Cauliflower & Feta Bites

“All flowers have their purpose, even cauliflowers”

So one of my weaknesses are potatoes! I like em fried, baked, shoestring, curly, hash-browns… you get the point! So when I found a healthy alternative to potatoes, I was all in!

Cauliflower has a perfect consistency for these little fritters, and the yogurt sauce with them is just mmm so good!  No guilt snacks or perfect side dish to any dinner (I had it with chicken yesterday!) So here’s how to make them!

A few useful tips:

• Cut off the leaves and stems and boil the florets alone in salt water
• Have a bowl of ice water ready to transfer the cauliflower to stop the cooking process
• Try and keep the cauliflower as dry as possible before mashing up, it will help when putting together the bites
• Don’t worry if you find that the cauliflower isn’t sticking completely together before you put it in the pan, I promise you they will stay together once they start cooking
• Lastly, use a lid to help steam the cauliflower completely through while in the pan
• If you have a Vitamix, feel free to use that to pulse the cauliflower into little nibs after boiling 🙂

Ingredients

Bites 

• 1 head of cauliflower florets
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1 large egg
• 3 tbsp feta cheese
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil to fry

Yogurt dip 

• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/4 tsp oregano flakes (dried)
• pinch of salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tsp mayo
• 1 tsp Rene’s caesar dressing
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1-2 green chillies (optional)
• 1 green onion (optional)

Directions

Bites 

1. Cook cauliflower florets in boiling water until tender (approx 8 minutes) & transfer to ice cold water to stop cooking
2. In a bowl, whisk together egg, garlic, salt & pepper & lemon zest
3. in a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, paprika & red pepper flakes
4. Remove cauliflower from water, dry completely in a tower or paper towel, and transfer to bowl with egg mixture
5. Crumble & add in feta cheese and mix to combine
6. Add in flour mixture & mix until it forms a gooey texture
7. Heat up skillet on medium heat, add oil in a pan & take a tablespoon of cauliflower mixture in hands, form into a disk and place on frying pan
8. Do this for about 4-5 disks at a time, cooking for 2-4 minutes approx on each side while covering with a lid
9. Place on a paper towel to drain oil & enjoy!

Yogurt dip 

1. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl & mix together
2. Cut up chillies & green onion, add to mixture and save a bit to use for garish 

These little healthy bites are delicious & nutritious! They can be whipped up in about half an hour, but they go just as quick! Hope you enjoy, leave a comment below & let me know how yours turned out! 🙂 Happy Friday!!

Yield: 12          70 calories/serving

3-Way Chocolate Truffles

With Valentines Day around the corner what better time to whip up come delicious chocolate truffles! It’s perfect for a DIY gift, or just to satisfy that chocolatey craving you may have!

And if nothing else, a little secret I like to do it drop a truffle or two in some milk and you have yourself a decadent hot chocolate! Yes, I am sipping on this as I write this post! (Side note, at Christmas time I add some candy cane garnish on top and you have the most amazing peppermint hot chocolate I’ve ever had!)

SO lets sip right into it

A few useful tips:

• Use chocolate that is 70% dark or higher for best results
• Use room temperature butter

Ingredients

• 1 bar 70% or higher dark chocolate
• 1 tsp butter (I used grass fed butter)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• a few drops of extract (vanilla, peppermint, lavender etc)

Directions

1. Cut the bar of chocolate coursly and place into a glass bowl
2. Heat the cream in a saucepan on the stove until simmering
3. Add teaspoon of butter into the chocolate
4. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and butter and cover for one minute to keep in the heat
5. Remove cover, add in extract of choice and stir chocolate until smooth
6. Place chocolate in the fridge for at least 2 hours (I kept mine overnight)
7. Remove chocolate from fridge, take a spoonful of chocolate in your hands and roll into a ball
8. Roll the truffles around in condiments of choice and place on parchment paper (I used cacao nibs, cashews, & cocoa powder)
9. Optional: place truffles in the freezer for two hours to ‘set’ remove and enjoy!

These are incredible little treats, super rich and creamy! I find that one is enough to satisfy my sweet tooth anytime of the day! I hope you enjoy them as much as me & my loved ones did & Happy Valentines Day to you! ❤

 

Homemade Almond Butter

February is heart month, so what better time to make something that improves heart health, is high in vitamin E and helps boost serotonin levels: almond butter! Almonds naturally lower your cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease! And, who knew almond butter was so tasty and so easy to make?! My brother actually inspired this post, as he has been asking me to make almond butter for a while now. I don’t know why it took me this long, but it will definitely be a staple from now on! It was delicious, super easy and so nutritious! And I also love that I know exactly what goes into it, so I don’t have to worry about all those extra preservatives either 🙂  just wholesome goodness!

A few useful tips:

• Roast the almonds and wait for them to cool completely if you’re buying un-roasted
• Soak the almonds for a few hours or overnight. I did overnight (it helps the texture and you can get away using less oil this way)
• Adjust the timing in the food processor slightly depending on the consistency of the butter you like (more time blending = smoother buttery texture)
• You can use any oil you like, I used grapeseed oil to minimize the extra flavour but coconut, almond, canola, sunflower all work great!
• Be careful using olive oil as the taste will be evident in your butter and not be the authentic almond butter you may be looking for
• If you’re using a vitamix like me, you will hear a high pitched chugging sound towards the end, DON’T WORRY 🙂 your blender is fine and that sound is totally normal!

Ingredients (There’s only two! :))

• 2 cups roasted almonds, soaked overnight
• 1/3 cup grapeseed oil

Directions

1. Take two cups of roasted almonds, cover with water until submerged and soak overnight
2. Drain the almonds and rinse off any residue
3. Put the almonds in your food processor first (I used the vitamix which I LOVE)
4. Add the oil of choice on top of the almonds and cover with lid
5. Turn blender on Variable 1, turn on machine and increase speed to high
6. Use the tamper to make sure all the almonds reach the blade and let blend for about 1 minute, you should see the consistency of the butter getting smooth and delicious
7. Turn off machine and store in a container for up to two weeks in the fridge
8. Enjoy!

And that’s it! Easy peasy and so yummy! I’ve been using almond butter in and on everything since making this (Smoothies, Chia pudding parfait (picture below), apples, bananas, toast <with almond butter, avocados, cayenne pepper and some lemon juice; YUM!> and the options are endless!) If you have any suggestions or questions feel free to leave me a comment below.