Choc Magic Shell- HEALTHIFIED!

What is magic exactly?

Is it the illusions people can create whereby a quick slight of hand fools the entire room?

Or is it the indescribably, unanswerable miracles that happen in the world?

Is it that feeling you get when you simply cannot come up with an answer for what your eyes are witnessing?

For me, magic is all those things and more! I've always been astounded by magicians and magic tricks and whenever someone shows me one I usually end up standing on my feet screaming at them to tell me how they did it!!

But there have been other times that I've experienced magic as a child and one of the memories that bring back happy vibes and good nostalgio include scooping out a bowl of vanilla ice cream and topping it with something that can be describe as nothing else but magic:

Simply pouring some of this on ice cold scoops of ice cream, resulting in the wizardry ways of the Mr Whippy Van's choc covered ice cream:

So needless to say, I have in fact experienced true, undeniable magic :).

But what's a girl to do when she doesn't necessarily want to ingest ice cream that will leave her stomach in stabbing pains or a 'magic' chocolate shell with more words she can't pronounce in the ingredients list than is respectable?

Well, she goes straight ahead and makes her very own version!

Presenting Choc Coated Ice-cream; Steph-style!!

As you may have guessed I whizzed up a good ol' frozen banana (with some plain greek yoghurt- absolutely optional- I just wanted more ice cream!!) to make my version of vanilla ice cream...

But how did I make that rock hard, perfectly chocolate-y choc top topping?

Magic!!

I'm just kidding, I have the recipe for you- have no fear!

Choc Magic Shell (Awesome-ly healthy version!)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coconut butter/ coconut oil (coconut oil gives a harder stting choc top- coconut butter is more fudgey
1 teaspoon raw cacao powder
1/2- 1 teaspoon agave syrup or any other syrup you desire (for added sweetness, I didn't add any because I love dark bitter tastes)
2 tablespoons almond milk

Method:
1. Whiz together 1 large frozen banana in a food processor until smooth and creamy (scraping down sides occasionally) and place in a bowl in the freezer until required

2.Place the coconut butter/ oil, agave syrup and almond milk in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until melted together.
3. Stir in the cacao powder until smooth, silky and combined

4. Leave to cool slightly, then remove banana ice cream from freezer and drizzle magic shell over top (feel free to scatter over some chopped nuts or granola etc.for added crunch!)- immediately return to freezer for 10-15 minutes to harden

5. Remove form freezer and ENJOY!!

Yes, your childhood magic has returned back to your lives and this time you can have it for breakfast!

Happy Days!!

Eaten here with a delicious plate of coconut butter truffles- some topped with the leftover magic shell!! (leftovers are never a negative! :D)

And now, a quick photo-story of the beautiful breakfast that was:

:D

Your turn:
What do you consider to be magic?
Favourite childhood memory that feels magical?
Were you as amazed by magic shell as I was??

I hope you try this recipe out and enjoy some awesome magic back into your life! Have a fabulous rest of your day, enjoy the company of those around you and SMIIILLLEEE! Also, eat something delicious- but you already knew that! ;) Bye for now friendly friends! :D

Lacking motivation? It's a mind game

Hidy ho friends!

Do y'all remember when I use to run ridiculous amount of kilometers and still function as a human being?

I do and at my current existence, here and now, I wonder how this was ever physically possible.

You see, now-a-days running is still a part of my life, but to a significantly smaller degree. Instead of averaging over 30- 40 kilometers a week, I now would be averaging maybe 10-20? And I'm not upset by this, or complaining but I just wonder how I motivated myself to do this!

Oh I remember! ;)

This blog is all about honesty. Being honest to each other about our struggles. Whether it be with food, fitness or life in general- heck I've complained and struggled with it all! So honesty time is here- I have definitely been lacking motivation when it comes to my fitness.

If I try and work out what is causing this struggle I can come up with a few different excuses, like; I'm not training for anything... so why bother training? I am super busy and don't have time for a lengthy workout. Working out is challenging. I'm too tired.

But when it comes down to it, it's all in the mind. It's my mind that's making me feel like I can't do an extra few minutes of sprints, or do a HIIT routine 4 times through like I'm supposed to. I know I don't want to push myself too hard and end up where I was; abusing myself with fitness resulting in utter exhaustion and if I'm honest, no social life because I was too tired to do anything else after running for 2 hours, however I do want to get back to the place where fitness wasn't a chore for me, I loved to move my body and at least thirty minutes came easy to me.

And again, it's all a mind game. It's my head that tells me I can't go on when my body is strong and capable enough to exceed all expectations. It's my head that gives me false negative vibes about an intense workout and makes me want to give up. And it's my head that I'm going to have to re-train to reach my fitness goals and get back to my love of movement.

I know I'm most definitely not the only one who struggles with workout motivation and many people find this to be a massive obstacle in their health and wellness journeys. This becomes extremely apparent if you google workout motivation or such like terms. Lists of 'scientifically proven ways to boost motivation' and 'top tips to beat being unmotivated' sprawl across the screen and offer the answer to fall in love with fitness.

But here's my take on motivation.

Instead of giving yourself a reward for completing a workout like your a puppy completing a trick, or trying to zone out by blasting music between your ears, do something you actually enjoy, that gives you a rush when you finish- that's the real reward that will make a much bigger difference in your motivation! So I guess that's what I will be doing- and I'm thinking some crazy blogilates workouts and other intense and at the same time quite fun workouts that push me and yet make me want to win!

In the case of running, I'm going with what feels good at the moment. I don't want to force myself to run because I respect the sport too much to ruin it for me and thereby place it in the chore category. If 3-5km feels good now, then 3-5km it will be! We all have times in our lives when activites change, vary, shift and sail and we just have to go with the flow and as I always say; listen to our bodies. they know what's best for us!

Your turn:
Where are you with your fitness motivation right now? Motivated/ unmotivated/ neither here nor there?
Your tips to keep up the happy workout vibe?
Do you find you have peaks and troughs in your running routine?

I hope you all have a wonderful day, smile, love and... EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friends! :D

A Very Veggie Tart

Hidy-ho friendly friends!

I hope everyone's week has kicked off well and we are all looking after ourselves as we head back into the hectic-ness of a working week! (and studying week; shout out to all my Year 12 buds out there in the world!)

One way to definitely make sure you're looking after yourself is by taking the time out of a busy day to simply cook. Cook yourself a home-made meal made with love, happiness and good, good food.

Even when life throws me every curve ball it can, I always cook myself something up for dinner (even if it's simply avocado soldiers and boiled eggs) because I know my body still needs the fresh, wholesome goodness of a home-cooked meals!

I had a little extra time though this passed weekend, so instead of eggs on toast, I cooked up something a little more technical:

et Voila! A Very Veggie, Veggie-filled Tart!

I have only ever made veggie tarts once or twice before- which I utterly loved- making me wonder why I don't make savoury veggie tarts more often??

This delicious bad boy is wheat free with a delightful chickpea flour base and beautifully flavoured veg baked with the rich zing of a balsamic glaze!

Ok, enough chat about this tasty tart- how about a recipe??

Ingredients:
Base:
1/3 cup chickpea flour
2 heaped tablespoons lentil flour (optional- add more chickpea if desired)
2- 3 tablespoon water (add extra/ less to form dough)
1/2 teaspoon Garlic
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
sprinkle of dired herbs of choice (I used thyme)
Veggie filling:
A few thin slices of pumpkin (3?)
A few thin slices of beetroot
Caramelised onion:
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 large red onion, sliced into rings

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius, greese a mini tart tin and line the bottom with baking paper
2. Steam veggies for around 15 minutes until soft, leave to one side

3. Rub together all the ingredients for the chickpea base (or whaz in a small food processor) until combined (not too sticky), roll out and place in greased tin.

 4. Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate until needed
5. Place oil and onions in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally for around 15 mins until onion is soft and caramelised

6. Press base into mini tart tin. Place base in the oven for 10-15mins until slightly golden brown

6. Pile veggies on top of base and sprinkle with rock salt/ extra herbs/ whatever you desire- I kept mine fairly simple- nothing but those delish veggies!!) (optional) and place back in the oven for 10-20mins until golden brown and fragrant

7. ENJOY!!

I enjoyed mine with a side of steamed greens and potato topped with a little grated cheese :)

A massive flavour sensation later and BOOM- you will be one very happy veggie-filled person!

Your turn:
Are you a fan of savoury tarts?
Favourtie savoury tart to make/ eat?
Favourite way to use balsamic vinegar/ glaze?


I hope you all have a brilliant rest of your day- remember look after yourselves and as always; eat something delicious!! Bye for now friends!! :D

WIAW #88- And New Blogging Schedule!!

Hidy ho friendly friends and happy Wednesday... Thursday!!

Yep, I sort of missed Wednesday, but that doesn't mean I missed photographing every morsel of food that graced my stomach! So I thought let's do a WIAW anyway- coz you know- living on the edge and all!!

In all honesty, I did not have a single spare second to type up a WIAW post yesterday and this left me feeling a little guilty and upset that I couldn't produce a post.

But then I thought about why I could not produce a post and the fact that I am a senior highschool student currently studying for year 12 WACE exams, doing all 6 possible ATAR courses as well as juggling school captain, other commitments and a part-time job.. well I decided to give myself a break.

And then I had to let myself have a good, long, hard look at what is realistically achievable when it comes to blog posts on the weekly.

So, to keep you in the loop I've decided that around 2-3 (or even maybe 1 some weeks) blog posts a week is a reasonable and enjoyable amount that I can adhere to and I also want to make the majority of those recipe posts (getting back to my roots and all!)

No, I'm not disappearing off the blog face, I'm simply toning down to what I think is a reasonable fun-load (because blogging is not work, therefore not work-load ;) for me at this current period in my life!

Ok, what should have been a short intro, turned long intro- let's get onto the FOOOOD!

Thanks as always to Peas and Crayons for creating this link and all the other bloggers to help host the link-up each week!

Breakfast: 7:30am
Wednesday started off lovely with a little Blogilates workout followed by preparing both breakfast, recess and lunch (forgot how hectic school mornings are!)

For brekky I whizzed together a green smoothie:

 With frozen banana, mango, spinach, kale, greek yoghurt and water:

 And drank that alongside some delicious cashew fudge bites:

 Cashew butter + oats + chia seeds + wholegrain low-sugar cheerios + almond milk

 Wonderful fuel for the school day ahead!!

Recess snack: 11:00am

 Yes, the peas are back. And I am loving it! :D

Lunch: 1:40pm
Completed maths, chemistry and was ready for some food!

 A big salad with chopped carrot, capsicum, cherry tomatoes, corn, spinach, fresh corainder and garlic tofu- deee-lish!

Afternoon snack: 3:45pm
After school I was a little ravenous (paired with not too keen to immediately dive into my homework). Enter snack:

 Chopped fuji apple with crisp red grapes:

 Dinner: 6:45pm
I was not feeling creative or cook-y (new word, embrace it! ;) at all for dinner so here is the delicious delight I threw together in a matter of minutes:

A avocado and baked bean jaffle with two poached eggs atop the remaining avocado and topped with the remaining baked beans with a side of sauteed eggplant and mushrooms on top of a bed of spinach!

Just what I needed.

Dessert:
Glass of ice cold soy milk- just to place me in the comfortably full range (I hate finishing dinner still hungry!)

I thought I might just slip it in there that it was also my birthday on Tuesday (17!!) and I did in fact celebrate with some oat-y pancakes and cherry fro-yo- happy days!!

Your turn:
What's your go-to quick and healthy lunch for in-a-rush mornings?
Favourite way to eat tofu? I feel like I need to experiment with it a bit more as I'm sort of set in my ways at the moment.
What would be your ultimate birthday breakfast? As a kid I probably would say something like ice cream and pancakes... and now that's kinda what I have!!

I hope you all have a fantastic rest of your day- don't be too hard on yourself (I know I always expect a heck of a lot more of myself than I should do!) do something you love and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends! :D

Feeling nauseous!

You know when your stomach isn't really hungry or not hungry, but instead swirling around in a state of unhappy nausea??

Maybe you don't, but that's where my tums at, at the moment and I'm not loving it!

My guess is it's from the camps/ overnighters/ ball dinners/ out-to-dinners that have all hit at once recently and my body is kind of like; 'Woah! Steph, we don't usually eat like this!! What is all this salt/ dairy/ POTATOES coming from!?!'

And I'm all like; 'Don't worry body, it's fine, we're just living life through the waves of celebration and connecting with others that come and go like the tide.'

And yet my bodies still like; 'Nope, I'm gonna make you feel sick.'

Good times.

And yes, my body and I are fairly close and tell each other everything ;)

What's not fun about this whole constantly-feeling-ill state is none of my usual foods sound appealing anymore and this just makes me more upset and even frustrated as it becomes quite the task to find out what to eat. Things like eggplant and broccoli seem too acidic for me now for some reason? Then I think of bland foods like rice or pasta and get squeamish as I think of their texture!

Even just looking at this image makes me feel sick!?

This is what I can only assume being pregnant feels like (and no, 16 year old, year 12 student, Steph is not pregnant :P) and it is not fun!

I did a bit of research on the top foods to eat when feeling a little nauseous and some of the top contenders included:

Apple, crackers, ginger, nuts, banana, mint, lemon, toast and lots and lots of water.

To be fair, most of those foods don't leave me feeling worse when I think about nom-ing on them, but it also doesn't help that eating in general just doesn't sound appealing at the moment!

Out of interest I also researched the worst foods to consume whilst feeling nauseas and this is what came up:

Greasy, spicy or oily foods, caffeine, alcohol and carbonated drinks.

Safe to say I think I'm pretty clear on those foods, given that I can;'t stomach the idea of greasy/ oily foods, don't drink coffee/ tea/ energy drinks or alcohol or carbonated drinks.

So what is the game plan to get me back to my ravenous eat-everything-in0sight ways? Well, simply to try and eat foods that sound good. No I'm not eating some miracle food, living off tea for a week/ forcing my body to eat normally. It's all about that intuitive eating stuff again, friends. I'm listening to the body because the body is the one with all the answers, not what your mind thinks is right. (Unless of course your body doesn't give you accurate signals/ you're unsure of how to read your bodies signs!)

Wow, a whole post on nausea. Didn't expect it to take up that much room!!

Your turn:
Do you ever have days/ weeks where eating just doesn't sound good?
How do you help your body out of a nauseous state?
Have you ever overdosed on potatoes? I've gotta say, the bloat was not impressed!

That's all from me today folks, I hope you all have a lovely Monday, make the most of it- every day matters and as always; eat something delicious!! Bye for now friendly friends! :D