Something To Get You Through Monday Morning

I’m on a bit of a roll with banana-based recipes at the moment. I just hate chucking away over-ripe bananas when they are so perfect for baking. So this time I created a breakfast banana muffin recipe inspired by my beautiful friend’s recipe, thanks Kelsey!

Makes approximately 8 small muffins.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 over-ripe mashed bananas
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1tsp cinnamon

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees and prepare your muffin tints with muffin holders.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and honey. Add the eggs and whisk well.
3. Add the mashed bananas and milk, followed by the banking soda, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Mix well.
4. Add the flour and oats to the mixture and mix together using a large spoon (mix until combined). You can add extra ingredients here if you like such as chocolate chips or nuts.
5. Fill your muffin holders about two-thirds of the way. Sprinkle a few oats on top.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean).
7. Enjoy!!!

I loved serving these muffins with yogurt sprinkled with honey on the side. These are also great take-away snacks!

If you have any suggestions please feel free to shoot them to me!

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Fluffy Pancake Recipe

Hi all!

I’m really excited to share this recipe with you today. My sister and I love eating pancakes on the weekend, in fact, it has become a bit of a ritual for us now. I’ve tried some of the ‘healthy’ pancake recipes out there but, let’s face it, those ‘everything-free super healthy’ recipes usually taste pretty damn crappy and they require you to use the most complicated/expensive ingredients. Ain’t nobody got time for that…

So, I’ve finally made my own recipe which I feel has a perfect balance of yumminess and healthiness. What I like the most about this recipe is that the pancakes have a very smooth, fluffy consistency (thanks to the beaten egg whites) which is awesome. I made my 13 year old brother try these out to test whether the recipe was tasty enough from his perspective. He gave me the thumbs up and ate the whole batch. I’m guessing that’s a good sign…

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Here are the ingredients you need to serve about 2 people:

• 1/4 cup of buckwheat flour
• 1/4 cup of almond meal
• 1 small teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 eggs (separated)
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 1 banana
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste (or vanilla essence)
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar (which gives a really nice caramel taste but you can omit the sugar if you prefer)
• Butter (or coconut oil) to cook the pancakes
• Toppings (this is really personal but here’s the list of ingredients which I usually use): plain yogurt, maple syrup, desiccated coconut,  banana, blueberries, nutella, homemade chocolate sauce (1 tablespoon of cacao powder, 1 teaspoon of nut butter (e.g. peanut butter, almond butter or tahini), 1 teaspoon of maple syrup and a dash of hot water – from Healthsynergy).

Note: this is a gluten-free recipe which I personally really like but you can substitute the buckwheat flour for normal plain flour if you prefer!

Method:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together (buckwheat flour, almond meal, baking powder, brown sugar).
2. Mix together the banana, milk, two egg yolks and vanilla paste in a blender (this should make a smoothie-like consistency). You can add a dash of milk if you like your pancake mixture to be kind of runny.
3. Combine the wet and dry mixtures together.
4. Beat the egg whites until they get nice and fluffy.
5. Carefully fold the egg whites in the rest of the pancake mixture – you don’t need to mix too much here.
6. Cook the pancakes on medium heat with a dash of butter (or coconut oil if you prefer). It’s important to be a bit patient here and avoid putting the heat on too high. Wait until bubbles start to appear and then flip the pancake to cook onto the other side.
7. Make your homemade chocolate sauce while the pancake is cooking.
8. Add your yummy toppings. I like to make small pancakes and play around with different toppings for each pancake :)

Now who’s going to kick-start their weekend with pancakes for breakfast tomorrow? I know I will :P

Supercharged Vegetarian Salad (and a note about food sustainability)

I’ve grown up in a family which eats a lot of meat. My dad especially loooves his meat. He always sources very nice free range meat and, benefitting from the fact that I still live at home, I am so lucky to have access to such good food beautifully prepared by him most evenings. As a matter of fact, my cousins live on a cattle farm in France which explains why my dad loves his red meat so much!

However, I am well aware of the fact that the world is currently undergoing a food sustainability crisis. I’ve actually done a bit of work for Oxfam as part of a university assignment which focused around this issue of food security. In a nutshell: first-world countries eat too much and source their food in an unsustainable manner by importing and exporting way too many products, wasting an unbelievable amount of food and unsustainably growing certain plants/fruits/veggies which has serious negative environmental impacts on the planet. We simply cannot keep going the way we are. If we do then soon enough there will be no food left and our environment will be a wreck (even more than it already is…)

So… I do try to moderate my consumption of meat because I know that if every person on the planet ate as much meat as my dad does then we would be in big trouble (no offence dad). Unfortunately, I am not vegetarian because I love my protein way too much and feel that my body struggles without it. Nevertheless, I have a small amount of animal protein only once a day and then have no animal protein at all once or twice a week. I know it’s not much but I feel that a small step is better than nothing. For both sustainable and health reasons I try to vary my animal protein intake, for example, mix it up between fish, red meat, poultry and crustaceans. I also pay attention to where I get my animal protein from and avoid getting food which I know is unsustainably sourced (yet I must admit that it’s not always that easy to find out these things).

I would highly recommend checking out Oxfam’s GROW campaign which provides heaps of ideas on how to eat in a more sustainable manner. Here’s the GROW method at a glance:

Anyway, here’s the recipe for a supercharged (as in super healthily charged) vegetarian salad:

P.s: this salad was made from left overs in my fridge – again, trying to minimise waste and eat more sustainably!

Ingredients:

• Salad leaves (I used spinach and steamed kale but you could also use lettuce or rocket for example!).
• Two poached eggs (method on how to easily make perfectly poached eggs can be found here).
• Cherry tomatoes (cut up into small quarters).
• Handful of cut up cucumber.
• 1/4 of an avocado (thinly cut).
• Sprinkle of goats cheese (feta, halloumi or ricotta could also work here).
• Dressing: roughly 2 parts olive oil, 1 part apple cider vinegar, 1 part mustard.

Method:

1. Cook your poached eggs (takes 3-4 minutes)
2. While the eggs are cooking mix all your ingredients together in a bowl (don’t forget a bit of dressing).
3. Add the poached eggs.

So easy! You can even prepare this salad in the morning and bring it to work for a very healthy and real tasty vegetarian meal. I find that this salad has a perfect mix of greens, healthy fat and flavour. If you’re lucky enough to have the day off like I did then enjoy eating this delish salad along with a very good book like ‘Eat, Pray and Love’ by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Note: Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar Book really inspires me and I often base my meals upon it (link to the I Quit Sugar blog here). Even though this book might sound like a silly ‘diet’ book it really isn’t anything like it. On the contrary, Sarah Wilson writes a lot about ways to minimise food waste as part of her overarching food sustainability vision and she discourages dieting, opting for simple well-balanced meals incorporating healthy fat, greens,protein and a small amount of carbs (and obviously, given the title of her book, avoiding sugar). I like the way she writes. I have one book of hers and it has an endless amount of yummy recipes which I love to play around with. Give it a try and you might find you like it too!

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

With love,

Camille.

La Tarte aux Pommes – a classic dish which never lets me down.

‘La tarte aux pommes’ (apple tart) may have to be classified as my favourite desert (and that’s a big call because I am a big fan of deserts). The beautiful apple tart featured above was made by one of my French family friends using her mother’s recipe which she twisted slightly.

 

Traditional French cooking is definitely my favourite type of food. I think that it’s easy to drift away and modernise cooking. But sometimes we take it a bit too far and end up mixing too many different flavours or too many ingredients together. Whilst I love innovative food and trying different styles of cooking, I must say that I love going back to an old classic dish.

 

So, go ahead, treat yourself to an old classic dish (whatever it may be!) You won’t regret it I promise ;)

 

 

Buckwheat Pancake With A Bit Of Everything

Following on from my last post about how to make delicious poached eggs at home (click here to access the post), I thought it would be a good idea to show you an example of how I incorporate my poached eggs to my meals. So today’s example is a bit of an original mix as I had an egg with a buckwheat pancake…

I literally made my breakfast with all the leftovers in my fridge. Because I did not have any bread I thought I would make a large ‘blini’ to go well with the smoked salmon so I made a buckwheat pancake. It is very easy to make.

Method to prepare buckwheat pancakes:

All you need it 50 grams of buckwheat flour, approx. 1/4 cup of milk (any kind of milk you want – I used normal full fat milk but almond milk also works very well for example) and one egg. Mix everything together until you reach a pancake like mixture, grease the pan with a tiny bit of butter or coconut oil and then cook over medium heat until nice and golden. The mixture should make 2-3 rather large pancakes.

I then put my perfectly poached egg (thanks to my secret method) onto the pancake and I added boiled spinach, smoked salmon, ham and a few cherry tomatoes.

Tip: once you’ve finished making your poached egg, turn the temperature down so the water is not boiling anymore and chuck a handful of spinach in for a minute or two. This is a really easy cooking method which gives them a nice soft texture.

Tip number two: enjoy your smoked salmon with a bit of cream cheese on top of the buckwheat pancake – it’s really yummy.

 

Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions!!

Nutty over Nutorious

Let me introduce you to ‘everything nutty and inbetween’: Nutorious (be careful, it’s addictive)…

Less than a year ago, my friend Jim launched an Instagram account displaying his passion for delicious and healthy food. Not only is it rather unconventional for a 20 year old male to be so gifted and passionate about cooking, what’s even more amazing is the fact that Jim’s creative flair never ceases to flourish. Nutorious mixes flavours, scents and spices in a way that constantly leaves you wondering how his recipes only get better and better. Take for example Nutorious’ iconic muffins. A dozen muffins are sold every morning at one of Sydney’s best Cafes called The Penny Royale and every day a new flavour comes out which always leaves you mouth-watering.

I would describe Jim’s food as healthy and innovate cafe style cooking. His Instagram and Tumblr are full of fantastic ideas for recipes especially for breakfast and lunch. Nutorious also documents excellent food places around Sydney which provide lovely inspirations for Cafe lovers like me! I would definitely recommend you check it out.

 

 

 

 

 

Follow Nutorious on Instagram here

Follow Nutorious on Tumblr here

T2 for us 2

   

Tea. How great is tea? It is the most diversified drink. Whether you like English Breakfast or French Earl Grey in the morning, Jasmine or Peppermint mid-morning, Lemon and Ginger for lunch, Chai in the afternoon or a nice Chamomile Tisane by night – the chances are, what ever your cravings are they are likely to be satisfied by one of these flavours!

But wait… there’s more!

My younger brother bought be such a lovely gift this Christmas: the two packets of teas featured above from T2. Unlike in France (where I spent most of my Christmas seasons), Australia celebrates Christmas under the radiant sun as opposed to covered by snow. Therefore, one may think that tea may not be the ideal gift to enjoy in such hot weather. However, tea (once again) displays its versatility – and this time not only through its never-ending choice of flavours.

I bet most have you have heard of ‘Iced-Tea’ before? I am not only referring to the yummy drink from Lipton. Natural Iced Tea (made from fresh herbal tea) is divine. The two flavours which my brother bought me are amazing. Iced tea is such a simple way to refresh yourself with a drink that is more catchy to the tongue than plain water but that is not full of sugar like coke or the many commercialised ‘Iced Teas’ lying around in supermarkets.

I love making iced tea for my siblings now – they love it. I bet you would too. So if you’re not a tea addict yet, I would go easy on the Iced Tea (it’s addictive – in the best possible way)!

Chocolate muesli… Really?

Yes, I baked my first ‘chocolate muesli’ this morning inspired from a recipe I saw on the ‘thewholepantry’ app (TWP) Click here to download the app – I really recommend this app by the way! The app was founded by a women, Belle, who sadly suffers from brain cancer. TWP provides plant-based recipes with the aim to inspire people to live a healthier life. I have tried many of the recipes and I always love the end products!

Going back to what I was saying, I did not actually make the kind of ‘chocolate muesli’ that you may think of as you read the title of this post! I made my usual muesli but tweaked the ‘dressing’ a little bit. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

– 2 cups Plain rolled oats
– Sliced dried figs (use as much as you like! I put about 1/2 cup)
– Dried cranberries (use as much as you like! I put about 1/2 cup)
– 1/4 cup Sesame seeds
– 1/4 cup Chia seeds
– 1/2 cup Pepitas
– 1/2 cup Sunflower seeds
– 1/3 cup Linseed
– 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
– 2 tablespoons cacao powder
– 60mL Honey or Agave syrup
– 40mL Coconut oil

Instructions

– Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees
– Pour all the ingredients (except the figs and cranberries!) together in a large mixing bowl.
– Using a spatula, mix all the ingredients well together.
– Pour the mixture in a pan with baking paper.
– Bake for about 20 minutes turning the mixture half-way through. Note: it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on the muesli while it is cooking to prevent it from burning!
– Once the muesli is nice and golden remove it from the oven and add the dried figs and cranberries while the mixture is still warm.
– Store in airtight container

Enjoy!!

For my original muesli recipe, head to Grumbling tummy… Hungry for some home-made granola

It looks like it snowed on my green smoothie

After doing this cleanse my body felt so amazing that I now always try to incorporate as much greens and healthy foods to my diet as possible. For example, I have a green smoothie every morning and it is so delicious! I love having my smoothie with home made granola as a topping. On Christmas Eve I decided to sprinkle my smoothie with granola and coconut shreds which made it look like it had snowed on my smoothie! Clearly, I was in a very ‘christmassy’ mood.

Yum yum yum

Peaceful sunday morning breakfast at Manly Wine

How great is the feeling of going out for breakfast?! I certainly LOVE getting up in the morning to go for a walk, take a good breath of fresh air and try different kinds of breakies. Let me introduce you to a really lovely place called ‘Manly Wine’. 

I discovered this place earlier on this year where I had a really lovely dinner styled by refreshing sangria and delicious unique food. The decor of this bar/restaurant definitely adds to the friendly, relaxed ambience which lightens up your mood as soon as you step foot into the place. The ‘booze this way –>’ sign (pointing to the bar) which is one of the first thing that reaches your attention as you enter reflects the style of the place. But don’t get me wrong, Manly Wine bar maintains a very high standard of service in the midst of such ‘chilled out’ atmosphere. 

What a surprise was it to discover the place was also open for breakfast! The busy night-time bar transforms itself to a lovely morning cafe. The rather simple and short menu caters for all morning cravings: granola, toast with range of toppings, coffees, etc. I absolutely loved my granola covered with yogurt and a yummy berry compote as well as a sneaky piece of toast with avocado and egg. With a view facing the sparkly blue water and joined by my sister, mum and friend Kelsey my morning was simply delightful. I would really recommend this place!

Here’s a link to their website if you’d like more information: http://manlywine.com.au/