healthyfrenchwife

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 🙂

All I want at the moment is chocolate! I can’t believe that for pretty much the whole first trimester I barely ate any chocolate- I am definitely making up for it now in the third trimester! I try to keep my chocolate cravings healthy by either indulging in dark chocoalte covered pumpkin seeds or healthy homemade vegan desserts like these protein packed raw vegan chocolate cakes I made using MorLife plant-based chocolate protein powder.

These yummy cakes are so easy to make, low sugar and packed with protein with 10gr of protein per cake. They also only require 5 ingredients to make!

Raw Vegan Protein Chocolate Cakes 

Makes 6

• 1 1/2 cup of raw cashews soaked overnight
• 3 tbsp of cacao
• 3 tbsp of melted coconut oil
• 3 tbsp of Morlife chocolate protein powder
• 3 tbsp of maple syrup
• Half a block of dairy free dark chocolate or raw chocolate for topping the cakes and a fee strawberries.

1. Soak your cashews overnight in water then drain and rinse them.
2. Blend them in a food processor with the maple syrup and coconut oil.
3. Then add the cacao and chocolate protein powder.
4. Spoon the mixture into a silicon muffin tray and leave to set in the freezer for one hour.
5. Top with melted dark chocolate or raw chocolate and add a strawberry on top.
6. Keep in the fridge before serving.

Let me know if you plan on making them or if you have liked them in the comments below or on Insta @healthyfrenchwife xx

Nothing beats a mid-week chocolate treat- even better when it is made with some nutritious healthy ingredients. I have been making these healthy sweet potato tahini brownies for 2 years almost and I absolutely love them. They were way overdue  for featuring on my blog . Also today is World Chocolate Day so quite fitting to celebrate with this yummy (but healthy) chocolate recipe.

Let me know if you make them by tagging me @healthyfrenchwife on Instagram. I love seeing your recreations and knowing I am not just posting it for myself!

Vegan Sweet Potato Tahini Brownies

I used a square brownie pan.

• 450gr of puree sweet potatoe- about 2 medium potatoes
• 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1/2 cup of buckwheat flour or all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup of almond meal
• 1/2 cup of coconut sugar or any other sweetener
• 6 tbsp of raw cacao powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup of tahini + more to swirl on top.

1. Steam or boil your sweet potato, drain and leave to cool.
2. Pre heat your oven to 175 degrees celsius and line a small brownie pan with baking paper.
3. In a food processor add in the potatoes and all the other ingredients;
4. Mix until very well combined.
5. Spoon into your pan, drizzle some extra tahini and make swirls using a knife.
6. place in the oven and cook at 175 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.
7. Keep it in the fridge for up to 1 week.

I had made this pasta ages ago and never got around to sharing the recipe. I love a simple creamy vegan pasta and I absolutely love mushrooms in pasta. So I hope you enjoy this recipe of mine.

Otherwise life is pretty busy here, I am 29 weeks pregnant and currently have my in-laws visiting. I haven’t made them any of my sweet recipes yet but tomorrow I am attempting a vegan gluten-free orange loaf as my mother-in-law is coeliac and they brought over from Mildura some homegrown organic citrus fruits.

Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta

• 1 packet of pasta of choice
• 500gr of brown mushrooms sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic – chopped finely.
• 1 onion- chopped finely.
• 2 tbsp of chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

Cashew Sauce:

• 1 cup of soaked cashews (for a few hours or in boiling water while the rest cooks if no time)
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast
• 3/4 cup of unsweetened soy milk
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

1. Cook pasta as per the packet’s instructions.

2. In a pan cook the chopped garlic and onion in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Stir often.

3. Once the onions are clear add the sliced mushrooms and cook stirring until brown.

4. Add in the parsley and cook for 1-2 minutes.

5. Blend your cashew cream ingredients in a blender and pour into your pan stirring for a few minutes.

6. Pour on top of your pasta, add more parsley and serve.

7. Enjoy!

Just realised I posted this recipe without including a little brief about it before. haha Silly me! I made these lemon and blueberry cheesecakes to share with a friend for a playdate. I have been craving raw vegan treats lately. I am glad I don’t live in a town where they are easily found or I would be buying some everyday! I like making them and my twins loved them too.

A healthier for you little treat in a perfect little portion. Vegan, GF, low sugar and really yummy! I am always surprised at how close to normal cheesecake flavour they can taste with cashews. Also definitely not as sweet…

Mini Raw Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake 

Makes 6

Base:

• 1 cup of almonds
• 1/2 cup of pitted dates
• 2 tbsp of coconut oil

Cheesecake:

• 1 cup of soaked cashews (overnight)
• 1 lemon juiced
• 4 tbsp of coconut oil
• 3 tbsp of maple syrup
• 1 cup of frozen or fresh blueberries

1. To make the base, mix the almonds then add the dates in a food processor until it forms a fine crumb then add the coconut oil and combine.
2. Press the mixture down in silicon muffing moulds using a glass or your fingers. Store in the freezer while you make the next step.
3. For the cheesecake layer: soak your cashews – preferably overnight or for a few hours in hot/boiling water.
4. Blend in a food processor with the juice of 1 lemon, maple syrup and melted coconut oil. Blend until smooth.
5. Get your base out of the freezer. Add a few fresh or frozen blueberries on top of the bases then spoon the cheesecake mixture.
6. Top with more blueberries and freeze for 2-3 hours to set. Take out of the freezer for one hour before serving and store them in the fridge.

The twins and I made these yummy GF hazelnut chocolate cookies a few weeks ago when we were quite sick with a cold and needed cheering up. Baking with toddlers (and especially 2) is a lot of hardwork but I love that they love helping me in the kitchen at the moment. Eloise loves “cutting” and “mixing” with me.

These cookies are gluten-free (I am trying to include more GF recipes!), vegan and as always low sugar.

GF Hazelnut Cacao Cookies

• 1 1/2 cup of hazelnut meal (alternatively you could use almond meal)
• 3 tbsp of melted coconut oil
• 3 tbsp of cacao
• 3 tbsp of almond milk
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp of stevia (or sweetener of choice)
• Choc chips and Chopped hazelnuts to top

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius,
2. Line a baking tray with baking paper,
3. In a bowl mix the hazelnut meal, baking powder and cacao. Add in the sweetener almond milk and mix it all together.
4. Add the melted coconut oil, mix and form balls with your hands. Place them on the baking tray and flatten them with your hands to form cookies. Then top with choc chips (dairy free) and chopped hazelnuts.
5. Cook for 10 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.

Last weekend I checked in at the Billabong Retreat, an eco-certified wellness retreat offering yoga, meditation and wellness workshops to spend one night at the retreat, recharge my batteries and spend some relaxing time alone. It is only located 45 minutes away to Sydney.

Accommodation:

I stayed in one of the treehouses with a little balcony facing the gumtrees and billabong. I had a double bed and my own shower. I appreciated the kettle, hot water bottle and herbal teas in my own room as the weather was chilly!

View From my bed in the treehouse

Food:

Firstly, the food was amazing. It was mostly all vegan although there was an option to eat eggs and butter. I really liked the self-serve buffet option as I was able to have huge plates of food haha I am pregnant after all! I had 2 lunches, one afternoon tea, one dinner and one breakfast during my stay at the retreat.

Some of my favourite dishes were the flaxseed crackers, the charred broccoli and tahini cashew cheese sauce, the baked pumpkin and tahini sauce, the basmati rice, broccoli and almond salad and the chia pudding (SO CREAMY! Mine always has dried up chia seeds?!).

Check out the pictures below of my (big) plates hehe and at the bottom of this post for a yummy salad inspired by my stay there. I am inspired to eat more (filling) salads using in-season ingredients.

Activities:

In my 2 day retreat I attended 2 yoga classes – one afternoon session and a morning session. Both classes were amazing overlooking the trees in a nice (and heated) big room. I had to adapt some of the poses due to my big pregnancy belly but overall my body loved the opportunity to have a big stretch. I need to be more consistent at home in doing yoga.

I also attended a meditation session which I found a little challenging as I am not good at keeping my mind still. Especially as it was after dinner and the chocolate mousse and the baby was kicking like crazy in my tummy! But doing a guided meditation was definitely very relaxing and I really loved when the teacher played the piano live for us (a tune from the movie Amelie Poulain) while we were laying down with eyes closed. It was magical and so relaxing!

The next morning I attended a workshop which was about self-love. It was good to write down what makes me feel good and hopefully do these activities a little more often like doing yoga, reading books and taking baths!

For me the highlight of my one-night retreat was being able to rest, relax and read self-development books by the fire while reading organic herbal teas. I really enjoyed having the (rare) opportunity to reflect and plan the next 6 months of the year getting myself mentally ready for the arrival of our next baby and the chaos it will bring. I also wrote lists of things I am grateful for and things I wanted to let go of and burnt that piece of paper in the fire. It was a really nice weekend on the theme of self-love and self-care for me. As the saying goes” “you cannot pour from an empty cup”and I really believe it is important for mothers to take time to do something for themselves. I am already planning to come back when my little baby will be done breastfeeding in about a year’s time.

I got inspired by the salads served at the Billabong Retreat and created this yummy healthy Roasted Pumpkin and Fennel Salad. This is a great winter salad recipe – filling, nutritious and delicious!

Roasted Pumpkin and Fennel Salad

Recipe- serves 4:

Ingredients:

• ½ Kent pumpkin roasted
• 2 cups of spinach
• 2 cups of cooked quinoa
• 1 bulb of fennel roasted
• 1 head of broccoli roasted
• ½ cup of tahini
• 1/3 cup of chopped almonds
• salt /pepper and lemon juice

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line 2 baking trays with baking paper;
2. Cut and lay your Kent pumpkin, fennel and brocoli on the trays, season with herbs, salt and pepper and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
3. In the meantime cook your quinoa in water.
4. Once the pumpkin fennel, brocoli and quinoa are cooked. Leave to cool down then mix with spinach and top with tahini, lemon juice, chopped almonds and salt and pepper.

I made this recipe a few weeks ago and sadly they are long gone. I love a good raw chocolate treat for a healthy dessert post lunch or dinner. I hope you enjoy it xx

Raw Fudgey Brownies

• 1/3 cup of almond meal or almonds
• 1 cup of raw cashews (or nut of choice)
• 9 medjool dates pitted
•  1/3 cup of cacao
• 2 tbsp of coconut oil
• 1 tbsp of maple syrup
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp of vanilla essence

Toppings: crushed nuts- hazelnuts and pomegranate

1. Mix the nuts together in a food processor then add the pitted dates and process together.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend further.
3. Press down with your fingers (wet if too sticky) in a small square tin lined with baking paper.
4. Top with crushed hazelnuts and pomegranate.
5. Place in the fridge for a few hours.