Oats So Simple Cookie

I am guilty in having the biggest sweet tooth, ever.

Having said this, I try to make my sweet treats as healthy as possible. Since discovering this recipe I have been having one for breakfast, snacks and sometimes dessert! It is that good.

Oh and it is also vegan, Bonus!

What you will need:
One Small Bowl
One Fork
One Plate
And a Microwave

Ingredients:
Half a Banana (the riper the better!)
Half a Cup of Rolled Oats
One Tbsp of Flaxseed
One Tbsp of Dark Chocolate Chips (optional but highly recommended)
+ (option) 2tbsp of Protein powder // alternative cocoa powder

Now for the best bit...

Mash it all together with your fork, per-sue with it even if it looks like an oat, powder mess, it will come together!

Mold it into your desired shape, pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes!

At this point the smell will be drowning your kitchen with the smell of deliciousness...oats so good.

If you can hold out long enough to take a picture, be sure to tweet it to me!

Ooey Gooey Vegan Snack Bars

In the more recent years I have come to discover that snack bars contain a whole load of sugar and nasty additives. Prior to knowing this or even caring about it,  I ate them every day. My favorite snack bar however contained butter and since being vegan, I can't have it anymore; and I don't mind at all as the rest of the ingredients aren't all that good either. For these reasons I took it upon myself to recreate one, with no refined sugar or butter. And after hours of mooching around on the internet, I have found/adjusted a recipe perfect for me!

I am a huge grazer, I will eat at any time of the day for any reason/ no reason at all. Something my father passed on to me. In discovering this snack bar, the amount I snack on in the day has decreased - which makes me feel a whole lot better!

These bars are full of energy and keep you feeling fuller for longer than your average snack - which ultimately means, less grazing...Result! On top of all of this, they're guilt free!

What is in them you ask?

3/4 Cup of Gluten free Oat Flour (Or Rye flour to make them even more filling)
3/4 Cup of pitted Medjool Dates
1 Cup of Water
1/2 Cup of Chia seeds
1/4 Flaxseed
1/4 Almond + Cashew (two of your favorite nuts)
1/4 Cup of Goji berries (or any dried fruit of your preference)
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon (adjust to your preference)
1/4 Teaspoon of Salt

And the most important bit, How to make them:

Step One:

Set the oven to 325 Fahrenheit or 205 Celsius.

Combine the flour water and dates in the blender until you reach a smooth, creamy consistency. Tip, if your dates are soft skip this, but if your dates are hard soak them in the water for half an hour prior to blending as it will soften them up and your blender will have an easier job!

So many dates, some might call me a player. You may notice these are not Medjool dates, that is because where I live we grow them and I ceased this opportunity to use them. This is the time of the year where they ripen and are ready to be collected. So that's exactly what I did! And since we had enough for everyone and their mother, I opted for using them in my snack bars. 

  

P.s Please do not forget to get rid of the stone! Nobody wants to loose a tooth.

Step Two:

Measure out all of the dry ingredients and combine them in a bowl with the date and water syrup.

Now give them a good o'l mix!

Step Three: 

Measure out grease proof paper to line your baking pan and pour in the mixture. And place in the oven for 25 minutes.

Option: sprinkle your favorite nut on top for garnish.

Step Four:

Leave to cool for 15minutes, slice them in to your desired size and enjoy! (I like mine with a cup of coffee)

Note: for a thicker, crunchier bar double up the nut measurement + add an equal measurement of seeds (pumpkin work best). However I am all for soft center as they make them feel all the more like a naughty treat.

Another Weekend, Another Birthday

It is another special day for a another special lady. This weekend it is Huda's 18th birthday we are celebrating and you guessed it, with the same lovely ladies! It is big milestone in her life, one of which I am very lucky to be spending with her. So let the birthday celebrations begin!

Starting the celebrations way up high in the Intercontinental Hotel, my ears even popped!

On the rare occasion that the buffet was empty, I snuck in a quick snap!

This very lonely picture of food is an example of the one of many dishes we had, unfortunately the rest were all victims of my knife and fork...and for that reason are not here today on the blog. 

However, this little gem managed to escape my fork in time for a photo! Until the contents joined the rest of the food in our bellies and the dish joined the huge pile in the corner of our table. Ooops.

With perfectly plump food babies, we were very full and satisfied ladies.

Can you guess what the birthday girl did next?

Opened her gifts of-course! (the best bit...after dessert)

And it was smiles all round. Hooray!

A picture that expresses the happiness of the moment, is my favorite kind of photo.

If this photo was zoomed in, our huge food babies would be very visible. But thankfully the photographer wasn't aware of the zoom! 

And last but certainly not least a big Happy Birthday to this beautiful lady! I hope that all of your birthday wishes come true.

Birthday Tea and Cake

In life there are many important milestones of age; 18, 21, 50, 60...and so on. Today myself, Huda and Farah celebrated our lovely friend Alex's 18th birthday. Since you only turn 18 once, it gave us every reason to make her day as special as possible.

The birthday celebrations began at the nail salon. And as you know from my previous post, I haven't had a manicure in what feels like forever! So this made me very happy.

Four manicures later the celebrations continued to the other side of Doha at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. 

Can you guess what we did next?

Well of-course it had to be afternoon tea, with a spectacular view at that. Up of the 23rd floor we went and when the elevator doors opened we were exposed to a breath taking view that had all of our jaws on the floor. 

Sat down over-looking the city of Doha with three lovely ladies, it really doesn't get better than this (and the food hadn't even arrived yet!). We even had the whole room to ourselves. Result.

There was something for everyone on the Menu -  better still we all opted for the Ladies Tea; Scones with Clotted cream, Sandwiches and an assortment of Berries with a tea of your choice. And we made no mistake in doing so as none of it went to waste! My mouth is even watering thinking about it!

Eye spy a manicure.

If your mouth wasn't watering before, I bet it is now!

Here is the beautiful birthday girl ready to eat the scones that she had been dying for all day long!

 It was time for the birthday girl to open her presents!

The best present to her was having her boyfriend come to surprise her!

Lots of lovely gifts later, Alex was spoilt rotten - as every birthday girl should!

We left the hotel 10kg heavier than when we came, but it was so worth every bite of it.

A final Happy Birthday to my beautiful girl friend, Alex. I really hope you enjoyed your special day and that you enjoy the rest of your birthday celebrations!