Two Ingredient Healthy Pancakes

Nothing quite beats a lazy Sunday morning when its too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. Brunch is one of my favourite indulgences; especially when pancakes are involved. A stack of fluffy pancakes topped with bacon and dripping in maple syrup, wickedly delicious, a serious treat.

So this morning I decided to whip up a lighter version. All of the pancake joy, with none of the bloat. 

This recipe has been around for a while, feautured on lots of the healthy/fitness/thinspo pages on instagram. I don't actually know when the reciepe orginated from, if you do, please let me know! 

All you need are 2 bananas and 1 egg. I was curious, suspecting that it would taste more like eggy banana than the fluffy pancakes I wanted. With a couple of additions....I give you fluffy banana pancakes that no one would suspect are as simple or as healthy as they are. 

To make a stack of 4-5 pancakes, you will need: 

2 large bananas 

1 large egg

A pinch of baking powder 

A pinch of cinamon  

Optional fillings: Blueberries or Chocolate chips ;) 

Topping Ideas: 

Almond butter

Maple Syrup 

Chopped nuts

Mash the bananas in a bowl and add the egg. I would aviod blending the mixture, I found that when I did my pancakes were not as fluffy as when I used a fork. Plus it saves on washing up. Win, Win. 

Try and make the mix as lump-free as possible, and then add in the cinamon and baking powder. 

Heat some butter in a pan, if I am being especially good I'll use low cal spray. Pour pancake sized puddles into the pan. If you are using any fillings sprinkle them on top and wait until you see bubbles forming. Flip them and cook for about another minute. 

Transfer them to a warm plate while you wait for the rest to be done. 

Serve them with berries and a drizzle of almond butter, or keep it super simple and stick to maple syrup, if you are feeling naughty :) 

Tuck in, they are flipping delicious! 

Picking the Perfect Foundation Shade

When I first started using makeup I used to avoid foundation *insert the monkey covering its eyes emoji* I am a worrier by nature and my main concern was matching my skin to a foundation shade correctly. It seems simple enough, and it is, once you have the correct method of choosing the perfect shade, but I used to fear the 'mask' look that incorrect matching often results in!


Thankfully I learnt the easiest way to ensure getting a perfect match every time. The perfect foundation shade leaves no 'tidemark' between product and skin. If you can see even a slight difference between the applied product and your actual skin tone, you have the wrong color.

The 'Goldilocks Principle' 

The first thing I do is look at my chosen brand's shade spectrum and pick 3-4 samples that roughly match my skin color.  Go for one tester that you think is too Light one that might be Perfect and one that is clearly Darker than your skin, add a fourth shade if you feel you need it.

Next I apply these testers in stripes along my jawline/lower cheek - don't blend. I find working from dark to light makes things easier.Repeat the same stripes on your forehead. You might feel silly but go outside the shop into natural light. Shop lighting is not the best to ascertain the correct foundation shade- natural light will always give you the most realistic idea of how the colors look.

Your perfect shade is the stripe that barely shows up on your skin. If you are stuck try blending the shade you think might be the one, if it 'disappears' on your skin as you blend, you've found your shade!

 Make sure you test the colors on your cheek and forehead, and not your hand. The skin on your hand is often a different shade from your face.

Undertones

Whichever formula and subsequent shade you do pick, go for one with a yellow base. There are only a very few complexions pale enough to warrant pink undertone. Yellow neutralizes everything and adds warmth. 

Beauty counters can sometimes be an intimidating minefield, they really shouldn't be but just to make a few decisions easier, Bobbi Brown is a good go-to for a pink-free range. If you are a MAC fan, their color system is divided into NW and NC tones. NW (warm neutral) is for cool, pink undertones and NC (neutral-cool) is for warm, yellow undertones.

I hope you enjoyed these tips!

love, Olivia 

xoxo