On the go

Detail-cleaning a car is no small job. I got to experience that this morning as I got out a bucket of soap, a rag and scrubbed my car, inside out. My attention went to the muscles in the back that got a good work out, plus, my arms where screaming for a break as I had already "killed" them in the gym earlier this morning. This turned out to be more time consuming then I had in mind - so I started thinking about cars, how necessary they are (thankful!), how cool some cars are (good job inventors!) and how "one day I`ll get a brand new car and it`s gonna be awesome" (dreamy!). I started wondering about all those shiny cars that I see so often and how people spend lots of time and money on their cars. Upkeep like oil-change, smog, registrations and insurance are just a few of the responsibilities that comes with having a car - not to mention being a responsible driver on the road. Human bodies and cars have some common grounds, both of them need some form of upkeep, fuel, attention and money put into them. Us humans can and probably will outlive a car, or even a few of them, but we cannot outlive our bodies.

One of the things I do in order to keep my body happy and healthy is that I eat regularly. I shoot for 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day, starting first thing I get up and ending a few hours before bedtime. I also consider what kind of food it is I put in my body.
As I have been getting busier with work in the last few months I have noticed that I allow myself to have excuses for poor choices. For instance, my meal preparation time has been cut and so my meals are not as planned as they used to be. I find myself skipping meals which means that my work outs wont be as hard as I would like them to be. Other effects of skipped meals can be fatigue, unstable food intake later on, unhealthy snacking (chips, candy, caffeine and sweet. AKA foods that will spike the blood sugar before it drops down way low etc).

I look at these excuses as amusing challenges in life that can have creative and practical solutions to them. Food preparation is one of these areas. One of the biggest mistakes people make with their health is to skip meals. There`s a saying that goes something like this:"failure to prepare is preparation to failure", and I know from experience that preparation can be exactly that key that was necessary to success when it comes to food and health.

So in my busyness, one practical way to success has been to pack my own On-The-Go-Oatmeal! Just as I wont let my car run out of gas on the freeway, I will not let my body run out of fuel that it needs to keep going strong:

It takes me less then a minute to put together a packet of On the go oatmeal, all I have to do is get out my ingredients (which are pre granulated - another practical way to stay prepared; turn almonds, flax seeds and oat meal into flours ahead of time), measure it up and put it in a little plastic bag (Michaels sell these). One meal is about...

 3 heaping tbs. Gluten-free Oat flour

1-2 cups boiling water

1 tbs. Flax meal

1/2 tsp. cinnamon/vanilla powder

a handful of nuts and or raisins

I also add a tablespoon of hemp protein powder =)

I keep a couple of these in my purse and pull it out whenever hunger strikes. At the gym, at church or like the other day when I was out for breakfast with a friend, and the options for a gluten free hungry person was limited... SCORE! =) 

-Kathrine-

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Carrot cakes and allergen friendly baking

In a perfect world we would all be eating carrot cake for breakfast every single day. It would be any size you would like it to be, with an extra dash of cream cheese frosting. My friend was spot on when she said "carrot cake and cream cheese frosting is simply made for each other".
Even the name of the cake takes away any shame of indulging - carrots, walnuts and raisin - those are all legitimately healthy foods - come on now =) 
Well, in the real world, this cake is a "no, no" for allot of people. This cake normally comes packed with gluten, dairy, sugar and eggs, just to mention a few common allergens.

I decided to make a post that included alternative options in baking. Whether you are allergic to eggs, dairy or just need to stay away from sugar for a while - you might find some handy tips here:

Starting with the flour: if you need your carrot cake to be gluten free, try using a blend of brown rice(2 parts), tapioca(1/3 part) and potato flour(2/3 part). Like for instance the carrot spice cupcakes I made a few months back, they were made using this flour blend.

Another option for flours is using almond flour. My favorite one is not a "gluten free" carrot cake at first glance, it`s gluten free in nature and a phenomenal carrot cake. Not to mention it is also dairy free and sugar free. You can find the recipe for this almond flour based carrot cake on Elana`s pantry.

Replacing butter in cakes can often be done by using grape-seed oil, earth balance butter, applesauce or coconut oil. In place of milk try using nut milks like hemp milk, almond milk or coconut water, if fitting try hazelnut milk (has an incredible taste as oppose to allot of the nut milks).

If you are like me, allergic to eggs - most of the time you can stick to the recipe you have found, but simply replace the eggs with egg-replacer. A homemade version of egg-replacer is mixing flax meal with arrowroot powder and some tablespoons of water. Another option is to use a mushed up banana.
The cake will not be as fluffy so if your concerned about presenting the cake you might wanna consider to make several cakes and stack them on top of each other for that "big-cake" look. If you are making cupcakes out of it, it doesn't really matter how much the dough rises since you cover it with frosting anyways.
For a bunch more ways on how to substitute eggs in baking, read more here. 

For the sweet part of the cake you can find many different substitutes. Some people use regular sugar, others prefer the more natural sweetener like honey, dates or stevia. Bananas, fruit juice, raisins, maple syrup and sucanat are other good options for sweetening your baked goods with.

Agave nectar started out as a life saver for many people, but has as of late gotten a bad reputation on it for being mostly chemically refined fructose (more then 70% as oppose to high fructose corn syrups 55%). Read more about agave nectar here and decide for yourself if you wanna use it.

A sweetener I just learned about, trehalose is suppose to be a very healthy alternative to table sugar! It`s said to be the sweetener that everyone would use, if they only knew. I personally have yet to try it in my baking, but I am very optimistic after having read up on it. Can be purchased online here.

I ended up baking one batch of Elana`s almond flour cake with eggs, and one without. The one with egg got the real deal cream cheese frosting, the no-egg cake got a coconut cream frosting that you can find the recipe on here.
Personally I found the "special" one, the allergen friendly one to be really good! A little different because of the frosting but definitely something I see myself getting used to and maybe even crave. So this gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and sugar-free carrot cake turned out amazingly yummi - no need to be without now =)
And as far as the frosting goes - now we know where to go for white frosting alternative for our cupcakes and carrot cake.

-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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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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Milk chocolate caramel/Candy Cupcakes

I have some very sweet friends that just moved to town, and I wanted to bake a little something for them just to say "Welcome" and we love you. They have a little boy who I`m thinking will love these cupcakes. The milk chocolate pairs so well with caramel and makes this cupcake a delightful treat.

Norwegian chocolate is one of a kind and I dare to say the best in the world. My fridge has been stocked up on this kind of chocolate since Christmas so I decided to make good use out of it.
Any chocolate can be used in this recipe but the better tasting chocolate, the better tasting the cupcakes will be. You can even use your favorite candy. For example starburst (which is infact gluten free) as they will melt just like chocolate over heat.

The basic muffin recipe is from Gluten-free baking classics, but I added my own touch to it to get the rich caramel milk chocolate flavor in it.

Candy cupcakes

1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups brown rice flour mix
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup whipping cream

1 tsp  pure vanilla extract

10 dumle (pieces of candy/chocolate)

Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C. Position rack in center of oven. Place cupcake baking liners in a 12-cupcake baking pan. Beat sugar and eggs in large bowl of electric mixer at medium speed for one minute. Add flour, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, oil, whipping cream (heat up on stove and add candy then stir till it melts) and vanilla; beat at medium speed for one minute. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place in center of oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until centre springs back when touched and cupcakes are very lightly browned (bake about 35 minutes for nine-inch round, 40 minutes for eight-inch round). Cool on rack for five minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan onto rack and cool completely before icing.

Milk chocolate frosting:

3 Egg whites

2 Tbs Vanilla sugar

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Chocolate bar

Place a pot with water on the stove and get it to boil. On top of that place a bowl with the ingredients, then using a hand mixer - mix it for about 7-10 minutes. Set aside. Pour the water out of the pot and put the chocolate bar in and let it melt. Pour melted chocolate to the other bowl with the egg white cream and stir together. Let cool in the fridge before you decorate the cupcakes.
PS: can also now be mixed in with whipped cream for a more sturdy frosting.

-Kathrine-

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Homemade fruit and nut dressing

 After visiting the grocery store yesterday I came home with fresh flowers, green juice and more vegetables then ever before. Herbs and plants adds so much to a home, especially the kitchen.

My fresh green vegetable juice consisted of spinach, cucumber, celery and apples and it was really good. I love fresh raw juice.

I found a new product at Trader Joe`s - called Prune Walnut log. They are cut up in little slices, soft and round (kind of a little fruit cracker). On the package they recommended to pair it with cheese. I say it will pair great as a salad dressing! Something sweet (the prune), something crunchy (the walnut), add some garlic cloves and olive oil... and just drizzle on a salad. This will make any "boring" salad extremely exciting.

How to make the dressing:

1. Put the slices of prune walnut log in a kitchen machine
2. Add 3-4 Tbs good olive oil
3. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic 
4. Blend for a few minutes
5. Mix the dressing with a nice salad (mine had romaine lettuce, macha, arugula, cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes)

This type of salad dressing can also be made with other types of nuts and dried fruit. For example, almonds and apricot. Or, hazelnuts and cranberries.
Making your own dressing isa great way to make sure that the dressing you and your family use, is not full of high fructose corn sugar and other additives.

I am off to instruct a spinning class right now. Not sure if I`m all the way ready for it, still sore from the Thursday class. =)

-Happy Saturday-

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Baked beet and Quinoa Salad

 

 -Kathrine-

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Super-food Week

Happy Monday everyone =)

It`s always nice to start a new week, especially if last week was challenging.
My focus this week is on eating plenty of incredibly nutritious foods that will strengthen my immune system and boost my overall health. I will be posting my meal plans for some of the days and add the recipes along with it.

Super food are foods high in nutritional value and low in calories. They are superior sources of anti-oxidants and essential nutrients that our bodies cannot produce on it`s own. It`s food with allot of color, it usually tastes awesome in it`s natural state and can be found in nature.
These foods have high concentration of easy digestible nutrients, vitamins and compounds to burn fat, protect and heal our bodies. The green leafy vegetables are especially rich in chlorophyll, which our cells thrives on.
This can be foods like, but not limited too: goji and acai berries, cacao, vegetables, fruits, seeds (chia, flax, hemp etc) and nuts.


Here is my super food meal plan for today:

Breakfast - Papaya Salad (ripe papaya, blueberries and blackberries)

Lunch - Baked beets and Quinoa salad (gold beets, cooked quinoa and minced baby broccoli)

Snack - Coconut water, bee pollen and homemade chocolate fudge,

Dinner - Belgian Endive salad (endive, arugula, avocado) with apricot garlic crumbs (dried apricots, almonds and 1-2 cloves of garlic in a food processor)

Vitamins - pro-biotic, multi vitamin (B12, B6, C, folat etc) and flax oil.

I will post pictures after every meal. I really love capturing amazing foods on photos ;)
Have a wonderful day -Kathrine-

Resources: Eating for Beauty

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GF Pizza Caprese

Pizza is almost always very tasty. The gluten free kind can be a bit of a challenge. The texture of the dough and the flavor needs to be just right.

My first encounter with gluten and celiak disease was at the age of 13. A sweet girl had just moved to town and was working on getting new friends. She invited me and some other friends over for pizza. We expected a frozen pizza scenario, and was surprised when she threw on her apron and started baking. While kneading the dough, she explained to us that she had to bake her own pizza crust because she could not eat gluten, she had disease called celiak. 

I had no idea what she was talking about. Sadly, the pizza was not very good at all. Little did I know that I would be the person to throw on an apron and bake my own pizza just a few years down the road.

Red sauce, different types of meat, cheese, favorite vegetables; there are endless ways on how to top off a pizza. One of my favorite ways to eat pizza is the "Caprese" way. I simply cannot get enough of fresh basil and colorful mini heirloom tomatoes..

 

I usually buy a packet of Bob`s Red Mill pizza crust and make what I consider good pizza. When The gluten free goddess announced that she had made the best gluten free dairy free pizza crust she had ever eaten, I got curious and had to test it out to see if it was true for me. So the recipe for the crust can be found on her site. I topped the pizza off with olive oil, pressed garlic, oregano, fresh basil and spinach leaves, tomatoes, roast beef and some mozzarella.

The dough is mostly made out of the starchy flour tapioca flour, which for me is a minus because I want all my food to have some substance to it. The flavor was very subtle and actually very right for a pizza crust - huge plus right there. My last point will be that the finished product - the crust was extremely crunchy when baked too thin, and was soft and chewy when baked too thick. Which I did a little bit of both so it was my own fault, next time I`ll be using a rolling pin. All in all - I liked the crust. I will keep using it a few more times and see if it`s a keeper. 

-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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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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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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