A little sweetness, a healthy treat

Since my last post I have not been very good at updating. It is probably due to the lack of sugar in my life right now. Last week I even started a 'Better Call Saul,' review and just left it sitting open on my laptop all day, without adding to it. I'm not sure if that says more about my sugar deprivation or about the show. If I'm honest I'm not sold on that show yet, emphasis on the yet! It has potential in my opinion but it seems to be a slow builder. In case you are wondering, since we are talking Netflix, I am about 8 episodes into season 3 of 'House of Cards' and will be doing a review when we're done. (Yes I dedicated a whole day to it this weekend, no judgement!!)

Anyway so this weekend I also found myself craving sugar and sweets and buying things like 'crackers' that are really biscuits and decided to just go ahead and make something nice. So I present to you the delicious hazelnut macaroons -

Coconut bites - all natural taste of summer

If, like me, you have spent this summer in front of a computer screen or inside an office building then as August starts it can feel like summer is slipping away, and don't get me wrong I'm looking forward to autumn and winter, but it's nice to celebrate summer while it's here. So here is a little taste of the tropical to help you hold on to the summer.

Bounty bars are advertised as a taste of tropical flavour and I bought in, so when I thought tropical I thought about them. But they are not the healthiest thing you can eat, so here's my low fat, low sugar version.

You will need:

3 egg whites
350g dessicated coconut
80g (equivilant) stevia
20g caster sugar (alternatively you can leave out the stevia and use 100g sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp white rum
30g ground almonds
30g  dark sugar free cocoa powder

1 large saucepan
1 metal bowl
1 whisk
1 sugar thermometre

1 - Put your egg whites, sugar and stevia in your metal bowl. Heat some water in the saucepan and then gently bring up the temperature of the mixture, whisking constantly until it reaches 160'F.

2- Remove from the heat and beat vigourously until you have achieve a meringue

3 - Add the vanilla essence, rum and whisk.

 4 -  Add the coconut, ground almonds and mix thoroughly.

 5 - Chill in the fridge for about an hour

6-  Press into squares and use a sieve to sprinkle cocoa powder over all the sides to coat.

They taste sweet, soft and delicious and the hint of rum compines with the coconut to make you think of beach holidays rather than you computer.

Macaroons - (almost) sugar free and so tasty that even coconut haters will fall

Normally at this time of year I want to make nothing more than home-made jam and macarons. This year is no real exception but some days need something different. This week I went to a BBQ and brought some delicious double chocolate chip cookies but I also wanted to bring something a little healthier and decided to go for macaroons.

Coconut is extremely healthy. It's reportedly antiviral, antibacterial and anti-parasitic. The oils in coconut are excellent for hair and nail growth. It's chock full of fiber, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. It's also known for anti-aging and antioxidant properties. So all in all, there's an excuse there for anyone to eat it.

These macaroons are really easy to make and almost sugar free. They went down such a treat at the party that I didn't manage to save any, but photos will follow, because trust me I will be making more.

(Almost) Sugar-Free Coconut Macaroons

500g Shredded coconut
100g Ground Almonds
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tbsp Caster Sugar
10g Stevia
250g 60-70% Dark Chocolate

Preheat the oven to 160'C. Beat your egg whites and cream of tartar until peaks form. Slowly beat in your caster sugar and stevia and continue to beat until you have formed a stiff peaks. Mix together the coconut and ground almonds and then fold into the meringue. Scoop into 1/2 balls on a cookie sheet and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the outside it nicely brown and crispy. Then cool on a wire rack. 

Melt 3/4 of the chocolate over hot water, once the first part is melted, remove from the heat and add the rest of the chocolate and mix until melted. Dip the bases of the macaroons in the chocolate and smooth with a spatula before drying upside down on the wire rack. Once the chocolate has set, serve and enjoy =)