Coconut granola

One of the first recipes I posted on my blog was my homemade granola and although this one is delicious I thought it was time to experiment with some other granola's. I've made a delicious cinnamon granola which will be part of my upcoming E-Book but I've also made this amazing coconut granola! So if you, like me, want some variation in your granola this is definitely one you should try out! All nuts you use need to be unsalted and unroasted!

And something new on the blog especially for my Dutch readers! From now on you will find the newly posted recipes also in Dutch at the end of the blogpost. I will update the most popular previously posted recipes too, but not all of them. Hope you like it and don't forget to let me know if you liked the recipe when you tried it!

English recipe:

Duration: 30 minutes

The ingredients:

• 150 g oat flakes
• 150 g quinoa flakes
• 60 g almonds
• 40 g almond flakes
• 50 g hazelnuts
• 30 g walnuts
• 25 g pumpkin seeds
• 25 g sunflower seeds
• 3 tbs flax seeds
• 1 heaped tbs coconut oil
• 3 tbs rice syrup and 3 tbs agave syrup (or 5 tbs honey)
• 4 tbs shredded coconut
• optional: 1 ts vanilla extract

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees of Celsius. 
2. Put the almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts on a clean towel, fold and crush them with  your dough roller. You can also do this with a mortar but this is more time consuming.
3. Put a frying pan on low to medium heat and melt the coconut oil. When it's melted, remove from the heat and stir in the rice & agave syrup and when it's well mixed add the vanilla extract and give it another good stir.
4. Mix the oat flakes, quinoa flakes, shredded coconut, crushed nuts, almond flakes and all seeds in a bowl. Pour over the coconut oil-syrup mixture and make sure everything is covered.
5. Spread the mixture out on a baking sheet with grease proof paper and put in the oven for about 25 minutes. Stir halfway through and check after 20 minutes to make sure that they don't burn. The mixture is done when it's golden brown.
6. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the granola cool down. When cooled it will get very crunchy and it is possible that it sticks together. Simply break it with your hands and store in an airtight jar! Preservable for about 3 to 4 weeks.

Enjoy!

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Nederlandse recept - Kokos Granola:

Tijd: 30 minuten

De ingrediënten:

• 150 g havervlokken
• 150 g quinoavlokken
• 60 g amandelen
• 40 g amandelschaafsel
• 50 g hazelnoten

What's in my pantry? And should be in yours..

When you’re finished with cleaning out your pantry all the products that are gone need to be replaced with new healthy ones (see clean out your pantry)! So in this post I will give an overview of all the products I have in my pantry. Of course buying all these products at once is very costly and that’s also not what I did, start with some of the items and then slowly expend your pantry! This weekend I will also post a shopping list for beginners to help you get started on your clean eating journey! 

For some products I mention the brand I use for my Dutch readers! I will do most of the explaining for the type of carbohydrates that don’t come from vegetables. For the other products less explanation is necessary but if you have any questions don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me an email.

Grains, Starches & Legumes:

Carbohydrates from starches, grains and legumes are the fuel for your body. Carbohydrates can be classified into simple and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are the wrong kind and are found in processed food products like white rice, white pasta, white bread, cookies, cake etc. Complex carbohydrates can be found in whole wheat products, brown rice, quinoa, rye, buckwheat, spelt but also in legumes and of course vegetables. It’s an important group in your pantry! Overall make sure that you have a variation of carbohydrates in your pantry and also some gluten free products like quinoa and oats.

• Spelt Pasta – For me spelt products work really well but for some people it can lead to a bloated feeling or diarree so when you start eating spelt see what it does with your body! If your intestines are irritated by it then it would probably be better to eat kamut pasta or whole wheat pasta. If your body reacts well to spelt you need to make sure that you don’t eat it all the time because it contains high levels of gluten. On the other hand the glycemic index is relatively low so it will supply you with energy for a long time. Spelt products can be bought at your local organic store (Ekoplaza, Heerlijk) and you just have to see which product you like most! I always have spaghetti, penne and spirals and whole grain/spelt lasagna sheets.
• Kamut pasta – Kamut is another ‘old’ grain like spelt and I really like to switch between these two. Also only sold in organic stores. Kamut is more expensive then spelt so if you just starting with clean eating I would advise you try out spelt first.
• Gluten free brown rice spaghetti - Perfect alternative for pasta. They sell it at Heerlijk and tastes great with a red pesto!
• Quinoa – Is definitely a favorite of mine. You can serve it as a hot dish but it’s also perfect for cold dishes and trough salads. And it’s gluten free! You can also get quinoa flakes which you can use in your homemade granola. 
• Oats – My favorite breakfast! If you buy oats for breakfast keep in mind that only oat-flakes are glutenfree. I also buy it at my local organic store (Heerlijk, merk: de Halm; Ekoplaza, huismerk) but you can also buy it at most supermarkets but then make sure you check the ingredients to see if there is no added sugar!
• Brown rice – Is so much better for you then white rice! The best is organic brown rice but I like brown basmati rice the most. I buy the brown basmati rice from Ekoplaza because this one has a cooking time of 20 minutes. Other Brown Basmati Rice with a round grain are a little bit better, but this takes 45 minutes to cook and after work I just don’t have the time.
• Rice crackers – Perfect healthy snack for me! I vary with quinoa rice crackers, spelt rice crackers and normal ones. I buy these from the brand LIMA at Ekoplaza or Heerlijk.
• Spelt couscous – I really like couscous and found a spelt couscous from the brand BIA (couscous di Farro) at Heerlijk which is cheaper than normal couscous and it fills me up quicker!
• Gluten & wheat free brown rice, pumpkin & ginger noodles – These are delicious and I never use any other noodles. I buy them at Heerlijk, 250 gr per package, good for 3 meals  from the Brand Terrasana and they sell them in most organic stores. From the same brand they also sell buckwheat noodles. I don’t like the taste of buckwheat but if you do these are perfect!
• Rye bread – to have some variation I sometimes eat rye bread. You can buy this in any store but again whatch the ingredients!
• Homemade granola
• Lentils
• Chickpeas – Very handy to use trough salads or as a healthy snack.

Other products that would complete your pantry but aren’t my favorites are: black beans, kidney beans, buckwheat products, millet, whole wheat/grain pasta and amaranth.

Nuts & Seeds:

I really like unroasted and unsalted nuts and seeds because you can eat them every day and incorporate them in every menu. They are full of essential nutrients and I recommend to have the following list of nuts & seeds in your pantry:

• Pine nuts
• Almonds
• Hazelnuts
• Pecans
• Walnuts
• Cashews
• Pistachios
• Sunflower seeds
• Flaxseeds
• (black) Sesame seeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Poppyseeds

Meats, poultry & fish:

• Eggs
• Chicken breast
• Canned tuna  
• Canned mackerel
• Anschovy fillets
• Tuna steaks and Salmon in the freezer 

Dairy/Non dairy products:

• Unsweetened Almond Milk - You will always find this in my fridge. I use it in cooking/baking or just with  my favorite oatmeal. If you drink coffee I would also recommend using almond milk, but keep in mind that it has a rather mild flavor so you could also use coconut milk.
• Coconut milk – Ideal for cooking and baking! It has a delicious taste!
• Cottage cheese – It is not considered 100% clean but it is a great source of protein with a low fat content! (I buy the one from Danone)
• Feta cheese and Goat cheese – Perfect dairy free options trough salads or other recipes
• Parmesan cheese or Pecorino – Pecorino is diary free!
• Butter – If you use butter I would recommend u use organic real butter and definitely not margarine!
• Quark – great source of protein and I always eat it after my workout
• Natural yoghurt and Greek yoghurt – also not 100% clean but when combined with some nuts and seeds the ratio fats and proteins are right and I like to have it as a variation for my breakfast and my body reacts well to it! If you do have irritated intestines or feel bloated and you eat yoghurt or other dairy products these could be the cause!

Sauces, Oils & Vinegars

Plant based oils are a great source of omega-3 and 6 fatty acids. Oils are perfect for cooking and baking and in combination with vinegars for salads! I have the following oils & vinegars in my pantry, preferably organic, but not always due to costs:

• Coconut oil
• Olive oil
• Olive oil extra virgin
• Sesame oil
• Walnut oil
• White wine vinegar
• Red wine vinegar
• Balsamic vinegar
• Apple cider vinegar
• flaxseed oil
• Soy sauce (brand: Kikkoman; many soy sauce contain extra sugar!)
• Tabasco

Herbs & Spices:

Fresh Herbs:

• Mint – I always have mint because it’s perfect for tea and also to add some taste to plain water
• Thyme – I need this to make my homemade red pesto
• Basil – Always good and necessary for my pesto ala Genovese

Dried Herbs & spices: 
Perfect to season your dishes! I always have the following list of herbs.

• Cumin seeds
• Oregano
• Cinnamon
• Dill
• Kurkuma
• Sweet Paprika powder
• Chili powder
• Nutmeg
• Parsley
• Basil
• Coriander
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Marjory
• Fennel seed
• Himalayan sea salt
• Sea salt
• Pepper

Baking needs:

• Almond meal
• Coconut meal
• Palm sugar
• Raw cacoa
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Vanilla extract
• Spelt or whole wheat flower

Other products which I always have in my pantry:

• Mulberries
• Chiaseeds
• Cranberries
• Dried figs
• Dried dates
• Organic mayonnaise
• Agave syrup
• Sundried tomatoes
• Organic peanut butter
• >80% chocolate: for when I feel like having a treat
• Almond flakes
• Coconut grater
• Vegetable stock cubes
• Double concentrated tomato puree
• Raw food bar
• Mustard

So it is a long list, but still I probably forgot somethings. If you mis an item please leave a comment so others could read it! Coming soon: beginners shopping list to help create your healthy pantry!

Clean Out Your Pantry

When I started with my healthy and clean eating lifestyle my focus wasn’t that much on eating clean but just on eating healthy. I was trying to avoid products like white bread, white pasta etc., fatty and high-calorie foods and foods that contain lots of sugar. And I can really recommend for you to do the same! By taking small steps instead of changing drastically you and your body gets used to the healthier foods and lifestyle and since you are allowed to have some cheats the change of relapsing is smaller. But when I noticed that eating healthy suited me and my lifestyle (in which I already worked out for 2-3 times a week) so much better I started to learn more about the type of foods and really expanded my knowledge about food and the nutritional value of different products. So automatically I learned more about the do’s and don’ts of a clean eating lifestyle. So it’s important to realize that it isn’t just happening over night, but that it is a process which takes time and that’s okay! You learn more and more every day and I’m still learning!

After increasing my knowledge on healthy foods and clean eating I took the time to read the ingredients to each of the items in my pantry. This was really an eye-opener and it will give a great overview of what you have been eating. Even products of which I thought that they were healthy actually contained high amounts of sugar and saturated fats. Additionally, I found lots of ingredients that I didn’t know or that I could not pronounce and lots of food additives (for the Dutchies: E-nummers). So, take a look in your pantry and I’m sure that you also have some items like this lying around! This is the result of the modern world we live in. Stores sell lots of produced foods which are easy for us to take home and eat whilst not paying attention to what made and is in those cookies and why the expiration date isn’t till one year later? Whilst when you make your own cookies they will be good for max one week.

Are you ready to adopt a clean eating lifestyle? Start by cleaning out your pantry by reading the ingredients. Make a pile with foods that do not suit your new found lifestyle and a pile that do. This second pile goes right back into your pantry. But what to do with the first pile of items that aren’t that suitable? You can drastically toss the food out. But who can afford that? You spend money on it and maybe others who don’t eat clean can use them. So you can donate them to friends, families or neighbors! In this way the food doesn’t get lost and you actually make others happy! Who doesn’t want to do that?

But there will also be foods that you still want to consume and just don’t want to give away and hold on to. For those foods I would suggest that, of course, you don’t buy these anymore and that you slowly use these items week by week as a ‘cheat meal’ every Friday. Or you can host a dinner party for friends and use these items. In this way you have a lovely and fun evening and you can clean out your pantry at the same time! For baking products that do not fit clean eating you can still use it and bake something delicious and then take it with you to work as a little treat for you and your colleagues during coffee break. I’m sure they will appreciate it!

I myself decided to give most of the products away and I invited some friends  and prepared my last meal with processed foods.

So now your pantry is clean and it is time for the next step! In short, simply start off with finding some delicious healthy recipes and getting lots of fresh fruits, vegetables and lean meats like chicken, turkey and fish (all preferable organic). Keep an eye out for healthy items on sale like frozen vegetables and fruits to save money and by having these items in your freezer you will always have a healthy option! But, when you go to the store CHECK THE LABELS!! Make sure you are just getting the fruit and just the vegetables without additional sugar or food additives.

But in the upcoming week I will also publish a post on what type of items are in my pantry right now (with, for the Dutchies, the brands I use since I get a lot of questions regarding type and brands) and additionally I will post a beginners shopping list to assist you all on your clean eating journey! So check the blog later this week if you’re interested!

If you have any suggestions or questions don’t hesitate to leave a comment!

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!

Pesto ala Genovese

I like to make as much of the sauces and spreads I use myself. I'm a huge fan of pesto since it's so handy to have it in the refrigerator. You can make delicious sandwiches with it, and by having a nice homemade pesto in your refrigerator you can easily make a quick and tasty pasta when you're in a hurry or late out of the office. I already posted the recipe for the delicious red pesto and now I would like to share with you my other favorite the green pesto or better known as pesto ala Genovese.

The ingredients:

• Large bunch fresh basil
• 1 large garlic clove
• 35 gr roasted pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (more to taste)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Pepper & salt to taste
• juice of half a lime

Directions:

Very easy: just put everything in your food processor and mix until you have a smooth paste. Make sure you taste it and add pepper, salt & parmesan cheese to taste. 

Enjoy!

Snack Recipe: Raw food bar

When I first started eating clean I found it very difficult what type of snacks I could eat in the morning and afternoon at work and I noticed that many other people have the same problem! After a long search I now found the recipe of a great raw food bar thanks to one of my friends. I make this on sundays' when my homemade granola is in the oven!

 Scroll down for the Dutch recipe

English recipe:

Duration: 10 minutes

Amount of servings: 5-8 bars depending on the size you like

The ingredients:

• 250 gr seedless dates
• 70 gr unsalted and unroasted nuts (I use a handful of hazelnuts, pecans, almonds and walnuts but any nuts of your choice will also suffice)
• 1 tbs sunflower seeds
• 1 tbs pumpkin seeds
• 1 tbs flaxseeds
• 3 tbs coconut grater

Directions: 

1. Put the seedless dates into your food processor and mince.
2. Place all the nuts and the sunflower and pumpkin seeds in the middle of a clean tea-towel, fold and smash the nuts with a dough roller. Or use a mortar to crush them but this is more time consuming. 
3. Put the minced dates, smashed nuts and all seeds in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of coconut grater and knead everything firmly together. 
4. Place some grease proof paper in a relatively small rectangular baking thin or baking dish. 
5. Put the mixture in the baking dish and make sure that the mixture covers the whole bottom of the dish. Use some extra grease proof paper to flatten the mixture so it doesn't stick to your hands. 
6. Then get the mixture out of the baking dish and cut into bars (5 large bars, or 8 smaller bars).
7. Drizzle each bar with the remaining coconut grater and wrap each bar separately in some aluminum foil.
8. Store them in your refrigerator until it's snack time!

Variation tip: add some cranberries for some sweetness or 2 figs!

Enjoy!

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Nederlands recept:

Duur: 10 minuten

Porties: 5 tot 8 repen (afhankelijk van hoe groot je ze wilt)

De ingrediënten:

•    250 gram pitloze dadels
• 70 gram ongezouten en ongebrande noten (ik gebruik een handvol hazelnoten, pecan noten, amandelen en walnoten. Maar je kan ook andere gebruiken​​)
• 1 eetlepel zonnebloempitten
• 1 eetlepel pompoenpitten
• 1 eetlepel lijnzaad
• 3 eetlepels kokos rasp

Bereiding:

1. Doe de dadels in de keukenmachine en hak deze klein.
2. Plaats alle noten en de zonnebloem en pompoenpitten in het midden van een schone theedoek, vouw en sla de noten met een deegroller klein. Je kunt ook een vijzel gebruiken, maar dit neemt meer tijd in beslag, of in de keukenmachine, maar niet alle keukenmachines vinden dit fijn.
3. Doe de gehakte dadels, gebroken noten en alle zaden in een grote kom met 1 eetlepel kokos rasp en kneed alles stevig in elkaar.
4. Doe een stuk bakpapier in een relatief kleine rechthoekige ovenschaal of brownievorm. Doe het dadel-noten mengsel in de ovenschaal op het bakpapier en zorg ervoor dat het over de gehele bodem verdeeld is. Gebruik het bakpapier dat nog buiten de schaal ‘hangt’ om het aan te drukken zodat het niet aan je handen plakt.
5. Haal het dan weer uit de schaal en maak er repen van in de gewenste grootte. Besprenkel elke reep met de rest van de kokosrasp en wikkel de bars afzonderlijk van elkaar in aluminiumfolie. Bewaar ze in de koelkast.
   

Eet smakelijk!

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Homemade Granola

On Sunday's I always like to do my meal prepping for the upcoming week. So today I want to share with you my favorite part, making my own granola! Of course it's easier and less time consuming to buy it at your local organic store, but I really prefer mine and I think you will too!

This granola is perfect with yoghurt, in your smoothie bowl or to top your parfait. But you can also eat it like cereal with milk and then of course preferable soy/rice/almond/coconut milk.

Duration: 25 minutes

The ingredients: 

• 150 gr oat flakes
• 100 gr buckwheat flakes, rye flakes or spelt flakes (your choice!)
• 60 gr almonds
• 40 gr hazelnuts 
• 40 gr pecans
• 30 gr sunflower seeds
• 30 gr pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons flaxseed
• 3 tablespoons agave syrup
• 4 tablespoons of flaxseed oil
• 50 gr dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons coconut grater

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees of Celsius
2. Mix the oat flakes with the buckwheat or other  flakes and 3 tablespoons of agave syrup in a large bowl until everything is covered with agave syrup.
3. Spread the mixture out on a baking sheet with grease proof paper and put in the oven for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, crush all the nuts into smaller pieces with your mortar and mix with the seeds.
5. After the 5 minutes, get the baking sheet out of the oven and add the nuts and seeds to the flakes and mix well! Cover everything with 4 tablespoons of flaxseed oil and put back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes. Stir halfway and check after 10 minutes whether it's done and the flakes are golden brown.
6. Cool down and put in an airtight jar and your homemade granola is ready! Preservable for about 2 weeks.

Enjoy!

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Red pesto

The first recipe that I post on this blog must, of course, be my all time favorite homemade red pesto! I find it very handy to have this in my refrigerator because it is simply delicious on sandwiches but also makes a great super simple and easy pasta for day’s I’m late out of the office.

Duration: 5 minutes

The ingredients:

• 16 sundried tomatoes
• 40 grams pine nuts
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 15 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 3 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Pick the thyme leaves and put them in your food processor together with the sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic clove, dried oregano and 2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil until it’s a relatively smooth puree.
2. Then add the remaining table spoon of extra virgin olive oil to the puree and mix until it’s a smooth paste!

The pesto will be preservable in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks in an airtight jar. Make sure you put a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on top!

Enjoy!

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Nederlandse recept - Rode Pesto :

Tijd: 5 minuten

De ingrediënten:

• 16 zongedroogde tomaten
• 40 g (geroosterde) pijnboompitten
• 1 teen knoflook
• 1 tl gedroogde oregano
• 15 takjes verse tijm
• 2 el extra vierge olijfolie
• zout & peper

Bereiding:

1. Pluk de blaadjes van de takjes tijm en doe deze in je keukenmachine samen met de zongedroogde tomaten, geroosterde pijnboompitten, teentje knoflook, oregano en 2 eetlepels extra vierge olijfolie and meng totdat het een relatief glad geheel is. 
2. Voeg dan de derde eetlepel olijfolie toe en meng nog een keer tot het een gladde pesto is.

De pesto is zo'n 2 weken in een weckpot houdbaar in de koelkast. Zorg dat je een klein laagje extra vierge olijfolie bovenop doet. 

Eet smakelijk!

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