Avocado Cupcakes

The other day i woke up and was like, I'm gona make some avocado cupcakes today... I had no idea how it would turn out but figures i would just substitute butter for avocado and hope for the best. Avocado is quite an oily food and doesn't have a really strong taste to it. The other week i mashed avocado and banana together for an experimental face mask. Ok and yes I had to try it, all you could taste was the banana. So for that reason i thought avocado would work perfectly as a healthier option to using butter.

You can check out this post for my easy 'cup' recipe, use the same recipe but it's just a cup of mashed avocado instead of a cup butter (that's about two medium avocados mashed), to incorporate it in to your own recipes just switch the butter for the same amount of avocado!

They pretty much taste just like normal cakes, in fact they're nicer, Simon said they were really nice and he's fussy when it comes to baking... especially mine -_-
They're really light and a much healthier option to using butter!..The cake does come out a little bit on the green side, but i didn't find it of putting at all.

Easy-peasy Sponge Cake

This is probably the easiest, tastiest sponge cake i have ever made. I much prefer measurements in cups, i know it's often seen as the lazy way to measure and isn't as accurate but hey, if you've found something that works stick with it!

So to make about 12 cupcakes you'll need:
1 Cup self raising flour
1 Cup caster sugar
1 Cup butter
2 eggs
1 tbs of vanilla flavouring (optional)

That's the ingredients sorted, how simple is that? And it's so easy to remember!

Here's how to make:
Preheat the oven to 180C
Soften the butter in a bowl and mix in the flour and sugar.
Add the eggs and flavouring and mix until smooth
Pour in to whatever cake/cupcake tin you choose and place in the oven for 10-15 mins until it starts to brown on top.

From here its up to you whether you ice or leave plain.

Hope you enjoyed today's quick and easy recipe, look out for a more experimental/healthier version of the mix in the next couple of posts.

Aria's Food Diary #2

To be honest i was debating even writing this post because we seem to have gone backwards in the weaning department. Aria had been struggling to poop for about two weeks, i felt so sorry for she would literally scream from the pain. On top of that she's started teething again and she's become such a little grump.

So it was advised that i put her back on her formula for a couple of days, which i did and she eventually got better. Now we've started back with solids but a bit slower than last time.

Toast is her favourite thing at the moment, although I'm a little wary about her choking she seems fine and wolfs it down. 

I tried her with avocado as suggested in the Cow&Gate weaning book, as you can tell she really wasn't happy with it.

The last two  pictures are just of the park where she enjoyed a munch on an ice cream cone.

The this one is probably the worst mess she has ever made so far, she's normally quite a tidy eater, if she likes what she's eating, she loves carrots but for some reason it seemed to go everywhere but her mouth, in her eye, up her nose, all over me!

So like i said, there really wasn't much to say in this instalment, but were getting back on track now so hopefully next time there will be more news!

Backwards Worm and Pink Hair

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, i just don't seem to have had a minute to myself at the moment. Simon and Aria are both in bed so now i have a little quite time.
Well what's new? Seen as though this is a mummy blog I'll give you a quick update on Aria, shes still not sitting up, but has started to crawl (worm as i like to call it) backwards. it means i can't just leave her to play on the floor without watching her as shes always getting in to mischief!
Also she's started trying to climb out of her rocker! She rolls on her side and cocks her leg over, but then she gets all nowty and strain faced when i strap her in!

Caught in the Act!

She's started sucking her toes which is super cute, the first time she did it i was changing her nappy and she just started giggling when she managed to pop her big toe in her mouth.

And! DunDunDun!!! i have finally got her drinking water. Hallelujah! She's getting there using her sippy cup but she prefers it just out of a normal 'big person cup' she kinda laps it up like a little cat bless her.

So what else, or errr i dyed my hair pink... please excuse the shameless selfie, i never normally take them... honest! What possessed me, well i kinda promised a review of a pink hair dye I'd recently bought, on my other blog so i couldn't chicken out could i? I also kinda hate it.. alot, well not the pink, the pink is awesome, but it makes the rest of my hair look really orange! I'm thinking of gradually going blonde all over, but a really light white blonde. Sometimes i really question my sanity...

I really need a project, I've got my scrapbook, but i get so bored easily, I'll eventually go back to it, but I think i need to build up my stock a bit first... hmm time to get on Pintrest for inspiration.


Until next timeee!

Banana & Oat Quick Snacks (Two Ingredients!)

I love this snack, its healthy, tasty and only needs two ingredients! Just two!

It's really simple and quick, lovely for breakfast and a much healthier alternative to biscuits or cakes if you're craving something sweet.

Here's what you'll need:

(makes 3-6 depending on the size)

1 cup porridge oats, 

1 medium banana

A blender is optional

1. Set oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4

2. Peel a banana get rid of the stringy bits and mash together with a fork or blend with a blender until smooth.

3. Add the oats a bit at a time until all of the banana is mixed up and you have a thick dough like texture.

4. Use hands or a spoon to separate the mix in to six equal parts, flatten down to circles or whatever shape you want on to a baking tray. They should be about 1cm thick.

5. Place the tray in the oven for about 8-10 mins.

6. Leave to cool for about 5 minutes then lift them from the tray using a knife, they shouldn't stick if the mix was thick enough.

7.Enjoy your healthy snack!

 

Extras

If you wanted to make it a bit more exciting you could add coco powder, chocolate chips, chopped strawberry or raisins ect.