mmmm banana bread...

Whilst living in London I was lucky enough to be able to work for one of the most amazing companies, Emma Bridgewater. We had such a fun friendly office I used to spring out of bed each morning looking forward to the day ahead. We held office tea parties for birthdays, celebrations and for any other reason we could see fit and this is when I discovered that a lot of the ladies had a signature bake, Julia make lemon drizzle and Sarah made chocolate brownies and I didn't have something I could call my own, so I went in search of my signature bake and I found banana bread. A super simple recipe and it goes down a real treat. Toasted with some real butter or just on its own, the loaf never lasted long in our office.

Ingredients:
250g plain flour
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
115g butter
115g brown soft sugar
2 eggs, beaten
500g over ripe bananas

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius/ gas mark 4. Lightly grease a loaf tin
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the salt.
3. In a seperate bowl cream together the butter and brown sugar and add the eggs and mashed bananas. I tend to cheat at this step and add use a hand blender to get this mixture nice and smooth. It also cuts down on the time spent creaming the butter.
4. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture. Dont over mix, Just stir until it is all combined.
5. Pour the mixture into a loaf tin. Pop into the preheated oven and bake for 60-65 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on a cooling rack. Then slice and enjoy.

I have also made a chocolate chip banana bread by simply adding some chocolate chips to the mixture and you could even bake the mixture in a muffin tray to get beautiful banana muffins.

can't get enough chia...

Around the same time I discovered acai berry bars I was also introduced to chia seeds. I'll be honest and say I knew nothing at all about them but they looked healthy so this was enough to attract my interest. I do try to be healthy but unfortunately I still like the odd treat, so something that can make even my naughty treats a little nicer is a winner with me.

Chia seeds can be added to so many recipes there really is no excuse not to be eating these mini super seeds. You can simply sprinkle them onto salads or cereals, add them to juices and smoothies or one of my favourite things to do is to combine them with water or milk to form a gel and add them to baking recipes when water or milk is called for. Makes those delicious chocolate brownies almost healthy without changing the taste in any way. Perfect in breads and muffins too.

Chia seeds are gluten free, high in dietary fibre, contain protein, have more omega 3 than salmon, have more calcium than milk, have more vitamin c than oranges... are you convinced yet? They have more potassium than bananas, more iron than spinach and they are great for hair skin and nails. What's not to love about these teeny tiny seeds.

They are now available in most supermarkets as well as health food stores. Go grab some now!!