I'm not a lover of early starts, but when the days are brighter, warmer and there's lots going on, I much prefer them. I'd really love to be an early bird as I'm forever saying 'I wish there were more hours in the day' but for as long as I can remember, I've been a total night owl. This year, I'm trying to train my body to wake up earlier and seize the day. I feel way more productive when I've woken up early, nourished my body, worked out and socialised all before 9am. I just need to work on going to bed earlier and then I'll be a new woman. I'm not sure 4.30am starts are for me just yet, but this cake certainly made my long journey a lot better. I spend 4-5x a week in central London but on this day in particular, I had an event in Leeds the evening before meaning I had a very early start the following morning. Who can turn down skincare chats, giggles and cake in Neals Yard though, all before 9am? This has certainly inspired me to start my days earlier. Come join me as I discuss an awesome skincare range, the power of oats, not just in your diet, and, an incredible healthy cake recipe.
Neal's Yard is one of my favourite places in London for breakfast, brunch and juices. Brimmed full of quirky little places, I loved starting my day in a new one, 26 grains. I've tried a lot of London eateries, but never 26 grains. I was joined by two friends, Carly & Kayleigh and it's always a pleasure to catch up with them.
I love starting my day with a power juice so this was the perfect fuelling shot.
On the menu? Oats with pepper parmesan and olive oil and then, the recipe you've all been waiting for, yoghurt drenched oat, honey and apricot cake.
I promised on Instagram I'd give you the recipe so here goes (with my healthy twist), it was made by Alex Hely-Hutchinson at 26 Grains:
Ingredients - Serves 12:
275g butter, at room temperature - (I'd recommend substituting for mashed avocado for a healthier option or you could use half butter and half Greek yoghurt)
250g unrefined light brown or coconut sugar - (I'd always use natural sugar such as honey, coconut sugar or dates)
4 tsp honey
Zest of 1 orange
2 tsp dried apricots, chopped
4 large organic or free-range eggs
75g oats, blitzed to flour
75g spelt flour
150g ground almonds
2 teaspoon baking powder
Icing:
100g thick Greek yoghurt
4tsp honey
Zest and juice of 1/2 an orange
Handful of pistachio nuts and dried apricots, chopped
Method:
1. Heat oven to 170C and line cake tin (18cm) with baking parchment
2. Beat butter until it reaches a creamy consistency
3. Add sugar, honey, orange zest and apricots
4. Stir the ingredients and start adding eggs to the mixture, 1 at a time, adding 1 tablespoon oat and spelt flour with each egg
5. Combine emailing oat and spelt flour, ground almonds and baking powder and add to the mixture to combine fully
6. Bake for 45-50 minutes
Healthy Icing Recipe:
1. Combine the honey, yoghurt, orange juice and zest
2. While the cake is still hot, prick with a skewer and pour over icing. Sprinkle with apricots and pistachios.
With guilt-free cake in one hand and a latte in the other, it was time to talk about my favourite topic, skincare. Any loyal Emtalks readers know just how much I love skincare so I was excited to learn about the power of oats. It's something I've done a lot of research into already as I have used Aveeno for a long time, my Mum and Grandma swear by it too. 
If you've read any of my healthy food posts, you'll know I swear by oats to start my day. But did you ever think of putting them into your skincare? As I said, I've been using Aveeno for a long time, it's a little old school, but I reviewed the full Aveeno range here in 2015, and it's still one of my favourites and again, here! Their incredible moisturising lotion. Aveeno is one of those brands whose products are absolute heroes and staples in my beauty cupboard, particularly as the temperature changes. 
There are so many benefits of oats in skincare, here are a few of my favourite ones:
Soothe - Oatmeal has a soothing action on sensitive skin. Perfect for our British Summertime, when the temperature is hot one minute, cold the next!
Moisturise - Restores moisture to dehydrated skin. My skin gets so dehydrated, particularly my shins and this just prevents it from cracking.
Cleanse - I had no idea but the oat particles adhere to dirt and dead skin cells allowing them to be washed away, which is probably why you'll often find oats in face masks!
Protect - It forms a protective film on the surface of the skin
Buffer - Helps return skin to normal pH levels
My absolute favourite Aveeno product at the moment is the daily moisturising after-shower mist. I'm a little bit lazy when it comes to moisturising and know I need to up my game and this really helps, it sprays on quickly and easily after a shower and leaves you feeling hydrated for up to 48 hours.
I'm a big lover of understanding what's actually inside my skincare so it was good to learn a little more about Aveeno over breakfast, a brand I know will be helping me prep my skin and make it smooth and hydrated in time for Summer.
The breakfast was short but sweet, I'd have happily stayed all day! I ate probably a little too much cake, drank a few too many smoothies and enjoyed many giggles. It was so good to learn more about one of my hero skincare brands and I know I'll be whipping up this cake recipe really soon, although, I can't promise it'll look this good!
Let me know if you bake the cake! Do you like healthy recipes? Do you like Aveeno? Have you used their range? How does your skin alter in Summer?
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*I worked with Aveeno on this but as always, it's 100% my honest opinion.
Lots of love, Em x
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