Fat free zucchini bread

So I've decided to disappear from the world of Facebook for the time being until exams are over and tadahh, I suddenly find myself with so much more free time! It's crazy how we can become so addicted to so-called "social networking" websites, whereby we manage to spend so many pointless hours browsing through our newsfeeds and "catching up" with what's going on. I'm certainly not denying the fact that I am guilty of such doings myself, but it is clear that Facebook has become an unhealthy habit for many. Although I did have the temptation of giving in to my Facebook "ban" quite a few times today, I realised that at the end of the day, I managed to fit much more in my day than I usually would! Anyways, as a consequence, voici a new blog update: fat free zucchini (courgette) chocolate bread.

FAT FREE ZUCCHINI BREAD

• 1 small zucchini (courgette) (about 220 g), grated
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 egg
•  100 g honey (alter to your preference)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 190 g flour of your choice (I used whole wheat)
• 25 g cocoa
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp baking soda
• A few dark chocolate chips and chopped nuts: optional

1. Combine the grated zucchini, mashed banana, egg and honey.
2. Fold in the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon until you obtain a smooth batter. Quickly fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if using.
3. Pour the batter into prepared cake moulds, I made 6 muffins and 2 mini loaves.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius until nicely risen and a toothpick comes out clean, mine took 20 minutes. 

Other recent creations: chocolate and peanut butter frozen yogurt and pumpkin seed & cranberry granola bars. I loveeee my ice cream machine! Ok time to get back to microeconomics :(. Xx

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Healthier chocolate fudge cake!

So exams are a week away and here I am, calmly munching on my porridge, ready for a Max Fitness cardio session at the gym in a bit. For some reason, the stress and exam period 'craziness' hasn't kicked in this time round. It is crazy and somewhat scary to think about the fact that these will be my last ever exams at University. The three years of studying for my undergraduate degree have gone by way too quickly, I still remember my first day in Manchester, carrying my two massive suitcases up to my tiny room in halls with my mum!, discovering all the great eateries and meeting people from all over the world! These have definitely been the best years so far and although it is quite sad that my adventures as a student are coming to an end, I am so excited to start this new chapter of my working life and what better place to kick start my career than in Manchester itself!

Anyways, enough rambling on and now to the recipe! When exams approach and it is time to get serious with revision, everything else around us happens to seem way more interesting and most students manage to procrastinate in some way or another! For me, there isn't a more appropriate time to bake! For some reason I just start thinking about so many flavour combinations, twists on recipes and get such urges to get to the kitchen! So as the baking cravings started to kick in, Facebook notified me about our gym instructor's birthday, what better excuse to try and make a healthy chocolate birthday cake! I played around with what I had in the kitchen, I used half whole wheat and half white flour but I would definitely try to use a substitute such as oat/ coconut flour next time round. The texture of the cake is very soft and gooey in the middle and I think that the layered strawberries helps to take away from the 'dense-ness' of the cake.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

• 120 g flour of choice: I used half whole-wheat, half plain flour
• 0.5 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 large ripe banana
• 20 g cocoa
• 50 g honey or any sweetener
• 1 egg
• 35 g coconut oil or olive oil
• About 40 ml of milk

1. Mash up the banana until smooth. Add in the sweetener of choice, egg and oil.
2. Fold in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa until the batter is smooth  and lump-free. Slowly incorporate in the milk until you obtain a smooth 'cake batter' texture. 
3. Pour the mixture into prepared cake tins (greased and floured), I used 3 mini loaf pans so if using one big pan, adjust baking time respectively.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius for roughly 20 minutes until well risen and a toothpick comes out clean.

FUDGE FILLING & TOPPING

• Roughly 120 g pitted dates
• 1.5 tsp coconut oil 
• 2 heaped tsp cocoa
• Pinch of salt 

1. Soak the dates in a little warm water for a couple of minutes until softened.
2. Drain the dates, keeping the water aside to use later on.
3. Add the cocoa, salt and coconut oil to the dates and blend up. 
4. Slowly add in a little of the date water as you blend it up to create a smooth textured filling. I used about 6 teaspoons of the water.

Assemble the cake as desired. I used two layers of cake with some sliced strawberries and date filling in between them. For the top I covered the cake in a thick layer of the date topping followed by a layer of fresh berries and nuts. And to top it off, I drizzled on a little white chocolate.

Xx

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Protein banana bread

Here's to another protein packed delicious baked treat! Of all the baking that I've done with protein powders, I can confidently say that this banana bread has been the tastiest so far! I used to always keep away from protein powders whilst baking because using them often leads to dry and tough baked goods.

However, as long as you stick to three main rules, you should be fine. Firstly, make sure to never have a batter with more than about a 1/3 protein powder, secondly partly use some sort of other 'flour' such as oats, ground almonds or whole wheat flour in the mix and lastly add in some moderately fatty binder such as eggs or avocado, you will end up with a tasty low-carb treat.

I know that many of you, especially women, are probably slightly weary of protein powders, being scared of the fact that 'they make you big and bulky'. However, this couldn't be any further from the truth. As long as you opt for a 100% protein powder, with no added bulkers etc, then protein powders are the perfect supplement to a healthy lifestyle, especially if you tend to exercise regularly. When exercising, you are essentially wearing and tearing muscles down which then tend to be repaired and rebuilt through proper nutrition. Good sources of protein ensure that this process is effective and contributes to your overall feeling of wellbeing. Obviously, there are so many natural sources of protein through beans, tofu, meat and so on, but protein powders are just a great and easy way to increase your protein intake and are great substitutes to conventional flour in baking.

PROTEIN PACKED BANANA BREAD

• 1 large overripe banana/ 2 medium sized
• 30g sweetener of choice, I used honey
• 1 egg
• 75 ml of non fat milk/non-dairy milk
• 50 g of finely ground up oats
• 1 large scoop (about 50 g) of protein powder (vanilla or chocolate should work well)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp oil: coconut or olive oil
• dark chocolate chips and broken nuts: optional

1. In a large bowl, mash up the banana until smooth. Mix in the honey, oil and egg until you obtain a consistent batter.
2. Fold in the flour of choice, protein powder, cinnamon and baking powder. Slowly pour in enough milk to make a smooth batter, making sure not to overmix. 
3. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts if using. Pour the batter into a greased and floured or a silicon cake mold.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius until golden brown making sure not to overbake! I used 2 mini loaf molds and baked mine for 18 minutes. Baking time will vary according to the size of your mold.

I also made a quick and healthy beef moussaka yesterday that shall be posted soon along with my chicken curry that I have been meaning to post for quite a while, sadly revision has got the best of me at the moment.

Also, protein truffles have come in handy recently, perfect little revision snack!
Xx

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