SPINACH TORTILLAS

The thing i loved about these tortilla is that they are so easy to make, and although i thought making my own tortilla from SCRATCH was going to be a hassle, and i’d have to face my mum after turning the whole kitchen upside down, it turned out to be surprisingly simple and hardly anything got messy, my mum was even happy to make some more again 🙂

So i used normal all-purpose flour but I’m sure you can use wheat flour as well to make it even healthier,

1 cup flour

2 cups spinach cooked slightly in water)

3 tablespoons of water (use water from spinach)

THATS ALL!

after cooking the spinach for a few minuets and it goes a little soft, add it to the flour, you can season with salt and pepper i also added cayenne pepper.

when making the tortillas add more flour on the surface and if it needs any extra.

Spray a pan with a little bit of olive oil and on medium heat place each thin tortilla for a few minuets on each side!

Having these in the fridge was so helpful, whenever you want a healthy-light lunch, you can fill it up with so many veggies, chicken and anything you can think of to make a nice healthy wrap 🙂

i also made mine quite small in size so that when i make the wraps it won’t add up to be too many calories and make me bloated. 

SPINACH AND CAULIFLOWER MASH

so my parents are out of the country, and I’m here with my older sister for one whole week!

first thing that came up to my mind when they told me they were leaving was: IM GOING TO DO THE COOKING!

the excitement i got from this thought is a bit worrying for a 15 year old, but nevertheless my brain automatically started thinking of what i could cook, which was both easy, edible and most importantly healthy.

although my sister was not too excited about this, but seeing as she hasn’t got the BEST experience in the kitchen, this is my perfect opportunity to transform her.

and i think were getting there the other day she drank a spinach and banana smoothie and loved it! wooohoo!

the day before my parents left i went on a full shopping spree for food, and made sure we were fully stocked with fruits, veggies and some healthy whole wheat bread and snacks (nuts/dried fruits)

so, this was just a simply thing i made for dinner, i think its perfect for winter as it will keep you warm,

in winter i tend to find it harder to eat fruits fresh from the fridge and i always fancy something warm so i think this is perfect as its so easy to make and SOOOO healthy and full of nutrients!

INGREDIENTS:

cauliflower

spinach

milk

black pepper

METHOD!

boil some cauliflower and spinach, for around 40 minuets till soft and all water evaporates. 

mash them with a fork

add some low-fat milk to soften,

add black pepper or any other herbs you like 🙂

it really was so satisfying, and much healthier than mashed potatoes with an even better taste! REALLY RECOMMEND IT, it’s now one of my favorite winter dinners!

MY OBSESSION WITH LETTUCE

One of my favorite new elements to use in my light dinners is…*drum roll* lettuce!

It’s so exciting that lettuce actually has NEGATIVE CALORIES and i think if it wasn’t healthy i would probably be craving it as i crave chocolate sometimes.

it’s so crunchy, and can go with nearly anything you eat it with so you NEVER GET BORED, there’s always new ways to eat lettuce and that’s what makes it so much more easier to try eating as much as you can,

it’s a good way to fill yourself up with something like lettuce which is very healthy, and that way you won’t feel hungry and eat more of something which is more fattening.

these past three days i’v had lettuce for my dinner but each time i ate it differently, and i’m sure there’s so many other ingredients you can mix it with and have yourself an amazing little healthy dinner.

for me, it was sort of like a substitute to bread, instead of having a grilled chicken sandwich i rolled the chicken with some lettuce, or turkey rolled in lettuce.

bread can be good, when its whole wheat and when you eat it in moderation, but sometimes when you feel you’ve eaten too much bread for that day and still want a “sand-witchy” quick and easy to make dinner, there’s ALWAYS s substitute.

 

so here’s what i had:

What i think about eating disorders and the craziest diets out there!

I came across this article today about the craziest diets people do, and how far people go just to loose weight and to “look good”

I was shocked to see the extent of some of these diets, they’re just tragic and it really started to make me wonder, on how all these problems of eating disorders started…

1.the tapeworm diet 

2.sunlight only diet – so you basically get your “energy” from the sun, a woman died trying to foliow this diet 

3. having a gadget inserted in your tongue to make eating uncomfortable

4.the baby food diet

5.The lemonade diet. 

 

all these diet is basically starving yourself, not eating properly and not getting  ANY nutrition in your body.

this is not healthy. It’s not even scientifically proven that can make you loose weight.

you’re just messing up your metabolism, your lifestyle and your happiness.

who would want to do such a thing just to “look good”? when there’s such an easier alternative and that is just to eat a healthy balanced diet, with regular exercise where you actually get your nutrition like you’re supposed to because that’s how humans were designed.

 

i think people have been becoming so self-conscious about how they look and how much they weigh and food has started to become controlling them rather than them controlling food.

wether its starving yourself which can lead to anorexia, or bulimia or binge eating which can lead to obesity.

all these eating disorders are caused because of people’s lack of control.

yes staying healthy and fit and thin is great! but do it in a way where YOU control it and not food controls you!

More and more people are finding these diets completely normal, people are taking them for granted and not doing anything about them, people who suffer from eating disorders may not even admit to themselves that they have a problem. if you don’t know there’s a problem how can you solve it? The world may not realize how serious eating disorders actually is, and how many deaths or depressions it causes every year; it’s a problem that really needs to be put out there and talked about, because its us who started it in the first place, setting standards, and causing people to feel pressurized about how they look rather than how they feel. wanting to be thin should be to feel good not to show to others that you’re skinny like models out of a magazine.

The fact that i’m so obsessed with healthy eating sometimes worries me, that i might sometimes take it a step too far, that in a few years time i may start doing these crazy diets. but the shock that  had from just reading about them made me realize how tragic the problem is, and we must help anyone out there who thinks this is normal!

Fresh of Frozen?

In the winter, i always fancy something warm at night and the healthiest and easiest thing that comes to mind that feels like “real food” for a light dinner are boiled vegetables.

beans, carrots, peas and corn. easy, quick and delicious.

they’re always there in the freezer and all you have to do is boil them.

but are frozen vegetables actually healthy and do they still contain all the nutrients?

 

There was a small paragraph about it in my biology book and i was really surprised by what i read so i decided to find out more.

 

well, after some research i was pleasantly surprised to find out that frozen vegetables actually have more nutrients than fresh ones! (which was what i originally read in my science book)

 

the frozen vegetables are processed at their peak ripeness, so they have the most nutrients at the time, once they’re frozen these nutrients will be preserved.

fresh or canned fruits on the other hand, will go bad and loose their nutrients in the transportation process and by the time you consume them.

 

fresh fruits and vegetables are also picked up and shipped before they are fully ripe and therefore don’t contain as much nutrients.

 

so frozen fruits and vegetables are just as good, and especially for winter they can come in really handy when you need something warm to fill you up. i also personally feel that when you have a small portion of boiled vegetables you automatically feel full (i just scoffed down a cup while writing this blogpost ;p ) and you don’t feel the need to go to the fridge every 5 minuets waiting for something indulging to munch on.

5 calories cinnammon meringue!

when i saw this recipe i absolutely fell in love!

i was so excited to do it, i was so busy yesterday but decided to make time to do this awesome recipe!

so each little meringue is only 5 calories!

i love meringue and i love anything crunchy

so this is the perfect snack for me to munch on!

2 eggs whites

1/4 teaspoon cinnammon

1/4 teaspoon cardamon

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

3 tablespoons brown sugar

lemon juice

beat egg whites and orange juice, then add spices and sugar one tablespoon at a time.

once the meringue looks stiff place in oven of 300 degrees for around 20 minuets

so, we’d just bought a new oven and it doesn’t have the temperatures on it, it was the first time we try using it, and so my little meringues were the victims who burnt in the hell of fire 😦

i couldn’t try them but I’m sure they would have turned out amazing and been my new favorite treat,

so whenever i have time again i shall try to remake them.

let me know how yours turned out 🙂 

TEA OR COFFE? are the myths true?

winter is here and there’s nothing better than to wake up and have a nice hot cup of coffee or tea, another one in the evening and maybe even one before going to bed while you’re snuggled up. 

But, while they both contain caffeine, is it healthy to have these hot drinks that we take for granted? 

 

so I  decided to research and here’s the science of tea and coffee. are the myths true? 

COFFEE – i personally try not to have too much coffee as i’m still young and don’t want to be addicted to the caffeine. but when i really need to wake up it is my only solution. 

so, coffee has 80-180mg of caffeine per cup. 

i was so relieved to read that coffee stunting your growth and giving you heart disease or stomach cancer are all a myth. 

instead it can help prevent alzheimer’s, heard disease and parkinson’s as well as liver and breast cancer.

for all those that suffer from asthma it also helps ease asthma attacks. 

 

my personal favorite was that it increases energy expenditure so it actually makes you burn calories FASTER! 

 

but of course, too much of anything will have a bad effect and if you rely too much on coffee you may suffer from insomnia anxiety or restlessness. 

 

TEA – there’s so many kinds of teas and each one has its own benefits.

 

The most common two are green and black tea. 

 

green tea is mostly known for it’s “healthiness” it prevents breast lung and stomach cancer, reducs the chance of a stroke 

it also BURNS FAT and improves cholesterol levels. 

 

black tea is the most consumed tea and is the highest in caffeine however is the best at cancer prevention

 

so, enjoy your winter by having plenty of these hot beverages and forget about the myths, but remember have them in moderation and don’t go as far as relying on them to the point where you can’t function! 

ADVENT CALENDAR – to stay fit and healthy for the holidays!

It’s nearly december, and that means we’re going to be starting to use the C word aloooot!

I don’t know what it is about the christmas season, it may be the warm weather or the celebratory feeling or just our idea of christmas we seem to always think of food, sweets and chocolate!

first signs of that are going to start on the 1st of december, when everyone is going to get they’re advent calendars and start to eat each treat day after day wether its chocolates, biscuits, or anything else that sounds tempting and delicious.

what to do then? while everyone is running around trying to find the best advent calendars with the most mouth-watering chocolates.

i sat down and made my own calendar.

sorry for the lack of creativity or artistic skills, but with lack of time and plenty of school art work to do piling up, the main aim of making this advent calendar was for the concept so feel free to make it look prettier and more christmasy 🙂

i don’t know how i got the idea, but instead of eating a chocolate each day, you will have a work out exercise to do; wether its crutches, squats or sit-ups. while everyone else is stuffing their face before the holidays we will be doing the exact opposite. It’s going to be like our own motivation and count down to loose even more weight till the holidays and then we won’t regret having that piece of mince pie that we’ve been looking forward to because after all it is christmas. Then, let’s see who’s going to feel happier on christmas and new year’s day. 🙂

NO BAKE peanut butter balls!

Whenever you feel you need something to nibble on, you can mix this, stick it in the fridge for about an hour and you have yourself an awesome treat!

A Healthy Surprise

i always love surprising my family with a little meal. either for breakfast and lunch. i like setting up the table and making it look nice and colorful; i probably get it from my dad who also loves to get creative with food.

whenever we go to a restaurant, whatever we have he’ll always mix different ingredients and cook the exact same thing the next day at home. I know that not a lot of Dads cook especially not the ones who are, like mine, busy with their jobs, and i like that it’s different with mine. I really do love his cooking, except for the part that its unhealthy. But the amount of time i spend talking about health with my family has actually influenced them as well, they may not be health-mainiacs ilke me but they know that if they do do a healthy meal, it will always put a smile on my face and i will enjoy it, that little bit more.

Yesterday, after a four hours of dance practice, i come home to find this on the table.

it was so sweet and it looked so pretty and it’s the perfect meal to have after exercise, you need your energy but you won’t be putting back all these calories you just lost by eating something unhealthy and fattening.

surprises will always put a smile on anyone’s face. especially healthy ones 😉

 

The secret is, if you prepare little snacks like this beforehand and just have them sitting in the fridge, whenever you get hungry their right there in front of you and you can nibble on them rather than opening the drawers and searching for biscuits and chocolates.

cut up some cucumbers and peppers in the morning and see the difference it makes.