Orange date bread

I type these words as my little one slumbers.
Having a small child makes me feel like a teenager sometimes; sneaking around whilst she is sleeping to indulge in the activities that I like to do, whilst being as quiet as a mouse to keep her in dreamland.
These pictures, for instance, were taken during the beginning of her snooze, edited during the middle, and published just before she started stirring. It is amazing how quickly one hour seems to pass whilst babies sleep!

Whilst my hobbies have been relegated to baby nap times, the rest of my days are filled with hide and seek, whimsical picture books (that are read over and over again), playing with an array of wooden toys and various items she has found and claimed as her own (the remote controller and an old belly dancing arm bangle of mine being her current favourites), Bob Marley songs (played over and over and over...), hugging trees and smushing flowers, tickling toes and kissing boo boos - and whilst my days are marvelously tiring (the little one still wakes 7 times a night, so perhaps that is also a fatigue-factor), I wouldn't trade them for anything. My home might be a little shabbier, the meals slightly burnt and my adult conversational skills quite underused  but I am so incredibly thankful that I get to spend every single day being a mummy to such an amazing person. Being a part of someone's life from the moment they come into existence is such an honor; I get to witness her entire childhood and watch her metamorphosis first hand, to share her entire 'beginning'.

Now that I have gotten my daughter-gushing out of the way, let us eat cake!

ease: 4.5/5.
prep time: 20mins.
cooking time: 25mins.
total: 45mins.

taste: 3.5/5.

Whilst this bread/cake was incredibly soft and gently sweet, it lacked a strong flavour profile. The dates, which lent the sweetness, were prominent, but the orange only gave the faintest hint of bitterness. The cinnamon was also barely noticeable. It is lovely with a cup of tea, but a touch too delicate in flavour to be served on its own.

would I make it again: No, but I thoroughly enjoyed this loaf.

recipe: http://www.anjasfood4thought.com/2011/08/gluten-free-orange-date-bread.html

Healthy Apple Cake

“I can resist anything except temptation.”
― Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan

It's no secret that I have a gigantic, collosal sweet tooth. I don't think a single day has gone by in which I have not consumed refined sugar in addition to fruits and the like. 

This year it began to escalate to a point where I was verbally lamenting my addiction and hoping to at least 'cut back'. Fast forward to the evening, after avoiding sugar during the daylight hours, you would find me with an empty box of chocolates and a rather defeated, yet also satisfied, look on my face. It seemed sugar was a foe I couldn't shake; between the baby, husband and home I just didn't have enough energy left in me to draw up the willpower needed to kick this habit to the curb.

And then lo and behold, the universe manifested the only way I would do it; my little one got oral thrush. I may not have been able to change my diet for myself, but there is NOTHING I wouldn't do for my bubba. So to help her heal faster and to make sure she didn't pass it onto me, I went cold-turkey. And I don't just mean refined sugar. I did the whole shebang - no fruit or natural sweeteners. After some googling I stumbled upon the Anti-Candida diet and figured that whatever would help my girl I was willing to do, and heck, if I could cut the sugar than surely quitting dairy and gluten wouldn't be so bad.

Well, let's just say it took some getting used to. Besides being a vegetarian, eating organic and mostly unprocessed foods, my diet has never really been super healthy (apart from when I was pregnant). A large percentage consisted of baked sweets, chocolate bars, cheese, pasta, bread etc with fruit, veg and legumes getting the occasional guest appearance. Thanks to the fast metabolism I inherited from my mumma this poor quality, high calorie diet didn't result in weight gain so I was pretty content to keep to it (my brother's diet is even worse, yet he is in awesome shape, but eventually, if we don't change, we will both be paying the piper I am sure). In all fairness though we were never really shown how to eat healthy as kids. Apart from dinner, our other meals were horrid - sugary kids cereal for breakfast, and school lunches of nutella sandwiches, chips, fruit roll ups, dunkaroos and a piece of fruit (which was rarely eaten).

I am determined to help my daughter have good eating habits from the start, and this event has helped me turn a corner in my own nutrition. I really doubt that I will go back to my sugar-laden ways of the past, I just don't feel the need for that much refined sugar anymore, and when you know better, you do better. Ten days in and I have already lost those intense cravings. Now that I  can eat some fruits (apples and berries), I find that is all I need to satisfy my sweet-needs. I did try stevia in the first week but that just wasn't my cup of tea. I have yet another 6 weeks to go before I will allow refined sugar back in, but in the meantime I have amassed a rather wonderful looking set of refined-sugar free recipes to try.

Although it has been 10days I haven't really felt any different (apart from two days of withdrawal headaches and grumpiness) or noticed any physical differences (well, some slight weight gain, possibly due to all of the nuts and seeds I am devouring), but then again it has only been a short amount of time and I am sure this new healthier diet will benefit me greatly in the long run.

What diets have you tried recently?

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 6mins.
cooking time: 30mins.
total: 36mins.


taste: 4/5. Stealthily delicious.

I won't lie, I kept my expectations low, more so in terms of texture than taste, but I am glad to say, I was more than happy with this healthy cake.

Let's start with the texture; this was perhaps one of the softest, most luscious loaves I have ever had. It was incredibly moist but still held together well with a yummy sticky crust.

Taste wise it was mm mm good. I didn't include the walnuts as one of my friends is allergic so I added a few more dates. The honey and dates made this plenty sweet enough. The coconut was just a mere glimmer of a suggestion whilst the apple was noticeable but not dominant - all of the flavours melded together without any of them taking the spotlight. I can imagine that the nuts would add a lovely crunch to an already tasty treat.

Why wouldn't you go grain and refined sugar free if it tastes so yum!

would I make it again: Yes.


recipe: http://www.anjasfood4thought.com/2012/03/grain-free-apple-walnut-bread.html