Creamy risotto with peas & greens

Day 4: some backup information about the 30-day-challenge!

I have to admit, at the moment i suffer from headaches more than ever, but i'm convinced it is because of the fact my body is detoxing and getting rid of all the toxics, which have accumulated in my body in the course of years. Still, with a lot of joy we're pleased to continue our mission, and keep up the good work for another 26 days! This risotto will give you the same joy as a decadent creamy, cheesy risotto, but than without all the no-go stuff! 

Go here to see the recipe immediately!

I did some research about the restrictions that we have set for ourselves and would love to share this with you. 

Nr.1: No alcohol

Well, i guess this good old friend doesn't need a whole lot of explanation, but just to be sure: 

Alcohol contains a lot of extra calories, the ones you don't need (or want!). So, by drinking alcohol you will increase weight. People who use a lot of alcohol generally have poor diets and lack of exercise, and the risk of certain cancers and heart disease increases.

When your liver has to deal with the continuous process of 'high' doses of alcohol, its structure changes and won't function properly anymore. And of course; alcohol affects the ability to think logically.

And thinking logically is one of the things we só need!

Nr.2: No gluten

Gluten are proteins that occur naturally in áll cereals. This means wheat, rye, barley, spelt, and oats. Also in products made of the flour, ​​like bread, crackers and pasta. 

Gluten is not only bad for people with medically diagnosed gluten intolerance. Almost everyone is to some level: sensitive-, intolerant- or allergic to gluten. In fact, there is hardly anyone whose body is good at processing gluten. That means there are a lot of people who feel weak daily, lifeless or even sickly unnoticed because they suffer from gluten intolerance.

This doesn't mean everyone should immediately quit eating products containing gluten, though, it would be better to reduce your gluten intake significantly. Happily enough there a plenty of things you can eat, like for example rice, quinoa, corn or buckwheat and of course all the vegetables and fruits in the world. There also are a whole lot of 'normal' products for sale in many deli's or bigger supermarkets which don't contain gluten, like special breads, pasta's and crackers.

Nr.3: No dairy products

Chemical tests of milk show us that milk has a very high level of calcium. But the calcium in it, is indigestible for humans; it bonds with other calciums in your body which make you lose calcium. Milk also has hormones, both natural and man-made. The natural hormones are ment to grow a 65 pound calf, into a 1000 pound cow. And that's what it does to humans too. The artificial hormones given to cows, make the cows produce more milk. It's not only the similar effect as steroids on humans, but it also helps cancer cells grow. As a result, one is more likely to develop cancer when drinking two or more glasses of milk per day. Milk doesn't only cause problems by itself, but 75% of the world is lactose intolerant. So for those 75%, it makes them even sicker. I could go on, and on, but you should google it for yourself to get more info! (why cow's milk is unhealthy)

If you are afraid nót to get enough calcium by skipping dairy products, don't worry: green leafy vegetables contain calcium besides many other minerals and vitamins. So 100 grams of raw kale contains twice as much calcium as a glass of low-fat milk. A green smoothie is the ideal way to get not only enough calcium but also to make your blood less acidic.

Cabbage, Chinese cabbage, apricots, almonds, hazelnuts and other sea vegetables are all good sources of calcium.

Nr.4: No coffee

 To be honest, i thought it would be tougher to get up in the morning without my dearest Nespresso cappuchino, though it's part of the deal and we switched to freshly pressed juices like carrot-beet-ginger-apple-lemon juice! It's amazing how quickly you're awake!!

What Coffee does: it increases heart rate and elevates blood pressure. Caffeine stimulates the flow of stress hormones. Anxiety and irritability are guaranteed mood disturbances associated with caffeine consumption but equally important are depression and attention disorders. 

Caffeine inhibits the absorption of some nutrients and causes the urinary excretion of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and trace minerals. So you could be eating very healthy, but then washing it down with a coffee only to be losing some of those nutrients from food.

Thereby in several studies, eliminating coffee and caffeine seem to reduce the risk on urinary and prostrate problems, fibrocystic breast  disease, PMS, osteoporosis etc. etc.

Well, enough i guess to at least see what not drinking coffee for a month does to my body!

If you'd like more information on the effects of drinking coffee, i found a very good to read article here! (Nurturepod)

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Easy quinoa with mushrooms, arugula and thyme

Day 2: Easy quinoa with mushrooms, arugula and thyme 

Well, it's official. After all the parties; the famous Dutch 'Queens'- into 'Kingsday', the holiday of the kids with sleepovers and thus more get togethers with friends and drinks: it was time to just stop for a while. Get our bodies back in shape, get clean again and healthy. We decided to take a break on our grown habits: coffee in the morning, many products with gluten (bread, pasta's, potatoes etc), dairy (cappuchino's, cheeses..), our awesome glasses of Chardonnay (God, I miss you already), and all the other goods that go along.. (which might be vegetarian, but maybe not that healthy..)

Just none of it all for (at least) 30 days. Our  '30 day challenge' started yesterday, and though i thought it might be tough here or there.. it really isn't at all! (so far.. this is day two, i admit) But it just feels great being busy with your health in a good way; finding and creating new recipes without the stuff that makes you tired and look and feel exhausted! Fresh juices in the morning, great salads for lunch and awesome dishes for dinner...
While we actually just wanted to quit drinking alcohol for a month, we decided to go radical, and quit drink and eat many things of our normal diet.

Thereby, I bought the amazing new cookbook of Gwyneth Paltrow, (yes, she is a cookbook author, I didn't know that either) which just amazes me with beautiful pictures and incredibly simple but tasty recipes.
The book 'It's all good', which Gwyneth wrote with co-author and food-writer Julia Turshen, is really a must have, if you want to change your normal eating program for whatever reason, or suffer allergies like gluten- or dairy intolerances. This easy quinoa recipe is one of hers, and is so easy, it's almost amazing it tastes so good!

Oh, come on, and join us, it's only for 30 days!

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Lentil salad with roasted cauliflower and mushrooms

Lentil salad with roasted cauliflower and mushrooms

I think it was in France, last summer, when Nicolaas FINALLY agreed to eat lentils with me. It was  my 'one-can-of-lentils-a-day-period', which i somehow just get; those cravings for one particular ingrediënt. At the moment i am in my beet-carrot-pear-ginger-juice-period, which just feels awesome to start the day with. Followed by a cup of coffee of course. 

I still love lentils though. And somehow Nicolaas never did. He is a sucker for all kinds of beans, but lentils just didn't do it for him. Which utterly frustrated me of course, because i just didn't get how you could love beans, but refuse to like lentils. So of course, it became a matter of principle and whenever i asked him if he'd want some lentils - prepared in whatever way - he said no. 

You can imagine i just tried to make my lentil recipes better and tastier, until he couln't refuse any longer! Well, that day came in august 2012 on a majestic piece of land in France! I found a recipe with sweet red onions, fresh dill, tarragon, oil and wine vinegar. It was so good, he seriously grabbed it out of my hands. Pure and simple. It was the best! And since that day, i can make whatever lentil recipe i like, and share it with me sweet! It sounds like a fairy tale.

Here is another nice recipe for a lukewarm lentil salad with roasted cauliflower and mushrooms, fresh herbs and chili's. Originally form Happi-food magazine, it became one of my favorites too!

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Oeuf Cocotte

Bonjour!

With a family of five, breakfast can be a real pain in the ass. Most days during the week we're in a hurry, (i don't know why, my alarm -ánd the little one- goes off at 7 o'clock, but we still don't make it) which makes it a challenge over and over again, to get something healthy into every mouth, get them dressed properly and to get those backpacks filled in time. I guess we're just an average family..

So, weekends should be spent well! Despite the fact our youngest is a terrible sleeper, he is also mr. Sunshine himself at 07:00 o'clock sharp. So no laziness in bed for me. But the fact we don't have to hurry, don't have to shower or get dressed immediately to run off, is absolutely a blast.

When everyone is awake (I mostly already have spent several hours reading a newspaper, or some  blogs i like) i just love to have breakfast, and sit at the table together.  Happily enough, the rest of my family enjoys that as well. To celebrate these little moments of joy it's even better to make something special! And something special i found for sure on another Dutch blog; www.sarahaandekook.nl. I had no idea what 'cocotte' meant. I just thought it was a way of preparation. Until i found out about my little pans i have stored in my kitchen cabinet; they are called 'cocottes'.
Very well indeed! They just needed to be filled with whatever i had in my fridge and some homemade pesto and sit in the oven for about 10 minutes!

Very very little tasty breakfast pans, which will enlighten your day for sure!

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Asparagus-Gruyere tart

Finally, the official asparagus season has begun!

Finally! Yesterday the asparagus season has started officially, which means we can cook, grill, chop, steam or mix these green or white fellows, until the 24th of june. And despite the fact we'll still be able to buy them off season, that just won't be as much fun. The'll be more expensive and not locally, which you for sure will be able to taste. So now is the time to get them and prepare them in tons of ways!

I found this simple but delicious recipe on Pinterest and it officially seems to be from Martha Stewart, although i found way more look-a-like recipes on the net. Some slightly different or with more ingredients added, but i decided to go for this particular one, with just some pure ingredients, olive oil, salt and pepper. And you know what, you can eat this warm or cold; either way, it's great! Just make sure to pour yourself a nice glass of Chardonnay, cheers!

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Baked chicory with orange butter sauce and red cabbage puree

Baked chicory with orange butter sauce and red cabbage puree

I think i had this piece of paper sticked to my fridge for about 6 or 7 months, before i actually descided to give it a try. I teared it out of my weekend edition newspaper, somewhere on a saturday or sunday afternoon, just because i loved the combination of colors, not realising it was actually a recipe, or no, better: a veggie recipe!

The recipe itself comes from Alain Passard, and was slightly adjusted by the writer of the article. Anyway, it absolutely isn't a hard dish to make, but a very, very colorful one, for sure! I descide to eat it with some mashed potatoes, which goes with it wonderfully well.

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Filled Pasta Shells with lemon-ricotta and caremelized mushrooms

Taste Explosion!

About a year or two ago, an awesome caterer settled around the corner of the home where we used to live. It's called after the name of the owner: Stach
It's an awesome place to get ready-to-go-meals, cooked freshly every day, and most of it is meatless. But more important: all the incredients are from local farmers and manufacturers, and picked by the season. You can imagine, we loved to go there after a busy day of work, and choose what ever we liked per person. It's a pitty it's a bit far now to go there more often, though it's better for my bankaccount for sure!

One of the first meals I bought there, were stuffed pasta shells with ricotta, topped with onions and mushrooms. It's delicate taste stayed in my mind for ever, and when they decided not to make it anymore, just to make room for new dishes which were just as good or even better, I just thought to give it a shot and make it myself.

This is the result, and believe me, it's like a taste bomb in your mouth! It's awesome! Even my kids couldn't recist the zesty mushrooms, and that's really something.

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