RECIPE | BANANA BREAD

I have been planning on making banana bread for let's say...the last 3 months? I always eat my banana's too quickly though and never manage to let them get to the brown, blackened mushy stage. Alas - coming home this Easter I was in luck! A surplus of banana's all speckled and freckled - so to my joy I decided to whip up two different variations in these cute little loaf tins I found in our cupboard.

Basic Banana Bread recipe is as follows...

Ingredients:

140g of Light Margarine (I used Flora Light)

100g of Caster Sugar

30g Honey

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2 large or 3 small-medium sized over-ripe Bananas

* I made two different types of Banana Bread - I added these extras with the mashed banana:

(1) Dark Chocolate and Nutty Granola - 75g of chopped Dark Chocolate and 50g of Granola (with a little extra to sprinkle on top).

(2) Maple Syrup, Oats and Mixed Seeds - 2tbsps of Maple Syrup, 20g of Oats, 20g of Oatbran and 3 tbsps of Mixed Seeds.

Instructions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 180 and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin (or two 1lb loaf tins) with baking parchment.

2.  Cream together the butter, vanilla essence and the sugar in a mixing bowl (preferably with an electric whisk) until light and fluffy and the mixture has turned from a yellow to a cream colour.

3.  Beat in the eggs and then fold in the flour and baking powder - add any extras at this point.

4.  Place the mixture into the loaf tin(s) and bake in the centre shelf of the oven for 40-50 minutes.

RECIPE | HEALTHY GRANOLA

Shop bought granola is YUMMY but it's also quite expensive and not all that great for you (if you're like me and get through a box in four days!).

I decided to have a go at making my own "healthy" granola to see if it was possible. After looking at various recipes and ideas for inspiration I came up with my own recipe.

You can use this is a "plain" base and add different grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, etc as you wish (just be sure to add the fruit after it has baked or it will burn).

HEALTHY GRANOLA

Ingredients:

300g Rolled Oats

100g Porridge Oats

50g Puffed Wheat Cereal (you can use Rice Krispies or any other puffed cereal).

20g Wheatbran

3tbsp Apple Juice

2tbsp Maple Syrup

1tsp Vanilla Essence

Sprinkle of Cinnamon

Instructions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 120ºC.

2.  Mix the rolled oats, porridge oats, puffed wheat, wheatbran and cinnnamon together in a bowl.

3.  In a saucepan, heat the apple juice, maple syrup and vanilla essence on a low heat until it starts to form a syrupy mixture.

4.  Mix the dry ingredients into the syrup and coat well - transfer onto a baking tray and make sure that there  is an even thin layer of the mixture over the tray.

5.  Place the tray in the centre shelf of the oven for 30 minutes, being sure to check and shake the tray every 10 minutes to avoid burning.

6.  Remove from the oven and at this point add your extras and stir.

Leave to cool and MUNCH!

RECIPE | BANOFFEE PIE OATS

It's definitely porridge weather this week.

I have been having my trusty bowl every morning and I thought I'd share with you a lovely variation to liven things up on these chilly mornings!

Dessert for breakfast. OH YEAH.

BANOFFEE PIE OATS

Ingredients:

40g of Porridge Oats

200-300ml of water or milk depending on desired consistency (TIP: Almond milk is lovely)

1 Banana

Greek Yogurt

Dulche de Leche/Toffee Sauce (I use an Alpro caramel soya dessert)

Grated  Dark Chocolate (optional)

Instructions:

1.  Place the oats in a microwaveable bowl and cover with the water/milk. Leave to soak for 10 minutes.

2.  Mash half of the banana and stir it into the oats. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook for 2-3 minutes.

3.  Top with fresh slices of the leftover banana, greek yogurt and drizzle with the toffee sauce – for an extra bit of morning decadence add grated dark chocolate!

RECIPE | PUMPKIN OATMEAL PANCAKES

Oats aren't just reserved for porridge you know!

Get your dose of this wonderful wholegrain in pancake format and take advantage of the multitude of pumpkins in the supermarkets at the moment.

For this recipe I used my home made Pumpkin Butter to add a bit of ZING.

PUMPKIN OATMEAL PANCAKES

Ingredients:

30g Plain Wholemeal Flour

30g Oats

3 tablespoons of Pumpkin Butter

100ml Milk (I used Alpro Almond Milk)

1 Egg

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

Extra seasoning (Cinnamon, Vanilla Essence) and Sugar/Sweetener to taste

Instructions:

1.  Mix the dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking powder, salt) in a bowl.

2.  Add the egg, milk and pumpkin butter to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.

3.  Heat a non-stick frying pan (medium to high heat) and use either a spray oil or butter to grease the pan.

When the pan is hot start pouring the mixture into a pan (about a tablespoon of mixture per pancake).

4.  When the pancake starts to take shape and bubbles appear evenly across the uncooked surface (around a minute of cooking) then FLIP the pancake and cook for a further 30 seconds until both sides are nicely golden brown (and not charred like mine!).

5.  Repeat until you have used all the mixture and serve with some lovely toppings!

 

I topped mine with some greek yogurt mixed with cinnamon, pumpkin butter, melted peanut butter, chopped almonds and dessicated coconut.

I bet this would also be yummy with some banana and maple syrup on top!

RECIPE | CARROT CAKE OATMEAL

No, this is not a bowl of vomit.

It's a bowl of...

CARROT CAKE OATMEAL !

Ingredients:

30-50g of Medium Oatmeal/Scottish Porridge Oats

1 grated Carrot

2 teaspoons of Dessicated Coconut

A generous sprinkling of Cinnamon, Allspice and Nutmeg

3 drops of Vanilla Essence

200ml of Milk or Water (or more depending on your preferred consistency)

Sugar to taste

Instructions:

1.  Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Add the carrot, vanilla essence and the milk/water and leave for 10 minutes.

2.  Most of the liquid will have been absorbed by the oats. Stir the mixture well. You can then choose to cook it as it is or add more liquid.

3.  Place the bowl in the microwave on a high heat for 2-3 minutes...or if you've got time, pour the mixture into a pan and place on a stove on high heat for 5-8 minutes, stirring regularly. Add sugar to taste.

I have been drooling in my sleep and looking forward to waking up to a bowl of oatmeal every morning.

This Northern chill calls for the breakfast that sticks to your ribs.

I love experimenting with different variations and I have stumbled across quite a lot of "pudding inspired" oatmeal ideas from various blogs over the past few weeks.

And here are my current TOP 5 FAVOURITE OATMEAL inspirations which I will be trying out:

#1

Bruleed Baked Oatmeal from Turntable Kitchen.

#2

Chocolate Latte Oatmeal from Kath Eats Real Food.

(This woman is insane...she even has a 'Tribute to Oatmeal' page HERE).

#3

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal from Oh She Glows.

#4

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal from Chocolate Covered Katie.

#5

Apple Pie Oatmeal from The Oatmeal Artist.