Trained by Tahlia

I have been teaching so many classes and in effect, doing so much exercise, that when i get home I am ravenous and grabbing every bit of "quick" food I can find in the house to put into my mouth and fuel my body. 

Unfortunetly all the “quick” eats in our house seem to be biscuits. Hmm. Not so great.

So I decided to prepare some healthy, nutritious snacks that are going to refill my tank, whilst being super yummy and good for me. 

And here it is. The easiest, most basic, but yum slice ever. 

Banana Oat Slice 

What you need 

2 Bananas - mashed 

2 cups of oats

1 tbs of honey 

1/2 cup of dark chocolate bits 

Method 

Preheat the oven to 180’ Celsius 

Combine mushy bananas, oats, honey and dark chocolate bits in a large mixing bowl. 

Scoop into an oven tray and flatten out with a fork 

Cook for 15-20mins or until the top is golden. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 

Since moving to Malta and being closer to my English parents in law, I have discovered that it is tradition to do a Sunday Roast. 

So last Sunday I had planned to try my hand and cook a delicious chicken, blue vein, bacon roast. I bought all the ingredients, memorised the recipe and method and was ready to start cooking at lunch time ready for dinner. (Don't laugh, I know a roast might seem simple for some - but we have discussed how un domesticated I am, haven't we?)

Unfortunately, we had some circumstances arise that saw Greg needing to pop out for the better half of the day. That meant i was in charge of entertaining our two energetic, attention seeking kids! Time to rethink the roast.

This was my solution - a quick, easy, yet seriously tasty Oven Bake. 

What you Need

A Chicken - or your favourites parts of the chicken - eg. Chicken breast

Blue Vein Cheese

3 rashes of Bacon

5 Potatoes

Pumpkin - same amount as potatoes

1 Onion

2 Cloves of Garlic

Salt and Pepper 

150ml of cream

150ml of chicken stock

Method

Preheat oven to 180' Celsius

Chop the onion and garlic and slice the chicken into bite sized bits. Brown in a pan, 

While the chicken, onion and garlic brown, chop the potatoes, pumpkin and slice the bacon into pieces. Don't be too perfect with the chopping. Messy, uneven shapes give the meal that rustic look! Well thats my excuse for less than perfect knife skills! 

Combine the cream and chicken stock in a bowl

When the chicken is brown on the outside, but not cooked through, place chicken, onion, garlic, potatoes, pumpkin and bacon into a oven dish. 

Crack some salt and pepper over the ingredients and the crumble the cheese and sprinkle on top as well. 

Pour the combined cream and chicken stock over the dish and place in the oven 

Cook for an hour or until vegetables and chicken are cooked through!

Living in Malta certainly has a lot of pros!

Like the vegetable truck that parks itself at the top of our street supplying us with fresh fruit and veggies every Monday, Wednesday, Friday!!! Some of the vegetables I recognise, others i don't! So I play a game. Choose a vegetable i don't recognise and make something with it! 

This week it is the CELERIAC!! 

Part of the celery family (so google tells me), apparently its a staple in European kitchens. It also happens to be really good for you, as most veggies are!

Check out the benefits of Celeriac here... 

http://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/health-benefits-of-celeriac/

This is what I made - it was YUMO!! 

Celeriac Soup

What you need

Celeriac x1

Potatoes - roughly the same amount as the size of the celeriac

Onion x1

Garlic x 2-4 cloves

Ginger (same amount as garlic)

Salt and pepper

Optional

Chilli x 1

200ml cream

Prep

Peel the celeriac and cut into bite sized bits. Do the same with the potato. (I leave the skin on the potatoes.) Slice the onion and crush the garlic and ginger.

In a big pot brown the onion, garlic and ginger. Add 1.5litres of water and Pop the celeriac and potato in the pot. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 40mins or until vegetables are mushy.

Take off the stove and whiz until your desired texture is achieved.

I like it thick and lumpy!

Optional - stir in cream

The last few months have been hectic, to say the least. I am now the mother of two adorable babies under two years!! But this post isn't about them. Its about my kitchen pantry! 

I haven't had that much time to myself (or cash, the $$ dries up when you are a pregnant self employed fitness instructor and can't work for a few months!). So I've been finding alternative ways to pamper myself.

Enter the homemade face masks. I swear i will never go back to buying store, chemical based masks again. Since using natural ingredients my skin feels clearer, smoother and more youthful!! 

Why not give this one a try. (This is based on a recipe from http://beautybanter.com/diy-coffee-face-mask)

What you need and Why. 

Coffee Beans (smashed in the mortar and pestle!)  - Acts as an exfoliated, removing dead skin, reduces redness, inflammation and dark circles under eyes. 

Milk - Natural enzymes Smooths skin and Amino acid hydrates skin. 

Honey-  A natural humectant that locks in moisture.

Olive Oil - Injects a moisture surge (for dry skin)