Foodie Penpal Reveal Day!

Today is Foodie Penpal Reveal Day!!

I received a parcel from the lovely Gale and I sent a parcel to Rachel. It was my first time doing the Foodie Penpal thing and I loved both choosing what to put in the package to send and receiving more yummy stuff!!

I think Gale had a sneak peak at my blog as the items she included in my package were spot on! It was Gale’s first time doing the Foodie Penpal too, and I think she did amazing!

She included a letter outlining the reasons why she chose all the yummy things she did, as well as a recipe for her homemade gorgeous toffee bar (a taster of which was taking pride of place in my package!).

Gale sent me some super cute stickers as well as the lovely food! These will go with my sticker collection 😀 How did she know I have a collection?

I think the pancake mixes were the big hint she’d read my blog 🙂 I love pancakes!! I have used both packs already 🙂 With the maple syrup and nice crispy bacon for a weekend breakfast.

Gale is American (located in Surrey however), so she chose Betty Crocker! You can’t go wrong with that!

Maple is a huge treat for my house! Thank you so much Gale! Now I have to fight my parents and brother for it! 🙂

She also packed a HUGE bar of galaxy! Wow, that is going to last me aaaagggees!!

Then came the toffee bars…

The were phenomenal! Notice the past tense used. They are gone! I shared them as much as I could as I would have finished the whole box by myself! They have an amazing ‘secret’ ingredient and I have yet to try out the recipe for myself, but when I do, the world will love me.

I was so excited to receive my first Foodie Penpal Parcel, thank you so much again Gale! I can’t wait for next month!

If you like the sound of Foodie Penpals you should check out the scheme. It is run by the very lovely Carol Ann over at thisisrocksalt, read more about it here (UK and Europe only).

Simply Bento Pancake Bento

I have yet to use my easy pancake recipe in a bento, and I can’t wait to now that I’ve seen Simply Bentos Bento XIV with the pancakes! Yummy!

Check it out here!

Bento No.34

Boring old sandwich today….can you even place this bento anywhere near the word or meaning of boring?

Of course not. Today the bf (and brother, lucky thing!) had exactly the same bento of ham salad sandwich (made with homemade bread). Now 2 growing men (haha, men) can’t have just sandwiches for lunch! So alongside the reatively plain main dish, they had a small cupcake case of couscous covered with slices of cucumber, a pot of humus (homemade again), with carrots and mange-tout to dip, cherry tomatoes and a couple of pieces of stuffing (randomly made alongside dinner last night).

Top shot 🙂

No sandwiches for me, as I can’t eat a great deal of carbs (no gallbladder), instead I had a HUGE smoothie as a mish-mash fast day, which wasn’t true to the fasting ‘outlines’ but helped my insides feel much better after a couple of days with extra cake and choccy!

I might start a food diary. I was told the other day that I eat really healthily compared to a lot of my friends, and I want to see if that comment is entirely true. I know the bentos look and are pretty balanced and healthy, but I do tend to have choccy and cake (and peanut butter) almost every day, albeit in bite-size portions.

Have you ever done a food diary? If so, what did you find out about your eating (and drinking) habits that you were not completely aware of?

Bento No.33

 

 

Sweet and sour vegetables and chicken time! This bento was quick, simple and yummy 🙂 And it also made the most of the leftovers in the fridge!

The main ‘dish’ was mixed sweet and sour vegetables with chicken on top, with sides of grapes and cheerios (because I can).

 

For pudding was a cheeky party ring (that broke) and half a M&S white chocolate chip cookie!! Too good really 😛

Would any of you guys and girls like to see more recipes and tutorials on this blog? I was wondering what you (the reader) would like to see and hear more of?

Homemade Cereal Bars

Just a quick post today, as I’m on a fast day and food pictures make me huuuuungry 😛 haha, I joke, I’m good, no starving going on here.

So, the other day I made cereal bars. They contained the least ingredients possible and were very natural tasting compared to the manufactured stuff you get. I did get the recipe from one of the blogs I follow, but I saw it a while ago so I’ve forgotten. If you come across the blog and recipe, please let me know!

Box of shortbread and homemade cereal bars 🙂

Heart shaped cereal bars 😀 so cute!

Ingredients:

– x2 pack instant oats (I used blueberry flavour)

– x1 banana

– half a handful of mixed nuts and raisins

Method:

– Mash the banana to almost liquid consistency

– Mix in the 2 packs of instant oats and mixed nuts and raisins

– Put mix in a baking tray and bake until firm ( I advise using a very small baking tray or individual silicon cups)

I think next  time I will make them thicker, or bake them less as they were a bit hard (not crunchy), but  they were yummy 🙂 Real flavour (aside from the blueberry oatmeal) and no added sugar. I also think I would use plain instant oats next time too.

Give it a try 🙂

What simple recipes do you love?

Protein Balls

The other day, I posted a Bento that contained one of my newest creations!! Protein balls 🙂

I have seen quite a few recipes around the interweb, most of which sound yummy, but I fancied just making it up as I go along, it’s much more fun that way.

So for people who enjoy reading other peoples experiments and would want to make similar yummy protein ball thingies, here are the ingredients I used:

– Dates

– Raisins

– Unsalted Peanuts

– Peanut Butter

– Milled Flax Seed

– Oats (any type)

All I did was put the dates in a blender (with the chopper attachment) and ‘blended’ them until they were diced finely. Then I added all the dry ingredients to the same blender (excluding the peanut butter), blended again. Then a slowly added peanut butter and continued blending until I got the correct consistency for making into balls.

Not very precise measurements (sorry again!) but they were so good!

After making them into fairly small balls, I kept them in a sealed container in the fridge and they’ve lasted over a week. I try to ration them out because they are so yummy and would be eaten so quickly if I didn’t!

I might add protein powder to them next time as it’s usually the Bf who eats them before or after the gym 🙂

What creations have you made lately?

Bento with bonus dinner! (No.33)

I had a little request from the Bf the other day. I wasn’t going to be home for dinner, but he said he really wanted to have some of my lovely home-cooked food that night for his dinner. As he was so nice about it, and because I had leftovers from the night before, he got a bonus dinner with his lunch bento!!

Firstly, in his lunchtime bento, he had one round of cheese, tomato chutney and salad sandwiches (on mixed grain bread), half a round of marmite sandwiches, a silicon cup of cherry tomatoes and smoked cheese, carrot sticks and mange tout.

Close up! ^^^

To accompany that, he also had: Christmas tree pretzels (I know it’s February!), a protein ball (recipe to follow), a peanut butter shortbread cookie under the protein ball (again, recipe to follow), grapes, satsuma and a pot of mixed nuts and raisins.

 

To extend the spoiling, the bf had the above for dinner: ramen noodles with stir fry. The stir fry had carrots, sweet potato, courgette, onion and bacon in, and the sauce for it was made with soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame seeds 🙂 There was also fresh fruit for his pudding 🙂 so healthy I know!

I’m starting to plan my first charaben (kyaraben), but I have no clue what to do for it! Any ideas anyone?

Happy Pancake Day – 2 Ingredient Pancakes!

 

 

I love pancakes! But my love of true pancakes only gets fulfilled at this time of year. I can’t really justify eating those buttery floury circles of sugariness every weekend (I would I would!), so usually, I wallow in self pity for most of the year (jokes!)

 

I did find something fantastic the other week though. It was a recipe that could forever make my pancake taste buds ecstatically happy (and all year round too). Behold, the two ingredient pancake:

 

Looks yummy doesn’t it? This is the only photo I have so far of these beauties as they get eaten too quickly! My whole family loves them and they are  so healthy and quick compared to usual pancake recipes!

I know the idea of the 2 ingredient pancake isn’t new, but it is revolutionary and must be tried by everyone, so spread the word!

Recipe:

– x1 Banana

– x2 eggs

Method:

Peel and mash the banana to almost liquid consistency. And the two eggs and beat/whisk/mix.

Scoop a couple of spoonfuls into hot frying pan and fry each side until golden brown.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

You can also add a range of other things to add more flavour and texture, but these are perfect as they are! I sometimes add oats and flax seed for extra fibre so that I don’t eat loads and loads (the fibre fills you right up!). I don’t add extra sugar as the banana adds all the sweetness you need.

Feel free to experiment, add whatever you like!

NOTE: These pancakes are not the same texture as ‘normal’ pancakes but are so yummy anyway! They can be paired with all the usual toppings for pancakes though 🙂

Hows Pancake Day for everyone?

Bento No.32

 

 

This bento was made with the super amounts of sushi that I rustled up 🙂

On the side though, we have a small pot of nuts and seeds, satsuma, grapes, choccy chip cookies and a mix of dried fruit (apple rings, dates and banana chips).

And for the main, 14 rolls of cucumber maki (this was for the bf!), cherry tomatoes, black olives and cubes of cheese. There is also a fish of soy sauce in there too.

Happy tummies all round 🙂

Who else is following the JustBento course at the moment? If anyone is looking to go into bento making, head over there for all the tips you’ll need!

Sushi

I guess I might have to do a post on Sushi as my blog is SushiSushiBento 😛 I do make sushi a lot, and I love almost every type of sushi and sashimi that I have tried. The bf’s favourite though, is cucumber maki 🙂

We had an amazing dinner, so much sushi! We had leftovers for two days of lunch! I don’t really think a recipe is needed here, as all I did was boil sushi rice, mix with sushi seasoning, place on nori sheets with cucumber and wrap 🙂

These have to be my best maki yet. I used my new Sushi knife to cut them, as that’s the only knife I have that is sharp enough to cut nori.

What is your favourite sushi?