Category Archives: Madeleine makes


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Vegan banana pancakes

I’m always on the search to make dishes vegan but still delicious and healthy. Pancakes have been on my list for a long time but I haven’t been convinced by the recipes I’ve come across until I read this recipe on Swedish fitness blogger Ida Warg’s blog. It sounded very simple and with ingredients most people would already have at home. I don’t know about you but sometimes having to buy loads of new ingredients to create one dish can feel a bit off-putting. Especially something that you don’t make very often, like pancakes.

I had no expectation really when I made these but wow, they were delicious. They reminded me a bit of banana bread and boy do I love banana bread. I served them with fresh berries, coconut flakes, cacao nibs and Almight Foods Hazelnut Fuj (this spread is just meant to be on pancakes, it takes them to a whole new level). I did offer the option of peanut butter and cinnamon too but we didn’t even touch it because the combo of the other toppings was just perfect.

Now to the recipe, you can find the original here:

Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas
600ml oats
1 tbsp coconut oil
3 tsp baking powder
200 ml oat milk (I’m sure any other nut milk would work well too)
A sprinkle of ground cardamom
A sprinkle of raw vanilla powder (I think vanilla extract could work too)
A pinch of salt (Himalayan pink salt is my go-to)

Blend the oats until flour consistency. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and mix until smooth. Leave it to stand for ten minutes and then cook them in a pan with some coconut oil. Enjoy ❤

Thank you Ida Warg for creating such a delicious recipe. Emma and I were stuffed afterwards. This recipe I would say is for two very hungry people since we almost managed to eat all of them! We were stuffed afterwards.

Hope you love them as much as we did!


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Going to the beach

Hi! How are you guys? I just got back from a fun meeting this morning and am now waiting for Jamie to get ready. He’s been sleeping until just before eleven. The poor guy is exhausted after working so much but today he’s off and the sun is shining so we’re thinking of going to the coast. I think we’ll end up going to Irvine. None of us have been there before so we’re looking forward to go and explore.

I can’t wait to being by the sea. One day I’m going to live by the beach. I love breathing the fresh air and feeling sand between my toes (although, it probably won’t be quite warm enough to take our shoes off haha). I’m hoping for a picnic on the beach but we’ll see whether the weather allows it.

This is a photo of the lunch I had yesterday. I wasn’t feeling super hungry but felt like I needed to eat something amongst all the running about. Waitrose has started selling frozen edamame beans to my great delight. I absolutely love edamame beans and they’re a great source of protein. They’re great in any kind Asian dishes really. So yesterday I threw together this super simple meal, not at all very glamorous but it tasted really nice! Basically it’s courgetti, mange touts and edamame beans stir fired in coconut oil with herb salt. I then served it with some leftover sweet potato and hummus (because a a dish is not complete without hummus).

Now it’s time for me to get my stuff together so we can leave! Speak to you later xxx


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Purple sweet potato


So great being back at Fly

How amazing is this colour?!

Happy sunny Monday! It’s still Baltic outside but I guess we can’t have everything 😉 Earlier today I met up with Rachel, Kate and Nicola at Fly Functional Fitness for their lunch time HIIT class. 30 minutes of hard work. Looks alright at first glance, tough once you get working on the different stations.

The amazing Lorna who was coaching the class definitely planned a workout to raise our pulses. We did four rounds of jumping pull ups, rowing, burpees, box jumps and ropes. 45 seconds at each station. By the fourth round I could definitely feel my arms getting tired. I was paired up with Rachel and it was so much fun. I love that lady’s energy!

After the workout I was ready for some lunch! I try to have food prepped as much as I can so when I come home after a workout or from work I don’t have to stand cooking for ages. It’s the worst! So this morning I had roasted PURPLE sweet potato and steamed broccoli. Yes I said purple sweet potato. I’ve been seeing purple sweet potatoes everywhere recently online and when I saw them in Root & Fruits the other day I just had to try it out. I came home super excited with my find, being the sweet potato addict I am. I asked Jamie if it was a bit weird that I was so excited about trying a different kind of sweet potato. He said yes but nothing surprises him anymore haha. In my defence, I just truly appreciate the small things in life sometimes, like a different kind of potato.

It was quite weird eating something so vibrantly purple I’ve got to say. I’m not used to something edible naturally being that colour. It did taste differently from the standard orange and had a slightly different texture. It was super good though and it was fun to mix it up a bit. I had it with some leftover curry, thyme vinegary mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber and hummus. Yum!

This evening I’m doing something super exciting with Jamie and some friends. I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow! I think it’ll be a really good time. Speak soon lovelies xx

 


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Salad mountain

Hello my dears! Hope you’ve had a great start to your Easter Saturday. I was with Faye at the gym this morning. It’s so much fun training with her. We did a warm up WOD and then practiced our push jerks. They are tough! I then managed bang out two new PBs. A 65kg back squat and FINALLY my 90kg deadlift. I was so happy about that, what a great start to the day. Reaching my goal feels amazing. I’ve already set my aim on 100kg. That would be amazing! Only 10kg away now.

The sun is shining outside my window and spring is here. Even though it still feels quite chilly outside. With it getting sunnier and warmer my craving for salads has returned. It’s something with the sun that makes me want the crunchiness of fresh vegetables for lunch. This salad below is what I’ve been making recently. It’s super easy and once you’ve roasted the vegetables and steamed the broccoli you can keep extra in a container for quick lunches during the week.

Roasted vegetables 
I used beetroot, butternut squash and also sweet potato
Cumin
Paprika
Smoked Paprika
Pink Himalayan Salt and Pepper
Avocado oil

Sauteed Mushrooms
Mushrooms
Garlic clove
Thyme
Salt and Pepper
Vinegar (I used raw coconut vinegar but raw apple cider vinegar would work too).

Salad base
Spinach
Kale (chopped with stems removed)
Cucumber
Option to have tomatoes and red peppers in too
1/4 Avocado (hummus is a delicious option too!)
Steamed broccoli
Walnuts

It seems like a lot of components but it’s actually very simple and once you’ve done a big batch of the roasted vegetables and steamed broccoli the rest you can just chop up as you need it. The mushrooms I just make whilst I reheat the veggies in the oven.

So first chop up all the vegetables you wish to roast and sprinkle with the seasoning (I only put salt and pepper on the beetroot). Put it in the oven at about 200 degrees I would think (however my oven is very unreliable so please keep an eye on your veggies so they don’t get burnt before they cooked through). I barely use any oil for my veggies but a little splash of avocado oil. Cook them for about an hour.

In the meantime, prep the mushrooms and broccoli but don’t start cooking these until about ten minutes or so before the roasted vegetables are done. If you don’t have a steamer I have a DIY solution in a previous post (here). When it’s time steam the broccoli. Then sautée the mushrooms. Start of with a bit of avocado oil in the pan. Then add a minced clove of garlic, then the mushrooms once the garlic has been sautéed for a little while. Season with salt, pepper, thyme (I use dried) and a splash of vinegar.

Put the desired amount of spinach and kale as the base for your salad on a plate (I eat the kale raw in this dish but if you aren’t a fan you can just use spinach instead or any other green lettucy thing). Chop up cucumber and if you’re wanting some tomatoes and red peppers. Add this to the plate.

Once everything is done add the amount of roasted vegetables you want onto the plate. Then broccoli, mushrooms and finish off with the avocado and sprinkle walnuts on top. I don’t really use dressing but if you want some dash that on top. I love Herbamare Herb Salt and have since I was little. It lifts any dish to new heights and can be found in health food stores. Jamie has become as obsessed as me since I introduced it to him. I just can’t explain what it does but it saves any dish which is lacking flavour. Try it and you’ll know what I mean. Perhaps not on a sweet dish though, haha.

Hope you enjoy!