Veggie quinoa - shrimps - guacamole

Hey smoothies,

I recently made this dinner and it was so good I had to share it with you. 

Everything is fresh and homemade and as far is I know all products are organic. I grow the herbs myself in my garden so I have always fresh ones. Quinoa I bought at the bioshop but it's also available at grocery stores. For this recipe I used regular quinoa but I have als a mixture with red quinoa and other grains. It's really tasty. Even my mom liked it before she knew it where grains instead of a regular carb dish.

For the ones that do not know quinoa: Quinoa is a grain that can is an alternative for carbs (pasta, bread, potato, ...). It's high in protein and it's been quiet popular for the last few years. I've been using it before it has become a trend and I'm a big fan of it. It's a great switch for the regular carbs and you can use it in sweet dishes as well. I have roasted quinoa with honey (bought at the bioshop) for breakfast and it's yummie!

Veggie quinoa - shrimps - guacamole

quinoa

Ingredients: 

parsley

mint

spring onions

chive

garlic

sweet red pepper

quinoa

Chop the herbs into tiny pieces, Put some olive oil in a pan and add a garlic clove  and the spring onions. Make sure they get glazed and not baked so don't put your stove too high.

Then add the quinoa and add 3 volumes of water. Let it cook for about 15 min ( taste if it's good for you, I like it when it's still a bit 'al dente'). The water should be absorbed by the quinoa and there shouldn't be anymore water in the pan.

Chop the sweet pepper into tiny pieces and add it to the quinoa mixture. Let it stove for a couple of minutes until the peppers are ready but make sure the quinoa doesn't burn so put it on a medium heath and put on a lid so the quinoa keeps moistened. When the peppers are ready, take the pan from the stove and add the other herbs and mix well.

guacamole

Ingredients: 

1 avocado

1 tomato

2 tbsp olive oil 

2 tbsp lemon juice

dried chili pepper mix

fresh cilantro

 Mash the avocado in a small mixing bowl with 1 squeezed clove of garlic, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and  2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add some salt and a bit of chili pepper flakes to taste. Cut the tomato in dices and cut the cilantro. Add it to the guacamole mixture.

For the shrimps you can choose how you want to cook them. I poached them in a bit of vegetable broth but you can grill or fry them as well.

Bon appétit!

Céline, x.

Vitamin Envy

Since I got my juicer for my birthday I’m totally into juicing. Almost every morning I throw some fruit and veggies in it and scoop in a bit of ginger or flaxseed for a healthy extra.

the benefits of juicing

1. you can throw fruit and veggies in it with their (soft) peel so you take in all the vitamins, antioxidants and all the nutritional value (most vitamins reside right under the peel)

2. since you only drink the juice and not the fiber, your body is able to absorb the nutrients immediately without digesting the fibers first. Don’t get me wrong! Fibers are good for you but this way you  have immediately effect of nutrients and that’s what we want.

3. add some juice to sparkling water and a hint of stevia and that way you have a delicious healthy homemade lemonade!

Since I’ve been juicing I actually do feel a lot more energized. My boyfriend says it’s a placebo effect, which could be true but on the other hand I tried out vitamin supplements, herbal tea, etc.  too to feel more energized but that didn’t work. So I don’t think it’s a placebo effect but true natural energy from mother nature :-) !

What is your favorite juice combo?
Céline .x

Tasty tuesday: Potatoe mash without the potatoes

cauliflower mash as an alternative for a traditional mash

Hello ladies,

Lately I found out the best trick to cut down the carbs but still having the taste of it. It's a cauliflower mash. Really, you barely notice the flavor of cauliflower (not that I don't like that at all) and it still has this creamy texture of a potato mash, it even tastes like you added butter or cream to it. So it's really YUM!

All you need is:
1 cauliflower
water
milk
salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
fill a stew pan with half water half milk. Add the cauliflower in chunks (they can be big because you have to blend it afterwards anyway). cook it for about 10 minutes. Then drain all but a little of the liquid. This way I think the mash will be more moisten.
Mash the cauliflower until it's nice and smooth and add pepper, salt and nutmeg to taste.

Voila, you have your delicious and healthy alternative for a potato mash!

Calorie clash:

1/2 cup of cauliflower mash: 20 kcal                  1/2 cup of potato mash: 161 kcal