Week 9 Dish 2: Vegan strawberry banana coconut cookies

Seems like it's a cookie week for me! Cookies are just so easy to make and perfect to snack on. I still had 3 more very ripe bananas to use (I don't like wasting good food) and managed to buy some more strawberries, which were also starting to go bad. So I found a recipe which used both. I still had more bananas and strawberries than the recipe needed so I decided to make a strawberry banana milkshake too (recipe coming soon). Safe to say my family loved both the recipes, I mean, you can't go wrong with strawberries can you?!

Makes 18-24 cookies

Ingredients

2 cups oats (make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free oats!)

1/4 cup oat flour (or process some oats into a fine powder)

1 cup desiccated coconute/ coconut flates

2 tbsp ground flaxseeds/ linseeds

1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped

1/4 tsp salt

2 medium bananas, mashed

2 tbsp maple syrup/ agave nectar/ honey

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 cup roughly chopped strawberries

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line two baking trays with grease proof paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oats, oat flour, desiccated coconut, flaxseeds/linseeds, almonds and salt.
3. Stir in the bananas, maple syrup, coconut oil, strawberries and vanilla until well combined.
4. Form 2 1/2 inch balls with your hands, place onto the trays and flatten gently. You don't need to leave a lot of space between then, they don't spread at all.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Original recipe: Strawberry coconut breakfast cookies

Vegan, gluten free, no-bake pecan pie bars

It's my team's first netball match today, wish us luck! One of my teammates cannot eat gluten so I decided it's time for a gluten free recipe. Like my raw cheesecake, this is another no-bake yummy recipe which has absolutely no gluten! I hope my teammates like it, they are going to try it later today.

Makes 16 squares/ small slices

Ingredients
For the crust
1 cup dates, pitted and soaked in water for 5 minutes if dry
1 cup pecans (I used walnuts)
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
For the filling
1 cup dates, pitted and soaked in water for 5 minutes if dry
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup pecans
1/4 cup water, or more as needed for blending
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup additional pecans peices (or whole pecans if you prefer) for topping
Method

1. Line an 8x8 baking dish (I used a pie dish) with grease proof paper for easy removal of the bars.
2. In a food processor combine the crust ingredients and blend until a sticky dough is formed. Press into the lined baking dish until even. Place in the freezer to set.
3. Combine the filling ingredients (except the extra pecans for topping) in a blender until smooth - you will need to keep stopping and scraping down the sides to allow everything to blend smoothly.
4. Remove the crust from the freezer and spoon on the filling using a spatula to smooth the top. Sprinkle the extra pecans on top and press into the filling slightly. Return to the freezer and set for at least 6 hours before cutting and serving. Store in the freezer too!

Original recipe: No-bake pecan pie bars

Week 9 Dish 1: Vegan banana nut cookies

Ahh my days are getting busier and busier. Netball season has started again and with 2 matches and one training session a week, free time is getting harder and harder to come by! But baking is pretty high on my priority list (can't give up all the yummy goodies) so I hope I can keep up with my two recipes per week.... I'm quite excited about some future bakes I have planned for Halloween and Diwali, which are both coming up. I managed to buy some very fun muffin and cake moulds, hope you're all excited too!

This week I once again had overripe bananas that needed to be used. I thought about making the bars from week 7 again because they we so quick and easy and yummy to boot, but then I found this recipe. It's pretty much the same as the bars but since it's cookies I think it's fair to use it as a whole new recipe (bit of a cheat I guess, cheeky me :p). As with the bars, this recipe contains absolutely NO ADDED SUGAR - it is sweetened with mushy bananas, making it as healthy as it is yummy :D.

Makes 24
Ingredients
2 cups oats (make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free oats!)
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 large ones)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and stir well.
2. Mix the banana, oil and vanilla extract in a separate bowl and add to the dry mixture. Combine well and let stand for 15 minutes. 
3. While you wait, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line two baking trays with grease proof paper.
4. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough on to the baking trays and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Original recipe: Banana-nut cookies

These are just so yummy, they will be gone before you know it! In my opinion this is definitely a recipe you don't want to miss - let me know if you agree when you've tried them :D

Week 7 Dish 1: Vegan banana oat bars

Happy world vegetarian day! I didn't actually know that such a day existed until a friend of mine pointed it out to me today. It is on October 1st every year, was established in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society and is followed by Vegetarian Awareness Month. This ends on November 1st with World Vegan Day. Yep, you learn something new every day!

This week I started my surgery placement, which as I said before is not something I'm very interested in. But, it hasn't been too bad so far, and the consultant really makes it worthwhile by teaching us a lot. So I'm pretty happy! We also had a charity cake sale in the hospital today, and I thought I need to bake something myself! So, here is my (probably) most healthy baked recipe to date, with absolutely no sugar and only a tiny bit of oil in it - vegan banana bars. Did I mention it's also a ridiculously quick and easy to make?

Makes 12 squares
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups mashed overripe bananas - about 3 large bananas (I only had 1 1/4 cups worth of bananas so I topped it up with unsweetened apple sauce. This makes it a bit less sweet so you can add a bit of honey/ agave nectar/ maple syrup to taste)
1/4 cup ground flaxseed/ linseed
1/4 cup canola oil/ rapeseed oil (you can even substitute this with water like in the original recipe to make it even healthier, just will be a little less moist)
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground mixed spice
3 cups oats (make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free oats!)
1/2 cup walnuts (or any other nuts)
1/2 cup raisins
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line a 9x9 inch baking dish with grease proof paper.
2. Combine the mashed banana, ground flaxseed/ linseed, water, oil, salt, cinnamon and mixed spice in a big bowl and stir well.
3. Add the oats, walnuts and raisins and combine well. Spoon into the baking dish and press well. 
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into squares, place upside down on another tray (lined with grease proof paper) and bake for a further 15 minutes. Turn over and bake finally for 5 minutes.
5. Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Original recipe: Banana walnut oat bars

Vegan, gluten free cashew cheesecake (no-bake!)

I have been meaning to try this recipe for a while. I absolutely love cheesecake and it's always my dessert of choice when I'm out for a meal. So I was a bit apprehensive about how this would turn out, and boy was I shocked at how good it tastes!! Simply delicious! And my whole family loved it too! I am definitely going to experiment with flavours in the future, so watch this space. In the meantime, I urge you to try this recipe, it's really worth it. Just bear in mind it does need at least 4 hours of cashew nut soaking beforehand and about 2 hours after for it to set.

Ingredients
For the crust
1/2 cup walnuts (or pecan, or almond, or other nut of preference) - no soaking required
1/2 cup soft pitted dated, soaked for 5 minutes
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
pinch of salt
For the filling
2 1/4 cups raw cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight, then drained)
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (this is what helps hold it together so don't substitute it for anything else)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Prepare the crust first. In a food processor, chop the dates, nuts, desiccated coconut and salt. Process until it holds together when you press it between 2 of your fingers. I didn't soak the dates beforehand so I needed to add a little bit of water. Set aside.
2. Add the cashews, agave nectar/ honey, coconut oil, lemon juice and vanilla into a blender and blend well. Make sure it's completely smooth - blend more to be on the safe side.
3. Press the crust into the bottom of an 8 inch spring form cake tin. Pour the filling on top and freeze for at least 2 hours. To serve, let it thaw for about 30 minutes and cut into slices - I did 12 because it is quite heavy and filling, but do 8 if you prefer bigger ones :)

Original recipe: Raw cashew cheesecake
Store any leftovers in the fridge if it's not eaten straight away.

Vegan peanut butter fudge (Easy peasy)

Ever since I went to New York last year I have become addicted to peanut butter flavoured things thanks to Reese's peanut butter cups (also sold in St Mary's hospital shop, yum). So when I saw this recipe I just had to give it a go. This is another quick, busy-schedule recipe. Like the vegan chocolate, it takes no time at all so anyone can do it. I took some fudge in with me to my placement and shared it with my team - they all loved it which made me very happy! Extremely yummy but also equally calorific so you have been warned ;)

Ingredients
3/4 cup vegan margarine
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups icing sugar
Method

1. Melt the margarine in a saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until smooth.
2. Stir in the icing sugar a little at a time until well blended (it will look a bit lumpy at first but keep adding more sugar and it will be fine).
3. Scoop into a 9x9 inch baking dish and pat down. Chill until firm and then cut into squares for eating. Store in the fridge of course otherwise it will go all mushy!

I reduced the sugar down to 2 cups from 3 2/3 cups in the original recipe and I think it's just the right amount of sweet, hope you think so too :)