A little breakfast cake

Maybe you have heard about it, maybe not.. Well than let me please introduce you to one of the best inventions ever: The mugcake.

Yep, looks delicious right?;) this is my favourite version of it and I love to eat it for breakfast, but its perfect as a snack as well! 

Ingredients

For the cake

35g quick oats

2 egg whites 

1 tsp baking powder

half a mashed banana with a fork

1 tsp cinnamon

a drop off vanilla aroma

2 tbs almond or soy milk

1 drop stevia 

For the topping

Soy yogurt

the other half of the banana (slices)

frozen mixed berries

In a mug or small bowl combine all of the ingredients for the cake, mix it up well and put it in the microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes. Get it on a plate and remove the bowl/mug. Now get the frozen berries in a bowl and heat up in the microwave for a minute. Drizzle the cake with soy yogurt and top it all off with the sliced bananas and hot berries. 

Bon appétit! 

Nutritional Information

Hey Guys!

As you all have noticed I started to add nutritional information to my blog posts,  I really hope you appreciate it =)

It's something I wanted to do from the start, but wasn't sure if you would like to know yes or no. So if you have any questions or suggestions or just a simple shout out please let me know I would love to know, so I am able to keep improving my blog. You can contact me on Facebook, email or simply post a comment underneath the blog post.

One more thing: The nutritional information is purely based on the ingredients I give you. So for example I just posted a blog about amazing healthy falafel, a recipe I divided into 4 wraps. So the portion and information of 380 calories a person is exactly 1/4th of the entire list of ingredients (so basically you will have more food than the picture shows you for that amount of calories ;-))

XoXo
Claudia

Me in Santé Magazine (NL)

Healthy Falafel Wraps

This is a great dinner recipe, the flavors are amazing and the only thing is you need a food processor, it mainly does all the work for you. I love falafel, but it's often deep fried and full of fats and ingredients I have never heard off before. (Go to your local supermarket and flip the package around, the one I checked had around 46% chickpeas If I remember correctly and the rest was mainly junk..) Well this recipe is seriously really easy!

In this recipe I used homemade fresh falafel, obviously and also made a fresh spicy tomato salsa and a sweet and creamy sauce. All together it are all fresh ingredients, low calorie and it makes a delicious meal. If you don't have  a boyfriend that eats for 3, you will have some leftovers and the falafel and sides will remain fresh for a few days in your fridge so you can eat it again! The recipe is 

Ingredients 

For the falafel
400g drained chickpeas (2 cans and you have a bit leftover)
1 chili pepper
1 lemon (only the zest)
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chickpea flour (you can substitute with any kind of flour)
1 bunch fresh coriander (If your not a big fan you can use a big tsp dried)
2 cloves of garlic

Tomato salsa
4 big tomatoes
half a chili pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 or a small clove of garlic

for the sauce
200g cottage cheese
1-2 tbsp chili sauce

Veggies
1 courgette
1 eggplant

Extra
Lettuce
4 whole wheat wraps

You start off with your vegetables. Cut them in rounds and lay them in an oven on 250 degrees, sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper and roast them until brown, flip. This takes about 20 minutes (10 minutes each side) preparing the falafel, prepare your food processor and put the drained chickpeas in. Finely grate the lemon zest, add a pinch of salt, the chili, spices, flour and blitz until you have a smooth paste. Scrape down the sides a bit and shape it into small patties/balls. (Wet your hands a bit, this way it's really easy to shape the falafel). Put a good amount of olive oil into the frying pan and add the falafel, turning when golden and crispy. 

Clean the food processor a bit, add all the ingredients for the tomato salsa, and a bit salt and give it a good swirl and blitz until you have a chunky tomato salsa. Make sure not to over blitz it! 

Mix the cottage cheese with the chili sauce and don't forget taking your vegetables out of the oven

Heat up the wraps in the microwave or in a frying pan without added oil. Now get a wrap and arrange the falafel, sauce, salsa, lettuce and vegetables and fold it up. Eat, enjoy ;-)

pssst: I forgot the veggies on top for the picture ;-) 

Chocolate cookie dough for breakfast

Be aware, you will have a new addiction. This recipe is incredibly delicious and healthy as well. It's fast, easy and doesn't require a lot. It does need a bit time, like 5 minutes of your real time and the rest it does for you while you are sleeping. And then... when you wake up, it's time to spoon in and enjoy this treat! Try it, it will become your favourite new breakfast, lunch, snack.. or even as a dessert!

Ingredients

30grolled oats
half a mashed banana
1 tsp cacao
100g soy yogurt
1 tsp (hemp) protein powder (optional but great for extra protein)
dash of vanilla powder or aroma
100ml non-dairy milk of choice (I had soy milk sweetened with apple)
tsp stevia sugar

And now the easy part, mix it all and transfer to a bowl. Cover and let it sit and rest overnight in your fridge. The next morning this delicious treat is waiting for you to spoon in.

Serving suggestion: sprinkle with some nuts and/or hot blueberries
Psst: the portion, serving size is bigger than this glass but this way it just looked too cute ;-)

Fake Rice

How can rice be fake? That's what you are probably thinking right? Well.. This one is a cheat. Maybe some of you even have heard about this kind of recipes: it's cauliflower rice. Yes after my pizza recipe I now come up with another cauliflower recipe! It's healthy, low calorie, gluten free and versatile.

If you are preparing a high calorie dish you can easily swap the rice for the cauliflower rice for bringing the amount of calories down. This way you get more vitamins in too your body without adding a lot of calories. And it does really taste like rice, not like cauliflower. Give it a try!

You need

A food processor/mixer

onion

cauliflower

oil

Seriously that's all, well OK you need a bit salt as well ;-) You start with a food processor, add the cauliflower (only the top) and pulse until it looks like couscous/rice. Now it's time to put a large frying pan on medium heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and cook the onion until translucent, add the cauliflower and fried about 10 minutes. Add a bit of salt and optional a dash of coconut milk. 

What to eat for lunch?

Today I'm writing about what to eat for lunch. A lot of people have trouble to think of a healthy lunch idea, especially when you are full time working or are on the road a lot. You need something, easy, delicious, healthy and the most important: portable. Ofcourse there is noting wrong with a slice of (good quality) bread, when you top it off right, but you can bring a lot more vitamins, minerals to your tummy with creating something different. Today I help you to create a easy portable lunch with some veggies.

Tip 1: Always buy a lot of vegetables, healthy grains, nuts and seeds. This way you already have your kitchen stuffed with healthy food!

Now here we go: For a quick healthy lunchyou can make a simple dressing with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. Grab a tupperware box and start with the dressing on the bottom. Next up you choose a leaf, than a grain/lentils/chickpeas or other bean, than you need a crunch like nuts and seeds, to make it more tasty choose something sweet like dried or fresh fruits. After step 2 you can choose whatever vegetable you have in your fridge to make this meal even better. Say you have leftover cooked broccoli from yesterday, add! Or sliced tomatoes, cooked beetroot, corn, cucumber, bell pepper, mushrooms...

My favourites?
Rocket -> quinoa -> beetroot and tomatoes -> roasted pine nuts -> dried cranberries
Mixed leafs -> lentils -> broccoli and cucumber -> pesto and alfalfa

A healthy bounty? Yes, pleaaaase!

I mean, seriously, look at them.... and than you didn't even taste them yet, oh my! This recipe was one of my best ideas in life until now hahaha. 

I'm so happy now I like chocolate, you have probably noticed that, because I keep on experimenting with it ;-) So I wanted to create something new, it was Sunday evening and I just cleaned out my entire kitchen. So happy to have an organised kitchen now, you can actually find every ingredient now in a blink of an eye. 

So back to my bounty's, I have seen some blogs about healthy snickers and nutella but that never interested me. I still don't like mars and twix and kitkats remember? BUT I love coconut, so I technically should like bounty's? I looked around in my kitchen and found what I needed, I had shredded coconut, coconut milk, cacao.. basically that should be enough for a healthy bounty I guessed. So I tried and tasted, tried and tasted a whole lot more and then voila: The healthy bounty was born, please do try! 

Ingredients

For the chocolate layer

2 tbsp of organic coconut oil

3 tbsp of raw cacao powder

2 tbsp of maple syrup 

1 heaping heaaaping tbsp coconut milk

for the filling
75 gram shredded coconut
3 tbsp coconut milk
2 tbsp maple syrup
3 soaked medjoul dates in hot water for 5 minutes

Mix the ingredients for the filling together in a food processor. Make little balls of the mixture and pop them in the freezer for half an hour to harden up. After 25 minutes waiting you can start on your chocolate coating. Heat the oil in a sauce pan and once liquid, add all the remaining ingredients. Stir well until you have a thick chocolate sauce. Dip the coconut filling balls in the mixture and cover well, transfer them to a plate where the excess chocolate can drip of and place them back in the freezer for 15 more minutes. Pop them 5 minutes out before eating, and now you can go to food heaven while die while eating them ;-)

BONUS!!!!

You thought that was it, right? Well.. I got a lot of sauce left, just like you have now, probably.  And sure you can spoon it out and eat it just like that. OR you can add some dried cranberry's or goji berries, mix in, transfer the sauce on a piece of in transparent clean film and press until thin. That's what I did. Pop this mixture in the freezer as well, and the best part is this just take about 10 minutes to harden up.  After those quick 10 minutes you have the most amazing kind of chocolate - ice cream mixture in the world. Seriously, one of the best bonuses you can get!!
(sorry I forgot to make a picture and the chocolate didn't survive to remain long outside of my belly)

Hot Goatcheese Salad

It's sunday.. That means time for a blog that's all about easy. Today a salad you can make in minutes, without making too much effort. You don't need to order, don't need a take away but just try this easy recipe!;)

"Error"

Ingredients

big handful of lettuce

half a cucumber in fours

1 large tomato, sliced

1 grilled bell pepper (pot)

a bit of red onion in half rings

seeds

goat cheese

good quality bread 

Olive oil, balsamic vinegar with salt and pepper for the dressing

Preheat an oven on 200 degrees Celsius. Than grab a plate and arrange the salad and vegetables on. Take a heat proof plate and pop the goat cheese in the oven until browned and a bit gooey. In the meanwhile make the dressing and roast the seeds in a pan on medium heat without any added oil, keep an eye on them because they can get a bit black when you don't;) combine everything and there you go, and easy delicious Sunday lunch or dinner.

Stuffed Sweet Potato

I looooove sweet potato's and I wanted to try something out like this for ages.. well.. I'm happy I did! I guess this is one of my best ideas ever to avoid a boring lunch haha

Ingredients

2 big sweet potatoes

for the stuffing

1 tiny tin of white beans

1 onion

1 tiny tin corn

2 fresh tomato's

2 heaping spoons of cottage cheese

left over shrimps - chicken (optional)

cheese for grating on top

salt 

1 tsp sweet pepper powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Bake the sweet potato in the oven on 200 degrees for about 45-60 minutes, until completely soft. While the sweet potatoes are baking, place a skillet over medium-high heat with some oil. Fried the onion until translucent and add the beans, tomato's and spices bake until slightly browned and taste if it's seasoned well enough than add the cottage cheese, stir and turn off the heat. Remove the sweet potato from the oven and let it cool down for 5 minutes. Cut the sweet potato's in halves and scrape some of the flesh out of the potatoes. Mix it with your stuffing and than put the stuffing back in the potato. If you have left over chicken or shrimps, lay it on top and sprinkle with cheese. Turn back in the oven until the cheese is melted. 

Serve with a green salad an the remaining stuffing, enjoy!! 

Turkey Salad Love

The Turkey Salad (that isn't boring)

Okay, who ever says salads are boring are crazy. I mean, I often eat a salad for lunch or dinner and I'm never ever fed up with eating them! Plus there are so many different kind of salads that I really don't understand how anybody can find them boring. You just need to eat a good salad ;-)  So what about a turkey salad for your lunch or dinner?

Ingredients
rocket salad
1 turkey fillet
Moroccan chicken spices
pomegranate
1/4 cucumber in fours
half an avocado
4 cherry tomato's in halves
1 cooked beetroot cut in dices

raspberry vinegar and olive oil for the dressing

salt and pepper

Season the turkey and cut them in smaller pieces, fried them until browned. Grab a plate and fill it up with a big handful of rocket, next arrange all the vegetables on top and finish with the turkey and pomegranate. It's that easy, it's that delicious! 

Chocolate?

Okay.. a looooooot of people will be really, really, reaaaallly surprised seeing me posting a recipe with chocolate.

Since I'm a little girl I have always hated chocolate. Milk, dark tablets, brownies, cakes, tarts, cookies.. everything with chocolate in it, you name it,  I hated it. Until recently then. WHAT happened was the question my friends and family immediately asked me, I mean I have been trying to eat chocolate a million times. But it all changed after my trip to Barcelona, I was there for a job and the client gave a piece of organic, good quality chocolate mini bar to me and I didn't want to be rude so I just ate it. And then the shock came, OMG, liked it. I actually, really, really liked it.

So my chocolate journey started, I mean.. I missed out!!! I tried my mom's homemade brownies, an organic chocolate bar in Dusseldorf and I came to the one and only conclusion: I like chocolate! I have to say and admit I'm still not a fan of milk chocolate and I still hate chocolate ice cream, mars, snickers and twix. But I can live with that ;-)

So, me being in the kitchen 90% of the time, of course I had to start experimenting in the kitchen with cacao. So I bought some good quality organic cacao and made some delicious truffles and home made chocolate bars.

Today it's time to share the recipe for the bars with you.. I'm sorry, not the truffles, they were gone before I could make a picture. My friend was just in time to safe the bar before it was finished as well and I couldn't make a picture anymore. So I still owe you the truffles ;-)

Homemade healthy chocolate bar

Ingredients
50 gram coconut oil
3 spoons of cacao powder
100 gram dates
a handful of goji berries
a handful of roughly chopped hazelnuts

Melt the coconut butter in a small sauce pan on low heat, when the coconut oil is liquid you can add the cacao and mix until you receive a smooth mixture. Transfer to a blender and add the dates. Mix until everything is well combined and the dates are completely shredded.  Add the goji berries and hazelnuts and combine.
Grab a piece of plastic col and spread the mixture until really thin. Transfer to your freezer until it's hard. Keep storing in the fridge and just break off a piece once and a while.. well, that means if you have some left to store ;-)

Vegetarian Monday

For me it's really important to eat at least one day completely vegetarian, no meat, no fish. My boyfriend is not all to happy with that, but since I start making wonderful dinners and not mention in advance it's going to be vegetarian he is always happy with my created meals;) So this dish is perfect for those who want to eat vegetarian, without the feeling to miss out on meat.

Meat free Monday's Dinner

Ingredients
for the salad
a bag of lettuce
1 avocado
half a cucumber
2 Roma tomato's
goat cheese
seed mix (pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds)
1 eggplant in slices
a hand of diced butternut

add: vegetarian burger, my favourite when I don't want to make my own: the Provencal carré. A mix of zucchini, eggplant, goat cheese and herbs.

for the dressing
Pomegranate or raspberry vinegar
good quality olive oil
salt & pepper


Preheat the grill or oven on 225 degrees. Arrange the butternut on a peace of baking paper, slice the eggplant in rounds and place next to the butternut on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper and let the eggplants grill for 10 minutes, turn and let them grill for another 5. The butternut needs about 20 minutes. When you get the eggplant oat, replace the space for the burgers. They need about 8 minutes. Make sure to turn them as well. In the time your vegetables are roasting it's time to prepare the rest of the salad. Grab a big salad bowl and mix the vinegar, olive oil salt and pepper in it. On top you can add the lettuce, the avocado in pieces, the cucumber in fours, the tomato in slices and after the vegetables are browned and cooled down a bit you can add the butternut and eggplant as well to the bowl, now it's time to mix it all up. Making your salad this way prevents the salad to get soggy because it combines with the dressing just before serving. Finally, crumble the goat cheese on top, get a big amount on your plate and serve with the vegetarian burger.

Bon Appetit!

Wrap it up

I mean, just look at this beauty. Hardly to imagine it DOESN'T taste great right? I came home from a workout and was so incredibly hungry. I needed food, fast! Something filling, protein rich, healthy and tasteful. I looked in my fridge and saw just some leftovers. In 10 minutes I created a wonderful lunch, just with whats left in your fridge. How easy can it be? ;-)

Ingredients
For the eggwhite wrap
3 eggwhites
italian dried herbs

my filling
2 carrots, shredded
1 cooked beetroot, shredded,
chicken fillet
hummus
salad
salt and pepper

That's it!

So how to make this beauty? Heat up a big pan with a spoon of coconut or olive oil. Combine the eggwhites with the herbs, salt and pepper and pour in the pan like your baking a thin pancake. Cook until the bottom side browns, flip and bake the other side until golden brown. Then you can start with the filling, first your spread - in this case hummus -, than the carrots, beetroot, chicken filet salt and pepper. Wrap it up and serve with lettuce.

Pssst: I guess this would work amazing with pesto, carrots, beetroot, goat cheese and nuts or with peanut butter, jelly and sliced banana with cinnamon for the sweet tooths ;-)

Roasted Parsnip Soup

I Love Soup! 

Soups are really easy to make plus they are filling, nutritiousness and tasteful. So yes I love to make soups. During winter time I'm addicted to butternut squash, parsnips and carrots. So no wonder I came up with the recipe for this lovely soup. It's really easy, your soup is preparing while you are watching your favourite soap and then the blender does the rest of the work for you ;-) 

Ingredients

600 gram parsnips + 1 extra

400 gram carrots

2 big white onions

2 garlic cloves

oil

cumin

rosemary

salt & pepper

250 ml coconut milk

1 litter vegetable stock

Preheat an oven on 225 degrees Celsius. Prepare a baking tray with baking sheet and cut the parsnips, carrots and onions in big chunks and divide with the garlic gloves over the tray. Sprinkle with the herbs and olive oil and let it roast in the oven for about 30 minutes. Get the roasted vegetables out when browned and soft and transfer them to a big pot. In the meanwhile turn down the heat to 190 degrees Celsius. Now add the stock and the coconut milk to the soup and bring to a boil, if the soup is to thick don't hesitate to add more boiling water. 

Prepare your leftover parsnip in thin pieces and sprinkle with coconut oil and sea salt, roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes until crispy and golden. Grab your blender and blend the soup, taste and add some salt or pepper if desired. Now it's time for your soup too cool down, so the chips are getting crispy in the meanwhile don't taste them! You will finish them before they make it until they can reach the soup hahhaa. Transfer the soup to a bowl or plate and sprinkle the chips on top! 

Yummy porridge

Sometimes I wake up really really really hungry, you know the feeling? Well in that case I always choose for a Porridge recipe. It's comforting, smooth, creamy, delicious, very filling and has many health benefits as well. What more do you want on a hungry morning! 

I was looking in my fruit basket and in my fridge and thinking about a new combination, caramelised pears? Goji's? Raspberries? Sounds yummy right? Well no ordinary bowls today.. I created this delicious bowl and now you can try it out yourself! 

Yummy Raspberry & Caramelised Pear Porridge

Ingredients

For the porridge

1 heaping tablespoon of oats
1 heaping tablespoon of buckwheat flakes
1 heaping tablespoon of spelt flakes
Almond of Soy Milk
Vanilla aroma
(Of course you can also just use buckwheat or just oats as your porridge)

For the add-ins
half a cup of frozen raspberries
table spoon of goji berries
some chopped almonds and pecans
half a pear
cinnamon
coconut oil
maple syrup
optional: almond butter

In a small pot combine all the grains with 150ml water and bring to a boil with the lit on top, make sure you use low heat otherwise you overcook the oats easily. In another saucepan heat up half a teaspoon of coconut oil with a teaspoon of maple syrup (I overindulged a bit with the maple syrup ;-)) Add the pear in dices and bake with a sprinkle of cinnamon until the pear is browned and caramelised. Heat up the raspberries in the microwave and chop up your nuts in the meanwhile. Check the porridge once and a while as well, when the water is absorbed add some milk of choice, vanilla aroma, cinnamon and stir until everything is well combined. Pour the oats in a bowl and top off with the pear, raspberries, goji's and nuts (I love a big teaspoon of nut butter in my oats, so I added almond butter as well).

Going Green

Is it a hype or is it really full of health benefits? I'm talking about the green monsters, aka green smoothies. Slurping smoothies made with raw, leafy green vegetables has become more and more popular. But really, why should we drink these?

Because:

Green smoothies are good sources of minerals and vitamins and it's a good way to get more vegetables in your diet

Juicing VS smoothie: When juices are extracted, you get vitamins and minerals but no fibre. For smoothies the fibre stays in tact so it will keep you filled up for a while as well

Easy and quick to make, you only need a blender

Easy to digest

Low in calories and because they are so filling it could help you lose weight

While fresh is always the best choice, green smoothies will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, which can be handy at work and while travelling

I love to make a green monster when I have been over eating and indulging the day before. In this case my boyfriend made me eat about 15-20 pieces of sushi and I don't know how many side dishes ;-)! So in the morning I felt like I could use something healthy, fresh, low calorie and easy to digest.

My Version 

1 apple

1 big handful of spinach

150 ml yogurt

about a glass of water (first do a half when it doesn't blend all to well add more)

1 tablespoon of goji berries

1 tablespoon of maca powder (super food which you don't have to use when you don't have)

1 tablespoon of protein powder 

1 drop of stevia

Blend and enjoy! 

Tip: Always use 2 sorts of fruits and 1 portion of green raw vegetables. 

World's healthiest pizza

I was craaaaving pizza all week and because we all deserve something special now and then I had to eat pizza. But I chose the healthiest version of pizza ever, with this recipe you can have pizza EVERY week, every day without any guilt! I'll introduce you to my version of the healthiest pizza ever, low carb, gluten free, healthy ánd low calorie. Oh and of course finger licking good! 

World's healthiest Pizza

Ingredients

For the crust

half a cauliflower

75 gram cottage cheese

1 egg

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

dash of sea salt and pepper

Tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tin tomato puree

basil

chopped onion

2 garlic gloves

Choose your topping (I chose half a fish half a chicken pizza)

cherry tomatoes

fresh basil

mushrooms

bell pepper

tuna

anchovies

chicken fillet

red onion

grated Parmesan and goat cheese on top

What to do: preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. In a food processor, prepare the cauliflower by pulsing florets until they take on a grainy or grated texture. Put it in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 7/8 minutes on full power. Wrap it up in the middle of a towel and squeeze all of the moisture out. Place the dry cauliflower into a bowl and add the cottage cheese, egg and spices. Fold the mixture until everything is combined and place the dough on a baking sheet and spread it out until a thin (not to thin) base. Bake the crust for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and firm enough. Then it's time to add your toppings and put the heat on 225 degrees and bake the pizza for 10 more minutes. 

Easy Sunday: healthy snack ideas

Today I will show you some of my healthy snack ideas. Not 1 but 10 food tips and recipes today and they are all easy, quick and healthy!

1. Carrots & Hummus dip
You can make variations with other vegetables like tomatoes and cucumber.

2. Apple sprinkled with cinnamon and almond butter 
Also great when you add some raisins and microwave the apple until soft and then with the juicy almond butter, it's like apple pie in seconds!

3. Rice cake with 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese mixed with 1 tsp peanut butter and honey
This dip is also great with some sliced fruit, bananas or apple.

4. Yogurt with a sprinkle of granola, nuts or seeds
Use a small portion of yogurt with a few spoons of your seeds, nuts or granola as a quick snack.

5. Smoothies
Smoothies make great snacks, one of my favourite is half a frozen banana, soy milk and 1 fresh pear. Try to add some kale or spinach in your fruit smoothies to get some extra vitamins in!

6. My model bonbons! 
I posted the recipe before in one of my earlier blogs, so this one is a bit of a cheat.. but had to include this in the list!


7. Hand full of nuts and dried fruits.
Love to take almonds with me, or mixed nuts with some raisins and cranberries.

8. Fresh fruit
Always a great option.

9. Pickles and chicken
Roll up a piece of chicken fillet around a pickle, easy, protein, vegetable, crunchy and delicious!

10. Juice
If you have a juicer make a wonderful carrot & ginger juice!

Crunchy Veggie Pancakes!

Yum.. Yum.. Yummmmmmy!!!! I was planning to blog about a completely different recipe, but I just finished lunch with these baby's and had to share it with you. They may not look THAT beautiful.. but pleeeeease give this recipe a try it's low fat, low gi, gluten free, healthy and delicious. Great for a lunch, light dinner or maybe even breakfast.. why not? ;-) 

I wanted to eat something different for a lunch and try something out for my blog. Because this week was quite stressful and busy I didn't really had the time and energy to think of something different than my 'old' recipes I use all the time. Last week I bought some buckwheat flour and wanted to make pancakes all week. But then I thought, I want vegetables as well. And then I thought.. hey why not make vegetable cakes? So there you go, I created a new recipe for amazing healthy delicious pancakes. Well it's not really a pancake, it's not a cookie, it's something in between ;-)

Ingredients

100gram buckwheat flour
2 eggs
1 large carrot
1 zucchini
1 tsp of oregano and basil (so 1 tsp of each herb)
salt & pepper to taste
few drops stevia
150 ml water

Shred the carrot and zucchini in a food processor and add all the other ingredients. Combine until you have a well combined mixture and let it rest for 5 minutes. Grab a pan and add oil, start making little pancakes or make one big one. I made 3 in a large pan. You will get about 11 pancakes and they are not more than 60 calories each!!!

Serving suggestion: some mashed avocado or cheese and for the dutch; great with "appel-perenstroop" (without added sugar).

Easy Yummy Cookies

Today a wonderful healthy cookie recipe because it's valentine.. That asks for a delicious treat right?

This recipe seriously could have been a easy Sunday recipe.. they are soooo easy to make!! I made them in Capetown maaaany times with my roommates. They are wonderful because you can find the ingredients in any country, in any city, in any home! So if you have a banana left.. and an oven.. and your craving cookies but you don't want to snack those buttery, sugary unhealthy cookies... try these!

Oh and let them cool down just a bit before eating, but they taste the best straight out of the oven ;-)

All you need is
2 bananas
100 gram oats
pinch of cinnamon
A spoon of runny honey

toppings!
- chocolate nibs
- raisins
- peanut butter
- vanilla
- you choose ;-)

How to? Maybe even easier, prepare a hot oven on 180 degrees Celsius. Mash the banana with a fork and combine with the oats honey and cinnamon. Now you can divide the mixture and put your most favourite adds in there. I love a spoon of peanut butter in the mixture, a handful of raisins and chopped almonds with some vanilla extract or choose the chocolate nibs! Or even better.. make it all ;-) combine a ball and press them on a baking sheet, make sure you make them not to thick because this way you get a better crunch. They need about 15 minutes, if you like them more crunchy make that 20 minutes, enjoy your valentines day =)

Salad on the go!

Yesterday I had a fun and lovely shoot in the Netherlands. We made a cool editorial with all black and white elements with golden jewelry.

I knew the team and wanted to make something delicious for on set, something healthy ;-) I love salads, a lot of people think it's boring but I really don't understand how a salad can be boring. You can add whatever you like and make a million versions! I chose to make a rocket salad with some healthy ingredients like sweet potato which are high in vitamin B6, vitamin C and D, contain iron (proper immune functioning and white blood cell production) and are a good source of magnesium, which is the relaxation and anti-stress mineral. Further you need the best grain in the world quinoa, some goat cheese (use a good quality of feta cheese if you don't like goats cheese) and some vegetables and nuts. Further it just needs a bit of time and love to make this healthy, delicious salad.

Salad on the Go!

Ingredients

Quinoa
goat cheese
1 big sweet potato
raisins
rocket
cherry tomato's
cucumber
handful of mixed nuts
drizzle of olive oil
salt & pepper
cinnamon
vegetable stock

Boil water in a kettle. Grab a handful of raisins and add them to a cup with some of the boiled water, let it soak up the water for about 5 minutes. In the meanwhile slice the sweet potato in cubes (just wash, leave the skin on it's full of vitamins!) and cook them about 8 minutes until soft. In the same time you can cook your quinoa with some vegetable stock and a pinch of cinnamon. Cook until fluffy and let it cool down. Grab your Tupperware and start layering up. First the rocket, than the cherry tomatoes (in fours), the cucumber (in fours) and the cooled down quinoa and sweet potato. Sprinkle the chopped nuts, raisins and olive oil on top and serve with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper!

Some sneaky backstage unedited shots from the shoot

Easy Sundays

It's Sunday again! Time for another easy recipe..  Sometimes it's really to much effort to prepare a homemade salad for lunch, or roast some vegetables and you just want to have a bite, a crunch but maintain your healthy lifestyle. I have that, especially after a morning workout. I come home tired, hungry and want food - now - an hour ago. So this is a protein rich, healthy solution ;-)

Easy Lunch

Ingredients

3 rice/spelt cakes

tomato

cucumber

chicken fillet

bio vegetable sandwich spread

cottage cheese

jam (without added sugar)

old cheese

boiled egg

lettuce

Boil your egg, slice your cheese grab a plate and your cakes and start layering up your favourite combination! Mine is 1 with sandwich spread, chicken fillet, lettuce and sliced cucumber & tomato, 1 with cottage cheese and jam, 1 with old cheese, sliced cucumber and a soft boiled egg. Yummy, healthy, easy and delicious ;-) 

Heavenly healthy scones

It's weekend yaaay! That means you can make yourself a delicious treat for breakfast, because my friend was still here, I of course had to promise her to make a delicious breakfast. My friends and family already knew for years I love to cook and bake, but since my blog went online nobody is hesitating to ask me if I have some leftovers to bring by ;-) Hahha well anyway, I was thinking about what to make in the morning.. pancakes.. granola.. we had a million times.. but what about a delicious treat like a scone? YES, PLEASE! Ofcourse it had to be healthy, so I swapped out the butter for apple sauce and coconut oil, made it lactose free and not so sugary! So a low GI, healthy scone version was created in minutes. Point made, you have to try this recipe when you love scones ;-)

Heavenly healthy scones

Ingredients

250g whole wheat spelt flour

160g oats

25g palm sugar

10g stevia sugar

16g baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg slightly beaten

90g apple sauce

30g coconut oil

100ml soy milk

1 teaspoon vanilla aroma

pinch of salt

Preheat an oven on 200 degrees Celsius. Than in a bowl mix the dry ingredients, the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl mix the egg, apple sauce, milk, vanilla and coconut oil (make sure it's liquid before adding). Than it's time to mix the dry and wet ingredients and form a big bowl of the batter. If it's to wet and sticky, add a bit of flower but these amounts should give you exactly the perfect batter. Divide the batter into 8 balls and bake them for 15 minutes in the oven. I divided half of my batter and added some frozen blueberries to make it a bit different! Feel free to add currants, raspberries, chocolate or whatever you like! 

Serve with a dollop ricotta cheese and strawberry jam.. hmmm.. bon appetit!

The unexpected delicious soup

Today one of my best friends came to visit me in my hometown Groningen. For everyone it's really far away, 3 hours from Rotterdam for her.. so I wanted to make a delicious lunch when she would arrive. I was planning to make a squash soup, but my squash was not as good looking as I thought it was ;-) So I quickly opened the fridge and looked what was left, the result? A wonderful broccoli-parsnip soup was invented!

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli in chunks (keep the heads separate)

2 small parsnips in chunks

1 big white onion

2 cloves of garlic

a bit of oil for frying

1 liter vegetable stock

salt & pepper to taste

thyme

Heat up a pan with some oil and fry the chopped onion until translucent. Add the garlic, parsnip, the broccoli stalk and the thyme. Fry until a bit browned and then it's time to add the stock. Wait until the soup starts to boil and cook until the vegetables are a bit softened. Than add the rest of the broccoli. Bring to the boil again and cook for about 10-15 more minutes. Carefully transfer to a blender and blitz until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and serve. 

My Coconut Cream Pie

Guys, I think you are going to love this one..

For my birthday last year, I came up with the recipe for this beauty. I was searching online and in my million cookbooks for a great recipe for a delicious healthy pie but none of the recipes I found were healthy enough or were exactly what I was looking for. I noticed that a lot of people stop using flour and are only using almond flour or soaked nuts in their recipes. You end up having a delicious pie, but it can definitely give you a lot of calories in return. So I looked around in my kitchen and grabbed the things I love, banana, coconut.. I had no idea if it was going to work, but damn.. I guess it did ;-)

My lactose and gluten free Coconut "cream" Pie

Ingredients
for the crust
4 spoons of unsweetened applesauce (for the dutch this is appelmoes)
2 spoons of coconut oil
200 gram coconut flour
2 eggs
2 spoons of honey
50 gram of shredded coconut
pinch of sea salt
1 spoon of water

stuffing
1 egg yolk
25 gram custard powder
100 ml almond milk
120 ml soy milk
2 spoons of stevia
1 whipped egg white

garnish
hand of shredded coconut
banana
some fresh raspberries

To make this delicious pie, preheat the oven on 180 degrees Celsius.
For the crust mix all the dry ingredients (flour, salt and shredded coconut) in a bowl and all the wet ingredients in a different bowl (coconut oil (heat up until liquid), applesauce, 2 eggs, honey and water). Then combine until you form a pastry, gather the dough into a ball, then pat into a greased pie pan. Bake for 20 minutes and let it completely cool down.
You can start with the filling when your crust is baking, place the custard powder in a medium-sized saucepan and add a little of the milk. Whisk until the powder is completely dissolved. Pour in the remaining milk and place the saucepan over medium heat. Heat, whisk frequently, until the mixture becomes visibly hot. Add stevia, then drizzle in the beaten egg yolks, still whisking. Cook over medium heat until thick - about 5 to 8 minutes. Fold in the whipped egg white and pour the mixture over the the crust, so it can cool down to room temperature. Then, move the pie over to the fridge so it can completely cool down. Let it sit for at least 2 hours. When serving the pie garnish with the shredded coconut, fresh raspberries and banana.

NOTE: When I use stevia, I often use a variation of stevia that looks like sugar. Sometimes I use liquid but then I will mention it as stevia drops. So make sure if you use a different kind you taste after adding a bit to make it not too sweet or not enough sweet to taste.

Not your ordinary pancakes

When I posted this picture a while ago on instagram, everybody wanted to know... OMG what is this? At that time I was doing a diet for the amazing program modelworkout (www.modelworkout.nl) and was having a strict diet. My nutritionist was immediately thinking I was cheating big time, but guess what? I didn't.. Yup.. this recipe is completely clean and diet friendly. And did I already mention finger licking good? ;-)

Ingredients

Mixed frozen fruit

30 gram oats

100 ml soy yogurt

100 ml almond milk

1 egg

cinnamon

vanilla extract

dash of stevia

coconut oil 

Grab 2 bowls, one small for the frozen fruit and one to make the pancake batter. Combine oats, milk the egg, cinnamon and vanilla extract and give it a good mix. Let it stand for about 5 minutes so the oats will soak up some of the milk. Check your batter, if it looks to dry just add a bit of water and then you can start heating up a pan with a bit of coconut butter. In the meanwhile put your bowl of frozen fruit in the microwave so they heat up, make sure the fruits stay intact so they won't get toooo soggy. Bake a few small pancakes in the pan and then you can grab a plate and start layering up. Pancake, soy yogurt, pancake, soy yogurt until you have the last pancake. Now its time for the fruits to join the party and then it's your turn to start your morning feast meal!