and a great concept is that for a change this recipe is totally nut-free. I´ve received so many pretty requests for nut-free recipes from people with allergies that I thought now is the time.

I have also received many pretty requests for recipes for healthy meals but as you now know, I´m not quite there yet. Still developing. Maybe someday in the future I will start creating these great entrees for you readers and for my family. (to be honest, hopefully I will be able to hire someone to do that in my home and on this site…)

So for now I´ll continue with these sweeties and snacks! With them – I rock.

Try this and you´ll rock too.

V

CHOCOLATE PUDDING CAKE

Since my childhood I have always been a sucker for candy. I must say that it is the biggest temptation for me. Even now, when I have been eating quite clean for over 6 years, it is still sometimes hard for me to pass those colorful candy shelves. All those sweets, chocolates, flavors and smells just make my head blur. Usually I can manage myself, but if you give me a bowl of candies – I will sure empty it. And not leave one tiny piece behind.

Well, we all have our addictions.

And I´m not alone with this one. Candy business is huge and especially here in Finland and also in Sweden even adults eat candies like there´s no tomorrow! It is crazy. That is why it is my passion to create better alternatives for all those common candies filled with refined sugars, colourants and artificial flavors. One of my dream is to join forces with some candy factory and to start creating healthy sweets for people. So holler if you happen to be in candy biz! I´m your girl.

And then to the real topic of this post. It is the licorice toffee that I´ve created. I got the inspiration for it from this really popular retro toffee bar that we have here in Finland called “Hopeatoffee” as in Silver toffee. I don´t know where the name comes from, because it ain´t silver. It´s black. That is because it´s made from licorice. It´s soft tasty licorice toffee and I can understand why it has been on market for over 30 years now. It is good.

But of course not as good as my new version! This updated silver toffee has only three ground ingredients: organic rice syrup (or honey), almond butter and dairy-free milk. Then you flavor it with licorice, anise, vanilla and salt, cook it for 5 – 20 minutes, depending on how sticky you want your toffee to be, pour it on molds or on board, let it cool and you´re good to go!

You´ll love it.

Have fun time cooking and munching! And stay tuned, because there´s more clean candies to come!

V

LICORICE TOFFEE

For the last night of the year I wanted to prepare a cake that makes you feel both grateful and hopeful at the same time. For those are the two essential emotions one should feel when one year ends and another one begins.

To achieve that goal I chose champagne and orange to be the star actors of this party delicacy. The layers of my rustic naked cake are filled with orange chia jam and orange coconut whipped cream. The final result truly tastes like the New Year´s eve – glamorous and joyful!

And even though the alcohol evaporates when you bake the cake in the oven, this cake totally get´s one into party mood. Even kids!

My soon-to-be-3-year-old daughter tasted it, ran to hug me and said that the cake tastes so good that it makes her stomach dance!

Dancing and hugging, that´s what the best parties are made of. And champagne, of course.

Magnificent New Year to all of you!

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NAKED CHAMPAGNE CAKE

Higher forces are talking through me. I mean something bigger than me made me do stuff – to bake christmas cookies, to be exact. (I´m happy the forces communicating through me are seemingly good-natured, maybe a kind spirit of pastries or something.)

Many days I was haunted by this idea of gluten-free version of a traditional finnish christmas mince pie with a plum heart. And many days I tried to avoid this given mission. Just wasn´t in the mood. Then yesterday I finally gave in and stuck my hands to the dough. And created this easy modern version of the mince pie.

Actually they are more like cookies, even though the texture reminds a little bit of a puff pastry. The taste is delicious. The chia plum jam with a hint on licorice gives them a perfect juicy heart. Our 2-year-old went totally bonkers with these and had a great temper tantrum when after her fifth cookie I didn´t give her more. I think that means I kind of nailed my mission.

And if you were wondering (beacuse of my “talking higher forces” or “given missons”), I´m really okay. I can insure you. Not overstressed about my book and hearing voices, really. I´m actually very realxed and happy. Especially now when I got this new christmas recipe out of my system and the outcome was fantastic.

So keep ´em coming, you all mighty spirit of pastries!

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MINCE PIE COOKIES WITH A PLUM JAM HEART

To me there is nothing more that screams christmas – or rather that sings christmas, with the jingle bells backround – than ginger bread cookies. One bite or one sniff and you travel straight to the winter wonderland and to christmas mood.

In fact, as much I love a good ginger bread cookie I don´t want to eat them any other time than just before christmas. So that the magic won´t fade.

Now when it´s only 9 days to christmas I can finally swing into high gear and start baking my magical crispy cookies with warm flavors. Wishing they would make the winter wonderland reality, meaning that the snow would finally come.

So here´s my gluten-free and grain-free ginger bread cookie recipe that I have created for you. Added also some nut butter in just to make the spell more intense. Join the magic and enojy!

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GINGER BREAD COOKIES

I am sooo excited here right now. Butterfly disco in my stomach and a permanent crazy persons grin on my face. One reason is that it is the first day of December and I can finally and totally release all my christmas moves! Baking, decorating, dancing… Last night we already brought the christmas tree inside and I can see how it´s just praying for me to dance around it along with some good old Frank Sinatra tunes while munching ginger bread.

But, there is yet another and this time bigger reason for my hype and that is that my first cook book (!!!) Kiitos hyvää is gonna be released in Finland in this very week!

*more awkward dance moves here*

The book is about sweet treats with no white sugar or gluten. (or dairy or yeast or any shady stuff). The book is about pure pleasures – like this site. It´s available only in Finnish at this moment but let´s hope that we´ll get an english version of it later for all of you fellow pleasure seekers around the world!

Here´s a small sample of the sweet treasures of my book: Vanilla coconut stars with chocolate almond butter heart.

When you taste them you really feel like they´ve dropped on your tongue straight from the heaven.

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VANILLA COCONUT DROPS WITH A CHOCOLATE HEART

Nothing suits better for hazy early winter mornings than this vanilla coconut pudding with a hint of warm spices. It kisses you so softly that you can then handle anything the day brings.

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VANILLA COCONUT PUDDING

I have started it. I have let Christmas in. Some might say it's way too early for this annual guest to arrive. Yet in my point of view, Christmas has so many lovely qualities, especially flavors and things to eat, that if you want to enjoy it to the maximum, you really need to start early.

As I did when I baked these lovely Cranberry Cinnamon cookies.

In some weird way these cookies remind me of cinnamon rolls, but these are definitely more cookie-like than buns, while still quite soft in the center. And crisp at the same time. With some soft and juicy cranberry and raisin hits. And almond flakes. Aaand that cinnamon and cardamom flavor. These cookies are simply a must pre-Christmas treat!

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CRANBERRY CINNAMON COOKIES

This sunday is Father´s Day here in Finland. And because our papa – as in my man – does not appreciate too much cakes or other pastry I designed some savory treat for him: Paleo toast with ricotta cheese, pear slices, cinnamon, pecan nuts and honey on top. To be served him in bed, of course.

These darlings were so good. You really need to make them, now. Or at least for tomorrow breakfast. If you happen to value a good and luxurious toast. And who wouldn´t?
Toast makes you happy, especially with abundant toppings like these. There´s something addictive with combination of soft and crispy, warm and cold, sweet and savory. Attraction of the opposites. Attraction of a good toast.

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PALEO TOAST

I love a meal of good honest oatmeal porridge. So warm and comforting in the cold mornings. So safe and secure. And yet easily – oh so boring. Especially when eaten at almost every breakfast in the cold season, as the tradition goes in many households here in Finland. Oatmeal porridge with butter. Oatmeal porridge with berries. Oatmeal porridge with milk. Oh my dear porridge, I love you, but we really need to spice things up if we want to save our relationship!

And so came the spices. Last week I got to taste this really interesting variation of oatmeal porridge in a PR event. Oatmeal was cooked with coconut milk and served with licorice sauce. The combination was so darn delicious! I had to try it at home and make my own version of it.

I cooked the oatmeal in a mixture of oat milk and coconut milk with some vanilla, and also added a ripe banana in slices. I topped the whole thing with licorice chia jam.
Oatmeal and licorice are both inherently Finnish flavours and they match beautifully with coconut and banana. There's north and south combined. There's something familiar and something surprising. Not dull anymore! This one truly perked up my porridge relationship and made the love stronger.

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COCONUT OAT PORRIDGE WITH LICORICE CHIA JAM

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.

That was said by Oscar Wilde. And that argument I have been trying to proof today by making this ridiculous and fabulous chocolate covered peanut butter popcorn cake. Because there has been some frequent thoughts of chocolate, peanut butter and popcorn on my mind. Together. Combined.

And because it is Halloween.

So now, I can inform you all that Oscar Wilde was wrong. I did not get rid of the temptation. Actually it got worse. This morning I have had to yield to the temptation in every 15 minutes and go time and again back to the fridge and chip off “just one more piece” of this cake. But I don´t mind. I love it.

And warmly recommend it. To every pleasure seeker and peanut butter & popcorn & chocolate lover. This is a perfect movie night snack or halloween treat. If you don´t mind your hands getting all cluttered with chocolate and your temptations getting bigger by every bite.

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PEANUT BUTTER POPCORN CAKE

Popcorncake:

  • 5 cups non-salted popcorn
  • 0,5 cup melted butter
  • 0,5 cup thick peanut butter
  • 2 tbls organic raw honey or coconut palm syrup + toffee stevia drops
  • 0,25 cup crushed peanuts
  • 0,25 cup crushed raw chocolate or cacao nibs

Chocolate frosting:

  • 4 tbls peanutbutter
  • 3 tbls coconut oil or butter
  • 3 tbls raw cacao powder
  • 4 tbls organic raw honey or coconut palm syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

On top:

  • crushed peanuts
  • crushed raw chocolate or cocoa nibs

Butter a bundt pan. Prepare the popcorn. Remove all unpopped grains from the crowd and put the popcorn in a bowl. Melt butter, peanut butter and honey in a warm water bath. Pour the mixture into a bowl with popcorns. Add in the nuts and chocolate chips and mix. Press the mixture firmly into the cake pan. Put the pan into the freezer for a couple of hours. Take the pan from the freezer and turn the cake out onto a plate and put in the fridge and prepare the frosting.

Melt peanut butter, coconut oil / butter and honey in a warm water bath. Add cocoa powder and vanilla. Check the taste and add more spice or sweetness if needed

Frost the cake and top with chopped nuts or grated raw chocolate. Put the cake into the freezer for about 15 – 30 minutes. Serve, chip off pieces with your hand or with a help of a knife and enjoy! Store in the fridge.

Note: This cake has to be served cold, otherwise it will lose it´s shape. You won´t get perfect cake slices but more like delicious blocks and chuncks!

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My man and daughter both love crisp bread, hard rye bread to be exact, and they both have a very devoted way to munch and crunch their bread at the mealtime. I feel always a little bit bystander with them because my stomach don´t like rye bread that much and gluten-free crisp breads that you can buy from the supermarket have been kinda disappointing to me. So I´m usually out of the crisp bread gang.

Now my situation looks brighter though! Risenta contacted me and asked if I would want to try out their new gluten-free seed crisp bread mixture and when I looked at the ingredient list I answered YES straightaway.

The mixture includes only nice quality seeds: Sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seed, psyllium seeds and chia-seeds. And no weird additives. You just need to add some oil and water and bake the dough in the oven for a while, and before you know you have nice and tasty and gluten-free crispy bread in front of you!

You can of course use the same technique by mixing different kind of seeds, if you have tendency to collect seed assortments in your closets, like I do. But if not, this package is a easy way to make some crackers when you get an urge to crunch.

I also made some salty chips and crackers from the mixture and they came also out really nice.

My family liked them also. Mainly maybe because now we could all enjoy some nice crispy bread family time together, with no moms left outside.

V

Risenta Seed Crackers

  • 350 g of Risenta Seed Cracker Mix
  • 4 dl of boiled water
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 175 celcius degrees. Mix the contents of the bag with 4 cup of boiled hot water in a bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes.

Pour the mixture onto two baking tarys coveres with baking sheets. Put another baking paper on top of the mixture. Press mixture with your hands until smooth flat plate. Remove the baking paper on top. Sprinkle on some salt and / or dried herbs.

Bake in the oven for about 55 minutes, until bread is dry and gets a beautiful brown color. Take out of the oven and cut to pieces. Store in a resealable jar or box.

*IN CO-OPERATION VANELJA & RISENTA*

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What happens when two ultimate breakfast lovers and foodies meet? Answer is: Sunday in Bed breakfast menu. Which means foods that make you stay with your breakfast long, keep your pajamas on the whole day, crumble on sheets, leave food and dishes here and there so that you can return eating after a small nap.

We created the menu together with super lovely Tuulia from Uusia Tuulia blog (that you can read also in english now!) We two share the same food visions, we love good and delicious food, clean flavors, fresh ingredients, and most of all, good breakfasts.

Sunday in Bed breakfast menu includes:

  • Almond yogurt

  • Berry almond granola

  • Lemon pancake

  • Orange blossom jam

  • Hemp bread rolls

  • Kiwi Spinach Apple juice

I could go on and on about how amazing all these dishes are eaten together or alone, but instead I just recommend you, very warmly, to write down all these ingredients and get them for your slow weekend mornings.

The recipes for almond yogurt, jam and bread rolls you can find here below and the recipes for granola, pancake and juice you can get from Tuulia´s blog.( Just switch the language to english from the upper bar on her page!)

Have lazy and lovely weekend!

V

ALMOND YOGURT

(dairy-free)

  • 2 cups raw almonds (soaked overnight)
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 tbl honey
  • 1 probiotic capsule or 1 package vegan yogurt starter 3 tbls natural yogurt/ unflavored vegan yogurt with active bacterial culture
  • 1 – 3 ts agar agar (if you want your yogurt to be thicker)

blend soaked and strained almonds, water, and sweetener and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture with cheese cloth on top of a bowl, so that you get a nice white almond milk. You can use the left over almond pulp for example with crackers or bread rolls.
Pour the almond milk into a pot and warm it so that it almost boils. If you want your yogurt to be thicker, add agar agar and boil carefully for about 5 – 7 minutes and add probiotic powder after that. Allow the mixture to cool. Stir in the brobiotic powder / yogurt. Pour yogurt into a sealable clean glass jar. Allow the mixture to incubate for about 6 – 12 hours. Store the yogurt in an air-tight container/jar in the refridgerator.
Try different lengths of time yogurt cultures and amount of culture you use so that you find the best way to make the perfect yogurt for your taste!

HEMP BREAD ROLLS

  • 1 tablespoon of chia-seed + 0,5 cup water
  • 1,5 cup almond flour (you can substitute part of this with the almond pulp left over from making the almond yogurt)
  • 0,5 cup oatmeal
  • 0,25 cup potato flour
  • 0,5 cup hemp seeds
  • 0,25 cup of linen seeds
  • 1,5 tsp psyllium fiber husk
  • 1,5 tsp baking powder

  • 1,5 cups of water (or some dairy-free milk)

  • 0,25 cup melt butter (or coconut oil)
  • 2 tablespoons hemp oil
  • 1 tsp local honey
  • 0,5 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
  • pinch of sea salt

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

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

ORANGE BLOSSOM CHIA-JAM

  • 3 oranges
  • 3 tablespoons local raw honey
  • 1 teaspoon orange flower water
  • 3 tablespoons chia-seeds

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

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In Finland we have this one delicious small chocolate covered mint truffle bar with a hint of vanilla called Pätkis. Pätkis and I have quite a strong and long lasted love relationship. Actually at one point it was an almost unhealthy addiction, from my part, I have to admit. Being together felt always such a good idea and it tickled all my senses, but afterwards I felt always used and empty.

And I'm really not the only missus this small charmer has. Actually, almost all my female friends have a small or big crush on him. One friend of mine thought that her relationship with Pätkis wasn't doing her any good, so she threw me a challenge and asked if I could make a healthy version of her favourite chocolate lover. I sympathised her pain, so I rolled up my sleeves and got into action.

And I did quite well, I have to say. Of course you can never totally copy the charm of a true Casanova, but for me this does the trick.

Chocolate truffle on the inside, a hint of peppermint and vanilla, and a chocolate coat on top. Everything is raw, unprocessed, no white sugar, no additives, no e-codes or other gimmicks.

This lover is a true lover. No exploiting of women. He leaves a girl smiling and feeling good about herself. And I'm happy to pass the love!

V

RAW MINT TRUFFLE CHOCOLATE BARS

About 8 pieces

Raw Mint Truffle Bars:

  • 0,5 dl cacao butter
  • 0,5 dl raw cacao mass
  • 4 tbls cold-pressed coconut oil
  • 5 tbls raw cacao powder
  • 4 tbls organic honey (or coconut palm syrup)
  • 2 tbls almond butter (or some salt free nut butter)
  • a few drops chocolate flavored stevia (optional)
  • 0,5 tsp vanilla powder
  • 0,5 tsp peppermint extract
  • a mini pinch of sea salt
  • 1 dl of almond meal

Chocolate coating:

  • 1 dl grated raw cacao mass
  • 0,5 dl grated cacao butter
  • 2 tbls cold-pressed coconut oil
  • 4 tbls raw cacao powder
  • 4 tbls organic honey (or coconut palm syrup, or stevia)
  • 0,5 tsp vanilla extract or a few drops of vanilla flavored stevia
  • a mini pinch of sea salt

Mint truffle bars:

Melt the cacao butter, cacao mass and coconut oil in a warm water bath until liquid. Add raw cacao powder, honey, stevia, vanilla and peppermint extract and sea salt. Stir. Check the taste and add more spice if needed. Mesure the almond flour into a blender and add the chocolate mass. Mix until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and put it into the freezer for about 15 minutes. Prepare the chocolate coating in the meantime.

Chocolate coating:

Melt the cacao butter and coconut oil in a warm water bath until liquid. Add cacao powder, honey, and salt and mix. Check the taste and add sweeteners if needed.

Take the chocolate mass from the freezer and form small chocolate bars. (If the mixture is still too loose put it back in the freezer for a moment.) Glaze the bars with the chocolate coating. If the frosting is too runny, keep it a little while in a cold water bath so that it thickens a little bit. When all the bars have their coating, put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy! Store in a refrigerator. Best when kept in a room temperature for a while before serving!

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There was a time when I avoided all bread. It made me feel bloated and annoyed. Then came the time when I realised that the villain was gluten in breads, the reason for my misery. So I switched to gluten-free breads that you can buy from supermarkets. They tasted horrible. AND caused unpleasant feelings in my stomach. What followed was an ecstatic time period with raw foods and raw crackers. I felt awesome, but as time went by, the dry crackers started to stuck into my throat, metaphorically speaking.

From crackers I switched to home made gluten-free nut and seed breads that gave some ease to my bread-hunger. But hey, they don't compare to fluffy, tasty white bread. If anyone says anything other than that, they are fooling themselves and other people.

So what happened then, you might wonder. Well, as it usually goes in these kinds of stories, I had an enlightenment. I found the world of gluten-free and grain-free flours, powders and other natural additives. And after then, gluten-free baking felt like a dance!

My latest dance moves in that field happened last weekend: I baked these amazing heavenly fluffy poppy seed buns with chia seed gel and psyllium husk as the main binders. If you´re looking for a totally vegan recipe, you can switch the butter into coconut oil or some other oil you prefer!

This is an enter to a bread heaven. Especially enjoyed with this strawberry butter.

Btw, After the recipe, check out my best gluten-free baking tips!

POPPY SEED BUNS

(gluten-free, yeast-free)

About 12 rolls

  • 2 tablespoons chia-seeds + 0,5 cup water
  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 0,5 cup buckwheat flour
  • 0,5 cup potato starch
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 tbsp psyllium husk
  • 1 cup oat milk (or other dairy-free milk or water)
  • 1/2 ts liquid honey
  • 0,5 cup melted butter or coconut oil, or half and half
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    • poppy seeds on top

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 about 10 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 25-30 minutes in center of the oven until they are slightly golden. Take out of the oven, serve and enjoy!

Check out our poppy deed bread rolls tutorial video HERE.

STRAWBERRY BUTTER

  • 5-7 fresh strawberries (or 0,5 cups of freeze dried strawberries)
  • 200 g unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoons honey
  • 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)
  • 0,5 cup cashews (steeped for at least an hour)
  • 270 g plain tofu
  • 1 tablespoon juice of a lemon
  • 1 teaspoon coconut syrup
  • 1 tablespoon almond oil (or other mild vegetable oil)
  • 0,5 tsp bourbon vanilla
  • pinch of black pepper
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons almond milk (or other dairy-free milk or water)

If you are using the freeze-dried strawberries, chop them first 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 with foil or plastic wrap.

GUIDE TO GLUTEN-FREE BAKING

Best flours, powders, tips and tricks to successful gluten-free baking!

FLOURS:

  • -Almond flour/almond meal:

Tasty and rich in fiber, just like many other gluten-free flours does not form starch by itself, so you´ll need to use some booster with it, for example baking powder and psyllium husk. Some almond meals/flours that you can find in stores are rougher and include almond shell. The rougher almond meals are full-fat, which means they do not bind as much moisture as the finer almond meals.

  • -Coconut Flour:

Slightly sweet coconut flour is one of my favorites. Coconut flour swells in liquids, so you need it less than half of so called normal flour.

  • -Nut/Almond flours:

Different kinds of nut flours can be used to provide a variety of taste nuances. They are mainly best used with other flours. You can prepare nut and almond flour yourself by grinding the nuts in an effective blender. Beware, however, not to blend too much so that the flour does not transform into nut butter, which, too, is certainly an excellent ingredient in baking!

  • -Oatmeal:

Gluten-free oat flour is created easily at home by grinding gluten-free oatmeal in a blender. Oatmeal has a great viscosity, but the dough can easily become too slimy. Use alongside with other flours, psyllium husk and xanthan.

  • -Buckwheat flour:

Versatile and easy flour, and works superbly on its own or mixed with other flours. Gives nice rye flavor to baked goods. For very sweet pastries use only with other flours.

Try also these gluten-free flours: Rice flour, corn flour, soy flour and potato flour!

STARCHES

  • -Psyllium seed husk:

The powder made of the ground seeds swells in liquid. It brings about thickness to gluten-free dough and facilitates processing. Perfect for almond or coconut flour, for example! When using psyllium, the amount of flour should be reduced about 10-30%. You should test different marks because the quality and thereby the result may vary a lot.

  • -Xanthan:

A polysaccharide powder derived from a bacteria called Xanthomonas Camestr is in a fermentation process gives thickness and fluffiness. Fits well with cakes and biscuits when mixed with flours.

  • -Tapioca powder/tapioca starch:

The mild-flavored tapioca powder is obtained from cassava root. It gives pastry lusciousness and structure, and can also be used to thicken.

  • -Flax or chia meal:

Flax meal or chia seeds used with liquid combine to a gel that works well as the binding agent in baking. Use flax meal or chia seeds as they are or finely chop the flax seeds, whisk about 1 tablespoon seeds/meal and 3 tablespoons water, and keep the mixture in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. This will give you the so-called flax egg, which can be used to replace the egg in many recipes.

You may also try ripe banana, peanut butter, soy protein and agar agar to give viscosity to your gluten-free dough!

Other tips:

– Golden rising tip: Add to the pattern a little more baking powder and something acidic, such as lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. This way you get beautifully risen pastries.

– Gluten-free doughs can easily glue to your hands. Oiling your hands will make them easier to process.

– Make your very own gluten-free flour mixture by mixing, for example, buckwheat flour, almond flour, psyllium fiber and xanthan.

– Experiment boldly a variety of gluten-free flours to find your favorite and to learn how different flours behave and what kind of recipes each isbest suited for.

V

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There's some licorice mania going on here. All licorice related feels now tempting. All kinds of licorice and chocolate combinations in particular.

A few years ago, I fell in love with the Finnish Panda Duello candies that were these wonderful chocolate-coated licorice pieces. (For which, by the way, my husband directed a cute ad)

I got a little upset when I realized that these candies were no longer being manufactured, which was ultimately a good thing, because I panicked and developed my own substitute – a healthy licorice chocolate. The recipe is included in my upcoming Kiitos hyvää cookbook that will find its way to the Finnish shops in the first week of December.

Only it's terrible to have to hold back so wonderful a secret for such a long time!

So to ease the pain of keeping this secret and to help my licorice mania, I made a licorice smoothie parfait with a hint of chocolate.

I have once made a licorice smoothie for Four Sigma Foods back in the day that charmed many. This smoothie parfait is a lot like the FSF smoothie, except that this one contains a few different ingredients and is built in layers, which makes it more a dessert than a morning smoothie.

Licorice smoothie parfait

Chia pudding:

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

Licorice smoothie:

  • ¼ cups almonds
  • 2 dried figs
  • 1 banana
  • 2 cups almond milk (or other dairy-free milk)
  • 1 ts vanilla extract
  • 1-4 ts black licorice root extract powder (or grated licorice extract stick)

    • 1 banana

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

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

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

Try, if you dare. You see, this might very easily lead to an addiction for licorice lovers. You know what they say, once you go black, you never go back.

V

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Well this is something else. When you get a slice of tasty gluten free pizza, then you know you´re having a good day. I already have one nice gluten free pizza recipe here, a cauliflower pizza that is. And now here comes another champion! This stuff is gluten free and grain free, so it’s suitable for many kinds of diets. Also to people who follow enjoyism, which I do. The most important guideline in our ideology is to eat only food that we can enjoy, other we steer clear of.

The most interesting thing about this deeply enjoyable pizza is that you don’t add any tomato sauce, but instead you spread generously ricotta cheese on the base. Then you slice some butternut squash and mince some garlic on top. And enjoy it with fresh sage leaves.

-Very exquisite taste, said my husband. -Fucking good!, slipped from my mouth. And even in front of our child. Happily, she didn´t probably hear. By the looks of it, she too was following the rules of enjoyism, swinging slowly, with her eyes closed and savouring deeply her pizza slice.

PALEO BUTTERNUT SQUASH PIZZA

2 pizzas

Pizza base:

  • 2 dl Coconut Flour
  • 2 dl tapioca flour (starch)
  • 1 tablespoon psyllium husk
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 dl olive oil
  • 1 dl heated water
  • 2 organic eggs

Filling:

  • 2 dl ricotta cheese
  • 1 Butternut Squash
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • pinch of flake salt
  • black pepper
  • a handful of fresh sage

Preheat oven to 225 celsius degrees. Combine coconut flour, tapioca flour, psyllium husk and salt in a bowl. Pour in olive oil and warm water and stir. Add the lightly whisked egg. Mix until well combined. Add two to three more tablespoons of coconut flour until the mixture is a soft but somewhat sticky dough. Place the pizza dough ball onto a sheet of parchment paper. Roll out the dough until it is fairly thin. Add flour if needed, but be careful that the dough wont´´ become too dry. Place the rolled out dough into preheated oven and pre-bake for about 12 minutes.

Slice the butternut squash into thin slices, with mandolin or with a sharp knife. Take the pre baked pizza crust from the oven. Spoon on some ricotta cheese and place the butternut squash slices on top. Grind on some black pepper and sprinkle some salt finger. Chop one clove of garlic on the surface (or squeeze it on top of baked pizza with a garlic clamp). Bake in the oven for about 15 more minutes. Take out from the oven, top with some fresh sage leaves, serve and enjoy!

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So it’s Friday. Time to pamper you.

I have created an awesome duet for your weekend´s easy mornings: chocolate bread with whipped vanilla butter. I know, sounds almost ridiculously good. And to tell you the truth, when I took the first bite, I actually had to laugh out loud. It was luscious. Rich and moist. Mind-blowing.

The chocolate bread built on almond flour and banana is by itself an experience. But with vanilla butter – whipped vanilla butter – it becomes luxurious.

So try it and enjoy it slowly, at breakfast, in your pyjamas, maybe in your bed. Take all the time in the world. Have no hurry. In the end, we are eternal beings in a ready-made world. At least after this chocolate bread and vanilla butter it seems ready.

CHOCOLATE BREAD

(gluten-free, milk-free, paleo)

  • 3 dl almond flour
  • 1 dl raw cocoa powder
  • 0.5 dl chopped walnuts
  • 1 tablespoon psyllium husk
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • a pinch of sea salt
  • 4 organic eggs
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 2 dl oat milk (or, for example coconut or almond milk)
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons melt coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp local honey
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • The dish size: about 12 x 20 cm

    Preheat the oven to 200 celcius degrees. Lightly oil the loaf and cover with baking paper. See the instructions here.

    Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Separate the eggs – egg whites in another bowl and the yolks in another bowl. Whisk the egg whites until peak arises. In the other bowl mix the egg yolks, mashed banana, oust milk, apple vinegar, coconut oil, honey and vanilla extract. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl. Mix. Pour the mixture into the prepared bread pan. Bake for about 30 minutes. Take the loaf from the oven, turn the oven temperature into 175 degrees, remove bread from loaf pan, place it on the oven rack and bake for another 15 minutes. To try if the bread is done use a toothpick. Insert about half of the toothpick into the bread. If the toothpick comes out with dough on it then you´ll need to bake the bread for 5 more minutes. Repeat this step until the toothpick comes out clean. Take the bread out of the oven and let it cool a while. Serve and enjoy.

    WHIPPED VANILLA BUTTER

  • 100 g soft butter
  • 0.5 dl almond milk (or other milk drink)
  • 1 tablespoons local honey
  • vanilla seeds or 0.5 tsp vanilla powder
  • Apply the softened butter, almond milk, honey and vanilla in a bowl and beat until creamy, fluffy and white. Store in a refrigerator. Excellent spread for example with the chocolate bread!

    V

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    Today there are cookies on the menu! Watch our cookie video and try this super simple, cute and tasty recipe. You can also try oatmeal flakes or buckwheat flakes instead of coconut.

    3 Ingredient Cinnamon Cookies

    Approximately 6 – 8 pieces

  • 1 big and ripe banana
  • 1 cup shredded coconut
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Mash the banana and ddd the coconut and cinnamon. Mix. Taste and add seasoning or sweetness if desired. Shape the cookies into balls on a baking sheet and press them to about half a centimeter thick cookies. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the biscuits get a delicate golden brown color. Allow to cool and enjoy.

    V

    I´m the type of person who tends to heat up easily. When there are not enough hours in the day for all the ideas, projects and inspiration, my mind and body go into overdrive. Usually I can find the balance quite easily by calming down and eating more alkaline food, drinking green juices and so on, but once in a while the cooling down task proves to be more difficult.

    Lately I have been working with two very dear and big projects, this website and my upcoming cookbook that will be released in Finland in December. These projects combined with other work stuff and a quite speedy life with a 2-year-old have made my body collect some extra heat.

    So now, with all you lovely readers as my witnesses, I promise to take action and make cooling off and quieting down my main missions. This means more daily meditation and being conscious, being present.
    I believe that in a peaceful state of mind you can be just as effective as when your mind is in overdrive.

    What is needed is just a little bit of learning and more concentrating when it comes to my type of hotties. And hey, lovely cooling treats like this pretty sorbet made from frozen grapes! You can find the recipe in HERE.

    Some meditation and some sorbet will help you to cool down and take the edge off an agitated state, for sure.