Getting the house in order

Sorry, it's been so quiet lately but I have been spending the last couple of months re-organising my life so it's more in line with what I currently want to focus on.

For me that meant changing jobs, moving house and spending some quality time with my family and friends abroad... Sometimes things just all happen at once! This is of course partly because of timing but mostly because you make yourself open to new things if you know what's your priorities are and where you want to be heading. 

Do you know what is most important to you? What do you want to focus on for the next 6-12 months? Do you know what you need to do to get there? 

Chickpea flour pancakes

These pancakes are so good that we actually ate them before I could take a picture of them! But I'll be making another batch soon and will then add a picture. They work both as savoury and sweet pancakes. 

It's often difficult to get gluten-free flour to stick together but when the chickpea flour is mixed with water it works as a binder so these pancakes are very firm. 

Mix 250 g chickpea flour, 50 g dessicated coconut, 1 tbsp cumin and 1 tbsp salt. Stir in 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 500 ml water. Mix well and rest in fridge for at least 1 hour. 

Fry in coconut oil. 

Super-Quick Sugar-Free Jam AKA Stewed Berries

I call this jam but I guess it really just is berries cooked with a little bit of xylitol for about 15 minutes until the liquid has been cooked off. You can use fresh berries if you want but frozen is easiest. I just dump them in the sauce pan as they are.

Pure goodness! Enjoy!
Photo by Rikke Wend Hartung (c)

Amazing on some Greek yoghurt or with meats or cheese or whatever... Can be stored in the sauce pan or in a boiled jam jar in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Peanut butter cookies

I think this recipe sells itself! Pure goodness.

Turn on the oven 175 degrees.

Mix these dry ingredients in a bowl:

3 dl almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
0.5 dl xylitol (or to taste)

Take a separate bowl and mix these:

2 eggs
2 dl peanut butter (the clean stuff that only consists of peanuts!)
2 tsp vanilla extract

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Cover a baking plate with baking parchment. Make 16 cookies and bake them for 12-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Your guide to living better - chapter one

Let's be honest: long-term, sustainable lifestyle change requires commitment, mental and physical work. There is no such thing as a quick fix. But don't worry. It can be done and it is so worth it! Here is a list of things that will guide you in your quest of making life better.  

You have to get rain before you can see a rainbow.
Photo by Rikke Wend Hartung, 2014

#1: Prioritise and do more of what makes you happy

Time is a finite resource and you simply can’t do everything. Something's gotta give and you need to focus on the things that are most important to you, good for you and make you happy. Sometimes you have to say no to something you would like to do in order to get time to do something you would like to do even more - including doing nothing at all. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is a problem for many people and it can get in the way of your happiness. 

#2: Get your sleep

I don't care how busy you are, you need to get your sleep. How much we need is different from person to person but most people need 7-8 hours per night. Not in average but *per night*! When you have gotten a good night's sleep everything becomes a little easier, you have more energy and you're mentally and physically sharp. I'm sure you know this already from the nights where you actually do get all the sleep you need. Sleep is also an amazing way to reduce stress. 

#3: Take responsibility for your well-being

It's your body and your health. Nobody else knows your body the way you do and it is up to you to ensure it functions optimally and that you are happy and satisfied. Not only for the sake of everyone who cares about you and are dependent on you, but also for yourself. Treat yourself the way you would treat your best friend. Be kind and be responsible. 

#4: Empower yourself with knowledge

Study the subject of living better the same way you study other important things. You don't necessarily have to totally geek out like me, but there are some minimum requirements as to what you need to know to get the results that you want. Commit yourself to acquiring this basic knowledge. I promise you that the time you spend on this will be paid back to you a thousandfold. You can always learn a little more and become a little better at living optimally. 

***

In coming blogposts I'll expand further on each of the four challenges. Until then: take care of yourself, be kind and be happy - and let me know if you have any questions. 

Fire crackers and prawn crackers - being mindful about food choices

It's Sunday and indeed the sun was out today so it wasn't too difficult getting early out of bed. I was going with a friend to Chinatown to see the Chinese New Year celebrations. On the way there I managed to find a suitable breakfast in Pret a Manger consisting of two boiled eggs, some spinach, a bag of nuts and a black cup of coffee.

After the parade we wanted to get a bit of lunch and I ordered some stir fried duck with spring onions and ginger along with some green tea. We also had some prawn crackers because it was a special day and we both felt we had been eating clean enough over the week to chose a snack that was less nutritious. 

I am telling you about my dietary choices of today because I wanted to share one of the strategies that has been working for me for a long time now: I eat clean enough to sustain my health (including my weight) but I also allow myself to eat other things occasionally as long as I am being mindful about my choices. This means that I don't feel bad about eating a bit outside of what I know is best for me as long as the detrimental effect is not too big and I don't do it too often. It's about finding the balance between what is good for you and not denying yourself things. It requires that you are honest with yourself, though, and don't talk yourself into something you will regret after. So when you are tempted you should think carefully about whether this choice is OK for you right now in relation to your overall state and your goals. Be mindful about it. If I had chosen a croissant and coffee with milk for breakfast I wouldn't have taken the prawn crackers. Not today anyway.

This is not as hard as it sounds. As you learn about nutrition and experience what the right foods do for your health and well-being, you will find yourself becoming very selective with what you eat outside your normal diet and perhaps end up abstaining from some foods altogether because they make you feel bad or keep you from reaching your goals. Remember, it's not helpful saying to yourself that you can never eat prawn crackers again, just say to yourself "I don't need those prawn crackers today. Perhaps next time." Try it. It really works. 

Anyway, I just wanted to share this with you and I really enjoyed both the prawn crackers and the fire crackers. Happy New Year :-)

Rise-and-Shine Smoothies

This morning a good colleague approached me and asked me what he should eat for breakfast. He really wants to eat something but he usually doesn't have too much appetite in the morning. Martyn - this post is for you :-)

But before I give you the recipe for my Rise-and-Shine Smoothies I have a couple of things to say. If you are not hungry in the morning it can either be a sign that your metabolism doesn't work optimally - or that it works very well (if you carry too much body fat it's probably reason number 1). I used to be unable to eat breakfast and often skipped it altogether, only to be absolutely starving and craving carbohydrates at 10 or 11. But when I started eating "clean" I also started a habit of eating a little bit every morning and gradually as my metabolism started working properly again so did my morning appetite. During a period of about 6 months where I lost a lot of body fat I woke up at 6 am absolutely starving. These days my appetite is a bit more subdued because my body can access its fat deposits (read more about that here) whenever it needs energy. 

I usually make a smoothie in the morning. Not only is it super quick, but I can also pack a lot of goodness into it and it sets me up for the rest of the day so I'll not be as easily tempted into making unhealthy choices. Start clean and stay clean!

Some of the ingredients might look a bit odd but just try it out and experiment until you find your own favourite combination (please share the recipe!). Here we go: 

200 ml non-fat Greek yoghurt

2 oranges

1 mango

2 tbsp cod liver oil (for omega-3 - you will not be able to taste it, I promise)

50 ml coffee or 1 tbsp coffee beans (for taste - optional) 

2 tbsp green tea leaves (for anti-oxidants)

almond milk (for fat i.e. brain food)

3 tbsp milled flax seeds or chia seeds (omega-3 and fibre). 

spinach (fibre again because fibre is key and the more you add the better as it will keep you fuller longer and yes, spinach is a much better source of fibre than any morning cereal. You can also use kale but that has a very strong taste.)

Blend it all and keep adding water until it has the texture that you like. 

You can replace the oranges and mango with other fruits or perhaps some berries. Check out the food list to see which ones I recommend. You can also add protein powders with different tastes (try the combi frozen blueberries, 2 oranges and a scoop of banana protein powder... better than any muffin!).

Bon appetit and have a lovely day!