Chocolate coconut delights

I got a recipe for chocolate coconut balls and I must say, you would never guess they did not have regular white sugar in them! They are sweetened by using dates!

Here they are, wonderful for those that want to keep their waistline at bay, especially around the holidays :)

Chocolate coconut delights

100g fresh dates (cut out the stone)
2 tablespoons coconut fat/oil (regular butter can be substituted)
1-2 tablespoons unsweetened coco powder
1/2 dl rolled oats
2 tablespoons water

espresso powder or grated coconut flakes to roll the balls in.

1. Mix everything to an even paste in a food processor (I did this in my blender and it does work, however do it slowly and mix with a spoon in between, I would also cut the dates smaller before mixing next time)  I RECOMMEND REFRIGERATING THE BATTER FOR AN HOUR BEFORE YOU MAKE THE BALLS.

2. Roll small teaspoon size balls in the espresso powder or coconut flakes

3. Keep refrigerated

THE RECIPE IS SMALL, I MADE 5 TIMES THE BATTER AND GOT A COUPLE MEDIUM SIZED JARS FILLED!

I did not take a photo of the ones with espresso powder but they were absolutely delish as well :)

Bon Appetit!!

Pretty for Christmas :)

I looked everywhere for a dress that I liked for my little girl, but nothing was what I had visioned for her so I decided to sew one myself. I used an old winter formal dress from when I went to high school(which I sewed myself as well), and a little new organza fabric and a couple of buttons and this was the result :)

This one is free hand, no pattern used

A taste of the holidays

I got some wonderful christmas dishes from my mom and what better way to use them for the first time then to do a dish I learned from her with a bit of a holiday feel :)

This dinner makes enough for 2

2 chicken breasts
italian seasoning
salt

3 medium sweet potatoes
2 small white potatoes
1/2 dl milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon black pepper

1 squash (diced)
1/2 red bell pepper (sliced)
6-8 mushrooms (diced)
1 small brokkoli

Start off by warming your oven to about 200degrees celsius. Peal and cut up the potatoes (cut white potatoes into smaller bites) and boil in some water until soft. Pour off the water when done and then start mashing the potatoes. Then add the milk, butter and pepper and mix well while keeping the pot on low heat.

While the potatoes are boiling you can cut up the veggies and fry them quickly on a pan with a little vegetable oil. Place in a heat proof oven pan.

 Season the chicken with italian spices and salt, and on the same frying pan you used for the veggies brown the chicken breast quickly. Place on top of the veggies and bake in oven for about 20-25min or until juices run clear.

 Serve with the mashed potatoes and some gravy (here I have used mushroom gravy). This dish takes under an hour to make and can be enjoyed for an everyday meal or fun to serve to guests. 

Btw, aren´t the christmas dishes pretty? :)

Bon Appetit!!

Homemade fish cakes with coleslaw

Making our weekly meal plan I decided that I wanted to use the fish we have in the freezer. I purchase the most wonderful Icelandic fish from an icelander here in Sweden and let me tell you, you cannot find better fish! 

If you are interested, he drives through Sweden, Denmark, and now is going to start driving through Norway! Islandsfisk 

He also sells a variety of icelandic lamb and of course a little icelandic candy  :)

I need to empty the freezer soon since Islandsfisk will be on it's way in december, so what better way to use the fish then to make fish cakes. I remember having something quite similar when I was a kid but have never made an attempt to do these on my own, silly really because it is so simple. I made the recipe large and have lots of left overs that I will freeze for those busy days, definitely a great one to get some veggies in kids diets :)

The recipe makes about 6 servings.

Fish Cakes: 

500g haddock (hyse, kolja), ground

4 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 egg
150 ml low fat buttermilk(kefir)
2 carrots, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped parsley (can use dry)

Cole slaw:

half a head white cabbage (sliced)

1/2 onion finely chopped

1 carrot finely chopped

1/2 red chili minced(optional)

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons dry thyme

pinch of salt

Cocktail sauce:

3 tablespoons mayonnaise (1 tablespoon sour cream as a substitute for one here is popular)

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar reduced ketchup

1 teaspoon mustard

a good dash lemon juice

(allround seasoning *optional*)

Place the fish in a food processor or a grinder, here I used my kitchen aid grinder.

Chop the onion, garlic, and carrots and mix in with the fish. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, then place mixture in the refrigerator for a little while

Fry in a pan with a little vegetable oil

 serve with cole slaw, potatoes and cocktail sauce

Bon Appetit!!

Jamie Oliver's stuffed chicken with Pita

We were invited to my mother's for dinner this last week, and she served the most wonderful stuffed chicken filets from a Jamie Oliver recipe. She had seen this on TV and didn't catch the exact ingredients for the chicken but my gosh she whipped up a good stuffing even so. This was such a good recipe that only a few days later I had to give it a try.

(Recipe serves 4)

3 large skinless chicken breasts (butterflied and pounded)
3-4 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1 pot of chives (finely chopped)
1 pot of flat leaf parsley (finely chopped)
200g feta cheese (diced)
1 tablespoon dry thyme
Good dash of olive oil
sea salt and pepper

Pita bread (pack of 6)
olive oil
sea salt
dry thyme

Start by chopping up the herbs and garlic, cut up the feta cheese and mix in with herbs, season with thyme, salt and pepper and mix with the olive oil.

Butterfly and pound the chicken breasts flat, then roll them up with the mixture in the middle, hold in place with toothpicks.

"Butter" the pita bread with olive oil and sprinkle both salt and thyme over. 

Wet a baking sheet all the way till you can squeeze water out of it, then place 3 and 3 pita breads on top of each other and wrap them in the wet baking sheet. 

Place both chicken and pita in the oven on the same rack and bake on 200 degrees celsius for 30min

 Then take the pita out while you place the chicken higher up in the oven and put on the grill for a couple of minutes to brown the top.

Slice up and serve with a nice salad.

Let me know how you like this one :)

Bon Appetit!

Cheerio holiday cookies

I'm not really a baker but occasionally I like to make cookies, especially when christmas is near. I wanted to find a recipe for my daughter but most all cookies I have found have had a lot of sugar in them, so these that I have experimented with are a little less sugar although definitely a treat!

I have put in a couple optional ingredients as it would work as well if cookies are desired a bit sweeter, remember to use an extra egg if you use extra sugar!


Recipe makes about 40-45 cookies(two baking sheets)

3 dl cheerios (50/50 Havreringar, cheerios crushed)
1 dl rolled oats (ground)
4 dl whole wheat flour(*optional* all purpose flour)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 dl brown sugar (*optional* + 1/2dl white sugar)
1 dl vegetable oil
1dl butter

2 eggs(3eggs if using optional ingredients)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Grind cheerios and rolled oats in a food processor or as I used The time saver smooth chopper so that you have smaller pieces but making sure that it doesn't become powder.

Then mix the dry ingredients (not sugar) in a bowl. 

In a separate bowl mix the wet with the sugar and beat a little bit. 

Pour wet mixture in with dry and mix with your hands. 

Then form small balls(size of a teaspoon) and place on a baking sheet, press lightly with one finger to flatten a bit.

Bake in oven on 175 celsius for about 25 min or until golden brown.

My little one has already had these with milk and seems to be in love, so experiment succeeded :)

Store in an air tight container

Bon Appetit!!

Havreringar or Cheerios

I talk often about Havreringar, so I thought I would put in a little info about these since I have used these in a couple of cookie recipes.

These are a breakfeast cereal that you buy here in Sweden, marked with the green keyhole that is a scandinavian symbol to indicate a healthier choice. I love this little symbol, it is called in swedish nökkehullsmerket, and I tend to look for this on many of our food choices at the grocery store. The reason I love Havreringar is because they have almost no sugar. Our of 71g of carbohydrates it only has 1,5g sugar. Great as a breakfeast cereal with milk or yogurt, my little one gets these to munch on, and can be used as I have done in baking :)

Coconut and lime chicken

I have really learned to love low fat coconut milk, and trying to find new ways of using it I made a wonderful indian flare chicken recipe.

I did not make this a weight loss meal since I have used white rice and nan bread, however using low fat cream and low fat coconut milk I have reduced the fat content. If you choose to you can use whole cream and regular coconut milk but I personally do not think it is necessary.

This is about a 30min meal, very easy :)

Recipe makes for 4 servings

3 chicken breasts(diced)
3-4 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1 green chili pepper with seeds
2 teaspoons garam masala spices
about 2 pinches of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

juice of 2 limes

1 chicken bouillon
2-2 1/2 dl low fat cream
1 can low fat coconut milk
1 bunt of cilantro(koriander)

 Chop up garlic, ginger, and chili pepper and blend with oil, lime and seasoning. Dice up chicken and blend together with marinade. Let it marinade for a few minutes while you make the rice, if serving nan bread heat the oven to the required heat.

 In a wok pan fry the chicken in marinade on high heat till cooked thru. If serving nan bread you want to put this in the oven now.

 Add the coconut milk, cream, chicken bouillon and cilantro and let simmer till soup becomes thicker and ready to serve.

Serve with simple fried rice, salad with cucumber and perhaps some nan bread.

Bon Appetit!!

Simple fried rice

I make this rice a lot, very simple but a fun way to make white rice a little more special. For me that is trying to loose weight would call this weekend rice because I tend to stick to brown rice or something else on the weekdays, but I thought to share this one. My mom is the one who taught me this one so hope you enjoy it :D


4 servings:

2dl basmati white rice
4dl water
1 chicken bouillon
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Take a medium pot and warm on high heat with the butter and oil. Put the rice RAW in the pot and stir a few times till you see the rice becomes whiter/fried, making sure you do not burn it. Pour the water over and put the chicken bouillon in and stir. Leave the rice and only stir 1 or 2 times(if you stir too often you ruin the rice and it becomes very sticky). When the water has evaporated turn off the heat under the pot but do not remove the pot, my mom learned this process from a friend, it will release anything that has gotten stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Here I have made this rice with scampi and a side salad :)

Bon Appetit!! 

My little ones favorite!

I just have to share this one. My mom got me a book on picky eaters, since my little one has had troubles with food. Now that we have started a program called Marte Meo I have realized that it is not so much what she is getting served but my communication with her that is the key during the meals. I did however read the book and it had quite a few ideas to get your child to want to eat certain foods, for example veggies! If you have been following me you might see that I never go after the recipe that I find, I use it more as a guideline, so this one is a little mix of what was in the book and my own idea :)

I have talked about The difference of a pancake before, and this is one of those! These freeze well and can be heated up or as a meal on the go.


1 squash
1 apple
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon(optional but makes for a great taste)
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder

 I have used the Times savers smooth chopper but you can also finely grate the squash and apple(with peal) if you do not have a mixer at hand. Blend all ingredients in a bowl making sure that you blend the eggs really well in. Fry on a pan in oil or butter(I use a little of both) in tablespoon size pancakes, serve with fresh fruit for a awesome breakfeast or as a side dish to some meats/fish and you have a nice dinner for your little one!

This is her favorite meal and eats like there is no tomorrow :P

Bon Appetit!

Homemade falafel :)

I just love a nice vegetarian meal, and one of the most exciting things is a great Falafel! These I like making a big batch of and freeze the rest for my little one on those days where I do not feel like cooking, she loves these just as much as I do.

Falafel:

One pot of parsley, you could use cilantro(koriander) as well.
1/2 onion
2-3 garlic cloves
200g chickpeas(about one can) DRAINED
2 eggs
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder(optional)
Salt and pepper
bread crumbs
Pita bread


Sauce:
3-4 tablespoons turkish yogurt(natural yogurt)
2 tablespoons mayonaise
3 teaspoons paprika powder
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

 Mix onion, garlic and parsley.

 Then add the chickpeas and eggs and mix well. Make each ball about a tablespoon and roll in bread crumbs. Fry on a pan with a little vegetable oil till cooked through on medium heat. 

 For the little one, she insisted on having more of the sauce after I showed her this, so the sauce is not so spicy!

And for the adults :)

Bon Appetit!

Coconut toppers

We were at a friends house celebrating her little girls first birthday and she served these wonderful coconut topper cookies, knowing they were for a birthday they were sweet with sugar, but I thought I could try some using other sweeteners, and sure enough my little one enjoyed these one sunday afternoon :)

This recipe makes 16

Preheat oven to 180degrees celsius

5dl dry coconut flakes

1dl rolled oats

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon melted butter

1 apple

 peal and dice the apple and boil in water until soft. Then use a mixer, here I have again used the Cut n´prep

 Until it becomes applesauce.

Mix all ingredients together and make each topper a good tablespoon full.

 Roll them in a ball, then place on a baking sheet and squeeze the ball into toppers

bake in oven for 20-25min or until golden brown and baked through. 

These we served just on their own as a snack, but can also be dipped in dark chocolate for us adults with a sweet tooth.

Bon appetit!

Busy bee

Well I haven´t had any time lately to write. I have started school, my husband is out to sea, taking care of my little one and doing homework. I had forgotten how much homework comes with school hehe....

I have however gotten a few things done, I just need to hang up Sara-Dís´s curtains and then I am done, I want to make some pillows from the same material. I have also made some great recipes and will try to find time to share with you, until then take care :)

I vitamin booster!

My little love is sick at the moment, she really doesn´t want to eat much. My mom was here for a visit and she makes a lot of smoothies, protein smoothies to be exact. I had a really ripe banana that needed to be used, frozen fruit, some turkish yogurt and rolled oats so we made a nice cold smoothie for Sara-Dís. The following day I made the same because she absolutely loooooved it!

So give it a try, the kids love getting a cold sweet drink with a straw :)

100g frozen blend of fruits/berries
2-3 tablespoons turkish yogurt
1dl rolled oats
1/2 water(can substitute juice)

Mix everything well in a blender and serve in a glas/cup with straw!

The cup to the right is a tupperware cup with a lid that has a hole for the straw, perfect for our little ones!

Bon appetit!

Tupperware choppers

I just have to talk about some of the tools I use in the kitchen. My mother in law sells tupperware and when we do get gifts from her it most always is at least one thing from tupperware. I love it!

The cut n prep we bought ourselves if I remember correctly, it is great to chop up a few little things you need in a omelet or perhaps onion so your eyes don´t water. I have practically made all the baby food in this one when Sara-Dís started eating foods with a thicker consistency and didn´t need to be finely purreed. I have also made salsa, guacamole, hummus, and chopped herbs in this, it is a fantastic tool that you can even wash in the dishwasher.

Picture borrowed from google

So we had a visit last weekend, my mother in law gave me my birthday present early since they live about 2 hours away. It was the Time savers smooth chopper!

picture borrowed from google

This is a bit larger then the cut n prep, while having the same blade cutter it also has a whisk. This is really nice to whip cream in if you just need a small amount, it made it quicker to make guacamole and a smoother one at that. I have now used it when mixing part of the soup I made the other day Scampi soup and I realized I just love this little thing! 

So if you are still mixing baby food for your little one, make dips, soups, whip cream, you name it, this one might be something for you! ;)

Scampi soup with a kick!

My little girl is sick today and I totally forgot to decide on dinner for myself. So i checked both the freezer and fridge and some veggies, spices and scampi was put on the menu. This soup only took me 30min from start to finnish so it is a great healthy recipe yet not so time consuming. This is a spicy one so if you cannot handle it you just adjust the spices a bit to your liking.

(recipe makes 4 servings)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
20 scampi peal and devaine
1dl red lentils
1/2 green bell pepper chopped
1/2 zuccini cut in matchsticks
1/2 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
handful of long green beans cut in half
juice of one lemon
1 vegetable bouillon(buljong)
7dl water
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon dried chilipepper
1/4 black pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley
pinch of salt
1 can of light coconut milk

 This is what I found in the fridge and I had about 1dl left of my red lentils, plus scampi in the freezer. So I made a wonderful soup, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have, I have plenty left to eat for lunch tomorrow or freeze for later.

Begin on taking the frozen scampi and lay them in a bowl with cold water covering. Then in a large pot  heat the oil and fry the zuccini, onion, garlic and bell peppers.

While veggies are frying, rinse your lentils and add all the spices and lemonjuice.

Add lentilmixture with tomatoes  and 5dl of the water in with the veggies. Throw in the bouillon.

Bring soup up to a boil then lower heat and let simmer for 10min.

While the soup simmers, peal and devaine the scampi. Take 1/3 of soup and blend in a mixer, then add it back with the coconut milk along with the rest of the water, the long green beans and scampi and let simmer until scampi turns pink(about 5min)

Bon appetit!