Healing My SIBO (Small Intestional Bacterial Overgrowth)/ Candida Naturally - My Struggles

 Hello Friends,

i know long time no see! i am so sorry for being so absent both here and on my instagram recently, and if you are interested in why, this post is going to be a pretty candid and word vomit-y version of the last year or 2 of my stomach issues and how it has felt like it has effected pretty much all areas of my life.

as most of the people who know me, and even those who dont know me well, understand that i am a massive foodie! i feel like i am always thinking up different recipes i can make, how to make them healthier, how to alter them to make it intolerance/allergy friendly, and ultimately to hopefully open my own food stall/cafe (current life goal!). at university i did study public health and health promotion, with a nutrition major, and have always been super interested in helping people make healthier food choices, educating them on different ways of cooking and baking, how to make the healthier option the easier option, and most importantly making it all taste so good that you dont feel as though you are missing out on anything by cutting out some of the unhealthier foods from your diet. ultimately i want to help make everyone around me feel better by feeding them nourishing foods, and giving them the education and tools they need to better their own lives, or expand their food knowledge and skill sets.




so in knowing all of this about me, i have always loved experimenting and compiling a lists of possible stall sale recipes for the future and because i simply love experimenting with foods, i had gotten really upset and frustrated when my stomach started to get really bloated and painful after eating. now i know bloating is a natural part of eating every now and again depending on what you eat and how much, but after going through this for 2 years now, i can tell the difference between painful unnatural bloating that leaves you unable to move and near the end of the two years was actually making me so dizzy, and your average ate too much bloat.

so it felt like every second thing i was eating was making my stomach worse. i found that peanuts and soy were 2 of my worse culprits, but then other things i couldnt pinpoint that were effecting me just as bad. because of this i found my window of food to be creative with was getting smaller and i didnt really want to go outside of that because my symptoms felt like they were getting worse. HENCE why i havent been posting recipes or been very active on here, because my stomach was just messing with my diet and effecting my mental health in turn. being a foodie not being able to experiment and eat different things, and having to put my stall recipe collection on hold really just bummed me out. not to mention always feeling uncomfortable in my own skin, because i was gaining weight and would wake up bloated and it would just worse and worse throughout the day. literally every day.

i originally thought i was intolerant to so many foods and was cutting them out left right and centre causing me to become magnesium deficient, vitamin d deficient, my naturopath also believes i may have minor adrenal fatigue,  as well as the constant stomach pain and bloating to the point where my tummy couldnt extend any further. she mentioned that the adrenal fatigue may have stemmed from being wholly plant based but cutting out basically all natural sources of protein like tofu, nuts, seeds, legumes and beans because i found they would bloat me the worst,  but in cutting them out my digestive fire lowered immensely and i slowly stopped producing the enzymes needed to brake down the proteins because i was eating so little of them.

so i in fact made this whole healing process worse because i now have to heal my SIBO with a stomach that cant digest things properly because it doesnt produce enough digestive enzymes. meaning the food sits longer in my gut allowing it to ferment and feed the little critters.




so taking a step back, i went and saw a naturopath because i was at the end of my tolerance and couldnt figure it out by myself anymore. and as a massively anxious introvert this was a pretty big step for me. we decided to go with an intolerance test to see if it was what was upsetting my digestion and found that i was intolerant to Casein (protein in cows milk), and mildly intolerance to banana, apple, oats, wheat and bakers yeast. but that didnt explain my symptoms, until the naturpath explained that the most likely cause was SIBO.

SIBO stands for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. meaning the bad bacteria in my small intestine far outweighs the good. and every time my stomach bloats it allows more bad bacteria to move up from my large intestine. the SIBO bacteria feed of carbohydrates, sugars, starches, grains, legumes, beans, fruits any and all types of carbs. if you want to have a good read on what it is and how to combat it, i really recommend this website, i have found it helpful.




ok so here is the fun part. and truthfully i do feel a bit better now than i did (speaking from week 10 in phase one of the diet). but wow it has been a journey.

so in order to defeat SIBO you have to starve the bacteria of their food source and then also create a harsh environment in order to kill them off, while supporting a healthy gut regime.

so the food source of the bacteria is carbs, so in phase one you cut out all carbs, sugars, grains, legumes, fruits, breads, cereals, etc. there is also a list of veggies you can have an unlimited amount of, but most of them are restricted to portion sizes per meal, same goes for nuts and seeds, certain drinks and condiments. animal protein and many types of fats and oils are ok, as well as broths, herbal teas and herbs and spices. but as i mentioned above, my digestion has turned to shit so being able to eat some of these foods doesnt mean that a can actually digest them.




ok now i am at the point of my journey where i am going to lose friends and anger people and i genually apologize for that, i have been in two minds whether to share it or not but have decided to be completely honest because it goes against my nature to lie and i am hoping i am not alone in this inner conflict ive been having.

i have never labelled myself as anything other than plant based. i predominately ate vegan and i had been vegetarian for going on 5 years. but in this diet to kill off the bacteria, the only appropriate source of protein i could have was animal protein. which didnt sit well with me. i did avoid it for the first two weeks, because the thought of eating it wasnt an option for me. but since then i have had to include eggs into my diet. but moving through the diet i still wasnt seeing any improvement so i decided to add in fish a few times, but that only lasted a few meals because it just wasnt for me and when i was combining veggies and fish, the veggies ended up sitting in my gut too long while my body was trying to break down the fish, that it would just ferment and feed the bacteria. so i stopped with the fish, and had eggs as my only protein source.
(i just want to say that as soon as this SIBO diet is over i will return to not eating any animals, and because of my casein intolerance i also wont be eating any dairy.)




the SIBO diet is split into two phases, the first is to kill them off and get rid of them, the second is to slowly reintroduce certain carbs to ensure they dont come back again during this phase. each phase on the diet guideline i was given is 4-6weeks long. but as i have found out, it is all up to the individual. as i am typing this i am currently in week 10 of my phase one diet.

while on the start of this diet i was taking a probiotic, a liver tonic tablet and a tablet made from herbs to create a harsh environment for the bacteria. as i was upping the bacteria killing herb tablet you can really tell it was doing something.because as we all know things always get worse before they get better. (again here is a good web article on the die-off/healing crisis that occurs when the bacteria are dying off.) and in week three of this diet i actually felt really good, i had had a die off reaction, and wasnt experiencing any bloating pain, i was ridiculously tired, irritable and had muscle tiredness but my stomach felt better than it had in ages. i had a scheduled appointment with my naturoath and we went over where i was going from there, and how phase two would work for me, but that night after i saw her, my stomach cracked it big time. and we had worked out through what i was eating that i may have a mild candida infection in there too so i had to alter the diet slightly to accommodate the candida restrictions as well.

this went on for another 5 weeks, of a day or a few days of thinking i was feeling better then the bloating would return. i had also added in a herbal digestive to my regime to help me break down my foods but it still wasnt helping. so last week i had a scheduled appointment with my naturopath again (which originally was projected to be in the final week of my phase 2) and we have formulated a new plan to stop feeding the bacteria. being plant based i love my veggies and i was eating a veggie based meal for lunch and dinner everyday. and even though they were dinners made up of approved veggies for the diet, they were still two carb based meals in a row and i was struggling to digest them, keeping the bacteria fed.




so again this is a point where i am not overly happy with where this went but i just want to be healed and have this whole ordeal over and done with!! i have cut out my veggie based dinner for chicken and clear veggie broth. this was pretty hard for me, and to be honest i dont like it.

throughout this whole process, i have to say my emotional state has been a gigantic roller coaster, from feeling happy i feel a little better, to feeling like a failure when its not working. feeling tired beyond belief but not sleeping very well. having my stomach feel worse than it ever has, and wishing it was all just done with. thinking why is this happening to me? i legit have had no energy to even do any of the things i enjoy outside of my work. not to mention i have had to prep all of my meals at home, havent eaten out in months, and have actually compiled a gigantic list of foods i want to eat and places i want to go when this is over.




so for the most part this has been a crazy hard experience for me, and the only thing getting me through is that i will be healed afterwards to keep striving to my goals of having my own food stall, and being able to eat a more varied diet of foods.

i hope you are all having an amazing day and if you made it to the end of this massive brain dump of a post i congratulate you!!

A Day In My Life

hello friends!

i thought i would break away from the usual for my post today. so instead of sharing a recipe post with you i thought i would give you a little insight into how i spent my weekend.

of course majority of my day is spent thinking about food, eating food, planning what i want to eat and where. even when i'm at work (the source bulk foods in camberwell *melbourne) i am surrounded by ingredients and get to hear what other people love creating and dishes they wish to make. i love helping people find things they may not have tried or give them inspiration to branch out in their diets.

any way, i digress. here is a little insight into what i got up to on my weekend off, which was actually a friday and saturday.

Friday

as my partner works monday to friday i had the apartment to myself today, but decided to spend some time in the city/center of melbourne for a while.

my breakfast fuel for the day was bananas and a dandelion chai with almond mylk and coconut sugar.

i took the train into the city getting off at melbourne central shopping centre, not the biggest fan of public transport but i am getting the hang of it now and it isn't as scary as it used to be. 

made my way into lululemon at the emporium and picked up a new pair of leggings that are warmer than my current pair to wear to yoga. so far i have only tried a 10 day trial but i seriously think i have an addiction... and cannot wait to sign up! luckily my partner generously gave me a voucher at christmas for the studio at the end of our street.

i love walking the streets of melbourne, especially all those little side streets, filled with little boutiques and eateries. i made my way down to degraves street, to pick up a little vegan doughnut at doughnut time.

as it has been a few hectic weeks for both of us, my partner and i decided to have a good old fashion date night at home. so i took it upon myself to make sure we were fully stocked with delicious goodies. they had 2 vegan options the day i went and i decided to go with their vegan fox. its a simple doughnut coated in dark chocolate, pistachios and freeze dried strawberries. it was sooo good, but i am a bit of a doughnut fiend.

as you will see this 'weekend in my life' is far from the healthiest representation of diets but i don't eat this way all that often and therefore have no regrets! 

before leaving the city to head back home, i ducked into raw trader for the last of tonight's treats. they have an absolutely amazing range of raw vegan goodies, and if you are a little nervous about making these kind of treats but want to try them, this place is perfect!

i picked up an apple crumble cake, black forest cake and a trifle slice. We shared these later that night and the apple crumble was our fave, followed but the black forest cake. i'm not a fan of trifle and that slice tasted spot on, so i tried but couldn't eat it because it was so close to the original!

since i knew i'd be having a few treats later that night, when i got home from the city at lunch time i decided to get in my daily dose of veg.

i had a bowl of left overs from thursday nights dinner. veggie lentil bolognese with tri-grain pasta from work, the source bulk foods in camberwell.

so friday night ended with kombucha, popcorn coated in tahini, cinnamon and vanilla powder, shared treats from my trip to the city, while rugged up watching some of the new season of penny dreadful!

Saturday

so saturday actually started off with a sleep in, which never happens for me. i'm usually wide awake early on my days off to get the most out of my day, even if it's just to sit around watching foodie videos on youtube!

then one of my best mates messaged me asking if i wanted to catch up over lunch, so of course i said yes! 

my partner had gotten a restaurant recommendation during the week at his work, for an american style burger joint in richmond called the collection bar, that offered a vegan burger. so we decided to try it out, as our mate loves all things american!

this was the burger, and wholly moly, it was delishiously messy! and even though i haven't had the chance to try many vegan burgers, it was actually realllyy yummy! 

i tend to keep away from soy products because i know my tummy really doesn't like it at all, but decided the discomfort was worth it.

it was called a bbq tempeh cheeseburger, made up of a hickory smocked tempeh patty, with dill steamed onions, vegan cheese, dill pickles, and vegan burger sauce. sorry for the really poor food photo!

as a little snack to tide me over until dinner, i tried out a new to me snack bar. it was actually really good as well! i had a surprisingly good food choices day today, as i find a lot of these types of energy bar/natural food bars are hit or miss for me. most of the time they are a miss actually, i prefer to make my own. but this had a deliciously fudgy texture and good flavour pay off.

dinner ended up being a baked sweet potato boat. which has become a bit of a staple dinner recently, along with spicy lentil stews.

this guy was baked in the oven for quite a while (forgot how long exactly sorry!) until you could poke it with a skewer and feel no resistance in the flesh. also a gooey caramel begins to ooze out of the potato when it's close to done.

once it was baked i opened it up down the middle and spooned over a lentil bolognese i made while the potato was cooking, then drizzled unhulled tahini and nutritional yeast on top.




thankyou for making it to the end of this little adventure, and i'll hopefully catch up with you all again soon.

have an awesome day!

Cinnamon Courtney xoxo

Spiced Caramel Self Saucing Pudding

Hello friends,

Long time, no see!

Today I had the day off work and was super excited to get into the kitchen again! Life has been pretty jam packed recently and even though I have still had time to bake a few things, it hasn't been that calm and relaxing baking experience that I love!

Today's recipe isn't one that I have created, I found it on the gorgeous Gather & Feast Blog.
If you haven't seen Ashley's blog do yourself a favor and go and check it out! She is an absolute sweetheart, and her photography and baking skills are  i n c r e d i b l e! 

Vegan Spiced Caramel Self Saucing Pudding

Recipe found HERE on Gather & Feast Blog

This recipe was so easy to follow along with, and luckily for me, wasn't filled with ingredients I didn't already have in my pantry.

 

It is super simple to make, essentially you need one spoon, one bowl, one saucepan and a pair of kitchen scissors while your prepping, and then a baking dish for the oven.  

I used the scissors to chop up my dates because I didnt want to get a chopping board and a knife dirty (less dishes!), but I found these dates bassically broke down as soon as I touched them! 

They were beyond soft and gooey, and had almost became a caramel sauce under my fingertips.

 

Ok, so as you can tell from below, mine is waayyy less presentable than Ashley's but holy moly people... it tastes sooo good! I love that the spices are coming through as the main flavour here. As spices normally take a back seat in baking to help give the other ingredients (like fruits) an extra flavour dimension.

The reason my pud isn't as dark and caramelized as Ashley's is actually because I cooked mine 10C less than recommended and I also cooked it 10 minutes less.

Why is that? you ask.

Well... at the start of the week it was both my mum's and my boss' birthday on the same day, and I decided to bake them each a cake. Long story short, my oven was way hotter than the recipe called for and I completely dried out and burnt my boss' cake (so sorry!!)

I only managed to save my mother's cake because it needed a lot longer to cook and by the time I figured out my oven was too hot, I still had enough time to take hers out before it completely burnt and dried out.
*It was Lola Berry's Hummingbird Cake recipe (which i veganised) and it was super tasty!

I know realize (as I am typing this) that it was because I was also roasting sweet potatoes at a much higher temperature before putting the cakes in.  S m a r t   m o v e   C o u r t n e y . . .

Any way, I was scared to burn this, so I cooked it lower and for less time (*completely unnecessary).

I kept mine vegan by serving it with Coyo coconut ice cream. I chose their tamarind and sticky date flavour! Soo yummy...

I hope you guys get the chance to go check out Gather & Feast, you will  n o t  be disappointed!

I hope you all have an awesome day and find time to smile!



Much love,

Cinnamon Courtney xo

Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Icing

 

            Hello everyone!

            It's pumpkin season here in Australia, and I thought I would share with you a really simple muffin recipe, that's a great way to sneak some veggies into your diet.
            The muffin mixture doesn't have a strong pumpkin flavour and isn't super sweet. I made up two different batches, one with choc chips and icing (a sweeter tasting muffin), while the second batch was just the muffin mixture with nothing added. Both times they actually came out really tasty. If you wanted to, you could swap out the chocolate chips for dried fruit like sultanas or cranberries.

Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Icing

Plant-based - Gluten Free - Dairy Free

Makes: 6 large muffins

Time: prep 10 minutes

Cooking: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

- 1 cup almond milk

- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp coconut oil

- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- 1/2 cup sorghum flour

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- pinch of Himalayan pink salt

- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp ground clove

- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

- 1/2 cup chopped dark dairy free chocolate (optional, I also added another 1/8 cup just to top my muffins)

Icing: Optional, they are still tasty without it.
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 tbsp coconut nectar
- 4 tbsp hulled tahini

Method:

- Preheat your oven to 170C and line your 6 hole muffin tin or grease them with a touch of coconut oil.

- Pop all of the wet ingredients as well as the coconut sugar into a bowl and combine well.

- In a separate bowl combine all of the dry ingredients, before adding them into the wet ingredients. Stir this through until it's all incorporated, then fold through the chocolate chunks.

- Spoon the mixture into you muffin tins and pop the tray into the oven.

- Remove your muffins after 20-25 minutes or a skewer comes out clean. Allow them to cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the muffins are cooling you can make up your icing by combining all the ingredients into a delish paste. Them once your muffins are cool you can smooth over a layer of icing and presto they are ready to devour!

Let me know how you go if you do try this out yourselves, or post a picture on instagram and tag me with @cinnamon_courtney so I can see all of your recreations!

"There is nothing about my age that prohibits me from fulfilling my dreams" -Wayne W. Dyer

Foodie Appreciation for April- A Few Of My Current Favourite Foodies On The Internet

            Hello there! Yes this post is a few days late but I'll get my May favourites up in the right month... hopefully! I am currently sitting on my couch going through my Bloglovin' and Instagram feeds, and absolutely loving everything that I'm seeing. I am still so blown away every time I open up my foodie feeds and see all the amazing accounts and awesome talent that is shown by everyone in the health, well-being and nutrition community online!

            I genually love being a part of this community, even though I am a pretty small fish in a very large pond, it can be such a positive and inclusive space that it is hard not to feel a part of something so fun! So, I thought I would stop and take the time to share a few accounts that I have been absolutely loving recently. This list originally consisted of SO, SO MANY accounts because I just couldn't cut it down! Therefore, I have decided that I may split it up and make these kind of posts on a regular basis, maybe monthly? It depends on if you guys like these kinds of posts from me, but honestly, I would love to have a place to share accounts that I am currently loving to read and watch!
(also these are in no particular order!)

MelVFitness

You can also find Mel's website here.

NourishNotPunish

You can also find Evelyn's Blog here.

HealthyAmbitions

You can also find Karly's Blog here.

Adventuring_Home

You can also find her Blog here.

NutritionStripped

You can also find her website here and her youtube channel here.

Thehappycleanvegan

FoodForPeace

SimpleHappyHealth

Oatsohappy

Plantbased.Happiness

Littl._Plvnt

WholesomeBalance

RiceandRaw

You can also find her youtube here. 

AppetiteForHealth

Isabelle Cornish

Naturally_Cassie_

NourishYoBody

               Do you have a health, foodie or wellness blog?
        
               Comment the website address or your instagram user name down below so I can come and check it out! Or just post your favourite blogs down below to share who you have been loving reading this month!

              

Coconut, Berry & Buckwheat Granola

          Hello everyone! The recipe I'm sharing today came about from a happy accident. While i was baking my last recipe, the Anzac Cookies, I made the rookie mistake of forgetting to line the baking tray of the first batch. As a result I ended up having to scrape what was left off of the tray, ending up with a really tasty granola.

           From there, I swapped out the oats to buckwheat groats, and added in dried berries, because berries and macadamias are a match made in heaven! I used a mix of dried sour cherries, organic cranberries and wild blueberries, which gave it a few different flavours, but if you cant get your hands on all of these just use what dried berry you like the best!

           You could use this granola a few different ways, as it has a delicious crunchy texture, you could add it on top of stewed fruit as a crumble topping, or on top of banana nice cream, or you could simply eat it as you would a normal cereal, with fresh fruit and a plant-based milk.

Coconut, Berry & Buckwheat Granola

Plant-based - Gluten Free - Dairy Free

Makes: 4-5 cups of granola

Time: prep- 10 minutes

Cooking- 15 minutes

Ingredients:

- 2 cups raw buckwheat groats

- 1/2 cup macadamias, chopped

- 1/2 cup dried berries (I used a mix of sour cherries, organic cranberries and wild blueberries)

- 2/3 cup shredded coconut

- 1/4 cup buckwheat flour

- 1 tbsp maca powder

- 1 tbsp mesquite powder

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 tbsp cinnamon 

- 1/4 cup coconut nectar

- 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Method:

- Preheat your oven to 160C.

- Place all of your ingredients into one large bowl and stir them around until it is all combined.

- Pour your mixture over a baking tray so that it forms a single layer. You may need more than one baking tray for this, as it will cook evenly when it has the room to spread out. 

- Mid-way through the cooking time, take it out of the oven and stir it around to make sure it doesn't burn around the edges of the tray, then pop it back in for the remainder of the cooking time.

- Once it has cooked, take it out of the oven and give it another mix before leaving it to cool completely on the tray. It will seem quite sticky and gooey when it first comes out if the oven but as it cools it will firm up.

- Store it in an air tight container, and you can serve it with fruit, banana nice cream, yoghurt, on top of stewed fruit, or simply with a dash of almond milk.

Anzac Cookies

    Oh hey guys! Long time no see. I'm so sorry I have been away from here for a while. I'm currently having quite a bit of trouble with my computer, I was unable to open any of the documents and recipe posts I had started and saved. Totally weird, and if you know me, you know I am completely not a tech savvy person and I couldn't figure out what was going on! Anyway, I have found a temporary solution to the glitch but I'm going to have to figure out a better way to write, save and store my half written posts.

    Now that that boring part is out of the way. I have always loved Anzac cookies, but it's kind of a given for me as I absolutely love oats! So oats in a delicious, portable cookie form is definitely a winner in my books.

Anzac Cookies 

Makes: 20 medium cookies

Time: prep- 10 minutes

Cooking: 15-20 minutes

 

Ingredients:
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
- 3/4 cup shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup macadamias, chopped
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 tbsp hulled tahini
- 1/2 cup rice malt syrup (or your chosen liquid sweetener ie, maple syrup, coconut nectar)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of Himalayan pink salt

Method:
- Preheat your oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking paper. This really is a key step as the mixture will stick like glue to your baking tray without it, and like with my first test batch of this recipe, you will end up with a super tasty granola instead of cookies.

- Pop all of the ingredients into one bowl and combine them together.

- Scoop out small amounts of the mixture and roll it into little balls and place them onto your baking tray. Press down on each one, to flatten it into round cookie shapes. I found it was a lot easier to handle the mixture with damp hands, that way it stuck more to itself than to my hands.

- Place the tray in the oven for 15-20 minutes, allow them to cook until they are nice and golden. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking tray a bit before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.


Let me know how you go if you do try this out yourselves, or post a picture on instagram and tag me with @cinnamon_courtney so I can see all of your recreations!

'I take the win-win approach' - Stephen R. Covey

Cinnamon Buckwheat Pancakes

            When I was little we would often have pancake Sundays, and if I’m completely honest, I really didn’t like pancakes (I was a pretty fussy eater). Although I loved how my family would all come together and cook up a lot of pancakes for a lazy Sunday breakfast together. The left over pancakes would be eaten by my dad and brother throughout the week. So whenever I cook pancakes, it’s ingrained in me to cook up a large batch, so if you don’t want to end up with as many pancakes as this recipe makes, feel free to halve it!

            I recently got my hands on some banana flour and I have to say that it’s delicious! For this recipe if you can’t get your hands on any banana flour, you can just substitute it for buckwheat flour and it works just as well. I got my banana flour from my work at The Source Bulk Foods in Camberwell.

            Also I used coconut nectar as my liquid sweetener, but you could substitute this with your preference of liquid sweetener; like rice malt syrup, molasses, pure maple syrup, agave syrup or honey if you aren’t vegan.

Cinnamon Buckwheat Pancakes

Plant-based – Gluten Free – Dairy Free

Makes: around 20 medium pancakes

Time: prep- 10 minutes

Cooking- 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup buckwheat flour

- 1 ¼ cup banana flour, (could swap this for buckwheat flour)

- 2 cups almond milk (or your choice of plant-based milk)

- 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

- 2 tbsp coconut nectar (or your chosen liquid sweetener)

- 1 tbsp baking powder

- Pinch of Himalayan pink salt

- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon (or more if you’re a cinnamon addict like me!)

- Coconut oil for cooking

To Serve per person:

- 1 Banana, sliced

- Drizzle of coconut nectar

- Sprinkle of goji berries

- Sprinkle of shredded coconut

Method:

- Combine the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then form a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add in the wet ingredients. Combine them both together really well until there are no lumps in the batter.

- Heat up a pan to a medium heat and pop a small amount of coconut oil in the pan.

- Once the pan has heated and the coconut oil has melted, pour in around a ¼ of a cup of batter for each pancake, and leave it in there to cook until the little bubbles appear over the top of the pancake. Flip it over to cook for a further minute on the other side, or until it’s golden. Transfer them to a wire rack once they are done, to stop them from getting soggy while you cook up the rest of the batter.

- Cook up the rest of the batter the same way; you may need to add in a touch more coconut oil to the pan as you go.

- To serve, pop them on a plate with fresh sliced banana, a drizzle of coconut nectar, goji berries and shredded coconut. Or just eat them straight from the pan!

Let me know how you go if you do try this out yourselves, or post a picture on instagram with the hashtag #cinnamoncourtney so I can see all of your recreations!

‘There is plenty for everyone, including me’ – Louise L. Hay

Chocolate Chia Mousse

            Happy Easter everyone! Or happy chocolate and hot cross bun weekend if you don’t celebrate Easter. I have a little naughty but nice chocolate recipe for you here today, that is my go to healthier version of a chocolate dessert when nothing but chocolate will do!

            Now I know a lot of people out there try out ‘healthy swap’ recipes and are disappointed because they taste nothing like the dish they are trying to recreate, I’ve been there too!

            So when I was testing out a chia pudding recipe, I was using almond milk and berries, which did turn out nice but not really what I wanted, I changed it up and used coconut milk and raw cacao powder… and was blown away. I had to force myself to stop eating the whole batch…

            It has an awesome light mousse texture but the coconut milk and raw cacao make it taste like it is a really decadent and rich dessert.

A little bit about C H I A  S E E D S ;

These powerful little seeds are jam packed full of omega 3, fibre and protein.

            ~ One tablespoon of chia contains 3 grams of omega 3 and 6 grams of dietary fibre. This helps increase energy levels, improve digestion and promote healthy hair, skin and nails. They also love to absorb liquid, they can absorb up to 16 times their own weight! This can increase your feelings of fullness after eating as well as helping your body regulate hydration levels.

            ~ As a vegan protein source they are also pretty amazing as they contain all nine of the essential amino acids, which are the building blocks in our bodies and essential for maintaining a healthy functioning you!

            ~ There is also no nutritional difference between the white and the black chia seeds so feel free to use which ever you like for this recipe.

Chocolate Chia Mousse

Plant-based – Gluten Free – Dairy Free

Serves: 2 people

Time: prep- 10 minutes

Setting- 5 hrs or overnight

Ingredients:

- 1/4 cup chia seeds

- 400ml or 1 ¾ cup coconut milk

- 3 tbsp liquid sweetener

- 1 tsp Maca (optional)

- 1 tsp Mesquite (optional)

- ¼ cup cacao/carob powder

- ½ tsp vanilla extract or ¼ tsp of vanilla powder

- pinch of cinnamon

- pinch of Himalayan pink salt

Top with:

- Fresh berries, shredded coconut and goji berries – it is quite rich so the fresh berries really help to cut through it.

Method:

- Add all ingredients into a jar and make sure you stir and combine everything well.

- Pop the jar into the fridge to set.

- Serve with a layer of fruit in the centre and then top with fresh berries, coconut and goji.

Let me know how you go if you do try this out yourselves, or post a picture on instagram with the hashtag #cinnamoncourtney so I can see all of your recreations.

‘When I decide to be happy, I attract great things I my life’ – Robert Holden

Source:

The Chia Co. – www.thechiaco.com

Hot Cross Bun Muffins

            Autumn has to be one of my favourite seasons. It’s no longer crazy hot outside, but still a nice enough temperature to want to get out of the house and be outside. I also love storms, the rain and weather that isn’t a simple sun in the sky. It all just seems so amazing to me.

            It also happens to be the season when my birthday is! I had an amazing birthday last weekend with family and friends, and I decided I wanted to make myself a birthday treat! I love fruit and spices in baking and since it’s so close to Easter, I thought, why not add in an Easter theme? So I decided to make myself Birthday Hot Cross Bun Muffins.

These actually work just as well when you just form them into a ball and place them on a greased baking tray, if you don’t feel like making them in muffin tins.

Hot Cross Bun Muffins

Plant-based – Gluten Free – Dairy Free

Makes: 8 – 10 medium buns

Time: prep – 20 minutes

Cooking – 20 minutes

Ingredients:

- 2 cup almond meal

- 1 cup arrowroot flour

- 2/3 cup buckwheat flour

- 1 tsp baking powder

- ½ tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- ½ tsp nutmeg

- ½ tsp clove

- ½ tsp ginger

- pinch salt

- 2/3 cup sultanas (could also use dark dairy free chocolate here instead)

- 3 flax eggs (1 tbsp flaxseed meal to 3 tbsp of water, left to set for a few minutes)

- ½ cup coconut oil, melted

- 1/3 cup coconut nectar (or chosen liquid sweetener)

Topping:

- 2 tbsp coconut oil, not melted

- 4 tbsp coconut nectar

- 4 tbsp of banana flour or buckwheat flour

(*If you were making chocolate cross buns you can add in a tbsp of cacao powder)

Method:

- Pop the oven onto 170c and line a muffin try with liners or grease with coconut oil. If you don’t want to have them in muffin tins you can simply bake them spread out on a greased baking tray, they do tend to crack on top as they cook because they have a lot more room to move.

- Combine all the dry ingredients except the sultanas, together really well in one bowl and in a separate bowl mix together all of the wet ingredients. Now just pour the dry in with the wet and mix until you have a smooth mix. I put mine into a mixer for a few minutes to ensure the flax egg and all the other ingredients were really well incorporated. Then stir through your sultanas (or dark chocolate chunks), distributing then evenly.

- Form the dough into balls and place them into your muffin tins or onto your baking tray, and then place them into the oven. Bake these for about ten minutes before removing them to pipe on the topping.

- While the buns are in for their first ten minutes of baking, you can put together the icing. Firstly combine the coconut nectar and the flour to form a liquid paste, now add in the coconut oil.

* I have found that the coconut oil needs to be soft but still white and not completely melted. If you use completely melted coconut oil it will split from the coconut nectar and flour when you go to mix it in.

- You can either pipe the topping on to get a neat cross or you can use a knife and spread it on for a more rustic look, then pop them back in the oven for another ten minutes to finish cooking and give the topping a warm golden colour.

- After being in the oven for 20 minutes altogether, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for a while on the trays before transferring them to a cooling rack. Or if your anything like me, just eat them warm straight from the oven!

Let me know how you go if you do try this out yourselves, or post a picture on instagram with the hashtag #cinnamoncourtney so I can see all of your recreations.

‘My mind is tranquil. I allow peace into my life’ -Leon Nacson

Millet Meal Porridge Two Ways

 

            So today I have a double whammy for you, because I’m such an indecisive person (you just need to ask my partner how hard it is for me to decide on anything). I have tried each of these versions of millet meal porridge and loved them both, so I couldn’t choose which of the recipes to share. So I ended up deciding, why not both?

            As much as I absolutely love oats, and could gladly eat them everyday, it is nice to try out different ways of doing things. The millet meal porridge base of this recipe was pleasantly surprising for me. I was half expecting it to taste a bit like a gooey, savory, cous cous kind of thing, but it has an amazing creamy and hearty texture that really just warms you up on those cooler mornings. Also millet is actually a seed, and is gluten free, making it a great alternative to porridge oats.

Although both of these porridge toppings are more on the decadent side of breakfasts, the base recipe of this millet meal porridge would be just as delicious simply topped with warm berries, dried fruit or just a tablespoon or two of coconut nectar.

  

Millet Meal Porridge Two Ways

Caramelized Banana and Hazelnut Porridge

Or

Candy Apple and Sultana Porridge

Plant-based – Gluten Free – Dairy Free

Serves: 1

Time: Prep- 5 mins

Cooking- 15 mins

Ingredients:

Porridge base

- 1/3 cup millet meal

- 1 cup nut milk

- 1 tsp maca powder (optional)

- 1 tsp mesquite powder (optional)

- ½ tsp cinnamon

Caramelized Banana and Hazelnut Topping

- 1 banana, ½ sliced, ½ mashed (mashed half to be stirred through the porridge base once it has cooked)

- ½ tbsp coconut sugar

- 1 tbsp liquid sweetener (optional)

- 6 or 7 hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Or;

Candy Apple and Sultana Topping

            - ½ apple, thinly sliced

- ½ tbsp coconut sugar

- 1 tbsp liquid sweetener (optional)

- 2 tbsp sultanas

(As this version doesn’t have any sweetener in the porridge base, you may need to taste test the porridge base and add some sweetener in as desired)

Method:

- Place millet meal, nut milk and cinnamon in a saucepan and heat it up until you start to see steam, while stirring to stop lumps forming. Then reduce to a simmer and continue to cook it until the millet meal soaks up all of the nut milk (around 5 minutes). If you find that the mixture is too dry just add in some water until it reaches the consistency you like.

- Now each of the different toppings are cooked the same way which keeps things pretty simple, so which ever recipe topping you choose, here is the instructions for both;

- While the millet meal is cooking, place ½ tbsp of the coconut sugar into a pan.

- Pop either the banana slices or the apple slices on top of the coconut sugar and bring it to a med to hot heat. You will notice the sugar around the bananas or apples will liquefy as it starts to caramelize.

- Allow the first side to become golden before flipping to caramelize the other side. Watch them as if the sugar goes too far it will burn and taste really not nice.

- Once it has had a chance to caramelize on both sides, add in either the hazelnuts or the sultanas, and allow them to warm through in the pan.

- If you are making the banana version, and the remaining mashed half of your banana into the cooked millet meal.

- If you are doing the apple version, taste the millet meal to see if you need any sweetener added.

- Then simply transfer your millet meal porridge into a serving bowl and cover it with your chosen toppings.

- You can also add a tbsp of your desired sweetener here (or even 1 tbsp coconut sugar and 1 tbsp water, to continue with the same flavours), and enjoy!

Let me know how you go if you do try this out yourselves, or post a picture on instagram with the hashtag #cinnamoncourtney so I can see all of your recreations!

‘I release all criticism’ – Louise L. Hay