EASTER DESSERTS

After an intense spinning class with speed drills and lots of hills this morning, I found time to prepare some goodies for our Easter celebration with family tomorrow. Desserts are crucial on beautiful days like these... One of the things I have grown to like is dark chocolate.

I made a cake, following a recipe and got perfection. Dark chocolate Ganache Tart is an amazing treat - rich in flavor, creamy in texture and it has a crunchy crust with an edge of celtic sea salt. If a cake has ever been dense - it is this one, I feel like it will take weeks to finish it.

The recipe is made of Debbie Lee and goes something like this:

For the crust you need:

3/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup fine nut flour (I used a mix of almonds and hazelnuts)

1/4 cup coconut butter

pinch of sea salt

In a standing mixer with an S-blade ix all the ingredients till it becomes a dough. Press the dough evenly into a 9-inch pan. Cover with plastic and let sit in the fridge to chill for 1 hour. 

For the Ganache filling:

2 1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup coconut butter

Blend all the filling ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into the chilled tart crust. place in the refrigerator for a few hours. 

Instead of the normal piece of cake - I cut my cake up in small squares and will serve it as a little nibble treat.

Another dessert I`m serving is a creamed citrus salad; blood oranges, some grapefruit and a couple of regular oranges cut up mixed with vanilla whipped cream. One bowl has the mixed version, another bowl has just the fruits. I will have a bowl of the citrus fruit as my appetizer. Becaus fruit is best eaten on an empty stomach.

Happy Easter everyone =)

-Kathrine-

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Pink Potato salad

The sun is shining, my lunch break is almost over and after that it`s time for my daily 30 minutes of stretching exercises.
I was expecting a very basic boring steamed vegetable dish for lunch -  but it turned out to be ah-mazingly yummi... I wanna dare to say that it looked and tasted a little bit like candy actually. So I decided to share the recipe with you all:

 This meal can be eaten alone, or as a side dish. It will be an incredible addition to any BBQ or potluck as the colors are very summery and fun. This is also the perfect alternative to a regular "potato salad" that often has mayonnaise and other fattening ingredients in it.
My first and foremost thing about food, is obviously that it is allergen friendly. But second to that is the importance of flavor. I have always loved food and crave tasty meals. This simple dish is rich in flavor, allergen friendly and pink on top of all that...! serve me some of that please =)

Pink Potato Salad:

2 yams

4 carrots

2-3 handfull of green beans

4 medium sized beets

Steam cook these vegetables in a pot for about 35 minutes 

Sed aside and let cool while you mix the dressing:

1/4 Cup of extra virgin olive oil

1-2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1 Tbs brown sugar (substitutes are honey, agave nectar)

dash of salt (celtic sea salt is my favorite)

1 Tsp Hot and sweet mustard

Cut the steamed vegetables up and drizzle dressing over. Mix and serve 2 people.

-Kathrine-

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Giants!

Sunday funday in San Fran.. =) We got to go and see a baseball game - it was my very first, and it will not be the last one because we had allot of fun. I love my husband!

We had seats with a beautiful view over the bay area. Sad day as the Giants did not win. But hey, it was opening weekend and they have like 150 more games to play before this season is over.

Anyway, today I am running from one thing to the next - training, classes and paperwork. I made a delightful lunch that has been on our weekly rotation list now for a long time. It`s a simple dish with a few ingredients. Again, I am using heirloom tomatoes and basil as a part of my dish, but it is just that good! Here is the recipe for my basil avocado salad:

• Brown rice, cooked
• Heirloom tomatoes
• Avocado (ripe)
• Basil (fresh)
• (Optionals: nuts, cheese, olive oil...) 
• Cook up brown rice, cut up the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Serve it mixed with the rice or separate.

Try this recipe, it`s incredibly good. 

-Kathrine

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Yes!!

Beautiful morning indeed. The Farmers market in Redding is in full swing and already have quit a few stands up. This is exciting! For all you Redding people - you can find the farmers market down by the city hall on Saturdays from 7AM to noon. After checking out the stands, you can walk around beautiful gardened areas with fun sculptures and fountains that are nice to just hang out around.
There was not much fruit yet to be purchased - but there was a few stands of colorful vegetables, herbs and plants. I brought some onions, beets and chard leaves. Plus a packet of 3 peanut butter cookies for the husband, for the simple price of $1!

 

Beets are full of incredible vitamins, both in the heart of the vegetable and in the leaves. I got a bunch for $2 at the market and decided to add it in my juice. Along with cabbage, chard and a few carrots it made up for the strongest vegetable juice I have ever made. Wehw! Beet juice can come in handy in baking and garnishing food. I juiced one beet with its stem and got a shot glass of juice. I knew this was gonna be too strong to drink (after that first juice..) so I mixed it with quinoa. Pink food is always more fun=) Use beet juice as food coloring in cakes, cupcakes and icing.

I wish I had done this with my last cake. It would have looked much more delicious then what it came out to be (beige isch color). Anyway, some of you asked for the recipe for that cake, and here it is (the recipe is from raw bento`s blog):  

Recipe for Raw cheesecake:

Cheesecake filling (in a high-speed blender):
2 cups soaked cashews
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3-4 pieces of lemon zest
3/4 cup nut milk
4 tbs maple syrup
2 scraped vanilla beans

Crust (in a food processor):
1 cup walnuts, soaked
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, soaked
8 dates
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of cinnamon

Make the crust and work it into a pie pan, then when the filling is ready pour it over and set it in the freezer. This cake goes with allot of different toppings. Drizzle your favorite nuts on top, caramel sauce, berry sauce or a dash of whipped cream.

I have to give a little thanks to my wonderful Spinning enthusiast! They come to my classes with beautiful big smiles, ready to work hills, climbs and whatever else I give them as a road map. You know who you are - and I just have to say again - thank you! You guys are so amazing and so much fun to pursue fitness with. I am working on getting another class going for Tuesdays at 4PM. I will keep you all posted on this subject.

-Kathrine-

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Lunch-time

My green cocktail for lunch was incredible. I can feel my body "waking" up, as I am cleansing my body. I want to drink green juice everyday for a while now. Just to give it a little detox and get all "wintery" stuff out of my system..

As you can see, I added fruits to my juice and that is mostly because it covers up the edgy vegetable taste. Some of you are able to do straight up vegetable juice, and that`s awesome.

 

Looks like the sun is shining... I want to go for an outdoor run. First one since fall!

-Kathrine-

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Chocolate chip cookies

When 7 bananas are getting too ripe, fully aware I cannot finish them all in just a couple of days - I start looking for a recipe. I always crave oats, something sweet and filling. So in my search today I found a "healthy chocolate chip cookie" recipe that called for ripe bananas (score!), amongst other things. So I jumped on it, tweaked it, made it gluten, egg, casein, sugar and dairy free (this is about as healthy as a chocolate cookie can get!), here is the result:

Super Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 ripe bananas

1/4 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened)

Egg replacer for 1egg

2 tbs honey

1tbs flax meal

1tbs warm water

Mix together in a blender of heavy duty kitchen machine

In a different bowl mix the dry:

2 cup oat flour (you can do half and half with oat flour and rolled oats)

2/3 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup Amaranth flour

1/4 cup teff flour

1/4 cup brown rice

1/4 cup sorghum

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Baking powder 

Mix the wet and the dry ingredients then fold in some chocolate and nuts of choice. 

I used TJ`s unsweetened baking chocolate chips (super dark and chocolaty) and a handful of walnuts. 

Bake in the oven at 350F/170C for about 10-12 minutes. Make sure you don`t overcook the cookies, because bananas and gluten free baking has a tendency to get way to chewy. 

TIPS: Anytime you bake GF, DF etc, try to bake a couple of samples in the oven before you bake it all. You don`t want them to spread out too much, sometimes they don't spread out at all..... so then you have to form them with your hands. If you make a sample you will know how your dough will act in the oven and you can take it from there. If you notice that the dough spreads out too much - put the dough in muffin pans instead of a flat baking sheet.

These cookies I had to form with my hands before I put them in the oven, so they got the right "cookie" shape.

 

Nutritionally these cookies have a high value. Lots of fiber, whole grains, sweetened with fruit etc makes them a great treat for breakfast or as a mid-day snack. If you goal is weight-loss remember that these have allot of good carbohydrates in them, that your body needs and the amount is according to how active you are. 

-Kathrine-

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Baked beet and Quinoa Salad

 

 -Kathrine-

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GF Crispbread

Here is a gluten free healthy recipe for crunchy crispbread that are rich in whole grains and packed with nutrition. I got inspired by Manuela and her knekkebrød, so I decided to make a gluten free version.
To shed light on one of the many healthy ingredients: teff - has twice as much iron as both wheat and barley (easy absorbed iron) and is also higher in protein than wheat.
Crispbread can be eaten plain, with peanut butter and jelly, with a slice of cheese and fresh produce...

 

Or next to soup and salad - spread some garlic butter on, I promise it tastes amazing.

Ingredients:

1,5 Cup GF Oats

1.5 Cup GF Flours ( I used a mix of teff, amaranth, millet and hemp)

1/2 Cup Flax seeds

1/2 Cup Hulled Sesame seeds

1 Cup Sunflower seeds

1/2 Tsp Salt

2 Cups water

2 Tbs brown sugar (or honey)

Add dry ingredients, mix in wet ingredients, spread it all out on baking sheets about 1 centimeter thick. Use a pizza slicer and make squares in the dough. Bake in oven at 300F, for 40-50 minutes.

I eat these and stay full for a long time. Crispbreads are high in complex carbs (the GOOD kind) which provides calories for energy needs. This would be a perfect meal 2 hours before a work out. Oh! One more thing, put the crispbread in a mixer and mix for a few moments - now you have your very own cereal.

-Kathrine-

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A Chocolate kind of a day

Yes, today is a chocolate kind of a day. Not because I need a sugar rush, not because anything bad is going on... simply because it`s chocolate. It`s a beautifying healthy (if chosen well) food. It is the #1 resource of magnesium (out of any food) - which is associated with happiness, building strong bones and balancing brain chemistry. I`ll take some of that! 

A great thing about chocolate is that very few people are allergic to it. But most chocolate bars in the store today have some kind of dairy products, which is a high allergen foods. Simple solution: make your own... 

Raw Chocolate fudge takes 7 minutes to make and taste just as good as the chocolate you can get in the store, if not way better.

Include your favorite flavors like vanilla beans, mint, berries, lavender, lemon peel, nuts and coffee. I like mine dark and rich and only in small portions. 

Here dipped in dried coconut flakes and almond meal.

 Ingredients:

1/4 Cup of Maple Syrup

1/4 Cup of Cacao powder (carob can also be used)

2 Tbs. Coconut oil

1 Cup Almond flour/meal

And a dash of vanilla (I use vanilla sugar)

Blend all the ingredients in a blender, 

transfer over to a bowl, 

add almond flour little by little. 

Find the perfect consistency to work with. 

Role the dough into little balls 

dip them in shredded coconut or almond flour. 

Put them in the fridge for a few hours..

 Wrap these little raw chocolate fudge`s in a little box
with some cute ribbon and give them to someone special on Valentine`s Day....

 So delicious... as dessert or just a treat

 Right outside my door there are flowers in bloom on the trees. Love the pink, sign of spring and eating a piece of chocolate. Perfection!

-Kathrine-

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Tossed spinach and potato salad

I wanted a fast but very flavor full lunch that included spinach. And when it comes to eating raw spinach - it`s a must that the dressing is incredible.

Here`s a dressing recipe that can be used on both salad and potatoes, and it is good:

• 1/4 cup oliv oil
• 2 tbs. Apple cider vinegar
• 2 pressed garlic cloves
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt and freshly grinded pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Chinese mustard
• 1 tbs. brown sugar

Boil up 3 red potatoes, in a bowl add baby spinach and 1 cut up tomato. Make the dressing in a separate bowl and mixed it well together. When the potatoes are done cut them up in cubes and toss with half of the dressing. Add the rest of the dressing to the salad and toss well. Voila.

-Kathrine-

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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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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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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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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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