This simple recipe for flapjacks was created by me after a one hour drive with my kids. I vouched never to leave the house and put them in the car for more than   10 minutes without having some sort of snacks at hand. So do entertain yourself with the journey and hope you enjoy the recipe!!!

Anyone who has kids will tell you how much fun it is to take a trip in a car with kids for longer than the duration of 10 minutes. How many times you will hear the dreaded phrase “are we there yet”, or “how long till were there” one can only begin to explain.
So today we set off on a 1 hr drive. Luckily for us this time my daughter started asking the dreaded questions 5 minutes into the journey. After calmly explaining to her that it would take at least an hr to get there she then suggested we play a game. I roll my eyes as I know what is coming, yes the I spy with my little eye game. You know the one u have to guess what each persons little eye has spotted after given them a clue. We usually will pick a colour as the clue and then we all take turns In guessing. Kids will usually always spy something that no adult can see. Usually because its something that is hiding inside there monkey backpack which they have packed themselves and therefore nobody even knows its in there. ( Kids have the ability of making up there own rules that of course suits them) So no amount of guessing will get you anywhere. Then when u don't get it , they will proudly tell you that they have won. I'm totally cool with loosing , if that ends the game any faster Bring it on…I’ll be the QUEEN of loosing.

During the course of the ride they will also inevitably be holding something that they could not leave home without – You know all those essential things they need like water balloons, a couple rocks , 3 legos welded together some coins from some foreign country you visited 2 years ago and the list goes on. They will then drop one of these items and all hell will break loose. You will eventually be forced to pull over and retrieve the item if you want any peace for the remainder of the journey. This may be repeated a number of times until you reach your destination.

There will be a couple minutes of silence , then you will feel your car seat being kicked – usually no amount of threats will make them stop. So you may have to resolve to bribing them with ice cream or something. This usually works.

Another few minutes will pass , then you will hear bickering , screaming and crying as they start picking on each other. A thought of giving them an I pad to watch Pepa pig does cross my mind, however that goes against my moral beliefs and more importantly I don't own an Ipad.

After they have had a go at each other , they will ask for some music. Following which you will attempt to find a channel on the radio. As the connection on the high way will be terrible you will fail. They will then ask if they can hear the playlist songs that are on your phone. Be weary – This is just a trick so they can get hold of your mobile phone in order to play games or connect to some inappropriate internet site and waste all your roaming data.

By the time you retrieve your phone you will be close to your destination and you will get stuck in traffic of course. The are we there yet comments will start again. You will have some patience but then will probably crack it. At that point one of them will start screaming that they need the toilet. You will not be sure if they are bluffing or not. Usually they are BUT can you risk it? So of course you will frantically start weaving in and out of cars trying to find somewhere to stop so you can get them out the car to pee. Once out of the car you somehow maneuver the car door and position yourself as so not to expose any nakedness to the ongoing cars .You will then proceed to pull down there pants expecting waterfalls only to wait, and wait , and wait for a little drizzle to come out.
AT that point you will feel like strangling them. I strongly suggest you refrain from doing so, Its not worth it (PRISON FOOD is not that great)

Anyhow you will them scramble to get them into the car , struggle with the seat belts but eventually manage and start driving again. You will then have to deal with the phrase I'M HUNGRY. Of course you will not have any food in the car, I mean this wasn’t meant to be a road trip that needed food supplies its a one hr car drive. Even after explaining this concept to them that you can not give them food because there is simply no food in the car , they will keep insisting that they want to eat NOW and that they are Hungry. The simple response after explaining to them is sure honey what would you like. They will tell you what it is they want and then you will say “ ok making it right now, it will be ready in a minute”. At that point they will look a little confused Because they know there's no food in the damn car and there just messing with your patients because your NOT THERE YET!!

Rest assured you will eventually get there, AND they will run out the car , AND they will NOT need to go to the toilet, AND They Will NOT eat anything that they ordered at the restaurant because they were sooo hungry and the essential articles they brought with them will be forgotten somewhere only to be remembered on thee car ride back home OF course!!!

FLAPJACK RECIPE
3 cups gluten free oats
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
90 grams coconut oil

Combine melted coconut oil and maple syrup. Add the oats and coconut sugar and mix to combine. Pour into a 20 cm baking tray (lined with baking paper) and cook in a preheated oven on 170 degrees for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and leave it cool and cut into slices. Place in an airtight container and remember to take them with you on those long drives with kids!!!.

Today I woke up over the moon , unreasonably happy and felt like I could take on anything! ,So I thought it a good opportunity to have a super Healthy Happy Feel Good Eating Day.

So I started the day with some exercise – I did some physical activity for 30 minutes – my kids have a trampoline – GREAT so I just jumped up and down frantically for 30 minutes , I even managed some somersaults (Yeahhh!!!) and yes ONE MID air somersault (WOOO HOOO!!!) If your child does not own a trampoline ( GET THEM ONE) , in the meantime in the absence of it just put some music on and dance around the house.

So after working up a sweat (Feeling great – Super proud of my trampoline skills but not sure if I will be able to walk tomorrow) I had a shower and proceeded to make a Green smoothie. (Yes I know some may be tempted to say that it resembles slimy frog pond water) But it does taste SOO MUUCHHH better ( Not that Ive ever tried frog pond water!!!) OK so I threw the following in the blender:

1 frozen banana
½ cup frozen mango
1 cup apple juice ( Fresh is best)
½ teaspoon spirulina
handful on spinach
I Blended like crazy until it was silky smooth , poured it into a fancy glass and BOTTOMS UP!!

For my mid morning snack I had a crisp apple with some peanut butter ( Make sure you get the good stuff – Our Healthy Delicious peanut butter has only freshly roasted peanuts and a touch of sea salt as the ingredient). To make it fancy I sliced the apple into rings, scooped out the middle bit and then smeared them with the peanut butter and sprinkled with chia seeds and coconut shreds. If you are at work you can tell everyone you are having donuts. MMMMM ( make sure you keep away from the workplace kitchen just in case there is a birthday and there is some disgusting chocolate cream cake staring up at you , screaming EAT ME! (Exception to this is if they have ordered a Healthy Delicious Birthday cake – then you can GO Crazy!!!)

For lunch:
A delicious green garden salad with almonds and sunflower seed pate. No its not bird food! But in saying that I am sure the birds will happily peck at any leftover seed pate.

Ingredients
Leafy greens of choice (Spinach, lettuce , baby beet leaves . parsley, coriander,etc.
Pate :
½ cup Soaked almonds
½ cup Soaked sunflower seeds
½ cup soaked pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons fresh dill
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Blend all ingredients for pate to form a course pate.
Arrange leafy greens on a plate top with a few spoons of pate and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
Any leftover seed pate can be stored in an airtight jar in the fridge. It should last for a week or so..

Afternoon snack
So I was tempted to have that pick me up coconut latte coffee. BUT I reasoned with myself that it will give me a migraine so in order to stay in my Happy, Happy Happy mood I settled for a green tea ( Hot – sweetened with a little honey as I can't really  stand the taste of cigarette ash- Don't know if anyone shares the same views with me on that one, would be great to know if you do). As I drank it I kept thinking of all those anti-oxidants and cancer fighting properties I was consuming. MMM Yummy!!

DINNER TIME
Steamed brown basmati rice with coconut creamed curry lentils.
Although it sounds long and fancy this dish is really quick and simple and truly delicious.You can substitute white basmati rice if desired but do note that there is more fiber and nutritional goodness in the brown stuff.

RECIPE
Ingredients:
Brown Basmati rice
1 cup Brown lentils
1 Onion diced
1 can (400 gms) Coconut milk
3 tablespoons Coconut oil
2 cloves Garlic minced
2 inches Fresh ginger
3 tablespoons Mild curry powder or HOT if you can handle it
1 teaspoon Sea salt
2 cups Grilled broccoli
2 cups grilled cauliflower florets

Directions
Firstly cook the lentils. Its best if you soak them overnight. Discard the water and rinse them well. Put them in a pot with 3 cups of water and cook for about 25 to 30 minutes on medium heat until they are soft but not mushy. Once cooked – rinse and keep aside.

To grill veggies , cut them into florets , toss with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil a touch of salt and lay on an oven tray. Cook on oven grill on 220 degrees for about 15 minutes.

In a frying pan heat a couple tablespoons of coconut oil. Add the onion and sauté for a couple minutes. Then add the garlic, ginger, spices and salt. Cook for a couple minutes then add the cooked lentils. Stir in order to ensure well coated and then add the coconut milk . Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cooked broccoli and cauliflower florets and turn off the heat.

To serve place some rice on a plate top with curry and then garnish with chopped cilantro.

ENJOY!!

So after my Healthy eating day , I decided to have a bath , read a funny book and have an early night.

If anyone out there is up for the challenge of replicating my eating day it would be great to hear your comments if it made you feel GREAT!!

But in saying that, I would also like to hear from those of you who didn't do the whole day but selected a recipe they liked.

Happy Happy Eating !!!!

With Halloween approaching around the corner who doesn’t like trick OR treating.
When I was young I couldn’t wait to get in my costume, meet my friends , get my bucket and set off down the street and knock on doors and scream trick or Treat!!

Most of the neighbours were nice enough to give us some candy bars, chocolates some even loose change. We did on occasion get a household that didn’t have any candy (HOW can you not have candy on Halloween is any ones guess) and we got …..yes wait for it …….every child’s delight (NOT) a nice big crisp green apple!!! HOOORRAHHH!!!

So anyway we would run home tip out the contents of our bag/ bucket and sort out all the candy , and discard the green apples, giving them over to Mum to make that sweet apple pie! ( So I guess they weren’t totally wasted).

Then there would be a fight with Mum, that we couldn’t possibly have all that candy , and how bad it was for our teeth. So after some negotiating we were probably left with half the candy and the rest was stashed somewhere up high out of reach.

So with the day approaching and me feeling a little nostalgic about the whole thing I decided to make some sweet treats for the occasion!!!
 
Yes some DIY candy and chocolates!!! Super easy to make and to top it off they are plant based, gluten free and refined sugar free!!!
 
Peanut butter cookies
DIY chocolates
Rice crispy Pops

So here we go!!!!!

I love peanut butter, its creamy rich and delicious. I also like it extra roasted !!!! These cookies come together in under 5 minutes have only 5 ingredients and take only 10 minutes to cook AND im sure the kids and any ADULTS  will love them.  (As long as you are not allergic to peanuts that is !!!)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup Healthy Delicious  peanut butter
• ½  cup liquid sweetener of choice (Agave, maple syrup, honey) Depending how sweet you want them. (Here is the good thing U can taste the batter whilst raw and see if you need extra sweetening and you will not get worms in your tummy!!!)
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 chia egg (1 tablespoon chia mixed with 3 tablespoons hot water to make a gel
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  

INSTRUCTIONS:
Mix all ingredients together. Form balls of mixture and spread out on a baking tray. If you have a cookie cutter you can use them to make cookie shapes. Cook in a pre-heated oven of 180 degrees Celsius for 8 – 10 minutes until golden. Let them cool and then drizzle with some sugar free dark chocolate if desired. Since we are in the Halloween theme I drew some spiders on mine.

You will not believe how simple it is to make your own chocolate. With just 4 ingredients you are on your way. 

INGREDIENTS

• 50 grams odourless coconut oil
• 50 grams cocoa butter melted
• 60 grams cocoa powder
• 60 grams agave syrup or maple syrup (More if you want a sweeter chocolate)

 
ADD INS

• Chopped roasted nuts
• Chia seeds
• Coconut shreds
• Goji berries / sultanas
• Hemp heats
• Cocoa nibs

INSTRUCTIONS:
Melt the coconut oil and cocoa butter. Make sure they are not too hot , about 27 degrees is best. Sift the cocoa powder to get rid of any lumps and stir into the melted mixture. Then add the liquid sweetener and stir to form a nice silky glossy mixture. Stir in your Add Ins of choice and then scoop the mixture into small chocolate moulds and pop them into the freezer to set.. Once set they should just pop out. Store them in the fridge in order to avoid them from melting. Additionally you could also individually wrap each chocolate piece with some coloured foil to give some added excitement when kids get there candy.

Ok so which kid doesn't like a crunchy chocolate coated rice crispy ball. Hell I'm an adult and I cant resist them. I love the crunchy yet slight stickiness they have, being sweet and having that chocolate bittersweet bust … MMMMMM And yes there have been occasions when Ive had to tell my kids that the pops were eaten by gremlins as they were sleeping and that’s why there are none left.. And yes naughty buggers they ate all 20 of them in one night !!!!

My daughters 7 .. so not sure how long the Gremlin story is going to hold up…Hopefully for another couple of years.

So on to the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups organic sugar free puffed rice /
• 1/2 cup healthy delicious almond butter or cashew butter
• 1/2 cup agave syrup
• 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon agar agar powder (omit if you don't have)

 
INSTRUCTIONS:

• Place all ingredients apart from rice crispy in a saucepan. Heat up and mix until all melted and well combined.
• Pour mixture into rice crispy mixture and stir in order to ensure everything is coated. 
• Line a tray with baking paper and pour the mixture in. Smooth out with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate for 1 hr to firm up. You can speed up the process by putting into the freezer.
• Now cut into square pieces. You can leave some like this and just drizzle chocolate and some nuts and , coconut shreds etc. For the pops  get a square and squash it with your hands  in order to compress it and form a round ball. Repeat to make as many pops as you want.
• Place a popsicle stick in each of the balls.
• Now place them in the fridge to set and firm up again.
• Meanwhile melt some dark chocolate or you can use the DIY one from above.
• Dip each pop into the chocolate mixture, you can then coat them in crushed cocoa nibs, shredded coconut or leave them plain.

 
SOO there you have it 3 great healthier sweet ideas which are great for any occasion and not just as Halloween treats.
 
Would love to hear your comments if you do make them.

Feel free to leave a comment (Click "comment" at top of blog).
 
HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!!