LILY'S WHITE CHOCOLATE AND MACADAMIA TRAY BAKE

I dedicate this recipe to Lily; whose 80th birthday party I made this white chocolate and macadamia tray bake for. Topped with cream cheese frosting and gorgeous little pastel colored sugar flowers in keeping with the color theme of the day, they went down a storm and I just had to get them up on here so that people could give them a go at home. The recipe is super easy to follow but they look and taste so great that it goes to show that you don't always have to make something complicated to treat someone on their special day!

"APPLE PIE" CAKE

I love apple pie but I don't always want to make apple pie. As much as I love making pasty

sometimes I just want to make a bake that I can just whack together with a minimal amount of fuss and effort. With that in mind, this apple pie cake was born. Taking the flavors of apple pie and mashing it up into a cake will satisfy those pie cravings without you having to worry about making a pastry, ideal if you don't have enough ingredients for a pastry or aren't confident enough with pastry making. Even if you are a pastry whiz, you should still give this a go! It's too darn delicious not too!

MATTY'S VEGGIE MAPO TOFU

Mapo Tofu is a traditional Szechaun dish that has many variations but in its essence, it is pork and tofu cooked in a chili bean paste broth. I've been experimenting with tofu and Szechaun flavors a lot since the new year and this seemed like a delicious treat to try and make and upon taking my first bite; I loved it! I've made a veggie version of course using Quorn mince, which soaks up that delicious chili broth. The softness of the mince and tofu is complimented by some crunchy beansprouts and onions to create an amazing bowl of gorgeousness.

MATTY B'S "MAC AND C"

Macaroni and Cheese whilst your watching your waistline? Not possible I hear you cry! Well stop your outrage immediately as I have the perfect recipe for you if you just can't live without that rich, gooey, creamy classic. Obviously it's not 100% fat and calorie free but as a dish served on a Friday as a treat for your hard graft during the week, it definitely 100% guilt free!. You can enjoy it without worrying about what the scales are going to say on your next weigh in day (just don't eat it every night OK!).

GORGEOUS GREEK MINI MUFFIN FRITTATAS

When it comes to the weekend, there is nothing I enjoy more than having a couple of eggs for

breakfast. Whether it be as some scrambled eggs on toast or fried as part of a good old full English, its easy to forget how versatile they are. This weekend I took my eggs and used them to make these little mini frittatas. Now I love the flavors of Greece so by popping some feta into the mix alongside some peas and freshly chopped mint, I turned these little handheld treats into gorgeous mouthfuls of yumminess that are perfect lunchbox ammo.

SPICY SALT AND SZECHAUN PEPPER TOFU

Tofu has always been a bit hit and miss for me. I get nervous if I order it when I'm out and about as when it's poorly cooked it can be awfully chewy and nasty. When done right though it can be a delicious vegetarian treat. As I have fallen back in love with the flavors Szechaun peppercorns again I decided to use them to create this yummy salt and pepper tofu. Like my Szechaun stir fry from an earlier post, it is quite the spicy but if you don't mind a bit of a kick to your food then this is definitely one to try!

RAMONA'S MA'S BREAKFAST BARS

I dedicate this recipe to my old work buddy Ramona and her ma! Ramona left our work recently to head off to Australia (lucky girl!) and before she left she gave me a jar of jam that her mother had made and sent to her from Germany. It was such a nice gift that I wanted to want to use it in something special and these breakfast bars seemed like the perfect time. By adding the jam to a mixture of oats, coconut, sunflower seeds, egg and cashew butter, you can create this fabulous breakfast treat.

"NEW YEAR NEW ME" BREAKFAST PANCAKES

I've never been one to eat breakfast, but with my "new year, new me" attitude I've started to try and get on board with what is often declared as the most important meal of the day. To do this, I've been looking for more interesting breakfast ideas to try and make it more exciting. This is how I came to make these banana and flax seed pancakes. Super quick and simple to make, it turns boring porridge oats into something that's worth getting up in the morning for. There aren't many ingredients to really talk about here. It's bananas, eggs, oats and some flax seeds. Flax seeds can be picked up in lots of large supermarkets now due to their increasing popularity but my tip if your in the UK is to keep an eye on Holland and Barrett's penny sale as I got mine from there at a bargain price.

SPICY SZECHUAN STIR FRY

Well it's the new year and I'm back on the healthy eating band wagon and one of the easiest ways for you to have a meal that won't have you crying on the scales during weigh in day is to make a stir fry. I love Asian food and I also love a bit of spice in my meal so a Szechuan stir fry for me is two of my favorite foodie treats rolled into one. All you need is some fresh vegetables, some Quorn chicken style pieces to act as your protein, some bits and bobs for the sauce and a large frying pan or wok and away you go.

GARLIC, ONION AND PARSLEY TATER CAKES

Is there anything in the world that is more comforting than a good old potato product? Potato waffles, crispy roast potatoes, they are all absolute favorites in our house. Another favorite is anything that you can deep fry! Onion bhaji's, falafel, it begs the question "What would happen if you deep fried potatoes." Well quite simply it creates these amazing potato cakes that are the most fabulous little weekend treat to give you a little bit of hug on the inside when you've had a hard week in school or work.

GAILS ARTISAN BAKERY NEO BANKSIDE (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

It's noon, your in the capital, your feeling a bit peckish but all you really want is a good butty. What's a boy to do? Why not head over to the nearest bakery like we did on our trip to London when we paid a visit to Gail's Artisan Bakery.

TAS PIDE LONDON (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

I tell you what, I do love a mezze style dinner. When I was younger we would call it a "picnic tea". We'd place little bits of nibbly food around the table and just help ourselves to all the little treats on offer. When we walked past Tas Pide during our trip to London's Southwark area we were intrigued and when we checked the menu out and saw all the tasty sounding Turkish treats we knew we had to give them a try. We booked a table and off we trotted!

THE REAL GREEK BANKSIDE (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

Many years ago before my little blog was born I visited The Real Greek in London and really enjoyed it. Last month during a visit to the capital we realized we were close to another branch and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to revisit them too see if the experience was as enjoyable as I remember! This time around we popped into The Real Greek in Southwalk. Situated on the Bankside next to the Shakespeare Globe Theatre, we arrived for a late lunch and the area was booming with tourists and people from the nearby workplaces enjoying a late lunch.