Banana pancakes

Pancake day is one of those days that usually passes me by without much reference unless one of my housemates decides to suddenly make pancakes or I find myself earnest to try a vaguely healthy recipe I've spotted.

Alas pancakes aren't just for pancake day, they can be inflicted on your tummy all year round and can form part of a delicious breakfast, lunch or sumptuous dessert.

Last pancake day instagram,  twitter etc were filled with a gluten free pancake that just sounded way too good to be true and that was the banana pancake, so unbelievably simple that I can't believe no one had thought of it before (they obviously did but kept it to themselves).

The banana pancake combines two wonderful things a banana (filled with vitamin B6 amongst other things) and an egg (a great source of protein and vitamin D).

To make it all you need to do is mash up one banana add the egg and mix, melt a bit of coconut oil in a pan, pour the mixture into the pan and keep on a medium heat, after awhile you'll have a delicious banana pancake to tuck into!

Depending on how ripe the banana is you'll either have a perfect pancake or what resembles friend mash potato, the first time I tried it was a disaster as I was really hungover but my skills have improved since then!

I usually have it with a bit of almond butter and some greek yoghurt, since going dairy free I've been having it with Coyo  (coconut yoghurt) and its just as delicious, blueberry and apple sauce also works well with it.

To make the blueberry sauce

• Melt a teaspoon of coconut oil in a pan 
• Add blueberries and half a chopped apple 
• As the mixture starts cooking add the juice of half a lemon. 
• When the mixture starts becoming jam like pour it on top of pancakes. 

Till next time,

Shaziya xo

A tip for low mood

Recently I've had more sad days then I've had happy and if you've read the news recently its all full of UKIP and other awful things.

Saying that it can be very easy to let all the bad stuff get you down but amongst it every day there are great things happening you just have allow yourself to see them.

One trick I've found that works is doing a 100 jumping jacks, obviously you don't have to do a 100 but even ten will turn that frown upside down as exercise = endorphins and they immediately make you feel better.

Also this song which (up until five seconds ago) I didn't know was an REM cover, still one of my fave songs ever though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL6Gsm1AOmY

xoxo

Sweets for my sweet (tooth) - sugar all for me.

If you had asked me a year ago what my favourite type of comfort is and was I would have most definitely said pizza followed by a homemade brownie (just out the oven) with ice cream and a green tea just to balance it out. 

However the Shaziya of 2014s version is comfort food rather different; don't get me wrong- pizza with always have a pizza (get it) my heart but I am more likely to do something like cauliflour rice risotto followed by a homemade brownie with yoghurt instead. Just because I've never really been a huge ice cream fan (yoghurts way better but more on that later as in another post) 

As you may have gathered sweet potato was in the eons of my mind for awhile before I actually tried it and when I did it was like all my summers had come at once. You see it is seen as a health food and for someone who's Irish I'm not a huge fan of potatoes (I went through a dark period of eating a lot of mash with what resembled a diabetics worst nightmare) 

In my eyes sweet potato really is the best kind of comfort food as its just so good for you and hits those sweet tooth and comfort food needs all at once making it not just a super food but a super awesome food. 

For mine I tend to melt coconut oil with a little butter and cut the sweet potato into strips or circles depending on my shape bias (on Friday it was all about circles). I then line a tray with grease proof paper and heat the oven at about 200c, dip the sweet potato into the coco/butter mixture and once placed on the tray sprinkle about a teaspoon of brown sugar, a little sea salt and a bit of black pepper (sometimes I'll add cayenne pepper) over the top. I tend to cook them until they look crispy (roughly 10-15 minutes longer depending on how thick they are). 

Once cooked eat with friends, by yourself or with that significant other (your flatmates ;o)) alongside some form of drink (for me its a nice glass of red wine, beer or green tea pending on mood). 

Happy Sunday xo