Metabolism Boosting Hot Chocolate

Metabolism Boosting Hot Chocolate

So I have found low calorie hot chocolates are a great way to curb chocolate cravings, cause lets face it your not going to have 1 square of chocolate you'll eat a whole bar. However, with a chocolate drink you can gently sip away those desires without the guilt. However I know hot chocolate powder isn't exactly rich with nutrients so as mid morning came around instead of having my usual green tea I experimented and created this!

Mmmmmmmmm spicy ..

Yes a frothy creamy hot chocolate that has a kick spice and a gently humm of cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Like a spicy chocolate chia drink.. trust me it works. Also this flavor combination works in your favor nutritionally. Spices like cinnamon and cayenne pepper are proven to boast your metabolism and the almond milk is a low calorie source of calcium that is full of vitamins and minerals like vitamin E, Magnesium and potassium. Super simple so why not?

Ingredients

Half a mug of unsweetened Almond Milk
Half a mug of boiled hot water
Cinnamon stick
1 clove
Pinch of ginger
1/2 tsp of Cayenne chilli powder (may want to add more or less depending on how much heat you can handle)
1/2 tsp of Chilli flakes
Favorite low cal hot chocolate powder (enough for one mug plus extra to sprinkle on top, we like things to look pretty eh?)

-Heat almond milk in a pan or in the microwave with the cinnamon stick, clove, ginger and chilli flake. Once these flavors have infused and the almond milk is hot sieve out the spices and set aside.
- Add cayenne and hot chocolate powder to a milk frother and had hot water and almond milk, froth. (if you do not have a frother just add straight to your mug and mix, it just wont be frothy, duh)
-Pour into mug and garnish with a dusting of hot chocolate powder and a sprinkle of dried chilli flakes if desired. Voila! 

Wholemeal Banana Nut Cup Cakes with Peanut Butter Glaze

Wholemeal Banana Nut Cup Cakes with Peanut butter glaze..

 I decided to make something to go with my Vegan Frozen Yogurt (recipe in my earlier post) and with a jar of PB in the cupboard and some practically black banana's this was the obvious solution. This recipe is also vegan and creates moist little cakes sticky banana cakes that are surprisingly light and moreish.

Ingredients

Cup Cakes (12)
2.5 Very ripe bananas mashed
1/4 cup Peanut Butter (i used crunchy but smooth is fine, make such it's natural, no added sugar/oil)
1/4 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup almond milk
1tbsp of oil
1/2 cup of whole meal spelt flour
1/4 cup regular whole meal
1/2 tsp baking poweder
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cinamon
1 tsp of vanilla extract

-In a food processor, blitz raw sugar till a fine consistency. Add to a bowl with Peanut butter, vanilla extract and oil.
-Cream together (like you would do butter and sugar in a cake) until fully combined. Then add your mashed banana and almond milk and mix together viciously.. cooking can be a work out too.
- Sieve in flours, cinamon, salt, baking powder and discard the husks left in the sieve. GENTLY fold together your mixture, spelt flour is delicate you don't want to over work your batter.
- Spoon mixture into cup cake cases, these cakes don't rise much so fill them practically to the top. I used soft plastic ones so I could remove my cakes with ease but it's up to you.
- Bake at 180 Degrees Celsius in a fan oven till golden and you can stick a tooth pick in the middle and pull it out clean (about 10-15mins)

my banana babies pre-oven

Peanut Butter Glaze   

Ingredients
1 heaped tbsp of peanut butter (again I used crunchy, as that's what I had, but smooth is fine)
2 heaped tbsp of Liquid Sweetener (I used agave syrup)

-Easy as pie, or glaze.. what ever. Just add to a small saucepan, turn up the heat a little and whisk together with a fork. Once combined keep warm over a very low heat until your cakes are done. Whilst cakes are warm divide between them and spread around with a knife or back of a teaspoon.

-Leave cakes to cool and remove from cases, serve with frozen yogurt if so wished.. I did.

First Post, Frozen Vegan Yogurt

Hey First Post WOOO!
And first recipes...

Lately I have been looking into Vegan Dairy Substitutes for yogurts.
Plain Alpro Soya was always a go to however a new brand 'Joya' came on the UK scene. Interested, I gave it a try. 'Joya' has no added sugar so it so it isn't as sweet as Alpro and has a very neutral/bland taste with a slight nuttiness of, you guessed it, soya. However, it is not that pleasant to eat on its own like Alpro is. So obviously when I was presented with this bland 'Joya' I thought, it needs a make over..

Lets make FROZEN VEGAN YOGURT. A sugar free, dairy free, tasty treat.

Sweet Almond, Raisin and Cinnamon Vegan Frozen Yogurt
Ingredients

2/3 of a pot of plain 'Joya' or other dairy free yogurt  (or if you like dairy 0% fat Greek Yogurt)
1/4 cup of Agave or other Liquid Sweetener
1/4 cup of raisins
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
Hand full of almonds, unbleached
Vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Almond milk (optional bulker)

-Get your pot of yogurt add vanilla, raisins, and sweetener reserving about a table spoon for later. Taste and more or less sweetener to your liking. Set aside.
-Heat a small frying pan and add almonds and a pinch of salt. When you can smell them roasting (a fragrant nuttiness) and they are lightly colouring remove and lightly crush into rustic chunks. I use a pestle and morta to do this.
-Then add cinnamon and a table spoon of sweetener and return to pan to caramelize the sweetener slightly. This only takes about 1 min maximum. Take care not to burn. Remove from pan and leave to cool.
-When cool add to yogurt pot and mix.
-If you want a lower calorie lighter frozen yogurt you can bulk it out with unsweetened Almond milk, I used about 1/3 of a cup. The almond milk as well as being low in calories has a a slight almond taste adding to the taste whilst bulking it out and making it lighter. However, it will lose some of it's creaminess.
-Freeze in pot until set

Mine is in the freezer at the moment will post a picture when it comes out!