Healthy Banana Pancakes!

Yay, it's Friday!!! 

To celebrate, I whipped up an impromptu post-workout treat in the form of clean banana pancakes! They were spontaneous but so delicious, so thought I'd share the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Large Ripe Bananas
2 Eggs
5 Tbsp's Oats (I used porridge oats)
1 Tsp Almond Butter
Pinch of Cinnamon
Pinch of Baking Powder
A Small Amount of Coconut Oil (to cook them in)

There's no difficulty involved in the making of these beauties, and I would know, as I'm generally a terrible cook! So no excuses.

Simply mash the banana, whisk the egg and blend both together using a fork. Then mix in the rest of the ingredients, and voila! You have your mix ready in no longer than 10 minutes.

Add a teaspoon of coconut oil to a frying pan, and spoon the pancakes mix into the heated pan.

I got a bit carried away watching Hollyoaks (multitasking at its finest) and sort of burnt the first sides.

Oops! 

The second sides turned out a lot better. Learning from my mistakes!

You can add whatever tickles your fancy, but I used the following to top them off:

Choc Shot - my new found favourite chocolate condiment...and it's all natural! (Click here for a full post on Choc Shot, Three Ways)
Raspberries
Chopped Roasted Hazelnuts
Pecans

And this was the outcome... orrrrrrgasmic in taste and look.

I enjoyed them with a cup of green tea and my favourite magazine.

Try them! And if you don't like, I will personally come over and apologise. Or buy you a drink for providing you with false information. Your choice.

How do you enjoy your pancakes?

XOXO

Healthy Nutella: Sweet Freedom Choc Shot 3 Ways

On my way back from work last week, I stopped off at Whole Foods, a very expensive habit I've recently gotten into, and one which I can't seem to break. That place is heaven for foodies like me.

I spent a good half an hour browsing the shelves for 'healthier' chocolate goodies and examining so many packages and ingredients that my eyes began to hurt (someone please tell me why I always enter Whole Foods and immediately think I'm a health expert?!?!)...and I came across this little beauty by Sweet Freedom. Choc Shot. 

It's basically liquid chocolate, or to chocoholics like me, liquid gold. It honestly tastes delicious, like sweet melted chocolate. And at 13 calories a teaspoon (and just 0.1 grams of saturated fat), it contains less than half of the calories of a teaspoon of nutella, as well as less than half of the sugar and saturated fat in nutella. 

What's more, the the beautiful little substance is made with natural fruit extracts and natural chocolate flavour. Sweet Freedom brand themselves on this quality. All their products are au natural baby (Or so they say). So when I next try (and fail) at ditching artificial sugars, I won't have to feel guilty about indulging in a bit (or a lot) of this bad boy. 

Here's 3 ways to enjoy it! 

1) Choc Shot with Fruit & Oats 

Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and coconut oil to some porridge oats and toast them off in the oven for 5 minutes. 

Pop a mix of your favourite fruits in a bowl (I chose a mix of raspberries and blueberries as we'd run out of bananas), sprinkle the oats on top and add a generous squirt of choc shot. 

Dig in!

2) Hot Chocolate Shot 

I used almond milk, simply because I'm obsessed with the stuff (I have it every morning with my porridge). I also tried it with hazelnut milk and that was amazing. Imagine one big jug of melted nutella, without the intensity/ sickliness. 

Simply place the milk on the hob, and near boiling, add three teaspoons of choc shot (you can also whack it all in a mug and microwave it, but I always think doing it on the hob is nicer...I don't know why!)

This was probably my favourite. A perfect sweet treat to enjoy on a full tummy after a big dins. 

3) Banana & Choc Shot on Toast 

One of my favourite snacks of all time is banana and nutella on toast, and this healthier alternative is honestly just as tasty, and guilt-free!

I had it on spelt bread as we purchased a fresh loaf from Gails in Barnes that morning (I can't stop raving about this cafe...see this blog post). But any bread will do! However, if you're trying to be healthy, I recommend spelt or rye bread (Biona do a great variety of flavours). Both, I love! 

The way the chocolate melts onto the warm freshly toasted bread is mouth watering. I also like to heat the banana up in the microwave for 10 seconds or so before placing it on the toast. An amazing comfort snack, perfect with a nice cuppa rosy lee! 

My tummy is rumbling just looking at these pictures. 

So go give it a try guys and girls! You won't regret it. 

XOXO