Life of Jana

  I love having a quick and easy smoothie for breakfast , lunch or whenever I feel like snacking . Most of the time I use frozen berries but for somet hing di ff erent every now and then I 'll use spinach - I like the mild flavour it gives. I use one or two bananas to sweeten it up a bit and sometimes some fresh raspberries, too. I will usually use coconut water and a little bit of tap water to make it less thick .  My blender is about 500ml so I get two small bottles from it.  Ingredients I use for a spinach smoothie: T wo handfuls of s pinach 1 large banana A h andful of raspberries 200ml coconut water 200ml tap water

It has been almost two months since I last blogegd and I've been missing it a lot! The beginning of the year has been quite hectic for me. I will share more about the year so far later but at the moment I want to share an amazing cupcake recipe I came up with recently!  You will all know by now that I am trying to eat as clean as possible, so I'm always trying to invent something new with healthy ingredients I find in my kitchen. I usually have some small jars of nut butters laying around in the cupboard, just because they are super easy to use in baking. I've noticed that they make muffins and cupcakes moist and soft, so they work as a good substitute for regular dairy butter. Ingredients: 2 eggs  1 cup unsweetened apple sauce  1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk  1/4 cup Greek yogurt 1 tablespoon vanilla extract  4 tablespoons almond butter  2 cups self raising flour 2 tablespoons brown sugar or coconut sugar  1 teaspoon baking soda...

I am a big fan of bananas but I am not always in the mood to bak e with them . I found so many healthy and tasty overnight pudding recipes and tried one out myself. I made it the night before and it makes a delicious and filling breakfast the next morning! I love chocolate, so I added a bit of raw c ocoa ( if you don 't like raw cocoa you can replace it with cinnamon ) and it taste d like melted choco late in a banana pudding! Ingredients: 1 banana 1 tablespoon chia seeds 1 teaspoon of honey 1 t ablespoon o f raw cocoa (or 1 teaspoon o f cinnamo n) 1/2 cup jumbo oats 1/3 cup greek yogurt 1/4 cup almond milk Instructions: Mix together all the liquids: honey, greek yougurt and almond milk M ash a banana with fork Add mashed banana, oats, chia seeds and raw cocoa to the mixture and combine Refrigerate overnight In the morning, top up however you like : dates, walnuts, shredded coconut , almonds or berries.  I topped my overnight oats with...

  I came up with a health y cupcake recipe that I might use as an alternative to my usual C hristmas baking . I also bought these beautiful gold and green foil cases from Amazon - they make my cupcakes so Christmasy! It ' s an easy recipe and do esn't take long to make . I think the most fun part about baking cupcakes is decorating. I picked up these Milk Chocolate Multi Coloured Sprinkles (mini jazzies) from Tesco especiall y for Christ mas and they were only £1 ! I am really happy with how my cupcakes came out - they are so fluffy, light and do n' t taste overly sweet. I can actually taste all of the flavours and t hey are perfect to have with a hot chocolate! Ingredients: 3 bananas 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup) 3 eggs 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups organic self raising flour (or a c ombination of plain and self raising flour) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 ...

This is my second Peanut Butter Truffles recipe (check out my first one here ) and I am so happy with how they came out. I found this recipe a bit easier as there is not so much hassle with chocolate as there is with the other one. Instead of covering them with chocolate, I decided to add chocolate drops to the mixture and they tasted even better! These truffles are very filling and they are perfect to eat when I feel like a snack. Ingredients: 1 cup smooth peanut butter 1/2 cup dates 1/3 cup almonds 1 tablespoon of honey 1/4 cup dark chocolate drops 1 handful of shredded coconut 1 teaspoon of cinnamon  Instructions: Pour shredded coconut onto a large plate and set aside Crush dates and almonds in a food processor In a large bowl, combine the crushed ingredients with peanut butter and honey Mix well and add chocolate drops Roll little balls with your hands and then roll them into the coconut Place them in a container or on a plate and put in the fridge...

I've stopped buying cookies, cakes and pastries from the shop since starting my healthier lifestyle, so when I've been getting sugar cravings I have had to make something myself to fit my diet. I thought I would step over the line for once and make some peanut butter cookies with ''real flour and white sugar''. They came out amazing - very crunchy and crumbly! Tristan liked them too! Ingredients:   1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup light brown sugar 2 large eggs, room temperature 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup creamy peanut butter 3 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup granulated sugar for rolling (optional) Directions:  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a baking tray with paper. Cream the softened butter and both sugars together until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla and peanut butter and mix until combined. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt until ...

  Recently, one of my favourite things to bake with has been banana . I always buy big bags of fruit and have found that most of the time I am not able to finish it all. I usually leave bananas until last, as they keep longer and I like them more when they are sweet and soft. Also if I am ever in the mood for baking, ripe bananas are the best!  Another recent obsession of mine has been coconut milk and coconut cream. I use coconut milk in soups, sauces and curries; while I use coconut cream in cakes, muffins, smoothies and cocktails. Rather than buy ready-made coconut creams, I make it myself by seperating it from coconut milk. Coconut cream ''appears'' when you leave your coconut milk to sit in the fridge overnight. The milk separates and the non-liquidy creamy part rises to the top - coconut cream! By shaking the cream you can combine it back into the milk. There is even a way to make a coconut whipped cream, although I've not tried it yet. Ingredients:...

I'm on a healthy eating regime at the moment but I have been allowing myself a cheat meal every now and then - Tristan has been making me pancakes. When I lived at home my Dad used to make us pancakes for breakfast every Sunday morning, they were usually very thin and quite large. While I've been living in the UK I've experienced mostly American style pancakes, small but thick and fluffy. I am not complaining though; any style of pancakes are fine with me at any time of the day. Tristan has been using a recipe he found online, if you are interested in trying it out you can find it at BBC Food Recipes .  We usually have the pancakes with vanilla ice cream with a chocolate sauce called Ice Magic. This topping is from Australia and it sets hard in seconds once poured over ice cream. Sometimes he makes me caramel sauce instead - you just need brown sugar, milk and butter. It tastes delicious! 

I have been thinking about chocolate truffles for a while now and I couldn't believe that they were so easy to make! I am a big fan of Dana and John who have a food blog called Minimalist Baker . I'm sure you have all heard about it. Her simple and delicious recipes inspired me to make some raw peanut butter truffles. I changed the recipe a bit to suit my taste and I think they came out pretty good for a first try. They are so simple, healthy and filling!  Ingredients: 1 cup smooth peanut butter 4 tablespoons shredded coconut 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup a handful of crushed peanuts dark chocolate for dipping Directions: Before making the truffle mixture, crush a handful of peanuts in a food processor In a large bowl, combine the ingredients - peanut butter, honey, shredded coconut and peanuts Roll little 3cm balls with your hands Place them on a tray/small plate/container and freeze for 25 to 30 minutes Melt the chocolate and set aside to coo...

I love snacking. Each time I'm out shopping, I always pick up a few different bars (Nākd's my favourite) for in between meals and at work. These shopping trips can end up a bit expensive, as sometimes one bar is not enough. I've been making my own bars for a little while now and they have been pretty good, so I will share my recipe. Most store bought and homemade bars I have found have been raw - I've been baking them though as I love baked oats and their golden colour.  Ingredients: 1 banana 1/4 cup honey   1 cup jumbo oats 1/4 cup cashews 1/3 cup dried fruit - I used dates Instructions:  Heat oven to 180°C and line a baking tray Mash banana with fork and crush cashews. I put nuts inside a little plastic bag and smash them with a rolling pin Soak dried fruits in warm water for just a few minutes Mix all of the ingredients together - oats, nuts, fruit, then add banana and honey Bake until golden brown (10 to 15 minutes) There are a few opti...

The other day I tried to make some lemon and poppy seed muffins but they came out more like mini cakes . I didn't use self raising flour or baking powder, which I guess is the reason why. They came out pretty good anyway so I thought I'd share this recipe with you. Ingredients: 2 cups of flour 1/2 cup of brown sugar 2 tablespoons poppy seeds 1/2 cup salted butter Juice and zest of 2 medium lemons 2 large eggs 1/2 cup non-fat or low-fat Greek or regular yogurt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Instructions:  Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Lay muffin pan with muffin tins. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients flour, brown sugar and poppy seeds together until thoroughly mixed. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, lemon juice and lemon zest together until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time. Whisk in the yogurt and vanilla.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix together but make sure not to overmix. Spoon the batter into the m...

Everybody knows by now how much I love cookies, especially when they are homemade and healthy. I'll be sharing a very easy, quick and yummy oat cookie recipe which I am baking almost every week!  Ingredients:  1 egg 1/2 cup Rice Milk 1/4 cup Crunchy Hazelnut Butter 1/3 cup Honey 100 g Chocolate Chunks 2 cups Jumbo Oats   Instructions:  Preheat oven to 180C and line a baking pan  Mix all the wet ingredients together in a small bowl - beat eggs, then stir in milk and honey, add hazelnut butter  In another bowl mix oats and chocolate chunks Pour wet ingredients into oats and combine well I used a cookie cutter to get this lovely heart shape. I placed the cutter on a sheet and filled it with the mixture. If you don't have a cookie cutter, you can just place a spoon full of the mixture onto a baking sheet - they keep their form! Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Because they are flourless they take less time to bake, I usually kee...

Here is a quick and mouth watering banana cupcake recipe . It is good to use ripe bananas - I had some leftover bananas on my kitchen bench I thought I would use before they go totally black. I searched for a cupcake recipe and found so many yummy ones on this website - www.taste.com.au As I try to follow my clean-eating lifestyle, I usually substitute some ingredients in the original recipes with a healthier alternative and make them more 'mine'. I also made my own icing without butter.   INGREDIENTS: 2/3 cup self-raising flour (it's about 11 tablespoons of flour) 1/3 cup plain flour 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup desiccated coconut 100g butter, melted and cooled 2 small ripe bananas, mashed 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1/3 cup syrup or natural juice of any fruit (pineapple, apple, orange - I used lemon) For icing:  175g Greek yogurt 100g dark chocolate 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 1/3 cup icing...