Mediterranean couscous

This is one of my post run favourites – warm, easy to make and absolutely delicious. Do those 5 minutes of prep work as soon as you’re back home and while this goodness is simmering hop into the shower, get back to life and food is almost ready. I mean, how great is that?! No runchies with that one, I promise.

 

Ingredients

(serves 2)

1 cup couscous

1 cup fresh baby spinach

1 small onion

 1 garlic clove

1.5 cups cherry tomatoes

2 rosemary sprigs

1 bay leaf

salt, pepper

sage leaves fresh/dry

optional: feta to sprinkle on top, 1/4 cup white wine to add with the water

 

 

Chop up the onions, rosemary and sage, grate the garlic and heat olive oil in a pot. As soon as the oil is hot, add the tomatoes and sweat until the skin has almost popped and has some color to it – just be careful not to burn them and stir. A lot. As in: stir more than you’d think is necessary to keep the tomatoes moving. Add the herbs as soon as the tomatoes are almost done, sweat lightly and add 3 cups of water (and the wine, if you’re using some), also add the bay leaf.

Simmer on very low heat for about half an hour until the tomatoes are super soft and the water has completely infused with the herbs. When the water has reduced a little – if it really did reduce too much, add a bit more and wait until it’s simmering again, then add the couscous, spinach, salt, pepper, stir for some 3-4 minutes until the couscous is cooked. Voila, ready to serve!

 

If you follow a certain diet – pale0, vegan, no wine (sorry, but who in their right mind would do such a thing?!), the optional ingredients may not be for you – just keep an eye out, you’ve been warned.

 

Enjoy!

 

Do you want fries with that?

Uhhhhmmm… yeah. Duh. They’re fries and therefore delicious! We’re not talking soggy, terrible, over salted and tasteless fast food fries but fragrant, crisp and amazing homemade sweet potato fries that are whipped up in no time.

 

 

Ingredients

1 big sweet potato

1 sprig rosemary

1 clove garlic

1 tbs olive oil (or coconut oil)

salt, pepper to taste

 

For the dip:

1/2 cup greek yoghurt

1/2 lime

 

Cut the potato in half lengthwise and slice it into bite sized wedges.

Fill a big bowl with water, add the potato pieces and a cup of ice. Leave the mix in there for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

 

 

Dry the potatoes with a paper towel and add oil, chopped rosemary and garlic. Toss until all slices are covered well with oil, then place them on a cooling rack lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with salt an pepper.

Bake for 30 minutes until well browned and flip at halftime.

 

Mix the greek yoghurt with lime juice and serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

Chili

Comfort food at its best – a spicy, creamy and protein packed chill for that one day (well, okay, make that a week) in spring where winter suddenly thinks it’s not over yet.

 

Ingredients

3 tbs quinoa

3 tbs black lentils

3 tbs red lentils

1 can kidney beans

1 small can corn

1 tsp raw cocoa powder

1 bell pepper

1 sweet potato

100g cherry tomatoes

2 carrots

salt, pepper, chili, paprika, herbs to taste

 

Heat a tablespoon olive oil and dice the carrots, bell pepper and sweet potatoes. Roast the tomatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes until they color and smell super aromatic. I love to add a bit of rosemary here, too.

Add 4 cups of water, wash the corn and beans and add to the chill. Stir in the quinoa and lentils as well as the cocoa powder.

Turn down the heat and simmer for a good 30 minutes. Check back to stir occasionally and – if needed – add more water.

Season and add a bit of carrot green pesto on top.

Enjoy – winter’s almost over!

 

 

Thai chicken soup

One of my favourite soups, all year around. It’s so fragrant and easy to make that it’s become a real staple in the kitchen filled with lean protein and lots of vegetables.

Ingrdients

(serves 2)

3 carrots

2 sprigs lemongrass

2 bell peppers

1/2 lemon

1/2 onion

2 garlic cloves

ginger

1/2 zucchini

1 small red chill

2 chicken filets

Finely grate the ginger, garlic and lemongrass, dice the onion. Heat coconut oil and roast the aromatics. Meanwhile dice the zucchini and carrots, add to the pot.

Add 2 cups water and the coconut milk, stir well and add the chicken. Simmer for 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked, don’t overcook the soup since the vegetables should still have some bite to them. Add the bell peppers and chill, simmer for another 2-3 minutes and serve hot.

An easy way to turn this dish into a delicious vegan option is to simply leave out the chicken – you’ll have a fragrant soup full of flavour. For seafood lovers: serve the soup with prawns – either grilled on skewers on top or replacing the chicken in the soup. If you’re not in an area where fresh prawns are easy to get hold of, thaw the frozen ones a little bit before adding them to the soup or readjust the amount of liquid.

Enjoy!

A salad feast

Think that’s an oxymoron? Try this recipe and think again.

Ingredients

For the salad:

1/4 mango

1/2 avocado

2 cups salad greens of choice

1 tsp chia seeds

1 hard boiled egg

10 cherry tomatoes

For the dressing:

1 tsp honey

1 tsp carrot green pesto

1/2 lime

 

 

Dice the mango and avocado. Peel the egg and slice, if you serve it warm, it tastes absolutely delicious!

Mix all ingredients for the dressing, add to the rest of the ingredients and serve with 2 slices of crisp bread.

 

Peanut butter cups

What would life be without those sweet little treats? If you ask me, you’ll hear something between boring and impossible!

So, here’s a clean recipe for peanut butter cups – for more guilt-free happiness.

Ingredients

For the chocolate covering:

1 cup coconut oil

1 1/2 cups raw cocoa powder

3 tbs honey or maple syrup

optional: a pinch of salt

Filling:

Peanut butter

For the covering firstly melt the coconut oil, then slowly add the honey, salt and cocoa powder. I love using a bain-marie made of steel, but a glass bowl will do the trick. Mix until you have a smooth, liquid chocolate paste.

Put about 2 teaspoons of the chocolate mix into your forms, put it into the freezer immediately and keep your chocolate mix warm and smooth. When the chocolate has hardened (after about 10 min.) place a dollop of the nut butter in the middle of each form, cover with the chocolate mix and let everything harden up in the fridge.

They will keep in the fridge for 4+ weeks (if you haven’t eaten all of them by that time!).

Enjoy!

White breakfast porridge

Ingredients

(serves 2)

1 banana

1 cup oats

1/2 cup coconut flakes

3 tbs mixed nut butter

cinnamon

1 tbs coconut milk (or skim milk)

apricot kernels

Roast the oats and coconut flakes until they smell delicious, then add 2 cups of water.

Slice the banana and add to the mix. Simmer until the liquid has evaporated and the porridge has a creamy consistency. Stir frequently and add cinnamon and nut butter.

Serve and decorate with the apricot kernels.

I usually buy the apricot kernels at my local organic food store, if you can’t get hold of them, use almonds – they’re pretty similar in taste.

Enjoy!

Green Thai Curry

Ingredients

(serves 4)

1 clove garlic

1/2 lime

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

2 carrots

2 cups mushrooms

2 stems lemongrass

ginger

1/2 cup red lentils

3 tbs coconut milk

2 tbs coconut oil

green curry paste

Chop up garlic, ginger and lemongrass as well as the carrots, slice the mushrooms and dice the mango.

Heat the oil in a pan and add garlic, ginger and lemongrass, after a few minutes add mushrooms and carrots and let them roast for another few minutes. Add 2 cups of water, reduce the heat and stir in the curry paste and add the lentils. Let this mix simmer until the lentils are cooked, add coconut milk, cherry tomatoes and the lime juice, give it a good stir and serve with brown rice. If you want to: a dollop of carrot green pesto tastes amazing with it!

Enjoy!

Warm broccoli salad

Ingredients

1 bunch broccoli

1 pear

1 sprig sage

1 mandarin

1/2 lime

1 tsp olive oil

salt, pepper

Boil the broccoli for 10mins in slightly salted water.

Meanwhile chop the pear, the mandarin and the sage into bite sized pieces.

Mix lime juice and olive oil in a small bowl, add salt (if you need some, the lime tends to be pretty sour already) and pepper to taste.

Take the broccoli out of the water, leave it on a paper towel for a minute to drench the water and mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Add the dressing.

Variation: I had some artichoke-lemon pesto left in the fridge that I didn’t want to go bad, so the teaspoon left also went into the dressing. Can’t wait to make my own pesto again soon!

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

40 days of eating clean

Bye bye love, bye bye cupcakes. (Damn, it’d be so much nicer if that rhymed.)

It’s happening.

NOW.

#40daysofeatingclean is starting its journey today – I’m scared, thrilled, excited and not quite sure what I’m getting myself into.

For the first time – basically ever – I will not only try to train smartly for my upcoming half marathon but also take the nutrition side of things into account. I’ve been playing around with this thought for a while now, but, you know, I just couldn’t leave no peace of chocolate behind. (Also, who would do that?! Oh. Wait. Me, from now on. Shucks.)

Here’s the project:

I WILL eat clean for the 40 days of lent. Lots of homemade stuff, lots of things that would meet paleo and/or vegan criteria.

I WILL pay attention how certain food choices affect my training.

I WILL not only run and run and run but I’ll cross train. Smartly. Trying new things and focusing on a balanced full body workout rather than chomping down on ridiculous mileage.

I WILL let myself have a cheat day per week. Lent would traditionally give you Sunday off, I’ll take a day per week that for whatever reason I feel like I’ll ditch the restrictions.

I WILL share my journey here as well as on instagram.

I WON’T cut out entire food groups. You won’t see 40 days of eating vegan on here. You won’t see me scowling at the horrific idea of eating bread. Or carbs. Or whatsofreakingever. I like to eat, but for the upcoming 40 days, I’ll know what goes into my food and I’ll be able to pronounce it without needing a degree in chemistry. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? (I’ll eat my words. I know I will.)

I WON’T give up if there’s one day that doesn’t go as planned. I’ll get back to it the next day. If that means 2 cheat days that week, so be it. BUT: it is a long-term commitment, especially with the half marathon coming up a week before Easter (talk about pefect timing here, huh?).

Soooo – who’s in? Who’s done that before? What do you think?