Moreish Flapjacks

So, I am getting sick of all the plastic in our shop and day by day we are gradually cutting back on plastic, either products that are packed in plastic, or plastic straws, or shower gels in plastic bottles, or takeaway cups and so on.

We used to buy in some great flapjacks, gluten free, wheat free, vegan they ticked most of the food boxes but they were wrapped in plastic.

We sold the last one over the weekend, so it looks like if we want to sell flapjacks they'll have to be made from scratch. I made some and they taste amazing. They are very easy to make.


1/ Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2/ Line a 9" x 9" square brownie tin with grease proof paper.
3/ Place the following ingredients into a blender:
1/2 a cup of just boiled water
1/2 a cup of pitted dates, leave to stand for about 5 minutes.
4/ Add a ripe banana and 1/2 a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to the dates and water.
5/ Heat 4 tablespoons of coconut oil and pour into the blender.
6/ Blend it all together, I use the smoothie setting.
7/ When the mixture is properly blended, add 2 and a half cups of gluten free oats and stir in well by hand.
8/ Scrape the mixture from the blender and press it evenly into the prepared baking tin.
9/ Cook for around 20 minutes. 

Iron Man Waffles!

I am really pleased that I have at last perfected these tasty waffles and they tick so many boxes for people with special dietary needs too!

I specifically wanted to create a recipe that was rich in iron, with about 2% of your daily iron intake in every waffle but it had to be gluten-free, suitable for vegans and low in calories, at only 81 calories per waffle and low in sugar, all at the same time.

These waffles taste great topped with strawberries, which are very high in vitamin C, which helps the body process the Iron and they have a low Glycemic Index (GI).

This is the kind of recipe that you will be able to take out, for example 20g of the Buckwheat Flour, and sub it with 20g of a protein powder instead, for example Pulsin Rice Protein Powder, in order to up the protein content and lessen the carbohydrates at the same time.

Instead of Almond Milk, you could sub some alternative dairy-free milk that is chocolate flavoured to give a different twist but don't forget that would of course slightly alter the nutritional content.

This is a great basic recipe but feel free to add your own tweaks and adjustments and let me know how well you got on.

I like mine topped with strawberries and melted dark chocolate. How do you like yours?

IRON MAN WAFFLES

1/ Turn your waffle maker on and if you need to grease it first, make sure that you do!

2/ In a small jug pour in:

 3 x cups of Almond Breeze Unsweetened Milk 

 3 x teaspoons of  Biona Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother.

3/ Into a large jug mix the following dry ingredients:

1/2 a cup of Nairns Gluten Free Porridge Oats

2 x cups of Clearspring Organic Buckwheat Flour

1 and a 1/2 teaspoons of Doves Farm Gluten Free Baking Powder

1 teaspoon of Cinnamon

2 x teaspoons of Ginger

Pinch of salt.

4/ Into the smaller jug with the almond milk mixture inside, mix in the following:

1 x tablespoons of Meridian Blackstrap Molasses  

1 x Tablespoon of Meridian Dark Tahini

3 x Tablespoons of vegetable oil 

3 x Tablespoons of Essential Apple Puree

1 x Teaspoon of Taylor and Coleridge Vanilla Bean Extract

5/ Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well, make sure the flour and oats are well combined. 

6/ Then pour the correct amount of mixture into your waffle machine and cook according to that model's instructions. Mine is a heart shaped waffle maker bought for my birthday, I get 18 waffles out of the mixture and they take 2 minutes exactly to cook through. You might need to experiment to find out how yours works best.