Healthy Dinner: Tuna Sandwich + Carrot Salad

This dish (if you can call it a dish) is a staple in my somehow-still-quite-small recipe collection. I always have the ingredients at home which is amazing for days like today when I'm craving for some comfortable food that is going to satisfy me and fill me up but yet can be called healthy.
It's super simple and doesn't involve any cooking, it's just a few steps and I'm ready to eat whilst sitting on my sofa watching 90ies chick flicks.

CARROT SALAD

I shred one big carrot, mix it with a few spritzes of lemon juice and add a little bit of sunflower oil. Then I lightly season with salt and pepper.

TUNA SANDWICH

I put half a can of tuna into a small bowl and lightly tear it to bits with a fork. I dice one hard-boiled egg and add it as well as two teaspoons of low fat cream cheese and one teaspoon of sandwich cream. I mix everything and season with salt and pepper.
In the meanwhile I roast a generous piece of French Bread so that it's yummy and crunchy again (It was left from breakfast this morning). I halve it and put a generous amount of my tuna salad on it.

Note: It's all about being generous. :-)

Love,
Nathalie x

Get Healthy Week: Day 2

This is day 2 and it's not going to be as good as Day 1. I made club sandwiches for lunch and Mac'n'Cheese for dinner. BUT: I did exercise!

BREAKFAST:
• 1 bowl of homemade Bircher Muesli (375 calories)
• 1 cup of coffee w/ sweeteners and low fat milk (10 calories)

LUNCH:
• 2 club sandwiches (700 calories)
• 1 glass of ice tea (60 calories)

IN BETWEEN:
• 4 glasses of water
• 50g of red grapes (40 calories)
• 1 chocolate cookie (95 calories)

DINNER:
• Mac'n'Cheese!!! (Oh my, I don't wanna know the amount of calories!)

IN BETWEEN:
• 4 glasses of water

Total: I'd estimate a good 2000 calories. I'm not devastated though because that's actually the amount of calories a teen should eat (but you know, not on a diet). Anyway, tomorrow is getting better!

Nathalie xo

Get Healthy Week: Day 1

As I promised, I'm starting with my food diary today; I'm not going to leave anything out. Feel free to give my tips or to punish me for eating something bad. Just kidding, haha! But I always appreciate comments :)

BREAKFAST:
• 2 homemade waffles (2 x 250 calories)
• 100g of low fat yoghurt (65 calories)
• a few cherries (30 calories)
• a cup of coffee w/ low fat milk and sweeteners (10 calories)

IN BETWEEN:
• 1 glass of ice tea (60 calories)
• 3 glasses of water

LUNCH:
• 1 bowl of homemade vegetable soup (90 calories)
• 1/2 sausage (170 calories)

IN BETWEEN:
• 3 glasses of water
• 100g of red grapes (75 calories)
• 1 chocolate cookie (75 calories)

DINNER:
• 1 slice of multi-grain bread w/ some low fat cream cheese (150 calories)
• 1 yoghurt (150 calories)

IN BETWEEN:
• 1 apple (50 calories)

Total: 1425 calories

I'm satisfied, I'd say this is a pretty good start into this week. If I can keep it on that level, it's going to make a difference (maybe I can even lower this?)

xo Nathalie

Get Healthy Week

OK, I gotta admit something: I became very lazy when it comes to healthy eating. Of course I could use excuses like "Oh, I was so stressed at school" or "I just couldn't do it any other way" but you know: If there's a will there's a way. That's why I thought that this one-week school break might actually just be perfect for eating healthier and feeling better (and also: working out more!).

So from tomorrow, I'm going to document everything I eat on my blog (and I will try to figure out the calories, just to involve some calculus, haha)

I got some rules of thumb made for this experiment, here they are:
• No carbs for dinner
• No snacks like crisps
• If I have a snack in the afternoon (like a piece of cake which I'm trying to avoid), I'll have one yoghurt for dinner
• I'll drink eight glasses of water a day (and no soft drinks)
• One apple a day (+ some more fruit like grapes or mandarines)
• One mug of coffee a day (not more)
• One mug of tea a day (best would be green tea I guess)
• Try to go to the gym, if not possible, do some pilates and yoga at home

I hope I'm able to manage this, but on the other hand: I'm highly motivated!

Love,
Nathalie xo

Simple and delicious: Banana bread

It's been really cold (I mean frosty! -10°C and less) for at least a week I guess and somehow this weather always makes me feel like baking something. This time I tried out a recipe by Sophie Dahl. It's featured in her book 'Miss Dahl's Volouptous Delights' which is an incredible cook book with lots of lovely recipes.

This is what the book page looks like (Note: German writing for sure)

 Here's what you'll need:

• 3-4 (very) ripe bananas

• 200g of brown sugar (or 150g of white sugar)

• 170g of all-purpose flour (or any other flour that you have)
• 75g of soft butter, roughly chopped

• 1 teaspoon of baking soda

• 1 packet of vanilla sugar (or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract)

• 1 pinch of salt

• 1 egg

1.) Put the butter and the bananas into a large bowl and mash them together.

Sorry, this picture just won't do what I want it to! 

2.) Add the egg, the sugar and the vanilla sugar/vanilla extract and use a whisk to mix everything together .

3.) Sift the flour through a sieve and mix the batter until it's fully combined.

Your end result should look like this. If the batter is too thick, just add a little bit of milk.

4.) Preheat your oven to 180°C.

5.) Grease a loaf pan. Mine is quite short, but the brims are higher so that the batter will have a bread form rather than a cake form. I additionnally spread breadcrumbs in the pan because it helps to get the bread out of the pan.

6.) Put the batter into your prepared form and clean up any blobs you might have created.

Let your bread bake for 55-60 minutes. Use a wooden stick to check if it's fully baked before actually taking the bread out of the oven.

Here's the finished bread:

Tips for serving: I like to eat slices of this with some butter for breakfast, but it would also taste very delicious with a cup of tea in the afternoon. 

Love,

Nathalie x

Disclaimer: All rights of this recipe belong to Sophie Dahl and the publishing houses.

3 Beauty/Fashion/Food Tips That Will Simplify Your Life

1.) Get perfect cat-eyes in 5 minutes!
Jane Marie's Cat-Eye Tutorial shows you how effortlessly drawing a cat-eye is using scotch tape.


How to Be a Girl: Cat Eyes By Magic! from The Hairpin on Vimeo.

Note: I tried and tested it! Works perfectly!

2.) Discover new ways to wear your scarves!
This is a must for everyone that likes fashion, even if just a tiny bit. Stun your friends by wearing your scarves differently every day.



3.) Drink more water!
Everybody's preaching that drinking water is good for your skin, but you can't brace yourself up for it though?
Five reasons that drinking water is good for you:
• Your skin will be a lot more moisturized (It's winter time! It's important!)
• Your under-eye circles will (almost) disappear
• Your tummy will appear thinner
• You won't be hungry as often as now (another bonus for your body)
• Your body will be cleansed (bad toxins can get out of your body)

Four tips to drink more water:
• Always carry a bottle of water with you (if you see it, you will drink it!)
• Eat water rich foods such as watermelon or tomatoes
• Plan how much water you want to drink a day (e.g. eight 8-ounce-glasses)
• Add lemons or limes to your water if you find the "original" taste way too boring


I hope you that liked this post!

Love, Nathalie x

2 Healthy (and super yummy!) Breakfast Ideas

Porridge with pear and cinnamon
I always cook this in fall/winter when I have to stay home because I'm sick. Also the perfect breakfast for rainy days. Warms me up and makes me feel good.

The picture is from here

What you need (for 1 serving):
• as many oat flakes as you like (no instant product!)
• 1 cup (250 ml) of fat-reduced milk + a little more
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 pear, peeled and finely chopped

Directions:
1.) Pour milk into a small pot and bring it to a boil. Don't let it burn!
2.) Add oat flakes, cook it for 1 minute, take it off the fireside and reduce heat. Simmer until the milk is soaked up and then add a little more. Keep on stirring!
3.) When the oat flakes are soft, add sugar and cinnamon. Finally, add the chopped pear and cook it for another 2-3 minutes until the pear is warmed.



Sliced Apple With Cottage Cheese Dip
I discovered this recipe on realsimple.com. I changed it a little bit to make it breakfast-worthy. It gives your body everything it needs; proteins, vitamins and a little sugar. Plus it's super easy to make!

The picture is from here

What you need (for 1 serving):
• 1 big apple (my favorite sort is Pink Lady)
• 1/2 cup (120g) of cottage cheese
• 2 teaspoons of honey
• optional: 1 tablespoon of raisins

Directions:
1.) Slice the apple, put the slices on a plate and set aside.
2.) Mix the cottage cheese with the honey and put it in the middle of the plate (shown above). If you want to, add raisins.

I hope you enjoy these dishes!

Love,
Nathalie x

National Dessert Day: What's your favorite?

Hey guys!
I don't know how you feel about desserts, but I must confess that I LOVE them! Seriously, I always have dessert when I go out or when I'm cooking for my friends or I have dessert on any other occassions where you can possibly have dessert. So that's why I'm really excited about today (even though I don't live in the USA).

I just thought I share my favorite desserts with you:

ICE CREAM

I just love ice cream so much, no matter which flavor or anything. I could eat ice cream all year.

MOUSSE AU CHOCOLAT

My mom's homemade is the best. Super chocolaty, super moussy. Definitely one of my favorites!

TIRAMISU

The italian classic. Always lovely -with or without alcohol.

What's your favorite dessert?

xoxo, Nathalie

Raspberry Smoothie

Are you dieting? Have you decided to never eat chocolate, jelly beans and cake anymore? Are you suffering from a terrible yen for something sweet without completely ruining your shape?

Try out a raspberry smoothie! It's delicious, healthy (raspberries have lots antioxidants and Vitamin C!) and it doesn't contain lots of calories. AND a smoothie is so easy to make!

What you need (for one large drink):
• 50 g raspberries (fresh or defrosted)
• 2 table spoons of vanilla ice cream
• 1 table spoon of yoghurt
• 25 g sugar
• 150 ml of milk

How it works:
It's ridiculously easy. Simply put everything in a blender and beat it fluffy. If you want to, garnish your smoothie with fresh raspberries.

Selfmade Orange Lemonade

I was on a trip with my family yesterday, and we sat down in this beautiful café where we ordered selfmade orange lemonade. It looked very pretty and it tasted insanely good, so I asked the waitress for the recipe.

For 4 drinks you need:
• 120 g sugar
• 2 tablespoons of orange zest
• 250 ml water
• lots crushed ice
• 600 ml orange juice
• Club soda

How it works:
Mix sugar and orange zest and add the water. Boil it until the sugar dissipates, then reduce heat and boil it for 10-12 minutes. Leave the syrup to cool down. Press the cold syrup through a sieve and put it in the fridge.
To serve it, mix syrup and orange juice and arrange it in 4 glasses. Add lots of crushed ice, orange pieces and fill it with club soda.