Recipe: Healthy snack or an alternative way of eating frittata

It's been a while since I had been posting my food experiments, but that does not mean that I was making them - in contrary, I have been more active than ever mixing, matching, adding and experimenting.
One of my easiest, fastest preparing discovery of all time was an Egg&Mushroom frittata healthy snack which can be easily brought to work with you as it is divided by single muffin molds. Clever, huh?

Alternative firttata - divided by muffin molds

My combination of this frittata was basically all the things I like mixed together.
Ingredients:
Zucchini+canned champignons mushrooms (normal, not in the oil ones), red tomatoes (you can also use red bell pepper if don't like tomatoes) + eggs+spices.
Preparation:
1. Whisk/ beat eggs add all ingredients cut/sliced and spices.
(you have 2 options - can put the mixture directly in molds and pour over eggs or mix all together. as you prefer. I have tried both and both works).
2. Pour in the muffin tins/molds
3. put in the pre-heated oven for 30 min in 200C° or till golden and poufy.
4. Voilà! Ready!

Put all ingredients in the muffin molds

I mixed mushrooms, zucchini and tomatoes

pour over whisked eggs

put in the oven for 30 minutes or till gets poufy and golden brown crust appears

Nom,Nom! ready to eat!
Easy-peasy, healthy and fast! 

7 Fast and healthy lunch recipes for busy people

I have always liked to cook, bake and experiment but when it comes to lunch it is pretty difficult to prepare a masterpiece during working week especially for a busy working girls always on a run.
In order to stick to eating healthy and swap away those boring supermarket salads for a home made meal  to make your lunch meals diverse but the same time healthy.
So here comes my one week in a pictures of different meals for lunch breaks.

Monday - Simmental and Bulgur+Quinoa salad

Bulgur Guinoa and Simmental (canned meat) 

I really love Simmental (Italian brand for meat in gelatin). low fat and rich with protein. (No wonder they sponsor Italian National Football team as they are supporting athletes).
in their homepage they have several, nice recipes. (unfortunately only in Italian).
Kcal - 221, Protein 16g, fat - 3, Carbs - 32

Recipe: Infused water - watermelon+mint+lemon

Day 3: I finished cucumbers so substituted it with watermelon. Must say it is really refreshing and nice, and slightly sweeter as watermelon has slightly more sugar - but the effect is still the same.
try it!

Infused water 

Recipe/Experiment: Infused water - lemon, cucumber and mint

This week I have started a new challenge which should help me to get ready for the beach in 3 weeks.
I have heard and tried several infused water recipes and teas already (check my previous blog post about Water benefits here) , but this week I want to try 10 day detox water cure to be pure inside and out.

Yesterday started Infused Water experiment and gulping down 2l of Lemon, Cucumber and Mint water per day. (For those who are not used to drink so much water it might sound a lot, but actually it isn't that hard at all as long as you divide it as following: 1 l till 14:00 and other half till bedtime, plus if you drink it from a glass it becomes a lot easier as seems a lot of smaller amounts)!

Recipe: Easy, fast and halthy Carrot-protein muffins

As on a every good Sunday I am having my experimental cookout! this time I had to get rid of carrots so I decided to make a Carrot Muffins.
it is really easy, healthy and fast.

Here comes recipe!

Travel: Heading South - Naples review PART II

Second part of my trip leads us to the famous Naples - the capital in South of Italy.

Something you must live yourself to catch the feeling because they are so different depending on the people, expectations and experience and what pictures cannot describe is how the city makes you feel.

if you like busy life, nonstop movement, voices, sounds and unorganized things - you will feel like fish in the water. for me it was a chaos which was hard to adopt to at the first place as i was not imagining the city to be like not even close.

See for yourself some things that caught my and Wall-Egi eye :)

Neapolitan traditional mask

Recipe: fast and healthy alternative coconut cookies

Easter is finished and this working week is almost done as well (here in Italy we have a national holiday on Friday), so woo-hoo another long weekend :)
Apart from typical egg coloring, egg fights, swinging to avoid those annoying mosquito attacks this summer and Easter lunch with my friends I also made some slightly alternative cookies as well. cookies made from white beans and coco. super fast, easy and tasty.

so all you need is:

Tips of using Herbs in your dishes

Yesterday was "Green Thursday" as per Latvian tradition so here is some "green tips" for your daily dishes that you might find really useful.

The ones who are following me on Instagram already saw a nice dinner surprise I had with a healthy food and a little bit of imagination, but here it is again - red pepper and egg flowers. easy to make and looks lovely :) 

red and yellow pepper - egg flowers

Recipe: Coconut Berry (protein) Whities

As Sunday is my only free day of the week I try to do the things that makes me happy, like experimenting with healthy food recipes and travel. where I went this Sunday will write about in my next post:) but now will share my awesome, new healthy snack recipe: Coconut Berry Whieties.(actually whities is not a real word, but if there is a brownie, why there cannot be a whitie ? :)

so this recipe is really easy and fast and super healthy. so all you need is (love :) ):

Ingredients: 

1 cup Greek yogurt (i use without tastes but can try different)

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (same here - taste as u prefer)

1 cup coconut flour 

1 handful fresh blueberries 

1 handful red berries (mixed)

2 tbsp almond milk (syrup - really low on calories. original recipe asked for Maple Leave syrup, but i prefer something less cloric. this one has just 51 kcal per 100g)

a hint of vanilla and a little bit of stevia 

Mix together, put in a dish or forms ( i used silicone muffin molds) and freeze it overnight - voilà! it's ready! :) 

Nom-nom :) 

ingredients

Recipe: Apple-cinnamon oat muffins

Bonjour! :) It's Friday! ^_^

as promised, here comes the 2nd part of my baking-muffin-frenzy from last weekend! this time without protein powder but still really healthy and low on calories! so try it! 

INGREDIENTS:

1 egg

1 glass of milk

2 glasses of flour

1 glass of oat flakes* 

3 tbsp olive or coconut oil

0,5 glass brown sugar

1,5 big apple

1 tsp baking powder

0,5 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

a hint of vanilla extract (i put vanilla to everything for a smell :) )

*(can use whatever type you prefer. i usually use flakes and roast them on a pan before till they get golden - just like in muesli, but can be also blended or powder type)

the result: Cupcakes

STEP ONE: Mix all ingredients together. Chop really small pieces apple before)

STEP TWO: put 2/3 of the baking forms. (I always put the muffin papers as well to 

 STEP THREE: pre-heat the own to 200°C. put them baking for 20min. do not open the doors in first 15min. otherwise they won't grow if the cold air will get in.

Apple cinnamon muffins

and voilà! we have a delicious muffins! fast, healthy and perfect for a breakfast! and if have time and patience you ca start decorating them and making toppings. I used nutella and colorful sprinkles for diversity.

ENJOY! :)

Recipe: Chocolate Oat flake protein muffins

I know I have been lately been pretty busy as always in a rush so I had no time posing anything here apart recipes :S

so this time will write another recipe, just because I received  personal request for it! :)

so here you go: Protein Muffins and Cupcakes:

this is my result : super delicious Chocolate 

Protein  chocolate and oat flake muffins

 INGREDIENTS: 

45ml olive oil
2 egg whites
125ml milk (soy, low fat, normal  as you prefer)
65gr whole flake oats
1 scoop protein powder (I use vanilla one)
30gr unsweetened cocoa powder
50gr brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
0,5 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
60gr chocolate (70% dark one) HOWEVER, as i am not fan of chocolate I used chopped apple instead)

 Step one: MIX everything together. (but don't over-mix it, just enough to make it smooth the pastry)

 Step two: prepare the molds (I always put in papers so less work afterwords in cleaning up and looks nicer too). Heat up the own to 200° C

 Step Three: put it in the oven for 20 min. NOTE! do not open it in first 15min, otherwise it won't grow.

 Step four: Check it with a match or toothpick if it is ready and the pastry is not sticking to it. if not - you are done! take care of not overcooking otehrwise it  will become too dry.

and voilà! we are done! we can enjoy a delicious protein protein rich muffins!

teaspoon. so that's not enough so don't worry if put more than 1 full tsp or even slightly more, the result can be just better).

enjoy!

P.S. for the one's not using protein powder will post later on the 2nd part on Friday midnight's baking frenzy : a recipe with Oat Apple Muffins! :) still healthy and super delicious!

here is a preview for the outcome for my Brunch i was baking them for next day :) 

Recipe: Protein Pancakes

Since i was a kid Sunday's for me have always associated with the smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen where mom is baking them! :)) you just now that the day will be just amazing after eating a hot pancake covered with a homemade strawberry or apple jam ^_^ sooo delicious.

but as I have turned a little bit more to the healthier cooking and lifestyle than I decided to improve also my pancakes with some more healthier and less caloric ingredients, so I tried my hand in baking Protein pancakes.

Must say the result as De-Li-Ci-Ous! ^_^ and it is soo easy and fast! check it out! :

You will need

INGREDIENTS:

40g (2/4 cup) oats (you can used a oats already grinded or oat flakes and then just blend them)

1 mashed (blended) banana

2 egg whites

2 scoops (~50g) vanilla protein powder (here you can choose whichever taste you want) (or 1/3 of a cup of Greek yogurt if not using protein) 

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

2 tablespoons of water/milk (the more you will p ut it the lighter and thiner they will be)

1 teaspoon of Baking powder

a hint of vanilla (i put vanilla to everything)

COOKING

Mix together the banana, oats, protein powder, egg white, cinnamon and water to make a paste (use a fork) 

Cut and than blend/mash banana

than mix everything else together

Put on a non-sticking pan to cook them as a regular pancakes! 

it takes approx 2min for each side! and you are done!  and serve it with fruits and berries by your taste! :) this was my  happy summer-pancakes:) enjoy while it's hot!
how about you?

P.S.

utritional Info

This information is per serving for pancakes only.

• Calories
  240Kcal
• Carbs
  27g
• Protein
  27g
• Fat
  2g

Water! Drink it up!

Water! we all need it as an air we breath to stay alive, to stay toned, stay fit and even get slimmer!
so here are some educational pictures what water does to you! so drink your daily water, stay active and have fun :)

water is what makes me happy

Actually all forms of water makes me happy- shower, lake, beach, rain, ocean or even swimming pool!

Drink your water! at least 2l per day

Yes to water! stay hydrated! giving enough water increases your imune system, makes your skin look better, cleans your organism, gives you energy and fills you up when start having a food-craving-attacks right before lunch (Always happens to me! ) so good idea is than to drink a warm water with a lemon to understand weather you are really hungry or just thirsty (or bored. mostly we eat when we are bored).

 

some insparational water ideas

 why not spice up and color your water with some fruits and Leaves? I Always do that! especially in summer! tastes soo nice! and it will kill your craving for some bubbly, sugary drink that would give you those extra calories you really don't want nor need!

this is what i made this other day - blueberry-mango-strawberry water

this was my water of the day : lime and strawberries
 

and this lime and red currant water

DID YOU KNOW about Water weight?

 READ this about water and putting on weight! this made me think twice!
so did you drink your 2l already today? :)

 



Recipe: 25 Baked Alternatives to patatoe chips and french fries

Woo hooo in Friday! :)
to make this day even better I am going to share with you some real cool recipes - alternatives to all those bad snacks you may find in typical aperetivos! so if planning to make a home party or inviting friends over and do not know what to offer them, I reccomend to try this! sooo much more healtier and realllyyyy good!
I accidentaly found these 25 recipes and they amazed me! check them out here!

I am making zucchini and Apple-cinnamon this weekend:) what about you?

p.s. great saubstitution to JUNK FOOD! :D (yes! the NO-Junk-Food Challenge is still on! Keep going! )

 

Recipe: frozen, healthy and sweet snack

Remember the No-Junk-Food Challange?
well, I am sticking to it! so in order to substitute a delicious cone of gelato (which is pretty difficult to do while living in Italy - the paradise of gelato. and what makes matters worse - its been really hot. so resisting some ice cold, sweet temptation is even harder..)
So to stick to my innitial challange I found this awesome snack recipe of grapes and greek yogurt:)

You will need:

Greek yogurt 120 - 170g (depending how much you want to make. I used plain, but can choose a taste as you prefer.)
Seedless grapes (your choice)

PREPARATION:

just 3 steps:

1. wash and dry grapes and remove stems. Using a toothpick, pierce a grape and dip it in the yogurt until it is evently coated. repeat that with as many grapes you want.

2. Place the grapes in container covered with a wax paper (for baking). put them seperately otherwise they will stick together (like mine did :D forming a huge popsicle. but that can be also a possibility - making a posicles out of them. .hmmmmm :))
to make them look nicer, i sprinkled over some colorful decoration.

3.freeze the grapes overnight and voilà! you have a frozen, healthy treat!

BTW, need to eat them immediately, as the yogurt will start to melt within 5 minutes. so enjoy at home or a place with a freezer nearby.

 

Tips and tricks to stay in shape and stick to your diet

Hello in August everyone :)  - the month of vacations, beach,sun, fun and parties. however, we shouldn't forget also about eating right and having a physical activities.. I know, I know, gyms are closed and heat is sucking the last will out of us to do any sporty activities, but still! let's try to focus here and try to stay in shape, so when September arrives we do not have to kill ourselves in hard work-out routines in gym or starve.

Here are some useful tips and tricks I learned from my fitness trainer, nutritionist and mother Google. Maybe it will help you too. (Not going to describe you diet plans, just want to share with you some of advice I learnt lately and felt the need to pass them as they helped me as well.)

•  calculate your daily calories maintenance level(don't trust the generic ones which asks for your height and weight), try this one for more accurate results;
• calculate your protein intake - click here;

Ideal Daily Protein Intake: 0.8-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
1 gram of protein contains 4 calories

remember that Protein deficit slows down your methabolism, make you lose muscles and person starts to gain weight and get's fat.

• calculate your daily fat (yes, you heard read me) is necessary for a normal body function, as long as yo uare not taking it too much and is the "right fat" - click here;

Ideal Daily Fat Intake: 20-30% of your total calorie intake.
1 gram of fat contains 9 calories

• calculate your daily carbs inatke: clik here or just

Total Calorie Intake – Calories From Protein & Fat = Calories From Carbs

 1 gram of carbs contains 4 calories

To lose weight, the most healthiest way (not supporting crazy diets, starving, or something that is not getting along with my lifestyle. As a wise person once wrote - the diet and work out should be arranged in your daily life not your life sould be arranged according to it), is to lose -20% of your daily calories.

The Ideal Daily Caloric Deficit: 20% below maintenance level per day.

to sum up you should make a list, or 2 if you prefer, with your ideal daily calories, protein, carbs and fat intake, if just want to stay in shape and follow up what you eat and/or the list in order to lose some weight.
also reccomending to read carefully the page, there is some great explanations what is what, why it is helpful,useful in really understandable way.

and than you just have to try to stick on your terms. if you want to be more accurate and write down all the stuff you are putting in your mouth (and trust me, it will shock you, once you will, becasue we tend to eat a lot more than we think, telling you from my experience), than the best way, i have found so far is to keep on track of it.
a good solution is this one - it is an online page as well as an application in your phone where you can record everything you eat, make your goals, write down your exercises etc.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
(however, I personally found out that my reccomended daily calorie intake was too low and I would probably ending up eating a table, by the end of the day, so I prefered to calculate it my way (see above). but still a good way to keep on track with stuff you eat so try it yourself if it is suiting you. (I am currently using it, but knowing my laziness, I believe that unfortuantely this will end in 2 weeks)..

..for this reason I have also made myself 4 different food menus which I am sticking to and that can  be combined, varied and changed so you don't get bored with your meals and still enjoy them and still stick to your goals whatever it is  - maintaing you weight, loosing it, or gaining some.

• of course, snacks and some cheat meals are OK  as long as you are not going wild and not making them too often. (we all have birthdays, gatherings, parties and well, some weak moments, lets be honest, when you jsut want something sugary).
• I have some real nice, sweet, low calorie recipes to share with you as well from my trainer which I am going to share with you some other post as I need to translate them from Latvian :) however, Latvians or who understand Latvian :) click here. I personally tried the Health Muesli with oranges and I must say it tasted great as well as perfect snack after gym. next week is coming up my bf's bday so planing to make a Strawberry - yogurt cake (just 102 kcal per 100g). so will try to document this moment as well! :) should look like this.. :

GYM - Workout - getting active

This is really important part, as we all know that being active is not just fashionable but it is a necesity to stay in a good shape, look good, feel good and have a good health.so the best thing to do is to try to be active, moving, takign part of some lessons, make it part of your free time activities, etc. like:

• taking stairs instead of escalor, elevator (it is a great calorie burner as well!! so every minute you burn a calory. so imagine if in a day you take together 5minutes of stairs burning 5kcal per minute it is already 5min x 5kcal = 25 kcal burned.  :) )
• doing homeworks (cleaning, cooking, organizing, hoovering,washing,etc.) you burn 160 kcal per hour
• going for a walk burns 280kcal/h, so just go for a walk with your friends instead of staying in on couch
• dancing - 400kcal/h (personal my favorite - great way to to get your spirits back is to dance the night away, have fun and to socialize and make your new shoes more comfy - so everyone is a winner)
• riding a bicycle - well that's an awesome workout 600kcal/h in fast speed
• swimming - 600kcal/h (so let's go to a beachhhhhhhhhhh! ) ^ ^

doesn't Kate Moss look amazing? a motivational poster :P

these are just few, but as you see everything you are doing,yes,even sleeping and thinking, burns kcal, so you just have to get up and start moving and summer is the best time to do that. call up your friends and hop in a train to the closest beach, lake, organize a bike ride, go for a walk, take the stairs, go dancing - there are endless possibilities to stay fit and even lose some weight even if you a hate gym and doing exercises.


than there are some really good advice I learned about what to do and eat before training and after it - so called Pre and Post  workout Nutrition. (see more here), but below you will find some of my trainers suggestions:
Nutrition Before training

1. EAT -  Protein - Carbohydrates (at least 2-1 h before)
2. Drink cup of black coffee 30min. before workout (will give you energy and tonification for 2h and help to burn calories)
3. Drink a glass of water right before the training
4. Avoid - Fat (or not more than 3gr)

During the training do not forget to drink plenty of water - 1 l per hour, drinking by small sips.

Nutrition After training:

1. you should eat right right after training first 20-30minutes. if you will not eat anything next 2 h, your workout will use the sense.
2. you have to take again protein and Carbohydrates not fat. (anything sweet you eat right after, even sugar, will not go right to your belly fat, so this is the time when to eat something really sugary and get a benefit out of it.

For the protein would be the best solution of Protein shake for those who cannot eat anything right after workout (but for choosing Protein you should better consultate with your nutritionist or do some good research on whey protein.)

the best thing would be to drink some sweet juices: grape 38g (155kcal) or cranberry 31g(115kcal) juice (better organic).
I could not find non of both near my gym, but I found this nice solution - Fruit Sticks 40g pack contains 28g (121kcal), so i substituted. and let me just say you - it also tastes good. check it out here:


Na-nature addicts - fruit sticks

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I think these tips are enough for a beginning building a healthier eating plan or just improving the one you already have.

Will keep you posted and hope it will be useful a bit ;)
Stay inspired and stay active! It's all about moving and striving for better results!

Challenge: No Junk Food

Yes! you heard me! let's cut out all junk food for 21 days! and YES, i know it is a summer and a big, delicious ice cream is a must! BUT ask yourself, how badly you want to change something in your life and get you in shape! so why not try this!?
Here's what you have to do!

easy, right? :) (originally posted by Stephanie. check her blog here :) )
OH, and I would add also NO ALCOHOL! (waaaayyy too much calories and sugar!)
well it's easier to write than do, right? but I want to look good at beach, don't you? :P

so on this positive note I accept my no-junk-food challange! to make it more fun, will keep on experimenting and trying to replace junk food with a healthy BUT delicious foods and will share recipes as well! :)
ALSO. to follow up and realize all the snacks I eat per day that shouldn't be there, I made a Junk Food table to follow up my progress. (actually, my brother sent me his table, I just updated it! :) so if want to see how much you are eating between meals and how much kcal that are total, just print it out, put it on the wall in your kitchen or take it with you (like at your workplace, like ai am doing - because that's the place where the temptation is the strongest! :O all meetings and coffee invitations and international sweets..brrrr..tough to resist when a client comes with big box of macarons.but i am trying my best! and this is giving me extra motivation! ) and start tracking your progress. to know how much calories are your snack is worth, I am using calory calculator by My Fitness Pal. really like it because it has also  nutrition facts! check it out here! ! :) included also comment if I worked out or not (to not feel that guilty that I just take calories and not burn them).

last but not least! PRINT IT OUT and put it on your fridge! :)