Vanilla Bean Coconut Macaroons

I always have coconut in the house, it's my new favourite go to food! Whether it be in the form of butter, oil, or shredded - coconut is packed with nutrients. Not only is it high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidents, fatty acids & fiber, it is also rich in immune boosting lauric acid which is converted by the body into monolaurin, having powerful antifungal, antibiotic, antiviral properties.

Anyway, enough about all of those wonderful health benefits ;-)  I've been wanting to make coconut macaroons for a long time, and finally got to it this afternoon! Here I present: egg & sugar free macaroons (raw or baked)! Crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside.

Clearly I'm not one for rounded macaroon perfection. Eating them is more my thing ;-)
Makes approx 18

Ingredients:
3/4 cup almond flour
1 1/2 cup organic shredded coconut
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey (+ 1 tablespoon raw honey)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean pod
pinch salt

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 90 degrees.
2. In a bowl, combine the almond flour & shredded coconut.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the coconut oil, honey, vanilla extract, vanilla bean, and salt until well blended.
4. Add the honey mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until it forms a 'dough' like mixture. I prefer to use my hands.
5. Gently press macaroon dough into tablespoon sized balls, and place on baking sheet, until all the mixture is used up.
6. Bake in oven for 45-50mins.
7. Allow the macaroons to sit for 15mins before transferring. They are quite delicate when still warm, but should be crunchy on the outside & soft and chewy on the inside when cooled.  Chilled macaroons are even better! :)

Mango, Passionfruit & Coconut Chia Pudding

Summer is well and truly on its way, and what could be more refreshing than the combination of mango, passionfruit and coconut? I love all of these amazing flavours, but it's even better made into a nutrient rich, chilled Chia seed pudding!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons chia seed
2 tablespoons organic shredded coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon agave nectar (or sweetener)
1 mango (diced)
1 passionfruit

Method:
Combine almond milk, chia seed, vanilla, and agave nectar in a bowl.
Gently mix in the coconut, 1/2 mango, and 1/2 passionfruit.
Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
Once chilled, top with leftover mango & passionfruit.

Yum!

Chocolate Dipped Truffles

I was busy in the kitchen the other night making a batch of the original & delicious raw chocolate balls, when I pondered to myself "hmm... now how can I make these taste even chocolatier?" (because clearly my sweet tooth is never sweet enough). It was then that I spotted an unopened tub of cacao butter, and decided I would make a dipping chocolate for the truffles! You can use this dipping chocolate for any kind of truffle (yep, I plan to put some more yummy truffle recipes up soon). And best of all it's very easy to work with & hardens up perfectly.

As well as being rich in Vitamin E, essential fatty acids, magnesium and sulfur, cacao butter also has more antioxidant flavanoids than blueberries, black and green tea, and red wine!

Makes enough for approx 30 chocolate balls.

Dipping Chocolate Ingredients:
1 cup cacao butter, finely chopped
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 cup agave syrup (or any other sweetener)
1/4 tsp vanilla
pinch celtic salt

Method:
Place cacao butter in double boiler pan (or metal bowl) over saucepan of boiling water to melt the butter. Remove from heat just before all the pieces have melted.
Stir in the rest of the ingredients, until smooth.

Take each individual truffle ball, and dip into melted dipping chocolate using a toothpick. Allow excess melted chocolate to drip off, before placing on a tray lined with wax or parchment paper (if you stick them straight onto a plate, when you try to take one off it will lose the bottom layer of the chocolate... not ideal).

Garnish with shredded coconut or finely chopped nuts before the chocolate hardens.

Voila! Your very own raw chocolate truffles.

I just had to take a bite.. ;)

❤  For those that prefer a slightly less rich, but sweeter chocolate, feel free to add in a little honey to taste.

❤  Also, if you don't have access to cacao butter or prefer not to spend money on it, you may use a raw, organic dark chocolate and melt it down instead.