Homemade Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Clif Bars

So today I had bananas that were in a desperate need to be used plus I think my family were getting tired of banana bread… consequently I decided to play around with bananas. I wanted to do some sort of cookie, that didn’t make such a mess. 

“I’m starting with the man in the mirror,
I’m asking him to change his ways;
And no message could have been any clearer,
If you wanna make the world a better place,
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change!” 
― Michael Jackson

 

If you want to change something or do something one must start with themselves. Hence why I follow my passion for baking every day, even when I have had a long tiring day I will still get my hands in the kitchen. 

 

I really just played around with ingredients, do not know the exact measurements, I eyeballed it. I was just looking for it to come together like a cookie would. Plus just add what you would like in your bar, satisfy your taste.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 bananas
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 egg 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
•  Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS 

1. Pre-Heat the over to 350ºF 
2. Beat the first 6 ingredient together until well incorporated 
3. Slowly combine in the dry ingredients into the wet mixture 
4. I used an ice cream scooper and placed them one a baking tray
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes until firm 

 

NOTES:

• They will not expand so don’t worry if they are close together
• Measurements aren’t exact, I just added things as I go, look for the dough to come together 

 

Bakewell Tart

Bakewell Tart is a popular English confection consisting of a shortcrust pastry with a layer of jam and a sponge using ground almonds. This is a simply recipe to recreate your version of this classic treat. And trust me it is a crowd pleasure.

Ingredients
For the shortcrust pastry
175g/6oz plain flour
75g/2½oz chilled butter
2-3 tbsp cold water
For the filling
1 tbsp raspberry jam
125g/4½oz butter
125g/4½oz caster sugar
125g/4½oz ground almonds
1 free-range egg, beaten
½ tsp almond extract
50g/1¾oz flaked almonds

Directions
To make the pastry:

Place the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the water, mixing to form a soft dough.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface and using a pie dish roll out pastry into dish.
Leave in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 (180C fan).
Pierce holds all over tart then bake for about 15 minutes

For the filling

Spread the base of the flan generously with raspberry jam. Melt the butter in a pan, take off the heat and then stir in the sugar. Add ground almonds, egg and almond extract. Pour into the flan tin and sprinkle over the flaked almonds.

Bake for about 35 minutes. Then slice up and serve

Healthy Brownies

Who says you have to skip dessert to stay lean? If you keep an eye on your health, but you still love to indulge in decadent desserts, you’ll be glad to know that you can have a brownie and know it was Only 90 Calories! Yes I said it… bet you didn’t think you can have such a treat without breaking your calorie bank for the day. The ingredients and process is so easy that I was able to make it at university. You can play around with the ingredients to work best with you. So try it at for yourself and enjoy my recipe for these scrumptious treats.

Ingredients
3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/4 cup or 50ml skimmed milk (or equivalent)
1/4 cup or 30g Carob powder
1/2 cup or 50g oats
1/2 cup Truvia (or any natural/stevia based sweetener)
1 egg
2 tbsp agave nectar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 400°F.
Grease a square baking dish (I used a bread tin all i had at university) and line it with baking paper.
Combine all ingredients into a food processor or a blender, and blend until smooth.
Pour into the prepared dish and bake for about 15 minutes.
Allow to cool completely before cutting into 10 bite size squares.

No need to deprive yourself. These yummy sweets are full of flavor without all the calories

Rice Krispie Squares

Want a cheap university treat or a quick family treat to give the children, this isn’t the traditional recipe, as Im not using marshmallows as sometimes marshmallows can be expensive so I was trying to find an alternative. Im using the basic ingredients most people will keep on hand anyways.
Ingredients:
3 cups Rice Krispies
4 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp butter/marg
few drops of vanilla or almond essence

Directions:
Put syrup, sugar and butter into a pan, melt and bring to the boil for 1 min (stirring).
Remove from heat, add essence and Krispies.
Mix well and pour into a greased 7″ square tin. Mark into squares and remove from the tin when cold.
Put in the fridge to set.

Cinnamon Rolls (Yeast-free)

Have early rising kids and need a quick breakfast that will really put a smile on their faces? Well this recipe is so simple and trust me there will be no left overs. And everything is from scratch! You’ll feel pretty impressed with yourself by the end of it. You can even make it at university as a birthday surprise for a flatmate or even to surprise your friends with breakfast. Don’t want it for breakfast, can have it as your evening dessert.

Or sometimes do you get a craving to make something from scratch and want yo serve something warm out of the oven well cinnamon roll are perfect! However you might thing I don’t like working with yeast as it can be hard and  so often I don’t want to wait the 3 – 4 hours it takes to prepare them with all those tedious and lengthy rise times, but is the yeast absolutely necessary? Well, I decided to find out for myself and I stumbled upon this great recipe

Ingredients:
Dough:
300g Self-rising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp caster sugar
Salt
100g melted butter
2 egg yolks
200ml milk

Filling:
50g soften butter
3 tablespoons soften brown sugar
2 tablespoons caster sugar

Cream Cheese Icing
50g icing sugar
2 tablespoon cream cheese
1 tablespoon butter
vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 180 C
Line a round baking tin with a greased parchment paper and set aside.
Combing self-rising flour, cinnamon, caster sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
In separate bowl mix the completely melted butter add the milk and then the two egg yolks.
Then incorporate the liquids with the dry ingredients. Mix until becomes in dough form.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 1/4″ thick.
Spread the filling on the rolled-out dough. Roll up the rectangle, and with a sharp knife slice into small rolls and place in your prepared tinned.
And then bake until brown 25-40 minutes (depending on the size).
When the rolls are done, drizzle on the glaze and serve warm with hot coffee or a cold glass of milk. Makes a great breakfast or even a dessert.

Banoffee Cups

These wonderful little cups are a twist on the usual banoffee pie. A perfect little treat for a party, friends, family, flatmates, or just craving something simple for yourself. A must for all banoffee fans. Delicious shortbread caramel crunch with soft banana centre top of with a light whipped cream topping with a hint of chocolate. Can you say yum!

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1-2 whole ripe bananas
Whipping Cream or Double Cream for topping
Chocolate to decorate

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line an 8×8 glass dish with parchment paper and cover completely with butter (or it will stick massively) and set aside.
In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, flour and vanilla until dough forms.
Press evenly into the bottom of prepared dish.
Bake 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and gently pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over hot cookie base. Reduce oven temperature to 325 and bake 15-17 minutes more until milk darkens and turns into toffee.
Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
Using the foil or parchment, lift bars out of glass dish. Can cut into bars later or can scoop into cups to make it ready to serve.
Slice bananas and place over top of toffee.
Spread whipped cream over top of bananas and chocolate. Then refrigerate.
Now all ready to serve

Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats

When just wanting to be creative this is the easiest recipe that has only 3 ingredients, takes 5 minutes and can be done in one bowl.

Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart.

– Ancient Indian Proverb

INGREDIENTS 

• 3 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 1 (10 oz.) package  marshmallows (mine had a mix of pink and white- so mine will have a strawberry twist)
• 6 cups Rice Krispies

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Melt margarine in large saucepan over low heat.
2. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.Remove from heat.
3. Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.
4. Using buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray.
5. Cut into 2-inch squares when cool

Simple Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Home for the weekend and have been deprived of cooking in my kitchen for 6 weeks whilst i’ve been away at university. Since being gone, I have truly realised that my passion lies within baking and cooking. All I can do when I am gone is dream of getting back into the kitchen and making food for others. I just want to get my hands busy making spectacular things that people will enjoy.

“In my experience, food and passion always intertwine. Passion is food for the soul’s mood at any particular time.”

-Tammy Mollai

This recipe is extremely easy and made for a beautiful breakfast for my best friends in the world… my sisters. I would do anything for them. The house is smelling so festive.

“At the end of the day, a loving family should find everything forgivable.”

– Mark V. Olsen

 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter and flour a loaf pan.
2. Mash bananas in a large bowl.
3. Add eggs and mix well.
4. Sift the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda into the bowl and mix well.
5. Stir in chocolate.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Turn out the loaf onto a wire rack to cool.
9. 

Energy Date Balls

Want a quickly healthy yummy treat that doesn’t make a mess to make and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already… then this one-bowl bite will do you just fine.

Ingredients (didn’t measure just played around with taste)
– Dates (soaked in boiling water until soft -2 minutes)
– Desiccated Coconut
– ghee
– cacao nibs

you can really experiment around and add whatever you feel like.

Directions:
Once the dates are soft drain the water then add ghee and the coconut and mush with your hands until everything is incorporated. Then toss in the cacao nibs and once everything is combined form into balls and roll into some more coconut.
and then it is done! Wasn’t that just to EASSSSSYYYY

Picture Steps:

Ayurvedic Cooking is about guiding principles rather than rules. Knowing the food that YOUR body thrives on shouldn’t be so hard. As you know, there is no one diet that works for everyone and no one lifestyle that works for everyone. The focus is on easier digestion and the body’s capability of extracting the nutritional essence of the consumed food

The benefits of dates include:
relief from constipation
intestinal disorders
heart problems
anemia
diarrhoea

Dates are good for gaining weight also. Dates are rich in several vitamins, minerals and fiber too. These delicious fruits contain oil, calcium, sulfur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and magnesium which are all beneficial for health. Some health specialists have said that eating one day per day is necessary for a balanced and healthy diet.

The fibre in coconut can play an important role in reducing heart disease. Coconut has been shown to have a low Glycemic index which means that it releases available carbohydrate into the blood slowly.

Honestly Healthy Alkaline Nutty Granola

Stop buying expensive granola at the supermarket. Instead buy the raw ingredients and do it yourself and this will guarantee no preservatives, or extra oils aided to it. You have full control over
Ingredients:
Chopped Whitworths – Soft Dates, 50 g
Tesco – Scottish Porridge Oats 50g,
3 tablespoons Groovy Food Company – Agave Nectar,
Cashews – Raw, 1/4 cup
Raw Almonds, 0.25 cup, whole
Tesco Whole Foods – Pumpkin Seeds 15 g
Whole Foods Organic – Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Cold Pressed, 1 Tbsp (15 mL)

Direction
1.If do not have a dehydrator preheat the oven to 160 C/ 310 F
2. In a sauce pan simmer 2 inches of water and place dates in the water. Let cook until tender. Then drain water and place soft dates into blender. Pulse until smooth.
3. Combine the remain ingredients and then spread on a baking tray that is lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 110 C/ 225 F for another 20-25 minutes.
5. Then it is ready!
It can serve 8 snack size portion or 4 meals.
Per Serving (snack size) :144 calories 18g carbs 7g fat 4g protein and 7g sugar.

If made simply and responsibly, granola can provide some decent health benefits for its consumers. Rolled oats provide lots of fiber, which is important for digestion, and the fruits and nuts in granola can contain important vitamins and promote good health. For example, almonds can help lower cholesterol.Oats also contain antioxidants, which can help strengthen your body and prevent disease.
Granola isn’t all good health news. Modern-day granola bars and cereals can be loaded with sugars and oil, making them deceptively dense in saturated fat and calories. Granola’s reputation as a health food is shaky, mostly because consumers tend to prefer processed, heavily sweetened brands to more natural ones.

Remember: everything in moderation! Certain brands of granola can be healthier for you than others.