Guilt Free Banana Cookies

Lately I've been experimenting with recipes that are healthy but at the same time delicious. Guilt free desserts are big challenges for me. I love eating desserts after my meals, it is just a habit of mine. I think you need a little something that keeps you going when you study or work all day and for me that little something is a dessert. When I am on my diet (when I say diet I don't mean like an actual diet. I mean the diet that I have created for my self for healthy eating, the one that I am following and that suits me and my life style, my body...) I usually have fruits for dessert, but there comes a time when you've had enough of fruit and you want something more filling and satisfying like a banana cookie! :)

I made these cookies and I am in love with them, because they don't have added sugar, only the the sugar in the banana and they taste like banana bread, which I love.

INGREDIENTS: 

1 ripe banana 

3 tablespoons of butter

5 tablespoons of flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder 

cinnamon (the amount that suits your taste) 
optional: 

raisins 
dark chocolate

These make about 4 smaller cookies(but you can obviously double or triple the recipe) 

Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F) and cover the baking pan with baking paper. Put the banana and the butter in a bowl and mash them with a fork. Mix together the flour, (you can add more flour depending on how soft and gooey you want it to be) the baking powder and the cinnamon in a separate bowl and then stir in the banana mixture until it forms a batter. If you want this really quilt free you just leave it like it is, but if you want to spice it up a little then you can add raisins or dark chocolate chips if you are making these for kids. (This adds some extra calorie) Put it in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edge is golden brown. 

I hope this recipe helps you when you crave something sweet, but you don't want to feel bad after eating a cookie. If you try this out, then take a picture of it and tag me on instagram or twitter.

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Tromba Rija

Two weeks ago we decided to take a family road trip and we went to two beautiful towns named Óbidos and Alcobaça. It was such a nice day, because we got to walk around the towns, talk, have coffee, relax and also we ate dinner at a very special place.


First we went to Óbidos, where I have been before, but I was about 9 years old, so I only remembered a few things. I loved this place, because you can see the castle and walk on the big wall that surrounds the whole town. The houses are painted white and have different coloured stripes on the sides. This makes the streets so colourful and lovely. Also I was amazed by all the different flowers and trees. We found a little antique book shop where we spent about 30 minutes looking around and also we ended up buying a few books. I bought a portuguese cooking book which has beautiful big pictures in it and I am thinking about trying one or two recipes. I think it is better to go this time of the year, because it is not crowded by tourists, it is just quiet and you can really see how the local people live there.
  

The beautiful view of Óbidos

The red and blue striped houses

The antique bookshop 

Then we went to Alcobaça where we saw the Alcobaça Monastery that has a beautiful church and a garden inside of it. We had coffee in front of the Monastery, but then it was time for us to go to the restaurant that we have picked for that night.

Alcobaça Monastery

The restaurant Tromba Rija

This little trip was a few days before my father's birthday and we knew we were going to celebrate it with the whole family on the actual day. But we wanted to take this chance and have a little mini celebration. In the antique shop my father saw this book that was called "10 best restaurants in Portugal" and he read about this place called Tromba Rija in Leiria. Lots of guide books recommend to try it. The book said that the owners of this restaurant grow all the ingredients for the meals in their own garden, soo we were expecting a farm. It turned out to be this little restaurant in the middle of a small town with 5 or 6 tables which was a quiet and intimate place. The owner lady was serving us with the help of a waitress. The walls were covered with thank you notes from people who loved the food and the place. On the menu it said that the restaurant had been open for 51 years. 

The owner lady started by showing us to our table an then explaining how the whole dinner was going to be. This was a "degustacão", which means that they serve you a whole range of the typical food of the region. 

First we had three courses of appetizers like bread with butter, tuna and olive oil, clams, shrimps, cooked chestnut (which was so good I'm going to try making them myself), local melon with ham ... 

There was also a table full of different cheese that we could try before of after the dinner.

Next came the main course which was duck flambé with arrugula and rice. The duck was so soft and heavenly and the arrugula matched it perpectly. 
Then they brought a fruit plate full off fresh and delicious fruits like mango, pineapple, grapes, strawberry and kiwi. 

When we finished, we went to the dessert table where we could try different desserts like an apple cobbler, arroz doce, chocolate pudding, passionfruit pudding... All of them were so good and I wanted to eat more and more, but I was so full. :)

Then they brought diferent nuts and a tradicional drink called Amêndoa Amarga that is an almond liquor that they put in the freezer so when you drink it it's iced and also they squeeze a little lemon juice in it. We liked this drink so much that the next day my parents bought a bottle and we've put it in our freezer. Everything that we ate was amazing and by the time we finished we were so full that we couldn't move, but none of us had any regrets!

My family and me at Tromba Rija

I love going to different restaurants and trying interesting and new food so this night was very exciting for me. I also like sharing these experiences with you guys. This place was definitely a memorable one and I really do recommend it to anyone who visits Portugal and loves to eat A LOT! 

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Triple Chocolate Cookies

I've been waiting to share this next recipe with you guys for a long time and I think it is finally time! Everyone knows that chocolate cookies are heavenly, but what about a triple chocolate cookie? I make these cookies so often, firstly because I love making  and eating them and secondly, because people always ask me for them. A few days ago I made a big batch and they only lasted for about 7 minutes. :) My family and friends liked them so much that I made another batch right the next day. 

INGREDIENTS: 
150g flour
1,5 tablespoon of cocco powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon 
90g dark chocolate
90g white chocolate
100g butter
130g caster sugar
1 egg

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 170C (338°F). Mix the flour, coco powder and cinnamon in a bowl. Chop up your dark and white chocolate to smaller pieces and add them to the flour mixture as well. Mix the sugar and the melted butter with a whisk until it is well combined and then add the egg and mix that in as well. Fold together the flour and the egg mixture. Form little balls out of your dough, then place them on the baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 10 -13 minutes. 

If you decide to make these triple chocolate cookies then make sure to take pictures and also tag me in them on instagram or twitter. 

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