Browsing Tag

delicious

Friday Fare, Health

Friday Fare – Sugar free and refined sugar free muffins

March 28, 2014

As promised, here is the recipe for the sugar free muffins I posted about on Sunday Summary two weeks ago!

Sugar free and refined sugar free muffins

sugar-free-muffins-recipe

I am going to share two versions of these muffins with you. The difference between them is that one is purely sugar-free (as it contains sugar-free honey made of xylitol) and the other is refined sugar free (and contains honey). Both are healthy and delicious, but I realize that sugar-free honey is not easy to come by which is why I am offering two versions.

This recipe was taught to me by my boyfriend’s aunt who is on a strict sugar-free diet to help battle her candida. These muffins are surprisingly fluffy and moist, and very very delicious. You can’t stop at just one, but the beauty of these muffins are that they contain a healthy mix of protein and fats with no sugar or no refined sugar! The sugar-free version is great for those with sugar issues, such as diabetics, and provide a sweet treat without blasting up your blood sugar levels. The refined sugar-free version contain sugar from honey (I use raw honey), and while this is still sugar, it does not undergo mass levels of refinement that most commercial sugars go through.

Although sugar is good for you (save a few who have medical issues with it) and IS necessary for the body to function, I try and limit the amount of ADDED sugar I ingest. And sweet treats tend to have a LOT of unnecessary added sugar which will cause you to gain weight in the long run and could lead to longer term health problems. This article is a great read if you want to know more about how excess sugar can negatively affect you.  Like excess ANYTHING though, too much of it will lead to weight gain and you putting on fat.

Therefore, I like to share yummy sweet things which have natural sugar-free alternatives or sugars that have not been refined. I would prefer you to stick to natural sugars if possible as we still do not know the long-term side effects of sweeteners, but liquid stevia is a good sugar-free choice.

Okay, informational talk and slight rant over!

Sugar-free & Refined Sugar-free Muffins

Alice Williams
Incredibly moist sugar-free and refined sugar-free muffins to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for the sugar free muffin are

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 and a half cups of almond flour
  • 1/3 cup ground flax seed you can make this by buying flax seed and throwing it in the food processor for a minute or longer
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 15 drops of liquid stevia
  • 1/4 cup sugar-free honey
  • 6 tablespoons cinnamon or pumpkin spice
  • OPTIONAL: 2 tablespoons olive oil I prefer it without to be honest

Ingredients for the refined sugar free muffin are

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 and a half cups of almond flour
  • 1/3 cup ground flax seed
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 6 tablespoons cinnamon or pumpkin spice
  • OPTIONAL: 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions
 

  • 1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees farenheit and get a muffin tin or some muffin/cupcake holders ready.
  • 2. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and then add and mix in the rest of your ingredients
  • 3. Pour the mixture into your tin or holders and then put into the oven for 13 minutes.
Sugar free and refined sugar free muffins

Voila! Easy, fluffy and delicious sugar-free or refined sugar-free muffins!! Enjoy with some sugar-free jam on top, honey, some berry compote, with coconut whipped cream or any way you choose. If you make them, tag me in your photo and hashtag it #fridayfare so I can find you 🙂

Hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to seeing your recreations!

Honestly yours,
Alice

Friday Fare, Health

Friday Fare – Honestly Fitness Delights

March 19, 2014

I’m finally on spring break!!! … Although it is hardly a break, sigh. I only get one measly week off (in England I got 5 weeks off, how crazy is that?) and I just have so much to do, and so little time. Luckily for you all, I MAKE the time to develop yummy and healthy treats for you all such as these Honestly Fitness delights!

Honestly Fitness Delights

Honestly Fitness Delights raw dessert balls

I created my Honestly Fitness Delights a few months ago and I am excited to share them with you. What makes them so fun and easy is the fact that there is no baking involved whatsoever. You just mix together the ingredients and put it in the fridge for an hour (or you can just eat them straightaway hehe) and they’re done! If you’re like me (who can be verrry lazy .. sometimes ..) and just want something yummy and sweet NOW, not in an hour or two, these will save you.

The Honestly Fitness Delights are refined sugar-free, grain-free and dairy free so they are great for those who have these intolerances. They contain a healthy mix of fats, complex carbohydrates, proteins and various vitamins and minerals. Flax seed is a great source of omega-3’s and just fun and crunchy to eat in general.

Honestly Fitness Delights

Alice Williams
Guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth in a healthy manner.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup + 2tbsp almond flour
  • 4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 6 tbsp apple sauce
  • 2 tsp coconut oil
  • 4 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 tbsp flaxseed
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Optional: liquid stevia for added sweetness
  • 1. Combine all of the ingredients in a big bowl and mix well until the 'batter' becomes dark brown in colour.
  • 2. Either roll them into little dough balls, or leave them in the bowl and roll them into dough balls later, and then store in the fridge for an hour. Storing them overnight seems to produce the best flavor, but honestly they taste good anytime!
Honestly Fitness Delights raw dessert balls

 

Honestly Fitness Delights raw dessert balls

So there you have it! A really easy and healthy snack that you can count on to keep you full and satisfied. As fab as they are though, don’t eat the whole batch in one sitting as almond flour is relatively high in calories. Spread it out over the week and share it with your friends and family : )

Hope you all have a great weekend, and a great spring break for any of you who are now on it!

Honestly yours,
Alice

 

Friday Fare, Health

Friday Fare – Healthified ice-cream with toffee sauce

March 7, 2014

Woooow, it’s Friday already?? Umm, the weeks pass by too fast for me. And I have a lot of work due next week for uni, so that’s not necessarily a good thing lol.

Anyway, I thought I would show you all how to make a healthier and clean version of everyone’s favorite dessert: ice-cream! And since I loooove toffee, I thought I would show you how to make a healthy version of that, to drizzle on top of the ice-cream.

Healthified ice-cream with toffee sauce

Healthified ice-cream with toffee sauce

I was inspired to do this, because a) I freaking love ice cream, and b) I am in LOVE with banoffee pie. Read bananas and toffee in a pie. Together. Heaven in a pie. And because this ice cream is made out of bananas, I thought it would be delicious to pair it with a healthy and raw toffee sauce 🙂

This recipe was also inspired by recipes featured on Blogilates and The Detoxinista 🙂

And note, before you can do ANYTHING, make sure your bananas are ripe and sweet and then slice it up and freeze the banana slices overnight. This is a crucial first step, as the frozen banana slices is what gives you a deliciously sweet and creamy texture to the ‘ice-cream.’

Also PLEASE USE NATURAL PEANUT BUTTER and not just any old peanut butter 🙂

Alright, banana slices all frozen? Excellent, let us move on.

 

Healthified Ice-Cream with Toffee Sauce

Alice Williams
Healthy 'ice-cream' that literally tastes and has the exact same texture as ice-cream!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • For the Ice Cream
  • 2 bananas sliced and frozen
  • 1 tbsp Peanut Butter
  • For the Toffee Sauce
  • 12 pitted medjool dates
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • To make the ice cream
  • 1. Throw your banana slices (or you can gently guide them) into your blender, and whizz it until the consistency becomes smooth and creamy. This will be done very quickly if you have a Vitamix or Ninja blender and unfortunately will take longer with a less high powered one. I found that a food processor actually worked very well in getting a very ice-cream like texture, but perhaps that has more to do with the fact that my housemates food processor is perfect ..
  • 2. Then add your peanut butter to the mixture. Blend for another 30 seconds – 1 minute.
  • To make the toffee sauce
  • 1. Make sure you soften the dates by soaking them in hot water for a few minutes (3-5 is fine) first.
  • 2. Once the dates are soft, add the dates in first and blend them for a bit until adding in your milk and vanilla extract.
  • 3. Blend until your desired consistency (I wanted to leave mine a bit gritty and thick) and then either add to the ice-cream, on top or by swirling it in orrrrr just eat it. Hehe, it is really good.

Notes

Adapted from Blogilates and the Detoxinista
Healthified ice-cream with toffee sauce

Healthified ice-cream with toffee sauce

I hope you like this recipe as much as I do!! I normally like to add some unsweetened cocoa powder to my ice-cream mix, or I stir in some unsweetened coconut flakes and dark chocolate chips. Experiment, the possibilities are endless!

If you make this delicious dessert and post it on Instagram, Facebook, or any form of social media, please tag me and hashtag it with #fridayfare and #honestlyfitness so I can find you 🙂 My name on all social media outlets is just ‘Honestly Fitness’.

Love you all so much, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend. And remember to indulge once in a while! I had a ridiculously decadent little dessert last night and plan to go out for Indian food with my good friends tomorrow night. Although health and fitness is important, it is all about balance. Don’t deprive yourself, and don’t go too crazy 🙂

Honestly yours,
Alice