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!
