Cucumber & Chickpea Hummus

This is yummy with savoury biscuits, as a chip dip, or as a healthier snack, used as a dip with veggies.

1 cup peeled & diced english cucumber
2 tbs water
1 tsp ground flax seeds (I'll probably add at least double that next time - make it extra healthy!)
1 400g / 15oz can of chickpeas (drained & rinsed)
2 1/2 tbs organic tahini
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

•  Place cucumber, water & flax into a food processor & blend on high until frothy
• Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth
• Pour into serving dish and refrigerate until chilled and slightly thicker

This is a really healthy dip!  It's so easy to make, so definitely worth it to make your own instead of buying ones which often contain other nasty ingredients that you can just do without.  Tahini is of course made from sesame seeds, which are really good for you too.  To improve this hummus health-wise, you could cook your own chickpeas isntead of buying canned ones.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Oh my goodness....this cake is SOOOO good. :D  Not only the taste (which is realllly chocolatey), but it's so soft and so moist, and what I really like about it too is that it's vegan, so I can enjoy this guilt-free! (well....except for the sugar, still feel a little guilty there, but oh well).  This one definitely ranks as one of the best cakes I've ever had. :)

1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white & 1/2 cup whole wheat)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup white & 1/2 cup light brown)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup cold water or brewed coffee (I used coffee)
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbs vinegar

• Preheat oven to 180 C / 375 F
• Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda & sugar in a mixing bowl
• Mix oil water or coffe and vanilla in a small bowl, then pour into dry ingredients and mix well with fork or whisk until combined
• Once the batter is smooth, add vinegar and stir quickly until fully combined and pale swirls (created by reaction between vinegar & baking soda) have been mixed in evenly
• Pour into a single greased cake tin and bake for 25-30 minutes (I did mine for 25)

Once the cake is cooled, try to save some for the guests or other members of your family. :)

 The cake doesn't rise that much, so it won't work for a double layer cake IMO.

It's so tasty that I don't even both to make an icing / frosting for it.  But if I were to find a yummy and easy vegan icing, I'd try it out.

Fibre Filled Cereal

This one doesn't contain muesli, but high-fibre bran flakes - The bran flake cereal I used (Heartland Bran Flakes) seems to be a bit healthier than Kellogg's All Bran Flakes, in that it contains wayyyy less sodium (0.2mg vs over 200mg.....)

I've also added no sugar to this cereal (yay!)...instead I sweetened it with some other healthy options, so here goes:

bowl of bran flakes of your choice
1 dessert spoon digestive bran
1 dessert spoon molasses bran (a sweet bran which I love to use)
1 dessert spoon of raisins (for some sweetness)
a few blobs of plain greek yoghurt
honey & sweet molasses to drizzle (or omit the honey if you want sugar-free)

And if you're not lazy like I was this morning, you could add 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds too, and even sunflower seeds for some extra nutrition. :)

Combine the dry ingredients and raisins, then mix in the yoghurt, and then drizzle over some honey and molasses to taste.  Yum!  It's the first time I've tried this combination and I think it turned out good - the molasses really does the trick! I may even leave out the honey next time and add a little more molasses.

I think this is a pretty good fibre-y breakfast. :D