Clare Hopkins – CLARE HOPKINS

Irresistible Homemade Nut Butter

May 6, 2021Posted in FOOD, HEALTHTagged almond butter, bega, chocolate, Clare Hopkins, Colourpot, creamy, food blog, healthy, healthy recipe, homemade, mayvers, nut butter, pana organic, peanut butter, spreads3 Comments

Please tell me I’m not the only person with a serious addiction to nut butters.

My favourite has to be Peanut Butter. Which I devour straight from the jar. Regularly.

It’s gotten to the point where I’ve brought my very own tub to work – so that I can sneak spoonfuls in the middle of the day.

The best peanut butters are the plain ones. I’m talking 100% peanuts, with a dash of salt. My favourite pea-nutty spreads are Pics, Mayvers & Bega, with Mayvers taking the cake. I’ve often said that I should buy shares in Mayvers – the amount I promote it, you’d think I was a brand ambassador.

Since the perfect peanut butters are already in the supermarkets, I have focused my homemade nut butter escapades on other another nut; almonds.

I’ve been developing the perfect, healthy, homemade nut butter. It’s taken a couple of tries but I think I have the perfect combination of ingredients for a rich, sweet and creamy spread.

If you would like to try out the worlds best nut butter recipe, give the following a go. Add as much or as little of each ingredient, to tailor the spread to your palette.

Recipe

I usually use 4 cups of almonds and then eyeball the others – begin with a little sprinkle of each, and go from there.

Raw Almonds
Hemp Seeds
Dark Chocolate – I like Pana Organic
Sea Salt
Vanilla Essence
Cinnamon

Method

Whip up all ingredients in a blender until smoothy and creamy (keep going even when it looks like a fine dust – it will become smooth and velvety eventually).

Comment below what you think, and if you would like to give this a go!

4 ingredient Vegan Choc-Peanut Cookies… that actually taste good

April 3, 2019April 25, 2020Posted in CHRISTMAS, FOOD, HEALTHTagged choc chip, Clare Hopkins, cookies, dairy free, dessert, health treat, healthy, peanut butter, quick treat, treat, vegan6 Comments

Hello and happy hump day!

Today I thought I’d share with you my favourite 4-ingredient cookie recipe. It’s perfect for whipping up on a Sunday night, so you have healthy treats to enjoy throughout the week.

Now that we’re getting cooler weather in Sydney (and by cold I mean the weather has changed to 22C/71F, but that’s freezing for Sydney Siders), it’s lovely to have some healthy comfort food. Comfort food is so important for balance, but I love options that make me feel good after as well.

This recipe uses substitutes sugar for bananas, to get a sweet tang and also a fudgy texture. The peanut butter gives that nutty, salty crunch which makes them so delectable.

It’s important to use natural peanut butter (just peanuts with a little bit of salt) to reap all the fantastic benefits that peanut butter brings – high protein, fibre, healthy fats and magnesium for bone and muscle fortification.

The Four Ingredients: 2 ripe bananas, 1/4 cup creamy organic crunchy peanut butter, 1 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup roughly chopped organic dark chocolate.

Method:

Mix bananas, peanut butter, and oats in a bowl. Once a dough forms, stir through chocolate chunks (feel free to eat the mixture here… it’s almost better than the cookies themselves).

Roll mixture into small balls on a lined baking tray to bake. Bake for 10 minutes at 200C/390F.

Nutrition per serving:

Serves 8
200 Calories
6g Protein
21g Carbs
5g Sugar
12g Fat

ENJOY!

What are you favourite, simple treat recipes? Comment below! I’d love to know.

Attempting to make Raw Vegan ‘Cheese’ Cakes

January 21, 2016April 14, 2020Posted in ALL POSTS, FOODTagged baking, cheesecake, Clare Hopkins, cupcake, dessert, HEALTH, healthy dessert, healthy treat, homemade, raw, raw treats, raw vegan, recipe, veganLeave a comment

I’m not a vegan, and definitely not a raw vegan, but I’ve recently wanted to educate myself on the diet by trying out some recipes.

Yes that’s no animal products, by-products, and nothing can be cooked. Check out YouTuber Kate Flower’s who follows the raw vegan diet, and provides lots of insight into the lifestyle.

I decided to challenge myself to create a raw vegan ‘cheese’ cake recipe. I took inspiration from Choosing Chia‘s recipe and The Loopy Whisk’s post, to guide me and make sure they weren’t a complete flop.

What’s important in this recipe is the fruit! Add more berries to the topping for more flavour.

You will need:

1/2 cup cashews
1/3 cup Medjool dates
3/4 cup white quinoa
Slice of lemon
1 teaspoon coconut oil
6 heaped teaspoons coconut yogurt
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Half tablespoon maple syrup
blueberries for topping
raspberries for topping

Method
Base

Soak dates in boiling water for 15 minutes
Line cupcake tray with casings
Drain dates
Put dates and cashews in blender and blend until a paste forms.
Press paste into bottom of cupcake casings and put in fridge

‘Cheese’ Cake

Blend white quinoa, juice of the lemon, coconut oil, yogurt, coconut milk until smooth and creamy
Empty mix into a bowl
Mix in vanilla extract (more can be added depending on desired taste)
Pour mixture into cupcake casings on top of base.
Place raspberries and blueberries on top of cakes
Place in freezer for 4 hours