Tomato Quinoa Soup

Very tasty and simple soup to try!

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 3 cups tomato puree
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• pinch of sea salt and ground pepper
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 handful of cheddar cheese, grated

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium low heat. Add onion and cook for 7 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and oregano and cook few seconds more. 

Increase heat to medium high and tomato puree and broth. Bring it to boil.

Add quinoa, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. 

Reduce to simmer and cover. Cook for 10 minutes.

Using a blender puree soup until smooth. 

Serve with grated cheddar cheese.

Enjoy!

Breakfast in a Jar: Raspberry Oats

Start the day with oatmeal, antioxidant-rich raspberries and sweet honey.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 handful of chia seeds
• natural yoghurt

Instructions:

Dry roast oats in a pan until a nice aroma comes and oats starts slightly browning up. Add flax seeds and 2 tablespoons of honey (you can add more if you like more sweet).
Combine raspberries and honey in another pan. Let fruits boil for few minutes. Add chia seeds. Put aside and let it cool.
In a jar put raspberries, yoghurt and oats on top. 

Enjoy!

Chickpeas with Peanut Butter Curry

Peanut Butter sauce is easy to make and the flavor profile is loved by everyone. You can very easily change the flavors with thai red curry paste, or soy sauce, or Indian spices and herbs, or african chile blend. Add veggies, tofu or beans or lentils as you want.
Serve over rice or cooked grains.

Ingredients:

• 1 chopped onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch knob of ginger
• ½ tsp coconut oil
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp cardamom 
• ⅓ tsp cayenne
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 3 tbsp peanut butter
• ½ cup milk
• ¾ cup water
• ½ red bell pepper, sliced
• 2 sliced carrots
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas 
• salt and ground pepper, to taste 

Instructions:

Blend the onion, ginger, garlic with 2 to 3 tbsp water until smooth. 
Heat coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. When hot, add pepper and carrots. Cook for 5 minutes. Add cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, cayenne and cook for 15 to 30 seconds.
Add in the onion puree and mix. Mix in the turmeric and cook until the mixture is well roasted and onion does not smell raw. 7 to 9 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add in the nut butter, milk and mix in. It will take a half minute for the nut butter to mix. Add water. Mix well.
Add chickpeas, salt and pepper. Mix, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook for 5 minutes. 
Continue to simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes until the curry thickens a little. Serve over rice or cooked grains of your choice.

Enjoy!

Tomato and Basil Risotto

The great thing about risotto is, the basic method for preparing it. It is generally always the same recipe: Arborio rice is cooked slowly while warm liquid (usually broth) is gradually stirred in. The best thing is that you can add extra ingredients as you like. Mushrooms, tomatoes, peas, different cheeses…when it comes to Risotto, there are as many variations as there are grains of sand in all the beaches in the world. And its deliciously creamy texture—oh, it’s so wonderful.

Tomato and basil is a timeless combination – the sweetness and fragrance of each of them simply works so well in tandem. 

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• extra virgin olive oil
• 300g arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine 
• 4 cups vegetable broth 
• 2 tbsp butter 
• 1 big handful of grated Parmesan + 1 handful to sprinkle the dish
• salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste

• 2 cloves chopped garlic 
• 300g cherry tomatoes, cut in halves 
• olive oil
• fresh basil leaves

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan preheat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Add finely chopped onion and cook until soft, about 8 minutes.
Add rice and stir until it's well-coated with olive oil and it begins to turn whiter, 2-3 minutes.
Pour the wine and continue stirring until the wine is mostly absorbed.
Then add 1 cup of broth every 1 minute. You have to stir your risotto all the time.
Cook for additional 16-17 minutes or until al dente.

In the meantime prepare tomatoes (you can prepare them earlier if you want). In another saucepan preheat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add minced garlic and fry for few seconds. Don't burn garlic. 
Add tomatoes and basil; cook until tomatoes are very tender, season to taste. 

Combine risotto, butter and Parmesan. Mix it well.
Add tomatoes to the pot and mix.

Remove saucepan from the heat and cover with a lid. Let to stand for 2-3 min.

Serve hot, topped with the fresh basil leaves, Parmesan, and drizzled with the remaining olive oil.

Enjoy!

Carrot Soup

This carrot soup is thick and smooth. I garnish the soup with pumpkin seeds and freshly ground black pepper.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 onion, peeled
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1 kg carrots, peeled and sliced 
• 1 red chilli
• 4 cups water
• pinch of: salt, turmeric, nutmeg, black pepper, curry
• freshly squeezd juice from 1 orange

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large pan and stir in the onion, garlic, chilli and carrots. Cover the pan and cook the vegetables over a medium heat until they are starting to soften.
Add water and bring to the boil. 
Turn the heat down and simmer until the vegetables are soft.
Add spices and orange juice.
Blend everything until thick and smooth.

Enjoy!

Oyster Mushrooms with Vegetables

Easy, tasty and fast dinner. 
This recipe is perfect for busy people who love tasty food that can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 250g oyster mushrooms
• 1 onion, chooped
• 3 big carrots, grated
• 2 parsley root, grated
• 1 celeriac, grated
• 1 can tomatoes
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp smoked pepper
• pinch of chilli pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic flakes
• salt and ground pepper, to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 pimentos    

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a large pan.
Add onion and fry until golden.
Add carrots, parsley and celeriac. Fry until vegetables are soft.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste and all spices.
Cut oyster mushrooms into small slices,
Add to vegetables.
Cook for 15 minutes,
Serve with bread.

Enjoy!

Banana - Oat Cookies /No sugar, No flour/

Who knew that a flourless and sugar-free cookie could taste so good?

Substitute this cookie recipe for a sugary pastry in the morning. Instead of butter and eggs, in this recipe it is used a potassium-rich banana.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup apple puree
• 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup puffed rice
• 3 tbsp peanut flour
• 1/2 cup almond milk 
• pinch of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup flaxseed
• 1 handful of sunflower seeds
• 1 handful of goji
• 1 handful of dried cranberries

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 170 C degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix the mashed bananas, apple puree and milk a in a large bowl.
Fold in the rest of the ingredients and combine.
Use a tablespoon to form the cookie balls.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until the edges are golden.

You can use any different nuts or dried fruits.

Enjoy!