Nourishing Nibbles in the Cape

Sugar Free + LCHF (With a Dairy Free Option) It’s cold outside… nay… Its freakin’ freezing outside (well by Cape Town standards anyway) and I want warm stuff - on me, around me and definitely IN me! Enter: my warming and very creamy, dreamy Chai Tea. I’ve never really been one for flavoured or herbal teas. I like Rooibos tea, served black, and that’s it. And I drink loads of hot water with fresh lemon, and sometimes a sliver of ginger in, too. Oh, and of course, the best coffee I can afford made ‘ My Way ’: creamed with an egg and butter . You remember? It’s the ONLY way I make it now, no milk needed. But then last week, I was out with a friend, and I smelt it… the aroma wafted alluringly my way, and I almost dunked my entire nose in my dear friend’s steaming mug of milky spice. It was love at first waft. She let me have a sip… well, the flavours and scents of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and cardamom made me feel positively drunk. Masala Intoxication ! How divine.

Grain + Gluten + Sugar + Dairy Free... and Gentle, too When baking, I often think of my ‘old ways’ of eating. How much it’s changed and evolved. I started about 10 years ago playing with the idea of going wheat free. I went to an iridologist and he said I was too acidic and should look at eating differently. Fast forward to a year ago, a well-meaning surgeon telling me he thinks it could be Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and here’s your doggy-bag of medication to take…indefinitely! The rebel in me said (hands firmly on hips and one eyebrow lifted) “I don’t think so, bye bye now!” I now eat beautiful God-made food that is Grain, Gluten, and Sugar Free, and sometimes Dairy Free too. I still bake up a storm and mess up my kitchen on almost a daily basis, only difference is now my ingredients have changed. I’ve realized on this journey to cleaner eating how important one’s state-of-mind is. It is better to let go of the old .  You know this? Yes, I know this. But we need t

So its getting colder here… and in my household that means two things:  Mommy wants her electric blanket, and...  Mommy’s Cooking Soup for Supper! Yay! (I can actually hear my Six groan as I type this). I think, with my kids, it’s a texture thing? They don’t like anything soupy, mashed or too saucy (yes, I feel sorry for me too...) But that’s okay because, if its for-my-mouth-only, it allows me to be a bit more daring with my flavours and spices. Oooh, how exciting, I get to be daring with my broccoli soup? (I really need to work on my salcasm, I know). But, seriously, this soup is actually quite mild in flavour so don’t ‘chicken-out’ when it comes to adding the cayenne pepper or the spicy sausage. It needs the saltiness and different layers of heat to pack a punch. If, by some lucky chance, your kiddies like eating soup, but don’t want it too spicy, then keep the cayenne pepper for soft warmth, and replace the sausage with smoked bacon, or ham, or even diced, left

Gluten + Grain+ Dairy + Sugar + Egg Free Its eight o’clock at night. The kids are snoring. You’re getting ready to settle down for your highly anticipated grown-up hour of … (fill in the blank), but something is missing... Could it be Chocolate Mousse? If you are me, the answer is a resounding “Hell Yes Please Now!” This recipe takes exactly five minutes from conception of said idea, to first-spoon-in-the-mouth. Yes, you heard me right - FIVE MINUTES people! No, heating, melting, folding or setting time needed. Just a bowl and a whisk! This marvelous dessert is whipped coconut cream. Yep. It's that simple. Go buy a couple of tins (read the labels, as some add sugars and other nasties - in fact I'm going to be making my own from now own…watch this space for the how-to soon) and store them in the fridge. This allows the cream to separate from the ‘water’ and thicken up, ready for use at a (desperate) moments notice. Just make sure you are not buying “Lite”, it w