Be Well with Bernie

Hellooooo 😊 As you may know, I’m recovering from an operation at the moment so I'm housebound unless some kind people call to take me out 😂  My head has been spinning (which could be the medication too 😯) with lots of different recipe idea and I’ve been looking at different ways of getting more beans, pulses and green veg into my diet. The most exciting thing to come out of this so far has to be these amazing protein bars 🙆 I remember making a tofu pudding years ago and I thought I could easily make that pudding into a bar, and this my friends is the result 👌 A rich, creamy, chocolatey centre with a crisp chocolate coat. Dairy free, refined sugar free, gluten free 👏 Yum 🤤 INGREDIENTS 1 pack silken tofu (I used Mori-Nu) 2 scoops chocolate protein powder 50g dates 60g blanched almonds 30g cacao 120g gluten free oats 20g coconut oil (split) 65g dark chocolate (split) WHAT TO DO Put everything except the oil and the

2 servings 1 large sweet potato  (mine was 400g once cooked and peeled) 2 scoops vanilla protein  (I use Forever Living Vanilla Protein) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup milk of choice  (I use almond milk) Pierce some holes in the potato and wrap it in tin foil and bake in the oven Allow to cool and peel Mash the potato really well (you don’t want any lumps) Mix in all the other ingredients to form a nice creamy consistency Enjoy hot or cold with sliced banana, mixed berries, peanut butter and yogurt  This would be lovely with a teaspoon of cinnamon too! If you don’t use protein you could mash some banana with the potato instead Im going to try some of Aldi’s Nutty Muesli on top tomorrow. Let me know if you try it out 🌻  

SLOW AND STEADY WON THE RACE I’m sure you’ve all heard the story of the tortoise and the hare.  In case you don’t remember let me just remind you...    O nce upon a time there was a lightning fast hare who went around boasting about how fast he could run. The slow and steady tortoise, who was fed up of hearing him constantly boasting, challenged him to a race.   It was a big occasion and all the animals in the forest came to watch. The hare bolted off as fast as he could leaving the tortoise behind to eat his dust.  He ran for a while before stopping to have a rest. He looked back at the tortoise and shouted "How do you expect to win this race when you’re walking at such a slow pace?" The hare stretched himself out on the side of the road and fell asleep, thinking, "There’s plenty of time to relax." The tortoise kept his head down, stayed focused and never slowed down once.  He walked and walked and never stopped until he came to the finish line. The

After a long hard winter of storms and snow the sun is finally shining!!   I’m sure everyone has welcomed the bit of heat on the bones with open arms. If we’re meant to eat according to the seasons then sunshine has to mean salads, and lots of them.   Salads don’t need to be boring.   In fact you can do so much to make them interesting.   The only limit is your imagination J For me, eating healthy and staying on track with my nutrition is all about being organised.   I start to get nervous when I see my stocks of plastic containers stacked up in the fridge depleting.   No matter what I make I make a big batch in one go.   That way I have a few days where I don’t have to cook a thing and I’m less likely to find myself getting hangry which is always a good thing.   I divide each dish into (carefully measured) individual portions so that I can take it with me wherever I go.   So I thought it would be a good idea to use this week’s article to share some of my favourite meat free sa

Liam and I spent the Bank Holiday weekend on the Dingle Peninsula celebrating Liam’s 40th birthday.  I hadn’t been to Dingle since I was a little girl.  I had no memory of being there until my Dad told me so it was lovely to go back to soak it up.   What an amazing part of the country.  It’s so beautiful.  We drove along the Wild Atlantic Way from Limerick and had a few stops along the way.   We walked Inch beach in the beautiful sunshine... BREATHTAKING!!!    Inch Beach It's by far one of the nicest beaches I’ve ever seen.  With the dramatic backdrop of the dunes and the surrounding mountains I'm not surprised it's been used as a location for so many movies.   We also caught a colorful sunset on the late great Paidi O Shea’s, Ventry beach.  Another little gem of the Dingle Peninsula. Ventry Beach at sunset We were delighted to find that our visit coincided with the Dingle Arts festival, Feile Na Bealtaine.   Dingle town was absolut

If breakfast is the most important meal of the day we want to make sure it's delicious and nutritious and most importantly that it doesn't become boring. Until recently I always thought of porridge as the big pot of lumpy goo we were forced to eat for our breakfast as kids. Not any more... I ADORE PORRIDGE NOW. I have it for breakfast, lunch and as a snack and I'll eat it hot or cold.  Basically I'm not fussy because it tastes so good 😍 Did you know that porridge and oats are not the same thing? I didn't until just last week 🙈 The dictionary says porridge is a food commonly eaten as a breakfast cereal, made by boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants—typically grain—in water or milk. Armed with this new info I've been trying out different grains to make my porridge with and I've been experimenting with lots of different add ins. Here's my top 3 (so far) What I love about these recipes is that y