Wet And Windy Day

Well today where I live the weather is really bad.  There are weather warnings around, the rain is very heavy and the wind is strong.  It's a day where you don't really want to venture out.

So today I have been doing a bit of baking.  As of this morning I have lost 6.7kg in the last 25 days.  I am thrilled and I'm eating and not don't feel like I'm starving on so many of these low calorie diets.

For my baking today I decided to make a banana bread loaf.  This has become a favourite in our house.  There is often some in the freezer and my son loves it added to his lunch box to take to school.  This recipe is from the fabulous cookbook called "Family Food" by chef Pete Evans.  It is a paleo recipe, so it's gluten free, dairy free and I make it nut free (due to nut allergies).  I omit the almost flour, increase the coconut flour and add an extra egg.

Here it is, fresh out of the oven

If anyone is thinking of converting to a Paleo way of life or slowly add the food to your families diet. I highly recommend the Family Food cookbook (by Pete Evans).  It is certainly what introduced me to Paleo (without realising that is what the book was).  It has fabulous recipes for the whole family, that the kids will love and that you can incorporate easily into your families lives.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are sort of chocolate chip cookies.  Actually I call them "Shoe Box Biscuits" They are my grandmothers recipe and she used to make them for me when I was a child and would send them to me in a shoebox, always in a shoe box.  Kind of strange, I was wondering the other day if she actually used that as an excuse to go and buy a new pair of shoes, so she had a box to send some cookies to me, LOL.

This is such an easy recipe.  Takes hardly any time to whip up and they are so tasty and a little chewy.

So this is what I use  to make them...
1 x 225g bag of Shredded Coconut, (I try to buy from the health food store)
2 x 250g bags of Nestle Choc Bits - Dark Chocolate (not sure if they have Nestle Choc Bits in other countries, in Australia they are in the baking/cooking chocolate section at the supermarket, not the confectionery section and they are gluten free),
1 x 395g can of Nestle Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 teaspoon of Baking Powder.

You just put the coconut and baking powder in a bowl, combine well.  Add the dark chocolate bits and stir again to combine.  Then add the can of condensed milk and mix it through well making sure all of the coconut is covered with condensed milk (I often find a little hidden patch of dry coconut in the middle of the bowl at the bottom).  Spoon about dessert spoon sized balls onto a baking tray and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes.  Keep an eye on them as they burn easily.

So simple, so yummy, it is almost impossible to stop at just one (unless you don't like coconut of course, then you really won't like these at all, LOL).  

I OvercameTemptation Torture

For the last two weeks I have had a number of occasions that have been temptation torture!  I am happy to say that not once have I given in to temptation.  I don't know how on earth I did it, but I did.  I did not even lick my fingers!

Now I will give a WARNING!!!! at this time.
READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK.  
Disclaimer:  The post below does contain photos of mouthwatering deliciousness! 

Once last week and once this week I have had to make large quantities of Oreo pops.  I have then had to go to the fetes that I have made them for and had to sell them and not only them, whole tables of home made cakes, cupcakes, cookies, fudge, lollies (candy), donuts and much more.  I have had to smell the BBQ and all of the sausages being cooked.  Whilst at these fetes I have had to watch other people wandering around eating their sausages, their ice creams, my Oreo pops and all of the cakes etc.  Again, not once did I have anything!

For the fete yesterday as a prize I also had to provide a very large jar of lollies.  I had to buy an enormous jar, I had to go to the store and stock up on massive bags of lollies, snakes, milk bottles, teeth etc and fill the jar.  Then look at it sitting there for a week, waiting for the fete!  I did not have one lolly, not one!   I then had to provide prizes for my son's stall.  I had to buy boxes of chocolates and bags of mixed lollies.  I went and bought those had have had to look at those for a week, just desperate to hop into the box and have just one block of Milky Bar - Cookies and Cream chocolate.  But no, I didn't.

Then came the two occasions that I had to make Oreo Pops.  The first batch I made 55 and the second batch (that I made on Thursday)  I made 120.  Now on Thursday, making my 120 Oreo Pops, this took me 8 hours!  I had 8 hours of breaking open Oreos (THAT I LOVE), dipping a stick in melted white chocolate (that smelt SO good) and placing the stick in the middle of the cookie.

Oreo Pops now on with sticks, ready for dunking.

Then I had the joy of melting 8 bags of choc melts over the day, yes 8 bags, that once melted just looked and smelt divine.   I could have just drunk the whole jug, straight up!  But I didn't.  I then had to dunk the biscuits in this warm melted chocolate.

Dunking the Oreo Pop in melted chocolate, YUM

I then decorated them in cute little characters, flowers and hundreds and thousands.

My decoration station

Oreo Pops with sport and jungle animal decorations

Oreo Pops with cute flower decorations

Oreo Pops with hundred and thousands sprinkles

I then wrapped each individual Oreo Pop in a little plastic bag and tied it with ribbon.

Oreo Pops, wrapped and ribboned ready for the fair

Oreo Pops wrapped and ribboned for the fair

And here they are... On sale at one of the fetes, all ready for little boys, girls, ladies and gentlemen to munch on.  They were at HUGE success at both events.

Oreo Pops on display in a large polystyrene block

Oreo Pops on display in a large polystyrene block

So after the last two weeks of temptation, the masses of Oreo Pops that I have made, I still have never tried one.  I don't actually know if they are any good.  Everyone was saying they were, people kept coming back for more.  Some people were buying lots to take home with them after trying one, so they must have been ok.

But for me,  I am 100% focused on getting rid of my weight and becoming healthy, so for now, it's no Oreo Pops for me.  But boy did they smell good!