Banana Coconut Cakey Cookies

I was expecting these to turn out like the big chewy giant cookies you get from Millies Cookies stands but a healthy version.

They didnt. I have come to the conclusion its because there isn't a high enough proportion of sugar in my recipe. However i wanted to make this a healthy recipe and for most of the sweetness to come from the ripe bananas so I'm going back to the drawing board on the chewy, healthy cookie front.

These are difinately worth making though as they did come out like big, light and fluffy, cakey cookies that are deliciously sweet and bananary and have tonnes of fibre, and far less refined sugar than any shop bought cake or biscuit. They also have protein and not much fat.

They got the thumbs up from my taste tester (Andy) and he thinks they would be perfect for a mid-afternoon snack with a cup of tea to stop him reaching for a kitkat.

Heres what I did:

Ingredients:

3 small very ripe bananas

3 tablespoons peanut butter

1 egg

60g dark brown muscavado sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil/ vegetable oil
100g dessicated coconut
180g wholewheat pastry flour
1 good pinch salt
1 Teaspoon bicarb of soda

Makes about 12-14 BIG cakey cookies!

Directions:

Blend the bananas with the peanut butter, egg and oil. Then stir in the coconut and sugar. In a seperate bowl, mix together the flour, salt and bicarb then combine this quickly with the wet ingredients. The mixture will be quite sticky. Drop tablespoon sized portions onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and spread out slightly into a cookie shape. Bake at 160 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until browned slightly on top.

They actually turn out about the same consistency as a whoopie pie so I'm going to try and come up with a filling I could put in between them to make a heathy version of one of my favourite sugary cakes.

For now I'm going to have one just as they come about an hour before I work out as they have slow realease and fast release carbs so they should give me tonnes of energy.

Heres the nutrition facts from spark recipes:

14 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		155.8
Total Fat		6.8 g
	Saturated Fat	3.7 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.8 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	1.9 g
Cholesterol		13.2 mg
Sodium		26.2 mg
Potassium		220.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate		24.0 g
	Dietary Fiber	2.3 g
	Sugars	8.4 g
Protein		3.7 g

Sweet by nature- Orange cheesecake stuffed dates!

I woke up this morning thinking about sweet treats. (Whats new!) I spied a half eaten packet of jaffa cakes in the fridge but didn't want to go for a synthetic tasting refined sugar quick fix that would leave me craving for more.

It did however give me an idea and luckily for me I had a few simple ingredients so I could knock together a sweet, fudgey, orangey treat that really hit the spot, as well as packing in fibre, protien, and one of my 5 a day! And yes, I do count dates as a fruit even though they taste far too yummy and toffee-like to feel like your eating fruit!

Here it goes!

Ingredients:

50g low fat soft cheese

1/2 teaspoon agarve nectar

very small amount of orange zest

6 pitted dates

Directions:

Easy peasy!

Mix the soft cheese, agarve nectar and orange zest. Be careful with the orange zest because the flavour is very strong. I recommend adding a couple of scrapes of the zester and the tasting until you get the strength you like. Too much could be overkill. When mixed stuff the dates! Keep in the fridge or freezer to firm up a bit or enjoy straight away as a tasty sweet treat or heathy dessert.

If you like the look of these these try peanut butter stuffed dates.

Calories, you're looking at about 45 cals per date. Now thats what I call a slimline dessert!

Just Peachy! Peach and Almond Cake

Ok folks so this isn't that healthy! But what it lacks in nutrients it more than makes up for in yummyness!! I will explain later on...

A confession...

I must be honest and say that the last few weeks I have been slacking big time at the gym. When I'm at the top of my game I'm doing 5 or 6 hard workouts a week. I love the buzz I get from it and find myself craving that buzz if i miss a session. I mix my workouts up between running, spinning classes, hill workouts and interval training. I've recently started using weights and own body weight excercises as well and I've noticed a massive difference in my tone and strength. I used to only do cardio so its great to introduce a new dimension to my workouts.

That said, as i mentioned I've not been giving it my all recently so to give myself a bit of a boost I joined a new gym. Its right next to my work so I can go on my lunch break. Its so close it only takes a minute or two to get there. I've only done one lunchime workout so far, as I was pushed for time I just managed a quick but really tough 20 minutes on the cross trainer. It wasn't a full workout but on a day when I wouldn't have time to do anything else, its definately better than nothing and still gave me the endorphin rush I wanted. I'm feeling back on track now anyway and looking forward to a full workout schedule this week.

Phew!!! Peach and Almond Cake:

Well after all that thinking about excercising, I think we deserve a little treat!

I made this cake last weekend and have had a little piece after work most days this week. OK so its not that great for you BUT as far as cakes go, this ones got far more protein than a normal sponge because of the ground almonds so it will give you bags of energy, really fill you up and aid recovery after a workout. So really it would be rude not to make it and have a big fat slice! Go on!!

Ingredients:

4oz golden caster sugar
4oz butter (at room temperature)
4oz ground almonds
3 oz self raising flour
4 eggs (seperated and at room temperature)
4 tbls milk
1/2 tspn salt
1 tspn almond extract
1 tin halved peaches in juice
2 tbls flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to about 180 degrees. Gas Mark 4.

The first step to his cake is the peaches. Empty the tin into a pan and leave to simmer in the juice for about 20 minutes on a low heat until the juice reduces into a sticky syrup. Leave to cool.

While the peaches are cooling weigh out the butter and suger and beat with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the egg yokes one by one and whip nto the mixture with a hand whisk or a large fork. Its really important that both the eggs and butter are at room temperature and not out of the fridge or the mixture will split.

In a seperate bowl sift the flour, then add the ground almonds and salt, mix well and then tip about a third of the dry ingredients into the egg, sugar and butter mixture. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet, a third at a time using a metal spoon, mix as little as possible so that you do not overwork the flour. When fuly combined the mixture should be quite stiff. Loosen it up by adding the milk start with 1 or two tablespoons and see how much you need. Add the almond extract at this point as well.

Whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until they form medium peaks (somewhere between soft peaks and stiff peaks). Then combine this with the cake mixture bit by bit with the metal spoon being careful not to knock much of the air out of the egg whites.

Cut the cooled peach halves in half again and arrange in a circular pattern in the bottom of a 20cm cake tin. Pour on the cake mxture and sprinkle the top with the flaked almonds. Bake for 45-50 minutes.

The cake is fabulous warm or cold. Try it warm with a dolop of creme fraiche and a drizzle of honey.

I'm not counting calories on this one, it might spoil it if i know how naughty it is but if you want to know, try the recipe calorie calculator at Spark Recipes.

1st BBQ of the year and a mediterranean veg and pesto quiche

Having had a great bank holiday weekend so far (girls night out on Friday and rock tribute festival 'mockfest' on Saturday) when yesterday came around I knew I just wanted to go to the gym and then chill in the kitchen making nice things. That didn't happen however as the weather was actually not bad for once so Andy and I decided to give the brand spanking new BBQ it's first outing! It was late in the day so we didn't invite a crowd, just our friend Steve who can always be relied upon to eat copious amounts of meat and we all did just that!

We bought 1 pound of lamb kofte and 1 pound of minced beef steak from the butchers. Andy made a recipe he had seen Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall make- Bloody Mary Beef Burgers. Unfortunately we couldn't find the recipe online so we had to wing it (basic ingredients shown above). The flavour of the meat was absolutely gorgeous but unfortunately the mixture was a bit too wet and they didn't hold together very well on the BBQ. In the end we baked them in the oven first to firm up a bit then finished them off of the barbie. I'm sure there will be plenty more bbqing going on this summer so plenty of opportunities to perfect them anyway.

So with the busy weekend I've had, I've not had time to update my recipes that I made the other day. Here's a good one...

Mediteranian Vegetable and Pesto Quiche

Well Ive been perfecting my pastry making skills and created this gorgeous healthy tart/quiche/flan. Whatever you want to call it its packed with flavour, nutrients, fibre and protein. Serve it with a side salad for a well balanced and (more importantly) delicious lunch or light supper. Or if you're like me you will have to sneak a slice or two straight out of the oven because it smells so yummy!

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

• 6oz wholewheat all purpose flour
• 3oz cold butter
• 3/4 tablespoons cold water
• Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the filling:

• Roughly 1 cereal bowl full of veg for roasting. I used courgette, pepper, red onion and baby plum tomatos. Use whatever veg you like but i recommend the tomatoes as they add a lovely intense sweetness to the quiche.
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 pint semi-skimmed milk. (Dont try and use skimmed to save on cals, this needs the fat in semi-skimmed to bind the eggs)
• 1/2 packet of reduced fat feta cheese
• 1 large table spoon low fat pesto

Directions:

First of all chop your veg into small pieces about the size of a pound coin and roast with a little olive oil at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes. Set aside and let it cool.

To make the pastry, you need to have your butter really cold. I once saw someone on a cooking programme put it in the freezer and then grate it into the flour. I find this works and I use the method to make really light scones as well. Weigh out the flour and season with the salt and pepper then grate in the frozen butter. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips. When the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, stir in just enough water to bind into a firm dough. Press together then wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

When it has rested, roll the pastry out so that its thin enough to line a 20cm greased flan tin. Line the tin with the pastry then trim off the excess round the edge so you have a neat pastry case**. Prick the base of the pastry slighly with a fork. Line the raw pastry case with baking paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Blind bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. Then take off the paper and beans and bake for a further 10 minutes to crisp up the base.  When the pastry case is nice and crisp take out of the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes. Turn the oven down to about 140 degrees. When the case has cooled down, spread the base with the pesto then sprinkle the roasted veg over the pesto. Using half of the feta cheese, break into chunks and dot in between the roasted veg.

Whisk the eggs lightly with the milk and season with black pepper. Crumble in  the remaining half of the feta cheese. Carefully pour this mixture into the pastry case over the veg and chunks of feta cheese. Bake for 45 minutes at the lower heat until the egg mixture has set and is starting to brown slightly on top. This cuts into 8 pieces but for a meal i would reccomend 1/4 of the quiche with a salad.

** I didnt waste the trimmings from the pastry case when I trimmed the excess. I needed some gruyere cheese into the pastry then rolled it out and cut into thin srips. I baked them for about 12 minutes with extra gruyere grated on top. It make a tasy snack to be enjoyed with mine and Andy's new tipple of choice. Corona beer with a slice of orange instead of the lime. Trust me its sooo good!

Nutrition info below taken from this recipe calorie calculator.

Nutrition Facts
Per Serving:
Amount Per Serving
Calories		313.1
Total Fat		21.4 g
	Saturated Fat	9.7 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.3 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	6.5 g
Cholesterol		120.2 mg
Sodium		303.5 mg
Potassium		274.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate		22.3 g
	Dietary Fiber	3.9 g
	Sugars	2.5 g
Protein		10.0 g

Quickest healthy treat ever!

Hi there,

Just a quicky, I'm in the middle of baking something (will share later) and just had to share the tasty healthy little snack ive just invented! Well OK I probably didnt invent it, I'm sure someone has come up with it before. (I bet Chocolate Covered Katie has actually) but I just thought of it for the first time myself in a fit of inspiration so here it is...

Peanut butter stuffed dates!

2 ingredients:

Peanut Butter (and you guessed it...)
Dates

Couldnt be simpler, cut the date in half and remove the stone if its not pitted and spread a little peanut butter in the hole in the middle then pop the top on!

Et voila!!

Simple and DELISH!

If you like peanut butter and love it with sweet things you should give these a go! Loads cheaper than buying reeces pieces or a kit kat chunky peanut butter flavour. They are packed with fibre and protien and best of all no refined sugar! Result!

Calorie count per stuffed date will be about 80 cals.

Would be a great pre gym snack as it has enough natural glucose and protein to give you a major energy boost.

The best dates I have found are in the supermarkets in Spain. They are big and juicy and absolutely delicious. A close second however is the Unicorn Cooperative in Chorlon (South Manchester). Its a wholefood grocery store that sells loads of wholesome goodies. Check them out here. A bumper 1kg bag of juicy pitted dates costs £5.29. They are much nicer than the syrup coated ones you get in supermarkets,  and also healthier and better value, everyones a winner! The only problem is they dont last that long in our house.

Let me know what you think anyway, more to come after I've got my bake on!!!

xxx

My healthy appetite and a hearty breakfast

I was wondering what to use for my first post as I've got so many recipes floating around in my head and on scraps of paper I was thinking its got to be a good one. While I was pondering, I started to make breakfast and thought, 'Actualy, this is pretty yummy! Why not share my first meal of the day as my first post?"

And what a meal it was! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... GREEDY COOGIES APPLE AND CINNAMON PORRIDGE!

Now dont stop reading yet, I know what your thinking, porridge is pretty boring and basic anyone can make that. Zzzzzzzzz next blog!

Am I right?

Well bare with me, yes anyone can make porridge and yes it is easy, but heres just a quick idea to make it not boring, delicous, healthy and MASSIVE!

One thing you need to know about me is I like big portions! And generaly speaking I dont get full. I must be missing that part of my brain or something. Even though I'm quite small, i can easily eat as much as my boyfriend Andy who's 6'2" and weighs about 15 stone. I usually try not to match his portion sizes (unless I'm feeling really greedy) as I know i dont need as much food as him but basically if theres food on my plate and its nice food, I will finish it. The only thing that will stop me is the sensible part of my brain telling me I've had more than enough and its time to put down the fork. I very rarely feel actually physically full. Lucky me!!!

If I'm eating something nice, I usually dont want it to end as well! I get really dissapointed when I'm nearing my last few mouthfuls and quite often go in for seconds or dessert (dont get me started on dessert!) even though I dont really need it. The reason? I just love to eat!

With this in mind, eating a hearty breakfast like porridge can be tough on me because for most people, its a very filling food and a small bowlful is usualy enough to see them through till lunch. For me?

No way Jose!

I usually get to the end of a small or medium sized portion and crave more of the yummy, starchy, carby, comforting goodness. The only problem with this of course is that if I gave in to these cravings all the time I'd be eating far more calories per day than my 5'2", small framed body needs.

As porridge is a yummy and healthy food packed with slow release carbs and fibre, I didnt want to give it up. So heres what I make when I'm on my own on a lazy weekend morning and want that comforting stodgy warm bowl of breakfasty goodness thats not gone in 2 minutes flat and wont make me go up a jeans size:

You will need:

1 large apple
40-50g porridge oats
200-300mls skimmed milk (or the equivelant amount of water with 2 tspns skimmed milk powder)
1tspn cinnamon
Optional (raisons or sultanas)
Honey or Agarve nectar to taste

Serves 1 if your greedy and like big portions like me or can serve 2 if you have a more modest appetite or are eating it as just a part of your breakfast.

Directions:

Grate the apple, taking out the core and leaving the skin on. Add to a small pan with the oats, cinnamon, milk and dried fruit if using. Simmer all the ingredients together on a low heat for about 10 minutes adding water if it gets too dry. Pour into a bowl and add a sqeeze of honey or agarve nectar to your own taste.

Note: The apple in this realy bulks it out and makes the 50g of oats go a LOT further without adding much extra in calories. If you dont believe me, try making porridge with the same amount of oats but withut the apple and see the difference in portion size (I may do this another time and post the pics as proof). The oats are packed with fibre anyway but by adding the apple with its skin on you are adding even more fibre, plus one of your 5 a day! If you used the dried fruit, then it may be sweet enough for you without adding honey or agarve. I have a really sweet tooth so i usually add a generous squeeze of agarve nectar either way. Both honey and agarve are both good natural sweetners and the recipe uses no refined sugar. However Agarve Nectar is low in GI and doesn't make the insulin levels spike which can cause fatigue and cravings for more sugary naughtiness soon after you've eaten. Its also lower in calories than honey so is a good choice if your trying to lose a few pounds or if you're like me and always trying to satisfy a really sweet tooth in the healthiest way possible. You can get it in most health food shops and even in some supermarkets now. If you havn't got any agarve nectar though, dont worry, a squeeze of natural honey is still better than lots of refined sugar and wont do you or your diet any harm. Or if your feeling really naughty, a sprinkling of dark brown muscavado sugar is delish!

Nutrition wise, I'm no expert but i will usually try to give you an estimate of how many cals are in my recipes. In this I would guess at around 250-300 cals depending on the size of the apple the amount of milk used, and the amount of honey/agarve added. I would count slightly more if you used the dried fruit.

I'm not really into counting calories religiously but its good to have an awareness of the amount of energy different foods provide you with. If you feel you need to count calories more strictly than me a great website that can calculate the calories in a recipe can be found at 'spark recipes' click here to try it out.

Well I hope you enjoyed my first recipe post even if it is an easy one and are getting a bit of a feel for what my blog will be about. Please message me with any tips/ suggestions for a newbie blogger like me!

PS: if your wondering why my porridge is named after 'greedy Coogie', Coogie is my nickname, I will explain why in another post.

Ciao for now! xx

First ever post! Hellooo!

Hi I'm Clare,

As you've probably guessed from the title, my blog is all about yummy, natural food. I'm obsessed with cooking, baking and all things cakey and yummy!

I'm 27 and live in Manchester. I have too main passions in life, food and excercise so I will be sharing my experiences about both of these in my blog. However to the majority of food bloggers and foodies out there who will come accross my blog, food will be by far the more interesting topic so dont worry, that will most definately take precidence. I will be posting my own recipes, my friends and family's recipes (giving them due credit of course), published recipes I've tried and posting links to other food blogs with recipes I've tried or just that I think look damn tasty!! As well as this I will always have my iphone with me to snap quick pics of the grub I'm eating when I'm out and about an will give you my humble opinion on it, good or bad. I also love booze. I enjoy most types of alcohol whether it be beer wine or cocktails so I will be trying out new cocktail recipes wherever possible and sharing and rating new wines I've tried. I'm no wine conniseur though so dont expect professional reviews, again just my humble opinion.

Me in my favourite room of the house

I love experimenting and it doesn't always go right first time so I will be sharing my kitchen disasters as well as my triumphs. Do expect lots of healthy options. I'm always looking for ways too use natural sugars, reduce fat or use natural 'good fats', add fibre or squeeze in a couple more of my 5 a day. However I'm no saint and some of my recipes will be pure indulgence from start to finish. I try to live by the 80/20 rule. If your 'healthy' 80% of the time you deserve to treat yourself for the remaining 20%. (Although sometimes i do find myself 'treating' myself a little more than that) After all life would be no fun without cake would it!