the big comeback

Hey guys !!!!!!!!!

I'm slowly but surely going to post things on my blog again :D

My last post dated...from three years ago, wauw! 

Now the healthy lifestyle is something that is everywhere, millions of blogs, pinterests, instagrams,...

When I started with this blog 4-5 years ago, I was like the weird witch with her crazy ideas, haha LOL. I would also only share this blog with my closest friends, I was too scared of what other people would think about me (sad right).  And look at all the vanillabeanmatchachaitoffeecoffeeoatswithcacaonibscaramelisedstarfruitandbewitchedpecanbutterwithbarbecuedbananascapturedfromthetreesofNarnia now!!! 

*I still use my oils for everything (coconut, argan, avocado, castor, almond,...) 

*I'm still brushing my teeth with organic toothpaste (no toxic fluoride for me) and now I'm starting to look into homemade toothpaste (with a mix of coconut oil and baking soda, more about that later) 

*I'm also new at the whole oil pulling thing, don't know if you already read about this but it's an Ayurvedic thing and you rinse your mouth for about 20 minutes with coconut oil (is super antibacterial). It's also great for whitening your teeth naturally. I'm actually having a cavity right now (I think) and I'm oil pulling for two days now, we'll see how that goes! I'll get back to you :D

*Still eating huge amounts of oatmeal, muesli, granola with so much cinnamon I cannot even taste it anymore

*Banana peanut butter everyday, keeps the doctor away is my motto

*Oeh I'm also drinking on a regular basis Golden Milk, it's a paste made of turmeric powder with black pepper and water (black pepper increases the bioaviability of turmeric, so you're body absorps it better!). More about that also very soon :D

*Still drinking huge amounts of tea (maybe more herbal teas now; rosemary, mint, thyme, fennelseeds, combinationsssss). One of my favorite right now is the Kusmi Detox grapefruit tea mmm. 

*I still cook for my dogs and cat, never ever ever ever ever ever is there a royal canin or whiskas coming into my house

*Spelt anytime anywhere everywhere, still motto nr2

*Did my second half marathon last year (yess)

*Still believe in the power and strength of a full moon

*On a holiday or trip I'll always bring: Calendula salve, Arnica Montana and Tea tree oil

*I made my mum clean the house with baking soda and vinegar (except my bath, I make it so greasy because of my oils that she cannot get it clean) (always gets really angry then)

*I desperately want a huge aloe vera plant!!!!

*I got people addicted to avocados (especially my boyfriend :D)

*I would love to be a super flexible yoga girl, but I'm really not...I try tho'!! 

*I started drinking coffee (but only almondmilk-chai-infused-coconut-sugar-coffee)

*My hangovers got worse...

*I got some forehead wrinkles (???!!!), I think its from all the frowning when I'm studying or maybe I just laugh too much I don't know  

*I'm still consuming too much plastic, I'm trying to reduce it but it's really everywhere. Even when I buy organic fruit or vegetables at Delhaize, they are wrapped in plastic. Whyyyy. I'm keeping all my glass jars now and using those more and more (tea, oatmeal, salad on the go)

*My latest passion are semi precious stones (amethysts, crystals, jade, ...) I really don't know a lot about them, but they are so beautiful and have lots of properties! (I'm studying with like 10 rocks around me hahaha) (don't give me that -you are a crazy witch-look, we'll see in a couple of years)

*I'm super annoyed when my mum buys something already made from the store instead of making it from scratch herself. I can be a really annoying daughter. Love u mum and your delicious homemade speltbread <3

*I'm writing all this but actually I really need to study...But here it is my official comeback :D

See you soon,

Love <3

Shady 


PS: the layout of this blog really needs an update too...working on it 

baked oatmeal

I'm a huge fan of oatmeal...But I never made baked oatmeal, so when I saw this recipe from Family Fresh Cooking, I was sold.

Saffron Pear Baked Oatmeal from Family Fresh Cooking

Ingredients

• 3 cups Rice or Almond Milk (or any milk you prefer)   (I used oat milk)
  
• 3 cups light unsweetened Coconut Milk
• 2-3 pinches of Saffron strands - use more for a stronger flavor and yellow color
• 2 cups Coach's Oats         (I just used regular oats)
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine Sea Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
• 1 cup diced Pear
• 1/4 cup Raisins
• 1/4 cup Nuts, chopped
• 3-4 droppers full of Vanilla Stevia Drops, adjust to taste (I don't use Stevia)
  
• Cooking Spray

Optional Toppings

• Raisins
• Goji Berries
• Coconut Milk
• Coconut Flake
• Pomegranate Seeds
• Dried Blueberries
• Heavy Cream
• Greek Yogurt

Pre heat oven to 350 °F (180 C°) with the rack in the middle. In a medium sized bowl mix together milk choice and coconut milk. Stir in saffron until you see some yellow. In another bowl whisk together oats, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Combine the wet and dry, stir well and fold in the raisins, nuts and pear. Add stevia or natural sweetener to taste.
Spray two 10.5 X 7 inch oven safe baking dishes with cooking spray. Or use one larger baking dish. Evenly distribute oatmeal in baking dishes. Bake for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and top with dried fruits, nuts, berries, etc. Slice to serve and top with cream, a splash of milk or yogurt, fresh and dried fruit, nuts, etc.

I also love that I can use saffron in this recipe, because we have so much saffron from Iran :) (the best in the world.) 

Lovely! 

eat drink & be vegan

I love this book! Eat, drink & be vegan from Dreena Burton. Especially her 'hummus section'. I made two of them and they're both incredibly delicious. Just wanted to eat it all up with a spoon!

The Roasted Red Pepper Almond Hummus

The Black Bean & Orange Hummus 

I hadn't enough black beans so I put some red beans, that explains the strange purple color of my hummus.

start again

Heeey !!

I just came back from the beautiful Sevilla! I'm ready to start posting again ;-)

Things to come ;

 - black beans fudgy vegan brownie

 - making your own veggieburgers

 - roasted red pepper & almond hummus by Dreena Burton

 - flax eggs

 - making your own rice milk!! (much cheaper)

I think this is quite a handful to start ;-)

See you soon, I'm going to my kitchen now!

Love xxx


Ps : Are you so excited as I am that it's pumpkin time again???yezzzzzzz <3

trio de hummus

What's up today?

Yesterday I made those three different kinds of hummus.

•  The green one = basil wasabi hummus (yes I finally made it!)
•  The yellow one = ras el hanout hummus
•  The red one = paprika hummus

It's very easy to make your own hummus, you only need a blender. I made a mix of split peas and chickpeas. You have to let them soak a whole night in water (it's crazy to see how much they rise). Then you cook it and let it boil for half an hour something like that, just taste it to see if it's cooked. 

The basil, wasabi, tahini for the first one. 

The chickpeas, split peas, basil (handful), tahini (1 teaspoon), lemon (to taste), wasabi (to taste) and I used 2 teaspoons of rapeseed oil (instead of olive oil) because it contains some extra omega 3! I forgot the (essential) garlic, so make you sure you don't forget it. Some salt and pepper, and you mix itttttt. Oh yes, when you cooked your peas, keep the cooking water and use it also in your hummus otherwise it will be to thick.  

This was the result. Next time I'll put some more wasabi paste in it, because you could smell it but not taste it quite enough.

 For the next one, I grilled the paprika in the oven until the skin cracked. Then you peel it off and slice it. I mixed half of the paprika with the peas, garlic, the peas' cooking water, olive oil, coriander, lemon juice, tahini, salt and pepper. The amount of ingredients you put in it is always to taste. 

Then I put the rest of the sliced paprika on your hummus.

The next one I made was with the Ras El Hanout powder. It's a mix of different spices; curry, curcuma, cinnamon, fennel, ... Very characteristic of tajines. 

Same thing; mix the peas, the cooking water, olive oil, some garlic, tahini, lemon juice, ras el hanout, salt and pepper together. 

Easy, isn't it? 

That was a good Sunday lunch ;-)

See you !

fruit'n'tea

 

I stole this little concept from EXKI. Mix some fruit with your favorite green tea. Very simple and very refreshing on hot days.

I mixed watermelon with Kusmi Strawberry green tea. I added some ginger and mint. You can always add some agave syrup or cane sugar syrup to make it more sweetened. Don't forget the ice cubes to make it very cool. 

 

With some rhubarb pie, yummie.

 And Theo, always sitting on my lap when we're eating pie... a real sweet tooth.

Xoxo

bananas

Hey guys! 

The other day, I decided to make myself a banana hair mask! Bananas are very good for your hair, because there is a lot of starch in it. It helps them shine, grow and make it more smooth. 

First you take a banana (or two if you have very long hair), a tablespoon of olive oil (or any other good oil; argan oil, jojoba oil, ... I used my own hair oil) and a tablespoon of vinegar. 

The oil really feeds your hair and the vinegar helps them to strengthen and shine even more.

Make sure you mash the banana reaaaalllyy well. I even suggest you put it in a mixer, because I mashed it for about 15 minutes, but I still had some banana chunks that I couldn't get of my hair very well! So, I recommend you put the banana in a blender otherwise you will struggle to rinse off the banana. 

Then you apply the paste on your hair, everywhere. You wrap your hair in plastic foil and leave this for 15-20 minutes! Then you rinse it and wash your hair!

Besides the struggle for getting the banana chunks out of my hair, I really loved the result. My hair felt thicker, stronger and also very soft and shiny!

Love, 

Shady