BananaEgg Pancakes...

As far as I'm concerned Sundays are for yummy food, family and Disney films. Unfortunately as I'm half way through my dissertation I don't have time to go home and see my family, nor do I have time for a leisurely viewing of Beauty and the Beast so I've been finding ways to have yummy breakfasts, lunches and dinners without piling on the pounds.

Today I tried 2 ingredient pancakes and I absolutely love them! I saw this recipe online last week, there's even a hashtag for it on instagram (#bananaeggpancakes)! All you need is one or two bananas and one or two eggs, a blender, a frying pan and some non-stick spray or olive oil. Put your frying pan on medium heat and allow to heat up, then chop your banana(s) in half and chuck in the blender and whizz them until puréed. Crack in your egg(s) and whizz again, it should look like normal pancake batter now. Pour the batter into the warmed, very lightly oiled pan - if you have a big spoon you need 2-3spoonfuls or just put in the amount for a normal American style pancake. These don't need long on the hob AT ALL but don't worry if one side is a little too brown, it doesn't really affect the taste. Allow the top to form tiny little bubbles and then flip your pancake over with a slatted spatula and cook the other side and repeat with the rest of your batter. 2 of each ingredient should give 7 - 8 pancakes, and guess what -

you can eat them all.. ALL!

(disgusting university hob, ick!! sorry!)

When else can you at 8 pancakes and not have to feel guilty?!? Before dolloping the batter into the pan you could add

♡ cinnamon 

♡raisins

♡craisins 

♡blueberries 

♡strawberries 

♡your favourite protein powder

♡any other fruit that you love to make it filling and tasty.

Don't add sugar to your mixture though, the bananas are sweet enough and you can always sprinkle it on after if you're desperate but try and avoid it if you can - the whole point is to be guilt free not guilty!

I layered mine with a swipe of 0% Greek yogurt and warmed some frozen berries on the hob to make a compote, it was seriously the best breakfast I've had ALL WEEK :)

Let me know if you make them or if you find a different filling for them, I might have had them for lunch as well so I need some new toppings!

Feeling Fruity...

Since the beginning of forever I've always struggled with snacking. I'll eat even when I'm not hungry or use it as some kind of distraction from what I really should be doing, usually work! I've got terrible self control too which really doesn't help. After using the WeightWatchers plan and getting used to the "fruit and veg is unlimited" thing I had to keep reminding myself that just because it's 0 points doesn't mean it's 0 calories.On the WeightWatchers plan I tend to use vegetables to bulk out my meal without feeling guilty and it's working just fine, however when I have lost 10lbs and return to real-life I'll have to be aware of the nutritional value in foods. I could (and have been known to) eat 6 or 7 bananas in a day. I bloody love bananas, on WeightWatchers (in theory) this is okay but a 100g banana can contain 100calories.. 700calories on just bananas is a little bit mental. This has lead me to find ways to snack on healthy foods in moderation. This is where a home-made fruit pot comes in! 

I used - 

- 1 clementine

-  small bananas

- 1 medium apple

- 7 red grapes

- 7 green grapes

and 2 clean, large yogurt pots.

I peeled and chopped both bananas and the clementine, used a super cool apple slicer to remove the core of the apple and slice it evenly and rinsed off the grapes before sharing everything evenly between the two pots. 

Each pot comes to approximately 144calories. As a snack this is less than your average bag of crisps, chocolate bar and only around 5 calories more than a can of regular Coke! I find that pre-preparing any snacks I know I like means that I only eat what I've already prepared and they're easy to grab out the fridge and take wherever you're going.. for me that's usually out to a friend's house or somewhere like the cinema where there are plenty of temptations!

For more of a treat you could add frozen yogurt or for those who are blessed enough to not need to focus on the calorie count, ice-cream.. one of my favourite extras is either some frozen chocolate buttons or granola, I love granola!

This can also be turned into a breakfast parfait by layering your selection of fruit with yogurt and granola or your choice of cereal and then refrigerating overnight until the morning. 

So, an obvious but healthy way to snack without going overboard.

Are you one to pick fruit over pick 'n' mix or does your sweet tooth take over??

Love, 

Moleskine Wellness Journal

As I've posted on here before I'm on the final leg of my weightloss journey. I have around 10lbs left to lose and it can't bloody come off quick enough! As I type there's an advert for pizza on the tv which is not helping!
However, I'm determined to get down to 133lbs and I wanted to post about one of my methods that I'm trying out over the next few months - a food diary.
I've always dabbled with food / health diaries as I'm a notebook hoarder but I never seem to keep it up. Using the WeightWatchers app has really helped me record my daily intake and has also made me think twice before having a biscuit or putting more pasta than I need on my plate as I have to actually admit what I'm doing to myself and my phone, but I'll always prefer handwritten over technology! I decided to take my food diary one step further when I spotted a new range of "Passions" journals by Moleskine when in Selfridges last week. I am an avid Moleskine fan, if you don't have a notebook or diary by them then I urge you to go and get one now now now!! I love to give them as gifts...or just tell myself they're gifts but keep them, ha..hello hoarders.
Anyway! So, I bought a new Moleskine Wellness Journal. They do plenty in this range such as a dog journal, gardening journal or even a chocolate or beer journal! All are priced at £15.99 online, though mine was £16.45 in Selfridges.

This journal has the classic black Moleskin cover but has an embossed design of people in various yoga positions.. It's not entirely to my taste but it is different to their usual plain cover. It contains 6 labelled sections - Personal Goals, Exercise Log, Diet, General Health, Games - Sport and Inspirations as well as 6 blank sections that can be labelled with other provided stickers in the expandable back pocket.

This is day 1 of my new food diary and the first page of the Inspiration section. I have yet to add some photos of places I'm going or clothes I'd like to buy in a couple of months. I absolutely love the idea of the labelled sections for things like personal inspiration because it means everything is contained in one place and I can just flick between the pages to remind myself why I'm doing this or what I had for lunch the week before.

I don't know why the quality of this photo is so bad! Sorry!

So, this is the Moleskine Wellness Journal and I think it's a really great idea and I think if anyone is on the lookout for a journal or notebook then they should head straight to John Lewis, WHSmith, Paperchase or the Moleskine website and grab one straight away.

What's your view on food diaries? Do you have a good alternative to handwritten notebooks?

Love, 

Graze Box - 10.10.11

Hello hello! I know I've been a bit absent this week. Being in my third week of lectures I've felt like I have no time at all, boo! I did however get my first of 15 Graze boxes that my boyfriend's mum bought me for my 20th birthday! I'm still 10lbs off my goal weight and I found that these little punnets of calorie controlled snacks really helped me stay away from the Kettle Chips and dips and steer me towards smaller, healthier snacks like dried fruit and nuts.

Graze provide a service where you can order a healthy snack box for just £3.49 per box (cheaper than a bag of crisps, a bottle of coke and a mars bar at the shops!) and have it delivered to your home or workplace! Their motto is "Nature Delivered" as every ingredient is natural. They a few different types of boxes, mine being a "nibble box" but have a look on their website as they're big on health and nutrition so you might find something that suits you perfectly!

Each box comes with 4 containers with 4 different snacks (unless you request otherwise) and a little booklet with all the nutritional values of each punnet so if you're trying to be more aware of what you're eating I'd really, really recommend trying one out! The box is recyclable and comes with a little serviette for the crumbs and if you have olives in your box, a little fork!

This week's box looked like this : 

Top - Fruit Sangria & Hazelnut Espresso

Bottom- Black Pepper Doms & Apple and Cinnamon Flapjack

Fruit Sangria - dried strawberries, physalis and orange sultanas

Hazelnut Espresso - coffee milk chocolate, hazelnuts, plums and amaretti drops

Black Pepper Doms - fruity mango chutney and black pepper crackers

Apple & Cinnamon Flapjack - rustic rolled oat flapjack with apple and cinnamon

This week's box is a definite 3/4. I really like the Pepper Doms and the flapjack as my favourites and the Hazlenut Espresso is perfect when you've got a little sugar craving but don't want to go overboard in the biscuit tin! The Fruit Sangria is okay but I meant to un-check it from my "Like" list on the Graze website as it contains dried physalis which I'm really not a fan of! 

One of my favourite things about the Graze box is the personalisation of everything. The booklet has my name in it and it really makes me feel like someone has packed this box with me in mind. 

I also can't praise their customer service highly enough. I encountered an issue with my account and after emailing Graze through their website I received a very prompt, informative and polite reply from Holly fixing my problem overnight! 

If you would like to try a Graze box for FREE (and your second for half price!) enter the code : VTFDL7ND at the checkout! For every person that tries a box I can donate £1 to the Graze School of Farming. 

Let me know if you try one, I'd love to hear your opinion!

xo xo