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No bake breakfast bars

I got an apology today. From a German Doctor. Mays birth was wrapped with so many emotions. Joy, relief, love but unfortunately there was also fear, abandonment, hurt and worry. The short version is that we were let down by a host of medical staff, from the doctor that admitted me, to the nurses on duty that day. The thing is that everyone is human, we all have bad days, we all have days when we are rushed and tired and stressed, and I can only imagine that in the medical profession all of those things are a million times harder and more serious. But two things happened last week. Firstly I was reading about birth and the author wrote that in birth, despite what traumas may happen, most of us think ‘at least I have a healthy baby’ but, she wrote, you matter too. Secondly I realised that I wasn’t ok with it. This seems so obvious to say but often we are not ok with something and yet we settle for it, or we quash it beneath a flurry of other feelings. Last week I realised that I wasn’t ok with what happened and that I wanted my chance to talk about it and my chance to get an apology that I feel I deserve. That day was supposed to be a magical one. I had no expectations going into it, I was willing and ready to listen and learn from the experienced medical team. I deserved to enjoy it, to feel cared for and accepted, loved and respected. I deserved to feel special because I had just given birth to an amazing baby girl. I had become a mum and I needed a little love for it.

So today, I got on the bike and cycled through the snow. I had a range of tests and then I sat opposite the Dr that delivered May and told her exactly how those 48hrs were for me. She sat, she listened and then she held my arm and apologised. She offered me support, she wrote complaints but most of all she validated that what happened wasn’t ok. And now of course it all feels a lot better.

So I am sitting here, writing this and drinking coffee. The baby is sleeping after a morning at nursery, the husband is running errands. There is an apple cake baking in the oven and a cauldron of ratatouille on the stove to drop round at a friends house. My eyes are burning with tiredness, emotional rather than physical, and i am eating the last of these breakfast bars. These bars have lasted 2 weeks in the freezer and they are amazing. They are the best grab and go bar I have ever made and I love that you keep them frozen but that they are ready to eat within 5 minutes. You dont need to add any chocolate to them but you can if you like – just melt a few pieces of 80% and then spread in a paper thin layer over the finished bars before chilling. These bars are ideal with a coffee in the morning, you can eat them with one hand as you nurse/type/push the pram and i promise they dont lead to any sugar spikes…Im off to lie down for 10minutes and to pat myself on the back briefly.

ps – i took some beautiful photos of these bars but nothing with upload properly so bare with me and I promise more shots will appear soon x

Ingredients
200g dates destoned
60g almond (or peanut or sunflower) butter
80g honey (or maple syrup)
110g chopped nuts and/or dried fruit
140g oats

Method
Line an 8x8inch baking dish or tray
Place the almond butter and the honey into a pan
Place the dates into a food processor with a splash of warm water and process for 5-7 minutes until they broken down and dough like
Place the dates and oats and chopped nuts/fruit into a large bowl and stir well to combine
Warm the honey and nut butter till they are a smooth sauce
Pour over the oat mixture and stir well
Press into the baking dish and then place into the freezer to set
These will keep sealed in the freezer for at least three months
Remove 5-10 mins before you want to enjoy

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Beitzels – the beigel, pretzel hybrid

First came the Cronut, then the duffin….and now we have the beitzel! My hybrid of a beigel and a pretzel. These bad boys are a seriously good thing!

Our baby is definitely half Bavarian. I say Bavarian rather than German because she was born in Munich, during Oktoberfest time & her absolute favourite food are bretzel. Pretzel are a go to here. For breakfast split & slathered with butter, on the go during the day, for “Brot zeit” dinner (bread & cold cuts) and of course the supersize version to help mop up beer.

If the little one is being particularly cute you can guarantee that somebody in a bakery or cafe will hand her one having dusted off the salt. I have to let you in on a secret though, I don’t like pretzel. It’s the distinctive lye taste that I don’t like. Lye is used to give pretzel their traditional brown colour and you can replicate it at home but it’s pretty dangerous as it involves sodium hydroxide, gloves & eye protection…..which makes me question whether it is a good thing to be ingesting. I also wanted to make a pretzel that was simple, that shunned the buttery dough and all the added salt.

These beitzels are a pretzel -beigel hybrid. They are made from a simple risen dough which is then shaped & boiled, sprinkled with seeds and then baked till golden brown.

These beitzels have the shape of a pretzel & the delicious doughiness, but they also have the satisfying crunchy chew of a traditional boiled beigel. The little one had one this morning, we had some last night warm out the oven, dipped in sweet potato hummus. They are great spread with jam or made into a sandwich and if you are celebrating Oktoberfest then I’m sure that they paid well with any beer too!

Ps- if you need some help shaping your beitzels that check out my video on my instagram page yolandanaturally

Ingredients
450g strong bread flour

1 tsp salt

7g instant yeast

220ml slightly warm water

1 tbsp maple syrup

1.5 ltr water

3 tbsp mixed seeds to top (optional)

Method
Place the flour into a large bowl

Place the salt on one side of the bowl & the yeast on the other

Add in 3/4 of the water and stir the dough to bring it all together

Combine well, adding more water as you need

Tip out onto a lightly floured surface & knead the dough for 10mins

Once smooth, place back into the bowl, cover & pop in a warm spot for 1 hour

Once the dough has doubled in size tip out & split into 12 portions

Roll the portions into long sausages and then shape into pretzel

Bring the water to the boil, add in the maple syrup

Place the pretzels, a few at a time, into the simmering water

Cook the pretzels on both sides for a minute & then remove with a slotted spoon

Place them onto a lined baking rack

Sprinkle with seeds

Place into a preheated (190C) oven & bake until golden

Enjoy!

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Tamari roasted nuts

Oktoberfest is almost upon us and it feels like the city is in countdown mode. I am not quite there yet. Firstly, it is September, and I hate to point this out to the organizers, but it is called OCTOBER-fest. I just don’t feel ready for it, or the hordes of people about to descend on the city but a part of me is excited. I love love love the fact that everyone suddenly wears lederhosen and dirndls…to work, to school, to the office. It feels so colorful and happy somehow. I also really love that everyone is in love with the city. Its like a big gingerbread heart surrounds Munich and everyone just wants to show off all that this place has to offer. There is a buzz in the air, the streets feel busier, the beer makes people friendlier and chattier.

I also have to confess that we didn’t go last year. It was our second month living here but I was 40 weeks pregnant and we were in the midst of a heatwave. You also have to walk a pretty long way to get to the wiesn and I just couldn’t face it. Instead I lived vicariously through our friends stories. I admired their dirndls and laughed at their crazy drunken antics. We did sneak down very early one morning, way before it opened so that I could walk round and see the huge tents. Amongst all the tales, I have to admit that I was impressed by how much people consume. Personally I couldn’t drink 5litres of anything and especially not beer. I read that on average people consume 800kcal an hour at Octoberfest, which makes sense with all the beer, pretzels, and pancakes! To get me into the spirit of the upcoming festivities I thought I would make this week all about the snacks. Snacks that you can pair with beer (or not) and snacks that are slightly more nutritionally dense than what the tents have to offer

These tamari roasted nuts are seriously addictive. They are rich and earthy, salty and crunchy. They are delicious on their own or crushed on top of a buddha bowl. I used cashews but you can use any nuts you like. Let the beer fest count down begin.

Ingredients
300g cashews

3 tbsp tamari

0.5tsp chilli oil

Method
Place the cashews into a jar with the tamari and oil, cover and leave overnight to soak

The next day, preheat the over to 180C

Spread the cashews out on a lined baking tray and roast in the oven for 20mins

Leave to cool before enjoying

Will keep in a jar for up to 10days

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Mama on a Monday – baked courgette chips

I know that it feels like the day often revolves around making three balanced meals, but sometimes you just need a little snack. These courgette chips are exactly that. They are the most delicious, mid afternoon, makes a change from a yogurt or a box of raisins, snack. They are also a perfect side dish, a side to salmon burgers, or a late summer BBQ. They are really easy to make and follow the same system as the crispy avocado slices so whilst you are making one…you could make the other for a double snack whammy. All day long we have been nibbling these off the baking tray, warm out of the oven, dipped in homemade ketchup, Crazy delicious, crazy addictive.

Coating slippery vegetables in bread crumbs makes it much easier for small hands to pick them up. I also use a crinkle cutter for fruit like melon or mango to make it easier for the little one. This recipe would also work with pepper slices, marrow and green beans too. For older kids you can add grated parmesan into the breadcrumbs and for kids of any age you can add ground fresh or dried herbs or spices into the breadcrumbs to keep their tastebuds happy.

Ingredients
2 courgettes cut into batons

1 egg whisked

4 tbsp breadcrumbs

2 tbsp flour

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C

Lightly oil a baking tray or large dish

Place the egg into one bowl, the flour into a second and the breadcrumbs into a third

Dip each baton first into the flour, then the egg and finally the breadcrumbs

Place onto the baking tray, spray with a little oil and bake for 20mins or until golden brown and crispy

 

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