My take on a healthier veggie “club sandwich”

So so yummy

I love the bite of a crispy, toasty sourdough bread, with melted cheese and flavorful veggies to it. That’s why I made this veggie sandwich, my take on a “club sandwich”. It’s healthier as I’ve replaced the mayonnaise with red pesto instead, mushrooms as meat replacement and adding one more veggie to it; oven baked pumpkin. The flavors altogether are really good, such a nice combo! I hope you will enjoy my version of a club sandwich as much as I do, so let’s get to it!

Ingredients

• Sourdough bread

• Pumpkin

• Mushrooms

• Salad

• Red pesto from https://www.helios.no

• Cheese (edamame or vegan)

• Avocado

• Garlic powder, oil, salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cut the pumpkin into slices and drizzle with oil before putting them in the oven on hot air at 200 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
2. Pour a little oil on a frying pan and fry the mushrooms with a little garlic powder, salt and pepper for approx. 5-7 minutes on medium heat.
3. Cut two slices of bread and sprinkle with a little olive oil, when the mushrooms are cooked, place the slices on the frying pan and “toast” them until they get a slightly golden color.
4. Then spread red pesto on top of the bread, put on avocado slices, and the rest of the ingredients and finally put the other slice of bread on top.

Close up on the layers!

Enjoy a healthier, veggie sandwich for lunch guys:)

With love & care, Melanie x

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Raspberry & mango smoothiebowl

So thick and creamy guys

I loooove to start off my morning breakfast with a smoothie bowl, and this one puts a smile on my face. Now that’s the way to begin a marvelous day ahead of you! Not only by its vibrant colors does it affect you, it also helps boosts your energy and immune system. Thanks to the superfoods benefits from “energy bomb” mix by yoursuper and “rice bran” from supernature. Are you ready for it? Then let’s make it and kickstart your day!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup frozen mango

• 1 cup frozen raspberries

• Half an avocado

• 1 tsp Energy Bomb from https://shop.yoursuper.com/products/energy-mix

• 1 tsp Rice bran from https://www.super-nature.no/rice-bran

• 1 tbsp nut butter (choose either peanut, cashew or almond)

• Half an orange squeezed

• 50 ml coconut milk

Instructions

Add all your ingredients in a blender and have your favorite toppings on it after! I love granola, coconut chips, gojiberries and dried apricots with it, such a nice combo.

Oh, and how is it that thick and creamy? The secret behind it is truly these ingredients; avocado, nut butter and coconut milk.

May you have a wonderful day and keep shining vibrantly! Sending only good vibes to yourself and the world. I assure you, by eating this delicious smoothie bowl it will do wonders for you, it really does the trick:)

With love & care, Melanie x

Spinach salad with a dairy free cesar dressing

So so yummy!

I love a colorful and messy salad when mixed with so many yummy flavors! It’s really simple to make, you only need to be good on planning and being effective. How you wonder, well I’ll help you with that. Cause in the morning you will prepare your cesar inspired dressing by putting the cashews in a bowl of water. Then at lunch time or before your dinner, your cashews have been soaked and are ready to become a creamy dressing. Also, you can do this process while you have your veggies in the oven and clean your kitchen or do other duties in the meantime. Time efficiency and preparation right? Then here is the first step on doing this and making yourself a rainbow salad, the recipe!

Ingredients

• Broccoli

• Cauliflower

• Beetroot

• Red onion

• Carrots

• Avocado

• Spinach salad

• Helios glutenfree pasta

• Helios lemon pepper

For the dressing. 80 g cashews, 1 garlic glove, juice from half a lemon, 1 tbs capers or you can skip the ingredient. Depending on your preference of consistency, add 4 tbs of water or olive oil if you like it thinner, though i recommend having it thick and creamy!

Instructions

1. Warm up your oven on 220 degrees and bake your chopped veggies; broccoli, cauliflower, beetroot, red onion and carrots for about 20-25 minutes. Before you put them on a baking tray with parchment paper, sprinkle some oil, pepper and salt.

2. In a pot with boiling water, cook your pasta for about 8-11 minutes.

3. To make the dairy free cesar dressing, have all the ingredients in a food processor. Since you have soaked your cashews for at least 4 hours, (that’s how you’ll achieve the creaminess as they have softened) leave out the water they have been in and rinse.

4. Now, mix all together in a bowl your spinach salad, baked veggies, cooked pasta and fold in the dressing! Have some cut avocado for healthy fat and the helios Leon pepper will be the perfect finishing touch!

I hope you enjoy the rainbow colored salad as much as I do. Being glutenfree and dairyfree it will help you to lower your inflammation, and with lots of good fiber and healthy fats in it it will help out your digestive system.

Here are the products from Helios I used, click on the links below!

https://www.helios.no/produkter/krydder/helios-sitronpepper/

https://www.helios.no/produkter/pasta-ris-og-gryn/helios-glutenfri-pasta-fusilli/

With love & care, Melanie x

Tasty spaghetti

Avocado coriander pesto, rucola, pine nuts, zucchini & mushrooms

I love when you can just cook spontaneously and creatively out of what you’ve got left of ingredients in the kitchen. And so this happened, a tasty spaghetti I didn’t think of making before getting my hands on it. More so, I enjoy cooking when you don’t know how it will turn out and you just need to stay present in the process of making it. Luckily, the end result turned out to be a nice surprise full of flavors in harmony together. We all know how wrong it can go, and that’s not the right timing for it when you are hungry. Anyways, that was not the case and I can happily share this recipe with you!

It’s gluten-free, plant based and healthy. Quick to make when hungry and don’t know what to cook, this is certainly the right dish for you.

Ingredients

• Glutenfree spaghetti

• Mushrooms

• Zucchini

• Avocado

• Pine nuts

• Ruccula

• Garlic

• Chili flakes & oregano

• Lemon juice

• Olive oil

• Coriander

• Nutritional yeast

• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In the oven on 220 degrees, have your sliced zucchini on a baking sheet with oregano and oil. Bake until they are golden brown and soft, around 20-30 minutes.

2. Boil water in a pot before adding your spaghetti. Cook around 8-11 minutes as it’s gluten-free unless you want it al dente!

3. In a pan, add some oil and fry your cut mushrooms until they are soft and well cooked. Ps: save the saucy juiciness left in the pan from cooking these mushrooms. This enhance the flavor to your dish in the end.

4. In a food processor, add half an avocado, a handful of coriander, one garlic glove, around 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast, juice of half a lemon, taste to salt and pepper, and blend well!

5. In a bowl, add rucola salad, your gluten-free spaghetti, the avocado and coriander sauce, the oven baked zucchini, the mushrooms, then pour the sauce from the pan for extra flavor and mix it all together! For a finishing touch toss some roasted pine nuts and give it a punch with chili flakes.

Voila, enjoy and swirl your tasty spaghetti into your mouth.

With love & care, Melanie x

Avocado pesto with sun dried tomatoes pasta

Too good to be true

I love pasta but want to make sure it’s a healthier version when eating it as sometimes it can make me bloated or actually feeling tired after the meal. This pasta is semi whole wheat durum pasta which is a better option than white flour pasta. Other options that are great are either gluten-free to find or spelt pasta!

But let’s talk about the more interesting part, how to make this pasta! Yet, first I’ll just need to point out how super simple it is to make it! Tasty and vegan friendly, it’s a winner guys.

Ingredients

Avocado pesto:

• Handful of fresh basil

• Half an avocado

• One garlic glove

• One pack of roasted pine nuts

• Juice of half a lemon

• 6 tbs olive oil

• Pinch of salt

• Semi whole wheat durum pasta

• Sun dried tomatoes

• Rucola

• Capers

Instructions

• Boil the pasta first and while it’s cooking make the avocado pesto. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until you’ve achieved a smooth texture.

• Add 2 tbs of the avocado pesto and mix it together with the cooked pasta. This yields for 1 person.

• Then chop some sun dried tomatoes, some capers and top it with rucola. With a finishing touch, add some salt and pepper to your liking.

Hope you like it and enjoyyyy:)

With love & care, Melanie x

Italian toast

It’s so delicious…

This toast gives me Italian vibes, with the pesto sauce, oven baked aubergine, cherry tomatoes and drizzle of balsamico di Modena glaze on top!

It’s with whole grain bread, a healthier version with more fiber, and is vegan! Even though it’s not with cheese, an essential part of Italian cuisine, it’s still completes the satisfaction of a tasty and delicious toast to be served. You’ll get it when you take your first bite, trust me:)

Ingredients

• Aubergine

• Cherry tomatoes

• Whole grain bread

• Balsamico di modena glaze

Pesto sauce

• 1/2 garlic

• 1/2 avocado

• 1/2 lemon juice

• 1 handful basil

• 1 pack roasted pine nuts

• 4 tbs olive oil

• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. In a food processor mix throughly all the ingredients for the pesto. Remember that you’ll need to roast the pine nuts if they are raw. Simply roast them on a heated pan on medium heat until they get golden brown.

2. Put the oven on 220 degrees and on a baking sheet spread your thinly sliced aubergine. Bake for 20-30 minutes till you see them a bit brown.

3. When the aubergine is ready, toast some whole grain bread.

4. Spread your pesto on, put the baked aubergine slices on top, cut some cherry tomatoes into halves and drizzle the balsamico glaze to finish!

Enjoy!

With love and care, Melanie x

Vegan sandwich

Lunch idea

Hi everyone, thought of sharing some inspiration to what you can make with the home baked whole wheat bread. It’s super easy, healthy and tastes yummy. I introduce you the vegan sandwich with baked sweet potatoes on the side. Getting hungry? Let’s start cooking then!

Portobello mushrooms as meat replacement

While baking the sweet potatoes in the oven for 30-40 minutes on 220 degrees. Cook the portobello mushrooms on a pan. You’ll need no oil as we want the mushrooms to get out its best natural flavor.When you start hearing a sizzling sound, add some (3 tsp) of water for the mushrooms to caramelize. Then add 2 tsp of soya sauce or tamari and lower down the heat. Leave it aside.

Guacamole with a twist!

Now make the guacamole. Mash one avocado in a bowl, add some juice of lemon (half), a small handful chopped pistachios and some chopped parsley. The amount of lemon juice, pistachios and parsley is totally up to your taste. As you see it’s a twist on it, and hope you’ll like it. For the red beet hummus, that was not made from scratch but bought from the store. It definitely gave the sandwich an extra with playful color and flavor.

Bon appetit!

Oslo • Raw

Today I ate for the first time at Oslo • Raw and was such an enjoyable experience. I ordered a womba latte and brunch from their menu. On the plate it’s açaí bowl, two raw cakes – one made of raspberry and the other one a similarity to snickers! And you get a cracker with avocado on top, what more can you ask for! The womba latte was different and new, it’s cacao mixed with chaga mushroom. Yes I know, you will get skeptical, but honestly you can’t taste fungi so don’t worry, it was really nice:) Besides chaga mushroom is a “bonus”, because it contains antioxidants which strengthen our immune system, stabilizes the blood sugar and relieves cold symptoms and eases allergies!Oh and I loved the card which was on the table, the quote was such a great reminder, so I have to pass it forward to you.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the full staircase.

Here is their website if you want to check out more:https://osloraw.no