Recipe - Healthy Lasagne with Spinach

Spinach Lasagne for a healthy lunch, dinner or supper.

Some people however don't eat this dish as because of its high calorific value, but don't worry  the below recipe is not caloric. Easy to make and a great lunchbox meal.

Ingredients:

• 10-12 slices of whole-wheat lasagne noodles
• 300 g fresh spinach
• 2 eggs
• 1 ball of mozzarella cheese (I didn't use it as I didn't have instead of I put more yellow cheese )
• 50 g good quality cheese
• 300 g of cottage cheese or ricotta cheese ( I used ricotta cheese )
• 1 onion
• 2 cans chopped tomatoes ( I blended 500 gram of fresh tomatoes )
• 1 clove of garlic ( one teaspoon chopped garlic )
• pepper
• salt
• Italian seasoning ( thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, basil)

Method of preparing :

1.Soak pasta in hot water add one spoon of olive oil(although the packaging is usually states that the pasta is ready for baking I always recommend soaking in warm water).

2.Use small amount coconut oil to fry finely chopped onions, add one teaspoon of chopped garlic and stir. Take off gas when caramelized.

3.Cut spinach into fine small pieces.

4.Place spinach into a bowl,add 2eggs,salt,pepper,ricotta cheese, 25gram of grated cheese, optional half mozzarella balls crushed, fried onions,remember to fluff the eggs. Mix thoroughly.

5. In a separate bowl, add canned tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, pepper. Mix thoroughly.

6.Set  oven for 350c.

7.Pour half "tomato sauce", which we have just prepared into bakeware, place the pasta sheets, after  thick layer of spinach. Cover the pasta, add another layer of spinach. The last layer will consist of lasagna noodles.

8.Pour the tomato sauce and 25 g of cheese on top.

9.Bake for about 40-45 minutes.

I hope that you will like it :-)

Why eating breakfast its important.

Very often we ignore the first meal of the day, forgetting that it is the most important meal.

Breakfast is best eaten 30 minutes after waking up, its provides strength and energy for the whole day, stimulates our bodies and minds, further improves our mood. We must therefore focus our attention at what we should be eating. Meals need to be healthy, so that we have enough energy for the whole day. Those of us who count calories, don't  worry because the day is very long and what we eat in the morning we would have already been burnt off. Eating very little breakfast or not, has a negative result  in overeating at night. Habit that can lead to obesity, as well as continuous irritability, mood swings and feeling unwell.

Without eating breakfast we are more irritable and more prone to stress, easily nervous, we are also less productive. Although we wake up rested, quickly we start to feel tired and this state may persist even into the evening. As we can see not eating breakfast brings only negative effects.

Remember that your breakfast should be full blown meal containing carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Your breakfast should be wholesome and constitute 25-30% of your daily caloric requirement.

What to avoid:

- Sweetened cereals ( instead of eat whole grain oats or make your own healthy muesli) )
- Greasy sausages, hams and other products rich in fat
- White bread ( instead of eat brown )
- Cakes and pastries
- Juice from the store
- Sweetened drinks
- Hot chocolate
- Sugar

We should eat:

- Eggs in various forms, it can be an omelette, scrambled eggs, soft-boiled egg
- Brown bread
- Cottage cheese
- Fruit
- Vegetables
- Skim milk
- Natural  or Greek yoghurt
- Freshly squeezed juice

Below are examples of a healthy breakfast ( found on the internet ).

Bon Appetite:-)

Recipe - healthy, sweet chia dessert

If you fancy drinking something healthy, sweet and light. I have just the recipe for you. Its quick and easy to make as well.

Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons of Chia seed.
• 4 teaspoons of milk or Almond/Coconut milk.
• 3-4 teaspoons of water.
• In addition, If you have a liking for very sweet desserts,  you can add xylitol or other healthy sugar substitutes, 
• My preference is one teaspoon of honey.
• 10 strawberries.
• Optional blueberries.
• Optional mango slices.

Method of preparing:

1. Pour chia seeds  into a bowl, add milk, water and mix thoroughly. Leave standing in refrigerator for an hour or overnight.

2. Mix the strawberries with sugar substitute ( Maximum of 1 tablespoon).

3. Once chia seed are soft from soaking pour into jar, cup or glass.

4.  "my choice" Using Nutribullet or any other suitable blender to blend fruits.Place strawberries/blueberries juice on top of already poured chia mix.

That`s one hell of an impressive looking dessert! Great talking point in parties!.

Do you know of any healthy dessert ? Please share with me.

Healthy coffee alternative

Who doesn`t like coffee?

Coffee smells great and taste lovely. Known to stimulate, increase concentration and speed up metabolism. Coffee has an invigorating effect on us, but not good for us in large quantities.

I used to drink three coffees a day and decided to change. Nowadays I drink only 1 cup in the morning but during the day I still miss taste of coffee. I am not fan of Non caffeine coffee, therefore I was looking for a more healthier option to drink but taste similar to coffee. In UK I used to drink chicory coffee. I have been searching local healthy shops but no luck so far, but then I  found the below coffee two weeks ago in Walmart. Its 100% caffeine free. Pero instant natural beverage contains: Barley, Malted Barley, Chicory, Rye. Inexpensive at $6 for 200g.

I love this alternative coffee, it tastes good. It contains none of the stimulants associated with coffee and tea. It is also a rich source of antioxidants. In coffee cereal you find grain rye, barley and wheat .Cereals help in digestion and are a great source of many nutrients, including important trace elements as: magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, iron, vitamins (especially B group), carbohydrates and dietary fiber which speed up metabolism and reduces the feeling of hunger.
Grain coffee contains no caffeine and is not an addictive as "normal" coffee is. For the same reason, coffee can be drunk throughout the day, whenever you feel like it.

Another alternative to coffee is Yerba Mate or Green tea .

What kind of health coffee alternative do you drinking ?

Recipe - Almonds with Cinnamon

Few months ago I decided to limit my sweet intake.It was hard for the first week , after that it got easier. Now I prefer to eat more healthy sweet alternatives. Today I will share with you with an easy and fast to make recipe as an alternative to sweet! "Sweets Almonds"

Ingredients:

Almonds
Cinnamon
Honey

Method for preparing:
Place honey and cinnamon in a bowl and mix well, add almonds and mix again. Spread the almonds on baking sheet or oven proof dish. Bake in oven at 350c for around10-15 minutes, Remove from oven, separate them from paper as they will be slightly sticky, Serve in  dish or bowl.

Almonds are sweet, crunchy and tasty. A great Snack ( be wary they are very addictive :-))

Do you know of any healthy sweet snack? Please share with me.

Recipe-Red lentil soup

Red lentil soup is a great option for autumn dinners. This due to the content of healthy lentils, rich in nutrients and also spices that have warming properties.

Soups contain many valuable nutritional properties such as: carbohydrates and minerals. rich in B & E vitamins or beta-carotene.

Also fibre which stimulates appetite and  assists in fighting hunger cravings.

Below are cooking and ingredient steps to delicious  bowl of soup: Red lentil soup

Components:

1 cup red lentils
1.5 tablespoons of masala -I used 2 different kind of masala

1 tablespoon of turmeric powder
1 can of peeled tomatoes
1 can of coconut milk
1.5 l vegetable broth
2 teaspoons salt

Cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon coconut oil 

Method for preparing:
Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan. Add garam masala, turmeric powder (easily sourced from your local Indian stores), pepper, salt and mix thoroughly.
Add the chopped tomatoes, broth, rinsed lentils and cook until lentils begin to crumble/soften.
At the end, add coconut milk and bring to the boil for 2 minutes.
Before serving the soup, blend to get  a creamy consistency. ( I always use Nutribullet for this step).

Today was the first time I cooked this type of soup and it is delicious !!

Juicer, is it worth it?

Freshly squeezed juices are very popular nowadays. Especially for people who appreciate healthy lifestyle. The shelves of supermarkets are full of readymade juices, but despite assurances of manufacturers, they are not as healthy and tasty as prepared at home.

Health authorities recommend we should consume 6-8 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Producing Juice drinks is an effective way to virtually guarantee that we will achieve our daily target.

Unfortunately I decided to leave my Juice maker  in UK, due to the electrical wattage variance to USA .I missed my own home made juices and at the beginning I was purchasing  ready made "healthy juices"  from health shops, found them quite expensive. Last week  decided to purchase new juicer from Best Buy for $68 as the product  was on offer. I was so excited, same day I quickly grabbed the vegetables I had in the fridge  and made my own fresh, healthy juice . A fantastic feeling.

Advantages of drinking squeezed juices:

• No additives enhancers.
• We know what`s in the drinks.
• Countless varieties of flavour combinations, you can change the ingredients, adjust portion sizes.
• With additives such as: flaxseed ,chia juices can be made even healthier.
• Drinking freshly squeezed juices are rich in vitamin and minerals.

After using the juicer for a week, am content with the product .Its simple to set up and use. Extracts well, powerful and fast, also it  is light enough to move in and out of a cupboard. Rubber feet, suction cups are extremely strong, there is no chance of the equipment vibrating itself during the making of juices. Easy to wash ( I always wash immediately after use). Cleaning process is made easier by the fact that the removable parts are dishwasher safe and a cleaning brush supplied.

Making juice is low time consuming, just wash fruit or vegetables and insert them into the juicer. I enjoy experimenting with new flavours, I try to add  new components. My absolute favourite is the juice of apples, celery, pears and spinach. I am making juices for purifying, strengthening and to help sustain weight.

What about You? Do you like to make your own fresh juices? or prefer to buy ready made?

If you know some cool recipes for juices please feel free to share with me:-)