Healthy Recipe Of the Day

December 1, 2015

Happy Tartalettes

I always wonder how people cook. Some follow the recipes meticulously, others just throw stuff together, I like to be creative in the kitchen. It's food yes, but it's a kind of art too. If it isn't attractive to you personally, it's really hard to eat it. Attractiveness doesn't come from roses out of frosting on your cake, I personally would probably remove them :-) but what makes you want to eat it, the healthy reasons to eat it and then of course your taste buds. I often just look at what is there and then come up with something. This is how this recipe was born. I used crab meat, cheese and boiled eggs, grated them all on a fine grater and added some homemade mayo. Then I decided I wanted something else in them and grated some pickles. It works as a topping for sandwiches or of course if you have little dough baskets like that, they are perfect for this recipe. They are easy to make and don't take much time. The only problem is that if you like their picante taste (and I do!), they are very fast to go from your dinner table :-) Try them out and let me know if you liked them!

November 12, 2015

Winter Salads

Well I need to say upfront that the winter salads I’m going to talk about here do not fall under “the more you eat, the more weight you lose” category! If you stay active and have of those, they will not affect your body but if you’re just snuggling up under a warm blanket with a favorite TV show, stick to leafy spring salads ;-) Although with the cold comes the desire to get your body warmed up and have something a little bit more substantial.

There are a few winter salads which I want to talk about separately because they do deserve attention. I will just name them for now. They are salads like “Olivie”, a crab salad and of course “Vinaigrette” salad. I already wrote about the crab salad and the variations that can go with it. The other two I will devote some attention to in my future blogs.

Right now let’s talk about an improvisation winter salad. Some heavier things like toast or cut up boiled potatoes make it more fulfilling (and less weight goal orientated, unless your goal is to gain), but they still can remain in a healthy category.

As I’m sure my husband will write not once about that you can consume any amount of calories of something that is good for you, as long as you spend a bigger amount of calories being active.

This salad that you see over here was a complete improvisation. I started with cutting up some bread into little cubes and making little toasts out of them, not too hard so they are crunchy but you can chew them easily. A sort that you would find in a well-prepared Ceasar salad. I used an orange and some Peking cabbage. Cut up an apple and added shredded almonds. I used part of a red sweet onion (after having kept the cut parts in lemon juice to kill the onion smell). For the seasoning I used homemade mayo with wholegrain mustard. I decorated with quail eggs (have so many good benefits and are much better than chicken eggs), and also a peel of an orange that I used. It came out a little avant-garde to be honest. But tasty still, so this is another example for you not to be worried about how many milligrams of this and how many ounces of that you need precisely to make it. Every meal is a new canvas and it’s up to you what goes on it and how you want it. If you tried this or any of my other recipes, please take photos and tag @theactivechoice as well as #TheActiveChoice on instagram, we would love to see what you tried, if you liked it and we’ll be happy to feature you on our page!

November 11, 2015

A Simple Salad

A salad is an essential aspect of at least one meal every day! Yes, every day! There is literally no excuses to not have a salad daily! It’s probably the simplest and most various kind of a meal you can have and you can make it as light as you want or as filling as you like. If you have all the greens and fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, etc. you’re all set for a cool spring salad J However, if you could only find some cabbage, a beat and a few carrots, well let it not stop you from having a super healthy salad with cut carrots and shredded raw beats and carrots. If you have an apple or a pear, it goes really well with this type of a salad. I like to add some citrus into the green salad. Olive oil is my seasoning of choice. You can read all about the health benefits of olive oil and why you need to have some every day in our blog’s section Healthy Food Facts. Another way to season a salad is to use low fat sour cream or a yogurt.

To me a salad is a mixture of what I have on hand. I am quite free at coming up with all sort of combinations and what would taste good together. Generally a rule it does no matter what it is!

Adding nuts and seeds to your salad makes it more nutritious with more benefits such as protein content.  Plus it helps so won’t just start snacking later for no reason. Even flax seeds which are normally hard become softer when they absorb some of the moisture in a salad making them easier for you to chew them. Likewise sesame seeds, both white and black are really good. Of course cedar nuts are amazing in salads (side note: make sure you get them with an expiration date far away from the day you buy them or else you may end up having a bitter taste in your mouth for days). Sunflower seeds are probably the most popular. Pumpkin seeds are probably even better to get into your healthy salad.

I’m including a few photos of simple salads that I have made. These are very simple examples of ones that you can make by cutting up everything healthy you have at hand and mixing it up in a bowl.  Plus it will taste delicious. You can also add a little lemon juice and a little apple vinegar which would add a little extra flavor to your salad. I never use salt in my salads but you can season with it to your personal taste (just remember moderation). Some pepper freshly milled is always a plus. I also like rose peppers. On qualities and usage of those keep reading our blog ;-)

You can also make them with a twist. Like olives and Feta cheese along with sweet paprika make for a Greek salad added to your basic cucumbers and tomatoes and greens. You can cut up chicken breast and make it a more filling meal with the added protein. Adding some cheese is also popular. Experiment! Don’t be afraid to combine stuff as long as you are aware of the ingredients you’re using. You don’t need the commercial mixes that someone trying to promote this or that put up for you, you can choose yourself from the healthy organic fruit that you have, starting from the simplest and basic ones to the most sophisticated. Ever tried pineapple in your salad? Well I have a whole recipe for that! Stay tuned! J

November 10, 2015

Creative Oatmeal

Oatmeal is probably my favorite breakfast food plus it’s really good for you so this is the first of many blogs talking about my morning porridge.

If you use flakes, they don’t really need to be boiled, you can just add hot water, cover them and wait for them to soak it up and steam up and your meal is ready. Eating them plain is probably not the yummiest food, although they are yummy enough to my taste.

However normally I add stuff to it. There can be lots of variations. It normally depends what I have at hand at home. This is how cooking normally happens for me, I open the fridge or the cupboard, look around and come up with something that will go together. On a side note, of course you need to make sure you have things that are good for you there in the first place! This oatmeal was topped with cut yellow cherries and decorated with mint leaves which grow in a pot in the kitchen so that I have access to them at any time. Mint is really good for you. Not only does it add and enhance flavor and has a wonderful smell, it also helps with digestion and soothes your stomach. Not to mention that it makes every meal so much prettier!!




November 9, 2015

Crab salad

You can make your food as fancy as you like! Depending on how much time you have to prepare it, normally being creative about it doesn’t really take all that long.  However, the effect it has on you and on your body, is great and worth a try. So here’s a simple crab salad decorated with cherry tomatoes and greens.

You’ll need:

-          Crab meat (500g)

-          Cloves (a small heap)

-          5 boiled eggs

-          Canned sweet corn

-          Mayo

I prefer to make my own mayo (it’s really simple, you need an egg, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper and about 1 cup of olive oil and you blend it all together till it becomes thick). It can only be used for a couple of days but this quantity is probably what will all go into your salad anyways, and it’s more healthy this way.

Boil the eggs and cut everything into little cubes. Sometimes you can add raw cucumbers to this salad and it also tastes good. If you have white cabbage, you can cut it and add to it too. A winter version would be to add warm boiled rice into it and it works! J Start with the classic version and then you can try and experiment with the others!

Try it and let us know what you think. Tag us @theactivechoice on Instagram and use our #TheActiveChoice hashtag for a chance to be featured on our page!

November 8, 2015

Under 100 Cal Sushi

Who’s into losing weight? Hehe, don’t be shy to raise your hand. I can tell you upfront that for me it’s a constant goal! Sometimes we will get into the serious diet mode and no, we wouldn’t want to have setbacks during those times with white rice or things that would count for more in our diet, especially if it’s a hard core diet. But still you want something that is very good for you and fun to eat and won’t blow up your hard efforts on the diet.

So here’s a version of sushi that I came up with to use while being on a diet which is under 100 cal.  As a result not only are they are fun to eat, you won’t mess up your diet plan in the process.

You’ll be using nori seaweed, because let’s face it, there’s no sushi without it. And did you know that nori has more vitamin C in it than lemons and oranges? Nori contains 30-50% protein making it the highest protein containing food in existence! Nori is very high in iron and iodine, as well as fiber. It has all the health benefits for you starting from lowering your cholesterol level to improving bone health. So yes, this is the key ingredient in every sushi, and for me it’s one of the favorite parts!!

This time instead of playing around with sushi rice and how important it is to make it right, go ahead and just wash some lettuce! Yes, lettuce leaves J Some spinach would work too or softer cabbage parts. Lay it out instead of your rice so make sure it covers your nori sheet well. Wash all of them before putting on the nori sheet, there will be your moisture needed for nori to become elastic.

You can use salmon even when you’re on a diet because calorie wise, it is a very low calorie food. But if you want to take it even further, just go with cucumbers. This is one of those foods which have negative calories. Spinach that we just mentioned, was too, by the way. How is it possible? Well yes there will still be like 11 calories in a cucumber, but remember that your body spends energy on chewing and digesting it? Well the energy spent will be higher than the one you consumed and it would make it one of those food which the more you eat, the more calories you burn J Just a side note for you, ladies.

You want your cucumber to hold in your sushi J So what I’m using as a filling is Greek Yogurt. Can be 0% but what I normally use is 10% because health benefits wise, probably those foods with some percent of fat will be less processed and closer to natural than those which are completely fatless. It’s like a diet coke is way worse for you than a regular one. Although I wouldn’t suggest drinking either. A good stain remover, though. Hehe. But it’s a topic for another blog.

So once you wrapped it up, you can cut your sushi and it looks green, it looks fancy, actually adding some sweet pepper for the color would be quite fancy there now that I’m think about it! Enjoy your under 100 cal healthy and fun meal! Share it with us if you tried it and if you liked it! J

November 7, 2015

Homemade Sushi

Japanese cuisine is one of the most balanced meals there is. Everything that is included in the meal is there for a reason. A lot of seafood, including seaweed, that is used is naturally salty as it comes from the salty ocean waters. In virtually every meal you find boiled rice, the main quality of which is to wash out minerals from the body, including salt. Raw fish which is used in most sushi recipes (I personally use a slightly salted one so it’s safer, as salt is a natural preservative.  I prepare it myself), can reduce the risk of salmonella found in raw fish which is not super fresh. And what is one great food that kills salmonella at the spot? Ginger of course! Japanese eating ceremony is always a sedate affair. Every bite holds pleasure and meaning. Every combination was put into it thoughtfully.

If you are a sushi lover like me, you would love to try it out at home. They do look a little intimidating, I agree. But they are really really easy to make! For me it’s a fun process and I try to put that meaning of every piece holding the importance and being perfectly balanced. I made sushi at home many times, with many variations, and they were all super yummy, and more than that: I was sure of the freshness and quality of each and every ingredient that was in them, something that you can’t always help but doubt in public places.

So let me start with the hardest part. Sushi rice. Yes as easy as rice sounds, this is the crucial part of your sushi and it’s takes the longest time to prepare! So whenever you think of making some sushi, start with the rice. Get a special kind that says that it’s sushi rice. You don’t want every grain to fall apart as is needed in other meals, here you need the rice to stick together well and yet not be a mess. There are a few steps that I normally follow to make sure that sushi rice is good and ready to use:

Step 1: Rinse 2 cups of short grain rice under cold running water. You can use a mesh strainer or just fill the pot you’re using and tip it off carefully once it’s full. Let it soak for 30 minutes or more in your pot with water covering it about an inch above the rice. Then

rinse the rice again under cold running water until the water runs clear.

Step 2: Put your pot with the rice on the stove and add 2 1/4 cups of cold water. Cover the pot, place it over high heat, and bring it to a boil. It’s better to use the pots with a thick bottom and a glass cover, then you won’t need to open it to see if it’s boiling.

Once it starts boiling (you'll see steam and bubbles escaping from under the lid), turn down the heat to the lowest and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Set a timer and don't lift the lid to check on the rice until it goes off. (If there's still water in the pot after 20 minutes, put the lid back on and let the rice cook a few more minutes until all the water is absorbed.) Once the rice has absorbed all the water, turn off the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes with the lid still on.

Step 3: While the rice is cooking, place ½ cup of rice vinegar, 2 tsp. of salt, and ¼ c of sugar in the smaller, 1-quart pot and bring it to a boil on medium high heat, stirring regularly until the salt and sugar dissolve. Add the 4” konbu piece to the vinegar mixture and turn off the heat. Set the pot aside to cool.

Step 4: Dump the rice into a large non-metal bowl and spread it out with a wooden spoon so it will cool down faster. Remove the konbu from the cooled vinegar and slowly pour the mixture over a spoon into the cooked rice, gently stirring and tossing to combine and cool your sushi rice.

Now that your sushi rice is done, the fun part begins! Making your sushi rolls!! Normally while the rice is soaking and cooking I would have cut everything I want to put in my sushi and laid it out on a plate to just use with the rolls. What goes into your sushi depends on your personal preferences. You wouldn’t believe the combinations I’ve tried and they all tasted wonderful! Well, some better than others but they were all good. Let’s do the traditional ones today and later I can mention of few that were just fun to try!

Take your nori sheet and put it over the bamboo sheet covered in plastic wrapper. Take a fistful of rice (with a big spoon, preferably wooden that you used to mix it) and place it on your dry nori sheet. Now use your hands and water. Your fingers must be wet while you spread the rice. Don’t be afraid to use more water. Your seaweed will absorb it and get elastic, although don’t drown it of course J Once you have your nori sheet covered, the filling begins!

So salmon is probably the first choice for many of us to have in your sushi. I buy it raw, keep it in salty water for about a day and then it’s ready to use. I cut the salmon in long slim pieces so that they could be laid out in the roll. Depending on a piece you could put two or three of those pieces to fill the roll. You can use tuna and eel, too. I often use boiled royal shrimps to go with the salmon as well.

I don’t use mayo in the sushi I make but I do like Philadelphia cream cheese. Spread it out to your taste depending on how much you want it in your roll. If you don’t have it, be creative! I used feta cheese in sushi and it was super tasty too!

Avocado is my first choice of a fruit used inside the sushi. Look for the properties of avocado as a super food in one of our blogs! It has the right texture and taste and only enhances and brings out the tastes of the fish and all the combinations. But that is not the only option, so pick something that will work best for you. I made amazing sushi with cucumbers, tomatoes and even sweet yellow peppers! So don’t be afraid to experiment!

Once you think you’re done with filling your sushi roll, you need to roll it. There are many short youtube videos on how to do it. I know that for me it’s fun to make both regular rolls and what is called California rolls, when you reverse them and the rice comes out on the top. We will talk about it more in our future blogs.

When you have rolled up your sushi roll, you need to cut it. I usually cut it by 6 parts. Once in the middle and then each of them split into 3. Sometimes if your edges aren’t too presentable you can cut them off and.. eat them right away! J To make a nice clear cut you need a very sharp knife and make sure it’s clean and wet with water every time you’re making a new cut, you don’t want them to turn out messy. A clean, wet, and sharp knife will give you that beautiful clean cut view that is so attractive in sushi. Good luck!! Try it out and tag us with your photos and get featured on our Instagram page!