Chewy Salted Caramel Slice

There's nothing more I love than experimenting in the kitchen - especially with sweets. I have this incredibly strong sweet tooth. I'm more often than not, whizzing up something for me (and the kids) to snack on throughout the day... Seems my little kids have inherited my sweet tooth!

Having a sweet tooth can get you in to a lot of trouble though - having too much of something can certainly lead to health problems - weight gain being one of them! Trust me, I've been there... many times. I've learnt if I want to snack on the sweeter side of things, I need to make up for it and exercise and obviously not over indulge. I could never live in a world where I was only "allowed" to eat a sweet treat say once a week, a "cheat meal". Life's too short. So, this attitude towards my eating habits has definitely brought me to where I am today - and that's my passion for clean (raw) eating.

My taste buds, over time, have gotten use to the absence of that artificial sweetener, and that natural sweetener I use is sometimes not even needed. I can eat cacao nibs and be satisfied. Though, sometimes my body wants that added kick of sweetness, so I usually opt for rice malt syrup, raw honey, or medjool dates.

One thing I always loved growing up was that gooey, sticky caramel slice. Ya know, the one you could get at your local bakery. Yum! I've tried quite a few healthier option ones overtime and finally created one I absolutely love. So much so, it seriously tasted like the real thing - only it's good for you. No refined sugar, good fats, full of protein, full of fibre and yep, it really fills you up after only one slice. The one's in the bakery are filled with loads of sugar and flour. Two main ingredients which I see have no nutritional value whatsoever.

I'm happy to share with you my Chewy Salted Caramel Slice:

Base:

1 cup of spelt puffs
2 medjool dates
1 tsp of rice malt syrup
1 tsp of raw cacao powder
1/3 of cup of almond meal
1 tbl of melted coconut oil

Whiz all these ingredients together until it becomes sticky. If you need to add water, do so. You want  a sticky consistency though. Press down onto baking paper, in a slice tray and pop into the freezer.

Middle filling:

Around 10 medjool dates
1/2 cup of melted coconut oil
Good sprinkle of pink Himalayan salt
(for extra sweetness you can add 1 tbl of rice malt syrup)

Whiz all these ingredients together until it resembles a creamy, sticky kind of state. Taste, if it's salted enough, you're good to go. Spread this mixture evenly on top of the base. Pop back into the freezer.

Topping:

1/2 cup of melted coconut oil
1 tbl raw cacao powder
(for extra sweetness add 1tsp of rice malt syrup)

Mix all together and pour over the top of salted caramel layer.

Finally, sprinkle cacao nibs on top and pop in the freezer. It should be ready to eat within about an hour. Keep in the fridge to eat whenever you like!

Enjoy xxx

Would love your feedback and please, share your recipes with us.

Little Sis x

Our latest stockist in the heart of one of our home towns!

My Sister's Pantry has a BRAND NEW stockist. And it's right in the heart of one our home towns - Mirboo North.

Please, everybody, welcome Tamaralyns!

A new, earthy, rustic style cafe that's about to open in the lovely little town of Mirboo North.

Tamara and Geoff have put their heart and soul into this coffee shop and they asked us if we would be happy to stock our goodies on their shelves.....And of course we said YES!

The opening date is yet to be announced (but from what we hear, it's pretty soon) and our goodies will be available to purchase!

So many people ask us where our shop space is located... many, many times, and yep, we do arrange the pick up orders to be picked up from our house - but this will be no longer. All of our lovely customers will now be able to order online - www.mysisterspantry.com.au, and pick up from Tamaralyns. You won't need to pay postage. Instead you'll have a lovely excuse to hop down to the main street of Mirboo North and grab a hot cuppa! When you do purchase through our online store and select pick up, we'll email you back to let you know when your order is ready (for pick up at Tamaralyns). Easy as that.

Or, if you don't want to shop online, then most of our goodies will be in store at Tamaralyns. We'll work hard, and make sure the shelves are always stocked up. You'll be able to go in, browse our goodies and have a good look at them.

Tamaralyns is going to be all about good coffee and sweet spot to meet up with friends. It's pram friendly (bonus for lots of mums and dads), there's going to be some super sweet treats on offer and a few other amazing things Tamara and Geoff have organised.

We're really excited for the town of Mirboo North and the South Gippsland region. We think Tamaralyns is exactly what this area needs. Friendly faces, good food, yummy coffee and a few locally made goodies. Get behind Tam and Geoff and support their new venture. We are incredibly proud and excited to be apart of this. My Sister's Pantry will be available in one of our own home towns. Awesome!

Do hop on over to Tamaralyns Facebook page and follow them for info and updates on when they'll be opening and when our goodies will be available to take home.

The Sisters xx

a few secrets

At My Sister's Pantry, we're happy to help our fellow friends out. We're happy to exchange some of our tips and tricks and we're happy to let you in on a few secrets of ours.

Let's start with our Babushkas Muesli and Toppers. The things you can do with these little babes are endless. Seriously. You don't just have to eat these for breakfast. And even if you choose too, then we encourage you to be creative with them.... Here's a few things we like to do....

We like to soak our Babushkas overnight (or for at least an hour before we eat them). In particularly our Honey Joy, Berry Nib and Choc Coated. These Babushkas are loaded with chia seeds - and when these are soaked, they expand - they're literally like a sponge so you need to add quite a bit of liquid to these guys. Allowing them to expand gives them this pudding type of consistency. Yum.

Our Honey Joy and Choc Coated are full of nuts. Have you heard about activated nuts? Well, soaking nuts activates them, releasing toxins and then allowing your digestive system to process them more easily. Our Berry Nib contains oats, so same goes here. Oats soaked will be better for your digestive system.

Our Hot X Bun is a winner in our household when it's cooked over a slow temp on the stove top. It becomes a decadent porridge - the kids love this!

Our Savoury one is perfect for a snack on the go and is used a lot as a topper on our salads and stir-fries.

And, all of our Babushkas can be transformed into bliss balls! In fact, if you have a handful of good quality ingredients in your pantry, then you can easily make your very own bliss balls. These balls are the perfect snack for anytime of the day. Our kids enjoy these guys for brekky and as a sweet after tea.


Here's our simple recipe we'd love you to try at home;

DIY Bliss Balls (packed full of protein, good fats, calcium, minerals, fibre, no fructose)

You can use your own Babushka, or

1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of pepitas
1/2 cup of shredded coconut
1 tbl of raw cacao powder
1/2 cup of almonds
about 2 tbl of Rice Malt Syrup (depending how sweet you'd like it)
1 tsp of vanilla powder
1/2 cup of melted down coconut oil

Simply pop all these ingredients into a kitchen whiz (no fancy things), and blend all together. Then work the mixture together in your hands, roll into balls and coat with chia seeds. Pop into the fridge so they firm up and keep them in there :)

Easy. Healthy. Nutritious. Yum. 

Stay tuned. We're going to keep you updated with our helpful tips and tricks, including some awesome home remedy ones for your skin.

Your friends,

The Sisters xx

What's next? We need YOUR help!

Creating goodies in our kitchens is what we do. When we hit a winner we celebrate with high-fives and our happy dance. We get this buzz in our bellies and then we eagerly pop our new goodies on our shelves and bring them to you. Each new goodie we've created so far has been greatly appreciated and supported and that really is the icing on the cake.

So, what's brewing next in My Sister's Pantry? If you've recently browsed through our pantry shelves (www.mysisterspantry.com.au) you would've noticed a few goodies have been removed. It was their time to leave and make way for some new ones! A lot of pantry pals throw suggestions our way ALL the time. And we love that. And now we want to work at narrowing it down. We're not really sure what the majority of people want. And while we'd love to cater for everyone and keep all our pals happy, we simply can't. We want to create and focus all of our strength into only a couple of new goodies. So, that's where you come into it.

We need YOUR help!

Here are a few ideas we've been throwing around;

• a completely sugar-free muesli
• another savoury topper to add to salads
• lip balms, all flavoursome and real
• hand wash / sanitiser
• a makeup remover - targeted at those who wish to simply remove makeup at the end of the day without "washing" their face
• a caramel flavour raw chocolate
• shaving cream - dedicated for women and men too
• a dry shampoo
• muesli bars

Like the sound anything you see there? Perhaps you have another idea for us?

We would appreciate your help and be ever so thankful. You could say we're at a bit of a fork in the road and now we need you to point us in the right direction. Which way would you like to see The Sisters go?

Please simply comment on our Facebook post, or Instgram. We're excited to see what will be cookin' next at My Sister's Pantry.

Your friends,

The Sisters xx

What's in a name?

Even at the best of times, naming is a contentious and emotional business.  Whether you're naming your baby, your boat, or your muesli, the process can breed nearly endless deliberation.

We have deliberated to the point of exhaustion here at My Sister's Pantry and to put bluntly, ethics won.

We are changing the name of our Paleo mueslis.  Why?  The short answer: We don't want to capitalise on a name in order to make money.  Will this decision affect sales?  Absolutely.  Our Paleo mueslis are our biggest sellers.

Here is the long answer:

We live in a culture of information overload and there is always someone who can make a compelling argument for or against just about anything.  The decisions you make about your health ultimately come down to you, which is why changing the name of our Paleo mueslis encourages free thinking.  They are and always will be Paleo friendly mueslis and those true to this way of eating will take the time to read the labels and select our mueslis based on that information.

The thing about Paleo is that it entirely comes down to you.  No two people are the same and even the Paleo diet shouldn’t look the same for everyone.  Since fads are temporary, those of you who are committed to Paleo for the long haul are clearly not participating in a fad, but rather in a way of living.  Sure, there will always be people who try Paleo for a few weeks or months and find it’s not for them, and that’s okay.  That's where our Paleo-friendly Honey Joy can still be eaten and enjoyed for the simple fact that it's good for you.

Many variants of the now modern Paleo diet have been developed and popularised over the decades under names such as the Caveman, Paleolithic and Primal diet.  Popular forms of the diet, for example, those advocated by celebrity Paleo bloggers, commonly diverge from this.  Recently there has been a significant movement towards 'Paleo 2.0' which rejects simply eating the foods of the paleolithic, in favor of eating whatever foods best reproduce the "evolutionary metabolic milieu".  A simple example is that while Paleo 1.0 would reject cream, Paleo 2.0 would tend to embrace it as an animal fat.

This is what gets up our goat.  Popping a 2.0 at the end of a name, to us, is marketing.  We don't want to be a part of it.  We don't name our gluten-free mueslis 'Gluten-free Muesli', so why should our Paleo range be any different?
All of our Babushkas Organic Mueslis & Toppers are healthy and our ethos is 'everything in moderation'.  This philosophy has seen us both lose weight and feel fighting fit.  No Fad Diet 2.0 in sight.

Reducing the high fat, high sugar foods and avoiding fast and junk foods will see you lose weight.  The fasting process, which the Paleo diet recommends, is said to stimulate the catabolic process so your stored fat reserves start to be broken down - although a similar effect is achieved with vigorous exercise.
Our concern with any diet is that excess of anything in your food plan is not good for you.  Neither is starving yourself.  This is our moral view.
 Eat our Paleo-friendly Babushka because you choose to commit to this diet, or eat it because you love the taste of honey joys.  Either way, know that we are committed to providing honestly clean products and this can only be done by being true to ourselves.

Who? What? Where? When?

If you follow us on Facebook (My Sister's Pantry), or Instagram (mysisterspantrysthgippy), you should know that we are going to the Choo Choo Market this Saturday, the 27th of June.

The Choo Choo Market is a unique crafty market, held inside the Shire Hall at Mirboo North. It's a once a year market, put together by the lovely people from Mirboo North Playgroup and Toy Library. This year their focus has been to gather as many different types of crafty, homemade goodies from around South Gippsland and beyond. We believe they've got a real array of special goodies, made by lots of talented people and when we were asked to be apart of it, we couldn't resist!

The Mirboo North Community Market is on the same day, in the park, in the middle of the main street. Fair to say, the little town of Mirboo North will be buzzing come this Saturday!

If you're planning on coming down for a visit, pop in and see us inside at the Choo Choo Market. Remember, we're indoors, at the Shire Hall (opposite the public toilets/carpark).

We will be limited for space, and will have a limited number of a goodies. So, we're popping this call out to see if anyone wants anything in particular from our goodies - www.mysisterspantry.com.au, please shoot us an email mysisterspantrysthgippy@outlook.com, or a Facebook message. We do not want to disappoint anyone, so please let us know if there's something you want, and we'll pop it aside for you.

Aaaaaaaaaaand. Yep, we'll be launching new goodies at the market! 

We'll be there from 9am til 2pm. See you there?

The Sisters xx

Doin' what we do!

Little Sis here. 

I was recently asked, why do you do what you do? (referring to of course, My Sister's Pantry).

In a short answer; I'm a foodie. I love brekky the best and I love my sister.

Long answer; Making food for others has become a strong love of mine, probably beginning a few years back, once I really started to understand good food and how to use it! Ask my husband, he knows I love experimenting in the kitchen, and I have to admit there's been quite a few flops! But, over the years I've developed this relationship with cooking and look where it's got me!

I get so excited about breakfast. I think about it before I go to bed. I dream about it in my sleep and once I wake up, I seriously cannot wait to sink my teeth into something scrumptious and a hot cup of coffee. My muesli making days started around four years ago. I'd make my muesli for my family, pass it on to friends and get this buzz when someone else would eat it. I started experimenting and creating my own recipes.

I began making my own muesli because I really struggled to find my own "healthy and clean" ones. When I look back at what brands I use to eat I roll my eyes. I use to eat many of the ones you find in your local supermarket. Now that I understand food more and the way it's used, I now know so many of those muesli and brekky options are loaded with sugar and additives. Sugar, to make them "taste" better and additives to make them last longer. Yuck. Even those mueslis that say they don't use sugar in their recipes, but then fill most of their mix up with dried fruit were tricking me! Dried fruit has the water removed from the fruit, therefore concentrating the sugars. Not good. Unless you want to go and run a marathon straight after.

What I love most about the mueslis I've created is, they're so very versatile. I eat my muesli on average, twice a day. Either brekky, as a snack, brunch or dessert. I sometimes eat them on their own, or paired with natural yoghurt and fresh fruit. I sometimes whiz a couple of tablespoons in smoothies, or sprinkle over salads, or toast. And, I love mixing a little in with a warm bowl of porridge, and we even use them in our pancakes and home-made loaves and bread. 

The next part in this story is my sister. The one who's with me in all this. I'm doing this with her because we both have very strong loves for what we are doing and they're both based around the same kind of thing - looking after your body and what you have. My sister is an inspiration to me. She always has been. I've somewhat "followed' her in my life, because I really look up to her. We both use to work within the media. We're both creative, but in different ways. We're both mums and we both want to try and help people with what we are doing with our stories and with our goodies. I'm extremely proud of her and what she's come up with, with her body care range. I'm completely blown away with what she's made and I have to admit, my whole "beauty" regime has changed, because of her.

I begin my day with My Sister's Eyes serum. It immediately reduces the puffiness in my eyes. Then I spread some Face Serum over my skin for hydration. If I need an extra pick-me-up I scrub my face and body with the Mocha Mask. The smell alone wakes me up! But the coffee and cocoa mixed together infuses into my skin and gets my bloody flowing. I pop a bit of Deodorant under my arms, brush my teeth with the Tooth Powder and I'm set! I end the day cleaning my face with the Citrus Cleanser + Brown Body Scrub. The cleanser is good because it's rough and it really feels as though it cleans. Yet, the body scrub is more of gentle cleaner and it moisturises at the same time. I then moisturise my entire body and face with the Body Butter (I may also pop it on my lips and lick them too!!). I wake up in the morning and do it all over again. I feel so good knowing I'm popping all natural, edible things into my body. NO CHEMICALS whatsoever. I use to use Sukin a lot. It's all natural, right? I can't even pronounce some of their ingredients on the back of their labels. And they use a type of alcohol in most of their range. Why? Those type of things are known to cause irritation in skin and be the number one cause for dryness. So, it's tricking you to pop more on! All the products I use to use too, have ingredients in them to give them a long shelf life. It means they can batch up thousands of bottles, years before they're even used! My sister's stuff is fresh. If you wouldn't eat an apple that was injected with additives to make it last longer, why would you let your skin eat it?

I'm enjoying working alongside my sister. It's the one time I've got to choose my work-mate. We bounce ideas off each other all the time and have a lot of giggles along the way.

I'm really proud of how far we've come, in such little time. And I'm so excited about where the future is going to take us.

Stay tuned x

Little Sis x