Coats and Pearls

Recipe: crustless quiche

Hello!

After finishing my dinner, I really want to share this lovely recipe I just made. It is a delicious crustless quiche and it is incredibly easy to make. This is a recipe for approximately one person. There you go!

Ingredients

• 3 medium sized mushrooms
• 1/4 zucchini
• 1/2 leek
• 2 broccoli florets
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• a handful of Danish Blue (blue cheese)
• 2 medium sized eggs

Lunch and dinner ideas

Hello!

After talking you through my breakfast and snacks, it is time for my favourite meal(s) of the day: lunch and dinner! Now for me, this is one category because I mix up those. I do eat lunch ánd dinner, but the recipe box I choose from is the same. This category is my favourite, because you can vary as much as you want. Meet my favourites!

Salad
The first thing that pops into my mind when it comes to healthy food is salad! Perhaps this does not have a good name, because still a lot of people think of salads as a put together of lettuce, tomato and cucumber. But in fact, a salad is the perfect way to combine all the vegetables, fruits, nuts, fish, meat and everything else you want in one bowl and still feel lovely healthy. I will write another blogpost about my self made 'steps to the perfect salad' - watch my blog! Today I had a lovely salad with blue cheese - something I did not fancy before but started to actually like. I combined it with prosciutto and pear, which make a lovely combination. As much as I do love these kind of ingredients, mostly I do not use them, simply because I do not always have the time nor the money to buy them. I usually eat one salad a day, made of mostly grilled or raw vegetables, meat/fish/vegan (tofu, tempeh, falafel), an addition such as hummus and, of course, nuts. I prefer walnuts, almonds, pine nuts and sunflower seeds.



Soup
Now summer has definitely come to an end and autumn made his entrance with its rainy afternoons and cold weathers, nothing makes me feel better than a lovely cup of soup. I am really into making my own soup: zucchini soup for example is very easy. After my Thailand trip, I really wanted to make a good Tom Kha Gai soup, and so I did. I can recommend it! On the other hand, I must admit I eat grocery store-soup every now and then because it is easy and fast, but I do add in a lot of vegetables. I mostly start with glaceing a red union and grill/cook some vegetables (paprika, bok soy, tomato) before I add in the soup. Tip: do not overcook the vegetables: if you keep them a bit raw, it gives the soup a bit of a bite. 



Bread or toast 
As I mentioned earlier, I do not eat that much bread. Although, I do not want to make myself intolerant for wheat, so I allow myself some every now and then. If I do, I prefer the very dark kind of bread, especially with a lot of nuts and seeds in it. Also, I like my bread warm and a bit crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside. As everything, I like my bread served with vegetables. My favourite toppings are avocado, hummus, a veggie salad and, as I tried yesterday, tempeh! It was a surprise, but I am loving it.
As much as I like warm, fresh bread, I like myself a crispy (you know how I love crispiness) piece of toast, especially one with avocado and seasalt.



Meal salad
The difference between 'salad' and 'meal salad' is that the salad is based on for example spinach or lettuce, but the meal salad has a more solid base. You can use pasta (if you do eat wheat), couscous, quinoa or spelt. Fact: just like the normal salad, the meal salad is lovely served either warm or cold. You can add in everything you would add into a salad.

Veggie bowl
Sometimes I feel like eating vegetables or meat or fish, but I do not want to eat a base, such as spinach or quinoa. So I just pour all my favourites in a big bowl and mix them up together - the veggie bowl! It is easy and delicious, either way cooked or raw. 

3-meal
Although it is quite common where I am from to eat the '3-meal' every night (potatoes, vegetables and meat), I am not a huge fan of it. But when I do eat a 3-meal, I pimp it up: I use quinoa in stead of potatoes and I use a lot more vegetables than the normal 3-meal contains. 

Tips on a healthy lifestyle

Hello!

After sharing with you my favourite healthy snacks, I found it time to give you some tips on how to create a healthy lifestyle. I want to start by with telling you that I am in no way a professional and if you find yourself at some point in a position where you might need professional help to deal with an unhealthy weight, I do recommend that. I am in no way a replacement for seeing a dietitian or doctor. I am only sharing the things that work for me to stay healthy and happy, hoping this might give you some inspiration. Also I want to point out that every body is different and every body reacts different to certain foods and regimes. I am only telling you some of my basic principles!

Drink water
This cannot be said enough: drink your water! Your body consists for 55-60% out of water. Just drinking 2 liters a day will help you feel healthier: your skin will glow and it helps a lot when you have intestine problems for example. Also, if you want to loose weight, drinking water makes an amazing difference. Now I know it is hard to drink 2 liters a day (sometimes you just forget or don't feel like drinking), so I carry a big bottle of water (1L) with me all day. I have to drink twice the amount of water that goes in a day. This helps me to keep track of my water intake.

Eat your fruits and veggies
There used to be a campaign saying you need 2 ounces of vegetables and 2 pieces of fruit a day. Now I must admit that, on regular days, I eat more than that, but that is especially because I don't eat a lot of wheat and also, just because I love fresh fruits and vegs. As you know (or at least, I hope you do), fruits and vegetables are a great source of vitamins. If you are not that much of a fan of the fruits and vegs or simply do not manage to eat them every day, try to eat them in different, easy ways. For example, mix some fruits with a bit of water in a blender and make a good smoothie out of it (or, if you're going hard, try a green smoothie). You can take this as a snack, or you could add in some nutritional products such as nuts and make it your breakfast. Also, there are many ways to fit your fruits into your meals: strawberries go great with goat cheese in a salad, and pineapple is a lovely addition to curries.

Eat healthy fats
It is not wrong to go easy on saturated fats, but don't forget that your body needs fats to stay alive. As I mentioned in a previous post about healthy snacking, especially when you are all about paleo and your fat intake is low, you should eat products that contain healthy fats such as avocados, fish (salmon for example) and nuts. My favourites are cashews, pecans and almonds. As I mentioned in my breakfast-post, I like eating my nuts at breakfast, because due to the amount of healthy fats they help keeping the fulfilled feeling until lunchtime.



Calories aren't bad!
Even more important than your fat intake is your calorie intake. A human body needs calories. All foods contain calories. That is how we live. Of course it is not bad to mind them, but it is even more efficient to watch the kind of foods that you are eating. Nuts may contain a lot of calories, but your body needs those to stay alive.



Do not be too hard on yourself
I do not quite believe in diets, to be honest. Starving yourself and eating completely different than you are used to is not a good way to loose weight. In my opinion, the best way to become and stay healthy is change your life on a day-to-day basis. That is one of the reasons why I don't believe in cheat-days: days where you can eat everything you cannot eat during the week. If you push yourself too hard, your will end up suffering from stress, gaining even more weight than you lost. So don't cut out your snacks; there are a lot of healthy options available. And eating cake every once in a while isn't a sin: life is too good to not enjoy. As long as you do not binge or fall into a bad pattern of eating 'guilty' foods, you are safe.

Reward yourself
Now this does not mean 'eat the whole cookie jar every time you eat healthy for more than two days', but life is good. Life is great. Do not waste your time on being unhappy and forcing yourself into some pattern that is not you. Of course you can eat less healthy foods every now and then. But, as far as I have experienced, ice cream tastes much better if you save it for certain occasions. And if you do want to eat a lot of cake, why not try this one?

Healthy snacking ideas

Hello!

One of the hardest things about eating healthy is maintaining the diet. Make it your way of life. One of the tips I can give you is not to skip snacks. But do not go crazy on the high calorie-ones such as white chocolate and candy, unless you can find healthy candy! Here are a few lovely ideas.

Carrots with humus
This is one of my favourite snacks! Not only because of the lovely combination between the bite (carrot) and the softness (humus), but also because of the nutritional value. Carrots only contain 36 calories per 100 grams and 20 grams of humus contain 48 calories. So one portion contains less than 100 calories! 
If you are not a big fan of humus, you can replace it with a lovely avocado-dip. I prefer mixing avocado up with a chopped red union and some pepper and salt. For a bit more spice you can add some lemon juice. 



Fruit
Now I must admit that I am addicted to fruit. My favourites are grapes and berries: all kinds of. They are not only low in calories but also very healthy. Snacking fruits is a good way to eat your 2 pieces of fruits today!



Veggies
So, every food-loving person should know that vegetables are not only meant for lunch or dinner. Apart from even breakfast, they are a lovely snack. Try snack tomatoes, paprika and cucumber. If you like a bite, you can also try celery.



Chocolate
I have a sweet tooth and cannot live without chocolate. Mu guilty options white, milk, caramel, praline, nougat, nuts... Too much to tell! But on a daily basis, I like to snack pure chocolate. The 72% chocolate still contains a lot of calories, but has a lower number of carbohydrates. I mostly like to eat one or two pieces. Another option is adding raw cacaonibs to your daily meals, such as breakfast or cereals.

Nuts
I very much like nuts, and they are a good addition to you food plan because they contain lots of healthy fats: ones you will need when you are on a low-calorie lifestyle. But watch it! 100 grams of nuts contain over 500 calories. I like to add them to my breakfast as I mentioned in a preview post, because they tend to give you a filled feeling for a few hours. 

Autumn apple bowl
My absolute favourite snack during autumn is the warm apple-crunch-bowl. Mix up a sliced apple, a few teaspoons of cinnamon and a handful of crunchy cereals (or oats) and put them in the microwave for about half a minute. If you are avoiding all kinds of wheat you can leave the crispy chunchor oats out. As soon as you open the microwave, your kitchen will be filled with a lovely sweet apple pie scent. Success guarantueed!



Snack bowl
I like to combine different flavours and textures of foods, such as fruits and nuts or chocolate and crispies. It's a good way to fulfill your cravings.



One of the most important parts of living healthy is to not go crazy on the labels. Remember a human body needs calories and fats to stay alive! If your meals are mostly salads and soups, remember to add healthy fats in there. For example avocados, nuts and dark chocolate are good ideas. 

There you have it! I hope I gave you a bit of inspiration for your snacks. Enjoy!

Love,

Jasmijn

My favorite breakfast

Today, I would like to share with you my breakfast ideas. First and foremost: breakfast is extremely important. I like to vary with my meals, and breakfast is not an exception to that.

A warm welcome

Hello my fellow followers,

To start with, I thought it would be nice to introduce myself to you. My name is Jasmijn and I am a nineteen-year-old student living in Utrecht. My passions are a bit average, but I like to do these things in my own way. Food is very important to me: apart from the fact that I love food, I think nurturing your body in a good way affects your life in many ways. 
Apart from food, I like organizing my life. This includes my home, my closet or anything else you could think of. No wonder I am a huge fan of Pinterest: the solution for planners like me. I love to be inspired: something that has been made easier by the use of digital options such as blogs and social media. As benefits a lady, I also like beauty and fashion. The way I see it, these are ways to express and shape yourself. Apart from that, I also have a big place in my heart for theater art and music: I wouldn't know what to do without those two.
One of the main things I love to do is travelling. Unfortunately, since I am a student I do not have that much money to travel the world. So I try to keep it near and discover the world around me. Especially Europe is a lovely area to travel: a lot of different countries, cities and cultures are just around the block. 

Well, I hope I have given you a sneak peak into my life. Now you know who the person behind this blog is. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them! 

Inspiration is just around the corner. Hopefully I can inspire you with my thoughts, creations and point of view. 

Love,

Jasmijn