Raw Chocolate Spread

Happy World Nutella Day! I used to be addicted to Nutella and would have in/on almost everything before I cut out sugar and processed foods. I was reminded by the lovely Mrs P that it was National Nutella Day today and I suddenly had a craving to make my own. This recipe is a complete fluke but I am so happy it turned out well. It is not overly sweet so I would add more date syrup if you want a sweeter spread. Equally you may find that the consistency is too thick for you so add more nut milk if you need to. I roasted the nut for a richer taste and it worked very well. If you can, it's worth brushing off the skins of the hazelnuts after roasting them. This will give you a smoother consistency. I was eating the remains out of the mixer but I will be enjoying some on my Caveman Paleo Bread in the morning and on my pancakes on Shrove Tuesday! I hope your taste buds enjoy this little treat. 

You will need:

1 jam jar

50g almonds

100g hazelnuts

4 tsp date syrup 

1/3 cup nut milk (I used almond)

2 heaped tbsp raw cacao powder

Heat your oven to 180 degrees centigrade and pop the nuts on a baking sheet. Roast for 8-10 minutes and then leave out to cool completely. At this point you can brush off the hazelnut skins. 

Place your roasted hazelnuts and almonds into a blender and blend until smooth and liquid-y. This may take 2-3 minutes depending on how strong your blender is. 

Add the date syrup, nut milk and cacao powder and blend again for about 1 minute. You will want to scrap down the sides half way through to make sure it's all combined. Add your milk a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency. To make this a dip for fruit, add more almond milk to thin it out slightly. 

Pace into a jam jar or kilner and this will keep for a few weeks - but no double dipping of spoons! 

Coconut and berry breakfast pot

I slept really badly last night. Woke up in the small hours thinking about what I could be doing instead of wasting time sleeping. I curled up and forced my eyes shut for about half an hour. Then I made a terrible mistake. I looked at my phone. Cue the next hour fiddling around and not really doing much apart from feeding my social media addiction. When I eventually got back to sleep, I woke up feeling groggy and not at all rested. I craved something fresh to try and wipe away the taste of my dalliance with a night-time spent flicking through my Pinterest board, and hoping someone would like a picture from my Instagram. Sad but true and in the end I really did waste time.

My little breakfast pots are quick and easy to make and I find them very restorative after a bad night's sleep. You could use normal yoghurt if you'd rather but the coconut flavour and creaminess of coyo is heavenly. I sometimes sweeten mine with a little date syrup (see earlier post) or add cocoa nibs with the pumpkin seeds. Whatever you do I promise you won't be disappointed and on the plus side this is a hit with children too!

          

Serves 1 hungry, groggy soul

You will need: 

small jam jar or bowl

handful of raspberries

handful of blueberries

1 tsp almond butter

1 tsp pumpkin seeds

1 small pot of coyo

1/4 tsp raw cacao powder

                                                       

Mix the cacao in with the coyo and stir until all combined. Make sure you incorporate all the powder as it will not be a nice surprise if you find a dry bit of cacao when you eat it. Carefully layer the yoghurt and then fruit. Top with your almond butter, seeds and one more raspberry. Not only is this very quick but it is so pretty too! You'll have a smile on your face for that reason alone.