BAKING FOR THE BRAVE

Recipe: Banana Bites

Time Taken: Half an hour max

Ingredients: A banana, a big handful of fruit n nut & shitloads of oats

 

Hi readers,

If you’re reading this, that means you must have survived the first Monday of 2015. Did you realise? I literally salute you for your efforts! We’re all Trojans today! And we are survivors.

 

So, I’m Hayley and I survived the first Monday of the year. But parts of today I did not like! Today’s been a tough one! I’ve had a bad exam… I’ve been subject to extortion once more from Specsavers (the swindling bastards)… and I’ve not been feeling superb. And it’s been COLD.

 

However, my Monday hasn’t been the worst. I wasn’t the guy who tried to take a ladder up the escalator with him in Wilko and ripped a hole in the ceiling with it. I wasn’t the Chinese student who was hit by a car on Percy Street. I wasn’t the person who let rip reeeally loudly in pilates (just for the record!). And I bet your Monday hasn’t been the worst on Earth either. Truly, someone will have had a worse day than you. They will!

 

Try to be grateful for something good that came of your Monday. Like, for meeee… Well, firstly, I had pancakes for breakfast this morning and they tasted awesome. I reheated ones from the batch I made yesterday (see my last blog post!) and served em up with banana and honey. This was a TOP shout.

 

Secondly, I walked to uni and both a dog walker and a cyclist smiled at me on the way. I smiled back.

 

Thirdly, my Pilates instructor chatted to me today and said that she liked my leggings. I have been taking her classes at the gym for two years now, along with having been in several of her geography lectures (this woman is a living Wonderwoman), and never thought that she noticed me. I really look up to her. And today she chatted to me. I was dancing inside.

 

Fourthly, I came in this evening from my dreadful exam, to find that my Forever 21 order had arrived… AND EVERYTHING FIT. This never happens. New sales clothes for me!

 

And fifthly, finally, I baked some terrific Banana Bites last night that I munched on for lunch at the library. And they brought sunshine to my tum. One of my best friends (for the blog I’ll call her Floss as I feel this is her true name) gave me the recipe last night and when I got home I literally made some straight away. Saddo I am. And now you have to go bake some so that they can be one of the good things about your day tomorrow!

 

But, before that just have a think, what’s been good about your day today? Have a proper think and I hope you can come up with at least 5 things like I did, even though parts of today were horrendous for me. Always remember to be grateful for each day!

 

Soooo, without further ado, here’s how to bake Banana Bites in ten easy steps...

1. Heat your oven to 200˚C.

2. Use a fork to mash a banana in a bowl.

 

3. Add a big handful of raisins and peanuts.

 

4. Chuck in some oats.

 

5. Stir it up!

 

6. Keep adding oats and stirring until your mix has a consistency like porridge.

7. Grease a baking tray.

8. Spoon your mix onto the tray in 4 biscuit-sized rounds.

 

9. Safely transport your tray into the oven to bake for 20 minutes.

10. When your Banana Bites are golden brown lift em out of the oven and leave to cool on the tray.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: You might want to turn one of the Bites over to check it’s baked underneath and not gooey still. Otherwise, your Bites might go soggy. Not good.

And that’s it! Here’s my Banana Bites fresh out of the oven :)

 

Aren’t these incredible? There’s nothing bad in them! Aaaaaall the ingredients are healthy. So these are a totally guilt-free munch. But it feels like you’re having a massive treat! Banana Bites are chewy and they’re filling and they’re so moreish. And somehow they taste like childhood.

I can’t believe this recipe works. That it’s possible to make something healthy with so small and so healthy a bunch of ingredients. You barely use any dishes. You barely lift a finger, really. Gah. WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT THESE BEFORE. Thank you endlessly Floss for letting me in on the secret.

Readers, go bake. And know that tomorrow will be a better day.

Munch safely,

Hayley

A WHOLE LOTTA SUNSHINE

Recipe: Wholesome wholegrain pancakes with sunny scrambled eggs

Time taken: A hour (if you’ve readymade your batter)

Ingredients: 3 eggs, 125g wholemeal flour, 300ml milk, 1 teaspoon of oil, 1 tablespoon of crème fraiche, a little butter, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper.

Hi readers!

It’s SUNDAYYYY. And my opinions have not changed! This is still by far the best day of the week. On Sunday, everything slows down to a steady pace, and the world expects nothing of you.

Dressing? Very optional. Exercise? It’s the ‘Day of Rest’. Opening letters? No sirree! In the words of Vernon Dursley… “There’s no post on Sundays”.

 

And you can just CHILL. I know it’s January and we’re all buzzing with New Year’s Resolutions and brimming with our Good Intentions and all. Like yesterday I jogged! And had fun doing it! But c’mon we all need a rest from time to time. Take it easy today. This one’s on me.

And have fun! Because Sunday is…

That’s right! Now I got a yoga class DVD for Christmas (!!!). One which guides you through a practice and combines traditional yogi moves with sort of a ballet twist? For added grace? And I’m not sure how this is going to go but it sounds to me like A LOT OF FUN. So I’ve saved this for today to try out, as my End of the Week Treat to Me! And I’m excited to give this a go later. Do you have a treat lined up for yourself today? Surely you do! How can you make today a little bit more special for yourself? Give that one a think. Because I sense you deserve something special going on today.

 

For now though… I must reveal… exactly what’s got me in such a good mood today. And it’s a superstar recipeee! Mexican wave!

 

So this, basically, was my most awesome breakfast this morning. And if you do one thing today I encourage this to be that you check your cupboards (GO RIGHT NOW) and make sure you have all the ingredients so that you can make this for your breakfast tomorrow. And thus fill your belly with sunshine! I know tomorrow is a big day for a lot of people…

…Putting on proper clothes for work or the library…

…Where you’ll be reading things…

…Writing things…

…Using the power of your mind…

… And so you need one hell of a breakfast to kickstart this big day! And what are you eating? On the menu we have: Wholesome wholemeal pancakes with sunny scrambled eggs. :)

 

 

So, today, I’m feeling a lot like Matilda. You may have noted. As many of my generation were, I was raised with the magic of Mara Wilson and her special powers as Matilda. This girl could read the whole library and she could make things fly using her special powers. She was the best. Childhood hero. And whenever I’m using my brain powers for the good of geography deadlines, I channel my inner Matilda in order to power through my workload!

And I thought I would share this with you because A… why not channel your inner Matilda, too? Do it! And B… Matilda is a big believer in a good breakfast. No word of a lie…

…The girl does crazy things with cereal…

…And she can whip up some bloody good pancakes!

 

So basically you have a big day tomorrow and you need to make magic happen. When Matilda makes magic happen she starts the day with a superstar breakfast.  Therefore, you need one too.

And so here’s how you go about making your wholesome wholemeal pancakes…

1. Measure 125g wholemeal flour into a bowl along with a pinch of salt.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I found wholegrain rye flour in our cupboard and went with it. With success to follow! This leads me to believe that any flour involving a variation of ‘whole’ should do the trick. I’m talking wholemeal… wholewheat… wholegrain… you name it!

2. Make a well in the middle of your flour and pour 300ml milk into this.

3. Crack an egg into the well and add a teaspoon of oil.

4. Whisk it all up! This is your batter now. You have to leave this to stand for at least half an hour.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I did steps 1-4 the night beforehand and left my batter in the fridge overnight, just so I’d have less hassle on a hungry belly in the morning. The batter seemed fine for having been left overnight, so I recommend this plan.

5. Make sure the radio is on playing some tunes! Heat your oven to a low temperature (like 100˚C) and from your cupboard take out 3 plates and both a saucepan and a frying pan.

6. From your cupboard take out your crème fraiche, butter, eggs and pancake batter (if it’s been chilling in there while you caught some zzz’s).

7. Heat a little oil in your frying pan and then add 2 tablespoons of pancake batter to the pan.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I was using a mould-type thing to make my pancakes into duck shapes. So, if you have one of these too, set it in your frying pan and then pour your batter into the middle of the mould. Otherwise, just pour your batter into the middle of your frying pan.

8. Leave the pancake to cook for a couple of minutes until solid and golden underneath, then flip it over so the second side of the pancake can cook (removing your mould if you were using one).

9. When this side of the pancake is golden too, scoop your pancake onto a plate to cool.

10. Pop some more oil in your pancake and repeat until you have 4 pancakes cooling on your plate.

11. Then, go on to make 4 more pancakes. But this time when they’re ready stack them on a plate in the oven rather than out on your counter, so that they stay warm while you’re making the last of your pancakes!

12. As you’re making your final couple of pancakes, you want to heat a little butter in your saucepan until it melts. Meanwhile, crack 2 eggs into a mug and stir them together with a fork, so that they form a yellow yolky mix.

13. Pour this mix into your saucepan along with a glob of crème fraiche and a pinch of pepper.

14. Use a fork to stir this all together, until your eggs cook and scramble!

15. Take your stack of 4 warm pancakes out of the oven and tip your eggs over the top of them. And there’s your breakfast, baby!

ChefBeHere Top Tip: When the other 4 pancakes you made are fully cooled, you can pop them in a Tupperware to keep to eat up soon. I’ve popped a little piece of kitchen towel between each one to separate them, incase they were thinking of sticking together. Not on my watch!

And here’s my plate of gorgeousness from this morning :)

I know, right? This came together so well! How did I make this in my kitchen??? It looks really impressive on the plate and this recipe tasted INCREDIBLE. Like, I know I’m more enthusiastic about eggs than your average girl, but this recipe tasted like the bomb. Pancakes… WITH EGGS. Now I have a new way to eat eggs! I love them more than ever. This is good because GUESS WHAT I HEAR…

Unbelieavable. And, as well as this recipe tasting like nothing on Earth, it’s super healthy. It’s got whole grains and protein and sunshine in it! And this plateful will fill you up to no end, I promise. Gah.

So, I compel you all… go make this. Get out of bed half an hour early and you will not regret this. And THEN share with me your thoughts on wholegrain pancakes! Did you like them? How did they compare with regular pancakes for you?? Are they any match? And what would you liken the taste of these babies to?

I thought they tasted… like pancakes. And a bit like brown toast, maybe. I read online that you can eat these babies with sweet toppings as well as savoury, so when I reheat my pancakes I have left I’m going to top em up with fruit n honey. Mmm. On that note…

Flip safely all,

Hayley


 

GO NUTS THIS YEAR

Recipe: Squirrel Pots

Time taken: 2 minutes

Ingredients: Dried fruit n seeds n NUTS

Hi readers,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! It’s 2015!

That is so, so weird to write. It’s a New Year! It actually… happened. We’re in 2015! Living it up! My word, did you have fun celebrating the end of 2014? See the fireworks? I hope so!

 

NEWSFLASH as of today my health kick is launched! Hurray! I think! No so I’m actually EXCITED to be starting my health kick. There’s all these people in it together in January. It’s all about community spirit. Giving a nod to fellow joggers and fellow fruit n veg shoppers, y’know.

 

So after DISGRACING myself yesterday on a hangover and eating literally anything that was about to be banned today, I didn’t put up a fight this morning. I went quietly! Poured my muesli and shuffled on. No chocolate or alcohol for a month! All goodness and sunshine, instead. Gah.

 

And here, lovely readers, is my first tip for how to treat your belly this January. I call it: the Squirrel Pot. Basically, it’s the best lunch you can ever pack yourself when you’re heading out to study in the library. It’s a classic of mine. Have you ever seen a squirrel nibble on a nut? That’s me. I look a lot like that, a lot of the time. A scary amount of the time. It's all in the cheeks.

 

You know Graze boxes? The little boxes you can get delivered for you in the post with 4 different healthy snacks inside? I used to have them! Well, squirrel pots are sort of like Graze boxes. Except they’re a meal not a snack! So you get more than a gram of nuts to inhale. And also you don’t have to know the nutritional information of your pot. Because who gives a? And also you know you won’t get anything weird in your pot like wasabi olives. This is guaranteed. AND also it’s insanely cheaper to make Squirrel Pots. Gotta love em.

 

Basically, Squirrel Pots are the best because…

1. They take like two minutes to make. Overslept? C’mon you have two minutes.

2. They taste SO GOOD. Like MMMMMM AHHHHHH GRRRRRR.

3. They’re bloody filling. No emergency Greggs needed.

4. They’re super healthy. Maybe high in fat? But overall awesome.

5. They could beat a sandwich to death. Hands down. They're strong.

6. I invented them. And I hear squirrels approve.

7. They’re named after a really cool animal!!

Here’s my friend Woody feeding squirrels earlier this week

 

And here’s the squirrel that stood with me watching him

 

And seven IS the magic number, so if there are seven great things about Squirrel Pots then they have the wizarding world on their side and your lunch is MAGICAL. You can’t argue with magic!

 

So, readers, here’s how to make Squirrel Pots! These are a few of the best ways…

ChefBeHere Top Tip: For all variations of the Squirrel Pot you will need a little Tupperware to see you through. Mine is round and about the size of an apple. I got it from Wilko. I say, think how many goodies you want to fit inside and then find one that’s the perfect match for you.

Here’s my Tupperware bud (it's a giant apple)

 

THE NUT CLASSIC

1. For this recipe, you need to buy a bag of mixed raisins n peanuts. You can get Smartprice or Value bags for like 40p. Plus, four bags of exciting nuts!

ChefBeHere Top Tip: My fave nuts are… Brazils, cashews, almonds and hazelnuts. There’s walnuts and pine nuts too but I use those in salads, so I leave them out of my tubs. Also, there’s pistachios but I’m not so sure about those. And there’s pecans but they can be a little pricey. Probably, there are loads of other cool nuts, too. Let me know if you have any to recommend!

 

2. You scatter a layer of raisins n peanuts in your tub. Then do a layer made up of 2 of your exciting nuts. Then another raisin and peanut layer. Then a final exciting nut layer, with the 2 you have left!

ChefBeHere Top Tip: You can cheat with the exciting nuts if you like and buy a bag of ‘Mixed Nuts’.

SUPERSTAR SEEDS

1. For this recipe, you need a bag of mixed raisins and peanuts like before. Plus, two bags of yummy seeds!

ChefBeHere Top Tip: My fave seeds are… sunflower and pumpkin! There are little seeds like chia seeds and sesame seeds too, which I use in other stuff. But they’re kind of hard to eat with your hands and I worry that they get stuck in my teeth. A very serious issue.

2. Like before, you scatter a layer of peanuts n raisins, then it’s a layer of Seed 1, then your second layer of peanuts n raisins, then finally a layer of Seed 2!

ChefBeHere Top Tip: You can cheat with the exciting seeds if you like and buy a bag of ‘Mixed Seeds’.

FRUIT-TACULAR

1. For this recipe, again you need a bag of mixed raisins and peanuts. Plus, a bag of some kind of dried berries. Plus, a bag of some kind of other dried fruit.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: My fave dried berries FO SHO are… cranberries, blueberries and goji berries! My fave other dried fruits are… bananas, apricots and dates. Mmmm. Also, you should try dried apple rings! They don’t fit into Squirrel Pots but as a snack they’re the bomb.

2. As with tradition, scatter one layer of raisins n peanuts, then one layer of dried berries, then a second layer of raisins n peanuts, and a final layer which is your dried fruit!

And hey presto! Here’s the Nut Classic I made today :)

 

I encourage you all ALL to give this one a go. It’s so easy! And costs far less than people think. And fills you up. And powers you through the afternoon! And it doesn’t feel like healthy food. Works your jaw like people say a steak does. And it TASTES LUSH. Need I say more?

 

Go people. Go forage for some nuts. And then make your own Squirrel Pot! And lemme kow if you like it! I want to hear… can you be bothered to make your own rather than having one delivered? Does this fill you up until teatime? Does it beat Graze? Does it beat a boring old sandwich?

 

And if you’re inspired to get creative with Squirrel Pots let me know your ingredients and your recipes! I’m always open to something new in the New Year. :)

 

Squirrel safely,

Hayley