Over-ripe, about to die bananas make the best banana bread, so don’t ever throw them away.  This is a doddle to make, and will make you look like quite the accomplished baker (even when you’re not – like me – hah!).

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 ripe, medium bananas (the more the merrier I say), mashed
• 2 eggs, large
• 1/2 cup organic peanut butter (I used salted, smooth peanut butter but any would do). Almond butter would work well too
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted (can substitute for coconut oil too)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 1/4 cup agave/honey (optional)
• 1 cup of gluten free oats, ground (I use my nutribullet but any kind of blender/food processor will do)
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of sea salt
• Handful of dark chocolate chips (optional)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 175°C (I use a fan oven)
2. Line a standard loaf pan (9 x 5 ) with baking parchment (this makes for super easy removal of the banana bread, alternatively you could oil the pan)
3. In a large bowl mix together the oats, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt
4. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, banana, peanut butter, vanilla essence, butter and agave/honey (if using)
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently stir to combine (be careful not to over mix)
6. Gently fold in the chocolate chips if using
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until set in the centre and a knife/tooth pick comes out clean.  It’s easy to burn this so keep an eye on it!
8. Let it cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes before moving to a wire rack to let cool completely (although this almost never happens – there is little else that makes me happier that warm banana bread with melting chocolate chips in the middle!)
9. Dig in!
10. This stores well in an airtight container for up to a week, although ours tends to get devoured way before then.

Additional notes:

This mix also works well as muffins. Instead of filling a loaf pan, divide the batter into muffin cases in a muffin tray and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife runs clear. This batter makes about 14 muffins.

The post Gluten Free Peanut Butter Banana Bread appeared first on Neema Savvides | Fertility Nutrition.

The New Year is the perfect time to start afresh, especially with your eating habits that may have gone slightly awry over the last few weeks.

It’s always such an excessive time isn’t? There’s no other season that makes it ok to stuff your face. But that’s life, and it’s always about balance, so I hope you’ve had a good time doing it!

That said, it’s always nice to get back on track as there’s only so much one can consume in those quantities, so if you’re feeling the after effects of the festive season (I know I am!) then a few simple changes can really help you to feel back to your perky best.

This isn’t about making drastic changes, although if that’s what you fancy, then go for it.  This is more of a quick way to help your body cut down on any excesses, aid detoxification, reduce any sluggishness and to give you more energy.

1. Sip smart

Swap your morning latte for a cup of antioxidant rich green tea, a cup of hot water with lemon or a green juice/smoothie.

Whilst caffeine can give you a superficial boost, it actually places a stress on your system leaving you feeling drained and craving more caffeine for another boost of energy.

It’s a vicious circle. Hot water and lemon is a common cleanser, and a green juice is packed full of nutritious vegetables, helping to restore diminished nutrient stores.

Dehydration is likely so remember to keep sipping on water throughout the day.

2.  Reduce your sugar intake

Alcohol, cakes, chocolate, mince pies…  December is packed full of them and eventually they will zap your energy (as well as becoming addictive).

You need to come off this sugar rollercoaster by cutting these out.  Your digestive system, skin and energy levels will thank you.

3. Think clean, lean and green

Tis the season of heavy, rich and unprocessed foods.  Give your body a break by avoiding these (including red meat and wheat) and stick to whole, natural and unprocessed foods.

Smoothies like this and soups are a great alternative to heavy meals and provide your body with a much needed nutritional boost.

Alternatively, lean meats, poultry, fish, leafy green vegetables, brown rice and quinoa are always a good bet.

4. Stick to 3 meals a day plus 1 snack

Eating constantly throughout the day with little break places a HUGE burden on the digestive system.

If you are constantly metabolising food it leaves little time for any other essential functions like detoxifying, cleansing, recovery and repair.

Sticking to a schedule of three meals plus a snack or two allows your body to be able to fully digest your food and concentrate on the other important functions as well as healing.

5. Move your body

This doesn’t have to be a super intense workout (although it won’t hurt if you’re up to it!), as your body might require something a bit more gentle, but anything to get the heart pumping, muscles moving and blood really circulating.

Sometimes moving in a restorative way like yoga, hiking or cycling means you’re able to release tension from your body in more restorative way, aiding recovery and repair.

6. Sleep well and often

It’s likely you’ve been burning the candle at both ends and the cost of this is always sleep.  Even if you have been sleeping longer hours, consuming alcohol means that the quality of your sleep is compromised.

Get to bed earlier, switch off from technology and get some much needed R&R.

The post 6 Quick Detox Tips appeared first on Neema Savvides | Fertility Nutrition.

This is a great post workout smoothie as the banana (carbohydrate) helps the body to absorb the protein powder more efficiently.

Having protein with every meal and snack is really important to help balance blood sugar levels, manage energy levels and balance hormones.

Serves one.

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond milk
• 1 scoop Vega Sport Performance protein powder in vanilla
• 1/2 frozen banana
• Handful raspberries
• Dash of cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon flax seeds

Method

Mix all together in a nutribullet or blender and voila.  Add more almond milk accordingly if you like your smoothies thinner (I prefer mine on the thicker side).

The post Raspberry Protein Smoothie appeared first on Neema Savvides | Fertility Nutrition.

Mr NS Nutrition was not convinced – ‘this is er, interesting, and don’t throw out the juicer just yet’ was the general consensus after my first (failed) attempt.

I didn’t see how I could go wrong with a classic carrot, apple and ginger combo.  But oh how I did.  The combination was a watery, pulpy mess (note to self – much less water and a lot more blitzing required).

Things have thankfully moved on since then, and this green smoothie is a bit of a winner.

Tropical pineapple and mint gives this a wonderfully light and summery flavour as well as Vitamin C and the spinach adds a whole lot of iron!

Ingredients:

• 2 handfuls spinach
• 1 slice of pineapple
• 1/2 frozen banana (I chop up bananas and put them in freezer bags – they make the smoothies so cold and creamy!)
• 2 sticks of celery
• handful of mint
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• Squeeze of lime
• 5 brazil nuts
• 1 tablespoons flaxseeds
• 1 tablespoons chia seeds
• Coconut water (about 1/4 way) – side note, filling up the ‘liquid’ component to the max line has never worked for me, it makes it too watery and you lose a lot of the flavour.  These days I put in enough for about 1/4 of the way up.

Method:

• Mix all together, blitz and enjoy!

The post Green Smoothie Recipe – Nutribullet appeared first on Neema Savvides | Fertility Nutrition.