Pancake Day

Hahaha, the last blog post I wrote was all about diets and healthy eating (which is still going very well), and this post is about the most indulgent thing I think I have ever made.

Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day (as it is commonly known in the UK), is always a firm favourite in our house. Last year, we had sweet and savoury pancakes all day, and I was sick of them by lunch time. So I thought that this year I would try something different.

My husband and son are confessed Nutella addicts, and so after seeing the idea of a pancake cake on pinterest, I decided to attempt a cream and Nutella pancake cake.

Here is the recipe:

• Pancakes - you can find my recipe from last year HERE. I used about 8-10 pancakes, and they were about the size of a side plate.
• Nutella (A medium sized bottle)
• Double Cream (FRESH!) - whipped until it is stiff
• Hot Chocolate Powder, Chocolate and Berries to garnish

Once the pancakes are cooked. You need to put cream under the first one, and 'stick' it to the plate. You then put Nutella on the base pancake; and then alternate chocolate and cream layers, piling the pancakes on top of each other. Mine ended with cream, so I put an extra layer of Nutella, then covered the whole 'cake' with cream, sieved hot chocolate powder on top, and grated chocolate over that. You might as well go all out. :)

You can use jam and berries, or cinnamon and sugar, if you prefer. I had friends over yesterday and they couldn't believe how light this pancake cake was, and they really raved about it.

Enjoy! x

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Dukan Cheesecake

Dieting is really tough for a baker – I can’t serve food that I can’t taste, and I really love baking. So I was really lucky that I found this cheesecake recipe, which sticks to the Dukan diet. It was my first cheesecake attempt ever, and while I was very impressed with how it turned out, I was devastated by the taste. Not that it tasted revolting, but it just wasn’t cheesecake! ;) Oh well, better than no cheesecake at all… Here is my recipe!

It can be eaten in ALL phases of the Dukan – provided you don’t eat the whole thing. Remember oat bran limitation.

Base:

4 Tbsp Oat Bran

2 Tbsp Wheat Bran

100 ml Low-Fat Milk

2 Eggs

2 tsp Sugar-free Cocoa Powder (optional) – not allowed in active phase (phase 1)

1 Tbsp Sweetener

A splash of Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Mix all base ingredients, and place in oven-proof dish. Bake the base for about 20-30 minutes or until it is well-cooked. Remove from oven, and put the oven down to 150 degrees.

Filling:

400g Plain/ Natural Yogurt (Fat Free)

200g Vanilla Yogurt (Fat Free)

3 Eggs

200ml Low-Fat Milk

3 Tbsp Sweetener

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Salt

On high speed, mix yogurts and milk (if yogurt is watery, only add half the milk). Add salt and eggs, one at a time. Pour onto the base and bake for about 30-40 minutes. Refrigerate overnight, before eating.

And enjoy!

Feel free to comment, or ask any questions…

Love Kalli x

Dukan Diet - The Beginning

When I was pregnant, all I thought about was the birth of the baby. I just wanted to play house - with a perfect little family. I never factored one thing into the nine months. LOSING BABY WEIGHT!!! Arrggghhh, the bane of my existence. We only got married when my son was 11 months old, and I was motivated to be skinny for that, so I cut out all carbs, and lost all of my pregnancy weight.

After that, I slowly started putting it all back on again. It has taken me 3 years to kick my own butt into gear, and lose weight - mainly because my husband thinks I need to lose weight before we fall pregnant again - motivation, I guess!

So on Monday I started The Dukan Diet... I honestly never thought I would be able to follow such a hardcore diet - I have hardly ever dieted in my life. The principles of the diet are as follows:

Phase 1 - Attack Phase: Pure Protein Only

          - I had to cut out sugar, carbs, fruit and veg, and fats

Phase 2 - Cruise Phase: Alternating Pure Protein with Protein and Veg

          - Further drastic weight loss phase, preparing yourself for after the diet

Phase 3 - Consolidation Phase

          - Incorporates many more food groups, and is the phase you go into, after goal weight is reached.

Phase 4 - Stabilisation Phase: Maintaining your goal weight

I actually expected the diet to be WAY harder - I have cut out sugar before (and really battled) and never survived without fruit and veg, but this time I seem to be REALLY motivated or committed - which is awesome. The first few days were difficult, and I was hungry and tired a lot and I was still preparing normal food for my family - but I have already lost 1.5kg's, so I am ready for the long haul.

Will continue to post normal food recipes, but also some Dukan recipes, that I have tried.

Feel free to ask questions, etc, as always...

Have a lovely evening!

Love K x