Banana-Blueberry Bread (V)

I had lots of blueberries left over from last week's visit to the market so I figured it was time to try out a new recipe. I baked one on Tuesday, which, unfortunately wasn't that good so I tried to make another one today and changed the ingredients a little bit. And... it turned out great! Definitely having this for breakfast tomorrow and just had it as an afternoon snack.

Duration: 5 minutes prep; 45 minutes oven time

The ingredients:

• 120 g almond meal
• 4 heaped tbs shredded coconut
• 1 ts cinnamon
• 1/2 ts nutmeg
• 1 ts baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbs agave syrup
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 ts vanilla extract
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 hand blueberries

What you do:

1. Preheat your oven to 175 degrees of Celsius. 
2. Simply mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and the wet ingredients except for the olive oil in another bowl, including a mashed banana. Make sure you whisk the eggs. 
3. Then combine the dry and wet ingredients together and mix with an hand mixer until well combined. Then stir in the olive oil, followed by the blueberries (gently).
4. Line a cake tin with grease proof paper and pour the batter in. Put it in your preheated oven for 45 minutes. The bread is done when it's golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

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Tuna Lunch Salad

It's a new year so it's the perfect time to start following your dreams, be happy and adopt a healthy lifestyle! For all of you who are just starting on your journey towards a happy & healthy life here is a perfect carb free lunch! I love to have salads for lunch, but the last couple of weeks I had trouble with this as I was craving bread and I was giving in to it more and more. But now I'm getting back on track with this lovely tuna salad! You only need 7 ingredients so it's super easy!

Duration: 5 minutes

The ingredients for 1 serving:

• 1/2 can of tuna
• 50 to 75 gr corn salad
• 8 cherry tomatoes in different colors
• 1/4 cucumber
• 25 gr feta cheese
• 1 tbs roasted pine nuts
• Extra virgin olive oil

What you do:

1. Roast the pine nuts and cut the cucumber and tomatoes. Then mix all ingredients on a plate, crumble over the feta cheese and finish with the pine nuts.

Enjoy!

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Blueberry Muffins! (Gluten Free!)

Today it's my birthday and I'm already turning 26! Time flies! Of course I'm having friends and family over today and decided to make some clean treats and my mother offered to bake her (not so clean, but delicious!!) apple pie and cake. I made the Pecan Blondies posted yesterday and a new recipe! These delicious blueberry muffins which are gluten and dairy free! It's basically the same recipe as my Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins but since I added some fruit I used less oil!

The ingredients for 6 muffins:

• 120 gr almond meal
• 1/2 ts baking powder
• 2 organic eggs
• 3 tbs agave syrup
• 10 ml vanilla extract
• 45 ml (3 tbs) olive oil
• 75 gr blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 175 degrees of Celsius.
2. Mix the almond meal and baking powder in a large bowl. Then add the eggs, agave syrup and vanilla extract and mix with an electric hand mixer.
3. Slowly add the olive oil while mixing by hand. Finally, gently stir in the blueberries and put the batter into the cups (preferably with an ice cream scoop)
4. Bake them for 25 minutes in your oven until they are golden brown and the centre springs back. Check with a toothpick, if it comes out clean and dry they are done!

Enjoy! 

 

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Gluten Free Pecan Blondies

Found this recipe on one of the Instagram accounts that I follow (hungryhappens) who also has a tumblr website on which she posts all her delicious recipes! So be sure you check it out: http://hungryhappens.tumblr.com/

And it was finally time to make them since it's my birthday tomorrow and I will turn 26! So I'm trying out some healthy baking goodies and these Gluten Free Pecan Blondies are one of them. I made some small changes to the recipe so here it is. And you can also serve these with some whipped cream of ice cream as a delicious dessert for Christmas!

Duration: 40 minutes

The ingredients:

• 270 gr almond meal
• 75 gr cane sugar
• 1/2 ts baking soda
• 1/4 ts Himalayan sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 80 ml (5 1/2 tbs) melted coconut oil
• 1 ts vanilla extract
• 80 gr pecans

What you do:

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees of Celsius.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
3. Combine all wet ingredients in another bowl and make sure you give it a good whisk so the eggs are beaten.
4. Then mix the dry and wet ingredients and when everything is well mixed add the chopped pecans.
5. Line a 20x20 baking dish with grease proof paper. Put the mixture in it and bake for 35 minutes in the oven until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy! 

 

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Black Bean Brownies

I'm celebrating my twenty-six birthday next week so I always bake some goodies to treat my colleagues during coffee break to celebrate my birthday. For this purpose I was looking for some new recipes and first I decided to try out a black bean brownie. And oh my gosh! It's even better than just your regular brownie. You don't taste the black beans (I was afraid that it would) and it's just perfect. You can add some more sugar or syrup if you're a sweet tooth but I suggest you first try out the recipe as is! You can have it as a sweet next to your green tea but you can also easily serve it as a dessert (maybe for Christmas dinner!!) with a scoop of ice cream and maybe even some whipped cream! And as a bonus it's super easy too make!

What you need:

• 1 can (15 oz. - 425 gr) black beans
• 50 gr raw cocoa powder
• 45 gr rolled oats
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbs coconut oil
• 40 gr palm sugar
• 70 ml agave syrup
• 1 ts vanilla extract
• Pinch of Himalayan sea salt
• 1 ts baking powder

What you do:

1. Preheat your oven to 175 degrees of Celsius.
2. Simply add all ingredients to your food processor (it fits exactly) and mix until you have a smooth batter. Grease a baking dish of 20 x 20 cm or a similar size (25 x 17 or something) with some more coconut oil and pour the batter in. Put it in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick whether it's done, the toothpick should come out fairly clean.

Variation tip: Don't throw away the left over crumbles or brownie. These are delicious over you bowl of (Greek) yoghurt or quark in the morning!!

Enjoy!! 

 

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Fried Quinoa (V)

I'm always looking for new recipes to incorporate quinoa in my weekly meals because it's a great source of complete proteins, a perfect source of multiple vitamins B, calcium, magnesium and iron, and on top of that it contains all eight essential amino acids. Because quinoa is a seed and not a grain it's gluten free! This makes it the perfect substitute for rice or couscous and now I found a great recipe for a vegetarian fried quinoa which is gluten and sugar free. It looks a little bit plain in the picture but the tastes are amazing!

Duration: 20 minutes

The ingredients for 1 serving:

• 80 grams quinoa
• 1/2 head cauliflower or broccoli
• 8 (chestnut) mushrooms
• 50 gr frozen peas
• 1 spring onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbs sesame seeds
• 40 ml soy sauce
• 1 tbs (15 ml) sesame seed paste
• 1 tbs (15 ml) water
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 tbs Olive oil

Directions:

1. Start with boiling some water in your kettle and rinse the quinoa really well! Cook as directed on the package (mine needs 12 minutes), don't forget to stir once a while. 
2. Steam the cauliflower or broccoli florets until tender.
3. Then mix the soy sauce, sesame seed paste, water and lime in a bowl and set aside.
4. Heat up some olive oil and the crushed garlic in a hot wok and add the mushrooms. Cook until done. Then add the peas, cauliflower and sauce and coat evenly.
5. When the quinoa is finished add to the work and stir through.
6. Chop the spring onions. Put the fried quinoa on a plate and serve with sesame seeds and the spring onion.

Enjoy!

Grilled Tuna with a Green Salad

It's time to post one of my favorite quick recipes from Jamie Oliver's 15 minutes cooking book! If you're making it for the first time it takes you 20 minutes, but after 1 or 2 tries it does only take you 15 minutes! So it's perfect for after a long working day!

Amount of servings: 1

Duration: 15 minutes

The ingredients for the salad:

• 100 gr green beans
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 head (romaine) lettuce
• 15 gr feta cheese
• 1/2 lemon
• Handful of pine nuts
• if you like: some black olives

The ingredients for the tuna and dressing:

• 1 tuna steak
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 1 lemon
• 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 ts course mustard
• 1 ts agave syrup
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Heat up water in your kettle. Cut the ends of the green beans and put them with a pinch of salt in a pan. Poor over enough boiling water to put them under and cook for 10 minutes. 
2. Except for a couple of basil leaves for garnish, put the basil in your blender with the anchovy fillets, the juice of one lemon, the extra virgin olive oil and a little water and blend until smooth.
3. Put the dressing in a small bowl and juice some of it to rub in the tuna. Season the tuna with some salt and pepper.
4. Stir the red wine vinegar, mustard and agave syrup trough the rest of the dressing and set aside.
5. Chop the tomato and tear up the lettuce and roast the pine nuts.
6. Put the tuna steak in a grill pan and bake 2 minutes on each side or until they are still somewhat pink on the inside.
7. Drain the green beans and put the lettuce on a plate followed by the chopped tomato, beans and pine nuts. When the tuna steak is done put it on top, crumble over the feta cheese and garnish with some basil leaves.
8. Serve with lemon on the side. 

Enjoy!

Zucchini Spaghetti (V)

I try to incorporate raw meals into my clean eating lifestyle, but often find it difficult because you would probably think eating raw means no cooking so less meal preparation. Well it actually takes a lot of preparation due to all the chopping, slicing, grating, blending and waiting until flavors are absorbed. So I just don't always have the time to make a raw meal after work.

A raw meal basically consist solely of uncooked, unprocessed and organic foods. Depending on your level of dedication to eating raw, a raw food diet may include a selection of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, raw fish (sashimi) and non-pasteurized/non-homogenized dairy products. The idea behind 'raw foodism' is that plant foods in their most natural state, so uncooked and unprocessed, are the most wholesome for the body. For the record, it's a lifestyle not a diet!

This zucchini spaghetti has been on my recipe wish list for a while now and I regret that I waited so long to make it because it was quick since you don't need to slice a lot of ingredients, and it tasted amazing!!!

Duration: 10 minutes

What you need for 1 serving:

• 1 zucchini
• 125 gr cherry tomatoes in different colors
• Handful arugula
• 50 gr soft goat cheese
• 1 garlic clove
• Handful unroasted and unsalted walnuts
• 1 tbs roasted pine nuts
• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• Pepper & Salt
• 1 tbs fresh basil leaves, torn

What you do:

1. In a bowl, combine the olive oil, crushed garlic clove, torn basil leaves, pepper and salt. Let it stand for 10 minutes.
2. Thinly slice the zucchini lengthwise and halve the tomatoes. 
3. Toss the zucchini, cherry tomatoes and arugula with the dressing and put on a plate. Crumble over the soft goat cheese and garnish with some fresh basil leaves, the walnuts and pine nuts. 

Eat right away because zucchini gets moist if you let it sit to long! 

Enjoy!

Homemade Raspberry Jam

This jam is super quick and easy to make and so much healthier than store bought jams that contain a lot of refined sugars. You can keep it stored in your refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks. It's perfect on a slice of spelt bread in the morning or on a rice cracker as a healthy snack. You can use any type of fruit but some fruits need a little bit more water in order to get the right consistency. 

Duration: 20 minutes

The ingredients:

• 250 grams of raspberries
• 1 tbs rice syrup or any other natural sweetener you have in your pantry
• 1 tbs water
• 1 tbs chia seeds

What you do:

1. Heat the raspberries on low heat in a small sauce pan. Smash them with a fork (if you want fruit chunks in it don't smash all the way).
2. Add 1 tablespoon of sweetener and 1 tablespoon of water and stir gently for about 5-10 minutes. 
3. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes, then stir in the chia seeds. Use more chia seeds if you like thicker jam (the chia seeds serve as the thickener).
4. Put the jam in an airtight jar and let it set overnight in your refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Lemon & Poppy Seed Muffins

I'm always looking for recipes to make clean treats! By having these in the house it's keeps me from cheating when I feel like having a snack or something sweet. And these lemon-poppy seed muffins are the first muffins that actually turned out great! Recipe is from one of my favorite instagram accounts 'healthyalways' and made a couple of minor changes but since they were so good I just had to share them with you!

The ingredients for 6 muffins:

• 120 gr almond meal
• 1/2 ts baking powder
• 2 organic eggs
• 3 tbs agave syrup
• 1 tbs vanilla extract
• 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbs lemon zest
• 60 ml olive oil
• 2 tbs poppy seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 175 degrees of Celsius.
2. Mix the almond meal and baking powder in a large bowl. Then add the eggs, agave syrup, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix with an electric hand mixer.
3. Slowly add the olive oil while mixing by hand. Finally stir in the poppy seeds and put the batter into the cups.
4. Bake them for 25 minutes in your oven until they are golden brown and the centre springs back.

Enjoy!!

Recipe: Banana-Apple Baked Oatmeal

I love having oats for breakfast and a baked oatmeal is a great variation on just oatmeal. It's takes a little bit of time so I usually have this in the weekends or when I'm working from home. It can also be a perfect dessert! But then use a tiny ramekin!

Duration: 40 minutes

The ingredients:

• 25 gr rolled oats
• 1/4 sliced banana
• 1/4 sliced apple
• 1 egg white
• 35 ml unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbs agave syrup
• 1/2 ts cinnamon
• 1/4 ts baking powder
• 1 tbs coconut grater
• 10 gr dark chocolate (80% or more) nibs

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 175 degrees of Celsius. 
2. Then mix all the ingredients except for the coconut grater and chocolate nibs in a bowl. 
3. Spray the inside of a small ramekin lightly with coconut oil and put the mixture in. 
4. Sprinkle the coconut grater on top and bake for 35 minutes in the oven.
5. Finish with the chocolate nibs and your delicious baked oatmeal is ready to be eaten!

Enjoy!

 

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Coconut Meal Pancakes

Today I made this amazing clean pancakes for lunch. They are made of coconut meal so gluten, dairy & sugar free! Coconut meal is lower in calories compared to almond meal but you can't just replace almond meal with coconut meal in recipes. The main difference is that coconut meal is highly absorbent and you only need a little bit of it to produce delicious recipes. For example, if you need 300 grams of almond meal, you only need about 1/3 to 1/2 of coconut meal. However, the amount of eggs in recipes of coconut meal is higher! This is because the meal is naturally dry, so you need eggs and water (or for example coconut milk, almond milk etc.) to make sure that your recipes isn't that dry. If you see recipes with coconut meal they almost always say that it's important to mix the batter really well. This is because coconut meal clumps strong. The best way to avoid this is by using an electric hand mixer. Some benefits of coconut meal include that it contains high levels of proteins, fiber and good fats so it fills u up pretty good. Therefore it's a perfect lunch for after a morning workout, or a delicious breakfast that keeps your blood sugar levels stable during the morning!

Duration: 20 minutes

The ingredients for 8-10 small pancake:

• 25 gr coconut meal
• 100 ml water (or coconut milk)
• 2 organic eggs
• 1/2 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 ts himalayan seasalt
• coconut oil

The ingredients for the topping:

• 1 tbs greek yoghurt (leave it out if you want to have a dairy free meal)
• handful of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries & some banana slices (use any kind of fruit you like!)
• If you're a sweet tooth you can add some agave syrup.

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the pancakes until it's smooth and let it sit for 10 minutes so the coconut meal can absorb the water.
2. Heat up a little bit of coconut oil in a skillet and make little pancakes (if they are to big they will break)
3. Then bake the pancakes on medium heat for about 2 minutes, turn them (gently) and bake for another minute on the other side. 
4. Put them on your plate, add 1 tbs of greek yoghurt in the middle and fresh fruit on top and your delicious, clean pancakes are ready to be eaten!

Enjoy!

Breakfast Recipe: Overnight Oats in a Jar

I just love oats for breakfast! They make sure that during the rest of the morning you do not feel hungry. But making oatmeal in the morning is just too time consuming when I'm in a hurry. So on those days I now that this is probably going to happen I make sure that I have made some overnight oats in a jar the night before. You can substitute the fruit in this recipe for any fruit you like.

Duration for prepping: 5 minutes

The ingredients:

• 150 ml unsweetened almond milk
• 60 gr oatmeal
• 1 tbs greek yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon agave syrup
• 1 apple and 1 banana
• Handful of nuts of your choice, flaxseeds and sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. Cut the apple and banana into small pieces and put about 3/4 of the apple and banana in an airtight jar with the almond milk, greek yoghurt, oatmeal, chia seeds, cinnamon and agave syrup. Mix everything well and put the lid on the jar and keep it in the refrigerator overnight.
2. In the morning get your jar, put the rest of the banana and apple on top with the nuts and seeds en your delicious quick breakfast is ready!

Enjoy!

 

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Recipe: Strawberry smoothie

I love smoothies in the weekends! I think they are a great way to make sure you eat you're 2 pieces of fruit a day and this one is dairy free!

The ingredients for 1 glass (if you want more just double the ingredients):

• 10 medium size strawberries
• 1/2 banana
• 100 ml unsweetened natural almond milk 
• 1 tablespoon of grated coconut
• 1 teaspoon chiaseeds

Directions:

Just put all the ingredients (besides 2 strawberries) in your blender and blend until smooth and yummie! If the smoothie is too thick just add a little bit more almond milk until it has the consistency you like!

Enjoy!

Breakfast Recipe: Banana-Apple Oatmeal

For breakfast I really like to have oatmeal! So I wanted to share with you my favorite combination. Of course, making oatmeal takes a little bit longer than a simple yoghurt or slice of bread for breakfast but my trick on working days is that I cook the oatmeal and when it's time to let the oats soak for about 10 minutes I jump into the shower and my breakfast is done when I'm finished!

Duration: 15 minutes

Amount of servings: 1

The ingredients:

• 200 ml unsweetened almond milk
• 60 gr oatmeal
• 1 apple
• 1 banana
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• small handful of hazelnuts (about 6 grams)
• handful sunflower seeds (about 6 grams)
• 1 tablespoon flaxseeds

Directions:

1. Put the almond milk and oatmeal in a saucepan and cook for about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile slice up the apple and banana into small pieces and put 3/4 of the apple, 2/3 of the banana and the cinnamon in the saucepan with the oatmeal (after approximately 2 minutes).
3. After 5 minutes, turn of the heat and let it soak for about 10 minutes (and jump into the shower).
4. Crush the hazelnuts, put the oatmeal in a bowl, top off will the rest of the apple and banana, the crushed hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and flaxseeds.

 Enjoy this delicious breakfast! 

 

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