Sweet Deceits Raw Caramel Slice

I’ve spoken previously about my intense love affair with chocolate. 

How that instant pleasure seems to overwhelm and derail me, leaving me seeking more and more to keep that thrill alive. And then later, when that delight and sugar rush has worn off, how dejected I feel, realising that the bar wasn’t even that great. Yeah. Chocolate is that boy that never called you back.

But I never really could give up going after the bad guys (or er, chocolate), so I set out to find my safe highs in this post. 

Sweet Deceits is a company that makes these incredibly delicious dessert kits, exclusively using natural and real ingredients. That means no funny business. No hidden nasties. No excuses. In fact the only ingredients in the kit are Dates, Almonds, Coconut Oil, Gluten Free Oats, Raw Cacao Powder and Natural Fruit Extracts (apple, grape and carob). Suitable for gluten free and vegan diets. Just pure unadulterated fun. 

I picked up the Raw Caramel Slice Kit from The Protein Pick And Mix store locally to me, but they are widely available across the internet and health food shops. And at only £7.99, they make a cheaper date. 

Not only are they easy to make, as the quantities are all labelled and measured out already for you, they're deceivingly good for you and they’re even easier to eat an entire batch of.

So if you have a bit of a thing for the bad guys, I’ll tell you straight: the chocolate brownie is always going to look a whole lot better than it tastes, I promise. Unless of course it’s a Sweet Deceits brownie. So you know where to get your next safe chocolate high.

K

Food Guide To Berlin

As with most things in life, I like to find any occasion to indulge in delicious food. Birthday? Lets eat a giant slice of chocolate cake. Failed your driving test? Ah well, lets go cry into a bowl of carbs. Your Mum’s best-friend’s uncle’s son just got married? Why didn’t you say? We should totally go for dinner an celebrate! And travel is no exception. 

I’ve recently just returned from a weekend losing myself in Berlin celebrating a close friend's 21st Birthday. Now I’d like to say I spent the whole weekend getting outrageously drunk and partying until the wee hours of the morning, but alongside the red wine and cocktails, we mainly just got euphoric from the fantastic food and ate ourselves into food comas. Berlin is such a lovely, unusual city that I’d love to return to and explore more someday. Besides, there’s only so much a girl can eat in 72 hours, right?

Here’s my top picks for food in the city,

(Photo credit - CicoBerlin)

If you’re looking to dine alongside the locals…Caligari 

Kienitzer Straße 110 12049 Berlin

Finding this little Italian gem was akin to seeing a reservoir of water when struggling through deserts. We had wandered for hours and hours and finally came across Caligari, hidden down the backstreets of a Neukolln neighbourhood. Honestly, they probably could have served us spaghetti out of a tin and we still would have been thankful. Aesthetically, the interior is incredibly minimalistic and rustic, but the food was full of flavour and authentic. Luckily the staff could speak English and helped us translate their menu that changes on a daily basis. You definitely have to be open to trying something new, as options are very limited, but if all else fails, the freshly baked bread to dip in olive oil was to die for. 

If you’re looking for a cosy spot for a coffee… Distrikt

Bergstraße 68, 10115 Berlin

Dressed with exposed walls and old leather chesterfields, it’s the perfect setting to settle back and catch up over a coffee. Bear in mind it can get very busy on a weekend morning, but if you don’t mind sharing your sofa with some locals, go in and get comfy. I recommend the Poached Eggs & Smoked Salmon served on toast, or the Buttermilk Pancakes topped with fresh fruit and granola.

If you’re looking for raw, vegan food… Daluma

Weinbergsweg 3, 10119 Berlin

A completely raw cafe located in the heart of Berlin. It has a very hipster aesthetic and seems to be frequented by health foodies and yogis. Get there early to try their Buckwheat Porridge, or detox your system with their acai Dr Feel Good smoothie if you drank a little too much the night before. The staff are friendly and speak excellent english. 

(Photo credit - www.worldofwanderlust.com)

If you’re looking for something a little unusual… Shiso Burger

Auguststraße 29 c, 10119 Berlin

This Asian burger bar was a recommendation, and for a very good reason - I’m still dreaming of my Ebi burger (a burger made from black tiger shrimp) and homemade sweet potato fries. Very busy come evening, so reserved ahead of time or risk waiting for a table. Super casual and popular amongst friends and families alike. You must try the twisted potatoes if you go, but you can forgo the beer.

If you’re looking for the best brunch in Berlin... Le Bon

Boppstraße 1, 10967 Berlin

Maybe I’m just a bit biased, swayed by their dreamy interior and delicious eggs, but Le Bon must be the best place to spot by for brunch in Berlin. Great coffee, lovely staff, and not too busy. Try their Shakshuka served with roasted chickpeas, tahini and toasted sourdough, and thank me later.  

Do you have any good recommendations for food in Berlin?

K

Blackberry & Apple Crumble

I reckon the crumble resembles me quite a lot. If we're comparing ourselves to desserts, that is.

I'd like to say I'm study, like a pound cake. Made of simple ingredients all in equal measures, reliable, and can be knocked about quite a bit and still taste great.

But no. Under my crispy surface, I'm all sweet and mushy and full of fruit. I'm a complex blend of cinnamon and spices, which in the wrong quantities can seem either overbearing or under powering. On the outside, I do this pretty great job at holding myself together, but if you go and take a big spoonful out of me, I'll just crumble everywhere. And don't think you can throw me about and I'll still look delicious, I won't. Take care of me, fly me first class, or I'll just be a soggy mess on the dinner table.

Anyway, now like many other berries, blackberries are little antioxidant powerhouses, which can provide many great benefits for the skin and body, potentially protecting against certain cancers, ageing and inflammation. They're also an excellent source of vitamins C, A, E and K when part of a balanced diet, and contain many minerals including potassium, magnesium, copper and manganese.

Not sure what most of that does to our bodies? Me neither. Basically just note they’re good for us and even more delicious at the moment because they’re in season in the UK. So the perfect excuse to bake a crumble.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the filling:

4 Gala Apples

200g Blackberries

2 tsp Runny Honey

2 Cinnamon Sticks

2 Star Anise

For the crumble topping:

200g Porridge Oats

50g Rice/Spelt/Gluten Free Flour

2 tsp Olive Oil

4 tbsp Runny Honey

Ground Cinnamon

Serve with:

• Custard
• Ice Cream
• Yogurt

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Peel, core and dice your apples. Add these to a large sauce pan with 160ml water, 100g blackberries, runny honey, cinnamon stick and star anise. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine your oats, flour, olive oil, runny honey and cinnamon together using your hands.

Take your apple mixture off the heat and spoon out any excess liquid. Pour the mixture into an oven proof dish and top with the rest of your blackberries. Cover with your crumble topping and put in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve and enjoy.

And what dessert do you reckon you would be?

K

Sundried Tomato & Walnut Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

I was one of those really deprived children that only got a roast dinner like once a year, at Christmas. I also never got that pony I asked for each year, or one of those little electric cars that I could sit and cruise about in. But one mustn't complain, at least I always got a new pair of underwear in my stocking to unwrap.

It hasn't got much better since on the roast dinner front. Or the pony, or the car, come to think of it. So when I do, on the very odd occasion, have something that slightly resembles one, I like to go in on it all guns blazing.

These mushrooms are loaded with lots of fresh and delicious flavours, and taste great drizzled with balsamic vinegar and served with a big salad. But I've got to say, they taste a whole lot better drowned in gravy, with roast potatoes and a mountain of steamed vegetables. The photos just wouldn't have been as aesthetically pleasing. 

So the choice is up to you, but for me, there's very little competition. Treat the veggie in your life to some damn good stuffed mushrooms to leave 'em feeling stuffed until their next roast dinner. 

Makes 4 Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients

4 Portobello Mushrooms

Fresh Parsley Roughly Chopped

Spinach Roughly Chopped

1 Red Bell Pepper Finely Diced

1 Shallot Finely Diced

50g Sundried Tomatoes

30g Walnuts Chopped

Salt & Pepper To Taste

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Remove the stems from your mushrooms and set to one side to add to your filling. Place the mushrooms stem side up on your baking tray and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.

In a pan, dry fry your pepper, shallots, sundried tomatoes, walnuts, diced mushrooms stems, parsley and spinach with a little bit of salt & pepper to season. 

Remove mushrooms from the oven and pour off any of the excess water that has gathered. Fill the mushrooms and bake in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes. 

Drown in gravy, and enjoy.

What's your favourite vegetarian roast dinner dish?

K

Healthy Snacks To Keep You Dancing All Night Long

Gym?

No.

I thought you said Gin.

And never was there a more accurate representation of what my weekend at Bestival is going to look like.

Now a great deal of the time I love choosing to eat whole, clean foods. I drink plenty of water, I get my 8 hours sleep a night and I exercise regularly. I do my best to be a healthy individual. But that doesn’t mean to say I don’t like to let my hair down from time to time, drown myself in glitter and indulge in a multitude of sins.

Yes, sometimes I choose to eat a bit of junk food if it’s what I’m really craving.

Party all night long instead of getting some shut eye.

And hey, if you’re passing me a glass of gin, who am I to throw it back in your face?

I’m trying to master that tricky balance in being healthy and letting myself have fun, but know that both are completely acceptable. 

So when you’re reading this, remember that these snacks are not an accurate representation of my weekend (in the slightest). These snacks represent a small proportion of what I will be eating. They are “ideal” choices to grab if I get hungry and keep me full of energy to dance all night long.  And I am the Snack Queen, so it would be an awful shame not to live up to my name. 

Hippeas Organic Chickpea Puffs are great alternatives to just picking up a bag of crisps.

These Nakd and Trek bars both contain 1-your-5-a-day and leave me feeling full and satisfied, as well as providing instant energy from the dates and protein from the nuts and soya crunchies. 

Apples and Bananas are both ideal fresh fruit choices as they don’t require refrigeration.

These Pip & Nut Sachets pair well with the Kallo Rice Cakes to make a quick snack full of healthy fats and carbohydrates. 

I ordered a massive box of these Of The Earth Superfoods Cereal Pots to take with me as you can make them with both cold and hot water for a speedy snack. Made exclusively with super foods such as spirulina, barley grass, green tea, maca and goji berries, they’re a great energy boosting way to start the day.

I’m also taking a pack of the Koko Coconut Milk Cartons to either make teas/coffees with, or to drink with a piece of fruit.

Alcohol! Because no great story ever started with a salad…

K

August Favourites

Outside of the confining walls of social norms and expectations there’s a life. And perhaps for most of us, myself included, that’s where most of the magic happens. Now I fought long and hard with myself to a reach a point where I understand that above anything else (money, education, material objects and acceptance) happiness should be my main concern. Whilst I love owning and buying beautiful things, happiness in myself, happiness within what I am doing, and the happiness in those I love and hold dearly, is more important than anything I may possess.

When I began concerning myself with my goals and my values, I began questioning whether what I was doing was helping me towards them, or holding me hostage and making me incredibly unhappy. I could adjust my situation. Break free. Start to do what truly makes me happy rather than sitting in my own damn prison. 

So this September, I’m asking “why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?” Rumi. What's keeping you there when there's a beautiful world to explore?

I'll quit jabbering on now, so here are my August Favourites:

I've always rather fancied myself as that mysterious woman in films who lives in red lipstick and a little black dress, and these two scents that I have been utterly obsessed over  in August make me feel particularly feminine and seductive. For that air of mystery I've been alternating between Coco Noir by Chanel and Pomegranate Noir by Jo Malone.

This By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Misty Rock has been my go-to shadow stick for an effortless wash of colour all over the lids, and I've been dusting Dim Light from the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette all over my face for a dewy skin finish. Both are products I'd repurchase in a heartbeat.

Nike Free's are always my first pick for a gym training shoe. They're lightweight, flexible, and never cause my feet any discomfort. I've lived in these new white Nike Free TR 6 all of August. I've also been using these Kit Sound Bluetooth Headphones that I picked up fairly cheaply and let me tell you they are an absolute game changer. 

My last favourite of the month is The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People written by Stephen R. Covey and recognised as one of the most influential books ever written. I'm not sure there's one person I haven't praised about it to. It's all about powerful lessons in personal change, taking responsibility for your own actions, shifting how you view situations and how to work interdependently and effectively. If you want to learn how to be successful in both your personal and professional life, I highly recommend reading it. 

What were your favourites in August?

K

Chocolate Chai Banana Bread

If I could choose how to spend my perfect Sundays, I would be in great company, exploring picturesque neighbourhoods and sampling plenty of overindulgent foods. Of course the majority of my Sundays are spent rising at 6 to cram in a 10 mile run, catching up with work from the previous week ready for the next, and just trying to find a few spare minutes to shave my legs and collapse on a heap on the sofa. What remains in both my expectations and realities of a Sunday however, is plenty of tea and sweet treats to see me through.

This a perfect bake to use up all those sad, bruised looking bananas long forgotten in the dark corners of your kitchen. And as well as being gluten and dairy-free, this subtly sweet Chocolate Chai Banana Bread is refined sugar-free, and when kept in an airtight container will see you through the week as a delicious, healthy snack.

Ingredients

Dry

1/2 Cup Buckwheat Flour

1/2 Cup Ground Almonds

1 1/2 TSP Baking Powder

1/2 TSP Baking Soda

2 TSP Cinnamon

1 TSP Ginger

1/2 TSP Allspice

1/2 TSP Nutmeg

1 TSP Vanilla Extract

1/2 TSP Salt

Dark Chocolate Chopped

Wet

2 Large Eggs

1/4 Cup Melted Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup Milk or Milk Alternative

1 TSP Apple Cider Vinegar

3 Medium Ripe Bananas Mashed

Topping

1 Cup Pecans

1 TBSP Coconut Oil

1/4 TSP Cinnamon

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius or gas mark 6 and line a loaf tin.

In a large bowl, mix together all your dry ingredients and set to one side. 

On a chopping board, roughly mash your bananas with a fork leaving some larger chunks of banana. In another bowl, whisk together your eggs, coconut oil, milk and apple cider vinegar. Add in your mashed banana and mix together.

Begin to fold in the wet mixture to the dry ingredients until only just combined.

Transfer the bread mixture to your loaf tin. Sprinkle on your pecans and drizzle with the remaining coconut oil and put in the oven to bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out of the bread clean. If you find your pecans are beginning to burn on top, cover with foil and resume baking. 

So slather up a slice with jam and peanut butter and thank me later.

K