Beetroot sauce

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! 

All day's are good days....

Coconut&Chocolate Cookies

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 :)

Enjoy the cookies :) 

Spicy Carrot&Ginger soup

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...

Happy mood !!! 

Flaxseed & almond bread

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 :) 

Hope you enjoy it!! 

Enjoy the day and what it brings to you :) 

Mango chia pudding

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.

Egg muffins

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!! 

Lemon Tart

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.

Happy days people!!