Food Friday: Green Juice

Yummy! =D No?! Oh right, it is green and does not look very delicious, but I can assure you that this small drink is loaded with vitamins and nutrients your body needs! What did I do in the U.S.? My boys and me, we would watch documentaries about food! Haha, yes food! There are many interesting ones, if you're in the states, check out Netflix! If not I'm your ambassador! 

One day we watched Fat, sick and nearly dead and I was inspired by Joe Cross who started the revolution of juicing in the U.S. He was indeed fat, sick and nearly dead and his conditions were pretty bad. Cross then promised to heal himself by eating fruits and vegetables for 60 days instead of taking in tons of pills. Traveling through the U.S. with a juicer and walking a lot he came across some people, talked with them about health, food and actually spread out the word. It is a nice documentary about people who try to save themselves from their diseases because the only one who can is YOU! Check out the trailer and get inspired as well!

Being inspired I've wanted to try out juicing but didn't start until this spring. I felt like I needed a cleanse after this very long winter...

I drank them for two days, three juices a day replacing whole meals. In the mornings mostly fruits, for lunch a mixed one and for dinner vegetables only. I quit. It was not enough for me, not chewing and being done with 'eating' so quickly. And yes I know it was my mind telling me that I cannot resist but chewing on things, but I don't take it too seriously. That was my first experience with a 'juice cleanse' ever. Instead I did a vegan week and ate a lot of raw foods, which worked well for me.

Nevertheless, I like the taste of green juices a lot, mixing and trying out different ingredients is fun! Yeah, I know they really do not look good, but honestly I'm talking about self-made green juices and not some packed up carrot or tomato juice from your super market ;-) Once in a while I make myself green juices in the morning or in the afternoon. It definitely revs up my metabolism and although it does not look as good, it nurtures my body to the fullest. Check out those great charts to mix up your own green juice at home. No expensive juicer needed, a food processor will do its job, too! 

I always include spinach or kale, frozen spinach works if you don't have fresh one. Additionally I try to mix up sweet fruits with vegetables so I won't need added sugar.

Here are more refreshing recipes: 

Green smoothies from Refinery29 and Green Juices from Mind Body Green.

And why should you add greens to your everyday life? Read on: 10 Reasons.

Have fun mixing! :) 

M 

edit: read more about the health benefits of juicing vegetables and fruits,

such as taking in a wider variety of vegetables and cleansing your body: easy green juice.

Oh finally! Germany has noticed the benefits of green juices! For German readers: even Miranda Kerr is juicing, click here! 

Weekend Food Shopping

It is my first weekend all by myself in Berlin, so what did I get? First of all I have to say that it can be pricey living by yourself and feeding yourself. Haha, no mommy and daddy, no full refridgerator! Anyways, as you can see I try to stay healthy and I cannot live without vegetables, fruits and a bit of protein. I also make sure to have oat flakes, almonds, eggs and whole grain bread in stock.

Carrots: my go-to snack to munch on, full of Vitamin A and good for your eyes.

Zucchini: very good for stir-fries, have you tried it raw?? :)

Peppers: red vegetables and fruits like red grapes are full of iron, you don't need meat! ;-)

Turnip cabbage: vietnamese influence>> steam it and dip it in traditional fish sauce.

Radishes: like the spicy taste a lot, raw! I also use up the greens for soup or broth.

Pickles: who does not love pickles? Try some from McClure's in Brooklyn, super funny, it is a family recipe and these guys make some spicy and garlic ones! Everything hand picked and hand sliced. Want to make a pickle pizza? Check out their website, just love this creativity in cooking!

Bananas: full in potassium, my go-to pre-workout snack when you want to head for a jog in half an hour, very versatile for smoothies, banana bread???! Mix them in oatmeals and it is a great substitute for eggs in baking dishes!

Strawberries: antioxidants go! Dark berries are the best, full of Vitamin C, perfect summer fruit for smoothies, salads, desserts, yummy!

Nectarines: just available here in the summer, more exotic frui.

Whole grain bread: good carbs, whole grains?! says it all, cannot get it, don't like the ones in supermarkets? Bake your own: Whole grain bread variaton #1

Almonds: super healthy fats!!! Your body do need those! Snack on them, make your own almond milk, add to anything from breakfast to salads.

Eggs and cottage cheese: egg-omelet, boiled eggs=6g of protein, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese does not have as much fat but I don't consume as much lactose.

Here are some tips to up your fruit and vegetable intake: Just have it at home! Get out and enjoy the sun!

Happy weekend guys ♥

Food Friday: Quinoa

The first time I had quinoa was in the U.S. at a BBQ, someone brought a salad and I just loved it! The second time I had it was in California at an Israeli restaurant called Oren's Hummus Shop. So, again I was really excited about it when I've found it here. It's really versatile, especially when you like it lighter in the summer; you can substitute it for rice, millet or pasta. Just perfect for vegans or people who are allergic to gluten. I bought mine from the organic brand Rapunzel. They make great nut butters, too!

Some facts about quinoa from Mind Body Green:

+ one serving fills 48% of our daily magnesium needs

+ low in cholesterol and sodium

+ it can be white, red or black

+ is a relative to leafy green veggies like spinach

+ very high in protein

Take a look at the recipes:

Superfood: Chia-Seeds

Living in the U.S., having a lot of time for myself, I've spent most of it doing sports and reading about nutrition. Surfing on the internet and reading many blogs, I came along chia- seeds. 
I've already added flax seeds to my meals, but chia seeds? I thought that they are pretty expensive. They actually are not. I was completely surprised when I've found them here in GER, yes, at my organic health store :)

Now I'm trying them out, but I'm not sure how much I should take in to fully get the benefits. 
It's supposed to help you with digestion, boost your energy and it has the Omega 3+6 fatty acids which would aid in cognitive and learning performance. 

I've made pudding out of it (just stir it up in water and let it sit for at least one hour) and try to add it into oatmeal, juices and salads. Just found out that it might be a food trend, but I like the neutral flavor and the consistency because hey: it expands and after an hour you have pudding?! 

Read on:
10 Health Benefits from Healthyeating.sfgate.com

Ancient Super Seed from Dr. Oz 

I'm curious if I'll notice something soon, will keep you updated ;-)

Dark, rich and healthy...

Guess what? My semester is almost over and I'm in the middle of my final exams. Whenever I study, I just have to snack and munch on things. Instead of eating your way to a bigger YOU, just reach for dark chocolate, fruits, raw vegetables, yogurt and almonds. I've figured that it's much easier to stick to healthier choices in the summer whereas in the winter you're more tempted to reach for comfort- foods.

Yes! Dark chocolate can be actually healthy for you because of their high dose of natural caffeine and antioxidants which make it so bitter. I certainly do believe in it, but portion control is key I'd say. Anyways, during stressful times like 'studying for final exams' I allow myself up to 50g =D! 

At the moment my favorites are the 85% dark chocolate ones from GEPA (Fairtrade- Company) and Vivani. Having some dark chocolate should be one's pleasure, so enjoy every bite of it ;-)

There are some interesting facts about eating dark chocolate from The Huffington Post and Science Daily.

'All you need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.'

Vegan in NYC

One of my friends asked me where I would like to spend my last night in the U.S.? 

I've told her that I would love to spend it in the city, but everything seemed very stressful with packing and getting myself ready to fly back home tuesdays. But anyway, I've decided to go! It's NYC, come on! :) It was a monday night and we went out for dinner in the West Village.

We wanted to try some vegan food and checked out Gobo. 

It was really good and I just love seaweed! So we've had the kale, seaweed, beet salad with toasted walnuts, the tempura shitake caps in mashed sweet potatoes & raisins and the roti canai with malaysian curry. Excellent food! And honestly I think it is much more challenging for a chef to cook and experiment with vegetables than it is with meat! 

For dessert we've had some healthy sweet treats :) Fruits covered in dark delicious chocolate at Forbidden fruit. 

I enjoyed my last night in the city and was thinking a lot about the past 13months...

A lot have changed and more will come.

Stay tuned,

heading back to good old Germany..

M

(Ch)Eating in the city

 

This thursday I took the boys into the city and we wanted to eat all day! Also: how to eat cheap in Manhattan?! Yes, kind of a cheatday for working out so hard, haha! We went to so many different places and got really cheap food :-)

Sorry that I didn't take pictures of all of them, it went by too fast! But I will list the places we've been to!

This doesn't belong to the cheap- eats but to start the day right, we went to the worlds's first oatmeal bar/restaurant, they've just opened up seven weeks ago and after surfing on some food blogs I've found out about Oatmeals in NYC!

Here in the U.S. I've started eating so much oatmeal I've just had to go there!!!

I'm crazy about oatmeal and peanutbutter :-) 

The first two bowls are: parmesan and fig/gorgonzola and then cherry/chocolate chip and cheesecake/blackberry. I would go there again but I'd stick with sweet oatmeal, savory oatmeal is just too salty and heavy for me.

The boys and I also went to these places..

Again and again NYC!

and I just can't get enough! :)

Yes, I was in the city today! One day before I'm leaving for my two- week california trip! I took the boys of my hostfamily into the city and we've did a bunch of cool stuff, for teenagers I guess.

No I'm just kidding! It was a lot of fun to hang around with them and being the tourguide, haha :-D

Me, the tourguide! And no, you wouldn't see all these touristy things with me although I still need to check some places out, for example I haven't been to Ellis Island or I haven't been on the Empire either.. Let's see if I can make it before I leave.

So, we went to Momofuku's noodle bar for lunch. We've had the pork and shrimp buns as an appetizer and different ramen noodles. It was delicious! I loved the pork buns :-)

Afterwards we checked out Questlove's Hoodie Shop. Really nice hoodies, but kind of expensive though. But you can still go there and check out the interior design, a lot of fun! I like hoodies, they are comfortable! But that's a different topic, another time..

The boys couldn't help and needed to go to Economy Candy on Rivington close to Chinatown, there was so much trash! :-D It was my first time in that store and it looked so packed! Full of candy, they've had everything! Of course also chocolate from good old Germany! A paradise for kids and a nightmare for their teeth! We were walking towards Chinatown, Little Italy and Soho and the kids wanted to get more candy! What about cupcakes this time? :-D They've got mini cupcakes from Baked by Melissa and they've said: OMG! They were SO GOOD! I'm sorry guys, I cannot give you good reviews on candy or cupcakes because I'm trying to stay away from everything- sugar! :-D

More bread woohoo!

I baked some more bread :-) but this time I used a different recipe and whole- wheat instead of spelt flour. It's so easy making your own bread!!! On the left I've tried to make a ciabatta- kind of bread with oregano. Both are whole grain. I'm telling you I have so much fun baking and trying out new recipes! And you know what? My hostfamily just bought a bread machine!!! I am so excited :-D Although I prefer baking in the oven because of the look of the bread (I don't like the square- shape of the bread machines) I'll give it a shot and see if it's really convenient!

Green- tip: Forget the white wonder bread! It's processed and unhealthy, instead bake your own! At least you'll know what's inside and adding different grains and spices will make it tastier! Mix different types of flours, spelt flour or rye flour. Flax seeds will add lots of protein, try adding rolled oats, quinoa, barley and whatever you like :-)

Here is the recipe for this one:

Bastille Day in NYC

After arriving back in the city, back in reality, back in life.. 

I didn't go straight home. I've met my Australian friend Rebecca and we decided to check out the French street fair, which is held every year: Bastille Day NY

A street fair to celebrate the french culture and other francophone countries like Canada, Switzerland and more. I like going to street fairs because of the food :-D Crépes and macarons were predominant at this one. Although we went there we ended up at Le pain quotidien for lunch. I think it is a french or belgian chain all over the city. I wanted to go meatless and had a lentil salad on arugula and it was really good and filling! I have to experiment with lentils and quinoa at home! :-)

Coming home after this exhausting weekend I took a long shower and went to bed early,

hope you guys enjoyed your weekend, too!

M

Baking my own bread #2

I'm in love with this bread!!!!! ♥.♥ It is so good!!! Just pure love!!! :) 

Guys, you have to try out this easy- peasy recipe!

I was looking for a 'Vollkornbrot' recipe but couldn't find an American good one, so I just took a German recipe and converted the measurements. 

Baking my own bread

Sunday night my hostfamily had friends over for a BBQ. The friends brought some homemade bread, which was very good and quinoa salad! I asked them for the recipes because I was thinking about baking my own bread also.
Why? I like bread but it's hard to find really good and healthy bread here in the U.S., and I also don't want to eat too much processed food, so why not making your own? You know what's inside and it'll be less expensive long- term. You don't even need a bread machine! 
Actually we've found WASA- Knäckebrot here =D It says: 100% whole grain and a product of Germany. My hostfamily started buying them because of me! :)

So, today I tried out the recipe and this is the result:

  

The recipe is really easy! I thought it would be much harder to bake bread but I think you just have to start doing it and then try out things.. Next time I'd like to add different grains and use more whole- wheat flour and leave the all- purpose flour out.

We've had it for dinner with salad and I dipped it in guacamole, delicious! The crust is the best part, don't you think?

Usually I don't eat carbs (rice, pasta, bread) for dinner time anymore, but of course I've had to try my own bread! :) 

My health- tip: I cut down on carbs at night because after dinner you usually go to bed and then you don't really workout or burn these added calories anymore.

shopping in brooklyn

After the pool on friday, I went on Bedford Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn and did a little bit of shopping! Oh yes, saving up money is harder than I've thought!!! I've ended up in a thrift store, buying two skirts and a vest. When you're around Williamsburg, check out: Crossroads, Buffalo Exchange and Beacon's Closet: buy, sell, trade! I might go there to sell or trade some of my stuff before I hit my way home :)

And don't forget: Smorgasburg and the Williamsburg Waterfront Flea on Sat./Sun.!

There are so many thrift/ second hand shops here in New York, so many flea markets, street fairs and more.. 

I will definitely miss that! Nice markets where you can make great bargains, you might also find designer clothing and unique stuff. Small artists all over the fleas (and all over the city!) are trying to sell their goods, be it clothes, jewelry or food. For instance, the other day I've had spicy pickles from Brooklyn- McClure's Pickles, so good!!! I like everything hot! :)

So, when you end up in Brooklyn,

you should definitely try the many thrift stores and flea markets!

Enjoy shopping and thrifting
in BK ;-)

M 

My shopping- tip: Try to look for bargains, sell or trade clothes if you don't want them anymore. Set a limit of how much money you want/can actually spend on that day.

Jewelry spree *.*

This saturday my german friend Matze and I, we went to the MET and it is  is so huge, we're always getting lost, it's really hard not to! =D

We saw the Schiaparelli and Prada Exhibition, Cloud City by Tomás Saraceno and also the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia.

I have to go to the Schiaparelli and Prada again because their art/design work is amazing! A must for every fashion- lover! Cloud City, an installation on the Roof is very interesting, I feel like it doesn't really fit there but still it's cool! :) Check it out, it's on until November '12. The last exhibition is a permanent one, it has great carpets and calligraphic designs. I love that they often used the colour gold and the jewelry below is from India. After that I just wanted to travel to Asia again! Let's visit Istanbul and India, please! :)

Later that day, we went to lovely Brooklyn. 

At Smorgasburg (every Saturday) we had delicious lunch. It was so hot that day and the problem with this kind of food market is that there are too many choices!!! And if you're hungry, you don't want to stay in line for hours, but also you want good food =D This is the U.S.!!! There are just too many options and there is a lot of competition! And I am just indecisive with these things because I always want to compare and see what I'd get for my money! =D

So, I've been there before with my friend Frances from England, that day we've had Cemita's Mexican Sandwich. It's filling, so I'd recommend sharing one with a friend.

Yesterday I've had a Colombian Dish: a flaxseed Arepa with chicken, Colombian cheese, arugula, salsa and cilantro sauce. Loved it! I'd like to try making that on my own.

The Renegade Crafts Fair was at the East River State Park, Williamsburg, right next to Smorgasburg and there were so many vendors! Again: too many choices! =D I ended up buying jewelry from Sna$h Jewelry because I've seen her stuff at one of the many flea markets before and I fell in love with the golden designs! Designed in New York- by a New Yorker :) I got an open-faced bracelet and four square rings. One guy at Snash Jewelry called me 'golden girl' =D It took me hours to make a decision! I'd buy them all!!!

On our way back to the subway station we crossed Williamsburg Walks on Bedford Ave. They've closed down the streets and had artists coming and had fun activities:

Matthias and I got free charm necklaces from Brooklyn Charm, I picked out a short golden necklace with three green pearls. I usually wear long necklaces but I thought: Let's try a short one because I've seen it on many girls and I liked how it looks on them. Green pearls because I'm on a green trip guys! =D

That was a very nice saturday!

Great weather and I've had a lot of fun with Matthias!

And.. I was successful with my jewelry spree! :)))

Hope you're still enjoying my city- trips!

Xxo,

M