Been meaning to try drying my own fruit leathers for a long time - so easy! Just roughly cut up 4 organic apples and blitz in a blender with 5 medjool dates (pitted) and about 1/2 c filtered water until a thick paste forms. Spread onto paraflexx dehydrator sheets and dehydrate for about 12 hours. I have a round dehydrator, so my sheets look like giant donuts.
This lot were quite thin and turned out crunchy but that's all good. I'll spread them thicker next time and get more of a leathery texture.


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In my constant search for the perfect muesli bar/granola bar/bliss ball/fruit bites that my four-year-old will eat, I've come across these two recipes that work really well from Wholefood Simply by Bianca Slade (2013). Great lunchbox fillers whatever age you are!

For the apricot bites you only need 1 c organic dried apricots, soaked for 30 min in boiling water then drained. Then put in a blender or food processor with 2 c desiccated coconut. Blitz on high for a while until it's all combined. P...
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These chocolates are especially good for kids as they have a more milky smooth texture, but they are not hard setting. The recipe is from Virpi Mikkonen. You need to keep these in the freezer, they are sticky and soft - and very moreish.

1/2 c cashews or macadamias or mix of, soaked a few hours then drained
1/2 c grated cacao butter
1/3 c coconut oil
1/3 c cacao powder
1/3 c rice syrup, honey or coconut syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch sea salt

Melt the cacao butter and coconut oil in a bowl set ove...
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These remind me of brandy snaps. Easy to make and bake in a few minutes. Virpi Mikkonen from Vanelja.com has a super book called It's a Pleasure (Weldon Owen, 2015). Everything is free of gluten, dairy and refined sugar, although this recipe has some butter. I accidentally baked these at a higher temperature, hence they're a bit too brown but still awfully moreish.

1/4 c butter (by all means use vegan butter if you can find it)
1/4 c honey
1/4 g ground oats
1/4 c ground almonds
3 tbsp rapadura or ...
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Mmmm...loving plum season! This recipe is adapted from Nadia Lim's.
4 plums
2 tbs honey
2 c spelt flour
1/2 c almond meal
1/2 c rapadura sugar (or coconut or brown)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 c olive oil
1 c natural yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and/or line your muffin tins. This amount made 18 medium muffins.
Dice the plum flesh into 1cm cubes and mix with honey in a small bowl. Set aside.
Sift all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in anot...
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I've made black bean brownies before in a slab tin and they were DF, GF, SF too. This recipe is adjusted slightly, tastes better and the nuts are a good addition.

Makes 18 small brownies about 2 tbsp each

400g can of black beans, drained

2 tbsp ground flaxseed stirred into 4 tbsp warm water and set aside for 5 min

1/4 c coconut oil

1/4 c cacao or cocoa powder

1/2 c rice malt syrup

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract
chopped nuts for topping if desired

Preheat oven to 1...

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A healthy and tasty lemony cake! You could jazz it up with a honey-lemon drizzle or whipped coconut cream icing but really, it's great the way it is - moist, tangy and nutritious.

1 c ground almonds (I use use a coffee grinder and grind as needed)
1/2 c buckwheat flour (you can use any kind of flour or polenta)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
juice and zest of 2 lemons
2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 5 tbsp hot water and left to stand for 5 minutes)
1/2 c rice ma...
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After the success of my vegan digestives I decided to use the same method to make these crispy healthy gingernuts. Just a couple of adjustments.

1 1/2 c buckwheat flour
1/2 c rolled oats, ground first in a coffee grinder
1/4 c + 1 tbsp rapadura sugar, ground first in a coffee grinder
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp treacle (I used Kokonati's organic wild kithul treacle)
1/4 c + 2 tbsp coconut oil
5-8 tbsp non-dairy milk

Preheat oven to 180C. Line 2 baking tray...
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Healthy digestive biscuits for my two valentines - my husband and our daughter. You can also make them pure gluten-free by using buckwheat flour or a general gluten-free flour. Variation on a theme of lil digestives and digestives (with butter).

1/2 c rolled oats, ground in a coffee grinder
1 1/2 c spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon if desired
1/4 c + 1 tbsp rapadura sugar, or coconut sugar (you can grind these granules too if you wish)
1/4 c + 2 tbsp coconut oil
5-8 tbsp n...
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Love making my own crackers! Buckwheat flour works really well in combination with nuts of your choice for more nutrients. You can also grind sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

1 c buckwheat flour
1 c ground nuts (I used walnuts and cashews)
1 tsp salt
3 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 c oil
up to 1/2 c water
seasonings of choice - e.g. pepper, cumin, paprika

Preheat oven to 175C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir in oil then slowly add water to form into a ball.
Roll ou...
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I love finding recipes in unexpected places, like at the end of the novel Dead Man's Chest - A Phryne Fisher Mystery by Kerry Greenwood (Poisoned Pen Press, 2010). I've been finding these mystery novels set in Melbourne in the 1930s pleasant easy reading. This recipe is called impossible pie, but it's just really a coconut cake that doesn't need creaming.

1/2 c flour (I use spelt)
3/4 c caster sugar
3/4 c desiccated coconut
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g butter, melted
1/2 c flaked almonds
1...
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These lil' cheesey morsels are great eaten the same day as baking. Because they are gluten free they will soften overnight so put in the oven again for a few minutes to crisp up.

2 c almond meal or flour
2 tsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp xantham gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cayenne 
1/4 tsp onion powder if desired
1 egg
3 Tbs butter
2 1/2 c grated cheese

Place all the ingredients in a food process and blitz until a dough forms.Roll into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill in fridge for at l...
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This is adapted from Eleanor Ozich's My Family Table (Murdoch Books, 2015) but I used less sugar and a bit of spelt flour to help bind. The oats add a texture and the sugar helps to make a crispy cookie. You could replace the sugar with a natural liquid sweetener to make a chewy cookie.

2 1/2 c oats (or use any gluten free flour)
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2/3 c muscovado, rapadura or coconut sugar
1/3 c melted coconut oil
1 linseed egg (1Tbs linseed mixed with 3 Tbs water)
1 tsp vanilla extract
15...
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A good one for Christmas, this is a mixture of recipes from Annabel Langbein and Nigel Slater.

150g butter, cubed
1/4 c muscovado or brown sugar
3 Tbs golden syrup (or replace 1 Tbs with treacle)
1 egg yolk
1 Tbs ginger, generous
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 c flour (I use spelt)
1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 1/2 tsp boiling water

Cream the butter, sugar and syrup until pale and fluffy. Lightly mix in egg yolk then add the spices, baking soda and flour. Mix till it forms a ...
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An easy, indulgent, no-bake slice good for parties and get-togethers. You can basically chuck in anything you like with the chocolate, any nuts or dried fruit will give a crunchy, chewy texture. I prefer a tart fruit such as cranberries or cherries to offset the chocolate.

100g butter, cubed
200g milk or dark chocolate, as you prefer
2 Tbs golden syrup
200g digestive biscuits
1/2 c mini marshmallows
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c salted peanuts, roughly chopped
desiccated coconut to sprinkle i...

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