Marna Doussy Blog

Easy, moist and insanely delicious banana bread recipe.      Makes 12 servings • Time: 1 hour Ingredients 3 ripe bananas 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 2 tablespoons oil (any oil) 5 tablespoons honey (or ½ cup sugar) 1 cup flour 1 cup oats 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ cup pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds Method Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a bread pan with baking paper or lightly spread butter on the inside to prevent the bread from sticking/burning to the sides. In a large bowl: Mash the bananas to form a mushy mixture. Add the eggs, vanilla, honey and oil and mix it well. In a separate bowl: Mix dry ingredients: Flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder and seeds. Then mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Make sure to thoroughly mix the dough. Pour the dough into the lined bread pan. Bake it in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the tester comes out clean (poke a knife in the center, if it comes out clean = it is ready!). The banana bread should

Makes 8 servings • Time: 15 minutes (excluding refrigeration) Ingredients 2 ripe avocados 60g cacao powder 4 tablespoons honey (raw) 3 teaspoons vanilla extract 50 ml coconut milk 80g berries ½ teaspoon cinnamon Method Add avocados to a large mixing bowl and smash it with a fork. Mix the cacao powder, honey and vanilla extract well together with an electric mixer until it is smooth. Then add the coconut milk and mix it well. Scoop the mousse-mixture into chosen cups/glasses of your choice. Cover it with “plastic gladwrap” Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. When serving: Add the berries lightly on top of each serving and sprinkle with cinnamon. ENJOY! Marna’s handy tips Strawberries work very nice with this recipe. I usually refrigerate my mousse covered with glad wrap over night to achieve the ULTIMATE chocolatey taste and creamy texture. For a fun and SPICY twist: Replace the cinnamon sprinkle with chilli powder. For more inspiration and co

 New year''s resolutions are all around us... Social media is flooded with family and friends who are starting "challenges" and it seems like everyone is on the journey to reach certain goals and dreams... If you too have a list of goals (especially health-related goals), and you actually want to REACH these aspirations, I invite you to read on and find some inspiration. Maybe, all you need to reach your new year's resolutions are in this blog!  So, you've done the "dreaming" and listed all your wishes or goals that you want to achieve this year... How can you make these aspirations a reality? Follow these quick, easy, simple and practical tips to get there! You can thank me later...  WRITE IT DOWN Write it in your calendar, agenda, journal, on social media... It doesn't matter where you write it, but make it known. If you told your spouse or friends about your goal (or if you just stick a note on the fridge) it will help you to keep going. It cr

Feeling a little snack-ish? If you've ever wondered what you can snack on during a late-night - that won't ruin your night's rest, then this blog post is for YOU! When it comes to late-night snacking, the TIMING of food is important, but also the WHAT: What are you choosing to eat? Is it something that will send you on an ENERGY HIGH, or is it maybe something that will leave you with uncomfortable indigestion while you're trying to doze off? Choose wisely!  So, although it's not ideal to eat late at night or close to bedtime, as it may cause issues for some people, I will still give you some healthy options. If we choose "better" snacks, we won't ruin our healthy habits! Oh, and I know, sometimes the snack-attack just won't let go! So, read on for some healthy midnight snack options!   Before we get to the ideas, we also need to ask ourselves: "WHY are we feeling so snack-ish tonight?"  WHY ARE YOU HUNGRY? If you ate too little during th

    Makes 4 servings • Time: 40 minutes Ingredients 2 cups butternut (peeled; chopped into blocks) 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1/4 cup olive oil 1 cup broccoli (broken into florets) 1/2 cup raw quinoa 1 tablespoon mixed herbs 1 can chickpeas 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds Method Preheat the oven to 200°C. Add the butternut to an ovenproof pan. Sprinkle some cinnamon and olive oil over. Bake for about 30 minutes. Once golden, remove and set aside to cool down.  Meanwhile,  quickly cook the broccoli for about 5 minutes (they should turn bright green) and set it aside to cool down.  Cook the quinoa (with herbs) in some water for about 10 minutes. Add the mixed herbs to the pot while the quinoa cooks. Set aside to cool down. If the butternut, broccoli and quinoa is cooled down, you can mix it together with the chickpeas. Optional: Drizzle some extra olive oil  and extra cinnamon over if you wish! When serving the salad, throw some pumpkin and sunflower seeds over each portion and en

To officially start at anything, must be the hardest part of doing any project. To start putting the brush in the paint and on the blank canvas. To get the wood and glue out and start building the bird feeder. To start exercising, is just the same. It is quite easy to convince yourself into some exercise program, but actually dressing in your workout gear, lacing up those running shoes and STARTING in the gym or wherever…. That is the challenging part. Exercise is just as mental as it is a physical activity. The steps to getting out the door on the way to exercise - that is the mental part. Actually putting one foot ahead of the other - much more physical! I think we all struggle a lot more with the mental part. Finding excuses or reasons to NOT exercise, is second nature to some people.  To try and figure out WHY it is so terribly hard to start that toning workout or light jog session, I want to list the ways to motivate your mind to actually do the exercise when push comes to shove.

    Makes 4 servings • Time: 30 minutes Ingredients 2 large, whole sweet potatoes Lentils (1can, drained) 1 tablespoon mixed herbs 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1/2 cup grated cheese Method Preheat the oven to 200°C. Meanwhile, in a large pot, boil the whole sweet potatoes for 15 minutes until they are soft, but still quite firm. Once done, remove from the water and cut them in half. Scoop out some of the fleshy insides to make  a slight hole. In a sauce pan, heat the lentils, mixed herbs and tomato paste over medium heat. Mx it well. Place the halved sweet potatoes on a baking tray. Scoop a few spoons of the lentils onto the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle some grated cheese over. Bake in the oven until the cheese is melted and golden. Enjoy with a fresh salad on the side.                      Marna's handy tips The lentils can also be mixed or replaced by mince meat. For a pure vegetable dish: The filling can be replaced by corn, carrots and peas.   For more inspiration and cooking