Here it is! My first ever video for Be Good Organics. Creating vids is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, so I’m super excited to finally share this first cut with you. We had so much fun making it, so I hope you love it too!
As a bit of background (and something I don’t think I’ve shared before), I almost went to acting school after high school. Yes acting – a little removed from health and food! I loved performance as a child, and did all sorts of singing, acting, music and dance (tap, jazz, ballet, ballroom, salsa, flute, piano, sax… you name it). I was also really lucky in my last few years of school to be given some awesome lead roles in our school productions (double bonus of spending legitimate study-time at the boys college up the road). I loved it so much I very nearly enrolled in performing arts school after my final year, but the sensible voice within convinced me I’d be much better off doing a BA/BCom at Uni. I always thought I’d do some sort of performance in my spare time, but it never really eventuated. So this little vid is a bit special for me, being able to combine my love of food and health with some fun performing style work too!
I hope you like it, and if you do, please share it with your friends and family. Forward it on, leave a comment on YouTube, tag a friend, like it on Facebook, or subscribe to my new YouTube channel. All of that will help me make more of them! And thanks so much for being a part of my Be Good Organics story thus far.
Meanwhile no post would be complete without a nutritional discussion on our recipe at hand. Oh, and this recipe! A Salted Caramel Macadamia Slice that’s easy, delicious, not too sweet, with a subtle hint of caramel, and quirky offset from the fresh sea salt. It channels all the flavours you want from a caramel slice, without the headachey bloated feeling afterwards. The creamy filling is just sweet enough, and perfectly balanced by the moreish biscuity base and crunchy macadamia topping. It’s one of my favourite raw sweet treats to date, so I know you’re going to love it too!
Macadamias make your heart go boom
Now those macadamias, the star of this slice. These lovely round creamy nuts are originally from Australia, and are now also a primary export of Hawaii (which is why if you’ve ever travelled there, you’ll no doubt have come home with at least one box of those rather delicious chocolate covered versions). Macadamias’ key nutritional feature is that they are high in monounsaturated fats, similar to those found in olive oil but in a fully whole food un-pressed form. Not only does this mean that they’re satiating (keep you full for longer), they’ve also been shown to protect your heart from cardiovascular disease.
In particular, multiple studies have shown that replacing saturated animal fats with fats from macadamia nuts has a favorable effect on cholesterol levels, with higher HDL cholesterol (the ‘good’ cholesterol), and lower LDL and triglycerides (the ‘bad’ cholesterols), after only 30 days of making the change. This effectively emulates the diets of traditional Mediterranean communities like the Cretan Greeks and southern Italians, where nutritional intakes were reasonably high in fat, but less than 10% of that came from saturated animal sources.
Not only are these little nutty morsels cardioprotective, they’re also high in flavonoids, which act as antioxidants pairing up with free radicals which can damage our cells and lead to cancer and autoimmune disease. Plus they taste delicious!
Given macadamias are probably one of the most expensive nuts around (along with pine nuts), I’ve only used them very sparingly in this recipe, as the feature on top of the slice. The rest of the ingredients are easy peasy, and we stock many of them in our online Be Good Organics store in bulk (here) which makes them even cheaper.
I hope you give this slice a go and love it as much as I do, and that you enjoy the video! If you make it and share it on Insta, tag me in @begoodorganics and #begoodorganics so I can come say hello and check out your wares.
Til next week, stay happy and well!
PS If you liked this recipe and video, forward it to your family and friends, subscribe to my channel on YouTube, pin it on Pinterest, share it on Facebook, or post it to Instagram. If you’re not already subscribed to my weekly recipe emails, make sure you do that here too!
Please note – if you are wanting to meet any of the specific dietary requirements below, please read my recipe notes.
Ingredients
Base
- 1 1/2 c rolled oats
- 1 c desiccated coconut
- 1/2 c almonds
- 1 c dates
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 + 1/8 tsp sea salt
Topping
- 2 1/2 c cashews soaked 2 hours, rinsed & drained
- 3/4 c filtered water
- 1/2 c medjoul dates 5-6
- 1/4 c tahini hulled
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp coconut nectar
- 1/2 + 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 c cacao butter melted
- To sprinkle: 3/4c halved macadamias + freshly cracked sea salt
Instructions
- Add all base ingredients (oats, coconut, almonds, dates, vanilla and salt) to a food processor or blender (I personally love my Vitamix)and blend until well combined and the mixture sticks together easily when pressed together between your thumb and forefinger.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper (wet the inside of the baking tray to help it stick down). Pour the base in and press down firmly with the palm of your hand until a nice even flat surface is achieved – place in the fridge while you prepare the topping.
- Place the cashews, water, medjoul dates, tahini, vanilla, coconut nectar and sea salt in a high speed blender (again, the Vitamix is great here), until super smooth and creamy. There should be no lumps remaining. Scrape down the sides and blend again to ensure a super smooth finish.
- Finally add the melted cacao butter and blend again until fully combined, then pour onto the base and spread down flat with a spatula.
- Sprinkle over macadamias and press in lightly to the filling so they stick. Place in the freezer overnight to set.
- The next day move the slice to the fridge for at least half an hour to soften slightly before slicing (the fridge allows it to soften evenly, as opposed to bench top where it will soften too much around the edges and not enough in the middle). After slicing into squares top with freshly cracked sea salt, then place back in the freezer in a sealed container for an hour to re-firm. Just before serving, add a little more freshly cracked sea salt for texture and visual deliciousness. Stores happily in the freezer (if hidden) for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes
- This slice is naturally wheat free with the use of organic oats (which I love), but if you’d like to make it fully gluten free, simply replace the rolled oats with buckwheat, almonds or sunflower seeds (which will also incidentally make it paleo). Remember oats do contain a type of gluten called avenin, but most people are fine with this and don’t have any gastrointestinal reactions. To read more about oats and gluten, see my post here.
- *If you’re in a pinch and don’t have any cacao butter, you can use coconut oil instead. However, it will be much softer so you’ll have to make sure to keep it in the freezer.
- This slice is just perfect on its own (straight from the freezer – yum!), but it also goes deliciously with some simple sliced banana as a dessert. Enjoy!