Gluten-Free | Inspired Health by Rachel Grunwell

March 12, 2017

Chocolate Dream Smoothie + Fuelling Kids Healthy

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By Rachel Grunwell

Try this delicious and nutrient-dense smoothie to fuel your family when it comes to snack-time. It’s gluten-free and dairy-free. The hero ingredient is raw maca powder, an amazing superfood which is made of real plant-based ingredients and is nourishing, healing, full of vitamins and gives an awesome energy boost. It’s derived from the maca roots (pervian gingseng by the way).

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Chocolate Dream Smoothie:

2 tablespoons of coconut yoghurt (we love Raglan Coconut Yoghurt’s new Banana & Chai flavour!)

1 cup water

1/3 cup raw cashews

1 frozen banana (Commonsense Organics stocks ethical and organic All Good bananas)

1 tablespoon Raw Maca Powder (we love the Ceres Organics brand)

2 tablespoons cacao powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon vanilla bean powder

Method: Use a spoon to put the yoghurt on the bottom and randomly on the inside of a small clean glass jar or cup (to give a marbled effect). Now leave this to the side.

Next, use a blender to blitz the water and cashews until smooth – then add in the banana, maca powder, cacao, cinnamon, vanilla bean powder to combine. Pour this mixture into the jar you’ve prepared, then add a straw (or dig it out with a spoon) and enjoy! Better still, double the recipe to share.

Tips on Snack ideas & the low-down on the ingredients:

A great tip for a snack idea for the kids after school is to whip up nutrient-rich smoothies. My kids often come home from school and usually request this – rather than biscuits or chips. It’s just become a healthy habit we’ve adopted in our house. The trick is to make them taste yum and make them with real and good ingredients that boost energy and health levels.

My kids are my “chief taste-testers” for my recipes I create for Good magazine by the way. So, they love tasting beetroot juices, kale smoothies to decadent yet nutritionally-smart chocolate creations. If smoothies are made well, they go down well (and you can hear the straws slurping up the dregs!)

I used ingredients from Commonsense Organics – an organic retailer selling organic, allergy-aware and environmentally-friendly products. This company does “good stuff”. I love that financial profit is not their sole driver; They stock fresh products that consider the wider community and environment. They care about the whole process from garden-to-table and how workers, suppliers and customers are treated (the owners believe this is “ common sense”). So, when it comes to values, Commonsense Organics comes up trumps. I love to shop at their store in Mt Eden, Auckland. They’re also got five stores in Wellington.

Shop for the ingredients for this smoothie by clicking HERE.

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Rachel is a wellness writer, columnist and recipe creator for Good magazine and also runs the lifestyle website inspiredhealth.co.nz. She’s the wellbeing ambassador for Cigna too. Follow her on InspiredHealth’s Facebook & Instagram.

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November 22, 2016

Choc Honey Frappe

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By Rachel Grunwell

I love businesses that have values, make conscious decisions (about the environment and the people they work with) and boast a true heart-driven mission.

That’s why I love The True Honey Co – and, also, of course, because their ethically harvested Manuka honey from NZ’s most pristine locations is truly delicious.

Here’s a Choc Honey Frappe recipe that’s bursting with health benefits and takes only a minute to make. I try to have a teaspoon of Manuka honey in my daily ritual and its delicious all on its own. It’s yummy too in this recipe. Let me know what you think if you whip it up. It’s the perfect Summer afternoon go-to. My kids and I usually fight over the last drops!

Choc Honey Frappe

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon The True Honey Co. Honey (revered for its antibacterial properties)

1 frozen banana

Pinch vanilla bean powder

1/2 cup almond milk

1 cup ice

1 teaspoon flax-seed oil (full of omega-3 fatty acids)

Pinch salt

Method:

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth. Then pour the thick mixture into a glass jar or cup and this is delicious all on its own. I dig mine out with a spoon. I topped this frappe with a wedge of organic dark chocolate and some fresh strawberries because I had them at hand.

To Find out more about True Honey Co. Manuka Honey click HERE.

Post by Rachel Grunwell: Good magazine recipe creator & wellness writer. Yoga teacher. Marathoner. Professional Blogger. Follow Rachel on Inspired Health’s Facebook & Instagram

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Sponsored content courtesy of the sweet peeps at True Honey Co. Manuka honey.

September 29, 2016

Spooky Gluten-Free Gingerbread

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By Rachel Grunwell

Halloween is a fun time for my family. The kids love to dress up all scary or witchy and go trick-or-treating around our neighbourhood on October 31. We’re in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden where families are used to little ghostly and ghastly costume-wearing kids turning up at the door!

Instead of lollies, these gluten-free gingerbread men are a yummy treat to give the kids – or to give other little trick-or-treaters. Or just to make up anytime for fun!

My youngest witchy – son Finn, aged 5 (pictured) – gives these the thumbs up. He loves helping in the kitchen – and of course, taste-testing the bats, pumpkins and legless gingerbread men.

Your kids will love making these too and so give them a whirl! Or if you have a cool and creepy recipe then share it with me too!!

Spooky Gluten-Free Gingerbread

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons Chelsea Golden Syrup

½ cup Chelsea Organic Coconut Sugar

1 teaspoon each of mixed spice and cinnamon

1.5 teaspoons ground ginger

1 tablespoon water

50g butter

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ cups rice flour

½ cup potato flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

(add 2 teaspoons xanthum gum if you have it in the cupboard as this helps with binding the ingredients, but it’s not absolutely necessary)

Instructions

Place Chelsea Golden Syrup in a pan, along with Chelsea Organic Coconut Sugar, mixed spice, cinnamon, ground ginger and water.

Heat until the sugar dissolves and then switch off the heat place the butter in the pan to melt.

Let the mixture cool a little and then add the baking soda.

In another bowl, put the sifted gluten-free flour and baking powder. Then add the heated ingredients from the pan and mix until a workable dough. Add more rice flour if you need it (i.e. if the dough is too sticky). Then sprinkle a generous amount of rice flour on your bench and use a roller to roll out the dough. Press Halloween-style cookie-cutter shapes in this. Use a spatula to lift the shapes up from the bench and onto the trays (so they stay in one piece).

Bake these on a greased tray, 180-degrees for about 10 mins.

Note: Use a spatula to lift the shapes from the tray onto a cooling rack and then pop them into a container.

Icing:

150g dark chocolate

110g of coconut cream

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (keep stirring throughout). Add the cream and mix. Leave this to cool to room temperature. Then pop it into an icing bag and pipe onto the biscuits. I used edible glitter too for an extra cool effect.

Find more delicious recipes for these school holidays at chelsea.co.nz

This post was made possible thanks to Chelsea.

#NZBlogger #chelseasugar

Rachel is a recipe creator and wellbeing columnist for two magazines. She’s a yoga teacher, marathoner and director of the InspiredHealthNZ website, which inspires Kiwis to live a life they love. Follow Rachel on Facebook and Instagram.

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April 12, 2016

Gluten-Free Anzac Biscuits

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By Rachel Grunwell

It’s Anzac Day soon (on April 25) and so here’s a gluten-free twist on the classic Anzac Biscuit.

This recipe is for those who LOVE crunchy and classic Anzac Biscuits but need a gluten-free option. I promise that you will love these. They taste delicious. They’re easy to make too; My 10-year-old son helped whip these up. He also helped to make them disappear too 😉

He loved making them so much, and scoffing them, that he wants to make another lot when these run out.

So it’s a win/win. My son loves baking and is using his cooking skills. It helps to fill the kids’ lunch-boxes (I let them have one sweet treat in there daily and I like these because they include oats which have fibre.) My boys have a lot of energy and so this helps to fuel their day – with a smile.

Give them a go and let me know what you think. Share a pic with me too. I’d love to see them. Or if you have a different version that tastes next-level amazing then let me in on ALL your secrets. I’d LOVE to hear what you’d recommend – Rachel X X

Gluten-Free Anzac Biscuits

Ingredients:

½ cup brown rice flour

½ cup arrowroot flour

1 teaspoon of xanthem gum (this gluten-free ingredient helps to bind the biscuits. But it’s not essential and so don’t worry if you don’t have it)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup Chelsea Organic Coconut Sugar

1 cup shredded coconut

1 ¾ cups large rolled oats

125g butter, chopped up

¼ cup Chelsea Golden Syrup

1 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp boiling water

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160°C. Mix flours, xanthem gum (if you have it), cinnamon, Chelsea Organic Coconut Sugar, shredded coconut and rolled oats in a bowl.

Melt butter and Chelsea Golden Syrup together. Then add the baking soda with boiling water in a cup.

Next, mix both butter and baking soda mixtures together in a large bowl. Add flour mixture and lightly mix.

Grease an oven tray. Then get a couple of teaspoonfuls of mixture in your hand to roll into a ball and then put this on the greased tray. Repeat until you fill your tray with these balls of mixture. Then press each ball with a fork (keep them about 1cm thick). Allow room for biscuits to spread (so place balls about 2cm apart from each other).

Bake for 17 minutes (or slightly longer if you like them chewier). Cool on a wire rack and then store them in an airtight container.

More delicious recipes can be found on http://bit.ly/ChelseaAnzac

This post was made possible thanks to Chelsea.

#chelseasugar

Rachel is a recipe creator and wellbeing columnist for two magazines. She’s a yoga teacher, marathoner and director of the InspiredHealthNZ website, which inspires Kiwis to live a life they love. Follow Rachel on Facebook and Instagram.

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