The Mug cake

For the last two nights I have been staying round 'the boys' house, and learning a lot about their little random treats...... one of them being 'The mug cake'. A great little food-invention that takes all of about 5 minutes to make, has limited washing up, and is healthy, hearty and satisfying! I wouldn't say it was the average 'boy snack', but their new found love for Paleo food has inspired them to knock up some absolute crackers.

Why is it so good for you?

Ground Almonds- For those of you who a little more familiar with the Paleo Diet, you will know the wonders of ground almonds. The texture, taste and health benefits are all positive. In just one quarter cup of ground almonds, you will be getting 6g of protein, 3g fibre, 20% of your daily magnesium needs, and around 35% of your daily vitamin E intake. Magnesium is essential for muscle function, bone health and energy needs; vitamin E improves the health of your red blood cells and infamously helps improve the quality of your skin, nails and hair. Although relatively high in fat, it is all 'healthy fat' and will keep you fuller for longer, giving you sustained energy for the rest of the day.

Bananas- High in potassium, bananas are great for lower blood pressure, ensures calcium absorption, which consequently helps to keep your bones in tip-top shape! Bananas are great for settling the stomach and maintaining the stomach's health. They trigger the production of mucus in the stomach, lining it and creating a protective barrier against stomach acids. Bananas contain an enzyme that helps to break down any 'bad bacteria' in the tummy. It is said that if you eat 4-6 bananas a week, your chances of developing cancer in the kidney decreases by an astonishing 50%!! Gobble up guys.....

Eggs- A high source of protein, eggs too will keep you fuller for longer, contain all of the 9 essential amino acids (essentially the building blocks in your body), and equip you with vitamin D (essential for the absorption of calcium and the health fo your bones, hair, skin and nails), as well as many of the B vitamins, again keeping your energy levels high and your metabolism pumping!

Ingredients:

Ripe banana

1 large egg

1 tbs linseeds

1 tbs Cacao nibs/ or chocolate chips

1/4 cup ground almonds

squeezy honey

The photos I have taken were just off of my phone so not the best quality but hopefully they are ok!!

Directions

In a mug, mash your banana up with your folk with as few lumps as possible. It goes without saying that the riper the banana the easier it will be to mash!

Crack your egg in and tip in your cacao nibs and linseeds. (sesame seeds will work just as well and by all means go for both if you have them lying around in your cupboard!) Whisk well.

Tip in your almond flour and whisk again. If you have a sweet tooth, you can put in some honey at this stage, but equally the sugar from the banana gives it a subtle sweetness!

This is roughly what your mixture should look like....

Put your mug cake in the microwave, and set it for about 2 minutes. Take it out and let it stand for around 1 minute, and then give it a final 1 minute blast. Let it stand again, the mixture will still be cooking as soon as you take it out! We microwaved it for a total of about 3 minutes but I recommend that you just keep checking it.  We used a 800W microwave so the cooking times may be a bit different also...... Ultimately you want it to look a little something like this.....

It rises a little!!

Tip it out onto a plate.....

........and squeeze over some honey. ENJOY!

Fresh and Fluffy Honey-Cinnamon Popcorn

Popcorn is my biggest weakness. Put a bowl of the fresh-fluffy kind in front of me and I'm not likely to stop! This popcorn is a combination of both sweet and salty, with the Cinnamon giving just a little something extra! What's more it's super cheap,  only takes 5-10 minutes to make fresh and is a relatively healthy way to snack!

REALLY?! Popcorn?! A healthy snack? 

Popcorn, before we add all of our toppings, is high in dietary fibre, low in fat and free from both sodium and sugar! It also contains antioxident substances called polyphenols, which are linked with the reduction of heart disease and certain cancers! In terms of calorie, fat and sodium intake.... It all depends on our toppings, but varieties doused in butter, oil, sugar or salt will counteract all the health perks mentioned above!! 

Cinema sold popcorn is some of the worst culprits for 'naughty' popcorn with a large box of salty popcorn (Odeon UK) containing approximately 812 calories, 29.7g fat, 137.4g carbohydrates and goodness knows how much sodium; that's the equivalent of two MacDonald's Quarter Pounders! That's not even looking at the Butter Variety yet! More info:  www.myfitnesspal.com/nutrition-facts-calories/odeon

Microwave popcorn is great for convenience but it has its negatives... 'Artificial butter flavouring' contains Diacetyl (and it's related compounds), which cause lung disease when inhaled in large quantities; The Microwave bags contain Perfluorinated Compounds (PFC's)  which are chemicals that have shown to cause cancer in animals and suppress immune function in kids... if that isn't enough to put you off?! 

So... you're best bet is to make it Fresh! And Fluffy! This is only one way of flavouring popcorn; over this year I think I'll be experimenting with quite a few ways to put popcorn together! I'll keep you posted... but for now its my favourite flavour: Honey and Cinnamon...

Ingredients:

Popcorn kernals

Vegetable oil

Squeezy honey

Salt

Cinnamon

Cinnamon carries many health benefits; it's said to be effective in combating menstrual pains through regulating hormones, it has a natural anti-infectious compounds, it helps to regulate blood sugar and contains dietary fibre, calcium, iron and manganese. Yippeeee!

I haven't put any measurements as its nearly all about preference!

Directions:

In a large saucepan (make sure you have the lid too!) pour in a little bit of oil to just cover the bottom of the pan. Pour in your Corn Kernals until the bottom of the pan is covered.

Put on a LOW heat (if too high, the Kernals won't pop and you'll end up with a burnt saucepan!), sprinkle over a bit of salt, put the lid on and give the pan a little shake to coat the Kernals. Simply wait until you start to hear popping noises. Keep the lid on- they really do fly everywhere!

Meanwhile, squeeze some honey into a mug and warm up in the microwave for 10 seconds- this only makes it pour easier when drizzling over your popcorn. 

Once the popcorn is done, (should take about 5 mins and your pan should be almost full), drizzle over the honey, sprinkle a little more salt if you feel it needs it and generously powder some cinnamon over. With the lid back on, give the pan a big shake and tip into a big bowl.... enjoy!!

NB: your hands will get very sticky when eating!