Healthy Banana Cake – no sugar, no butter, no oil and no guilt

Slylogs,

 

Healthy Banana Cake - no butter, no sugar, no oil. A saint's cake

Ever felt the urge to have something sweet, but felt too guilty about the consequences? Fear not, stand tall, I’ll let you in on a secret weapon. A banana cake that eschews butter, sugar and other nasties, yet tastes divine.

This banana cake is so yummy that you want to have another slice. And the best news is that you can!

There is no added sugar, no added butter or oil and nothing to make you feel guilty. So here we go:

 

Ingredients

• 3-4 super ripe bananas (blackening skins are the best), mashed
• 2 medium size eggs, beaten
• 1.5 cups, self-raising wholemeal flour
• 2 table spoons Philadelphia light cream cheese
• 100 gram plain chocolate chips
• 1 table spoon baking powder

Serves: 8

Directions



Preparation  time: 10min  ›  Cook: 50min   

Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Use silicon baking tray (so need to grease it)

Mix together all ingredients (remember to add the flour and the baking powder last).

Bake for 50-55 minutes, and leave it to call off for another 15 minutes.



Remember

Ripe bananas are a great natural substitute to refined sugar. To add sweetness, you can add 2 table spoons Xylitol sweetener, which is a great way to provide sweet flavour without the downsides of refined white sugar.

Butter is not a bad thing, but I prefer to use less of it if I can help it. To help the cake stand tall, I use light cream cheese which provides the scaffolding required, but with a fraction of the fat.

For a personal touch you can add some crushed pecan nuts or add 2 table spoons of chocolate drink powder to add some dark brown hue to the cake.

Brew some fresh coffee, sit back and have your (healthy) cake.

Life is good.

Have a good weekend.

 

How to Create the Day to Night Classy Look

Stylogs,

You try to balance a busy life. Your work, you need to look after the house, the kids, the after school activities, the bills, the supermarket shopping and that’s before you even take account of the man, who needs another whole article on its own. You need to find a way to dress quickly and efficiently in a way that would help you transition seamlessly from morning routine, to formal work dress code to evening going out look.

Can it be done?

The key is finding your inner style and body rhythm. Depending on your body shape and size you can always find a set of clothes that will flatter you. Taking account of your skin tone, your face shape and colour of your eyes, a simple make up work can really magically transform your presence from a tired rat-race zombie to a confident leader.

Start your day right. Go with solid colours shift dress. This will serve you well throughout the day. In the summer (thanks God it's back) choose classy sandals, or low heel ballerina pumps with colour matching gloss or matt finish. If the summer is a British one, a pull over or jumper may be required.

Keep jewellery to the absolute minimum, their time will come later in the day. A white gold necklace, with matching earrings and maybe one or two bracelets, but keep it light and understated.

Remember, you will raise your decibels later in the evening.

Along with the understated look, keep your make up colours in the beige, nude space (you can go with some rosy tones to lighten it up). Avoid stark colour, avoid smoky eyes and keep the lipstick to natural colours.

For mid-afternoon, you can spike things up a notch. Pair your dress with boots, such as heel boots, cowboy (cowgirl?) boots to add some flair. If the temperature is on the wrong side of warm, go with a casual blazer. Make sure the blazer’s colour comes from the same family as the boot

Your mid-afternoon jewellery can also grow in stature and drama. Silver, gold can definitely add in a level of prominence, but still I would steer clear of pure and cheap bling.



Night out? As night approaches, and the atmosphere becomes less desk and more club, you can surely turn up the heat. Pair your dress with killer high heel pumps, put the foot down and go all out with some strong make up look (dark colours, bright lipstick, smoky eyes).


Don’t forget your clutch. If a jacket is required (and it probably is), go for bright colours to ensure you get the attention you deserve.

What to wear with shorts

Stylogs,


Classy look for short with a pale blue top

I remember times, years ago where all I was wearing was shorts, sandals, light and bright tops and spent my summer days climbing trees and eating ice cream.

If it’s not a dream, it must be that my memory is playing games on me. Summer used to be about freedom and independence.

With a welcome emergence of summer in England, I suddenly faced an unfamiliar dilemma. Summer is here, the mercury is rising, and I don’t know what to wear. You can’t just pull whatever your touch from your wardrobe and nothing really fits properly, and nothing matches the other bits. Crumbs, it is quite tricky to get the right ‘summer’ look.

So here’s my take on what to wear with shorts. As always, there is no single answer. It depends on your body shape, skin complexion, face, hair, you name it. But in principle, unless you are a size zero super model (or near enough), steer clear from anything too tight. The shorts can hug your waist but the rest of your outfit should be looser and certainly not tight.

Casual yet super sleek combination of
short denims with long sleeved top

You may want to keep some parts of your body covered to offset the acreage of skin that your exposed legs now show to the world. So go with long sleeves which not only counter the exposed skins on the legs but also make this differentiation look quiet cute. V neck tops can work well for women with smaller breast when combined with light shorts, as they take the focus away from the cleavage and spread it around the body. If you have broad shoulders, you should vouch for boat neck, as they will balance out the top half of the body with the shorts and legs.

When going for a summery look with shorts, I’d highly recommend keeping the jewellery on show to a minimum. This keeps the balance between being ‘free’ and chic just about right.

You can definitely go for sandals if the temperature is right (or if you have a nice tattoo that you need to the share with the world, anyone?).  

 

Never ever wear socks with sandals. That’s not allowed under any political system (dictatorial, autocratic and even democratic). Also, if you go for exposed feet in sandals, please please make sure you treat your cracked heels, and your toe nails are well trimmed and manicured (you can go for a summery colour polish, or just with something quiet, depending on your mood).

A Little Visit to Zurich

Stylogs,

I always find this an eye opening experience. Travelling to another country is testing your acceptance and perceptions of other cultures. I didn’t go far, both geographically and culturally, and yet the differences are obvious.

Zurich in the summer - Cafe on Limmatquai by the
Limmat River

I visited Zurich for work. Although the flight left Heathrow at an unsocial hour (6am, just think about what time the taxi picked me up…painful), I arrived early enough into town.

The first impression was how clean and quiet the train from the airport was. I never thought a train could be, well, quiet. When you travel on the London underground (or overground) you can’t hear anything. You can’t have a conversation (unless you shout your lungs out), you can’t listen to music (unless you stuff those little plugs down the ear canals where they almost press your brain in), and you can’t really relax. In Zurich you hear other people have a chat three rows away. And they chat in whispers. It’s serene.

The dress code is classy continental. Women make an effort with their dresses in quiet matt colours and the men don’t try to outdo each other with their Jermyn Street shirts. The weather was very hot so the cut was lower and deeper than typical London standard this time of year (mind this is London summer).  An informative stroll down Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich’s main shopping street is interesting, if not life changing. Some of the familiar brands where there (C and A) as well as some local favourites.

On the way back I indulged. Sprungly is famous for chocolates and multi-flavoured macaroons. There must be 20-30 varieties in pink, brown, purple and a gold-pinkish hue with an exquisite chocolate passion-fruit flavour. The filling is airy and the macaroon is not too sweet. Just perfect for a little treat or a different kind of present from the land of the watches.

I couldn’t resist a visit to the chocolate aisle at the local supermarket. There must have been about 50 SKUs there. I quickly hoarded half a dozen and ran for my train back to the airport. On a carefuly (if not yet complete) test, the cranberry dark chocolate is the winner, though the competition is still neck and neck.



Chocolate aisle in a Zurich supermarket, a place to avoid if
you're looking after your waiste line

I know you’re not going to believe it, but my train was 2 minutes late. Travesty. I know.

Taste of London

Stylogs,

The summer is here. It's cold, grey and that's on the good days when it doesn't poor down as if this is the Europen version of Niagara Falls. In England, when summer steps in, it is the cue for a host of festivals to sprout out, like mushrooms after the rain. and rain there definitely is...

Glastonbury is the famous one for mud, wellies, rain and spending the night in someone elses tent. Oh, also there's music. If Glastonbury's too high brow for you, try Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts, no doubt the low point in the summer festivals' programme.

Thai food decoration at the Taste of London Festival

To set off on the right note, we went to Taste of London, in Regents Park. Under ominous skies of grey, with intermittant showers, thousands of people wandered around dozens of stalls carrying around small disposable plates with tiny portions of fancy dishes such as:

Crab salad with avocado puree, Tuscan melon and toasted hazelnuts - great texture, though the avocaod felt a little too bland, or

Acquerello risotto with 8year-aged organic Parmesan - a bit too rich, I couldn't finish the (small) bowl.

The best way of handling the weather was the British Airways' lounge, which looked like a glass fuselage where you could sit down and enjoy your dish of choice.

1940s are back. The Dresses, the music, the Union Jack

Overall, the food was good, but the crowds made waiting for the best stalls almost not worth the wait. the BBQ and gourmet burger stands seemed to be the most popular, with the ice cream and frozen yogurt gigs feeling the chill (sorry, I couldn't resist the punt).

Pre - Season Collections: Fashion Cycles are Getting Shorter

Stylogs,

Pre-season fashion is confusing the fashion establishment, but does bring in a fresh set of gorgeous designs.

Heavy floods in central Europe may not be your first association with June, but just ask the people the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. However, the fashion world steams ahead with ever shorter design cycles.

What used to be a four season world, has recently turned into a multiple season parade with pre-seasons to add to the mix confuse everybody. These sub-seasons are gaining popularity with some fashion buyers claiming to spend about four fifths of their budget on these bridging collections.

Customers have grown used to the ‘latest’ and ‘new’ stickers on their fashion sites, or dedicating a whole sub-section of their website for the latest collections (http://www.kaleidoscope.co.uk ). Offering a way to get into a new collection early on and before trends take place in the wider public, allows the fashion oriented customers to make an early move, according to sources in the industry.

There are several designs I actually like in the inevitable pre-autumn collections that have crept upon us from these shores and across the pons.

From Barney’s New York a beautiful and yet classy knit sweater by O 2^nd


Knit sweater by O 2^nd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Brown’s London, a chic  sweat shirt

A really clever Missoni multicoloured wool blend jumper that is as intriguing as it is pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best view on this latest development is by Paula Reed, Fashion director at Harvey Nichols who said that she thinks of the catwalk as “the icing, but the pre-collection is the cake”.  She was particularly excited about some promising young British designers such as Peter Pilotto, Roksanda Ilincic, Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders. She also mentioned Nina Ricci, Proenza Schouler and Céline as ones to keep a close eye on.

From the across the water, Tomoko Ogura a Fashion director at Barney’s of New York said that some of their favourite pre-autumn collections are Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Carven, Acne Studios and Regulation by Yohji Yamamoto. She pointed out that animal prints will be noticeably prominent this season, as well as the Manolo Blahnik’s zebra print pump

 

 

 

Birthday Present - Wardrobe Detox

After 365 days- it came again. My birthday that is. I’ve always had a complicated relationship with that day….but here it is again - another year. And with birthdays come presents. I LOVE presents, especially good ones. This year Mr. T got me an extra good pressie. A wardrobe detox. Ok, so it was after super thick hints on my end and some encouragement. But I have to say – he did all the research on his own. Checked and vetted several options – and finally hit the button – which means, he paid.

For those who don’t know- a wardrobe detox is when a well trained professional stylist sorts through all your clothes and stuff you hide in your closets and cleanses it. I.e throws or makes you put away all the - too small, it-might-fit-me-one-day clothes that in reality you know you’ll  never wear. E-V-E-R. And let’s face if you did fit into these clothes again, when, if, you loose all that weight – well then… two words: SPENDING SPREE!

Ok so I digress. For my wardrobe detox – Mr. T, hired Kristina from stylefig. (www.stylefig.com) Kristina’s Danish – Mr. T’s logic was as follows: the Scandinavian have good tastes, they build strong house and are generally attractive, hence Danish origin must be a plus.

Cutting my work day short, I meet Kristina at my house at 2pm. After some niceties and chitchat – we get working. First Kristina figures out my colors and gives me a chart with my best ones.  She asks to see some of my favorite clothes. I bring tons. We then run through a questionnaire to figure out my style.  I come out at as 80% simple 10% classic and 10% frilly. In simple language this means that I like clean cut, non-flashy clothes with a small shot of pizzazz.

Then the hard stuff begins. For nearly 4 hours, Kristina painstakingly takes out all my clothes – stashed across 3 closets around my house, and nicely creates a big pile of nearly a third of my clothes. These are the clothes that, well, I haven’t worn in years – or at least since I gained the weight that just doesn’t want to come off... This pile is soon to be known as the “to be thrown” aka TBT. I manage to salvage a few things from the TBT pile after Kristina agrees I can try them on first. I try them on. And after both of us agree they look alright, they’re spared. 



Backup Wardrobe in the Guest Room...Decimated 

Overall my wardrobe autopsy conclusion is that I have loads of cardigans, all the same type, different colors and some in the same color… just in case.  I have tons of basic Tees, and I’m ok for office clothes. But I do lack a couple of key pieces to really add that chic glamour spark to an outfit. Kristina also checks out my jewelry. She scribes a few selected items that I really need to pull it all together. She then sternly makes me promise that whenever I go shopping I obey some core rules: shop only for my body shape and colors, buy only things that make me feel fabulous and make sure they go with at least three things already in my wardrobe. 

And lastly we tackle my shoes. I think Kristina is horrified to discover I’m not a high-heel shoe girl and all my shoes need to be comfortable first.  This is a big struggle of mine. I’m pretty tall, so I don’t really need 4 inch heels. My ideal heel height is around 2” – but it’s so hard to find decent shoes of this heel height – that in some cases the shoe appearance does suffer. And most of my decent court shoes are hidden underneath my desk at work. The ones at home are not so awe-inspiring. Kristina jots some notes, and recommends some brands that are supposed to be comfy and trendy.

As a final touch Kristina puts together some super cool outfits from the stuff in my wardrobe – in a way I never would. And I love it. She organizes my wardrobe very neatly and somehow it now looks almost as nice as a store rack. She fixes a simple-glam outfit and I am all set for my casual birthday dinner.

I gladly throw in the recycling all the unloved clothes bar a few…. My wardrobe looks detoxed. My wardrobe looks fresh. My wardrobe looks stylish. I can finally flick through all my clothes. I have focus and discipline – and I know the handful of new stuff I need to get…

At dinner, I thank Mr. T for a lovely gift. Mr. T says he was amazed how we managed to spend so much time on clothes…and is stunned to discover a follow-up session is needed….but really it’s so worth while.  Well he has to agree.

Thank you Kristina – it was ace. And I look forward to our next personal shopping experience. Highly recommended.