This smoothie bowl has become one of my go-to breakfasts recently, especially on a hot summer's day.  It is super tasty, refreshing and can easily be adjusted to suit your tastes or what you have lying around in your kitchen.

Ingredients

175ml Almond milk

1 Banana

2 tablespoons Fat Free Natural Yoghurt

2 Handfuls of Frozen Berries

2-3 Tablespoons Granola

Chia Seeds

Desiccated Coconut

Method

1. Add the almond milk, banana, yoghurt and frozen berries to a blender and blend until smooth.

2. Pour into a bowl and top with granola and a sprinkling of chia seeds and desiccated coconut.

Yes, it really is that simple.  What I love most about this breakfast, besides it being super quick and easy, is that it is really versatile.  You can change it up however you like to suit your needs on any particular day.  I tend to have it like this, with granola, after a morning workout when I need some carbs.  I'll also add a bit of protein powder if I've done a really hard workout and need a bit more oomph.  It is also the perfect breakfast to cool you down after a workout, as nobody wants to be stood in a hot kitchen cooking eggs after a workout right?!  On the other hand, if I haven't done a workout I will skip the granola and top with fruit instead, such as blueberries, banana, peaches etc.  Your choices are endless.

Although you could use any type of frozen fruit, my frozen fruit of choice is berries; usually raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries.  Not only do they taste great but they are also very beneficial to your health.  They are packed full of antioxidants (especially raspberries, blackberries and blueberries), help reduce blood sugar, are a good source of fibre, rich in vitamins and minerals and help lower cholesterol (blackberries and strawberries).   Like all these benefits aren't good enough, there has also been research that shows that the antioxidants in berries may help reduce wrinkling and other signs of skin aging due to sun exposure.  Hello berries, goodbye crow's feet!!

Although I very often chop and change what toppings I have on my smoothie bowls, the one thing I never leave out is chia seeds.  Chia seeds are known as a modern day superfood and have some great benefits, and from only a small amount too.  These tiny black seeds are loaded with fibre, protein, antioxidants and Omega-3 fatty acids.  These fibre rich seeds really help you to feel full and aid a healthy digestive system.  One of the main reasons I like to add chia seeds to my smoothie bowls is for their anti-inflammatory effects and help with the digestive system.  Due to my anxiety I very often suffer with IBS and stomach problems, so am always on the hunt for natural remedies that help to sooth this.

What would you add to your smoothie bowl?  Be sure to tag me on instagram if you try this recipe or you have your own that I could try.

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Whilst I was looking through my photos for pictures of my mum for Mother's Day I came across the photos of this afternoon tea I took her for as a treat for her birthday.  I can't believe I didn't share them before now, as it was absolutely amazing!

Afternoon tea is one of my favourite treats, what could be more perfect than mini sandwiches and cake... lots of cake!  We went to Teapots and Teacups Tearoom, a cute little tearoom in town with lots of shabby chic furniture and a variety of afternoon teas on offer.  Although I knew we were going to have afternoon tea I made the huge mistake of opting for a Banoffee milkshake, as I just couldn't resist.  I have the biggest sweet tooth ever and if there is a special milkshake on offer I just have to try it.  Once I was getting towards the end though I did start to feel slightly sick from drinking it alongside all those sweet treats and then the sugar rush certainly started to kick in.  The afternoon tea we opted for was the Mad Hatter's Afternoon tea which also comes with a hat for you to wear whilst having your afternoon tea.  A little bit of a fun addition, especially if you're visiting for a special occasion.  Onto the afternoon tea itself, the first tier was made up of oddly shaped and sized sandwiches (which added to the mad theme), a side salad, crisps and coleslaw.  The second tier had a little mini milkshake each and a slice of angel cake each, which was absolutely delicious!  The top tier then had scones, a little plant pot filled with chocolate brownie, macarons and some small flavoured choux buns.  As if that wasn't already enough, atop of all of this was a bowl filled with strawberries, marshmallows and sweets.  It was a match made in heaven for a sweet lover like me.  I have had a few afternoon teas in my time and so far this one is top of the list, it's going to take some beating!

Where was the best afternoon tea you've ever had?

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Last year I decided I was going to develop healthier eating habits and I was doing pretty well until going away, then Christmas and then moving... well, then it kind of just went out of the window a bit.  I'm now determined to get back on track after putting on a few Christmas pounds.  When reading about any healthy eating plan they always say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it's what kickstarts your metabolism.  The problem here is that I've never been a big lover of breakfast and I never have much of an appetite in the morning.  I'm especially not fond of savoury breakfasts, I have such a sweet tooth.  My breakfast most days is a banana or a homemade smoothie.  However when I saw these breakfast muffins on The Body Coach's Instagram I thought I'd give them a go.  They looked nice, and perfect for a small and quick breakfast in the morning.

Ingredients:

(makes 6)

2 bananas

2 eggs

5 large strawberries

1tsp baking powder

1tsp cacao powder

oats

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 200°C and grease 6 cups of a muffin tray.

2. Put the bananas, eggs and 3 of the strawberries (chopped) into a bowl and mash together into a runny consistency.

3. Stir in the baking powder and cacao powder.

4. Add the oats.  I never measure the oats I just pour some in and then keep adding them to get the desired consistency.  I like to put enough in that they just start to stick together.

5. Spoon the mixture into the greased muffin tray, chop the remaining 2 strawberries and sprinkle them on top.

6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.  Be sure to keep an eye on them though after 10 mins so they don't burn on the top.

These muffins have become my new favourite breakfast.  They're super quick and easy to whip up and are just enough for me in the mornings.  The sweetness of the strawberries really do satisfy my sweet tooth too.  I was worried that I wasn't going to be too keen on the texture as I don't like porridge but they don't really have that porridge taste, especially once they've cooled down.  I did try one warm but I do prefer them cold after they've sat a while.

What's your favourite healthy breakfast?  I'm always on the lookout for new great healthy recipes.

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It's been a while since I've shared a recipe post so I thought that today I'd share a recipe for one of my favourite breakfasts right now.  I have been struggling with my self confidence again recently and one of the things I've always had a difficult relationship with, due to my anxiety, is food.  My anxiety causes a loss of appetite and my IBS to really flare up, I also struggle to eat anything that I don't particularly love, as rather than force myself to eat something I don't particularly want I'd just rather go without.  This has lead to me eating a lot of comfort food lately and has left me feeling sluggish and unhappy with my body again.  Over the years I have realised that I have an unhealthy relationship with food and eating.  I'm hoping that opening up about this and being able to share healthy recipes and keep track of my progress here may help and enable me to get the body confidence back to get back to sharing what I love to most here on the blog, outfit posts.

Yesterday I began Kayla Itsines BBG exercise program and I am determined to stick to it.  I plan to follow it as best I can, I know I'll be fine with the exercise side it's the food side I will struggle with.  Therefore I have decided not to be too strict with myself with the meal plan and just try and use it as a rough guide and make meals that are healthy but that I also love to eat so that I don't skip meals.  One of the hardest meals for me is breakfast, up until recently I very very rarely ate breakfast, it has always been one of my least favourite meals of the day.  There are very few breakfasts that I actually enjoy and would prefer to just skip it but recently I have found a couple that I'm really enjoying.  The first is protein pancakes.  Pancakes would always be my first choice for breakfast if I ever did eat it but they're not the healthiest, so to find a healthy alternative has been a huge blessing for me.  So I thought I'd share the recipe and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Ingredients

1 tsp coconut oil

1 egg

1 banana

30g chocolate whey protein

2 small handfuls of berries (fresh or frozen)

1 tbsp honey

Method

1. Place the egg, banana and protein into a blender and mix until smooth.

2. Place the berries and honey in a small pan and leave to soften on a low heat.

3. Whilst the berries are softening heat the coconut oil in a non stick frying pan on a medium-high heat.  Pour the pancake mixture into three small puddles in the frying pan (I like to make them small as they are a softer than normal pancakes and the bigger they are the harder I find them to flip) leave to cook for around 1-2 minutes and then flip and cook for 1 minute on the other side. Then pile onto a plate.  Repeat until you have used all the mixture (makes approx 9-12 small pancakes depending on the size)

4. Give the berries and honey a good stir and then pour on top of the pancakes.

These pancakes are super quick and easy to make and taste delicious.  What is your favourite thing to have for breakfast?  If you have any great healthy recipes to share please do let me know in the comments.

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It's been a while since I've done a baking post as I have been on a bit of a health kick, and baked goods like this are just too much of a temptation to have lying around the kitchen, and also because I just haven't really been feeling up to it.  If you follow my blog though you'll know how much I love to bake and over the last few weeks I have really been missing it, so I decided it's time to put my mixer to good use again and get my baking mojo back.  This past weekend it was a special little girl's birthday and as she is lactose intolerant I was set with the task of making her some dairy free cupcakes.  I'm always a bit wary when making "free from" or "healthy" cakes as all the ones I've attempted have never really been up to scratch but these ones actually turned out pretty good.  So I thought I'd share the recipe as I know how hard it can be to find a good dairy free cake recipe and even if you can have dairy these are lower in fat and taste just as good as the real thing.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

250g caster sugar

250g Vitalite dairy free (or an alternative diary free spread)

3 eggs

290g self raising flour

1tsp vanilla essence

145ml sweetened soy milk

For the buttercream:

250g Vitalite dairy free (or an alternative diary free spread)

500g-800g icing sugar

1-2tsp vanilla essence

Makes approx. 20 cupcakes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c and line tins with cupcake cases.

2. Beat together the caster sugar and dairy free spread until light and fluffy.

3. Add the eggs one at a time and beat together with the mixture after you have added each one.

4. Add the vanilla essence and beat again until well combined.

5. Sift the flour into the mixture and beat again until it is fully combined.

6. Add the soy milk and mix well.

7. Spoon the mixture into the cases until they are about 2/3 full and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until they are golden on top and bounce back when gently pressed. Then leave on a cooling rack to cool completely.

8. When the cakes are almost cool you can make your buttercream.  Start by beating the spread until pale (about 5-8mins).

9. Sift in 500g of the icing sugar a little at a time and beat after each addition until it is well combined.  This will make a nice buttercream but as we are using dairy free spread rather than butter for me it is a little too soft, especially for piping.  So add the rest of the icing sugar a little at a time until it reaches the consistency that you prefer, this can vary depending on the type of dairy free spread you are using.

10. Add the vanilla essence and mix well.  Again the amount you will use depends on the type of dairy free spread you're using.  To me the dairy free spread has a strong margarine like taste so I tend to use about 1 and a half teaspoons of vanilla essence but you can use a little more or a little less to suit your tastes.

11.  Pipe or spread onto cupcakes and decorate however you'd like.

Let me know if you give these cupcakes a try or if you have any other great dairy free recipes.

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Today I thought I'd share with you one of my favourite winter comfort foods.  I have so many different outfit posts that I have wanted to do in the last week and a half but the British winter is really not a blogger's best friend, it has either been raining, too dull or gale force winds.  I really need to find somewhere good to shoot inside but the lighting is just terrible in my house.  I promise to find a solution and get some more outfit posts up soon though, as I have a few new winter bits that I want to share with you all.

Back to today's post though, this butternut squash and sweet potato soup is one of my favourite winter recipes.  There's just something so comforting about a nice big bowl of soup when it's wet and cold outside.  The other thing I really love about this particular soup is how thick it is, if my soup is too watery I don't really feel like I've eaten but this soup is so filling and another added bonus is that it's super healthy.

Ingredients

1 tsp Olive Oil

1 Butternut Squash, peeled and diced

1 Sweet Potato, peeled and diced

1 Onion, diced

900ml vegetable stock

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pan, then add the onions and cook over a low heat until softened.

2. Add the butternut squash and sweet potato and heat for a couple of minutes.

3. Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil, then simmer for 45 minutes.

4. Blend all the ingredients using a hand blender.

As you can see it is a super simple recipe and takes hardly any effort at all.  I have just shared the basic recipe with you but there are lots of different things that you can add for more flavour to suit your tastes.  Sometimes I like to add some mixed herbs to it or some garlic.  Different spices also work great in this soup, such as ginger, nutmeg or cinnamon.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

What are your favourite winter recipes?

In a bid to get happier and healthier I have been eating lots of salads (which I'm sure will be turning into homemade soups soon) and this chickpea and feta salad has become one of my favourites.  I absolutely love Greek Salad but always find I am feeling hungry again not long after so thought I'd try replacing the lettuce with chickpeas for a more balanced and filling meal.  I find chickpeas to be quite filling and they a great source protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals which leaves me with more energy compared to usual salads which can just be full of empty calories.  It is also super quick and easy to make and very tasty.

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side.

Ingredients

1 tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3 spring onions

1 red pepper, diced

Half a cucumber, diced

8 baby plum or cherry tomatoes, quartered

30g feta cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Method

1. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice. Set aside.

2. Place the chickpeas, garlic, spring onions, pepper, cucumber and tomatoes in a large bowl.  Crumble over the feta cheese and give all the ingredients a good stir.

3. Pour over the olive oil and lemon juice mixture and give it a good mix until all the ingredients are covered in the dressing.

As you can see it's super easy and takes hardly any time to make at all.  This is also great for making ahead of time too as the longer it is left the more the flavours come out.  It is also really great and easy to adapt to fit whatever you have in the fridge; you can have olives in it, sometimes I use red onion instead of spring onions or add some sweetcorn to it.  The possibilities are endless.

What is your go-to healthy meal?  I am always on the lookout for tasty healthy meals.