12 HEALTHY RECIPES CAKE(we always knew it was possible)! Liz Scully Editor // Katie Schenk Words // Chris Sandel Nutrition // Jurie Potgieter Images www.rethinkretreats.com for Rethink Retreats brings you 12 healthy cake recipes Contents to delight the taste buds and remind you that healthy eating doesn’t have to be a hardship Rethink Retreats: Hello, we like cake! ............................................................ 2 Chris Sandel, our nutritionist: He likes eating normally........................................... 3 Recipes Please check our shiny new food website Banana Cake ................................................................................. 4 www.notgotmuchin.com for more recipes. Honey Cake with Apricots, Vanilla and Sweet Potato ........................................... 5 Blueberry Oat Cake ........................................................................... 6 Courgette and Chamomile Cake............................................................... 7 Chocolate Avocado Cake (Vegan Gluten-Free) ................................................. 8 Coconut, Lime and Blueberry Cake ............................................................ 9 Chateau Durantie Carrot and Parsnip Cake .................................................... 10 Beetroot Brownie ............................................................................. 11 No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars . 12 Apple, Parsnip and Cider Cake ................................................................ 13 Lemon and Lavender Drizzle Cake............................................................. 14 Not Got Much In is your go to place for simple, never fail recipes White Chocolate Rose Water Elachi Cake ...................................................... 15 for those days when you need great food but you’ve not got much Chris shares his nutritional knowledge .......................................................... 16 in the cupboards. Recipes are straight from the kitchen at Rethink A Word on Flour: Some of the difficult stuff explained ............................................ 16 Central or shared by our friends. And our lovely nutritionist, Chris Rice flour . 16 Sandel, gives us healthy tips and info every month. Wholemeal flour .............................................................................. 16 Spelt flour .................................................................................... 17 Coconut flour ................................................................................. 17 Buckwheat flour .............................................................................. 17 A Word on Sugar: You might not be familiar with all these ........................................ 18 Maple Syrup .................................................................................. 18 Black strap molasses.......................................................................... 19 Honey ........................................................................................ 19 The recipes in this cookbook have been created, or adapted, by Rethink Retreats and their Coconut sugar ................................................................................ 18 associates. We encourage you to share these recipes with friends and family with proper credits to the Rethink Retreats team. Be nice, we all know stealing is wrong! Rapadura sugar ............................................................................... 19 Images and descriptions are the property of Rethink Retreats, and may not be reproduced, used or sold without the written permission of the photographer or editor of this publication. A Few Things to Avoid: Chris has a rant..........................................................20 1 Rethink Retreats: Chris Sandel, our nutritionist: Hello, we like cake! He likes eating normally Now, we know that you don’t always associate executive coaching with cake. But we think you Sugar gets a bad rap from basically everyone should. After all, coaching involves making changes. Sometimes they’re big and sometimes in the health sphere. Doctors, nutritionists, they’re a series of small adjustments. The work you put into your life deserves a reward. and even the media are all telling us to eat And once you get going on life changes, successes build on each other, and you’ll pick less sugar, and in a lot of cases, to eat fewer up momentum quickly. And sadly, rewarding yourself with a cake from the shops can have carbohydrates in general (as they breakdown consequences. Not only are they often filled with chemicals, but the choices of fats and to sugar in the body). sugars can visibly be seen on waistlines. So we turned to our nutritionist, Chris Sandel, to help us make some healthy cakes. These cakes have been specially chosen to help you feel Well I don’t think sugar is all bad. Whether a fantastic, even after you eat them. food is healthy or unhealthy is not an absolute, it depends on the person and the situation. We’ve included a number of sugars and flours you might not have used before, and in case Sugar is crucial to the functioning of all our you can’t get hold of them easily, we’ve included substitutions. After all, sometimes you want to make a cake right this minute and not after you get back from the shops. Do try the cells, and whether this comes in the form of healthy versions; they add a new dimension of flavours. And as a bonus they’re better for honey, or as carrot, depends on the situation. your body. Someone’s relationship with food in my opinion is far more important than what they eat. You may also notice that our recipes use medium eggs instead of large ones. Producing How they feel about their body and the foods they consume has a direct impact on how that large eggs is actually quite painful for the chickens. And as we’re nice people we see no food is processed once it’s ingested. reason for even chickens to be in discomfort. However, you can substitute large eggs if that’s what you’ve got in your kitchen without dramatically affecting the recipes. You might While it may be surprising to know, with the majority of my clients I suggest they lighten be interested to know that large eggs, although they have a bigger shell on the outside, are up about what they eat. The constant barrage of messages to cut calories and eat smaller actually almost the same volume of liquid on the inside. So, as they’re a bit cheaper, as well portions is creating legions of people surviving off rice cakes and salad. When a client as nicer to chickens, we thought we’d make the sensible choice. becomes relaxed around food and gives themselves permission to eat whatever they want, Now as well as being kind to chickens – we like to be kind to mums. We know that our they naturally start to listen to their body. And this means they are eating healthier because recipes as well as being delicious are a good way to sneak extra veg into your kids… they are giving their body what it needs. On the other hand, there are a few things we haven’t done – we’ve deliberately not given The cakes in the book are fantastic, as well as being healthy. All of them include vegetables you the nutritional information you often find in healthy recipes. We don’t want you to flip, as part of the recipe, but done in a surreptitious way so no one eating the cake will ever know. from recipe to recipe, looking for the one with the lowest fat or least calories. Instead, we hope you choose a cake based on taste, knowing that no matter which one you make, They contain sugar in its most unrefined forms – maple syrup, black strap molasses, honey, you’ve made an overall healthy decision about the food your body is consuming. Small coconut sugar, rapdura sugar. All of these are high in vitamins and minerals, helping the changes for your overall benefit are the key to long term success in all areas of your life. sugar to be absorbed and used effectively in the body. At the end of the book, you’ll find a reference on flours and There is a range of flours that are much more exciting than just plain white flour. Each of them sugars from Chris. This’ll guide you not only in shopping for imparts its own distinct flavour, as well as an array of nutrients and health giving properties. these cakes, but for your store cupboard in general. Keep an eye on our blog for country specific places to purchase These are cakes you won’t feel guilty about eating, even if you’re that way inclined. No speciality flours, oils and sugars. pangs of remorse. No beating yourself up. Instead, you can enjoy them with gusto because Do, please, mail us your success stories and pictures. We want it’s healthy food made in the tastiest way. to hear from you. Chris Sandel Nutritionist, 7 Health Happy baking! www.seven-health.com 2 3 Banana Cake This is guilt free breakfast cake. Enjoy it on a weekend morning with a little warm butter, a cup of tea and an entertaining book. Maple syrup takes over where granulated sugar leaves off for a developed taste and healthier snacking. 12 slices per loaf Ingredients Baking Instructions 125g (1 cup) Butter, softened, Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas mark 4). Line the bottom of a loaf tin plus extra for greasing with baking parchment and grease the sides with butter. 75ml (1/3 cup) 100% Maple In a large bowl, whisk butter, maple syrup and eggs together. Add syrup bananas to mixture and beat to combine. 2 medium Eggs, beaten In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt together. 3 medium Bananas, very ripe Gently fold