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

SHAMpoo is bad for your hair and skin

I look at the word Shampoo now with a very different view. Sham - a thing that is not what it is purported to be, bogus, false; and Poo - well, we all know what that is.

If I was standing on the street with a bottle of coloured liquid and I told you that liquid contained a toxic chemical, would you buy that product from me and scrub it into your scalp?

Of course not.  But if you're buying popular shampoo products, that's exactly what you're doing right now.  Such is the power of brand marketing.

After developing and using Re:think Beauty products for the past two years, my skin never looked and felt better...until a few months ago.  I started to get breakouts on my neck and back.  They weren't your average pimples.  I was shocked to say the least.  Here I was banging on about how effective our natural skin care products were with sore, inflamed, cystic zits for all to see.  You know, I almost considered packing it in - convinced something had gone wrong with the products.

Then came a touching email from a Pantry Pal wanting some product advice.  She went into detail about the affects her conditioner was having on her skin.  There came my light bulb moment.  I had been so pre-occupied with developing and perfecting safe skin formulas that I had forgotten all about my hair.  Besides, I was using a shampoo with 'herbal' and 'all natural' in the title, surely this could not be causing my acne?

I stopped using my shampoo and conditioner and noticed a difference in my skin and hair almost immediately.

Methylisothiazoline, or MIT, is a common ingredient in commercial shampoo and conditioners.  Tests have proven it causes neurological damage and skin irritations.  Why are these dangerous personal care products allowed to remain on the market? Because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for regulating these products, spends almost no time, money or effort actually investigating the safety of such products.  Instead, it spends the vast majority of its time approving new prescription drugs rather than protecting the public against the dangers from such drugs or personal care products.  Remember, your skin eats what you put on it.

It may surprise you to learn that manufacturers can put practically any chemical they want into hair care, even if it is considered a toxic waste chemical by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).  Taking hot showers can drastically worsen the absorption of these chemicals.  The steam from the shower opens pores, allowing the poison to penetrate more easily.

Now to my 'herbal, all natural' shampoo and conditioner; pure exploitation.  The company is using the word 'herbal' to imply that the shampoo is healthy, even though it is primarily made with the same ingredients as other popular shampoos.  The first three ingredients are water, sodium laureth, and sodium lauryl sulfate.  You can find the same three ingredients in 99% of shampoos.  Think the colour of the shampoo is from the herbs?  Think again.  Three other ingredients in the shampoo are Yellow #5, Orange #4 and Violet #2 (man-made, chemical colour preservatives).

The truth here is that shampoo is bad for your hair.  It cleans out dirt, but also the oil that makes your hair shiny and strong.  Shampoos are very harsh and damage your hair permanently.  Conditioner was soon introduced as people noticed that shampoo sucked the oils out of their hair leaving it dry and brittle.  Conditioner puts artificial oils in your hair, and they stay there just long enough so that you don't associate the damage to your hair with the shampoo that caused it.

Remember that your hair is dead.  Remember that shampoo is just detergent made to smell nice.  Remember that the oils your hair needs come naturally out of your scalp, as they've been doing for thousands of years before conditioner was invented.  When you think about it, nothing that is claimed about shampoo and conditioner is true.  It's just marketing by using impressive computer graphics and made up names for ingredients to make soap for hair seem interesting and expensive.

I'm angry.  For some, you may not experience any side effects, but for those of us with sensitive skin these chemicals have left permanent damage.  Oh, I'm sure my chemically caused acne scars will fade over time but they will always exist as a terrifying reminder of the crap we're putting into our bodies and the lies we're fed.

However, I am thankful for the inspiration this has all ignited because without it, I may not have developed our own, 'safe enough to eat' hair and body wash.  Yes, you heard it here first.  We are in the final stages of getting this amazing bottle of pure hair and body bliss on the Pantry shelves.  This formula will clean your hair without stripping it of natural oils.  And the thing we believe in most here at the Pantry is less is more.  Our hair wash works as a shampoo and conditioner in one, and as a body wash - one bottle that serves three purposes.

Stay tuned Pals, and get ready to redefine the beauty industry with us!

The Sisters xx

Oils ain't oils

The one simple rule we have at Re:think Beauty is all of our products must be safe enough to eat.  If you can't put it in your mouth, then why put it on your skin?

We often get asked why we don’t include essential oils in our products, namely the doTerra essential oils brand as this is marketed as food grade.  Here's why;

Essential oils were used and experimented with extensively through the development stage of Re:think Beauty products...until my deodorant burnt my armpits.  Skin absorbs essential oils.  At the time, our deodorant included all but a few drops of 'food grade' essential oil.  I heard alarm bells, closed development down and headed straight back to the drawing board and this is what I found:

A very popular company uses the term 'certified pure therapeutic grade' in its marketing.  Well, it’s exactly only that – marketing.  There aren't any certified essential oils because there isn’t any recognised organisation or agency that certifies essential oils.

So, this company coined the term, put it on their bottles and trademarked the term.  What does it mean?  Nothing as their oils are not certified.  They use the term as their way of letting others know that they test their oils (like most good providers do).  But, it makes for good marketing that their sales reps and users most often than not misunderstand this trademark to mean that the oils are certified.

Consultants of this company are taught to recommend internal use of essential oils to the general public.  However, this contradicts the respected advice and scope of practice recommended by Aromatherapy and Herbal associations, organisations and health care providers (including both mainstream and alternative medicines).  Essential oils are quite potent.  For example one drop of an essential oil is the equivalent of 25-75 cups of the herbal tea of the same plant.  Essential oils are very powerful and there have been reported cases of poisonings and fatality due to the self-dosing of essential oils.  It is not something to do lightly.

We talk a lot about synthetic chemicals to avoid, but did you know that even some natural ingredients can be dangerous?  Like certain essential oils.  And, without the proper knowledge (or concern) of these risks, companies can make potentially dangerous products.

Take, for instance, a popular Deep Blue Rub.  According to the company's website, it is a blend of "wintergreen, camphor, peppermint, blue tansy, blue chamomile, helichrysum and osmanthus".

Wintergreen contains methyl salicylate, a toxic compound that's also used in Icy Heat, Tiger Balm and BenGay.  While it does provide that soothing feeling to aching muscles, it can be toxic if applied to more than 40% of the body in a typical concentration used.  There have been cases of death from the over-application of creams containing this ingredient.  Camphor essential oil is a neurotoxin and convulsant, as well as containing higher amounts of safrole, a potential carcinogen.  Blue Tansy also contains up to 18% camphor.

The most dangerous thing about essential oils is the misconception that if something is 'natural', it is safe.  This is simply not true. There are many toxins found in nature. Essential oils can be effective remedies for a variety of ills but they should always be used with caution. 

In general, essential oils are marketed as safe when used externally (not ingested) in low concentrations.  But my armpits are proof that your skin eats what you put on it.

And, we kind of like the smell of our products in their natural state - without the need to apply potentially poisonous substances for the sake of our product smelling more like flowers than food.  It's not worth the risk to your health.

It's just the facts and our intention at My Sister's Pantry is to educate and promote a healthier you in a responsible way.

Why our Babushkas don't love a lot of dried fruit

Our Babushkas don't love a lot of dried fruit. Why? Because dried fruit has had it's fluid removed - it's been dried - therefore concentrating the sugar content. And, we don't like high amounts of sugar in our Babushkas either.

A lot of mainstream mueslis do fill their mixes up with lots of fruit. A while you might think eating that muesli is good for you, you're actually downing teaspoons of sugar in each mouth full. Think, if you're eating 100g of fresh apricot, you're getting around 1% of fructose in that serving. Eating 100g of dried apricot and that fructose level goes up to 12%.

So, what is fructose? Fructose is said to be the bad element in sugar. High fructose foods are recommended to be avoided as these contribute to a lot of health issues, including weight gain and digestive issues. And, going back to the dried fruits - they contain high levels of fructose (the sugar we want to avoid).

A lot of dried fruits are often covered in yucky oils and contain preservatives, including sulphates. Sulphates have been linked to digestive issues and lots of kids can't actually tolerate them.

Our Organic Mueslis and Toppers only contain organic ingredients, so let's firstly point out we don't have any harsh preservatives, or yucky oils in there to mask or enhance the taste.

Secondly, the only dried fruits we're using at this stage are organic sultanas and goji berries. Sultanas were a must for our Hot X Bun Babushka as you'd know, any hot cross bun isn't complete without sultanas. These little juicy guys contain a lot of fibre, vitamins and minerals. But again, we don't over load them in our Babushkas. And goji berries (in our Berry Nib + Choc Coated) are those little red superfood berries that you see going around. Goji berries are high in vitamin C and fibre, and low in calories. They are also a good source of iron and vitamin A. The complex carbohydrates that make goji berries so yummy raise blood sugar slowly, so you don't experience a sugar crash afterwards. We love that!

So, to finish up - We choose not to load our Babushkas with loads of dried fruit because dried fruits are loaded with sugar, and lots amounts of sugar increase your chances of gaining weight, being moody, giving you acne, leaving you feeling bloated, causing head aches and not leaving you satisfied and feeling fuller for longer.

Instead, we fill our Babushkas up with truck loads of all the good stuff - seeds, nuts, superfoods, coconut oil and only small amounts of natural sweeteners.

We hope we've encouraged you to choose the healthier option next time you reach for your bowl of breaky. Please email us mysisterspantrysthgippy@outlook.com if you have any questions.

Your friends,

The Sisters xx

*info sourced from websites - I quit sugar and Healthline.

Babushkas Raw Chocolate

We are always trying and testing new recipes here at My Sister's Pantry. And, we always get so excited when we hit the jackpot and create something special. We've got three words for you: Organic. Raw. Chocolate.

It's our new goodie. We have created a raw chocolate that is so unique - it's filled with our organic muesli! It's raw, so yes not overly sweet. Raw cacao is in it and it's sweetened with a tiny amount of rice malt syrup. But, Little Sis admittedly is a lover of dark chocolate so we do warn you - it's on the dark side. The little bits of muesli though add pops of sweetness too and a real crunchy texture.

Our chocolate is beautiful and glossy. It comes in a block so you can pick off pieces as you go, or eat the entire thing (and that's ok, we do it all the time!). We recommend our chocolate to be kept in the fridge in warmer months, but it can be left out at room temperature and won't melt (and doesn't melt in your hands).

We are absolutely thrilled to bits that we can soon bring you our very own Babushkas Raw Chocolate. It's delicious, it's a sweet treat, and it's still all good for you. No nasties, no hidden sugars, no processed sugars (remember only sweetened by a small drizzle of rice malt syrup). It really is the best chocolate and we can't for you to try it!

Coming soon........

Your friends,

The Sisters xx