PROTEIN-PACKED FLUFFY PANCAKES W CHOCOLATE + PEANUT BUTTER SAUCE, FOR ONE

FINALLY. Pancakes that suit my little celiac, insulin-resisting sensibilities (read: gluten-free, flour-free, dairy-free). It's been a saga. Failure, after failure. Now, nearly 2 years since my diagnosis of celiac, and nearly 5 (!) since my insulin resistance diagnosis, I have succeeded! Cue the fanfare and Hallelujah chorus.

Pancakes that suit my needs but also don't taste like cardboard and have the consistency of rubber. These babes make a fluffy stack of pancakes that are charmingly-golden spheres of joy and happiness.

Oh and there's topping. Because let's be real, gluten is so widespread because, you know, it's delicious. So these little ones here need a teensy bit of sprucing up. And really, you can't go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter, even before 8 am on a Sunday morning. (To be honest, a cashew cream and berry compote situation would be a close second. Suggestions below.)

Also, as their name suggests, these little pancakes pack a mean protein punch. Rounded out with all of the good fats from the almond meal and peanut butter, and you've got a balanced, hearty meal that will keep you going until mid-afternoon. Perfect post-yoga, post-gym, post-sleep (anytime?).

Now friends, prepare for some pancake porn.

PROTEIN-PACKED FLUFFY PANCAKES W CHOCOLATE + PEANUT BUTTER SAUCE
serves 1 person with 4 perfectly proportioned pancakes

Recipe Notes: these pancakes are fluffy like babes, but they do tend towards the drier side of things, which is why your chowing down on them with a delish chocolate + peanut butter sauce. If you're not into chocolate first thing in the morning (YOU CRAZY), may I suggest a berry chia jam? Or cashew cream? Or really, just go wild with the maple syrup (or honey). ALSO: this sauce is killer. Drizzle it over sliced banana or berries or nice-cream for a quick and wicked dessert.

2 eggs
1/4 c unsweetened protein powder (like sprouted brown rice)
1/4 c almond meal
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp bicarb soda
tiny pinch of salt
3 tsp neutral oil (like rapeseed or grapeseed)
1 tbsp unsweetened almond mylk

25 g dark chocolate (70%)
1 tbsp smooth, natural peanut butter
2-3 tbsp unsweetened almond mylk

banana slices, desiccated coconut

Place a fry-pan over medium heat with 1 tsp of the oil, and allow to slowly heat up while you make the batter. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, protein powder, almond meal, vanilla, bicarb, salt, almond mylk and remaining oil. Whisk until thoroughly combined and there are no lumps. Once the pan is hot, use a scant 1/4 cup measure of batter to form each pancake (I cook mine one at a time). Allow to cook until a few bubbles burst and hold their shape on the surface, then flip and cook for another 30-45 seconds. The pancakes should be golden brown. Repeat with remaining batter.

Either make the sauce while you're cooking the pancakes, or keep the pancakes covered with a clean tea towel to preserve their warmth while you finish the sauce.

To make the sauce, melt the chocolate and peanut butter in a small bowl in the microwave for 1 minute or so, or in a double boiler over low heat. Whisk them together to form a smooth liquid, then continue whisking as you add almond mylk 1 tbsp at a time. The mixture will seize up a little to begin with, but keep adding almond mylk 1 tbsp at a time until your reach your desire consistency. You may need to return it to the heat or microwave again for 30 seconds.

Arrange pancakes on a plate and top with banana slices. Pour over sauce and sprinkle with a little coconut. Enjoy!

RECENT HAPPENINGS

A great many things have been happening, and so many good things, that I thought these recent happenings deserved a round up.

That drool-worthy Lemon Almond Ricotta Cake? You can find the recipe here. A Hedy Journey is a kick-ass blog about women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Medicine) with a focus on Engineering. Co-run by one of my amazing past yoga students, Yvette.

I've been practicing at the most charming little yoga studio in Oxford, Yoga Quota. And a few weeks ago I joined there already stellar teaching team.

Yoga Quota is a charity that for every 50 students we have through the studio, a class is taught for an under-privileged group. I recently spent the afternoon with the amazing charity KEEN Oxford, and wrote about my experience here.

Speaking of lovely experiences, Adam and I spent out second Valentine's day in a row hosting a Partner Yoga Workshop.

And one of our lovely students wrote a review of my regular class.

There's also been lots of new winter experiences, curried-cauliflower salads, and PB+banana on toast.

Bliss, gratitude, and high fives all rounds folks! xx

PARIS GUIDE PART 1: COFFEE, EATS + TREATS

When your Paris notes become a four page, 2000+ word saga, you realise you need to split it across two posts. And we're starting with coffee, eats + treats. Because, PRIORITIES, ok?

We ate very very well in Paris. Nourishing ourselves with home-cooked goodness for most meals (exhibit A, exhibit B) and doing plenty (read: a shit tonne) of walking, leaves plenty of room in our bellies and our budgets.

A word here, on our preferences, and how they shape the list you see below. We ate out twice the entire time we were in Paris. Once for breakfast at Season (see below) to celebrate six years of being rad human beings together, and the second at the cafe in the Musee d'Orsay when I needed a glass of wine, and Adam needed a bowl of ice-cream. This might shock/confuse/amaze some people, but MEH, we know what we like. What we like is good coffee (often more than once a day), meals we make ourselves, and tasty treats that are high-quality and memorable. So in the list below you'll find plenty of coffee spots, treats and sweet spots, but not a lot of restaurants or 'dining' spots, because it's not how we roll. In Part 2 of the guide (coming very soon) I give some of the websites that were most useful to us during out stay, and I can assure that they have many, MANY delicious dining recommendations.

Part 2 covers things to see + do in Paris, if you can tear your eyes away from a delicious eclair long enough to gaze at some art. For now, onto the caffeine and sugar! X

OUR FAVOURITE EASY CURRY

The kitchen in our Parisian apartment is tiny. The sink and (single) hot plate are part of the same stainless steel section, and the washing machine to the left doubles as extra bench space. It's basically equipped, with plenty of saucepans and plates (but no wooden spoon?). It's small, but useful and has served us very well during our time here in Paris.

Our days have fallen into an easy rhythm, centred around walks to get coffee, eating lots of tasty and nourishing food, and more walks to explore the city (and, honestly, get more coffee). We've been able to turn inwards, taking some time to take stock of what we want and what we're doing with ourselves. It might sound like existential crises are happening every day, but this is honestly the most chill and relaxed that I've felt about these sorts of big life questions in a while.

EASY PEASY GRANOLA + SINGLE SERVE COFFEE CHIA PUDDING

When I'm travelling, food priorities go something like this:

1. Protein
2. French pastries
3. Nourishing fats
4. Wholegrains

BRIGHT BEET + PARNSIP CHÈVRE FRITTATA

At the moment, seasonal produce is abundant and amazing. I'm talking beets, apples, berries, plums, squashes, late zucchinis. Things that don't even exist in Australia, like damson plums and Bramley apples. Roadside blackberries were a big hit last week.

Australia is wonderful for so many fruit and veg (hello $10 trays of mangoes in summer) but Brisbane especially lacks a distinct set of seasons. While there are some star-players that signal the shifting of the year (like stone fruit in summer) you often miss out of the subtle changes in produce that match the changing weather.

So to say that I'm enjoying the beginnings of autumn's harvest here in Edinburgh would be probably the biggest understatement this year. It's inspiring and engaging, and I'm finding that it's connecting me to the food I'm making just that little bit more. (Also to the changing leaves, and the cooler air.)

SLOW-ROASTED TOMATO + ROMANESCO PASTA SALAD

On my mind recently has been the role of time and desire in my life. This, I know, is for a number of very obvious reasons. For the first time since starting Kindergarten 20 years (!) ago, I'm not formally enrolled in study. For the first time in at least 3 years, I'm on an active break from employment (as long as we're not counting the tiniest bit of work to finish up a freelancing editing project). I've also let go of my cats, most of my possessions and moved to the other side of the world.

Right now, I'm fighting serious urges to run (sprint?) to my next project, the "next thing". Serious urges, people. (The same that drove me to submit my Honours thesis on a Friday, and my application for my Masters the next Monday.) Without a thesis, a course of study, or a job to define the shape of my days (or my identity, for that matter), suddenly I'm confronted with a whole lot of space.

THE PORRIDGE EQUATION + AUTUMN PORRIDGE BOWL

Greetings friends, from what has been a surprisingly sunny Edinburgh. See what I did there? In the (slightly longer than intended) interim since my last post, Adam and I have uprooted ourselves and relocated to (literally) the other side of the world. (No seriously, we checked. Scotland is diagonally on the opposite side of the world to Brisbane. If we really wanted to get particular, Iceland is closer to diagonally opposite.) We're here in Edinburgh until the beginning of October (staying in a great airbnb), then we head to Paris for October. We've been in Edinburgh for a week, after spending a couple of nights in London (again, airbnb delivered: Rory the cat, guys.) My camera didn't get out of my bag those few days in London, but Instagram sure got a good work over. You can follow our adventures here.

It feels good to be here. I was lucky enough (thanks Mum and Dad!) to live in London as an already-nearly-six-foot pre-teen, nearly 15 years ago. To say I fell in love would be a bit of an understatement. To be back here with Adam is special and amazing in about 50,000 different ways. (It's his first time in Europe, and getting to experience things anew with him is magic.) Mostly because the balance between where we're similar and different is pretty much bang on. We're both keen to stop in every decent-looking coffee shop, every art gallery and museum, and to walk at least 10km every day (one day in London we walked, ahem, 29km). However, I'm happy to leave Adam to his explorations in Edinburgh's cemeteries, and he's happy to leave my lingering visits to every health food store I come across.

When we got to Edinburgh, food (unsurprisingly) became my first priority. The kitchen in our airbnb has great fittings (gas stove!) but is a little light on the gadgets to which I'm used (like a blender, and measuring cups?), which has meant I've been forced to be a little more relaxed and simple in my approach to meals. I've also needed my meals to keep me full, happy and going for hours of walking (a hungry Harriet, as Adam can attest, is not a pretty site). Porridge was something I quickly settled on for my morning fix. It's filling, cheap, and once the grains are cooked, takes only minutes to throw together.

This brings me to the porridge equation, just in case the variation I present to you here doesn't float your boat. In my opinion, there are a couple of key elements to a successful porridge bowl. No matter what's in your cupboard, what season you're in, how much time you have, each element can be incorporated in some fashion. Now, when I make a porridge bowl that skips an element, I really notice it, and I'm just not as happy or satisfied. I give a outline of the proportions I use in the recipe below, but I encourage you to experiment and figure out what qualities work for you and your body.

---

THE PORRIDGE EQUATION

GRAINS | The foundation of your porridge bowl (don't skimp!). My preference here are for whole grains that emphasise texture and have a reasonably rounded balance between protein and carbs. My current favourite is amaranth, but the options here include: oats, quinoa, buckwheat, brown rice, millet. Cook up a big batch of grain and you've got a quick breakfast for 3-4 days at least.

FRUIT | Go for what's in season and tastes best. At the moment, Scotland is enjoying plums and berries for days. But I'm looking forward to making stewed spiced apples a regular feature as the weather gets colder. Cooked or raw or dried (or a combo), as a start you can think about: any sort of berry, peaches, plums, pears, apples, banana, rhubarb, apricots, figs, cherries.

NUTS + SEEDS | These babes add a dose of good fats, protein and tonnes of nutrients. Toasted (my current fav) they add a nutty, crunchy flavour and texture boost. Seeds to try: hemp, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin. Nuts to try: almonds, cashews, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, brazil nuts. Hell, even nut butter is a good substitute here (though I really do like the texture contrast with whole nuts).

SWEET | A drizzle of something sweet is going to make everything even better. If you're concerned about sugar, try halving what you would normally add, and challenge yourself to notice the difference. I'm always surprised by how little I need. I've picked up some Scottish blossom honey, which is creamy and divine, but use anything you like: maple syrup, panela sugar, date syrup.

CREAMY | Because my preference is for a wholegrain porridge, I notice I want something creamy to lubricate and sort of bind everything together. My go-to would normally be cashew cream, but the no-blender situation has encouraged me to rethink alternatives. If you're happy with a more liquid option, a dash of your milk of choice is a good idea. A dab of coconut manna or cream would also be delicious. I've been experimenting with adding a little more dairy back into my diet (when I got my celiac diagnosis, my gut was so damaged I couldn't handle it) and I've been pleased to notice that small amounts of good quality stuff don't upset me. This means that a dollop of real-deal clotted cream has been a regular feature on top of my porridge bowl. But the second I get my hands on a blender, you can bet that vanilla-studded cashew cream will be in my belly before you can blink.

---

So there you go, my manifesto on a better porridge breakfast. Find your favourite and then forget it for your next one.

AUTUMN PORRIDGE BOWL

1 cup amaranth (makes enough for 4 bowls)

per bowl:
3 small victoria plums
a handful of blueberries
a small handful of hemp seeds
a small handful of mixed nuts
a drizzle of honey
a dollop of clotted cream

Cook the amaranth by placing it with 2.5 cups of water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and store cooked grain in an airtight container in the fridge until needed. Take 1/4 of the cooked grain and reheat with a splash of water (depending on your tastes, you may want to add up to 1/4 cup more to get a looser consistency).

Toast seeds and nuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and golden brown. Meanwhile, halve, de-stone and slice plums. Top the re-heated amaranth with sliced plums, blueberries, toasted nuts + seeds, a drizzle of honey and a dollop of clotted cream. Enjoy.