Healthy Oaty Choc Chip Banana Bread

Healthy Oaty Choc Chip Banana Bread

I’m a sucker for banana bread. I LOVE it. I have several recipes for different variations, but this is the first flourless one I’ve ever made and I have to say - it might be my favourite. It’s made with Oats instead of flower, making this a filling alternative.

This recipe is super EASY and has only 6 ingredients! It’s also one of those ones where everything gets thrown into a blender, which are always great time savers. This recipe is also bariatric friendly for those 6 months post op (earlier if you are ok with having higher carbs) and low calorie. If you’re watching your protein, add 30g of protein powder to the recipe to up the protein content.

Hot Tip: I do think with this recipe that it is best on day 2 and 3. It holds its shape a little better and the flavours really sink in. It’s mouth wateringly special!!

If you want to try out my Banana Dark Choc Loaf made with coconut and almond flour, check it out HERE.

Full of oaty goodness and sweet choc chips

Oaty Choc Chip Banana Bread

• 2 cups rolled oats

• 3 large bananas

• 2 eggs

• 1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup (or regular)

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 cup sugar free or regular choc chips

• Optional - 30g protein powder

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan bake

2. Place all ingredients except for chocolate chips into a blender and blend for 20-30 seconds until smooth

3. Mix in chocolate chips

4. Place batter into a loaf tin. I added extra sliced banana on top to make it look pretty!

5. Bake for 35 - 40 mins depending on your oven

Nutritional Info:

10 serves, PER SERVE
153 calories / 5.4g protein / 13.8g carbs / 5.8g fat
with protein powder: 166 calories / 7.8g protein / 14g carbs / 6g fat

Low Carb & Bariatric Friendly Lasagna

Low Carb, Protein Packed & Bariatric Friendly Lasagna

Pretty proud to say yesterday I made one of the best lasagna’s I’ve ever had! This is pretty big considering Lasagne is my favourite food, and I’ve had them a lot. BUT, I normally don’t make at home, seeing as my husband is allergic to dairy. Since having weight loss surgery I don’t eat a lot of pasta, so decided I would make a bariatric friendly version that I could portion out and store in the freezer for when I need an easy meal.

After having a bit of a look online at various ways to make a low carb lasagna, I decided to combine a few things I’d seen and come up with my own version. It’s a bit softer than a regular lasagne, and next time I’ll add another zucchini and wrap layer… but here it is, let me know what you think!

Ingredients

• 2 courgettes, thinly sliced lengthwise

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 800g-1kg ground beef / mince

• 1 small onion

• 1 pack keto / low carb wraps

• 1 Bottle Pasta sauce (I used a herb style one)

• 250g tub ricotta

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1/2 bag baby spinach

• 1 egg

• 2 cups grated edam cheese

Method

1. Fry off onions. Once clear add mince and pasta sauce, let simmer for 10 mins

2. Thinly slice courgette & dab with paper towels to remove excess moisture - set aside

3. Mix ricotta, egg, salt and nutmeg together to make a white sauce, season with salt

4. Cut wraps into smaller pieces to mimic pasta sheets

5. Layer courgette into bottom of baking dish, then add a layer of beef followed by a layer of the ricotta white sauce

6. Arrange wraps on top to cover, then add a layer of spinach, cheese, beef & white sauce

7. Top with cheese then cover with foil.

8. Bake at 180 degrees for 30 mins

9. Bake a further 10 mins with no foil and it will brown up nicely

Apple Crumble Baked Oats

Baked Oats, where have you been all my life. I’ve been making my Blueberry Cheesecake Baked Oats on repeat since sharing the recipe. They were such a hit with you guys, and so naturally I’ve been experimenting with new flavours… and this one takes the cake.

Quite honestly this is like eating apple crumble for breakfast, but with a lot more protein and less sugar. We have so much good stuff going on here - the goodness of oats which are a slow releasing carb, plus banana for potassium, apples and of course protein to help keep you full for longer. Honestly, try it at least once and let me know what you think! Keep in mind these quantities are specifically for meal prep that will last you the week. OR, you can share with your family and get a day or two out of it.

This recipe works out to roughly 30g of protein per serve if you make with the suggested ingredients below.

APPLE PIE Baked OatS

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats (I used Scotch oats)
2 bananas
60g vanilla protein powder
I used NZ protein whey protein, gourmet vanilla
350ml milk of choice
I like calci trim as it’s higher protein than regular milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup frozen diced apple
1 tsp maple syrup
6 TBS high protein yogurt or greek yogurt
1 tsp cinnamon

For the ‘crumble’
3/4 cup oats mixed with 1-2 TBS smooth peanut butter

Method:

1. Mash bananas into bottom of a dish roughly 20 x 30cm (preferably one that has a lid)

2. Add oats, baking powder & protein powder

3. Pour in milk and mix everything together

4. In the microwave, heat your diced apples, maple syrup & cinnamon for 1 min to soften them up.

5. Place spoonfuls of the apples on top of your batter, and then do the same with the yogurt

6. Get a spoon and swirl together the yogurt, apples and yogurt - but don’t fully mix them together. You want it to be only just mixed so you can nice clumpy parts of yogurt and apples

7. Mix together your ‘crumble’ which is just peanut butter and oats, it kind of clumps together. Springle this on top of your oats batter

8. Place in the oven for 40 mins at 180 degrees.

9. Once out of the oven, let cool a little and cut into 6 serves. Pop your lid on and place in the fridge.

To Serve:

1. Take out one serve daily, warm in the microwave and add a little fresh yogurt on top. I also add a drizzle of peanut butter or some raspberries. SO GOOD!

Banoffee Single Serve Cookie Baked Oats

GET IN MY BELLY! If you’re looking for someone quick you can whip up for dessert… or breakfast (I won’t judge) then look no further. This is a baked oats recipe, but not as you know it. It’s done a little differently and the texture is different to my other baked oats recipe due to being blended… think more like a cross between a pancake and a cookie. So yum and feels so decadent yet it’s healthy, made fro oats and full of protein.

Banoffee Single Serve Cookie Baked Oats!

Ingredients

1/2 cup rolled oats (I use the ‘scotch’ oats
1/2 banana
2 TBS Caramel or Salted Caramel protein powder *
1 egg
1/4 cup milk of choice
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp maple syrup
Choc chips (I use sure free, use as many of you like)

Method

1. Blend all of your ingredients together except for the chocolate chips until they are well combined and texture is smooth

2. Pour into an oven safe single serve dish and sprinkle with choc chips

3. Bake for 20mins at around 180 degrees on regular bake, but keep an eye on it. My first experiment resulted in an explosion from having oven too hot!

• I get a really yummy salted caramel protein powder that is whey based from NZ protein. It’s amazing!

Yummy Chicken, Leek & Potato Pie

Chicken Leek & Potato Pie

This has got to be one of our family favourites over winter. As soon as the leeks come in to season and down in price I start buying them and make this every few weeks, sometimes weekly! It’s one of those wintry, warming meals that makes you feel wholesome and good - comfort food at it’s finest!

This is a recipe I have been making for years, adapting over time… hot tip, if you have bacon, ADD IT! So good.

Enjoy! And let me know what you think.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 leek, trimmed, halved, washed, sliced

• 3-4 medium potatoes, peeled & diced into 1cm cubes

• 1/4 cup plain flour

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced

• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

• 1 sheet frozen ready-rolled puff pastry

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C.

2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and brown your chicken for 3-4 minutes

3. Add leek & potato, stirring for 3-5 minutes or until leeks have cooked down a little

4. Sprinkle over the flour and stir through to coat for 1 min, then add in your chicken stock.
   Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture comes to the boil. Season to taste.

5. Spoon chicken mixture into a pie dish (I like to use rectangular pirex with a lid so any leftovers can easily be stored). Place the pastry sheet over the filling, pressing the edges to seal and use a fork to poke some air holes.

6. Bake for 25 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.

Butternut Pumpkin, Kumara & Carrot Soup

Creamy Butternut Pumpkin, Kumara & Carrot Soup

I’m not usually a soup person, but I love this one. I make it a lot during winter and the whole family loves it.

It’s really quick and easy, but the best thing about it is its pretty versatile and forgiving. As long as you have your main starch vegetables in there, you can really add whatever other veggies you have in your fridge that need using. It’s really yum if you add potatoes too. You can also change up the soup mix flavour. The only reason I add soup mix is for the protein and nutrition from the lentils, barley etc,

The other great thing about this is it’s a dairy free creamy soup, which are hard to come by. I love that it’s a smooth and creamy soup, so you do need a stick blender for this recipe.

So here you go!

Ingredients

• 1/2 butternut pumpkin

• 2 carrots, peeled

• 1 medium kumara

• 1 medium onion

• 1 cup soup mix
  (I use a Country style soup mix that is a blend of split peas, barley, lentils & seasoning)

• 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  (I love the little stock pots, works out more cost effective)

• 2 tsp Moroccon seasoning (optional)

• 2 tsp salt

• 1 cup coconut cream

Method

1. Chop all your vegetables and place into large saucepan

2. Make up stock if you’re making from cubes or pots and add to main pot along with soup mix & seasoning

3. Cook on a low temperature for 1 hr minimum. You want all the veggies and lentils, barley etc to be completely soft and falling apart.

4. Once cooked, blend with a stick blender and taste for seasoning.

5. Once mostly blended, add in your coconut cream and mix through

6. Serve with a little bit of extra coconut cream on top and some pumpkin seeds if you’d like some crunch.

Aiden's Epic Berry Protein Shake

I cannot take all the credit for this one. I’ve been making berry smoothies for Aiden for years, but recently he’s been requesting them which has coincided with taking a more active & interested role in his own health & diet. This has all stemmed from being pretty serious about his sport. He’s been learning about the different food types, why protein is important for his muscles and recovery.

So, we have taken his fave berry smoothie and made a few tweaks to up his protein for post workouts or games and the result is SO SO delicious I just had to share with you. It’s extra thick and creamy, the texture is amazing thanks to a few secret ingredients. Don’t miss adding the zucchini to this, as it really adds so much creaminess and you can’t taste it at all.

Berry protein Shake

Ingredients

200ml milk (any kind)
1 small - medium banana, fresh
1/2 cup mixed frozen berries
2-3 pieces of frozen mango
2-3 pieces of frozen zucchini (trust me!)
Small handful cashews
3-4 pieces of ice (don’t overdo it or the shake will end up icy)
2 scoops NZ protein vanilla protein powder

Method

Pop all of your ingredients in a blender and blend for at least 45 seconds and then serve!

Date, Banana & Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites

Here’s a really quick and easy recipe for if you want something sweet in the freezer that requires no baking or blending! Only takes about 10 mins and they are super delicious. It’s super basic, which is why I like it. There are a few renditions you can make, like these Chocolate Dipped Date & Peanut Butter Bites (which omit the banana) but I like having the creaminess of the banana in there. I will say the better quality the dates the better! Medjool are best.

Date, Banana & Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites

Ingredients

1 Banana
Medjool Dates
Peanut Butter
Sugar Free Dark Chocolate

Method:

1. Take your dates and flatten with the back of a spoon to make a base and lay out on some baking paper

2. Once flattened, top with 1/4 tsp of your favourite nut butter (I use smooth peanut butter but crunchy is also good to add in more texture)

3. Slice your banana and place 1 piece on top of the peanut butter. Squish it down a little so it sticks together

4. Take your dark chocolate (I use sugar free) and melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts, then drizzle all over the top of your bites

5. Place in an air tight container in the freezer and take one out whenever you need a sweet treat!

Meal Prep: Blueberry Cheesecake Baked Oats

Ok so we can all thank late night instagram scrolling for this one. Although I saw it, thought I saved the recipe and then didn’t and have struggled to find again and had HALF a screenshot of the recipe, but it’s ok as I just ran with my terrible memory (but also pretty good knowledge of baked oats) and think I nailed it first go. So, credit to the lovely lady with the British accent for the Inspo… and half the recipe 🤦🏻‍♀️

Quite honestly this is like eating cake for breakfast. But it’s HEALTHY cake. We have so much good stuff going on here - the goodness of oats which are a slow releasing carb, plus banana for potassium, blueberries with all their amazing properties and of course protein to help keep you full for longer. Honestly, try it at least once and let me know what you think! Keep in mind these quantities are specifically for meal prep that will last you the week. OR, you can share with your family and get a day or two out of it.

Blueberry Cheesecake Baked OatS

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats (I used Scotch oats)
2 bananas
60g protein powder
I used NZ protein whey protein, gourmet vanilla
420ml calci trim milk
You can sub any milk alternative, I like calci trim as it’s higher in protein than regular milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 tsp maple syrup or honey
6 TBS high protein yogurt or greek yogurt

Method:

1. Mash bananas into bottom of a dish roughly 20 x 30cm (preferably one that has a lid)

2. Add oats, baking powder & protein powder

3. Pour in milk and mix everything together

4. In the microwave, heat your blueberries and maple syrup or honey for 1 min to soften them up.

5. Place spoonfuls of the blueberries on top of your batter, and then do the same with the yogurt

6. Get a spoon and swirl together the yogurt, blueberries and yogurt - but don’t fully mix them together. You want it to be only just mixed so you can nice clumpy parts of yogurt and blueberries

7. Place in the oven for 40 mins at 180 degrees.

8. Once out of the oven, let cool a little and cut into 6 serves. Pop your lid on and place in the fridge.

To Serve:

1. Take out one serve daily, warm in the microwave and add a little fresh yogurt on top. I also add a drizzle of peanut butter. SO GOOD!

Sticky Date Overnight Weetbix You Have To Try!

Ok, I’ve cracked the code. I have tried quite a few variations of overnight weetbix and this one is HANDS down my favourite one. It is caramely and cinamony and delicious. YUM!
My Banoffee High Protein Overnight Weetbix is also super yum if you’re looking for another version to try - but I have to say this one is my favourite.

You can easily make it high protein by making with high protein almond milk, or calci trim (which is naturally high in protein) plus use high protein yogurt.

Ingredients

• 2 Weetbix crushed

• 1/2 cup milk of choice (I used calci trim)

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• 2 tsp maple syrup

• 2 dates, diced

• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (I used high protein yogurt)

Method

1. Mix all ingredients except fo the yogurt together in a bowl & then spread into the bottom of a small container or jar

2. Layer yogurt on top

3. Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and weetbix

4. Cover and refrigerate overnight
   
   If you’re making for the family, multiply the ingredients by the number of people and make a slab of it! Place in a baking dish or pyrex to rest overnight.

High Protein Banoffee Overnight Weetbix

Overnight weetbix is all the rage on TikTok, and I’m here for it. Normally the only thing I’d make with weetbix is a chocolate weetbix slice, but this is also a great option… and a much healthier one! I first started having a version of this a few years ago following my gastric bypass surgery as it’s great for puree stage, but this version is a lot better with more textures and flavour. Making it a high protein version will also mean it will keep you full for much longer. I have a few variations I’m working on, but for now enjoy my High Protein Banoffee Overnight Weetbix!

Ingredients:

• 2 Weetbix​ crushed

• 1/2 Cup So Good High Protein Almond Milk

• 1/2 cup high protein vanilla yogurt

• 1/2 small banana

• Chopped nuts

• Smooth peanut butter or create your own peanut butter drizzle by mixing peanut butter with Maple Syrup to sweeten it up, and a little bit of hot water.

Method:

1. Crush your weetbix and mix with almond milk, spread into the bottom of a small container or jar

2. Put a layer of slice banana on top, and then some peanut butter drizzle & yogurt

3. Drizzle a little peanut butter and chopped peanuts, and some crushed weetbix if you’d like some extra crunch on top

4. Cover and refrigerate overnight
   
   If you’re making for the family, multiply the ingredients by the number of people and make a slab of it! Place in a baking dish or pyrex to rest overnight.
   
   
   

Banana & Peanut Butter Protein Bircher

A few months ago I discovered a delicious bircher recipe from Two Raw Sisters. It’s very similar to the overnight oats recipes I have here on my website already, but I decided to give it a go for something new and loved it! In my opinion, it’s the raisins /cranberries and spices that make it. Because I have very specific protein goals, I’ve made a few tweaks to their recipe and wanted to share because it’s been a hit in our household.

I like to make up a double batch so that breakfast is sorted for 2 days running, and it’s just one less thing to think about in the morning. The below serving is for 1, just double it for 2 people or quadruple to make breaky for 2, for 2 mornings. You get the idea. If you don’t have protein powder, don’t stress, it will work just fine without, I just like to add more protein to breakfast to make me full for longer.

You can totally eat on it’s own as it’s super yummy as is, but I like to add some yogurt for extra creaminess, fresh banana and maybe a little PB or berries for some tang.

Protein Tips: I use the Vanilla protein powder from NZ Protein, it’s a whey based protein and is non grainy and delicious. The other option I always have is tasteless protein from Feel Good Protein which is a collagen base. To up the protein I use calci trim milk (as it’s higher than standard milk), but you can sub for a DF alternative or whatever milk is your fave. The peanut butter is also going to add some protein in there for you.

Serves 1

Banana & Peanut Butter Protein Bircher

Ingredients
1/2 cup oats (I used Scotch Oats)
3/4 cup calci trim milk
1 TBSP chia seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 banana mashed
1 TBSP peanut butter
1 TBSP vanilla protein powder
handful raisins for cranberries

Method

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, cover and pop in the fridge to thicken overnight. Top with your fave toppings or eat as is.

If you’re wanting something warmer for winter, try my Scottish Porridge or Baked Oats.

Choc Banana Protein Shake

ohhhhh what to say. I love chocolate, and I love banana. I recently had an epic choc banana protein shake out and decided to recreate at home. It has become one of my fave go to's!

You can use vanilla protein or chocolate. I don't have chocolate in the house, so I use cacao to create the chocolately goodness.   If not thick enough, add more ice and get it tasting super creamy and just like a chocolate thickshake!

Enjoy!

Choc Banana Protein Shake

1 cup almond milk
1 cup ice
1 banana
2 TBS vanilla protein powder
1.5 TBS cacao powder
1 TBS chia seeds
1 tsp maple syrup

Blend until completely smooth & top with some coconut shavings and cacao nibs for some crunch. 

An Overnight Oats Recipe You Should Try!

One thing I love about winter, is hot oats / porridge in the morning when it's cold outside. With it getting a bit cooler in the mornings, I decided to start experimenting with overnight oats as I'd seen a few Instagram stories about how easy they are.  They actually couldn't be any easier!  Once you get the quantities right, they are also pretty hard to beat for creaminess and taste.

My absolute favourite thing is that these are made in advance, so in the morning you just grab them out of the fridge and heat if desired. You can actually make several days worth in advance if you like and have a weeks worth of breakfasts good to go.  The flavour combo's are also endless and kids love them.  This week we have had banana & vanilla, feijoa & pear (feijoa is a fruit found in New Zealand) and peanut butter with banana. All have been great.  The recipe I'm sharing with you today is a plain base that you then just add your fruit to it, or have it on it's own, it's great as is.

I suggest saving your jars and use a wider neck if possible.

Versatile recipes are the best, and you can adapt this one to suit your dietary requirements.  I make it dairy free (also vegan) by using plant based coconut or almond milk & coconut yogurt, but you can totally make it with full fat milk or yogurt.  To make itgluten free, use gluten free oats.

All the ingredients ready to mix - oats, almond milk, coconut yogurt, chia seeds, bananas, maple syrup & vanilla[/caption]

Simple Overnight Oats

1/2 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup coconut or almond milk
2 TBS pain or vanilla coconut yogurt
1 TBS chia seeds
1 TBS pure maple syrup
Protein Powder (optional)
Vanilla essence

For Banana & blueberry: add 1/2 chopped banana and a sprinkle of blueberries
For Feijoa & Pear: add 1/4 pear chopped and flesh of 2 feijoa's
For Peanut Butter & banana: add 1/2 chopped balance + 1 TBS peanut butter

Place all ingredients in a bowl or straight into the jar and mix. Place in fridge to set for at least 4hrs.

Nut & Seed Chocolate Bark

Behold a genius creation! Ok so maybe I’m overselling it and I’m sure this is nothing new, but it’s new to me and I love it! Truth be known, I got the idea to do this because a nut mix I had in the car got overheated the other day and the little dark choc pieces melted to create one big piece of nutty chocolate - it was yum.

I can down half a bar of chocolate in no time, and although there are some great dark chocolates that are relatively low in sugar, I wanted to make the chocolate go further and up the nutritional content. I always have a supply of nuts and seeds so I decided to get creating with a healthy blend of nuts, and melt down the chocolate to bind it all together (combined with a little coconut oil to help). The result is delicious.

It was pretty easy, and you can mix it up depending on what you have in your pantry.

Ingredients

I used a variety of the following to line a baking tray;

Almonds
Cashews
Pecans
Pumpkin Seeds
Pinenuts
Buckwheat groats
Cacao Nibs
Dried Cranberries
Dried Apricots
1/2 block dark chocolate low in sugar like Whittakers
1 TBS coconut oil

Add some extra goodness like a seed blend (LSA for example) or some chia seeds. I added in 2 TBS of The Wholesome Co’s stress and mind blend.

Roughly chop all of the nuts, lay on a tray lined with baking paper. Add in seeds, buckwheat and cacao nibs. Chop apricots and add.

Melt down chocolate with coconut oil and pour over top. Make sure all of your nut mix is covered and place in fridge to set! Once hard, break up with your hands and place into air tight containers.

Coconut Granola

3 cups rolled outs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut (flakes or desiccated)
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped raw cashews
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey

1. Preheat the over to 180 degrees and line baking tray with baking paper.

2. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together

3. In a separate bowl, mix the coconut oil, honey or maple syrup and vanilla

4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well to combine

5. Place on the baking tray evenly and bake for 20 mins until golden brown

6. When cooked, take out of the oven and leave untouched for 45 mins, then add cranberries. Store up to a month in an airtight container.

Banana & Cinnamon Muffins

This recipe comes courtesy of Caralee Fontonele’s Real Food Pledge Cookbook, it’s a new favourite in our house!  These muffins are moist and delicious! They are is DF / GF & Refined Sugar free. Best of all they are SO quick and easy as they are made in the blender, perfect for baking with kids too,.

Caralee’s 3rd cookbook is out soon and is available for preorder, pop onto her website for details!

Ingredients

1 cup dates
2 ripe bananas
4 eggs
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
2 TBS coconut oil
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line your muffin pan with liners.

In the food processor, process the dates and coconut flour until it is finely blended. Add the bananas, cinnamon, baking soda and salt ; process until combined. Then add the eggs, coconut oil and water and process until well combined. Pour the batter into the muffin pans and place in the oven.
Bake for 20 mins or until they spring back when you press on the top of them.

Variation: add some frozen blueberries or dark chop chips!