LIFESTYLE | WEEKLY ROUND UP

It's had its up and its had its downs but I've come out the other side almost in one piece.

I've finally just about managed to get my head around my dissertation topic, meaning I am now able to crack on with more productive research and planning - Hurrah!

Also,The Great British Bake Off has now finished (I'm having James withdrawals already!)

...taking myself to that dreaded question of "What do I do with my life now?".

The answer is BAKE AND MAKE AMAZING FOOD (obviously).

So that is exactly what I've been doing...

I created the best oatmeal concoction to date the other morning. It was more of a mismatched masterpiece fuelled on "I'm going to be late for my lecture but I need FOOD RIGHT NOW" inspiration.

It comprised of mashed banana, cinnamon with a few swirls of marshmallow fluff and peanut butter.

H E A V E N    I N    M Y    M O U T H .

* Unfortunately I have no picture for you...

I think it pretty much hit my stomach before my eyes even got a good glance - let alone my camera.

I will do my best to get a picture next time.

But I won't leave you without some wonderfully bad photography.

So here are some pictures (not taken on my good camera - sorry!) of a batch of banana pancakes we made last night...complete with vanilla ice cream, sliced banana and homemade peanut butter chocolate sauce.

P . S .

I've also started writing for the lifestyle section of the university newspaper, the Leeds Student.

Last week they used my Courgette Brownies recipe in an article on which you can read HERE.

I'm currently working on a double-page spread (hell yeah!) centred around a breakfast theme, with a particular focus on those bad ass OATS that I love so much. Watch this space.

RECIPE | COURGETTE BROWNIES

A healthy(ish) twist on the indulgent classic.

These brownies keep well and stay delightfully moist.

* To make these even HEALTHIER you can replace the oil with half a cup of over ripe mashed banana and leave out the chocolate pieces and nuts.

COURGETTE BROWNIES

Ingredients:

125ml Vegetable Oil

300g Caster Sugar

250g Grated Courgette

2tsp Vanilla Essence

40g Cocoa Powder

250g Plain Flour
1tsp Salt

1tsp Baking Powder

1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

80g Chopped Walnuts

100g Dark Chocolate (chopped into small pieces)

50g Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease a 22x33cm baking tin.

2.  Get a large mixing bowl and combine the oil, sugar and vanilla essence, mixing until it is blended.

3.  Sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbanate of soda, baking powder and salt into the mixture and get mixing!

4.  Add the grated courgette, along with most of the walnuts, dark chocolate pieces and chocolate chips (make sure to leave enough for a generous sprinkling of each to go on top of the mixture) and MIX.

5.  Pour the mixture into the baking tin and then sprinkle with the rest of the dark chocolate, chocolate chips and walnuts.

6.  Place the tin in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes (depending on the heat of your oven).