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 →

How do you develop habits? Plus, a Summer Mango, Maca, Macadamia Smoothie

I quite like personality quizzes. I’m curious about people, so I’m drawn to anything that helps me to understand my own and others’ behaviours. Sometimes, this can see me digress into doing useless quizzes like; ‘Which Harry Potter Character would you be?’ or ‘How long would you survive on Game of Thrones?’ (Not long. I’m not ruthless enough.)

A while back, a friend sent me this quiz, about the four tendencies of developing habits. I also recently listened to Brooke McAlary’s podcast with Gretchen Rubin, who designed the quiz. Unlike the Buzzfeed quizzes, this one is truly interesting – it helped me to understand why I’ve been successful at forming some habits but not others – and that this is inherently related to how I went about establishing those habits, rather than the habit itself. I came out as an Obliger, which essentially means I meet outer expectations and resist inner expectations, explaining why I’ve always been so terribly bad at exercising, unless I’m accountable to or doing it with someone else. Additionally, I also have rebel responses to this – periods of time when I become resentful and burnt out, and then stop ‘obliging’ altogether. Continue reading →

Recipe: Jaffa Overnight Oat Breakfast Pots

I was lucky enough to recently be invited by I Quit Sugar to participate in a promotion for Pureharvest, by ‘road-testing’ a mystery product from their range, sent to me in the mail. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised to receive almond milk – you know, given the blog name and all – but was very happy to recipe test with it!

I’m not dairy-free or vegan, but I do enjoy using almond milk on the odd occasion. I often use it if I want something a little lighter and more refreshing than dairy milk, and I like the nutty flavour. I have made my own in the past – a much cheaper option that uses less packaging – but do occasionally indulge in the convenience of buying it (which also saves me hours drying out almond pulp in the oven!). If you are buying almond milk, be sure to look for one without added sugar.

Please note this is not a sponsored post. I was not paid by I Quit Sugar or Pureharvest to provide this recipe. However, I do buy Pureharvest products anyway, which is why I’m happy to give them a plug here. Pureharvest is an Australian company, and highly rated by Shop Ethical, a free guide that provides an assessment of the environmental and social impact, treatment of animals, and accountable business practices of supermarket products and companies. Continue reading →