FITFOOD | Cherry Bakewell Protein Balls

I love experimenting with protein powder. They are great as shakes, but that gets a bit boring after a while. In the past few months I have tried making a variety of protein balls and bars, which I could take out with me to keep me going throughout the day.

Just after Christmas, PhD Nutrition offered an amazing 40% off on all sales on their website. Since PhD is my go to protein powder, I immediately placed an order for 4 flavours of whey protein and a tub of creatine. I went easy, though, and only got the 1kg pouch of each, Chocolate mint and Chocolate peanut butter, and the 500gr tub versions of Belgian Chocolate and Cherry Bakewell.

It's been a while since I have actually made some protein balls. Tried the Cherry Bakewell in a post-workout shake with water on Friday and absolutely loved the taste. I wanted to make some protein balls to take out with me or nibble on inbetween meals with that flavour, so got a few ingredients together and tried it out. All I used were a can of chickpeas, some agave and a few scoops of the Cherry Bakewell Whey protein. They taste so good, although I must say I am not a big fan of the consistency. They are a little mealy, but with some more experimenting I am sure that it can be fixed in the future. 

So here's the recipe:

makes (about) 14 servings:

1  can (240gr drained) Chick Peas

3  scoops PhD Diet Whey in Cherry Bakewell (or brand of your choice)

4  tbsp Agave nectar

I rinsed the Chickpeas to get rid of the skin as much as possible and chucked them in a food processor. I added the agave and whey protein and processed until it looked doughey. I had to scrape down the sides a few times so it could all get combined into one dough.

Once it looks like dough, grab some and just roll it into a ball about the size of a cherry tomato (maybe a smidgen bigger) between your palms.

And that is it! It's very quick and simple! They would probably taste quite nice with bits of actual cherry in them, or possibly some dates. That's something I will have to try out and report back on. 

And as for the nutritional info:

For my 14 balls, this is what the MyFitnesspal app says there is per ball

Calories           - 43kcal

Total Fat          - 0.8gr

Sat Fat             - 0.1gr

Total Carbs     - 4.4gr

Dietary Fiber   - 0.8gr

Sugars             - 1.2gr

Protein             - 1.9gr

*******Bear in mind that these values should be taken as a guideline. They will not represent the exact nutritional value of each and every protein ball. Also, these protein balls are not all the same size. Unless you are a master roller, they will all vary in size and therefore nutritional value! *******

Hope you enjoy this recipe. Let me know if you are trying it out yourself! I you share on social media, make sure you tag me.

#suthsubproteinbites

x ♥ x

LIFE | Let's get this back on track

I'm back! Again! 

It's been ages since I had written a blog post. I wasn't sure if it was worth doing, but now the new year has started, I feel I should give this another go. As I said last year, I don't really do new year's resolutions, as - let's face it - they hardly ever get kept. I do feel like I should start something, like this blog, that I can keep up. It's that or learning an instrument. Keeping the blog up is probably more likely to happen. 

As I said, I had joined the gym in October 2013 and been going 3, sometimes 4 times, a week. I have also changed my diet, trying to eat cleaner with more vegan meals incorporated to my diet. Christmas just gone I stopped being strict on my diet and had hardly been in the gym. Which shows. I am not worried about it. But now I think I should use this blog to help me keep on track with the whole clean eating and exercising venture. So expect workout routines and clean eating recipes, as well as the "usual" stuff.

This is a transformation picture I posted on Instagram a few months back. It's great to remind me of how far I have come on days, where I feel like nothing I do is working. There is about 12-14kg difference between those two photos. Enough to make me feel comfortable in clothes that were 2 dress sizes smaller. 

Hopefully this blog will help me keep on track with writing and my weightloss journey. 

Hope you enjoy what you have read so far.

Thanks for stopping by, 

x ♥ x

LIFE | I'm back!

Hi there,

I haven't written anything in a loooooong time! I do have a bit of a backlog of cakes and other recipes to post. Especially the new healthier recipes I have been trying out.

I still bake a lot of cakes, but since I have joined the gym at the end of last year, I started getting more and more into healthy eating and fitness. Tried out a few protein balls/bars recipes and have been adding protein to pretty much everything I make! Well, mainly porridge and pancakes. (2-ingredient pancakes, egg and banana and then whatever you want to add to change the taste!)

And as for the 365 challenge.... I am failing! Big time!!! I just can not watch a film a day, not even catch up on my weekends! I will try to get as close to 365 as possible by 31st December 2014 though! 

So this is really just a quick post to say: more is coming!

In the meantime, I have been posting regularly on my instagram, so go check it out f you like!

Thank you for stopping by.

x ♥ x

FILM | Letterboxd and the 365 movie challenge

Hey there!

Whoa, two posts within a week? What is going on? 

This is just a quick note to say, if you would like to see how I am doing with my 365 challenge (watch a-film-a-day, or 365 films in 2014), and you are on Letterboxd, you can come over to my profile and see how I am doing with that challenge. I sometimes write reviews, very short ones usually, but mostly I just log the films I have watched and give them a star rating.

So, if you like films, you should get yourself on letterboxd, pronto! You can find my profile here.

.

Happy logging,

x ♥ x

BAKING | First cakes of the year: Black Forest and Pina Colada

January is almost over and I noticed: I had not baked yet. With some alcohol left from Christmas (mainly Sailor Jerry's rum), I thought, the first cakes of the year just have to be boozy ones. I did a quick search on the internet for cocktails including rum, but since I did not intend to buy any more alcohol just to bake some cakes, I decided I would have to make Sailor Jerry's work in my Pina Colada cakes. And when I decide to have a little baking session, I like to bake more than just one flavour and thought I'd try something new and German. Black forest! Boom! I thought I'd just substitute the Kirsch/cherry liqueur with the rum, but whilst getting the ingredients I came across this cherry brandy at Lidl. It wasn't too pricey, so I got that one. 

And here are the results:

For the Pina Colada Cupcakes I used the Coconut and Pineapple Cupcake recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery's Book (it's all I need for my baking. I just tweak their recipes.) and replaced the milk with coconut milk and rum, in both the cake and the icing.

Pina Colada Cupcakes

For the Black Forest cakes I used the Chocolate Cupcake recipe from the same book and grated some dark chocolate into the batter. For the cherry filling and icing I used the "Kirsch syrup" and "Chantilly Cream" recipe from this goodtoknow.co.uk recipe. I had to use those cherries that come in jars and mashed them up with a little cherry jam and Cherry Brandy. 

Black Forest Cupcakes

I have a vegan cupcake book borrowed off a friend at the moment, so looking forward to trying some of the recipes in it. 

Thanks for stopping by!

x ♥ x

LIFE | Weddings, Christmas and Family

Oh, good. It has only been nearly two months since my last post. Not that much can happen within two months...

Only maybe a two-week holiday back in the homeland, aka Germany, primarily to be my friend Jenny's bridesmaid and of course to see friends and family and enjoy a gander and an alcohol infused beverage down a traditional Christmas market. 

That's right, despite being a slave to retail, I was lucky enough to get 2 weeks off during Christmas season. Let's face it, if you work or have ever worked in retail: Christmas starts around September. You can notice it starting earlier than that, but the Xmas stock and workload starts building up end of September-ish. So to get nearly two weeks off to go see friends and family was amazing! To be fair, I had booked it off even before I started back there, but still. Germany was absolutely amazing! My friend Kathi, who I have known since grade 1 (a good 22 years now? Bloody hell!) had given me a key to her flat, so I could get bits done during the day when she was at work without having to lock myself out. I landed on the 13th November, got picked up by her fella Pascal and had lunch cooked by his mother. Went to the flat and got straight onto working on the script for the wedding gift. That's right, we made a film amongst other fun gifts! Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we'd work on things for the wedding. When Kathi was at work, I'd venture into town, where I had spent half my adolescent life, and then get back and work on the icing roses I wanted to top cupcakes with. One of my bridesmaids duties was to make cupcakes after all.

Chocolate, Vanilla and Black Bottom Minis

Kathi would get home and work on photos for a sticker album and 2 posters to go with our film and the album. I think we spent about 5 hours each on thursday and friday, and Kathi also did bits whilst at work. On Saturday we decided to shoot our scenes in Hamburg. First scene was outside a cinema the couple frequent, and it was busy as heck. 

 

Not only was it a Saturday, the cinema is right on the High Street! It's like trying to film something on Oxford Street midday on a Saturday! We went on to film a scene at the church the wedding would take place at and after lunch, we went down to the harbour and did a boat-tour. Apparently these tours are included in our train fare! Sweet! 

Shattered, we made our way home and continued filming the next day. Sunday's shoot was mainly based in locations around town and our old school. We had to partially get changed in alleyways. Quite an experience! And it started raining, too, which made filming a little difficult and wet. We managed to film most of our scenes though and had indoor scenes left to film in the evening. As tired as we were at the end of it, the result is absolutely brilliant, thanks to Pascal's excellent editing work! Jenny and Fabian loved it, and that is all that matters. 

On my last day I got to spend some time with Jenny before leaving. We stopped at 3 Xmas markets (literally stopped and took a picture of the first two) and got us a mug of Hot Choc with a kick! I had Baileys in mine - I believe - and Jenny had a mint liqueur in hers. I kept my mug, as it makes a lovely souvenir. It is now my mug at work, so no touchy!!

Straight after getting back home, I only went on yet another season of nightshifts. "'Tis the season to avoid Grumpy and Stressed, and doze during the day due to lack of a sleeping pattern, any sleeping pattern." Yep, this year's night shifts have not done me any good. My bank account may be happier, but my health isn't. On my days off I'd just fall asleep for an hour or two all throughout the day. On the days I work, I'll get to sleep around 10/11 and wake up around 1pm, fall asleep and by 4pm I am up again. And all this despite trying to tire myself out at the gym after work! (Oh yeah, I had joined the gym a week or two before going to Germany and managed to go in 4 times a week most weeks.) I think it is safe to say that this year's night shifts are not as good as I had expected. (75mins till New Year and I am getting sleepy!)

Jenny's wedding was not the only wedding in the last 2 months. One of my cousins got hitched, too! Now, I have never been that close to my family over here, so initially wasn't that excited about the wedding. But for the first time in ....quite possibly ever, I have had a blast with my cousins! We drank together and the family pretty much owned the dancefloor! It was crazy! It was good and long overdue! 

My cousin Mala and I at the wedding

I saw most of them again on Christmas Day. We ate and drank and went for a walk....drank more. It's really nice to hang out with them! We never really made an effort with each other and never got to know each other the way we really are (we are so Asian. We only know each others "family-self". You know, the one that makes you look like a golden child.). I hope we get more chances in the new year to hang out with each other.

Some of the cousins and I on Xmas Day.

So, with one hour left of 2013 here in the UK - and me tucked in bed already- I would like to wish whoever is reading this a very happy new year!! I personally hope it brings me a few positive changes. I know some of my friends could do with something good to start the year with, too. I won't really do resolutions, as most resolutions are things that I feel don't need a change in digit to be done. The one thing I do want to achieve within the next year is to have tackled the Rory Gilmore reading challenge and watch a film a day, or at least 365 films within the year. That's my goals. And to stay positive, motivated and just generally be a good human being.

On that note, HAPPY NEW YEAR and thank you for reading!

x ♥ x

BAKING | Brains and Flowers

I have been wanting to try and make Halloween cakes, gooey Halloween cakes. However, I had been so lame this Halloween, I was too late to make them in time for the actual holiday and by the time I got to bake, I had to rush everything and due to mum's religious reasonings, I was forced to eat vegan-ish (milk is ok, but no egg, therefore, I could not even try my cakes). 

Anyways, I made some vanilla and double-choc cakes with white chocolate frosting. I think I slightly burnt the while chocolate, but the workmates still seemed to like the cakes! Main reason for baking, apart from wanting to try and make the brain cakepop deco, was me wanting to experiment a little with cupcake deco for Jenny's upcoming wedding. I bought butterfly stencils from TK Maxx and tested them on ready to roll icing purchased from Hobbycraft (they have an offer on them , 3 for £5 at the moment). Here are the results:

Mhh, bloody brains!!!

Brains and Butterflies!

They turned out ok, and I am hoping I get better at making flowers. Will have to try the brains again, with less icing in the cake mix. 

Thank you for stopping by!

x ♥ x