Two cake recipes for you today, although as always, with a twist to pack in as much nutrition as possible. Both are low/no sugar and full of extra benefits specifically designed and tested to support perimenopause and puberty – and everything in between! The orange and chia is a take on lemon and poppyseed… orange juice from leftover oranges/satsumas etc gives you a vitamin C boost (lemons would too, to be fair) but chia packs a much stronger nutritional punch than poppyseeds! Full of protein, fibre and crucially omega 3 fatty acids these tiny seeds will help your digestion, support your hormones and help you feel fuller for longer. My kids loved these for lunch boxes.
Sweet potato “choc” brownies – well, who doesn’t love a chocolate brownie? Except these are full of fibre, vitamin C and A, and A and iron (in the cacao). Remember my blog about enhancing iron absorption? Here it is again – the vitamin C in the sweet potato is a super way to make iron more accessible here. I’m really giving my family a big nutritional boost at the moment as we head through the last days of winter towards the spring light and these are two recipes that taste great AND provide a greater depth of nutrition AND school lunchbox friendly.
Orange and chia seed muffins: makes approx 12
100g wholemeal self raising flour
100g ground nuts/seeds/flax
4 eggs
Juice from 3-4 oranges/satsumas (see how many need using up in the fruit bowl)
100g butter
100g chia seeds
Dash of milk
Sprinkle of baking powder
Optional dark chocolate drops
What you do: combine all the ingredients except the chocolate drops, in a food processor. Whizz until smooth. Stir in the dark chocolate drops. Check the taste. Likely to be sweet enough with the orange juice, but stir a drizzle of honey if not. Distribute into muffin cases. Bake for 20ish minutes at 180 degrees. Enjoy!
Sweet potato chocolate brownie – makes approx 20 depending on how big your slice!
250g butter
3 tablespoons cacao
1 table spoon cinammon
4 eggs
4 large sweet potatoes/6 or 8 small skinny ones
150g wholemeal self raising flour
100g ground nuts/seeds/flaxseed
Packet of dark chocolate drops
Dash of milk of your choice
Possibly a dash of honey if you need it
Sprinkle of baking powder
What you do:
Roast the sweet potatoes, skin on, until soft and gooey. Combine with all the other ingredients (except the chocolate drops) in a food processor and whizz until fully mixed. Check the taste. Likely it is sweet enough already but add a bit of honey if not and whizz again to combine. Stir in the chocolate drops. Pour into a prepared tray/tin to bake for approx 20 mins at 180 degrees. It should look baked on top like a normal cake, but the cake consistency is likely to be softer than normal cake, due to the sweet potato consistency.