FACT - You CAN eat MY chocolate cake for breakfast.
FACT - It is vegan
FACT - You won't feel the sugar dive a couple of hours later
FACT - My chocolate cake is full of fabulous, nutritious, healthy, feel good ingredients
FACT - It's simple to make
FACT - It doesn't taste like cardboard
MYTH - You have to share it 😆
Hi, I'm Jo and welcome to my blog thejword.ninja. I am writing a vegan recipe book, but thought I would share some of my recipes with you as I work to completion. Today's blog is all about chocolate cake 😋
Rewind 6 years, I was in turmoil. I had three beautiful children and I was really struggling. I had zero energy. I know that being a mum and wife is hard work, we barely have time for ourselves after looking after our prodigy, making sure they are fed and watered, haven't catapulted off the sofa whilst re-enacting Puss's cartwheels in Puss In Boots (I did walk in on small boy doing just this 🙈). Just getting any food down them (without it resembling different shades of beige) was enough of a task, never mind tending to Himself and then finding a little time for myself. We all know how it goes. This though, was different. I couldn't function, literally a shower would send me over the edge and I would be back in bed exhausted. It was so debilitating that I knew I had to get an answer somewhere. Over the next 3 years I was diagnosed with different conditions. Once I had one under control another one would appear! Looking back now, they all were related to each other in some shape or form. I knew though that if I kept trying, pushing, striving and moving forward I would at some point become a warrior and ultimately a conqueror.
So I hyper-focused (that'll be an ADHD benefit 🙃) and decided that with enough information I could change my life and that of those around me. I didn't want to take conventional medicine, deciding to go down the more natural route. "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food".
We had always eaten "healthily", mainly organic and I had already been off refined sugar for a good few years. But I wanted to take it one step further as research was showing that I needed to do more. Himself declare one day that he was going to become Vegan. He had done extensive research and was convinced that this was the way forward for the health of our entire family. We had a family meeting and explained to the children what we were trying to achieve for our family and they agreed to give it a go.
The transition was tricky at first, only because we weren't aware of which substitutes to use and we did live off tofu for a good month or two 😂. But slowly I was finding that experimenting with different recipes and trying new things was so much fun and I actually find cooking a form of therapy (not the washing up though!). I have though failed on some occasions. I remember one evening we resorted to opening the baked beans as the stew I had lovingly prepared and cooked turned out to be foul and inedible 🤢. This inspired me to writing a vegan recipe book. I wanted to make the transition as easy as possible. I knew that the recipes needed to be simple, yet delicious. My children often help me cook or bake and I found if the recipes were easy to follow, didn't take too much time for their attention to wane, they would find the entire experience fun resulting in them wanting to do more which is an added bonus for me. My recipes are not just for vegans or wannabe vegans. I know that making the same food over and over again is dull and laborious. I am hoping to shine a light on something different for anyone to try. My recipes aim to deliver the best taste experience with minimum effort for today's busy lifestyle.
We also wanted to keep the food as natural as possible, eliminating as many processed foods and refined sugars as we could. Some vegan foods are heavily processed and you can be a very unhealthy vegan if you choose to be. We wanted the optimum nutrition for our family so I started using My Fitness Pal to make sure we were as healthy as possible. Pinterest became a new favourite app and I collated vast amounts of information on different sugar substitutes and superfoods. I didn't want the children to feel they were 'missing out' on sweet treats and puddings just because we had chosen to eat healthier. I also wanted to educate them on how the choices we make food wise are linked to how we feel. The word "diet" is an obscenity, healthy eating is a life long commitment. So with that, onto why you can eat my healthy chocolate cake for breakfast. I do, often .......
So, there may be some ingredients here that you are not familiar with. I wasn't either until I discovered what they were and how readily available they are. At first, you may have to invest in a few ingredients which you may think are pricey, however if you think about your life long commitment to a #healthylifestyle, then it's a no brainer. You will also not be using the entire packet or jar for one recipe, so it will even out and you will find that it will become a staple ingredient in your pantry. When in the UK, I buy all of my foods from Ocado because I can have them delivered with ease and I don't have to think about going to the supermarket. Who wants to supermarket shop with the kids in tow? I have bought these ingredients from the larger UK supermarkets though and when I am in a different country, I find that health food shops have all the ingredients that I require. I will discuss some of the ingredients below adding a 🤪Fun Fact to help you understand the health benefits of each one and also to obliterate the myths that vegans don't get enough nutrients!
Cacao Powder
* I buy Terrafertil Organic Cacao Powder from Ocado.
* Studies show that cacao benefits cognitive function, abstract reasoning and memory focus, so eating chocolate cake for breakfast prepares you more for your workday.
🤪Fun Fact - 100g of organic cacao powder contains 1,438mg of calcium - a mammoth improvement on milk
Spelt Flour - I use Sharpham Park
* An alternative to wheat flour. It does contain gluten, however seems more easily tolerated
* Aids blood circulation and digestion and boosts immune system
* Has higher contents of copper, iron, zinc, magnesium and phosphorus
🤪Fun Fact - Has over 100% of daily recommended value of manganese - an important mineral for nutrient absorption, produces digestive enzymes, bone development and immune system defences.
Lucuma Powder - I use Lucy Bee
* Is a Peruvian fruit, which was beloved by the Incas
* Contains beta carotene, iron, zinc, vitamin B3, magnesium and calcium
* Taste a bit like maple syrup
🤪Fun Fact - Lucuma powder contains protein 💪🏼
Coconut Palm Sugar - I use Biona Organic
* Contains fiber called inulin which slows glucose absorption therefor has a lower GI
* Contains minerals iron, zinc, calcium, potassium and antioxidants.
* Has a butterscotch flavour
🤪Fun Fact - Coconut Palm Sugar is made from the liquid nectar of the coconut blossom - so basically your eating a flower (right?)
Secret Ingredient Frosting
* One word - Avocado 🥑 - It makes the best creamy frosting. Chuck the ingredients together, mix it up and voila! Yum without the bum 🍑
How to tart it up in between layers
* Just like onions, cakes have layers. No onions here - phew! I use raspberry jam, or any jam and a bit of the secret ingredient frosting 🍓
AND FINALLY ....... THE RECIPE 💚
Dry ingredients
100 g lucuma powder
200 g spelt flour
100 g cacao powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1½ tsp bicarb
Wet ingredients
350g maple syrup (make sure you weigh it, it's grams not ml)
460 ml Almond or Soy or Hazlenut milk
150 g melted coconut oil
1 ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsps vanilla extract
How to knock it up - easy, peasy
Preheat oven to 180 degree
Grease two round ceramic baking pans or normal 8 inch tins
Mix dry to wet and combine, not too much
Pour into tins and bake 25-30 minutes or until skewer comes out clean
Allow to cool on wire racks before turning out of the tins
Frosting
2 x Avo’s
1 cup cacao powder
1 cup maple syrup
Blend together until smooth
There are approximately 10 slices per cake. It is filling and rich and is perfect with a cuppa ☕️. The lovely healthy ingredients will also help to keep you full until your next healthy snack or lunch. At 473 Calories per slice it's the ideal calorie amount for a healthy breakfast 🧡
See? It's that simple! I would love to see any pictures or any comments of your masterpieces. Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions or would just like a chinwag. You can become a blog member and receive notifications on future posts.
Additional Information - As I am ADHD, I try to find natural supplements to help me with my focus, cognitive function and increase my dopamine levels. All the Italic font are natural supplements to aid the ADHD brain 💡 #adhd
