Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Tag: sugar free

  • Gluten and Dairy Free Oat Scones

    Gluten and Dairy Free Oat Scones 1

    The oven is doing double time round here. Cooking dinners and baking tasty treats. My latest creation is gluten and dairy free savoury scones based on this recipe. I switched out the wheat flour for oat and used soda water instead of the lemonade to turn it from savoury to sweet. It was so simple that I can't believe I haven't made scones before.

    I ate these with some red chilli tapenade the Lovely G scored at the supermarket. The kids had theirs with butter and jam. Mmmmmm, tasty!

    Gluten and Dairy Free Oat Scones 2

    Gluten and Dairy Free Oat Scones

    3 1/2 cups oat flour, sifted

    1 cup coconut cream, runny

    1 cup soda (or carbonated) water

    1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

    pinch of salt

     

    Pre heat oven to 210 C (190 C fan forced).

    Line a baking tray.

     

    Sift the flour into a large bowl.

    Make a well in the centre and add the water, coconut cream and apple cider vinegar.

    With a butter knife, mix it into a rough dough.

     

    Spoon the dough out on to the tray (it’s going to be super sticky).

    Flatten the tops a little with wet fingers.

     

    Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

     

  • Rosemary and Olive Buckwheat Muffins

    IP - Rosemary and Olive Buckwheat Muffins

    It’s baking season and time to fire up the oven! 

    I’ve been baking these muffins for a few years now but when I went to find the recipe this morning, I realised I hadn’t posted it here. I haven’t baked these since last winter and I couldn't remember the quantities. A brief panic ensued while I searched for the recipe which luckily I eventually found.

    Now I'm posting it here so you can share in the goodness of these simple and scrumptious buckwheat muffins and I won't ever have to worry about forgetting the recipe.

    Wheat is not the only grain. If you can’t eat gluten, I highly recommend buckwheat. You can use it to make pancakes as well as bake bread and muffins. Even if you do eat gluten, it’s nice to mix things up a little and broaden your food intake and grain choice. 

    As usual, this recipe is dairy free, gluten free and also sugar free. It also contains eggs which are a great source of protein.

     

    Rosemary and Olive Buckwheat Muffins (makes 36)

    300g buckwheat

    2 large eggs

    500ml filtered water

    1 tsp salt

    black olives, pitted and cut in half

    fresh rosemary, chopped

     

    Pre heat your oven to 180°C (357 F).

    Grease a muffin tray with olive oil. I like to use the mini, shallow trays for these muffins.

    For this recipe you will need three trays or bake the muffins in rounds.

     

    Grind the buckwheat into flour using a spice/coffee grinder.

    Add it to a large mixing bowl with the salt.

     

    Crack an egg into the measuring jug and add half the filtered water. 

    Whisk until combined. Gradually whisk the egg mixture into the flour in the bowl.

    Repeat for the second egg and the remaining water.

    Add the chopped rosemary and stir well.

     

    Pour the muffin batter (it will be quite runny) into the prepared muffin trays.

    Add olives to each muffin.

     

    Bake for 15-20 minutes.

    Serve with homemade hummus.

     

  • Double Choc Bliss Bombs

    IP -Double Choc Bliss Bombs 1

    IP -Double Choc Bliss Bombs 2 IP -Double Choc Bliss Bombs 3

    Still sugar free and still loving it. Especially when I can manage to concoct something as scrumptious as these double choc bliss bombs. Mmmmm.

    Think rich and velvety with crunchy nuggets of cacao nibs and bursts of dried cranberries. Rum balls without the rum (or sugar). Vegan, dairy and gluten free. What more could you want really? (Apart from world peace and an end to the climate emergency of course). In the meantime, eat cake, I mean, bliss bombs.

     

    Double Choc Bliss Bombs

    2 cups of pitted dates

    ¼ cup dried cranberries

    ¾ cup of desiccated coconut

    ¼ cacao nibs

    ¼ cup cacao powder

    extra desiccated coconut for dusting

     

    Soak the dates in boiling water for at least 30 minutes to make them soft and squishy. Skip this step if you're using fresh dates – just remember to remove the pips!

    Drain the dates and squeeze out the excess moisture.

    Throw the dates and dried cranberries (make sure to buy the ones sweetened with apple juice not sugar) into a food processor and blitz.

    Once they've become a paste, add in the coconut, cacao powder and cacao nibs.

    Blitz again until it all comes together.

     

    Sprinkle the extra coconut on to a plate.

    Dip your hands in cold water (this reduces the amount of mixture that sticks to your hands).

    Spoon out some mixture and roll it between your palms to make it into balls.

    Roll the ball in the extra coconut and then put it on a plate.

    Repeat for the rest of the mixture.

     

    Refrigerate for an hour or two before devouring.

     

  • Easy Peasy Sugar Free Banana Biscuits

    IP - Easy Peasy Sugar Free Banana Biscuits

    My go-to baking treat of recent times has been this Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Only problem is, it contains sugar and the girls and l have gone sugar free.

    The good news is once you haven't eaten sugar for a while, you start to appreciate the sweetness in everyday food like peas or corn. And then of course, there's fruit. Who needs sugar when you've got fruit?

    These biscuits use bananas as the sweetener and as well as being sugar free, they're also dairy free, gluten free and vegan. That's right there's no flour, no butter and no eggs. Even better, there's only three ingredients so they're super easy to bake.

     

    Easy Peasy Sugar Free Banana Biscuits

    3 large bananas

    1 ½ cups of oats

    1 cup peanut butter (whichever way you like it – crunchy or smooth)

     

    Preheat the oven to 180 C.

    Line a tray with baking paper.

     

    Mash the bananas in a large bowl.

    Stir in the oats and then the peanut butter.

    Dollop spoonfuls on to the tray.

    Wet your fingers and flatten the surface of your bikkies.

    Pop in the oven for 12-15 minutes.

    When done, cool on a wire rack.

     

    Do you best not to devour them all in an afternoon!

     

  • Food, Glorious Food

    IP - Food Glorious Food 1

    IP - Food Glorious Food 3

    I've been back in the kitchen getting creative and it feels so good. The weather is nippy so it's the perfect time to crank up the oven and get back to baking. Shelter in place has given me time to play with ingredients and potter about with pots and pans.

    These days I don't bake sweet treats (trying to stay off the sugar) but I still love baked goods of the savoury kind. I've been devouring kale chips drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with nutritional yeast. Peeling chestnuts hot from the oven. And making rosemary and thyme flavoured mini muffins with buckwheat flour. Flours often make me crash but this recipe has egg in it and the protein seems to balance out the flour.

    I love sitting at the table with my family to eat all the goodies when they're hot, straight out of the oven. The simple things really are the best.

     

  • Nut Balls


     Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you have a lovely day with family and friends. We'll be hanging out today with the grandparents and eating nut balls.  Yum!

    These nut balls are a fudgey and heavenly vegan treat. Best of all, they're date free and you can use whichever nut butter you prefer. I've made these with an almond, cashew and brazil nut butter. You can add sugar if you want them to be sweet but I like the slightly savoury taste that comes when there's no sweetener.

     

    Nut Balls

    250g jar nut butter

    3/4 cup desiccated coconut plus extra for rolling

    2 tbsp cacao powder

    2 tbsp coconut/rapadura sugar (optional)

     

    Tip the whole jar of nut butter into a bowl. If the oil has separated from the nuts, carefully mix it back in.

    Add the cacao powder and coconut and mix well.

    Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

    Scoop out a tablespoon of mixture and roll into balls.

    Roll into the coconut.

    YUM!

     

  • Nut Balls


     Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you have a lovely day with family and friends. We'll be hanging out today with the grandparents and eating nut balls.  Yum!

    These nut balls are a fudgey and heavenly vegan treat. Best of all, they're date free and you can use whichever nut butter you prefer. I've made these with an almond, cashew and brazil nut butter. You can add sugar if you want them to be sweet but I like the slightly savoury taste that comes when there's no sweetener.

     

    Nut Balls

    250g jar nut butter

    3/4 cup desiccated coconut plus extra for rolling

    2 tbsp cacao powder

    2 tbsp coconut/rapadura sugar (optional)

     

    Tip the whole jar of nut butter into a bowl. If the oil has separated from the nuts, carefully mix it back in.

    Add the cacao powder and coconut and mix well.

    Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

    Scoop out a tablespoon of mixture and roll into balls.

    Roll into the coconut.

    YUM!

     

  • Cacao Chia Pudding


    IP - Choc Chia Pudding

    This has got to be the easiest dessert recipe ever.  And it’s super tasty. Just throw all the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate over night. Serve next day topped with mango and/or berries. Yum! 

    I swear it tastes like chocolate mousse. Of course it has been a very long time since I’ve had that particular dessert so I could be wrong but I think it’s actually better. Super yum and no sugar at all. Yay!

    Cacao Chia Pudding

    1/4 cup chia seeds
    I can coconut milk or cream
    2 tbsp cacao
    1/2 vanilla pod
    2 tbsp cinnamon

    To serve: 
    Mango or fresh berries
    Few slivered almonds

    Add chia seeds, coconut milk, cacao, cinnamon and seeds from the vanilla pod to a large bowl.

    Refrigerate overnight.

    Spoon into small bowls.

    Top with fresh fruit (mango or fresh berries) and slivered almonds.

  • Buckwheat Pancake Recipe

    MAKE - pancakes

    The inspiration for this recipe came from my good friend Kate. When my family and I were staying at her place in the Dandenongs she made us buckwheat pancakes for breakfast one Sunday morning. I am always on the look out for more wheat free recipes and this one fast become a firm favourite.

    I love this recipe because it is gluten, dairy and sugar free.  It's also super tasty and very easy to make.  The coconut used for frying has a much higher smoke point than olive oil or butter and has all the goodness of coconut.

    Buckwheat pancakes
    1 cup buckwheat
    2 eggs
    Pinch cinnamon
    1 ripe banana

    Soak buckwheat overnight. Drain and rinse.
    Throw everything into a blender and whizz till you have a lovely batter.
    Heat coconut oil over a low heat and cook the pancakes in batches.
    Serve hot with your favourite toppings – maple syrup & bacon, strawberry jam or sugar & lemon.