Healthy breakfast: Oat banana egg pancake with fresh figs and joghurt

Weekends are always about more time to relax, to do what you want, to go out with friends and to do some sports. For me weekedns are as well about long enjoying breakfasts :) Because you don't have to run to work and you can prepare a full charging meal. If you are looking for a nice breafast recipe you just have to try Oat pancakes with cinnamon apples and vanilla ice-cream, Polenta with mushrooms and pancetta or French Crepes.

Or just follow this post...
What is nice about the recipe I wanna share today is that it is
Healhty
Easy
Quick
Sweet
3-Ingredients Only
Lactose Free
Wholesome
Christmas
All in all perfect recipe for breakfast.

Ingredients:
Pancakes
(yields 2 pancakes)
2 eggs
1 banana
1/4 cup oats
coconut oil for frying
1/2 tsp Christmas spices

Filling:
2 fresh figs
2 tbsp Bulgaria joghurt

Blend oat flakes thoroughly. Add banana, Christmas spices and eggs. Mix well until the dough is smooth and creamy. Preheat pancake pan and oil it with some coconut oil to prevent sticking. Fry the pancake for about 1-2 minutes, then flip it over and wait another 30 seconds. READY :) 

 Serve with any filling you love. My favorite is peanut butter. This time I chose some fresh figs and white Bulgaria joghurt. Spicy latte macchiato made a perfect match to my breakfast. Warm scent of Christmas spices completed cozy atmosphere.

Wish you a nice weekend evening and a wonderful week.

Enjoy your meal and let your mind wander about all of the amazing flavors you experience.

Pear and almond tart: Sugarfree recipe

Hurra! I am happy to finalise 8-week Detox "I quit sugar" and give you my feedback. I have to say that it is quite challenging to follow this programme in the cold time of the year because our bodies are willing to gain weight before winter and our hands are unwittingly reaching out for another piece of chocolate.

Therefore I started the first week very smoothly. I still ate some fruit, excluded only the sweetest: bananas and grapes. No added sugar was not a problem for me. I anyway don't add sugar into my coffee or tea, can live without sweets and creamy cakes. What was really hard for me was to exclude dried and fresh fruit. But I managed at least to reduce them. So everything is manageable. Believe me! If I was really starving for something sweet one apple served a good source of needed energy. Or a little piece of dark chocolate (80% cocoa and higher) rescued me. During this period I educated my attitude to sugar. I really think twice before I now eat another piece of chocolate or sweet. I ask myself: "Do I really want it?" And the answer in most of the cases is: "No!". I am not sugar-addicted and my body can live happily without it. Or let's say - with reduced amount of it. I am not pretending to follow a sugar free nutrition plan. This is not my intention. The only thing I want you to understand is that our possibilities are unlimited. And we can always try something new. But we have to stay reasonable. To avoid added sugar is definitely possible and you can see that from my recipes. One of it I want to share with you today. I baked it some time ago and finally it's time!!!

As a celebration of my sugar free consciousness I present you healthy variation of pear and almond tart.

Ingredients:
(for 24-26 cm baking form)
Crust *

Filling
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1⁄2 cups raw unblanched whole almonds, finely ground
2⁄3 cup rice syrup
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1⁄4 tsp. salt
3  pears, peeled, quartered and cored
date syrup

*To prepare the crust please use my tart crust recipe for Pumpkin pie.

Prepare your crust: in a large bowl combine both types of flour with salt; using pastry blender kitchen processor, cut in butter, yogurt and banana. Pour in cold water and mix well until dough starts to hold together. Use the dough immediately, or wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Take the dough out of the fridge. Oil your baking form (mine was 26 cm in diameter) and place a thin layer of the crust into the form trying to make nice edges.

Bake the crust for 15 minutes.

While the crust is baking prepare your filling

In a saucepan melt the butter. Let it cool down. In a bowl mix ground almonds, rice syrup, eggs, vanilla extract and melted butter. Spread evenly in the tart shell. Slice each pear half crosswise into slices about 2-3 mm thick, keeping each one together. Put each half core side down and stem end toward the centre in the pan. Flatten the pieces and press the slices into the filling.

Bake the tart until the filling is firm to the touch in the centre and slightly golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Pour date syrup over the tart slice and enjoy your sweet treat ;)

Baked chesnuts: how to select and bake chesnuts

Christmas is officially on its' way. And that means: Christmas markets are widely open ;) Hot spiced wine, sweet comforting scent of roasting chestnuts, big company and a lot of fun during cold evenings. Wanna make a Christmas mood at home? Here's how.

Chestnut season is running from early October through late December. When buying chestnuts pay attention to healthy, unwrinkled shells and a glossy brown surface. Pick the heaviest chestnuts. Fresh chestnuts feel firm to the touch and are heavy in the hand. There should be no space between the shell and the nut inside.

Did you know that chestnuts...

• ...are the best choice for evening snack? Because they are easy to digest and are boosted with relaxing Tryptophan
• ...act as a base food and therefore help at heartburn?
• ... contain a mix of protein, starch and fibre, thus making for a longer time full?
• ... with a high value of B-vitamins make the nerves stronger?

As you understood for this recipe you need only main ingredient and around 30 minutes.

First, wash the nuts under running water. Preheat the oven to 160-180C.  With the use of a sharp knife, make a cross-shaped incision about 0.4 cm deep on the top of each chestnut shell. Bake them 20 minutes and leave in the closed oven for another 10 minutes to rest. Here you go: a healthy snack is ready to go.

Low-carb cauliflower recipe

Another week passed by so quickly. I got frightened when I realised that my last post was 2 weeks ago.. A disaster, I have to say! Days are changed by nights, you wake up in the darkness and come back in the darkness. Hello November! What else can I say?!

Indeed my last week was quite intensive: some appointments, new James Bond premiere, pilates, yoga, cooking class... All in all gathering more impressions and experience to share with you and cheer you up even when outside it is so rainy, wet and miserable. Therefore today we will make a nice risotto variation. It is a special recipe and I believe not many of you ever imagined this product to be used as a main ingredient for risotto. But "YES! It is cauliflower!" and we will make it a hero today. I am considering us all being creative and curious so I thought "Why not?". We are mostly used to make fried cauliflower in Ukraine and nothing else. Especially when I know that it is a low-carb product and in autumn our bodies usually gain weight just in case the winter will be too cold:)

And by the way I served in a self-painted plate. We made those during the "Decoration" workshop organised by IKEA in the beginning of autumn.
How do you like it? Let me know in the comments below.

So let's start!

Ingredients:
(for 2 portions)

2 cups Cauliflower or 1 middle sized Cauliflower
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 small chopped Shallot onion
1/2 cup Bouillon Vegetable Broth
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (Grated)
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds

The directions are as usually very easy, quick and the result will surprise you by its' uniqueness and nutrition value.

1. Wash Cauliflower and cut it into smaller parts. Pulse cauliflower florets in a food processor until they are small enough to be rice-like.

2. Cut shallot onion. In a skillet over medium heat fry it in the olive oil until tender.

3. Add cauliflower, vegetable stock and cook about 10 minutes.

4. Salt and pepper and add grated cheese.

5. In a dry saucepan heat sesame and sunflower seeds. Stir them all the time so that they do not get burned. It takes about 3-5 minutes to feel the pleasant smell in the air. But be cautious not to keep them too long on the heat.

This is it. I served my portion with smoked salmon and cherry tomatoes. It is up to you what you like the most. It may be a good combination to meat, fish on any other source of good protein. What is your beloved source of protein?

Bon Appétit!