The ULTIMATE Banana Loaf (Optional Dairy-Free)

Say HELLO to this amazing banana loaf. You really have no reason to not love this loaf, unless of course you don’t like bananas (like my best friend) or don’t like cake (like my boyfriend) – in that case you’re just strange.

I absolutely love baking (well actually I just really like eating what I bake) and, in attempt to be slightly healthy this year, I decided to bake a banana loaf.

Of course, who else to turn to than the queen of baking, Mary Berry, to provide me with one of her fabulous recipes; just to be clear I am not trying to claim this as my own recipe. However, as a little twist on this recipe I have made it dairy free because I’m lactose intolerant and trying to cut it out, that being said you don’t have to make it dairy free. Another alteration I would suggest, that I am definitely going to try in the future, is potentially adding bits of chocolate to make it even more tempting.

The perfect present for a Grandparent

A perfect present for your grandparent is one that leaves them smiling like this:

This is my lovely Nan and for her 90th Birthday, back in September, we decided to take her for afternoon tea at Stoneleigh Abbey. Most people will understand the struggle when it comes to Christmas or your Grandparents’ Birthday and you have to come up with an idea of what to buy them. You’ve already bought them endless pairs of slippers, chocolates, socks and bath smellies. You’re stuck. We found buying them an experience is perfect and gives them memories to remember – this is why we found going for Afternoon Tea was a perfect present. A bonus: you can find all sorts of deals on websites such as Wowcher that gives you discounts on different experiences.

My 2017 Goals

I have called these “My 2017 Goals” as I feel I am far too late to call them my New Year’s resolutions considering that would mean that within the first 2 weeks of 2017 I have already failed them. This year, instead of setting myself the typical goals of going to the gym 5 times a week, eating clean and drinking 4 litres of water a day, I have decided to set myself achievable goals that I will work on throughout the year because – let’s be real – I’m never going to stick to those goals.

1. Eat less dairy

If you know me then you will know I’m lactose intolerant so you make think this was a given. However, I can still eat small amounts of dairy without it affecting me, but often I forget I can only have a bit and let’s be honest after eating 6 squares of Dairy Milk who can stop?! This makes me end up feeling bloated and tired and therefore I need to cut down on my dairy intake (or rather I should say, my chocolate intake).

How do I revise?

I am currently (trying to) revise for 3 January Uni exams and, over the years, I have slowly been finding different things that help me to revise and decided I would post them. Each one may not be suitable for everyone and there are many other ways to revise, as everyone is motivated and revises in different ways.

Time Management

I find that time management is key for revision. The worst thing when you’re revising is when you simply can’t focus and end up reading the same sentence multiple times without it going in. To overcome this, I have found that I work best if I focus for 45 minutes and then take a 15 minute break completely away from my desk or revision. Overall, each section of revision adds up to an hour – this also makes it easier to plan revision. During the 45 minutes I always keep my phone in another room, or turned off, to stop myself being distracted and then, during the 15 minute break, I turn my phone back on and use it during the break. Other ideas for the 15 minute breaks is doing things you need to get done such as tidying, walking the dog or even just watching TV as a break.