This weekend it is Easter....and today is Good Friday meaning that it is the last day of lent.
My congratulations to all those who challenged themselves for the last 6-weeks regardless of whether you teamed up with me to take the 'Whole Foods Challenge' or whether you opted for a personal challenge of your own...if you've made it this far I applaud you!
You may remember that as part of the challenge I decided that I was going to go sugar free in all my baking endeavours...well I can tell you now that it has been a resounding success. I admit that I was a little nervous to begin with and I worried that there would be a lot of savoury recipe being posted on my blog... ha ha! But with the miracle food that is dates, I was not at a loss at all.
In fact I see no reason to change my ways. I am more than happy to continue with this mindset. That said, I am not going to restrict myself in that if I come up with a recipe that is clearer more suited to using a little agave or maple syrup then I am happy to use it, it's just been great to move away from relying on these sweeteners day to day.
I have also now updated the Lent Challenge 2013 menu tab. As well as going sugar free I also decided to give myself the further challenge of '6-weeks to 6-pack'...that did not go so well... see the link to check it out (or scroll towards the bottom for the outcome highlights). I have more ideas up my sleeve for all that.... I will not be beaten!
So for today I simply have a roundup.... the summary of my 'sweet' sugar free experiments are listed below with my three favourites picked out, followed by a visual roundup of Easter themed recipes.
I will have one final Easter post going up tomorrow...its a speedy single serve recipe perfect for a last minute celebration!
I am also going away on holiday to trek the Welsh mountains for all of next week and I don't know how plugged in to the internet i'll be whilst away. Hopefully i'll be able to keep an eye on things but I apologise now if there is a delay in reply to emails or comments. I have a few posts scheduled to keep you going in the meantime.
A sweet summary of my sugar free challenge!
(they look so good I can barely believe it myself!)
Healthy Cadbury's Cream eggs (favourite)
Buckwheat Balls
Quinoa powder breakfast Cakes
Green smoothie peppermint cheesecake (favourite)
Choc berry buckwheat bake
Chewy choc quinoa cookies (favourite)
Whipped buckwheat porridge
Chocolate almond crackles
Gingerbread ice cream
Chewy buckwheat clusters
CADA...zing!
Baked apple oatmeal with date sugar
Date sugar
An offering of Easter recipes...
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| This obviously had to go in! Healthy Cadbury's Cream eggs |
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| Hot choc cream cups |
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| Classic Easter biscuits |
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| I know you see these truffles everywhere....but they are so good! |
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| angel delight |
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| raw carrot cake balls |
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| carrot cake pancakes |
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| carrot burgers...these are a reader favourite |
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| chia banana pudding |
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| healthy banana frosting |
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| quinoa balls |
...and just for giggles...!
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| Easter bunnies....ok they look a bit ridiculous I admit! |
Hey Jo - This is incredible! Every single one of your Easter recipes looks stunning and ueber-delicious!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to completing your Lent Challenge - it's quite a change to go sugar free, isn't it.
I've tried my luck with some insanity workouts - they don't seem to go down well on a sugar free diet lol.
Have a wonderfully relaxing time in the Welsh mountains and Happy Easter :-)
Sandra
Hi Sandra, Thank you! I found that once I'd figured out new ways of doing things sugar-free was not so much of a challenge as i'd feared. As long as iIan get my sweet kick i'm ok. I also found a vanilla stevia (NuNaturals vanilla flavoured liquid drops) that is much less bitter than ones i'd tried before so that really helped. Insanity is hardcore! I have dabbled in some of those workout (but not completed the whole programme) and I can say it's most definitely not for the feint hearted! Happy Easter to you too.
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