Fruity Chia lollies

Do you remember this chia pudding?

Do you remember I was curious as to whether it could be turned into chia fruit lollies... Well I just couldn't resist giving it a go, so here we are! They are pretty good!

The recipe is pretty much identical to the pudding but to add a slight twist and colour pop I added some crushed raspberries to the mix to give a pretty colour contrast  :-)  I always use frozen fruits for things like this purely on a practical level as there is so much less colour bleed and crushing the raspberries is so easy when solid, however I do appreciate that frozen fruit has less chance of being seasonal and organic- unless of course you buy fresh and freeze them yourself- that would be best!

I doubled up the original recipe to make approx. 6 lollies. I tried to find some silicone lolly moulds but to no avail so my mould consisted of a hard plastic shell that needs running under hot water to loosen the lolly to eat. Not the easiest way to go about things and the tops did begin to go a little melty in places for the photoshoot...but no major drama!

I served up my lollies with some of my watermelon cooler....no way I was going to be dehydrating anytime soon ;-)

Recipe:  Fruity Chia lollies

Makes 6 lollies


Ingredients:


3 tbs white chia seeds (dark will work fine too but won’t look so pretty!)
2 bananas- mashed well
1 tbs maca powder (optional)
1 cup fresh pineapple
1/2 cup broken rasberry pieces- frozen works best
1/2 cup coconut water (or substitute regular filtered water)


Method:


Blend all ingredients together until smooth, stirring through the raspberry pieces last.

Spoon the mixture into lolly moulds and freeze.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Watermelon ice lollies

This recipe is the simplest spin off from this summer watermelon cake!   Frost, Slice, Freeze, Eat...

Even of you don’t plan to make the cake, it’s still really easy to whip up the chocolate frosting, spread a thick later on a large watermelon segment, slice up and freeze. Throw on nuts or sprinkles to add some jazz and crunchy texture. I just frosted the outer edge of the segment before slicing but you could add extra if you prefer.

The original cake got a bit of stick by some who felt i'd 'desecrated' the watermelon... but that's cool, each to their own, though I felt my healthy 'not sickly sweet' frosting was a true compliment. To be honest watermelon chunks are also are pretty good on their own and so refreshing on a hot summers day (we are finally getting a few of those at the moment- let's hope I haven't now jinxed it!) 

But hey, if it gets chilly again I know what I'll be making...my pineapple baked oatmeal...warm comfort with holiday feelings all in one!

Recipe: Watermelon ice lollies

Makes 4-6 lollies

Ingredients:

1 large slice of watermelon segment- peeled and de-sseded (as far as possible)

Chocolate frosting: 

2/3 cup vegan yoghurt (I use soy)

2 tbs fine coconut flour (increase to 3tbs if thicker consistency required)

2 tbs cocoa powder

Stevia or syrup to taste

A few drops vanilla extract- optional

Method

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir together well. Let sit for a few seconds and test the consistency (coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid), add more wet or dry ingredients as needed)

Place the water melon slice on a plate suitable for the freezer.

Using a knife thickly frost the watermelon slice. This will be easier if you first pat the surface of the melon dry to remove excess moisture. I found it easiest to frost the largest area of outer skin and also I did not want to fully frost the lolly. Press extra fruits, nuts or sprinkles into the frosting if desired.

Carefully  push lolly sticks at intervals into the fat side of the segment making sure to leave the frosting intact. Slice the water melon carefully and slightly separate the segments so that they don’t freeze together.

Place in the freezer until solid and then re-bag as necessary to store. Allow to defrost for 5 mins prior to eating for optimum texture (and so you don't break your teeth!) 

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Strawberry cream granita

Summer is slowly drawing to a close…..nooooo!

The kids areback to school, the nights are getting shorter (making it increasingly difficult to get daylight shots of my evening meals) and the air is getting cooler…not that it really hotted up an awful lot round here. Maybe we’ll have an Indian summer. One can all but hope!  I really need to get my 'night mode' photography equipment sorted (lighting and tripod etc), these shorter evenings have turned my priorities to it since the window of daylight during the winter is so restrictive otherwise.

So, before the summer turns into a full on Autumn, I thought I’d best get this recipe out there. I still have a little stock pile of summery recipes to share, so we’ll see how many I can get through over the next few weeks.

This recipe is super simple, an extension of my ice cream making efforts. This freezes hard making it perfect for a ‘scrape your own’ granita. Make sure you blend everything up together really well and you should be fine. You could also try using coconut milk for an alternative creamy texture to the cashew butter- note: I have not tried it this way.

Perfect served over a simple fruit salad.

How do you like to serve you granita?

Recipe: Strawberry cream granita

Makes 1 tub (approx. 2 cups)

Ingredients:

2 cups berries (I used strawberries)

1 cup water

2 tbs agave plus a pinch stevia (more or less to taste)

Juice of 1 lemon

¼ cup cashew butter

Method

Puree everything together and pour into a tub suitable for the feezer. Whisk with a fork a coip;e of times as it freezes.

To serve, scrape with a form to form crystals. This mixture freezes hard and makes the perfect chilled dessert topping.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.