Weekend Meal - Rosemary Lamb Chop and Quinoa

I have been clean-eating for quite awhile and I feel that from time to time, you just got to treat yourself, give yourself 1-2 cheat meals once a week.  Having tried my first yoga class today, followed by an hour cardio exercise, I think I deserve something nice tonight.  So I decided to make rosemary lamb chops sided with quinoa for dinner.

Lamb Chop is definitely one of my favourite foods apart from beef (I try to have less red meat now that I have started clean-eating.) For those who doesn't eat lamb, don't worry, the quinoa recipe below is a must-try, it tastes so good and it is so easy to make.  It would be a great lunch too.  Trust me, you will fall in love with it just like I do! Plus, quinoa has so many health benefits.  It contains complete proteins and it is filling that won't make you bloat.  It's such a great alternative to rice.

 

 



Ingredients (Serve 2)

For the lamb chops

• 6 lamb chops
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to season
• 1/4 cup of fresh rosemary

For the marinade of lamb chops

• 1/2 tbsp. of butter
• 1/4 cup of white wine
• 1/4 cup of chicken broth

For the quinoa

• 1 cup of quinoa
• Salt and Pepper to season
• 2 tbsp. of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup of fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup of feta cheese

Steps

1. Marinate the lamb chops with olive oil, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper.  Leave the marinade on the lamb chops in the fridge for at least 1.5 hours or more.

 

2. Heat the non-sticky pan with olive oil.  Once it is hot enough, cook the lamb chops with the pan.  Cook each side for 3 minutes if you want them medium rare. 

 

3. When the lamb chops are done, put them aside on thick paper towels to absorb the excess oil.  On the non-sticky pan, add in the butter, white wine and chicken broth to the remaining marinade. Let the mixture sizzle for 3 minutes or so or it thickens a bit. This would serve the sauce for the lamb chops.

 

4. While you're cooking the lamb chops, you could cook the quinoa at the same time.  To cook 1 cup of quinoa, you would need 2 cups of water.  Cook the mixture together with a handful of salt to taste and some olive oil to make the quinoa more fluffy.  Once it boils, turn to the lowest heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on. Then turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 more minutes.

 

5. Mix the cooked quinoa with salt and pepper, olive oil, fresh mint leaves, fresh parsley, sundried tomatoes and feta cheese.

 

6. Serve the lamb chops with the sauce and sided with quinoa.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Natalie :)

Easy DIY Kimchi Fried Rice - A Delicious Detox Superfood

I don't know about you, but I freakin' love Korean food.

Kimchi Fried Rice - Photo by Jaryl Cabuco of The Fitted Life

How often have you gone to a Korean restaurant, ordered kimchi stone pot rice, and finished your meal just wanting more? 

If you ask me, the answer is: all the freakin' time.

So, being tired of having to go to the restaurants to get my (overpriced) fix, I decided to make my own. While I searched for an easy DIY recipe for kimchi, I found out that kimchi is actually really good for you, owing to its fermented nature. It especially helps to promote the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria like lactobacilli, which are important for digestion and can help to prevent problems like yeast and urine infections, inflammation processes like acne and eczema, and many more. 

So naturally, I thought - healthy and tasty? Bring it on!

I used this easy recipe from a Youtuber to make the kimchi. The result:

Hallelujah.

This recipe from well-known Korean food blogger Maangchi is also a great one - but I found the youtube video above easier to follow. I did adapt my recipe and used Maangchi's tip of adding rice flour to the kimchi juice to thicken it, and it does seem to help ferment the kimchi better as the juice would be more well distributed within the jar rather than sinking to the bottom. I also fermented it using Maangchi's method of storing the kimchi in a dark place at room temperature for 1-2 days before storing it in the fridge.

The kimchi can usually keep for a long time - they say up to 2 months, but I usually eat it within 2 weeks anyway. Often fried with rice and a runny fried egg on top - YUUUUUM :)

fried egg on kimchi fried rice

runny eggs are the only way to go ;)

Kimchi pancakes are a great way to have kimchi too! I like my pancakes fluffy and thick rather than in the crepes that you can get in restaurants...I like to think the flour absorbs some of the spice - it sure helps!

Do you like kimchi? How do you eat it?

Nikki

Low Fat Carbonara Recipe

My biggest weakness in this whole clean-eating diet would have been pasta, if you ask me.  Seriously, if it does not contain as much carbohydrates, I swear I am able to eat pasta every single day.  To satisfy my pasta cravings, here is a slightly low fat Carbonara recipe adapted from Laura in the Kitchen.

 

 

Ingredients (Serve 1)

• 1 slice of bacon chopped into pieces
• 1/4 onion
• 1-2 oz. of whole wheat spaghetti
• 1 egg
• 1/2 - 1 tbsp. of heavy cream (depends how much taste you want)
• 1 handful of grated Parmesan Cheese

 

Directions

 

1. Mix the beaten egg, heavy cream and Parmesan Cheese.  Set the mixture aside.

 

2. Chop the onion and bacon into pieces.

 

3.  Boil the water.  Once it is boiled, cook the spaghetti for around 10 minutes.

 

4. While you are cooking the spaghetti, heat the non-sticky pan with olive oil.  Once it is heated, cook the bacon until it is crispy.  Add in the onion.  Cook for 2 more minutes. 

 

5.  When the spaghetti is cooked, put the spaghetti and mix it with the bacon and onion in the pan.   Stir-fry for around 1 minute.  Turn off the heat.

 

6.  Drop the egg mixture onto the pan of spaghetti and mix well until every spaghetti is covered with the sauce.

 

Enjoy! 

 

Natalie :) 

Luxuriously Tasty High Tea At Home, Shall We?

Cookies! I LOVEEEE cookies regardless they are the crunchy ones like those you have at..say for example Pret or soft like those you have at Mrs Fields, I just love cookies! I am so glad that I found this recipe and I can tell you that this recipe is the easiest recipe you can ever find!! I swear!

This recipe requires around 10 minutes in preparing? 15 minutes for baking and you only need 2 ingredients! What could be easier? Without further ado, let's get started!

Ingredients you will need: (for one serving)

Cookies 

1. 1 ripe banana

2. 1 cup of rolled oats

3. 1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate (optional...I have a sweet tooth so I even added half a cup of it)

The sauce

1. 2 strawberries

2. 1 tbsp of greek yogurt

3. 1 tsp of maple syrup

Directions:

Cookies

1. Pre-heat the oven at 250 degrees 

2. Peel the banana and put it together with the rolled oats in a relatively large bowl

3. (The best part of all) Rub the oats in the banana with your fingerrrrrrrssss! Feel the squishiness...feel the rawness of food!!!!!!!! (Make sure your hands and fingernails are clean before you do this)

4. Add in the chocolate and mix it well with the batter

5. Brush a thin layer of oil over the baking tray before you put your dough on it

6. Spoon out the cookies of the size you want from the dough and put it on the baking tray (For me, I usually make them smaller, about biting size so that I could have moreeeee and I feel like i could eat moreeee)

7. Brush another thin layer of either egg white or oil on top of the cookies then it's all ready to bake

8. Bake it for 15-20 minutes and take it out, let it rest for about 5 minutes

Cookie dip strawberry sauce

Direction:

1. Mix everything in a blender and it's ready to go with the cookies

It's simple as that! What are you waiting for? Try it now!

Love you guys, enjoy!

Ada

xxxx

WAKE ME UP! - Low Calorie DIY Vanilla Spiced Latte Recipe

Hey there sleepyheads!

Quick post today - I thought I'd share my much anticipated DIY vanilla spiced latte recipe which was inspired by the Starbucks Vanilla Chai latte that came out a few months ago in the UK. This recipe is much healthier and packs much fewer calories than the Starbucks version. If super-sweet coffee is your vice, I'm afraid this recipe might not be for you. But if you're like me and just wish you could have a coffee that tasted like coffee and a little something extra, then this recipe is PERFECT for you!

What you need:

Keeps me awake for the rest of my (often 12-13 hour) work day!

• Boiling water
• 1 sachet/tbsp of instant coffee
• Soy/almond/hazelnut milk. I use unsweetened to lower the calories even more, but sweetened milk does give it the perfect taste.
• 1/8 tsp of ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• Several drops of vanilla extract (optional)
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional - adds a kick!)

Directions:

1. Place all your dry ingredients and vanilla extract into the mug.
2. Pour boiling water to help mix everything, until the mug is 3/4 full. 
3. Add milk to taste, or until the cup is full.
4. Stir, and enjoy! 

I know what you're thinking - cinnamon and cayenne pepper?! As you may see in some of my past as well as future recipes, I try to use cayenne pepper as much as I can. Cayenne pepper has a huge number of purported health benefits and, along with cinnamon, has been reported to be help the body's immune system - including helping to fight inflammation and also promote weight loss by decreasing appetite. Of course, in one mug of coffee, the amount of spice we've used probably won't make much of a difference. But if you consider it in terms of the accumulative amount you might take in over a month - the benefits might be more likely to show ;) Plus, using spices in place of sugar to help improve taste is always a great way to lower calorie intake! 

Breakfast time - Veggies and steamed egg, check! Vanilla spiced latte, check!

I usually have my morning coffee with my go-to detox breakfast that keeps me full until lunchtime and stops my cravings for junk food and sugar. Look out for the recipe coming up soon!

Do you have any favourite coffee shop flavours that you'd like us to turn into a low-calorie, healthy version? Let us know in the comments and we'll figure out a recipe for you!

Nikki :)

Healthy Creamy Avocado Sauce

Hands down this is one of the healthiest and yummiest creamy sauce I've ever had (without the actual cream, hence, less calories!)!! And what's more is that it has so much health benefits with a lot of fiber!  I love this sauce so much that I could really eat this everyday with a variety of combinations such as whole wheat pasta, toast, or just...simply eat it alone :D

Look at the smooth texture...*drooling already*

Love the sauce on whole wheat bread with bacon and a slice of cheddar cheese.  You can also heat the sandwich with the pan and melt the cheese.  This combination is just.....divine omg!!

I've always been craving this creamy avocado pasta...topped with Parmesan cheese of course.  Just can't live without cheeeeseeee. :)

 

Ingredients

• 1 avocado
• 2-3 tbsp. of lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 glove of garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Slice the avocado into tiny pieces. 
2. Dice the glove of garlic.
3. Blend all the ingredients together in the food processor.

There you have it, HEALTHY, DELICIOUS, CREAMY AVOCADO.  SO RAW AND SO EASY.

Natalie

Clean Eating Recipe #4 - Simple Greek Quinoa Salad

I know it is very difficult to struggle with your healthy diet when you are busy working or studying.  But don't worry, here is a super simple and absolutely delicious recipe for you - Greek Quinoa Salad.  All you need are just a handful of ingredients when you can easily find them in the supermarket!  You could always make it the night beforehand, put it in your fridge and take it when you go out for work/school the next day!

Feta cheese just makes everything better!

Ingredients (Serve 2)

For the quinoa

• 1 cup of quinoa
• Salt and pepper to season
• 1 tbsp. of olive oil

For the salad

• 1/2 of red pepper
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1/2 of yellow pepper
• 4 chicken fillets/chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup of feta cheese
• 1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes

For the dressing

• 1 tsbp. of olive oil
• 3 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp. of Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Marinate the chicken fillets/chicken breasts with salt.  Put them into the boiling water until they are fully cooked.  Cut them into small pieces.  Set them aside.

2. Chop the red pepper, green pepper and yellow pepper into cubes.  Set them aside.

3. Heat up the saucepan with medium heat.  Fry all the peppers together with the cooked chicken. Put them aside.

4.  Wash the quinoa with tap water to remove its taste of bitterness. 

5. To cook 1 cup of quinoa, you would need 2 cups of water.  Cook the mixture together with a handful of salt to taste and some olive oil to make the quinoa more fluffy.  Once it boils, turn to the lowest heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on. Then turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 more minutes.

6.  Mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard together.  That would serve as the salad dressing.

7.  Mix the quinoa, peppers, chicken, feta cheese, sundried tomatoes with the salad dressing.

There you have it, a simple and delicious meal!! :)

Let us know what is your favourite way to cook quinoa!

Natalie
xxx

"Pasta" In Mushroom Cream Sauce

Feeling hungry and don't know what to have for lunch or even dinner? It's always a pain in the neck because for me, as mentioned in the "about" on fb, I am a relatively petite girl but with an extraordinarily huge appetite (all-you-can-eat or buffets used to be my favourites...well they still are...but I only allow myself to have those insane cheatmeals on reallly special occasions), so I usually make sure I have eaten enough for every single meal (around 80% full...well sometimes or most of the times 99% which is not good...The key to eat less but feel more fulfilling is definitely to eat your food slowly, try to enjoy every bit of it and make sure you don't starve yourself too much before you have your meal!)

Yesterday, when I was starving and my stomach growling, it's a sign to have a big meal. I need carb, I need energy and I need something tasty, what could I possibly make myself for lunch that satisfied all my greedy desires yet low in calorie? There you go....here I present to you--*drumsticks again* the divine Pasta in mushroom cream sauce! It's soooo good that I don't mind having this for lunch or dinner every day until I get sick of it! 

Anyways, here are the ingredients you will need

Pasta:

1. The konnyaku (made of japanese yoshino yam)..The texture of it is a bit rubbery and it tastes bland but well it absorbs the favour of the sauce you put in, you can easily get this from any international supermarkets in the japanese corner
They have both white and brown konnyaku for options, I usually go for brown but white will work equally well

Mind you...it's super low in calorie (12 kcal per pack)

2. One big Portobello

Sauce:

1. One avocado

2. 2 tbsp of almond milk (you can use whatever milk you want, cow milk, coconut milk)

Directions:

For Sauce

1. Spoon out the avocado and take out the seed from it

2. Blend the avocado with the 2 tbsp of almond milk

For the pasta

1. After you take the konnyaku out, rinse it with tap water then put it aside (it's originally soaked in salt water so as to preserve the taste) 

2. Wash the portobello until the black comes out a bit and try to squeeze the water out from the portobello

3. Cut the portobello in pieces and fry it with coconut oil or any oil you have in hand

4. Add a pinch of salt in the portobello and keep frying it until it all dries up (The salt won't melt completely as there's no water in the saucepan but it's totally fine just make sure you only add tiny pinch of salt in it)

5. Add in the pasta and mix it well with the portobello

6. Add the sauce in the pasta and fry it for another 1 minute

7. Garnish your dish with a bit of rosemary leaves or basil and some black pepper as well! Then it's ready to serve

Isn't that simple? I was so surprised that it tastes soooo good that it actually stops me from craving for carbonara or other unhealthy pasta outside. Try it yourself and share with us!

Enjoy <3

Ada

xoxo

Super Duper Delicious Dessert --Banana Ice Cream

Hey guys! I have come back with a super duper delicious and easy dessert recipe--Banana ice cream! I have to say that I am a die hard fan of dessert, whether it be a cheat meal or a healthy meal. I am always tempted to have dessert so as to make my day....you know...just more complete.  Unfortunately, you have no idea how many cups of sugar a simple tiramisu or a cheesecake actually contain and the fat content...well let's just say I wouldn't want to scare you with the figures. Anyway, still remember this post about the benefits of eating bananas? The following recipe only requires two very simple ingredients (or three depending on what sauce you want to make yourself). You wouldn't think something so wholesome and natural could be so amazing and better yet - it only takes you 3 or even 2 minutes to make it!!!

Recipe from Danispies

Ingredients you will need: (Simple as that!)

Ice Cream

1. Bananas (Half a frozen banana)

2. Almond Milk (3 tbsp)

Sauce

1. Two strawberries

Directions:

1. Cut the bananas in half and put them on a plate (remember to separate them, make sure they don't stick together)

2. Put them in the freezer for seven hours. 

3. When the bananas are frozen, they are good to go

4. For one serving, half of the frozen banana will be enough, put it in a blender together with 3 tbsp of almond milk

5. Blend it until the frozen banana became ice cream like texture

6. Then it is time to make the sauce, blend the two strawberries until it is purely juice

7. Pour the sauce on top of the ice cream and it is ready to serve! Enjoy <3

Seriously, this ice cream is truly comparable with those you can eat outside and mind you... this it is absolutely clean, healthy and TASTY! What more can you expect? All you need is just 2 minutes!!!! This cup of rich, luxurious, creamy ice cream is all yours now (we shall all be happily singing the banana song featured by the minions while eating this WOHOOO!) Vary the recipe in whatever way you want, make your own recipe and share it!

Enjoy!

Ada

xoxo

Clean Eating Recipe #3 - Skinny Honey Lemon Bars

I'd always love using lemon as one of the ingredients when cooking/baking.  It's particularly refreshing which increases your appetite in this hot summer days. So I just have to share this recipe with you guys.  It is so healthy and very yummy, definitely worth the time in making this! Plus, it would be the perfect snack for your tea time.  You can always make it the night before, grab a bar of two of it the next morning when you go out for school or work.

Who says you can't eat dessert when you're eating clean?  With only 172 calories per bar, this is the perfect for those who is craving for something sweet and tasty!

Recipe from skinnytaste.com

 

Spread the mixture evenly onto the pan when making the crust.

 

 

The crust is looking very crispy already after baking for 20 minutes.  Let it cool for another 20 minutes before adding the filling.

 

 

How it looks like after adding in the filling.

 

 

There you have it, SKINNY HONEY LEMON BARS. Nom.


 

Natalie xxx

Clean Eating Recipe #2: Spinach Konnyaku Noodles on a Bed of Garlic Sauteed Fresh Greens

If you haven't heard of Konnyaku noodles, you're either A) not Asian (although I admit I'm Chinese and I'd never heard of them until they made their way into the health industry haha) or B) not particularly bothered about counting calories (count yourself lucky! :P)

Konnyaku jelly is traditionally used in sweet jellies and in Asian hotpots (I used to think they were seafood - like little octopuses! Lols.) but have been garnishing more and more attention these days as a health food. Because of their similar texture to pasta, it is now promoted as a low-calorie alternative to the traditional carb-heavy ingredient.

Pasta without the calories?! Of course I'm intrigued....but it's taken me quite a while to find the stuff.

At 1.99 pounds (HKD 24) this sure is one pricey dish of homecooked noodles.

Living in the UK, I couldn't find it anywhere in the supermarkets. In the end, I traipsed through the refrigerator aisle at my local chinese supermarket and found it between the tofu and kimchi.

After all the water is drained....this pitiful portion is all that's left :'(

On the front of the packet it says the entire pack is 28 kcal. Being the calorie-stinge that I try to be, I wanted to split the packet in two portions and only consume 14kcal - but alas, once all the water was drained, there was...not much left. So the full pack went into the pan :)

My favorite herbs of all time - fresh basil and thyme

Quarter cup of chopped herbs and my favorite greens - only 1.50 pounds for two packs at Tesco!

One of my favorite tips to eating healthy is to cut down on the salt and MSG/flavorings by using as many herbs (fresh or dried) as you can. My favorites are the above two because of their versatility and nutty flavors which often enhance the chopped roasted almonds that I add to most of my dishes. I'm a bit of a nut ;)

As a sauce, one of my favorite ways to cut down on cream and unnecessary calories as well as enhance the flavour of the dish is to melt a little bit of salted butter into the pan when everything is cooked. A little butter is harmless, adds flavor and moisture to the dish and overall keeps me satisfied with its buttery aroma and taste. 

The finished product:

My mama taught me to love my greens. I think I took it to the next level ;) 

A closer look at that hot green goodness

The verdict on Konnyaku jelly noodles? The truth is, they surprised me. Usually health foods leave me unsatisfied and eating even more - but these were surprisingly filling and satisfying in both taste and texture. However, at 2 pounds/HKD 24 a pack, it's not exactly something I'll be running out to buy as a daily grocery ingredient. (Maybe it's cheaper in HK?)

But other than the price - it really is a great alternative to pasta and if you're interested in trying it out I'd definitely recommend it! As for me, I think it's back to portion control with the carbs until I can afford to eat this stuff on a daily basis ;)

Have you tried Konnyaku jelly noodles?

Nikki

Satisfying Snack Before Dinner

So as promised here is the recipe for the lovely, amazing, incredible yogurt!!!!!!

The ingredients you need is real simple (actually you can have whatever toppings or ingredients you want as long as they are fruits and not in excessive amount)

I like strawberries a lot...well actually I like all kinds of berries but since strawberries is the first thing I saw at the supermarket so I just went ahead with it. I have decided to make my yogurt a beautifully red one so the other fruit I added in is apple! So all you need is *drumsticks*

Ingredient:

1. 1/4 of the apple (in pieces)

2. Two strawberries (chopped them up)

3. Half cup of yogurt (the cup you see in the picture)

4. 1 tsp of granola 

5. A pinch of cinnamon on the top

Calories in this divine snack: 

Apple (12 calories)

Strawberries (15 calories)

Yogurt (50 calories)

Granola (30 calories)

Cinnamon (No calorie but natural seasoning WOW)

Total calorie of this snack is.............107 calories! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??????? 

Try to make your own yummy delicious yogurt and take a picture and share with us! Won't you?

I will be back for more easy and clean recipes real soooooon!!!!!!

Ada

xoxo

Important Food Fact #1 -- Banana

Well I used to think bananas are just for monkeys or monkey-like people, I guess I am very wrong (if not completely) about it. You will never look at bananas the same way after knowing all the benefits you could get from eating it, it is a superb natural raw clean food one could easily get! Without further ado, here comes the long awaited list of benefits of bananas!

1. Bananas help overcome depression due to its high level of tryptophan, which is then converted into serotonin and that acts as the happy-mood brain neurotransmitter
2. Bananas prevent swelling and it aids weight loss, in other words, it is an essential ingredient to our daily diet
3. Bananas strengthen the nervous system and it helps with the production of white blood cells, credits to the high level of vitamin B-6
4. Bananas also act as a prebiotic, it stimulates the growth of friendly bacteria in the bowel and as a result, it assists our digestive system in absorbing nutrients
5. Bananas are also high in antioxidants so it basically prevents cancer and it improves our skin
6. Bananas control blood sugar and it helps us avoid binging between meals
7. Constipated? The high fibre in bananas can help to promote bowel movement and ease constipation!
8. Bananas are a source of high potassium and are a great healthy option to cure that hangover after a night out! Remember, alcohol can easily dehydrate the body, helping your body to rid itself of useful electrolytes like potassium in the process. Banana milkshake for the morning after? Count me in!

Of course there are so many many other reasons why you should eat bananas and I have only selected the more important and powerful ones which I guess are sufficient to let you know more about the beauty of this ordinary raw clean food.

Last but not least, bananas bring a natural (yet low-calorie) sweetness to the dish so it will take quite an important role in some of our upcoming recipes! Here's a sneak-peek of some in-progress bananas that are about to be featured in some amazing, fantastic and easy recipes real soon!


Ada
xoxo

Guilt-Free Dessert Recipe - Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Having a sudden sweet tooth but hesitate whether to grab a bar of chocolate that is going to ruin your diet plan for the week? 
Don't worry, here is an absolutely healthy, delicious and guilt-free dessert that you will not regret for eating!  It is vegan, gluten-free and most importantly, you cannot taste anything different from other chocolate mousse.  All you need is a handful of ingredients and you can enjoy this guilt-free dessert in less than a minute!

 

Ingredients (Serve 4)

• 4 ripe avocados
• 4 tsp. cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup of skimmed milk / almond milk
• 3 tsp. of honey (to taste)
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
• A little bit of salt

Directions

1.  Mix the above ingredients together in the food processor and blend for 1 minute.

2.  Sprinkle with any toppings you want (e.g. strawberries, almonds, nuts etc.)

3. Serve and enjoy!

How easy is this seriously? :)

Natalie

Start Your Day With A Healthy Morning Drink

Every morning (even when I go on trips, I have these ingredients with me, they are small in size and very portable) the first place I head to is my kitchen. Instead of going straight to brushing my teeth or anything else, I make this! This is my everyday morning booster --the honey cinnamon. 

I have to admit that I had a very weak digestive system a year back then due to my severe irregularity of meals. Then I discovered this recipe which aims at adding a protective layer over your digestive system and so well I decided to give it a try. For the first few days, my stomach actually reacted after a few minutes, my stomach was like turning upside down repeatedly but I wouldn't say it was painful, it was just uncomfortable and this lasted for around 10 minutes? If you are experiencing this also, it is absolutely normal and the uncomfortableness will soon disappear. It is a sign that the drink is actually working!!!! Keep it up! Anyways, there are tons of other benefits about this drink which I will go into details later.

Here I present to you the very simple (if not the simplest) recipe you could ever have, the ingredients are all natural, clean and good for your body and skin!

As you can see from the picture below, all you need is:

1. Honey (treat yourself better by buying honey of better quality, I am using White Clover which you can easily find this in any supermarket)

2. Cinnamon (there are many other brands too but I chose this because well it's cheap and it tastes good)

The steps are really simple and here you go :)

1. use honey and cinnamon in a 1:2 ratio (I usually use 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon but the amount of honey can be adjusted)

2. put the cinnamon in a cup or bowl first

3. Pour in boiling water to first melt the cinnamon (then you will realise the cinnamon cannot be completely melted and that's normal, try to stir it evenly and it will do)
4. pour water of room temperature over the cinnamon
5. Make sure the drink is warm (at least not hot) then add honey. Always add honey to the cooled liquid – hot liquid will destroy the enzymes in the raw honey.

Remember this drink acts well on an empty stomach <3

And this is the finished product, YUM, I feel like I am one step closer to my healthy lifestyle!!!!

As promised, here are some other benefits of this drink :)

• It cures colds as it strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria attacks (I haven't had any colds ever since I started making this, I swear!!!! well, guess I have to give credits to my regular practise of hot yoga too!) 
• It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries, in other words, it prevents heart disease
• It cures stomachache and it also clears stomach ulcers from THE ROOT
• Well there is a saying that if you use honey and cinnamon to make a paste and apply it on the pimples, it helps remove pimples from the root (anyone tried it before? Please feel free to share)
• 
  

I have been drinking this for half a year only and I have to tell you that my stomach didn't go upset as frequently or easily as before (1 to 2 times so far even there were times that I still had irregular meals), this drink is absolutely magical! I just LOVE it! I hope you guys love it too <3

Ada 

xoxo

Berry-licious White Chocolate Pie #cheatdaysareokay

Sometimes, you just want something sinfully delicious and fresh that'll get the tastebuds dancing with ecstasy.

Looks just as good as it tastes. I almost couldn't bring myself to put a knife to this one....nah, I cut myself a slice as soon as I could ;)

Okay, so maybe that's a bit over the top. (But only a little ;P) Having just finished a set of night shifts, all I wanted to do on my day off was to relax and eat something a little special. With quite a bit of fruit in the fridge that needed finishing, some white chocolate and double cream, and a bit of pastry dough, this simple pie is a worthy cheat-day treat.

Glorious, glorious butter...I've tried to minimize the butter to keep it reasonably healthy for a pastry dough, so it could be worse!

A coarse in pastry-making. (Couldn't resist)

Ingredients: (Makes 1 9-inch pie)

To make the dough:

1 1/8 cup of flour (I used 50/50 of flour and oatmeal)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp very cold diced butter (the cold is crucial)

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

To make the filling:

100g of white chocolate

160ml of double cream (has to be double or won't whip!)

1/2 carton of raspberries

1/2 carton of blueberries

1/2 carton of blackberries

5 strawberries

Equipment needed:

1 food processor (not necessary but makes things quicker)

1 electric mixer

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. 

2. Combine the dry ingredients together in a bowl/food processor. Then add the olive oil and butter. If using a food processor, pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Otherwise, use a knife to further dice the butter into the flour and use your fingers to rub the butter in. However, using this method you need to be quick as the warmth of your fingers will melt the butter and it needs to remain solid for the dough to roll out!

3. Shape your dough into a flat disc and use a spatula to spread the dough to fit your pie dish. 

4. Put your pie in the oven for 20 minutes. Afterwards, cool completely before placing any filling.

5. Chop up the white chocolate into small pieces and place into a heatproof bowl. Heat the double cream to a boil and pour onto the chocolate. Mix with a spatula until chocolate is fully incorporated and dissolved.

6. Refrigerate for 2 hours. 

7. Use the electric mixer to whip the mixture into stiff peaks. This should take around 5-10 mins with the mixer on high speed.

8. Spread the chocolate mousse onto the pie crust in the dish. 

9. Decorate with your fruits.

10. Eat!

Yes I ate that. I also ate another piece after that. Night shifts make you do that :P

Hope you enjoy your slice of pie! I know I did ;) Let me know in the comments if you liked this post and want to see more cheat-day recipes! And if you try this recipe, let me know how it turned out :)

Nikki

Gluten Free Dinner at Noodlemi

I had a wonderful, delicious and healthy meal at Noodlemi at Sheung Wan! It's a MSG free and gluten free vietnamese restaurant <3

It is a decent, quiet and comfy place good for chitchatting. (It may not be the case in the afternoons)

I ordered a bowl of noodles served with veggie spring rolls, the spring rolls are DIVINE! Crunchy, fresh are the words to describe it, you can totally tell they used fresh ingredients and they only make it upon customers' orders. You simply never had enough of it :P

Then I also ordered a bowl of chicken salad with crunchy cabbage and carrot in it. I never expected the bowl to be that big and it is seriously full of chicken meat, the whole dish is so satisfying!! I personally like the sourness of vietnamese dishes so I added quite a lot of sour sauce and it tastes heaven! They also have many other options for salads, say vegetarian, beef and pork too!



It is definitely a place to go to for healthy and happy lunch :)

Let us know if you have tried it too:)

Ada

Clean Eating Recipe #1 - Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes

I have always been a big fan of pancakes, so I have been testing different flourless pancakes recipes in the past few months. Below is the one recipe which I've found to be the healthiest and easiest so far.  There are so many varieties to this recipe, just add in whatever toppings or ingredients to the oatmeal mixture.

I paired this blueberry oatmeal pancakes with strawberry puree and low-fat maple syrup.  Tastes divineeee!

Slices of banana and blueberry jam are also an alternative for healthy and tasty toppings.

On a side note, pancakes taste even better when served with Assam tea.

Ingredients (Serve 1)

• 1/2 c of rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp. of baking powder
• 1/2 c of skimmed milk / almond milk
• 1 beaten egg
• A handful of blueberries
• Any kind of toppings you want (sliced bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, butter, maple syrup...the choices are endless!)

Directions

1. Put the oatmeal into the food processor and blend it until it is flour consistency.

2. Mix the blended oatmeal with baking powder, milk, egg and blueberries.

3. Swipe the non-sticky skillet with olive oil and turn to low heat.  Once it is heated, drop 2-3 tablespoons of the batter onto the skillet (depends on the size of pancakes you want).  Once you see bubbles on the batter, flip it to the other side and cook the batter until it is golden brown.

Enjoy :)

Natalie