The Healthy Patch, Author at The Healthy Patch

Healthy Hot Cross Buns

March 22, 2019

Our healthy Hot Cross Buns are here!

It took me 5 goes to get these guys right (yep, it was a labour of love!) but we finally did it!

As a kid I absolutely LOVED Hot Cross Buns, smothered in conventional pasteurised butter or worse… margarine (I know…. enough said)

But just like many traditional sweet treats from my childhood, these too were just loaded with processed junk.

In fact I just went onto the Bakers Delight website to see what kind of junk we’re talking…

Wheat Flour, Fruit (25%) [Sultanas, Currants, Vegetable Oil (Cotton Seed, Sunflower)], Water, Sugar, Yeast, Vegetable Oil (Canola), Glaze [Sugar, Glucose/ Fructose Syrup, Gelling Agent (440, 407, 415), Flavour], Spices, Iodised Salt, Wheat Starch, Soy Flour, Vegetable Gum (415, 412), Mineral Salt (541, 500), Flavour, Emulsifier (471 – Canola), Colour (171), Vitamins (Folic Acid, Thiamin)

Did you notice how even the 25% fruit section contains vegetable oil… come on guys, at least get the fruit part right…

Suffice to say… this is NOT the kind of stuff you want to be putting in your body. In fact even the vitamins being added to the buns are not natural forms, they’re synthetic, man made vitamins. This is called fortification & is common with grain based foods especially bread, rolls & buns. The idea is vitamins like folate (a naturally occurring nutrient found in wholefoods especially leafy greens) are important, so they should be added to the food. The problem is, “folate” & “folic acid” aren’t the same thing. Folic acid is synthetic & needs to be converted by the body before it can be used, this is a big task that puts a strain on the liver, which can cause excess folic acid in the blood which can ultimately lead to increased cancer risk. Folate on the other hand, is readily absorbed & utilised by the body.

So you want to be avoiding fortified foods as much as possible!

Which brings me back to our Healthy Hot Cross Buns!

Whilst not as pretty looking as traditional HCBs (although we are a big fan of rustic!) we were so happy with the taste & texture!

And once I got the recipe right, these guys were actually REALLY easy to make.

So let’s go over some notes before we get to the recipe…

– Like many of our recipes, we whip the egg whites to help with the rise of the batter & overall texture. Because we don’t use gluten in any of our recipes this acts as a nice little alternative. We always use our kitchen aid stand mixer with the whisk attachment to whip our egg whites. You can always whip by hand but this takes soooo much longer… so a stand whisker was a really good investment for us.

– We’ve used 1/4 cup of grass fed organic ghee in this recipe but you can use coconut oil instead if you’re not on the ghee train. We’ve only just started incorporating ghee into our meals. Ghee is clarified butter that is lactose & casein free (although a small amount of milk protein can still be present). It’s loaded with healthy fats & important fat soluble vitamins A, D, E & K2. We’ve also ‘buttered’ the buns with ghee too, but again, if you prefer to exclude ghee from your diet you can ‘butter’ them with nut butter, coconut butter, cashew cream… of of course just eat them plain!

– The crosses are made with coconut butter & a little coconut cream… this worked perfectly & they set really nicely.. however the crosses are quite versatile.. you could also use a cashew cream if you didn’t want to use coconut butter… I make our cashew cream by simply blending cashews, coconut cream, maple syrup & vanilla bean powder together in a high speed blender.

– We use a square muffin tin for this recipe to get the bun shape, this is exactly like a normal muffin tin but instead of circles they are squares… we got ours from matchbox (link is here) – you can of course use a regular muffin tin if you like, it just means that the shape will be more muffiny than bunny. 😉

Okay… let’s get to the recipe shall we? 🙂

HEALTHY HOT CROSS BUNS

INGREDIENTS

WET INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs separated + 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup grass fed ghee or coconut oil
Juice from 2 big oranges (which equals around 1 cup)
2 tbsp maple syrup

DRY INGREDIENTS:

2 cups almond meal
1 cup arrowroot flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup sultanas

CROSS:

1/4 cup coconut cream
1/2 cup coconut butter

METHOD

BUNS:

Preheat oven to 180C and grease a 12 cup square muffin pan (I use this one here – you can also use a normal muffin pan, but the shape will be muffins instead of buns) with a little coconut oil or ghee.

Place your egg whites & 1/2 tsp of baking powder in an electric mixer with whisk attachment & whisk on medium until firm peaks appear (you should be able to place the bowl upside down over your head without the egg whites moving!)

Whilst your egg whites are forming into peaks, it’s time to get the rest of the bun batter ready!

In a big bowl, combine all dry ingredients EXCEPT sultanas.

Now, place all of your wet ingredients (egg yokes, coconut oil/ghee, orange juice & maple syrup) into a food processor & process until smooth.

By now, your egg whites should be formed into peaks. Note that once they turn into peaks, you need to work super fast because they can start to separate & turn into a watery mess.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, & then fold through the egg whites.

Be careful when folding the egg whites through your bun batter because if you go too hard you can knock out the air. This means your buns won’t rise properly.

Evenly spoon out bun batter into your prepared 12 cup square muffin tin. Now get your sultanas & place a small handful on top of each bun, pushing the sultanas into the batter. Now place in oven.

Bake for 20 minutes & leave to cool or enjoy warm!

CROSS:

Place coconut butter & cream into a high speed blender & blend until smooth.

Transfer mixture to a piping bag and pipe your crosses over your buns. If your buns are still piping hot when piping the crosses (see what I did there?!) the mixture may melt a little as it is coconut, we let them cool down a little before piping.

THE FINALE:

Once buns have their crosses, cut in half & enjoy with grass fed ghee, nut butter, cashew cream or even on their own!

P.S If you want more delicious & nourishing recipes that will help you amp up your wholefoods ASAP, make sure you check out our new eBook Drink Your Way To Incredible Health right here! Loaded with over 30 of our favourite body-loving juices, smoothies, teas & tonics to repair, revitalise & energise your body!

Whether you’re after more energy throughout the day, a better sleep, improved digestion or maybe better skin or hair health (or all of the above!!) there’s a juice, smoothie, tea or tonic for it! All of which you’ll find in this book!

Our top 5 body-loving everyday superfoods that you can grow yourself!

January 17, 2019

In a world of fancy superfood powders & insanely expensive granola mixes, it can be easy to fall for the idea that eating a healthy diet needs to be expensive & hard to stick to.

In fact, not so long ago a friend of mine sent me a photo of a little bag of granola, telling me how they were so excited to have their first paleo breakfast… despite the fact that the little bag cost them around $20… suffice to say they gave up on the whole ‘healthy eating’ thing pretty quickly after that!

Yep – totally fair enough right? I mean, bags of granola, jars of nut butter & exotic superfood powders can be delicious… & I love a superfood smoothie as much as the next person… but the truth is, when we get back to basics & remember that good old organic wholefoods are actually no less super, you’ll find that they can provide just as many – if not even more benefits – as those pricey snacks & superfoods, they’re also much easier on your wallet & if you want to, you can even grow them yourself!

So let’s take a look at 5 of the BEST ‘everyday’ superfoods that will nourish your body… without the hefty price tag! As mentioned above, all of these powerhouse superfoods can also be grown right from your backyard too (or balcony of course!!) 🙂

Before we jump in, I want to mention one of the benefits you’ll see in common with these everyday superfoods… it’s the way they all help the body to clear away toxins. In a world where we’re all bombarded with all manner of toxins, including air pollution, car pollution, pesticides, GMOs & EMFs just to name a few – eating foods that help to boost the body’s natural detox systems has never been more important!

Okay, here we go!

1. BROCCOLI:

It’s a classic healthy food for a reason. Broccoli isn’t just one of the most well known veggies out there… it’s also one of the healthiest! First off, it’s a member of the awesome brassica family – which contain some of the healthiest foods in the world! – It contains tons of nutrients that are important for human health, including sulfur, folate, manganese, vitamin C & sulforaphane.

Broccoli boosts the bodies natural detox systems, promotes healthy immune function, contains compounds that can fight cancer cells & protect heart health.

If you’re looking for a new way to get some extra broccoli onto your plate, check out our blueberry brassica smoothie bowl here… we have this bowl for breakfast nearly everyday!

Tips to grow your own Broccoli:

Broccoli should be planted around 40cm apart in full sun. Don’t overcrowd your broccoli, if you do you won’t get a nice big head. From seedling, Broccoli is usually ready to harvest at around the 2 month mark, however if you leave it too long, his head (which is made up of tiny flower buds) can go to flower & become bitter. The minute the flower buds start to loosen up is the minute you know your broccoli head is full size & ready to harvest – leave it any longer & the buds will flower! Once you’ve cut off the main head, your broccoli will produce little side shoots that look much like broccolini, they’re delicious!

2. BEETROOT:

Another awesome edible that you’ll always find in our patch is beetroot. Beetroot is a great source of manganese, a mineral that’s important for gut health, bone structure & energy production. It also helps with building blood & the production of glutathione; the most important antioxidant in the body!

Tips to grow your own Beetroot:

Beetroot should be planted around 20cm apart. It’s best to plant beetroot from ‘seed’ rather than ‘seedling’ as disturbing the roots when they’re younger can result it some weird looking, smaller beets! They’re usually ready to harvest in 2 months, but you can harvest the leaves whilst you wait for the root to grow – just make sure you leave around 4 leaves on the plant at all times. You can harvest the root as a baby beet or allow it to grow to the size you prefer, just don’t let them get too big as they can become tough & lack flavour. Beetroot Pro Tip: Push the mulch away so you can see the diameter of the root – if you’re happy with the size, pull! If not, leave it for a little longer!

3. LEAFY GREENS:

Upping your leafy green consumption is one of the easiest things you can do to improve your health (& as a bonus they’re some of the easiest edibles to grow!)

Leafy greens not only help the body to clear out all the toxins it’s exposed to everyday (something that’s super important, now more than ever!), but they’re also packed with a HUGE range of vitamins, minerals & phytonutrients. Healthy liver function, more energy, reduced inflammation, weight loss & reduced cancer risk are just some of the benefits of consuming leafy greens on a regular basis!

Tips to grow your own Leafy Greens:

Plant your leafy greens 20-30cm apart, in a spot that gets full sun & keep them well-watered. You can usually start harvesting in less than 2 months, taking from the outer leaves first & cutting the leaf as close to the base as possible. Always leave at least 4 leaves on the plant so it can continue to convert the sunlight into energy & keep producing beautiful big leaves.

4. TURMERIC:

Turmeric could easily be one of the most powerful plants in the world. It contains the powerful compound curcumin & it reduces inflammation, reverses insulin sensitivity, provides relief from IBS, acts as a potent pain killer, kills cancer cells & improves brain function – Not a bad resume! To really get the benefits of Turmeric it should be mixed with a warming spice like black pepper or ginger, as this makes the curcumin much more bioavailable than taking it on its own. Mixing it with a healthy fat such as coconut has a similar effect!

Tips to grow your own Turmeric:

Turmeric is grown by planting rhizomes 5-10cm deep into the soil, 30cm apart. They need about 8-10 months before they’re ready to harvest & do best in a lightly shaded spot. They must be grown in warmer temperatures so they’re best planted in spring. For more information on how to grow your own turmeric, check out our turmeric growing guide right here.

5. BLUEBERRIES

Blueberries are packed with powerful phytonutrients that act as antioxidants. They contain anthocyanins, flavonoids & phenols that help to protect the body from cell damage & fight the growth of cancer. They also promote healthy brain function, eyesight, digestion & reduce inflammation.

Tips to grow your own Blueberries:

Blueberries can be grown in pots or directly into soil. If growing directly into the soil always remember to amend it with nutrient dense ingredients such as rock minerals & compost before planting! They require full sun & moist soil, so mulching is a must! They can take up to a few years to produce any berries, so you’ll need to be patient!

So there you have it! 5 incredible everyday superfoods that will work wonders for your health.

Do you already include some of these in your diet? What’s your favourite everyday superfood? Let us know in the comments below!

P.S If you want a simple & delicious way to start amping up these everyday superfoods ASAP, make sure you check out our new eBook Drink Your Way To Incredible Health right here! Loaded with over 30 of our favourite body-loving juices, smoothies, teas & tonics to repair, revitalise & energise your body!

Easy detox blueberry brassica breakfast bowls

December 31, 2018

It’s pretty well known that the majority of us don’t eat enough veggies…

In fact – 96% of adults & 99% of children in Australia aren’t getting enough (that’s crazy right!) & because of this, many are missing out on essential nutrients needed to grow & be healthy!

This kind of widespread, chronic deficiency can lead to a whole host of health issues!

We always say that prevention through nutrition & lifestyle is the best medicine… & because of this we’re always looking for easy & delicious ways to sneak more veggies into us…

Enter our easy detox blueberry brassica breakfast bowl!

This breakfast bowl is super quick to put together, tastes incredible (seriously, you’d never know there were 2 servings of brassicas in there!) & contains only 5 ingredients… don’t get me wrong, we love the fancy superfoods & powders… but sometimes it’s nice (& a hell of a lot quicker) to just keep it simple!

Now just because this smoothie only contains a handful of ingredients, doesn’t mean it isn’t loaded with incredible health benefits!!

But before we go through the benefits of each of the ingredients, I want to let you in on one of the most powerful reasons why you should be getting more veggies onto your plate daily.

…PHYTONUTRIENTS!

Phytonutrients are your secret weapon against illness – & I don’t say that lightly!

Phytonutrients are compounds produced by the plant used to defend themselves from pests. These natural, plant produced ‘pesticides’ act as powerful antioxidants when we eat them. In a world where we are constantly bombarded with all kinds of toxins, loading up on antioxidants that support your body’s natural detoxification pathways has never been more important!

So let’s take a look at why the ingredients in this smoothie are so incredible for your body along with the phytonutrients they contain…

Blueberries:

When it comes to antioxidants, blueberries are pretty much the poster-children, it’s the first food that comes to most people’s minds! And for good reason! Blueberries are one of the richest food sources of antioxidants out there, they’re packed with powerful phytonutrients including anthocyanins, polyphenols & flavonoids. Blueberries can help reduce the risk of cancer, improve brain function & memory, fight inflammation + free radical damage caused by toxins as well as improve digestion.

Broccoli:

Years of research has linked eating broccoli to a whole host of health benefits including cancer prevention, improved gut health & improved detoxification – just to name a few! The compound responsible for most of these incredible benefits is a phytonutrient called sulforaphane, an incredibly powerful compound that seriously boosts liver detoxification, helping the body to better deal with all those nasty toxins.

Cauliflower:

Cauliflower is another great source of phytonutrients including carotenoids, tocopherols & ascorbic acid. It provides extra protection from cancer, inflammation, boosts digestion & detoxification. It also contains sulforaphane, the same powerful phytonutrient found in broccoli!

Coconut Cream:

Every smoothie needs a liquid base & our favourite is coconut cream. Coconut cream is just a thicker version of coconut milk. It’s an excellent source of healthy saturated fats that literally every cell in the human body requires to function properly. It contains medium chain fatty acids that contain powerful anti-viral properties as well as the kind of fat that is burned preferentially for energy instead of being stored for later.

Bone Broth Vanilla Protein Powder:

There are a tonne of protein powders out there & while a lot of them are great, many of them are not so great & contain filler ingredients that just don’t need to be there. Our favourite is Ancient Nutrition bone broth collagen (we get ours from iHerb here) because not only does it taste great, but it’s made from one of the world’s oldest superfoods – bone broth! Collagen is a protein that most of us simply don’t get enough of, yet it is vitally important especially as we age! It’s crucial for hair, skin & nail health, joints, cartilage as well as gut & immune system function.

Note as well that if you don’t want to use a vanilla protein powder that’s of course fine, you might just want to add a little more blueberries to make it a bit sweeter.

Alright – let’s get to the recipe shall we?

EASY DETOX BLUEBERRY BRASSICA BREAKFAST BOWLS (SERVES 2)

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 Cups Frozen Organic Blueberries
150gm Frozen Organic Broccoli Florets
150gm Frozen Organic Cauliflower Florets
400ml Can Organic Coconut Cream
2 Heaped Tbsp of Good Quality Vanilla Protein Powder (we use Ancient Nutrition Vanilla Bone Broth Protein Powder here)

METHOD:

Add coconut cream, protein powder & blueberries into a high speed blender & blend until smooth.

Now add broccoli & cauliflower & blend again until smooth.

Pour into a bowl & top with optional extras. In the pictures above we have used a blend of pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts, coconut & blueberries.

Enjoy your smoothie bowl & remember to “chew” rather than inhale 🙂

NOTES:

1. This recipe calls for FROZEN broccoli & cauliflower… Frozen broc & cauli helps to reduce the taste & smell of them (because let’s be honest, brassicas are NOT the best tasting food!) however we’ve found that you need to freeze them for at least 2-3 days before consuming (so they are nice & frosty!). The longer you leave them to freeze the less you will taste them!

2. Don’t inhale the smoothie! It makes it much harder for your body to absorb the nutrients when you do this. Remember that the digestion process starts in the mouth, so try to chew as much as you can! Adding some additional toppings to your smoothie can make this easier but remember not to go overboard.

Optional Toppings: Coconut yoghurt, nuts & seeds, coconut chips, chia seeds, hemp seeds, blueberries, edible flowers (we topped ours with chicory flowers!)

P.S If you want even more delicious & nourishing recipes that will help you amp up your wholefoods ASAP, make sure you check out our new eBook Drink Your Way To Incredible Health right here! Loaded with over 30 of our favourite body-loving juices, smoothies, teas & tonics to repair, revitalise & energise your body!

Paleo Blueberry Christmas Pies with Vanilla Custard

November 26, 2018

Ah Christmas… Both mine & Anth’s favourite time of the year! Big & bright decorations, some damn good Christmas tunes… & the best bit of course – Incredibly delicious Christmas food!

Now even though I absolutely love whipping up a nourishing & delicious dish at any time of the year, there’s something extra special about whipping up a Christmas dish… & it always seems to taste extra delicious too!

And speaking of taste… the big question that we always get each year come Christmas time from well-meaning friends & family is “Are you going to stick to your diet this Christmas? Surely you can take one day off, right?”

And with each & every passing year our response is always the same.

“Why would we choose to eat refined foods when we can easily create DELICIOUS Christmas recipes out of REAL wholefoods & get them tasting just as good as the traditional version?”

In fact, this is one of the reasons why we decided to create A Very Healthy Christmas The ultimate Christmas cookbook for creating a delicious Christmas feast using 100% nourishing wholefoods, all free from gluten, refined sugar, dairy & grains. (If you’d like more info on this book click here!)

And this recipe is no different!

Free from any nasties, super fun to make, incredibly delicious & the best bit – it’s good for you!!

In fact, blueberries are one of the richest sources of antioxidants out there & can help protect from chronic disease, promote healthy digestion, reduce inflammation, support healthy brain & heart function & even help with weight loss!

Not too shabby right? Alright, let’s get to the recipe!

Paleo Friendly Blueberry Christmas Pies with Vanilla Custard (Makes 4 individual pies)

INGREDIENTS:

PASTRY:
3 cups Almond Flour
1 cup Arrowroot
1 cup Coconut Flour
4 tbsp Maple Syrup
4 eggs
12 tbsp coconut oil
Star cookie cutters (I purchased mine from Kmart for $1.50 – here is the link)

BLUEBERRY PIE FILLING:
4 cups Blueberries
2 tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Star Anise
4 tbsp Maple Syrup
2 tbsp Coconut Cream

VANILLA CUSTARD:
1 cup Coconut Cream
3 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Powder
4 tbsp Coconut Oil
1/4 cup Maple Syrup

METHOD:

For the custard:

Place the coconut cream, eggs, vanilla & maple syrup into a small saucepan & whisk to combine.

Place on a low heat & continuously whisk, adding in your 4 tablespoons of coconut oil, 1 tablespoon at a time. After the coconut oil has dissolved, turn the heat up a little (no hotter than medium heat) & whisk super-fast until it thickens.

Warning – this takes around 15 minutes so make sure you have some music on or something to distract you from noticing that your arm is about to fall off! Most custards call for thickeners like corn starch however this is unnecessary as you can get the same result by spending a little longer whisking!

Once it starts to thicken, you’ve now entered into a game of chicken. Leave it for too long & your custard can turn into scrambled eggs. Take it off too soon & it won’t be thick enough.

So, once your custard has got noticeably thicker, take it off the heat, put it through a sieve & leave it to cool.

Refrigerate overnight to let it thicken up even more, or alternatively serve warm & a little runnier.

Now let’s get to work on the pies!

For the pastry pie shells:

Preheat oven to 180C.

In a large mixing bowl, combine almond flour, arrowroot & coconut flour. Now add coconut oil & maple syrup so the mixture becomes crumbly. Finally, add your eggs into the mixture & combine until a nice dough forms.

Roll the dough into 2 balls, place baking paper on both the bottom & top of the balls & roll dough out with a rolling pin.

Grease 4 mini loose base fluted tart pans (ours are 12cm) with a little bit of coconut oil & firmly press your pastry into each tin, taking care to cover the whole tart tin evenly.

Roll up the left over dough into another ball & put aside. This will be for your stars.

Place your tart tins in the oven, on the bottom rack, for 10 minutes.

Whilst your pie shells are cooking, it’s time to work on the stars & filling!

For the pastry stars:

Roll out your ball of dough set aside for your stars with your rolling pin, again with baking paper on both the bottom & top of the ball.

Use your chosen star cookie cutters & cut the dough into your star shapes (I use 3 different star cutter sizes!). Squish any leftover dough back into a ball, roll it out & cut more stars!

For the filling:

Place all filling ingredients in a food processor & process until combined well but still a little chunky.

The grand finale:

Once pie shells are done, take out of the oven, evenly distribute the filling into each pie & top with pastry stars.

Place back in oven & cook for another 15 minutes.

If desired, dust pies with a little desiccated coconut & serve with vanilla custard!

Put on some really good Christmas music & enjoy!

Crystal x

P.S If you’d like even more delicious Christmas recipes all free from gluten, refined sugar, dairy & grains, be sure to check out A Very Healthy Christmas!

The ultimate Christmas cookbook filled with healthy, nourishing & delicious recreations of incredible Christmas classics + those delicious ‘Christmas worthy’ dishes we just couldn’t let you be without. (Did we mention there’s a paleo Salted Caramel & Chocolate Brownie Trifle?)

Enjoy & Merry Christmas! xox

Program

Healthy Hot Cross Buns

HEALTHY HOT CROSS BUNS

INGREDIENTS

WET INGREDIENTS:

DRY INGREDIENTS:

CROSS:

METHOD

BUNS:

CROSS:

THE FINALE:

Our top 5 body-loving everyday superfoods that you can grow yourself!

1. BROCCOLI:

2. BEETROOT:

3. LEAFY GREENS:

4. TURMERIC:

5. BLUEBERRIES

Easy detox blueberry brassica breakfast bowls

Blueberries:

Broccoli:

Cauliflower:

Coconut Cream:

Bone Broth Vanilla Protein Powder:

EASY DETOX BLUEBERRY BRASSICA BREAKFAST BOWLS (SERVES 2)

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD:

NOTES:

Paleo Blueberry Christmas Pies with Vanilla Custard

Paleo Friendly Blueberry Christmas Pies with Vanilla Custard (Makes 4 individual pies)

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