The Not-So-Naughty Pancake

Have you ever had a craving for something really naughty?

I sometimes crave pancakes like there's no tomorrow.  That soft fluffy middle paired with the crisp outer layer covered in maple syrup and lashings of butter.

If you're like me you might over indulge sometimes and then feel the guilt afterwards.  So here's a healthy little recipe I came up with recently.  An alternative to the naughty pancake.  I give you my.....

clean super-crepes!  

They are just 128 calories, only have 18g of sugar AND are packed with 10g of protein per serve!


Recipe (serves 2)

coconut oil
3 egg whites
1 large whole egg
2 TSP Natvia
1 TBSP Ground Cinnamon
2 TSP Vanilla
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
4TBSP Organic Blueberry Yoghurt
Mixed fruit (I picked apple, blueberry, strawberry and melon)

1. Whisk together the egg whites and egg
2. Add the Natvia, cinnamon, vanilla and almond milk to the eggs
3. Heat a pan with a little coconut oil
4. Pour in the egg mixture.... you can make the crepes as thick or as thin as you like
5. Flip!
6. Place the crepes on plates and fill with a little yoghurt and mixed fruit.
7. Roll up the crepe and top with the remaining fruit and yoghurt.

If you're feeling especially naughty add a little honey, nuts and cinnamon on top.

Delicious!!

I have been ridiculously busy recently as I just started a new job - yay!

It is for a great company that is ever-expanding and has offices all over Australia.  I'm currently in week two and loving it.  Everyone is ridiculously friendly and I think it's somewhere I could really imagine working for a long time.

The boy and I also found a house which we move into this Friday.  We are obviously delirious with excitement as we've never had our own place to decorate and fill with our own memories.

Two days and counting.

The Anniversary

This Friday the boy and I celebrated our two year anniversary.

There is something so enjoyable about spending time with the one you love whilst having something exciting to celebrate.  An excuse to actually wear make-up, a pretty dress, heels, drink cocktails and eat your body weight in all things naughty.  I don't understand people who don't celebrate anniversaries or push Valentine's Day aside because "it's just a commercial gimmick" or "I shouldn't have to have a designated day to show my girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife that I love them" - true.  To some extent.  But what is better than having an excuse to really push the boat out and spend an entire day making each other feel special?  There is nothing I love more.

It was actually our anniversary the week before but due to our financial situation we had to postpone the celebrations (oh please, somebody find me a job!)

Because of my aforementioned unemployment (and lack of working visa) I have had a lot of time on my hands and I decided to use this time to profess my love to my love and make him a scrapbook documenting the past year we have spent together:

I also went the materialistic route (as, let's be honest - as sweet as a scrapbook is it doesn't quite hit the spot for most men) and bought my man a watch he has been lusting after:

Suunto Core All Black  

The boy did good and bought me the most beautiful pair of shoes from ZU (yes I instagrammed them, obviously!):

And a matching clutch:

We went to The Long Room for cocktails and tapas.

(Photos courtesy of The Long Room)

Although the food and cocktails were absolutely delicious (and also extremely reasonably priced [all cocktails $10 before 9pm]) we were a little disappointed as we had thought it would be more of a restaurant/wine bar atmosphere as opposed to a noisy after work bar that happened to serve food.  SHAME!!  But we enjoyed ourselves all the same.

We moved on from The Long Room to The Carlton Club (I'm not sure if this is a name I made up for the place or not as it's just what I have always called it but I think it's actually just "The Carlton") which is one of my favourite places for a relaxed night out in Melbourne.  The moment you walk up the stairs from the hustle and bustle of Bourke Street you are transported into another world.  I always feel as though I could peek out from my red velvet covered booth and spot Edie Sedgwick cavorting around the dance floor with Andy Warhol whilst The House of the Rising Sun plays in the background.  Having said that it's a sort of Factory Girl meets Quentin Tarantino vibe at times.  You notice the garish mirrors covering the patterned walls and the ever burning candles adding to the mysterious mood before you realise that you've been staring at an ostrich wearing pearls and have become jealous of the incredibly long eyelashes on the huge giraffe jutting out of the wall..  "Am I too drunk?"  You wonder.  No.  It's just The Carlton Club in all its glory.

(Courtesy of waxwaves)

(Courtesy of TimeOut)

We left The Carlton Club and decided to go to Kittens in South Melbourne (I'll let you click on that link to find out what Kittens actually is haha).  Safe to say I was the ONLY woman there wearing clothes.  We didn't stay too long as I think the boy felt a little uncomfortable with me by his side ha!  So we decided to head home via McDonald's and hop into bed with a bottle of champagne.  Happy Anniversary to us!!

It's now Monday and time for me to go back to reality and face the dreaded job hunt once again.  Who knew that it was easier to find work amidst the middle of a recession in the UK than it is Australia?!

What did you get up to this weekend?

Koh Samui, Thailand

Whilst I had disappeared off the face of the (blogging) earth I managed to sneak in a quick trip to Thailand.

Some close friends of ours decided to tie the knot in the idyllic setting of Silavadee Pool & Spa Resort in Koh Samui.

Having not been to Thailand since I was a little tucker it was a really fun experience.

Silavadee is set a little out of the way from the hustle and bustle of Chewang Beach but is about 20 minutes away by car.  The hotel also provides free shuttles throughout the day to various places around the island.

It was a beautiful, relaxing holiday.

We enjoyed fantastic daily breakfasts whilst looking at this breathtaking view every morning:

Halfway through the holiday I decided I was sick of eggs and ordered chicken khao pad.  It was absolutely delicious.  Chicken fried rice with lime and lots of spicy, vinegary chillis.  I would eat this every day if I could.

We attended a beautiful wedding 

(Yes, I did change my dress halfway through the wedding!)

Complete with an open bar of cocktails galore

We did everything surrounded by breathtaking scenery

And spent our days by countless infinity pools

(Why yes, those are beds submerged in the water complete with jets - amazing!)

We ate well

And drank very well (and if I'm honest probably a little too well!)

 

 

I made a little friend (he was trying to bite me hence my expression)

And the boy made some little pals too

We abused the fact that McDonald's do home deliveries in Asia

We were naughty and rebellious and got tattoos

Sprawled on airport floors during transit

 And all in all, had a thoroughly beautiful and relaxing holiday