Glutenfree & vegan waffles with carrot!

Making healthier choices everyday is a step towards better well being. But don’t be misled, balance is so important, like everything in life. Therefore, don’t be too hard on yourself in the first place and enjoy the journey! Here I had made myself a healthier version of what I love; waffles. It can be difficult understanding or being open about if it will still taste great when made healthy. However, I can assure you, it’s no problem at all and with those toppings it’s nothing to miss.

These waffles are gluten-free, dairyfree, plant based, vegan and refined sugar free! They also have a hidden vegetable in it… Carrot!

Ingredients

• 5 dl oats

• 2,5 dl buckwheat flour

• 1 banana

• 8 dl plantbased milk (I used oat milk)

• 1/4 tsp cardamom

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• Pinch of salt

• 2 tbsp coconut sugar

• 1 shredded carrot

Instructions

1. First add all ingredients except the shredded carrot in a blender. When the batter is smooth, then you can stir in the carrot with a spoon.

2. Heat up your waffle maker and add some coconut oil to it so that the batter doesn’t stick.

3. Have your favorite toppings with it! I love both savory and sweet, the options are so many! On the picture I had homemade hazelnut and chocolate spread with slices of strawberries and coconut yoghurt on top. For the savory part, I did homemade beetroot hummus with slices of avocado, olives, pesto, afalfa sprouts and chili flakes. The combinations are so so good!

Enjoy a nutritious waffle and congratulations on taking one step further on your journey towards healthier food choices.

With love & care, Melanie x

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Glutenfree veggie pizza

Full of flavor!

Are you ready to take pizza to a different level? I challenged myself by making it gluten-free and testing out new food combos together. I love the sight of it, so colorful that it immediately gives you good vibes right? So you just gotta be open to it, but I promise, one thing for sure is that it’s full of flavors! Aaaand it’s healthier, so cheers to that!

Ingredients

Pizza dough gluten-free

• 400 grams dark gluten-free baking mix from http://www.helios.no

• 3,5 dl lukewarm water

• 25 gram dried yeast

• 1/2 tsp salt

Toppings

• Red pesto from http://www.helios.no

• Créme frâiche (plant based or dairy)

• Butternut squash

• Beetroot

• Artichokes

• Green olives

• Pine nuts

Instructions

Pizza dough gluten-free

1. Mix together the gluten-free baking mix together with the dry yeast, salt and stir in the lukewarm water. See if you need more flour or liquid as you want to knead the dough by hand. Therefore, it cannot be so sticky or runny that it’s impossible for you to do that!

2. Let the dough rise beneath a plastic film roll for a about 1 hour.

3. Roll the dough and put it on a baking tray with parchment paper.

4. Let the dough rise for another 30 minutes before you add the creme fraiche base and put the pizza in the oven on 180 degrees for 20 minutes.

Toppings

1. Peel of the skin of the butternut squash and beetroot before you cut them in thin slices and drizzle some oil before being put in the oven on 200 degrees for about 25 minutes.

2. Then when the pizza and veggies are cooked ready, add your toppings on it. First you smear red pesto on the pizza base, then decorating with the oven baked butternut squash and beetroot, and let’s not forget the olives, artichokes and pine nuts on top too! A tip is to drizzle some honey or agave syrup as it harmonizes the flavors.

I hope you enjoy this vegan, dairyfree and glutenfree pizza and don’t worry, you can easily make it vegetarian with some cheese added as that makes completely sense too, hehe. What I only hope is that you will feel inspired to eat a healthier version of a pizza with more vibrant colors and veggies on your plate!

With love & care, Melanie x

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

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

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