banana package

It was time for me to buy some fruit. And now that I have some fruit I just did not know what to do with it. Shall eat eat the regular way or shall I make a smoothie with this fruit? I just did not know what to do.It's very cloudy outside and it rains now and then, so it's not the weather to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. I had to look up some information about different subscriptions. So now it's the right time to do that. But I also wanted to make something yummie. And then I had a great idea, let's make something cozy. A banana package!



All you need is:
2 bananas 
maple syrup (1 tbsp per package) 
4 pieces of puff pastry 
1 beaten egg 
 cocoa powder

Preheat the oven on 200degrees.
Slice the bananas in half, place one half on a puff pastry. Put 1 tablespoon of maple syrup over the banana, Fold the package. Put the beaten egg over the pastry. Put it in the oven for about 15minutes.
Sprinkle some cocoa powder over it.
So now you've got 4 banana packages. It's a delicious dessert or a snack.
Very easy to make this.
Let me know what you think of this recipe.

Kingsday Smoothie

Happy Kingsday everybody!

It's the first Kingsday here in Holland so time to make a Kingsday smoothie.

To be honest it's not really my favourite smoothie but it's orange and healthy!

All you need to do is put some carrots and pure orange juice into a mixer en mix it till you've got a smooth texture.

I've added 1tbsp maplesyrup for the sweet taste.

And here is your Kingsday smoothie.

Have a nice day ;)

Cauliflower Leek Soup

A couple of days ago I've made a yummie soup. I love cauliflower and my hubby also, so I've tried to make a delicious soup of it.

It will take some time but it's not that hard to make.

You'll need:

2 tbsp olive oil 

40 grams of butter 

3 leeks into pieces 

1 large cauliflower 

3 cloves of garlic 

2 liters vegetable broth 

salt and pepper to taste 

250 ml cream (optional)

Put a large pan on medium heat,  heat the olive oil and butter in it.

Add the leeks and cauliflower and garlic with it and let it sautéing for 10 about minutes.

Stir the vegetable broth through it and make sure it would boil.

Reduce it to low heat and let it simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat, mash everything with a hand mixer.

And if you want you can add the cream to it and stir till it's smooth.

Chocolate fudge

I've found a new recipe and now I'm really addicted. Sometimes I've got a huge chocolate craving. And last time I've made a delicious quinoa brownie. Now it was time to make a chocolate fudge. We all know fudge with caramel flavour but this one is with 100% cacoa. It's also a healthy snack. But if you are a chocolate addict like me than you will eat to many of those and that's also not that great haha.

Here is how you make it.

100 grams of coconut butter 

3 tbsp maple syrup 

2 tbsp cocoa powder 

2 tbsp of peanut butter 

1 tsp vanilla extract

Put everything in a saucepan and mix together on a low heat.

If you have a smooth mixture you put it in a mold.

That may be an ice mold or a cupcake form.

Store it in the freezer.

And your chocolate fudge snacks is ready.

It goes well with a cup of tea or a cup of coffee.

There is only 1 warning: It's addictive yummy!

Ow and this one is boyfriend proof. My hubby does not like that much of healthy home made stuff but this one he likes ;).

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.” 

sweet mashed potatoes with salmon and asparagus

I love sweet potatoes.They are rich of vitamins C and E.
They taste very sweet and you can do so much with it.
Now it was time to make a mashed potatoe of it with salmon and asparagus. It's pretty easy to make this dish (no worries).

What you need:
Asparagus
salmon
sweet patatoes
parsley
pepper
bread-crumbs
beaten egg

Cook the asparagus for 10 minutes.
Cook the sweet patatoes for about 20minutes till it's done.
Put the salmon with some pepper on it for 15/20 minutes in the oven (180 degrees).
Roll the asparagus in the beaten egg and then through the breadcrumbs. Bake until they are golden brown.
Chop the parsley and add them to the sweet potatoes. Mash the potatoes with parsley through it.

I've told you this dish would be pretty easy.

Don't give me no rotten tomato, 'cause all I ever wanted was your sweet potato.

 

strawberries, rhubarb cobbler

In an earlier blog I've told you that a friend of mine came by for a little lunch so I've made a strawberries, rhubarb cobbler.

A cobbler is a pastry which consists of a layer of fruit, wich has a layer of dough on it.

Rhubarb May not be the most popular vegetable on the produce stand, but it still makes a pretty tasty jam.

Rhubarb is an excellent source of Vitamin C, Which is important to help support a healthy immune system. It is high in dietary fiber All which helps to maintain regularity within the digestive system.

Rhubarb is low in sodium and saturated fat All which makes it a very good food to help preventable heart related diseases. It is usefull high in Vitamin K, Which is thought to help preventable diabetes.

Rhubarb is an unusual vegetable and Often thought of as a fruit. It is an excellent and healthy food to add to your diet as it can be prepared and served in many different fashions. Although rhubarb can be tart, it has a sweetness that comes alive when cooked.

Here is the recipe:

2 tbsp cornstarch 

500 grams rhubarb 

300 grams of strawberries (halved) 

1 tbsp water 

15 grams of butter 

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 beaten egg 

stevia to taste 

puff pastry

Preheat the oven on 200 degrees. 

In a saucepan: Add the rhubarb, strawberries and water, let it boil for one minute. Add the cornstarch and optionally some stevia. Scoop it into a greased baking dish. Spread the lumps of butter and cinnamon over it.

Normally you make the dough on your own. But I did not have time for that so I've used puff pastry.

Spread the pastry over it. Add the beaten egg over the pastry.

Put it in the oven for 20 minutes  until the top is golden brown and crispy.

When I'm sad I go shopping

Yesterday I went to the gynecologist and she was not nice at all.

She told me that my tummy hurts and my bleedings are a way to get attantion and that it's only my imagination that I have that. I was so mad I could cry. How can she say such of things? Like if I enjoy it to lay in the hospital or laying at home because my  midwife said so? Hell NO!!! 

I want to work, I want to enjoy my pregnancy without bleedings or pain like anyone else. And she tells me that it's all imagination to get attention. 

Next week I must go back to my midwife I hope she can tell me why she said such of things! 

Maybe I need a towel full of blood to push in to her face the next time. That's the devil in me talking. 

So before I'll go home by buss I go in to the shop for some new summer clothes. It was or that or wait on the bus for an hour. Well that's an easy choice to make. And shopping makes me feel happy!

I went to one store because my tummy hurts again and I bought 2 sets of clothing! Happy me!!!

I've made pictures of it but they are not that professional like the most fashion or beauty bloggers. But I'm not an official beauty/fashion blogger also.

Both outfits came from the New Yorker and they are not that expensive! Me like...

In the evening I had an appointment for my nails. So they are beautifull again also! 

So now I'm a little bit happy again. And the sun is shining today. My friend is comming to have a lunch so I've made a strawberrie, rhubarb cobbler 

But that recipe I will post maybe later the day. 

Quinoa Brownie

Sometimes you crave for something sweet with chocolate...

But must of those things are really unhealthy. Now I've found a recipe that is healthy, sweet and it tastes like chocolate.

A quinoa chocolate brownie! It's gluten and sugar free. I've tasted it and it's very smooth and it stops my chocolate cravings, a well known phenomenon if you are pregnant. So a good chocolate recipe can not be missed.

What you will need:

300 gram (if it's cooked so +/- 150gram uncooked) quinoa

2 tbsp shredded coconut

2 tbsp pure cacao powder

2 tbsp flexseed

2 tbsp 100% organic peanutbutter

1 tsp baking powder (glutenfree)

1 tsp vanilla extract

100 gram seedless soaked dates.

Preheat the oven on 180 degrees.

Prepare the quinoa like you always does. Put everything into a mixer and mix it till you've got a smooth paste.

Put the mixture into a greased cake tin and put it in the oven for 25 minutes.

Red Curry Chicken

New recipe you can try out. 

There are 2ways to prepare this dish.

If you are in a hurry you can use the readymade red curry sauce. 

But if you've got plenty of time you can make it for yourself it's not that hard.

coconut milk, 5-6 dried chillies, garlic, lemongrass, shallots, coriander. 

Mix everything till it's smooth. 

This is your sauce.

I've used multigrain rice instead of regular rice.

Cook them like regular rice.

Cut the chicken in little pieces. Bake them in coconut oil.

If the chicken is done you can add your vegitables.

I've used: bean sprouts, leeks, chestnut mushrooms and snow peas.

At last add your sauce to it and your Thai dish is ready to be served!

Healthy granola

I've made a healthy granola (in dutch also known as cruesli). If you buy granola in the store they are not so healthy as it looks like. They added a lots of fats and sugars to it that you better can eat a bar of chocolate.

But you can make it of your own a healthy viarity of it and it's pretty simple,

Preheat the oven 180degrees.

flaxseed, granola, pecans

Or other grains or nuts you like.

1eggwhite 

Maple syrup or honey.

Mix everything together.

Place on a baking dish baking paper.

Spread your mix on that.

Put it in the oven for about 20minutes.

Turn the mixture once to get it brown everywhere. But not to brown.

Cool down for a while and you've got your home made healthy granola!

You can add it to your yoghurt or just add some dried fruit with it.

I've ate mine with soy milk and fresh strawberries.

And now it's time to relax in the garden with my new heat jar from zensy.

My tummy still hurts, so must slow down like always! Everything for the little baby! 

my love for BIMI

Let me tell you about my favourite veggie the BIMI!

I was scrolling to my instagram page and bounced into this veggie on Beau Hesling (international playmate)page. I asked her what it was because I've never saw this and I really like to try new vegitables. She told me that this is called Bimi and you can buy it in the grocery store.

Ofcourse I went down shopping and bought it and immidiatly fel in love with it.

Before I tell you how I ate my Bimi, first I tell you what the health benefits are.

The bimi is not well known, however many famous have already discovered the benefits and they have done an indispensable part of their diets. Gwyneth Paltrow, Katie Holmes and Jennifer Garner among many others have integrated this vegetable to their lives and become fans due to its great benefits.

The bimi is a hybrid between the broccoli and cabbage is a food quite unknown but increasingly is becoming easier to find in supermarkets and verdulerías.

Benefits of the bimi


Together with all the vegetables, the bimi is a very healthy food and that should include it in her diete daily. It provides many nutrients, even more than most of other vegetables.

The bimi is very rich in vitamins and minerals. It has 10 nutrients essential for good health, which include zinc, folic acid, antioxidants and vitamin C. It also owns glucosinalatos, important agent which prevents cancer and other diseases.

It has a flavor very smooth and delicious, similar to the asparagus. It is a very complete in nutrients but at the same time very low in calories, so it is ideal for people who want to lose weight.

To eat it, the bimi also offers several advantages. This vegetable can be cooked such as broccoli, raw in salad, grilled, broiled, baked, etc. You can eat 100% of the bimi including stem and leaves, so you can use it completely.

And now I will tell you how I eat my Bimi. I love to eat this for lunch or snack.

I'll bake the Bimi in coconut oil with some garlic and pine nuts.

And well that was it... Easy as it is. 

Roses are red, violets are blue, patatoes are sweet and so are you

    

Spring is in the air. And well like the titel said it allready it's time to eat some sweet patatoes.

I love the taste of these patatoes, but this is a recipe that takes some time.

Luckly for me I had a day off today and the sun is shining and I feel like making them for dinner. My hubby is busy with painting the room of our little baby, so I've got plenty of time to make this. 

First you start with the marinade of the chicken.

garlic, tomatopurree, parsley, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix them with some olive oil. Cut the chicken in little pieces and add the marinade on it.

If the patatoes are half their way in the oven I'll bake the chicken.

I prepare the sweet patatoes in the oven. So I cut them in small pieces and first I'll boil them a little (10min) 

Preheat the oven on 180degrees. Put the patatoes in an oven plate sprinkeld with some olive oil and bake them like 45min.

For the vegitables I've got some yummie Bimi, bean sprouts and garlic. I've baked them with a little bit of soya sauce.

So here was my dinner for the evening. First time we could sit outside in the sunshine for this year. 

Have a nice evening!

   

Goji Berries

Goji Berries are the most nutritionally dense fruit on Earth. They are a member of the nightshade family, which contains many other common vegetables such as potato, sweet potato, tomato, eggplant, and pepper, as well as some poisonous plants like belladonna and deadly nightshade. 
Although they have only been introduced in Western countries in recent years, gojis have been used for thousands of years in Tibet and China, both as a culinary ingredient and medicinally.

Goji Berries have the highest concentration of protein of any fruit. They are also loaded with vitamin C, contain more carotenoids than any other food, have twenty-one trace minerals, and are high in fiber. Boasting 15 times the amount of iron found in spinach, as well as calcium, zinc, selenium and many other important trace minerals. So you can say that these berries are a natural superfood!

In traditional Chinese medicine, the goji is said to act on the Kidney and Liver meridians to help with lower back pain, dizziness and eyesight. They are most often consumed raw, made into a tea or extract, or as an ingredient in soups.

But can you eat goji berries during pregnancy? The fact is that there is too little research on goji berries in relation to pregnancy ​​to say that using it is 100% safe.
Science said that these berries are very healthy but my advise call you docter first before you eat this during your pregnancy!

Lycium Barbarum bark and goji berries are used as an alternative medicine to prevent morning sickness during pregnancy.

The use of goji berries can help to lower the high blood pressure and to reduce, in the case of diabetes the glucose level in the blood.
So it's important to ask and specialist if there is already a very low blood pressure or low glucose levels in the blood.

According to the organization MedlinePlus, a highly respected research institution in the United States, the substance betaine can cause miscarriage. Premature contractions also would be awaken.


Normally I made a tea of these berries. Just add 2 spoons of those berries in a cup, add some hot water and let them soak.
Here is your easy made goji tea.



I talked to the midwife, who advises them not to use it during pregnancy. Even  though there are rumors avout them that they are not a superfood but it's a way to make a lot of money of it! 

Fish from the oven!

Recipe: cod, zucchini, onion, garlic and white wine.
wrap it up in aluminum foil
put it in the oven at 180 degrees for 3 quarters

Bon apetit

Sorry for the crappy pic

Be healthy first before you got pregnant

Women who live unhealthy in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, bring their children much damage. Who are more likely to be overweight and got the change to get a high blood pressure. Later in life they are at greater risk for heart disease.
Researchers from the Generation R of the Erasmus MC. Come to that conclusion Generation R is a large-scale population screening for growth, development and health of 10,000 children in Rotterdam.
It is now finally clear that there are physical consequences for children who grow poorly by the unhealthy lifestyle of their mothers.
"The growth of the fetus in the first stage of pregnancy appears to be higher than we have assumed so far and it's much more important for the development of the child after birth," says lead researcher and pediatrician Vincent Jaddoe Generation R.

According to him, it is good if women who want to become pregnant before they stop taking the pill have a conversation with a midwife. In such a conversation, they can receive advice what they can do to live healthy or how to change their behavior.
From the study group of Generation R, smokes about 20 percent of pregnant women and more than 30 percent overweight.
"It is good that we consider as pediatricians, gynecologists and obstetricians about what we can do to make mothers aware of how important it is that they are healthy living, especially in the first stages of pregnancy," says Jaddoe.

Source: ad

So stop smoking, stop drinking alcohol and stop doing drugs!Take folic acid (and watch out for vitamin A) Taking a folic acid supplement is Crucial. By taking 400 mcg of folic acid a day for at least one month before you conceive and during your first trimester, you can cut your chances of having a baby with neural tube defects zoals spina bifida by 50 to 70 percent, accordion thing to the centers for Disease Control (CDC). Taking folic acid helps someother preventable birth defects as well.

Stock your fridge with healthy foods
You're not eating for two yet, but you should start making nutritious food choices now so thatyour body will be stocked up with the nutrients you need for a healthy pregnancy.
Try to get at least 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables every day, as well as plenty of whole grains and foods high in calcium That Are - like milk, calcium-fortified orange juice, and yogurt. Eat a variety of protein sources, zoals beans, nuts, seeds, soy products, poultry, and meats.

May you have an easier time conceiving if you're at a healthy weight. Having a low or high body mass index (BMI) makes it harder for some women to become pregnant. (In one study, having a BMI below 20 or over 24 affectedness fertility negatively.)

So go and excersize, eat healthy, don't drink to much coffee or caffeine. This is all more important than we think. It's not only for your health but also for your baby. Just remember that!!!

Nails done and pregnancy..... just feel like a princess momma!

Well I was a little off the last days. Laying in the hospital... Luckly my baby is ok. Only mommy must get more rest. So I don't have time to make new healthy recipe or some nutrition advice. But what I've got is some beauty advice instead. Most pregnant ladies are wondering if manicures, pedicures, nailpolish etc are safe during the pregnanacy. But they are perfectly safe, so treat your self and feel like a princess momma! And make advantage now while your nails are growing faster and stronger than ever thanks to pregnancy hormones! There are no proof that acrylic chemicals are bad for you and your baby during pregnancy. Make sure the room is ventilated or else it can make you quesy. But that's also if you are not pregnant.

So treat yourself and feel pretty and confident. I'll do my nails every 3/4 weeks. And I love to do that.
It's a little relax time for myself. And I've got beautifull nails after that. In the hospital I've got a lot of compliments about my nails. Well that's always great to hear that. Not that I doing it by myself.
I go to a nail salon for that. Just go to her page and check it out. And if you live nearby you can make an appointment, Nagelstudio Carla . Great service, nice and fun woman and she does your nails perfectly. I can't wait to go back to her again.

Your nails are the reflection of yourself.

Fun ways to tell your pregnant

There are a lot of funny and great ideas to tell to the people around you that you are pregnant.
Well I'm not that original I've gave my dogs a shirt with a text I will be a big brother or Big sister of...
And those pictures I've send them to my family. My inlaws got a photo of the echo of the baby.
And my colleagues get some chocolate with pink or blue sprinkles on them in a shape of a bottle or a baby soother.

Well here some ideas from other people how you can tell or shout that you are pregnant.

• If you allready have a daughter or son get a shirt with on it: I'm going to be a big sister/brother. Make them wear it on a family dinner or party. It's almost the same like what I did for my dogs (told you I'm not that original)
• If it's christmas time you can get of those presents with : I love grandma on it or other stuff like that. If they came and open their presents they will be suprised.
• I saw this on a page. Her due date was on the same date as her mothers birthday. She told her that maybe she get her present early or maybe late. Her mother did not get it because it tooks a long time before her birthday. And then she told her what her due date was the same as her birthday. A better gift you can't get.
• If it's someones birthday and they like wine or beer. Get a big bottle and make a label on the computer with the text; Happy Birthday, greetings from (your name), (his name) & ?.... They will scratch their had first maybe. This is also the text of my birthday card to my uncle. He did not get it first till I asked him if he read the card right... Hahaha
• You can order on the internet m&m's with a personalized text on it. So get the text "I'm pregnant". When everyone is together hand your m&m's to your guests. Maybe it will take some time before they noticed the text on the m&m's but what a suprise.
• Draw a nice family tree. Add an extra box for the baby and show it to your family.
• To your colleagues you can send an e-mail with the next text on it: "During the following months, I will be responding much slower to your request because I can not get very busy. The baby does not like to see mommy bend over a computer screen all day."
• And as last... There are more ways to tell your pregnant ofcourse... But then You'll be still reading this till tomorrow haha. But the easiest and fastest way to tell everybody is Facebook. Here some pictures you can post on your facebook to let everybody know your pregnant. 

And if you've got amazing, original, fun ways to tell your pregnant. Or you just want to share it. Don't be afraid to replay/comment under this blog!

SO apparently I have two heartbeats right now.. <3