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!

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!

Aubergine with buttermilk and pomegranate

Aubergine is quite versatile and has a 'meaty' texture to it. Try this delicious recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi. Very filling and good both on its own, as a starter, lunch or with meat. The za'atar makes the whole difference. Obviously buttermilk is just some milk with butter in it. I use almond milk with ghee (clarified butter). 

Mango pickles

Mango is without comparison my favourite fruit. I eat it several times per week and I am trying different recipes where mango can be incorporated.

This recipe is for pickles which can be used for... well in my opinion almost anything. I like it hot, spicy and not too sweet so I have used red chillies, lots of spices and very little sweetener. Below I'm just going to list the ingredients and then you can use chilli, spices and sweetener as per your own preference.

Mango pickles - photo by Rikke Wend Hartung

2-3 ripe mangos cut into cubes
red chilli whole if you want to remove it after cooking or sliced if you want it to stay in
coriander and cumin seeds - roasted on a dry pan
apple cider vinegar (100-120 ml)
xylitol or similar sweetener

Glass jar - boiled off and rinsed with alcohol.

Put all ingredients in sauce pan and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Then pour into the glass jar. Leave it to cool of and then refrigerate.

Fig, Feta and Pomegranate Salad

Super delicious - fresh and sweet at the same time. Very filling.

Fig, Feta and Pomegranate Salad - photo by Rikke Wend Hartung

Recipe from Ocado/Waitrose - see it here: http://bit.ly/1aoH7NR

Watermelon salad

Easiest Summer dinner ever: 

Watermelon, feta cheese, white onion and biltong/beef jerky on the side. Yum!

Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon

1 whole egg + 2 egg whites
40-50 g smoked salmon cut into small strips
a bit of water
chives/spring onions
salt/pepper
cumin after taste

Combine the ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into a large saucepan and scramble. Don't overcook the eggs. Serve with tomato and cucumber.

Aubergine rolls with pesto

Cut the aubergine horizontally into thin slices. Sprinkle with salt and leave for about 15 minutes to remove the bitter juice.

Prepare some pesto while you wait for the aubergine: Blend some basil with pine nuts, a bit of olive oil and some parmesan cheese.

Turn on oven - 180 degrees.

Turn the aubergine slices over and sprinkle with salt. Wait another 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly in cold water and dry on a kitchen towel.

Heat some coconut oil in a big frying pan and add some pressed garlic. Fry the aubergine slices on both sides and dry on a kitchen towel.

Add pesto to one side of the aubergine slices. Add some salt and pepper and roll the slices. Secure with a tooth pick.

Bake the slices for about 10 minutes and serve while hot.

Tomato, avocado and mozzarella salad with olives

Avocado are incredibly good for you. So are tomatoes, olives and apple-cider vinegar. 

Slice some ripe large tomatoes and avocado into bite sized pieces. Rip the Mozzarella also into bite sized pieces. Add some black olives and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with olive oil and apple-cider vinegar.

Poached eggs

In my childhood home we kept chickens so I have always been used to having fresh eggs around. I still love eggs and I panic a bit when I have less than 3 eggs left in my fridge (3 eggs = a life-saving omelette when I get home late). I struggle a bit with throwing the yolks away but do it when I make omelettes or scrambled eggs. Not with poached eggs though.

Poached eggs
Fill a sauce pan with at least 2 cm of water and bring it to boil. Crack the eggs into the water and watch them carefully until the whites have set. It's important that the water is boiling when you add the eggs but make sure it doesn't boil too hard. Anyway - try a few times and you'll get the hang of it.

You can add poached eggs to pretty much anything. Here is one example:

Poached egg on green salad

Lemongrass yoghurt dressing

I use my spice grinder to chop the lemongrass. If you don't have a grinder, remember to chop it very finely.

Low-fat Greek yoghurt
Lemongrass stalk, grinded or finely chopped
Zest and juice of limes
Sea salt

It's good for breakfast too with nuts and flax seeds.

Spiced carrots

I love spices and I love carrots so this is one of my favourites. It is very versatile and goes with all sorts of dishes, also as lunch, and it will make your kitchen smell fantastic. I haven't added any quantities - just add a dash of this and a dash of that in the combination you prefer. Just remember the cloves have a quite strong taste. You can use parsley instead of coriander.

Carrots - peeled and cut into evenly bite-sized chunks
Coconut oil
Onion - finely chopped
Garlic cloves - crushed
Spring onion - finely chopped

Ground cloves
Ground ginger
Ground coriander
Ground cinnamon
Sweet paprika 
Ground cumin

Apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar (apple-cider vinegar is thought to be a muscle relaxant so I prefer that to white wine vinegar both you can use either)
Lemon peel - chopped

Coriander - fresh, chopped
Salt

Cook the carrots in salted water. I like mine crunchy. While the carrots are cooking, brown a finely chopped onion in a large pan. When the carrots are cooked, dry them out and add to the onions together with some crushed garlic cloves and the spices. Remove from the heat, season with salt, stir well and leave to cool.

Before serving, stir in the coriander and some salt. You can also add some more of the above spices if you think it is needed.

Serve with lemongrass yoghurt dressing.