Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Search Results for: chia seeds

Superfood Breakfast: Vegan Banana Chia Pudding

by

IMG_9588_a

I love my superfood breakfasts. I wish I could have time every morning to make one of them. In real life I usually eat one or two pieces of seasonal fruit (nowadays it is an apple) and have a quick bite a bit later: most of the times it’s a piece of toast with almond or cashew butter and my mom’s sugar-free plum jam on top.

Chia seeds and chia pudding is getting more and more popular. The seeds are native to South America and have been a staple in Mayan and Aztec diets for centuries. The word chia is derived from the Nahuatl word chian, meaning oily.

I’m trying to eat as much as I can because of its nutritional benefits:
– they can help your diet by making you feel full (it’s because they absorb 10 times their weight in water, forming a bulky gel)
– they are the richest plant source of Omega-3
– chia seeds slow down how fast our bodies convert carbohydrates into simple sugars, studies indicate they can control blood sugar
– they are an excellent source of fiber, with a whopping 10 grams in only 2 tablespoons
– chia seeds are rich in antioxidants that help protect the body from free radicals, aging and cancer
– chia seeds contain no gluten or grains
– the outer layer of chia seeds swells when mixed with liquids to form a gel (this can used in place of eggs to lower cholesterol and increase the nutrient content of foods and baked goods)
(More info here.)

IMG_9591_a

I used chia seeds before but mostly to place an egg in vegan cakes. Chia seeds are very similar to flax seeds – if they are mixed with water its consistency becomes gel.

Don’t miss this pudding, it’s not only a healthy choice for breakfast but it tastes divine!

IMG_9581_a

Vegan Banana Chia Pudding

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 2-3 ripe bananas, smashed with a fork
– 4 tablespoons chia seeds
– 1 and 1/4 cups almond milk (you can use rice, oat or soymilk too)
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– hazelnut

Method

Prepare your breakfast a day before. In a bowl mix chia seeds with almond milk and let it rest in the fridge for the night.

The next day toast the hazelnut in a dry non-stick pan for 7-8 minutes and chop them roughly.

Mix together the chia almond milk pudding with the smashed bananas and vanilla. Serve in little bowls with the toasted hazelnut.

IMG_9576_a

Rhubarb Walnut Chia Seed Muffins

by

>

When I found this recipe on Maria’s blog I didn’t know what chia seed was. “OK, whatever it is it can be bought in Hungary” – this was my first reaction. “If I bake these muffins I will leave out the chia seed” – I thought. Then I went to my favourite wholesale store and as I was walking between the shelves looking for spelt flour I found chia seed. I was surprised. I bought a packet, went home and surfed on the Internet to find information about chia seed.

Chia is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala. Chia seeds are one of the most powerful, functional, and nutritious superfoods in the world. The chia seed is an excellent source of fiber, packed with antioxidants, full of protein, loaded with vitamins and minerals, and the richest known plant source of omega-3.

And if we can believe all the facts that are on the internet… not only do chia seeds give you a boost of energy that lasts, they also provide stamina and endurance. A single tablespoon could sustain Aztec warriors for an entire day. 🙂

I changed some of the ingredients in the recipe and I added the same rhubarb compote to it that I also used in the rhubarb redcurrant muffins.

Rhubarb Walnut Chia Seed Muffins

Ingredients

For rhubarb compote
– 1,5 cups finely diced rhubarb
– 3 tablespoon honey
– 2 tablespoons water

For muffins
– 100 g whole wheat spelt flour
– 200 g white spelt flour
– 100 g natural cane sugar
– 250 ml oat milk
– 50 ml olive oil
– 2 teaspoons baking powder
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1 organic egg
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– 2 tablespoons chia seeds
– 1/2 cup walnut, roughly chopped
– rhubarb compote
– cinnamon

Method

Place the rhubarb in a pot with honey and water. Stir and stew on low heat until soft. Purée with a blender and set aside.Preheat the oven to 175C (350F) and line 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases. (From this quantity of ingredients you might have 16 muffins.)

In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flours, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl beat the egg with the cane sugar until light, then add oatmilk, olive oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix until smooth. Fold in rhubarb compote, chopped walnut and chia seeds. Spoon the mixture into the cases, filling them about two thirds full, dividing the batter evenly. Bake the muffins about 20-25 minutes on 175C (350F). Remove from the oven when a cocktail stick just comes out of the muffins cleanly. Leave them to cool on a wire rack and sprinkle the tops with cinnamon.

Superfood Breakfast: Sugar-Free Cinnamon Granola

by

Here is another superfood, sugar-free breakfast. I learnt the recipe from Maria. During this sugar-free (no fruits, no desserts, no chocolates, no honey, no agave/maple/rice syrup, etc.), vegan  challenge I got so much inspiration from her recipes. I can be a very sweet-tooth person so to be honest… sometimes I feel I’m craving just a piece of chocolate.

This granola is a new favourite of mine. I’ve never made it before – I always bought at the stores – but I realized it’s easy and quick to make and you can choose all the ingredients you want to mix.

Sugar-free Cinnamon Granola

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 70 g walnut
– 30 g cashew
– 30 g almond
– 70 g coconut flakes
– 20 g chia seeds (you can substitute it with flax seeds or sesame seeds)
– 20 g coconut oil
– 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method

Preheat the oven to 120C (248F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

In a bowl mix together all the ingredients and spread the mixture evenly on to the baking tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown (half time turn everything around with a wooden spoon). Let it cool before serve it with almond/oat/rice milk or yoghurt. If you want to make it a bit sweeter add 1-2 teaspoon honey to it.

Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Coconut Vanilla Cream and Roasted Hazelnuts

by

We went on a hiking trip to Bakony Mountains on my birthday so I didn’t have the opportunity to bake this yum cake for my birthday. I found the recipe at the end of September on the blog My New Roots and I fell in love with it. I knew this was going to be my special treat for myself.

Bakony is a mountainous region in Transdanubia, Hungary. It forms the largest part of the Transdanubian Mountains. It is located north of Lake Balaton. The Bakony is divided into the Northern and Southern Bakony. Kőris-hegy in the Northern Bakony is the highest peak of the range with its 706 meters. There are no high mountains in Hungary.

The medieval castle of Csesznek

I thought we had arrived at the peak of foliage but nature mother decided to stay green a bit longer than last year. Although the view of the hills and small villages made an amazing sight. We admired the quiet walks in the middle of the forests listening to the sound of nature and stopping every fifteen minutes to take it all in. Breathtaking and relaxing.

We stayed at Hotel Bakony in Bakonybél at a rustic but reconstructed hotel at the end of the village. The food and the service were amazing. The hotel’s restaurant offers a wide range of foods, especially focusing on rural flavors and the specialties of the Bakony. They say that “The secret of the Hungarian cuisine lies not only in producing certain foods so classy, but serving up one after the other, so that the food consumed calls for the next one, and when we already think we are quite well fed, there is something served, that makes us say: However, we must eat it!“

If you are still reading this post, here comes the recipe…

Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Coconut Vanilla Cream and Roasted Hazelnuts

Ingredients

For the cake
– 1 and 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (I prefer home made but you can use canned)
– 1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey)
– 2 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
– 1 teaspoon apple vinegar
– 6 tablespoons coconut oil
– 2 cups whole wheat spelt flour, sifted
– 1 cup white spelt flour, sifted
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 2 teaspoons ground ginger
– 1 teaspoon cardamom
– 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
– 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
– 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
– 1 tablespoon cinnamon
– 2 tablespoons chia seeds

For the cream
– 3 cans of coconut milk
– 1/4 cup honey
– 1 cup roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded

Method

Place cans of coconut milk in the fridge for at least 4 hours to cool. Roast pumpkin halves at 180-200C for 45-60 minutes. Let cool and scoop out 1 and 1/2 cups flesh. In a dry non-stick pan roast hazelnuts for 3-5 minutes, let cool and chop roughly.

Open the cans and scoop out just the top coconut cream layer, leaving the liquid portion (save for soup). Place in a bowl and whisk together with the honey and the vanilla. Place the bowl of cream in the fridge for set.

In a big bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flours, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and chia seeds. In another bowl mix together the wet ingredients: pumpkin puree, bananas, maple syrup, coconut oil and apple vinegar. Add dry ingredients to wet, mix and stir to combine. Pour batter into a 22 cm spring form cake pan. Bake at 175-180C for about 35-45 minutes (or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean). Set aside and let cool then remove from pan.

Slice the rounded top edge off of the cake (this ensures that the subsequent layer will sit flat). Then slice the cake in half so you have two layers. Place the bottom of the layers on a cake stand or plate and cover with the icing, followed by the roasted hazelnuts. Add the top layer, repeating the icing and hazelnut procedure until you’ve used all the cream. Top the cake with hazelnuts.

Happy birthday to me! 🙂