Making Peanut Butter Cookies

Instagram people will know that I love to bake cookies. Why pay £3 for a pack of eight biscuits that you're not overly keen on when you can make a rich, gooey batch of peanut butter cookies in the comfort of your own kitchen?!

I've also had people over on Instagram request for me to write a post dedicated to some of the gluten-free and vegan cookies I've posted on several occasions, and you'll be pleased to know that all bar my shortbread-style biscuits, they all follow the same basic ingredients. I love the versatility of this recipe and hopefully if you try it out you'll be able to play around with it too.

RECIPE

(makes 8 large cookies)

1/4 cup non-dairy spread of your choice

1/4 cup peanut butter (use a little bit more if you're using crunchy over smooth)

1 flax egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 cups GF flour

plus any additional ingredients you want to throw in there!

I'm going to show you the process from when I made my last batch, which were the PB crunch cookies. Here was everything that I used:

As these are vegan (as the majority of my treats are), I've experimented with both the Orgran No Egg Egg Replacer - you can buy it here - and a flax egg as my egg replacements, and both work equally as well as each other and help keep the cookies moist. This time I was working with the latter so started by preparing the flax egg (one tbsp flaxseed, three tbsp water) and left it to one side for about five minutes so it became a much thicker consistency.

In a separate bowl I creamed the peanut butter and the non-dairy spread and got them well blended, then added the sugar (I only had demerara that day but I usually use two different sugars) and the flax egg. Gradually I added in the vanilla essence and all of the other dry ingredients and got a mixture that looked like this...

Because it was quite dry, I added a couple of drops of almond milk (I didn't even measure how much it was that small an amount, I just did it slowly so I could keep mixing and see if it improved the batter). Looks a lot better now right?

Then using a spoon I scooped the mix onto baking parchment and put them in the oven at 180C.

25 minutes later, there they were!

It really is a simple recipe, and as I said before, so versatile. I definitely have plenty of ideas up my sleeve to experiment with in the future with this recipe as a base.

As you can see from the photos, I made these with crunchy peanut butter so the texture was completely different from the other batches that I'd made. I actually prefer using smooth peanut butter, but I didn't realise I was out of it until I'd started prepping the flax egg, but these definitely made a nice change and mixed it up a bit.

Here's the first batch of chocolate chip peanut butter cookies I made; these follow the same basic recipe as the cookies above, but use smooth peanut butter and just have chips added into the mixture!

Previous batches I've made include a fruit and nut style cookie (with raisins, which work surprisingly beautifully with the peanut butter) and chocolate chip peanut butter cookies (dairy-free chocolate chips, obvs!). Another great thing about these cookies is that they're so moist that they can be stored in tupperware and can last up to four or five days after baking day. Well, that's if they last that long...

Review: Get The Glow by Madeleine Shaw

As I explained on my Instagram, cookbooks have never really been my thing. I've always had my own recipes and on occasion took to the internet to spice things up a bit. With the frustration of having to change my diet so drastically after establishing my favourite personal recipes, I kind of had to be grateful for the faddiness of 'eating clean'. I bought this alongside Deliciously Ella (Ella Woodward) - the review is coming! - in the hope of getting some ideas.

The first section introduces Madeleine's 'six week programme', breaking down the weeks individually and discussing what should be introduced to and banished from your belly. The weeks go as follows:

• Week One: 'Ditch the Junk' encourages you cut out all sugars
• Week Two: 'Fat: Friend or Foe?' differentiates the good fats from the bad
• Week Three: 'Eat Clean, Think Clean' promotes self love and positive affirmations
• Week Four: 'Beat the Bloat' pushes a completely gluten-free diet
• Week Five: 'Rest and Digest' talks about mindful eating and exercise
• Week Six: 'Live Your Glow' concludes the programme, touching on maintenance and ethical food sourcing

Now I must start by saying I love this book, however, this section of the book does contain a tiny bit of pseudoscience in places, much like most clean-eating books currently circulating. This aside, this section is super helpful and informative to those who are new to this way of eating, or people who want to know more about key nutrients. A very minuscule criticism I will make (this is my inner bopo babe talking) is about the few references to weight loss as a result of adapting to the programme. If it was down to me, I probably wouldn't have mentioned it, but I understand that there are more people out there who want to eat healthily with weight loss as a key objective. However to me this isn't a selling point; the 'glow' is something that prioritises you feeling better over dropping a dress size, and in Madeleine's defence, increased health is her most important consideration.

Now for the fun part, the FOOD!

No dishes are void of colour, flavour, or goodness, and with 100 recipes to choose from, there's something for everyone. The fact that all dishes are gluten-free is obviously a bonus, and with the exclusion of dishes that are egg-focused (for example the yummy-looking pea and dill omelette with smoked salmon), everything is pretty easy to substitute where needed in order to fit in with my diet. I've noticed that with my diet, I do use more sugar than I used to, so it's nice to know that with the occasional recipe extracted from this book (especially the desserts), my sugar levels are safe.

I'm most excited for the chocolate hazelnut crepes, the Mexican BBQ grilled corn and quinoa salad with chilli salsa, and of course the raw lemon cheesecake!

Most people's concerns with cookbooks that feature clean and raw recipes are the cost of groceries and their availability. Yes, some ingredients can be tough to find and little bit pricey, but I shop frequently at the likes of Whole Foods and Holland & Barrett, where I generally find everything I need. I'm also pretty used to paying more for my groceries these days anyway, so personally for me this makes no massive difference. However, I got my mum (who has no intolerances or allergies and eats a normal diet) to have a look through the book and see if there were any ingredients that she didn't know of or thought were generally inaccessible. There were no ingredients that jumped out at her as something new to her or too expensive to buy. She said that she noticed that lots of the ingredients reappeared in other recipes, which therefore makes it more economical. We all know there's nothing worse than buying special ingredients for one recipe and then leaving them in the cupboard never to be used again.

Overall I think it's safe to say that this book is gorgeous, both in content and in layout. Madeleine's collection of recipes and friendly introduction leaves you eager to get cooking and working on your glow. I would most definitely recommend this to anyone who fancies a fresh injection of goodness into their meals!

You can get your copy of Get The Glow (£20, Orion Books) here.

RATING: ★★★★★

Are You Getting Any?

Vitamins and minerals, I mean!

When I first got ill, it seemed to be a mix of stress, tiredness and all-in-my-head-ness. Doctor's had ruled out thyroid (my mum has underactive thyroid) on several occasions. It wasn't until after about six months of feeling like crap, they told me I was anaemic. In hindsight, amongst everything else, the doctor probably should've looked into this a bit more carefully alongside all my other symptoms, but I optimistically moved onto my family's GP for him to do some more digging. The optimism didn't last. He had zero interest in the slightest, if anything, he made me feel like I was just wasting his time. If I even mentioned anything to him his response was 'you're 22, you're meant to feel like that' to 'I know, I have a pHd'. The first time round, I was given some iron tablets and sent on my way. The plan was once I'd finished my prescription of them to go back for more bloods. When I returned, feeling even worse than I did before, tests showed that I was now vitamin D deficient, too. He gave me tablets and then told me to go and see some sunlight and I'll feel better in a week. Even with anaemia and a vitamin deficiency amongst everything else, he still told me there was nothing wrong with me. I got increasingly worse and the rest is history...

Many people who suffer with coeliac disease have iron and other vitamin deficiencies amongst the rest of their symptoms. Others include magnesium, zinc, vitamin K and essential fatty acids. The latter is one of many reasons for weight loss in coeliac sufferers and consequently malnutrition. If this is you, or you think that you may have any form of deficiency make sure that your GP is either prescribing you with something or recommending a store-bought supplement in order to treat it.

As my vitamin D and iron levels are fixing since my diagnosis, I've bought a general multivitamin, probiotic and aloe vera from Holland & Barrett

Once diagnosed, it's important to keep your meals and snacks packed full of the vitamins and minerals that you need. For the sake of keeping risks of osteoporosis at bay, the general population's calcium requirements are less than coeliacs, and calcium deficiency is common post-diagnosis. A lot of gluten-free substitute meals are fortified with calcium and iron to help keep levels up at a healthy level among other vitamins.

A lot of your required vitamins and minerals can be found in dairy and eggs, two things that are, as you already know, off the menu for me. The majority of non-dairy milks are fortified as are some egg replacements, but it's important to know alternatives that are also providers of all the goodness that our bodies need.

There are common misconceptions when it comes to vitamins and minerals, especially in younger people. For example, I always associated vitamin C with just citrus fruits, iron with spinach and vitamin E with a really lovely Body Shop face cream I used to use! For those of you who are a bit like me, here are a few lesser-known sources of some of your key nutrients:

vitamin A: fortified milk, liver
vitamin B6: meat, non-citrus fruits
vitamin B12: fish, fortified cereals and grains

vitamin C: dark green veggies, strawberries, tomatoes

vitamin D: butter, fatty fish, eggs

vitamin E: salad dressing, nuts, seeds

calcium: broccoli, white beans, kale, almonds

magnesium: wholegrains, seafood, cocoa

iron: dried fruit, eggs, poultry

Making Chocolate Fudge Muffins

One of my favourite pastimes has always been baking. Admittedly, it was a case of going out and buying some eggs and a box of whatever Betty Crocker creation I fancied making that day. Since going everything-free I've had to hold back on baking from a box, saddle up and get on with it from scratch.

I'd made these before I started my blog and had mentioned them to my mum. Yesterday I was craving a muffin or spongey cake of some description and decided to whip up a batch of chocolate muffins with chocolate fudge frosting.

This is what I got together to make the muffins:

First off I mixed all dry ingredients...

...And then all the wet ones (ugh doesn't that look grim?!)

Then it looked like this. Note: Do not, I repeat DO NOT, run your finger round the bowl for remnants once you've put the actual muffins in the oven. GF batters and mixes are for the most part super gross.

Once I got those beauties popped in the oven, I got to work on the frosting. Now this part you CAN eat from the bowl, winner. Mixed up these in a little bowl (you can tell I forgot about photographing these until afterwards)...

...And I got this gorgeous frosting that DEFINITELY competes with Mrs Crocker.

25 minutes later I got the then-little cakelets out of the oven and got these monster muffins; I know they look average here but they are literally gargantuan.

Annoyingly I then had to find myself something to do, because it gets ridiculously tempting to eat the frosting before the muffins have cooled down. I just about made it to cooling stage - I got carried away reading the wonderful Fat!So? (Marlin Wenn) - then slathered on the frosting, and helped myself to the rest with a spoon. I let these set a bit so that the frosting slightly hardened, but they would be equally nommy if you wasn't in the mood to hang around, which normally I'm not. I sprinkled some dairy-free fudge over some of them just to add extra fudginess (because who wouldn't want that?).

Also, if you were clever enough to notice that I baked seven and iced six, that would be because my favourite critic (mum) got lucky cupcake numéro siete! And the verdict from Mother the Gluten Lover? She actually preferred these to 'normal' muffins - couldn't ask for more really could I?

Food Allergies On Holiday

So as you may have noticed from my posts on Instagram, I'm in Spain. Look how pretty it is!

Spain is bittersweet for me. It was where I was formally diagnosed and put at ease, but it's also the place where I have the most trouble eating.

Where we stay at a family home here, rather than a hotel, everything is basically self-catered, unless we go out for dinner as a family. Eating at home is obviously my easier option, but grocery shopping for the less-nutritionally-fortunate can get a bit tough (and expensive). Oh look, a bit more pretty!

When it comes to holidays that are a bit more long-haul - I'm lucky enough to visit Hong Kong and New York from time to time - food can be either a dreamboat in fantastic hotels or your worst nightmare with tricky food situations. Although I'm yet to go long-haul with my new-found allergy friends (NYC Thanksgiving, I'm looking at you), I've looked into various aspects of travelling and whatnot and here are a few tips that might help you if you're in the same boat:

• If you're jetting off somewhere, ask your airline what they have to offer in the way of meals and snacks in order to cater to your needs. It's best to enquire about this when you first book.
• When staying on an all-inclusive complex, make staff aware of your allergies and intolerances. Again, look into this when you're booking; you don't want to get there to find out that they can't do anything for you.
• If you're self-catering and unsure of what is available for you locally, make sure to pack your culinary staples. (I flew to Spain with just hand luggage and packed it brimming with everything from xanthan gum - homemade ice cream heeeeeeey - to a pack of dairy-free fudge!)
• If you're on a city break and the adventurous walking type, do some research before you leave; see what they've got on offer for you in different parts of the area. I'm so pumped to head downtown to Erin McKenna's Bakery in New York - it's over an hour's walk from my hotel but I'll walk anywhere for some gluten-free vegan donuts!
• When eating out on holiday, make sure that you're prepared with basic terminology for your servers. For example, if you're coeliac and holidaying in Kuala Lumpar, make sure you know how to say 'no gluten' in the local language. If you can't wrap your head around it, write it down on a piece of paper and show them. Trust me, it will help a lot.
• Similarly, if you're going somewhere with some interesting delicacies, have a look online and see if you can find out what the key ingredients are, so you know initial food do's and don'ts before you sit down to tuck in.
• If you're on a city break and the adventurous walking type, do some research before you leave; see what they've got on offer for you in different parts of the area. I'm so pumped to head downtown to Erin McKenna's Bakery in New York - it's over an hour's walk from my hotel but I'll walk anywhere for some gluten-free vegan donuts!

Coeliac and other food allergies don't have to blow your chances of amazing food on your holiday, but don't risk the chance of nasty reactions in exchange for an hour of researching on the net!

Dear Nicole Arbour...

I don't even know where to begin; you appear to be exceptionally vocal about fat people and body positivity. I'll go in chronological order because your opinions have completely blown my mind.

Firstly, measuring fat people's athletic ability to that of a zombie is just plain stupid. Many plus size - I'm going to use the term 'plus size' because that's what you've referred to us in the less-dickish parts of your commentary - men and women partake in exercise regularly and excel athletically, with badasses Leah Gilbert (endurance athlete, fitness instructor, 2XU Elite Sponsorship Program, and founder of Body Positive Athletes) and Krista Henderson (seasoned triathlete and plus-size athleticism blogger) just to name a couple.

"Fat shaming is the race card with no race." In the matter of thirty seconds, you've managed to tell people you're against discrimination, but you're cool with discrimination against fat people. Smooth.

You've also generalised fat people as sufferers of heart disease. There is no denying that obesity can lead to heart disease, but it is just one of many factors that could cause it. Heart disease, and subsequently heart attacks, can happen to anyone. Just Google Fabrice Muamba. Describing fat people's existence in society as "assisted suicide" probably wasn't one of your finest moments either.

So you're jealous of fat people eating what they want? It's sad that you're so heavily influenced by diet culture and what people are 'supposed' to look like, that you've just highlighted the fact that you're restricting yourself of what you want in order to adhere to society's beauty ideals. Way to go!

FUN FACT: #bodypositive is more than just a hashtag used by obese people sitting around waiting to get heart disease. #bodypositive is used by people of all shapes and sizes who are all embracing their body in different stages of life. Users of the hashtag can be in any stage of recovery from a range of mental health issues, working towards rebuilding their self-esteem, or even just encouraging general acceptance and happiness that is not limited by weight or physical appearance. How dare you shame something that does so much for so many people? Also, linking body positivity to a poor diet is just uneducated ignorance; a person's dietary choices - or physical appearance while we're at it - has no correlation with their worth as a human being.

"Plus size, plus heart disease." I don't know about where you're from, but here in the UK, some stores advertise 'plus size' ranges from a UK 14, which funnily enough is actually the country's average female dress size. I don't know if you know this, but the women of England are fabulous and they don't care for your fat hate.

Can I also take this time to point out that not all obese people are disabled. Once again, your lack of research isn't working so well for you.

Remember in the beginning of the video you tried to convince us that you were against racial discrimination? Was that before or after you decided it was acceptable for black fat women to coexist in society because they're good gospel singers? Wonderful, you've just further offended a minority of a minority.

In your closing statement you say that you "will love [people] no matter what". Maybe you were trying to be funny or something, bullying a "fat family" that "smell like sausages" because that's "their aroma". And that's not even the only time that you're flat-out disrespectful towards fat people. Perhaps I just don't have a very good sense of humour, but I'm pretty sure that's a far cry from loving people "no matter what".

Do you find it ironic that you make a comment about looking forward to the comments you're going to receive in response to your video, and now comments have been disabled?

I'm going to wrap up with a life lesson for you Nicole: bullying someone into losing weight is an impossible way to spark positive change. All you're doing is replacing obesity with mental health problems and self-hatred.

Not so sincerely,

Pretty much everyone

p.s. #bodypositivity4lyf