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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Guincho salad

There is this perfect little café which looks over my favourite beach, Guincho. We go there so many times, because there is nothing better than drinking a coffee, eating a croissant while you're watching the ocean.

I'm on a school break now, so I have time to relax and just enjoy living in Portugal and being with my family. And so the other day I went to this café with my family and I decided to show you guys how amazing this place is.

There is a salad which I love to order, because it is unique, tasty and also filling. I had this many times and the last time I went I wrote down all the ingredients I tasted, so I could try to recreate at home. The next day I made this salad and I think it turned out pretty great.

With this recipe I'm only going to give you the ingredients and how to make it, because I feel like with salad recipes you don't exactly need the measurements, because all depends on you're taste. 

The café

The salad you can order in the café

My recreation

SALAD INGREDIENTS: 

chicken breast
curry
salad mix
coriander
couscous
apple

FOR THE DRESSING:
olive oil
cinnamon
curry
lemon

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and fry it in a pan with some oil and curry. Add your salad mix, peeled and sliced apple, couscous (which you've cooked according to the instructions on the box), coriander and the fried curry chicken into a bowl. For the dressing mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, curry, cinnamon and some lemon juice in a glass and drizzle it on the salad. The good thing about salads is that if you forget something you can always add it later. 

Enjoy!

I had so much fun making this post for you guys, so I hope you like it! 

See you next week :) 

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Pastel de Natas

Pastel de Natas is known as a Portugues speciality which is mentioned in every guide book as a must try. I personally love them and I've eaten them so many times. To taste the real ones you must go to Belém in Lisbon and find a shop/cafe called, Pastéis de Belém. A few weeks ago we went there with my family and the "pastel"s were so tasty that I decided to give it a try at home. To make my life easier I used puff pastry which I bought in the store. I started making them and I found out that it is not as easy as it may seem. I think mine turned out pretty good for the first try, but I will improve my recipe to perfection.

INGREDIENTS:
1 pack of puff pastry
300ml cream
3 tablespoon of flour
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons of granulated sugar  (but if you like it sweeter you can add more)

cinnamon

For the top: 

powdered sugar

cinnamon

(Also you will need a blow torch to burn the tops)

Take 1/4 of the cream and the flour and stir until smooth. Then pour the rest of the cream, sugar and some cinnamon (to your taste) in a bowl and place it on medium heat. Stir until everything has dissolved and then take it off the heat and let it cool a bit. Then place the egg yolks one by one while constantly whisking.
Take the puff pastry and roll it out on your working surface (put a little flour under it and on top) and then roll it up and cut it into 12 equal pieces. Get your muffin tin, butter the insides and distribute the dough evenly with your finger. Then fill them with the cream we made earlier up to 2/3. Put the tin in the oven and bake it on 180°C (350°F) for about 30 minutes (keep an eye on them so they don't get burned).

When they are done, place them on a plate and let them cool a little. Then dust the top of each pastel de natas with powdered sugar and burn the tops with a blowtorch a little. To finish off dust some cinnamon on top. 

 Pastéis de Belém

 

I think you can decide which one is mine and which one is the original one from Belém, but still I had fun making these sweets and everyone who tasted it said it was pretty good :)

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Chocolate swirls

I'm in love with these chocolate swirls so I'm going to show you how to make them. I love white and dark chocolate and when you can combine them... oh my God! I like making these chocolate swirls (these don't really have a name, this is just what I like to call them), because you can make something so simple look so pretty, yummy and fancy.  I find these helpful if I want to serve something with tea, coffee or even after a lovely dinner...

INGREDIENTS:
100g white chocolate
200g dark chocolate

sliced almonds
cinnamon 
sliced caramel

Melt the white and the dark chocolate in two separate metal bowls, put the bowls over two pots of boiling water. I wanted to make a few different chocolate swirls so I took 3 or 4 smaller plates and put some baking paper in them, and spread a layer of dark chocolate on each. Then I poured the white chocolate on top, and with a toothpick I started swirling the two different chocolates together. You can decorate them with almonds, cinnamon, caramel bits, or anything else you fancy, then put them in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
When they chilled and hardened, take the baking paper off and break them into bigger or smaller pieces. 

( My favourite was the caramel one :) )

I love how these turned out, they look so fancy and tasty and I really hope you make them. If you do, take a picture of it and upload it to instagram or twitter. Don't forget to tag me in the photo.

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Guilt free pancakes

I know what you are thinking " How can guilt free and pancakes be the title of this post at the same time?", well I'm glad to say this is actually possible. These two recipes are perfect if you want to pay attention to your figure or be healthier, but you don't want to miss out on a delicious dessert.

I find myself craving something sweet after a meal or on weekends when I stay up late and I want to snack on something while I'm watching a movie. This is when these pancakes are perfect, because  they are made from fruit and don't have added sugar. 

Apple pancakes:
1 apple (use sweet apple) 
1 egg
2 tablespoon of water
3 tablespoons of flour
cinnamon

Banana pancakes
1 banana
1 egg
cinnamon

decoration :
whipped cream
honey

These recipes both take a little more time, because you need to make them on a low heat so they don't burn, but they are so worth the time! 

1. pancake 

Peel your apple and put it in the blender with the egg,the water,the flour and some cinnamon and blend it well. It has to be thicker than the avarage pancake mixture. Heat up (on a low heat) some oil in your pan and make small circle shaped pancakes out of your batter (if you make them little it will be easier to flip them). You want the pancakes to be golden brown. For the topping I used whipped cream, but this is an optional step.

2. pancake 

Peel your banana and put it in the blender with the egg and some cinnamon. Remember, it has to be quite thick. Heat up (on a low heat) some oil in your pan and make small circle shaped pancakes out of your batter . For the topping I used honey (maple syrup is a great alternative) and some almonds, but again this step is optional.

Of course I cheated a little by putting whipped cream and honey on the pancakes, but you can leave those out, because they are sweet and delicious just as they are!

You guys have to try these pancakes because they are delicious and guilt free, and if you do try, make sure to  write a comment or take a picture of it and upload it to instagram or twitter and also don't forget to tag me in the photo.

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Chocolate truffles

I have two words for you ...chocolate truffles. I made these amazing treats/desserts this weekend and my family went nuts for it. It is such an easy and creative dessert. 

My younger sister is the biggest chocoholic in the world. Whenever I make something sweet she instantly asks "Are you doing something chocolaty? " . If I leave some chocolate on the sides of a bowl while I'm cooking, she is more than happy to volunteer to eat it. Even when she has breakfast (wich is chocolate cereal) she gets the chocolate bar from the cupboard and grates some more into her bowl. She is so glad when we make these truffles together and afterwards she can eat all of them. :) Oh, well every family has a chocolate fan.

INGREDIENTS:
340g dark chocolate (or milk chocolate if you want it to be sweeter)
100 ml cream (tejszín)

to cover the truffles: 
cocoa powder
grated white chocolate
chocolate sprinkles

Melt together the chocolate and the cream in a saucepan. Place the chocolate mixture in a separate bowl, let it cool and then put it in the fridge for about 1 hour. After it has cooled down start rolling little chocolate balls (I like to use an small ice cream scooper or a spoon to get the same amount). Then cover the balls with either cocoa powder, grated white chocolate or chocolate sprinkles. 

(It makes 24 truffles)

When you are craving something chocolaty, definitely try this recipe and if you do then make sure to write a comment or take a picture of it and upload it to instagram or twitter and also don't forget to tag me in the photo.

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