Banana, chocolate and cinnamon pancake goodness!

After a great workout this evening, I really wanted something sweet, because who said that dinner had to be savoury?

Since I had quite a few ripe bananas in the flat, pancakes it was going to be! I haven't made any pancakes in such a long time and just quickly made up this batch, nothing beats the good old banana, cinnamon & chocolate combination!

This was soo simple to make that I thought that I could simply summarize it all up in the following pictures, if you cant read the piece of paper, ingredients are as follows; 1 egg, 1 ripe banana, 2 heaped tbsp wholewheat flour, 0.5 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp yogurt, good pinch of cinnamon:

 Yes, it really was that simple to make and probably only took about 5-10 minutes to whip up. I stacked mine with sliced banana and flaked almonds. The topping was made as follows:

CHOCOLATE CINNAMON TOPPING

• 3 tsp yogurt
• 1 tsp cocoa
• Honey to sweeten
• Good pinch of cinnamon
• Protein powder: optional

1. Mix everything together until smooth.

Xx

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Exam procrastination: Healthy take on junk

The exam period always make me want to spend as much time as possible in the kitchen! That counts as good procrastination though, right? I end up with lots of yummy food to satisfy my revision munchies.

Yes, it is that time of the year again, exams start in about 10 days. This time last year, I would be stressing out, spending hours at the library and totally cutting out the gym and other activities from my life, I would basically be in a little 'revision' bubble! Not healthy. I am definitely way more composed this time round, I've realized that as with everything, balance is essential! :)

For the past couple of days, I have been craving some pizza which is unusual as I always tend to stay away from them. But when a craving hits, nothing will make me happy until it has been satisfied. Also, since I've been working out consistently over the past few weeks, I didn't want to waste it all on a few greasy slices of pizza. Thus, the challenge was to make a quick, wholesome, filling and tasty yet healthy pizza! I mention quick because although I have a great recipe for a cauliflower crust pizza, it does take quite a bit of time to prepare. Challenge accepted.

I chose to use couscous firstly because it is cheap and so readily available, even in Mauritius. Couscous is also a great source of lean protein, contains fewer calories than brown rice or quinoa and is a great source of fibre.

COUSCOUS PIZZA BASE

• 100 g of cooked & cooled couscous 
• About 25 g of whole wheat flour or oat flour
• 1 egg white

1. Mix the 3 together, adding a little flour if it doesn't come together. The dough will still be sticky.
2. On a piece of greaseproof paper on a baking tray, spoon out the dough and flatten into a circle.
3. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip with a spatula so that the other side can crisp up slightly.
4. Top pizza with toppings of choice and bake for another 10 minutes or so. 

I used pesto, caramelised onions, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms which worked perfectly with the slightly nutty crust!

Enjoy, this went down so well with some homemade sweet potato wedges!
Xx

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Anzac biscuits

Wow! Last post of 2013! This year has gone by so quickly, but has definitely been the best so far! University life has just been amazing this year, and it really saddens me that I only have 1 more term left as a student!

Throughout this year, I managed to have a great summer internship in Mauritius, meet lots of new people, win an iPad, make great memories with my family & friends, help '4lunch' with market stalls and by helping with cooking lessons, be an Econometrics PASS leader and most important of all, start this blog. Whether I decide to opt for a career linked to food at some point in my life or not, this blog has given me a great way to convey my passion and love for food and it feels great to be able to share that with so many people!

I believe that one of the main reasons making 2013 such a great year is the fact that I have been open and willing to take on any opportunities that have come my way, always having a positive attitude along the way. The power of the mind is such a powerful thing, and I do believe that as long as you think positive, only good things will happen to you!

On that note, I want to wish everyone a great new year no matter where or how you are celebrating! Make the most of every moment, think positive and always have fun, life is short! 

Now on to this quick and easy recipe. These Anzac biscuits are extremely tasty little treats with minimal amounts of sweetener or fat, the perfect substitute to those calorific cookies and cakes.

ANZAC BISCUITS

• 100 g oats
• 40 g almond
• 40 g coconut
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, butter or light olive oil
• 1 heaped tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp water
• Good pinch of cinnamon

1.Pulse all the dry ingredients together (not too fine).
2. Pulse in the water, honey and fat until it all just about comes together.

3. Form little ball of dough and flatten them down on a baking tray.

4. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius for about 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

5. Once cool, you could drizzle with some dark melted chocolate. 

Yum yum, try not to finish all of these in one go!
Also, why not fit in a last workout in 2013! Don't postpone getting fit to 2014, there is no better time to start than now!

I had a go at this workout yesterday along with some weights and it gets you dripping in no time!

Xx

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Quick update

Hello :) it feels like it has been ages since I have last posted any recipes on here! And sadly, it will be a little while until I'm back to my own kitchen ready to cook. The past couple of days have been so hectic and I am now in London with Emily and mum, ready for the Christmas festivities! I made some gingerbread cupcakes with vanilla meringue frosting to greet Lis, John and mum with at my arrival.

I recently hosted an Xmas dinner with Ember at my place, and although it took a whole day of cooking, it was definitely worth it! For some reason we managed to cook ridiculous amounts, however there's nothing quite like left over roast on the next day:)! I also managed to try out my new ice cream machine. We made a simple raspberry frozen yogurt with raspberries, yogurt and honey and it was delicious!!

I decided to make everyone some blueberry pancake stacks as a pre Xmas breakfast and they seemed to go down a treat!

We also watched 'The Book of Mormons' yesterday which was good fun, followed by a little Christmas shopping down Oxford street! Although London can be a little chaotic, nothing quite beats the buzz of the place!

Now time to get some revision done and then whip up some sort of healthy lunch for everyone! Although the holidays are a time for indulging, it is important not to go overboard and go crazy on unhealthy treats or disregard exercise, as little as 20 minutes a day is still better than nothing! Put on some good music and give this quick workout a go!

Wishing you all a fabulous christmas full of family moments and good food!

Xx

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My healthy birthday cake!

Hello hello,
What a crazy couple of days it has been! My birthday celebrations started on Wednesday with a lovely meal in town, after that, it was a couple of nights out along with lots of birthday cakes and treats with friends, including an amazing rainbow cake- best birthday ever!

The only downside is that I now actually feel old. At 21, I believe that I am now considered as an adult who is expected to be independent and fend for herself in the big wide world, also, I can definitely see some wrinkles appearing. Oh the joys of ageing!

On my actual birthday, I had a friend popping over for tea so I decided to make some macarons (it has been about a year since I last made them, and I now recall why I left it for soo long!) and a healthy banana birthday cake which was surprisingly satisfying.

HEALTHY BANANA LOAF CAKE
Makes 1 mini loaf, double recipe for large loaf

• 1 large ripe banana, mashed
• 50 g almond meal/ ground almonds
• 60 g whole wheat flour
• 1 egg
• 30 g milk/ non dairy milk
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, butter or olive oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 0.5 tsp of cinnamon
• About 40 g of honey (alter to your preferences)
• 0.25 tsp baking soda
• 0.5 tsp baking powder
• Dark chocolate chips or sultanas :optional

Topping

• About 4 tbsp low fat cream cheese
• Some vanilla (I used a pod, for the lovely freckled looked)
• Some honey/ stevia (according to taste)

1. Beat the melted fat, honey, egg, vanilla, milk and mashed up banana together until smooth.
2. Fold in the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon into the wet mixture. Be care not to over-mix, quickly fold in the chocolate chips or sultanas if using.
3. Pour the batter into a well greased and flour cake tin. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
4. For the topping, just mix all the ingredients together, smooth over the top of the cooled cake and enjoy!

Xx

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Lentil & sweet potato nut roast

Although I call this a nut roast, I tried to cut down on the proportion of nuts as compared to traditional nut roasts, firstly because of the high calorie content of nuts and also because nuts aren't as easy to find in Mauritius and can be very expensive. This is a very decadent and moreish vegetarian dish, so much so that I made 2 batches of this within a period of two days! I wanted it to be very rustic and chunky, if you want a more refined a smooth nut roast, then just chopped everything up very finely.

I made slight changes to the second batch given what I had in the fridge, but both worked just as good, so I would really recommend you play around with this to your liking. Changes to the second batch are as follows: courgette slices instead of mushrooms, no cheese, more grated carrot, some oregano.

Also, my friend Moritz has just started his own blog (yay!). His will focus on traditional Italian food and if you are looking for a simple yet delicious Christmas cookie biscuit, definitely try his butter cookies, here is the link.

LENTIL & SWEET POTATO NUT ROAST

• 150 g split red lentils, wash and cook for a couple of minutes until just cooked (not too soft!)
• 1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
• Half a large onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
• 200 g of hard boiled sweet potato, cut into cubes
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• A few mushrooms, sliced, I only had 4 large ones left, you could use more and cut down on the sweet potato
• 1 heaped tsp crushed garlic
• 2 heaped tsp mustard
• 50 g oats
• 50 g nut of choice, I used broken walnuts
• Handful of grated light cheese; optional
• Seasonings of choice:  I used paprika, salt & pepper

1. Cook the red lentils until just cooked through (not let it get mushy) and set aside.
2. In a large pan, heat up some oil and fry the cumin seeds until fragrant, add in the onion and celery and fry for 2-3 minutes until onion pieces are translucent.
3. Add in the mushroom (or courgette), fry for about 2 minutes and add in the sweet potato chunks. Add in the grated carrots, garlic, mustard and seasonings and stir around until well incorporated. The carrots don't really need to cook for long as they will do so in the oven.
4. Remove from the heat and add in 50 g of oats, lentils, cheese (if using) and 50 g of nuts. Give the mixture a good stir, taste and add more seasonings if necessary.
5. Pour the mixture into a well greased or lined baking tray, flatten down with the back of a spoon and bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. I left mine in the oven when it was off, just to crisp up in the residual heat as the oven cooled.

To serve, I would have this instead of meat, so for instance as part of an English roast with potatoes, veggies and all the trimmings. I also had this for brunch after a great night out, I made a non- vegetarian savoury stack of goodness with thinly pan fried slices of nut roast, bacon, avocado, spinach and topped with a dippy egg, YUM!

Another recent obsession of mine is my tuna and sweet potato burgers, they seem to get tastier every time I make them! I find them so useful to have in the fridge, and if you are trying to be on a low carb diet, two tuna burgers stuffed with the filling of your choice makes such an awesome snack!

Xx

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Dark chocolate covered protein truffles

So apparently today is national cookie day, perfect excuse to make some brownie cookies for my next PASS session! Also made some healthy Anzac cookies for myself:)!

One of my friends had a lovely cookie Christmas gathering where I was able to give white mulled wine a go for the first time, surprisingly good, spiced with cinnamon and apples, mmm!

These truffles are very similar to my protein bars posted not too long ago, however I do find that these set better when rolled up in little balls, and the slight crunch of the chocolate coating complement these perfectly! Although chocolate could be classes as unhealthy by some, I do believe that a little indulgence is good for the soul! Also, I would preferable use dark chocolate.

DARK CHOCOLATE COVERED PROTEIN TRUFFLES 

• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and well drained
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp oats
• 2 heaped tbsp of protein powder(I used chocolate) or oats or desiccated coconut
• Melted dark chocolate to coat

1.Process the chickpeas, peanut butter, honey, oats and protein powder (if using), together until nice and smooth.

2. With the paste/ dough, form mini balls and place on a non stick tray. Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes until set.

3. Cover the balls in the melted chocolate, place back onto the tray, the chocolate should set immediately as the balls will slightly be frozen. Keep refrigerated until consumed. 

Enjoy! X

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