Chopped Lentil Salad

I;m a salad girl. Given the chance I would chose a salad over almost anything. As part of my resolutions for the New Year I vowed to get better at bringing my own lunch. Not only does it save me money and time but it take the hassle out of deciding what or where to eat. Sometimes I make my lunch while I make my breakfast, but if I know my morning will be busy I will sometimes prep in the morning and leave the lunch on the fridge for me to grab the next day. Bringing a salad is great, but there is just one small problem. I love a big salad, and lugging around a big container in my purse all day is a little frustrating. Enter the knife - but chopping all the ingredients in my salad it reduces the volume and gives me just as much food. One of my favorites are this chopped lentil salad. This recipe uses broccoli stems, one of the parts of the broccoli that is usually ignored, but oh so underestimated. Gluten-free and vegan this can be enjoyed by almost everyone.

Chopped Lentil Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup spinach
• 1 cup kale
• 1/2 cup cooked brown lentils
• 1/4 avocado
• 1 oz red onion
• 1 oz shredded carrots
• 1 oz shredded broccoli stems
• 1/2 lime
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Cooking Directions

1. Chop the spinach, kale, avocado and onion into small pieces. Add the shredded carrots, broccoli stems and lentils. Squeeze the lime over the salad and add the balsamic vinegar. Enjoy.

Butternut Squash and Green Apple Soup

When the mercury starts to fall and it gets a little harder to walk out the door, I know it is time for soup. A great hot soup is like a hug from within. It relaxes and soothes you. I love this soup because the butternut squash is the perfect foundation for a soup that is sweet and spicy at the same time. The spices warms you up and combined with the fiber in the butternut squash,apple and lentils it is a little liquified miracle. The lentils add a little more protein to the nutritious soup.

Makes 4 cups

1/2 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tbs oil ( I love coconut oil)
2 cups chopped butternut squash
1/2 Green Apple
4 tbsp cooked lentils
a pinch of:
cinnamon
cayenne pepper
black pepper
turmeric
salt

Heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender ( be careful not to burn the onion as it changes the taste). Add the spices and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add butternut squash and 1/4 apple ( save the rest of the apple for later). Add 1.5 cup of water. Cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer to blender and puree. Dice the rest of the apple. Add the apple and lentils to the soup. Add more seasoning if necessary.  Enjoy!

Healthy Mexican Pizza

Today is a really cold day. When I got home after going outside this morning all I wanted was some hot tea and comfort food. To me pizza and mexican are the ultimate comfort foods. The problem with comfort food is that when you crave it you usually also feel like sitting on the couch bundled up in every single blanket you own. Since I was ready to settle in for a nice afternoon on the couch I wanted to make something that would make me feel less guilty. Enter the Mexican Pizza - the combination of the two things I really craved. I love my pizza crust as thin as possible, and this pizza crust is definitely thin.  With my yeast or gluten and plenty of vegetable, this pizza is amazing.

Mexican Pizza
1 pizza 

Crust:
2 egg whites
1 oz gluten-free flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp gluten-free oat bran

Filling:
Tomato paste
Baby Spinach
Kale
Mushrooms
Red Pepper
Chicken Breast
Low-Fat Cheese
Taco Seasoning



Mix the egg whites, flour, oat bran and baking soda. In a frying-pan cook the crust like you would a pancake. Season the chicken breast with the taco seasoning and cook it. Cut the chicken breast into pieces. Cut the vegetables. Spread the tomato paste on the crust. Top the crust with the chicken, vegetables and cheese. Sprinkle some more taco seasoning on top. Bake in the oven or toaster-oven until the vegetables are tender and the cheese has melted. ( For a quicker meal, pre-cook the vegetables.) Enjoy

The finished result:

Crispbread

Sometimes being gluten-free is frustrating. Although there are many products I do not miss, there are definitely some things that I do miss.  I used to eat a lot of crispbread. It is an amazing substitute for bread. Not only is is free of yeast, but it is full of fiber. After going gluten-free I went looking for gluten-free crispbread, but the result was really disappointing. It does exist, but is usually made of white flour with the first ingredients being potato or corn starch. I might as well be eating rice cakes. I decided that if I wanted to eat crisp bread I would have to make it myself, as I started experimenting with the recipe I realized that it was a great opportunity to find a creative way to incorporate more nutritious seeds into my diet.

Here is my recipe for “Multi-seed crisp bread”

1 ½ tbsp. of chia seeds

5 tbsp. flaxseed

6 tbsp. sesame seeds

1.5 oz. (40g) sunflower seeds

3.5 oz. (100g) rolled gluten-free oats

1 oz. (30g) gluten-free flour

1 tsp. psyllium husk

1 oz. (30g) quinoa flakes

1    Soak the chia seeds in water overnight. Mix the chia-gel with the other ingredients. Add about a cup of water (the mixture should have a porridge-like consistency). Spread a thin layer of the mixture onto two baking sheets. Pre-heat oven to 350F (175C). Bake the first sheet for 10 minute.  Use a knife of pizza-cutter to cut the bread into rectangles.  Bake the bread for another 35-40 minutes or until it starts to get slightly brown around the edges. Allow the bread to cool of before breaking it along the cuts. Enjoy with your favorite spreads. Some of my favorites include hummus and turkey, smoked salmon with avocado and cream cheese or soft cheese like chevre (goat cheese), brie or camembert.  Enjoy

Secret Ingredient Chocolate Sweets

I love Chocolate. Then again who doesn't.  When making chocolate desserts I do have a secret weapon that makes any chocolate dessert amazing, especially because it is not only guilt-free but actually great for you. Whenever I make any of these recipes I never reveal the secret ingredients until people have tasted them.  Until know not a single person has been able to guess the secret ingredient.  Curious yet. Well, the secret is black beans. I know it sounds strange, but when you give it a second it makes perfect sense. Beans do not have lot of flavor. When I use them in savory dishes they always require loads of seasoning. Mashing black beans and mixing them with cocoa powder creates a fudgy texture. It also taste amazing. Here are a couple of recipes that utilize this wonderful ingredient.

Almond Muffins with Chocolate-filling:

About 6 muffins

Muffins:
- 2 tbsp almond meal
- 2 egg-whites
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbs stevia (or more)
vanilla extract

Filling: 
4 oz black beans
1 tbsp cocoa powder
cinnamon
stevia (to taste)

Set the oven to 350. Mix the almond meal, egg whites, baking soda, stevia and vanilla. Pour the mixture in the cupcake forms. Mash the black beans and mix it with the cocoa, cinnamon and stevia. Put a teaspoon of the mixture in the middle of each muffin. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy


If you are in the mood for something even more chocolaty try these. These black-bean coconut truffles taste sinfully good, but will satisfy that little angle on your shoulder.

4 oz black beans
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp shredded coconut
1 tbsp gf oat-bran
1 tsp stevia ( or more to taste)

Mash the beans and mix them with the other ingredients.  Form into truffles. Freeze for about half and hour. Enjoy

 Lots of Love

Thai Shrimp Salad

A few years ago I went backpacking in Thailand and feel in love with Thai food. There is something about the cuisine that never fails to put a smile on my face. The food is probably the reason why Thai people always smile. If I ate this food every day I would smile too.  I love that one dish can be both spicy, sour and sweet at the same time. My absolute favorite dishes are Larb Gai ( minced chicken), Tom Yum ( sweet and sour soup) and Plaa Goong ( Shrimp Salad). The last dish is the subject of this post.

Cooking Thai food can sometimes seem a little daunting. A typical recipe includes numerous ingredients that you would probably not stumble upon in your local grocery store. Most of the complicated ingredients can usually be replaced by more conventional ingredients.

This Thai Salad is a great introduction to the wonders of Thai cooking.

Thai Shrimp Salad:

Salad:
- 3 oz cooked shrimp. (Peeled and deveined.)
- 2 cubs of baby spinach
- 1/2 tomato or grape tomatoes
- 1/3 pepper
- slices of red onion ( to taste)

Dressing:
- 1 lime
- cayenne pepper
- black pepper
- salt
- grated ginger
1 tsp tamari ( gf soy sauce)

Steam, pan-fry or grill the shrimp. Allow the shrimps to cool down. Toss the salad. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl. Add the shrimp to the dressing. Mix the shrimp and the remainder of the dressing with the salad. Enjoy

Lots of love

First Post

I have been following several different healthy eating blogs for the last few years and I have wanted to start my own for quite a while. When 2013 rolled around I decided that it was time to stop pondering the idea and finally realize it.  I am passionate about healthy eating. I believe that food should be functional.  It should give you the energy to live you life just how you want to live it. Based on this philosophy I aim to create recipes that taste great and do good. Part of feeling good is eating great food. 

I personally try to not eat gluten and sugar. My decision to stop eating gluten came after an extended period of really bad symptoms ( stomach and head aches, fatigue and general feeling of discomfort). Immediately after I eliminated gluten these symptoms disappeared. - Even though I do love my bread and cakes I realized that it is not worth the discomfort that follows. I have since realized that a gluten-free diet does not equal a world free of cakes or baked goods. All you need is a little innovations and some small adjustment. I have a love/hate relationship with sugar. I love my sweets, but sugar only gives me a high for a short period before I crave more. Using alternative sweetener have made it a lot easier to practice indulgence in moderation. 

I hope you will join me in this little experiment. I am excited to put on my apron and mix up some great dishes and snacks.