A few ways with cacao powder!

Who here likes chocolate? Everyone? Good.
Who here doesn't like the fact that eating too much (especially low cacoa content) chocolate will make us unhealthy? Most people- right? Me included! If chocolate didn't contain masses of sugar and other unhealthy (sometimes even unpronounceable) ingredients I'd be bucketing it down like I do spinach... and sweet potato.... and nut butter :)

My name's Stephanie and I'm a chocoholic! There it's out there! Judge me if you will!
Ok, drama-ing it down.

So what's a girl to do when she needs her choccy fix?

I mean I could go out and buy some sugar free, (tastes like cardboard) full-of-artificial-stuff chocolate bars. Or some 100% cacao choc (I never walk down the chocolate aisle so I'm not sure if my super market even sells it). Or I could buy raw cacao powder.

Now guys- raw cacao powder is where it's at. It's on point. It has swag and sass and a bunch of other recently popularized words I don't entirely know the meaning of. It's good stuff.

Don't believe me? JUST WATCH! (shout out to Bruno Mars, in case you missed that)

First of all when I saw raw cacao powder I don't mean cocoa powder.

There's a difference.
I mean the good, un-processed (and uttelry delicious!) kind.

It can be a little tricky to use though, as it is quite bitter on it's own, but I have a few recipes that might just help you out (and let you enjoy that chocolatey goodness!)

You've seen this guy before- he is an old-time blog favourite of mine and has been around since the beginning (last January). It's the super-thick, super-chocolatey green monster!!

Not the prettiest of colours, but one of =my all time favourite smoothies- taste, filling-ness and chocolate power.

Into your blender goes 1 chopped frozen banana+ 1/2 chopped frozen avocado+ 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (optional- make sure it contains raw cacao ;) + 1 heaped teaspoon raw cacao powder+ 1 huge handful of kale/ spinach+ sprinkle of chia seeds + sprinkle raw oats+ 1/2 cup almond milk+ tablespoon nut butter+ 3 scoops greek yoghurt (optional)- whazz it up!

Z-OMG so good!
Banana- for sweet-ness and ice cream qualities, avocado for creaminess and healthy fats, raw cacao for chocolate!

So that one kinda looks a bit too healthy though... don't you think? How about something that looks almost as decadent as it tastes? (I say almost because this bad boy tastes... bad! In an extremely rich, delicious and fudgy kind of way)

Chocolate coconut steel cut oats with a side of kiwi fro-yo

1/3 cup steel cut oats + 1 cup almond milk+ 1/2 sliced banana+ 1 scoop choc protein powder + 1 heaped teaspoon raw cacao powder + sprinkle of chia seeds+ big few shakes of cinnamon+ 1 teaspoon coconut butter (extra for serving) +extra water if necessary

To make- place everything in a pot, stir to combine, then bubble away on low-medium heat for 15-20 mins and then sit for another 10 mins. Pour into bowl (or cup;) and top with extra coconut butter.

Guys, this was so rich and chocolatey that I couldn't finish the last bite! Can you believe it? Your challenge is to be able to!

Finally ice cream. Chocolate ice cream.

 I always remember as a kid that when it came to choosing ice cream my flavours of choice would be crazy rainbow bubblegum flavour or banana or cookies and cream. Always. My brother on the other hand always chose the richest deepest chocolatiest chocolate flavour and I would never look at it with envy. Chocolate just wasn't that high on my list of food loves. I remember tasting his ice cream and not really liking/ disliking it either way.

 That flavour got locked in my brain though and a few years later, the cravings for chocolatey chocolate ice cream like the ones my bro used to get hit hard.

 So into my high speed, super strong, mini food processor went 1/2 frozen avocado, 1/2 banana (preferably frozen but I just used an un-frozen one), 1 big teaspoon raw cacao powder and two spoons of greek yoghurt, whazzed up to produce a beautifully smooth, creamy and chocolatey ice cream. Place in freezer for 30 mins to harden it up a bit (if preferred) or just eat it like soft serve! Ahhh, so good!

Those are just a small sample of my favourite ways to incorporate chocolate into my diet. I would say I consume chocolate in the form of my raw cacao concoctions about 3-4 times per week and it's only 3-4 times and not 7+ times because I want to make sure I don't get sick of it. I still want chocolate to seem like a treat! :)

Your turn:
How do you eat your chocolate? Regular choc bar/ raw cacao powder/ cocoa powder/ hot choc/ protein powder/ baked goods etc.
Do you think chocolate for breakfast should become a thing? I do.
Ever tried chocolate avocado ice cream? No? Go make it now.

That's it for today folks, I hope everyone has a good one! Eat some chocolate! Bye!! :D

A bit of this and a bit of that

How many of you stand with your hand on the fridge door, eyes glued on the inside of that same fridge, swinging a leg or shifting about willing inspiration to pop out at you.

This happens to me daily.

When it's a school morning I can't really afford to spend too much time doing this riveting activity and need to make a decision about what to make quick-fast. Which generally translates into a salad with something that can be microwaved to add flavour and protein (enter veggie burger or tofu or veggie sausages... even eggs can be microwaved people!)

I think I need one of these!!

But you already know all about my packed lunches. How about the weekend? The time spent in front of that fridge is significantly greater and generally the outcomes are significantly better. That's good, I guess!

Before you get too excited though, the weekends never really feature one complete meal. You know what I mean. Snack plates have taken over people!

This magnificent feast of random was an oven roasted sweet potato (I microwave my fork-poked sweet potato for 3 mins then oven bake at 180 degrees celsius for 30 mins) some oven roasted broccoli (steamed slightly first and then chucked in the oven) and a salad of spinach, peas, corn and a torn up lentil burger.

This guy was sort of more of a dessert, riddled generously with blobs of cashew butter and slowly enjoyed because it was just. that. good.

I love keeping the skin on- the chew factor really adds something!

Generally my snack plates involve popcorn. Because it is the soul reason for my existence. Basically.

Here we have some oven-roasted chippies (1 medium potato cut into fries, drizzled with olive oil and roasted at 180 degrees celsius for 30 mins) popped popcorn (plain popcorn kernels popped in a bowl with a lid in the microwave for 2:30mins) and a salad with chopped kale, tomatoes, cucumber, carrot, capsicum and spiced oven roasted beans (white beans rubbed with cumin and paprika and roasted in oven for 15 mins)

Such a good salad!
Sometimes I'm just feeling the regular good ol' potato- always a favourite!

And popcorn. Enough said.

So there's sweet potato fries. Then there's white potato fries. And then? Butternut squash fries!!

I love butternut squash fries- cut em' up, drizzle with oil and roast for 30 mins= happiness. With a side of spinach, capsicum, tomatoes, bean balls, hommus and some roasted brussels (mmm roasted brussels sprouts). There may have been something else too...

Hehe.
Look I made a fork kebab:

It's probably my crazy, illogical, creative, messy side that takes over when I make snack plates. See, none of the different items on the plate really go together but are all favourites of mine separately. So I fling together a salad and popcorn and fries and veggie burgers and nut butters and chips (mainly tortilla chips) and roasted greens and peas and anything else and call it lunch. Why not?

I used to hate having to come up with ideas for lunch. Now I just grab and create. :)

Tell me:
What is your go-to lunch on the weekend?
Do you ever have snack plates?
What would be on your ultimate snack plate? Mine would feature a baked sweet potato with nut butter (preferably almond) some brown rice crackers and hommus, popcorn, roasted brussels sprouts, dried fruit and maybe some pomegranate seeds. Yum.

The key to a good snack plate is to not go overboard on just one item (except if it's popcorn) little bits of everything make it so much better.

And with those prodigious words of wisdom I leave you! Have a fantabulous day and don't be afraid to make a lunch that is super weird and crazy- you'll love it! Bye!! :D

Sunday Morning Pancakes Calling

What time is it? Summer time Pancake Sunday!
How great are Sundays? Maybe I'm just saying this now after a week full of hectic, but seriously, whoever invented Sunday was awesome. They knew people needed a day to just... rest. They knew that in the year 2015 in the 3rd week of Feb, an Aussie teenage girl would plead for a day of nothing with such urgency and so created Sunday.

Then there was the person who invented pancake Sunday. Equally as awesome and nameless and equally appreciated by this Aussie teenage girl.

So after a slow and lazy morning in bed (6:00am- 6:30am reading blogs) and then a nice, not-rushed Purely Twins leg and ab workout (6:30am-7:00am) I plodded into the kitchen and set about slowly and relaxedly( new word :) making some pancakes.

Cinnamon banana pancakes :)

I also got to try out my latest supermarket purchase! Woohoo!

 I've read a lot of blog posts about Maca powder and have wanted to try it for a long time- finally not ridiculously expensive!!

I've written quite a few recipes for different pancakes, so if you're craving a different combo you'll probably find it here. For these guys I simply placed 1/3 cup wholemeal spelt flour, 1 heaped tablespoon of golden flax flakes (feel free to sub in any crushed flaky cereal), 1 tablespoon rolled oats, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 heaped teaspoon Maca powder and a few dashes of cinnamon in a bowl and stirred to combine.

 Then add in 1/2 medium banana (mashed) and about 1/3 cup milk (I used macadamia milk) keep adding until mixture looks like a semi-thick pancake batter.

 Of course your next step would be to fry up in a fry pan until golden brown on each side, however I just wasn't feeling it today( Sunday remember), so I plopped some dollops of the mixture onto some baking paper on a plate and microwaved for 1:30. DONE!

 Spread generously with some peanut butter, that I didn't realise had some salt in it (not a bad thing, just wasn't expecting it- we do need a bit of salt in our diets!) so was a bit surprised after the first bite but then thoroughly enjoyed the following noms.

 Enjoyed with a side of rich, creamy, chocolatey avocado mousse- you'll have to wait until later in the week for that recipe ;)

 Unfortunately in pancake form I couldn't really taste the Maca powder (does Maca powder even really have a taste?) so I think I'll add it to some plain oats or something next time. Still extremely delicious pancakes though!

 Warm, drizzly peanut butter though. Something so simple and small that brings me so much joy. I definitely love it more than I should!

 Also knives and forks are for the faint of heart when it comes to pancakes. Pancakes should be eaten like pizza. Trust me, it tastes better. ;)

 Before you go accusing me of forgetting to take with me a knife and fork to my lovely breakfast spot by the pool, I actually didn't! There was a knife right next to me and for s split second I almost picked it up. But then my hand was filled with warm pancake instead. What can I say?

 I also eat my pancakes the same way I eat my crumpets. No other way.

 Look- I made an Australia!!

What a brilliant way to start Sunday!

What about you?
Do you love Sundays as much as me?
Favourite way to start your morning?
Pancakes on a Sunday?

So to sum up- Sundays are awesome- make sure you enjoy yours, Sunday breakfasts are awesome- make sure you have something delicious and you guys are awesome! Make sure you remember that!:D Bye!!

Welcome to me!

Happy Saturday everyone! Yay for the weekend! I had the busiest week ever and I can't tell you how glad I am to finally have a weekend and a rest!!

I say 'I' a lot don't I?

Which I guess sort of makes sense seeing this thing here is my blog. Though I (there it is again) don't feel as though you really know the girl behind the words and the pretty (most of the time) food pictures.

One of the reasons why this is the case? Probably me being self conscious. I don't take pictures of myself (sorry no #selfies over here) and therefore don't post pictures of myself.

So this post is a big step for me. Pictures of me. So you get to know me. That's a lot of me!

Ok, so you probably have all picked up by now that I like to runner. I would consider one of my defining characteristics to be- runner. I also sweat and scrunch my face and, yes, there has once even been a few tears while out running and I definitely do not look awesome after a run... so here it is:

 Check out the hair!!

 Rockin' it Steph!
I am also one of those people who likes to drink everything out of jars- so here is a picture of my re-hydrating water:

I also made myself a super thick and super delicious green smoothie for brekky in a jar that was 1 frozen banana + 1 chopped frozen mango+ 2 big handfuls of kale+ 3 big scoops greek yoghurt + sprinkle of chia seeds plus some squeezed orange juice and water:

 With some wholemeal crumpets on the side smothered in nut butter. You know me.
I am also a big candidate for showers. Showers are good for the soul. So is washing one's hair. So this is me after doing both: (probably a good idea after a run)

 Cheese!

 You've also probably noticed that I talk a lot about the masses of homework I am receiving this year (year 11 is tuff stuff!) but if I am honest I do feel good after completing that ominously looming stack of work and sometimes I even enjoy doing it!

 Especially out in the sun. Which brings me to another favourite of mine. If I had to choose between Summer and Winter I would kick \Winter out into the farthest galaxy in our universe (and if there are other universes out there than I would kick it there) and tell it takie it's cold and grey and gloom with it and to never come back. Ever.
In other words- I love the sun!

So homework in the sun makes everything more fun! (I should write poetry.)
My favorutie people in the world include my family. None of which are home at the moment... good opportunity for a family portrait, huh? Well I'll just have to show you one family member that is here!

 Ash the fearsome Bull terrier!
Just kidding, she's a Maltese/ silky terrier ;)

 She's also such a poser too!

Ok, family done.
friends- I love my friends, we have lots of fun.

Us going on our river cruise- yep I'm that short one in the middle :P

You also probably know that I have a popcorn fetish...

It's pretty intense.

I love art- drawing, acrobatics, music- playing the flute, annnd a bunch of other stuff!! Like cooking. I kinda like that too. :D

So that's me. Do I look different than you expected? What did you expect? Maybe don't answer that... I know you all thought I was a unicorn.

Your turn:
Are you self conscious?
If you have a blog do you post pics of yourself?
Do you selfie? ;)

That's it for today folks- just a fun little post to kick off the weekend! Have a fabulous day!! Bye! :D