Chunky Monkey Milkshake!

Chunky Monkey Milkshake!

I love a good experimental milkshake! Inspired from the classic Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream- which is not actually in my recipe but sure add that in too :) 

The Ingredients

• 2 Chopped Banana's
• 2 Cups of Vanilla Ice cream
• 1 Pint of Milk
• 1 Cup of Chocolate Ice cream or chopped chocolate
• 3 teaspoons of Hot chock mix
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

The steps to make chunky monkey milkshake are simple have 1 blender at the ready and bang everything in all at once, make sure to have a spoon at the ready to give it a try add more ingredients to achieve a stronger flavour or alter the thickness. Once perfect then dust with a bit of cocoa powder to garnish.

Hope your enjoy and that it tickles your taste buds :)

Easter chocolate rice krispie cakes

Its that time of the year where chocolate is everywhere you look. That can only mean one thing...Yay its easter!

With all the chocolate surrounding us there is only one thing to do and that is to make some easter treats. This recipe definitely takes me on a trip down memory lane as I used to make this with my mum and also at school during easter.  

These cakes are really simple to make and come together within a matter of seconds. There is no exact measurement for this, I personally just eye ball how many rice krispie's go into the chocolate. This is a rough guideline I put together. 

You will need:

•  200g chocolate
• 100g rice krispies
• Cupcakes cases
• Mini eggs and mini marshmallows

1) First things first is to melt the chocolate. I find it best to do this a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. If not you can heat it in the microwave, making sure you do not burn it. 

2) Whilst the chocolate is melting measure the rice krispie's and lay out the cupcake cases

3) Combine the melted chocolate with the rice krispie's and mix thoroughly until everything is coated and there is a even layer of chocolate on the rice krispie's. 

4) Spoon into cupcakes cases and decorate with mini eggs and mini marshmallows.

5) Leave to cool down and set then its time to eat!

I hope you try this recipe out this easter :)

What are your favourite easter chocolate treats to make? 

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Pancake Day

Hey guys its April & Amreeta....ooohh that's right joint blog post!

This week we are going to be telling you how to make the perfect British AND American pancake! for both the sweet and savoury monster within you!

Everyone has a little pancake monster within them that doesn't allow you to just eat one pancake and be satisfied but instead makes you involuntarily eat a million pancakes!

 Aprils British Pancakes

Ingredients 

• 110g/4oz plain flour, sifted
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water

How to make the perfect pancake batter;

• Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl 
• Now make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it 
• Then begin whisking the eggs - any sort of whisk or even a fork will do 
• Next gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking (don't worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk) 
• Then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream

Cooking your creation!

• Now get the pan really hot, It's also helpful if you use a ladle to pour the batter into the hot pan
• As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter
• It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a spatula to see if it's tinged gold
• Now the best bit! FLIP the pancake- don't let all your hard work be wasted by flipping it on the floor or in my case, flipping it to high and it sticking to the ceiling

To Serve

• Sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and a dusting of either caster sugar, or icing sugar
• Fold in half, then in half again to form triangles, or simply roll them up

Alternatively, you can top your pancake with whatever your heart desires! Milkyway spread, ice cream, Nutella, fruit/fruit compote, nuts, cream, melted chocolate!

Either way its not good for the diet so you may as well go for it!

Taadddaahhh.. your British pancake is complete!

Amreeta's American Pancakes

You will need: 

• 1 cup Self raising flour 
• 1 egg 
• 1/2 cup Milk 
•  4 tsp brown sugar 
•  Pinch of salt 
• Olive Oil 
• Maple syrup 
•  Fruit of choice

1) Add the flour, egg, milk, salt and sugar to a bowl and mix until smooth.

2) Heat a non stick pan on low- medium heat and add 1 tsp of olive oil, making sure the olive coats the pan. Spoon the mixture into the pan, I usually do two small pancakes to a pan or one medium sized one. When bubbles start to appear on the surface (2 minutes) you can flip the pancake.

3)Let it cook on the other side for another 2 minutes until brown on both sides.

4) Place onto a plate and serve with maple syrup and fruit of your choice.

And there you go, both of our delicious pancake recipes! Which one is your favourite?
tweet us your creations at @ateamlifestyle

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World Nutella Day ~ Nutella Hot Chocolate

Hey guys! :) 

If you've already read the title of this blog post, you will know that today I am going to be making Nutella Hot Chocolate, in celebration of #WorldNutellaDay
This was a firm fav of mine at university, and I mean come on who doesn't like Nutella!

You will need:

• Nutella
• Milk
• Whipped cream
• Marshmallows 
• A mug
• A whisk
• Tablespoon

1) Using the mug as your measuring guide, pour the required amount into a pan. Then add two tablespoons of Nutella with the milk. Use the whisk to distribute the Nutella and make the milk frothy. You should end up with something that looks like this

  2) Pour it into your mug and top with whipped cream and marshmallows.

I hope you guys try this out and if you do, don't forget to tweet me a picture :)

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Make your own Katsu Curry!

Hey guys its Alex!

Japanese Inspired Katsu Curry!

So I have a big obsession over Japanese food, but really fail at cooking it (especially sushi) so when I was really board the other day i thought; wouldn't it be nice to find a simple katsu curry recipe 

Katsu Curry can't be that hard? Can it??

I eventually found the perfect recipe that seemed simple enough that I could follow and adapt in my own little quirky way- Here's the link for the non quirky recipe :) 

To start I bought some chicken goujons and Uncle Bens microwavable rice, this cut time and cost!! and after getting all the basics of the dish I needed to concentrate on the sauce….

This is how I got on :) 

What you will need….

Ingredients:

3 tbsp sunflower oil 
2 medium onions, roughly chopped 
25g chunk of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped- this was debatable and i didn't add in the end
4 garlic cloves, sliced 
3 tbsp medium curry powder 
1⁄2 tsp ground star anise- or I have Chinese 5 spice which did the trick 
1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric 
4 tsp of plain flour 
500ml chicken stock (made with 1 chicken stock cube) 
4 tsp tomato purée 
2tsp freshly ground black pepper
ohh and then i added a tad soy sauce when cooking the onions.

-My first move was to fry the onions with some sunflower oil for about 5 mins- but make sure not to burn them like I did, just let them go golden - I may have aded soy sauce- you don't need it though.

-Then add in 4 garlic cloves with the onions, sliced into iddy, biddy, diddy chunks 

-With them slowly frying, add and mix in all the turmeric, curry powder, black pepper, the star anise/five spice and sprinkle in the flour. 

-Once mixed up in the pan add the chicken stock slowly, then add in the purée, I suggest at this point taste the mixture and see if it needs more flavouring. 

-Let the sauce mix on a light flame to simmer. If its turned thick and paste like, add more water and slowly stir mixture. This is when I popped the rice in the microwave and the chicken was nearly finished being cooked in the oven.

-Once everything looks cooked put the rice and chicken on the plate with the sauce, you need to pour the sauce into a blender or use a stick blender to grind the mixture down to a smooth and creamy appearance and then its ready to serve

Daaadaaaa easy peasy lemon squeezy!!!

Tuck in and enjoy, let me know how you get on!

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Healthy New Start

Motivational Mondays....Oops Its Wednesday!

Hey Internet,

Hows everyone been recently? still keeping up your new years resolutions? or did you fail miserably like me?

 I said i would drink more water-FAIL. I said i would make more time to blog-FAIL. 

I've failed miserably, but not to worry, to be fair on myself, i did say i would try to be healthy (as a non resolution) and its worked! (this is the key, make things 'non resolutions')

 I have been super healthy, like more healthy then i have ever been in my life! 

well done me! The hard bit was trying to stay motivated and somehow i have managed it! I've been mostly influenced by +Sprinkleofglitter with her whole #glittergetsfitter reading through everyone's progress on instagram, its seriously been a massive help! and now I've got Dan and Phil bloody running, so i suppose Ive gotta start doing that now- since I'm so easily influenced!

Progress so far; I've lost about half a stone which is about 7lb, i have been eating salad everyday and having fruit smoothies for breakfast after recently purchasing a smoothie maker, i been like a master fruit mixologist making all kinds of fruity goodness! 

Ive made being healthy FUN

Just want to point out i know there is a ton of sugar in fruit smoothies, but because i don't eat vegetables its my only option on the smoothie front...

Not only am i eating healthily, I'm actually leaving my 'bed-cave' (as my dad like to call my bedroom) Ive got this app on my phone that counts the steps i do per day, I'm trying to achieve 10,000 steps a day! its a hard target and i hardly reach it but its nice when i get close. Ive also been using a 'slender tone' machine, its a belt that you use to tone up your muscles whilst exercising, i use it whilst doing squats and sit ups.. sometimes when I'm feeling lazy ahhemmm..most the time i just put it on max and just lie down, its very intense, but it does work and the toned feeling is more or less instant

+ Here a few of my favourite healthy smoothies;

1) strawberry smoothie;

strawberries, low fat yogurt, banana and almonds

2) baby spinach ginger and peach smoothie;

baby spinach, peeled grated ginger, peaches, honey and water

3) Mango Yogurt smoothie;

cinnamon, lime juice, mango and low fat yogurt 

4) mixed fruit smoothie

oranges, blueberries, banana, pineapple and strawberries

I hope i have motivated you to carry on with your diets? or start a healthy routine? what you have to remember is that the results won't be instant, much to my distress.

You might as well give it a go!

let me know how your new year diets are going and recommend me any tips and tricks! 

I need all the help i can grab! we all gotta help each other!

Toodlepip xx

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Healthy Cookies!

January is the month of diets and for everyone who has a sweet tooth, this can be a hard thing to deal with. To get you guys in the baking mood but to still keep healthy, I concocted my own "healthy cookies". 

Whilst most recipes call for white sugar, I substituted it with maple syrup, a healthier aulturnative. Maple syrup contains antioxidants which benefits your your immune system and even though it is sweeter than sugar, is has fewer calories. Another healthy substitute is adding seeds in replacement for chocolate chips. If you don't want to add seeds you could add anything from nuts to dried fruit.

Quick little tip for you guys, make sure you do not over mix the cookie dough otherwise you will end up with a tough cookie! (pun not intended haha) 

Ingredients:

• 115g butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 1/2 cup flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 
• 1 tsp hot water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup seeds/raisins/chocolate chips

1) Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. In a bowl add the brown sugar, maple syrup and butter, cream together until mixed. 

2) Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix together.

3) In a separate bowl add the bicarbonate of soda and hot water. Mix together and add into mixture along with the salt. Next gradually mix in the flour until fully mixed. 

4) Add the oats and mix well. 

5) Add the seeds or a mixture of anything you want to add. Mix until everything is fully combined and evenly spread through.

6)Using a tablespoon as a measurement scoop out the mixture and place onto the tray. Make sure the cookies are equally sized. Place in the oven for 10-11 minutes 

7) Once done, let the cookies cool on a cooling rack or you can eat them instantly!

If you enjoy these cookies make sure to bake them and tweet me picture! 

How are your January diets going so far?

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~ Simple 'PARRTAAY' Cocktails ~

Hey guys, its April :)

Whos up for some really super easy cocktails for your new years eve party? looking for simple cocktails that please all? You have come to the right place, My uni drinking experiences has come in handy! YAY DEGREE!

~Pimm's~

AKA- Pimm's and ginger ale. 
A summer fave, you most likely have bottle spare in you drinks cupboard. 

Mix with either ginger ale, or lemonade with assorted fruit, try mixed berries for the colder months with cinnamon sticks = YUM

~Paloma~ 

AKA- Tequila with grapefruit juice. 

Perfection in a cup, this is the only way i love to drink tequila, super tasty and uber refreshing, although be aware of the headache caused by this drink! 

so drink lots of water alongside this drink 

(all alcoholic drinks for that matter)

~Cuba Libre~

AKA- rum and coke, this drink is even better if you have  cherry coke!

if you would rather a mocktail (non alcoholic cocktail) ask for a 'virgin cuba libre' sheldons drink from big bang theory!

~Gin and Tonic~

A personal fave of mine, this was my go to drink at university, low in calories- (compared to other cocktails) especially if you choose the slimline tonic, you can also drink gin with fanta lemon- (my holiday drink) as i like to call it, it's super refreshing, especially with ice and a wedge of lime and orange

~Seven & Seven~

AKA- whiskey lemonade, me and amreeta would pre drink on this many a time at uni! 
super delish and super drunk scale 100%

whiskey is also nicely mixes with coke or cherry coke, slice of lime and a cocktail umbrella :)

And there we have it 5 simple yet pleasing cocktails to serve at your NYE event! 
NOW obviously i'm not promoting abusive drinking behaviours, just merely guiding/showing you ways to create simple yet tasty alcoholic beverages, also, on a side note to this, please drink responsibly, have lots of water, before, during and after drinking, and act safely over this holiday and we will see you in the new year with a fresh new look to the blog!
Hope you guys have an amazing new year filled with family and friends!

PS) sorry its been so long since my last post, i've been working! thats right, i've actually become a normal functioning human that works and has money for stuff...with zero time to actually spend the money! ~Booo~

But yes, new year new me, and all that shizzle that makes me want to be sick, next week i start my new job, something that's actually relevant to my degree, i'm super excited but also super duper terrified! My job title will be  "Social Media and Marketing Assistant"  how fancy... really, it means i sit on social media all night for a certain business. I'm very very excited for this, however my blog posts may be a bit sparse whilst i settle into my new grown up life.. Bare with me please? :) 

Toodlepip xx

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