Paleo Sweet Treats – 5 New Hong Kong Food Brands Offering Sugar-, Grain- & Dairy-Free Desserts

One of the hardest things to give up when adopting a caveman-friendly lifestyle is snacks, sweets and desserts. Temptation is everywhere from the grocery store to restaurants to your own kitchen cupboards if other members of the family aren’t paleo. No dairy, no refined sweeteners, no gluten, no grains, no legumes—most treat foods have at least one of them, even the healthier versions! Luckily for all you paleo fiends, five new companies have formed to fill the gap! Behold, delicious treats including cakes, cupcakes, bars, balls, cookies and cups…so don’t worry, lots of choice! And don’t forget, most of these are raw AND vegan AND gluten-free too. Oh yeah! PLUS most of these are made with organic ingredients full of vital nutrients. Win-win-win. Who needs conventional cake?

Shirsty’s Tasty Balls – Raw & Sugar-Free Balls

Shirsty’s Tasty Balls’ founder only just started her paleo balls business though she has been making them for years! She creates raw, vegan, sugar-free balls with flavour combinations like fresh lemon & coconut, salted caramel, turmeric & fig. Most of them are completely paleo but she also does a peanut butter brownie version for those who are simply grain-free. Typically,  balls are made of cashews, Israeli dates and organic coconut. She then adds extras like chia seeds and lemon- yum! She is always dreaming up new flavours so make sure to ask her for the full list. 

6 balls for HKD 100.

How To Order? Her website/Facebook page is being made but for you can Whatsapp her at +852 for 9243 5349 for more details including pricing. You can pickup in Sai Ying Pun or she can meet you in the Central area. 

Ice N Lean – Paleo Pieces

January 2017 Update: Ice N Lean has closed operations. 

Ice N Lean are making waves around town for their protein ice cream, but did you know they also some these scrumptious Paleo Pieces? These frozen cups of dark chocolate and nut butter remind us of our favourite naughty candy Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Except these pieces are SERIOUSLY good for you! To paraphrase from their website, they are full of organic superfoods like raw cashews, raw almonds and dark chocolate, rich in omega-3s and medium chain fatty acids from the coconut oil, helping the body burn fat. They are low-GI so they won’t cause cravings or any insulin/blood sugar spikes. PS: Make sure to eat them straight from the freezer.

Pack of 3 Paleo Pieces for HKD 68.

How To Order? These babies can be found at various gyms and health food stores around town like Just Green, The Store, Ursus Fitness, Epic, The Skin Gym, Torq Cycle- view the full (and fastly growing) list here. Soon you can get them delivered by delivery.com too 🙂 Visit Ice N Lean.

Ballin Bakes – Paleo Bread, Cakes, Muffins & Truffles

The founder of Ballin Bakes and her husband live a completely paleo existence in Hong Kong (Yes, it can be done!). She started making her paleo goodies for her own family because she could not find anything on the market. Then her friends starting asking for them and requesting orders so she enlisted her partner Gloria and Ballin Bakes was born. On the indulgent side, she offers an vanilla almond cake with coconut cream frosting, sweet vanilla bean tahini truffles, almond cake squares, chocolate tort cake with chocolate ganache, carrot muffins with maple syrup, banana nut muffins with almond butter and chocolate tahini truffles- but it’s worth noting that she also makes a mean paleo bread (made with  almond butter, flaxseed meal and coconut flour). We love that she uses organic ingredients as much as possible including organic eggs, organic almond flour, organic baking soda, organic coconut flour- she lists every single ingredient in detail on her website. She has a couple of non-strict paleo items too like choc chip cookies and nut butter squares- those are made using 90% Lindt chocolate. She also has non-paleo options that are still pretty healthy.

6 muffins for HKD 150, 9-inch single layer cake for HKD 300. 

How To Order? You can Whatsapp or email orders to her, detail are on Ballin Bakes. She delivers everywhere in Hong Kong or Kowloon for a fee depending on where, or you can collect from Pok Fu Lam. She can also accommodate custom orders.

Rawsome Life – Raw Vegan Cakes, Cupcakes, Tartlets & Bars

Rawsome Life is the brainchild of Sommer’s Life Beach Retreat founder Nathalie Sommer, who noticed that guests were constantly asking to order her raw cakes and desserts. She saw a gap in the market in the raw vegan dessert space and launched what is now Hong Kong’s only raw vegan cake delivery service! There is so much on offer too. Choose from lemon & orange cupcakes, lemon tartlets, raw carrot & orange slices, key lime, coconut & banana cake, chocolate & pineapple cupcakes with chocolate ganache, raw Snickers bars- everything is raw, vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free and totally paleo! Great to know: they also offer custom paleo birthday cakes!

8 slices/cupcakes for HKD 490, birthday cake for HKD 690.

How To Order? They are based in South Lantau, so delivery is free in South Lantau and in Central, near the ferry pier. Contact them at rawsomelifehk@gmail.com or message them on Facebook for a full menu, order/pricing enquiries and other delivery locations.

Khush Life – Design Your Own Paleo Cakes & Paleo Bites

Khush Life was “conceived out of a passion to redefine clean and healthy eating without marginalising aesthetics and taste”. How’s that for a mission statement! What does it mean for you? Tasty, gorgeous paleo cakes and bites- all are dairy-free, grain-free and sugar-free, and 90% of the ingredients are organic. Bonus? Many of Khush’s creations are nut-free for those poor paleo addicts who can’t eat nuts! The bites are the paleo answer to peanut butter cups- instead of legumes, Khush makes them with sunflower seed butter. The cakes are a bespoke affair. You get to choose your own base from vanilla to chocolate (with or without nuts are both available), then you pick a filling like whipped chocolate, strawberry pastry cream, matcha pastry cream or expresso pastry cream and then you select a ganache glaze- options are indulgent, expresso and extra thick. Khush, which mean happiness in Hindi, also offers gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo cooking classes for helpers- in case you want to get in on her secrets! 

Box of 150g paleo bites for HKD 60; 6-inch round cake, 750g for HKD 500. 

How To Order? Poh, the founder,  can meet you at designated pickup points or delivery can be arranged for a fee. Her full website is currently under development but you can email poh@khush.life for a complete list of what’s available, including pricing and delivery information and you can visit her Facebook page.

Photos courtesy of Ballin Bakes, Ice N Lean, Rawsome Life, Khush Life and Sweet Chocolate-Fruit Balls via photopin (license).