10 minute quick pasta

Vegan, gluten-free & dairy free

When I’m super busy with my training schedule and veeeery hungry after practice, I make this simple, tasty and easy 10 minute pasta, which doesn’t take long.

Ingredients

• Glutenfree pasta

• Green pesto ~ https://www.helios.no/produkter/pastasaus-pesto-og-smakssettere/

• Sun-dried tomatoes

• Broccoli

• Spinach

• Zucchini

• Avocado

• Coconut oil

• Optional: dried oregano & garlic powder

• Chili flakes, salt, pepper, lemon juice to taste

Instructions

1. Boil water in a pot and cook your pasta for about 8-10 minutes.

2. Cut your veggies and fry them on a pan medium heat with coconut oil. It’s healthier to fry with coconut oil as it handles high heat better.

3. Put your cut veggies into the pan ~ your broccoli and zucchini, add flavor to it with dried oregano and garlic powder. After 7 minutes, sauté the spinach and cook all together for another 3-5 minutes.

4. When the pasta is done, drain the pasta in a colander over the sink and put it over into a bowl.

5. Add to your liking 1-3 tsp of green pesto and stir it together with the pasta. Add cut sun dried tomatoes and avocado. Flavor it with lemon juice, salt and pepper + chili flakes if you like it.

Enjoy!!!

With love & care, Melanie x

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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

Easy peasy tomato pasta

Feeling uninspired, too tired or making other excuses? What you are sure of is you want to make something quick, tasty yet healthy. But what you can only think of might be throwing a frozen pizza in the oven.. Can I be right? Well, I will save you from making that move and inspire you to do the contrary. Here is a really simple dish that will only take some minutes of your time.

Ingredients

• Portobello mushroom

• Tomato sauce in a jar or can

• Pasta being either glutenfree or of durum wheat/whole wheat which are healthier options for you

• To taste, salt & pepper, capers & basil if you have and like that

Instructions

1. In a pot, boil hot water and cook your pasta for about 8-11 minutes.

2. With a heated pan, add 1 tsp of coconut oil and have your chopped portobello mushrooms. Sauté them so they become juicy! In the same pan pour in the tomato sauce and heat it up. This cooking process will take you about 10 minutes, so get on with it while your pasta is cooking;) Extra points if you add spices like oregano btw! Your body and tastebuds will thank you for it.

3. With your cooked pasta set, mix it together in the pan with the mushrooms and tomato sauce. A tip is to use some of the starchy cooking water since it will emulsify the pasta sauce. So don’t drain all the pasta in a colander over the sink! Fold the pasta and 1-3 tbs of the starchy cooking water depending on the thickness of how you like your pasta sauce to be. Cook for about 3-5 minutes on medium high heat.

Voila, get yourself ready to dig in and top it off with some capers and basil for extra flavor.

I hope you found inspiration to avoid the temptation of a frozen pizza and chose the healthier option I offered to you.

It’s far more tasty and rewarding, I promise.

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

Cashew pesto pasta

Heavenly creaminess I’ll tell ya

This recipe is super easy, and it’s so tasty! Absolutely love the creaminess from the cashew cream pesto. It also got a touch of greens like broccoli and spinach, to ensure you are getting all the nutrients your body needs. I would definitely say it’s comfort food and you will be mind blown that it’s healthy. It’s another win when this is made glutenfree and dairyfree. Make it and tell me what you think! I hope you love it as much as I do.

Oh and you might wonder how the cashews becomes creamy? Well, that’s fixed when you soak them in water for 4 hours, or simply put them in hot water and the waiting process is shorter. That’s how they become soft:) Another thing, is that when you soak them, you reduce the phytic acid they contain and you digest the nuts much easier!

Ingredients

• 2 dl soaked cashews

• 1 ripe avocado

• 1 garlic glove

• 4 tbs olive oil

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 3 tbs water

• 1 handful basil

• Pinch of salt

• Broccoli

• Handful of spinach

• Pine nuts

• Capers

• Gluten-free pasta

Instructions

1. Boil your gluten-free pasta for about 6-7 minutes.

2. Meanwhile make your cashew cream pesto! In a blender, add your soaked cashews, avocado, garlic glove, olive oil, water, lemon juice, basil and pinch of salt.

3. In a heated pan, drizzle some oil and take a handful of washed spinach plus some cut broccoli to fry. Cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat till the spinach is sautéed.

4. When your pasta is done, drain the pasta and add it to the pan. Use 3-4 tbs to your liking of the cashew cream pesto and mix all together on low heat for 3-5 minutes.

5. Toss some roasted pine nuts and capers with it and enjoy!

Step 2: while the pasta is boiling, blend all the ingredients to make this cashew cream pesto.

Step 3: this is how the fried broccoli and sautéed spinach looks like. Drain the pasta and add it into the pan.

Step 4: mixing everything with the cashew cream pesto on low heat.

With love & care, Melanie x

Quick & tasty pasta

One of my favorites to make when busy and hungry!

After an exhausting day or a tough workout, you just want to make something quick, yet tasty. I got that figured out for you. I’ll spare you from becoming hangry and rescue you with a happy tummy! I often feel that when my blood sugar is low, I just want to grab something quick to eat. But it’s so important that we feed our body with the essential nutrients we need and not going for a sugary bar or unhealthy fast food. So let’s get to this quick pasta lunch/dinner and save you from that trouble, shall we?

Ingredients

• 100g whole wheat pasta

• 2 tbs coconut cream

• 1 pack of aroma mushrooms

• 4 pieces of sun dried tomatoes

• 2 tbs soya sauce

• 1/2 red onion

• Salt & pepper

• Oil

Instructions

1. Heat the pan with some oil on a medium to high heat. And another pot on high heat with water till it boils. Then pour in the whole-wheat pasta and cook it for about 8-10 minutes to either al dente or well cooked.

2. Meanwhile, chop half a red onion and put it into the pan. We want it to be sautéed and caramelized, leave it on the pan for about 5 minutes or until you see the strong purple color fading.

3. Then add your aroma mushrooms and let it cook for 5 minutes more. To your liking, have with it salt and pepper.

4. Now, add 2 tbs of coconut cream and 2 tbs of soya sauce, and let us not forget the sun dried tomatoes! Let it simmer for 5 minutes to enrich all the flavors and to soften the sun dried tomatoes.

5. This dish is for one portion. Make it complete with some fresh coriander on top!

Creamy vegan pasta

It’s so creamy. Still without using dairy products!

After a good workout, you often end up really hungry and just want to make something quick, yet tasty, am I right? So I’ve had in mind to share what you could make for lunch or dinner.. It’s this creamy vegan pasta, which is easy to make so that you can fill up your belly fast. The dish is healthy, packed with protein and fiber. That’s good for your digestion and regenerating energy. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• Tahini or sesame butter

• Chickpeas

• Soya sauce

• Corn starch

• Coconut milk

• Salt & pepper

• Sun dried tomatoes

• Lentil gluten-free pasta or any other kind

Instructions

1. Boil the pasta while heating up a pan on medium heat.

2. Add to your pan a can of chickpeas and 125 ml of coconut milk (half a cartoon of 250ml) with the sun dried tomatoes.

3. Then add one tsp of tahini, half a tsp of corn starch, let it simmer so that the sauce thickens and gets creamy. That’s thanks to our corn starch. Around 5 minutes. Stir the sauce with one tbs of soya sauce. Add salt and pepper to your liking.

4. Lastly fold in the cooked pasta and put down the heat to low. Mix the pasta well with the sauce, cook for 2 minutes.

5. Voila one portion of lunch or dinner is served!

Step 4: when you have fold in the pasta and mixed the creamy sauce with it!

With love and care, Melanie x

Glutenfree pasta dish

Healthy and tasty!

I think that we all question whether healthy food can be as tasty and delicious, as well being vegan and gluten-free… And my answer to that is yes, by making this dish for you. In my opinion it’s all about combining more flavors that goes well together and being creative with the foods. Also, it’s about cooking those foods the way they are supposed to shine!

If you have a leaky gut or upset stomach, I would recommend you to stay away from gluten for a period and substitute on gluten-free in moderation.

So to this gluten-free pasta dish, I had mushrooms, celery (you can have red onion or spinach instead if you want) and sun dried tomatoes. As toppings I had rucola and roasted pumpkin seeds for crunch!

In a heated saucepan, cook your chopped mushrooms first. Let them caramelize itself without having any oil on the pan, only add some water when they start sticking to the pan. Then add chopped celery and in the end cook dried tomatoes with it.

If you want creaminess, simply add 2 tablespoons of tahini and pour in a little bit of the boiled water from the pasta to achieve a creamy pasta sauce!

I hope you found the guidelines to the gluten-free pasta; tasty and delicious.

With love and care, Melanie x

Quick & easy vegan pasta

Mushroom yumminess

I absolutely adore aroma and portobello mushrooms, so I made a quick and easy vegan pasta with it. It’s really simple and doesn’t require advanced cooking skills, so don’t hesitate making it! Also it’s very tasty, healthy and makes your blood sugar level stable, keeping you full for quite a time. It’s therefore perfect for lunch, so that you can keep rocking at what you do throughout the whole day. Let’s make it, shall we?

Here cooking mushrooms and scallions with coconut milk in a sauce pan.

First step is to start boiling water for the pasta. I used whole wheat pasta because it contains more fiber than normal pasta. So while the pasta is being cooked (takes around 10 minutes), heat up a sauce pan at over medium heat. Start with the mushrooms, you don’t need olive oil as we want them to caramelize, which gives more flavor. Add the scallions, 4 tbs of coconut milk and 2 tbs of soya sauce. Cook everything for 5-10 minutes more on lower heat, this way you allow the flavors to shine! The amount of coconut milk depends on your desire, you can add more tbs if you like. For topping and more taste, chop some parsley. It will take you max 20 minutes cooking, but I’d say it would qualify for a 15 minutes dish. As mentioned, quick & easy! Enjoy everyone.