Due to popular request we've posted some recipes of your favourite after class treats.

















Banana & Raisin Cake
This recipe is a firm favourite at The Yoga Hall, especially with toddlers and in the pre-natal class. It does not contain sugar, is easy to make and delicious.

4 ripe bananas (mashed)
2 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp mixed spice
½ cup (75g) sun-dried raisins (raisins retain large amounts of pesticides, so use organic if you can)
A third of a cup (75g) softened butter or margarine
1 cup (115g) wholemeal self-raising flour (or 115g spelt flour and 1½ tsp baking powder)

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°F. Mix together the beaten eggs and the mashed bananas. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Transfer to an oiled loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes until cooked through.
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Ginger Cake and Chewy Molasses Cookies
 Molasses is rich in iron – more iron for fewer calories than meat. It is also rich in vitamin c, calcium, potassium, manganese, copper and magnesium. It is a very dark brown thick liquid – buy it in a jar from health food shops and some supermarkets. These molasses recipes are delicious anytime – particularly during pregnancy, breastfeeding and for growing toddlers and children. Make one of these recipes as a present for a new mum.

 Ginger Cake
½ cup (60g) wholemeal flour (spelt or wheat-free flour works equally well)
½ cup (90g) oatmeal
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground ginger
¼ cup (4 tablespoons or 90g) molasses
¼ cup (4 tablespoons or 60g) fructose
¼ cup (4 tablespoons or 115ml) sunflower or extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup (4 tablespoons or 115ml) water
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup (4 tablespoons or 30g) flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°F. In a bowl, mix together the flour, oatmeal, baking powder and ginger. Gently heat the molasses, fructose and oil together until blended. Add the water and pour into the dry ingredients along with the beaten eggs. Mix well and pour into a well-greased rectangular loaf tin. Sprinkle with the almonds and bake for 30 minutes until the mixture is well-risen and a knife comes out clean when pushed into the centre of the cake. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.

Chewy Molasses Cookies
1 cup (150g) flour – half wholemeal and half plain works well
¾ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
75g butter or margarine, melted
½ cup (100g) sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 large egg

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°F. Stir flour, spices and bicarbonate together in a small bowl. Mix melted butter with sugar and molasses in a large bowl. Lightly beat the egg and stir it into the butter mixture, then gently stir in dry ingredients. Line 2 large baking sheets with tinfoil and place heaped dessertspoonfuls about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool for a few minutes then transfer to wire racks.
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 Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
…Another delicious iron-rich recipe. This one contains not only molasses, but walnuts, pumpkin, raisins and oats all of which are great sources of iron. Walnuts, rapeseed oil and flax seeds are also good sources of Omega 3s and 6s. This recipe makes about 24 cookies.

135g wholemeal flour
65g rolled oats
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg

145g caster sugar
80ml rapeseed oil
1 tablespoon molasses (you can buy jars of molasses in health food shops)
115g tinned pumpkin or cooked pureed pumpkin (Waitrose stock tinned)
½ teaspoon vanilla
Optional: 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds (health food shop)

50g walnuts, finely chopped
35g raisins (use organic if you can – regular raisins retain high residues from pesticides)

Mix together the flour, oats, bicarb, salt & spices.
In another bowl, mix sugar, oil, molasses, pumpkin & vanilla (and the ground flax seed if you are using it) until well combined. Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches. Fold in the chopped walnuts & raisins.
Place tablespoons onto greased baking sheets (non-stick baking sheets are a really good investment if you do a lot of biscuit baking. It’s worth getting good quality ones – cheap ones are often not very non-stick.). They don’t spread much, so they can be about an inch apart. Flatten the tops to make them into a biscuit shape. Bake for 15 minutes at gas mark 4.
Cool on a wire rack. They taste even better the next day!
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Om Shanti