Rainbow Buckwheat Noodle Salad

I made this a few days ago for the first time and it's so delicious,  fresh, filling and good for you that I had to pass it on! I looked at a few different recipes than made my own.
Buckwheat noodles will be a staple in my house this summer, gluten free and with a beautifully earthy flavour.They can be eaten hot or cold.
This salad is very quick to assemble and the dressing takes 10 minutes if you make your almond butter yourself like I did (just pop a cup of raw almonds in the food processor and let it go for 10 minutes and you got butter!!!), otherwise you can just buy the almond butter (preferably raw as to keep its nutrients intact) and add the rest of the ingredients.
The vegetables I used are my favourites but you can use anything  you like.
Next time I'm thinking of adding some crunch and probably sprinkle around some cashews, pecans or pumpkin seeds...Yum!
So here is what I used:

INGREDIENTS:
1 red bell pepper (chopped small)
Half a large cucumber (chopped small)
4 carrots (you can chop them small or if you're lazy like me just shred them in the food processor)
3 small spring onions finely chopped
a big handful of chopped coriander
1 pack of buckwheat noodles or 4 small bunches (this made enough for three meals!!!)

FOR THE DRESSING:
3/4 cup raw almond butter
1 tbsp tamari
juice of 1 lime (plus a few wedges to use if need extra)
2 tsp honey or rice syrup or maple syrup (I only had honey in the house so that's what I used)

METHOD

Boil the noodles following instructions, mine were 5 minutes.  A good trick is to prepare the dressing in the bowl first so then all you have to do is add the veggie and noodle and mix, that way you only have that bowl to wash up afterwards! BONUS!!!
So add all together, mix it up and sprinkle some more coriander and lime juice on top. Ready to go.
PS: leftovers can be kept in the fridge and used for lunch on the following day.

Purple Smoothie Delight

School is out and summer is in baby!

I finally did my physiology exam yesterday, preparing for it has been hard and it drained me both mentally and physically even though I loved everything I was learning. So now it's time to recharge my batteries, gain some of the weight I lost from too much uni stress and just relax and focus on myself and everything I love!!!

So let's start with the prettiest purple smoothie recipe. Purple is my favourite colour but this is not the only reason why I love this smoothie...It's really tasty, it's fresh and has proteins, antioxidants and good fats. It's a great way to start your day! Most of all, it's very quick to make which is key for me and why I love smoothies so much, you just pop all the ingredients in your blender (best money I ever spent) and in one minute you're ready to go.

INGREDIENTS

1 handful almonds

1 cup brown rice milk or soy milk ( make sure they are unsweetened, I use Rude Health Brown Rice Milk)

1 cup frozen berries (mine was a mix of blueberries and strawberries)

1 probiotic capsule (open it up and pour the powder in )

1tsp vanilla extract

1tbsp chia seeds

1tbsp coconut oil ( I use Lucy Bee)

1 date ( put in hot water while you prepare the other ingredients, this way it'll be softer and plumper, remember to remove the seed!)

OPTIONAL: add 1 handful of spinach or kale for extra calcium and magnesium.

As I said before, all you have to do is add the ingredients to the blender and whizz for a minute. Enjoy!

Summer Salad

We've had a few hot days lately here in London and when the weather is so summery, my body screams for fresh foods. I wanted to make a quick salad  to satisfy my cravings but I also needed to pack it with gorgeous ingredients that were delicious and really good for me!
And so my summer salad was born.
It has some of my favourite things in it such as sweet potatoes and red and yellow peppers.
I also added some cannellini beans for protein and chopped one small avocado to add healthy fats.
On top of everything, this salad ended up being so colourful, it made happy just looking at it!

Here we go: serves 1
1 bag of organic mixed salad
1 small avocado chopped
1 sweet potato chopped (with added paprika, cinnamon and dried herbs OPTIONAL)
1/2 red pepper sliced
1/2 yellow pepper sliced
1/2 can cannellini beans (rinsed)
1 handful of pumpkin seeds

DRESSING
Extrvirgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to your taste and a sprinkle of Pink Himalayan salt (or sea salt)

I used one oven tray lined with baking paper for both sweet potato and peppers, just place them on opposite sides. Just pop the pepper slices on the tray (make sure you washed the peppers first!). as for the sweet potato, once you chopped it, sprinkle some paprika, cinnamon and mediterranean herbs with a little salt (at least that's what I do, but you can just keep it simple and add some salt,pepper and a little bit of dried herbs if you prefer), add 1tbsp of extravirgin olive oil and add to the tray. Bake at 180C for about 30 min.
That was the hard part, now you just put all the ingredients together and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds!
Buon Appetito.xxx

The salmon post

I have always loved salmon. Smoked, steamed, roasted, in a pie...  So I started looking for fresh wild Alaskan salmon. And I quickly realised that 1) on that supermarket counter, fish should have looked and smelled insanely fresh but it really, really didn't 2) it quickly became too expensive a craving for me to keep up.

Then I enrolled in nutritional therapy and found out that frozen fish,which I feared for years because I thought there were some weird chemicals added to it ( probably something I heard my mom's friends talked about years ago in Italy...), is actually fresher than the fish you find on the counter. 

I  decided to give it a try and soon realised it was the best thing I could ever buy. Not only it tastes delicious, looks and smells fresher, but it is also incredibly cheaper! I buy my Alaskan wild salmon from Sainsburys, it's £4.50 for 5 fillets, which means that I can now have my Omega3 fatty acids ( good fats that your body cannot produce) 3 times a week and still have two fillets left for the week after. You can find Omega3 fats in many types of oily fish like mackerel, sardines, salmon and ideally you want to eat them 2-3 times a week. I stick to salmon because I tried both mackerel and sardines and they do not agree with me but if you do like them then definitely switch between the three, ideally the smaller the fish the less amount of mercury in it. 

Having said that, there will always be some kind of big or small health issue with food or drinks so my advice is to eat what you enjoy but always be mindful.Life is too short not have salmon.

For some reason this frozen salmon seems to cook better as well, I am pretty lazy in the kitchen so food needs to be healthy, very tasty and quick to prepare. 

The way I love to cook my salmon is with a sprinkle of Hymalaian salt, a little ground pepper, Mediterranean dried herbs ( my faithful grandmother's mix) and a slice of lemon on top. Then I wrap it in loosely in a foil parcel and pop it in the oven at 180c for 11 minutes. in the meantime I can prepare a side salad or steam some greens. It's perfectly cooked every time. I suggest you give it a try.xxx

Ingredients

1 fillet Alaskan wild salmon

1 slice of lemon

Salt and pepper

Mediterranean dried herb mix ( or any other dried herbs you'd like)

Method

Turn the oven on at 180c, 350F, gas mark 4.

I quickly rinse the salmon under gently running water for 2 seconds just to make sure it's nice and clean without any small dirt bits from when it was caught or cut. Pop it in the foil sheet and sprinkle with salt,pepper and the herbs and top with a lemon slice.

Fold the sheet of foil so that the borders of the two longe sides touch and gently close them together so steam won't come out. it basically needs to create a hot steam pocket for your salmon. 

If you do have a steamer at home that would be even better, you could just put the salmon in there with the veggies as well and have a complete dinner in one move! Also, a steamer would be healthier than the foil to use. I'm planning to buy a wooden one soon. If you do not have it please don't worry, foil will work great!

Place the parcel in the oven for 11 minutes and done! 

Just make sure you keep your lovely face away from the foil when you unwrap it, so you won't be hit by the hot steam :)))

Serve on a plate with your favourite greens.xxx

Banana-Almond Butter Ice Cream with Crushed Walnuts

This ice cream always takes me back to my childhood. Grandma used to buy these banana ice cream sticks the looked the actual fruit. I had one every time we visited her for dinner. Yes, fine,maybe I had two..So since moving away, if I was missing my grandma, I would sometimes get myself an ice cream cone and one of the flavours would be banana. It was never the same though, too sweet, not sweet enough, didn't quite taste right.. And then I discovered this recipe! It's incredibly quick and easy. I added some homemade almond butter for an extra layer of flavour and a protein kick, and topped it with crushed walnuts to add crunch and healthy fats.

All you need is a food processor and in no time you'll have a bowl of delicious ice-cream. xxx

INGREDIENTS ( makes 1 bowl) 

2 medium bananas ( sliced and frozen for a few hours or overnight) 

3 tbsp brown rice milk 

1 tbsp almond butter 

1 handful walnuts crushed into pieces

METHOD

Just pop the frozen banana slices and milk in the food processor and let it go for about 5 minutes. Every now and then you might have to use a spatula to add the mix detach from the sides of the food processor ( I only had to do it once). When it starts to become smooth just add your almond butter, and once you get that creamy consistency transfer it to your favourite bowl, top with walnuts or any other other topping you might prefer and enjoy.

Happy Chocolate Mousse

I'm currently going through a pretty stressful time in my life, and the essay I am working on is not making the situation any better.  One thing I can control in this situation is the food I eat, and I am trying to always choose foods that will help me and my body feel happy and healthy.

Enter this raw chocolate mousse. 

I mean who doesn't crave chocolate at some point in their life? And why deprive yourself of it, if you use the right kind you can satisfy your cravings while putting some goodness into your body!  

I find all of these facts so fascinating, how can such a heavenly food also be incredibly good for me? I guess that's why I'm studying nutritional therapy, this way I'll get to increase the amount of foods that will also make me feel and look fabulous!

There's this one recipe that never fails, it's from my all time favourite cooking book Honestly Healthy, filled with delicious recipes that are also so good for you. Actually, their second cookbook has just come out and of course, it's already on my kitchen shelf..

This mousse uses raw cacao which is packed with natural antioxidants ( hellooo beauty food!!!), magnesium and it also increases the levels of serotonin in you brain, it basically increases the "happy".  All I did this time around was add some raw honey instead of agave and some cinnamon too, because I just think cinnamon makes absolutely everything taste better! Also, it's a comforting spice that will always put a smile on my face. Exactly what I need right now. Finally, I increased the dose of water as my blender wasn't working as well as I needed and I ended up making this mousse sooooo wonderfully smooth!

So here it is, a Honestly Healthy recipe with a tiny Foodolina twist.

Raw chocolate mousse

1 soft avocado

1 tbsp coconut oil ( melted) 

3 tbsp water 

1 tbsp raw honey

2 heaped tablespoons of raw cacao

1 tsp cinnamon 

raspberries as topping ( optional but they add extra flavour and texture that makes this mousse just irresistible)

Add avocado, water and melted coconut oil to a blender ( mine wasn't working properly so ended up transferring everything in my food processor..) whizz till smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients,except raspberries, and whizz again. if there's still a little cacao powder here and there or everything hasn't mixed to perfection just transfer it to a bowl and fold it in yourself with a spatula which you'll then be able to lick till it's clean! 

Pop the chocolaty mixture in a ramekin and place in the fridge for 1 hr. When you take it out just add your raspberries and enjoy. xxx

Oh sooooooo good smoothie! (or my Saturday morning's leftovers delight..)

Today I'm going to my first ever health conference and I'm so excited about it! Having said that, I woke up to find I didn't have much to have breakfast with... So  looked in my kitchen to see what was left around and this insanely delicious smoothie was born!  I'm sipping as I write this post, it's so good I might jump late in the shower just to give you this recipe, perfect for this Saturday morning. Or any awesome morning really!
It's full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibre on top of being so delicious.The chia seeds in it, make it velvety and creamy and no need for honey or agave as the dates will add the perfect amount of sweetness :) I added the powder of a probiotic capsule to give some extra love to my tummy and keep it healthy and happy.

Have a wonderful day everybody!

RECIPE
1 medium ripe banana
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 1/2 medjool dates soaked for 3 minutes in hot water
1/4 cup oats
1tbsp chia seeds
1 probiotic capsule (optional)
1 cup brown rice milk
1tbsp water
pumpkin seeds (optional topping)


Add fruits and milk to blender and whiz for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and whiz of 1 more minute. Yes, it's that difficult.. Pour in your favourite glass and top with pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!xxx