Stuffed portobello mushrooms

Most of our dinners are free from protein as we consume protein mainly at lunch, so basically our dinners are soup or a vegetarian dish prepared with good fats to improve the sleep and rest.

I try to have portobello mushrooms all the time in my fridge, they are my backup plan for everything.

In Oman you can find these mushrooms mainly in Al Meera supermarket and sometimes in Sultan Centre. Is not the easiest thing to find I know it, but in Al Meera I found them every week. So if you leave in Muscat is the place to go. 

Ingredients:

• 4 Portobello mushrooms 
• Bunch of cherry tomatoes
• basil leaves 
• Parmesan cheese (optional)
• Olive oil or butter  

Let's do it:

• First start to preheat the oven to 150 C
• Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and reserve
• To a bowl cut the cherry tomatoes in quarters and slice the basil leaves
• Cut the mushrooms stalks in small pieces and add them to the bowl 
• Add the parmesan cheese (optional) 
• Stuff the mushrooms with the mixture 
• Pour a bit of olive oil or a slice of grass-fed butter over the top of the mushrooms (the fat will help the mushrooms to get more flavour and will make you feel more full after eating)
• Place the mushrooms in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until they look soft and cooked 

You can serve them with any side dish. I usually have them with cauliflower mash or roasted vegetables, especially kale or brocollini.

You can also stuff the mushrooms with different things, you only need to have ideas. 

As I usually do them so often, I am trying all the time to be creative. 

I will start to post some of my ideas to help you also to have your own ideas.

This year I am going home for Christmas and I will not take my laptop so this will be my last recipe until I return.

I hope that you all try to be happy and please share your happiness with others as it is so important to share our vibes.

Sharing is caring...

As we grow up we realise that Christmas is not all about presents, is mainly about being present to the ones we love and care. 

I love Pink Martini, I discovered them when I was living in Brussels in 2005 and this album "Joy to the World" has amazing Christmas songs under their own version and I really like this one in particular. Shchedryk is a Ukrainian carol, although they consider it a New Year's carol.   

This can be a nice album to have on the Christmas evening and day :) 

Is nice to come across with different carols from other countries in totally different languages...this is the beauty of the world! 

Have a Merry Christmas and be yourself a present to others :) 

Merry Christmas world! 

Lemon cheesecake (keto adapted)

One of the bad things of being expat is how often we say goodbye to friends.
While being expat we meet a lot of different and interesting people with different backgrounds that makes the friendship a kind of sharing.

It was hard for me to find people with whom I felt comfortable with, that I could trust and have good fun. I  love to have non judgmental people around me and people with good vibes.

Slowly I am learning how to say goodbye to these amazing people that will remain part of me and of my experience in Oman and hopefully few of them will remain friends for life even if we live in different parts of the world. I truly believe that with some this will happen.

I prepared a dinner to some friends that left to a neighbour country and it's comforting to know that they will return frequently during the summer as Oman has good kitesurfing conditions :) it would be nice to have them back once in a while.

I prepared this lemon cheesecake with strawberry compote on the top for dessert.
This recipe contains lactose, but soon I will post a fully raw-vegan cheese cake, gluten and lactose free.

What makes me love this recipe is that is totally carb-free as most of the carbs present in the almonds are already out when I do the almond milk...makes this the perfect dessert and guilty free.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 cup of raw almonds but I tend to use the leftovers of the almond milk http://mymindfulbliss.blogspot.com/2016/11/almond-milk.html 
• 2 Tbsp of butter (melted)
• 1tsp of cinnamon 
• Stevia to taste 

For the filling:

• 2 cups of mascarpone cheese
• juice and zest of 2 lemons 
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract 
• Stevia to taste

For the strawberry compote:

• 250 gr pf strawberries 
• Water with 1Tbsp of lemon juice to cover 
• Stevia to taste

Let's do it:

• First start by preparing the compote. In a frying pan cut the strawberries in small pieces and add water until it covers the strawberries. Add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and stevia to taste. Turn in low heat and mix it until the strawberries become soft and smooth. Allow the mixture to boil for 2-3 minutes and allow it to cool at room temperature. 
• The next step is to prepare the almond crust. If you are using raw almond, put them in a food processor until they form a crumb. I tend to use the leftovers from the almond milk. Both ways work well. To the almond crumb add the melted butter, cinnamon and stevia to taste. Mix it well. 
• Pour the almond crumb into a cheesecake tin and press it well with a spoon. As I don't have any cheesecake tin, I used a dish tray :) Place it in the fridge while preparing the filling
• For the filling pour the mascarpone in a large bowl and add the lemon juice and zest, vanilla extract and stevia. Mix well with an electric hand mixer until well combined. 
• Remove the cheesecake tin from the fridge and pour the mascarpone mixture with a spoon until well spread
• Cover with the strawberry compote 
• Place it in the fridge at least for 4 hours before serving

I grated a bit of dark-chocolate on the top as you can see.

Time of preparation: 30 minutes
Quantity: 4 to 6 people

Because is Christmas I leave you one of my favourite Christmas songs from The Pogues that were a Celtic punk band from London from the 80's to 90's. The singer Shane MacGowan was replaced on the early 90's for the amazing Joe Strummer from the Clash. It was a good band as a lot of London bands from that time.
Is not a typical Christmas song but I love it :) It is punk-rock...what else!!

"You were handsome
You were pretty
Queen of New York City
When the band finished playing
They howled out for more
Sinatra was swinging,
All the drunks they were singing
We kissed on a corner
Then danced through the night"

Merry Christmas people!!! Is still missing few days...I know I know!!

Smoothie with dragon fruit

Christmas is almost here and I don't feel the spirit as in Middle East they don't celebrate and is sunny and warm outside. This Christmas I am going home, is gonna be lovely.

Sometimes is funny how we take everything for granted, friends, family, our love, freedom, peace and is important to be aware that in life nothing is granted, not even the next minute.

I never thought that I would spend Christmas away from my family and it already happened. It wasn't bad, it was actually funny and different to go on the beach on the 25th December :) but I miss that cold Christmas in front of the fire and this year I am looking forward to be with my family at home.

I will try to prepare some low carb high fat recipes for Christmas, especially desserts as it is were we usually disgrace ourselves in these festivities.

Meanwhile I leave you today a breakfast suggestion made with my almond milk recipe http://mymindfulbliss.blogspot.com/2016/11/almond-milk.html

You have to prepare this recipe in the night before allowing the chia seeds to swallow creating a texture similar to a pudding.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of home made almond milk 
• 1/2 of mango 
• 2 Tbsp of chia seeds
• Dragon fruit

Let's do it:

• Blend the almond milk and the mango
• Pour the mixture to a jar and add the 2 Tbsp of chia seeds
• Put the jar in the fridge overnight 
• In the morning pour the jar to a bowl and serve with shredded coconut or laminated almonds with poppy seeds or sunflower seeds
• Cut in half the dragon fruit. Peel and slice only half and reserve the other half. 

*Note* - In the picture you see the dragon fruit on the plate but I actually added it to the bowl and it was so awesome. The mix of flavours is great. Try it! 

Dragon fruit is really low in carbohydrates and low in sugar index so is ok to mix it with other fruits as it will not boost the sugar level and also it will make you really full.

As I am starting the day really slow today I leave you a morning song of an American singer, Beck. 

Hope you enjoy your Sunday as much as you can.

Be grateful for what you have and enjoy every single moment of joy because nothing is granted and unfortunately not everyone can celebrate the Christmas in family or among people they love. We should be grateful for how lucky we are without forgetting that the world is living insane moments of racism, hate, poverty, hunger and wars without sense...Just try to take one minute of today's day and think about 3 things that you are grateful for and think for a while in all the ones that are suffering in the world. Although we can't do a lot, we should never forget them. 

Peace to the world! 

Tuna in Soya Sauce

On a Low Carb High Fat diet is important to consume high quantity of good fats and moderate protein and low carbohydrates.

Here at home we consume mainly protein from eggs, fat fish, chicken and beef, once in a while I cook lamb for him as I really don't like it.

In Oman we can find fresh tuna almost everyday, especially yellow fin tuna.
Tuna is known for the various health benefits. it has very high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which help to reduce omega-6 fatty acids and cholesterol in the arteries and blood vessels, the combination of omega-3 fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory can help reduce blood pressure, along with potassium, a vasodilator, make tuna fish very good for lowering blood pressure.
If you make a search from the health benefits of tuna you will be surprised.

However is important to be aware that one problem of eating too much tuna is the risk of mercury poisoning as it is rich in mercury levels, so we should prefer fresh tuna instead of processed and canned one.

I prepare tuna every week or every two weeks and I try all the times to think in different recipes. However I like to prepare tuna with soya sauce, I try to do it only once in a while as soya sauce is too rich in sodium.

Ingredients: 

• 2 steaks of fresh tuna
• 1/4 cup of spring onions (sliced)
• 1/4 cup of soya sauce

Let's do it:

• In bowl combine the soya sauce with the sliced spring onions and marinates the tuna steaks for 15 minutes
• After marinated, prepare a frying pan and turn the heat in low. 
• Place the tuna steaks in the frying pan with the soya sauce of the marinade and fry it more or less 5 minutes each side. However this step depends if you like the tuna rare, medium rare or well done. I prepared them well done
• Serve it with salad or roasted veggies 

I love the flavour of the tuna cooked in soya sauce, gets with a sweeter taste that I like and I served the steaks with a really good raw salad that I will post in the next few days.  

Time of preparation: 25 minutes (15 minutes marinade + 10 minutes cooking)

I am counting the days for my Kitesurf trip to Cape Town next year. I am a bit scared of the possible "extreme" conditions that I may face but in case the waves are too big I will spend my days travelling around and doing yoga...There is always a backup plan when you go for these trips. 

Today I leave you Rodriguez an American singer that had a massive success in South Africa where a lot of rumours started about his existence. I totally advise to watch the documentary "Searching for Sugar Man" winner of Academy award in 2012.

Have a nice week and you already know this...be happy :) 

Chocolate muffins

Since I started to bake muffins I became addicted because they are easy to do, taste amazing and they are guilty free.
I can have them for breakfast, as a snack or even as dessert :)
Is great for me...the problem is that they disappear so fast that when you look to the container they're gone, especially if you have a "chocolate monster" at home :)

The good thing in this low carb high fat diet, is that these things are packed of good fats and you don't feel guilty to eat them, and after having one muffin you will feel so satisfied and happy!! Chocolate makes everyone happier!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of almond flour
• 1/4 cup of cacao powder
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• pinch of salt 
• 3 eggs large or 4 medium 
• 2 Tbsp of raw honey 
• 3 Tbsp of butter or ghee
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract 
• 1 tsp of apple cider 
• 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips 

Let's do it:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200 C and grease a muffin tin 
• In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients
• In a medium bowl mixt all the wet ingredients
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the chocolate chips 
• Scoop the batter to the muffin tin 
• Bake for more or less 25-30 minutes. It will be ready when you insert a toothpick and it will come out dry
• Wait few minutes before eating...if you can resist :) 

Quantity: 8 muffins

Time of preparation: 45 minutes (15 minutes to prepare and 30 m minutes baking)

*Note*1 -  These muffins are not really sweet but if you want you can remove the honey from the ingredients and it will be totally sugar-free. As I am using pure dark cacao they get a bit bitter so I prefer to add honey.

*Note*2 - For the ones that live in Oman sometimes people ask me where do I find these ingredients. I usually buy them online in a shop in Dubai that deliver in Oman and sometimes they are even cheaper than in Oman. The website is this one http://organicfoodsandcafe.com (For the record I don't get anything by advertising them, but while living in Oman I know that all the help is welcomed). Another thing is about almond flour, in case you don't find it, you can find almond powder or almond meal (is basically the same as almond flour a bit more coarse) in Al Fair, Lulu, Al Meera.

I am counting the days for the release of the movie Trainspotting II, however I think that I will have to fly away from Middle East if I want to watch the movie.
As you can imagine it will not pass in here, or they will pass and after so many cuts we will have only 20 minutes of movie...hehe!! 

I leave you Iggy Pop  for today and I am sure that he doesn't need any introduction...he is a genius...sort of :) 

Try the muffins and let me know how it went!