A healthy easy made Italian lunch

Dear readers,

please accept my apologies for my long absence, there has been a great deal of stuff to take care off, so this is literally the first day in a long time that I spend more or less in front of my computer. 

Obviously my quest for healthy easily prepared recipes for my audience continues and being in Italy since 2 months has raised a lot of questions regarding the Italian cuisine as it is known to us (pizza, pasta & Co.) and behind all of that less nutritious and vitamin deprived food I found a simple, but extremely nutritious cuisine that originated from the physical needs of rural people and from what they had in their garden.

Meat as we know did not play such an important role, it was a privilege of the well-off people. As I am always preaching to my beloved carnivores, there is a vast choice of legumes that can provide you with a load of healthy protein, like e.g. the FAVA BEAN, which was my choice for today's lunch:

Fava beans are low in calories and in fat, very high in vegetable protein, iron and fiber and a good source of Vitamin C, A and potassium. They are also known to contain a good share of L-dopamine, an amino acid that works as a neurotransmitter in the brain. Don't worry too much about that :), the interesting point is that dopamine plays a very important role in all our brain functions and levels decrease with age. So...you might even enjoy some rejuvenation eating fava beans...apart from them being extremely tasty, especially the way I prepared them.... The Tofu adds valuable Omega 3 fatty acids, calcium and phytoestrogenes.

HERB-SCENTED FAVA BEANS WITH TOFU
Serves 1

150g Tofu
200g Fava beans (dried or canned)
3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Various herbs to your likings (I used Basil, Oregano and Ginger)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
Herb salt, chili powder or 1 dried chili, black pepper

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a small pot and saute onion and garlic. Add basil and oregano, stir through for a minute, then add the fava beans (in case you use dried ones they have to be soaked for about 24 hours prior to cooking) and cook for about 5 minutes. Season with herb salt.
In the meantime heat the rest of the olive oil in a small pan. When the oil is hot, add the Tofu and fry until both sides have a light brown crust. Add chili, ginger and pepper to your liking. 

Arrange on a plate and enjoy!  


 

Health Food - Fennel

Dear readers,

don't we all sometimes get stuck with always the same vegetables? Just because it is easy, we know exactly how to prepare them, we know that everyone in the family will like it...but let me assure you the fun part in the kitchen ends where you get stuck with the same stuff over and over again and begins where you start experimenting! This does not necessarily include preparing time-consuming, highly sophisticated 5-star-cooking, but just "playing around", being creative, trying something new.

Fennel and I, we have not been in love at first sight. And I must say we still have our difficult days, where I find him too bitter and he is really turning me off and he thinks I am being completely unreasonable...because he is just such a fantastic, healthy vegetable, edible from head to tow and everything in between (bulb, seeds, stalks, leaves)!

 And he is right of course! This crunchy aromatic veggie that reminiscently tastes licorice and fennel is very present in the Mediterranean cuisine as well as in the Far East (very famous in India and Syria) and is packed with nutrients. It is also used as breath-freshener and forms part of the Chinese five-spice mixture.

In ancient Greece fennel was referred to as "Marathon", named after the famous city for the abundance of the herb which once grew there. And there's a whole story around fennel and Zeus, but I don't want to bore you, let's get to the facts:

1. Fennel is high in Vitamin C! Yes, guys! It provides an antioxidant effect and is also packed with potassium, manganese, folate, niacin, phosphorous, calcium, magnesium, iron, and copper. 

2. It is a good source of dietary fibre, which lowers cholesterol levels.

3. And very important: it contains the phytonutrients anhetole, rutin and quercitin, which support the immune system. And here we are dealing with yet another anti-cancerous vegetable. 
 
So, this was very interesting, now what exactly do i do with this funny white-green thing lying on my kitchen counter? Anyone? 

The leaves are fantastic as an herb when you prepare fish in the oven. 

I love fennel raw in salads (when we are going through a good day that is....), shaved thinly, mixed with some Parmesan cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, fresh thyme and parsley - very simple, very very yummy. You could add some Grapefruit as well to give it a fruity touch.


And I have found and tried this recipe with fresh green beans and feta cheese, which I find absolutey adorable:


(Serves 4)

You need:

• 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
• 1 fennel bulb, cut into thin slices
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Fill a saucepan half full with water and bring to a boil. Add the green beans and fennel slices; cook until just beginning to become tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.
2. Return the empty pan to the stove and set heat to medium. Pour in the olive oil and let it heat for a minute. Return the green beans and fennel to the pan. Season with basil, salt, and pepper; cook and stir until coated and warm. Transfer to a serving dish and toss with feta cheese. 
3. Serve! :) If you would like to add carbohydrates, have some crispy Ciabatta with it - delicious.

 

Comments, suggestions and following me

Dear audience,

I love to sign into my blog every morning and notice that someone from yet another exciting country has come to visit my pages and it makes me very proud to attract so much attention from all over the world!

You guys would do me a great favor if you would leave a comment off and on, make some suggestion regarding topics you would love to read on and I always highly appreciate if you guys click that "Follow me" button and become a regular :).

A big THANKS to all of you all over this planet!!!!

 

Healthy May drink - fight the heat

Dear readers,

last week I spent in Germany and it did not feel like summer might be coming up at all...Hamburg, 11C, hail...but I can tell you, summer IS approaching and especially in the Southern hemisphere we are already facing temperatures over 40C combined with humidity. Which makes you want to drink all day long. Which also is a necessity as we are starting to sweat much more and our bodies off and on just need to be cooled down a bit, especially if we are outside a lot!

And then the complaints are starting..."Water is boring, I don't want to drink water all day, I need something tasty.." and so on. The last thing you want to do though is chug down some sugary drink, which in the end will make you feel even thirstier and add some nasty calories onto your daily food regime.

Following a few refreshing drinks in order to make your liquid intake less boring:

A very easy and very effective option is freshly squeezed watermelon juice! Extremely thirst quenching, add some lemon and some fresh mint leaves and have a jar ready in your fridge.

Further we have:


Green Tea! Prepare a strong brew and add for example just lemon juice, put the jar in the fridge and enjoy the cool refreshment. Another option is adding some Mango Nectar (sugar free) and some sprigs of fresh mint, leave it to cool and refresh! 

Easier than all of that: pour a big bottle of sparkling water into a jar over a lot of fresh mint or a freshly squeezed lemon. Delicious!  


Maybe it would not cross your mind thinking of summer drinks, but there is always cucumber (not an option for Germany at the moment! Sad, but true!). Cucumbers contain Vitamin C (surprise!) and important antioxidants. You can mix some chunks into your fresh watermelon juice or prepare as follows:

Cut up a cucumber into small chunks, cover in the amount of water you want to drink and let it soak in the fridge overnight. In the morning, strain the mixture and discard the chunks. 
Adding mint makes the drink even more cooling and refreshing, just let it soak with the cucumber chunks in the water overnight. I also like to add a squeeze of lime before serving.



I find these drinks not only very healthy, but also very addictive and like to keep big jars or bottles of them in my fridge! 

 






 

Health food - Asparagus

Dear readers,

in my native country, Germany, with May always comes the culinary excitement of asparagus and strawberries. I am talking white, thick asparagus and red, tasty strawberries fresh from the field!

In every other part of the world we mostly find the green asparagus, which has a completely different, more nutty and bitter taste and can be prepared in endless variations. Be it in a light Chinese garlic sauce, in an oven-bake with grated cheese and yogurt, in a salad with fresh greens and cherry tomatoes...no end to asparagus fantasies.

Let us have a quick look at what exactly this green vegetable brings you in terms of nutrients, which this overview found on www.harvestofthemonth.com shows very nicely:

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: ½ cup asparagus, cooked (90g)

Calories 20
Fat & Cholesterol free obviously!
Sodium 13mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 4g 1%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Sugars 1g
Protein 2g
Vitamin A 18% 

Vitamin C 12% 

Calcium 2%

Iron 5%

So, this tells us that we are dealing with a good source of Vitamin C, further we find Vitamin K and folate and it is a very important supplier of anticancerous antioxidants. 

One beautiful recipe, which I love to prepare and to enjoy as it is so healthy, nutritious and delicious, makes you feel just like springtime:

Green Asparagus with Poached Egg with Polenta and Spring Onions 

(Serves 2)

1 pack green asparagus spears
4 spring onions
2 tbsp polenta, quick-cooking
1/2 cup veggie stock
2 eggs
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp organic olive oil
2 tsp organic truffle oil if you have (adds that extra twist)
Freshly ground black pepper, some coarse sea salt 

Prepare the Polenta according to the cooking instructions.

 Vegetables: Slice spring onions, using as much of the green tops as reasonable. Trim and roll-cut the asparagus into 2,5cm lengths. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the spring onions and asparagus and stir-fry until crisp-tender.
Eggs: Prepare the poached eggs with the vinegar.
To serve: Spoon polenta on to 2 plates, spreading it out into a circle.  Top with a poached egg.  Spoon asparagus and spring onions around the egg, grind black pepper and some coarse sea salt over the egg, drizzle with truffle oil and serve.

 

Nutty recipes

Dear readers,

following my recent post, today I will entertain you with some nutty recipes:

First of all a very simple bread spread....

Green Olive & Almond Spread (serves 6 as an appetizer)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pitted briny green olives
• 1/4 cup unsalted (organic) almonds
• 1 teaspoon fresh herbs to your likings
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

And for all pasta lovers amongst you.....

Wholegrain pasta with walnut-tomato-pesto
(4 servings)

1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup slightly crushed walnuts
2 cloves garlic
6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes or some red pepper pieces 
6 Tbsp olive oil
12 oz wholegrain pasta (you know that it's good for you...)

Chop basil, walnuts, and garlic in food processor. Add tomatoes, cheese, salt, and red pepper. Pulse to combine, scraping down sides. Drizzle in oil with machine running. Process to a coarse paste. Cook pasta per package directions. Add 1 cup of cooking water to processor and pulse until smooth. Toss pesto with drained pasta in warm pot. If you do not have a food processor, use a knife and a fork as I do :)


Enjoy your health food!!!

Health food - Going nuts

Dear readers,

Happy Mother's day to all of you dedicated mums, who celebrate it today!!!

Today...let's go NUTS! There's often a bit of confusion regarding nuts as people tend to consider them too fat to include them into their daily diet. Yes, nuts ARE fat and your daily amount should not exceed a small handful of mixed nuts and seeds per day, but they provide us with extremely valuable calcium, phytoestrogens and omega-3 fatty acids. So, think bone food, hormonal balance, healthy brain cells and cancer prevention!!

Obviously I am talking about unsalted, unroasted natural, if not organic, nuts and seeds! 


Know your nuts as each of them provides you a different package of goodness:


-ALMONDS are cholesterol lowering
-BRAZIL NUTS are full of anti-cancerous selenium
-WALNUTS are a fantastic vegetarian source of Omega 3
-PEANUTS (they are not a member of the nut family, but are legumes!) are full of manganese
-SEEDS are full of vitamin E and a lot more (think linseeds/sesame seeds/pumpkin seeds/sunflower seeds)
-PUMPKIN and SESAME SEEDS contain phytoestrogens, which may be able to ease menopausal symptoms and can help to increase male fertility.
-LINSEEDS also contain phytoestrogens, which can help reduce menopausal problems and correct your hormonal balance.

All nuts are packed with the above mentioned plus vitamin E and contain iron, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and copper. 

What do I do with nuts?

Nuts can be added to your salads and sauces, to your morning porridge or put ground nuts and seeds through your fruit smoothie. Nut pastes spread on wholemeal bread or oatcakes are delicious and filling. Tahini paste made with ground sesame seeds is a useful cooking ingredient found in houmous and other Mediterranean dishes. 

And if you forgot to add them to any of your meals, just have a mixed handful of goodness in the evening, chew it thoroughly and enjoy the benefits!

 

No wonder squirrels are such healthy active little chaps...... 

If you are a calorie-counter check out this helpful page:

http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories/calorie_counter/nuts_seeds.htm