A naughty treat that will leave you feeling good :-)

Dieting doesn't work. End of. Been there, done that, have numerous jean sizes to prove it. After a bit of a weird, strange not-break-up in April 2012 I decided enough was enough and was going to change my outlook on life. See..I love food..all of it. All the time. I don't understand how people don't like or won't try all the food. Sure there are foods that I won't eat like banana's and wheetabix..but that stems from a childhood of being force-fed them for breakfast..likewise with stew. As both my parents worked full time, I spent my childhood after school with a childminder..and every October to March my mother would send stew for dinner. Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate my mother sent home cooked food and not precooked, processed crap than came from a box or a tin..but there really is only so much stew a kid can take. Anyway, the weight came off over time. Technically, as I'm 5'10 (nearly 11) I wasn't overweight..but I hated how I looked and had the confidence of a field mouse facing a lion. 

So increasing exercise (no two ways about it people) and limiting portions paid off. As of June this year I had lost 31 pounds(stops for round of applause .) . Anyway, I never really had a sweet tooth, it was savoury stuff (like bread etc - see previous posts) that were my downfall. But when there are those moments (And arn't there always those moments) something sweet is just what the doctor ordered. Now, if I really want a bar of chocolate or biscuits, hell I'll have them. Work them into my day, I don't believe restriction works. If you cut something out, you're only going to think about it ALL the time and cave. But, when you just have a bit of a craving, and want to sate it..well you're going to love this recipe.

When I was in school, I'm not going to lie..I was jealous of the kids who got to bring Nutella sandwiches for lunch. FFS it was a CHOCOLATE sandwich. As it turned out, I didn't taste Nutella till I was about 9 or 10 when I bought a jar of it in France. That stuff is dangerous. I am convinced that they are trying to hook you on it, with its soft velvety texture, hazlenutty undertones and chocolate hit. I am pretty sure it's the break up food of choice for girls all over the world. Or drunken eating. Its perfect to attack with a spoon.  But it is SOOOOO bad for you. Each tablespoon has 100 calories..not good. This recipe has 57 per tablespoon and the lesser calories makes it fell just as bad. 

I found this recipe on a blog site called Chocolate Covered Katie

You will need:

2 cups raw hazelnuts (240g) all ready skinned and chopped or for full see below.

1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp  sugar, or maple syrup

 1 tbsp more agave or sugar

1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt

 2 tsp sunflower oil

1/2 cup milk of choice (I used skim milk)

Roast hazelnuts for 8-10 minutes at 400 F. 

Rub them together in a paper towel to get the skins off. (It’s ok if a few stubborn skins won’t come off.) 

In a food processor, blend the nuts until they’ve turned to butter, then add all other ingredients and blend a long time until it’s smooth like Nutella. I think I blended off-and-on for a full two minutes. 

It's slightly less smooth than normal nutella, but it comes without the long list of ingredients and is much healthier. Leave to set in the fridge for a good 6 hours before spreading on stuff. It goes perfectly with caramel rice cakes .