Simple Banana Pancakes

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How many times have you been told ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’? All healthy eating websites state that you should never skip breakfast, yet it is statistically the most – skipped meal of the day, so here’s a recipe to make you WANT to eat breakfast. It feels like a huge treat….but it is so incredibly healthy and will fill you up for ages!

When I was first diagnosed with coeliac disease I found breakfast the most difficult meal to find a gluten-free option. Before diagnosis I ate oats and a chopped banana with some honey every morning…not too gluten packed…however, my dietician has told me to stay off oats for a year as they contain a very similar protein to wheat, barley and rye. This meant that almost all cereal was a no go and gluten-free toast was not great.

I wanted a high protein breakfast that wasn’t packed full of unnatural ingredients (which is what I found a lot of gluten-free cereals contain). I came across a recipe for banana pancakes which only contained 2 ingredients…eggs and a banana. I tried them out and I LOVED them. They filled me up for a fair amount of time but I knew they needed improving. I have altered the recipe by adding xanthan gum…almost calorie free and incredibly high in fiber. It thickens the mixture very quickly so only a tiny little bit is needed, but my goodness does it fill you up! I also add a little bit of cinnamon which goes really well with the banana. It is the best spice for anti-oxidant properties…in fact it is better than all fruits and vegetables for anti-oxidants!

These pancakes can be eaten as a savory breakfast with bacon or sausages but can also be eaten with berries, tinned peaches…or my favorite option…agave gum, lemon juices and some blackberries! 

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 banana

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp xanthan gum

Method:

Mash a banana up in a jug until smooth

Add 2 eggs and the xanthan gum and cinnamon

Whisk until the mixture is slightly bubbly

Put 1 tsp olive oil into a frying pan on medium heat

Pour mixture into the pan and fry until the egg is no longer runny- approximately 2  minutes

Quarter the pancake and flip each quarter

Fry for a further 30 seconds to brown this side off

Serve

You can make a weeks batch in one go and simply microwave in the morning, they will last 5 days in the fridge. They only take a few minutes…so make sure you start your day with something that makes you happy, makes you feel good and fills you up!

Aubergine Chocolate Cake

So my quest continues for the most delicious, healthy cake I can possibly find! This time I have tried out the celebrities favourite – the Aubergine Chocolate Cake. I was quite excited to give baking with vegetables a go. In the past my friends have made a courgette cake and I have tried beetroot brownies before, both have been delicious so I thought this cake would be too. 

This recipe is loved by celebrities because of the fact it is flour – free, uber rich (so you don’t need much for a quick chocolate fix!) and only contains good-for-you ingredients (bar the brandy…that’s just in there for a little treat!).

Dark chocolate is incredibly good for you. Just 1/10 of the chocolate in this cake will provide you with:

• 11 grams of fibre.
• 67% of the RDA for Iron.
• 58% of the RDA for Magnesium.
• 89% of the RDA for Copper.
• 98% of the RDA for Manganese.
• It also has plenty of potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium.

Dark chocolate is also packed full of anti-oxidants which is great for preventing cancer and keeping your skin looking young. 

Moreover, the recipe includes honey – containing anti-inflammatory properties, eggs – packed full of protein, aubergine – high in fibre and finally almonds – full of protein, good fats and keep you fuller for longer.

Oh this is so wonderful…this is a cake I will make all the time. I am so happy I have found this! I hope you all give it a go, you may think the recipe looks weird, but the surprise will be in the eating! I particularly enjoy it with a tablespoon of natural yoghurt as it cuts through the dark, intense chocolate flavour.

Ingredients:

 

2 small whole aubergines (weighing roughly around 400g)

300g good quality dark chocolate (I have made this with the cheapest option and it works fine, it is just a much better taste with the good quality stuff)

50g cocoa powder (not drinking coco!)

60g ground almonds

3 medium eggs

200g clear honey

2 tsp gluten-free baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp brandy 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Line a 9 inch tin with baking parchment and brush the base and the sides with a little bit of oil.
3. Puncture the skins of the aubergines with a knife and place them in a microwave dish. Microwave on high for 8 minutes. Once they have finished cooking, leave for a couple of minutes until cool enough to handle.
4. Skin and purée the aubergines in a blender (mashing with the back of a fork will do the job just fine if you don’t fancy more washing up!).
5. Once the warm aubergine is puréed and smooth, add the chocolate, which will mingle and melt slowly. This may need microwaving for another minute to speed this process along.
6. Set aside, cover in cling film, until all the chocolate has melted.
7. In a large bowl, whisk up all the other ingredients for a minute – or until slightly bubbly.
8. Fold the melted chocolate and aubergine mixture into the bowl with all the other ingredients.
9. Pour the mixture into the tin and place it in the bottom of the oven for 30 minutes.
10. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for about 10-15 minutes. 
11. Place the cake onto a wire rack to let the cake cool further.
12. Sieve some icing sugar over the cake and serve to all of your friends and family…let the compliments roll in!

I hope you all love it as much as I do!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

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I haven’t written a blog post for a while now. I haven't done much cooking recently as I have had all my wisdom teeth out. I have been living off soup, milkshakes and a strange concoction of painkillers...so not too much to write about! During the last week my family have been wonderful, cooking food, making me milkshakes and being incredibly understanding. So…to thank them I decided to bake a chocolate cake.

 

 I chose to make a slightly healthier version than the one I usually make. This recipe has sorghum flour in it. One cup of this lovely stuff will provide you with half your RDA of fiber, 43% of your RDA of protein and is packed full of minerals! You can’t really ask much more from a flour!

I have also used olive oil instead of vegetable oil. It doesn’t effect the taste at all…the coco powder is so strong you can almost get away with whatever oil you want (just not the flavored ones, nobody wants a garlic chocolate cake!). Olive oil is an excellent source of monounsaturated fat, which can lower your risk of heart disease. It has been said that it is good for your hair and skin too. However, the main benefit of olive oil for coeliacs is that some research shows that it can help boost calcium absorption … which is absolutely vital as coeliacs need twice as much calcium as everybody else.

You will also see that I have used Agave gum…again. I may have an addiction to this stuff. Sweet, healthy and low in calorie!

So there is no excuse to not eat chocolate cake!! You can eat chocolate cake knowing that it will fill you up, help your diet (unless your calorie counting…then maybe just a small slice!) and it will taste delicious too!

For the cake:

 

½ cup Sorghum Flour

½ cup Doves Self Raising Flour

½ cup Agave Nectar

1/3 cup Granulated Sweetener

½ cup Icing Sugar

1 ½ tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Bicarbonate of Soda

½ tsp. Xanthan Gum

½ cup Coco Powder (unsweetened)

1 tsp. Vanilla Essence

50ml Milk

½ cup Olive Oil

For the icing:

 300g Icing Sugar

100g Unsalted Butter (room temperature)

40g Coco Powder

40ml Whole milk

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 180^oC

Add all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and stir together

Into the bowl add the wet ingredients

The mixture can be a bit thick – so add a little more milk if it is difficult to whisk

Whisk (with an electric whisk) for about 3 minutes

Grease 2 circular cake tins with a little oil

Pour the mixture into the cake tins and bake for 20 minutes

For the icing, simply sift the coco powder and the icing sugar and add the butter and milk

Whisk with an electronic whisk for about 5 minutes

 Once the cakes are out of the oven, place them on a cooling rack. This will prevent them from becoming soggy.

Only when the cakes are completely cool, add the icing to the center and on top of the cake.

Decorate with whatever you like – enjoy!

Guten Free, Low Carb, High Protein Key Lime Pie

Low carb, high protein, gluten-free key lime pie.

I have enjoyed a few too many key lime pies on my holidays in America and I absolutely love baking them. However, they are normally made with a biscuit base, cream and condensed milk. They are packed full of calories and can often leave you feeling bloated.

I decided to start experimenting with different recipes. I have managed to come up with the perfect combination of ingredients which makes the best key lime pie I have ever made.

This recipe gets rid of the biscuit all together. Instead I have used an almond base, which is much higher in protein and full of natural goodness! To see the health benefits of almonds see my Bettys review.

The key lime pie filling is mostly made out of mascarpone cheese…packed full of calcium and protein. This is particularly good for coeliacs, as the RDA of calcium doubles after being diagnosed. So you could look at this as simply helping towards a healthier body and stronger bones!

I shared this key lime pie with friends and family over the weekend, and they all loved it! This is a truly delicious desert,  definitely one I will keep making time and time again. Quick, easy and low carb! Perfect for summer!

Ingredients:

for the filling:

4 cups mascarpone cheese

1 cup icing sugar
Zest and juice of 4 limes

for the base:

5 tbsp. sweetener
3.5 cups crushed almonds
4 tbsp. butter

1)   Pre heat the oven to 180^oc (for a fan assisted oven)

2)   Melt the butter

3)   Mix the butter, almonds and sweetener together in a bowl until the mixture binds together like dough

4)   Put the mixture into your 10 inch pie dish and press down with your fingertips until the mixture is compact and even

5)   Place the dish in the oven for 10 minutes, if you have pie weights place these on top to prevent the base from expanding or from going soggy.

6)   Mix together the icing sugar, mascarpone and the zest and juice of 4 limes. 

7)   Place in the fridge to cool until ready for serving

8)   Take the base out of the oven and allow to cool. Once cooled place in the oven once again for 10 more minutes to ensure a crispy base.

9)   Just before serving add the key lime mixture onto the base. If you do his too far in advance you will risk making the base soggy. I've added some grated dark chocolate on top of mine just for looks!

It is so simple to make, healthy and packed full of flavour  so there is no excuse to skip pudding!

Give it a go, let me know what you think...and happy baking!