Healthy Peanut Butter Energy Bars (No Sugar!)

Hi guys!

I’d like to share with you a recipe that I tried yesterday. Since I left Italy 2 years ago I kinda struggled to find healthy snacks. I always crave something sweet during the day while I’m at work but the snacks you find at the supermarket are so full of sugar and preservatives, they’re really not good for you.

So yesterday I did some research on how I could bake the perfect snack myself, with no sugar added! I’m a big fan of peanut butter, and I found this brand that is only peanuts, no sugar whatsoever.

So here is the recipe for these super good and healthy peanut butter, banana, oats and honey energy bars. Only 4 ingredients and really fast to make. I arrived home at 8pm after work, I was tired but it really took me 10 minutes to put the ingredients together.

Ingredients:

250 gr (1 cup) peanut butter (I used one that contains no sugar or preservatives)

60 gr (less than 1/4 cup) honey

160 gr (2 cups) instant oats

2 ripe bananas (medium size)

You can add crushed nuts and cinnamon if you like

Instructions: 

Mash the bananas with a fork

then add the other ingredients and mix until well combined. 

Line a pan with parchment paper and pour the mixture in, press and flatten with a spatula until evenly distributed.

Bake at 180 C (350 F) for 30 min

then cut into bars and let it cool completely. 

You can store at room temperature but I live in a very warm climate so I store in the fridge. Remember to cover them, or they’ll absorb humidity. You can also freeze them.

Enjoy your healthy snack! It's only 80 calories per bar!

Love, Fede
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Gingerbread Cookies

Hello! How are you doing? I'm doing great! In Italy we just had 4 days of Holiday and since I was in a very festive mood I decided to make cookies. And what says Christmas louder than gingerbread cookies? It was the first time for me to make these cookies and I followed this recipe. I didn't do gingerbread men, I did gingerbread Christmas trees and hearts LOL. I love the smell of spices in my kitchen and the taste too. Ley me know if you try this recipe. They turned out delicious!!! This is the result, see the picture!

Love, Fede

Find the recipe HERE

Healthy Avocado And Banana Smoothie

Ciao everyone and Happy Monday!

Christmas is near and today I want to share a healthy breakfast recipe that will help you staying in shape this season, and it's also delicious! It's an avocado and banana smoothie. I am intolerant to milk so I used soy milk, but you can use all types of milk.

Here it is:

1 avocado

1 banana

soy milk

1 tbs brown sugar

Blend it! The nice thing is that it's really creamy! Let me know if you try it!

Have a great week!

Love, Fede

Lemon Vanilla Cupcakes

Hi! Last weekend I was on baking mode LOL. I wanted to make cupcakes and surfed the net for recipes, preferably with video tutorial. I followed this one and I loved the result! Let me know if you try this, you won't be disappointed! Sorry for the mess in my kitchen LOL!

Love, Fede

Frozen Yogurt Cake

Ciao! Last weekend I decided to make a really light and refreshing cake, the frozen yogurt cake! It's the perfect cake for summer, it doesn't require any baking and it's really easy to make. For all my Italian readers here you can find the recipe: Giallo Zafferano. I will write down the recipe in english so everybody can try and make it, trust me it's delicious!

Ingredients:

for the crust

280gr Mc Vitie's Digestive cookies

2 tbs brown sugar

170gr butter

for the yogurt filling

700gr of yogurt (choose one that already contains sugar)

6 tbs milk

300 ml heavy cream

12 gr sheets of gelatin

Directions:

Put the cookies in the mixer and finely crush them. Melt the butter, and mix it with the cookies' crumbs and the brown sugar. Line the pan with parchment paper and press the mixture on the bottom evenly. Put in fridge for 30 minutes.

Put the sheets of gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes till they get soft. In the meantime make the milk hot, but it doesn't have to boil. Then squeeze the gelatin to remove excess water and put it in the milk, mix very well until it melts completely. Now take the heavy cream and whip it until it becomes very fluffy. 

Now you can put all together, the yogurt, the whipped cream and the milk with melted gelatin. Mix carefully with a spatula.

Take the pan out of the fridge and pour the filling onto the base. Now put back in the fridge for at least 3 or 4 hours. The gelatin should make it solidify. 

You can garnish with fresh fruit or syrup, I used mixed berries syrup.

Enjoy! Have a great week!

Love, Fede

Healthy Carrot And Almond Cake

Ciao! How was your weekend? Mine was good, I kept thinking about how I could bake a cake that was both delicious and healthy. Whole wheat flour is the answer! I had never used it before and I had no idea how a whole wheat cake would turn out. But I had no reason to be worried, it turned out yummy and it's also very healthy since there are also carrots and almonds, and no butter, I used oil instead. This way you won't feel guilty every time you eat a piece. It's so easy to make, just put all the ingredients in the mixer and it's done.

Ingredients:

240 gr freshly grated carrots

100 gr peeled almonds, finely chopped

105 gr flour

105 gr whole wheat flour

100 gr white sugar

100 gr brown sugar

3 eggs

160 ml olive oil

A pinch of salt

1 tbs baking powder

1tsp vanilla extract

1tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Pre-heat oven at 180C. Mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Pour in a baking pan lined with parchment paper and put in the oven for 23/30 minutes. Let it cool completely before serving.

Let me know if you try this healthy recipe. You can make a frosting to put on the cake or you can put confectioners sugar as a decoration. Enjoy it!

Love, Fede

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New York Cheesecake

Hi! Hope you had a wonderful weekend and a very happy Mother's Day! As I wrote in my last post I made a real NY Cheesecake to celebrate my mom! It was surprisingly easy to do (it was my first time!) and it turned out really good! I like my cheesecake less thick When the slice is thick tall I can't even finish it and that's too bad. That's why I chose to make it thinner. But here I give you the recipe for both the short and the tall version. What do you think of it? Let me know if you try this recipe. My mom loved it and I was so happy! She also loved the present my sister and I got her, she didn't expect it at all!

Have a great week!

Love, Fede

Ingredients:

for the crust

240 gr of Mc Vitie's Digestive biscuits

2 tbs brown sugar

110 gr melted butter (I used low fat)

for the filling (if you make the shorter version):

600 gr cream cheese (I used Philadelphia Light)

100 gr white sugar

20 gr cornstarch

2 eggs and 1 egg yolk

100 ml heavy whipping cream

juice of half a lemon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

for the filling (if you make the taller version):

900 gr cream cheese (I used Philadelphia Light)

150 gr white sugar

30 gr cornstarch

3 eggs and 1 egg yolk

150 ml heavy whipping cream

juice of 3/4 of a lemon

1 and a half teaspoon pure vanilla extract

for the topping:

200 ml sour cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

to decorate:

1 cup fresh berries

Directions:

Preheat oven at 180°C. Line the pan with parchment paper, the edges too. In a medium sized bowl combine the Digestive crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan. Cover and refrigerate in freezer for 15 minutes or fridge for 30 minutes while you make the filling.

In bowl of your electric mixer place the cream cheese, sugar, and cornstarch. Beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs and the yolk, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Add the heavy whipping cream, lemon juice, vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Remove the crust from the freezer and pour in the filling. Place the cheesecake pan on a larger baking pan (to prevent leaking) and place in the oven.

Bake for 45/60 minutes at 180°C and then lower the oven temperature to 160°C  and continue to bake for about another 40/45 minutes. If the top is getting brown cover it with aluminum foil. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. If it looks like the center is still too wobbly you may continue to cook for a few more minutes or let it cool inside the oven. Remember, never open the oven door during the first 30/45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the sour cream and vanilla extract. Spread the topping over the cold cheesecake.

Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate several hours, preferably overnight. Serve with fresh berries.

This is the final result! Delicious!

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Fruit Tart

Hi! Last weekend it was my dad's birthday!!! I wanted to make his birthday cake from scratch so I chose a fruit tart. The pastry crust didn't scare me because I had made it before and always turned out good. But I had never made the pastry cream, and if that had turned out bad it would have ruined the whole cake. I found a great recipe here, so I followed it and I was so happy with the results! The tart was great looking and the taste was even better. Everybody wanted a second slice. My dad was so happy with my present for him. It was a great day!

Let me know if you try this recipe.

Love, Fede

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Apple Hand Pies From Scratch

Hi! Last weekend I tried a recipe that I saw on Pinterest. I decided to give it a try and I have to say that it turned out really good! I made the dough from scratch but you can also buy a prepared pie dough. Let me know if you try this, believe me it's delicious!

Ingredients

For the dough:

250 gr flour

125 gr butter

a pinch of salt

zest of half a lemon

100 gr white sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

For the filling:

2 apples (I used Granny Smith)

10 gr butter

1 tbs white sugar

1 tbs brown sugar

pinch of salt

cinnamon to taste

1 tbs water

Pre-heat oven to 200°C

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients for the dough together and when a solid ball is formed put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Peel and cut the apple in small pieces and cook them with the butter, white sugar, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon until they become very soft. Let them rest until cold.

Form a dough piece into a ball, place on a floured work surface, and roll into a circle. Spoon the apple filling in the center. Fold dough over filling, and gently press dough closed around the filling, using your fingertips and then pich with a fork. 

Transfer pies onto a prepared baking sheet. Whisk an egg in a small bowl and brush the top of each hand pie with it, then sprinkle with brown sugar. Cut 3 small vent holes in the top of each pie. 

Bake in the preheated oven (200°C) until pies are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Et voilà! Delicious apple hand pies!

Love, Fede

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Sponge Roll With Whipped Cream & Strawberries

Hi everyone! Today I wanna share a recipe I tried last weekend for a family dinner. It was the first time for me to try and make sponge cake, I was nervous! But actually it turned out to be quite easy, so you all can try this recipe. Let me know!

Ingredients for the sponge roll:

120 gr flour

120 gr sugar

4 eggs

pinch of salt

vanilla extract

confectioners sugar

Ingredients for the filling:

heavy cream

strawberries

Preheat the oven at 180°C

While the eggs are still cold separate the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another bowl.  

Place the egg yolks along with the sugar in your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed for five minutes, or until thick, pale yellow, and fluffy. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Sift the flour over the beaten egg mixture and fold in gently with a rubber spatula, just until the flour is incorporated.

In a clean bowl, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with the salt until foamy. Gently fold the whites into the batter. 

Line a pan with parchment paper. Pour the batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly with a spatula. Bake for about 10 minutes at 180°C or until golden brown. Immediately upon removing the cake from the oven sprinkle with confectioners sugar and then invert the cake onto a clean dish towel. Remove the parchment paper, sprinkle with confectioners sugar, and roll up the sponge, with the towel. Place on a wire rack to cool. 

Place your mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for 15 minutes. Then place the whipping cream, into the bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Add the strawberries and fold gently with a spatula. I also added cinnamon because I love it!

Unroll the sponge, spread with the cream and reroll. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours. 

Just before serving, dust with confectioners sugar e decorate with the remaining strawberries. Enjoy!

Love, Fede

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Apple & Cinnamon Muffins, Easy and Delicious

Happy Friday! I want to share a recipe I tried last weekend. It's really easy and the result was very good. This recipe is for apple muffins but you can use whatever you want instead of apples, like chocolate chips, blueberries and so on. In fact this is a basic muffin recipe.

Ingredients for 18/20 muffins:

375 gr flour

100 gr white sugar

100 gr brown sugar

2 eggs

120 ml oil

a pinch of salt

1 tbs cinnamon

1 envelope baking powder

vanilla extract

240 ml buttermilk (120 ml milk + 120 ml yogurt + 1 tsp lemon juice)

300 gr apples (about 2 apples) cut in small pieces

juice of 1 lemon

Pre-heat the oven at 180°C

First cut the apples and put them in a bowl with the juice of 1 lemon. Mix the liquid ingredients first (I used my new Kenwood Kmix), then add the dry ones. 

Add the apples to the mixture, folding gently

Fill the muffin liners about 2/3 and sprinkle the top with a bit of brown sugar

Put them in the oven at 180°C for 20 minutes

Et voilà! Delicious apple & cinnamon muffins!

Hope you like this recipe, let me know if you try it!

Have a great weekend, see you on Monday!

Love, Fede

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