Nothing gets me as relaxed on a busy afternoon than a cup of steaming spiced coffee with a chocolatey treat on the side – my favorite being an oat biscuit drenched in dark chocolate. However, for the past two weeks now I have been following the Elimination Diet to try and ease up my ever growing list of Fibromyalgia symptoms and, amongst the gluten and dairy free foods I have had to cut out, an extra little list came on the side with more things to avoid, such as coffee, chocolate and sugars. While I wasn’t too concerned about having to cut out many of my favorite foods, not being able to have chocolate and coffee as often as I pleased ignited a panic within me that only a true chocolate lover can understand. Adamant to follow my diet as closely as possible, I started playing around with the few things I could eat and came up with these two delicious recipes below that’s vegan friendly, gluten free and dairy-free so, no matter your diet, you can definitley give these a go which I promise you will make time and time again!
Gooey Almond Bites
- 1 cup medjool dates (or any dates soaked in some boiling water for 5 minutes)
- 1/2 cup chopped almonds
- 2 tbsp carob powder (or cacao if you are not on the diet)
Simply chuck everything into a blender and blend until you get a sticky consistency. I made these into balls but they work just as well in a baking tray or square Tupperware covered in a light layer of pure cacao or carob powder. Keep it in the fridge so that it doesn’t melt.
Options
- They taste absolutely decadent just like this but if wish, you can roll them in cacao powder
- Feel free to play around with the recipe and add more nuts if you want a more crunch. You could also roll them in crushed almonds when they are done for a more ‘truffle’ feel.
- You can use any nuts in the mixture, pecans work really well too but I much prefer the taste of almonds.
- If you want, you can add a shot of espresso to the mixture before blitzing all together to give it a subtle coffee kick.
Creamy coconut “ice-Cream”
Having to give up ice cream was such a hard thing to do but I will admit, making this gluten free and dairy free version was so rewarding and utterly delicious. You can make a big batch and store them in the freezer in little containers for whenever the craving strikes or simply make them on demand! The recipe below is enough for 2 people (or one… no judgement!)
- 2 Frozen bananas (I chop them up into little pieces before throwing in a zip-lock bag and freezing
- 2 Tbsp coconut milk or cream (I fill an ice cube tray with coconut milk and cream and freeze it so that it’s even creamier when adding to this ice cream)
- a handful of frozen berries
- 3 Tbsp fresh coconut (or dried)
Simply throw everything (besides the fresh coconut) together into a blender and blitz on high speed till the mixture goes creamy. You can omit the berries and make a simple banana ice cream as it is just as delicious. When everything is smooth and creamy, stir through the coconut and serve.
Options
- Add some cacao powder for a chocolaty taste
- Add a spoon of homemade nut butter for a more creamier ice cream
- Play around with as many flavour combinations as you want but make sure that the fruits are frozen!
Enjoy!
X
Fatima
