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Catering for all diets at CNR Kitchen, Northbridge Piazza

Posted by  | Categories: Featured, Food and Wine Festivals, Paleo, Perth, Raw Food, Restaurants, Vegan, Vegetarian

It is a known fact, I don’t know how to relax. I almost always have at least 101 things on the go at any one point and this can be both extremely exciting and stressful. Although I have no one to blame for being so busy but myself, yet I cannot help but look upon my feline fur-kids with envy as they happily laze entire days away sleeping, cuddling and lounging about. They are true experts in relaxation. After years of recurrent illness and always being “sickly”, I have finally learnt that to keep up this crazy pace without falling apart it is crucial to take time to nourish my body with excellent nutrition.

Part of this commitment to myself has included switching to eating a more plant-based diet, and whilst I would never claim to be a true vegetarian, we certainly do find ourselves eating less and less meat as the years go on. And for once in my life I can honestly say I don’t really miss it.

A couple of weeks ago I had some surgery to remove a suspicious looking mole from the sole of my foot. While I waited for the pathology results to come back, I madly ticked over in my mind nearly all perceivable potential outcomes, both good and bad. I decided to start to mentally prepare myself in case they needed to perform a much more invasive repeat surgery to take wider margins. All the while my carefree alter-ego sat on my shoulder saying “Settle down woman, it’s just a weird looking mole!”.

And thankfully that imaginary brazen smart-arse was right, there was no evidence of any cancer in my biopsy. Relieved, elated and very grateful, I immediately proceeded to plans with the Boy to head out that evening and celebrate together. Having recently attended a few too many boozy events lately, we both wanted a meat free dinner. I chose CNR Kitchen as I knew they had a lot of vegan, vego and gluten free options on their menu.

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Tasting Plate $29.90 (GF, raw, vegan)

We started with the raw vegan tasting plate. It came with a collection of items including Moroccan savoury cakes, dolmades with cashew mint aioli and a serve of raw vegan Pad Thai. It also had a small serve of their house-made dehydrated corn chip crackers with fresh guacamole and pineapple salsa to dunk them in.

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Tasting Plate $29.90 (GF, raw, vegan)

The tasting plate was a simple but satisfying dish and would be a great option to order for those who haven’t eaten raw food before. I will have to remember that when on my next pub crawl with my meat-eating friends. The Moroccan savoury cakes contained a careful balance of spices and were my favourite part of the tasting plate despite there being one slight problem. They didn’t hold together very well at all and combined with my usual level of clumsiness, my cakes crumbled apart after the first bite making them very messy to eat.

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As I dunked the last half of my Moroccan cake into the cashew mint aioli it crumbled into numerous pieces and fell into the bowl of dip. The Boy could barely stifle his chortle as he grinned and watched my useless attempts to scoop out my crumbs. They still tasted just as good!

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Raw nachos $29.90 (GF, raw, vegan)

Thankfully I managed to eat my raw nachos much more elegantly as my house made corn chips had enough strength and substance to withstand a decent amount of toppings. The added sweetness of the pineapple into the salsa was a winning element and you would have never guessed the cashew sour cream was actually dairy free.

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Raw nachos $29.90 (GF, raw, vegan)

In the dim lighting of the evening I struggled to get a good shot of the eggplant lasagne. This was a vegan version of the Boy’s favourite meal and yet wasn’t missing any flavour despite the lack of any meat.  I was actually inspired a few days later to make my own grain free, dairy free lasagne at home.

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Eggplant lasagne $26 (GF, vegan)

The lasagne was packed full of veggie goodness with layers of pumpkin, eggplant, mushroom and zucchini flavoured with a rich tomato and black olive marinara and house made macadamia ricotta. I loved the sweet potato crunchy curls tumbled on top.

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Chilli chocolate slice ($3 each GF, raw, vegan)

For dessert we ordered a small selection of the raw desserts. One of the slices I ordered was the chilli chocolate slice but I nearly got in trouble for ordering it by the Boy. He is not a fan of chilli at all and cannot handle anything more than the most mildest of mild heat; lucky for us this slice had just a subtle hint of oomph in it and so thankfully there were no complaints.

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Banana creamcake $8.90 (GF, raw, vegan)

The banana cream cake was decadently indulgent and for once I was happy it was only a small serve. Raw desserts can be very rich and even someone with a huge an appetite like me can be easily satisfied with smaller portions.

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Lemon raw slice ($3 each GF, raw, vegan)

For someone who must eat gluten free, CNR Kitchen is a welcoming reprieve from all the gluten ladened dude food and Asian eateries located around in Northbridge. I will definitely be reminding myself of their presence next time I’m out partying and become tempted to risk eating a taco or burger. I know that my body will thank me in the morning.

CNR Kitchen are active participants in Eat Drink Perth festivities and hosted a raw dessert teaching class a couple of weeks ago when the Festival began. Attendees were taught how to make a number of delicious sugar free, dairy free and gluten free raw desserts. Of course this was accompanied by taste testing everything.

CNR’s second raw food class is held this week on Tuesday April 7th and for this session they will making dairy free cheese, milk, cream and ice cream using nuts. To find out more head to the Eat Drink Perth website.

Disclaimer: Chompchomp is an official blogger for Eat Drink Perth ’15. Whilst the Eat Drink Perth blogging team are kindly each gifted a number of event tickets from the City of Perth, Chompchomp just cannot help but get into the Perth City mood and attend more than just what she is given. I mean who doesn’t love food festivals! Consequently, she paid for this meal in full.

CNR Kitchen

Northbridge Piazza, 44 Lake Street, Northbridge WA 6003 | (08) 9228 8861 | cnr.net.au

CNR Kitchen on Urbanspoon

Blogger's Brunch at The Wolf The Bean The Walnut

Posted by  | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Coffee, Featured, Paleo, Perth, Raw Food, Restaurants, Vegan, Vegetarian

For those who work from home or perhaps don’t work at all, it is easy to labour with love in the kitchen preparing all your food from scratch. When I have time to do this myself, I gain great satisfaction knowing every ingredient I put in my food. However for those like myself who work long hours and often in places where there are no hip cafes with raw, vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options, it is easy to resort to eating less healthy meals. I was recently invited to a blogger’s brunch at The Wolf The Bean The Walnut which is a new café that has opened up on Wolf Lane in Perth City offering healthy food whilst accommodating for us with specific dietary requirements.

Over the course of the morning, we were taken on a journey through their menu with tasters of their signature dishes.

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Flu Tonic juice

I started off with a “Flu Tonic” juice; it was the fructose friendly option made with lemon, ginger and spinach. It is a relief to find somewhere I can get a take away juice without having to ask for the apple to be omitted! Guests were given some breakfast bars made with oats, pistachio, cranberry and buckwheat however due to the inclusion of oats they were not gluten free.

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Gluten free granola with coconut yoghurt

The Wolf The Bean The Walnut offer both toasted and gluten free options for their granola which is then topped with dairy free coconut yoghurt. Although I have not excluded dairy from my diet completely, I do try to avoid it as it flares up my eczema quite severely so that I scratch my fingers until they are red raw. It was comforting to see there are a number of dairy free alternatives on their breakfast menu for allergic intolerants like me.

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Chia pudding

Our second dish to sample was their chia pudding. This is normally made with toasted granola on the bottom layer which is not gluten free so the Chef made me one using their gluten free granola instead. The chia seeds were soaked in almond coconut milk to set into a pudding and topped with a fruit coulis. It wasn’t overly sweet and I could imagine a normal serve would be quite filling.

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Chia pudding

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Turmeric custard

Next up was a taster of their signature turmeric custard. This was an interesting and colourful dish served cold with fresh mango, pistachios, pepitas and coconut. The custard had a delicate, mild flavour with a lovely hint of sweet fragrant spice.

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Salmon superbowl

Our final dish was one of their “superbowls” and by this point I was feeling pretty stuffed. Chia pudding, coconut yoghurt, seeds and nuts; these are all foods that can leave one feeling very satisfied without being overly full. I wasn’t sure if I would have any room left for this next morsel.

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Salmon superbowl

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But after cutting into my poached egg and witnessing its egg porn in full glory I cast away any fears of fullness and tucked in. Buried underneath the perfectly poached egg was some pieces of crispy salmon, lima beans and red and white quinoa. Flavoursome dukkah was sprinkled on top to give some extra texture.

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Date cashew raw cheesecake.

Sadly I couldn’t stay until the end of the blogger’s brunch as I had a test drive booked for a new car that the Boy was considering to buy for my birthday present….(more on THIS later!)…. On my way out I was handed a luscious looking raw treat to eat on the drive home. Suffice to say it didn’t last long!

I am so chuffed to know that there is somewhere I can stop into in the CBD to get a bite for lunch that will be safe for my belly and won’t set my allergies off into a storm.

Disclaimer: Chompchomp would like to thank The Wolf The Bean The Walnut for their invitation to dine with them. All opinions on this post are Chompchomp’s own.

The Wolf The Bean The Walnut

Arcade 800, 800 Hay Street, Perth WA 6000 | (08) 9481 6315 | Facebook

The Wolf The Bean The Walnut on Urbanspoon

Raw Peppermint Slice (vegan, gluten free, fructose friendly, dairy free, TMX)

Posted by  | Categories: Blender Recipes, Chocolate, Desserts, Featured, Paleo, Raw Food, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Chocolate is an addiction of mine that I’m certain I can blame on my genetics. Both Mum and Dad love their chocolate and I have been coerced into a number of chocolate binges with Mum over the years. I figure that there is no point fighting nature and assure myself that chocolate IS a nourishing super food after all. In fact, I am actually doing my body a favour giving it a daily dose. The best type of chocolate, in my humble opinion, is raw chocolate. sumptuous and silky, it has a melt in your mouth texture that will certainly have you going back for more.

On our last visit to the The Raw Kitchen in Fremantle, the Boy and I shared an uber-delicious raw peppermint slice. Unfortunately it was full of fructose and while I certainly enjoyed it at the time, the aftermath wasn’t pleasant. Wanting to relive the good parts of that moment without all the abdominal pain, I was inspired to create a fructose friendly raw peppermint slice. Whilst I realise that my version does not resemble The Raw Kitchen’s with respect to its symmetry and perfection, I can assure you they still taste just as good, if not better. Try them for yourself.

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Raw Peppermint slice
Author: 
Recipe type: Vegan, gluten free, fructose friendly, dairy free
Prep time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
Base layer
  • 1 cup (100 grams) almond meal
  • 4 tablespoons (85 grams) rice malt syrup (use more if you prefer it sweeter)
  • 1 cup (100 grams) shredded coconut
  • ½ cup (55 grams) raw extra virgin coconut oil, melted
  • 4 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 4 heaped tablespoons of raw cacao powder (use more if you prefer your chocolate rich)
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
  • 1 pinch of Himalayan sea salt
Mint Layer
  • 1 large sized avocado (or 1 & ½ small)
  • ¼ cup (85 grams) maple syrup
  • ⅓ cup (75 grams) raw extra virgin coconut oil, melted
  • 1 & ½ cup (150 grams) shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract depending on preference
  • 1 pinch of Himalayan sea salt
Chocolate Layer
  • ¼ cup (30 grams) raw extra virgin coconut oil, melted
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • ¼ cup (30 grams) raw cacao powder
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch of Himalayan sea salt
Instructions
Base layer
  1. Line a 20cmx20cm baking dish with foil.
  2. Mix the almond meal, rice malt syrup, coconut, melted coconut oil, chia seeds, cocoa and vanilla.
  3. Press the mix using the back of a spoon firmly into the tray, sprinkle with salt and place in the freezer to set for 5 – 10 minutes.
Mint Layer
  1. Place all ingredients in high powered blender and blend until smooth. For those with a Thermomix place ingredients in mixing bowl and mix for 60 sec/Speed 5-9 increasing gradually. Scrape the sides of the bowl with the spatula and repeat. Smooth mixture into prepared dish and stick back into the freezer for another 10 minutes.
Chocolate Layer
  1. Gently warm coconut oil until it is melted and combine with maple syrup. Stir well.
  2. Pour over chilled bottom layer and return to the freezer for about 15 minutes, or until the chocolate layer is hardened.
  3. Once set, remove from the tin and chop into little squares. Keep in a container in the fridge or freezer depending on preferences.

 

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Disclaimer: This is an original recipe created by Chompchomp for Belmont Forum‘s recipes cards of the 12 Days of Blogger’s Christmas. All ingredients were purchased and paid for by Belmont Forum. Belmont Forum had no influence on the content of this recipe. 

Trying a new way to cleanse with Raw by Chris

Posted by  | Categories: Featured, Paleo, Perth, Raw Food, Vegan, Vegetarian

For as long as I can remember, I have always felt like I never have enough time. I struggle to relax and seem to thrive on fast paced hyperactivity. It wasn’t until I hit my thirties that this lifestyle started to take its toll prompting me to seek medical advice when I could no longer even run without collapsing on the couch. As a direct result I was diagnosed with iron deficiency anaemia which then led onto discovering my gluten and fructose issues.

I stick to my gluten free diet religiously and find this is easy to do as there are life threatening risks for me if I don’t. Coeilacs who eat gluten raise their risks of intestinal cancer significantly along with risking developing a bunch of other horrible diseases. In contrast, I find following my fructose friendly diet much, much more difficult to adhere to. Whilst eating fructose does cause some unpleasant effects, it doesn’t causing any permanent damage to my body. I consequently wax and wane from being vigilantly fructose friendly to chancing the risk of a gut ache for something tasty to eat.

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I can guarantee  that this macaron “burger” was worth the risk of fructose overdose!

To mitigate this ongoing strain I place on my gut, once a month I will set aside a few days to concentrate purely on nourishment and digestive health. Some months I will do a strict 3 day juice only cleanse, and on other months if my work load is high, I will add in some raw, vegan food to supplement my caloric intake. Working full-time and running a business means finding the time to prepare healthy and balanced raw meals can be tricky and I am forever searching for like-minded small businesses that are willing to cater not just for this need, but to adapt these meals to be fructose friendly.

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From the archives: My original Raw by Chris basket back in March included these raw delights. Four berries superfood jam, Coconut butter, raw vegetable stock & marinated mushroom spread

Some time ago, I was lucky enough to receive a gifted Raw by Chris basket containing a collection of fabulous raw goodies adapted to be fructose friendly that she wanted me to taste test. I was so delighted by my gift that I returned her favour by blogging about it.

After a few more months of perfecting dishes in her kitchen, Raw by Chris launched a more comprehensive option to the people of Perth of one, two and three day raw baskets containing all the food you need to give your digestive system a well-deserved rest. She offers these baskets with a fructose friendly option on request. Perfect!

"kale orange sprouts salad" "orange" "carrot" "tomatoes" "sprouts" "almonds" "salad dressing" "olive oil lemon apple cider vinegar" "kale avocado grapes salad" "kale" "avocado" "grapes" "sprouts" "pumpkin seeds" "lemon" "salad dressing" "olive oil lemon apple cider vinegar" "sea salt" "raw bread crackers" "almonds" "sunflower" "linseed" "buckwheat" "chia" "sea salt" "perth restaurant reviews" "perth restaurants" "chompchomp" "perth gluten free" "perth fructose friendly" "perth food reviews" "restaurants perth" "food photos" "perth food blog" "food blog" "travel blog" "perth" "perth travel blog" "chompchomp" "gluten free" "fructose friendly" "low fodmap diet" "fructose malabsorption" "gluten free cooking" "raw food cooking" "gluten free recipes" "fructose friendly recipes" "gluten free raw food" "fructose friendly raw food" "coeliacs" "coeliac disease" "raw by chris" "tales of a kitchen" "raw food" "raw dessert" "raw pudding" "coconut vanilla chia pudding" "seasonal fresh fruit" "raw bread crisps" "raw bread" "raw cleanse" "cleanse perth"

My raw lunches for the two days.

I chose to try the two day Raw by Chris Nourish basket, here’s what it included.

Day one:

Morning:
• Chia pudding with coconut milk and seasonal berries. Chris subbed the honey to maple syrup. I loved the creamy texture of this pudding, much better than what I tend to make myself!
• Inner Ego cold pressed juice which I saved for my morning tea.
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Breakfast: Chia pudding with coconut milk and seasonal berries.

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Inner Ego has two fructose friendly juices (adjust quantity as per your own personal tolerance for juice)

Lunch
• Kale, avocado and grape salad served with salad dressing and raw bread crackers. Everything is labelled clearly and numbered so it is easy to know what goes with what.
• Inner Ego pressed juice
"kale avocado grapes salad" "kale" "avocado" "grapes" "sprouts" "pumpkin seeds" "lemon" "salad dressing" "olive oil lemon apple cider vinegar" "sea salt" "raw bread crackers" "almonds" "sunflower" "linseed" "buckwheat" "chia" "sea salt" "perth restaurant reviews" "perth restaurants" "chompchomp" "perth gluten free" "perth fructose friendly" "perth food reviews" "restaurants perth" "food photos" "perth food blog" "food blog" "travel blog" "perth" "perth travel blog" "chompchomp" "gluten free" "fructose friendly" "low fodmap diet" "fructose malabsorption" "gluten free cooking" "raw food cooking" "gluten free recipes" "fructose friendly recipes" "gluten free raw food" "fructose friendly raw food" "coeliacs" "coeliac disease" "raw by chris" "tales of a kitchen" "raw food" "raw dessert" "raw pudding" "coconut vanilla chia pudding" "seasonal fresh fruit" "raw bread crisps" "raw bread" "raw cleanse" "cleanse perth"

Day 1 lunch: Kale, avocado and grape salad served with salad dressing & raw bread crackers

Afternoon snack
• Kale chips – these were so light and crispy with just a hint of sea salt
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Afternoon snack: Kale chips

Dinner
• Mixed raw noodles bowl (kelp, zucchini, and carrot). This was the first dish the Boy saw me eat and he started to regret not joining me in the cleanse. Subsequently he will be joining me on my next cleanse next week 😉
• Inner Ego pressed juice
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Day one dinner: Mixed noodles bowl made from kelp, zucchini and carrot with a ginger dressing

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Day one dinner: Mixed noodles bowl made from kelp, zucchini and carrot with a ginger dressing

Dessert
• Chocolate coconut maca cup. Chris replaced the Medjool date goo that she normally puts in the centre of these cups with fresh banana. This was a wonderful treat to savour at the end of the day. 
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Chocolate coconut maca cup

Day two

Morning
•  Chia pudding with coconut milk and seasonal berries. 
•  Inner Ego cold pressed juice
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Breakfast: Chia pudding with coconut milk and seasonal berries. (GF, FF)

 
Lunch
•  Kale, orange and sprouts salad with carrot, tomatoes, sprouts, and almonds and served with a salad dressing and raw bread crackers. Both the salad were filling yet refreshing leaving me sufficiently energised for my afternoon. 
•  Inner Ego pressed juice
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Day 2 lunch: Kale, orange and sprouts salad served with salad dressing & raw bread crackers

Afternoon snack
• Kale chips
 
Dinner
• Falafel plate; carrot falafel, capsicum hummus, and spinach, cherry tomato salad. Served with a tahini dressing and raw bread crackers. 
• Inner Ego pressed juice
 
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Day two dinner: Falafel plate with spinach salad, capsicum hummus served with a tahini dressing & raw bread crackers

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Dinner day two: Falafel accompaniments capsicum hummus & tahini dressing

Dessert
•Another AH-MAZING chocolate coconut maca cup to finish
 

This was a cleanse that didn’t leave me constantly hungry and is certainly one that I would recommend for those people who have struggled with adhering to a straight juice fast. Eating raw and vegan is a wonderful way to ease your body into the whole concept of fasting without actually missing out on food. It also has the added benefit of meaning no animal is harmed in the making of your meals!

Personally I have no difficult sticking to a three day juice fast most of the time as I have been doing them every month for nearly a year now. But when the heat is on at work and I’m faced with those dreaded long 12 hour days without time to sit and rest, I find that drinking juice only can leave me short of my usual oomph and sparkle. This raw food cleanse was the perfect compromise for those busy times. I have already booked in my next cleanse for next week, getting myself ready for the Christmas time silly season and all the potential hidden fructose that this time of year may bring!

 
Chompchomp paid Raw by Chris in full for this Nourish Raw basket and didn’t receive any payment for this review. She has been a convert for the benefits of raw food and juice fasts for some time, and was delighted to let someone else do the hard work for her while she was busy working in her own day job! 
 
Raw by Chris | http://rawbychris.com/ | Facebook

Paleo Coconut flour Banana bread (gluten free, dairy free, fructose friendly, grain free)

Posted by  | Categories: Baking, Blender Recipes, Featured, Paleo, Recipes

One of my most popular recipes on the blog is my coconut flour banana bread. It is one of our staples at home and whenever we have browning bananas in the fruit bowl I will get a request from the Boy to bake it. Since I first published the recipe in early 2013, I have progressively made some tweaks to improve it whilst not taking away from its purpose of being somewhat healthy.

I found that by adding in chia seeds to my original recipe along with beefing it up with a few more eggs, the end result is banana bread with much improved texture without any of its predecessors crumbliness. This banana bread toasts beautifully and with the increased fibre content of the coconut flour it can be quite filling.

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I was recently approach by Belmont Forum to provide recipes for publication on recipe cards to be displayed in their centre and I knew this paleo banana bread would be a total hit. Better still, it is very allergy friendly as it is grain free, gluten free, dairy free and fructose friendly.

Paleo Coconut flour Banana bread (gluten free, dairy free, fructose friendly, grain free)
Author: 
Recipe type: Cake, Bread
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
This banana bread is grain free, gluten free, dairy free and fructose friendly. It can be made using a high speed blender or your Thermomix
Ingredients
  • Makes 1 loaf
  • 400 g ripe bananas
  • 6 free range organic eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • ¼ cup (50 grams) coconut oil
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
  • ¼ cup (65 grams) pure maple syrup
  • ½ cup (55 grams) coconut flour
  • ¼ cup (35 grams) chia seed
  • Extra banana and shredded coconut to decorate
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 150 Celsius (fan forced) or 170 C (no fan).
  2. Combine banana, oil, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs, maple syrup and baking powder into a blender or food processor and blend until creamy and combined. For those with a Thermomix blend for 2-3 mins | Speed 5. or until smooth and creamy. Alternatively you can do this by hand in a large bowl.
  3. Add the coconut flour and chia seeds and mix through. (Thermomix 2 min | Speed 2)
  4. Rest for 10-15 minutes to allow the chia and coconut flour to expand.
  5. Lightly oil one loaf tin and then line with baking paper.
  6. Spoon batter into the tin, at this stage you can decorate the bread with flaked coconut and sliced banana before baking.
  7. Bake for 55 – 60 minutes depending on your oven (a skewer inserted into the centre should come out dry). Cover the top with foil if over-browning.
  8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before turning out the loaf.
Notes
This banana bread will keep in the fridge covered for up to 1 week.

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Chompchomp would like to thank Belmont Forum for supplying the ingredients to bake this batch of my coconut flour banana cake.

Feeling totally liberated with gluten freedom at Solomon’s Café & some free WIFI at Crust

Posted by  | Categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Featured, Paleo, Perth, Raw Food, Restaurants, Vegetarian

Having food intolerances can be a real pain if you also happen to be a foodie. Over the years I have learnt not to get fixated with a particular dish on the menu as there is always a good chance that I won’t be able to eat it. Some restaurants are compassionate of our allergic needs and clearly identify the gluten free dishes on their menu which makes ordering food so much easier. I look forward to the day I see a fructose friendly marked menu.

Thankfully, my fructose malabsorption causes me much less severe symptoms than my gluten intolerance does. Provided that I strictly avoid all gluten, I can afford to occasionally be a little lenient on the fructose. We were recently invited to Foodie Craving’s Crust Gourmet Pizza store in Mount Lawley to give feedback on their new free WIFI installed in store. The event didn’t start until 8pm so the Boy and I decided to stop en route to Solomon’s Café on Beaufort Street. The concept of an entirely gluten free restaurant is one that already gives me warm fuzzies, but at Solomon’s Café it is also all organic AND dairy free – it almost sounds too good to be true!

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Knowing we had an evening of pizza feasting ahead of us, we planned to have a light snack only but as is often the case we may have ended up ordering a bit more than we necessarily needed.

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Crispy parsnip chips ($6)

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Raw zucchini pasta with cherry tomatoes, carrot and coriander pesto ($20)

Maybe I should just blame it on the meal sizes? When I chose the raw zucchini pasta, I certainly wasn’t expecting the towering mountain that came to the table. Nor did I plan ahead and ask for the omission of onion. Having eaten raw zucchini pasta on several occasions myself at home, I have grown to really love the texture and will make a great effort to make sure each “pasta” strip is made from the entire length of the zucchini to give long luxurious spaghetti-like strands. For this time round I was disappointed to find my pasta was made from short, comparatively fat pieces of zucchini that would have only been about 6-7 centimetres long. It felt a bit like I was eating a grated zucchini salad. It was tasty, but not what I was anticipating.

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Beetroot gnocchi ($12)

The beetroot gnocchi was much more satisfying although that may be in part because I so rarely get to order gnocchi as most are made using wheat flour. They tasted a little doughy yet still had a light texture and matched well with the vegan pesto drizzled lavishly over the top.

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Vegan nachos ($20)

As soon as I saw there were vegan nachos on the menu I had a gut feeling the Boy would order this for himself. I was quietly hoping he wouldn’t as we had only recently shared raw nachos at The Raw Kitchen the week before. I like to have interesting and different dishes to photograph and write about but he just wasn’t having it. It was a much bigger serve than The Raw Kitchen and he preferred the salsa as it was more flavoursome.

"Vegan nachos" "sprouted chips" "tomato" "black bean" "guacamole" "nut parmesan" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free cooking" "raw food cooking" "Perth gluten free" "Perth fructose friendly" "gluten free recipes" "fructose friendly recipes" "gluten free raw food" "fructose friendly raw food" "Fructose friendly" "Mount Lawley gluten free" "Green smoothie" "Highgate gluten free" "Vegetarian Perth" "Vegetarian restaurants perth" "Solomons cafe" "Beaufort Street" "Mount lawley" "highgate" "raw pasta" "raw noodles" "Crust pizza" "Crust Gourmet pizza" "Crust Mount Lawley" "Crust gluten free" "Perth free wifi"

Vegan nachos: sprouted chips, tomato, black bean & guacamole with a nut parmesan ($20)

Continuing in our quest to try and abstain from alcohol for sixty days we each ordered a healthy antioxidant packed drink. I chose the “Bloody Detox” juice squeezed full of fructose friendly beetroot, carrot, celery, parsley, ginger and lemon. The Boy chose the vegan but creamy mango lassi made with mango, coconut milk, cinnamon, cardamom.

"blender" "juicer" "smoothie" "Vegan mango lassi “bloody detox juice" "Mango" "coconut milk" "cinnamon" "cardamom" "Beetroot" "carrot" "celery" "parsley" "ginger" "lemon" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free cooking" "raw food cooking" "Perth gluten free" "Perth fructose friendly" "gluten free recipes" "fructose friendly recipes" "gluten free raw food" "fructose friendly raw food" "Fructose friendly" "Mount Lawley gluten free" "Green smoothie" "Highgate gluten free" "Vegetarian Perth" "Vegetarian restaurants perth" "Solomons cafe" "Beaufort Street" "Mount lawley" "highgate" "raw pasta" "raw noodles" "Crust pizza" "Crust Gourmet pizza" "Crust Mount Lawley" "Crust gluten free" "Perth free wifi"

Vegan mango lassi ($10) and “bloody detox” juice ($9)

Pleasantly but not overly satiated we strolled up Beaufort Street to Crust. I was glad I had left a bit of room for some pizza as they always have plenty of gluten free options for me. The purpose of the evening was to trial run their new free in-store WIFI to assess how useful it would be for their customers and if it was easy to access without guidance.

"Oregano Verdi" "Parmesan Squares" "gluten free pizza" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free cooking" "raw food cooking" "Perth gluten free" "Perth fructose friendly" "gluten free recipes" "fructose friendly recipes" "gluten free raw food" "fructose friendly raw food" "Fructose friendly" "Mount Lawley gluten free" "Green smoothie" "Highgate gluten free" "Vegetarian Perth" "Vegetarian restaurants perth" "Solomons cafe" "Beaufort Street" "Mount lawley" "highgate" "raw pasta" "raw noodles" "Crust pizza" "Crust Gourmet pizza" "Crust Mount Lawley" "Crust gluten free" "Perth free wifi"

Oregano Verdi and Parmesan Squares on gluten free ($11.50)

As we made ourselves comfortable on the alfresco tables some starters were brought out including the gluten free oregano verdi and parmesan squares. All my vegan efforts were thrown out the window as I couldn’t refuse the offer of such cheesy deliciousness like this. Crust’s gluten free bases taste incredibly “normal” and fellow blogger Jacqui from Pantry in Suburbia commented how she couldn’t even tell it was gluten free.

"Szechuan Chilli Prawn" "spicy seasoned prawns" "capsicum" "bocconcini" "sweet chilli" "lemon" "chilli" "Crust Szechuan Chilli Prawn" "gluten free pizza" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free cooking" "raw food cooking" "Perth gluten free" "Perth fructose friendly" "gluten free recipes" "fructose friendly recipes" "gluten free raw food" "fructose friendly raw food" "Fructose friendly" "Mount Lawley gluten free" "Green smoothie" "Highgate gluten free" "Vegetarian Perth" "Vegetarian restaurants perth" "Solomons cafe" "Beaufort Street" "Mount lawley" "highgate" "raw pasta" "raw noodles" "Crust pizza" "Crust Gourmet pizza" "Crust Mount Lawley" "Crust gluten free" "Perth free wifi"

Crust Szechuan Chilli Prawn on gluten free ($22)

After polishing off some starters we ran through an online questionnaire using the free WIFI. It was very simple to connect across the variety of devices everyone were using and the Internet speed was much quicker than my Optus 3G network. For the gluten free pizza option we chose the Szechuan Chilli Prawn. Crunchy spicy seasoned prawns were scattered generously over the gluten free pizza base along with fresh capsicum, bocconcini and sweet chilli, and then garnished with fresh lemon and chilli. This pizza has a bit of a kick to it and I highly recommend it for those who like a bit of heat.

"Black Forest Crumble" "dessert pizza" "custard" "mud cake" "black cherries" "baked crumble" "berry coulis" "icing sugar" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free cooking" "raw food cooking" "Perth gluten free" "Perth fructose friendly" "gluten free recipes" "fructose friendly recipes" "gluten free raw food" "fructose friendly raw food" "Fructose friendly" "Mount Lawley gluten free" "Green smoothie" "Highgate gluten free" "Vegetarian Perth" "Vegetarian restaurants perth" "Solomons cafe" "Beaufort Street" "Mount lawley" "highgate" "raw pasta" "raw noodles" "Crust pizza" "Crust Gourmet pizza" "Crust Mount Lawley" "Crust gluten free" "Perth free wifi"

Black Forest Crumble (not GF) ($11.50)

Crust’s dessert pizzas unfortunately cannot be made gluten free as the gluten free bases are made off site in a gluten free environment to minimise any contamination. I looked on in envy as every devoured the Black Forest Crumble; a decadent dessert pizza layered with custard, mud cake and black cherries, topped with baked crumble, drizzled with berry coulis and dusted with icing sugar. Given that our small table managed to eat its way through two of these, I am guessing they were pretty damn good. Gluten free dessert options at Crust include their chocolate mousse and all their ice cream flavours. The chocolate mousse is by far my favourite. I love how there are numerous little chocolate nibs buried in the mousse.

Solomon’s Café is definitely worth a visit for anyone with dietary issues as the menu is designed for us. Better still they use organic ingredients without the high price tag you would expect. Whilst not all our dishes had a wow factor, I loved how I could order pretty much anything off the menu like back in the days before I knew about my intolerances. Total freedom without all the health issues that used to come with it!

Solomon’s Café
487 Beaufort Street, Highgate WA 6003 | (08) 9328 7995 | Facebook 
 
Price:                     $$ (Mains $20-36, Sides/Small bites $5-12)
Food:                    3/5 (would prefer more vego options given niche target market)
Service:                3.5/5 (slow to bring out meals however were packed)
Ambience:          3.5/5 (noisy and vibrant)
Drinks:                  3.5/5 (both juice and smoothie options, fructose free options)
Total:                     13.5/20 

 Solomon's Cafe on Urbanspoon

Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar Mount Lawley
69 Walcott St Mt Lawley 6050 | (08) 9227 1288 | www.crust.com.au

 Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar Mount Lawley on Urbanspoon

Sweet Treat Smoothie & Holiday Medley with Raw Sweet Potato Mash

Posted by  | Categories: Blender Recipes, Featured, Paleo, Raw Food, Recipes, Vegetarian

It has been six weeks and our Raw Food Meatless Monday comes to an end. It has been a fabulous learning experience for me as I had previously had no experience with preparing raw food. Whilst I realise to get more variety I need to take it further and get the right equipment like a dehydrator for example, I think I have dabbled enough in it to gain some basic understanding and appreciation.  Whilst I cannot say I would be keen to go to an all raw diet, we will still continue to eat some raw food dishes beyond the conclusion of this challenge.  Adapting some of the recipes to suit my fructose malabsorption has been interesting as banned ingredients like dried fruits are frequently used ingredients. Nevertheless I will continue to enjoy learning more about this more natural way of eating and hope I haven’t bored my dear readers with six weeks of it in a row!

Sweet Treat Smoothie
Author: 
Recipe type: Smoothie
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup plain or unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 2 cups organic baby spinach
  • 1 frozen banana
  • ½ cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 T raw cacao powder
  • 1 T mesquite powder
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into the blender and blend on high for one minute or until smooth. Drink immediately.

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free recipes" "paleo recipes" "baking recipes" "raw food" "raw recipes" "meatless monday" "Raw Meatless Monday Man Challenge" "vegetarian" "raw food recipes" "blender recipes" "omniblend recipes" "healthy recipes" "gluten free raw recipes" "green smoothies" "green smoothie recipes" “vegan recipes” “raw soup” "sweet green smoothie" "mesquite" "Organic Cacao" "Organic Mesquite" "super foods" "raw sweet potato mash" "raw vegetable medley"

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free recipes" "paleo recipes" "baking recipes" "raw food" "raw recipes" "meatless monday" "Raw Meatless Monday Man Challenge" "vegetarian" "raw food recipes" "blender recipes" "omniblend recipes" "healthy recipes" "gluten free raw recipes" "green smoothies" "green smoothie recipes" “vegan recipes” “raw soup” "sweet green smoothie" "mesquite" "Organic Cacao" "Organic Mesquite" "super foods" "raw sweet potato mash" "raw vegetable medley"

 

Holiday Medley with Raw Sweet Potato Mash
Author: 
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
Holiday Medley
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons dried herbs
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 2 large stalks celery (diced)
  • 2 medium carrots (diced)
  • ¾ cup chopped parsley (about ½ bunch)
Sweet Potato Mash
  • 2 medium carrots
  • ¾ cup water
  • ½ cup cashew
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 medium sweet potato
Instructions
Holiday Medley
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, seasoning, salt and pepper. Place the walnuts in a food processor and process until finely ground. Scrape into the bowl with oil and spices. Add celery, carrots and parsley to the mixture.
Sweet Potato Mash
  1. In a high speed blender, combine the water, cashews, coconut oil, cumin and salt. Blend until very smooth. Add the sweet potato and carrot and blend again until very smooth, creamy & warm

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free recipes" "paleo recipes" "baking recipes" "raw food" "raw recipes" "meatless monday" "Raw Meatless Monday Man Challenge" "vegetarian" "raw food recipes" "blender recipes" "omniblend recipes" "healthy recipes" "gluten free raw recipes" "green smoothies" "green smoothie recipes" “vegan recipes” “raw soup” "sweet green smoothie" "mesquite" "Organic Cacao" "Organic Mesquite" "super foods" "raw sweet potato mash" "raw vegetable medley"

The Boy’s review of the Sweet treat smoothie & Holiday Medley with Sweet Potato Mash:

It is a shame that the Raw Food Meatless Monday challenge is ending as I have been enjoying being surprised with a new meal and smoothie to try each week and it has been a great way to start the week.   I have been impressed by how good these raw dishes have been and can say without a doubt I am now a big fan! The Holiday Medley with Sweet Potato Mash was a pleasure to eat and tasted fantastic however I think I may have eaten more then I should have as it gave me a bit of indigestion for an hour or two afterwards.  Despite not looking overly appetising the Sweet Treat Smoothie was surprisingly delicious and was more like a desert then a drink.   Hopefully Chomp will continue experimenting with Raw food and I will get to enjoy some of her experiments again in the near future!

Here is the final list of links to the blender recipes that I have created with my OmniBlend. The concept is for each Monday to not only stick with Meatless Monday and eat only vegetarian but to take it to the next level and make it a Raw Food Meatless Monday. For the whole day we will only eat raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and fructose friendly.

● Tropical Green Smoothie (Week One)

● Curried Raw Butternut Pumpkin Soup (Week One)

 Pineapple Beet Smoothie (Week Two)

● Thai Chilli Coconut Zucchini Noodles (Week Two)

● Pineapple Kale Coconut Smoothie (Week Three)

● Creamy Garden Chowder (Week Three)

 Savoury Green Smoothie (Week Four)

● Fruit & Cinnamon Chia Pudding (Week Four)

 Raw Red Capsicum Soup recipe (Week Five)

● Cucumber & Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Almond Sauce (Week Five)

● Sweet Treat Smoothie (Week Six)

● Holiday Medley and Sweet Potato Mash (Week Six)

Omniblend Australia provided me with an free Omniblend V machine to use to develop these recipes. Read my review for more information. Super Foods provided me with free Organic Cacao and Organic Mesquite powder which inspired me to prepare these recipes. 

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Raw Vegan Red Pepper Soup & Cucumber & Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Almond Sauce

Posted by  | Categories: Blender Recipes, Paleo, Raw Food, Recipes, Vegetarian

I have a tendency to brag about Perth’s balmy weather but the reality of it is that by having great weather for most of the year many of us Perthites are poorly acclimatised for any remote resemblance of winter. We are notorious for being winter whingers when the reality of it is our winters are comparatively short and mild and we really have nothing to complain about. The Boy and I have been sticking to our Raw Food Meatless Monday for over four weeks now and both of us are feeling vibrant and our skin is glowing. Or maybe that’s still some post wedding bliss?!

However waking up in the morning when it is still dark outside and the temperature is in the single digits drinking a cold smoothie isn’t that enjoyable, no matter how tasty and nutritious it is. So prompted by this cold snap, I decided this week our Raw Food breakfast would be a raw vegan red pepper soup instead; warmed in just minutes by using my blender on high speed which then gently heats the soup with friction.

 "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free recipes" "paleo recipes" "baking recipes" "raw food" "raw recipes" "meatless monday" "Raw Meatless Monday Man Challenge" "vegetarian" "raw food recipes" "blender recipes" "omniblend recipes" "healthy recipes" "gluten free raw recipes" "green smoothies" "green smoothie recipes" “vegan recipes” “raw soup” “dairy free soup recipe” "vegetable soup" "raw red capsicum soup" "raw red pepper soup" "raw noodles" "raw zucchini noodesl" "cucumber noodles" "raw pasta"

Raw Vegan Red Pepper Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup roughly chopped red bell capsicum (approx. 1 medium pepper)
  • ½ cup of cashew cream
  • ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
Garnish
  • ½ cup more diced red capsicum (reserve for garnish - do not blend)
  • ½ tbsp. parsley
Instructions
  1. Add ingredients (except for the garnish) into the blender on low speed until smooth, then blend on medium to high until warmed.

Adapted from www.therawtarian.com

 

Cucumber & Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Almond Sauce recipe has been moved. Click here for the recipe. 

 

 

 

The Boy’s review of the Raw Vegan Red Pepper Soup & Cucumber & Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Almond Sauce:

 With the “cold” of winter making its brief appearance in Perth these last couple of weeks Chomp decided that it was time to make a nice warm raw soup for breakfast rather than the usual cold smoothie. Her choice of a raw Red Capsicum Soup was spot on for a cold winter’s morning and was absolutely delicious without being too heavy or filling. Being only lightly warm it needs to be eaten quickly as it loses some of its appeal once it cools down to room temperature.

Our dinner that night was one of my favourite raw, vegan dishes – Raw Zucchini Noodles – which we first had at the Raw Kitchen in Fremantle last year. Chomp’s interpretation of the dish was a Cucumber & Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Almond Sauce and without a doubt it was a winner. There is something about Zucchini noodles that just really appeals to me and I actually prefer them over the real pasta. This dish was beautifully prepared with the almond sauce, pumpkin seeds and goji berries complementing the cucumber and zucchini perfectly.

Both of the dishes were fantastic this week and it is going to be a shame that it ends next week as I am quite enjoying having all these new, interesting meals cooked for me!

Over the next coming weeks I will be publishing some blender recipes that I have created with my OmniBlend. The concept is for each Monday to not only stick with Meatless Monday and eat only vegetarian but to take it to the next level and make it a Raw Food Meatless Monday. For the whole day we will only eat raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and fructose friendly.

● Tropical Green Smoothie (Week One)

● Curried Raw Butternut Pumpkin Soup (Week One)

 Pineapple Beet Smoothie (Week Two)

● Thai Chilli Coconut Zucchini Noodles (Week Two)

● Pineapple Kale Coconut Smoothie (Week Three)

● Creamy Garden Chowder (Week Three)

 Savoury Green Smoothie (Week Four)

● Fruit & Cinnamon Chia Pudding (Week Four)

● Raw Vegan Red Capsicum Soup recipe (Week Five)

● Cucumber & Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Almond Sauce (Week Five)

● Sweet Treat Smoothie (Week Six)

● Holiday Medley and Sweet Potato Mash (Week Six)

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Omniblend Australia provided me with an free Omniblend V machine to use to develop these recipes. Read my review for more information.

Savoury Green Smoothie & Fruit & Cinnamon Chia Pudding

Posted by  | Categories: Blender Recipes, Featured, Paleo, Raw Food, Recipes, Vegetarian

A number of you dear readers who have been following my Raw Food Meatless Monday Man Challenge have suggested to me that I make some raw food desserts.  I wanted a raw dessert to serve us for our Monday night dinner that could actually pass off as our main meal.  It needed to be nutritious, filling and not too sweet.  To complicate my requirements furthermore, it had to comply with my fructose malabsorption (FM) restrictions. Many raw food desserts contain dried fruit which are completely off the menu for a FM so I had to delve a bit deeper for something more interesting."Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free recipes" "paleo recipes" "baking recipes" "raw food" "raw recipes" "meatless monday" "Raw Meatless Monday Man Challenge" "vegetarian" "raw food recipes" "blender recipes" "omniblend recipes" "healthy recipes" "gluten free raw recipes" "green smoothies" "green smoothie recipes" “vegan recipes” “raw dessert” “dairy free dessert recipe” “gluten free dessert recipe” “fructose malabsorption dessert recipe” “dairy free recipe” “cashew cream” “chia pudding” “black chia” “chia berry pudding” “chia dessert”

To kick start our day, I created a savoury green smoothie which is low in calories yet full of nutrients. Unlike last week’s smoothie, this one is light on the stomach and easier to drink. For dinner I have made use of some organic chia seeds I recently received from the generous guys at Cheap Superfoods. The chia seeds are raw and unprocessed meaning that all their antioxidant and essential fatty acid content remains undamaged. The berry cinnamon chia pudding is dairy free, gluten free, raw, fructose friendly AND it tastes AMAZING!

  "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free recipes" "paleo recipes" "baking recipes" "raw food" "raw recipes" "meatless monday" "Raw Meatless Monday Man Challenge" "vegetarian" "raw food recipes" "blender recipes" "omniblend recipes" "healthy recipes" "gluten free raw recipes" "green smoothies" "green smoothie recipes" “vegan recipes” “raw dessert” “dairy free dessert recipe” “gluten free dessert recipe” “fructose malabsorption dessert recipe” “dairy free recipe” “cashew cream” “chia pudding” “black chia” “chia berry pudding” “chia dessert”

Savoury Green Smoothie
Author: 
Recipe type: Smoothie
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 stalks of celery with leaves, chopped
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 medium cucumber, with skin, chopped
  • 1 lemon, peeled and seeded
  • 1 handful of parsley
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • ¼ teaspoon Himalayan salt
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into the blender and blend on high for one minute or until smooth. Drink immediately.

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free recipes" "paleo recipes" "baking recipes" "raw food" "raw recipes" "meatless monday" "Raw Meatless Monday Man Challenge" "vegetarian" "raw food recipes" "blender recipes" "omniblend recipes" "healthy recipes" "gluten free raw recipes" "green smoothies" "green smoothie recipes" “vegan recipes” “raw dessert” “dairy free dessert recipe” “gluten free dessert recipe” “fructose malabsorption dessert recipe” “dairy free recipe” “cashew cream” “chia pudding” “black chia” “chia berry pudding” “chia dessert”

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free recipes" "paleo recipes" "baking recipes" "raw food" "raw recipes" "meatless monday" "Raw Meatless Monday Man Challenge" "vegetarian" "raw food recipes" "blender recipes" "omniblend recipes" "healthy recipes" "gluten free raw recipes" "green smoothies" "green smoothie recipes" “vegan recipes” “raw dessert” “dairy free dessert recipe” “gluten free dessert recipe” “fructose malabsorption dessert recipe” “dairy free recipe” “cashew cream” “chia pudding” “black chia” “chia berry pudding” “chia dessert”

Fruit & Cinnamon Chia Pudding
Author: 
Recipe type: Pudding
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
Cashew Cream
  • 2 cups cashews, soaked overnight in the refrigerator
  • 2 cups water, filtered
Pudding
  • 1¾ cups cashew cream
  • ½ cup chia seeds
  • ¼ to ½ cup maple syrup depending on desired sweetness
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup strawberries, sliced
  • 1 cup blueberries
Instructions
  1. Drain and rinse cashews.
  2. Combine with filtered water in the OmniBlend and blend until smooth.
  3. Mix together cashew cream, chia seeds, maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside.
  4. Slice strawberries.
  5. When chia pudding has thickened up (about 5-10 minutes) stir in sliced strawberries and blueberries.
  6. When serving sprinkle some freshly grated nutmeg on top.

 

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free recipes" "paleo recipes" "baking recipes" "raw food" "raw recipes" "meatless monday" "Raw Meatless Monday Man Challenge" "vegetarian" "raw food recipes" "blender recipes" "omniblend recipes" "healthy recipes" "gluten free raw recipes" "green smoothies" "green smoothie recipes" “vegan recipes” “raw dessert” “dairy free dessert recipe” “gluten free dessert recipe” “fructose malabsorption dessert recipe” “dairy free recipe” “cashew cream” “chia pudding” “black chia” “chia berry pudding” “chia dessert”

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "gluten free recipes" "paleo recipes" "baking recipes" "raw food" "raw recipes" "meatless monday" "Raw Meatless Monday Man Challenge" "vegetarian" "raw food recipes" "blender recipes" "omniblend recipes" "healthy recipes" "gluten free raw recipes" "green smoothies" "green smoothie recipes" “vegan recipes” “raw dessert” “dairy free dessert recipe” “gluten free dessert recipe” “fructose malabsorption dessert recipe” “dairy free recipe” “cashew cream” “chia pudding” “black chia” “chia berry pudding” “chia dessert”

The Boy’s review of the Savoury Green Smoothie & Fruit & Cinnamon Chia Pudding:

“When deciding to switch to a plant based diet I knew the one thing I would really miss would be Dairy and in particular cheeses and desserts.  While I am more than happy to eat more berries and other fresh fruits, I have a real weakness when it comes to Ice Cream and knew that this was the one thing that I would really miss.  When Chomp told me that she was making us a raw desert I must say I was highly sceptical but at the same time hopeful that she could come up with something that would be a reasonable substitute.
 
The delicious Fruit and Cinnamon Chia Pudding that she prepared was a pleasant surprise and made for both a great dessert alternative and a filling breakfast again the following morning.   A thoroughly enjoyable treat it is easy to see that this dish could be modified into many different alternatives simply by changing the fruits and level of sweetness. 
 
The Savoury Green Smoothie is a simple, basic smoothie that was easy to drink and tasted great.  Being so simple to make and nutritious this one has now been added to my morning breakfast routine and replaced the store bought smoothie I was previously having.”

 

Over the next coming weeks I will be publishing some blender recipes that I have created with my OmniBlend. The concept is for each Monday to not only stick with Meatless Monday and eat only vegetarian but to take it to the next level and make it a Raw Food Meatless Monday. For the whole day we will only eat raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and fructose friendly.

● Tropical Green Smoothie (Week One)

● Curried Raw Butternut Pumpkin Soup (Week One)

 Pineapple Beet Smoothie (Week Two)

● Thai Chilli Coconut Zucchini Noodles (Week Two)

● Pineapple Kale Coconut Smoothie (Week Three)

● Creamy Garden Chowder (Week Three)

 Savoury Green Smoothie (Week Four)

● Fruit & Cinnamon Chia Pudding (Week Four)

● Raw Red Capsicum Soup recipe (Week Five)

● Cucumber & Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Almond Sauce (Week Five)

● Sweet Treat Smoothie (Week Six)

● Holiday Medley and Sweet Potato Mash (Week Six)

 

Omniblend Australia provided me with an free Omniblend V machine to use to develop these recipes. Read my review for more information. Super Foods provided the organic chia seeds free of charge for me to use in this recipe.  

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Pineapple Kale Smoothie & Creamy Garden Chowder

Posted by  | Categories: Blender Recipes, Featured, Paleo, Raw Food, Recipes, Vegetarian

They say it takes us on average around 21-28 days to form a habit.  The Boy and I are only entering into the beginning of Week Three of our Raw and Meatless Mondays and I am finding that our vegetarianism stretches to encompass most of the week. Last night we ordered some take out from our local Thai restaurant Little Ying and the Boy insisted that I only order vegetarian dishes.  He has embraced this new approach to eating with much more gusto than I anticipated. I ordered some Tom Yum Goong for us and I even saw him scoop out the prawns and plop them into my bowl.

With memories of Thailand still fresh in my mind I was inspired to create this highly addictive green smoothie for our Monday morning breakfast.

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Pineapple Kale Coconut Smoothie

 

Pineapple Kale Smoothie
Author: 
Recipe type: Smoothie
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
  • 2 Cups Fresh Pineapple
  • 2-3 Frozen Ripe Bananas
  • 1 Cup LIght Coconut Milk (you may need a bit more if you want a thinner consistency)
  • 2 Tbsp Shredded Coconut
  • 1 Cup Kale
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into the blender and blend on high for one minute or until smooth. Drink immediately.

 

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Greenie goodness

Our soup for this evening requires a little extra time in the blender in order to slightly warm it before serving.  You can only do this with the more durable makes of blender so check beforehand so you don’t burn your machine out. The OmniBlend is designed to be able to heat soups without damaging the motor. I used my meat thermometer to heat it to about 50 degrees.

Creamy Garden Chowder
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
  • 1 stalk of celery (include the leaves)
  • 1 cup of carrots
  • 1 small zucchini, chopped
  • ½ red capsicum, chopped
  • 5 cups water
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients in blender until warm.
  2. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with chopped red bell peppers.

This recipe is adapted from www.rawfoodrecipes.com

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Creamy Garden Chowder

The Boy’s review of the Pineapple Kale Smoothie & Creamy Garden Chowder:

“Three weeks into this diet experiment and it is rapidly becoming second nature with all my routine meals now replaced by healthy vegetarian alternatives.  The health benefits have already started to show as I have lost a few kilograms of weight and my energy levels are continuing to increase.
 
This week’s smoothie was a rich blend of Banana, Pineapple and Kale blended with Coconut and it was difficult to tell that it wasn’t a standard dairy based smoothie.  The Banana and Coconut are an excellent combination and made for a very delicious drink. While very refreshing it was quite heavy and I was left wondering how many calories it contained.
 
The Creamy Garden Chowder was a nice enjoyable dish with a slightly unusual taste which grew on me as I ate it.  While satisfying it was not overly filling and makes a good dish for a day when you don’t want a big meal.  If you struggle eating cold soups perhaps this style of warmed soup offers a potential alternative to the standard cooked and very hot traditional soup.”

Over the next coming weeks I will be publishing some blender recipes that I have created with my OmniBlend. The concept is for each Monday to not only stick with Meatless Monday and eat only vegetarian but to take it to the next level and make it a Raw Food Meatless Monday. For the whole day we will only eat raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and fructose friendly.

● Tropical Green Smoothie (Week One)

● Curried Raw Butternut Pumpkin Soup (Week One)

 Pineapple Beet Smoothie (Week Two)

● Thai Chilli Coconut Zucchini Noodles (Week Two)

● Pineapple Kale Coconut Smoothie (Week Three)

● Creamy Garden Chowder (Week Three)

 Savoury Green Smoothie (Week Four)

● Fruit & Cinnamon Chia Pudding (Week Four)

● Raw Red Capsicum Soup recipe (Week Five)

● Cucumber & Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Almond Sauce (Week Five)

● Sweet Treat Smoothie (Week Six)

● Holiday Medley and Sweet Potato Mash (Week Six)

Omniblend Australia provided me with an free Omniblend V machine to use to develop these recipes. Read my review for more information.

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Pineapple Beet Smoothie & Thai Style Raw Noodles

Posted by  | Categories: Blender Recipes, Paleo, Raw Food, Recipes, Vegetarian

I admit sometimes I completely underestimate my dear husband.  I thought that after the first week of our Raw Food Meatless Monday Man Challenge his enthusiasm levels would start to wane.  This is a man who used to eat a whole roast chicken in one sitting. I’m not saying that I don’t have faith in him changing his eating habits, but I didn’t think it would happen easily.

The following Monday arrived and to my astonishment he bounced out of bed all excited and ready for his next smoothie to try. He is not a morning person and seeing him with this much energy first thing in the morning was a little out of the ordinary. Knowing how much he loves his pink drinks it was logical that this would be the colour of his next smoothie to taste test.

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Pineapple beet smoothie

Pineapple Beet Smoothie
Author: 
Recipe type: Smoothie
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
  • ½ pineapple
  • ½ medium beet
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 cup strawberries
  • cup of cooled green tea
  • water, as needed
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into the blender and blend on high for one minute or until smooth. Drink immediately.
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Raw Thai Style Zucchini Noodles

Thai Style Raw Noodles
Author: 
Recipe type: Pasta
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Paleo, Vegan, Raw
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
Sauce:
  • ½ cup young coconut meat
  • 2 tbsp raw coconut butter
  • 1 red chilli
  • 2 tbsp raw peanut or almond butter
  • Coconut water as needed
  • ½ small ½ inch piece of ginger
  • 1 clove garlic
  • Sea salt to taste
  • Juice of 1 lime with ½ of zest
Pasta:
  • 4 small zucchini cut julienne or spiralised
  • 1 bell pepper, cut julienne
  • 1 medium carrot, cut julienne
  • ¼ cup finely shredded dried coconut plus more for garnishing
Instructions
  1. In a blender combine the sauce ingredients and process until smooth.
  2. In a large bowl combine the sauce with the zucchini and bell pepper and carrot and ¼ cup of coconut and toss to coat.
  3. Place on plates and sprinkle with additional coconut.
 
The Boy’s review of the Pineapple Beet smoothie and Thai Chilli Coconut Zucchini Noodles: 
 
“After a week of eating a nearly 100% vegan diet I must say I am feeling more energetic and refreshed as each day passes… who would have thought that a diet of meat and dairy would actually wear you down and make you feel worse!  I have decided to throw myself into this experiment and have been excluding meat and dairy from my diet except when it would be rude to refuse a meal someone else has already prepared. 
 
Looking forward to my smoothie this morning I was pleased to find a delicious “pink drink” of beetroot and pineapple as having grown up eating beetroot it is one of my favourite root vegetables.    Apparently beetroot is full of nitrates which have been shown to boost performance in endurance sports such as running and cycling and reduce blood pressure.   This along with its strong rich flavours certainly made it a winner for me. 
 
It was followed that night by a beautiful raw noodle dish that had me licking the bowl… it easily beat our first experience with the raw spaghetti dish at the Raw Kitchen in Fremantle and I can highly recommend this dish to everyone.  The mix of flavours from the coconut, garlic and almond made this dish simply amazing and I will now be expecting chomp to be making it regularly from now on!”

 

Over the next coming weeks I will be publishing some blender recipes that I have created with my OmniBlend. The concept is for each Monday to not only stick with Meatless Monday and eat only vegetarian but to take it to the next level and make it a Raw Food Meatless Monday. For the whole day we will only eat raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and fructose friendly.

● Tropical Green Smoothie (Week One)

● Curried Raw Butternut Pumpkin Soup (Week One)

 Pineapple Beet Smoothie (Week Two)

● Thai Chilli Coconut Zucchini Noodles (Week Two)

● Pineapple Kale Coconut Smoothie (Week Three)

● Creamy Garden Chowder (Week Three)

 Savoury Green Smoothie (Week Four)

● Fruit & Cinnamon Chia Pudding (Week Four)

● Raw Red Capsicum Soup recipe (Week Five)

● Cucumber & Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Almond Sauce (Week Five)

● Sweet Treat Smoothie (Week Six)

● Holiday Medley and Sweet Potato Mash (Week Six)

Omniblend Australia provided me with an free Omniblend V machine to use to develop these recipes. Read my review for more information.

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OmniBlend V blender review

Posted by  | Categories: Blender Recipes, Paleo, Raw Food, Recipes, Vegetarian

The Boy and I initially got into juicing back in late 2011 as a result of watching Joe Cross’s documentary Fat Sick and Nearly Dead. This period marked the beginning of a long overdue quest for finding better health by dramatically increasing our vegetable and fruit intake. We have slowly gravitated away from eating meat as the predominant ingredient in our meals to it being a small component if at all. The Boy bought us the latest whizz-bang juicer and was so enthusiastic with his juicing that he managed to burn the first one out in just a week. He stuck to his guns however and returned to the shops to get a replacement juicer. Over the following nine months he lost over 20 kg in body weight. He was well on his way to become a picture of health and this was all just in time for our wedding.

With every batch of green smoothies we made, we would end up with massive amounts of fibrous pulp left over. A juicer only extracts juice and discards the pulp from the fruit and veggies into its waste jug. In the early days, I determinedly saved the pulp and would make it into a variety of different vegetable soups that looked more like swamp water than food. Some even tasted good. After a while I tired of this messy business and tossed the pulp onto the garden for compost instead. What a waste. I hate throwing food away!

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Not all smoothies are green! Pineapple Beet smoothie

Soon I realised that there is a much better way to make smoothies without having to eat swamp slime soup; with a blender not a juicer. Blending means you are eating the whole food, not just the juice and the fibre content is retained. Furthermore, high-powered blenders break down all the cell walls of the fruits and vegetables releasing all the phytonutrients locked inside the pulp, skin and seeds. This makes it easier to digest and allows the nutrients to absorb much more efficiently. After having this epiphany we discussed about getting a blender to replace our relatively new and fancy juicer. But talking was as far as we got because come mid-2012 we found ourselves knee deep in wedding planning and before we knew it time had flown away from us and we completely forgot about it.

So you can imagine my gratitude when earlier this year two weeks before our big day I received an email from the marketing director from a company called OmniBlend Australia who are manufacturers of heavy duty commercial blenders. He was keen to send me their popular blender; the OmniBlend V to review on the blog. In return for my review, the machine would be mine for keeps. No more pulp and swamp soup….woot!

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OmniBlend blender

The OmniBlend V Low Down:

● Price:

$280-390 AUD. Excellent value for money compared to similar machines on the market such as the Vitamix.

● Motor:

A powerful 3HP motor which can deliver a blade speed of 38,000 rpm. It is very energy efficient at only 950W (not bad considering it produces 3HP!). I am told that this blender is sturdy enough to withstand heavy duty commercial use in restaurants and juice bars.

● Blades:

The 6-blade cutting assembly is made from highest quality, Japanese precision stainless steel. Replacement blades are available for purchase. The blades and jug are designed for both wet and dry ingredients and can make a hot soup in minutes heating with just friction. I gave this method a try for some of my soup recipes for the Raw Meatless Monday Man Challenge, more on this in the weeks to come.

● Blending:

Without much effort or preparation this blender made light work of blending my soups and smoothies into creamy, smooth consistencies. It even coped with me churning harder raw vegetables into it like pumpkin. Because the Omniblend is a more heavy-duty machine, it has enough oomph to do more than just make smoothies. It can puree, mix, chop, grind and whip all sorts of foods including mill grains into flour, grind coffee, puree baby food, churn ice cream, make nut butters and nut milks, knead bread dough and it can even crush ice.

● Cleaning :

The OmniBlend is really easy to clean which is a big win in my books. One thing that used to annoy me about juicing (in addition to the pulp waste of course) was that every time I made a smoothie I would be left with a hundred and one parts to clean. If the Boy that made himself juice it was even worse. There would be bits of pulp everywhere.

With this blender there is only a lid and a jug to wash and because there is no pulp, the jug rinses clean in minutes.

I did notice that the black rubber feet on the body of the unit left little marks on my white laminate bench top but they wiped off easily with a damp cloth.

● Noise:

It has very quiet operation when compared to many of its competitors (e.g. Vitamix).

Noise level = 83.8 dB

● Programs:

It has timed, cycled and repeatable blending programs.

● The Jug: 

The 2 litre jug is made of unbreakable food-grade polycarbonate jug and is heat resistant to over 120 degrees Celsius which means you can blend hot soups straight off the stove top. It is suitable for both wet and dry ingredients unlike some blenders like the Vitamix that need separate wet and dry jugs/blade. The jug has quite a wide base compared to other blenders I have used in the past. This ensures that food particles don’t seem to get stuck under the blades when in use. They also offer a BPA-free 1.5 litre jug.

● Intelligent Overload Protection:

A built in sensor automatically turns off the motor when it detects excess usage. This prolongs the motors operating life and pre-empts breakdowns.

● Recipes: 

OmniBlend are happy to send their customers a bunch of free recipes or better still stay tuned on the blog over the next six weeks for my Raw Food Meatless Monday Man Challenge!

● Warranty:

The OmniBlend comes with a standard 5 year warranty on the motor and 3 years on parts, or alternatively you can pay extra for a 7 Year extended warranty on the full machine. They offer free shipping anywhere in Australia.

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How does the OmniBlend size up to its competitors?

Froothie Optimum 9200:

Price: $430-500
● 3 HP motor delivering a blade speed of 44,000 rpm
● 6 stainless steel Japanese made blades
● Low noise level at around 80 dB
● High, Med, Low and Pulse functions
● Comes with a 2 L unbreakable polycarbonate wet/dry jug
● Intelligent overload protection
● 5 year warranty or optional 10 year warranty
Verdict: Very similar to OmniBlend in its specs yet it costs $120-150 more

Vitamix:

Price: $700-1300 depending on model and options.
● 2-3 HP motor depending on model
● 4 stainless steel blades
● Noisy at around 110 dB (Vitamix 5200)
● Variable speed functions
● Separate wet and dry blades/jugs. Comes with 2L unbreakable jugs
● Thermal protection to prevent overload and burnout
● 7 year warranty or optional 10 year warranty
Verdict: Very expensive by comparison to OmniBlend, it’s only a smidge more powerful but twice the price!

Amazon: Vitamix 5200s, Vitamix Professional Series 300 and Vitamix Professional Series 750

Breville BJB840 Juice & Blend

Price: $350-499
● Dual purpose machine with a juicer & a blender, 1000W motor on the juicer and a 1200W motor on the blender, not very energy efficient
● Surgical grade stainless steel blades
● Variable speed functions
● 1.5 L jug
● 5 year warranty on motor/2 year repair warranty
Verdict: Couldn’t find many online reviews for this one but I don’t believe this is a high powered, durable machine. I don’t really see the point in a dual use machine either.

Amazon: Breville BJB840XL Dual-Purpose Juice and Blend

Thermomix TM 31

Price: $1800
● 500W motor which revs its two blades at speeds of 10,200 rpm
Verdict: This kitchen dream machine does much more than a blender; it can also do chopping, beating, mixing, emulsifying, milling, kneading, cooking, stirring, steaming, weighing and melting. Although at nearly 10 times the price of the OmniBlend so it bloody well should!

Over the next coming weeks I will be publishing some blender recipes that I have created with my OmniBlend. The concept is for each Monday to not only stick with Meatless Monday and eat only vegetarian but to take it to the next level and make it a Raw Food Meatless Monday. For the whole day we will only eat raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and fructose friendly.

Tropical Green Smoothie (Week One)

Curried Raw Butternut Pumpkin Soup (Week One)

Pineapple Beet Smoothie (Week Two)

Thai Chilli Coconut Zucchini Noodles (Week Two)

Pineapple Kale Coconut Smoothie (Week Three)

Creamy Garden Chowder (Week Three)

Savoury Green Smoothie (Week Four)

Fruit & Cinnamon Chia Pudding (Week Four)

Raw Red Capsicum soup recipe (Week Five)

Cucumber & Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Almond Sauce (Week Five)

Sweet Treat Smoothie (Week Six)

Holiday Medley and Sweet Potato Mash (Week Six)

 

Chompchomp received an Omniblend V blender complimentary in return for writing this review. For more information head to www.omniblendaustralia.com.au.  
 
Six months after the publishing of this review Omniblend Australia contacted me with an offer to provide my readers with a discount when purchasing their new Omniblend blender.  Using the coupon code below you can buy the Omniblend at a discounted price.
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Coconut flour Paleo Anzac Biscuits (gluten free)

Posted by  | Categories: Baking, Featured, Paleo, Recipes

Anzac Day is the national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand where we cast our hearts and minds to those who have fought for our country at war. The day is a national public holiday and across the country there are numerous dawn services that are held attracting both the young and old in the wee hours of the morning. Anzac Day wouldn’t be complete without Anzac biscuits which history claims they were apparently made by soldier’s wives to send to them abroad. After spending the last three months with my days off being filled with wedding planning, it is such a treat to have these days returned to me to indulge in whatever activities I please. It has been a while since I have made any effort in the kitchen so with both the fur children supervising from their cat scratch post I scanned my pantry for some inspiration. With Anzac Day approaching us this week, I have attempted to adapt the classic Anzac biscuit recipe to create Coconut flour Paleo Anzac Biscuits that are dairy free, gluten free and fructose friendly yet still remain delicious!! Is it possible?

Coconut flour Paleo Anzac Biscuits (gluten free)
Author: 
Recipe type: Biscuits
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12 biscuits
 
Ingredients
  • 1 & ¾ cup almond meal
  • 1 cup flaked almonds
  • 1 cup dessicated coconut
  • ⅓ cup coconut flour
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • ½ cup coconut oil, softened
  • ½ teaspoon bicarb soda
  • 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
  1. Preheat over to 130 degrees C.
  2. Combine the almond meal, flaked almonds, coconut and coconut flour in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Combine maple syrup and coconut oil in a small saucepan and heat very gently.
  4. Mix the bicarb and water together then add to the maple syrup mix, stir until mixed.
  5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until combined. Add a small amount of water to help mixture stick together.
  6. Squeeze firmly into small balls to stick mixture together then flatten slightly and place on a baking try lined with baking paper.
  7. Bake for about 40 minutes until golden.
  8. Allow to cool on a rack before serving.

 Adapted from the website The Healthy Chef by Theresa Cutter the author of The 80/20 Diet and 101 ways to lose weight.

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(photos updated April 2014)

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(photos updated April 2014)