He has already reached their game village and I just video chatted with him via Tango.

***

I had overripe bananas on hand, hence decided to use them this morning. This is a super easy and naturally sweet banana bread. Great with peanut butter on top.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 cup very ripe mashed bananas (about 4 medium-sized bananas)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 eggs (or flax eggs)

Method: Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder together. Then in a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients. Combine with the dry ingredients and bake at 200 C for about 45 minutes.

Today, five hours passed like a breeze. I got asked what I do upon reaching home, which is usually around 1600 hrs. Well, after I get home from work I look for something to eat first because most of the time I’m hungry around that time of the day. If I don’t have any leftover food, I will cook dinner this early. On alternate days, I head over to sis’ place after work to have dinner there (if my parents stay at my bro’s place, then I will head over to his place instead). After my  mid afternoon meal, I  go online and read my favorite blogs. Sometimes I take a short nap or  watch some TV if  there’s anything interesting. Time flies and the next thing I know it’s already 2000 hrs. On most days, the husb reaches home after 2030 hrs.

Today after work I saw this abandoned trolley. What the ….  It’s not my first time seeing abandoned trolleys on the side of the road haha. It’s funny. What were these people thinking (!!).

I was in a baking craze today. I made Fitnessista’s Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread! However I de-veganised mine — I used cow’s milk.

I used this whole bar of dark chocolate

Raw sugar — “Taikoo” a Hong Kong brand but the sugar originates from my home country (Mauritius) hhee. That is why I bought it :P  Gotta love home grown stuffs hehe.

Big chunky chocolates in there

I made one big and one small loaf

The whole house smelled of cinnamon. I couldn’t wait to slice it and have a bite!

This gluten free pumpkin bread is as moist and dense as my banana cranberry bread. It makes a great breakfast! Plus, it isn’t overly sweet. I actually only used half of the recommended amount of sugar and it was sweet enough to me — you get enough chunky chocolate pieces in every bite.

The ingredients and quantity that I used.

• 2 Cups Orgran’s Gluten Free self Raising Flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg-
• 1 bar (100g) Frey, Classic Noir 72% Cacao
• 2 cups Libby’s pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax soaked with 4 tbsp water)

I followed the baking instructions from Fitnessista’s blog. I baked mine for about 45 minutes.

Yield: I got 18 slices

***

I still had half can of pumpkin left and I wanted to use them all. So guess what I made as the pumpkin bread was in the oven!? Yess it involves cheeeese …

You will find out in the next post :)  Have a great weekend!

I froze one piece (leftovers) and had it for lunch on Wednesday I think (this one was a little burnt on top)

Marinate chicken breasts in yoghurt, turmeric, some salt, pepper and crushed garlic cloves mixture overnight or for a few hours.

Pound to 1/2 inch thickness <– actually its better to pound the chicken breast before you let it marinate … less messy!

Steam spinach (or stir fry or microwave it — as long as it’s cooked and is tender)

Chop cooked spinach into small pieces and add dried oregano, bit of salt, pepper, sour cream and cheese to the spinach and mix well

Lay the chicken breasts out on a clean surface, and spoon some of the spinach mixture onto each one.

Roll up chicken to enclose the spinach, then wrap each chicken breast with two slices of bacon. Arrange in a shallow baking dish.

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Variations: You can use feta and parmesan as cheese, add mushrooms, onions and fresh basil to the spinach mixture as well as red pepper flakes. You could totally skip the overnight marinating part.

Banana Buckwheat Muffins

In spite of its name, buckwheat is not related to wheat; pure buckwheat is considered acceptable for a gluten-free diet, although many commercial buckwheat products are actually mixtures of wheat and buckwheat flours, and thus not acceptable.

They look dry on the outside but they are actually moist on the inside.

Banana Buckwheat Muffins

Ingredients (makes 12 small or 6 large muffins)

• 1 cup black buckwheat flour (B0b’s Red Mill)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup cornmeal (you can have 1/4 cornmeal and 1/4 of your favourite protein powder)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3 medium ripe bananas
• 1 medium egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup pure applesauce (depends on consistency. Batter has to be on the thick side)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 Tbsp honey

Method: Mix wet and dry ingredients separately. Combine together. Bake for about 20 min or until a skewer inserted comes out neat.

With my niece

I made a pasta pie.

Doesn’t it look cute? It’s a recipe adapted from Noblepig. I had bookmarked the recipe ages ago but never tried it.

Ingredients used

Make a tomato-based beef sauce

Toss the pasta with Parmesan cheese and then arrange the pasta like this.

Top the pasta with a layer of sauce and mozzarella cheese making sure that there is meat and sauce in every tube.

Then do another layer of pasta (I didn’t use long rigatoni, hence had to do another layer)

Top with another layer of meat and sauce

Plus more mozzarella cheese and bake!

How it looks inside

My brother made chicken pie. So we had two pies hehe.

Recipe for Pasta Pie (adapted from Noblepig)

Ingredients

• 340g rigatoni
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 500g ground beef
• 1 medium onion diced
• 3 gloves garlic minced
• 1 small red and green pepper
• Kosher Salt & Pepper
• 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried basil (or more to taste)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 4 oz fancy shredded mozzarella cheese
• dried parsley

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta until just done. Shave off 1-2 minutes from the time given on the box.

While preparing the pasta you’ll be making the sauce. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the beef with the olive oil, onion and garlic. Add the peppers and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.

By this time your pasta should be ready. Drain, rinse with cold water and put back in the pot. Add 1/4 cup of the crushed tomatoes and stir to coat the pasta. Set aside.

Add the remaining crushed tomatoes to the skillet. Stir and add the tsp of basil. It should boil fairly quickly. Lower to a simmer.

Returning to the pasta, add the 1/2 of Parmesan cheese and stir to coat.

Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Begin to place the pasta upright in the pan. It will be a little touch and go for a bit but you’ll get the hang of it. I started with the perimeter and worked my way to the center. Don’t worry some will be taller and shorter. Some will even have a bend. It will all work out once you are finished.

Top the pasta with the meat sauce.

Bake in the preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove and top with the mozzarella. Sprinkle a bit of parsley on top. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes.

Remove and let sit for at least 5 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edge. Release the spring form and viola!

Here’s my modified version. Recipe adapted from Joy The Baker.

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 medium ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted salted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (I used 1/4 cup but it was definitely not sweet enough. I would recommend at least 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar)
• 1 flax egg (or 1 egg beaten)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cup of flour
• 1 cup fresh cranberries

Method

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, mix. Add the cranberries, and stir until just incorporated. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

I coated mine with melted semi sweet chocolate

All shiny now

Then it was time for lunch. I used this Sharkfin melon to make spaghetti squash.

Oh yeah, sharkfin melon = spaghetti squash. You can find sharkfin squash at any supermarket.

Cook the sharfkin melon in preheated 375 F oven approximately 45 minutes or until flesh is tender.

Top with spaghetti sauce. Yum.

Me after last Friday’s visit to the hairdresser. Shorter hair, shorter bangs and more layers at the back. I like messy and non-straight hair.

***

Yesterday lunch was kept very light as I wasn’t feeling too well. I only grabbed a smoked chicken salad from a nearby cafe. Thank goodness my flu-like symptoms went away later that day!

Very light lunch = growling stomach by mid-afternoon. I had some homemade baked banana oatmeal cakes.

These banana oatmeal cakes were made using only 5 ingredients (excluding baking powder and baking soda). I enjoy very simple and easy-to-make food.

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oat
• 1/2 cup cornmeal (for crunchiness) – or 1/4 cup cornmeal + 1/4 cup dried quinoa
• 3 medium ripe bananas
• 3 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 tbsp raisins or cranberries
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda.

Method: Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Shape into balls and place onto a baking tray. Flatten lightly. Bake until brown and crispy on the outside.

Ingredients

• 2 very ripe medium bananas
• 1 cup toasted peanut
• 1/2 cup toasted walnut or cashew nut
• 3/4 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (plus more for coating at the end)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.. Process everything until it comes together in a sticky paste-like consistency. If too sticky, add more ground almonds. Form into mini balls and roll into rolled oats. Flatten them. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until crispy and golden.

Sticky paste-like consistency

Shape into balls, coat in rolled oat, flatten and pop into oven

After baking

Crispy on the outside

Last night I made some Healthy Spice Oat Balls. I used banana (and dried raisins) as a natural sweetener and to bind the ingredients together. Turned out pretty good. Didn’t taste the banana at all, probably due to the cinnamon and vanilla hehe.

Mikey at the far end :) He was waiting for his breakfast (not the balls!)

Healthy Spice Oat Balls

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/3 cup cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup cashew nuts (or any other nuts – raw or toasted)
• 1/3 cup raisins (or other dried fruits)
• 1 medium banana (mine wasn’t super ripe. I use it here to replace sugar and to bind everything together)
• 3 tbsp natural peanut butter (I used Adam’s Chunky PB)
• 1 tbsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Some unsweetened shredded coconut for dusting

Method: Add 1 cup rolled oats and the rest of the ingredients (except the shredded coconut) into a food processor. Process everything until it comes together in a sticky paste-like consistency. Add the rest of the 1/3 cup of rolled oats and mix using your hand or a spoon. Form into balls and roll into shredded coconut. Refrigerate or freeze the balls. I prefer frozen ones :)

The other morning I made a Green Monster

English Baby Spinach + Almond Milk + Half a (overripe) pear + Ice Cubes

Lovely. Yummy!

Enjoy the rest of your afternoon :)

Ate my last bowl of hot & spicy lentil soup yesterday. I was too lazy to prepare it a la Mauritian style. So mine was basically Lentils + Hunt’s Diced tomatoes + Chicken stock + Lots of chilli powder …  Yeah that’s all. Simple yet so delicious. Gotta make more this week.

Tonight: Dinner for two

• Salmon
• Curried mashed caulifower chicken
• Steamed veggies (carrots, broccoli, mushrooms) drizzled with homemade peanut sauce

To make the peanut sauce, I combined 2 tbsp peanut butter with 4 tbsp almond milk (or milk of choice). Then I microwaved until I got a thick and creamy sauce.

I recently bought this 1.87-Litre Almond Milk (first time) and I am already in love with it! So creamy and nutty! <3 Unfortunately, almond milk is hard to find in regular stores. Bahhhhh.

Plain Baked Norwegian Salmon <3

Curried mashed cauliflower chicken

Gonna hit the hay now. Bye!

Mine started with a little sweat in my little space.

Plain water while working out. This bottle is pretty handy these days :)

And a post workout protein chocolate drink (whey protein + Cocoa Powder + Milk)

Short and slippers to work.

A little bit of Glee in the afternoon.

The weather looks like this now.

Very Dark!

Thank God for the rain because Singapore has been hazy these days!

***

Now, here’s a long overdue Pumpkin Muffin recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 to 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 can 100% pure pumpkin
• 2 large eggs lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup low fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup milk
• Chocolate Chips (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray. Mix flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt in large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together pumpkin, eggs, oil, yogurt and milk. Combine wet and dry ingredients until just blended. Spoon batter into muffin tins. Bake for 15 – 20  minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Transfer muffins to rack to cool.

Hard peanut-oat-crasin cookies

Me love this pumpkin

Pumpkin pancakes for breakfast every. single. day this week

Pumpkin muffies

Roasted veggies

Some ingredients for making Raw pumpkin Oat Balls

Last but not least, pumpkin pancakes again

So this morning after my Insanity workout, I decided to bake post-workout muffins. Sometimes these things happen…

I’ve been baking and cooking quite a lot more these days!

Oh, by the way I’ve never worn this apron — until today! My Amica mia gave it to me 2.5  years ago when she came over to Singapore to attend my wedding.

Flashback to 2008: Me and her on the morning of my wedding

Anyway …

My Post Workout Muffins

Ingredients (makes 6)

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup wholemeal flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 scoops protein powder of your choice  (or 1 serving)
• 1/3 cup toasted silvered almonds
• 2 – 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• splash of vanilla essence
• 1 egg + 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup raisins or mixed fruits

Method: Mix the dry ingredients except the raisins. Mix the wet ingredients. Slowly pour over the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Add the raisins. Bake at 225 C until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

***
Well, I’ve also been baking crasin cookies

Big Cookies

As well as peanut butter cups! They are hardening in the fridge as I type :P

Recipe to come soon … I am going to bed now! It’s 2205.

Tonight, dinner was some  left-over Au Gratin Cabbage and chicken

A closer look using the manual mode

I made the Gratin on Thursday. Recipe adapted from allRecipes.Com

Ingredients

• 3 cups shredded cabbage
• A handful of sliced mushroom
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 egg + 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup milk
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 3 tablespoons cheddar cheese
• 3 tablespoons cottage cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese

Method

1. In a large skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, saute the cabbage, mushroom and onions until for 7 minutes or crisp-tender. Transfer to a greased shallow 1-qt. baking dish.
2. In a bowl, combine the egg, milk, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, nutmeg, dried oregano and salt. Pour over the vegetables. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Still loving air popped popcorn seasoned with Cajun spices :D  The husband prefers buttery caramel popcorn. Will make his version soon.

I was craving for cake just now and then I thought of the 5-minutes chocolate mug cake!

It took me another 5-minutes (or less) to finish it :) YUM. I twisted the first version and here’s the modified version.

Ingredients (Makes 1)

• 1 tbsp flour
• 1.5 tbsp sugar
• 1.5 tbsp cocoa
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• Splash of vanilla extract
• Water (enough to make it like a runny cake batter)

Method: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Microwave  for 50 seconds on high heat. Leave it for a few seconds, then microwave for another 10 seconds on high again. Top with syrup such as Hershey’s chocolate syrup!

Note: Hershey’s sugar-free syrup version tastes weird. I recommend using the original one  =)

***

Recent snackies or quick breakfasts or post-recovery fuel that take about 5-minutes to prepare.

Protein pancakes topped with Hershey’s chocolate syrup and cottage cheese on the side

One of my current favourite quick and healthy snackies

Cottage cheese on rice crackers topped with crispy bacon bits

From the top. Oh I love cottage cheese with maple syrup too!

I’m off to sleep now. Goodnight!