Sweet buckwheat granola with parsnip

I always have a batch of granola at home, I think it’s the perfect topping on yoghurt, smoothies and porridge - but also just as a snack! My granolas look different pretty much every time I make them as I tend to use what I find in my pantry at the specific time - both when it comes to flavouring, sweetening (if any) and the main ingredients in general!

This time I experimented and used parsnip as my sweetening (together with a couple of dates) - gives a really delicious flavour - try it for yourself!

Sweet buckwheat granola with parsnip

Yields about 1 liter

Ingredients

2 dl / 0.8 cups buckwheat groats (soaked over night or for at least 8 hours)

2 dl / 0.8 cups water

2 Tbsp cold pressed rapeseed oil

2-4 fresh dates (depending on how sweet you want it), pitted

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

2 dl / 0.8 cups steel cut oats *

4 dl / 1.6 cups mixed nuts/seeds of your choice

3 Tbsp chia seeds

2 parsnips

Add ins

2 dl / 0.8 cups mixed dried fruits/berries

1 dl / 0.4 cups coconut flakes

How to

Rinse the buckwheat thoroughly

Mix water, oil, dates and spices until smooth using a blender or an immersion blender. Chop the nuts is using any. Scrub the parsnips and finely grate them.

Pre heat the oven to 150°C fan / 300°F fan (if you don’t have a fan oven you can roast one tray at a time).

Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl using your hands, making sure it all gets covered in the date paste. Spread out on 2 baking trays. Roast in the oven until dry and crisp. Stir every now and then. Let cool and then add the dried fruits/berries + coconut.

Store in a glass jar with a lid. Stays well for weeks!

*In Swedish steel cut oats are “krossad havre”. If you cannot find steel cut oats/krossad havre you can use rolled oats/havregryn instead.

Recipe was first published in The Gothenburg-Post/Två dagar

Green smoothie bowl with matcha chia pudding - and all the toppings you could ask for!

I'm a huge matcha fan. I love it in smoothies, as traditional tea, as coating on my chocolate bliss balls and - as pictured above - in my chia pudding! The combination of matcha and coconut is a really great match - especially with a naturally sweet green smoothie!  

Green smoothie bowl with matcha chia pudding

- and all the toppings you could ask for! 

2 portions

Green smoothie

1 big, or two small, green banana/s (peeled, sliced and frozen)

1 fennel bulb

1 avokado, peeled and pitted

1 kiwi (buy organic and keep the peel!)

2 handfuls of baby spinach

water

freshly squeezed lemon juice

Matcha chia pudding

1/2 creamy coconut milk

1 1/2 dl water

1 tsp organic matcha powder

1/2 tsp pure vanilla powder

2 1/2 tbsp chia seeds 

Topping suggestions

Fresh fruits or berries (I used kiwi and mango)

fresh herbs (for example mint, lemon balm or Thai basil)

puffed quinoa

cacao nibs

hemp seeds

shredded coconut

coconut yoghurt

How to

Start with the chia pudding: Bring water and coconut milk to a boil. Pour in to a jar and whisk together with matcha powder, pure vanilla powder, a pinch of Himalayan salt and chia seeds. Wait 10 minutes and then whisk again to prevent clumping. Cover and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.*

Mix together the ingredients for the smoothie in a high speed blender until completely smooth. Use water, a little at a time, to get your desired consistency. Add lemon juice to taste. 

Divide the chia pudding and smoothie evenly in two bowls. Top with your favourites! 

* If putting your chia pudding in fridge over night you don't need to heat up the liquid first - that's just a way to make the chia seeds soak quicker.

Butternut squash chia pudding with apple compote

There are a few kitchen tools that I cannot be without. My knifes, my immersion blender and my mandoline. And then there are the ones that I would rather (really) not be without - like my food processor and high speed blender. Cooking gets even more fun when you have good conditions! Anyhow, I now have a new friend in the kitchen - one of those tools that make the cooking even more fun, creative and let you discover a bunch of new things you can do - especially when it comes to plant based food. I'm talking about my new dear slow juicer that I got from kitchen store Bagaren och Kocken in Gothenburg.

The brilliant thing about a slow juicer (which crushes the ingredients and then presses them through a fine mesh strainer which further more preserves most of the enzymes and nutrition - good thing) is that you can extract both vitamins and fibers from not only bigger fruits and vegetables but also from leafy greens, herbs and nuts. Imagine adding that to your breakfast, lunch, afternoon smoothie or dessert! Or how easy it could be making a batch of super nutritious turmeric and ginger shots.  

As I love vegetables I've been experimenting and been slow juicing other things than the obvious fruits. As it's winter squash and pumpkin season I wanted to use them in a new way. The thing is, when I have my "Thess food talks" I often talk about discovering other areas of use for your favourite vegetables then the most obvious ones. That's how I came up with this recipe - a savoury and seasonal chia pudding made from slow juiced butternut squash! 

Butternut squash chia pudding with apple compote

Makes two bowls 

Ingredients

4 tbsp chia seeds

2 dl freshly slow juiced butternut squash 

1 dl water 

1 dl coconut milk

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tbsp ground turmeric 

1/2 tbsp ground ginger

2 pinches ground cloves 

1 tbsp honey (use maple syrup for a vegan option) - optional, for a sweeter touch  

Topping

1 sweet winter apple 

1 tbsp cold pressed coconut oil

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

oat yoghurt 

pecans 

dried pomegranate seeds

semi ground pepitas 

fresh mint 

How to

Peel the butternut squash, scrape out the seeds and cut the squash in to smaller pieces. Put in your slow juicer. Whisk together 2 dl of the smooth juice (save the squash flesh and use as a base for delicious veggie patties, stay tuned for that recipe next week!) with the rest of the ingredients for the chia pudding. Let sit for about 30 minutes until creamy. Stir half way through to avoid clumps.  

Wash and cut the apple in half, remove seeds and cut in to smaller pieces. Fry on medium heat in coconut oil and cinnamon until soft. You might want to add a splash of water if gets to dry. 

Divide the chia pudding in two serving bowls. Top with a dollop of oat yoghurt, the apple compote and your choice of dried fruit, berries and nuts/seeds. I used pecans, dried pomegranate seeds and semi ground pepitas. Garnish with fresh mint.

Enjoy! 

Berry smoothie and coconut chia bowl with granola

This is not only breakfast art, but also a great flavour and texture combination. The smooth berry smoothie together with the creamy chia pudding plus the crunchy granola! During weekends when a have a bit more time I love to make this for breakfast or brunch, sometimes I even serve it as a dessert! Also, one last thing before I'll let you run off to the kitchen to start mixing, try using other berries than raspberries for variation - any berry works just as fine! 

Smoothie and coconut chia bowl with granola

Makes 2 bowls

Smoothie

1 ripe avocado 

1 green banana, cut in pieces and frozen 

2 dl frozen raspberries 

2 tbsp nut milk

1 fresh date, pitted 

Coconut chia pudding

1 dl coconut milk

1 dl water 

2 tbsp chia seeds 

A good pinch of pure vanilla powder 

Granola

4 dl seeds/nuts/grains (rolled oats/pumpkin seeds/sunflower seeds/hazelnuts)

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp cardamom 

1 tsp pure vanilla powder

1 good pinch Himalayan salt

1 dl water

2 tbsp cold pressed coconut oil

3 fresh dates, pitted

1 dl toasted coconut flakes

2 tbsp cacao nibs 

1 dl dried berries/fruits (raisins/blueberries/goji berries)

How to

Whisk together all the ingredients for the coconut chia pudding. Let sit for about 30 minutes until creamy. Stir half way through to avoid clumps. 

Mix all the ingredients for the smoothie in a mixer until smooth. 

Divide smoothie and chia pudding in to two bowls. Top with granola and freeze dried berries 

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Mix your choice of seeds/nuts/grains (I used a mix of chopped hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, rolled oats), cinnamon, cardamom, pure vanilla powder and a good pinch of Himalayan salt in a mixing bowl.

Bring water, oil and dates to a boil. Let simmer for 1 minute. Mix until completely smooth using a hand blender. Add to the mixing bowl and mix everything together using a wooden spoon until every bit gets covered. Spread out on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until crispy and golden, stirring every now and then, for about 30 minutes.

Let cool. Add 1 dl toasted coconut flakes + cacao nibs + your choice of dried berries/fruits (I used goji berries + raisins).

Buckwheat chocolate bliss balls with blueberry and coconut

I really love almonds, nuts and seeds. As a snack, on top of a salad, on my morning porridge, mixed to a nut butter and in raw desserts. Nuts contain LOTS of greats nutrition, and they also contain a lot of fat. Good fat, but still, even good things can be to much. Therefore I like to sometimes use toasted buckwheat whenever I make raw desserts or bliss balls for afternoon snack. Buckwheat groats contains lots of great nutrition, but less fat then nuts and seeds. And also - the toasted buckwheat gives a delicious crunchy texture, and it's gluten free. 

So, I came up with a simple recipe for a perfect and delicious little ball with buckwheat instead of the commonly used nuts or seeds. This buckwheat bliss ball is the perfect “fika” but also a great afternoon snack. I made them the other day, during one of the retreats here in France this summer - and everybody loved them. The chocolate together with the blueberry is a really tasty combination. And the tiny bit of sea salt that I always add makes all the difference. 

A few things to have in mind is: add more cacao for an even more chocolaty flavor, add more blueberry power for even more of a berry taste, and more dates for a sweeter touch. Mix it until you make it - so to speak! 

Enough writing. So, here is the recipe for these little ones, hope you like them! 

Buckwheat chocolate bliss balls with blueberry

Makes about 20 bliss balls

Ingredients

2 1/2 dl dried whole buckwheat groats (buy toasted ones if you find in your store, then you kan skip the first instruction below on how to toast them yourself)

3/4 dl cacao 

2 tbsp blueberry powder 

A pinch of flakey salt 

10 fresh dates, pitted 

2 tbsp cold pressed coconut oil 

1-2 tbsp water

Shredded coconut for rolling

How to

Put the buckwheat in a fine mesh strainer. Bring some water to a boil and then pour over the buckwheat. Rinse with cold water and let drain for a few minutes. Toast in a dry pan, on medium heat, until golden and crisp. Let cool. 

Mix buckwheat, cacao and blueberry power until some of the buckwheat has been crushed. I like my bliss balls to have quite a few whole buckwheat groats left as I like the crunchy consistency, but you can also mix until a flour like consistency. Add dates, coconut oil and water, mix until a dough. You might want to add a bit more water to get the dough to stick together. 

Form the dough in to about 20 balls, roll in shredded coconut. Put on a plate and let chill in the fridge for at least 30 minites before serving. Allowing time in the fridge (or freezer if you cannot wait to dig in!) will make them even more firm and - if you ask me - even tastier!