What I Ate - Week 1

Hi Guys!

Today's blog post is all about what I ate over the past week. Hopefully it will encourage me to keep on the healthy(ish) bandwagon. 

Saturday 17th January

Breakfast

Weetabix with semi-skimmed milk and a banana.

Mid-morning snack

Pink lady apple with a pint of water.

Lunch

Banana sandwich and a pint of water

And little homemade maderia cake afterwards (recipe from the 17th of January blog post).

Tea

Blackcurrant.

Salad (including chicken, ham, cheese,lettuce, cucumber and carrots) and a submarine roll.

Night time Snack

Nice ramekin of red grapes

Total amount of water- 3 litres
Number of fruit and veg- 7


Sunday 18th January


Breakfast

Weetabix with semi-skimmed milk, a banana and water

Lunch

Chicken sandwich with lettuce and cucumber

And a bit of maderia cake to follow.

Tea

Roast dinner (includes pork, a sausage, mash, carrot, brocolli and a yorkshire pudding) and some water

Total amount of water- 3 litres
Number of fruit and veg- 5

Monday 19th January

Breakfast

Cornflakes with semi-skimmed milk and water

Lunch

2 wholemeal bread buns (including ham and lettuce), mini chedders and red grapes with water

Afternoon snack

pink lady apples and water

Tea

Homemade spaghetti bolognese with fusilli pasta

Total amount of water- 2 litres
Number of fruit and veg- 5

Tuesday 20th January

Breakfast 

2 pieces of wholemeal toast (including butter and marmalade) and water.

Lunch 

2 wholemeal bread buns (including ham and cucumber), mini chedders, cucumber and water

Afternoon Snack

1 banana and a pink lady apple with water.

Tea

rice with chicken and green beans and water.

Post tea snack

Coco pops with semi-skimmed milk.

Total amount of water- 2 litres
Number of fruit and veg- 5


Wednesday 21st January

Breakfast

Cornflakes with semi-skimmed milk and water.

Lunch

2 ham wholemeal bread buns, mini chedders and some carrots with water.

Afternoon snack

A banana and a pink lady apple.

Tea

Beef stew, mashed potato and broccoli with water.

Post tea snack

3 crackers with butter

Total amount of water-  1.5 litres
Number of fruit and veg- 4


Thursday 22nd January

Breakfast

2 marmalade wholemeal buns with water

Lunch

Ham sandwich, mini chedders and a pink lady apple.

Afternoon Snack

coco pops with semi-skimmed milk and water

Tea

chicken casserole, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans and water 

Total amount of water- 2 litres
Number of fruit and veg- 3

Friday 23rd January

Breakfast

coco pops with semi-skimmed milk and water.

Lunch 

2 ham wholemeal buns with lettuce, carrots and a braeburn apple and water.

Tea

Takeaway margarita pizza (naughty!) and water.

I also had a sneaky bit of marble cake, but I didn't stop to take a photo!

Total amount of water- 1.5 litres
Number of fruit and veg- 3

Maderia Cake

Hi Guys,

Today's blog post is maderia cake. It is something that I have been wanting to bake again for a while, but I never seemed to have the time to do it. However this recipe from Mary Berry's Baking Bible is so quick and easy and can be found here.

Ingredients

175g Butter
175g Caster Sugar
225g Self-raising Flour
50g Ground Almonds
3 Large Eggs

Step 1

You'll need to preheat your oven to 180 degrees/140 degrees fan oven/Gas 4. Also you need to grease a cake tin.

Step 2

The recipe says to measure out all the ingredients and beat them for a minute to mix together.

However I thought my little hand mixer would be able to cope with all that at once! So I mixed together the butter, sugar and ground almonds. Then I added each egg (beating the mixture after each one was added) and then gradually sieved my flour in. Until it looked like this.

Then place it in your cake tin.

Step 3

Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.Then place a slice of critron peel on top of the cake (or in my case don't) and continue cooking for a further 30-45 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean. (personally mine took about 40 minutes and it's still burnt, but then my oven is weird). Then leave it to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then enjoy with a nice cuppa!

Please leave any tips and suggestions in the comments below!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Baking Essentials

Hi Guys!

Today's blog post is all about the essentials needed when starting out with baking. They can be used to create cakes, biscuits and bread.

Baking Tins

There are four main tins you will need when starting out:

Baking Tray

This is potentially the oldest and most used piece of baking equipment in my collection. It is great for biscuit and has a raised edge making it easier to remove from the oven.

Loaf Tin

This is what I primarily use for making bread, but it can also be used for making loaf cakes such as banana loaf cake and maderia cake.

12 Hole Bun Tin

It generally makes anything from small bun and large muffins. They now come in a silicone material, which cools quickly and flexible allowing the contents to be removed easily. (Believe me they are on my wishlist!)

Cake Tin

It can be used to make lots of larger cakes for example a victoria sponge. It may be better to have two of them as it saves time when making a two tier cake. It has a loose base allowing cake to easily pop out when cooked.

Cooling Rack

A cooling rack is essential for transferring your baking goods onto to cool once baked. It prevents the bottom from going soggy. Mine is a Jane Asher one I found in Poundland and can be found here.

Cutters

I have collected these over the years from many places such as Ikea and different supermarkets. They can be used mainly for cutting out dough for biscuits, but can also be used for decorating with icing. 

It would possibly be a good idea to start off with these type of cutters as they can also be used for scones. Some similar can be found here. Also you can get some without the handle so they can be used on either sides for a soft edge, it can be found here.

Food Mixer

Not exactly essential you could just use a good old wooden spoon. However it does make baking a heck of a lot easier. Mine is one by Kenwood and one can be found here.

Measuring Spoons 

Measuring spoons (tsp and tbsp)

These make it easier to measure more accurately for small measurements. They can be found here.

Cup Measuring Spoons 

These are a life saver when using an American recipe as it saves all the time doing tricky conversions. They can be found here.

Utensils

Balloon Whisk

This can be used in order to whisk most things. Personally I use it to whisk eggs. Also it can be used for cooking as well as baking. A similar one can be found here.

Rolling Pin

Of course this is used  to roll out dough to the required depth. They can also be found without handles such as this one here. This is a similar one to mine as I have had mine for donkeys years.

Spoon

Most people use a wooden spoon and I used to, but I fancied a change. This silcone one I picked up in Homesense. It cleans very well, however it is more flexible than a wooden spoon therefore it may take some getting used to. A similar one can be found here.

Spatula

This is one of the first pieces of baking equipment that was ever truly mine and it has served me well. It ensures that little cake mix is left around the edge of the bowl. A similar one can be found here.

Sieve

This can be used sifting dry ingredients such as flour and sugar. One can be found here.

Palette Knife

It is a good way to apply icing before you get to grips with piping. It is perfect for beginners. Mine is the Mary Berry small palette knife and can be found here.

Mixing Bowl

It's probably good to have more than one mixing bowl for when a recipe has to be split into two. Mine was in my parents cupboard long before I was born proving it stands the test of time. It is from Mason Cash and can be found here.

Kitchen Scales

Helps to gain very accurate measurements to make for a more even bake. They can be found here. A more in depth description can be found in my last blog post, Christmas baking bits. 

Measuring Jug

This one is from Pyrex and allows liquid to be measured. I use it to pour egg into a mixture. It can be found here.

Apron

To help to stop your baking going all over your clothes. This one is from Tesco, but they can be found pretty much anywhere.

Storage

Last but not least is storage. I use the tins for biscuits and store cupcake in the cupcake case, which can be found here. These help to preserve your wonderful baking!

Please leave any tips and suggestions below!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Christmas Baking Bits!

Hi Guys!

Over the Christmas period I have received quite a few baking bits and I thought I would show you them.

Rosie's Pantry Kitchen Timer

It may not be the most accurate way to time things, but it is extremely cute! The Rosie's Pantry Kitchen Timer was exclusive to Boots. 

Baking Thermometer

This little contraption is completely amazing! It is supposed to be used for Bundt cakes,  but I've used it for anything from buns to bread loaves. Simply pierce into the center for 15 seconds. If the tip is bright red then it is ready. I have found that it has produced a more consistent bake. I got mine from Lakeland, however it can also be found here.

Mary Berry Small Palette Knife 

After using a child's knife as a palette knife for about two years, it is a blessed relief to finally have a decent palette knife to apply icing to cupcakes. It is part of Mary Berry's baking range at Lakeland and can be found here for £7.99.

Colourworks Five Measuring Spoon Set

I brought this set in Lakeland just before Christmas for £3.49. It matches the cups set I brought earlier in the year and is just as effective. They are precise and include 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, 1 tsp, 1/2 tbsp & 1 tbsp. This means that whatever the recipe desires it is easy to measure out what is required. It can be found at Lakeland here.

Lakeland Piping Bag Holder

This is amazing contraption and will save my baking life from the pain of trying to keep my piping bag upright in a pint glass. 

It can be adjusted to the size of your piping bag and also collapses down so it can be easily stored in a cake tin for example. It is £9.99 from Lakeland and can be found here.

Jane Asher Cake Tin

I received this from my nephew and it will be very handy for transporting biscuits as it is smaller than the cake tin I am currently using. Also the lid comes off very easily. It can be found here.

Jane Asher Beautiful Baking Book

This baking book was also a present from my nephew and it will definitely be well used. It has some wonderfully simple recipes and you will definitely see more of them on here soon. It can be found here.

Renshaw 5 Primary Colours Icing Pack

I brought this set just after Christmas on sale for £3.99. It will be a wonderful way to test out this icing and i can easily see myself using all of the colours. It includes red, green, black, blue and yellow. Also I got a £5 off voucher to use in the New Year, so that is a bonus! It can be found at Lakeland here.

Super Pops 

I have been wanting to try making cake pops for a quite a while now. I got this baking book from Lakeland in the sale for £2.99. This has recipes for all occasions and times of year. With colourful photography and recipes that are simply laid out it makes you believe that anything is possible. With an rrp of £12.99 it is an incredible bargain and can found in the Lakeland sale at the moment here.

Cupcake Box

This is a wonderfully practical way to transport cupcakes. It is amazing as it can transport up to 24 cupcakes.

Transporting 12 cupcakes

Transporting 24 cupcakes

The lid clicks into place so easily and preserves the cakes perfectly. It can be found here as well as on Amazon.

Duronic Kitchen Scales

Last but by no means least are these kitchen scales. These were long overdue as had been using some that looked like they were from about 1947! These are absolutely amazing as they display the weight very clearly.

You are able to measure in grams, ounces, fluid ounces and milliliters. Also it measures to the exact amount which is great. It can be found on Amazon here.

please leave any tips and suggestions in the comments below!

Thank you for stopping by! :)