A few days ago, I made my first coconut macaroons and they were awesome (despite looking a little burnt). They are so easy to make. Here’s the recipe. Adapted from Choosing Raw’s Basic Macaroons.

Ingredients (Makes about 50 macaroons)

• 4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3/4 cup ground almond
• 1 cup honey (I used half honey and half agave)
• 2 egg whites
• 2 tbsp vanilla essence
• 2 pinches of salt

Method: Mix everything together using your hands, until the mixture becomes sticky. Scoop tablespoon sized onto a baking tray. Bake at 170* C for 20 minutes. Makes about 50 macaroons.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He has already reached their game village and I just video chatted with him via Tango.

***

I had overripe bananas on hand, hence decided to use them this morning. This is a super easy and naturally sweet banana bread. Great with peanut butter on top.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 cup very ripe mashed bananas (about 4 medium-sized bananas)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 eggs (or flax eggs)

Method: Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder together. Then in a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients. Combine with the dry ingredients and bake at 200 C for about 45 minutes.

–Banana pumpkin bread–

Texture-wise, it is less dense than the GF chocolate chip pumpkin bread. I think it is because of the type of GF flour used (Bob’s Red Mill GF flour) and also I didn’t use much pumpkin puree this time. I probably shouldn’t mention “banana” in the title as you can hardly taste the banana.

For breakfast this morning, I had one slice alongside 2 scrambled eggs (topped with nutritional yeast) and a glass of milk

Lunch was very similar to yesterday — Chicken burger + mixed greens topped with mustard sauce + lentil

Yesterday dinner was at sis’ place and mum made “Daube de poisson”.  This pix from last week … playing with my niece

And singing too … Video from last week. Skip to 1:50 if you want to see the sweeeeet ending :P

Gluten Free Banana Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients (makes 10 slices)

• 1 3/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free flour
•  2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (you could toast the nuts lightly if you want)
• 2 tbsp canola oil (optional)
• 1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 big banana)
• 1 cup Libby’s pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup raw sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, mashed bananas, pumpkin puree
3. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, dried raisins and walnuts
4. Combine both the wet and dry ingredients together without over mixing
5. Transfer to loaf pan
6. Bake for 1 hour
7. Let cool completely before slicing (best if  sliced the next day)

Makes 10 slices. Approx nutrition facts per slice

Remember last last Friday I baked something using these ingredients?

What I baked was a Pumpkin Cottage Cheese Cake!

With an Oat Crust!

It isn’t  as cheesy as a real cheesecake but it is a healthier version. I could probably use some cream cheese next time for a more cheesy taste.

Pumpkin Cottage Cheese Cake

Oat Crust

• 1 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tbsp water

Pumpkin cheese filling

• 400g cottage cheese, drain excess water if any (roughly 2 cups)
• 40g – 50g sugar
• 150g pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs
• 100ml milk of choice
• 1 tbsp corn flour or gluten free flour

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. For the crust: Mix ingredients together and gently press into a  cake pan. If using a tart pan or a spring form pan, press the crust up onto the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes or until set. Allow to cool.
3. In a blender, combine cottage cheese, eggs, flour, vanilla, sugar and salt. Blend until smooth. Pour into prepared crust.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until filling is firm. Allow to cool completely. Place in the fridge and serve cold.

***

Tonight I prepared some make-ahead chicken burgers (minced chicken, onion, salt and apple)

And salad for the week (lettuce, carrots, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pickled green chilli)

Fridge at the moment

Yep, I had a  quarter pounder last week <– came back home late and was super hungry. “special order” as I omitted the cheese and ketchup. Did you know, McDonald’s meat is actually purely made up of 100% beef.

Some other recent eats — Quinoa salad with turkey ham <– yum! Quinoa, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, pickled green chilli, turkey breast

Chilli rubbed salmon with quinoa

Today, five hours passed like a breeze. I got asked what I do upon reaching home, which is usually around 1600 hrs. Well, after I get home from work I look for something to eat first because most of the time I’m hungry around that time of the day. If I don’t have any leftover food, I will cook dinner this early. On alternate days, I head over to sis’ place after work to have dinner there (if my parents stay at my bro’s place, then I will head over to his place instead). After my  mid afternoon meal, I  go online and read my favorite blogs. Sometimes I take a short nap or  watch some TV if  there’s anything interesting. Time flies and the next thing I know it’s already 2000 hrs. On most days, the husb reaches home after 2030 hrs.

Today after work I saw this abandoned trolley. What the ….  It’s not my first time seeing abandoned trolleys on the side of the road haha. It’s funny. What were these people thinking (!!).

I was in a baking craze today. I made Fitnessista’s Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread! However I de-veganised mine — I used cow’s milk.

I used this whole bar of dark chocolate

Raw sugar — “Taikoo” a Hong Kong brand but the sugar originates from my home country (Mauritius) hhee. That is why I bought it :P  Gotta love home grown stuffs hehe.

Big chunky chocolates in there

I made one big and one small loaf

The whole house smelled of cinnamon. I couldn’t wait to slice it and have a bite!

This gluten free pumpkin bread is as moist and dense as my banana cranberry bread. It makes a great breakfast! Plus, it isn’t overly sweet. I actually only used half of the recommended amount of sugar and it was sweet enough to me — you get enough chunky chocolate pieces in every bite.

The ingredients and quantity that I used.

• 2 Cups Orgran’s Gluten Free self Raising Flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg-
• 1 bar (100g) Frey, Classic Noir 72% Cacao
• 2 cups Libby’s pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax soaked with 4 tbsp water)

I followed the baking instructions from Fitnessista’s blog. I baked mine for about 45 minutes.

Yield: I got 18 slices

***

I still had half can of pumpkin left and I wanted to use them all. So guess what I made as the pumpkin bread was in the oven!? Yess it involves cheeeese …

You will find out in the next post :)  Have a great weekend!

Work shoes (love!) — I feel the most comfortable in sports shoes

On the way to work. Good thing I decided not to cycle today

Because it rained minutes after I reached the office. Yep, it is the rainy season over here …

After work I went for a 8 km run around my place.  I know I’ve said this a few times before, but it was my first run in 2 months. I know it’s a bad habit! I run, then I stop, I start running again, then again  I stop  …  and the cycle goes on and on.  My last run was back in August. Sadly, upping our intervals to 300m, then 400m never happened! Oops.

On the other hand,  I am officially done with  ChaLean Extreme 90-day programme! Mum watched me as I did my last  ChaLean workout yesterday hehe. I’ve always encouraged my family to incorporate some strength training in their life.  It is  fun. It never gets boring. Lifting weights makes you stronger and helps you lose inches too.  I’m gonna follow ChaLean’s “Lean For Life” phase now, which mixes up all three phases. And hopefully will add in a weekly long run too …

“Lean For Life” Calendar

Week 1
Burn Circuit 1
Rest Day
Push Circuit 2
Burn Intervals & Extreme Abs
Lean Circuit 1
Burn it Off & Recharge
Rest Day

Week 2
Burn Circuit 2
Rest Day
Push Circuit 3
Burn Intervals & Ab Burner
Lean Circuit 3
Burn it Off & Recharge
Rest Day

Week 3
Burn Circuit 3
Rest Day
Push Circuit 1
Burn Intervals & Extreme Abs
Lean Circuit 2
Burn it Off & Recharge
Rest Day

Week 4
Burn Circuit 1
Rest Day
Push Circuit 1
Burn Intervals & Ab Burner
Lean Circuit 3
Burn it Off & Recharge
Rest Day
Burn it Off & Recharge

Tonight I made Chilli Rubbed Salmon. Yum!

I seasoned the salmon with salt, pepper, chilli powder and dried oregano. Had it alongside Thai red cargo rice and a simple cucumber salad.

Chili-Rubbed Salmon

Ingredients (1 serving)

• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder or flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Pinch of salt
• 1 salmon fillet (about 120g)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the chili powder, oregano, and salt. Pat the spices on the fish.
2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
3. Cook the salmon until opaque throughout. (Reduce the heat if the spices begin to turn black.)

Mango coconut smoothie

• Half a ripe mango
• About 1/2 to 1 cup milk
• 3 tbsp fresh coconut milk
• 1 tsp Poon Huat’s vanilla smoothie powder (sans sugar) – or 1/4 tsp xantham gum
• 1 handful of ice cubes
• 1 tsp unsweetened shredded coconut for garnishing

I use  smoothie powder to thicken the smoothie.  You could also use Xanthan Gum, which you can find at Cold Storage, to thicken it.

I froze the rest of the coconut milk in ice cube trays .. works well

A note on Coconut …

For many years, coconut oil has had a bad press because of its high saturated-fat content. Many people  spread that it may increase your cholesterol level, elevate your risk of heart disease and make you gain weight. However, the saturated fat in coconut oil is not the same as that in animal fat and other vegetable oils.

How Coconut Benefits Your Health (sources 1 and 2)

• Coconut oil is primarily saturated (over 90%), with the bulk of it coming from lauric acid, a medium chain saturated fatty acid (MCFA); it’s incredibly heat-stable. This fatty acid stops microbial growth.
• The saturated fat structure in coconut oil can keep a high level of free radicals away from you. Even when you expose the oil to oxygen, heat or light, it doesn’t encourage oxidation easily.
• Coconut oil protects against heart disease, diabetes, cancers, liver and kidney diseases, osteoporosis, dental decay and skin infections
• Coconut milk is made by mixing shredded, fresh coconut meat with water, then squeezing it through a sieve or cheesecloth. The fatty acids in coconut milk are of the medium chain triacylglycerol. MCFAs are smaller in size and thus require less effort and enzymes to break down. Your body will convert MCFAs directly and rapidly into energy for usage instead of circulating them in your bloodstream like other fats where they end up as body fat or land on artery walls.
• Coconut water is full of vitamins and minerals. The water is also full of electrolytes. It is recommended for women who are lactating, as it contains lauric acid – which is found in mother’s milk. It is also good for when you are ill.
•   Using coconut oil in moderate amounts, up to about 2 tablespoons (30ml) a day, in place of other oils, may help you lose weight even if you eat the same portions of other foods. You can get the same result from using 1/4 cup of coconut milk a day in your smoothies. A little coconut milk goes a long way. You probably don’t want more than one cup of coconut milk in a two-cup smoothie.

Coconut Muffins

A while back, I saw these coconut muffins. I gave them a try but twisted the recipe a little …

The ingredients needed

The texture of the muffins is a little bit similar to my flourless orange and almond cake. It’s dense and kind of melts in your mouth ..

In the mornings, I would check my emails (or my YouTube subscription). I ain’t gonna miss this room, now that mum is discharged.

Yeah we are back home now! And it was time to de-clutter this guest room. Yikes.

So for the first Project Get Organized activity, I started with something simple. Mum is staying here tonight.

This was my last oil painting … I saw so many nice abstract floral oil paintings at the hospital and now I feel like painting something again.

***

For lunch I made a healthy quinoa tuna salad. I replaced the mayonnaise with yoghurt and trust me, you won’t know that it’s yoghurt. Here’s the recipe.

Healthy Quinoa Tuna Salad

Ingredients (4 to 5 servings)

• 1/2 cup natural plain nonfat yogurt (without sugar)
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 can tuna, packed in water, drained
• 1 cup diced cucumber
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 1/2 to 1 cup cooked quinoa

Method: Mix everything together. Simple as that!

Made fish in creamy mushroom sauce yesterday

I used portabella mushrooms, onions, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper,  frozen veggies (carrots, peas, corn), milk, nutritional yeast (you can use cheese instead), oil, fish fillets (I don’t dare buy Sutchi Fish after having read that they are reared in dirty ponds).

Did you know …

Frozen vegetables retain almost all of their nutritional value, since they’re picked and frozen while at their peak flavor. However, fresh vegetables or fruits that are in season should always be a first choice.

***

Mum’s surgery went smoothly (Thank God)!  She is able to talk and eat light food. Should slowly be able to start walking around. She’s resting in her room now. We are taking turn to keep her company. Last night I spent the night at the hospital and  went to work from there this morning.

I froze one piece (leftovers) and had it for lunch on Wednesday I think (this one was a little burnt on top)

Marinate chicken breasts in yoghurt, turmeric, some salt, pepper and crushed garlic cloves mixture overnight or for a few hours.

Pound to 1/2 inch thickness <– actually its better to pound the chicken breast before you let it marinate … less messy!

Steam spinach (or stir fry or microwave it — as long as it’s cooked and is tender)

Chop cooked spinach into small pieces and add dried oregano, bit of salt, pepper, sour cream and cheese to the spinach and mix well

Lay the chicken breasts out on a clean surface, and spoon some of the spinach mixture onto each one.

Roll up chicken to enclose the spinach, then wrap each chicken breast with two slices of bacon. Arrange in a shallow baking dish.

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Variations: You can use feta and parmesan as cheese, add mushrooms, onions and fresh basil to the spinach mixture as well as red pepper flakes. You could totally skip the overnight marinating part.

There were so many nice refrigerators to choose from. We particularly liked those 2-door type but none would fit in our kitch — our width is limited to 180 mm –  and suppose width wasn’t an issue, we wouldn’t want to spend that kind of money (2K – 3k) on a fridge.

We finally chose this one (with black tempered glass), which matches our current kitchen cabinets (and was on sale). It’s looking pretty empty at the moment

Now that I have a fridge again, I want to give the weekly make-ahead meal a try!

***

What I’m currently loving at the moment is this breakfast-in-a-hurry cake aka 5-minute microwave mug breakfast cake. I’m using a secret ingredient which is making this cake so fluffy and light!

Secret ingredient = smoothie powder (only those with skim milk, vanilin and stabilizer as ingredients) from Phoon Huat (which I recently purchased). I just use a teaspoon of this powder. A little goes a long way.

[Microwave on high for about 2 - 3 minutes]

Yum!

This is my breakfast-in-a-hurry or sometimes a snack-on-the-go :P

Lunch? It has been simple

Monday Lunch – Lentils, hard boiled eggs and greens. I think I want to make curry chicken (edited to add: I made Assam Fish instead) for tonight’s dinner and enough for tomorrow’s lunch.

I made myself a on-the-go breakfast today — a quick protein bread using sun warrior and peanut flour.

For the bread: 1 scoop sun warrior + 1 egg white + baking powder + cinnamon powder + water. Then microwave on high for about 2 minutes.

For the peanut topping: 1 tbsp peanut butter + 1 tbsp peanut flour +  water

Anyway, remember yesterday’s Mango prawn avocado bacon green salad? Here’s the recipe.

The dressing

This recipe is also shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesday

A note on avocados (source)

• Seventy-five percent of the calories in an avocado come from fat, whereas most fruits derive their calories from sugars.
• The monounsaturated fat found in avocados is mostly oleic acid, which  may help lower cholesterol.
• Avocados have 60 percent more potassium than bananas, making them a great post-workout recovery food. They’re also rich in vitamin E and other antioxidants.
• You’ll also find a large amount of omega-3s and omega-6s in avocados, excellent news for vegetarians and vegans who want to incorporate these beneficial fatty acids into their diet without consuming fish oil, poultry, or eggs.
• Avocados are also rich in vitamins C and E and folic acid. They also help your body absorb beta-carotene from other foods. Half an avocado is only 150 calories, and makes a perfect topping on a salad or some of your favorite whole-grain toast. 

Tip: Eat a spinach and carrot salad with a little avocado, and you’ll not only get a dose of good fat, but you’ll also absorb more phytonutrients like lutein and beta-carotene. Scientists at Ohio State University in Columbus found that more antioxidants were absorbed when people ate a salad containing avocados than when they ate a salad without this tasty fruit.

Mikey vs Optimus Prime haha

Mikey was definitely scared of this giant. He’s hiding. See?

***

I blackened some chicken drumsticks today

For lunch I made a beetroot lentil quinoa salad for myself — he doesn’t eat beetroot (he calls it ‘alien food‘ haa). I’ve never cooked lentils / quinoa in the microwave. I tried doing it today and it worked perfectly. Seemed more convenient too as there was no need to wash the saucepan afterwards.

Topped with hard boiled eggs

I used (for 2 servings)

• 1/4 cup dried lentils
• 1/8 cup dried quinoa
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• 1 medium beetroot, boiled and sliced
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

Cook the lentils and quinoa together. Once ready, toss everything together in a medium bowl. Serve warm.

This is what happened yesterday after turning my back for like just a few seconds.

Mikey was the culprit. It was a mess but definitely better than having sticky floors.

After cleaning up, I had a lovely bowl of greens with peanut sauce  and hard boiled eggs

We didn’t do our interval run yesterday. Sleep was way more important =)  This morning, I did ChaLean Push Circuit 3

Post workout — I made Socca! aka Besan (chickpea flour) Pancakes

Socca is gluten-free, vegan, and full of fiber. It is an excellent alternative to  tortillas, pizza dough, crepes etc. You can add herbs (rosemary, basil etc), onions, chilli powder etc. to the batter. so far I’ve only tried the savory version.

Then, I spent close to 3 hours on household chores.

*tiring*

I didn’t have enough time to scrub the floor of the balcony as  I needed to rush to the post office before closing time. You know what!? After entering the the post office, I realized that I had left my parcel at home! Bummer!!!   So I ran back home (took me about 6 minutes — I was in my running shoes) and took a cab back to the post office.

After sending my package, I dropped by the supermarket and got a ready-baked black pepper chicken thigh (I didn’t feel like cooking meat yesterday), grabbed 1 chayote, 1 beet, broccoli and some red onions.

As soon as I came back home, I made the simplest quickest Mauritian “Niouk Yen” and had them along with the black pepper chicken (looking like ‘pac man’ in this pic hehe).

“Simplest quickest” because I skipped the dried shrimps and dried mushrooms. I only grated 1 chayote and 1 medium carrot, added some salt, drained off the excess water, mixed in some corn flour, salt, pepper and red chilli. Then I shaped them into balls and steamed them for a couple of minutes. Voila. Taste-wise, they were not as delicious as the real “Niouk Yen” due to me omitting some ingredients, but still edible nonetheless :)

Mauritian “Niouk Yen”  should look like this btw …

Mine looked more carrot-ish eh.

***

We do not have any plans for today (Saturday). Later he is going out to vote. He suggested us doing some intervals in the late afternoon. We will see how it goes.