Tanten

I'm truly sorry not to be able to post my updates as I want just because blogg.se can't make any changes go smooth. I will be back when I can post pictures and work with the text!

Finally, my extremely long working week consisting of two 4-hour days is finally at an end. haha. I should probably be jumping around the place considering the stamina I should have left. In reality though I'm working very hard on not tucking myself in for a marathon nap, those afternoon naps tend to keep me awake at night. I actually slept really bad last night waking up panicked several times per hour, thinking I overslept. This is what happens when I'm in charge of opening the store; I panic (I had set three different alarms).

Therefor today's dinner consisted of re-heated left over from the other night when dinner was both thought thru and delicious. I love filled peppers, especially when I make them myself.



Vegetarian filled peppers
6-8 peppers of choice (I chose turkish)
2 dl minced soya (dried)
1 onion
1 dl red lentils
2-3 tomaoes
1 dl tomato sauce
1 dl spinach
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp olive oil
fresh parsley
75 g goat cheese
75 g hard flavoury low fat cheese
Sea salt
pepper

1) Put the oven on 220 degrees.
2) Then start by putting the the minced soya in water for ten minutes, use the time to cut off the tops of the peppers and cleanse out the seeds.
3) Cut the onions and tomatoes and put them in a pan with the olive oil, tomato sauce, spinach, minced soya and the lentils. Press the garlic and cut the parsley, add it into the pan. Let it cook on a medium heat while cutting the goat cheese into small pieces, add them.
4) Shred 50 grams of your hard cheese and blend it with the rest of the ingredients, salt and pepper.
5) Put your peppers in a form and use a spoon to fill them up with your soya sauce, then put slices of cheese on top of them.
6) Let your peppers bake for about 45 minutes but be ready to cover them up with kitchen foil in order for them not to burn.

I served them with cocktail tomatoes and bulgur.



Now me, and my sleeping seal calf are going to start reading a new book. Another detective story, I love well written detective stories!

Or actually it was cold; my smoothie that is! Does anyone else remember like seven years ago (SEVEN YEARS AGO?! Shoot me) when Paris Hilton made the expression "that's hot" as annoying as a summer plague hit song? I can still hear it with her way of saying it, inside my head. But let's go back to my smoothie which was extremely hot! I've never in my life tasted a more perfect smoothie, it was right up my alley and into my house even. The number one summer smoothie!

Meet Lina's Hot Sunrise;



Banana,
squezeed orange,
sundried goji berries,
frozen raspberries,
ounce of oat milk,
fresh ginger,
Tabasco
+
Mixer
=
Lina's Hot Sunrise

By the way, I put in quite a bit of ginger and Tabasco and I could feel my blood pumping up! I almost felt tipsy, rather funny...



Now it's night snack and movie time for me, all day long I've tried to do all of those borings things I never do usually. I hope tonight's movie will be good, last night I watched The Eagle and I can honestly say that I loved it (fairytales, history, action and Jamie Bell might have something to do with that).

Today is Sweden's National Day, and I had a really sweet day even if it felt like December outside. But let's not focus on the fact that it hails in Sweden in June but on the fact that I had a very nice and completely unhealthy dessert today. Me and my grand mother sat outside by the sea tucked in under a big blanket and talked about everything and nothing eating chocolate and almond patisserie.



I feel very blessed actually having one extra grandmother since my grandfather re-married when my father was still a child. She is one of my very closest friends and we can talk about anything, I don't know what I would have done without her!



As someone who sometimes wishes to be able to be closer to those any girl wants to be close to, I am very happy for my amazing grandmother!



I hope you all had a great day too, in- or outside of Sweden!

After a couple of very hectic days I decided to have a Lina-night before jet setting off into to the dream world last night. I started it off by a hot shower with my favourite body peeling and then an action movie in bed. To make the night even better I made myself a plate of things to snack on while watching the movie since I was rather hungry. Melon, cocktail tomatoes, eggs, olives, cheese and my home baked bread with smoked turkey and green peppers. Yummy!

Now I'm off to another full day but I will defenitely try to make it a habit to use the evenings for some relaxed own time, I feel so much more rested today even though I didn't sleep more than usual.

Those of you who happens to be regulars should know by now that I try to eat as healthy as possible at all times. Healthy doesn't equal tasteless in my kitchen and after months of refining I finally have a really tasty, healthy and easy to make bread to share with you.



Tomato and olive bread
2 1/2 dl whole wheat flour
1,5 dl buckwheat flour
0,5 dl shredded coconut
½ dl ground psyllium
1 dl fiber oats
1/2 dl ground flax seeds
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 dl pumpkin seeds
1,5 dl green olives (kernel free)
0,5 dl sundried tomatoes
1 tsp salt
5 dl oat milk

1) Put the oven on 175 degrees.
2) Mix all the dry ingredients together, cut the olives and sundried tomatoes into small pieces.
3) Add the remaining components and put the dough into a bread form, preferably with a non stich sheet in it.
4) Let bake for 40 minutes and enjoy!



This bread tastes just the same even after being in the freezer. I find that the bread stays crispier if it's not stored in a plastic bag.

Now if you all excuse me I will go back into the kitchen and get myself another slice before continuing to put up shelves in my apartement. Or rather tell my helpfull step father where to put them.

Ok so the picture above is pretty much as good as it gets tonight, even though I have no less than four amazing recipes for you I'm too tired to even come up with the headline.

I actually have a very random question for ya'll; what kind of music makes you happy? I tend to listen to the same songs over and over and just heard Summer Paradise. How did I miss that? Such a happy song!

Since this post is already off in the wrong direction I think it's only fair I get to post one more photo from pinterest that I've been holding on to for a while not really finding the moment to use it.


A true lion, right?

I think that when it comes to gifts, the personal ones defenitely rule. It doesn't matter if you get them or you give them, it's always more precious when you put both time, mind and effort into it!

The other week (day?) I brought a tomato plant that I had grown from scratch with me to a friend of mine along with some other gifts. It was a hit! Something green that you've grown yourself and that will bring fruit can never fail.

It's been five months since I really changed my eating habits, or I actually pretty much changed all of my habbits. I started eating healthy, running at least twice a week, left a non-functional realtionship, stopped smoking, stopped drinking alcohol, excluded fast carbs and for the past two months I've used my bike every day. This is without mentioning a new job, new appartment and this blog!

2012 has been a year of changes so far and I think I need to make a point with myself once a month to be able to follow the development. I also think it might be a very good thing to write down things I have to work on in order to be able to go back and see it black on white.

How has it affected me?
I'm not going to talk about my new appartment or my new job even though I'm very happy with both, the focus will be on my eating and working out habbits. I feel like a new person, I know this is a lame explanation but oh so true. I'm more productive, happier, more active, less tired, less sick, feel physically stronger and more balanced. I feel like I'm finally living my life in a way that suits me, I'm focusing on me and not just going with life as it hits me.

I'm in control, this is an amazing blessing that I gave to myself. Being in control and feeling balanced has made my goals so much clearer. For fives years I've tried to figure out what I wanted to do and now I know it all, I've found an incredible inspiration. It's like a cloud that was lifted from my mind and life!

Last thing is my body; not only have I gotten a firmer and stronger body but I lost several kilos. How many I'm not sure but I went from size 38 to 34/36.

What do I need to focus on?
Right now I feel that my main priority should be not to become sloppy with my eating. I can be rather lazy when I want to, opting for the fast and easy lunch instead of something that needs to be prepared. This is fine as long as it stays nutritional but when lunch becomes a banana and dinner becomes youghurt the line has been crossed. I need to make sure that I eat enough and I think I need to keep an eye on my weight, I defenitely shouldn't lose more!

Dinel napping on mama.

It isn't every day that you have the honor of spending your time with a four days old sweet heart. He's the most precious person I've ever met, a very serious young man understanding what's important in life; eating, cuddling and sleeping. Yesterday I spent the day ohh-ing and ahh-ing this little guy all new to life and today I'm very happy to introduce you all to him (with his mothers approval of course).

Apparently my positive energy found it's way to Baku because Sweden (read: Loreen) won the Eurovision Song Contest and Sweden will be next year's host. Actually we didn't just win, we slayed! And before you ask; yes, I'm a very competetive person!

Watching Sweden win made me one very happy girl, this was the third time in my life time and the fifth since the beginnig of the sompetition. The four other winning entries were Abba with Waterloo, Herrey with diggi-loo diggi-ley, Carola with Fångad av en stormvind and last time Charlotte Nilsson with Take me to your heaven in 1999. But before this blog turns into a ESC blog I will just finish off by telling you that I actually think Loreen is the second best Swedish winner in ESC ever, right after Abba!



As I told you last night I prepared myself with one very nice smoothie and the chilling drink was perfect after a pretty hot day! I actually found some inspiration the other day when I ordered a crazy left (-the vanilla youghurt) at Redfellas here in Malmö. I truly loved it! Of course my smoothie didn't turn out the same way which, since I didn't use exactly the same ingredients, is completely normal. But without bragging I think mine was even better...



Lina's version of crazy left
1 banana (ripe, preferably frozen)
1 dl mango
0,75 dl raspberries
1 piece of fresh ginger
2 pressed oranges
1 passion fruit
0,5 dl sun dried goji berries
1 tbsp flax seed oil
oat milk

Peel the ginger, empty the passion fruit with a spoon and mix all ingredients together. Add as much oat milk as you want in order to get your preffered thickness. This recipe can easily serve to persons!

Before calling it this evening I have a little game for you, it's peek-a-boo with Elsa.

I'm all set with my mango-, raspberry- and ginger smoothie! Recipe coming after ESC, because right now we have to focus our positive energy and send it all the way to Baku (which I'm not even sure where it is).



Even Elsa is ready, let's do this Loreen!

Last days have been intensive, why I'm not sure though... Does this ever happen to you? Time flies but afterwards you have no idea what you've actually accomplished. In my case it has been those small things like watching the euro vision song contest semi-final (yes, Sweden made it to the final), meeting up with close ones, fixing with the plants, baking bread and on it goes...

A couple of days ago I pimped (sorry, copuldn't help it) a couple of boring boxes into less boring.



Using two different kind of wrapping papers and my home made glue, I went from this;


To this;


And no, the cat didn't turn into a tomato plant but she helped me in the process of making these boxes. Actually she applied her own scratchy design that she tried to convice me would have been much more awesome. But since her mommy is not only boring but actually can't think out of the box the scratchy design didn't make it to the final version.

I made one box that you can see above as a small piedistal and one box to keep my balcony-gardening tools in.

Well hello there you few remaining readers, before you ask; yes I am still alive. Thing is, life has it in for me and somehow I manage to work less than 50% and still never manage to find enough time for all of the "I need to...", "I should..." and "I really have to"'s. Right now for example I really have to move my ass out of the front door in direction of my work!

All day I've felt like the cat above, everything I should have done has resultet in a feeling of standing completely footed infront of the task. I do however have some things to share with you guys in the near future so please be patient!



Before going anywhere though I want eveone to know (and note) that the most beautiful prince ever was given birth to by his amazing mother last night. <3

The other day I got fresh rhubarb from a friend of mine and of course I immediately headed into the kitchen to let the vegetable (yes, it's a vegetable - at least everywhere but in the States where it's a fruit) work it's magic. I created a sugar- and dairyfree recipe tasting both sweet, light and refreshing at the same time. And as I wrote here, if you're only baking twice again in your life; use these recipes!

Nothing says summer like rhubarb!



Sugar free rhubarb muffins (8-10 muffins)
0,5 dl flax seed oil
2 eggs
1 banana
3 dry soft figues
4 prunes
1½ dl oat milk
1 dl fiber oats
1 dl almond (or coconut) flour
1 dl whole wheat flour
1 pinch vanilla extract
0,75 tsp baking soda
6 rhubarb stalks

1) Put your oven on 225 degrees.
2) Whip the eggs in a bowl, then add oat milk and oil.
3) Mix the banana, the figues and prunes with a mixer, add it.
4) Blend everything together with the dry ingredients.
5) Remove the skin from the rhubarb stalks, chop them and put them in the bowl.
6) Pour your batter into muffin forms.
7) Let bake for 12 minutes!