Porridge in thousand ways and why is it so healthy.

Porridge is a dish often eaten for breakfast. It’s made by boiling grains in either water or milk. Many of us incorrectly thinks it’s boring. Why? I think a porridge is a great way for us to start a day. It’s a whole grain, it reduces your chance of dying for a heart disease. Moreover – it has so much fibre and it will give you an energy for a whole day!

Why is breakfast important?
I bet you have always heard your mother and grandmother saying that it’s important to eat your breakfast. I never knew why. Well, it’s a time for some explanation.
First thing first. Breakfast SHOULD NEVER be eaten within two hours from the time you wake up. NEVER. First thing you do in the morning should always be drinking one-two glasses of water to hydrate yourself! Then exercise, if you usually do. Then eat. If you don’t want to struggle waking up two hours before you usually do, do an hour. At least one hour. Did you ever go to work or school feeling angry? That is because you didn’t have your breakfast. It has much to do with stress hormones.
Moreover, eating breakfast long term reduces obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Healthy breakfast should be around 20%-35% of your daily calorie intake.

Porridge in 50 ways.
As I said before – porridge doesn’t have to be boring!
There is so so many ingredients that pair very well with porridge.
I rather to have it sweet, but you can even have it with your bacon if you like. I will put a list of toppings that pair with porridge quite well. Try to put at least 5 of those. Or more if you like! Oats are maybe 30 percent of my porridge. The more you put, the more vitamins and all the goodness you will get with your first meal!

Basic porridge recipe
Ingredients
-1/2 cup of Porridge oats
-1/2 cup of Water/Soy milk/Almond Milk/Coconut Water/Coconut milk. If you like more creamier texture, add some more milk/water after microwaving.
Method
Microwave on full power for 2-3 minutes.

1.Honey.
2.Maple syrup.
3.Almonds.
4.Blueberry.
5.Greek Yogurt.
6.Strawberry.
7.Banana.
8.Walnuts.
9.Apple.
10.Poppy seeds.
11.Cinnamon.
12.Pecans.
13.Cranberry.
14.Raspberry.
15.Jam.
16.Sultanas.
17.Dark Chocolate.
18.Eggs.
19.Bacon.
20.Peanut butter.
21.Tomatoes.
22.Spring Onions.
23.Onion.
24.Coconut.
25.Turmeric powder.
26.Hazelnuts.
27.Nutella.
28.Any granola you like.
29.Pomegranate.
30.Mint.

Those are just my favorites. Try those and tell me how it goes! What do you usually put on yours? What do you think about skipping breakfast? Tell me in the comments below!!

Big love,
Natalie xx

Weekly Favourite #1 – Pomegranate!

Today we will talk about this wonderful superfood that is soooo underestimated by many many cooks!
Pomegranate is a high source of fibre, iron, it contains many vitamins like C, A, K and E and it’s a great antioxidant (feel free to add it to your green antioxidant smoothie to make it even more powerful!). There is so many benefits from eating it! Pomegranate juice reduces inflammation and might also help you to fight prostate cancer. It slows down reproduction of cancer cells and can even cause cancer cells’ death!
It lowers your blood pressure, so helps to fight hypertension, which is a leading driver of a heart stroke. It lowers your risk of heart diseases. Helps with fighting infections and makes your memory better!
There is so so many more benefits of eating it!
Why not add it to your yogurt or squeeze juice out of it? I even add some to my water when I go for a run! Why not pomegranate gin with some mint and tonic at your party?
As it is a weekly favourite, I will try to add it to as many dishes as I can! First of all – my favourite smoothie.

I ♥ my heart smoothie

Ingredients
1/4 cup of oatmeal mixed with 1/4 cup of water
1 cup of almond milk
1/2 cup of  strawberry
1/2 cup of blueberry
1/4 cup of pomegranate seeds
1/4 of a small beetroot
1/2 of an apple
1 ripe banana
1 tsp of manuka honey
Handful of seeds of your choice

Method
1.Put the oats and the water to the microwave until it goes soft and smooth. I can’t tell you how long – every microwave is different. My one does the job in around 2 minutes. Set them aside to cool.
2.Put everything to the blender and blend until smooth!
3.Enjoy chilled! This smoothie is a real heart helper and one of my favorites!

Also, for how to take the seeds out of your pomegranate  Click here

Best Pesto Recipe EVER!

Hello there everyone!

Today I will share the best pesto recipe ever!
Pesto is a green sauce made out from herbs that will make any of boring dishes taste great.

One full tablespoon for a portion of pasta will make a good, cheap dinner made in literally 10 minutes! (average pasta boiling time)

It matches really well with chicken and cheese. You can add it to your bruschetta, basically anywhere you like!

Now, here is the recipe:

Ingriedients
-Fresh basil! Around two or even three, full glasses,

-1/4 glass of pine nuts, 1/4 glass of almonds toasted are the best,

-Half a glass of grated Parmesan cheese,

-One or a half clove of garlic. It depends whether you like it as much as me. If you are not a big lover, add just a half,

-Pinch of sea salt,

-Try with a bit of lemon juice. I personally hate it, but I often see chefs loving it. Everything is a matter of preferences,

-1/4-1/2 of a glass of extra virgin olive oil. How much depends of what consistence you want to get. If too dry, add more.

Take everything and put it to the food processor on pulse. Put it to the jar. Store it in the fridge for up to one week. Now. If it is too watery, add some cheese. If too stiff, add olive oil. That is basically it. It has really good flavour and it’s an essential ingredient of my kitchen!

Another option is to add some sun-dried tomatoes. I would say about 1/4-1/2 of a cup, how you like it. With tomatoes I like to add more garlic. If you are not lazy like me, you can use mortar and pestle. Try it and let me know how it went!!

I will also put my coriander pesto recipe here. Oh, I can’t tell you how much I hate coriander. But this recipe is hella good! Method is the same.

-Two glasses of coriander,

-One or two well cleansed chillies,

-Sesame seed oil (about one teaspoon),

-Rest olive oil. 1/4 of a glass. If it’s too dry add more.

-One garlic clove,

-Pinch of sea salt.

Good Luck! xx

What the hell is the smoke point?

Today I want to focus on something that is ignored by many many people. It is the smoke point of your oil.
Whether you are a home cook or a professional chef, this is a basic that everybody should know.
If anybody ever puts a few kinds of oils in front of you and ask you which one is which, I promise you – after today’s post you will be able to tell that. Getting to know your fats is very important to tell which one is best for which kind of food.

What is a smoke point and why is it important?
Every cooking oil has it’s smoke point. Whether it’s a butter, olive oil or avocado oil, there is this temperature in which it stops shimmering and turns into bad tasting piece of crap. Once the temperature has been exceeded, further heating can produce harmful free radicals which are linked to cancer. The more refined your oil is, the higher the smoke point. But from the other side – refined oils have less minerals and all the healthy goodness.
That means you definitely don’t want to use extra virgin olive oil for deep frying, but only to put it as a dressing on a salad. After reaching its smoke point, oil is not good to use anymore. That is because it has begun to broke down.

Types Of Fats:
Saturated Fats:
Saturated fats are mainly animal fats and are solid at room temperature. These fats include butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream, egg yolks, lard and fatty meats. Some plants fats are also high in saturated fats such as coconut oil and palm oils. Saturated fats raise blood cholesterol more than any other food you eat. By using the right oils and fats for the right reasons, you can preserve the healthful benefits. Your foods will not only taste their best, but also be healthy.

Unsaturated Fats:
These fats can come from both animal and plant products. There are three types:
Monounsaturated Fats – Usually come from seeds or nuts such as avocado, olive, peanut, and canola oils. These fats are liquid at room temperature.

Polyunsaturated Fats – Usually come from vegetables, seeds, or nuts such as corn, safflower, sunflower, soybean, cotton seed, and sesame seeds oils. These fats are liquid at room temperature.

Trans Fatty Acids – Trans fats are produced when liquid oil is made into a solid fat, such as shortening or margarine. This process is called hydrogenation. Trans fats act like saturated fats and can raise your cholesterol level.

A simple rule you should follow is that the lighter the color of the oil, the higher its smoke point. Here is quite a handy chart which I have found on www.besthealthmag.ca. You can put it in your oils cabinet or somewhere you can see it. Now it just can’t get any easier than that!

How to tell when your oil is smoking:
Very simple – look for the vapors. Throw away the oil and don’t even think about using it again. It’s very unhealthy and full of toxins. Open the window straight away and never breathe the smoke!

Good luck! x