Salad deserves more praise then it gets...

So yesterday I spent my day making a great variety of raw food dishes. And while it's really fun and interesting to slooooowly roast things into the perfect consistency and blend up delicious snickers-like pies (that one tasted divine, just saying) it often gets very heavy. Lots of nuts, seeds and coconut oil. Which are all really great but not really a meal on their own. When I have my raw food days I tend to eat a lot of healthy desserts (not that I don't do this otherwise but still…) which leaves me with insane cravings for greens and vegetables during the evening. So after a day filled with indulgence (also know as "heaps of chocolate in all it's raw forms") I whipped up this salad…

Or well I didn't whip it… I chopped, peeled and tossed it. So much greens, so much vegetables! And pine nuts, because they are really crunchy and yummy!

I served this with copious amounts of water and a dressing made with avocado, garlic and lemon juice! A very fresh and crispy ending to a great day!

Now I am a salad enthusiast and eat it in some form every day. But the salad in itself, the spinach, rucola, lettuce, kale and all the other leafy greens out there deserves so much more praise then they're getting! They are so good for you and there is a leafy green for every occasion!

If you have a hard time getting enough leafy greens then I strongly recommend throwing some spinach in your morning smoothie! Easy way to get a cup or so first thing in the morning!

Have a great easter everyone!

A day of liquids!

My "liquid only day" truly did what it was supposed to do! It gave me back my energy and general excitement for life but also made my hungry. Not just hungry for food (even though that was a nice feeling after being sluggishly full for days) but hungry for cooking, learning and exercise! Since I was only consuming liquids I didn't do any intense exercise though! I'll save that for when I am more experienced with fast and the different varieties of it. I did some really great yoga though!

So since this was my first time doing something like this I decided to post pictures of my drinks and quickly go through what I had in them!

Breakfast consisted of a smoothie...

… that contained strawberries, milk, avocado and banana! Really delicious and put together in two minutes. The fact that we lacked spinach made me kinda sad though, since I was really looking forward to a huge, green smoothie first thing in the morning. But as I got a taste of this I decided that I would do just fine even without spinach!

For lunch I had something warm, more specifically this soup…

… that contained broccoli, peas and the spinach that I went to obtain. Deliciously green and a serious health bomb! Might post the recipe for this wonderful and wholesome soup when I have the time to snap some better pictures!

A few hours after lunch I felt kinda low on energy so I made a juice…

… that consisted of the broccoli stalks that got left over from the soup, some carrots and a few oranges. Really nom and really refreshing, just what I needed in order for me to keep on studying for another few hours.

Later during the afternoon I started to get a bit hungry again so I made a smoothie that would serve as a pre-workout snack since I was planning to do yoga within half an hour or so.

I threw some coconut milk, cacao, unsweetened protein powder, a banana and some spinach into my blender and prayed for the best. It turned out really nice and really boosted me for my yoga!

After my yoga I spent the evening chilling with my little sister and as we were watching yet another horse show I made myself an evening snack…

… which may not look very pretty (since it was dark) but it tasted divine! There is some spinach, banana and milk in there in case you were wondering. Really simple and easy!

So that's about it for today. I have really gotten my spirit back and I feel ready for the two long days that is about to come. Seems as if I have a tendency for taking on just a tad too much work… I have to learn how to say no! But that's for another day!

Tomorrow I am planning on breaking my liquid fast with banana pancakes and then I will move on to a potato salad made with heaps of steamed veggies! Aaaaand… then I don't really have any further plans, except for heaps and heaps of raw fruits and veggies of course!

Green Yogurt

Are you tired of eating yogurt that is filled with processed sugar and weird preservatives? Or do you just want a dairy free alternative that doesn't contain soy? Perhaps you're like me and just generally enjoy making your own food, and have a love for all things green?
Then this yogurt is for you! That it is super quick and easy to make just makes it even better!

Green Yogurt (serves 1)

      2 dl light coconut milk (a bit less then 1 cup)
      2 heaped dl pineapple chunks (about 1 cup)
      1 big handful of fresh spinach
      1/2-1 tsp xanthan gum
      eventually some ice cubes if you want it really cold

Directions:
Blend all the ingredients except the xanthan gum until smooth. Add the xanthan gum little by little until the yogurt is as thick as you'd like. If you're using a pineapple that isn't very sweet then you might have to add some sweetener. In that case I recommend stevia, agave or maybe a couple of dates?

 
I chose to top my yogurt with mulberries, shredded coconut, cacao nibs and chia seeds! Yum!


The yogurt makes a really generous serving, but since
I am usually really hungry when breakfast comes around I
have made the assumption that others might feel the same way.
The nutrition label is therefore for the entire recipe so knock
yourself out!

Since the recipe is so low in calories I strongly recommend
that you top it with something calorie dense like nuts and
seed. That will also give you a boost in protein! I know that
there is lots of vegan protein powders available now so if
you feel like adding that to the yogurt itself in order to
up the protein feel free to do so!

Digging in the dirt...

… looking for a good spot to grow my future veggies! Garden work is surprisingly relaxing, and digging is surprisingly tough! I felt that I only needed to do an additional half an hour yoga in order to get a complete workout! The fact that the sun was shining just made the entire thing so much better!

All in all I've had a great day, I would suggest that it had something to do with the fact that my day started with this…

It's so green!
It's so fruity!
It's so healthy!
It's lacking protein though… but oh well, that's what nuts are for am I right?

After consuming this and choosing my clothes with care (for once) I left for school! The fact that I was neither freezing nor overheated due to me actually putting some thought into what I should wear made the day even better! When I later found out that I had passed an exam that I was beyond sure that I had miserably failed I felt on top of the world!

The afternoon I spent with a friend of mine, most of the time went to cooking but we did manage to get some studying done. Oh and I managed to miss the bus. So I ran to the train and made it just in time! When I got home me and my dad had some quality time in the garden. Sweating and moaning about how darn thick all of the roots were and breaking our shovels against the rocks. But it was fun! And really brought forth my appetite!
So I whipped these up…

Now they might not look pretty (since all light was long gone and I could't get any good pictures no matter how hard I tried…) but they tasted amazing! It's portobello mushrooms marinated in olive oil and spices topped with cashew "cheese", then a layer of rucola, some tomatoes and topped off with home made all natural guacamole! Yumyum!

My sincere wish for tomorrow is that I will get some serious studying done, since my exam is this Friday and that's pretty soon (read too soon!) and I am not up to date… But I also hope that it will be warm enough for me to do some yoga outside in the morning!

Colorful Chickpea Salad

Just as I promised! Here comes the recipe for this insanely colorful salad! This is basically what happens when I throw together a bunch of all the wonderful fruits & veggies that we have at home! Lots of color & lots of flavor! Which is what I love about healthy food!

Colorful Chickpea Salad (serves 2)

      2 1/2 dl mini tomatoes (about 1 cup)

      2 1/2 dl seedless grapes (about 1 cup) 

      1 dl mango (about 1/2 cup)
      1 small avocado
      5 dl chopped baby spinach (about 2 cups)
      1 red onion
      200 grams of cooked chickpeas

Directions:
Cut the mini tomatoes into either halves or fourths then place them in a big bowl. Half the grapes and throw them in the bowl as well. Slice the mango into dices or if you use frozen mango thaw it carefully so that it doesn't get soggy. Place in the bowl together with the tomatoes & grapes. Slice up the onion really finely and put it in the bowl. Cut the avocado into pieces, make sure not to cut it too finely since this will make it mushy. Throw in the cooked chickpeas. If using canned chickpeas then rinse throughly before. Chop the baby spinach a bit (or leave it as it is if you have very fine leaves) then put that into the bowl and mix carefully. When everything is combined it's time to plate up and devour!

This salad goes really well with a spicy dressing since it's so very sweet on its own, so if you have any good recipes for that then please do share! Dressings really isn't my thing so I usually just drop on some tabasco or eat as it is!

I figured that since it's so quick & easy to make nutrition labels nowadays I'd throw one in!

Enjoy!