Update

Hey everyone – Sorry for the lack in updating, we have a full house! It’s loads of fun, but very crazy and hectic, so I haven’t really had the time for decent preparing/cooking/photographing/eating. I hope soon that will change, but on Saturday we’re leaving for Tuscany, and we’ll be there for a week. When I come back things will certainly be back in action.

I’m upset with my timing – my site has really started to take off and now I’ve not the time to update!

Please bear with me, and stick with me until I’m able to back into the swings of blogging!

Coconut Blueberry Breakfast Bulgur

 

As we all know, purple was a rare colour in the days of kings, queens, and jesters, and only the fabulously rich royalty wore the expensive hue. Have a bowl of royalty every morning with this scrumptious breakfast dish, which could make steel cut oats run for their money!

You’ll need –

• 1/4 Cup Cracked Wheat Bulgur
• 1/4 Cup Milk
• 1/4 Cup Water (You could use all milk if you’d like it creamier)
• 1/2 Cup Frozen Blueberries
• 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
• Sprinkling of Splenda or Turbinado Sugar or Honey

You’ll need to -

Bring the bulgur, milk, water and sweetener to a slight boil over medium-high heat. Once you’ve gotten to that point, add the coconut and blueberries, give em a whip and a mix, cover, reduce the heat, and let cook for about 15 minutes, or until all the liquids have been absorbed.

I make sure I stir this occasionally, because the first time I made it, I forgot to set  a timer so the bulgur turned into a glue and stuck like a barnacle to the bottom of the pot. Gross!

Once it’s finished, or to the consistency of your liking, it’s time to plate ‘er up! Take the bowl/dish of your liking and dump in bulgur – splash a bit of milk over, sprinkle a few shavings of coconut, and fresh blueberries for a garnish. You can add other toppings, like nuts or chocolate chips – I bet that would be good!

Eat warm and enjoy the luxury. And the purple stomach!

 

Purple Stomach

 

 

Well, I got my blueberry bulgur fix this morning! After a bit of reading and coffee drinking, I made blueberry-coconut bulgur. It was amazing! The coconut really was the star ingredient, and the blueberries turned the bland beige grain into a purple-y, velvety and luscious breakfast. I’m sure my insides are purple, and definitely happy!

I enjoyed it with a sliced apple, and a few slivered almonds. (And a Pagan’s Krisproll, of course).

 

 

 

 

Now I’ve got to go into my cleaning-machine mode, and get this place tidy before our guests come tomorrow! Since I had a pretty late breakfast, and the bulgur being quite satiating, I don’t foresee a lunch, rather a nice snack and a hearty dinner. Until then folks!

I think I’m going to make Eggplant Bucatini for dinner tonight, with whole wheat pasta. Who knows, we’ll see how it goes.

This afternoon after I ran some errands I had the juiciest, sweetest, ripest whit peach ever! I could eat them all day.

I’m actually quite hungry now, but I’m not sure what to have. I need groceries. The fridge/cabinets are empty. Picture…. a tumbleweed blowing through an empty salon. That empty salon is my fridge. That tumbleweed probably some funky mold from some old produce.

I decided on some yogurt with a sprinkle of the following things – raisins, sliced almonds,  crunchy muesli, cinnamon and Splenda.

DGIF -

Danke Gott es ist Freitag! (My very novice German translation of TGIF!

It was really hard to get out of bed this morning. It was so nice and comfy, warm and cozy, well you know the drill.

Someone asked why I went to the Nutritionist – a few reasons. I wanted to see how my diet was, in a nutritionist’s eyes, and also, the past few weeks I’ve been eating about 1,200 – 1,500 calories a day, and have been gaining weight, so I wanted to see what was up with that. We have another appointment Wednesday, and I’ll surely let the foodie world know what’s happening.

My Aunt and cousins, as well as 3 friends from America are coming next week! I’m very excited, and also to cook for so many people! It’s going to be great. A week later we all leave for Tuscany, and we’re spending a week in a ‘castle’ we rented. There will be 12 of us total, so the ‘castle’ is really just a large stone house … I guess by definition that is a castle!

For breakfast this morning I was planning on making bulgar with blueberries, but I was running late because I hit the snooze a few too many times…. So I made the last of my nectarine steel cut oats. I threw on a few mutli-flakes, raisins, slivered almonds and a KERF PB spoon.

 

 

And Coffee, in a London mug today, with the usual Krisproll for dipping. I drank half the mug (It’s GINORMOUS) before I even took the picture …

 

 

And on the side a few Orange segments, cold, juicy and refreshing –

 

 

 

 

I went to a really neat, modern home store after German and bought two sweet, long oatmeal spoons, two tiny ramekins, and a guitar pick shaped pate. You’ll surely be seeing them soon!

You’ve gotta love Volumetrics, baby. Eating a 350ish calorie meal, and being stuffed to the gills. For some strange reason, I was craving Tuna. I never, ever crave meat. I think it was the salty taste of my childhood calling.

So I made a tuna salad with carrots, celery, bell pepper, pickle, tomato, and a faux mayo with yogurt, mustard, and cottage cheese.

Underneath the Tuna salad was spinach and mixed greens, a few whole wheat spirals and tomato.

On the side I had a rye bruscetta with fresh tomatoes, a sprinkling of parmesan and a drizzle of balsamic, as well as some ripe melon with a dollop of yogurt, and a few flakes of granola for crunch. SO filling, so delicious, so satisfying.

 

 

 

 

Like yesterday, I went on another mountain bike ride/hike, and let me tell you, it is a GOOD workout. After cooled off a bit I had a slice of whole wheat toast with 1/2Tbs PB with a few slivered almonds. I was  surprised how far only half a tablespoon went… Also I had half a banana, half a nectarine with a little more yogurt and cinnamon.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m going to see Get Smart tonight! I’m so excited, I’m a huge Office fan, so naturally, I’m a huge Steve Carrell fan. We decided to eat here before we left, so I thawed some mixed veggies – asparagus, pumpkin, green beans, bell peppers and yellow + green zucchini. In the bottom of our bowls I threw in some left over cauliflower mash (which unfortunately you can’t see), the veggies, and Quorn. With a few slashes of Frank’s and some parm, we were set.

You can see the wisps of steam! It was nice and hot. 2 ways, also – hot in temperature, and spicy, thanks to the Frank’s!

 

 

 

Oh, on the side were breadsticks (haha, sticks of bread…) with whole wheat and a pumpkin/rye combo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m going to make little snacks for the movie – a sort of popcorn trail mix deal, then I’m off! Catch all you cool cats later

You Don’t Know What You Got …

Until it’s gone! The sun came and went, and the heavy rain and wind has made it’s dramatic return. It was nice while it lasted.

This morning I met with a nutritionist, and we have a follow up meeting Wednesday, but she told me from now until then to eat more grains and oil. She’s trying to fatten me up

Anyway, I was in such a rush this morning that I forgot to take a picture! I did, however take a picture of the empty bowl and mug … You can just imagine the bowl [The Hippo bowl] filled with yogurt, blueberries, a few orange segments, and granola. The mug, imagine the mug with a rich, frothy dark coffee and a Krisproll! I’m taking a trip to Iceland later this Summer, so that explains the tour guide

I’d also like to say I respond to comments on the same entry – so if you write me something, check back in a bit and you may just have a response!

Oh! Here is my bee sting …. Viewer discretion is advised. Ouch, man! It still stings! 2 days later! What a NASTY bee.

When I said I really enjoyed yesterday’s tortilla pizza, I didn’t think I’d make it again the next day! Today I spread a little bit of cottage cheese along the tortilla, as well as to tomato paste, and I must say, the cottage cheese really gave it a nice creamy texture. Almost like a hybrid of Alfredo and tomato? Mmm.

 

I enjoyed it with a side of paprika and herb cottage cheese, which isn’t complete without a few flaxseed crackers, and a San Pel in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also had a small side salad with artichokes, diced bell pepper, and the left over zucchini and squash from the pizza.

On the tortilla concoction today I piled on a layer of cottage cheese, red beans, corn kernels, yellow and green zucchini, bell pepper and a Quorn filet. With a bit of parm and mozzarella, of course.  

 

Now it’s time to go and get some more work done, in this muggy yet cold rainy weather. Oh July, you’ve continued to disappoint me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, the rain let up for a little bit, so I decided to take a bike ride. Not just any bike ride, no sir, I live on a mountain, remember? It was intense. Phew. I’m exhausted, and I know I’m going to be sore tomorrow!

 

Before I left I whipped a home-made blackberry cobbler – With a mixture of applesauce, oats, whole wheat flower, Splenda and cinnamon, with a tiny schmear of Smart Balance atop. No, that pink and white creamy goodness isn’t Smart Balance, that’s Strawberry/Vanilla froyo. Because, honestly, what is cobbler without a bit of frozen deliciousness?

 

 

 

 

 

For Dinner I was planning on making an Eggplant Bucatini dish, but I looked at the clock and it was already 8:30! So I tried to make something quick – Paninis and a side salad. I accidentally burnt the Paninis a little, but it just added a bunch of crunch, which was fine with me. On the side I also had some baked spicy tofu.

 

  

 

On the panini I had red bell pepper, zucchini, fresh basil, gruyere, cottage cheese (for creaminess) tomato, and pickle. Oh, and yellow squash. It was really nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The salad was very refreshing – blueberries, raspberries, tomato, carrots, zucchini and fresh spinach, drizzled with a sweet balsamico dressing.

 

I better get to sleep, it’s another early day tomorrow!

Productivity Reports

 

Today is starting to feel like summer (It’s about time, it’s nearly August!). A productive summer, at that. I can be a very procrastinating person at times, but on days like today, when I actually finish things, I wonder why I ever put things off in the first place!

Before German I had a bowl of fresh grapefruit cubes, bran fiber cereal with skim milk, coffee (In a Moscow mug), my usual Krisproll, and water.

 

 

 

 

After breakfast and German, I picked up a few groceries. Some fresh berries, yogurt and cottage cheese, fresh whole grain wheat and rye loaves, cauliflower and a new brown bowl. I’m sure you’ll be seeing it soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For lunch I got a little creative. I was craving something really crunchy, but chewy. And also pizza. I was craving a good veggie pizza. So instead of slaving over pizza dough, I utilized a lovely corn tortilla. Loaded with veggies and a little bit of skim cheese, it turned out perfect! The tortilla was nice and crispy along the edges, but a bit chewier towards the middle.

I loaded that sucker up! Zucchini, yellow swuash, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, fresh basil and corn.

 

On the side I had another spinach salad with raspberries, mini corn, red beans, and more fresh basil, with a sweet and tangy yogurt-vinaigrette.

 

 

 

Also on the side were fresh blackberries and blueberries, a few teaspoons of crunchy coconut granola, and a dollop of vanilla froyo. Very refreshing!

 

Needless to say, it was a very filling meal indeed.

Now I’m off for some more tasks on my to-do list, then perhaps the elliptical or a hike. Until food crosses my path again! 

 

Sorry for such a late update! Yesterday I had a few snacks, and after my 60 minute yoga session I had some nectarine, yogurt with granola and a pb&j rice cake, with a square of chocolate. It was a good snack. The almond butter on the rice cake was amazing! It was gooey, and seeped into the crevasses, and yeah. Delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been wanting to make mashed cauliflower for a while, and last night I finally did! I mashed it with a bit of cottage cheese and yogurt, with salt, pepper, and fresh basil. On top, I built a mountain of squash – grilled zucchini and yellow squash, and on the side baked tofu. Mmm, each bite was wonderful, with a schmear of the mashed goodness.

  

Oh, I also went on a HARD mountain bike ride, but before I left I had a Wasa fiber cracker with Greek honey and banana. On our new puzzle!

The Sun Listened… And So Did the Bees

The Sun must’ve listened to the unhappy Swiss folk cry, because he came out today! It’s the perfect temperature, too – 72. I snapped a few shots when I was out on the balcony, to show the blog world my humble abode’s lovely view.

The Alps are to the left of this, and on a clear day they’re quite breath-taking, so someday I’ll get them up here.

So, onto the bees. I was outside on the balcony, thinking about a time when I was at my Aunt’s house as a child, and I got stung by a swarm of bees – It was bad, about 10-15 stings in total, which turned into a crying fit – So anyway, there I was, on the balcony remembering my hate for the insect, when what do you know, one landed on me and stung me! I haven’t been stung since that frightful day at my Aunt’s, but I certainly hadn’t forgot the pain … It’s swelling up this very moment, throbbing with the evil bee poison! Ouch!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving on, this morning I had my usual coffee (Cafe Verona today) in a Starbucks city mug (Zurich today) and a dip-able Krisproll.

Breakfast today was a very un-appetizing mixture of plain yogurt, a few spoonfuls of cottage cheese, cinnamon, apple, honeydew and bran cereal in my Hippo bowl. (I call it that because it’s thick and 2 shades of purple) It tasted really great, don’t get me wrong!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Workout today was 25 minutes elliptical, my new book – Foreign Correspondence by Geraldine Brooks – for a time distracter. (I must say, fine print is quite difficult to read on the elliptical!) and 15 minutes upper body weights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I refueled with a slice of whole wheat bread, a tsp of almond butter, half a banana, a few raisins and 6 almonds. On the side I had THE plumpest, ripest, sweetest and juiciest cherries I think I’ve ever had.

 

I couldn’t decide which picture to rule out, so to spare some hurt feelings, I added them all.  

This afternoon I had a refreshing bowl of fruit with a few raspberries, a petite nectarine and a small navel orange. 

I bought a HUGE bag of fresh spinach today, so a spinach salad was definitely in order for diner. With a bit of grilled salmon on top, it was uber filling. I’m still very full! It had:

• Tomato Wedges
• Cucumber Half Moons
• Corn Kernels
• Fresh Basil
• Sliced Almonds
• Pickles
• A few Raisins
• Homemade Sweet Mustard Dressing

It’s funny that it looks like such a large portion of salmon! Very strange indeed. And here’s a perfect bite -

I’m about to call it a night. Maybe fix a nice cup of tea, and unwind with a book. Tomorrow is another early day.

Do I have any readers out there? I’m a very sociable person, and I love comments! I’ll most definitely drop you a line back. Show me some love, ladies! (And gentlemen!)

What Rhymes With July?

It must be a cold, late autumn month, because there is absolutely no reason for this 45 degree weather! I really hope our dear friend the sun shows his lovely face tomorrow.

I was planning on running outside this morning, but, well, I think the reason I didn’t is evident.

I had a slice of whole wheat bread with Raspberry Preserves and half a Banana before my workout – 25 minutes on the elliptical, then 15 minutes of abs.

After a FREEZING shower (I tell ya, it really felt nice) I had a bowl of Nectarine-Coconut-Walnut-Almond-Raisin-Chocolate Chip Steel Cut Irish Oats. I think I prefer plain oats with one prominent, or two prominent flavours, so next time I suppose that’s what I’ll stick to. I wanted to experiment a bit this morning with toppings, and well, I did!

 

With coffee (Estima blend today) and a Krisproll, of course. Today’s mug was Copenhagen. I tried to capture the gloom of today in the photo, and the poopy-green color of the mug helps!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also grabbed a black coffee from Starbucks on my way home – with a shot of Sugar Free Almond. Yum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was an egg white ‘Christmas Frittata’, as I decidedly called it. It had a plethora of green veggies – green beans, spinach, peas, zucchini and artichokes. Okay, maybe not a plethora, but certainly a hefty amount. I had a red pepper to use up, and so the Christmas Frittata was born.
I enjoyed it with half a cup of cottage cheese, and plain yogurt swirled with applesauce, topped with fresh apple slices, raisins and cinnamon.

 

I had half a slice of rye bread with a schlob of Smart Balance, and sprinkled it all with some fresh grated Parmesan.

 

 

Can you see the cottage cheese behind the apples? He’s workin’ some paprika. 

July? Is That You?

With a few less degrees, it could easily be sleeting here! It’s absolutely FREEZING! It’s the middle of July! The rain, cold rain at that, makes me wonder if this is July? Really? Maybe this is a really elaborate prank … 

I started my morning with, of course, some coffee and a Pagen Krisproll, and half of a Carrot-Zug cookie. They both fell in before I could snap a shot though! Luckily, I fished ‘em out, but the cookie-cake has a nice little frothy-sweater on.

 

I think I’m coming down with a cold, or a variation of a bug (possibly frigid-weather induced??) because I haven’t been too hungry lately. For Breakfast/Lunch I made some gentle Oat Bran pancakes. They were a jiff to make – I used Bran cereal, egg whites, a few oats, and a splash of milk. I sprinkled a few chopped walnuts and coconut on them, as well as a bit of Smart Balance.

I had the Brancakes with a side of nectarine and apple, and an individual sized bottle of Maple Syrup.

Well, I’ve actually not many words for today. I think the weather is putting a damper on things. Maybe a run will help. Or not?

I’ve been meaning to use up the tofu balls I found at our organic shop, and it looks like tonight was the night! I had them on a bed of Cajun quinoa, and a chili sauce. On the side is a cup of Mexican tomato soup, and few florets of broccoli, whose picture unfortunately went MIA…

  

Supplemented by some fresh, whole grain baguette. My tummy is certainly happy, and full.

Next course – home made Strawberry Sorbet.

Four C’s, a Z & an R Cookie Cakes

What a recipe name. I call them ‘cakes’ because in no way are they like a cookie – well, other than their shape and the fact they were made on a ‘cookie sheet’. They’re extremely chewy, doughy, moist, and nearly fall-apart when devouring. I had an inspiration to make Zucchini bread, but I took the plain ‘ole loaf to the next level: Zucchini Carrot Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookie Cakes.

I said before they had no fat- but I stand corrected! Thanks Meg! The almonds, yolk and chocolate chips have about 35 grams of fat in total, and this batch made about 28 cookies, so that’s just over one gram of fat per cookie. But who’s counting, right?

I started with my oatmeal raisin cookie recipe, then decided the best way to go about this was to go from scratch.

Ingredients:

• 1 Egg, Beaten (I usually use whites in my cookies, but this recipe really needs one yolk)
• 1/2 Cup Light Applesauce
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar (If you have Splenda Brown Sugar, that would be fine)
• 1/3 Cup Honey
• 3/4 Cup Splenda for Baking
• 1 Tbs Vanilla Extract
• 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 Cup Ground Almonds
• 1 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
• 1/2 Tsp Cloves (My secret weapon!)
• 1 Cup Shredded Zucchini, de-moisturized
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Carrot, also de-moisturized
• 1/2 Cup Raisins
• 3/4 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips (Or the gradient you prefer)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C, or 350 F.
2. Grease a cookie sheet, or use parchment paper
3. Mix egg, applesauce, brown sugar, honey, and vanilla. (1a)
4. In another bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Set both bowls aside.
5. Take the grated Zuc and Carrots, place them over a hefty amount of paper towels, or a towel, plus some more for the top, and throw on some heavy cookbooks, let de-moisturize for about 15 minutes. Go watch some TV, read a book, call a friend, walk to the dog, take a pee, whatever. Chill for 15. (1b)
6. Add the Chocolate Chips and Raisins to the wet ingredients, followed by the Zuc and Carrots.
7. Add the dry ingredients, and stir until well combined. Don’t over work the batter, it will get mad and won’t puff up for you in the oven.
8.  Drop rounded tablespoons of the goodness onto the pan, and bake for 14 minutes. (1c)
9. Let cool, [or not!] and devour! (1d)

 

 1a) If you don’t have Brown Sugar, like me, take the amount of granulated sugar and mix with a drizzle of Molasses. I find the flavour is much better than store bought, so I make it instead.

 

                                                          

 

 

 

1b) I used a few of my Julia Child cookbooks, carrots on the bottom, Zuc in the middle layer. (This picture makes me want to sing ‘Under Pressure’ by Queen…) And in the background is a complimentary blurry view of Lake Zug!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1c) Goodness gracious great balls of fire dough. Be sure to flatten them with the back of your spoon a little bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1d) The first pan of chewy, cakey heaven. When I was done baking them, I realized I forgot a very important certain ingredient! NUTS! I did add almond powder, but I think some walnut halves would’ve just ‘taken this up a notch’ as Emeril says. Maybe some pecans atop as a nice crunchy garnish.