Persimmon & Goji Berry Smoothie - Smoothie με Λωτό και Goji Berry

(Συνταγή στα Ελληνικά στο τέλος της σελίδας)

This post is participating in Williams-Sonoma’s Smoothie Week. The theme is “Not Your Typical Smoothie.”
Persimmons are funny little fruits. They are red or deep orange on the outside and look like tomatoes or even tiny pumpkins.

Vegan and Gluten Free Apple and Raisin Muffins - Μαφινς με Μηλο και Σταφιδες Χωρις Γλουτενη

And just like that, Easter is over and there are 4 more months until we move to Athens. I thought that I would never say it, but I feel happy we are going back after 8 years away from home. And even though Athens is not where my actual home is - born and bred in Grevena - I am now determined to make it. 

Athens is vast. 4.5 million people vast. Most of the time it feels like a jungle and I am saying this having lived in London for a good 8 years. You need time to adjust and a sanctuary to recuperate and fight off the craziness of the streets. Mine is going to be close to the sea. I've decided. There's only one small problem...I haven't found it yet.  We didn't have much time to look for an apartment - too much eating and drinking and meeting with friends and relatives got in the way of arranging viewings with estate agents - but I've made up my mind. Yes, this time we are going South. Close to the sea. 

Meatballs & Celery Root Rice / Κεφτεδάκια και Ρύζι με Σελινόριζα

(Συνταγή στα Ελληνικά στο τέλος της σελίδας)

First of all let me wish all of you a very Happy New Year!

May 2014 be the year all your wishes and dreams come true!

And now I am ready to confess...I had way too much sugar over the past few days. I fell completely off the wagon. There were different types of cookies, melomakarona, cakes even caramelised fried bananas. They all helped me forget a promise I made months ago that I will try to give up sugar. Try is the key word here because I did try. For a couple of months I went completely fructose free. I felt very good and I even lost a little weight so why did I allow myself to be pushed out by all these sugary treats? I don't know...too many restrictions maybe. No sugar, no gluten, no lactose no, no, no.... I feel physically bad whenever I eat gluten and that is a fact so I don't care about giving it up. The same goes for lactose, even though I still cannot resist any smelly cheese out there. But sugar no, not yet at least...

Nevertheless, I want to welcome 2014 with two great recipes full of flavours and seriously nutritious. This is my type of comfort food. A warm bowl of Celery Root Rice and a plate-full of  succulent, tasty meatballs.

My love affair with celery root has been well documented on this blog. My Baked Celery Root Chips post is one of my favourite  recipes and also my most popular post! I love the texture of the celery root; not too hard but definitely not mushy either. And its slightly lemony flavour it is enough to make a bowl of rice taste better without adding much else. The meatballs are so easy to prepare and they are unexpectedly juicy and very very savoury. I could easily eat a whole  pan of them.

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Celery Root Rice
From Jamie's 15-Minute Meals
Serves 4
Ingredients 

• 1 celery root, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 300 gr basmati rice
• 200 gr baby spinach
• A few springs of fresh thyme

Instructions

• Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a casserole pan, add the diced celery root, the thyme, salt and pepper and 1 - 2 tablespoons of water. Put the lid on, turn the heat to high and cook, stirring regularly.
• In another pan, boil the rice with about 2 cups of boiling water and a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes until ready.
• Stir the spinach into the celery root and cook it through. When the rice is ready stir it into the spinach and celery. Season and serve.

Meatballs

From Jamie's 15-Minute Meals
Serves 4
Ingredients

• 200 gr lean beef mince
• 200 gr pork mince
• 1/2 a bunch of fresh dill
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 1 shot of vodka
• 4 teaspoons cranberry jam
• 4 tablespoons cream

Instructions

1. Put both beef and pork mince into a bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix them together with your hands. Finely chop the dill and add it to the meat. Mix it all together.
2. Shape the mince into 20 - 25 small balls. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a hot frying pan. Add the meatballs and the caraway seeds. Turn the balls regularly until they become golden.
3. Pour the vodka into the pan and then add the jam, the cream and simmer for 1 - 2 minutes. Serve with the celery root rice.

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Ρύζι με Σελινόριζα
Από το βιβλίο Jamie's 15-Minute Meals
Για 4 άτομα
Υλικά 

• 1 σελινόριζα, καθαρισμένη και κομμένη σε κυβάκια 
• 2 κουταλιές ελαιόλαδο
• 300 γρ ρύζι μπασπάτι
• 200 γρ σπανάκι
• Λίγο φρέσκο θυμάρι

Εκτέλεση

• Βάζουμε 1 κουταλιά της σούπας ελαιόλαδο σε μια κατσαρόλα και βάζουμε τη σελινόριζα, το θυμάρι, αλάτι και πιπέρι και 1 - 2 κουταλιές νερό. Βάζουμε το καπάκι, ανεβάζουμε τη φωτιά και μαγειρεύουμε ανακατεύοντας τακτικά. 
• Σε μία άλλη κατσαρόλα βάζουμε το ρύζι μαζί με 2 φλιτζάνια βραστό νερό και μια πρέζα αλάτι και βράζουμε για 10 λεπτά μέχρι να γίνει. 
• Προσθέτουμε το σπανάκι στη σελινόριζα και μαγειρεύουμε για 2 - 3 λεπτά. 
• Όταν γίνει το ρύζι ρίχνουμε μέσα το μαγειρεμένο σπανάκι και τη σελινόριζα. 

Κεφτεδάκια

Από το βιβλίο Jamie's 15-Minute Meals

Για 4 άτομα

• 200 γρ μοσχαρίσιος κιμάς
• 200 γρ χοιρινός κιμάς
• 1/2 ματσάκι άνηθος, ψιλοκομμένος
• 2 κουταλάκια του γλυκού σπόροι κύμινου
• 1 σφηνάκι vodka
• 4 κουταλάκις μαρμελάδα cranberry 
• 4 κουταλιές της σούπας κρέμα γάλακτος

Instructions

1. Βάζουμε τους δύο κιμάδες σε ένα μπολ και αλατοπιπερώνουμε. Τους αναμειγνύουμε καλά και προσθέτουμε τον άνηθο. 
2. Φτιάχνουμε 20 - 25 μικρά μπαλάκια.
3. Βάζουμε 1 κουταλιά ελαιόλαδο σε ένα τηγάνι και προσθέτουμε τα κεφτεδάκια και τους σπόρους κύμινου. Τηγανίζουμε γυρίζοντας τα κεφτεδάκια τακτικά μέχρι να χρυσίσουν. 
4. Ρίχνουμε τη vodka και την μαρμελάδα, και μετά την κρέμα γάλακτος και αφήνουμε το φαγητό να πάρει μια βράση.
5. Σερβίρουμε με το ρύζι. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chocolate Berry Pudding - Σοκολατένια Πουτίγκα με Φρούτα του Δάσους Χωρίς Ζάχαρη

(Συνταγή στα Ελληνικά στο τέλος της σελίδας)

A few days ago, I discovered a blog named Chocolate Log Blog, a quite appropriate name, I think, since it is all about chocolate. Hundreds of cakes, biscuits, tarts, puddings all containing some form of chocolate. Choclette together with Chele from Chocolate Teapot run a very interesting monthly cooking event called We Should Cocoa.  I was intrigued by the idea of making a chocolate dessert every month, without any restrictions, save one, the use of a special ingredient picked by Choclette every month and so I decided to give it a try...

I recently bought Sarah Wilson's "I Quit Sugar Cookbook" and I have already made a few really nice fructose free recipes, so I scanned through it and came up with some very interesting cocoa recipes. I chose to make the Choc Berry Mud because my freezer is full of frozen strawberries, blueberries and blackcurrants, a perfect fit for the We Should Cocoa challenge since this month's special ingredient is blackcurrants. The "mud" (as Sarah calls it) came together instantly by blending all the ingredients. It is an easy, fuss free and refreshing dessert for every season.

Chocolate Berry Pudding

Adapted from "I Quit Sugar Cookbook" by Sarah Wilson

Serves 2 - 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackcurrants)
• 1 large soft avocado, cleaned, peeled and de-seeded
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
• 1 cup almond milk (or less if you want the consistency to be thicker)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla powder
• 1 teaspoon stevia

Instructions

1. Blend all the ingredients in a blender. Pour into bawls and serve immediately.

~~~~~~~~~~

Σοκολατένια Πουτίγκα με Μούρα Χωρίς Ζάχαρη

Από το βιβλίο "I Quit Sugar Cookbook" της Sarah Wilson

Για 2 - 4 άτομα

Υλικά

• 1 φλιτζάνι κατεψυγμένα φρούτα του δάσους
• 1 μεγάλο ώριμο αβοκάντο, καθαρισμένο χωρίς το κουκούτσι
• 1/4 φλιτζανιού κακάο
• 1 φλιτζάνι γάλα αμυγδάλου (ή λιγότερο αν το θέλετε πιο πικτό)
• 1 κουταλάκι του γλυκού σκόνη βανίλια
• 1 κουταλάκι του γλυκού στέβια

Εκτέλεση

1. Βάζουμε όλα τα υλικά σε ένα μπλέντερ και αναμειγνύουμε. 
2. Σερβίρουμε αμέσως. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

French Fridays with Dorie - Blueberry Marscapone Roulade

From the 10 basic ingredients required for today's recipe I could use "guilt free" {see millions of food intolerances in previous post}only...one. The blueberries! So I kept the blueberries, but made two versions of the rest.

Let me explain...{make a cup of tea and eat a slice of your roulade, it's going to take some time}

Fructose Fighter: Two months and a Cheesecake later

Happy Anniversary to me! I've been a good sport for two months now. No added fructose has entered my body - to the best of my knowledge off course!

I didn't even blink a sugar craving eyelid when I was preparing this double layer, Baked Chocolate and Vanilla Cheesecake for our 7 year wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. 

We celebrated our 7-year itch with blood-red bubbly from Misal (perhaps the most interesting sparking wine I've drank during the last 3 years in Croatia) and a decadent chocolate glaze, over luscious milk chocolate and vanilla layers of baked cream cheese and caramelised biscuits. I'm describing it like I've tasted it! The truth is I didn't. Not even one little crumb! Georgie and half a dozen others at his office described what it tasted like. I drank all the wine though!

But I think my fructose free days are coming to an end. 

I still believe that eating sugar is really bad for our bodies. And I have certainly proven, mainly to myself, that I can quit the sugar addiction, if I put my mind to it.

This does not mean that I'm going to dip my face into a chocolate fountain but I will relax the restrictions a little bit. There are difficult and strange days coming up ahead and this is one less thing  I have to worry about.

Fructose Fighter - Week 2 - Going Nuts with Nuts

From http://spinarecipe.com/Blog/2010/08/25/going-nutty-for-nuts

One of my favourite things in being on a fructose free diet, apart from the weight loss (1kg so far), is that I can eat a lot of nuts! Cashews, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts I love them all. 


For the past couple of weeks I have substituted sugary desserts with a handful or two of nuts and I can assure you that I'm very satisfied. 


Sure they contain more calories than your average mid-afternoon snack but they are packed with protein, fibre, healthy omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. 


In a nutshell, they fill me up and make me forget about sugar. 

Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding

I've been such a sport! One week without sugar!

I decided to give myself and my hubby a treat today. This Chocolate Pudding is simply divine! It's free from everything: sugar, gluten, eggs, lactose. But full of taste. It's a gift to sensitive and intolerant stomachs. I don't want to oversell it so here is the recipe...

Sugar Free Vegan Chocolate Pudding

Adapted from Whole Living July/August 2011

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 ripe avocados 
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons coconut cream
1 pinch pure stevia (or according to taste)
1 tablespoon glucose syrup (optional)

Instructions

• Purée avocados, cocoa powder, vanilla in a food processor until smooth. 
• Add the coconut cream and stevia and continue to blend. Test for sweetness. If you think that the pudding needs a little bit more texture you can add 1 tablespoon of glucose syrup.
• Spoon into four bowls and enjoy!

Fructose Fighter - Week 1

It's been a week! 

One week without sugar (fructose). 

Since I am not much for science, if anyone is interested in reading more about fructose, can do so here and here. 


My first week has been quite challenging. One dinner engagement and two lunches with friends. I am proud to announce that I did not gave in to temptation one bit. 


On the first occasion I just did not order dessert, but I soon regretted it. I felt miserable and left out. While the rest of the company was enjoying their chocolate cakes and crepes with ice cream, I was playing restlessly with my spoon. 


But I learned my lesson, when the time for dessert came at lunch No1, I ordered...cheese. Livanski Sir from the Livno region of Bosnia. The waiter was surprised, my friend even more, but I was satisfied, thoroughly satiated by the robust taste of the cheese.  For "dessert" at lunch No 2, on Sunday, I chose Paski Sir from the island of Pag in Croatia. It came with walnuts and olives and gave me a feeling of fullness no chocolate pie can compare to (OK maybe I am exaggerating a little here but I have to, you would in my place!)

So now I know the drill! 

Hail to the CHEESE

with the cheesiest video ever made 

"Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk"

About a month ago I stumbled across this website .
Then I read this book. 
And then I decided.

I am going to quit eating sugar! 

That's big. That's huge! That's even bigger and huger than when I quit smoking. At least when you quit smoking you can turn to sugar to help you through the withdrawal period. But this is like substituting one addiction with another isn't it?

I quit smoking - officially - on 16th June 2009, the day before lower back operation No.1 I had my last cigarette outside the entrance of the hospital, and made a promise not to smoke again. I didn't go cold turkey though. First I used nicotine gums and patches, then I read a book a friend bought for me. I was struggling. I can admit it now it was not easy. I had made the decision to quit smoking and loose weight while recovering from said lower back operation. I didn't have just one, I had three watermelons under one armpit and it was only a matter of time before all of them would fall and brake. 

So my back broke, again, along with my stomach (not from the nicotine gum but from the huge amount of painkillers and other pills I was taking) and that's when I actually quit smoking. Mentally that is. The physical act of lighting up never happened again since that day in June, but in some dark corner of my mind the hope that I will again feel the pleasure of this addiction, was silently burning. It was put out quite unceremoniously by the ICU doctor who said that if I smoked again my stomach will be completely ruined. 

I've been nicotine free since September 17th 2009 and even though I catch myself thinking about cigarettes once in a while, the thought does not last for more that 1 second. I just dismiss it and move on.

I want to do the same thing with sugar. I want to look at the cupcakes, frosted cakes, cookies and cheesecakes and see through them, bypass them and expel them altogether from my conscious and unconscious mind.

It is going to be my biggest challenge so far.... and it starts tomorrow!