Kitchen Organizer

Healthy Easter treats continue and this one is sure to be a hit with the kids!  It's so easy, super healthy and is a perfect addition to the Easter table.  These eggs were lovingly laid by our own family chickens, Princess Layer, Chewy & Vadar - see how bright the yolks are!?  Freshly laid, free range eggs really are the best!

If you don't have them roaming your backyard, you can always get them from Charlies!

Ingredients
6 eggs
1/4 carrot, thinly sliced
6 sultanas

Method
Hard boil the eggs in a saucepan of simmering water.  Allow to cool, then peel the shells away.

Slice a small section of white off each end (so it will sit flat on the plate), then slice each egg in half cross-ways.

Use the yolk as your chicken face and decorate with small triangles of carrot and sultanas.

Hope thought they were pretty good!

Easter is just around the corner and it really is a time laden with sugar, fat and generally very unhealthy treats.  So this week, I'm endeavouring to bring you super-healthy Easter alternatives, to prove that you can celebrate this time of year without putting on 10kg!

To kick it off today, I'm sharing a recipe I based on one from Spark Recipes.  It is a paleo recipe, using raw ingredients.  The taste is not like your standard Easter egg - it is a bit more bitter and definitely not as sweet, but if you think of it as a twist on a Coconut Rough, it really is quite pleasant!  I also find it satisfies that sweet craving, but doesn't make you want to binge on it.

I like this recipe as it isn't full of really expensive, very "out-there" ingredients - most things you will probably have on hand.  My chocolate-loving kids ate these up, but my sweet-tooth husband wasn't so keen! Another note, I got my Easter chocolate molds from a $2 shop a couple of years ago - always handy to have!

You can also add some variety by putting in chopped nuts (like cashews or macadamias), or dried fruit (preferably something like dates with no added sugar).  Enjoy!

PS Did you know Charlie's Fruit Market sell nuts & dried fruit?!?

Ingredients
4 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup ground almonds
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1 tablespoon raw peanut butter (optional)

Method
Mix the dry ingredients together.  Blend together coconut oil and maple syrup, then combine all until mixed well.

Press into chocolate moulds (or a silicone mini-muffin pan) and chill for 30 minutes.

Optional: put 1/2 teaspoon peanut butter in between layers of chocolate.

To continue with the week of Healthy Easter Treats, I was thinking about how I could use my Easter biscuit cutters for good and not evil!  In the past, I've often made sugary, fatty biscuits, spread them with white chocolate and covered them with sprinkles - not one for the health-conscious!

So, I decided to do some cheese cut-outs, and these just evolved from there!  You can get as creative as you like.  The kids love it, whether they're involved in the decorating, or just the eating.  They are a bit fiddly, but less time-consuming than making and icing a batch of biscuits - and way healthier!



Ingredients
Rice cakes
Cheese from a block
Sliced ham
Sultanas
Dried apricots
Cucumber
Capsicum
Fresh parsley or coriander
Mayonnaise
(or anything else you have in the fridge/pantry!)

Method
Cut out Easter shapes from the cheese.  Cut ham with a scalloped round cutter, just smaller than the rice cake.

Layer ham and cheese on the rice cakes, then decorate as desired, using small dabs of mayonnaise to attach vegetables.

These raw little chocolate treats are pretty amazing.  Not only do they actually taste great, but they are also gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free and egg-free.  Amazing!  Even my husband, who was pretty sceptical of the raw chocolate, really enjoyed these!

The chia seeds are a fantastic addition for crunch and for health benefits.  These are a wonderful Easter treat that are quick and easy to make, and won't give you the guilts!

Get your nuts & dried from Charlie's!

Ingredients
1 cup cashews
1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut, plus extra for rolling
1/4 cup chia seeds
4 tablespoons raw cocoa powder
3 tablespoons raw peanut butter
1/2 cup unsweetened dried fruit (eg apricots, dates, raisins)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoon melted coconut oil
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup

Method
Place cashews in a food processor and process until finely chopped.  Add coconut, chia seeds and cocoa powder and pulse until combined.

Add remaining ingredients and process until combined.

Roll heaped teaspoons of mixture into balls and roll in extra coconut.  Refrigerate.