Holy oven!

You might have thought the blog was kind of dead... But it isn't! True that it has been quiet for personal reasons, holidays, laziness... But again I have something to share with you and I couldn't wait to post it! It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm visiting Emma next weekend in Paris and I'm scared of our inevitable blog meeting... :-S

One of my favourite blogging-topics is cooking, especially if it's related to a healthy lifestyle, and even better if I can share something that would spare you some time in the kitchen!

Yes, I guess you know I'd like to talk about the oven, this incredible machine! For years I thought (as many people) that the only things you could get from an oven are creamy and sweet cakes full of sugar, chocolate muffins, fetty pizzas, delicious but rich-in-calories quiches (at Emma's place), cheesy gratin pasta, etc etc etc... I couldn't be more mistaken!

Since I started my healthier cooking habits, and adding vegetables to all my meals, the oven has become my closest friend in the kitchen! (well just after Eva, my flatmate!). I didn't have to buy a book "oven recipes for singles" or anything like that! What I do is soooo simple, you might think I'm wasting blog space! I preheat the oven, I put 2 drops of olive oil on an oven dish, and I just put vegetables on it! No preparation, just peppers, eggplants, onions, tomatos, zucchinis... Sometimes I don't even cut them into pieces! I let them roast for 30-40minutes and they are done! I love them with a little bit of salt, olive oil and rosemary, on a slice of bread. When I don't finish everything, I boil some rice or quinoa and I add the veggies to it, for my lunch on the next day. Can you think of something healthier??? It's delicious and you can watch TV, have a shower, play with your dog, while preparing the dinner!

My friend Olga, who also shares this veggie-roasting obsession, brought me last week a new veggetable/ root/ thing, absolutely new for me: topinambur. Do you know what it is? It looks like something between a potato and ginger, and after being roasted it tastes like an artichoke! No joking! I love it!

And if you want healthy snacks, you can make chips! The sweet potato chips are my favourite, you just have to cut them into thin slices and put them on an oven tray. The oven shouldn't be too hot, under 100 degrees, and it will take a couple of hours, but again you can leave it there and do something else.

I hope I could help you find another healthy dinner option, I know it's sometimes difficult! Enjoy!

Summer is coming... it is time to DETOX

A few months ago, my boyfriend wanted to embark on a detox cure, trying to include more alkaline food in our meals. Well, I did not know anything at all about this. I just knew that at this point of time, I was not quite fitting in my favorite clothes and with summer ahead of us my diets were certainly not the healthiest I could boast of. So I thought, Why not? Let's try!

The cure duration lasted one month. And it was so liberating, I lost seven kilos, I feel so much better now. This must sound hippy, MY BODY IS GREATFULL TO ME! And I get to do new shopping again, because well all my clothes are now too big :) 

We followed a program from a German website.

http://www.zentrum-der-gesundheit.de/basische-rezepte.html

Based on my experience, I will share with you a few lessons.

1. No Bread No Diary Products.... No Cheese

YES, you heard no cheese, no bread. For me, a French girl, this was (and is) the hardest. I was a cheese junky. No diary means no yogurt, no milk, and no butter... Now I am eating cheese again... like a normal person.

The Ersatz: for yogurt, you may, from time-to-time, try Soya Yogurt. It is very tasty. To cook, use plant-based oil, such a coconut oil.

2. No Coffee, No Black Tea, No Soda

These drinks are full of acids, which is not ideal for your body. When you feel sleepy, what you need is either vitamins or a nap. The first few days of detox may be challenging because you are addicted to these beverages and everyone around you drinks them.

The Ersatz: green tea, jasmine tea, herbal tea, and my favorite ginger and lemon in hot water

3. Breakfast

Start with Millet, buckwheat, and cereal-based “seeds porridge”. Warning:  It’s not going to be love at first bite. I usually add a fruit to give it more taste. Then, I take a ginger/lemon infusion. 

4. Lunch and Dinner

One of them needs to be 100% veggie: soup, salad, cooked veggies. Whatever you like! –as long as they are veggies. No meat/fish for all your meals; once or twice a week should be more than enough; you don’t need to be a vegetarian to do a detox.

For the other meal, I would follow one of the recipes from this website.

http://www.zentrum-der-gesundheit.de/basische-rezepte.html

[Apologies, it is in German]

Tip:  Just cook chez vous. Avoid pre-cooked meals, burgers, ready-made sauces etc. Cook what you like and do it from scratch with organic products. Simply by doing, you are removing conservatives and unhealthy stuff that exists in those products.

5. What about snacks?

Of course, you may snack, and when you do: have a fruit (ex: apple), or nuts! No worries. You won't get nut! And once in a while why not a little bit of super dark chocolate?

6. Alcohol?

Since month without cheese is hard enough, a month without alcohol would be torture. I did have some wine in the weekend. It is up to you. If you want to do it hardcore, No alcohol.

Ready? Go for it! You won't regret - just take your time, plan for the start of an interesting detox experience and CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

What are Chia seeds and why you should add them to your diet?

Some months ago I set myself the goal of eating healthier. You can call it hobby, or call it obsession, but I love finding new foods to add superhealthy nutrients to my diet. You have seen my posts about the BIO obsession, and I also explained my first (and last) bad experience with ginger (we are friends again). My last discovery are the chia seeds. I've been adding them to some of my meals and a lot of people asked me what are these black disgusting grains. I thought it was time to write a post about this amazing food!

Health benefits of chia seeds:
- source of omega 3 (helps to reduce bad cholesterol)
- protein
- fiber
- satiating effects
- antioxidants (against free radicals, aging and cancer)
- calcium (good for your bones and teeth!)
- potassium
- magnesium
- manganese
- phosphorous
- stabilizing effect on blood sugar (insulin level regulation)

But (!):
- it's extremely expensive (13euro per 450g in the BIO shop, no kidding)
- it has almost no taste (in my opinion)
- you shouldn't eat more than 28grams a day (too much fiber can harm your stomach)

Ideas to include chia seeds in your meals:
- mix it with cereal
- make healthy pancakes (with one banana, one egg, one teaspoon chia seeds)
- add some to your salads
- egg substitute for baking (1tbs chia seeds and 3 tbs water and let sit for 15 min) (I've never tasted it, but I will and I will post it!)
- add some seeds to your milkshakes

How to cook Swiss chard (en), Mangold (De), Blette (Fr), Acelga (Sp)

Every week I receive a Bio Food Basket- I get delivered some vegetables and fruits for the week. The company propose a selection of products which are local and fair. With this I know that I get good quality, new tastes and I can make comme new experiments. Sometime a vegatable that I don't know enters my life like this one:

The Unknow Vegetable

It is called Swiss chard (en), or Mangold (De) or Blette (Fr) or Acelga (Sp). It tastes a little bit like spinach.

Hopefully I get some receipe with the basket and I just have to follow the instruction. So what I did with it?

Ingredient:
Oignons
Sour Cream
Swiss chard (en), Mangold (De), Blette (Fr), Acelga (Sp)
Gnocchis

Cut the white part of the Swiss chard (en), Mangold (De), Blette (Fr), Acelga (Sp) apart from the green part. Then cut the white part is small piece. Cut also the oignons and Garlic. Make them all cook in a pan with butter. When they look ready, e.g cooked, add the cream in the pan. Be carefull not to have the fire to hot. Them had the green leaves in small pieces and let them cook slowly in the sauce. Add Salt, Pepper and other tasty spices you like.
In the meatime, cook the Gnochis as written on the packing.
When the sauce is ready, add the Gnocchis into it, let them cook together for a few minutes. And the tasty meal is done.

It is delicious, local and cheap! Enjoy!

The result- Some Delicious Gnockies

Very important information if you have never cooked with ginger!

Last week I went to my favourite restaurant in Bremen and ordered a pumkin soup. Well, the Germans call it soup, I would call it purée, since it had a dense texture. Anyway, it was delicious!!! I make this soup very often at home, but it tasted much better at the restaurant. I realized it had an ingredient that I never use: ginger!

I have drunk ginger tea many times and I've read dozens of articles talking about its many healthy properties:
- antioxidant
- improves blood flow
- it stops nausea or sickness
- perfect remedy if you have a cold or sinusitis
- remedy against pain
- digestive
- fat burner
- ... wow amazing, huh?

I was so excited about this experience that on the next day I bought a huge piece of ginger and some veggies, and I run home to prepare the soup! Before I started I googled about ginger once again and read it could have a sweet but also "strong" flavour...


Ingredients: zucchini, ginger, onion, carrot, milk, cheese, salt 

I had never cooked ginger but it looks like a potato, doesn't it? (yes, the ones who DO cook with ginger are terrified, I know...) So I took a piece of ginger (4 cm long), pealed it and boiled it with a zucchini, two small onions and a carrot. It boiled during 30 minutes (yes, that long!!) and then took the water off and pureed everything together! It smelled sooo good! I couldn't wait to taste it! I added a pinch of salt, milk and creamcheese*, I took a big spoon and put a full one in my mouth! AGHHHHHHHH IT WAS DISGUSTING!!!! SOOOOOO PICANTE, SPICY, DAMNED HOT!!!!!! Was that the "strong" flavour!?!?!?! Couldn't that person write what really happens when you use too much ginger during so much cooking time????


I tried to reduce the hotness with more milk, cheese and yogurt... nothing worked. I couldn't even put it in my mouth. I had to through it away and the ones who know me are aware that I cannot stand that the food is wasted...

Now I know what can happen with ginger, and I wanted to share it with you! Next time I will try to make this soup with a smaller piece of ginger. I've also got the advice not to puree it with the other veggies, just remove it once it's boiled.

Do you have some good ginger recipes? And most important, does anyone of you know a trick to reduce the hotness of ginger???

* If you want to make this soup without ginger, you can use roquefort cheese to give it a creamy texture and an incredible and surprising taste!

Some questions about the BIO-food Obsession

Back in Bremen! I came back yesterday, and that means that my holiday is over :(, I found my apartment cold and dirty :( :( (how?!?! I wasn't there!), and my fridge was totally empty :( :( :( ...
So before starting to cry because I was back to normal life and before starting to clean up, I decided to go to the supermarket. This is not an easy task!

As a student, I would have gone to REWE (German supermarket) with my shopping trolley, I would have taken everything I need for a week, choosing the cheapest brands and offers, focusing on the very basics for a sufficient nutrition, and I would have paid around 30 euros.

Now things are different. A 30-40-minute task has become a half-a-day adventure. And a 30 euro contribution has become a 60-70 euro... joke?!?!?! I go to REWE in case I need some soap powder, toilet paper, tooth paste or anything I need urgently. Then I go to the bio-greengrocer to buy bio-fruit and bio-vegetables. After that I go to the bio-butcher and buy some bio-meat. Then I have to catch the tram or the bus and I go to the nearest bio-supermarket. In Bremen I usually go to Alnatura, in the Viertel. There I buy bio-milk, bio-rice, bio-pasta, bio-cereals, bio-bread, bio-quinoa (I didn't even know what that was!) bio-nuts, bio-yoguhrts, bio-fish... I guess you've already understood what happened, right? I've joined this universal and trendy BIO-obsession movement!

The fears of non-natural components ingestion, like preservatives and color additives, and the aversion to animal maltreatment have made that lots of people change their  alimentation habits. We don't only look at how many calories and fats the food has, but also how it has been made. I've read a lot of articles and talked to lots of people but I still have many questions about this topic (is there any doctor/nutritionist in the room?). I buy this kind of food because I find it often tastier and I'm concerned about my health, but does it really make a difference? I've been eating "normal" food during 25 years, getting perfect blood analyses results. Have the processes changed? Can this non-BIO food be harmful in a long-term? Can I develop some kind of allergy or intolerance if I don't eat some component during months/years and then eat it again (at a restaurant or at a non-BIO friend's place, for example). I'm not planning to get pregnant at the moment but, in case I get pregnant and I eat BIO during the 9 months, will my child be intolerant to non-BIO food or to preservatives and color additives?

Feel free to comment this post and share your knowledge or questions with us!!

The Salty Tomate- Feta Cake

Rosa and I often have lunch together at the office. In the evening, I would whatsapp her and tell her if I cooked something. Once I wrote: "I made a carrot cake just bring a little bit of salad".  Rosa freaked out because she thought that it would not be enough. CULTURAL DIFFERENCE. We, French people we happen to have salty cakes. It is like a cake but you can have it as you main dish. Anyway, today I will tell you about the tomatoes and feta cake I made this week-end.

It is super easy:

- 250 g of Flour
- 4 eggs
- 8 cl oil
- 8 cl of white wine (a glass for you... a glass for the cake)
- 200 g of feta
- 250 g of cherry tomatoes
- 150 g grated gruyere cheese
- 1 pack of yeast (levure(fr), back pulver(de), levadura(es))
- Herbes de Provence

Mix the eggs and the flour together. Add the oil, wine, cheese, Herbes de provence, yeast, feta and the tomatoes. Drink a glass of wine. Put all of it in a dish that you can put in the oven about 45 to 50 min at 150°C.

Then enjoy, either as tapas, apero or starter while having guest with the rest of the bottle of wine or as a main dish with a salad at work!

Christmas Market in Bremen

Our first post will be about one of the most beautiful events in Germany: the Christmas Market. Emma and I live in Germany and we are surprised this market isn't within the top 5. Bremen has a gorgeous market in the city center and a magic medieval one on the Schlachte, next to the river.

I love the Christmas market! In Winter, when it is not rainy, it is dark and this from 16:00 to 08:00. So when you are out in the street you don't recognize anyone, you just see shades of people. You best friends could walk you by, you would not see her/him.

Every year it's worth it to pass by (several times) and see groups of grandmas that meet up once a year to get completely drunk with Glühwein, with their red noses and loud laughs. Because this is the Christmas spirit, at least in Germany. And you can join the grandmas and accompany this hot sangria with high caloric food like sausages, fried Schmalzkuchen, fruit with chocolate cover... This makes you forget that you're freezing and that the humidity is penetrating until your bones. You will hate this beverage the first time you try it, but after the third cup you will open your jacket and won't care that you've poured half a cup on your expensive leather gloves or your new snowwhite coat. This is a picture with my parents (freezing before the first cup of Glühwein), who visited me on the weekend.

At the Christmas market, there is light! People! Faces! Smile! All the best diet German Food! And warm drinks to help you survive the winter!!! Just go out and enjoy breathing the lovely & sweet & salty & spicy & alcoholic German Christmas atmosphere!!