EASY SKINNY BLONDIES.

Interpret the title as you will.. but this blog post is actually about a lil somethin' I baked yesterday for TREAT DAY!

Due to my boyfriend being a massive health freak, we eat good all week then have one day, usually at the weekend, where we have a naughty meal and this HAS to include a dessert. I have such a sweet tooth so no treat day can ever go by without something delicious to finish with.

Mexican night with my little amigo (AKA cheese/carbocide)

This week we had nachos and enchiladas, both absolutely erupting with molten cheese and god knows how many calories so I decided to make something naughty but nice for dessert. Whenever I try and cook (I'm still learning!) I usually just type 'easy' followed by the ingredient I fancy eating followed by the word 'recipes' and just have a browse of whatever search results come up. I fancied brownies and after having a prowl through various sites I came across these 'Flourless Chickpea Blondies' on Ambitious Kitchen. The recipe only requires around 5 ingredients, and with a prep time of only 5 minutes it was right up my street!

Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)

1/2 cup peanut butter (Ryan buys this by the truckload so I had no problem getting hold of this!)

1/3 cup honey (or agave nectar for the #fitfam)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Then the recipe states chocolate chips, but I decided to swap this for milky bar buttons.

You could also add dried fruit, nuts, more chocolate, whatever your little heart desires!

Voila!

The method is simple- Blend all the ingredients (minus the chocolate) until it forms a thick, smooth batter. Then add half the chocolate, pour into a greased baking tray, then sprinkle the remaining chocolate over the top.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes and voila!

We served ours with creamy, thick natural yoghurt which had a delicious caramel layer.

All in all they were a hit and I will definitely be baking them again! I think I enjoyed them ten times more because a) I know exactly what ingredients went into them b) I know they're a minute fraction of the calories/fat that would be in a similar shop bought dessert!

Will you be giving my blondies a go?

How to Justify Spending Loads of Money on Clothes!

The unfortunate souls who don't understand the importance of revamping their wardrobes each week season or even worse, people who don't like shopping are always baffled when they see people like me spending 99% of their wages on fashion. For people who know me, or follow me on social media can see that I love to shop. I buy something new after almost every shift and why the hell not! I could die tomorrow, so at least I will look bang on trend before I'm about to be cremated.

My boyfriend especially, gives me the biggest eye roll and over exaggerated sigh when he hears me walking through the door rustling yet another bag brimming with new treats, shortly followed by "What have you been buying now?!?!?!" (Yawn) However, in the last few months I have started to become much more savvy about what I have been spending my hard earned pennies on. So I have decided to put together a few tips for my fellow spendaholics out there so you don't feel too bad about treating yourself every once in a while! (or every day!)

1. Make a list. Especially with the items that are a little on the pricey side. If they have been on your wish list for a while then just go for it! I had been lusting after a Louis Vuitton speedy 30 for YEARS, and when I got a cheque through the post from my tax refund I just went ahead and bought myself one! Lets just call it an early Christmas present.

Statement shoes - ZARA £49.99

2. Look for discounts! Especially online. I hate to admit I am one of those people who hate using discount vouchers in store or in restaurants I find it so embarrassing! Which is terrible really because you can save SO much money just by downloading an app or using a code! O2 priority moments is especially useful because it searches for all the deals in your local area. Particularly good ones on there in the past have been a free coffee at Cafe Nero and 3 for 2 on dry cleaning at Johnsons.. perfect for clumsy bitches like me! If your every shopping online, right before you click to 'check out', google *insert site name here* discount code and see what comes up! I saved £50 on my recent booking to Amsterdam, as well as 20% on my look fantastic order just by searching for a discount code.

Bought these with my staff uniform discount, so instead of being £120 I got them for £50! (Topshop 'CONTROL' leather thigh highs)

3. DONT IMPULSE BUY! Well, try not to do it AS much. I am so bad for impulse buying, at one point I would buy so much online, try it on, decide I hated it and not even bother sending it back! So I ended up with the bottom of my wardrobe full of brand new, unworn, ugly clothes. And a rapidly decreasing bank balance. Not a good combo.

Impulse buy'inell! And yes. More shoes.

4. Don't be afraid to send things back! If something arrives and it looks different than it did on the website, or you don't like it AS much anymore, or it doesn't fit right then send it back! AVOID the old 'oh, well I might wear it', because face it, you wont. The tarantula lurking at the bottom of your wardrobe is going to get more wear out of it than you are.

4. Be selective. When you're considering buying something eye-catching and gawdy, try and think about what you can wear it with. Is it versatile? Can you dress it up and down or is it going to be a one hit wonder and then you throw it back into the wardrobe never to be seen again. I buy a lot of monochrome because black and white never goes out of fashion and I think it always looks effortless and cool. Spend a little more on staple items which can be worn again and again in lots of ways to create different looks. I also like basic items made from expensive fabric, like the cashmere vests from Topshop Boutique, or anything from Whistles. I have worn my black cashmere vest to absolute death, I wear it on nights out tucked into leather skirt and even to the gym! It has a hole in the back now though …RIP black vest you will be sorely missed.

Premium grey longline blazer - Topshop £48

5. Work out CPW. (Cost per wear) This is especially great for when you've been umm-ing and ahh-ing over something a little over the budget. Basically you calculate the price of the item, and divide it by how many times you wear it.
For example, my Louis Vuitton bag was £450 from Covetique, (a site run by ASOS which sells pre-owned luxury items - my bag looks basically brand new and I saved myself £100- result!) I have used the bag every day since I bought it, so say 14 days, so £450 divided by (I can't find the divide symbol on my boyfriends MAC :| ) 14= £32. This means each time I have used the bag it has cost me £32, and when I continue to use it, the CPW will decrease more each time, making the initial cost not seen so bad after all! In fact I would say it was intelligent buy, it's real leather, so it's durable and it's big, so it's practical. Win-win!

Skinny gal KFC

Eating healthy can be SO hard sometimes. Especially when every meal becomes some form of chicken/brown rice/sweet potato/veg concoction, it can become so boring and repetitive. Which leads to falling off the bandwagon and eating your bodyweight in greasy takeouts. We've all been there. (Especially me)

Which is why I have decided to share my recipe for 'healthy' KFC! Its so easy to make and tastes absolutely incred…and with over half the amount of fat and calories and NO deep frying involved(!!!) I know which one I would rather be eating.

Ingredients (This is a serving for one person, but of course you can alter it depending on how many people are eating)

1x Chicken breast

3x tablespoons of SMASH instant mash

Paprika

Cajun seasoning

2 eggs (one whole egg, one egg white)

1x Chicken stock cube

Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Crack the eggs into one bowl. I used one whole egg and one egg white just to decrease the calories a little more.

2. In another bowl combine the SMASH, paprika and cajun seasonings, salt, pepper and stock cube (crumble it up first then add).

3. Slice the raw chicken breast into strips

4. Dip the strip into the egg mixture, then into the SMASH mixture, then back into the egg, then back into the SMASH to make sure each strip is well coated.

5. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 15-20mins at 200 degrees.

And voila! Crispy spicy chicken strips! I served mine with roasted sweet potato wedges (just microwave a sweet potato for 5-10 minutes depending on size, then cut into wedges, season and throw into the oven with the chicken) a mini corn on the cob and beans. 

And there we have my healthy take on a KFC Fully loaded meal! Try it and thank me later ;)