Back....again

I know I say this everytime..."I took a break...my life was too hectic...I'm back for good...blah blah blah"

I hope it can be true that this time I will be back for good but in this 'break' that I've had, I have had some rough times, some really good times, and quite a bit of realisation about how I am currently living my life.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

Hello.
It's been a while hasn't it?

So I've been super busy with prep for my last bodybuilding competition of the year, starting a new job and going through the process of buying my very first apartment!

I have still been cooking and baking the occasional thing but if you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed that I seem to have transformed into an Oats-stagram...it's just that all I seem to have time to take pictures of at the moment!

So since I've finished competing for a while - and tracking calories and macros and my weight and every tiny morsel that went into my mouth was stressing me out to hell - I decided to move into intuitive eating AKA 'normal eating' to all you normal people out there. To be completely honest it is really hard when you've been so used to eating what you've been told to eat at a specific time and trying to ignore your body's signals to eat, or even having to force yourself to eat if you're not hungry, to then having to try and reconnect with your body all the while your hunger hormones are going crazy from dieting and you feel like if you don't eat everything right this second then you'll never get a chance. But the road to success is a bumpy one and I'm getting there slowly but surely. The binges are getting smaller and less frequent, but I'm also still training most days and lifting heavy with a few cardio sessions for good measure. I'm definitely not looking like a bikini competitor right now but that's not important. What is, is the fact that I am happy and comfortable with how I look, I'm enjoying having fun with food again, sharing the same meals as my family, and creating memories that will last longer than any meal.

But enough rambling about my eating habits....ish

One of my bikini friends told me a few months ago about her sweet potato protein pancakes that she has for her post training meal, and they sounded delicious so I decided to give them a try.

Alas, I didn't have any sweet potatoes lying around but I did have a tin of pumpkin puree and being the basic white girl I am, I just knew I had to make myself some pumpkin spice inspired pancakes...and these are the very ones.

Okay so you maybe can't see them very well underneath those delicious toppings but I can assure they are there...just look at that nut butter drizzle *drools*
Plus MyProtein's Cinnamon Danish whey protein is just perfection.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
100g Libby's tinned pumpkin
120g Muscle Food egg whites
1 medium egg
90g mashed banana
10g Sukrin Coconut Flour
25g MyProtein Cinnamon Danish Impact Whey powder

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl or blender
Heat a frying pan on a medium heat and spray with low calorie cooking oil
Spoon large tablespoons of mix into the pan and leave to cook for about 4-5 minutes each side until golden brown
Repeat until all the mix is used up and top with your favourite pancake toppings

Tips
Take care when flipping the pancakes as they are still quite runny on top
I topped my pancakes with frozen blueberries that I defrosted in the microwave to get and extra juicy syrup from too, and Nuts N More Toffee Crunch peanut butter

What is your go to post-workout meal?

Plaited Loaf

Bread.

It's the simplest of foods that brings the most joy.

The feel of kneading the dough. The process of rising and proving. The smell of a freshly baked loaf. The sound of a crunchy crust being sliced.

There's nothing more satisfying or rewarding than making a beautiful loaf of bread.

Bread is easily one of my favourite things to both bake and eat. Especially just a plain slice of warm bread with butter. Absolute bliss.

So since it was bread week on The Great British Bake off this week, I decided to try out a different loaf for a change. I originally wanted to make a herb fougasse then I found this recipe for a plaited loaf in one of my recipe books - The Great British Bake Off : Turn Everyday Bakes into Showstoppers.

I've made a rosemary foccacia in the past and thought the fougasse was very similar so opted for the tricky plaited loaf.

Plaited Loaf
Makes 1 loaf

500g strong white bread flour
14g fast action yeast
10g salt
20ml olive oil
340ml lukewarm water
1 egg

Weigh the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the yeast and salt to separate sides of the bowl.
Pour in the oil and mix using your hands or a spoon until combined.
Add in three quarters of the water and mix with your hands until it comes together, then add in the remaining water.
Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for around 10 minutes until silky and stretchy.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with cling film.
Leave to prove at room temperature for about an hour or until doubled in size.

After the dough has proved, knock it back by punching the air out and tipping onto a work surface.
Divide into 8 equal sized pieces and roll each piece out into thin sausage shapes about 30cm long.
Join one end of all the strands together and tack down onto the work surface, with all the strands spread out like an octopus.
Number each strand 1-8 and follow the steps below to braid the loaf. After each step, the order of the numbers will revert to the original 1-8 sequence.
1 - Place strand 8 under strand 7, then under strand 1
2 - Strand 8 over strand 5
3 - Strand 2 under strand 3, then over strand 8
4 - Strand 1 over strand 4
5 - Strand 7 under strand 6, then over strand 1

Return to step 2 and repeat from there until the whole length of the strands are plaited together.
Tuck the ends under to neaten and place on a floured baking tray.
Leave to prove for one more hour

Towards the end of the proving time, preheat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Just before placing the loaf in the oven, brush the top of the loaf with the beaten egg using a pastry brush.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the underside.
Remove from the oven once baked and leave to cool.

I really want to try making some different breads, especially sourdoughs and filled breads.
What are your favourite breads to bake?

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Beginnings

For as long as I can remember I have always been interested and obsessed with food in some form.

Most of what I have learned about food has come from reading food magazines and cookery books as well as cookery programmes on television.

My mum is the person who has taught me most about cooking, particularly baking, and I fondly remember helping my mum to make cakes for relatives weddings, Christmas, and just general treats. Lately though I have become a lot more interested in cooking healthy nutritious meals and not just sweet treats, and I'm slowly building my repetoire and developing my cooking instincts with the help of my dad who is an avid cook and Master Chef fan.

This blog is going to be a chronicle of my foodie adventures, a mixture of what I create at home, food I discover in Edinburgh and beyond, as well as what inspires and excites me.