This summer has been crazy, I have been traveling in and out since April and is funny how we love to travel but then our body feels so much the lack of routine, the switch from one temperature to another, the messy sleep and the long hours inside of a plane.
However I am back and I am feel energised, full of plans and nice ideas that hopefully I'll be able to put in practice in this future year.
With me back at home, the muffin season started again:) :)
I was craving for some muffins but I only had coconut flour at home, so I decided to go for some pure coconut flour muffins.
Cooking only with coconut flour can be tricky, as the coconut flour is really absorbent. Because of this I added lemon juice to the batter to help them to get a bit more moist, and the final result was pretty good I have to say.
I used blueberries as we bought some and they were a really bitter so I just decided to bake them instead, but you can use any other fruit. I am curious to try pear in the next ones!
Ingredients:
3/4 cup of coconut flour
1/2 tsp of baking soda
pinch of salt
6 eggs (organic preferably)
1/2 cup of coconut oil
1/3 cup of honey (you can add more if you like them sweet)
2 Tbsp of lemon juice
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup of blueberries (or other fruit that you prefer)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Let's do it:
Pre-heat the oven to 150C
In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients
In other bowl, beat the eggs and add the coconut oil, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla extract
Pour the egg mixture over the dry one and mix well
Add the blueberries
Allow the batter to absorve all the coconut flour, so wait for about 5 minutes
Scoop the mixture to the muffin tins
Bake for 20-25 minutes
Time of preparation: 10 minutes preparing + 25 minutes baking
Quantity: 12 muffins
I recently got to know this band Kaleo. I don't know much about them, beside the fact that they are from Iceland and they play a indie blues style of music.
Lately we all see home made granola everywhere, in cool cafes, organic shops and there's recipes everywhere so I decided to give a go doing my own version of granola.
In my granola I removed the sugar and grains, reducing the carbohydrates and making it more paleo friendly. As a sugar replacement I added cranberries and dates that naturally makes the granola a bit more sweet. If you like dried apricots you can also use them.
The final result was amazing with a granola super tasty and crunchy, without any added sugar and the best part is that it gets much cheaper to do it, instead of buying it n a supermarket over here.
The recipe is pretty easy, however I destroyed it during my first trial because I let it inside the oven too long, so the first batch came out totally roasted. I wasn't aware how sensitive the nuts are to heat.
Ingredients:
1 cup of almonds (previously activated)
1 cup of cashews (previously activated)
1 cup of pumpkin seeds (previously activated)
1 cup of sunflower seeds (previously activated)
1 cup of flax seeds
1 cup of shredded coconut
1 cup of dried cranberries
8 chopped dates
1 cup of coconut chips
2 tsp of vanilla extract
4 tsp of cinnamon powder
1/3 cup of coconut oil
pinch of salt
Let's do it:
Pre-heat the oven to 150C
In a cutting boards chop the almonds and cashews with a knife
In a bowl mix all the nuts, seeds, cranberries, shredded coconut and coconut chips
Add the cinnamon and salt, mix well
Melt the coconut oil and add it to the mixture as also the vanilla extract
Stir well
In a tray covered with baking sheet, pour the mixture evenly
Bake it for 20m, stir and add more minutes if necessary
Allow the granola to cool down and then keep it in a glass jar
*Note* - The nuts are sensitive to high temperatures, so is better to keep an eye while they are baking to avoid them to get burned.
*Note* - In case you don't have a way to activate the nuts, or you don't find the reason of why should you do it, you can always use normal nuts. It gets equally tasty.
Time of Preparation: It takes 20 minutes in the oven. As I usually do a big quantity and I only have one tray, I have to it in batches so it takes me about 1h to cook all the entire granola.
Today I leave you one of my favourite bands, The National. I already watched them alive at least two times and if I could, I would watch them again.
They are from Ohio and is a Indie rock band and all their albums are just amazing and I invite you all to spend a bit of time listening to some of their music in Youtube.
Lately I have been a bit busy with future projects and that is why I haven't been posting as much as before, but hopefully in few months everything will be running smoothly.
Some days I have sweet cravings, especially when I feel myself a bit hectic, so I decided to make these blissful balls with some boosting ingredients to see if I find a balance in my body and mind.
When I feel a bit unbalanced I try to add ingredients that increase the amount of anti-oxidants, maintain the blood sugar level, reduce the blood pressure and decrease the inflammation so for these ones I added goji berries and pumpkin seeds.
They didn't get as sweet as previous ones but they are still pretty good and fully packed of good nutrients and they are perfect to add into lunch boxes and to have them as a snack or as a sweet treat..up to you!
Ingredients:
1 cup of almonds
1 cup dates (pitted)
2 Tbsp chia seeds
2 Tbsp flaxseed
1 Tbsp of protein powder (vegan one)
3 Tbsp of coconut oil
2 Tbsp of cocoa powder
1/4 cup of goji berries
2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
Let's do it:
In a food processor mix the almonds and dates
Then add the chia seeds, flaxseed, protein powder and coconut oil
For last add cocoa powder, goji berries and pumpkin seeds
Quantity: 18 bliss balls
Time of preparation: 15 minutes
For today I leave you one of the songs that I have been listening quite often and although is not entirely my style of music, I confess that this one hooked me up.
I didn't even knew the band Parcels before and honestly I still don't know much more about them, beside the fact that they are an electronic band.
I leave you Clockscared and I have to say that I can't stop listen this song...is just peaceful!
Enjoy!
In those days that I don't have any inspiration in the kitchen and I don't really feel like transforming the kitchen in a kitchen lab, I tend to do all the time salads and since I bought a spiralizer I like to do raw salads with zucchini and beetroot especially...I just like the shape that you can give veggies I guess :)
I can do a nice looking salad, only with raw ingredients and make it super tasty and fulfilling. We are addicted to these type of salads and the good thing is that they are super easy to do.
For this salad you will need a spiralizer for the zucchini and beetroot.
Ingredients:
1 zucchini
1 beetroot
1 capsicum (orange or yellow)
1 green apple
alfafa sprouts
pine nuts
feta cheese
pesto
1 Tbsp coconut oil
Let's do it:
with a spiralizer transform the vegetables in the shape that you prefer ( I like to transform the zucchini in spaghetti and the beetroot in a spiral shape)
cut the capsicum and the green apple in small pieces
in a wok (or frying pan), pour the coconut oil and when warm enough, stir in the zucchini noodles for few minutes, until they become a bit soft
In a bowl add the zucchini noodles with the raw beetroot, add the capsicum and apple. Spread with some alfafa sprouts, feta cheese and pine nuts. Serve with a Tbsp of pesto or any favourite salsa.
*Note* - You can opt to not cook the zucchini if you prefer a full raw salad
Time of preparation: 15 minutes
Quantity: The list of ingredients is enough for 2 people
Recently while listening Radar, a awesome Portuguese radio station, they were playing Pizzicato Five and it was like if I was traveling to the past. I used to listen so much this band in the 90's and today I decided to share it with you.
Pizzicato Five is a Japanese pop band and their music is so energetic and happy that you should give a go and allow your body to dance :)
Summer is mango season and this dish is fresh and tasty, making it a nice match for the current season.
Chicken is the perfect restorative food for the brain and nervous system, as it contains Vitamin B as well protein. Mangoes are a good source of betacarotene with protective antioxidants and Vitamin A.
I found this recipe in a old book but I made some changes according to my diet and I found it super tasty. The mango dressing is an explosion of different flavours that combine really well together and combined with chicken creates the perfect fusion.
Ingredients:
1 medium mango
2 sticks of celery
2 limes juiced
4 large spring onions or half cup of the green part of leek
1 large bunch of coriander or parsley (at your taste)
2 Tbsp of olive oil
Chicken breasts to roast (or you can use the leftovers of a roasted chicken)
Lettuce
1 cucumber
1 cup of red cabbage sliced
Let's do it:
Chicken
If you don't have any leftovers of roasted chicken , you can start by preparing the chicken. Pre-heat the oven to 180-200 C
In a oven dish place the chicken breasts and season them with salt and fresh thyme. Sprinkle some olive oil on the top and do some cuts along the breast to make it easier to roast without getting dry
Place it in the oven for 30 minutes
Dressing
To prepare the dressing, put the mango, celery, lime juice, spring onions (or leek) into a food processor. Process it in medium speed
Add the olive oil and the coriander (or parsley) and process it in medium speed until the parsley or coriander are chopped. You don't want highly chopped, you want it mixed and well combined but with visible leafs.
In a plate arrange the lettuce leaves, the cucumber diced and the red cabbage sliced. Pile the chicken on the top and pour the dressing. Garnish with some sliced almonds or pine nuts if you want.
Quantity: The dressing serves 2 to 4 (depending of the amount of chicken that you have available)
Time of preparation: 40 minutes (30 minutes of roasting the chicken and the time of preparing the plates. I made the dressing while the chicken was in the oven)
I discovered Courtney Barnett in the beginning of 2016 and I was so lucky that I was able to watch her concert in Portugal last summer.
If there is something that I love in Portugal is our music festivals. Bring it on summer...
Courtney Barnett is from Australia and as I already wrote in one of my previous posts, Australia is awesome in terms of music. Just name it, they have it...grunge, punk rock, indie rock.
If you like punk rock and Indie music you should listen this girl. Although if your ears are too sensitive and too much into classical and boring music....don't listen, you will feel too much energy in your body and can cause side effects as dancing and jumping :)
One of the things that under ketogenic or Paleo diet you start to consume a lot, are nuts and seeds. They are an amazing snack as alternative to cookies, biscuits, cakes and so on, however they have phytic acid that reduces our body's ability to absorb the nutrients present in nuts and seeds. They also contain enzyme inhibitors which force the body to work harder to produce the enzymes necessary for digestion and this process leads to a faster ageing of our cells.
Pete Evans, a Australian paleo writer, started to write about activating nuts and this became big worldwide and currently you will find easily in a organic supermarkets, activated nuts, paleo muesli, nut milks from activated nuts.
Activating nuts is nothing else than soaking nuts and seeds in salty water for few hours, between 4 to 12h depending of the nut and seed, and then dry them in the oven at low temperature or in a dehydrator.
This process of soaking and dry them, will break down the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors and will make the nutrients a lot more readily available and easy to digest. Meanwhile there is actually some researchers that say that soaking nuts and seeds for long periods of time actually increases their nutritional value.
After all this information I decided to activate nuts and seeds and do my own paleo muesli and this was actually one of the main reasons that made us buy a dehydrator and until now I am super happy with it.
I followed Pete Evans soaking hours and to dehydrate them I just went a bit by trial error, opening the dehydrator and check when the nuts and seeds were ready.
All the nuts and seeds must be soaked in salty water and in separated containers, as they all have different times. Afterwards I place them in dehydrator under 110F, around 43C.
Almonds
Soaking time - 12h
Dehydrator - 15h
Cashews
Soaking time - 4h
Dehydrator - 15h
Pistachios
Soaking time - 6h
Dehydrator - 12h
Sunflower seeds
Soaking time - 3h
Dehydrator - 12h
Pumpking seeds
Soaking time - 10h
Dehydrator - 12h
Cramberries
Dehydrator - 12h
To do a paleo muesli I just combined all the activated nuts, plus the dried cranberries, goji berries and some organic coconut chips that I bought in supermarket. You can add some dark chocolate nibs as it makes it a bit sweeter and doesn't make any harm. I didn't had chocolate nibs so next time!
Mix all the nuts, seeds and dried fruit and keep them in a airtight container and it will last few months, however in here doesn't last long because we use it as muesli replacement and as a snack.
This paleo muesli matches perfectly with homemade coconut yogurt. I've been doing mine and is really yummy. I will post the recipe soon.
A easy and lazy morning as the one of today, needs some lazy music.
Mogwai are a Scottish post-rock band from Glasgow. They are still active, however they are not really known I guess.
Lately I've being putting more effort into breakfast recipes than others, is a phase I guess. So today I decided to bake some blueberry muffins as blueberries are rich in anti-oxidants and I confess that I still remember when I was going to London and I had that blueberry muffins from Costa or Nero.
For me was mandatory to have a blueberry muffin every time that I was going to UK, sometimes I even asked my brother to get me one to have it as soon as I landed.
Because few days ago I had this memory, I decided to try to bake some....and they went quite well I have to say.
Ingredients:
2 cups of almond flour (I use fine one)
1 tsp of baking soda
pinch of salt
4 eggs
1/4 cup of honey
2 Tbsp of coconut oil
1 Tbsp of lemon juice
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 cup of blueberries (fresh ones)
Let's do it:
Pre-heat the oven to 170C and grease muffin tins
In a bowl mix the almond flour, the baking soda and the pinch of salt
In another bowl mix the eggs with the coconut oil and lemon juice. Add the honey, the vanilla extract and mix well
Add the wet ingredients to the almond flour mixture. Mix well with a spoon
Add the blueberries to the mixture
Scoop the mixture to the muffin tin and bake for 20-25 minutes
Time of preparation: 35 minutes (10m preparing+25m baking)
Quantity: 8-12 muffins
Today I am in the mood of listening Tom Waits, he is an American singer and songwriter and has a really peculiar voice.
Is easy to not like Tom Waits, but is even easier to love him and the way he sings.
Hope you enjoy, of not is okay anyway :)
"There's a winner in every place
There's a heart that's beating in every page
The beginning of it starts at the end
When it's time to walk away and start over again"
I just passed one month in Australia, including Tasmania which is definitely a paradise on the top of the planet. Starting with the landscapes to the wildlife, finishing in the food and wine...oh gosh...I want to go back.
While living in Oman we don't have any opportunities to browse around in a bookstore because there's any, so while on holidays I like to browse for cooking books and healthy magazines, and Australia is perfect for this.
The amount of healthy shops, organic markets, good restaurants is amazing. I totally recommend Australia for a foodie. In one of several magazines I came across with several recipes for dipping sauces so as soon as I arrived home I started trying them out.
Although this recipe was not invented by me I think that would be nice to share it as it is so good and honestly, when it comes to food all recipes are from everyone. Is like the sun, when it raises is for all :) but for the record I followed Pete Evans recipe.
I leave you a beetroot sauce that is good as side dish with meat or as a dipping sauce with some vegetables sticks (like carrot, cucumber or celery), or to spread on the top of some savoury bread.
Ingredients:
1 large beetroot, peeled and grated
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large handfuls of parsley
1 small red onion
2 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons of oregano leaves
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
sea salt and black pepper
Let's do it:
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse it until finally chopped
You can add more olive oil as it depends of the consistency that you desire and of the size of beetroot also
*Note* - You can store it in a airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Time of preparation: 5 minutes
Somedays I am in the mood of some good old jazz, the one that makes you sing and dance. I am sure that Peggy Lee doesn't need presentation!
While browsing in Instagram I came across with a lovely picture of some cookies, and for the ones that know me....I simply love cookies. If you can check out in instagram all the cookies that "thehealthyhazelnut" has.
I changed few of the ingredients to match with a low carb and high fat diet. This was the third time that I tried them out, as I have been all the time adjusting the ingredients but I finally I achieved what I was searching for. These ones I have to say they came out quite tasty and more with a cookie look :)
These cookies are a perfect snack for kids and adults and although has coconut sugar, is not refined sugar.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup almond flour
3/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup of coconut sugar
1 tsp of baking soda
1 Tbsp of cocoa powder
1 1/2 Tbsp of coconut oil
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 large eggs or 3 medium ones
1/4 cup of almond butter
1/4 cup of cocoa chips of chopped dar chocolate
Let's do it:
pre-heat the oven to 170 C and prepare a tray with parchment paper or silicone mat
In a bowl mix all dry ingredients and mix well removing all the lumps with a spoon
In other bowl the almond butter, vanilla extract, coconut oil and the eggs previously whisked and mix well with a spoon until get an homogeneous mixture
Slowly add the flour mixture (dry ingredients) to the wet ingredients until get a homogenous and thick batter
In the end add the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate and mix again with a spoon
Spread some coconut oil in your hands (in this way the batter will not stick to your hands), remove small pieces of the batter with your hands and form balls. Align the balls along the tray and in the end use a piece of parchment paper to flat a bit the cookies. NOTE - You don't want to flat them too much
Bake for 10 minutes. Try to not over bake them so they will stay soft.
Time of preparation: 25 minutes (15 minutes to prepare the batter and 10 minutes baking)
Quantity: 20 cookies (it will depend on the size that you make them)
I have been in the mood of Feist. I used to listen a lot when I was in University and today I leave you one of my favourite songs...1234 :)
Sometimes I crave for something different, different flavours, colours and smells.
Today I looked to the available vegetables that weren't many, and decided to make a soup, but as I was really craving for different flavours I decided to add some dry spices that I tend to use to cook meat and in the end I even surprised myself with the amazing soup that I had just made.
Meanwhile I thought about Thai soups that are made with coconut milk so I divided the soup in two batches and in one I added coconut milk to see how it goes, and turned out pretty tasty and fulfilling because of the coconut milk.
If you like food that when you eat, you feel like an explosion of flavours in your mouth, you really have to try this one.
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of ground coriander
1/2 tsp of curry powder
1 tsp of ground ginger
2 onions (red ones)
2 carrots
2 small zucchini or 1 medium
1 orange sweet potato
4 cloves garlic
4 cups of chicken stock (organic or made by yourself)
salt
black pepper
1/2 cup of coconut milk (optional)
2 Tbsp of lime juice (optional)
Cilantro
Let's do it:
In a large pot add the olive oil and add the ground coriander, curry powder and ginger and cook for about 1 minute under low heat
Add the onions chopped, carrots, sweet potato and zucchini and stir to combine and cook for about 2-3 minutes
Add the chicken stock (or 4 cups of water if you prefer) and bring to a boil. Increase the heat to medium and let it cook until the vegetables are smooth, around 40 minutes. Make sure that you add extra water during this period, as the water tends to dry out
When vegetables are smooth, season with salt and pepper and boil for more 5 minutes
With a hand blender, blend the vegetables. At this point you can add water until you find the desired consistency
As it's not advisable to keep soup in the fridge with coconut milk, I separated the soup in two batches. In one I let it cool down and kept it in the fridge for a next meal, and on the other half batch, under low heat I added the 1/2 cup of coconut milk and the lime juice, stirring well until the coconut milk gets well mixed in the soup.
To serve pour the soup in bowls and add chopped fresh cilantro if you fancy
This soup was a success at our place. It is so tasty that I think that I will do it again for next week :)
One of my favourite albums that I remember to listen quite often when I was university was the "banana" album from Velvet Underground and Nico. This album made 50 years since it was released. The cover was made by Andy Warhol on the time of Pop Art movement. This album became a major influence and a icon of the pop music on that time.
I think I like every song form this album but today's choice is definitely this one...
Since I started this diet/lifestyle, bread has been the hardest thing to find replacement. At least I wasn't able to make fluffy loafs of bread, as the ones that we buy in the bakery.
I still find hard to achieve the perfect consistency when baking with coconut, almond flour or even with flaxseed. I tried dozen of recipes until decided to change how to mix the ingredients, and I have to say that finally my bread came out pretty well.
It was a success here at home.
It even looks like a real loaf, right?? I am proud of it :-)
Ingredients:
1+3/4 cup of flaxseed (milled)
1/4 cup of almond flour
1 tsp on cinnamon
1 tsp of stevia (optional)
1 tsp of baking powder
2 whole eggs
5 egg whites
5 Tbsp of coconut oil
Let's do it:
Grease a loaf pan and set the oven to 175 C
In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients removing all the lumps
In another bowl whisk the 2 whole eggs with the coconut oil
Mix the wet ingredients in the dry ones
Let it settle and meanwhile whisk the 5 eggs whites until stiff peak
Pour the egg whites in the mixture and with a spoon until you get an homogeneous
Bake it for 35 minutes or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean
Time of preparation: 45 minutes (10 minutes preparing+35 minutes baking)
For today I leave you Flight Facilities, that I know since few years but only now I discovered that they are from Australia...I am still surprised with the good rock&roll and electronic music that Australia has to offer.
I especially like this song as it fits perfectly in my vinyasa soundtrack :)
The summer is back to Oman and although I don't really love this crazy heat, I love the wind that comes with the monsoon on the south of Oman allowing us to enjoy every weekend kiting :)
With the summer we need to improve our daily hydration and I tend to suffer a bit with dehydration, although I drink a lot of water during the day, all the water that we drink here comes from desalination water plants so doesn't have most of the nutrients that our body needs to fight dehydration. So I try to include in my diet, especially during the summer coconut water as it is super rich in nutrients as potassium, sodium, magnesium, manganese, calcium, vitamin C and is poor in carbohydrates so is perfect for us.
The good thing of coconut water, is that you can add it to your favourite smoothie, fresh juice and even to chia pudding, that is my new addiction.
Ingredients:
1 cup of coconut water
1/2 avocado
1/2 mango
2 Tbsp of chia seeds
Let's do it:
Blend all the ingredients together (beside the chia seeds)
Pour the mix to a glass jar and add the chia seeds and mix well with a spoon
Close the glass jar with a lead and place it overnight in the fridge
On the next morning I added coconut chips and berries.
We all take from granted things as having mineral water in our taps, bottled water in the supermarket. Sometimes we should stop and think that our reality is not the reality in a lot of places in the world. I came from a country where the simple water that comes from the tap presents an amazing quality. Then I moved to a country where I can't drink tap water, or is not advisable, and where the water is not mineral coming from desalination plants, lacking all the minerals that makes the water a good and nourishing drink.
At the same time I came across in Oman, with people from really poor countries where they didn't had any potable water in their own countries and where the price of a bottle of water is so overpriced that they avoid drinking water.
Life is a matter of perspective but is important, once in a while, to get out from our own perspective.
I know that we are far far far away from Christmas but today I am in the mood to listen Ryuichi Sakamoto.
He's a japanese musician, composer and some of his albums he worked with famous artist as David Byrne, Arto Lindsay and even Iggy Pop.
Enjoy the life that has been given to you...is so important to recognise that a life has been given to us and that every second is a blessing and that we should be grateful for every breath, for every drop of rain and sunlight, for every smile and tear.
Is so important to practice mindfulness in a daily basis and share this with others.
I have reached to the conclusion that I like muffins in any way, sweet, sour, bread muffins...we just need to have ideas to make the muffin's tin work :)
I do love these egg muffins as they are easy to do and you can have them as breakfast, lunch or simply as a snack. They are perfect for lunch boxes with a salad on the side.
Ingredients:
6 eggs
Half of red capsicum
Half of orange capsicum
1/4 cup of spring onions
Coriander
Feta Cheese
Black pepper
Let's do it:
In a food processor add the capsicum, spring onions, coriander and pulse it for few seconds until the mixture gets into small pieces but not in powder
In a bowl whisk the eggs and add some black pepper
Add the capsicum mixture to the eggs
Pour the mixture into the muffin's tin (no need to grease it)
On the top add few pieces of feta cheese to each muffin
Bake for 20-25 minutes until egg is cooked
*Note*: Bake them in the middle of the oven to keep the moisture of the eggs, and to prevent them of burning the bottom.
Quantity: 9 egg muffins
Time of Preparation: 30 minutes (5 minutes preparing + 25 minutes baking)
I have been super chilled since my Hatha Yoga teacher training, and even my music tend to be more chilled, although I still need quality and rhythm in every song that I listen :)
Today I leave you some Sigur Ros, just allow yourself to go with the flow.
Enjoy every day, as tomorrow is a new day and today's already gone!!
We had tickets to a known party in Muscat and we foresee already that in the day after our body will crave food that is not art of our diet so I tried to plan the meals of the next day in advance, including a dessert because night outs ask for sweet things in the day after.
So beside planning the lunch and dinner, I decided to make this lemon tart. I inspired in a recipe that I randomly found in Pinterest but then while I was reading I started to change everything...hehe, so typical from me. I kind of get inspiration in different blogs but then I end changing to my own taste.
To make this recipe the easiest way is to have a food processor.
As you can see...it was hard to resist :)
Ingredients:
For the crust
1 cup of almond flour (I used the leftovers of the almonds of the almond milk)´
1/4 cup of almond butter
1 Tbsp of honey
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 Tbsp of butter melted
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of vanilla extract
For the filling
6 eggs
1/2 cup of honey
4 Tbsp of coconut flour
1/4 cup of lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
Let's do it
Pre-heat the oven to 200 C
Grease with butter or coconut oil a cheesecake tin, that ones that you can open
Put all the ingredients of the crust in the food processor and pulse for few seconds until it gets crumble
Pour the mix into the bottom of the cheesecake tin and press it down with your hands until it gets spread homogeneously
Bake it for 10 minutes
While the crust is baking you can prepare the filling
Mix all the filling ingredients in the food processor and pulse it for 1 minute, until well mixed
Pour the filling on the top of the crust, previously baked
Bake for 20-25 minutes
You know that is ready when insert a toothpick and the filling doesn't stick to it
Remove it from the tin and let it cool down. Is normal that the tart will open and crack a bit on the top
You can add berries, or any fruit of your preference to the tart
Time of preparation: 45 minutes (20 minutes of preparation + 25 minutes baking)
For today I leave you a song from "Melody am" that if I am not wrong, was the first album of the Norwegian band Royksopp. I guess is also the only album that I like.
This is a bit more electronic, downtempo music, but perfect for sunny days at home.
Since I arrived from holidays I am trying to do some HIIT every day, beside my daily yoga practice and some days I just don't find any motivation to the HIIT...even if it 15-20 minutes is just hard and sometimes my head is in yoga...sorry I can't help it.
However if there is something that I am enjoying even more, it's my breakfast after these sessions.
Recently a friend asked me to post some chia puddings and I never thought about it, and actually I tend to do them once in a while for breakfast or as a afternoon snack...they are so yummy!
Ingredients:
For the chia pudding:
150 g of raspberries
4 Tbsp of chia seeds (I used the white ones)
3 Tbsp of shredded coconut
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract (optional)
1 cup of almond milk
For the topping:
fruit of your choice (I chose mango)
blueberries
laminated almond or coconut
mint leafs
Let's do it:
In a deep bowl you start by smashing the berries with a fork
After smashing the berries you can add, the shredded coconut, the chia seeds and the vanilla extract and mix well with a spoon
Add the cup of almond milk and mix well until you get a homogenous mixture
Pour the mixture in 2 small glass jar and don't forget to close them with the lead. After you can place them in the fridge overnight
I topped the chia pudding with mint but I also add some smashed mango, coconut chips and poppy seeds and blueberries as I am working in adding a good amount of anti-oxydants especially in my breakfast.
I hope you try this one and have fun adding different things on your topping, you can even add shredded dark chocolate :)
Today I leave you with Angus & Julia Stone that is a folk indie pop band from Australia formed by sister and brother. I came across with this band in 2007 when I was living in Azores and for really long time their first album was all the time playing in my car and iPod.
After my 100 Hours course of Integrative Anatomy and Hatha Yoga, I arrived home missing my comfort zone and especially my kitchen. I started by browsing through few blogs and I like to sneak around in "Green Kitchen Stories". They have really nice vegetarian dishes and although they use several things that are not part of my diet, I like to go and get some ideas to apply to my own recipes.
I came across with this bread which I decided to name muffin bread, as I baked them in muffin tins, but you can also make them in a normal loaf pan.
These muffin breads are perfect snack for lunch boxes or for a quick breakfast.
One of the ingredients of this recipe is Psyllium Husks, you really need to have it to prepare this. I never found this in Oman but you can order it online, like Amazon. I advise to buy the powder one instead of the whole option. Psyllium is a form of fiber and It’s most commonly known as a laxative. However, research shows that taking psyllium is beneficial to many parts of the human body, including the heart and the pancreas.
There is a lot of bread recipes under ketogenic or paleo diet that are made with psyllium husk due to is benefits, especially to healthy gut.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp psyllium husks powder + 1 1/2 cup /350 ml water
1/2 cup of almonds
1/2 cup of hazelnuts
1/2 cup of sesame seeds
1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of flax seeds
1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds
1-2 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp of melted cold pressed coconut oil + extra for greasing the pan
Let's do it:
Mix psyllium husks powder and water in a bowl and set aside for 5 minutes, it will get a thick gel consistency
Measure all the nuts and seeds and place in a food processor and pulse a few times, do not grind just coarsely chop
Place in a bowl, add the salt and coconut oil and stir until well combined
Add the psyllium gel and mix it with your hands
Set aside for 1 hour
Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 175 C
Grease the muffin tin or the loaf pan with coconut oil
When 1 hour passed, pour the content to the muffin tin
Place in the oven for 45 minutes
Remove from the oven and let it cool down before you slicing it
Today I leave you Anoushka Shankar, daughter of the extraordinary Ravi Shankar and sister of Norah Jones.
I started to like to listen Indian Sitar music at the same time that I embraced my yoga practice in a daily day basis. Suddenly I saw myself practicing under the sound of Sitar music, allowing my body and mind to flow.
Eventually most of you will not like this music but just try it. In my humble opinion listening world music makes us more rich and open minded to the cultural differences of the world.
I came across with this recipe while visiting a friend and between discussing the benefits of aloe vera she gave me one of these bars and I got addicted. I immediately asked her for the recipe and I decided to give it a go.
I changed few things because I added few things to my taste.
These bars are packed of flavour with the mix between nuts, coconut, orange and the special touch is indeed the rose water, that although is optional I totally recommend to try it.
These bars make a perfect snack for lunch boxes of adults and kids.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of honey (I used a bit less than 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup of raw almonds (roughly chopped)
1/2 cup of pistachios (roughly chopped)
1 cup of sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of shredded coconut
Zest of 1 orange
1 Tbsp of fresh orange juice
2 tsp of cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1Tbsp of rose water (optional)
Let's do it:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 C and line a square ceramic dish with baking paper, allowing excess paper on the sides
For preparing the nuts (almonds and pistachios) you can place them in a cutting board and roughly cut them with a big knife, or you can put them inside of a kitchen towel and beat them up with the cooking roll or a meat hammer (a nice way to release stress). Either way, you want to have big chunky pieces of nuts so don't put them in a food processor
In a bowl mix all the ingredients with the exception of the honey and mix them well
In a saucepan pour the honey and allow it to warm up but not boil. You will see that the honey becomes liquid
Pour the honey in the mixture and stir well until the honey is well combined and coated all the mixture
Pour the mixture to the ceramic tin and spread homogeneously and press to form a compact layer
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown
Remove from the oven and let it cool down in the ceramic dish in room temperature. When the mixture is almost cooled, put it in the fridge for 30 minutes before cutting it in bars. If it's totally cold and refrigerated makes it easier to cut without breaking in pieces
Remove the baking paper carefully and place it in a cutting board. Cut the bars in the desired size
I wrapped each bar in baking paper and tied with kitchen string. This makes it easier to remove them from the container and even eating them without get sticky fingers :)
You can keep the bars in a container in the fridge for 2 weeks easily...if they last that long :) In here they lasted 4 days...ups!!
Time of preparation: 30 minutes (10 minutes of preparation plus 20 minutes baking)
Quantity: Depends on the size of the bars that you want. For me it gave me 8 rectangular bars but you can make the double if you prefer small squares.
Today I leave you an awesome band from the 90's that was probably the band that lead me into the world of alternative music and even now when new bands arise and are widely listen, the old ones still have their legacy and The Breeders will keep their legacy for someone that used to listen the 90's alternative rock music.
Today I started my day with a Mysore practice, I am starting slowly to go through the primary series without stressing out.
Yoga is not about rushing to get into the pose, instead is about enjoying every step, every achievement and about learning to stand up after falling.
Mysore is such a lovely practice but it involves a lot of commitment to the practice and awareness of our own limits.
Although yoga philosophy defends that we should release our body from all the toxins and become vegetarian, is my option to not chose to go through that path :) not that I am a meat lover but definitely I like fish and I truly believe that we can get most of our nutrients through real food without daily supplements or protein powders.
Today I prepared some king fish that you can easily find fresh in here, and although is not a fat fish is reach in Omega-3, selenium and in lean protein.
Most of the time when we cook something in the stove, like fish or meat, we loose a lot of the good fat that drips to the ceramic dish. So lately I use sweet potato as a kind of "bun" under fish or chicken breast to absorb all the fat, in this way I am increasing the absorption of vitamins present in the vegetables and fish that I will eat.
Some people are not aware that eating vegetables with fat helps our body to absorb their vitamins improving the gut health.
Those diets poor in fat won't help you in anyway the body, beside all the side effects that they have in terms of energy and muscle draining, the fact that you don't add any fat to your diet will avoid your body to absorb most of vitamins present in the food.
Ingredients:
For the fish:
Steaks of king fish
Orange sweet potato
Beetroot (raw)
Salt
Black pepper
Fresh thyme or rosemary
Sage leafs (if you can find them)
For the salad:
Orange and yellow capsicum
Cucumber
Orange
Mint leafs
Olive oil
Raspberry balsamic vinegar
1 tsp of organic honey
Let's do it:
For the fish preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 170 C
Peel the sweet potato and slice it with 1-2cm
Peel the beetroot and dice it with a medium size
In a ceramic dish add some olive oil to grease the bottom and add one slice of sweet potato for steak
On the top of each slice of sweet potato add the king fish steak and season with salt, black pepper, fresh thyme and sage leafs. After preparing all the steaks just spread a bit of olive oil on the top of each steak to make it a bit more tender while cooking
On the same ceramic dish add the diced beetroot that will absorb the rest of the fat
Cook it for 25-30 minutes
Note: The beetroot will be a bit raw but is healthier in this way as it keeps a lot of their anti-oxidants properties if is not overcooked.
For the salad:
Chop the capsicums in small pieces
Slice the oranges and cut the slices in quarters
Add the mint leafs
For seasoning the salad I mixed in a small glass jar olive oil, raspberry balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp of organic honey
Time of preparation: 45 minutes in total. 15 minutes to prepare the sweet potato and fish + 30 minutes in the oven
I prepared the salad while the fish was in the oven
Today I am into Missy Higgins that is an Australian musician, singer and songwriter from Melbourne.
If I am not wrong she has 5 albums but I only know two of them. I like a lot her third album "On a clear night". Her voice is super sweet and I like her folk-rock style, however she has some songs that sounds a bit too pop for me, but honestly if you are reading this you should give a try to her music.
Bliss balls became one of the biggest addictions in the house, as they are packed with a lot of good nutrients, vitamins and most of all they are raw which keeps the full nutritional value that a lot of times is lost during the cooking process.
I am starting to be a big fan of raw food but I find hard to prepare raw low carb meals as they use a lot of produces that doesn't enter in a low carb meal as well protein supplements that I honestly try to avoid. I tend to use a vegan protein powder in some of my bliss balls because it helps to achieve the desired consistence but I am not a big supporter of several meals and snacks with protein supplements as I believe that is possible to get protein through real food.
For now I stick only to raw salads, desserts and snacks which I am still learning but I am loving it I confess.
I decided to make bliss balls wth cranberries as I am trying to increase in a good way the nutritional value of my snacks and cranberries are really good anti-oxidants that fight the free radicals naturally produced by our body, working as anti-ageing which we all agree that is a good thing :)
Ingredients:
1 cup of almonds
1/4 of walnuts
1 cup of dates
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
1/4 cup of sesame seeds
2 Tbsp of chia seeds
2 Tbsp of flax seeds
2 Tbsp of coconut oil
1 Tbsp of protein powder (optional)
1 Tbsp of raw cocoa powder
Let's do it:
This method is similar to the previous post of bliss balls
Start by placing the almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds in a food processor and pulse it for 1 minute until the mix looks a bit like a granulated like crumbs
Then add the dates, sesame seeds, coconut oil, protein powder and the cocoa powder and pulse for 1 minute more until the if forms a sticky dough
Add in last the dried cranberries and pulse for 30 seconds just to envolve them, avoiding to cut them too much
Use your hands to make small balls
Place them in a bowl or airtight container and keep them in the fridge for few days
I leave you today another song of Devendra Banhart. I already posted previously one song of him, I like is voice and his musical rhythm.
This video clip is super sensual that I am really surprised that is available in youtube in Middle East :) and beside the music melody, the lyrics are beautiful although they are in Spanish.
I hope you enjoy it!
This past weekend was really good fun, we had a easy and chilled Friday at home finishing the day with a sunset skateboarding and walking around with friends, while on Saturday we spent the full afternoon kitesurfing until the sun was almost gone...life is great :)
Today I decided to spend the morning in the kitchen and instead of going to the yoga studio I decided instead to do yoga at home. I am starting to love more and more my own home practice, my space, the silence and the sounds of my bubble.
After holidays and keen to be back on the track, I started the day preparing some snacks to have them in the fridge and among other things I prepared some layered smoothies of mango and blueberries...they are yummy!!
They are really easy to do and the recipe doesn't differ a lot from the ones that I originally do. However these ones makes a even more colourful breakfast :)
Ingredients:
1 medium to large avocado
1 can of organic coconut milk
1/2 mango
1 cup of blueberries (I used organic frozen ones)
Let's do it:
Cut the avocado in half
In a blender pour half of the avocado, the half mango and half of the coconut milk and blend it for 30 seconds until smooth
Pour the mix into individual glass jars and put them in the fridge while preparing the other layer. Is optional to put some chia seeds but if you choose to add them just pour 1Tbsp in each jar and mix well with a spoon without spreading the smoothie around the sides of the jar to allow the other layer to seat perfectly. This layer needs to be 10 minutes in the fridge before receiving the next layer on the top
Is important to rinse the blender cup to make the second layer
For the blueberry layer just had the remaining half of the avocado, the rest of the coconut milk and 1 cup of frozen blueberries. Blend for 1 minute as the frozen blueberries needs more time in the blender
After 10 minutes of the mango smoothies being in the fridge, you can remove them and gently pour the blueberry layer on the top. I advise you to use a spoon to this step.
Put them again in the fridge and in few hours they will be ready to eat. They get better if they stay at least 4h in the fridge before consuming
Then just add some berries and laminated coconut or almonds on the top and is ready to go
Time of preparation: 15 minutes to prepare
Quantity: Depends of the size of avocado and mango off course but for me it usually gives me 4 glass jars as the one from the pictures
And because today is the beginning of the week, at least in here, I leave you The Cinematic Orchestra with Patrick Watson.
The Cinematic Orchestra is a british jazz, electronic music group, that when playing live or in studio they have always a band that improvises along. Among few albums I totally recommend "Ma Fleur" and "Man with a movie camera".
The album "Ma Fleur" has Patrick Watson in the vocals and you can find this song "How to build a home" that is one of my favourites.
I found this song super relaxing, emotive and it helps me to stop and breath all the good things in life. I have it also in one of my Yoga playlists.
Is nice to be back after one month off.
I went back home for Christmas holidays and then I went in a kitesurf trip to Cape Town...it was unbelievable, amazing, awesome kiting conditions and good vibes. Is nice to be outside the Middle East once in a while and make sure that there's still life out there :-)
Cape Town is such an amazing place, people are super nice and relaxed and they have such an amazing lifestyle which reminds me a lot the lifestyle in Sunshine Coast in Australia. People wake up and they go kiting or surfing before going to work, at lunch time or after work...basically they go when they want as wind is on 24h and if there's no wind there is all the time swell.
That place is my Disneyland, wonderland, whatever you want to name it...is a kind of watersports paradise.
But beside the watersports they have so many things to do as hiking, wakeboard, skateboard everywhere, loads of yoga studios.
I confess that I didn't went to any yoga studio as my body was only switched on to kitesurf.
We made nice trips along the vineyards, which I totally advise to someone that goes there. South African wine is maybe one of the best ones of the world, their Pinotage is just amazing.
I also came across with so many organic stores, full of produces that I struggle to find in here and so cheap comparing to Oman...I wish to have a kind of shop like that one in here, probiotics, different flours, organic oils, organic produces for body, everything...I bought few things I confess.
Some people spend their money in purses and shoes, I buy organic things and flours :)
But is enough of talking about my holidays and let's go back to the recipe world.
I start by saying that I recently made this brownie to take to a workshop of Yoga and all the yogis loved it...it was so nice to have such a good feedback.
When I started to have a Low Carb High Fat diet I discovered a recipe of coconut brownie but I wasn't really happy with the final result, or it was to dry or I didn't liked the texture...there was all the time something that would make me twist my nose.
After few experiments I think that I am happy with the final result of this one. I achieved the flavour and texture that I was searching for.
This recipe was adapted from one recipe that I have found in Pinterest mixed with one from http://ceyloncoconutcompany.com and although people may think that this has too much coconut I can ensure that you don't even feel the coconut flavour. The dark cocoa powder cut all the coconut flavour so it really tastes like a traditional brownie. And the moisture....OMG....yummmyyyyy :)
For me the hard thing was to find the proper coconut flour as some flours are not really powder and look a bit more like almond meal. So I found one from Sri Lanka really white and in a thin powder, awesome for baking.
Although I try to use only honey, dates or stevia in my recipes, in this one I used organic unrefined coconut sugar. I already tried to replace it with honey and also with Stevia and it wasn't so tasty and the consistency was a bit weird.
I might give a go with honey another time, as I am starting to be a bit more comfortable baking with coconut flour. I have to say that takes a while to get used to bake with coconut flour as it absorbs all the liquids and swells a bit.
It took me really long time to understand the proportions and how to use coconut flour and coconut oil in baking...and I am still learning :)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of coconut oil
1/2 cup of dark cocoa powder
6 eggs
1 cup of unrefined coconut sugar
1/3 cup of coconut milk (or almond milk)
1/2 cup of coconut flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of walnuts or pecans (optional)
Let' do it:
Pre-heat the oven to 250 C
In a saucepan combine the coconut oil and the cocoa powder and melt it under low heat. Let it cool down
In a bowl mix the eggs and coconut sugar, coconut milk and pinch of salt
Add the chocolate mixture and mix it well
Add the coconut flour and mix well
Add the nuts previously broken in small pieces
Grease a ceramic dish with butter and pour the batter
Bake for 25-30 minutes
*Note*- I advise you to use a ceramic dish instead of a aluminium tray. I find that the ceramic dish keeps a bit more the moisture of the brownie, while the aluminium trays dry the batter.
Time of preparation: 10 preparation + 30 minute baking Quantity: It gave me 12 brownies but it depends on the size of the squares that you chose to cut :)
Please let me know how it went! I am sure that you will love it.
Today I leave you Portuguese sounds. Sara Tavares is a Portuguese songwriter and singer with deep roots from Cape Verde.
She has an amazing voice and unfortunately she is not really known worldwide but she is good..oh yes she is.
Please listen if you like african sounds...I love African sounds!
I have this song in my yoga playlist :)
Have a nice day and enjoy life as much as you can. Love every second of your life!
