I was very lucky to get some ninja bread cookie cutters for my birthday, so I’ve put them to good use by making gluten and dairy free ginger bread.  As you can see, these are no ordinary ninja bread, they are Wellness Ninjas.

The Wellness Ninja Bread have some special ingredients in them including: brown rice flour (gluten-free and high in fibre), molasses (high in iron), ginger, cinnamon and cloves (these spices all support digestion and promote circulation) and tumeric (as a natural substitute for yellow food colouring – also promotes digestion and is an excellent anti-inflammatory).  These ninja bread should be saved as a treat though, despite the good ingredients found in them, they do contain quite a lot of sugar (particularly when iced).

Wellness Ninja Bread

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup nuttelex (or dairy-free butter substitute)
•  1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons ginger, ground
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves, ground
• salt, a pinch to taste
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 3 cups brown rice flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (gluten-free)
• 100g organic dark chocolate (dairy-free)
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 1-2 teaspoons tumeric, ground

Method

1. Cream nuttelex, sugar, spices and salt.  Add egg and molasses, mixing well after each addition.
2. Add sifted flour, baking soda and baking powder to the mix.  Stir until mixture is even in consistency and colour.  Refridgerate mixture.
3. Flour a bench surface and rolling pin.  Take one third of the mixture and roll it on prepared bench to 3-4mm high.  Use ninja biscuit cutters to cut dough and carefully transfer them to your prepared biscuit trays.  Repeat until all dough has been transformed into ninja shapes.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. When golden brown cool on rack, before icing.
5. Melt dark chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of water (don’t allow the water to be deep enough to touch the bottom of the bowl).  When melted, set aside.
6. In a new bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form.  Add sifted icing sugar and mix well.  Remove one third of the icing and set aside in a snap lock bag with one corner cut from it for you to pipe the icing from.  To the remaining two thirds add 2 tablespoons of water or enough to give icing a spreadable consistency.  Halve this mixture, and to one half add 1-2 teaspoons of turmeric until desired yellow colour is reached.
7. Drop chocolate into little circles (the size of a 5 cent piece or about 1.5 cm in diameter) onto a tray covered with greaseproof paper or foil.  Freeze for a few minutes until hard.
8. With the spreadable white icing, cover one half of the hardened dark chocolate circles with the white part of the yin yang symbol (as per image).  Freeze again until needed.
9. Ice the ninja bread with the yellow icing leaving space for their eyes (as per image).
10. Very gently place the hardened yin yang symbol onto the yellow icing before it dries.  Add the final touches to the ninja bread by piping the white dot onto the yin yang symbol.  With a skewer you can add the dark chocolate dot to the yin yang symbol and make two dots on the face for eyes.  Enjoy your Wellness Ninja Bread!

To book an appointment at the clinic or further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture).  Sarah is a practitioner of acupuncture (AHPRA registered), massage therapy and natural health.