Wholegrain Spelt Pizza with Tuna, Egg, Olives and Artichokes

Spring, sun, first flowers, trees bursting into leaves and birds.. Everywhere, singing so loud that you tend to not notice the city noise. They took me. Within the last couple of weeks I took a lot of time travelling and walking. And yesterday I decided that after 13500 steps I have earned a home-made tasty pizza. 

Of course, it wouldn't be me if I had a ready frozen pizza or pizza dough and just put it in the oven to satisfy myself. Noooo :) I consciously choose what I eat following the easiest nutrition rules. One of my own:  substitute white flour with whole wheat flour. Easy? Who told it is difficult to #eatyourselfslim. Not tasty? Try first and you will forget what you've thought rapidly. Inspired by Jamie Oliver and as already promised in my Instagram I am pleased to share this recipe with you. There under tag #gourmetbalance you will find all my food related posts.

Ingredients:

yields one pizza

Pizza dough:

200 g wholewheat spelt flour

80ml buttermilk or kefir

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 whole egg 

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Filling:

60g canned tuna, drained and flaked

150 g grated pizza cheese *(I used Mozzarella)

2 tbsp sweet canned corn (optional*)

3-4 canned artichokes

2 San Marzano tomatoes

4-6 green olives

5 tbsp canned chopped tomatoes in juice or tomato paste

fresh basil

dried herbs

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. In a medium bowl whisk whole-wheat flour with salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl beat egg with buttermilk and oil. Using a kitchen processor blend it all together with flour to get the dough. It might seem to sticky to you. You may add some flour. But do not add too much. Press the dough on the parchment paper forming a round dough for pizza and lie it onto baking sheet . Spread the tomato paste or chopped tomatoes in juice over the dough and sprinkle with half of the cheese. Bake for about 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile prepare the rest of the filling: cut tomatoes and artichokes. On the prebaked pizza dough spread the rest of the filling and cover it with cheese rest and beat the egg on top in the center. Sprinkle with dried herbs and bake for another 20 minutes until the cheese melted and the egg is baked through. Decorate with fresh basil leaves and serve immediately.

Voila! Easy, quick and so good. From home-made to gourmet. Forgive me, Italy :)

Enjoy each moment.

Wholewheat Fig Pie with Almonds and Poppy Seeds

Autumn is almost gone and I just realized how quickly the time passes by...Only couple of weeks ago I was enjoying visiting my parents and here we are in November: Christmas markets are already being built all over Hamburg.... Nice times with hot wine and baked chestnuts have come. And as my oven was not working properly for some time you can imagine how happy I am now with the new one. Finally baking!!!! This time I wanted to bake something appropriate as a TO-GO Breakfast as well because it is getting harder and harder to wake up in the morning earlier in order to prepare it.  And I knew where to look for such recipe. "Super Food" can help. You probably remember how happy I was cooking this healthy breakfast by Jamie Oliver or baking a wonderful banana bread. For the latter I did not have figs and almonds that time so I chose dates and walnuts. But this time I tried to follow the recipe. I did my best. Although no the Best Best :) Well, you know me :) 

Ingredients:

yields 1 round loaf of bread 24 cm in diameter or heart shaped in my case :)

adopted from Everyday Super Food by J.Oliver

250 g dried figs

100 g wholemeal spelt flour

50 g wholemeal buckwheat flour

4 tbsp grape seed oil

5 tbsp Bulgaria yogurt

2 tbsp sesame

2 large eggs

3 ripe bananas

1/3 tsp vanilla paste

1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

100 g ground poppy seeds

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 apple

50 g whole almonds

For the recipe scroll down....... 

When I prepare my breakfast I find it very important to balance energy and protein intake reducing sugar as much as possible. At least not to pack my breakfast with added sugar. Fruits and healthy fats in moderation are welcomed. Hence this recipe took my attention: no added sugar, wholewheat flour, protein from nuts and poppy seeds, healthy fats and natural sweetness. Therefore it serves a perfect snack to-go, breakfast or dessert. I personally had a wonderful breakfast today.... Yummy!!!

First of all preheat the oven to 180 °C. Line a 24 cm round ovenproof form with baking paper.Or just simply take a silicon form if you have one. Wash the figs and place 200g of them in a food processor together with eggs, peeled bananas, oil, yogurt and vanilla seeds. Blitz until smooth. Then add both flour types with baking powder, ground poppy seeds and turmeric. Pulse until combined with the rest of the dough.

Grate the apple and mix it in. Pour the mixture into the form and spread evenly. Cut the remaining figs into pieces and decorate the bread with them, pushing them a bit. Then place whole almonds all over the top. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden, cooked through and as inserted skewer comes out clean. Let it cool a little.

And here you go. It can be served with clotted cream (as my husband prefers) or peanut butter / yogurt or just eaten as it is because the texture it moisture and smooth with pieces of crispy fig parts.

Wholewheat Banana-Date Bread with Walnuts

Rainy weekend... Nothing surprising for this time of the year in Hamburg. And sometimes it is not that bad because you pick your "To-do-in-rainy-weather list" and find something special to cheer you up. It may be reading of another interesting book that was waiting on your shelf for better times, or watching a movie that transfers you to a different world of adventures, or doing something useful like cleaning, sewing, knitting. For me it is usually cooking. But firstly - gathering inspiration. I start leafing through my favorite cooking books, magazines, food blogs, pinterest posts in my Recipes desk and usually come back to reality in about an hour, full of ideas and energy. This time it was very quickly. Since I finally got Everyday Super Food by Jamie Oliver I wanted to do this fantastic recipe: Figgy Banana Bread. And everything would be cool and smooth if I didn't realize that I don't have dried figs and almonds :(......

 But who cares?! If I have enough dates and walnuts! And a bowl of inspiration!!!

So here is my version of Bread from Jamie Oliver - Wholewheat Banana-Date Dread with Walnuts.

Ingredients:

yields 1 round loaf of bread 24 cm in diameter

adopted from Everyday Super Food by J.Oliver

250 g dried pitted dates (about 30 dates)

100 g wholemeal spelt flour

50 g wholemeal buckwheat flour

4 tbsp grapeseed oil

5 tbsp Bulgaria yoghurt

1 tbsp corn flour

2 large eggs

3 ripe bananas

1/3 tsp vanilla seeds

1 heaped teaspoon baling powder

100 g ground walnuts

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 apple

50 g whole walnuts

This bread is really packed with healthy ingredients (nuts, wholewheat flour, seeds, healthy oil), contains only natural sugar, no added. Therefore it serves a perfect snack to-go, breakfast or dessert. I personally had a wonderful breakfast today - couple of banana-date bread slices with peanut butter.... Yummy!!!

First of all preheat the oven to 180 °C. Line a 24 cm round ovenproof form with baking paper. Wash the dates and place 200g of them in a food processor together with eggs, peeled bananas, oil, yoghurt and vanilla seeds. Blitz until smooth. Then add both flour types with baking powder, ground walnuts, poppy seeds and turmeric. Pulse until combined with the rest of the dough. Add corn flour.

Grate the apple and mix it in. Pour the mixture into the form and spread evenly. Cut the remaining dates into pieces and decorate the bread with them, pushing them a bit. Then place walnuts all over the top. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden, cooked through and as inserted skewer comes out clean. Let it cool a little.

Voila! Easy and ready to be eaten: a Perfect Smooth Sweet Nutty Healthy Date-Banana Bread with Wholemeal flour and Walnuts!

All you need now is PATIENCE not to eat it all at once ;)

Healthy brekfast: Fried egg with Veggies, Smashed Avo & Whole Wheat bread

Beginning of winter brought me sore throat. Veeeery good :( But I have no time to get upset. My Bible has arrived - brand new culinary book by Jamie Oliver. And it is not simply his next book. This one is definitely special, especially for healthy lifestyle fans. Here it is: Everyday Super Food. Recipes for a Healthier Happier You. And today I tried the first recipe. Can't wait to present it to you asap. 

With the first pages I dove into a world where I feel myself as a fish in my own sea: healthy recipes, balanced combinations, spicy flavours, all in all a wonderful journey into the Super Food World. Today I woke up full of inspiration and created a variation of one of the recipes by Jamie which I am ready to share with you, my dear! 

Ingredients:

(serves 2) 

1 tbsp olive oil

2 large eggs

12 cherry tomatoes

2 mushrooms

1 bio lemon

1/2 ripe avocado

4 slices of wholewheat bread

2 brussels sprouts

1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce

salt, pepper

You know me, I just cannot follow the recipe as it is :) It is too strict for my creative soul. So this is a variation with a bit different ingredients and my own interpretation. Important is that you will get a balanced breakfast including a around 13 g of protein to feed the muscles, fibre from veggies to support your digestion, and healthy carbs to charge your energy battery. 

The first thing you will need is a non-stick sauce pan. Heat it with olive oil and fry an egg there. I usually heat it till maximum, beat the egg, reduce the heat to medium-low and cover with the lid. In 2 minutes I add 1 tsp of cold water and cover again for another minute. Then turn off the heat. It gets a nice fluffy texture. Finally season it with salt and pepper.

In the same saucepan prepare the veggie mix. Roast cherry tomatoes. Wash mushrooms and cut into slices. Same with brussels sprouts. Add them to tomatoes and roast for another 2 minutes. Salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, peel and smash avocado and season it with lemon juice. Spread the smashed avo on the toasted bread slices like butter. Serve with fried egg and veggie mix. Finish with a drizzle of tabasco sauce. Delicious.

Here you are: healthy breakfast is ready!

Easy, quick and tasty. Because good food is always a good idea!