By Christine Salins
Inspired by a wish to make sweet yet wholesome treats for her family, Bianca Slade started creating delicious recipes that she shared with friends. Her efforts grew into a blog, Wholefood Simply, which has developed an eager following.
She now has around 270,000 followers on social media and several cookbooks to her credit, some of them self-published and the most recent, Wholefood Simply: Natural Indulgence, published by ABC Books (rrp $35).
Filled with sweet treats like Not Quite A Snickers Mousse Cake, Chocolate Brownie Mug Cake, No-Bake Carrot Cake, and Not Quite A Ferrero Slice, it’s easy to see why the book is utterly irresistible.
In all her recipes, Slade minimises processed ingredients, maximises raw ingredients, and avoids refined sugar, gluten and dairy. She keeps ingredients and methods simple, and uses readily available ingredients, which no doubt contributes to her broad appeal.
The luscious looking tarts, cookies, cakes, muffins, desserts, icecream, fudge and sweets are made with ingredients like almond butter, medjool dates, coconut oil, maple syrup and fruits and berries.
Clearly a woman of many talents, Slade does all her own photography in addition to creating the recipes. She mentions that the photography was done in the lounge room of her Ballarat home, often with her three young children beside her.
The recipe for Gingerbread Cookie Dough Bliss Balls featured here comes from a collection of 16 different bliss balls, ranging from Carrot Cake Bliss Balls to Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Balls and Lemon Bliss Balls.
These are ideal for snacking on at work, and you can be smug in the knowledge that you’re enjoying something that is sweet and delicious but very wholesome.
Gingerbread Cookie Dough Bliss Balls
Makes 12 to 14.
1½ cups almond meal
3 tablespoons almond butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Place the ingredients into your processor and blend until the mixture resembles a fine, sticky crumb.
Use slightly damp hands to roll a tablespoon of the mixture into a ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture and place the balls in the fridge to set.
NOTE: I rub my hands with coconut oil prior to rolling the balls. If desired, sprinkle cacao or cocoa powder over the balls before putting them in the fridge.
From Wholefood Simply, by Bianca Slade. Published by ABC Books.
