Homemade Garlic Dough Balls

Here it is, my best creation to date:

Ingredients:

Yeast

Flour

Butter

Garlic

Parsley

Oil

Salt

Water

German Christmas Gluhwein - With A Twist

Here is my quick and easy recipe for a spiced up version of Gluhwein, generally found in German markets around christmas. In this version, warm up some red wine, or in this case, I managed to find some german mulled wine already. To make the mulled wine, add some spices, such as cinammon or orange peel.

Do not boil the wine as this will ruin the alcohol (the best bit)

Serve up the warm wine into a suitable mug or glas. Then grab yourself some amaretto / disaronno, and pour in a generous sized shot (50ml is about enough)

Now sit back and enjoy as it warms you up from inside.

A big thanks to the wonderful city of Amsterdam and the Wintermarkt where I discovered this!

Merry Christmas!

Raw Food Diets

Are they any good?

Why are so many people taking up raw food diets?

Let me start with a little basic info. A raw food diet means exactly that, eating nothing but pure, straight from the ground food. A raw food diet will not contain any pre cooked, steamed, or processed foods and is generally related to Veganism and some vegetarianism.

A raw food diet is not a fad, its a lifestyle choice. By "diet" I mean a constant day to day nutritional plan, not a quick fat loss fix.


What Do I Eat?

Essentially, your food would consist of a lot of fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Already, this doesnt sound very appealing, but through a bit of research there are various ways to prepare the food if necessary to make it taste nice I guess!


Who promotes Raw Food?

I have noticed a few Youtubers who are advocates of the raw food lifestyle, such as the slightly wacky DurianRider and his better half Freelea. I have watched many of their videos, and while Durianrider is obviously a successful athlete, I'm not so sure I agree on his dietary ethics. Go check him out, he definately has some things for you to think about. Others worth noting are RawBrahs, and FullyRawKristina.


Is It Healthy?

Generally health organisations point out that while it would be safe for a sensible adult to take part in the raw lifestyle, its not something to do without fully understanding the risks. The most obvious is the possibility to a lack of nutrients, vitamins and minerals which are harder to find than in a regular diet. Such dangers are the lack of high quality protein and Vitamin B12, both of which are readily available in meat products. However they can be sourced elsewhere, and it is possible for a "raw foodie" to use supplements.

Many converts to this lifestyle report massive weight loss, an increase in energy levels, and reversal of many medical conditions. I am slightly sceptical when it comes to the medical side of things, as your diet would have to be spot on nutritionally in order to not see some side effects. Women for example may experience issues with menstrual cycles on certain extreme diets.

The abundance of carbohydrates though, would explain the rise in energy, and I assume the weight loss would be partly caused by the lower than usual levels of protein, which may in turn cause some degree of muscle atrophy.


What Do You Think?

Comment below and let me know what your views are on the Raw Food Diet. Have you tried it? If so, what was the outcome? I would love to know whether it was an easy choice or whether it only lasted a short period.

I personally would rather enjoy a good solid cooked meal when I fancy it, so I doubt i'll ever try this. Unless maybe for a short experiment!



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Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
40 Quinoa
1 Banana
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Can Mushy Peas (300g)



Cut around the stalk of the pepper, and remove the top. From there you can scoop out the insides, most will come out with the stalk.
Slice one banana into small chunks.
Boil and simmer the quinoa in 250ml water for around 12 minutes. When ready, scoop with a spoon into the hollow pepper. Place on a baking tray and put in a preheated oven for about another 12 minutes.
In the meantime, fry the banana with some low cal spray, and put the mushy peas in the microwave for a couple of minutes.
Hopefully it will all come out at the same time, and be ready to eat!

Video Recipe

I added some extra coleslaw just for the hell of it (not counted in the macros below).

Approximate cooking time: 20 Minutes


Approx 470 Calories
93g Carbs
29g Protein
4g Fat

Protein Dessert Wrap

Ingredients:

1 Mission Deli Wrap (i used regular, wholemeal would be better)

1 Scoop Chocolate Whey Protein

1 Egg (Whole)

10g Chocolate Philadelphia Cheese Spread

Crack the egg into a microwavable bowl, and add in the 1 scoop of whey protein. This doesnt have to be chocolate, I have made it with vanilla before, but i prefer this version! Using a fork, mix it all together until you have a smooth batter.

Put this batter into the microwave on full power for about 50 seconds.

In the meantime, take the wrap and down the middle, spread in the chocolate cheese. I used Philadelphia for this, as it was what I had available at the time. However, Nutella or something similar would do the job. Its not ideal, with the high processed crap content, so if you can find a sugar free or low fat version that would be perfect.

Take out the egg and protein batter, which will now look like a small cake. cut this in half, and place along the chocolate spread so that you can roll the wrap closed as you usually would.

Wrap it all up, and place on a microwavable plate, then blast in the microwave for about 20 seconds more, just so you can melt the chocolate without making the wrap too soggy.

Take it out, cut it in half and enjoy!!


(Video to come soon!)

Approx 440 Calories
37 Carbs
31 Protein
16 Fat

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First Tofu Challenge

 Ingredients:

Tofu

Red & Orange Peppers

Spring Onion

Paprika

Thyme

Olive Oil

Sweet Potato

Salt

Carrot

Tomato

First, finely chop the peppers, onion, and carrot and tomato and keep them to one side. Meanwhile, take the Sweet Potato and cut it finely into slices, keeping the skin on, before putting into the microwave for about 3 minutes until it is piping hot throughout.

Add some Extra Virgin Olive Oil into a frying pan, then add in the chopped veggies. Sprinkle a pinch of Thyme and a generous helping of Paprika into the mix, and give it a good stir to even it all out.

Leave that mixture to brown in the pan and in the meantime cut the desired amount of Tofu into cubes. Add the tofu after about 5 minutes of frying the veggies.

Continue to cook the mixture then add in your sweet potato, this is already half cooked so we are going to continue to fry the meal for about another 5 minutes until all ingredients are cooked well through and the tofu begins to brown with the paprika.

Add some salt to taste, and serve!

Cooking time: Approximately 15 minutes.


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Chocolate Fudge Granola Recipe

Here is my recipe for an incedibly tasty Chocolate Fudge Granola, using just three ingredients. Mix together some natural yoghurt, tropical flavour granola and some whey protein and enjoy the chocolatey goodness.

Macros:
415 Calories
43 Carbs
34 Protein
11 Fat




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