Chocolate Ice Cream Bowl... For Breakfast!

Hidy-ho there friendly friends!

Now have I got a treat for you! Both literally and figuratively I guess (well, if you decide to make whatever is to follow immediately that is..)

The other day I woke up.

Clap, clap Steph. Here is your medal.

Yes, I woke up- hurrah! Then I chucked on the usually workout attire, did some Blogilates vids (a little bit of everything really; some legs, obliques, abs, cardio etc.) followed by some quick boxing and skipping to get the heart rate up and then it hit.

It was the realisation that I needed brekky. And fast.

You see, I always work out fasted. That is, I haven't eaten since dinner the night before (definitely feel it in the morning when I had a small dinner previously!!) and as such, following a workout.. I'm usually pretty ready to EATTT!

And I know that on this particular morning I was in the mood for a real delicious brekky to kick start my day!

Enter this guy:

That my friends is a bowl of exactly what it says; Delicious-ness

A big bowl of rich, chocolate, creamy 'ice-cream' topped off with warm, freshly baked, crunchy, nutty granola. Oh yes. Oh yes.

And by the way my friends, it tasted better than it looks!

Alright, alright, I shall put you out of your misery with all these photos of the bowl that tasted like the sweet nectar of happiness (wow. Just wow.) by handing over to you the awesome-ness that is this oh-so-simple-recipe-it-should-not-even-be-considered-a-recipe  recipe!

Ingredients:
Choc 'ice cream':
2 ripe frozen bananas
1 large handful of chopped, frozen zucchini
1 heaped teaspoon raw cacao powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 big scoops greek yoghurt (optional; gives the ice-cream a more cheese-cake-y taste :P)
Granola:
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 large handful wholegrain cheerios
2 tablespoons nut butter of choice
1/3 cup almond milk/ milk of choice

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper
2.Place all the ingredients for the ice cream into a blender and whaz until smooth and creamy delicious!
3. Transfer ice cream to bowl and place in freezer until required
4. Place the nut butter and almond milk in a small microwaveable container (or heat on stove until milk starts to bubble) and microwave until warmed through
5. Add to bowl of oats and cheerios and mix together until combined (should be kind of sticky)
6. Spread onto baking tray and bake in oven for around 15-20 mins until golden brown and crunchy (it will also smell amazing too!)
7. Leave to cool, then top ice cream off with granola and EAT!

Of course there was a heck of a lot more granola than the above pictures reveal because that would not keep a hungry Steph satisfied for very long and thus here is the true image of my breakfast:

Hello handsome!

There's just something about that smooth, creamy, sweet ice cream..

Paired with the crunchy, fudge-y nut butter granola...

That just makes my heart cry out with joy and my mouth instantly salivate (even though it is around dinner time right now and I should be thinking about dinner foods, not breakfast foods. Although... a smoothie bowl does sound pretty appropriate right now... :P Life of a hungry teen!

But seriously guys, do yourself a favour and whip up this marvellous bowl of delicious-ness because it will most definitely be one of the major highlights of your day (well, it was for me, but I'm doing year 12 so that's not too hard!)

And of course enjoy your extra granola on the side or plonked straight on top of your smoothie bowl; all depends on whether or not you want that chic Instagram shot :P.

Happy, happy days!

Your turn:
Favourite breakfast of all time?
Best smoothie bowl ingredients?
What was the best breakfast you had this week?

I hope you enjoyed this post and also have a fabulous rest of your day. As always; look after yourself, be kind to others, enjoy the simpler things in life and EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D

A Fantastic Friday :D (RECIPE!!)

Hide ho there friendly friends and happy, happy FRIDAY!!

Always love a good Friday and everyone just seems to be that little bit more chipper and optimistic (stark contrast to Mondays!!) So, yes, I do love my Fridays and do you know what makes this particular Friday even better?? It's the first day of my mid-year holidays!

It feels like an eternity since I've been on holidays and the past term at school feels like it was two separate terms with the exam break in the middle. I will be honest here, I definitely burnt myself out over this last term and these holidays couldn't have come fast enough to help rejuvenate my mind, body and emotions!!

So, yes, this Friday I woke up to the sound of not-an-alarm-at-5:45am, instead waking up at a luxurious 6:11am, before making my way downstairs to grab my iPad, back to my cosy bed, blog scrolling and then up and at-em' for a quick tempo run followed by some quick Blogilates workouts (obliques and arms and back and butt). Following this... I did have to go back into school because I forgot to grab half of my school books for revision over the holidays... but after that? Well, I was in for a treat! And now you are too:

 That, my friends, was this morning's first-day-of-holidays breakfast celebration! And let me tell you, it was better than as good-as-it-looks!

Warm, home-made, crunchy, golden, cinnamon nut butter granola over the top of some creamy, plain greek yoghurt, sweet, perfectly ripe banana slices scattered throughout and a pour of ice-cold almond milk to finish it all off.... food heaven:

 This is one of those moments where the foodie in me comes out and appreciates all the different textures (smooth, creamy, crunchy, chewy) flavours (rich, refreshing, sweet, nutty) and gives myself a little pat on the back for gifting my tastebuds and stomach with such yumminess.

 Now, if you're still following, or maybe even perhaps drooling? (I only ask because I know I am... and I only ate this around an hour ago :P) I'm sure you're are itching for the recipe because you should most definitely make yourself a bowl of this yum! (if you follow me on Instagram; @steph2chef, you would have been the lucky receiver of the recipe practically as I was eating it!)

 Now, onto the recipe!

Nutty Cinnamon Granola Yoghurt and Fruit Bowl

Ingredients:
1/2 cup natural muesli
2 heaped tablespoons rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I probably added way more :P)
1 handful wholegrain cheerios
1 HEAPED tablespoon- 2 regular tablespoons of nut butter (I used an LSA peanut butter mix- so good!)
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
greek yoghurt (as much as you want in your yoghurt bowl- I probably used around a cup)
1 banana, sliced
Extra almond milk to drizzle over when serving!

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a small tray with baking paper
2. Place the muesli, oats, cinnamon and cheerios in a bowl and stir to combine
3. Place the nut butter and almond milk in a small bowl and microwave/ heat on stove until warmed through (I don't mix together generally because they will get mixed into muesli)
4. Add heated nut butter and almond milk to dry muesli mix and stir to combine (should be quite sticky)
5. Spread out evenly on baking tray and bake in the oven for around 15-20 mins until golden and crunchy on top (I like the extra crispy bits so I leave it in for the longer time!)
6. Leave to cool for 5 mins, then start layering your bowl; greek yoghurt, banana slices, granola, banana slices, granola, banana slices, granola, banana slices- drizzle over almond milk- EAT!!

Nom.

This breakfast is so delicious, comforting and extremely filling (thank you healthy fats from the nut butter and protein from the nuts and greek yoghurt) so you definitely won't hit a sugar slump from the regular bowl of sugary cereal! No way this bowl of 'cereal' is packed full of nutrients and will do your body so many favours!

Now go make it!

Your turn:
What did you have for breakfast today?
Favourite granola flavour/ add-ins? (I love adding in wholegrain cheerios- I did it once and have never looked back! Cinnamon also seems to be a must for me!)
Best breakfast you've eaten recently?

With that I hope you all have a truly fabulous Friday, relax for the weekend, unwind, relax and do something you love. And, as always, EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS! (But that's for any day of the week really :). Bye for now friends! :D

Recently- The Food Front- Rawesome!!

Okidokie, I have definitely noticed I go through phases like there's no tomorrow!

So you know how I was loving on eating my smoothie bowls separated for a while there..
 

 Well apparently now my body wants a proper smoothie bowl... but with raw granola (ie. not oven baked) so:

 I whipped up a delightful smoothie of 1 frozen banana, a large handful of frozen honeydew chunks, a handful of frozen zucchini chunks, a handful of spinach, a handful of kale, 3 big spoons of greek yoghurt and some water to get it all moving!!

And topped it all off with a mix of uncooked cashew butter granola and uncooked peanut butter granola. Steps as follows:
Place a tablespoon of each nut butter into two separate small bowls, place a tablespoon of almond milk in each, microwave for around 20 seconds, add to one of two bowls, each with 1/3 cup oats, sprinkle chia seeds, small handful of no-added-sugar wholegrain cheerios (or other cereal/ crunchy thing you like) and stir to combine!

 Then simply top your smoothie (which has been chilling in the freezer whilst making the granola) with the soft, fudgey raw granola and ENJOY!

 P.S. Adding honeydew to smoothies is a good idea!!

 Very good indeed!

 But when you don't have time to whip up such an extravagant brekky?
Say, you are scheduled in to start work at 6:00am, so are up at 5:00am but still need a little first breakfast to keep you sane?

1 frozen banana:

 + greek yoghurt:

 = Quick easy and delicious!!

And then when break time rolls round- second breakfast!!!

 Yep, I made my raw freezer frudge brownie again (I really don't like cooking things do I?)

To make this delicious bad bowl, simply place 3/4 cup oats, sprinkle chia seeds, 1 scoop of choc protein powder, 1 teaspoon raw cacao powder, dash of cinnamon, 2 dates, 1 heaped tablespoon peanut butter (or any nut butter) 1/3 cup almond milk (add more if required) to a food processor and process to combine (until thick and sticky)- transfer into a small container lined with baking paper, cover and freeze for a few hours or overnight!

 He may not look like the prettiest brownie, but boy, this guy tastes so gooood! Think of the fudgiest, richest, chocolatiest brownie you've ever tasted and I reckon this guy would give it a run for it's money. And it's good for you too! Bonus!!

Brownies for breakfast? Yes, please!

 The take-away from today's post? Steph's current new phase is raw foods. Or that healthy foods can-and do- taste amazing!

You can take your pick ;)

What about you?
What's your favourite frozen fruit to add to smoothies?
Ever tried uncooked granola? Are you a fan?
Ever had brownies for breakfast? The healthy or... less healthy kind?

I hope you all have a fabulous Monday in whatever it is you are doing (I'm heading out to breakfast!!) be brave, take risks and smillleee :) Bye for now friendly freinds!! :D

P.S> Don't forget to eat something delicious!! Thought I had forgotten didn't you? ;P

Life Lately and Make-Ahead Meals!

Hidy-ho friendly friends and Happy SUNDAY!!

Sundays for most might mean a bit more of a sleep-in followed by an easy-going restful day... for others it might mean running 17km before 8am, like I did, today :P

 This is my, I'm finally home face!! ^^

 And this is my; did I actually just do that?? What kind of crazy person am I, face ^^

And these are my legs... they don't really show too much emotion.

Anywho, it was a lovely run, running against the wind was a bit of a battle at times, but luckily the last few km's back were with the wind (honestly, when I was running against it I almost couldn't move!!)

Refueling after my fasted cardio with:

 Utter deliciousness.

 This was the creamiest of creamy green cherry and banana smoothie with a side of warm, crunchy, straight-from-the-oven PB granola :D

 The smoothie was simply chucking a handful frozen cherries, 1 large frozen banana, 3 big scoops greek yoghurt, 1 handful frozen zucchini, 4 chunks frozen spinach and splash of water into the Vitamix and whazzing until smoothie-smoooooth! Into the freezer until required.

And the granola? around 1/2 heaped cup rolled oats, 1 handful wholemeal reduced-sugar cheerios, 1 teaspoon maca powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 heaped tablespoon smooth PB with 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, heated up in the microwave until warmed through and then mixed into dry mix until combined and sticky- onto baking tray and into the oven at 200 degrees celsius for 15-20mins or until golden brown, crunchy and fragrant- nom!

So that was this morning, but what else has been crack-a-lacking in the life of Steph-2-Chef??

Working.

Lots and lots of working.

Because it is holidays and uni break I have been rostered on almost every single day and whilst I'm definitely not complaining (getting paid definitely makes it worth it) I have had to get a little more creative and organised with planning my meals and creating dishes that can be eaten hot/ cold and made-ahead to sit in the fridge.

Majority of said meals have been dinners but I did have an early shift on one of the days and also wanted to get in a good arm workout that morning...

 Which I totally smashed by the way!

 The baby biceps are growwwwiiinnnggg!!

 Yes.

So, I whipped up a batch of rich, dark choc granola to make a killer yoghurt bowl that could be thrown together in two minutes after I finished assassinating my arms:

 Enjoyed with a frozen banana, greek yoghurt and almond milk- this was so so good!

 To make the make-ahead granola I simply placed 1/2 cup muesli + 2 heaped tablespoons rolled oats + 1 heaped tablespoon raw cacao powder + 1 teaspoon cinnamon  into a bowl and then stir to combine then + 1 tablespoon almond butter warmed up with 1/2 cup almond milk, stirred into the dry mix and baked in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for 20-25 mins or until crunchy and golden!

 Then I just left it to cool and popped it into an airtight container in the fridge until the next morning when I just popped it into a bowl with all the other goodies!!

 Let it soak in the almond milk a little and hey-presto! The besto!!

 And the frozen banana is a must. Because then it tastes like ice cream. Rich chococlate granola ice cream.

 Happiness.

 But mainly, dinners:

 Simple-pimple make-ahead meals that literally have less than 5 ingredients!

 This bad boy was roasted broccoli, purple cauli, brussels and cheese-y baked tofu (hard tofu mixed with garlic, nutritional yeast and water- baked in oven for 15-20mins until puffed and golden)

 And this one was simply steamed greens and curried pumpkin and corn falafel- nom!

 And last but not least... but definitely ugliest! This whole baked sweet potato (so good eaten cold!!) with a side of mixed veggie chili:

Which was basically just sauteed and then bubbled away zucchini, eggplant, tinned tomatoes, mushrooms, blackbeans, mixed four beans, mixed dried herbs and turmeric

Eating healthy doesn't have to be complex and by the looks of these meals- super easy when super busy!! I definitely have a heck of a lot more make-ahead meal recipes so just let me know if you want more ideas folks!

Your turn:
Are you a rester on Sunday or is it just the same daily crushing it??
What's your favourite breakfast of recently?
Best make-ahead meal that saves the hanrgy monster??

I hope, once again, you have a lovely Sunday, do all the things you love, spend time with those you love and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends! :D