Though I’ve never been one for pizzas, I’ve caught myself craving one like crazy more than once these past few months (and no, I’m not pregnant), which got me thinking. What if I made a gluten-free pizza crust based on my recipe for buckwheat wraps? Hmm, that might actually work. So I grabbed my buckwheat flour, chia seeds, herbs, salt and almond milk and just played it by ear. Out came a crust that exceeded my highest expectations! And I'm only exaggerating a little!

First of all, it does not crumble into oblivion when you cut a slice, as I’ve heard many other gluten-free pizza crusts do. You can actually pick up a slice and eat it like that if you want to (although I prefer to roll them up and eat them like “pizza snails” hehe). Second of all, it’s super easy to make and doesn’t require a gazillion different ingredients. Lastly, it tastes pretty good, at least in my own, not-so-humble opinion. Let me now if you give it a try, I’d love to hear how this recipe works for other people than myself!

Gluten-free (Sliceable) Pizza Crust

Serves: 1

50g or about 1/3 cup buckwheat flour

1 chia egg (1 tbsp ground or whole chia seeds + 3 tbsp water)

4 tbsp almond milk

½ tsp psyllium husk (optional but recommended)

Salt and herbs of choice, such as dried oregano or basil

Toppings: A thick tomato sauce loaded with oregano, sliced mushrooms, aubergine, zucchini, bell peppers, artichokes, vegan cheese… it’s up to you!

How to:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 220C. 
2. In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients then whisk in the wet until they’re all evenly combined. 3. Pre-heat a non-stick frying pan (or a skillet with a drizzle of oil on the bottom*), to medium to high heat, pour in the runny "dough" and make a big circle using a spoon. Leave it thicker around the edges for an authentic pizza feeling.

5. Fry for 4-5 minutes or until it’s firm enough to move from the pan, then transfer the crust onto a lined baking tray. 
6. Brush the crust with a bit of oil if you want to (I didn’t but this can prevent soggy bottoms). Spoon on the tomato sauce and desired toppings, then bake the pizza in the oven for 12-15 minutes.

Slice it up, sprinkle generously with nutritional yeast and eat to your heart’s content!

*Note: I have not tried frying the crust in a normal frying pan but I’m sure it’d work just as well as long as you have enough oil in there! It might burn quicker so make sure to watch it carefully and turn down the heat if you must.

Love, Tilda

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A while ago, I received a package of Squarebars sent to me by the lovely Sarah, who together with her husband Andrew, launched Squarebar back in 2012. Let's just say our paths couldn't have crossed at a better time. Since my decision to slowly ease my way into a vegan lifestyle, I have been looking everywhere for tasty, vegan protein bars that don't taste like sand and that I feel comfortable eating. By comfortable I mean eco-friendly (no soy), refined-sugar-free and last but NOT least an ingredient list that doesn't contain 64827349 different ingredients of which you can only pronounce about 0.05%. Yup, my standards are high. Or are they? Is it really that weird to want something pure and cruelty-free, something that I know has been made with love and every earthling's best in mind? I think not. Nevertheless, those criteria are hard to fulfil.

This is where the Squarebars come into the picture. Because they are all of that and more; Non-GMO, organic, no gluten and no peanuts can be added to the list. Plus they pack a punch of protein with a whooping 11-12 grams of plant protein per 48g bar. I haven't been able to workout as much as I would've liked to lately (hehe) but I can imagine these bars would be perfect to refuel with after hitting it hard at the gym. Well, perfect for any snack to be honest. I chop these bars up and use in my baking or to top my nana ice cream bowls with (and trust me, the dark chocolate coating is even better when it freezes on top of the nice cream, yummy yummy).

All the different flavours

But, let's be honest here, no food is worth eating if it doesn't taste good. I wouldn't eat dog's shit, frog intestines (ew) or plastic pellets, even if they were the healthiest super foods on the planet because there are limits, even for health-fanatics like myself. Okay, I've probably scared half of everyone reading this away so let's just blurt it out: these bars are not any of that, they're absolutely DELICIOUS! No need to worry. They're all coated in a crowd-pleasing (crunchy, if you keep it cold), delectable dark chocolate layer, a pretty good first impression if I may say so myself. Then comes the actual filling which differs slightly between the bars. The Cocoa Almond has small slivers of almonds in it (I love the fact that you can actually SEE the almonds), the Cocoa Coconut combines the chocolate and coconut flavours wonderfully (hey, we all know that choco and coco are besties, don't we?) and finally, my favourite; the Cocoa Crunch bar which is a real chocolate hit with added crunch from brown rice crispies. Does it get better than that? (Answer: Unless it suddenly started raining perfectly ripe bananas from the sky, then no, it doesn't)

Inside the Cocoa Crunch bar

Conclusion: I can without doubt in mind tell you that these are some of the absolute best vegan protein bars out there. They're a 10/10 for me. My sole advice for you would be to get your hands on a box of these goodies asap! You can buy them from Squarebar's own website,  Vitacost or (my own no. 1 choice for international shipping) iHerb. If you're a first-time customer with iHerb, feel free to use my promo code, PWF503 for up to 10 dollars off!

So let's cut to the chase, here's the recipe, using Squarebars of course! best vegan cookies I've made so far :)

Peanut Butter Squarebar-Chunk Cookies

Vegan cookie line-up!

Yields: 12-14 cookies

Pre-heat oven to: 175C 

Mix:

3 tbsp all-natural peanut butter 

5 tbsp brown rice flour 

1/4 cup raw date sugar or coconut sugar

4 fresh or soaked dates (about 50g)

1/2 tbsp freshly ground flax seeds (don't use pre-ground as flaxseed oil goes rancid very quickly)

1 tbsp coconut oil

Fold in:

1/2 chopped Squarebar (any flavour)
1 handful raw or unsalted, chopped peanuts

How to:

1. Place all of the "mix" ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and pulse with a hand blender until the dates have become a gooey mess. This could of course be done in a food processor as well, only I find a hand blender much easier to use when working with smaller quantities like this.
2. Fold in your chopped Squarebar and peanuts. Work the dough with your hands until the yummy nuts and chunks have spread out evenly.
3. Press the cookies out on a lined baking tray and bake in the oven for about 12 minutes (175C). Let them cool on the baking tray, then store in an airtight container in the cupboard.

Cookie Monster hugs and kisses!
Tilda

Fresh from the oven 

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Vegan Caramel Pancakes 

Serves: 1

Dry

1/3 cup (50g) buckwheat flour

2 tbsp coconut flour

1 tsp baking powder

1tsp lucuma powder

Optional: 1 tsp maca powder 

Wet

1 chia or flax egg (1 tbsp ground seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water, whisk until thick)

1 medium-sized ripe banana, mashed

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp unsweetened almond milk

Optional: extra sweetener of choice

How to:

1. First, place all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork until the baking powder has been mixed in properly. 
2. In a separate bowl, mash the banana and, with the almond milk, fold gently into the dry mixture. Add a little at a time to avoid clumps.

3. Prepare your vegan egg by grinding the chia seeds either with a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder. Mix the ground seeds with 3 tbsp of water and stir well. I prefer to use chia seeds because they swell so much faster than flax does, but if you've chosen to make a flax egg you'll have to let it sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to thicken up.

4. Once your 'egg' is done, mix it in with the rest of the batter.

5.Cook on medium to high heat in your oil of choice (if not using a non-stick pan) for a couple minutes on each side.

Healthy Chocolate Mousse

Serves: 1

1/2 avocado

1 tbsp + 1 tsp unsweetened almond milk

2 tsp cacao or carob powder

1 tbsp sweetener of choice (I used date sugar)

How to:

1. Simply mix all ingredients with a hender blender until smooth. Have a taste and add more sweetener if you want to. The secret here is to use a very ripe avocado and you won't be able to pick up any avocado flavor at all! It's like magic ;)

Assemble by stacking the pancakes on top of each other with layers of the chocolate mousse in between. And of coure, finish it all off with some fresh fruit or berries!

Have a lovely Saturday,

Tilda

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This is one of my absolute favourite recipes; it’s super easy and quick to make and has the most wonderful, rich, chocolate-y taste, the perfect healthy alternative to satisfy those chocolate cravings!

No-bake Vegan Chocolate Tart

‘Crust’

 ½ cup cashew nuts

1/3 cup pitted dates

1 pinch of salt 

¼ tsp pure vanilla extract/powder

Chocolate Filling

1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled overnight in the fridge  
      

4 squares good quality dark chocolate

¼ cup pitted and peeled dates (soaked overnight to make them easier to peel if you’re not using fresh

1 tbsp. cacao powder

How to:
1. Start by blending all of the ingredients for your crust in a food processor until thick dough forms. 
2. Press the dough out in a lined pie dish (a small one, mine’s about 6” wide) and put it in the freezer while you prepare your filling.
3. Open the can of coconut milk and spoon out the thick, creamy layer that has formed on top of the ‘water’ and put it in the food processor along with the dates and cacao powder. Save the leftover coconut water to add in smoothies- it’s packed with beautiful coconut flavour, trust me. You could also save a tablespoon or two of the coconut cream to decorate with.
4. Blend the chocolate filling ingredients until they’re evenly combined- it might look like it has split but we’ll fix this in a moment. 
5. Melt the dark chocolate and pour into the chocolate filling while it’s still hot and blend again until you have a smooth mixture of chocolaty goodness.
6. With a spatula, pour the filling into the pie crust; decorate with coconut cream if you'd like and put it back in the freezer for a few hours (provided you can contain your inner chocolate monster for that long) to set. Eat frozen or let sit on the counter top for a few minutes for a creamier consistency!

Please let me know if you give these a try :)

Chocolate kisses, Tilda

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