Late night goodness

After a day full of working out, warming up, cooling down, stretching... It`s always a pleasure to dig out some flours and baking pans and get creative. I made sure to add hemp protein, almonds and a few other items to these cookies so that they are of better nutritional value. Not using eggs in baking makes it a little tricky - but a banana replaced it well in this recipe.

 
Perfect for evenings when you get a "sweet tooth"..
 One can be plenty..
 
..or in company of vanilla ice cream. 
Good night

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Honey, what`s for dinner?

 
Basil. The perfect addition to a freshly boiled spaghetti dish. Rich in flavor, pairs well with garlic and tomatoes. I`m not sure I wanna call my sauce Pesto, because I skip the Parmesan cheese and the cooking part of it. But how about this;
 
 Adds new items to my list of foods that I have eaten this week. Do you remember I challenged you to count food items? Eating natural foods is exciting, I love being creative with the vegetables I have brought home from the store. And it`s so healthy for me.

Here are some my values, as far as what I eat most days;
I try to avoid anything white (bread, pasta white rice), fast food, soda, cakes, pastries, juice, candy, chips, processed meats and dairy, American cheese, canned foods high in sodium, other foods high in trans fat or sodium and processed grains (bleached flour etc). I am also careful about hydrogenated oils, foods with long shelf life and, uhm.. think that was it.

I choose real natural foods for most of my meals. Lots of vegetables, fruit, herbs, nuts, natural grains, as far as animal products goes - I use mostly organic, I get the grass fed meat if possible etc. These food items can be found at your local natural food market. Whenever I am in Yuba City I visit; The Sunflower Natural Food Market, they sell fresh out of the oven GF brownies, all kinds of beautiful organically grown foods, plus the staff there are super nice!
Anyway, back to my dinner. Even further back... to where I am wondering what to dish up. Jeffrey should be finishing up playing worship at church, and here it is on a text: "Honey what`s for dinner?".
I spy the basil in the fridge, the color makes me think of pistachios and.. I have one tomato left. Jeffrey will be home in about, 8 minutes. Ok, here we go. So I throw the pasta in a pot of boiling water, I let my vita-mix take care of 1/2 cup of pistachios, 2 cups of basil, 3 tbs of olive oil, one tomato and a clove of garlic while I check on the golden beets I`m heating up from earlier on.
He walks in the door, tells me it smells great, gives me a kiss, sits down at the dinner table, takes a bite... Then he tells me he likes it. Not sure about the beets (men in general?). But the pasta with the pesto sauce, he loves it. I feel like a super woman at this point.
And that`s how you dish up a perfect dairy, gluten and egg free meal in just a few minutes.
Kisses

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  • I heart Today - cause it will be a good day
  • I heart a Challenge - double the amount of water intake
  • I heart this Fact - Only one more month of "winter" =)
 Have a very good Monday!

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mirepoix

Sundays at the gym are usually a bit more calm, meaning; there`s lots of space, plus, I can growl and sweat unashamedly. That`s exactly what I did on this very Sunday morning. I did plank, jumped rope, dead lifts, assisted pull ups.. Loved it.

You know those cold winter evenings, when you just wanna stay warm, so you pull out your wool socks and crank the heater - It was one of those, last night. A fireplace would have been so perfect. But a big pot of homemade soup worked just fine. A light blend of mirepoix (french name for a combination of onions, carrots and celery), rutabagas and a dash of coconut milk was all it took. Next to it; a blue cheese shrimp salad. it was good.

Cannot wait to eat left over soup in a little while, but for now it just feels so right to sit all cuddled up on my couch, reading beautiful blogs like Eldrid`s.

Kisses

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GF Bok choy Fettucine

One of the things that I wish to get across to all you my dear readers 
(Thank you, by the way, for reading it;) 
is that going on a "restricted" diet is absolutely do-able! Coming to a cross road where you know a change is necessary, can be frightening and confusing. Some of you don`t even get the chance to choose, you are just told to follow a certain diet that is suppose to help your health.

This recipe is for a very sweet sweet friend of mine, who recently had to change many of her normal habits for a "restricted" diet. She had to cut out many of the common foods such as gluten, dairy, soy and eggs among other things. So she embarked out on this new adventure with a bright positive attitude, now just a few weeks into it, she is finding herself full of energy and thriving on her new diet. Good job Dear... You amaze me! P.S It was phenomenal working out with you this morning ;) we rocked that rope.

This recipe has no gluten, eggs or dairy products in it. And it can also be vegan. I`ve called it bok choy fettuccine, here is what you will need:
  • Brown rice Fettuccine
  • 5-7 small beets (preferably golden)
  • 2-3 bunches of bok choy
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  •  Bacon (optional) OR
  • Tomatoes (optional)
 
Start by washing the beets, peel them lightly. Toss them in olive oil and pepper. Bake in the oven at 350F for 30 minutes.
Add the pasta to boiling salted water. Heat up a pan, throw in some olive oil and pressed garlic. Add cut up tomatoes OR slices of bacon that you would cut up in small pieces after cooking. When the pasta is done, rinse it under cold water, mix with baked beets and the rest of the ingredients. 
Serve with leaves of bok choy and broccoli sprouts.
Hope you like it.
Kisses

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Protein Bars

I love the fact that the sun rises a little earlier every single day now, and until late June. Where I grew up in Norway, this was very important. The long dark winters with sunrise close to noon, had to give in for unending summer days where the sun would rise only 5 minutes after it set. I heart the midnight sun. 
This morning I am writing lists. To do lists, planning lists, grocery shopping lists.

For the last 3 days I`ve been fighting a cold. Hoping I won, using remedies like gulping down a glass of water with 3 pressed garlic cloves, hour long baths, 12 hour sleeps, drinking lots of fluids and sweating it out at the gym. What is your favorite remedy for colds and flu?

Another "remedy" is to eat more proteins. Proteins are a part of every cell in our bodies and no other nutrient plays as many different roles in keeping us healthy and alive. Proteins helps build and repair muscles, bones, skin, tendons and other ligaments. Proteins also creates antibodies that our immune system needs to fight diseases. We can get protein through foods like fish, meats, dairy, some vegetables, beans, nuts, grains and seeds. The "plant" protein is best eaten in pairs for a complete protein. Like Mexican food - corn and beans.
One thing to take note of when choosing what kind of protein to eat, is that animal protein are often very fattening and it does not have much vitamins in it. So balance your protein intake with a great variety of fresh vegetables, fruits and grains.
Personally I`m not huge on meat, I don`t really like the fish I can get around here and my body can only handle so much dairy products. So that makes my options of proteins very limited. One thing that I have found that is rich in proteins, is hemp seeds. You can get hemp protein, which supplies 50% protein pr. serving. This can be incorporated in your diet by adding it to a smoothie, oat meal or simply mix it in with your peanut/almond butter.
Or you can make your own protein bars..

 I like my bars to be less chunky, so I pulverized most everything in a mixer before I added the wet ingredients. Then I put it in the oven at 250F for only 20 minutes. Then I dipped them in rich dark chocolate and put them in the fridge. Why not wrap them in little goodie bags and give them to a dear friend...

Kisses

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GF Meltaway Cookies

One of my favorite fragrances is the smell of lavender. When I set out to make my own GF cookie recipe, I only wanted lavender in them. Vanilla, oatmeal/raisin, chocolate and other goodies can be incorporated into this simple basic recipe for GF cookies. This recipe is even egg free.
 
Ingredients:
1/3 Cup powdered sugar
4 Tbs. butter (room temp.)
1/2 Cup Raw smooth almond butter
1/2 Cup Superfine brown rice flour
2 Tbs. potato starch
1/4 Tsp. Xanthan Gum
1/4 Tsp. Baking soda
For vanilla cookies: add vanilla sugar or Vanilla beans
Mix the butter and sugar, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. 
Scoop onto pan covered with parchment paper, leave lots of room in between each cookie.
Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes. Make sure to check on them every so often.
 Serve with a glass of milk,
or with a dash of vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy the sandy texture of the cookie, just before it melts away.
Kisses

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Thursday Morning

Good morning! =) Sipping on lemon juice, getting excited for a new day.
The last couple of days have been busy. I don`t know about you, but I will always take a hard work out, instead of having to do office stuff. Baah. Anyway, I`m still sore from my last work out where I focused on the upper body. And here are my reality photos. Just tracking where I`m at.

Have a beautiful day!

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Cake.

Cheesecake. Not the heavy kind, not the oven kind, but the nice kind of cheesecake. The gluten free kind.
Sigh, I know, Dear gluten sensitive People out there. By now you are probably accustomed to asking "what`s in it? Can I speak to the chef please? Was it made.. next to wheat flour by chance?" And then the people you are with starts asking you questions "Why? What can`t you have?" Then comes the "ooh no"`s and sad looks. You learn, or have learned to live "without",  now - your friends are trying to get a grasp of what you are living without.
In the start it seems very unfair to have to restrict our diet. You find yourself spending twice the amount of time at the grocery store - reading labels. Bathroom runs for crying a tear or two, while everyone is eating normal pizza is all in the past - well at least by a week. You ask yourself "is there anything I CAN eat? Is this some kind of twisted science project I`m in, that I don`t know about? Am I being secretly videoed?!"
This first confusing season comes to an end when you accept the restriction, and start looking ahead. Like a kid on a treasure hunt you enjoy exploring the world of nuts and flours. Cheese is your friend like never before (if you can have dairy that is). Mediterranean, Mexican and other nationality - foods are being explored. Little by little you find that there is actually quit a few restaurants with GF menus.

For the final season of transitioning into this new lifestyle many people move in to the kitchen. Tools you`ve never seen before, 11 different types of flours and machines are crowding your counter top, but you don`t see this as a mess. It`s just a part of it.
Getting up way before the sun just to bake a few sneaky cookies. Sneaky because you might even get away with not having to say they are GF. They just taste amazing. Most of the time Not, so you throw it away, take out the trash and pretend like nothing ever happened. It`s all good.

So anyway, this is the kind of cheesecake that has been time tested and is proven to be good. Well, good is a faint word.. awesome (like Californians would say it), YUM!!, wow or "this is incredible".
I can count all the ingredients on one hand, it takes little effort to make and will provide your gorgeous hard working body with a healthy portion of proteins and iron with the cottage cheese in the cake. Yup, that`s right, cottage cheese.
I saw my cousin make this cheesecake back in `97, and it has stayed with me - tweeked to fit a GF standard of course. All you need is:
  • GF graham crackers. Either bake and use this recipe, or get them from the brand Smorables
  • Unsalted butter and 3 Medjool dates
  • Organic heavy cream
  • Organic fat free cottage cheese
  • Lemon jello (I use a Norwegian brand Freia)
Step 1. Crush the crackers in a mixer, add melted butter and the dates. Press this down in a cake pan and set in the refrigerator.
Step 2. Cook the jello, let it cool. Whip the cream, carefully mix in the cottage cheese with a spatula. Mix in half of the cooled jello and pour it in the cake pan. Let it sit in the fridge for 1 hour before you pour the rest of the jello on top of the cream. Let it sit over night before you serve it.
Kisses

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I heart oranges

Early morning.. sunrise.. nothing is better in the AM then to start it off just right. With a big glass of cold water and slices of fresh cut oranges.

 
Oranges are a citrus fruit which can boast of high nutritious value. We know they are full of Vitamin C - one orange gives us 116.2% of the daily dose.  Also, one orange supply 12.5% of the dietary fiber intake. Read more about the benefits of eating oranges here.
They are one of the most popular fruit in the whole world, and can easily be found most anywhere all year long. I get mine (3 boxes = on full trunk load) from my in law`s back yard. They are beautifully in season right now.
 
Kisses

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La vita e` Bella

He is home. My Love is home ;) La vita e`Bella - life is beautiful.
Italy... an incredible country rich in culture and food origin. I imagine romantic dinners overlooking the city of Rome, or boat rides on the canal in Venice with an Opera singer on board. Old buildings and ruins carrying hundreds - thousands of years of history.
Today I decided to serve a nice romantic "Italian" meal. Some carefully picked heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, organic chicken breast, gluten free multi grain pasta - spaghetti and penne were some of the ingredients.Here is how I made it:

I always have salad on the side of my dinners. 
It`s just spinach, arugula and romain lettuce tossed in
olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Buon Apetitto

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Sweet Sunday

I am extremely happy right now. In this very moment. Are you?
I`m thrilled that 2 weeks have gone by so fast, tomorrow I get to pick up my Husband at the airport. Freaking out moment ;) I am just so so in love.
Uhm.. I`m happy that i am all snuggled up in bed after this hard working day. My weekend just started.

Cupcakes makes me happy too. They are just wonderful to look at. The best thing about these ones, are that they are healthy-er-isch then most cupcakes. You can now get the small size of the cups so that the portions are way smaller. Which is a little trick to help people eat sweets in moderation
 The base of the cupcake is ripened bananas, which provide sweetness and flavor. I don`t know about you, but I would choose vanilla over chocolate any day, so this vanilla icing goes perfect with the muffin.
 
I will continue to work hard on making good GF treats. 
And on the subject of working, I`ll share my work out`s for this week (3) too:
  • Monday - Ran 13.1 miles
  • Tue/Wed Off
  • Thursday Instructed Spin 45 min.
  • Friday Weight training for upper body 50 min. 
  • Saturday Instructed Spin 45min.
  • Sunday Off
-Kathrine-

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Dinner on the GO

Today is so busy! I just now have been able to make a meal, and luckily it only took 7 minutes to make. My stomach was growling and needed food.

I decided to share it with you all before I have to run out again. I`m catching a movie with some girlfriends, and then baking hundreds of tiny cupcakes for the big wedding fair tomorrow Wooo!

 It has really payed off to keep some brown rice left over in the fridge, especially for busy days like today. I just had to get some mushrooms and green beans from the store and everything else I already had. So this is how I made it:
Cut up 1/5 of a big red onion in small pieces, toss it in a warm pan. Add mushrooms, green beans, pepper, maple syrup and brown rice in this order. I poured a little dash of heavy cream in the end. It`s  incredibly flavorful and yummi.
Enjoy!

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Disclaimer

While I make every effort to publish correct, researched information, this is for entertainment and should not be viewed as medical advice or treated as such. Please consult a doctor if you have any medical questions or concerns.
Thank you

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