FAIRY CAKES RECIPE ★ HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

Inspired by my first Halloween tutorial of the year as a Pink Fairy, I decided to make Fairy Cakes also! If you are going as a fairy this year I think that Fairy Cakes are the perfect sweet treat to compliment your costume and a fantastic Halloween party favor. They are super easy to make and very festive so let's get into how I made these pretty cakes or click HERE to watch the video tutorial.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups self raising flour, sifted
1 cup plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
150g unsalted butter
2/3 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting
Sprinkles
Lollies

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C
2. Place the flours, sugar, butter, milk, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl and then beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.
3. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases and bake for 20-25 minutes.
4. Leave to cool slightly then decorate using frosting, sprinkles and of course the lollies as fairy wings.

If you would like to find out how I created this Pink Fair Halloween Look, check out the makeup tutorial by clicking HERE.

If you try this recipe out and want me to see what you made, use the hashtag on 

instagram or twitter #JordysCooking

Thanks for reading :)

HOMEMADE DOUGH RECIPE

So to preface this let me start of by saying that up until about a month ago, the thought of making my own dough/pastry never occurred to me. I have always been someone who uses the frozen pastry sheets to make quiches or pies but when I had to urge to make Apple Pie about a month ago and didn't have any frozen pastry, I figured that I would attempt to make my own. It worked out pretty good, delicious actually and therefore I don't think I will ever go back to using store bought pastry/dough. It is true that it's more convenient and it is quite and effort to make your own dough and pastry but trust me when I say that it tastes SO much better. Watch the recipe HERE or keep reading for the written version.

HEALTHY RASPBERRY COCONUT SLICE

As I mentioned in my Citrus Coconut Cupcakes recipe; I absolutely LOVE coconut, full stop. I love coconuts, coconut water, coconut milk, drinking coconuts, Bounty chocolate bars (coconut covered in chocolate), coconut bread and pretty much anything else that has coconut somewhere in it. So it's no surprise that I have a couple of sneaky coconut recipes to help me get my fix. Here's another one of them, a healthier version of raspberry coconut slice!

HEALTHY RASPBERRY JAM RECIPE

I came across a recipe that I really wanted to make which was Raspberry Coconut Slice (recipe coming soon) and saw that it required raspberry jam but instead of using the sugary pre-packaged type, I wanted to try making my own. So this recipe was taken from taste.com.au and I changed it around a little bit to make it more healthy.

VEGETARIAN BREAKFAST WRAPS RECIPE

Breakfast foods are my favourite type of foods so I always look forward to my breakfast and am constantly coming up with new breakfast meals. I really wanted to share with you all a breakfast wrap that I have been having lately that is so easy but really delicious.

CITRUS COCONUT CUPCAKES RECIPE

I absolutely LOVE coconut, full stop. I love coconuts, coconut water, coconut milk, drinking coconuts, Bounty chocolate bars (coconut covered in chocolate), coconut bread and pretty much anything else that has coconut somewhere in it. So it's no surprise that I have a couple of sneaky coconut recipes to help me get my fix. Here's one of them, Citrus Coconut Cupcakes... 

LOW-FAT TIRAMISU AND HOT CHOCOLATE RECIPE

My guilty pleasure that I can't resist is tiramisu and it always tastes way much better homemade because you can modify the ingredients to your taste so I thought I would share my recipe for the delicious coffee dessert as well as my favourite way to make hot chocolate. Keep in mind these recipes serve 6 so it's perfect if you're having company over but definitely adjust the ingredients if it's just for yourself.

VEGGIE NUGGIES (VEGETABLE NUGGETS) RECIPE

Last night I posted a picture of my dinner (veggie nuggies) to instagram and had so many of you ask for the recipe and how to make them so that's exactly what I'm doing! One of my favourite things to do is play around in the kitchen trying out/inventing healthy recipes and I absolutely love the way this one turned out so will definitely be making it in the future! This is a great source of vitamins, minerals and nutrients (from the vegetables) and protein (from the egg and LSA meal) but the best part is that it tastes like you're eating a deep fried nugget or something even though it's pretty much just baked vegetables. Keep reading to find out how to make these super delicious Veggie Nuggies.

EASY BANANA OAT MUFFINS RECIPE

This is one of my favourite baking treats ever! I love bananas and oats so I get to combine them both in this recipe to create a super delicious muffin!

PINK LEMONADE RECIPE

Pink lemonade is a beverage that looks so beautiful and is perfect for any girly parties or to serve when you have your girls over. I always wanted to make pink lemonade and only recently found out how easy it was so thought I would share my favourite recipe with you! I tried a few different ways and found this recipe creates the best taste and colour!

♥ Serves: 2.8 litres

♥ Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 cups superfine sugar

2 cups cranberry juice

♥ Method:

Step #1-Bring granulated sugar and 1 cup of water to boil in a medium pan over high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Step #2- Add lemon juice, superfine sugar, cranberry juice and 1 1/2 quarts water to serving container. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Step #3- To serve, add ice cubes to fill a tall glass and garnish with lemon slices.

♥ Tips:
* You can add raspberry or strawberry essence to enhance the flavour.
* You could add a tiny bit of pink food colouring to enhance the pink colour.

So that's how easy it is to make this super cute and delicious girly drink!

If you try this recipe out and want me to see what you made, use the hashtag on 

instagram or twitter #JordysCooking

Thanks for reading!

BROCCOLI AND BACON QUICHE RECIPE

Now I am not saying that this is a healthy recipe at all but it is an exciting way to get more broccoli into your diet! This is a recipe that has been in my family for years; my aunty and uncle own a bakery that I used to work at back in my early teens so the recipe is pretty much burned into my brain because of how many times I made it! Quiche is really simple but there's something about these measurements and proportions that makes it absolutely delicious and way better than any other I've ever tasted.

Ingredients:
2 Shortcrust Pastry Sheets
1 Large Bunch of Broccoli, de-stemmed
5 Thick Bacon Rashers, cubed
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, grated 
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated
3/4 cup Pouring Cream
Herbs and Spices
Salt and Pepper
4 free-range eggs

Method: 
Step #1- Preheat the oven to 200°C and lightly grease a round quiche dish or tin.
Step #2- Fill your quiche dish or tin with the short crust pastry then bake for 15 minutes in the oven.
Step #3- Dice the bacon and cook it in a large non-stick pan on medium heat until golden and crispy. Cut the stems off the broccolini and whisk the eggs, herbs, spices, pepper, salt and cream together.
Step #4- Arrange half the cheeses and bacon in the base of the quiche dish then pour the egg and cream mixture over the top. Then sprinkle the broccolini on top and the other half of the cheeses.
Step #5- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through (use the skewer check). Leave out to cool for 20 minutes before cutting up and serving.


Tips & Info:
* You can use your own pastry! I actually encourage it because that's what I did at the bakery but for the sake of making it quick and easy, you can always use the pastry sheets from the frozen section.
* You can also add a bit of cottage or goats cheese for extra creaminess! Just make sure to add a bit less pouring cream so that the mixture isn't too moist.
* The use of multiple cheeses adds a more interesting and unique mix of flavours.
* It keeps in the fridge for about 5 days after baking or can last in the freezer for months.

If you try this recipe out and want me to see what you made, use the hashtag on 

instagram or twitter #JordysCooking

Thanks for reading :) 

COCONUT CHOC CHIP COOKIES RECIPE

This is a recipe I have been making quite a lot lately because not only do I LOVE these cookies but my boyfriend and family are also crazy about them! Surprisingly they aren't too terrible for your health despite being cookies! I have even made a couple of different healthier versions of this but the recipe that TASTES the best is the following:   

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 Margarine or Butter
1/4 cup Coconut or Almond Milk
1 tablespoon Vanilla Essence
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 1/3 cups Flour
2 1/2 cups Dessicated Coconut
3/4 Chocolate Chips

Method:
Step #1- Preheat oven to 180 degrees (Celsius) and line a tray with baking paper.
Step #2- Cream together sugar, margarine, coconut milk, vanilla, baking soda and salt.
Step #3- Beat in flower until just combined then stir in coconut and chocolate chips.
Step #4- Place heaping spoonfuls of dough onto the lined baking tray and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.

Tips:
* I like to take the cookies out of the oven a couple of minutes before I think they are done because I prefer mine to be extra gooey and soft.
* You can add nuts to this recipe as well as or instead of the chocolate chips! Macadamias taste delicious if added to this recipe.
* You can use rolled oats instead of flour for a healthier spin on it.

So that is my Coconut Choc Chip Recipe; I really hope you all love this one as much as I do!

If you try this recipe out and want me to see what you made, use the hashtag on 

instagram or twitter #JordysCooking

Thanks for reading :)

CHOCOLATE CHAI RECIPE

My current obsession is chai; whether that be a chai latte, chocolate chai, chai tea etc...I have been loving it all! If you don't know what chai is, basically it's tea made by boiling tea lies with milk, sugar and sometimes spices. I came across this chocolate chai recipe and, being the chai addict I am, HAD to try it out

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
3 teaspoons loose-leaf black tea
8 cardamom pods
2 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
4 teaspoons sugar/sweeter
1/2 cup milk

Method:
Step #1- Combine tea, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, cocoa powder, sugar/sweetner and 1 1/2 cups of cold water in a saucepan.
Step #2- Bring to the boil over medium-high hear until bubbling. Then reduce to a medium-low heat and let simmer, stirring for 5 minutes until aromatic.
Step #3- Add milk. Leave to simmer and stir occasionally for 5 minutes or until hot. Strain into 2 heatproof glasses or cups and serve.

Tips:
* If you don't have or can't find some of the spices, you can always just used a pre-made spiced chai tea mix. I get mine from Coles and it has 2 variations; spiced or vanilla.
* You could also get syrups which they sell at Woolworths.

I absolutely love this recipe, the end result is absolutely delicious and you save heaps of money 

by making it yourself! 

If you try this recipe out and want me to see what you made, use the hashtag on 

instagram or twitter #JordysCooking

I hope you all enjoyed this reicpe!

2 QUINOA RECIPES! LEMON QUINOA AND VEGGIE QUINOA!

Quinoa is basically a healthy substitute for rice! It has soo many health benefits but head over to my Health/Fitness blog for more information on that. Here I'm going to be focusing on sharing two of my favourite ways to eat Quinoa!

Recipe 1: Lemon Quinoa

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Quinoa

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 Lemon

1 Shallot

Method:

Step #1- Cook 1/2 cup of Quinoa by boiling it on the stove in a pot for about 10 minutes.

Step #2- Drain the water from the Quinoa.

Step #3- Mix through the Quinoa; 1 tbsp of olive oil and the juice from half a lemon. 

Step #4- Cut up some shallots and sprinkle on top or mix through.

Recipe 2: Veggie Quinoa

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Quinoa

1 Celery Stick

1 Sml Carrot

1/4 Capsicum

Chicken Breast

1/2 Onion

1 Shallot

Almonds

Coconut Oil

Chia Seeds

Method:

Step #1- Cook 1/2 cup of Quinoa by boiling it on the stove in a pot for about 10 minutes.

Step #2- Drain the water from the Quinoa and mix through 1 tbsp of olive oil.

Step #3- Place cut up celery, carrot, capsicum, onion and shallots into a frying pan with water.

Step #4- Cook chicken breast in coconut oil and then add it to the vegetable mix.

Step #5- Once the vegetable/chicken mixture is completely cooked through and the vegetables have become soft, turn the heat off.

Step #6- Serve chicken/vegetable mixture on a bed of the Quinoa then garnish with chia seeds and almonds.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the 2 recipes!

HEALTHY PEAR AND BANANA DESSERT!

A dessert that's not only sweet and delicious but also really good for you as it only uses healthy ingredients! 

Ingredients:

1 pear

1 banana

Honey oat granola

Peanut butter

Coconut oil

Chia seeds

LSA meal

Cinnamon 

Method:

Step #1: Cut up your pear and banana into bite sized pieces and place them into a bowl.

Step #2: Top with banana, honey oat granola, coconut oil, chia seeds, LSA meal and cinnamon.

Step #3: Heat it up in the microwave for 30-40 seconds.  

Tweet or email me (mail@jordyscooking.com) pictures if your recreate any of my recipes and want to be featured in my "Shared Photos" section

HEALTHY HABITS: MEAL PREPPING!

Meal Prepping

The motto "prep once, eat healthy all week" explains the importance of meal prepping! Eating healthy all the time doesn't have to be a chore. The key is preparation, especially at the beginning of the week. By taking an hour out of one day to prepare some healthy meals will leave you with something wholesome to eat throughout the week and stop you from making bad food choices.

Who should meal prep?

This is perfect is you have a busy lifestyle and usually rely on take away or quick microwave meals because not only does meal prepping provide you with much more nutrition (depending on what you make I suppose) but it's also super quick and is only going to take one hour out of your week! 

Why should we meal prep?

I like to do this for uni because food on campus is really expensive and not very healthy, plus you never know what is actually in take away foods so it's safer, healthier and more affordable to meal prep instead. I only prepare meals for the four days that I have uni because other times, I am usually at home and able to make healthy options. 

When should we meal prep?

Pick one day to cook! Choose a quiet afternoon or evening to prepare a large meal that will feed you for a couple of days, or even the whole week. I like to do my meal prepping on Sunday afternoons/nights so that the food is as fresh as possible for the next four days that I have uni. 

How much food should we make?

For the purpose of this recipe, I am writing enough ingredients for five days because I know that a lot of you readers probably go to work or even uni for the usual five days a week. Of course, just tailor this recipe to your amounts and needs.

Delicious Chicken and Vegetables Recipe

Ingredients:

5x Chicken Breast

500grams of Mixed Vegetables 

3x Onions

1/4 Pumpkin

Oil (I use coconut oil)

Method:

Step #1- Cut up the onion into slices and the pumpkin into thin squares then place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Pop them in the oven for about 30 minutes on 280 degrees. 

Step #2- Add your mixed vegetables to a steamer and leave to steam for about 20 minutes on low heat.

Step #3- Heat a pan with coconut oil in it and then put in your chicken breasts, cooking on each side for about 7 minutes on low heat. 
Step #4- After all of your different foods have finished cooking, evenly distribute them among your containers and pack some in the fridge and others in the freezer (to keep them fresher).

I hope this recipe was educational and helpful! Please let me know if any of you start meal prepping and how you're liking it as well as if you already meal prep and what you think about it!  

Do you keep the meals int he fridge or freezer?
I keep half in the fridge and the other half in the freezer (just so that by the end of the week, the food is still fresh).

How long do you heat the meals up for?
If it's just coming out of the fridge, probably only 2 minutes in the microwave but if it's coming out of the freezer 2 minutes on defrost and 2 more minutes on the normal setting.

Tweet me pictures if your recreate any of my recipes and want to be featured in my "Shared Photos" section

 

WHAT I EAT BEFORE A WORKOUT

I'm someone who loves to eat before a workout because I find that it gives me heaps of extra energy to exercise harder and longer! Sometimes the difference between eating something or not can determine how much you get out of your workout.

Almonds

Almonds are known for all of their amazing health benefits including; lowering of cholesterol levels, high in antioxidants and healthy fats as well as providing magnesium, potassium and vitamin E.  What makes them perfect for snacking on before a workout is that they are a great source of protein and they give you heaps of energy.

Bananas

This fruit is an amazing source of natural energy as they are packed with vitamins and minerals! If I am feeling tired of sluggish, these always fill me with extra energy without the crash that you would get with caffeine or sugar. It's like natures energy bar!

Goji Berries

These little berries are packed full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and amino acids! Super high in antioxidants with a score of 25,300 compared to blueberries which are 2,400. They include 18 amino acids making them a complete protein, 21 minerals and super high in Vitamin A and C.

Coconut Butter

I love to have a couple of spoonfuls of coconut butter before I workout because it is a great source of natural energy and it also promotes weight loss! If you click on the title above, it will take you to a whole other article I wrote about the benefits of coconut butter!

Greek Yoghurt

Yoghurt is in general an amazing source of protein and calcium. However, Greek yoghurt is even better as it has less sugar and usually low or no fat. It's also much creamier which will fill you up for longer and leave you more satisfied and is usually less processed!

Coffee 
Coffee is a great pre workout drink as caffeine can help you get pumper up and energised to work out. It increases your heart rate so you burn more calories and work out longer and harder. It helps you go faster and feel less tired as well as make you feel better about your workout.

HOMEMADE WEDGES RECIPE

Ingredients:

4x Washed Potatoes

Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

Ground Turmeric

Cayenne Pepper

Pepper Steak Seasoning

Salt & Pepper

 

Method:

Step 1- Create wedge shapes out of your potatoes by slicing your thoroughly washed potato in half lengthways then proceeding to cut the half diagonally right then left. This leaves you with three wedges from the half a potato.

Step 2- Add your potato wedges into a bowl and massage olive oil into them.

Step 3- Add all of your seasonings into the bowl with the potato wedges and massage them in. 

Step 4- Place all of your wedges spaced out on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Give them a last little season with salt and pepper.

Step 5- Bake them for about 20 minutes on 180 then another 10 minutes on 200. 

HOW I STAY MOTIVATED AND FIND TIME TO EXERCISE!

I have been really getting back into exercising lately! I sort of fell off the fitness bandwagon when I started Uni as everything was so overwhelming and I was trying to figure out how to juggle homework, blogging, YouTube and socializing not even thinking about exercising! It's not that I dislike exercising either, I actually really enjoy the feeling after an intense workout, it was just about finding the time and staying motivated. So I thought, since I'm pretty sure that a lot of other girls probably deal with the same issues, I'm writing about my tips for finding time to exercise and staying motivated.

1.YOU HAVE THE TIME

Think about it this way, a one hour workout is such a small portion out of the 24 hours you have a day. Granted that you probably sleep for at least seven of those 24 hours...but still, it's a really short period of time that you can squeeze into your day.

2. SET GOALS

If you aim for something and have a vision in mind of what you want to achieve then you're more likely to work harder to reach your goal! Say you want to loose 2kg next month, you are definitely going to work at it to make sure that you reach that goal otherwise you know that you will disappoint yourself. It has definitely worked for me in the past and even if you don't actually reach that goal, it drives you to work even harder towards the next goal you have. 

3. HAVE FUN

If you hate running then don't force yourself to go on a treadmill. If you're scared of the water then obviously don't force yourself to swim! Fitness it supposed to be fun and make life more enjoyable not make you depressed or scare the crap out of you. It seems obvious but just engage in in the physical activities which you enjoy, even if that means giving your dogs a walk or doing some sit ups, everything counts! 

4. GET USED TO IT

Make it second nature where it's instinctive to exercise everyday! By including physical activity as part of your everyday routine, it will become strange not to exercise, like a healthy habit. I admit, I am still working on this one, I honestly don't just instinctively start working out YET but it will happen..one day...hopefully!

Those are my tips for finding time to exercise and keeping motivated! I hope you found this helpful!

WHATEVER YOU BE, MAKE SURE IT'S HAPPY! + WATERMELON JUICE RECIPE ❤

We all have to do things in life that we don't particularly want to; whether it be our essay on how the ancient world influences our modern society, being forced to be nice to that customer you can't stand or doing taxes...they are things that have to be done but we really hate doing! Taking time out for things that you enjoy can help outweigh the negatives. Just make sure that you put your happiness first! If you're feeling really stressed out and like the weight of the world is on your shoulders then take a break! Don't keep continuing to stress yourself out further. Even if it's just a short break, taking that half an hour to calm yourself down and relax will really help you continue doing whatever you need to do. What I like to do to relax is stay in my pajamas and sit out in the sun, reading a book and sipping on watermelon juice. I thought I would share with you all my Watermelon Juice recipe, although it's really simple I never thought to actually make it so definitely give this one a go!

Watermelon Juice Recipe

1. Slice up your watermelon into medium sized pieces. How much watermelon you use depends on how much juice you want but generally I use a 1/6 of a whole watermelon and that makes about a litre.

2. Add your watermelon to a blender with a small amount of cold water. This will help the watermelon initially start blending. Make sure to blend until the mixture is completely smooth.

3. Once all is blended, I like to mix some chia seeds through the mixture before pouring into a glass/mason jar and garnishing with a wedge of watermelon and a straw. 

I apologize for neglecting this website lately, hopefully I can keep up to date with it more often from now on!