Mocha-Banana Breakfast Smoothie

Breakfast is one of my favourite meals of the day, and will often see me in the kitchen making some annoyingly elaborate concoction, while my husband rolls his eyes and accuses me of overcrowding the dishwasher to make yet another ‘complicated breakfast’.

Over the last few weeks though, I haven’t had much of an appetite in the morning – but unfortunately my tendency towards low blood sugar means I usually need to eat something ‘proper’ to keep it in check (honestly, my blood sugar is sometimes like the beast lying dormant within, ready to explode in hanger at a moment’s notice…). On one such morning I also wanted coffee, albeit decaf. And so, the mocha-banana breakfast smoothie was born, with a little hidden veg. It’s a coffee-and-healthy-breakfast all in one, summer-friendly start to the day.

As we head off for a family holiday on Tuesday, this will be my last post for the year. I hope for all of you to have a lovely holiday season, but I’m also thinking of those who find this time of year difficult – because it can also be a fraught time, can’t it?
Take care,
Erin xx Continue reading →

A winter dessert (or breakfast!): Pear, Ginger and Macadamia Crumble Pots

Come winter, I’m a bit of a crumble fiend. Especially with dollop cream. In the past, I couldn’t often be bothered to make it, because I found the process of rubbing butter into flour too involved and messy. I have this irrational idea that if I have to get the flour out of the pantry, it’s all going to be too much effort.

An earlier round of the IQS program introduced an apple crumble which used a combination of almond meal and oats in the topping, and it has revolutionised my crumble-making. Plus, the addition of oats makes it breakfast-friendly, in my book. 😉 Rani from You Totally Got This also uses this topping in her baked apple crumble – check it out, it’s an easy and delicious family sized dessert.

These pear, ginger and macadamia crumble pots use no added sweetener at all – I feel that pears are sweet enough already. They are simple and quick to make, requiring very few ingredients. I opt for individual servings so I don’t over-indulge. (That’s a lie: it’s actually so my husband doesn’t eat more than his fair share!) Plus, you could double the recipe and make a couple of extra pots, to store in the fridge for breakfast. Continue reading →

Fiery Dragon Eggs (aka baked avocado eggs with chilli salsa)

It’s Game of Thrones season! Woohooooo. GoT is one of my favourite TV shows (probably my most favourite, to be honest); so I was pretty stoked when fellow nerd Marisa, of Miss Marzipan, started a three month Food of Thrones feature over on Instagram (see #foodofthrones2016). Although she initially invited foodie Instagrammers to make GoT themed dishes in the lead-up to the season premiere (check out her You Know Nothing Jon Snow Cone), a bunch of us got REALLY EXCITED – so Marisa decided to continue it throughout the season. 😀 Each week, she sets a theme for people to contribute to, and she will be developing an eBook at the end featuring some of the vegetarian meals. This will be downloadable after a small donation to charity. Continue reading →