Recipes
We finish each class with herbal tea and our own very popular biscuits. Recipes can be found below. There is plenty of time and space to make new friends, pick up advice, ask questions and pass on insights.
Molasses is rich in iron – more iron for fewer calories than meat. It is also rich in vitamin c, calcium, potassium, manganese, copper and magnesium. It is a very dark brown thick liquid – buy it in a jar from health food shops and some supermarkets. These molasses recipes are delicious anytime – particularly during pregnancy, breastfeeding and for growing toddlers and children. Make one of these recipes as a present for a new mum.
Chewy Molasses Cookies
Ingredients (vegan)
- 150g wholemeal spelt flour
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 50g unrefined caster sugar
- 80g blackstrap molasses (4 tablespoons)
- 56g olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ground linseeds (flaxseed)
- 2.5 tablespoons warm water
Method
Preheat the oven to 170C / 150C Fan / Gas 3 / 325F and line two baking trays with baking paper (I use the re-usable liners from Lakeland). Mix together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, bicarbonate of soda in a bowl. In another mix the sugar, molasses and olive oil. Prepare a replacement egg by whisking together the ground flaxseed and warm water. Add this to the sugar mixture and stir until well combined. Add in the dry ingredients and stir gently until well combined. Scoop onto prepared baking trays. I use a 2tbsp/30ml ice cream scoop for this. They spread a bit so allow space between (8 per sheet). Bake at for 14 minutes. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes on the trays before transferring them to cooling racks.
Another delicious iron-rich recipe. This one contains not only molasses, but walnuts, pumpkin, raisins and oats all of which are great sources of iron. Walnuts, rapeseed oil and flax seeds are also good sources of Omega 3s and 6s. This recipe makes about 24 cookies.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 135g wholemeal flour
- 65g rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 145g caster sugar
- 80ml rapeseed oil
- 1 tablespoon molasses (you can buy jars of molasses in health food shops)
- 115g tinned pumpkin or cooked pureed pumpkin (Waitrose stock tinned)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- Optional: 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds (health food shop)
- 50g walnuts, finely chopped
- 35g raisins (use organic if you can – regular raisins retain high residues from pesticides)
Method
Mix together the flour, oats, bicarb, salt & spices. In another bowl, mix sugar, oil, molasses, pumpkin & vanilla (and the ground flax seed if you are using it) until well combined. Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches. Fold in the chopped walnuts & raisins. Place tablespoons onto greased baking sheets (non-stick baking sheets are a really good investment if you do a lot of biscuit baking. It’s worth getting good quality ones – cheap ones are often not very non-stick). They don’t spread much, so they can be about an inch apart. Flatten the tops to make them into a biscuit shape. Bake for 15 minutes at gas mark 4. Cool on a wire rack. They taste even better the next day!
This recipe is a firm favourite at The Yoga Hall, especially with toddlers and in the pre-natal class. It does not contain sugar, is easy to make and delicious.
Banana & Raisin Cake
Ingredients
- 4 ripe bananas (mashed)
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- ½ cup (75g) sun-dried raisins (raisins retain large amounts of pesticides, so use organic if you can)
- A third of a cup (75g) softened butter or margarine
- 1 cup (115g) wholemeal self-raising flour (or 115g spelt flour and 1½ tsp baking powder)
Method
Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°F. Mix together the beaten eggs and the mashed bananas. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Transfer to an oiled loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes until cooked through.