Long time, no posting!

I’ve decided that this year I am going to start trying to be kinder to myself.

Yes, I want to loose weight and look great (I am off to Sri Lanka in 4 weeks and still don’t have my bikini body) but as young women there is so much pressure to be a certain way, and I simply get miserable when I realise I don’t fit the bill.

I read an article by Angelica Malin on About Time Magazine. Check it out here – she mentions that we all need a re-tox. A fabulous idea, which got me thinking. Instead of being so hard on myself I will change my outlook on life. I will do more exercise because I enjoy it, and not beat myself up when I’m too tired to go because of my fatigue. I will not eat all the biscuits at work because they are there and I’m bored. However, I will have a few cubes of chocolate in the evening because I really need something to satisfy me. Life is about balance, and if I eat healthy food that I really enjoy, go swimming and to the gym, because this lifts my mood and makes me feel fabulous, I can still eat a slice of cake or a dessert at the weekend because I really want it.

We all need to be kinder to ourselves. We all have busy lives, life is too short to spend hours in the gym, and deprive yourself of that bit of cake that you REALLY want but shouldn’t eat because your Instagram feed is full of pictures of girls that have better bodies than you.

Saying no to something simply makes us feel guilty when we do have it, and we only want it all the more because someone tells us we shouldn’t. So have that bit of cake, chocolate bar, or that biscuit that you want to dip into your mid-morning cup of tea. Just don’t go crazy. Life is all about balance!

Anyway…

I wanted to take a picture of something today, and thought about making a banana traybake with some black bananas that have been floating around the fridge for a bit too long. This is made with out sugar or butter/fat so a little bit better for us but still delicious. It has a texture between a traybake and blondie. I had a piece tonight with some warm custard. Really quick and easy to whip up, and great to pack into your lunchbox for an afternoon sweet-treat.

 

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas – mashed (the blacker the better)
• 60g sweetener – I used Sukrin Gold, as this is similar to brown sugar. You could substitute this for light brown sugar, or an alternative sweetner.
• 120g full fat Total Greek yoghurt
• 1 large egg
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 115g cashew butter – you could also use peanut butter
• 220g self raising flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 100g dark chocolate – chopped into chunks
• 25g chopped, toasted hazelnuts

To decorate – 3-4 cubes dark chocolate, melted

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180*c/160*c fan and line a tin with non-stick parchment paper.
2. In a bowl mix together the banana, sweetener, yoghurt, egg, and milk until well combined.
3. Add the cashew butter and vanilla extract and mix again.
4. Fold in the flour, salt and cinnamon.
5. Mix in the dark chocolate chunks.
6. Pour the batter into your lined tin, smooth out and push all the way to the corners.
7. Sprinkle the top with the toasted, chopped hazelnuts
8. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until it’s springy to touch and a skewer comes out clean.
9. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Once cool, use a fork to drizzle the top with the melted dark chocolate.

 

Enjoy it,

A girl with an appetite for all things creative,

Maria x