A little love for Inside You.

Recipe of the week...
... Berry Banana Buns

Ingredients: 100g butter, 175g caster sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 ripe bananas, 225g self raising flour, 1 level teaspoon baking powder, 2 tablespoons milk, 2 couple of handfuls of frozen berries.

Time taken: around 20 mins to make and then 20 mins to bake.

Serves: 12 buns.

Hi readers,

How are things today? How’s the weekend ahead looking? I hope you have fun plans! And I hope your weekend’s so far off to a good start! I’m feeling quite cheerful about mine. Made it to yoga last night and then had a successful driving lesson this morning. I got out on a run and then baked some buns for a family do later on… for Saturday lunchtime I feel like I’m achieving quite a lot.

This is a sharp contrast with last weekend though. I spent what felt like the entire of last weekend trekking around Sheffield doing house viewings trying to find somewhere new to live – very stressful! All sorted now but, when I went into work on Monday, it didn’t really feel like I’d had a weekend. Do you get that sometimes, readers? When your chores take charge and you don’t have the time for the things you really wanted to do.

I did find a fun new place to live
but it was TOUGH GOING

Like sleep in. And a cook a proper recipe. Run a bath. Read your book in peace! These hopes aren’t often top of the To Do list… but they are important. Very important for the you on the inside. Imagine if the Inside You was a flower, and this flower either bloomed or wilted based on how you felt. And other people could see that flower.

I think, if people could see your flower drooping, they’d be encouraging you to bin the chores and do something to look after yourself. They’d make you want to really look after that flower, and you’d help each other to all have wonderfully blooming flowers. And, just because in real life it isn’t so clear to people around you how you’re feeling, that doesn’t mean that Inside You is any less important.

If you want to slurp a smoothie
in the garden... doooo it!

What I’m trying to say, readers, is that we should put our feelings first sometimes.. and probably more often. Stick up for Inside You, make their wellbeing a priority, and consider the people around you and what their flowers might look like this weekend. Are they blooming, or do they need a helping hand? A nudge in the right direction?

All it can take, readers, to boost yourself up, is something as simple as lighting a candle. Or catching a sunset. A spritz of perfume, or some mindful breathing. A smile from a stranger, or a burst of sunshine. Those things are very important. I hope you can make time for them over the weekend, readers, and I hope you feel good for it.

Here's a wonderful sunset on Thursday
where I live in Heeley, Sheffield

And why not – while we’re embracing a little love for Inside You – treat yourself to some time well spent baking in the kitchen? C’mon! When was the last time you had a proper bake?? It doesn’t matter whether there’s any occasion. If you haven’t eaten cake in the last hour then it’s probably time, and I’m sure there are friends and family of yours also crying out for cake right now.

See sense and get your bake on! If you can make the time this weekend, readers, like I did this morning, then I humbly encourage you to find your way to the kitchen and bake up a storm. Need a little recipe inspiration? Then why not follow in my footsteps and give some Berry Banana Buns a try. Here’s the recipe in just ten simple steps…

1.     Let some fresh air in, pour yourself a cool drink and stick Smooth Radio on for classic tunes to sing-a-long to while you bake. I insist.

2.     Heat your oven to 180C.

3.     Line the holes of a muffin tray with 12 paper cases.

4.     Peel your two bananas onto a plate and mash using a fork.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: The riper your bananas are then the more banana-y your buns will taste. Have your housemate’s bananas gone way past their best? Have said bananas been annoying you, for days, sitting there on the side turning brown? Why not buy your flatmate a couple of new bananas and trade them for their over-ripe ones? … then everybody wins!

5.     Measure all ingredients (minus the frozen berries) into a large mixing bowl.

6.     Beat together using a wooden spoon until your mix is maybe a little lumpy, but mostly mixed together.

7.     Spoon your mix evenly between the twelve bun cases, and then pop a few frozen berries on top of each.

8.     Safely transport into the oven and leave your buns to bake for around twenty minutes, until they’re risen, baked through and golden brown.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: Use this time wisely! While your buns are baking you could get some laundry in the machine, wash your dishes and have a wipe round. Or you could top up that drink and work on your tan in the garden?? Either way, remember to keep checking on your buns in the oven, so they don’t burn.

9.     When your buns smell good and look deliciously baked, then carefully remove from the oven and leave on the side to cool for half an hour or so.

10.  Once your buns are nicely cooled, remove from the bun tin and either serve up, gobble them yourself, or Tupperware for later on.

And that’s all there is to it, readers! What do you think? I know this recipe isn’t anything revelatory, it’s just my old favourite for Banana Loaf, from ‘Mary Berry’s 100 Cakes and Bakes’, divided into bun cases and with some berries thrown on top. But, isn’t it lovely? I think so! I like that little extra fruity taste the berries bring to each bun, and they add a pretty pink and purple splash of colour.

Aren't they lovely to look at!

What do you think, readers? Would you give this recipe a go? And, if you have, how did you get on in the kitchen? Did your buns come out well? Were their compliments to the chef, from adoring friends and family?? I hope there were! This is a simple recipe, with few ingredients and easy-to-follow steps (you’re just chucking everything together in a bowl, really!), to bake a pretty batch of buns for everyone to enjoy over the weekend. What’s not to like??

I’m hoping my family will like the buns, readers, when I see them later this afternoon. And I hope there are some left to take along by then! I’m certainly enjoying the buns, readers, just trying not to eat them all before they make it out the door. Remember: don’t be too hard on yourself this weekend. I say, if there’s one thing not to forget, it should be to look after Inside You. If she wants to eat multiple buns?? Then.. feed her! Quickly!

Take care this weekend, readers, and take the time to enjoy it.

Bake safely,

Hayley

Also, I gave blood again this week!
if you don't already... go along and save a life

SLURPING, BOUNCING, DUNKING... ADULTING.

Recipe of the week...
... Spicy peach pineapple smoothie!

Ingredients: 1 frozen banana, half a mug of tinned peaches, half a mug of tinned pineapple, 1 mugful of milk, a shake of ground nutmeg, and a big shake of ground cinnamon.

Time taken: 5-10 mins (if you’ve already frozen a banana).

Serves: Either one huge meal-sized smoothie or two more modest snack-sized smoothies.

Hi readers,

How are you this evening? Are you home from work? Out of the clothes you’ve been wearing all day? Feeling fresh and comfortable now? I hope you are, readers, and I hope today’s been a good one for you. A day of bold moves and memorable occurrences.

Just saving the day

As I write, readers, it’s a Tuesday evening in April and I’m away on a work trip to Milton Keynes. We’ve checked into our hotel, after a full day with a client, and I’ve enough sanity left to have put the kettle on for a strong brew. I’m adulting! Read: I’m watching Couples Come Dine With Me and dunking my way through all the free biscuits. There are a lot of free biscuits but I need to recover strength (spent a while bouncing from one twin bed to the other) before dining with my boss. Will drink modestly and speak intelligently. As adults do.

At the moment, readers, it’s a slow news day in the UK (launched search for missing boy… found missing boy hiding under his bed). Hmm. But there are a few noteworthy stories from around the world. There’s steady reporting on the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Russia yesterday. Ongoing coverage of the search for survivors following the massive mudslide that occurred in Colombia over the weekend. And continuing bafflement about the humongous South Korean ship (a VLOC.. Very Large Ore Carrier) that disappeared in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean a few days ago, and is presumed to have sunk with most of its crew aboard.

A VLOC... look how big it is!

Interesting stuff. Not inspiring exactly, a lot of lives have been lost these last few days, but lives have also been saved. Due to the bravery and determine of others.. which is a positive thought. Wish me luck, readers, dining with my boss tonight and trying to maintain the ruse that I’m an intelligent, responsible member of staff! I can do this!! I’m sure some of you can relate and I’m sure – like me – you too are intelligent, responsible people most of the time.. it’s just convincing colleagues that you are 100% of the time! When that’s a BLATANT lie.

Tonight, I write to share with you a fab fruit smoothie recipe that I tried out this weekend. This recipe comes straight from the Primavera Kitchen blog and you can read the original post here. I happened upon this recipe, readers, as I had an abundance of tinned pineapple and peaches in, along with one very neglected smoothie maker… and I thought there must be some way to turn this into a tasty smoothie?!

Where there's a will...
... there's a way

And there is! A quick google led me to this simple recipe, which spices up the fruits with a little added nutmeg and cinnamon. The result is a warm, tropical smoothie… with 3 of your 5-a-day inside! Whether you’re still feeling hungover from the weekend, readers, and in need of a vitamin kick, or you’re feeling a little unwell maybe and need something to boost your system, or you could just generally do with an energy burst to power you ahead with the working week??

Whatever the reason (perhaps you just want a fruity bev), I recommend a spicy peach pineapple smoothie! This drinks tastes like summer loving and the sun on your face, salty sea air and warm sand between your toes, like you’re sipping in a hammock under a blue blue sky, with tropical tunes drifting over from the bar, and the sound of crickets in the bushes… with only a little imagination required.

Just close your eyes...
... and you're there

 SOLD? Want to blend your own spicy peach pineapple smoothie?? Yeahhh you do. This is a very straightforward recipe, readers, with only five steps and absolutely no culinary skill required. Any idiot could do it, I promise. Even you. I’m kidding! So, all you need to do is…

1.     Peel a banana, cut it up into a few bits, and leave in the freezer overnight.

2.     The next day, take your frozen banana out of the freezer and pop this in a smoothie maker or a blender.

3.     Half fill a mug with tinned peach slices, then fill the second half with tinned pineapple pieces and tip into the smoothie maker.

4.     Fill your mug with milk and then pour this into the smoothie maker, too.

5.     Shake a little nutmeg and quite a bit of cinnamon in there, and blend for a minute or so until smooth. Then find a straw and slurp away!

SLUUURP

Et voila! What do you think?? Do you think this sounds a tempting recipe to try out, readers? And, if you’ve given it a go, did it go well? And did you like the taste of your smoothie? Did it taste how summer tastes to you??

I think, to me, summer tastes like barbecued grub (burned to a crisp) and fresh fruit, melting ice cream and aperol spritz! This smoothie recipe will be perfect for sunny afternoons on summer weekends, to drink out in the garden, sunbathing with a good book… bring it on! I cannot wait for summer, readers, and I hope this smoothie inspires you the same way it has me. Summer will be with us soon.

Until then.. slurp safely,

Hayley

See you there!

WHATEVER... IT'S THE WEEKEND!

Nana Mug

Time Taken: Ten mins or so

Ingredients: 4 tablespoons of plain flour, ½ a teaspoon of baking powder, a pinch of salt, a good shake of cinnamon, a ripe banana, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of oil, a dash of vanilla extract & maybe a splash of milk. Optional: a handful of pecan nuts or raisins or choc chips, or anything you like really.

Hi readers,

It’s Fridayyyyyyyyyyyyyy! I have that Friday feeling already! Whoooooooo! Mexican wave! Everybody now! All together… FRIDAY! FRIDAY! FRIIIIIIIIIDAY!

Basically, I’ve got the weekend off work and this never happens. I’m ditching the dissertation and all my cares, bussing it home and it’s my lovely Father Bear’s birthday today. Most exciting.

I say to everybody, whether you’re working or studying or whatever you’re doing this weekend… ditch your cares. You don’t need them! Whatever anti-feminist messages there are in the Fifty Shades film… whatever rose prices are this year… whatever the weathers messing about doing… wherever we’re at with global warming… LAY IT DOWN, PEOPLE.

Just… let it all go. You’ll feel better. See if you can muster a proper smile. Have a go at a random act of kindness, maybe. Do something unexpected. Shake things up. Live a little.

And DEFINITELY eat cake. Because, why not? Always eat cake. This week, in the flat at uni, it’s been a tremendously good week for cake! Tiddy’s very lucky boyfriend turned 21 and so she baked him a 3-tier lemon and blueberry cake masterpiece. Then, Dr Davies took to Easter about 2 months early and baked us all a batch of Crème Egg brownies! How lucky are we?

I missed her brownies last year as I’d given up chocolate for Lent and so this was A BIG DEAL for me. So, so good. They were tremendous.

I haven’t had much time this week for any baking mastery myself. Althoughhhhh, I did come up with another wonderful cheat recipe for making cake in the microwave! I know… ANOTHER ONE. I definitely need to get it together and detach myself from the microwave. The Great British Bake Off is back this week and has DEFINITELY inspired me to stop cheating and get my proper bake on again. It has shamed me.

Howeverrrr, just for now, here’s one final way to cheat your way to CAKE using only a few ingredients from the cupboards. I won’t tell how you made it, if you don’t. This latest recipe is for a big favourite of mine, Banana Bread, and while it definitely doesn’t match the real deal… this recipe does taste magnificent. Really. And it saves you and actual hour of your life, compared with baking Banana Bread in the oven. An hour which you can spend carefree!

To get your cheat on and bake a Nana Mug in just ten moves, here’s wotcha do…

1. Take 2 mugs out of the cupboard.

2. In the first mug spoon in 4 tablespoons of plain flour, ½  a teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Add a good shake of cinnamon.

3. If you’ve got ‘em, chop up a handful of pecan nuts and throw them in the mug, too. Stir it up!

ChefBeHere Top Tip: No nuts? How about a handful of raisins or choc chips? Go wild!

4. In your second mug, mash a banana.

5. Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of oil and a dash of vanilla extract. Stir it up!

6. Slide the contents of your mug of goo into your mug of flour. Stir it up!

7. Then, because there’s bound to be flour stuck in the bottom that you can’t reach, tip it all back into the other mug. Keep on stirring!

ChefBeHere Top Tip: If you’re mix seems quite solid then maybe add a splash of milk to loosen it up. It depends on how big your banana was, and so on. Just use your good judgement, chef.

8. Pop your mug mix into the microwave to warm for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, stick the kettle on for a brew.

9. After 2 minutes, does it look like cake or cake mix in your mug? If it’s cake then you’re good to go! If it’s mix then probably give it another minute.

10. Then with your mug of tea and your mug of cake, go get comfy and enjoy your lovely treat.

Here’s my very own Nana Mug!

And that’s all there is to it. This recipe barely even requires ten moves. It’s seriously simple! Plus, no butter or eggs so, unless you’re adding milk, this recipe is entirely cupboard-based. Nothing fresh involved. You could have been a hermit in your home for like a fortnight or more (though I don’t advise this) and still be able to make a Nana Mug. It’s that good.

And it tastes like home! Be sure not to heat for too long in the microwave, or to start with a really thick mix, because then I think this recipe has the potential to be dry. Because there’s no jam or peanut butter or applesauce for moisture.

But mine went great! Tasted like heaven. Quick, easy, cheap, simple. Very student. Very me. And, I hope, very you! Go give a Nana Mug a try and go have a good weekend, everyone. Shoo.

Cheat safely,

Hayley

 

EAT CLEAN MINUS THE COST

Coconana Bran Muffins 

Time taken: 45 mins

Ingredients: 100g self-raising flour, 100g wheat bran, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, a big shake of cinnamon, 2 eggs, 3 bananas, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (!!!), a little flaked coconut and 4 tablespoons of honey.

Hi readers,

Sooo… it’s the end of the week! The end of the first week back to work / uni for a lot of us. We’ve made it! And ahead of us lies…. The weekend!!! Suddenly, we can appreciate this again. It’s back to being different to weekdays. Notice, all the days just blended before? Well, now, Saturday and Sunday have regained their special statuses as the saviours of our weeks. POWER TO THE WEEKEND.

So, last night in our house spirit levels were low. One of my flatmates has a really bad cough. One has been struggling with her revision schedule. One has to write an essay about teaching when she’s already decided she doesn’t want to teach. My final flatmate tried her first past paper yesterday and couldn’t answer any of the questions. I myself have eaten so many healthy foods that my face is an explosion. Not good.

Get off my face you evil

 

Obviously, with so much woe, baking was called for. Obviously, calories are a sensitive topic right now. Obviously, healthy baking was the way to go.

 

So, yesterday, I handed in my big piece of work I’ve been battling with. Whoo! Then me and Woody grabbed a Costa to celebrate (!!!) and I decided to mosey around town and window shop for a while. Work was off the agenda. Aaaand, before long, I ended up in Holland & Barrett. This always happens. And I was picking up some bargain dried fruit when I saw they’ve made a whole section now for natural baking ingredients! For real!

 

This section has things like malt extract (to make malt loaf), vegan flours and coconut stuff. And I always see coconut oil and butter listed as exotic ingredients on Instagram when people are making smoothies and high-energy baked goods. Along with things like cacao nibs, maca powder and hemp seeds. Ingredients where you’re like… what?

 

But my attention was caught and I was noseying. And saw that coconut oil costs over £15 at Holland & Barrett!! I was like WHAT. No way! This was an ingredient I was definitely outpriced for! I shuffled away quickly. Dejected.

 

Later, shopping in Tesco for regular things, I was back noseying at new shelves of things. They’ve got loads of cool, international foods in now. AND THEY HAVE COCONUT OIL FOR £2!!!

 

It’s like WHAT. How can an ingredient possibly cost £16.55 in one shop and £2.25 in another?? Madness!! But Tesco’s coconut oil was in my basket quicker than you can say ‘Fuck Holland & Barrett’. Read on to hear how I (excitedly) baked up a storm last night using coconut oil!

My new baby <3

 

Readers, here’s how you go about making Coconana Bran Muffins, in ten easy steps:

1. Turn on the radio and heat your oven to 180˚C.

2. Take out a muffin tray and line with 12 jazzy muffin cases.

 

3. Measure your flour, bran, baking powder and cinnamon into a mixing bowl. Stirrrrr!

 

4. Use a fork to mash together 3 bananas in a separate bowl.

 

5. Use your muscles to scoop a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil into a mug, and melt in the microwave for a minute.

 

6. Crack your eggs into another mug and spoon 4 tablespoons of honey in with them. Stirrrrr!

 

7. Add all of your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients. Stirrrrr!

 

8. Then, spoon big dollops of your brantastic mix into each muffin case, so that they’re all almost full.

 

9. Sprinkle a few flakes of coconut over the top of each one for decoration.

 

ChefBeHere Top Tip: You could use desiccated coconut instead or pieces of dried banana. Whatever floats your boat!

10. Safely transport your muffins into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, until they’re golden on top, and when you skewer one a knife comes out clean.

And there you have it! A batch of muffins brimming with goodness.

 

Leave them to cool for at least 20 minutes, then feed em to your hungry flatmates. Stick the remaining muffins in a Tupperware, and these babies can be munched on for days to come! Try heating them up in the microwave for a warming treat if your house gets chilly. :)

 

 

So, these muffins have been a big hit in the house! I really like them. They taste very fruity and they’re a substantial eat. And they feel really natural and diet-approved. Just all-round super. I wasn’t sure what my flatmates would think of the muffins. They’re not as squirrel-minded as I am, so I was worried. But I got positive reviews from everyone!! “Not too sweet” was a regular comment. But in a good way, I think. There were smiles . Some “mmm”-ing. Empty muffin cases.

 

 

Give these a go? Now you know you can get the ingredients for so cheap, you’re almost compelled to. Really. And there’s no butter or sugar in these muffins, so your belly NEEDS EM. And life is better with these muffins! Fill me in on what you think.

And have a peaceful weekend.

 

Bake safely,

Hayley