Banana & Coconut Loaf

First up, apologies for the shoddy quality of these pictures - they were taken in a hurry on my phone, but trust me, look past the graininess and run with me on this one; it's possibly the best cup of tea accompaniment in the world.

It's clean, comforting and sweet enough to satisfy your cravings, making it an ideal snack and pick me up for winter's arrival. 

To make 10 slices, you'll need;

• 2 free range eggs
• 2 ripe, mashed bananas
• 50g raisins 
• 20g dates (about 4 dates)
• 50g cashew nuts
• 20g Meridian 100% peanut butter
• 55g ground almonds
• 30g oats
• 1 tablespoon organic coconut oil
• Desiccated coconut to sprinkle on top

You could easily swap out the cashews for pecans / almonds / a nut of your choice, and the raisins for other dried fruit - I was just using what I had in the cupboard.

Pre-heat the oven to 180.

Crush your cashew nuts (or lightly chop them, depending on how chunky you want your pieces), and mix with chopped raisins and dates. 

In a mixing bowl, add this mixture to your bananas, eggs, ground almonds, oats, coconut oil and peanut butter. Mix the batter until everything is blended.

Line a baking tin with coconut oil, and pour your mixture in. Sprinkle your coconut (lavishly) on top. 

Cook in the oven for 20 minutes. The outside should be crisp and golden, the inside moist and cakey. 

It's the nicest alternative to cake I've tried so far!

PS - this recipe is really similar to the oat and peanut butter bars I made last week - it's the ground almonds in this that give it its cake texture.

Instagram Catch Up: Life through a lens

Cake. Wine. Friends. Spring.

The above sounds like the intro to a very feminine poem doesn't it? But it's basically how I'd sum up the past two weeks. I've got posts I want to write up separately but wanted to share what I've been up to recently...

I received a surprise gift in the post from my little sister - she'd crafted me a stuffed bird; isn't it cute? (there's also something still really exciting about receiving something in the post that isn't a bill - cheap thrills eh!)

Grew up absolutely hating on peanut butter (especially with 'jelly', EW), but now, grown up, it's one of my favourite toast toppings..

..and it tastes awesome on these clean and healthy pancakes (recipe from Fifi's Skinny Munch) 

Can't get enough of this 'Snow in Love' Yankee candle. It smells so fresh.

I know, I know, I'm always going on about how much I love anti-pasti. But look at it!! 

New absolute favourite red. Oaky, rich and incredibly smooth - anyone would think I knew what I was talking about! It tastes amazing. 

This doesn't look all too appetising but trust me it's clean eating at its most indulgent. Grated sweet potato and carrot cooked with spices, poached egg on top, tuna and leafy greens. I'll do an in-depth recipe soon as it's so easy to make and REALLY tasty.

How beautiful does this look? Taken at a park in Manchester when I was running.

How beautiful does this look? No, I'm not mistaking this photo for the flowers above. There are fewer things more holy looking than this picture of red wine after a stressful day! 

You know when you see your name on something and have to take a photo of it? Yeah, that. This was taken at The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon - you need to try their red velvet cupcakes, I'm addicted.

The naughtiest, gooeyest, salted caramel chocolate cake that I wolfed down at the Halo blogger event on Sunday. The event was pretty special, keep your eye out for my post on it!

Of course, you could just follow me on instagram for more.. ;)