Coconut, poppy seeds, ginger & cinnamon muffins

I found one book for gut health with low carb recipes in a shop in Maroochydore, Australia. It was an amazing organic, natural produces store...oh my god I miss it, they had chocolate ginger balls, it was basically dried ginger covered with dark chocolate...total addiction I have to say.

I decided to do these muffins with some changes, so they are not exactly as the ones from the book but in my opinion they are better as I added cinnamon to the batter and is impossible to not like cinnamon. The cinnamon touch mixed with the ground ginger is a nice trick to the ones that don't like coconut flavour as it covers it completely.

At home we are trying to improve the breakfasts as it is easy to fall into a routine because in mornings everything is an hassle.
So sometimes I try to prepare things in the previous day that we can eat at breakfast without spending too much time.

These muffins are fast and easy to do. Trust me when I say that I am not really good in baking (I am improving though) and they came out just perfect. So if I was able to do them, for sure that anyone would be able to do this recipe.

You can eat them at breakfast, or as a snack or...whenever you want. They are made with good fats as coconut oil and flour so you will feel fully satisfied having them.

Starting the day with a coconut rich breakfast helps to balance the blood sugar levels and lower the cholesterol. These muffins provide abundant Omega-nutrition.

Ingredients:

• 3 oz of coconut oil, plus extra for greasing the the muffin tin
• 3 organic eggs
• 3/4 of coconut milk 
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract 
• 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon 
• 2 tablespoons of raw honey 
• 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds (optional)
• Zest of 1 lemon 
• 1/4 of coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda (or baking powder)

Let's do it:

• Preheat the oven to 180 C. In gas mark 4
• In a small saucepan, gently warm the coconut oil, it should be blood temperature rather then too warm
• In a bowl add the eggs (already whisked), coconut milk, vanilla extract, ginger, cinnamon, honey, lemon zest and poppy seeds. Whisk together
• Pour the coconut oil to the bowl and whisk until make an emulsion
• Mix the coconut flour with the baking soda, then sift into the wet mixture. Using a metal spoon (I use a soup spoon), stir to make a batter
• Grease the muffin tin with coconut oil and pour the batter into the tin
• Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes
• Remove the muffins and let them cool for 10 minutes

Time of preparation: It takes around 10 minutes maximum to prepare the batter + 15 minutes in the oven. It will take in total 25 minutes. 

Quantity: It makes 12 muffins

You can keep them in a glass container for few days, but usually in here they don't last more than 2 days...with luck :) :)

Starting the week on the sound of Noiserv, is a solo project of David Santos known as a "one-man orquestra" using a lot of instruments, such metallophone, melodica, bells, several synths, omnichord, megaphone, guitars, vocals, toys, music boxes and many more all combined with the "well-known" loopstation, taking the concert into a completely new experience.

I hope you listen and hopefully you will like it.

Enjoy the day :)

Yoga as a lifestyle

Beside cooking healthy recipes, Yoga is also one of my biggest passions and is impossible for me to not write about Yoga and the benefits that Yoga has for everyone. So today I decided to make a post only about Yoga because I watched a really interesting film about the science behind yoga and I though that would be nice to share it.

Is unbelievable how while doing Yoga in a regular basis leads you to better food habits and lifestyle change.
I believe that Asanas and breathing makes us so aware of everything that we are able to understand what is toxic for us. Is just like if the body tells you that some things are not good, and I am not speaking only about food, but also people, relationships, or even habits.

Sometimes I wonder why it took me so long time until finally embrace Yoga as my lifestyle and "sport" if I can say so.

What was a closed door, suddenly became a open window and is like everything in life. If we rush it we don't enjoy the process and in Yoga there's no end, there's no limit, there's no goal. Yoga is about yourselves, is about our awareness towards the inside.

I find peace and I find home while doing yoga, I find my inner me and my strength in my mat. As someone said "my mat is my home".

Yoga is not only about beautiful poses, or about amazing shaped bodies under instagram pictures with nice landscapes behind. If it was only about that, the gymnastics and the ballet dancers would be the best yoginis in the world.

Yoga is something else. Yoga is about me, you, all of us. Is about the mental process that we go through, calming the breath, slowing down the rhythm and suddenly we became much more sensible to others, to the world, sensible towards ourselves. We just become aware.

I never thought how meditation and a daily day Asana practice could affect me so much and influence how I live my life and my day. I confess that sometimes ideas of recipes cross my head while meditating :)

I didn't became spiritual in terms of religion, I became spiritual towards me. I learn every single day to respect and listen my body and mind, and instead of ignoring all the symptoms when I feel agitated and anxious, I just embrace my feelings because they exist and I allow myself to feel them and the Yoga practice makes this process so much easier...we learn to accept, to let it go, no matter what is it. Even if is a shoulder injury, you learn to accept it...more or less...I am still in that process!

I know that Yoga is not medicine but works as hell as a nice therapeutic and I really believe that we could live in a better world if Yoga would became a philosophy taught in schools.

Yoga makes us better persons while discovering ourselves.

Please watch this video from UPLIFT. Is a video about the Science behind Yoga.

http://upliftconnect.com/watch-science-behind-yoga/

Namaste

Vegetable noodles

I was never a person that liked spaghetti although I liked noodles, I wonder what is the reason of this as it sounds a bit ridiculous to me, but oh well...is nice to be a weirdo sometimes :)

Around 2 years ago in a shop in Muscat I came across with a spiralizer, and I was totally amazed when I discovered a machine that makes noodles from vegetables. As everything in Oman, it was ridiculous expensive, but I had to buy it and honestly I don't regret.
It has been a good friend in the kitchen :)

I love these vegetable noddles as they are super easy to do and fast, and you can add to them what you prefer. Is a nice option when I arrive late from my yoga practice and I am starving and I want something fast and tasty. 

Ingredients:

• 1 zucchini 
• 1 sweet potatoe
• Asparagus
• Sweet red pepper
• Oyster mushrooms
• Tomato passata - 2 Tbs
• Basil (I used 5 leaves of fresh basil)
• Salt and pepper
• Coconut oil - 4 Tbs

Let's do it:

• In a spiralizer, transform your vegetables in noodles and set them on the side
• Cut the pepper, the asparagus and oyster mushrooms
• In a wok spread 2 tablespoon of coconut oil, 2 tablespoons of tomato passata and the basil and stir for 1 minute or so
• When it's warm enough place inside the red pepper, the asparagus and the oyster mushrooms and season with salt and pepper to taste
• Stir them well allowing the vegetables to cook for a while. If you see that is becoming dry, add a bit more of tomato passata. The asparagus shouldn't be overcooked because you want to keep the nutricional properties. This step takes close to 5 minutes
• When cooked, remove the vegetables from the wok and set them on the side in a bowl
• Add another 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to the wok and pour in the vegetable noodles. Season them with salt. Stir them well until the sweet potato is almost soft. This step takes around 5 minutes also, depending of the type of sweet potato
• Serve the vegetable noodles in a bowl and top them with the vegetables

Quantity: The list of ingredient is enough for 2 people 

Time of preparation: 20 minutes counting with the time of spiralling and cut the vegetables 

This year has been a year of big musical losses and David Bowie was maybe the biggest one. There are songs that don't really say anything to me but there's also great songs like "Heroes", which is a song that somehow when I sing it, helps me to believe even more in myself. 

However I chose "Starman" for  today's song because it reminds me the summer kitesurf trips to Aseelah, south of Oman. The windy season is over but at least we still have music :) 

Let me know how it went!
Enjoy :)

Cauliflower pizza crust

One of the few things that I miss since I went low-carb and gluten free, is to have a nice pizza with a crusty crust.
After few researches in internet and in some recipe books that I bought I found one recipe that works quite well, although I made some changes according my taste and the ingredients that I can find in Oman.

I will not say that is similar or better than the typical pizza crust made of wheat flour, but honestly is pretty good and works perfectly for us and helps to kill the cravings of pizza in a healthy way.

Trust me when I say that is not difficult to do it, however it takes a bit of a time as there are few steps that need to be done with cauliflower.

For us this is a perfect recipe to do on a weekend, in a chilled evening at home where we can spend some time in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 1 small to medium head of cauliflower (you should have 3cups after processed)
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt 
• 1/2 dried oregano
• 1/2 dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese (you can use mozzarella instead, but parmesan has less lactose)
• 1 egg

Let's do it:

• Wash the cauliflower and cut the florets, put them in a food processor until it looks like snow. You will need around 3 cups of cauliflower after processed to a medium size pizza
• Put the cauliflower in a bowl and place it in the microwave for about 4 minutes in high mode
• Remove it and let it cool down, if not you will burn your hands in the next step
• After cooling down and when you see that you can touch with your hands on the cauliflower, pour it to a clean tea towel, or if you have a nut milk bag is even better (is what I use), and press it until you remove all the water from the cauliflower. As much water you remove, better it gets. I do it in batches to make sure that I remove most of the water
• In a bowl mix all the other ingredients 
• After removing the water from the cauliflower you can add it to the bowl and with your hands mix it well until forming a dough 
• Tend with your hands the dough into a oiled parchment paper and place it in a baking tray, or if you have a pizza stone you can use it. Be aware that you need to pat it down until nicely homogeneous in the tray, not too thick and not too thin
• Take it to the oven and bake it for 20 minutes, or until it get's golden brown
• Remove it from the oven and add the toppings that you want. This part I leave it to you as you know better than anyone how you like your pizza
• After adding the toppings, place it in the oven for more 10 minutes depending of the toppings that  you add it on
• Wait for few minutes to cool down and would be ready to eat

I covered my pizza crust with tomato paste and add some peppers, asparagus and chorizo and covered it with a bit of mozzarella.

I know that at the first sight looks a difficult recipe but after you made it the first time, and follow each step you will see that is actually easy, but as I said previously, it takes a bit of time.

In case your cauliflower doesn't give you 3 cups, you can add almond flour to the dough, and if your cauliflower is bigger and gives more than 3 cups, you can add an extra egg white and seasonings but don't add more cheese as it is not necessary.

Quantity: 3 cups of cauliflower gives a medium pizza enough for 2 as the cauliflower makes you feel full

Time of preparation: It took me 1h20 counting with the time that I waited for the cauliflower to cool down. 

I think that a chilled evening deserves some music that helps to go with the flow with happy mood.
When I decide to make recipes as this one, that takes a bit of time, and if I am in the mood to dance and sing, I like to prepare a gin&tonic. And nothing better than to have some cool music while sipping G&T.
For today I leave you an Australian band that might be one of my favourite bands nowadays, Cat Empire. They are a mix or rock with jazz and folk...they are just great :)
Is hard for me to choose one album as I like them all and for me they are perfect for everything, to be at home, road trip, reading and partying!
I would be such a happy person if I could see them alive in Australia, as their concerts looks like a entire party.

Hope you enjoy it and please try it even if it looks hard!

Let me know how it went :)

Mango smoothie with berries and seeds

I've never been a breakfast person, although I force myself to have it all the time. However is all the time a struggle to find something easy to prepare, easy to eat (yes I can be really lazy to eat), and tasty at the same time.

When I started this type of diet, it was hard for me to imagine myself eating eggs everyday, or sweet potato for breakfast. Let us be honest, sweet potato and chorizo can be cool, but for breakfast is a big step for someone that likes nutritive but light breakfasts.

With this diet I learned how is important to change breakfast, as we change lunch or dinner. For this reason I try to change my breakfast frequently, and if today my breakfast it's eggs and spinach, tomorrow can be almond milk...I don't like routines, especially when it comes to food.

So today I prepared a mango smoothie, and although mango has more carbohydrates than berries, I eat it once in a while for breakfast because I like to give a special treat to my belly and soul.

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado (medium size)
• 1 can of coconut milk 
• 1 ripe mango  (in Oman I try to buy Australians or Egyptian ones)

Let's do it:

• Mix all the ingredients in a blender and blend it in maximum speed for 1 minute
• Pour the mixture into individual glass jars (is important to be glass and not plastic)
• Put in the fridge. You can keep them for 4 days maximum.

Quantity: The quantity of the list gives around 3 to 4 small glass jars, depending of the size of mango and avocado.
(I reuse all the glass jars, these ones are from coconut oil so I know they are 200ml)
Time of preparation: Less than 10 minutes

For breakfast I only eat one small jar, but you can eat more if you are trying to avoid snacking between meals.

This is my suggestion:
Pour the content of the jar in a bowl and spread some seeds, I used poppy and sunflower seeds, with some blueberries or pomegranate as it has good anti-oxidant properties and are low in carbohydrates.

When I have early breakfasts I usually don't speak a lot. I like to be in silence thinking in random things or even looking to the desert roses that are growing in the garden.

In days like today I like to start with easy music but good one, and today I am in the mood of Neil Young, I really like him.

I hope you like the smoothie and the breakfast option :)
Let me know how it went!

Namaste

Chicken Masala

One of the good things of living in the Middle East is the amount of spices that we come across at the supermarket. However because of the Indian influence some of them are highly spicy and my level of tolerance is not really high, so I try to avoid the really spicy ones. I am even afraid to try one that is called "spicy chilli" that is so red that looks like a traffic light looking at me.

For today I decided to prepare a chicken masala, as it is a really simple and easy way to cook chicken with good and strong flavour.

Some recipes take longer than others and I hear people frequently say that some recipes take long time, and I totally understand that nowadays the time is more and more precious but remember that you are what you eat.
Is better to spend some time cooking and even prepare extra quantity that allow to have leftovers for the next day and save time on the next day, than to eat something that was fast and without flavour.

Our brain like flavours, if we had herbs, spices and time to our meals we eat with more pleasure and we will be easily full. Food without taste make us hungry.

The meals should be like life, full of colours and flavours :)

For example today while the chicken was cooking I used this time to do some bodyweight workout, and 20 minutes was enough to do my workout and no time was wasted.

Just make the best of your day :)

Ingredients:

• Chicken drumsticks and chicken thighs (although you can use the chicken parts that you prefer)
• 250gr of mushrooms 
• 1 medium red onion 
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 ripe tomatoes or 1 can of peeled tomatoes 
• 2 teaspoons of masala powder 
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 cups of water (or organic chicken stock)
• 2 tbs olive oil 
• salt to taste

Let's do it:

• In a pot chop the onion, the 3 garlic cloves, the 3 tomatoes or the entire tomatoes can,  and the olive oil 
• Put it under low heat and braise it slowly, avoiding the onion to burn
• Add the masala powder and the whole cloves and let it braise for 1 minute more
• Add the chicken and the mushrooms and stir them well
• Add the water slowly or the chicken stock and increase to medium heat
• Add the salt 
• Let it cook in medium heat, for 25-30 minutes, and when you see that is already cooked turn the heat to maximum just for 5 minutes and then turn it off. Is important to stir the chicken frequently and check if it has enough water, you should add water every time that you see that there is not enough water on the pot
• Serve it with a raw salad, roasted vegetables or cauliflower mash to absorve the sauce of the chicken, that is full of flavour

Quantity: The quantity on the ingredients list was for 2 people, so if you want to increase the quantity of chicken you will have to increase all the quantities 

Time of preparation: 45 minutes

I hope you enjoy it. I do it quite frequently and I tend to make a bit extra to have left overs to the next day and usually I love it even more in the next day, the flavour and the texture gets more intense.

I present you today an amazing voice, Y'Akoto. I came across recently with this album and I found it so peaceful and happy at the same time. Her music has a effervescent fusion of Rock, Reggae, Soul and Funk and was the perfect soundtrack while preparing this chicken. 

Just let your body flow...

Namaste

Power juice

Every day I try to start the day with meditation and I still find it hard. Is funny how we spend hours reading, learning, studying, remembering, everyday thinking and when we have to stop and let it go, we just can't.

Meditation is for me the art or skill of emptying the brain of all the thoughts that are crossing around and find inner peace and awareness of myself, just by simply let go and let the thoughts flow without get stuck to them.

If you think that is easy, I challenge you to try it. Try to seat in peace and for 5 or 10 minutes, try to focus in your breath and empty the brain of everything, allowing your thoughts to flow without thinking about them. You will see the amount of unnecessary thoughts that will cross your mind.

Moving on, I started the day with my meditation followed by 1 hour of Vinyasa flow with funny transitions, just what my body and mind was asking for, and after this weekend I just felt that my body was asking for good vitamins, so nothing better to drink a fresh juice after my yoga.

Although I avoid all the vegetables and fruits that are high in carbohydrates, is important to listen what our body needs and usually after few days in the sea under the sun, I feel all the time that I need Vitamine C and something to boost my stamina and beetroot is definitely the best one.

In order to satisfy my body needs, I decided to make an orange, beetroot and ginger juice, as it is packed of Vitamin C and anti-inflammatory properties and it's yummy :)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium beetroot
• 2 oranges navel
• 1 piece of ginger. I used a piece with the size of my thumb
• 3 cups of water

Let's do it:

• Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend them in maximum speed for about 1 minute.
• Pour it into a glass and keep the rest in a glass bottle in the fridge for 24h maximum

As a personal taste I prefer to use the entire oranges as I want to use as much as I can from the fruit, but in case you don't like the orange pulp, just prepare the orange juice on the side and add it to the beetroot and ginger.

Time of preparation: Less than 10 minutes


As the week is just starting for me I decided to post something relaxing and easy going that was part of my Yoga soundtrack for today.

Be present and happy for where you are now in this moment. Remember you are exactly where you need to be :)

Namaste