Category: Recipes

Browse our collection of family favourite meals for deliciously simple and crowd-pleasing recipes to get supper on the table in a jiffy. Find easy cheesecake recipes to make a show-stopping end to any dinner.

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Easy Recipes Healthy Recipes Vegan Vegetarian Video

Are vitamins lost during cooking?

Our body needs vitamins for a healthy metabolism. Vitamins ensure, among other things, that our resistance is maintained. Many people get a flu during this period, so it is important to get enough vitamins from your food. Unfortunately, there are a number of vitamins that are very sensitive to heating, which means that many vitamins are lost during cooking. That is why it is important to know how you can cook in a different way so that the vitamins are retained!

All vitamins at a glance

There are 13 types of vitamins:

Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin K
Vitamin B1
Vitamin B2
Vitamin B3
Vitamin B5
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B8
Vitamin B11 (folic acid)
Vitamin B12
All these vitamins have their own effect. For example, vitamin A is important for the skin and vitamin C is important for the immune system. We need these vitamins every day, one more than the other. To get enough vitamins, it is important to eat healthy and varied food.

The preparation, what goes wrong here?

Everyone has their own way of cooking. The preparation will therefore also be different for everyone. Vitamins can be lost during the preparation of a meal. If you look critically at how you prepare your food, you can adjust certain ways that you save vitamins!

Wash your vegetables briefly. Soaking your vegetables for a long time is a real no-go!
Did you know that vitamins are already being lost while vegetables are being cut? Therefore, do not buy pre-sliced vegetables, because you never know how they prepared the vegetables. Cut your vegetables yourself and preferably as short as possible before cooking.
Prefer not to peel vegetables. It is often customary to peel a zucchini, for example, but the skin is full of vitamins!
Place the vegetables in boiling water instead of cold water. If you let cold water heat up in a pan with vegetables, more vitamins will be lost.
Cook with the lid on the pan. There are many vitamins in the cooking fluid! Therefore, also use your cooking fluid as the basis for a sauce, for example.
5 tips to preserve vitamins during cooking
Many vitamins are also lost during cooking, while you naturally want to keep every vitamin !

# 1 Eat fresh

Fresh vegetables contain the most vitamins. That is because it has not been processed much and is therefore still in the store in a short time. Always store fresh vegetables in a dark and dry place.

# 2 Poach

If you poach vegetables, the cooking temperature stays below 100 degrees. This means that the taste is better preserved and the vitamins are still in your vegetables!

# 3 Cook at a higher temperature

By cooking at a higher temperature with a shorter baking time you limit the loss of vitamins even more!

# 4 Wok

Wok is very easy and fast. You can put everything in the wok and bake everything briefly. Meat sears quickly so that all juices and vitamins remain in the meat. The vegetables are quickly cooked without losing the vitamins.

# 5 Use as

little water as possible By using little water, you lose fewer vitamins. Is it customary for you to add salt during cooking? Do not! Salt extracts all vitamins from your vegetables. That’s how they disappear in the water. Therefore, add a little salt only when you start serving the dish.

Categories
Breakfast Easy Recipes Keto Low Carb Lunch Recipes Vegan

Loaded Vegetarian Nachos

Ingredients

for 6 servings

1 cup  lentils, rinsed (200 g)
2 cups  vegetable broth (480 mL)
1 teaspoon  salt
½ teaspoon  pepper
2 teaspoons  chili powder
2 teaspoons  cumin
1 teaspoon  garlic powder
1 teaspoon  dried oregano
15 oz  corn, 1 can, drained and rinsed (425 g)
15 oz  black beans, 1 can, drained and rinsed (425 g)
1 lb  tortilla chips (455 g)
1 ½ cups  shredded mexican cheese blend (150 g)
1 cup  shredded lettuce (75 g)
1 cup  tomato, diced (200 g)
½ cup  red onion, chopped (75 g)
2 jalapeñoes, sliced
⅓ cup  fresh cilantro, chopped (15 g)

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F (175˚C).
  2. In a large pot, over medium-high heat, bring lentils, broth, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and oregano to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 35 minutes.
  3. Once cooked, mix in the corn and black beans.
  4. On a baking sheet, place a layer of tortilla chips, followed by the lentil mixture and cheese.
  5. Add another layer of tortilla chips, lentils, and cheese.
  6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
  7. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeños, and guacamole, and cilantro.
  8. Enjoy!
Categories
Breakfast Fruit Healthy Low Carb Recipes Smoothie Vegetarian Video

Pre-cut vegetables or cut yourself?

If you know my recipes then you know that I am someone of quick and easy.
Spending hours in the kitchen is really not my thing, I prefer to cook with as few pans and actions as possible.
That is also one of the reasons that I often opted for pre-cut vegetables. The vegetable mix bags are usually well varied and it saves me a lot of cutting.

Now I have to say that that was not the only reason. I also often have a fight with good kitchen tools. From home I am quite a bit economical and spend a lot of money on knives, for example. The knives in my kitchen drawer have been around for years and I don’t notice that they are becoming more and more blunt.

It is even so that (so far) I do not cut chicken fillet with a knife but with a (specially purchased) scissors into pieces. Because with a knife I always thought it was such a hassle.

Hubby always finds this type of frugality very irritating because he wants good things for the kitchen. Incidentally, not only for the kitchen, this applies to everything in its existence, but that is another story. Now his prayers were answered recently because Cookinglife asked me if I would like to review the Arcos knives.

Arcos knife reviewArcos knife review
A whole new world opens up for me! What a difference between my 20-year-old meat cleaver and the new one from Arcos! I now glide through the meat and don’t have to put any pressure on it at all. Perhaps quite normal for other people but I am enjoying my kitchen! Also the tomatoes (which I used to cut with a serrated knife for the stiff skin) I can now simply cut into cubes.

On the photo you can see the Arcos  knife  that I used to cut all vegetables.

Yesterday a pasta dish made with a lot of vegetables. I now also had to take good care of my carving because with such a sharp knife an accident is also in a small corner. Mindful cutting say🙂

Because the cutting work is no longer in my way, I want to highlight the benefits of cutting your vegetables yourself instead of pre-cut vegetables.

First the price!

Take a look at a bag of pre-cut vegetables and weigh the same items separately. You will see that you get much more vegetables for your hard-earned money if you cut it yourself.

Secondly the freshness!

Fruit and vegetables are nowadays packaged so well that with the new techniques you can no longer see how fresh it is. The vegetable can sometimes be 6 days old without you noticing it. Taking into account that the nutrients are lost as soon as you cut and reduce per hour, this is certainly something you can take into consideration.

Thirdly your own choice!

Okay, the bags are well varied, but my experience is that they often contain stuffing, for example a lot of cabbage which is nice and cheap and not a lot of bell pepper. If you choose yourself, then of course take the vegetables that you like best, that look nice and fresh and of which you can, if you have something left, possibly keep something uncut.

Three reasons for me to use fewer pre-cut vegetables and to cut everything nice and fresh.

And now the recipe for enthusiasts:

Pasta with vegetables and tuna

 

Ingredients:

3 cloves of garlic
1 onionpre-cut vegetables
1 (point) bell pepper
1 zucchini
5 tomatoes
handful of fresh basil
2 cans of tuna
250 grams of spelled pasta
2 tablespoons capers
200 ml (vegetable) cream
grated (goat) cheese
freshly ground pepper
olive oil

Squeeze the garlic and cut the vegetables into small pieces.
Cook the pasta according to the instructions, drain and sprinkle with some olive oil.
Stir fry all vegetables in the order of the ingredients list.
Add the tuna, capers and cream and heat well together.
Mix the vegetables with the pasta and season with a lot of pepper and some olive oil.
Serve the pasta with some grated goat cheese.

Categories
Breakfast Fruit Low Carb Recipes Smoothie Vegetarian

Why Brazil nuts are good for your health

The Brazil nut is a real superfood. You often find the nut in nut mixes, but you can also buy them separately. Brazil nuts are often underestimated, but are very healthy and bring many health benefits!

Where does the Brazil nut come from?
The Brazil nut grows on a tree called Bertholletia excelsa. The tree is mainly found in tropical rain forests and mainly along the banks of the Amazon. The tree needs a lot of water, because it can grow up to 50 meters high and the trunk up to 2 meters thick! It takes 10 to 25 years for fruit to reach the tree.

Once that has happened, the fruits must mature for another 14 months. Every year 40 fruits grow on the tree. The fruit has the shape of a cone and weighs approximately 2 kilos. A fruit can easily contain 20 seeds, we know these seeds as Brazil nuts. There are even Brazil nut trees that are more than 500 years old.

The benefits at a glance
The Brazil nut contains many minerals such as magnesium, potassium, iron, calcium and zinc.
Brazil nuts also contain important antioxidants: proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
The oil from the nut is good for your skin, which is why the oil is now used in shampoo and conditioner.
Rich in vitamins B1, B6 and vitamin E.
The nut contains the important amino acids methionine, cysteine, arginine, glutamic acid and glutamine.
Menopausal women often have selenium deficiency and this has an effect on the thyroid gland. Fortunately the Brazil nut is rich in selenium!
The nut contains fatty acids such as oleic, linoleic and palmitoleic acids that promote the health of people with cardiovascular disease.
The Brazil nut is a good substitute for oily fish , because the nut contains many healthy fats.
Rich in selenium
Brazil nuts is more than rich in selenium. 100 grams of Brazil nuts is already 3500% of the recommended daily allowance! Selenium has many advantages:

Releases energy in cells.
limits the damage of the muscles during exercise.
Selenium is good for your immune system.
Selenium works twice as strong in combination with vitamin E.
Provides strong bones and teeth.
Has the property that it has a positive effect on fighting cancer.
Brazil nuts healthyHow much per day?
100 grams of Brazil nuts is already 3500% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA). If you eat two Brazil nuts a day , this is enough to maintain your selenium and to benefit from the health effects. If you eat too many Brazil nuts in a short period, it is possible to get selenium poisoning. The symptoms are stomach pain, fatigue, itching, skin rash and white and / or brittle nails.

Categories
Breakfast Easy Recipes Keto Low Carb Lunch Recipes Vegan

Crispy Potato Tacos


 Yield: 8 Tacos

Ingredients:

2 Large Russet Potatoes 3/4 cup Sour Cream 2 cloves Minced Garlic 1/2 tsp Cumin Salt, to taste 1/2 tsp Oregano 8 Corn Tortillas Oil for Frying Optional Toppings: Sour Cream Salsa Cotija Cheese Cilantro

Instructions:

Thoroughly wash the potatoes & peel the skin off. Cut into smaller pieces and place in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and allow potatoes to cook until they are soft. Place softened potatoes into a large bowl.

Mix in sour cream, cumin, salt and pepper and mash until well combined. Wrap the tortillas in a damp towel or paper towel and microwave for 15-20 seconds, so they don’t break.

On half of the tortilla, place about 1 Tbsp. of the potato mixture and spread it around. Fold the tortilla in half and repeat with the rest of the tortillas. Heat 1 inch of vegetable oil in a pan. Carefully, place the potato tacos in the pan, allowing them to cook for about 2 minutes on each side.

Once they have developed a golden color, remove from oil and strain excess oil off on a paper towel. Serve with your favorite toppings & enjoy! Recipe by: Carrie Hildebrand

Categories
Easy Recipes Keto Low Carb Lunch Recipes Vegan

Loaded Queso Tortilla Bowl

Ingredients

for 4 servings

1 flour tortilla
¼ cup  olive oil (60 mL)
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon  cumin
1 tablespoon  paprika
1 teaspoon  garlic powder
1 teaspoon  chili powder
1 teaspoon  salt
1 lb  flank steak (455 g)
1 tablespoon  olive oil
2 tablespoons  butter
½ onion, diced
2 jalapeñoes, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons  flour
1 cup  milk (240 mL)
4 cups  cheddar cheese (400 g)
guacamole, to serve
tomato, diced, to serve
sour cream, to serve
fresh cilantro, to serve
tortilla chips, to serve

Preparation

  1. Preheat an oven to 400˚F (200˚C).
  2. Place a flour tortilla over an oven-safe bowl. Place another oven-safe bowl over it. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the bowls and set the tortilla bowl aside.
  3. In a shallow container, place olive oil, lime juice, cumin, paprika, garlic powder chili powder and salt. Mix well.
  4. Place the flank steak in the spice mixture, rubbing until fully coated. Marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
  5. Heat a cast iron pan or stainless steel pan over high heat. Coat with olive oil and Add the steak and sear for 6-8 minutes.
  6. Rest the meat for 5 minutes. Cut them into a bite size. Set aside.
  7. In a medium size saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
  8. Add the jalapeños and cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  9. Sprinkle in the flour, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk and cook until the mixture has thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
  10. Add the cheddar cheese ½ cup (50 g) at a time. Stir constantly until the cheese is completely melted.
  11. On a flat plate, spread tortilla chips. Place the tortilla bowl on top. Pour in the queso and top with chopped steak, chopped tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream and cilantro.
  12. Enjoy!

 

Categories
Breakfast Easy Recipes Keto Low Carb Lunch Recipes Vegan

Sweet Potato Breakfast Bake

Ingredients

for 8 servings

2 large sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon  olive oil
2 teaspoons  salt, divided
2 teaspoons  pepper, divided
8 eggs
1 tomato, diced
¼ cup  green onion, chopped (40 g)
1 bell pepper, diced and cooked
½ teaspoon  garlic powder
½ cup  milk (120 mL)
cooking spray
10 slices ham
2 cups  spinach (80 g)

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
  2. Using a mandolin, slice the sweet potatoes lengthwise into about 3-millimeter thick slices.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the sliced sweet potatoes, oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Toss until well coated.
  4. Lay out sweet potato slices on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, until the edges start to crisp.
  5. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, tomatoes, green onions, bell pepper, garlic powder, remaining teaspoon of salt, remaining teaspoon of pepper, and the milk. Whisk well.
  6. Remove sweet potatoes from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 400°F (200°C) .
  7. Grease a 9 x 5-inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan. Line the sides and base of the pan with sweet potato slices, overlapping slightly.
  8. Layer half of the ham slices over the sweet potato, then add the spinach, another layer of sweet potato, the egg mixture, the rest of the ham, and the rest of the sweet potato slices.
  9. Fold the outside sweet potato slices over the loaf.
  10. Bake for 30 minutes.
  11. Invert the loaf onto a serving plate, then slice and serve.
  12. Enjoy!

 

Categories
Fruit Healthy Low Carb Recipes Vegetarian Video

Sushi bowl with marinated mushrooms

 

Greenco marinated mushroomsGreenco marinated mushrooms
The Greenco brand comes with various varieties of marinated mushrooms! I already received a package from them with three different types to make a recipe with, one of the benefits of blogging😉

The package really had to come from Korea so I had to be patient but after 2 weeks I had the pots at home, 2 marinated, 1 of which in olive oil and 1 pickled (inlaid).

Because I love sushi and wanted to make a vegetarian sushi bowl, I recorded a video with it.

Ingredients sushi bowl:

250 gr sushi rice Supplies sushi bowlGreenco marinated mushrooms
1 mango
1 avocado
1 cucumber
pot (280 gr) marinated mushrooms in oil
2 spring onions
2 tbsp sesame seeds, lightly roasted
Dressing:

2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
juice of half a lime
Optional:

nori leaves or chips
Preparation method:

Cook the sushi rice according to the instructions on the package and let it cool.
Peel the cucumber and cut it into long strings with a peeler or cheese slicer.
Peel the mango and cut it into long, narrow segments.
Cut the spring onions into small rings.
Mix the ingredients for the dressing.
Drain the mushrooms.
Finally, peel the avocado and cut it into long, narrow segments.
Arrange all ingredients nicely in a large bowl and divide the dressing, sesame seeds and the optional nori chips.

Categories
Breakfast Fruit Healthy Low Carb Recipes Smoothie Vegetarian

Grapefruit, why it helps with losing weight!

The grapefruit and lose weight

grapefruit lose weightGrapefruit with sugar, just like in the old days …
Not everyone is a fan of grapefruits, the taste is a combination of bitter and sour and you really have to love that. I remember that in the past we dipped the grapefruit in granulated sugar …

The fruit is a cross between an orange and a grapefruit. Did you know that a grapefruit contains no less than half the daily amount of vitamin C, also a good reason to add the grapefruit to your diet.

Naringenin, an important substance!
The bitter taste of the fruit is caused by the substance Naringenin. The substance belongs to the group Phytonutrients. In addition to the bitter taste, the substance has an even more important function, namely the stimulation of fat burning. Naringenin reacts to fat molecules that will burn faster due to the substance. Your metabolism also speeds up, this causes your body to burn the fat instead of storing it as an energy reserve. That is one of the reasons that grapefruits also help with weight loss.

Benefits of grapefruit

A grapefruit has many advantages, including:

Contains few calories
A grapefruit contains less than 100 calories and is therefore one of the fruits with the least calories! In addition, it also contains a lot of vitamins C and A. These vitamins

ensure that your immune system becomes stronger. Vitamin C combats bacteria and harmful substances and vitamin A ensures that you do not contract infections and inflammations.

Contains many antioxidants

Lycopene can lower the risk of various cancers.

Your blood sugar levels remain balanced
By eating grapefruit regularly you prevent the cells in your body from becoming less sensitive due to insulin. Insulin controls many processes in your body including your blood sugar level. If your cells become less sensitive to insulin, your blood sugar level rises. That is not a healthy consequence and it can even lead to type 2 diabetes.

Smaller chance of kidney stones
Your kidneys filter all waste in your body. It can sometimes happen that the waste forms stones. The citric acid in grapefruits reduces the chance of this happening.

Good for your heart
The grapefruit contains an important mineral for your heart, namely potassium. This mineral ensures that your heart stays healthy. It prevents that you get too high blood pressure or too high cholesterol.

Recipes with Grapefruit
grapefruit lose weightGrapefruit as the start of the day
Now that you know how good grapefruits are for you, you may want to know how to prepare them. I prefer to eat a (red) grapefruit on my sober stomach, sit comfortably and chew up. But if that is too intense for you, I have a few ideas for you here.

Recipe # 1: Smoothie

Ingredients:
100 ml organic carrot juice (or freshly squeezed in a juicer)
1 grapefruit
1 cm ginger
A fruit piece of your choice, for example: a banana, an apple, 100 grams of blueberries

Necessities:
Blender
Cutting
board Cutting knife
Grater

Preparation method:
Peel the grapefruit and cut into pieces.
Peel the ginger and grate the piece above the blender.
Cut the extra piece of fruit into pieces if necessary.
Put all the ingredients in the blender and make sure everything is blended well.
Dilute it with some extra juice or water.
grapefruit lose weightFresh grapefruit drink

Recipe # 2: As a fresh juice

 

Ingredients for 4 glasses (or a large can)

1 grapefruit
1 hand of mint
1 lemon and / or lime
(Source) water and ice cubes

Preparation method:

Scrub the outside of the (preferably organic) citrus fruit well.
Cut them in half and divide them over the glasses or in a nice water jug.
Add the coin and top up with water.
Recipe # 3: Salad

Ingredients for 4 portions:

200 grams mixed salad
2 grapefruits
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ripe avocado
1 teaspoon honey
A handful of walnuts
Pepper and salt

Necessities:

Bowl where the lettuce can go
Bowl for the grapefruit juice
Cutting
board Cutting knife

Preparation method:

Clean the lettuce with water and drain. Once it is almost dry, put the lettuce in a bowl.
Peel the grapefruit over a small bowl. This way you catch all the delicious juice that is released. The juice is in fact the basis for your dressing. Separate the segments and add them to lettuce.
Peel the avocado and cut the avocado into thin slices and add it to the lettuce. You can also cut the slices in half if you prefer.
For the dressing: Combine the collected grapefruit juice with the honey and olive oil. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.
Mix the dressing with the salad.
Sprinkle the lettuce with a handful of walnuts.

Categories
BEVERANGE Easy Recipes Fruit Healthy Low Carb Smoothies

Yummy AVOCADO SALSA

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

3 ripe avocados, diced ½ red onion, chopped 2 tomatoes, diced ¼ cup cilantro, chopped 2 limes, juiced 2 cloves garlic, chopped Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar ½ cup feta cheese Tortilla chips, for serving

PREPARATION

 

  1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and gently mix together. For best flavor, allow
  2. to set 30 minutes. Garnish with additional feta just before serving. Enjoy!
  3. Garnish with additional feta just before serving. Enjoy!