To count or not to count?

Alright, so I've never really believed that calorie counting is a very positive thing because in the past when I've become too obsessed with counting calories it has driven me mad! Food becomes numbers, and the numbers become the enemy. However, last week I had a few MAJOR evening binges so I decided to see how bad it really was, and to compare them to a 'normal' eating day. Now normally I've been eating 5 times a day, oatmeal and banana for breakfast, some fruit and carrot for a snack, sweet potato and some other veggies for lunch, fruit and cottage cheese for a snack, and some whole wheat pasta or quinoa with fish or chicken for dinner. I used to snack on almonds as well, but money is a little tight right now so I've been trying to keep my food as cheap as possible.

Anyways I made an account on MyFitnessPal, and I logged in my calories and exercise on a "crazy munchie day" (3 scones and 3 snickers bars!) which put me at about 3000 calories! But since I'm doing the #MayMuscles blogilates calendar, and going to the gym (I won a 1 month free membership!) I also worked out about 2.5 hours that day. Now logging in the workouts I do isn't quite accurate because I'm not always sure what to categorize them as, but according to my fitness pal I burned around 800 calories, making my daily total around 2200. Which isn't so bad! (especially for someone who isn't on a weight loss mission)

In comparisson, on Saturday I ate 'super healthy' in my mind, sticking to my normal food routine and did my blogilates and attended 2 classes at the gym (again about 2.5 hours working out). My food intake calories ended up being around 1000, and my burned calories about 900.. making my daily total around 100!?

Well firstly this calculator may not be totally accurate. Not all the foods I eat are perfectly listed so I just have to find what is closest, and same goes for the workouts but even if I add a margin of error it's still crazy! No wonder I was able to workout so hard last week while having my crazy evening munchies, because my body was desperately in need of that extra energy!

So my point is, calorie counting isn't always bad because you might realize (like I did) that your perception of what you are eating vs burning is completely off. Now I'm not saying I'm going to have chocolate, scones or half of an apple pie every day (yes, I baked a pie and ate half of it in one sitting...it was awesome) BUT I am definitely going to eat more!

So don't get obsessed with the numbers, but maybe log in one normal day just to get an idea of where you are and see if any adjustments should be made. And remember, calories are not by any means the only part of the food to focus on, "not all calories are created equal!" (there's a great article about the negative sides of counting calories)

Albert's Birthday

On Tuesday it was Albert's birthday, and I did everything I could to give him a super nice day!

Starting with breakfast: A fruit salad with kiwi, strawberries, peaches, banana and watermelon. A pint of freshly squeezed orange juice, some egg on rye sandwhiches and strawberry quark with peaches, strawberry and  a dollop of whipped cream. 

The rest of the day was spent in similar indulgence. Since we woke up so early (around 4-5am) we went for a morning coffee later at the look out tower and had some Finnish style donuts (munkki) and then went and played some mini-golf. Albert beat me by 1 point! But I guess it's customary to let the birthday boy win.. haha :)

We then met up with a friend and had a delicious Indian buffet at Nanda Devi. I hadn't had indian food in so long and oh boy did I miss it! I completely over-ate and felt like I could have been pushed onto my side and rolled home, but it was so worth it.

In the evening we had some cake that I baked the night before. It was sort of a 'prinsessakakku' or princess cake, vanilla cake with strawberry, raspberry and vanilla filling, marzipan, and topped off with strawberries and cream.


So no healthy recipes to be shared here, but I think an occasional indulgence is key to building a healthy and happy relationship with food :) But just as a precaution, I did run a little extra at the gym the day before in addition to my blogilates May Calendar workout, just to make sure that I wouldn't have any creeping feelings of guilt during the day. Eating always makes me happy, so right now I'm just teaching myself to let go of any guilt for an occasional over-indulgence.

This is not ice-cream and cookie dough

Happy Friday Saturday Everyone! (oops, didn't get this posted yesterday!)

So the day before yesterday was apparently the official beginning of Spring, and despite the freezing temperatures, it feels amazing that the days are getting longer!

One thing I love about Spring, especially now that I live in a country where you can really see a change, is how it pushes you back into gear. People start working out more, they embark on the oh-so-dreaded-but-amazing-once-it's-done spring cleaning, and in general seem to do (and smile!) a lot more. Sitting inside our apartment with the sun blazing in does lift my spirits, and when I'm in a good mood I'm so much more productive, and when I'm more productive I get into a better mood, such a perfect cycle! I truly believe productivity is one of the best mood lifters there is.

If I'm ever feeling really lazy and/or procrastinating on something I need to get done, I usually start by 'warming up' my productivity with a small task like doing the dishes, baking or organizing some small part of the apartment. Afterwards I get this little endorphin kick or something that makes me want to do more and get more stuff off of my plate. It's kind of like life or chores are a workout, you should always get warmed up! (unless of course you are one of those super humans who just does stuff... I so envy you people.)

So with that random little life tip, here's a little something I created today yesterday in order to jump start my productivity for the day!

The Faux Cookie-dough Ice Cream!

Step 1: The "cookie-dough"

1.5dl Cashews
0.8dl Oats
3 tbsp Agave syrup (or any syrup/honey, that's just what I had)
1 tsp vanilla extract
chocolate chips (or any flavoring you prefer)

First just blend up the oats and cashews until they become a powder, and then add in the syrup and vanilla extract and stir until combined. Then add in your toppings (I used milk and dark chocolate chips). Using your hands, roll the dough into tiny balls (you can make some bigger, not all of these will be used for the ice-cream!)

Step 2: The "ice-cream"

1 banana

Easy-peasy, just take a banana, chop it up and freeze. After freezing blend until smooth.

Step 3:

Combine the small cookie-dough balls and the ice cream, and voila! Delicious chocolate chip cookie-dough ice cream!

You can find the original recipes I used here: cookie dough and banana ice-cream


<3

Blender Addiction

My new blender is seriously one of the best gifts I received this year. Not just because it allows me to create lots of yum, but also because it has totally increased my fruit intake! And now that I've discovered the magic of green smoothies, I can sneak some veggies in too.

I basically make a smoothie every single day so it probably wouldn't be too interesting for me to post one here everyday (since usually they consist of very similar ingredients), but last week I bought a fresh pineapple for the first time in my life (I guess I had let my mum's fears of 'peeling' them transfer to myself) and I made such a delicious smoothie that I had to share.

I used about half a pineapple, 1 banana, and 1/2 can of coconut milk. It just tasted so tropical and definitely ignited my beach cravings once again, give it a try!

Mr.Blender is so pretty with his pineapple hat, yes he is!

Banana Pancakes!

Today I started off my day with my blogilates workout from the MarchMakeover calendar and then had some nice banana pancakes as a post workout snack. These are the easiest, healthiest, and possibly yummiest pancakes ever! All you need are two eggs and 1 banana. Just blend that all together and make them the way you would your regular pancakes, so easy! This recipe can be found on just about any health food blog, but trust me, they are just as delicious as regular pancakes just without all the fuss. When I make these it usually makes about 4 pancakes, this morning I just made two and put the rest of the mixture in the fridge for later/for Albert.

I like to cook mine in a little bit of coconut oil and with a dash a cinnamon. They taste perfect on their own, or do what I did and pair them with some hot banana slices, yummy!

First pancakes always break!

I added a few dark chocolate chips to the second one as an 'experiment', yum!

These photos are pretty crappy, I'm going to go ahead and blame my flu still... ;) 

Fighting the Flu

I can honestly say this weekend has been pretty miserable!

Flashback to Friday, I was having a pretty good day. I woke up and went for a long walk, and then did my daily blogilates workout which felt so excruciatingly exhausting that I was getting a little bit discouraged ("Aren't these workouts meant to get easier as I continue to do them?? Why is today so hard?!" etc). Of course the workouts are always hard, but for some reason every move felt like a mission and I was just feeling so negative. Later in the evening I felt a slight irritation in my throat. It didn't really feel sore, just a bit like I had some spit stuck in my air pipes or something. And then over night it all went downhill.

 I woke up to myself sweating like crazy, and then notice Albert next to me is shivering even though he has the whole blanket... oh boy! By the morning we were both experiencing crazy headaches, fatigue, scratchy dry coughs, and major cold sweats. It seems we managed to catch the flu :(


Yesterday (Monday) things started looking up a little, so I took advantage and went to the shop to stock up on some healthy foods! (oh did I mention Saturday was spent munching on candy, ice-cream and chocolate... oops!) I made a super immune-boosting smoothie with spinach-ginger-grapefruit-banana-mango and coconut water! And then some healthy spinach and banana muffins. It feels good to be eating better again, and it seems to be helping! Hopefully I can start working out again soon, I'm going to try and attempt that today as well.

Here are some pics of my latest green creations (yes, even through my cold sweats I just had to snap some pictures!)

 

Before posting this I actually ended up doing my workout for the day and it went great! I was taking it a little bit easier with the cardio, but I'm just so glad I was able to do it. Its funny how something so exhausting can make you feel so invigorated! Life is starting to win again.. slowly :)

Super Healthy Oatmeal Cookies!

Even more about cookies! I've found another delicious easy and healthy alternative to those munchies that we all get, this time they can be as simple as two ingredients! Bananas and oatmeal.. that's it! And if you want to make them even tastier, throw in some dried fruit pieces!

In the recipe I linked above she makes a batch in the microwave and the oven. I tried both, and preferred the oven much more, and left them in for 5 minutes extra. (I want crunch!)
 
The cookies I made the first day (I used craisins) were quite chewy all around, and reminded me more of some nutrition bars. At first I wasn't super impressed (sugar-tooth as I am) but 2 minutes later I was reaching for another one, and another one.. and another. So even though they weren't the cookie experience I was expecting, they were still a yummy, yet light alternative to regular oatmeal cookies.

I ended up making a few variations of this recipe (no photos :( ) to see if I could add  a little bit more flavor and to make them have that regular cookie crunch. The variations make the cookies slightly unhealthier, but these still remain a crazy healthy cookie option.

First variation*: 
Banana 1/2
Oatmeal 1/2 cup
Craisins
Cinnamon 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg 1/4 tsp
Vanilla essence  1/4 tsp
Coconut oil 1/2 tbs

These turned out great! They added just that little bit of extra flavour and crunch, while still tasting healthy.

Second variation*:
Banana 1/2
Oatmeal 1/2 cup
Chocolate chips (dark)
Cinnamon 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg 1/4 tsp
Vanilla essence  1/4 tsp
Coconut oil 1/2 tbs
Honey 1 tsp
Cocoa Powder  2 tsp

And even tastier! Well obviously, chocolate!! Nice crunch, sweet flavor, and they are still a much healthier option to regular cookies.

So go give these cookies a go, and experiment!

*Note: my variations were made from one batch of dough split in half. So if you decide to make both, you can just leave the chocolate chips, craisins or whatever variation you do for last.

Butter-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Check out these butter free cookies I made!

Now I know you're probably wondering.. why are they green?! No, it wasn't a Saint Patrick's day themed cookie that I dyed (although these would work well for that!) these are avocado cookies! I've been looking into a lot of healthy recipes/healthy alternatives and these were a definite hit! All you do is substitute the amount of butter in a recipe with the same amount of avocado.

My official review: I wouldn't quite call these 'cookies', the texture is a bit more cakey- but still yummy. In the original recipe I found the author said she loved to eat them frozen and I completely agree! But Albert on the other hand likes them more at room-temp, so if you make them freeze a few and see which one you prefer. Oh, and I do have to warn you that the dough is pretty hard to handle! It is soooo sticky and gooey, handling it takes a bit more effort than regular cookie dough. (this could be because my avocado wasn't big enough- you'll notice that the original poster's cookies are much greener!)

You can use avocados in so many ways! Most sites that I find recommend only replacing half of the butter with avocado, but even that makes it that much healthier. I would really love to try new things with avocados but they are quite expensive at the moment, and I have to be honest, my favorite way of eating them is just on a piece of bread with some lemon pepper so I can taste all the avocadoey goodness! But all in all this was a nice, and recommendable experiment :)

New Obession: Coconut Oil!

As the title says, I'm completely obsessed with Coconut oil right now! Really it's no surprise, I've always had a thing for coconut. In Middle/High school it started with an obsession for Bounty ice-cream. Literally, I think I ate a whole pint once a week. I also really loved coconut juice, and since I was lucky enough to be living in Malaysia, I could have them with any meal at a local or thai restaurant.

But on to my point, coconut oil! Not only is this stuff awesome to cook with, it's also super great for your skin and hair. I like to put it in my hair about an hour before I shower, seriously, it leaves my hair feeling so soft and healthy! I also use it all over my skin after I shower, even though it is a little bit oily looking, it soaks in pretty fast and once again the effects are amazing. I remember using olive oil for my hair and skin once or twice, but this is so much better! It smells way better, and isn't as hard to wash out of my hair.

So go out and purchase some organic cold pressed coconut oil, you wont regret it!

This is the one I use (from Finland) but I've transferred some into a smaller jar in the bathroom as well!

"My Mom's Spinach and Potato Stew"

So this is a little bit of a guest post from Albert! I'll be writing it but the final deliciousness was all him.

This is a recipe that Albert's mom used to make, and a few weeks ago he got her to pass it onto him. Based on the ingredients I attempted to make this for him, but of course it 'wasn't like my mom's'!  So Albert took the reigns and made it the right way and even added a little twist of his own (eggs), and the result was so good! It is the perfect winter meal!

Makes 2 servings


Ingredients:
Spinach (140g)
1 white onion finely diced (feel free to leave some bigger pieces as well)
3-5 medium sized potatoes diced
3 hard boiled eggs sliced (you can boil the eggs while the potatoes are cooking)
salt & pepper to taste (the more pepper the better!)

Put the diced onion, potatoes, salt and pepper into a pot full of water and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. When the water is boiling, turn the heat down to medium. Once the potatoes are soft, turn heat down to low, and add in the spinach. Continue cooking on low heat for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes drain most of the water (leave it more watery to enjoy as a soup) and put the food into bowls. Add in the eggs and voila! So simple, and so delicious! We had this as a light lunch, but it can also work as a great side dish.

Enjoy!

Not the most photogenic dish, but such great comfort food!

Cupcake Crazy!

So as the title of this post suggests, I went a little bit cupcake crazy this weekend! If I haven't mentioned it before, I love to cook and bake! Since I've been trying to eat a little bit more carefully and watch what I eat, I hadn't baked anything for quite a while (aside from V-Day ;) ) and I guess that partially explains the binge-baking that occurred this weekend!

I ended up baking around 24 cupcakes of three different flavors! We had red-velvet chocolate chip cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Vanilla cupcakes with a strawberry jam filling and lemony cream cheese frosting. AND Vanilla cupcakes with self-made raspberry jam and pink raspberry frosting!

These photos aren't that great, I was in a bit of a rush...  (someone has no patience when it comes to eating the finished goods!)

Heart sprinkles are not just for valentines day!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Lemon and Basil Chicken

After a weekend of birthday parties and general munching on sweet treats, I was in the mood for a yummy, but light dinner. So I decided to make a Lemon Basil Chicken from Eat Yourself Skinny. This is the second time I made this chicken and it is sooo delicious, easy, and healthy! Go check out the full recipe here, and give it a go!

I like to leave my chicken uncovered in the oven for the last 10 minutes, gives the topping some crunch!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Good morning, and happy Valentine's day! I hope everyone has a wonderful day, whether you spend it with your friends, family, that special someone, or by yourself. Today is all about showing appreciation for the people you love, and pampering yourself and those around you!



We started our day off with some English scones with whipped cream and jam, and some freshly squeezed orange juice. Such a sweet start to a sweet day :)

<3

Oven Roasted Tomato Soup

So I'm not trying to turn my blog into a food blog, but yesterday I made such a yummy soup for lunch that I felt I should share :) I hardly ever make soup, but I decided to give it a go, and it made the perfect winter time lunch, and it wasn't even very difficult.

Ingredients (about 2-3 servings) :
Tomatos (I used 5) cut into 8 pieces
2 cloves garlic, halved
1 onion, diced
300-500ml of vegetable broth
Fresh basil to taste
Rosemary
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 200 C

So just very quickly, you place the tomatoes skin down on a sheet of baking paper on an oven pan. Then you scatter the garlic, onion and basil around the tomatoes, sprinkle with some olive oil and salt and pepper. Place the pan into the oven for 35 minutes.

After the tomatoes are done cooking, pour them, and the juices around them into a pot, add the vegetable broth, a twig of rosemary and some more basil and allow them to simmer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes remove the rosemary, and blend the soup.

We had ours with some shredded mozzarella and garlic bread- but I think any kind of cream cheese/marsapone would taste great too. The original recipe I used as a reference used thyme and bay leaves instead of basil and rosemary, so don't worry about the exact spices, just use what you like and enjoy the lovely tastes and smells! :)

Fresh Salsa!

Happy Monday Everyone!

So recently I've become very into cooking and healthy eating again. This was partly kicked off by the New Year (I think a lot of people feel motivated to eat better at the start of a New Year) and also by my discovery of this super cool cooking blog Eat Yourself Skinny. The recipes are so great, not just because they tend to be very healthy, but also because they don't require too many ingredients, and therefore don't hurt my wallet too bad ;)

I'll post more about recipes inspired by Eat Yourself Skinny another day, but today I thought I'd share this recipe I used to make some fresh salsa! Fresh salsa has always been one of my favorite things at Tex-Mex/South American restaurants, but for some reason I've usually just had plain tomatoes in my own fajitas. Not today!

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes, diced
1 small red onion, diced
2 chilies, seeds removed and diced (I used 1 red, and 1 green + a few seeds for some spice!)
1 lime, juice
cilantro (lots!)
sprinkle of salt and pepper

Listening to some Manu Chao is also recommended

Just combine everything in a bowl, let it sit for a few hours (so the flavors blend) and then enjoy. We ate ours in some chicken fajitas. So delicious!

The finished product! Gorgeous colour, and full of flavour <3