This past week we had a friend and professional photographer Kirsten Cunningham come and do a photoshoot of us in the kitchen as I wanted some professional shots of us baking and to use for my blog and Instagram page. I couldn’t be happier by how they turned out and the twins had so much fun being photographed. They also enjoyed licking the chocolate and mixing the chocolate cake!

We made a simple vegan chocolate cake and despite being over mixed, me forgetting the sugar and being made while doing a photoshoot it turned out quite good!

So here are more pictures of the twins and I baking in my own kitchen. I hope you enjoy seeing a little behind-the-scenes action and seeing a bit more of the twins and myself. Annabelle also made an appearance!

I have included the recipe for the chocolate cake at the bottom of the post too. Enjoy and hope you have as much fun as us baking it! xxx

  Simple Vegan Chocolate cake (Soy-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free)

• 3 cups of wholewheat flour
• 1 cup of coconut sugar or 1/2 cup and 1/2 cup of maple syrup
• 3/4 cup of raw cacao powder
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 2 tbsp of flax meal powder
• 2 cups of nut milk of your choice
• 1 cup of melted coconut oil
• 100gr of dark chocolate melted (I use Lindt 70%)
• 1 shot of espresso (optional)
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp of vanilla

1. Pre-heat your oven at 180 degrees Celsius and line a cake tin with baking paper.
2. In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients together.
3. Then add the melted coconut oil, combine, then the melted dark chocolate and combine.
4. Finish with the nut milk and espresso. Combine together and place the dough in your cake tin.
5. Cook for 45 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Top with melted chocolate, berries or your favourite icing. I kept mine simple to make it extra simple!

Halloween is in a few days and I am looking forward to it. Australia does not celebrate it much but I want to dress up the kiddies and we live in a new street with lots of kids/teenagers around so we might get a few trick or treaters!

I will make some dark chocolate Halloween pumpkins to share with the twins.

I made these Pumpkin spice brownies on Saturday and as I type this on Sunday at 5pm they are all gone!!! They were a big hit I guess haha

They are vegan, soy-free, nut-free and refined sugar-free. (If you want to make them GF just use buckwheat or a gf baking flour mix)

I used homemade pumpkin puree as it is much healthier than the canned version which can be full of sugar.

I added Pumpkin Pie spices to make it more “pumpkiny” but you could omit them. I was out of ground clove and all spice so I used my DoTerra essential oils and used a drop of clove essential oil and a drop of On Guard essential oil.

And to make my brownies more spooky and Halloween-themed I tried to make a spider web using tahini and added little plastic spiders. It was fun to do with my kiddies haha

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of puree pumpkin
• 1/2 cup of coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cup of wholemeal (whole-wheat) flour
• 1/2 cup of coconut sugar
• 7 tbsp of raw cacao powder
• 1/3 cup of melted coconut oil
• 3 tsp of cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp of ground ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp of ground all-spice
• 1/2 tsp of ground cloves

Steps:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius;
2. Prep your pumpkin puree by cutting, peeling and steaming/boiling your pumpkin and then puree it.
3. In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients and spices together.
4. Add in your pumpkin puree then the coconut milk and melted coconut oil.
5. Combine together but do not over stir.
6. Place in your square brownie tin lined with baking paper and cook for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
7. Optional: Trace circles with tahini and with a knife trace lines from the centre to the outside of the brownie to create spiderweb-like-lines. 

Today I am sharing with you my super-duper healthy vegan coconut avocado and cucumber gazpacho.

This is a super healthy, nutritious and refreshing spring & summer light meal! This would be great as starters or one big bowl for one person. I really liked it and I will make it often this summer. So simple too! Check out the recipe below.

Coconut Avocado & Cucumber Gazpacho 

(Vegan/Gf/nut-free/soy-free)

Serves 2 for a small meal.

Ingredients:

1 cucumber

1 handful of spinach

1 handful of mint

1 clove of garlic

1 lemon juiced

1 avocado

250ml of coconut water

1 tsp of sea salt

1/2 tsp of chili flakes

1/2 tsp of cumin powder

1. Just blend all the ingredients like a smoothie in a blender.
2. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
3. Enjoy chilled!

I have not posted on my blog for a little while as we welcomed a new addition in our family. Miss Annabelle was born on 11.09.18 and since we have been very busy (with relatives staying with us and flying to Perth to attend not one but 2 weddings with a newborn and toddler twins! it was a bit crazy!).

Anyway…

I am finally back in the kitchen baking and creating new recipes and this one is definitely one to share with you. Let me know if you make it.

It is vegan, refined sugar free and easy to make. You can easily make it nut-free by using soy/ coconut milk instead of nut milk.

Vegan Chocolate Marble Banana Bread 

• 2 cups of wholemeal flour
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp of soy or nut milk
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup of coconut oil
• 2 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup of maple syrup or stevia
• .
• 1/2 cup of cacao

1 extra banana to top

1. Preheat your oven at 180 degrees Celsius
2. Line a loaf tin with baking paper.
3. In a blender mash the bananas (or use a fork).
4. In a bowl mix the dry ingredients together then add the bananas mashed and the wet ingredients apart from the cacao.
5. Put half of the batter on the side then add the cacao in the remaining batter.
6. Spoon a layer of the banana layer then a layer of chocolate layer until you use them both.
7. Top with a sliced banana.
8. Cook in the oven for 50-60 minutes.

Anyway we found some very cheap strawberries in the shops the other day and bought 2 trays so I could freeze a lot of them, we ate most of them in 2/3 days and I used a little bit for making this delicious, simple and healthy vegan rustic strawberry galette. It was a big hit with my dad and the twins.

I forgot to include this yummy recipe on my blog! sorry! This was a big hit in my house and on my Instagram page. These brownies are fudgy, GF, vegan, low sugar and made with black beans. I promise you can’t tell that these brownies have beans in them!

GF Vegan Black Bean Walnut Brownies 

• 1 can of black beans- drained and rinsed.
• 3/4 cup of GF flour (I used Teff flour)
• 1/3 cup of soy milk
• 1/3 cup of melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 100gr of vegan cooking dark chocolate melted
• 2 tbsp of cacao powder
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius
2. Blend a can of black beans in a food processor then add the rest of the ingredients apart from the walnuts.
3. Line a brownie tin with baking paper then spread the brownie batter and add in the walnuts.
4. Cook at 200 degrees Celsius for 30-35 minutes.

Do you like matcha? I find people either love it or hate it. If you like it you would like these healthy vegan muffins with chocolate-chips!

Matcha Chocolate-Chip Muffins 

makes 6 muffins

• 1 1/2 cup of wholemeal (whole-wheat) flour
• 1/2 cup of sugar/sweetener of choice (I used coconut sugar)
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp of matcha powder
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil melted
• 1 cup of nut milk/soy milk
• 4 tbsp of dairy free chocolate chips + more to top

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Line a muffin tray with muffin cases.
3. In a bowl mix the dry ingredients together
4. Then add the nut milk and coconut oil and whisk gently together.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips and spoon the batter into each of the 6 muffins cases.
6. Top each muffin with more chocolate chips.
7. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes at 180 Celsius.

Let me know if you make them by tagging me on Instagram @healthyfrenchwife or in comments below.

I could tell you how delicious this is all day long but really you need to make it for yourself if you are a peanut/chocolate fan!

This raw vegan choc-peanut slice is vegan, raw (ish- I used maple syrup), gluten free, soy-free and quite easy to do if you have a high speed blender or food processor.

We ate half of the slice over the weekend and I am keeping the rest in the freezer for when the baby arrives and I get super hungry when breastfeeding! Plus so handy having treats in the freezer when visitors pop over 🙂

Raw Choc-Peanut Slice Recipe:

Base:

• 1 cup of raw almonds (or nuts of choice)
• 1 cup of pitted dates
• 1/4 cup of raw cacao powder
• 1/4 cup of water

1. Mix the nuts in a food processor then add the dates and blend further.
2. Add in the cacao and water and blend further until a sticky dough is formed.
3. Press the dough down in a slice tin covered with plastic wrap or in a silicon mould and pop in the freezer while you make the next layers.

Peanut Layer:

• 1 cup of soaked cashews (ideally overnight)
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp of maple syrup ( add 1 more if you have a very sweet tooth)
• 2 tbsp of melted coconut oil
• 5 tbsp of peanut butter (smooth)
• 1 tbsp of water

1. In a food processor blend your cashews and the rest of the ingredients until you get a smooth peanut cream.
2. Spread on top of your base and pop in the freezer while you make the chocolate layer.

Chocolate Layer:

• 1 cup of soaked cashews
• 4 tbsp of maple syrup
• 1/4 cup of raw cacao powder
• 2 tbsp of melted coconut oil
• 1 tbsp of water

1. In a food processor blend your cashews and the rest of the ingredients until you get a smooth chocolate cashew cream.
2. Spread on top of the peanut layer (optional add in extra peanuts in between both layers).
3. Leave to set in the freezer for 1 hour then slice it in small squares and add the toppings.

Topping:

• drizzle some raw/dark chocoalte on top and extra peanuts.

Store in the freezer and take out 30 minutes before serving.

I would love to get your feedback if you make it. Either leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @healthyfrenchwife.

Thank you 🙂

Happy late French Bastille Day! I celebrated with these homemade vegan French Crepes with Orange zest. I loved sharing them with my family.

These French crepes are so delicious and they truly reminded me of my childhood eating crepes in the street. They smell absolutely delicious and were easy enough to flip despite not having any eggs. For me crepes have to be super thin to be called crepes so it is a matter of making the batter very liquid and pouring it/spreading it very quickly in a hot pan. I hope you will enjoy them. The orange zest gives them a delicious taste too.

My recipe is as always vegan, dairy-free, low sugar. The maple syrup is needed to give them a nice colour and for sweetness.

ps: Go France today in the world cup!



Vegan French Crepes :
Makes 8 thin crepes. Double recipe if needed.

1 1/2 cup of soy milk
1 cup of all purpose flour (I used wholemeal)
1 tbsp of maple syrup
2 tbsp of melted coconut oil
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/4 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp of orange zest
1 tbsp of cold water

1. In a bowl mix the ingredients together with a whisk to remove all the lumps.
2. Add more cold water if needed (it needs to be thin but not too much.)
3. Spray a hot flat pan with coconut oil or neutral oil and pour a ladder of the batter on your pan away from the heat – quickly moving the batter around the hot pan to spread it thinly. (Being fast and not pouring too much batter is the key in making proper thin French crepes)
4. Leave to cook on medium heat for about 1 min per side then flip with a spatula and cook the other side.
5. Keep the crepe on the side and cook the remaining crepes the same way.
6. Top with your favourite toppings: orange zest and maple syrup or jam or vegan notella!

Let me know in the comments below if you liked this recipe 🙂