Crunchy Banana Granola

Since I started eating healthily granola has been a staple in my diet. And I first I just got mine from the local supermarket. I know what you’re thinking… Georgina, that is loaded with sugar… and I know that now but back then I lived off Special K and Bran Flakes… A LOT has changed.

But once my Mum and I realised that my new granola wasn’t quite as healthy as we thought we began making our own. Since that time we have been through quite a few granola recipes but out of all of them this one is our favourite. It is totally free from refined sugar and contains only healthy fats. It is chewy and crunchy and tastes banana-ry (totally not a word) and delicious. It doesn’t contain many ingredients either which makes it super easy to make (great because once you have tried this you will make it a lot!)

Ingredients:

Wet:

1 and ½ cup sliced overripe banana

3 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

3 tbsp honey/ pure maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

Dry:

3 cups oats

½ cup almonds (roughly chopped) (optional – just adds another dimension/ flavour but still great without)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Mash the bananas really well and then place into a large mixing bowl with the honey (or maple syrup), vanilla extract and coconut oil. Mix well.

Add the oats (and almonds if using) to the bowl and mix until fully combined. (Using your hands here to combine everything works really well!)

Empty the mixture onto the baking tray, pressing it together until it forms almost a large pancake (I know this is a strange method but trust me!!) And place into the oven.

Allow to cook for 15 minutes, until the edges become lightly browned, then remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Begin to break the ‘pancake’ apart into small chunks – these will form your granola chunks.

Once you have broken up the whole mix pop back into the oven for 25-30 minutes, tossing the granola every now and then. It should be a golden brown.

Allow to cool and then devour with everything! (Fruit, porridge, (n)ice cream… you name it!)

Self Love - Believe It

To say I have fully recovered from my eating disorder would be a lie. There are still some days when I feel like throwing my duvet over my head, curling into a ball and hiding from the world. But that is okay; an eating disorder consumed my entire being for almost eight years, it was never going to be easy or just vanish, but as each week passes those bad days become fewer and fewer, and i know one day soon they will vanish completely.

There are a lot of things I could (and hopefully will) talk about regarding recovery, but with an announcement earlier today from the BBC stating that hospitals admissions for teenagers with eating disorders has nearly doubled over the past three years due to low self-esteem issues stemming from social media, ‘self-love’ was something I wanted to talk about today.

I am sure there are a number of people who would tell you that self-love is not something I am good at. I can completely relate to those who scroll endlessly through Instagram feeling they could never measure up to the girls they see there; never strong enough, flexible enough, beautiful enough… it can be so toxic.  But I think there are two things to remember here. First of all Instagram is a photo roll of highlights, not of reality. People place their images into the world so they can be perceived in certain way. More often than not we do not show our rawness: the dirty tracksuit bottoms we watch television in, the 11pm pig-outs, the I-Need-A-Wash hair. Yet really it is those moments that make up our realities, not perfectly photographic snapshots. The second thing to remember is that we can beat ourselves up as much as we want, we can hate ourselves to a point of repulsion, but we will never be the girl in the photo. You do not need to feel guilty for being you. You are you, and that itself is beautiful and more than enough.

A couple of days ago that was me. I had been scrolling away (bad Georgina) and was about to send my friend a text and ask if they would still like me even if I gained a little weight (silly I know, but at at the time this seemed like a very rational question). And then I realised that texting them would not help. It would not matter what their reply was – reassurance is great and so often very helpful, yes, but ultimately the real question I needed to ask was to myself; would I still like me if I gained weight?

There is a quote that I have seen a number of times that states, ‘how can you expect anyone else to love you if you do not love yourself’. At first I found this difficult to get my head around. But now I see its importance. Let me try to explain. I think this is about the idea that if you do not love yourself the love given to you from others will never be adequate, you will always feel lacking. No matter how much they love you, no matter how many times they tell you you are beautiful, they will never be able to fill that gaping hole inside you that screams you are not enough. So you can keep on losing weight or promising yourself that ‘when this or that happens I will be happy’… but honestly, deep down, you know that even when you achieve that, there will always be something else.

You need to realise on you own that you are enough; to allow yourself to find the beauty in you. You need to forgive yourself for your imperfections and flaws because they are the rawness that makes you you and that is so, so beautiful.

So maybe today put your phone down. Maybe today start a journal and write down 5 things you like about yourself with as much kindness as possible, Maybe today write down those things you forgive yourself for. Today stop searching for something to change. Be happy with where you are right now. Love the person you are, every cell in your body is already perfect - each and every one of us is enough – and you just need to learn to believe it.