Last week I was in Devon on holiday with my boyfriend and his family for the first time.
We stopped in a lovely Holiday Lodge in Dawlish Warren and it was only a 10 minute walk to the coast.
Before we went I decided I was going to bake some goodies to take with us; so I made a Carrot Cake following Nigel Slaters’ recipe and a Chocolate Chocolate Cake (see the layer cake notes).
The other thing that I made to take with us were these No Bake Granola Bars that my boyfriend really enjoys, its a healthier snack which is quick and easy to make but tastes delicious.
I adapted these granola bars from a recipe I stumbled across after looking on the various food blogs for a healthy cereal bar. I wanted to make something that was healthy but also I was trying out coconut oil for the first time.
Adapted From – FiveHeartHome
130g Coconut Oil
260g Peanut Butter
130g Honey
250g Rolled Oats
50g Desiccated Coconut
40g Flaked Almonds
40g Chocolate Chips (optional)
120g Dried Fruit*
*I did 60g each of Dried Cranberries & Sultanas.
(The second time when I doubled the recipe I did 120g Dried Cranberries, 60g Sultanas,
40g Goji Berries & 40g Dried Blueberries.)
1. In a medium saucepan set over low-medium heat, melt together the coconut oil, peanut butter, and honey stirring until smooth and everything is melted.
2. Remove from stove and stir in oats, desiccated coconut, flaked almonds and your mixture of dried fruit until evenly blended.
3. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13-inch baking tray. Spread into an even layer, sprinkle with mini chocolate chips (if using), and firmly press down with the back of a spatula or clean hands.
” When I doubled the recipe I used a Swiss Roll Tin and 8-9 inch square tin
– you can see the pictures below “
4. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Slice into squares or bars then remove from pan.
5. Store granola bars in the refrigerator, either in an airtight container with wax paper separating the layers, or individually wrapped in plastic wrap.
These Granola Bars were great when we were on holiday, just wrapped them up and popped them in my handbag or in our little picnic box when we were off out for the day.
They were the perfect little snack.
Ship in Brixham Harbour
One of the places that we visited was Brixham a small fishing town with a few gift shops. Me and my boyfriend Ant went for a lovely walk around the town and we sat and had a little bite of our picnic.
The few times that I have been to Brixham I have always taken a picture of the ship in the harbour. 25 years ago my parents took me there as a baby and I have a photo of my mom holding me with the ship in the background.
On the ferry to Dartmouth
The view from the ferry
After our visit to Brixham his dad drove to the ferry to take us over to Dartmouth, which I was quite looking forward to as I had never been on the ferry in Devon before. It was a beautiful sunny day so I got some lovely photos whilst travelling on the ferry.
Beautiful view when in Dartmouth, lovely sunny day
One of the days we went to Paignton where me and Ant had a small walk around the town then we had a lovely stroll along the beach, I was collecting shells as we made our way towards the Pier.
I always feel strange when you can see the water moving between the cracks of the wood.✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺
Most of the week was sunny but we did have one rainy day, so while Ant’s parents went off to visit a friend we went to Trago Mills and then had a walk around Newton Abbot town.
I always like to see the peacocks whenever I go to Trago, I love the colours and I think that they have such stunning feathers, I was lucky enough to get a few shots of the males parading about.
On the last day we went back to Trago Mills as his mom wanted to go, which meant we could have another look for things to buy. Even though I’m sure when I got back home my mom would moan about the glass jars, I had bought for my baking supplies… and yes she did!!
We had another visit to Dawlish on the way back… well I thought that I couldn’t go home without bringing my mom and dad a cream tea back. Which they were both very happy about 🙂
I had a wonderful holiday with Ant and his family, every evening we would walk down to the coast and go into the arcade his dad would give us all a pound, we got quite addicted to the 2p machines our favourite was Snakes & Ladders. On these games you would win tickets after the week me and Ant had just got under 3000; I got a Spaniel Dog toy, and comic style wallet, Ant got a bell ‘to ring for a drink’ and many marbles and little toy soldiers to give his parents.
Cute Spaniel Dog that we got with the tickets.
