Browsing Tag:

protein

Featured/ Mains

Asian style cod with zesty celeriac quinoa

Asian style cod

This post is a very special post for me. I was lucky enough to be asked to contribute with a recipe for the Ocean Hero Campaign on Loaf App, an initiative lead by MSC (Marine Stewardship Council). This is an amazing campaign raising awareness of the importance of eating sustainable fish and I am very proud and honoured to be able to support this message and hopefully inspire you guys with this Asian style cod with a zesty celeriac quinoa salad. Amazing flavours, good for you and good for the planet.

Why is sustainable fish important and how does MSC help?

Over 70% of our planet is covered by water, mainly in form of seas and oceans. Oceans determine not only the climate for the land we live in (transferring heat from the tropics to the polar regions and creating rainfalls through evaporation) but it also has provided us with work and food (supporting the largest biosphere from plankton, to the blue whale-the largest organism on earth, to other species that have not even been discovered yet). Oceans are increasingly put under pressure by a growing population with growing needs for economic and technological developments. Over fishing was one of the major issues which lead to a dramatic decrease in fish stocks in our oceans. It is estimated that 85% of the world’s seafood are at full capacity or over fished. Therefore it is crucial that we choose fish that has been sustainably caught to ensure we are supporting a healthy ocean able to adapt better to climate changes. Continue Reading…

Nutrition/ Quick meals/ Snacks

Avocado hummus

Watching TV or when I have friends around I like to have something to snack around. Usually snacking is associated with unhealthy things but there are so many other alternatives that are good for you as well. So I am sharing my recipe for avocado hummus which you guessed it it’s incredibly good for you…food for your body and for your soul I dare to say. It’s also such a versatile dip as you can have it with celery sticks, slices of fresh walnut rye sourdough, olives or one of my favourites is fresh romaine leaves which look like a scoop perfect to hold the hummus. Why not add also a baba ganoush to have a complimentary dip to your platter? Coincidently I have a recipe for this as well…posted a few months ago:).

By now you got used to the next section of health benefits and this one is no different. Continue Reading…

Breakfast/ Nutrition

Bircher Porridge

Blood orange bircher porridge

Porridge is almost a British institution…you associate it with British culture (especially if you live on the island like me:) ), but in actual fact it is present in other menus (US, Thailand with the savoury porridge called jok).

It’s an incredibly nutritious breakfast. Usually made out of oats (however you can make it out of other grains like quinoa, millet, amaranth, etc) which contain multiple nutrients (like potassium which regulates blood pressure, hormone and water balance or magnesium which helps with the DNA repair) as well as a water soluble fibre that plays a role in reducing “unhealthy” cholesterol and prevents spikes in blood sugar levels making it a perfect meal for people suffering from diabetes. Oats are easy to digest and useful to relieve upset stomach. Continue Reading…

Healthy desserts/ Snacks

Energy protein balls

Energy protein balls

Energy protein balls is one of my favourite snacks which you can even have as a dessert…full of protein and good fats minus the refined sugar!

The beauty of this recipe is that you can be creative. You can do whatever mixture you would like for your energy protein balls. So you can use less dates and add instead cranberries, raisins, goji berries, sultanas. The same with nuts and seeds; there are so many choices you can have: macademia, sesame, lindseeds, hemp seeds. Just make sure you soak them first. You can even add some wheatgrass powder or chlorella if you feel brave!

A few benefits of the nuts and dried fruit I used in this recipe… Continue Reading…

Breakfast/ Quick meals

High protein gluten free pancakes

Gluten free pancakes

Who doesn’t like pancakes I don’t believe him. I think they can be the most amazing breakfast and so indulging as well…especially if you “soak” them in chocolate spread as we usually do. But thankfully, I have this amazing recipe which uses ricotta cheese which contains higher amounts of protein than fat (as it’s mainly made of whey cheese which is a by product of cheese making – so an amazing sustainability story:) ). I love using sprouted buckwheat flour for this as it’s gluten free and the fact that has been sprouted means the anti-nutrients have been mainly neutralized. Continue Reading…

Mains

Healthy roast chicken with spiced roast quince and parsnip

Healthy Roast chicken

You know winter is coming when the house is suddenly cold, when you go out your breath is like a mist and after a few minutes you cannot feel you cheeks, lips and ears….oh yes! I must say this reminds me of home as minus temperatures are a feature of Romanian winters (the average I would say is -10 C but we also get -40C!). So what better recipe to make you feel warm and good inside than a proper roast chicken! Mine comes with a twist: 1. this is a healthy and nutritious alternative to your usual roast chicken and 2. giving you an alternative to the less nutritious and sometimes boring roast potatoes.

This roast chicken recipe is healthier because it is not using oil when roasting meat (I know some of you don’t already so that is already great!), and it’s giving you inspiration in using some higher nutritional, in  season veggies to pack your body with that essential goodness to prepare you for the cold ahead. I am making use of what Autumn has to offer: kale, parsnips and one of my favourite autumnal fruits, quince.

HEALTH BENEFITS Continue Reading…

Breakfast

Mushroom eggs breakfast

I might be passed breakfast…almost passed lunchtime…but still wanted to share this amazing breakfast/brunch jewel…so underestimated in terms of vitamins, antioxidants and will make you want to say good bye to that fatty, greasy English Breakfast. This is a great mushroom eggs breakfast recipe.

So, why is this so good for you?! Continue Reading…