:: approaching halfway ::

This coming weekend I'll be 18 weeks. Just 2 more to halfway!

I might.... might have felt my first 'movement' today too! People are always asking if I've felt anything, but I think a lot of the time I'm just not paying attention to my belly (it's always gurgling away anyway). This time though, I felt a different feeling - twice within seconds. It was like a warm "bloop"... a smooth sort of quick thing. Very hard to explain.

Not a lot else has changed since the last post. I bought a pair of maternity black skinny jeans which I love..

I'll tell you what else I bought today (actually I'll show you). Chocolate. Chocolate is still VERY much my friend, and although I can GUARANTEE to you that I have not been going berserk with it, this is what I bought today:

They were only $1.90, what was I supposed to do??? And all these types that I hadn't tried.
Don't worry, I usually only get them out when there are a few people over to assist me in devouring it. I also often give them away when someone has helped us with a housey thing (lent us their trailer, delivered some mulch, etc etc). So it's all for a good cause ;) ;).

My weekend is starting off on a very, very exciting note tomorrow night.
I'M GOING TO SEE MAROON 5 LIVE!!!

EEEEEEP!!!

They are finally touring Australia, and I was so fortunate to have a friend who is equally keen to hear Adam Levine sing in that 'only' voice that he has. So, so pumped :). Plus they are supported by Evermore (which I did like for a while there) and The Cab (which I am yet to 'research' before tomorrow night). I hope we get good seats and I can get some good piccies to share. It's going to be MASSIVE.

Hope your week has been great, and not as wet and freezing as mine.

xo

:: black bean brownies ::

If you're on Pinterest, and are anything like me, you pin-and-pin-and-pin-and-pin.... but never actually quite get back to most (95%) of them.

So the other day when I had the afternoon off, I got busy and tried not one but THREE super healthy recipes. They all 'worked' to some degree but I'd have to say they destinctly fell into "gold/silver/bronze" catagories.

Today I'm sharing "bronze" which I don't really like much, but Jason is loving it (???). He is very good & eats all sorts of weird things that I make, but when something is too 'odd' he usually leaves it for me. So I'm confused as to why he digs these "Black Bean Brownies".

Website claims that they were really similar to Starbucks Brownies and they are lovely and moist but I found the bean 'powderiness' a turn-off as well as a beany taste. It could also be the taste of Stevia that's wreaking it for me, as I used half that and half honey (the recipe called for agave syrup). You might just have to give it a go yourself.

I pinned the recipe from here, but I can't find it on there anymore so you'll just have to trust me :).

Black Bean Brownies

Prep time: 10mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

1 tin black beans (I used kidney beans) rinsed well

1 Tab instant coffee

1 Tab cinnamon

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 bananas

1/3 cup agave nectar (I used honey & a bit of stevia)

1 Tab vanilla

1/4 cup oat flour (I used coconut flour coz I had it)

Method:

Preheat over to 180C (350F). Spray a square pan with cooking spray.

Throw everything in blender. Blend, scrape then blend again. Pour batter in pan.

Bake 30mins.

(It came out really stiff. This is the mixture before I pressed it down with my fingers.)

News Flash!!

GUESS WHAT.

Just as I was typing the recipe out, I realized I made a mistake. I doubled the mixture but I DIDN'T DOUBLE THE BANANAS. I believe that would make a huge difference. Not only to bananas add sweetnes (which I felt this lacked) but it also wouldn't have been so stiff in the blender.

So make sure you double your BANANAS!! lol

:: hannah's how-to [on avoiding those Easter kilograms] ::

Easter.

...chocolaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate...

I tremble with the thrill and the dread, of overindulging. To me, there is nothing like shove, shove, shovelling a dark chocolate egg into your mouth, feeling it all crack into pieces and then melt into one huge deadly mouthful. And go again.

It's not like I ever even buy chockie at Easter time; the air is just full of it! People leave eggs everywhere; in the staff kitchen, on your seat, under your computer monitor... Even when I have the perfectly legitimate excuse of "Ohh thanks, but I've already eaten 8 today..." it ends up in your stomach. Hello zits.

But there are ways to survive this season of unresistable temptation. I'd like to share some of my ideas that help me say NO, when I'm really have no intention of saying anything like that.

1} EAT A CHOCKIE EGG

Or a bunny. I mean it. You need to have one or.. you'll end up having one anyway.

There is nothing wrong with chocolate, in any shape, as long as it's in moderation.

2} Have something sweet but healthy on hand
...to mung on for as long as it takes to get rid of your hankering for Easter goodies.

For example:

Vegan No-Bake Cookies

3} Have a hot drink; coffee, hot chocolate (without sugar), or my choice: green tea.

I find that filling my belly up with a warm beverage makes me less likely to want chocolate,

or any food for that matter. For me, it's something about having my stomach full of liquid and then eating food afterwards feels wrong.. like the food can't digest because the digestive juices are all dissolved in the drink (which I've heard is true), and I feel bloated by it. 

Could be just me!! But I still think that filling up on a hot drink helps curve the sweet tooth. Sometimes I need 2 green teas to stop me... nothing wrong with that.

4} Ask your hubby to hide the home stash.

Yes, I've had to resort to this in the past. If you feel like you're going to keep popping back to the pantry, get it removed!

Hmmmm, now I'm starting to feel like perhaps I'm just a self-confessed addict and maybe all these tips are irrelevant to you all, I don't know! But I do know that I'm going to make a giant batch of healthy, nutty treat balls or something to cart around with me so I don't get on the sugar too hard!

Have a great Easter break everyone!!

Drive really safe if you're going camping or something fun. I'm pretty sure I'll just be making a start on packing house. Might squeeze a day trip in there somewhere. :)

Love me

x

::easy christmas love::

With all the 'giving' in the air at the moment, I really felt like unleashing my creative juices and getting a bit adventurous. There really is nothing quite like seeing someone's face light up when they recieve a gift you've made yourself. Ahhhh.

But I didn't want to dip rum-balls. Or coconut balls, or any balls. I have a bit of an aversion to coating things in chocolate myself. There is always some annoyance, besides the fact that it's MESSY. The chocolate gets too gluggy, or it runs out straight away, or it runs off the ball as soon as you put it on the greaseproof paper, resulting in that undesirable flat part on the base of the rum-ball.

So when I saw this ka-yute idea on notsoidlehands.blogspot.com, I didn't think twice.

All it takes is cheap candy canes (I got mine from Aldi... $1 for 12!) and a block (or two) of dark chocolate.

Put the canes on greaseproof baking paper on a tray, and put in the oven on 200.C for around 10mins. I'm not sure exactly how long I left them in there, because I kept opening the oven to touch them for softness. You want them just soft enough to pinch them together so they are stuck in the heart shape. Leave them too long, and you have FLAT canes. Yep I did that...

The tutorial puts a lollypop stick up the middle to give it a handle, but I didn't worry about it. They definitely didn't need it for stablizing.

Once the cane hearts have cooled, pour in melted chocolate. Let it firm up a little before sprinkling on the broken pieces, or they will melt and sink. I smashed up the canes that snapped when I was getting them out of the wrappers with a plastic bag and rolling pin.

So here's mine:

I also found these adorable Martha Stewart tags to label them with:

It only took me an evening, and even then, I wasn't busy the whole time... You have to wait for the candy to cool etc. So I was super pleased with the outcome!! And yes, everyone loved them :)



::guiltless chocolate!::

Hello!!!!!!

So moving on to a topic slightly more in line with my blog name. :) Something very exciting....

FAT BURNING
METABOLISM BOOSTING
PRETTY-MUCH CARB FREE

CHOCOLATE

Yeps.
Amaaaaaaaaaze!

Unfortunately, I can't take the credit for it's invention. A very sweet Olivia W. made many batches before she released the successful version.


So it's basically built on solidified coconut oil which has many many nutritional benefits, and is a VERY good fat. One man found if they took a tablespoon (straight) morning and night for 6 weeks, he lost a whole bunch of kilo's (can't remember how many, but it sounded worth it!). Straight coconut oil was ok for a couple of days for me, but soon my puke reflex started up. But now with this invention, you CAN ingest with pleaaaasure. ;)

2 Tabs organic rapadura sugar, coconut sugar or raw brown sugar

2 Tabs honey or agave syrup

½ cup raw, organic cacao powder

1/2 teas liquid vanilla stevia

small pinch of fine sea salt

2 cups raw, organic coconut oil (solidified coconut oil will yield a better result for this recipe. This is how coconut oil is found naturally at room temperature except for in the summer time when the air is much warmer. If you find that your coconut oil has melted, you will need to put it in the fridge until it has solidified but not rock hard)

Stevia is a natural, zero calorie sweetener and it probably the healthiest of all natural sweeteners. Use the following web address to purchase a bottle of this liquid vanilla stevia for a very reasonable price. http://www.iherb.com/NuNaturals-Vanilla-Stevia-Pure-Liquid-Concentrated-Extract-2-fl-oz-59-ml/14130?at=0

If you don't want to buy stevia, you can make a stevia-less version (ingredients at the bottom of this blog). It is slightly higher carb, but still very good for you :)

METHOD:

Line a tray or shallow dish with wax or grease proof paper and set aside.

Grind 1 cup of selected sugar in high speed blender or food processor until the sugar resembles an icing sugar like texture. Use the specified amount of ground sugar for chocolate and store the remaining sugar in an airtight container for future use. Add the cacao and very small pinch of salt to the sugar and blend briefly to mix.

Place this mixture along with all other ingredients in food processor or mixer and beat well until mixture is smooth and creamy. A butterfly or whisk attachment works best in your processor or mixer and remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl so that all ingredients are mixed well. Now add  essential oils (if you wish) and beat again.

Taste chocolate mixture and adjust if necessary. You may like to add more essential oil and/or sweetener (if adding more sweetener, use honey or stevia).

Remove whisk/butterfly attachment and stir through other ingredients – eg. nuts, cacao nibs, dried fruit etc.

Spread chocolate mixture onto prepared tray. Chocolate will be set in 30 minutes in freezer and 1 hour in fridge.  When firm, cut or break chocolate into desired shapes and sizes and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. (Note: Do not leave chocolate at room temperature too long or it will begin to melt. If you like your chocolate firm and cold store in freezer, if you prefer it slightly softer store in fridge.) 

I added goji berries and cranberries to my mix, but you can add all sorts of things! Some versions Olivia tried were:

Chocolate Orange Clusters

Add 20 drops of Young Living Orange Essential Oil (alternatively you can use 1 - 2 tbs finely grated organic orange zest) to chocolate base. Scatter over 1 cup chopped almonds and 1 cup raisins

CocoAmint

Add 10 drops Young Living Peppermint Essential Oil to chocolate base. Then add ¾ cup dried shredded coconut, ½ cup raw cacao nibs and 1 cup raisins

Cinnamon Spice

Add 4 drops of Young Living Cinnamon Essential Oil, 1 cup of moist chopped prunes and 1 cup chopped hazelnuts to chocolate base

Fruit & Nut

Scatter over 1 ½ cups chopped almonds, hazelnuts or cashews and 1 ½ cups raisons (can use other dried fruits if desired)

Antioxidant Hero

Add 2 drops each of Young Living Clove and Cinnamon Essential Oil to chocolate base. Then add ¾ cup each of chopped almonds, dried goji berries and blueberries (can substitute for raisins) and a handful of raw cacao nibs

So what do you think!? It is all honestly so good that you will find it hard to stop. But the good news is.... the more the better!! :-D

Let me know if you try it!!

xx

No Stevia Version:
1/3 cup organic rapadura sugar, coconut sugar or raw brown sugar
1/3 cup honey or agave syrup
½ cup raw, organic cacao powder
small pinch of fine sea salt
1 TBS vanilla essence or paste
2 cups raw, organic coconut oil