HOMEMADE GRANOLA - Easy and healthy!

Hi everyone! :) 

Sorry for not posting last week but I got soooo much work to do concering my summer exam session at uni. I'm sure that some of you know exactly what such session really means (hard working, hard thinking, not enough sleep and time). Fortunately, it has just come to an end and at last I've got enough time to talk to you! :)

Today's post is a food one - I really want to present you my recipe for making a homemade GRANOLA! Granola is just a mixture of rolled oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, honey and melted butter. It's much cheaper (and healthier!) to make granola at home than get it in a supermarket (crunchy muesli in the store is often high in sugar and contains unhealthy oils and fats). 

In addition, it only depends on you which combination you pick out; you can mix your favourite ingredients and enjoy the taste! :) 

 Before baking.

  After baking.

Please do not feel repelled by this pretty long ingredient list below beacuse most of these things you certainly have in your kitchen. :)

INGREDIENTS (for 10 servings)

30 tablespoons rolled oats 

4 tablespoons almond flakes

4 tablespoons coconut chips

3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

3 tablespoons sunflower seeds

1/2 cups chopped walnuts 

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

1 cup dried cranberry

4 teaspoons cinnamon 

4 tablespoons liquid honey 

2 tablespooons melted butter 

DIRECTIONS 

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees F.

2. Combine all dry ingredients (rolled oats, seeds, nuts, flakes, chips, cinnamon) in a large bowl. 

3. Add melted butter and liquid honey. Stir.

4. Spread the mixture in a thin layer on a baking sheet (covered in a parchment paper).

5. Bake until golden and brown (for about 15-20 minutes). Stir the granola with a spoon every 3 or 4 minutes so it will bake evenly.

6. Remove from the oven and place in a large bowl. Add dried cranberry, mix and let cool before storing.

 Granola constitues a perfect grab-and-go snack and an ideal breakfast meal when served with a natural yohgurt or fresh fruits!

You can keep it in a jar up to three weeks but whether you fall in love with it, I assure you it will disappear much sooner than expected. :D

Bon appetit!!

The easiest healthy banana crumpets I've ever made!

As the title suggests, this time I really want to show you my recipe for making banana crumpets. It's both easy and fast. To be honest, during the previous week I made them more than three times because they did so good as an easy, tasty and warm breakfast meal. However, it purely and simply depends on you whether you prepare them for breakfast, dinner, lunch or in the form of a sweet and healthy snack in the midst of the day. 

Preparation does not take you much time so it constitutes a pefect option when you're in a hurry and you're not going to leave home with your stomach being empty. These crumpets are incredibly delicious, stodgy and what is most important, healthy (we do not add any flour).

They can make a good substitute for your daily breakfast routine.

These are with a peach and cranberries but another time I added some fresh strawberries and apricots. Exquisite!

INGREDIENTS (for three crumpets)

1 medium or big ripe banana
2 eggs size M
1-2 tablespoon (s) natural yoghurt
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon (optional)
Canola oil
Favourite fruits - I chose 1 peach and dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS 

1. Peel and cut banana. Put it in a medium bowl, add 2 eggs and mix. Optionally you can add 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon. 

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and place there prepared mixture.

3. Fry until browned.

4. Place on a plate and topped with natural yoghurt and fresh or dried fruits.

5. Enjoy! :)

Don't forget to try out this recipe! :)

See you text time! 

xoxo

Grab-and-go, breakfast or dinner vegetable salad

Sometimes there's no point in making up salads which consist of a wide variety of difficult-to-access ingredients. 

My dad is the best at preparing this delicious vegetable salad which recipe I want to share with you today. I'm definitely not in the same class as my dad but I do my best. :D So far, I've only known this salad from being served on the side and a few days ago I made it for that purpose as well; however I've considered it a perfect breakfast food or grab-and-go snack. What you need are just some common vegetables, fruits and spices which, for sure, everone has in their kitchen. :)

INGREDIENTS

- 1 small cabbage lettuce

- 1/2 parsley (or chives)

- 1 apple

- 2 or 3 medium carrots 

- 2 tablespoons lemon juice

- olive oil 
- 1/2 tablespoon vinegar

- salt, pepper and sugar (to taste)

DIRECTIONS 

1. Remove tough leaves, wash and chop cabbage lettuce. Place it in a big bowl and add a pinch of salt. Put it aside for 25 minutes and let the cabbage soften.

2. Shave one apple and carrots and add them to the salad. Pour two tablespoons lemon juice and stir.

3. Spice with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Pour olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon vinegar over the salad and mix.

4. When the salad is well seasoned, add chopped parsley and mix all ingredients once again.

Bon appetit! :)

How to replace sweets? Healthy Desserts Ideas!

It is indisputable that almost everybody loves consuming sweets! It often seems impossible to resist a craving for chocolate, ice cream, cookies and other sweet snacks.The truth is that they are only empty calories: they fail to contain any nutritionial benefits such as minerals, vitamins and protein which our body needs to function properly and effectively.

I read some article about healthy eating a few days ago and the author claimed that water constitutes a perfect substitute for sweets. It sounds a bit ridiculous, isn't it? It's a fact that drinking water has a positive effect on our skin and in general, on our health; nevertheless, I'm sure that there is no such person in the whole universe that would pick out water instead of sweeties. 

However, how can we replace cravings for sweets with other wholesome sweet foods?  I'd love to share with you my three healthy alternatives which I've been using for some time now. They are full of natural fruit's sugars, vitamins and taste incredibly delicious!

1. Strawberry-Raspberry Dessert.
 

INGREDIENTS (for 2 servings)

- 10 strawberries
- 1 raspberry jelly
- 1 tablespoon almond flakes
- 7 oz. natural yoghurt (200 grams)
- 1 piece dark chocolate (optional, for garnish)

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash and peel strawberries.
2. Add 7 strawberries and natural yoghurt to a blender and mix until smooth.
3. Fill two glasses halfway with the mixture and put them aside.
4. Prepare the jelly according to the instructions on the package (but it's better to take 420 ml of water instead of 500ml) and add the remaining chopped 3 strawberries.
5. Place the jelly in the fridge for about 3 or 4 hours.
6. Prepared jelly put at the top of the mixture in the two glassess and place for another hour in the fridge.
7. Remove from the fridge and sprinkle with almond flakes and dark chocolate shavings. Enjoy!

2. Banana-Kiwi Ice Cream.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 banana
- 1,5 kiwi
- 2 strawberries (optional)
- 5 oz. natural yoghurt (150 grams)
- 1/2 tablespoon almond flakes

DIRECTIONS 

1. Wash, peel and slice all fruits.
2. Mix sliced banana, 1/2 kiwi and natural yoghurt in a blender until smooth.
3. Pour into a glass.
4. Add the remaining 1/2 kiwi and place in the freezer.
5. Prepared ice cream remove from the freezer, top with kiwi and strawberry slices and sprinkle with almond flakes. Enjoy!

3. Banana-Peach Rolled Oats Cookies.

INGREDIENTS

- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 peach
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon cranberry (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Peel and slice bananas. Wash and cut peach.
2. Mix bananas, peach and honey in a bowl and put aside for 15 minutes.
3. After that time, add rolled oats and cranberries. Stir. 
4. Mould round cookies and place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
5. Bake for 20 mins in the temp. 180°.
6. Remove cookies from the oven and put them on an oven shelf to harden and cool down. 
DO NOT place cookies immediately after baking on a plate because then they will soften up by absorbing moisture. Enjoy!

 

  

Obviously, the easiest and most common way to replace sweets is just making a salad by mixing all of our favourite fruits in a small bowl with natural yoghurt and some nuts, seeds or dried fruits. :)

I really hope that you'll use some of my recipies to prepare these luscious desserts instead of spending money on sweet and fatty snacks.

See you next time! :)

Z.