The Festive Recipe Bundle!
A ‘Bliss’full Christmas?
With the festive season fast approaching… I had a slightly spontaneous idea to create a festive recipe bundle including a new version of my ‘top 5 recipes’ with some new favourites I have created since the first edition.
I coupled the Christmas Recipe Guides with my favourite Bliss Ball Guide (featuring loads of recipes that haven’t appeared on the blog) because, for me, Bliss Balls are the perfect Christmas homemade gift… so many of my customers and friends will likely attest to that, ha ha!
A ‘Bliss’full Christmas?
With the festive season fast approaching… I had a slightly spontaneous idea to create a festive recipe bundle including a new version of my ‘top 5 recipes’ with some new favourites I have created since the first edition.
I coupled the Christmas Recipe Guides with my favourite Bliss Ball Guide (featuring loads of recipes that haven’t appeared on the blog) because, for me, Bliss Balls are the perfect Christmas homemade gift… so many of my customers and friends will likely attest to that, ha ha!
‘Printables’
The fun bonus with these ebooks is that they are designed such that you can print them (ideally on card), cut them along the dotted lines to keep on hand in the kitchen OR even better, use the recipe card as a gift tag when you present your homemade gift… that way your ‘giftee’ can make the recipe again for themselves. Fun, right? ;-)
All the recipes are vegan (of course) gluten free (some use oats so opt for GF versions) and refined-sugar free… so you have an indulgent Christmas without compromise.
*Note… I don’t want to imply that there should be any ‘food guilt’ I aim to inspire your creativity with food NOT make you feel bad about food! So go full out and eat sugar and refined foods if you want to, I just know many of us feel so much better in mind and body when sticking to mostly whole foods and unrefined ingredients if there is the option, and so if that’s you thing… I’ve totally got you covered!
The whole bundle is just £5…
You can buy it HERE (or click the pic below!)
P.s I’d love you to tag me on social media in any recipes you make - Instagram is my favourite hangout- I’m @johodson over there :-)
If you don’t fancy getting the guides right now, you can still get lots of recipe ideas right here on my blog… Here are a few to get you going!
Bliss Baubles... fun Christmas gift (and the Ultimate Guide!)
At the beginning of this month you may recall I launched a simple advent gratitude challenge on Facebook. I've been feeling festive now that all the adverts are on TV and the countdown to Christmas is in full flow... I am also feeling very reflective and setting in motion what I want to create in 2017! Maybe this is what triggered the gratitude challenge.
I also ran another 'Bliss Ball' workshop a few weekends ago (we also had one on my last two retreats) and it was so much fun! As I was making up all the mix I had an idea for a simple gift idea...
Mini bliss balls in a bauble! Yay!
Simply, blend up some dates, nut butter and cacoa (or use your favourite bliss ball recipe) roll into small balls then dust in extra cacao.
Below are the rough ratios (I rarely measure bliss ball ingredients these days!)... basically make sure you process the ingredients well and end up with a mix that tatses good and isn't too sticky to handle. Add more dry ingredient or chill for a while if too sticky.
The guide is my go too recipe when it comes to bliss ball making. The perfect beginning 'base'.
Guide recipe:
2 cups medjool dates or soaked deglet noor dates (drain them very well!)
1/2 heaped cup desiccated coconut, ground almonds or nut butter
1/4 cup cocoa or raw cacao (plus extra for dusting)
few drops of flavour extract to taste (optional) - peppermint, orange and rosewater are my favourites!
Pop a handful of balls in a plastic bauble- the type made in two halves (I found a set of 8cm baubles on Ebay) add a ribbon and a gift tag with a little message if giving as a gift... or just hang on the tree!
I didn't take a great photo as I hadn't initially planned to blog it (only Instagram it), but I thought it was such a lovely idea, I wanted to share it here too!
They'd make great stocking fillings, thank you gifts or healthy Christmas tree candy!
Here is a pic from the workshop in Lanzarote.... messy hands!
As I am such a big lover of bliss balls/power balls/energy balls... (whatever name floats your boat). I made a fun guide 'The Ultimate Bliss Ball Guide' and you can buy it here for just £5. You can simply view it digitally or print as cut into a card set as I have designed it be used :-) No excuse for not having healthy, indulgent, energising snacks to hand any more!
Packed full with 20 EASY NO-BAKE RECIPES. Complete with lots of variations for endless fun and exploration!
Enjoy... be sure to tag me if you make any of the recipes!
Spiced Apple & Pear Porridge
Hey! I'm popping in quickly on this Saturday afternoon, (whilst steaming my Christmas puddings) with a little recipe combo I've been eating quite a bit recently... I hadn't initially planned to write a blog post but then figures these photos weren't actually too bad, and since it was a lovely wintery warmer full of festive spice, it was too good not to share!!
P.s If you want to know what recipe I used for my Christmas pud I shared it here on Facebook. I thought it best not to blog it just yet since I won't know how well it's worked out until I taste it, but if you are going to make your own this is the latest time you should ideally be doing it, so that it can sit and mellow before the big day! Fingers crossed it's as tasty as the non-vegan one I remember so well from years gone by.
So, back to the porridge... I used ingredients from two of my favourite companies for purchasing ingredients. RealFoodSource and Steenbergs (this is not an affiliate post but I did get some ingredients gifted to me to try in my recipes).
The freeze dried apple powder is great as an alternative whole food sweetener to syrups, it's literally ground up freeze dried apple! Teamed with Christmas Chia spice (regular ground cinnamon or mixed since would also work) it was delicious... I made two different variations, one with a sprinkle of cranberries an extra spice and another with dark chic chips and a drizzle of almond butter. Both were yum!
I sliced my pear longways and griddled it, but you could also cut into cubes and pan fry to warm through or serve raw.
Recipe: Spiced Apple & Pear Porridge
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1/2 cup porridge oats
1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk of choice
2 tbs freeze dried apple powder (more to taste if needed)
1/2 - 1 tsp christmas chai spice (or cinnamon/mixed spice)
1 pear- sliced and griddled in a touch of coconut oil
Topping: dried cranberries or choc drops and almond butter (or everything!)
Method:
Add the oats, non-dairy milk, apple powder and spice to a small saucepan, bring to the boil then simmer for five minutes or so until cooked. Meanwhile griddle (or pan fry) the pear until softened.
Serve the porridge into a bowl then top with the pear slices and other toppings of choice.
If you love porridge... check out my book 'Not Just For Goldilocks' for over 50 unique porridge recipes with options to suit all tastebuds and dietary requirements.
Porridge is amazing and so versatile... it's literally my favourite meal ;-)
New Christmas recipe round up... including a FREE ebook!
Wow... nearly a month since I last wrote a food post! How has it been that long!
Well, I guess my mind and energy have been occupied with other things- namely my wellness retreat. It was amazingly epic, but I won't bore you here- you can hop across and find out more here and watch my videos if you fancy ;-)
Luckily I have festive recips to indulge in and share with you as during November I was busy creating an update ebook for Real Food Source and so here you have a little round up of some of the new delights we have for you... including these amazing sprinkles (aka bauble truffles!)
There are loads of other great recipes in the book (all but a couple are vegan- those ones aren't mine!)
These are the new recipes I created for this year...
- Christmas Truffle Baubles
- Rudolph Oaty Cookies and raw cookies (2 options!)
- Choc-brownies xmas trees with festive frosting (love the frosting!!)
- Choc-brownie trifle
- Christmas wreaths
- Mini Christmas puds
Plus you still get the awesome recipes from last year...
- Christmas baked oatmeal
- Coconut cream cheesecakes
- Spiced Rice Pud
- Mince pies with homemade refined sugar free mincemeat
- Mini christmas pudding
- Cranberry almond cookies
- Christmas Cake
- Chocolate Tiffin
- Vegan 'Egg' Nog
- Orange Cranberry Pancakes
- Chocolate Muffins with ganache frosting
You can download the book for FREE here!!
They also have some lovely new products on their website that would make amazing Christmas gifts or stocking fillers- I will note here that not all are vegan- but they sent me a sample of their dark chocolate coated coconut balls and they are amazing- I have eaten way to many these last couple of days. I've had to hide the bag in a box in the garage to stop me digging in overtime I walk into kitchen. Seriously! They have choc-raspberry balls too!
How will you be indulging this Christmas?
What is your favourite treat to buy or make?
Not Just For Goldilocks.... my porridge ebook is finally here!
I'm ridiculously excited to announce the launch of my new Ebook.... packed full of porridge recipes and breakfast inspiration!
This stunning full colour ebook contains 58 of my favourite porridge recipes (and porridgey spin offs!) to help you feel warm, comforted and totally nourished during Autumn, Winter and far beyond! Perfect for those looking for a whole host of 'free form' options plus recipes toppings and various porridge bases to give you plenty of 'mix and match' inspiration... there are literally endless combinations.
Goldilocks... eat your heart out!
HUGE GIVEAWAY!
To celebrate the launch of my book I'm also hosting an amazing giveaway of fantastic porridgey essentials from some of my favourite brands!
In the huge bundle are goodies from... Real Food Source, Thrive Magazine (a years digital subscription), Steenbergs Organic, Sweet Freedom, OMG Matcha Tea and last but not least my very own Wholeplus Toppers! :-)
To enter the giveaway pick as many options as you like below. The giveaway ends at midnight on Monday 16th November. UK entries only (due to shipping costs that I have to cover!)
Chocolate Banana Ice Cream... and another ebook!
I've been in full on design mode recently!
Making tweaks to my website.... did you see I now have two separate blog rolls AND a funky highlight's page? Of course I've also been busy gearing up for the Lanzarote Wellness Retreat!
Behind the scenes there has been even more ebook action. I have been collaborating with RealFoodSource in designing another FREE ebook... this time featuring their 'as raw as it get's' chocolate powder blend.
You can grab the book here... it has loads of inspiration and you could easily swap regular raw cacao and add your own extra sweetness. Their own raw powder blends cacao powder with coconut sugar and sea salt for an all in one ready to go option (if you are in the UK they currently have a launch promo offer).
Here's a little teaser of the recipes I created inside!
One of my favourite recipes from the book is featured on their blog... the chocolate banana ice cream.
Perfect for the hot summer weather, or simply a treat all year round! Frozen banana makes the perfect no churn ice cream. Use greener bananas for a less dominant taste and add a little syrup if needed as they’ll be less sweet. You can add full fat coconut milk to replace some of the banana of you wish.
Or instead of a chocolate option, why not add fruits or vanilla powder to change up flavours. I feel a rum and raisin combo coming on! Or even a citrus flavour with orange and lemon.
You can find the full recipe HERE!
Why not sign up for my newsletter in my sidebar where I feature roundups and special offers plus my FREE ebook. If you are new round here you might like to check out my 'About' tab up top. To buy healthy nibbles you can also find me over at my sister site Wholeplus.
Day to day you can always find me hanging out in these places:
Chia-choc shake... and new FREE ebook!
Long time readers will know I collaborate with Real Food Source to develop recipes and create ebooks.... well, there is now a new additional to the ebook collection!
The little book of chia seeds!
One of my favourite and most versatile vegan baking and nutritional ingredients.
YOU CAN ALSO DOWNLOAD THEIR BOOK FOR FREE HERE!
(note: if you are not in the UK you can still download the book, if it asks you to enter an address during the checkout process just make one up or put 'dots' in the boxes to get past the system!)
Taken from their website: "We love chia seed here at the RealFoodSource and we've put together our fifth little free recipe ebook packed full of inspirational Chia recipes. We also share 10 simple ways to add them to your diet. It includes our favourite breakfast, savoury and sweet recipes, did you know chia seeds make an egg replacement for baking and can make a fantastic pizza base? As always the recipes are all super simple to create with most taking 5-10 minutes max to prepare. All of the recipes are gluten, dairy and soy free, vegan and quite a few are paleo/primal too so there's something for everyone for free!"
I shared the recipe below for a chocolate chia snake in the book and it's now on their website too. Thick and creamy shake or pudding... perfect as a summer dessert or snack. Grinding the chia seeds creates an extra super smooth and thick texture which is perfect for people who are not such a fan of the unique texture of chia in it's whole seed form. For a pudding, simply increase the chia to 3-4 tablespoons and serve in little ramekins.
You could also dollop a little coconut cream on top, or why not try this creamy concoction plus some fruit or cacao nibs on top... so many options!
YOU CAN FIND THE FULL REICPE HERE AT REALFOODSOURCE.
How do you most enjoy chia seeds?
For a little more inspiration, here are some more of the recipe ideas from my blog archives... click!
Why not sign up for my newsletter in my sidebar where I feature roundups and special offers plus my FREE ebook. If you are new round here check out my 'About' and 'Getting Started' tabs up top. To buy nibbles you can also find me over at Wholeplus.
Day to day you can always find me hanging out in these places:
Giveaway!!! Mega health food bundle!
I have an exciting giveaway for you! I have teamed up with The Real Food Source in compiling my 'Re-Boot' ebook to offer you a giveaway of a huge bundle of their powders and top health foods.
This is so exciting and a huge prize to be won!!
The bundle will contain:
hemp pro max
wheatgrass
baobab
coconut milk powder
cocoa powder
I use their products all the time in my Wholplus range, practically all my recipes and day to day cooking and even in many of my beauty products too! They are the real deal when it comes to ethically sourced, organic products at super competitive prices. I have been developing recipes for these guys for around three years now and they are one of the most genuine companies I have had the pleasure of working with.
The bundle is the perfect compliment to the recipes in my book... so you get an idea of the sorts of recipes I have included. Though it's still great book for giving you a boost regardless... so don't worry if you don't have all of the ingredients.
Remember to get my book you need to sign up to my newsletter before the end of the month!
You can sign up here!
(you get my 'Sweets' book when you do that too!)
Enter The RealFoodSource giveaway below!
Why not sign up for my newsletter in my sidebar where I feature roundups and special offers plus my FREE ebook. If you are new round here check out my 'About' and 'Getting Started' tabs up top. To buy nibbles you can also find me over at Wholeplus.
Day to day you can always find me hanging out in these places:
A ‘Bliss’full Christmas?
With the festive season fast approaching… I had a slightly spontaneous idea to create a festive recipe bundle including a new version of my ‘top 5 recipes’ with some new favourites I have created since the first edition.
I coupled the Christmas Recipe Guides with my favourite Bliss Ball Guide (featuring loads of recipes that haven’t appeared on the blog) because, for me, Bliss Balls are the perfect Christmas homemade gift… so many of my customers and friends will likely attest to that, ha ha!