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!

I am seeing results!

I have now changed my eating habits and what I eat for 2 1/2 weeks now. I was at my doctors office today and got weighed and I have lost 2kg! I am so excited that I see results from eating more often and less at each sitting, plus trying to eat the right things. I do find this blog motivating because I want to share the healthy yet good recipes with you. Nobody said healthy food had to taste bad, I am really enjoying it :D

Picture borrowed from google

Egg muffins

I just have to share this recipe, I take no credit for it, I found it in my loved South Beach cookbook. They are in phase 1 of the diet so considered a good breakfeast. These muffins are a great way to get variation or to serve with a nice brunch. These freeze well and can be heated in the microwave for those busy mornings. I did make them in small muffin forms and I must say that big american muffin forms might be a better choice, because mine flowed a little over the top as you will see in the picture series :p I also think you could add some milk to the batter to make them a bit more fluffy, but I will try that next time I make these. My little one got one for lunch today and was so excited to get something in a muffin form :)


4-5 Turkey bacon slices chopped
1/2 green bell pepper chopped
1/4 onion chopped
4-5 medium size mushrooms sliced
6-7 eggs
6 large muffin forms or 12 small forms
grated cheese(use light cheese for less fat)

Heat the oven to 220 degrees celsius, meanwhile heat a frying pan and fry up the bacon, bell pepper, onion and mushrooms until bacon is fully cooked.

Pour over into a bowl and let cool a bit. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and pour in with bacon mixture.

About 2 tablespoons in each muffin form(double if using large muffin forms)

When you get to this point you sprinkle over some cheese, I made half with regular cheese for my daughter and half with light cheese for my diet. Bake in oven for 20 minutes. 

Here you can see why I would use large muffin forms next time, hey cannot always make everything look perfect, but the taste non the less was great!

Bon appetit!

Low carb dinner

I wanted to make a fast meal tonight, however I did not want it to be a unhealthy one. Even though the south beach diet phase one is a restrictive one you can find a meal that you just absolutely enjoy. I do not follow phase one but that doesn´t mean it cannot be quite nice and satisfying :) Again the recipe is somewhat modified to what I like of spices, but the general idea is meat, scampi and veggies :)

1/2 green bell pepper sliced
5-6 small mushrooms diced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon butter

100g pepper steak

100g raw scampi(about 5-6 shrimp)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon lime juice
dry herbs and salt

Peal and butterfly the scampi and marinade in oil, lime juice and spices.

Heat a pan with the oil and butter and start frying the bell peppers and mushrooms with garlic powder. Place the steak in the middle.

Get the shrimp ready on some skewers and then flip steak. When steak is ready place it on a plate to rest with the veggies and put the scampi on the pan, fry on high heat and turn when pink, ONLY turn ones otherwise they will be dry.

Bon appetit!

Mexican rice

I remember my mom always making this rice, however I don´t know where she learned the recipe from. This rice is a real fun one to make and definitely a colorful one to add with your dinner.

I serve this rice often with grilled chicken and beans, with tacos or burritos, I have also made it with a nice steak and even so it tastes great! I save this recipe for the weekends since I´m on a weight loss program and this is a special treat for those "off" days.

Ingrediens: (4 servings)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon butter

2-3 garlic cloves minced

1/2 big onion chopped

3dl basmati rice

5dl water

1dl chopped tomatoes in a can

1 chicken bouillon(buljong)

a good handful cilantro(koriander) finely chopped

salt only if needed

take a big pot and heat the oil and butter on high, fry the garlic and onion a couple of minutes and then pour the rice RAW in with it. Fry the rice until it starts to get a bit whiter and then a little browner, stirring frequently. 

As the rice is getting brown(not burned) pour in the water and tomatoes along with the chicken bouillon(buljong). Stir and make sure the bouillon blends in and the water comes to a boil, taste the water and see if it needs any salt(it usually doesn´t) then lower heat and simmer and put on lid. 

Only stir ones or twice otherwise you will get a sticky rice(this one is not suppose to be like that). To check and see if rice is done, as you see no water put a spoon and move part of the rice to the side, if you see no water at the bottom of pot then the rice is done. Throw the cilantro in and fold it into the rice, and serve!

Bon Appetit!

A previous dinner I made using this rice(grilled chicken with black beans and guacamole) 

Roman Blinds

I have always loved roman blinds, they seem so neat and easy to pull up and down. So when planning my daughters room I just knew I had to have roman blinds. I found some fabric on sale at a local craft store(panduro) and it was the exact light greenish color I wanted, with an animal theme I really was excited :)

Here is a closer look at the fabric :)

So I ordered a roman blind system package from stoffochstil.se, I almost always order from here when doing my sewing because their prices are always good, great service and a huge selection of fabrics. Ones I started opening the package I thought to myself OH MY what have I gotten myself into! I have never sewed roman blinds and all of a sudden this looks so complicated!

The instruksjons were not the best I thought so I turned to my friend GOOGLE. I found numerous of tutorials and detailed help to sew the blinds but because every window needs to be measured correctly I did not get that much help. So using what I knew and what the instructions said that came with the blind system I started to cut the fabric. I decided to use a beige lining because the animal fabric was a little thin.  I do think I did something wrong, but last night it was about 11 at night and I just  had to give it a rest, so here is how far I have come and hopefully I will fix and finnish it tonight :)

Stay tuned for the finished product!

Cinnamon and banana bread sticks or biscuits

I started experimenting with my own recipe for a baby biscuit that would not have milk in it, I found out that I could do the recipe both ways, with instant baby cereal or for those that cannot handle milk could substitute it for more whole wheat flour.

I enjoyed them as well so you can substitute instant baby cereal for rolled oats or whole wheat flour for adults :)
These are definitely easy to take with on the run!

I really enjoyed making these, so hope you will too, they are easy!

Heat oven to 200celsius
1 cup=2dl

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup instant baby cereal(could substitute for rolled oats or more whole wheat flour, might need a little water if batter gets dry)
2 ripe bananas(mashed)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt(optional)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

blend the dry and wet separate, then mix together. The batter is a sticky one.

Pour into a baking pan(oil the pan) and mark each biscuit as so.

Bake for 20-25min, when done use a knife and cut out each stick after your markings. Here you can enjoy a wonderful banana bread, butter it and let your little one have fun(They also freeze well), or you can go further to the next step. I decided to do half of my batch like banana bread and half banana biscuits.

When you are done cutting out the sticks from the form place it on a rack and bake again for about 20min or until the biscuit is crisp!

Keep either breadsticks or biscuit stick in airtight container :)

Bon appetit!

Almond Fiesta :)

I browsed my South beach Diet book for inspiration for a recipe, I found a recipe for oven fried chicken with almonds, it sounded really good and so I decided to try it. I never really go faithfully after a recipe so I made some changes to it and thought I might share this wonderful dinner. It really had the taste of some fast food, but was about an hour to make. The recipe was just the chicken, so the side dishes I decided on as I went along. I call it a Almond Fiesta!

Recipe makes enough for 4 

3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

3/4 cup finely chopped almonds

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped parsley(next time I will like to use cilantro/koriander)

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

pinch of ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 skinless chicken breasts(cut into thick strips)

Heat oven to 200degrees celsius. 

 Chop up the almonds and blend in a medium bowl along with bread crumbs, cheese, almonds, parsley, garlic, salt, thyme, and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

 Place oil in a bowl and dip chicken strips in oil and then coat with the mixture. Place chicken in a baking pan and bake for 20-25min.

I have a chip making tool that you use in the microwave and so I made sweet potato chips, fried some bell peppers and onion on a pan and made a quacomole dip to serve with the chicken. I do think this would taste just as good with rice or perhaps a nice salad. 

Guacomole: take 2 avokadoes and mash with a tablespoon of limejuice, blend in some seasoning(I used a guacomole packet, but you can also just use salt and pepper).

Bon appetit!

Blood pudding-Ironrich

My daughter has been tested for practically everything now. She had not put on enough weight the last few months but her head has been over average. From writing what she eats over 3 days, to an ultrasound of her brain(to check for anything that could lead to a large head), to taking blood work was done and she doesn´t have any allergies or anything like that. I cannot express the feeling I have had before we got all the results, I was really stressed. Well the doctor called today and said that according to their nutrition expert she is taking in 1200 calories a day(she should be getting at least 1000 calories a day so she is eating enough), and that she is obviously just on the smaller side and that her head is probably just large because she was born premature. We will have a follow up appointment in three months, and the doctor ended with saying that she probably will just be a professor since her brain is so big haha :p

So her nurse suggested a few foods we could try to see if we cannot get her weight up a little higher. She suggested blood pudding! This a very common food in Iceland, and I guess it isn´t as rare as I thought here in scandinavia. I never liked it when I was a kid, and would certainly not introduce it to my weight loss diet now. I saw blood pudding in the store and saw the cost, 7swedish kroners! Which is about 1 US dollar! A huge thing of pudding brought home, and I fried a slice on the pan and served with a boiled egg and cut up apple for dessert. She ate it up like candy! Who would have thought :) The pudding is a 36% iron intake on a 2000calorie a day diet, my daughter is suppose to have at least 1000calories a day, so this is a great iron rich food with saturated fats that are essential for growth in babies and children, especially for brain development.

Try it and let me know how the kids like this one

Bon appetit!

Bananas for banana

My daughter has always loved banana, and now that she can handle eating bites herself I decided to make a hearty lunch. I really am inspired by those that have kids in preschool and make these awesome lunch box meals, so lunch is from now on gonna be a decorative one, like with my Easy Peasy grilled cheese stars.

whole wheat bread cut into a heart with a cookie cutter, topped with philadelphia cream cheese and cut up banana...Sara-Dís loved this so much, first she picked off all the banana and then ate the bread, the bread that got cut off she ate as well with some cream cheese :)

This I even enjoy, however not so much on my eating program, but would definitely have one on a weekend :)

Bon appetit!

Wrap it up!

Lunch is something I really needed to change in my diet, I was of course eating 2-3 slices of bread and not topping it with enough proteins. One of my favorites is a tuna sandwich, however it always ends up being so much bread comparing to tuna, so I found that using a wrap could be a better choice for those days I have a sandwich on my menu.

You can use a whole wheat wrap, tortilla, or what I tend to buy a lot here in Sweden polar tunnbröd. Wrap a tuna salad and add either alfalfa sprouts or lettuce and roll it up, cut in half and there you go!

Tuna Salad:
1 can tunafish in water
1 tablespoon low fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon low fat natural yogurt/or sour cream
1/2 small red onion chopped
1/2 celery stick chopped
pinch of salt
teaspoon cayenne pepper(optional)

Blend all ingrediences and "butter" the wrap, put lettuce or sprouts over and roll up. These make a great lunch box meal or on the run food. Of course there are other options for fillings, you just need to use your imagination to what you think will taste good, and healthy :)

Bon appetit!

My Italian chicken spagetti

I love a good chicken meal, and now that I have changed my diet, chicken is even a bigger part of it then before as this is a great source of protein and iron and low in fat(skinless, preferably breast). Finding different ways to cook chicken on the other hand can be difficult in the long run. I want to share one of my favorite recipes on a rainy day like today, for a nice weekend dish you can serve it with a nice glass of deep red wine and some garlic bread, however the meal is good without it as well.

The sauce is great for leftovers(just cook up fresh pasta), and even freezes well!

Italian chicken spagetti(serves 2)

2 skinless chicken breasts

salt

italian spice

2 cans crushed tomatoes

1/2 zuccini cut into matchsticks

2 gloves of garlic, minced

3-4 mushrooms sliced

1/2 red bell pepper(paprika) chopped

1/2 green bell pepper chopped

2-3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon italien dry herbs

salt to taste

2 servings whole wheat spagetti

4-5dl water

olive oil

pinch of salt

grated parmesan

dry red chili flakes(optional) 

cut up vegetables and put in a big pot with the tomatoes, bring up to a boil then lower heat and let simmer til vegetables get soft(20-30min). As sauce simmers boil some water in another pot and pour oil and a pinch of salt in, cook the spagetti after directions. Grill(this is preferred) or fry chicken breasts and season. As sauce has cooked add the tomato paste to make it thicker, salt if needed.

Serve with spagetti on bottom, chicken on top and top with tomato saus. Garnish with chili flakes and parmesan to your liking.

Bon appetit!

Easy peasy :)

I love making grilled cheese for my little one, she absolutely loves bread and you can´t go wrong with melted cheese on top! I try to get a little extra in there when I can so avocado butter and slices of ham are good to add.

Take whole wheat bread and butter two slices with mashed avocado. Put on one layer cheese, then a layer of ham, and then one layer of cheese again. Warm a frying pan with some butter and grill the bread flipping a few times till cheese melts. Serve with a glass of milk for a calcium rich lunch!

For a fun twist cut the bread after grilling with a fun cookie cutter and decorate with cucumber like so.

Bon Appetit

On the run

These days I feel like I´m always on the run, and with a new eating plan it can be difficult to remember to take a snack with me. I really love granola bars, but in the stores they are often expensive and full of sugars! I started googling but I found most of them to have LOTS of sirup or honey. Natural sweeteners yes but I really wanted to try one with out a bunch of sugar to see if it is really necessary...

This is my own recipe, I found nothing like it, but it was too good to not share!

2dl rolled oats

2dl whole wheat cereal(I used havre ringar that you find here in sweden, but cheerios would work)

1 1/2 dl mixed unsalted nuts and raisins(I used walnuts, almonds, raisins and cashews)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla sugar(I did not have essence and so this is the only sugar content)

The nuts I put in the mixer to chop them up(you could use a knife if you feel like doing the work), blend all the ingrediences together.

Coat a pan with vegetable oil or use a baking sheet and form the bars but make sure they are as flat as possible without falling from eachother.

Bake on 180degrees celcius for 20min

wolla! You have your own healthy granola bar :)

Grab one on the way out of the house as a snack or perhaps brake one up into a bowl and eat with low fat milk for breakfeast :)

Bon appetit!

Biscuit, cracker, cookie....call it what you want :)

I am having the most difficult time giving my daughter her porridge, it ends up being a struggle and both of us get upset! This is getting to the point where she sees the bowl and can start crying. So I have to figure  a new way to give her this nutritious meal.

I have made porridge from scratch since she started eating it about 7 1/2 months old, however before the summer we saw that all she wanted was this and so it became easier to buy the ready made packs in the store. Now that she refuses I really am clueless and decided tonight to make oatmeal homemade porridge. Well it didn´t go so well, I think she got a few spoons and then just started crying. After I put her to bed I dug deep into my world of babyfood, and thought they do make teething biscuits! How about making a biscuit with what I have, use up the open packages of fortified baby cereal and the pear purreé I have in the freezer. You can also make these with  rolled oats, dry.

I am excited to see if she likes these, if anything this can be a great snack to have in her Munchkin snack holder

 If you make homemade cereal I recommend rolled oats or buckweat.

 Frozen pear pure in ice cubes, each cube is a tablespoon, great to sweeten many different types of foods or use as baby jam.

 I was out of baking paper and so I used muffin forms, I do NOT recommend this because some of the biscuits got stuck at the bottom.

Oatmeal and Pear biscuits

2dl rolled oats or dry babycereal(grøt)
2dl whole wheat flour
2 dl pear puree(you can use juice if you want them sweeter)
use more whole wheat flour if you find the dough to wet

Blend all the ingrediences together and put about a tablespoon full each on the baking sheet and flatten.
Bake on 180degrees celcius for 20-25min :)

And there you have it! Keep in an airtight container, perhaps serve with a glass of milk.

Bon appetit!

My fairy haven :)

My daughter seemed ready for her own room. I was ready before summer actually but I wanted to make her room special and so 13 1/2 months old she got her own little haven.

I still need to sew some curtains and a couple more pillows on her day bed, but until then take a look.

 The day bed that one day can be shortened in length for my little beauty when she is old enough.

 I just loved this light, bought at Ikea, and as you can see my little artwork in the backround.

 Her crib, I still have to do something with that wire that hangs from her wall lamp.

 Picture is a little dark, but you can see what she has on that wall.

 The pillow in the middle is my daughters birthday present from a friend. There you see my little loves name, Sara-Dís. Hello kitty is almost a given these days in a girls room, but the doll on the other side might not be. This doll was mine when I was little, to think this doll is over 20years old! The dress was actually Sara-Dís´s. Her great aunt crochet it, and since she was born premature you can tell how small she was since the dress fits on the dolly!

 The sheep rug was used before in her buggy, but now is a cozy extra warmth on the floor.

 This is the memory quilt I sewed for Sara-Dís´s first birthday. The pictures are from when she was only a few weeks old and some in the hospital still.

 An old dresser that still serves it´s purpose. 

 The disney picture is made by Sara-Dís´s aunt, and the picture behind is from me and my husbands first trip together to california, at Disney Land. 

The jewelry boxes are from her christening day.

 This green box holds all her first birthday cards. I plan on doing something with it, perhaps some decoupage with her name.

The jewelry box on top is also a christening gift.

 My mom got these vintage Winnie the Pooh figures in Denmark and Sara-Dís loves when she gets to hold them. 

The box in the middle is a music box I got at my baby shower, it is too precious.

The frame is a prayer in icelandic that she got when she was born.

 cute cuddlies I call them. The octopus i crochet, the fairy was a gift from a friend, and the little bunny is from my mom.

 This has to be my favorite. A friend that I have only known online sent Sara-Dís for her birthday. I love butterflies and since Sara-Dís got some wonderful cards for her birthday and christening, I hung up a few. The far left one is a christening card from my husbands sisters, and the two others are made by my two talented friends for Sara-Dís´s birthday :)

Cannot have a fairy room without Tinkerbell! I ordered this on ebay for not that much money, and I just love that they got the hyphen in her name right!