Pum’s favourite recipes…Isabelita’s Larder Rocky Road

Following on from my Lemon Berry Cake post (check it out for the story behind the baking!) here’s the recipe for my 2nd creation for year 2 of The Great Thermo Fisher Bake Off.

Now, I’ve borrowed this recipe from the lovely Sarah on Isabelita’s Larder and, in my opinion, was INCREDIBLE!

You have to check our her Rocky Road recipe here.

What made this so good was the removal of the fruit and the addition of crunchie bars.  Mmmm I wish I still had some of this left but it went too quick!

Here’s my version, and a little dusting of icing sugar makes all the difference…

 

Pum x

Pum’s favourite recipes…Lemon Berry Cake

Now this is not one for the dieters out there, sorry!

Last week I did some home-baking for my work to take part in the 2nd year of The Great Thermo Fisher Bake Off.  I thought I’d share the recipes I used in a 2-parter because they were both soooo easy and turned out really well! (See the 2nd part of this post and my recipe for an amazing Rocky Road here).

The first was a Lemon Berry Cake.  This sponge was super light and the berries were refreshing paired with the gorgeous buttery icing.

This was a goodfood recipe and the only change I made was to increase the cooking time from 25-30 mins to a full 35 mins.  I just judged based on look and feel (at the 25 min mark the cake was still very wobbly).  The sponge turned out perfect and I’d definitely recommend cooling it properly before icing.  I also followed my mum’s advice to bake it in a silver foil tray.  I then removed it to cool, ice and decorate before putting it back into the tray to transport.

See the full recipe here.

 

If you’re looking for a failsafe sponge recipe I’d definitely recommend this recipe, delicious!  I can’t wait to recreate with different toppings and decoration!

 

Pum x

 

Pum update…Spring and Eats

I’m currently still enjoying a lovely long weekend and thought I’d spend some time relaxing and writing a wee blog update.

It finally feels like Spring!  I was staying in Gleneagles for a couple of overnights and the weather was just great.  It was so nice wandering around the grounds, taking the dog a walk and soaking up the sun in the outdoor pool.

We enjoyed some absolutely amazing food but perhaps due to the classy surroundings or just because I was in good company I completely forgot to take any snaps of the food at all!  Rest assured I enjoyed plenty seafood, beef, venison and some seriously delicious desserts (in my element hello!) as well as gorgeous wines paired to the meal and a fair few cocktails…

I then went on to Loch Lomond to meet my mum for an overnight at Inverbeg.  We did a couple long walks down into Luss and again enjoyed some good food (a little less fine dining and more comfort food, totally perfect after a tiring day).

I had the battered haddock and chips then lemon posset and my mum had the hake, so yummy…

We went more walking and then a bit of shopping this morning, stopping to refuel of course at Jenners at Loch Lomond Shores.

Such an amazing weekend I feel very spoiled and very happy!!

 

You might be thinking this isn’t exactly a pumdiets kind of weekend but as I knew it was coming (and that it would be very food focussed) last week I enjoyed some lighter meals (with the exception of an amazing curry night at my friend Kate’s house).

Greek salad with chicken…

Sweet potato, eggs, spinach with almond basil pesto…

Homemade seafood paella (Josh’s recipe not mine)…

Plus a really delicious lean beef chilli my friend Emma cooked with a lovely salad that I gobbled before taking a picture woops (note to self get that recipe!).

It is all about balance after all…

 

Pum x

 

 

Pum reminiscing…Disneyland Paris Eats

I’ve just returned from Disneyland Paris on one of the best holidays ever with my family!

The food in Disney was just amazing; ice cream, pretzels, cookies, cakes, roasted chestnuts, waffles, burgers, churros, hot chocolates, vin chaud, crepes and cocktails…all consumed in wonderful excess!

This might seem like a ridiculous amount of unhealthy food (and to be fair it was) but we were averaging 30k steps per day (3 times my normal ‘good’ day) so hopefully some of this was burned off!

It was so magical and festive to spend the run-up to Christmas with my mum and sisters in Disneyland, we acted like big kids the full time.  If you ever have the chance to go I would highly recommend it!

except maybe the Tower of Terror…absolutely terrifying (see facial expressions below)…

Pum x

Pumspiration…Recent Eats December

Toast with almond butter, banana and black chia seeds

Mango and strawberry nutribullet nicecream

Porridge with seeds and almond butter

Smoky paprika chicken with tomatoes and asparagus

Naughty delicious German Christmas chocolates (1 of each only I swear!)

Random dinner of beetroot dip, buckwheat rice cakes, a pear and dates with peppermint tea

Shredded wheat with almond milk, pecans and seeds

Dark ryvita spread with cashew and almond butter with hot cinnamon almond milk

Messy raspberry chia breakfast pudding

Chocolate Guinness cake at Three Sisters Bake

Mouth-watering fruit salad of papaya, pink grapefruit, blueberries and raspberries

Pum x

 

Pum update…How The Portuguese Do It

So this is a continuation of my last post ‘Pum update…How The Catalans Do it’ and should really be entitled ‘Pum update…How the Portuguese Do It aka My Love Affair with Pasteis De Nata’!

FYI: https://pumdiets.wordpress.com/2015/11/27/pum-update-how-the-catalans-do-it/

After leaving Barcelona on Wednesday we flew to Lisbon and checked into Lagoas Park Hotel in Porto Salvo Lisbon which was a really nice hotel. We got in fairly late and hadn’t eaten so just decided to do room service. As I mentioned in my Barcelona post, Wednesday’s eats were quite healthy in my books and I continued this by ordering Pumpkin Soup and Tuna Salad and boycotting all dessert options (don’t you worry this was to be remedied on Thursday and Friday).

My manager and I made an agreement to continue with the good exercise routine we had going and wake each other up to go to the gym across from the hotel. I’m so glad we did because it was a fab gym – huge and so well equipped. I managed treadmill, rower and an intense kettlebells session so felt knackered when I was done.

I was too self-conscious to take any snaps in the gym but did managed to take a picture outside the gym building, how beautiful…aren’t you impressed gym done before sunrise?!

Highly doubtful that I’ll continue this routine at home.

I was absolutely starving after this so had a doubler for breakfast; eggs and tomatoes, then muesli and yoghurt with fruit (the South-Central Europeans do love their muesli options at breakfast!).

Our office for the day was just round the corner from the hotel and was in such a stunning setting…why can’t I work here always?!

We were treated to a restaurant lunch again (lucky girls) where I had the Cod and plenty of fresh salad. The lunch options on this trip were so fresh compared to what I’m used to at home. I hate how the UK culture is to have pre-packaged sandwiches for lunch as opposed to sitting down to enjoy fresh seafood (which we have an abundance of!).

As we wanted to make the most of the last night of our trip we moved hotels AGAIN, this time into the centre of Lisbon. We checked into the Epic Sana Hotel Lisboa…this was pure 5 star luxury! Fancy coffee machine on the bedside table, chocolate truffles on the bed, shower in the middle of the room, spa toiletries in the bathroom, TV the size of the full wall…I was in hotel heaven!

Thursday night was my favourite night of the trip; Lisbon is such an amazing city and I’m 100% going to go back. The sites were beautiful, lots of great shops and so affordable in comparison to other popular European cities.

We had dinner in quite a fancy restaurant at Terreiro do Paço called Aura. The food was the best of the entire trip! We shared an Artisan Cheese Platter to start, then I had Tuna Steak with Tagliatelle and of course I had to have dessert on the last night of my trip! I don’t even remember what the dessert was called but it was extremely tasty…

On Friday morning I got up super early to enjoy the spa facilities in the hotel. As I said pure luxury! I had the pool to myself and managed 20 lengths and a good sauna/steam before breakfast.

Now breakfast…before I get onto this, do not judge me. This is an outrageous breakfast.   Are you ready?

I was desperate to try Pasteis De Nata (the famous Portuguese Custard Tarts) and was so excited when I saw these at the breakfast buffet.

Here goes…

My first plate consisted of; 2 freshly made waffles with hot Nutella, 1 Pastel De Nata, 1 yoghurt dish and mixed fruit.

This was sooooo ohmygoodnessamazingly delicious that I had to go back up and fill my plate again.

My second plate was filled with; 1 almond croissant with more hot Nutella, ANOTHER Pastel De Nata, grapes (because health obvs) and a little cake I’m not sure the name of (which to be honest I only got because it was in a martini glass).

SHEER GREED!

After this wonderful breakfast it was back to the airport to return to sunny Scotland.  As you can see I’ve had an absolutely brilliant week and can’t believe that this was actually all with work! I’m a very lucky girl.

I did try to have balance and did probably the same amount of exercise as I would on a normal week, but I definitely consumed far more sugar than I should have…I admit I’m now a little scared to get on the scales again but I don’t regret one bite.

Pum x

 

 

Pum update…How The Catalans Do It

I’ve been travelling a little with work recently and so running on from my previous post ‘Pum update…How The Italians Do it’ about my last work trip to Milan I thought I’d do another post about my short time in Barcelona (look out for my next post on Lisbon too, it’s been a busy week!).

FYI: https://pumdiets.wordpress.com/2015/11/13/pum-update-how-the-italians-do-it/

So this week I was in Barcelona from Monday to Wednesday for work which was my first time to Barcelona and I just loved it.

My colleagues and I arrived on Monday evening and checked in to the Hotel Barcelona Catedral and quickly headed out to explore. We were, as the name suggests, right next to the Cathedral which was breath-taking. We took a wander down La Rambla and visited the food market, it was great to just soak up the atmosphere and work up an appetite.

There was a lot of walking that evening which I was pleased about after a long day of travelling. I still love tracking my steps with my vivofit2 and it was good for me to see how much walking we’d actually done.

We headed down to a restaurant called 7 Portes (this was recommended by a Spanish colleague so we knew this would be worth the trip). This restaurant is particularly famous for its Paella dishes so it would be rude not to have tried…we weren’t disappointed as the meal was just lovely.

I also indulged in an absolutely amazing dessert Crema Catalana, because when in Barcelona…

On Tuesday morning I had quite a light breakfast after the guilt of the Crema Catalana and picked muesli with yoghurt and fruit from the buffet. We then worked for the day in Sant Cugat del Vallés and were taken out for lunch where I tried to be healthy and had Seabass with asparagus (so difficult when given a free lunch to be good).

After work we checked into Plaza Xavier Cugat Hotel and I managed to get in a quick gym session before dinner. I planned to do a 25 minute run at a steady pace however the Spanish treadmill had different plans for me and set me off on a crazy interval training workout!

We then headed into Sant Cugat del Vallés and took a recommendation from Tripadvisor and dined in El Vi de Du. This tiny little place was soooo good. We got mixed tapas of Cod, roasted vegetables, Anchovies, mini cannelloni, Salmon and some very tasty bread.

I then was persuaded by the amazing desserts again (I’m weak) and had one of the best desserts I’ve had in a long time, a hazelnut melt in the middle chocolate pudding with hazelnut ice-cream served with dessert wine…DELICIOUS!

On Wednesday morning I got up and headed to the gym again before breakfast…I’m quite glad that I’ve started to have a bit of internal dessert guilt as it’s making me do a lot more exercise! The treadmill was busy so I went on the exercise bike (which I never normally do) for 15 minutes then the treadmill for 10 minutes where my legs were absolute jelly, not going to do that order again anytime soon!

Wednesday eats were pretty good; more fruit and muesli for breakfast, Salmon and salad for lunch and then onto Lisbon…

So that was Barcelona! When can I go back?!

Check out my post ‘Pum update…How the Portuguese Do It’ for the rest of my week!

Pum update…How The Portuguese Do It

Pum x

 

 

 

Pum reminiscing…My Not-So-Healthy Birthday Week

I recently blogged about my amazing trip to Belfast over my birthday weekend but also hinted that my birth-day had turned into a birth-week!

Pum reminiscing…Belfast

I managed to squeeze a lot into my week off work but most of it was not healthy at all…

The Good

Starting with the good, I actually managed to fit in some exercise which is a win for me during any holiday!

On Monday I did a 5km run, it was beautiful weather but I struggled with the cold on my throat and teeth.  Having done most of my running this year in milder weather this is just something I’m going to need to get used to.

On Tuesday I was visiting my beautiful but crazy nieces (aged 1 and 3) so there was a lot of running about and climbing involved, definitely some calories burned!

Wednesday to Friday I went away with my mum on a lovely trip to Lochearnhead.  We managed to fit in a 10 mile walk with amazing scenery as well as 50 lengths of the pool on our spa day to Forrest Hills.

On Saturday I did an approx. 10km walk.  This was meant to be a 5km run but my hip was feeling a bit wonky so I increased the distance and slowed the pace way down instead.

There was also the discover of a new ‘healthy’ and so delicious snack, Metcalfe’s cinnamon sweet skinny popcorn.  I tried to stick to porridge for breakfast in the hotel and at the spa day the lunch provided was a very healthy bento box.

The Bad (but oh so delicious)

Healthy eating was for the most part completely out the window this week.  On my trip with mum we enjoyed; macaroni cheese, sausage and mash, wine, beer and cocktails.

I also had a birthday dinner with my best friends Vivi and Jordan when I was back in Glasgow on Friday night in Bar Slouch where the portions were humongous…I actually can’t believe how many chips I ate.

On top of that last night I went to a ‘Come Dine With Me’ night with the girls from my old work.  Such a brilliant idea everyone bringing a dish, the food was all amazing but likely not too light as we enjoyed beef chili nachos, tomato and olive bruschetta, steak and chicken fajitas (and we’ll come back to the desserts!).

Oh has anyone tried the new Marks and Spencer Winter Berry & Prosecco crisps?!  I’m not a crisp person and I easily demolished half a bag of these before asking my mum to take them from me.  Dangerously good!

The Ugly (Pum’s sugar rush)

So I’m not actually sure what came over me this week but the least healthy part of my birthday week off was definitely how much sugar I consumed.

On Monday my gran had made her wonderful birthday cake (an annual request) of which I enjoyed a generous slice.

On Tuesday before I headed up to Lochearnhead with mum she remembered she had a voucher for afternoon tea at Lodge on the Loch (which was on the way conveniently) so we booked in and tucked in to Prosecco, sandwiches, scones, brownies, strawberry tarts and lemon drizzle cake!

Wednesday to Friday on our trip away I managed to have dessert both nights (apple pie with custard and sticky toffee pudding with ice cream) and convince myself that a post 10 mile walk hot chocolate (with cream and marshmallows) was allowed.

Saturday was ‘Come Dine With Me’ night and I was on the desserts.  I didn’t want to disappoint so went completely over the top baking a ridiculous chocolate fudge cake with a nutella cream icing centre, a chocolate fudge icing coating, mars bar towers, milk chocolate pretzels and white chocolate buttons.

How completely unnecessary, but if you’re looking for something sweet, decadent and impressive it does the job!

So it’s safe to say I overindulged this week and I’m sure Monday’s weigh-in will reflect that.  I had such a brilliant week though and am hoping over the next few weeks I can get my act together and enjoy some healthy recipes and up my exercise to balance things out.

Pum x

Pum’s favourite recipes…Strawberry Cake

This week I tried out a recipe from one of my favourite bloggers Madeleine Shaw.  If you’ve not heard of her (where have you been?) definitely check out her blog here:  http://madeleineshaw.com/

She does amazingly healthy but equally delicious recipes and encourages a diet free from refined sugar.  My sister had recently bought her book Get The Glow, and when I was up in Aberdeen last weekend visiting biff I had a little flick through and this recipe caught my eye.

Now in my opinion this is a nice cake but by no means a ‘showstopper’.  It’s a lovely, light cake that is great served with coffee in the afternoon of even after a heavier dinner.  She serves it with her coconut whipped cream (which you don’t need a lot of) but if you’re not vegan I think it would be equally tasty with some greek yoghurt and honey.

The very easy recipe has been published online so take a look here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-3043263/Nutritional-health-coach-Madeleine-Shaw-Strawberry-cake-coconut-whipped-cream.html

Note that I used coconut oil instead of butter, and honey instead of coconut sugar as per her suggestions.

I’m really looking forward to adapting this recipe.  I think it would be delicious with fresh lemon zest, lemon peel and raspberries!

Looking forward to having another slice this afternoon!

Pum x

Pum reminiscing…”The Great Thermo Fisher Bake Off”

I’m on the Events team in my work and as soon as I heard that “The Great British Bake Off” was back on TV I knew this would be a great idea for a work event.  And so “The Great Thermo Fisher Bake Off” was born!

I’ll admit I was a little nervous as to the success of this event.  I’ve only been working there since February so didn’t want it to be a flop.  But I was so pleased and genuinely so impressed with the participation and standard of baking!

I obviously contributed some baking myself, however as I was a judge my baking wasn’t competing…however even if it was there was no way I was coming anywhere close to the winners!

I’ll start with what I baked and then get on to the amazing creations of my work colleagues.

I went for 3 different bakes…

Salted Caramel Brownies

This was the recipe I used:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/salted-caramel-brownies

These were so easy to make and turned out really well, I would definitely make again.

Ice-cream Cupcakes

These were my creation but definitely looked better than they tasted.  Next time I know to fill the cones less with batter and not try to take the tray out half way through baking, thus tipping out all the cones!! But hey, trial and error!

Toffee Popcorn Cupcakes

This was the recipe I used:

http://www.bakingmad.com/toffee-popcorn-cupcakes-recipe/

These looked really effective but next time I’ll leave the fudge out of the batter as they sunk to the bottom a bit.

Now onto the more impressive bakes from my colleagues…

1st Prize Dutch Apple Pie

Oh my goodness.  When each of the judges tasted this there was a moment of silent agreement…this was the winner!  Everything about this cake was incredibly yummy.  And not too rich so you kept wanting to go back for more.  Served with cream this was just delicious!

2nd Prize Dark Chocolate Cake with Chilli & Beetroot

I don’t know how it was accomplished that this cake was so rich but so moreish at the same time.  Such a lovely mix of flavours and the presentation was really impressive.

3rd Prize Coffee Walnut Cake

I am biased because I do love a really good coffee walnut cake!  The sponge on this was just perfect!

It was a close call as there was another coffee walnut up for the prize too.  I mean would you look at that, they didn’t make it easy for us!  There wasn’t much in it and I would happily eat either of these in their entirety…probably in one sitting.

Special Mention

Now we had to give a special mention to this next creation.  I was blown away when I saw this…a cake minion!!! How does she do it?  Filled with really tasty sponge and chocolate ganache this was another one heavily debated.

Now you all know the focus of my blog is weight loss, healthy eating and fitness so how did I manage to get through the day with all this temptation?!  I succumbed.  I had a good taste of everything and I don’t regret it.  Sometimes you just have to live a little!

Here are some more of the treats that were on offer.  Honestly not a bad bake on offer…

Favourite day in work yet?  Probably!

Pum x