This granola fudge was my Easter weekend treat. It took all of 5 minutes to throw together 1 hour to set and about 45 seconds to devour. It is sweet, rich, creamy and totally delicious - not  to mention versatile. I used 2 different granolas from Lucy Rocks to fill and top each bar of fudge. Both granolas are not only paleo perfect but also utterly scrummy. I have listed below recipes for Paleo, AIP and low FODMAP variations of the fudge.

All recipes make 1 block of fudge as pictured but you could divide your mixture between different moulds.

You will need:
A food processor
Baking paper
A small dish or mould - I used a baking dish measuring 3 x 6.5 inches

Ingredients for blush crunch granola fudge:
3/4 cup tiger nut powder
1/2 tablespoon of almond butter (my favourite is meridian)
2 tablespoons of coconut oil (my favourite is lucy bee) plus half a cup of melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon of maple syrup
A pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup of Lucy Rocks Blush Crunch Granola (plus extra for decoration)


Method:
Line your dish or mould with baking paper and set to one side.

Add the tiger nut powder, almond butter and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to a food processor and blend until a smooth paste forms. This will look like a thick nut butter. Add to this the salt, maple syrup and melted coconut oil. Blend again thoroughly until you have a smooth consistency. Transfer the liquid to a bowl and stir in 1/2 a cup of granola - combine thoroughly so that the granola pieces are evenly distributed throughout the fudge. Pour the fudge mixture evenly into your mould/dish. You can then decorate the top of the fudge by sprinkling more granola over the surface. Place in the fridge for an hour to set. Remove, admire, demolish.

Ingredients for golden granola fudge:
3/4 cup of tiger nut powder
1 tablespoon of carob powder (can sub for chocolate)
2 tablespoons of coconut oil plus half a cup of melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon of maple syrup
A pinch of sea salt
1/2 a cup of Lucy Rocks Golden Granola (plus extra for decoration)

Method:
Add the tiger nut powder, carob powder and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to the food processor. Blend thoroughly to create a smooth paste the consistency of nut butter. Add the salt, maple syrup and melted coconut oil to the paste and blend again until smooth. Transfer this mixture into a bowl and stir through 1/2 a cup of golden granola, ensuring it is spread evenly throughout the fudge. Pour this mixture evenly into your lined mould/dish. Sprinkle additional granola over the surface to decorate and refrigerate for an hour until set.

Ingredients for AIP, low FODMAP fudge:
1 cup of tiger nut powder
2 tablespoons of coconut oil plus half a cup of melted coconut oil
A pinch of sea salt
A teaspoon of maple syrup
1/2 cup of freeze dried strawberries (plus extra for decoration)
* If you can tolerate it adding a tablespoon of almond butter makes the fudge even more creamy!

Method:
Add the tiger nut powder (almond butter if you can tolerate) and coconut oil to the food processor and blend until it forms a smooth paste. Add the salt, maple syrup and melted coconut oil and blend again to form a smooth consistency. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the freeze dried strawberries, ensuring that they are evenly spread throughout the fudge. Evenly pour the fudge mixture into your lined mould and place in the fridge for an hour until completely set.

Each bar of fudge will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days....if it lasts the long.

When I set about making these, I had absolutely no idea what I intended to create. As the story goes, I was lying in bed one Saturday morning and decided I fancied a cookie. Better still, multiple cookies. It then occurred to me that these cookies should probably be sandwiched together with some kind of creamy filling. This was all the motivation I needed to leave the bed and hit the kitchen. With a few adaptations to one of my previous biscuit recipes, these delicious tiger nut whoopie pies were born.

'Whoopie what?' I hear you cry. A whoopie pie is a kind of cakey cookie. Not crunchy, but soft and chewy and sandwiched with a scrumptious filling. If you haven't tried one, your world is about to change.

Makes 15 whoopie pies

Ingredients:

For the cookies
2 level cups of tiger nut powder
2/3 of a cup of arrowroot powder
1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
A pinch of salt
Just shy of 1 cup of melted coconut oil
4 dessert spoons of maple syrup
2 level tablespoons of gelatin powder.
3 dessert spoons of ground ginger
1 heaped teaspoon of cinnamon

For the filling
1 cup of sifted tiger nut powder
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1/4 cup of tiger nut milk

Method:

To make the cookies
Pre heat your oven to 200 degrees or 180  for fan assisted.

Line a baking tray with a sheet of baking parchment.

Start by adding all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and thoroughly combine.

In a separate bowl add the maple syrup to the melted coconut oil and stir to combine. Sprinkle the gelatin powder over the surface of the liquid and whisk immediately to ensure thoroughly combined with the liquids, you do not want clumps of gelatin!

Pour the liquids into your dry mix and fold together. Fold slowly in a figure of eight whilst turning the bowl to ensure everything is completely combined until a dough forms. Use your hands to form small balls of dough, slightly smaller than a golf ball. Place these onto the baking sheet and use your hands to press them into biscuit shapes. They will spread slightly when cooking so leave some space between each biscuit.

Put these in the middle of your oven and bake for 15-17 minutes. After this time they will be starting to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool and firm up.

While the cookies are cooling you can make the filling.

Add the powder and coconut oil to a blender and blitz until it forms a silky smooth nut butter. Add the milk and blend again until combined. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and leave to one side to firm up a little.

Once the cookies are completely cool, spoon a little (or a lot) of the filling into the centre of one cookie and spread to the edges in an even layer. Sandwich with another cookie and voila! The perfect AIP whoopie pie.

These will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Having mastered the art of the sweet AIP biscuit, I thought it was time to turn my hand to the savoury variety. I was never much a fan of biscuits with cheese and I am offended by those bone dry crackers that people seem to enjoy slathered in margarine. However, post coeliac diagnosis I discovered the humble oat biscuit and my savoury biscuit world changed forever. The real kick in the teeth then came when I discovered I was also intolerant to oats. Never one to shy away from a bizarre culinary challenge, I decided I would make my own oats. Without oats. Bare with me please, I haven't lost my mind.

If you follow my blog you will have noticed that there is very little that you cannot do with a tigernut. With this in mind, I set about creating my own tigernut oats. The result is a buttery, crumbly, slightly sweet yet savoury biscuit. Perfect with AIP cheese, delicious on its own or better still to accompany my chicken liver pate.

You will need:
A food processor
Baking paper

Ingredients:
1 cup of soaked and drained organic tigernuts - soak for 24 hours
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons of tigernut powder
1/3 cup of arrowroot powder
A generous pinch of salt
2 sprigs of finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup of melted coconut oil
1 dessert spoon of powdered gelatin

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees for fan assisted, 200 degrees for conventional.

To make the oats, add the tigernuts to your food processor with half a cup of water and blitz on high speed until the tigernuts begin to break down. Add the rest of the water and pulse until you have an oat-like consistency. Transfer this mixture to a sieve and rinse the tigernuts making sure to drain off any excess water.

Spread the oat mixture evenly across a lined oven tray and bake in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes, turning frequently to ensure they are baked evenly. Once the oats are a crisp golden brown, remove from the oven to cool. You will also need to remove any larger pieces of tigernut that remain. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Add the tigernut powder, arrowroot, rosemary and salt to the oat mixture and combine thoroughly. Add the melted coconut oil to a seperate bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface. Whisk immediately to ensure there are no clumps in the mixture. Pour the liquid into your dry mixture and mix thoroughly to combine.

Line an oven tray with baking paper. Take a small handful of the mixture at a time - roughly the size of a golf ball and press into a  biscuit shape on the paper. The biscuits may spread slightly when cooking so do not make them too thin to start with. Bake in the centre of the oven for 18 minutes or until turning golden brown. Remove from the oven to cool and firm up.

These will keep well in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Enjoy!

I luuuurve liver. I'm not even ashamed. Given that it is easily one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet, I aim to incorporate it into my meal plan on a weekly basis. If you are following an AIP diet you will already be aware of the importance of consuming organ meat for its rich nutritional value, but this is one element of the diet where it can be easy to turn a blind eye. Understandably there's something about consuming organs that has the power to turn even the  strongest stomach. As the self proclaimed most squeamish person on the planet (believe me - I cant even sit through an episode of casualty) If I can handle a packet of liver, anybody can.
This is so super simple to make but absolutely packed to the rafters with scrumminess. Trust  me - you won't even remember what it is you are eating but your body will thank you for it.

Serves 2-4

You will need:

A food processor

Ingredients

For the Pate:

400 grams organic chicken livers
1 generous tablespoon of coconut oil plus extra for frying
1 tablespoon of dried thyme
A generous pinch of Himalayan salt

For the Jam:

1 cup of fresh organic blueberries
1 tablespoon of water
Generous pinch of ground ginger

Method:

To make the jam, add the blueberries, water and ginger to a medium saucepan and turn the heat to high. Bring to the boil and let this bubble for 4 minutes. As they soften, mash the blueberries down with a fork. Reduce the heat and cook on low for 7-10 minutes until the liquid is reduced and you have a thick jam. This will thicken further on standing.  Reserve this to one side to cool completely.

To make the pate, cook the livers in a little coconut oil over a medium/high heat. The livers should be nicely browned on the outside but still tender. Once cooked to your liking, transfer the liver to a food processor. Add the coconut oil, salt and dried thyme. Blitz the mixture on a high setting until it forms a smooth pate consistency.

Transfer the pate to a sealed jar or ramekin dish and top with a generous layer of the blueberry jam.

You can chill this in the refrigerator but I think it tastes best served immediately :) Enjoy

For the first time in about 4 years I am actually looking forward to sitting down to Christmas dinner. I have the whole affair mapped out from Christmas eve to Boxing day with military precision. The fact that I will be able to sit down and enjoy a dessert with everyone excites me the most, and yes I will be doing a different dessert for each of the three days. Making puddings is a rare treat for me so I intend to savour every maple sweetened second.

With Christmas wrapped up and firmly under control, my thoughts have turned to New Years Eve. For which I am not prepared at all. Unsure what people typically eat on New Years Eve, I came to the conclusion that it is mostly scaled down versions of regular foods on oversized plates. Finger food, party snacks, bite size morsels on tiny sticks.  I started to compile a list of the mini foods I fancy for the festivities and decided that having had 'make a quiche' on my AIP to do list for some time, mini quiche would make the shortlist. I would be lying if I said I hadnt impressed myself with the result.

I'm so proud of how it turned out that I kept calling my husband into the kitchen to say 'but just look at my quiche one more time'. It's rich, sweet, savoury and creamy without even the faintest sniff of an egg or dairy product in sight. Its also very adaptable for vegetarian or vegan versions and you can play with filling combinations to your hearts content.

I hope to see miniature versions of these popping up at AIP New Years Eve parties everywhere.

Oh, and while I have you, today is the last day to vote for me at the UK blog awards! If you haven't already you can find my competition entry here - I really appreciate your support. And if you have already - huge huge thanks :) Emma

You will need:

A blender
Loose bottomed quiche tin (mine is 18cm)
Baking paper or cling film

Ingredients:

For the custard
1 cup of courgette peeled and cubed
1 cup of swede peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
1 tablespoon of gelatin powder (See my favourite brand below. Sub with agar agar for vegan alternative)
1/2 a cup of water
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
Himalayan sea salt


For the chicken and sage filling
3 free range organic chicken breasts diced into chunks
A generous handful of fresh sage leaves
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 generous handful of chopped spring greens
1 tablespoon of coconut oil (see below)
2 tablespoons of garlic oil
Himalayan sea salt

For the pastry

1.5 cups of sifted tiger nut powder
1/2 cup of arrowroot powder (see below)
1/2 a cup of beef dripping (I bought mine from Waitrose. For vegan sub with coconut oil)
1/4 cup of ice cold water
A good pinch of Himalayan sea salt

Method:

To make your pastry

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees for fan assisted, 200 for conventional.

Add the sifted tiger nut powder, arrowroot and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Add the beef dripping and use your fingers to combine the fat and flour breaking down any lumps as you go. Slowly start adding the ice cold water a little at a time until you are left with a dough. Wrap this in baking paper and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Remove the dough from the fridge. You can either roll this out and transfer to your tin or, to avoid crumbling pastry press directly into your tin. You want the pastry to be around 4mm thick all over. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork and bake in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes. remove this from the oven and set to one side.

To make your 'custard' filling

Steam or par boil your cubed courgettes until tender. Add to the blender with the lemon juice, a good pinch of salt, 1/4 of a cup of water and a tablepoon of coconut oil. Blend on high speed until completely smooth. Remove from the blender and reserve this liquid to one side.

While you are making your courgette mixture, boil the cubed swede in salted water until they begin to soften and you can easily pierce them with a knife. Once soft, add these to the blender with 1/4 cup of water and a tablespoon of coconut oil. Blend on high speed until you have what resembles a thickened custard. Add the courgette mixture back into the blender with the swede. Add a good pinch of salt to taste and leave in the blender as you will return to this later.

For the chicken and sage mix

Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the diced chicken pieces. Once these have begun to cook add the sage leaves, rosemary and a pinch of salt. When the chicken is about 5 minutes from being fully cooked through, add the chopped spring greens and  garlic oil and stir throughly to combine the flavours. After about 5 minutes the greens will have wilted. Make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked through before removing the pan from the heat. Remove any stalks from the rosemary and pour this mixture into the pastry case.

To the mixture in the blender add 1 tablespoon of powdered gelatin and blend until everything is fully combined.

Pour this custard over the chicken mix in the pastry case.

Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until both the pastry and the custard mixture is golden brown.

Once ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool. You can enjoy this warm and the filling will be soft and creamy. Alternatively leave this to cool then refrigerate to set your custard and serve chilled.

​Enjoy :)