Clean, green Risotto goodness

Risotto might be the best way to eat rice. The tastiest way to eat rice too.

But it’s also def the unhealthiest way to eat rice. That is if you plan on using wine, loads of parmesan and cream to prep the risotto.

Gwynneth Paltrow, ex miss Chris Martin a.k.a Colplay’s lead singer, decided you don’t really need those ingredients to make this Italian delight for dinner. This recipe is based upon Gwynneth Paltrow’s recipe.. But I doubled the portions. I mean, I need food to get me going through the day. If I only eat that, I’ll be one cranky hungry bitch. And my boyfriend might wonder when the main will be coming? But if you are a small eater, divide by two or perhaps eat with three.

I also altered some ingredients. And that’s why it’s allowed on cupcakesandbeans. Because I’ll only post something when I altered something and I’ll always link back and never plain copy paste. That being said, here is the yummie green and healthy risotto recipe. Oh, it’s veggie. But feel free to add some shrimp or calarmari. Or don’t. Up to you!

You’ll need (serves 2, about 450 kcal pp)

• 200g risotto rice (or quinoa if you want. In that case: make sure you cook it first)
• 1 leek
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• Thyme
• 750ml broth (I used an organic, corn starch free, veggie broth cube)
• 150g of frozen spinach
• 200g green peas
• 1/2 a lemon and lemon zeste
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
• salt and pepper
• A handful of basil leaves

Directions

Remove the outer leaves from your leek. Cut the white and light green part into small rings. Make sure you rinse it well.

Chop the onion finely.

Prep your broth. I boiled 750ml of water and added the broth cube.

Put a pan on a heat with some coconut oil.

Add the onion and leek and leave to simmer for five minutes. Now add the garlic and thyme and stir well with the onion and leek mix for another two minutes.

Add the risotto rice and the juice from half a lemon. Stir for three minutes and make sure your rice doesn’t stick to you pan in the meanwhile.

Add a big dash of broth to the mixture and stir well. Repeat the process until the risotto is cooked and you’re out of water. This is a tad bit time consuming, but it’s so very worth it. It takes you up to 15minutes in the end. Rough guess.

Add the lemon zeste, spinach, peas and basil to the pan and mingle with the other ingredients. Your vegetables will warm through the risotto.

Add some salt and pepper, to taste.

 

Bon appetit health birds!

xo, Kirsten

Skinny pizza

I was supposedly going to eat pizza for lunch with some colleagues last week. Sadly it turned out I had a lunch meeting slash brainstorm with sandwiches. So I had to skip the pizza.

Mmkay. So I had food. Sandwiches. (with butter, yuk!) My tummy was filled. But boy did I have a pizza crave the whole dang day. And since I was home alone, I couldn’t suggest to anyone to go out to grab a bite to eat at, let’s say, a pizzeria?

And then it came to me. For weeks I’ve been meaning to try the ‘clean’ pizza recipe that’s been booming across several ‘healthy’ blogs. The cauliflower pizza. I had every ingredient that was needed in my fridge. So perfection. A clean pizza. Like, meet my crave and remain healthy? LOVE. Needles to say I was game and forgot all about my ‘actual’ pizza crave.

Somewhat of a warning is in order though. It’s nothing like an actual Italian pizza. And you’ll still taste cauliflower. Obvi. But I’m always so proud and happy when I made a healthy, skinny swap, that I don’t miss the real deal for a sec. If that doesn’t work for you, just go ahead and eat your whole day worth of calories, fatty pizza. I’ll be the one looking ab fab in my bikini bod this summer thanks to my skinny pizza 😉 (I wish, really. Work in progress though)*. So here we go, Pizza Italiano a la clean.

You’ll need (serves one person)

For the crust:

• Cauliflower (I used about 150g for one small pizza)
• 1/2 egg (whisk it first, then you’ll be able to use half)
• 60g of mozzarella (I used plain, you can use light too. To make it extra light)
• Oregano
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

Toppings: (this is only a suggestion)

• tomato sauce*
• feta cheese (or parmesan cheese, I did not have any in the fridge)
• basil leaves
• Optional: tuna, veggies, italian ham, olives,…

*Make your own tomato sauce! It’s easy peasy: add a small pan to a medium heat. Chop an onion and some garlic and add to the pan. Now cut some tomatoes into chunky pieces and add to your pan. Season with salt and pepper, paprika powder and some harissa or some spicy curry. Leave to simmer and mix. Done.

Directions

Preheat your oven to 200°C.

Add the cauliflower to a food processor and shred until it looks like rice.

Pop the cauliflower rice in an microwave safe bowl and put in the the microwave for 8 minutes.

Now put the ‘rice’ on a kitchen towel and try to squeeze some water out (this way, you’ll crust will become extra crunchy), put the rice back in the bowl together with mozzarella and egg. Now mix with a fork (or with your hands) until you get something that looks like dough.

Put a baking sheet on an oven tray. Add the cauliflower dough on top and form a pizza with your hands. Sprinkle some olive oil on top.

Put in the oven for 20 minutes.

Now prepare your toppings. You’ll need to cook and grill everything because the toppings will only be in the oven for a few minutes. (for example, if you crave asparagus on top, you might want to grill them first)

After 20 minutes remove the oven tray from the oven and add the toppings.

Add a thin layer of tomato sauce first (too much sauce won’t do much good to your cauliflower crust), add some cheese and top with your veggies. I only added basil and feta cheese. I’ll go more adventurous next time. I promise.

Pop the tray back in the oven for another 5 minutes.

And then: eat your heart out on this skinny pizza treat!

Bon appetito.

Believe you me, you girls will love this. It”s the bomb.com.

xo, Kirsten

*Oh and just so you know. In three weeks, I’ll be eating the real deal for 14days straight. I’m leaving for two weeks in the lovely Italy. Visiting Lake Como, Tuscany and Umbria. And I plan on eating as much pizza, pasta and gelato as I possibly can. No worries. I plan on packing my yoga mat and running shoes.

Papardelle amore mio

I adore Papardelle. Real adoration. I kid you not. If I do eat pasta, it’ll better (preferably) be papardelle, because it’s my favorite kind. It’s yum!

I know what you’re thinking now though: Is it healthy? Nope. Is it good for your (my) mental health? Def. Everyone needs a huge-ass treat every once in a while. Not daily. Just, you know… Every once.

The best way to eat it, in my opinion, is with some sort of stew. (I could eat the ‘papardelle with lamb ragout’ they serve at the Italian around my corner on a daily base. It’s the best thing ever.) This time however, I chose to make it veggie proof. I believe one day a week should be veggie. Just because you can, and just because it’s a teeny environmental step that can make a huge difference. That is, if everyone would do it. My veggie day usually starts with my yoghurt parfait, for lunch I’ll make a fig and feta salad and for dinner, well, this is a dang great option. It’s not that hard, especially with such good recipes to get through your veggie day. 😉 YOU CAN DO IT peeps. Really. You can.

You’ll need (Servers two people, about 605 kcal pp)

• 30g Walnuts
• 2 garlic cloves
• parsley
• basil
• 1 cup of spinach
• 200g of cantharelles (a mushroom kind)
• 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 200g of papardelle
• 2 tbsp of parmesan cheense
• oregano

Directions

First off rinse and wash the cantharelles thoroughly. They are usually fresh picked and might still carry some sand or tree a long. No good. Make sure you tap them dry afterwards with a kitchen towel or some kitchen paper.

Add the nuts and garlic (pressed) to a pan with olive oil on a medium heat. Stir fry for a minute. Add the cantharelles to the pan and put on a higher heat for about two minutes. Add salt and pepper. Meanwhile cook the pasta.

Now add the spinach and pasta and stir for another minute. Add the basil leaves and parsley to finish.

Serve with some parmesan cheese. A big tablespoon of parmesan cheese. Maybe even two. But hey, completely up to you!

Bon appetit!

xo, Kirsten

Veggie Omelet

I try to incorporate a veggie meal/day in my diet every once in a while. I am nowhere near being a vegetarian, but I once read that if everyone did one veggie day a week our environment would improve heaps. So one day a week, doesn’t sound all that hard. Right? Exactly. But, since I passionately hate quorn and tofu  {I’m sorry, I think it all tastes like cardboard and I don’t believe in seasoning the hell out of something just so you wouldn’t taste the original ingredient anymore} I usually base my vegetarian dishes on vegetable and carb combinations. Together with cheese, eggs or lentils and beans.

This, however, is my favorite way of eating eggs for dinner. This recipe is based on one from my mom. I add egg whites to get more eggs without really adding a lot more calories.

You’ll need (makes  two servings, 404kcal pp)

• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 (or two) garlic clove
• Paprika powder
• Harissa
• 4 eggs
• 4 egg whites
• 300g potatoes

Directions

First peel off the skin from your potatoes and cut them in to small dices.

Add a wok pan on a high heat with some coconut oil* and then add the potatoes. Let them bake for 10minutes. Stir them regularly.

Meanwhile cut up the onion, bell pepper and zucchini into small pieces. Squeeze the garlic clove on top of the potatoes (or slice the garlic into small pieces and add them like that). After 10 minutes you add all the vegetables. Again, stir them regularly.

Whisk together 4 eggs and 4 egg whites in a bowl. Add parsley, cayenne pepper and other spices with salt and pepper to taste.

After 10 to 15 minutes – your vegetables should have softened – poor the egg mixture on top of your vegetables. Stir once so the egg is really mixed with the veggies.

Add the lit to your pan and leave on for about (again) 10 to 15 minutes. I sometimes pinch with my fork so the moist part of the omelet can find it’s way down and cook.

Once your egg is firm and no longer moist, it’s done. Serve while hot! 😉

xo, Kirsten

*Side note: if you’re cooking over high heat, don’t choose olive oil. Olive oil has a lower smoke point – the point at which an oil literally begins to smoke – than some other oils. When you heat olive oil to its smoke point, the beneficial compounds in oil start to degrade, and potentially health-harming compounds form.