Back-of-the-cupboard, perfect-plane-snack bars

Ah, what to eat when travelling. You end up spending so much money on overpriced, average airport food, and while nowadays they do have plant-based options, I actually (how old-school of me) enjoy trying to creatively scrape together the random bits I have left on my shelf into something that will keep me happy while I travel. So, after showing you how to pack, I thought I would get you covered on the cupboard-emptying, travel-fuelling snack department with these cereal bars I made. Try them out; they make for a very satisfying snack. They are easy to make and turn out much cheaper than those tiny bars that sell for about 2 euros a piece ...though whether there will be any left by the time I actually board my plane remains to be seen, because this experiment actually turned out --if I may say so myself- pretty delicious. The ingredients list is very flexible and can be adapted to whatever you have lying about in your cupboard.

My perfect plane companions: a home-made snack and a good book... So far I'm really enjoying The Casual Vacancy!

Quinoa Tabbouleh Super Salad

The other day I thought of making a tabbouleh-inspired salad, replacing the traditional bulgur with quinoa. Quinoa is an awesome superfood (as we are all aware by now :P), and I think it actually works even better than bulgur because it gives the tabbouleh extra texture and 'bite'.

This salad is very satisfying, yet at the same time zingy and fresh -perfect for spring (can you tell I'm excited?)! I supercharged my tabbouleh with roasted vegetables and chickpeas, but it's up to you to play with the recipe: leave out the oven veggies or add diced peppers, for example. The Mediterranean-inspired herbs and spices are what really makes the tabbouleh literally burst with flavour...

Angie's soup

My friend Angie is kind of a nutrition freak -I always have to ask her for clarifications at least once per sentence once she's started to explain something food-related, which is how our conversations usually go since she's determined to educate me to be healthy through my food choices. She recently had the chance to impart a few lessons since she came to visit... And I got to see how she puts them into practice with some delicious and super-healthy dishes, like this fragrant red lentil soup that I've been making on repeat ever since.

my roommate and I are book lovers so I always have naturally occurring props...

Zen bowls

So, a healthy, feel-good lunch (or dinner) that you don't need to fuss much about? Challenge accepted.

I love the idea of assembling yourself a bowl of goodness. It's all about some minor prep, so when you want to eat, all you have to do is open your fridge and put your bowl together however you like it. Which is why it's a zen bowl ;) More than a recipe, this is a guideline / inspiration so you can build yours... Obviously arranging prettily is an optional bonus! Read how I do it after the break ;)

avocado, sauteed garlicky spinach, roasted carrots, brown rice, and tahini dressing

Ice Cream for Breakfast!

Ha, that title got you, didn't it? I'm not even kidding though.

The thing is, I really like starting my day off with a breakfast that is jam-packed with healthy goodness (so I can have all the wine and chocolate later, haha). At the same time, I often use breakfast as an incentive to get myself out of bed, and there are days when I need a particularly sweet and tempting incentive to get out of said bed...

In other words, I want to have my cake and eat it too, and as it turns out, I've discovered that ice cream and a healthy breakfast are not so irreconcileable after all...

Five minute lunch wonder

It's been some time since I did food here, but this is too good not to share. I made this out of the random things I had in my fridge and it was delicious. It also happens to be really good for you (vegan, GF, full of good nutrients etc.), so here you go.

remembering to photograph halfway through the meal... 

The Gift of Granola

I recently experimented a little bit with making my own granola. It all started because commercial granola, while admittedly (potentially) very tasty, is either loaded with sugar or ridiculously overpriced (I mean, you're mainly paying for oats, which are really cheap, with a few nuts and raisins added...) -or both. After trying the Pure Natural granola and finishing it within a couple of days (it's addictively good and it's one of the healthier ones if you want to buy ready-made granola) I decided to try making my own. It's actually super easy to make granola. The best part is that you can add exactly what you want (and however much you want to), creating your own combinations and leaving out the extra sugar or the stuff you don't like.

                                 

How to survive the week with minimal cooking

Anyone who knows me knows that my love of cooking is only second to  my love of food itself; however, for many of us the times are just too busy for cooking... or we simply want to focus our energy on something else than preparing three meals and five two snacks a day.

Spinach-brown bean coconut-y curry topped wtih avocado and a soft-boiled egg: 5 minutes fridge-to-plate

I've recently decided that while I want to keep eating healthy, home-cooked, wholesome and delicious food, I don't want to spend much time worrying about it. So how do I do it?

Supa quick suppa (ha.)

Curried carrot soup with fried beans and coriander 

Summer is officially over, and I have started cooking soups again! In my continuing struggle to make them more filling (so I don't have to make something else to go with them, because who wants to be making elaborate dinners on busy September weekdays?), I improvised this one: A quick one-bowl meal that is vegan, healthy and delicious. It also has pretty colours with definite Instagram potential...