Blackened chicken drumstick with sweet potato fries, kale salad & yogurt sauce

Kale; the super food that has recently turned up on almost every foodies and health freak blog in every shape and form. Chips, in a smoothie, various pie constellations and just the way it is, raw. I'm surprised no ones made a kale cupcake yet. Oh wait! I take that back, according to Brooklyn Magazine, "Kale Cupcakes Are a Thing", read their post about them here. I'm not surprised, why not do a mash-up of two foodie trends? I'm just pissed I didn't think of it first. More and more people are getting hooked on the kale trend; what kind of foodie would I be if I didn't join the craze?

I went with a kale salad to match this blackened chicken and sweet potato fries, because to be honest, you really don't have to do much with kale. It tastes great just the way it is (you can always dress it up a bit like Cupcakes and Kale has done, with apples and walnuts. See her recipe here!). Add a bit of olive oil and some freshly squeezed lemon juice if you like and you're all set for a salad packed with fiber, protein, iron, magnesium, vitamin A, C, B6 and calcium, to name just a few. You can read more about it here.

The What

4 portions

4 chicken drumsticks

2 large sweet potatoes

4 handfuls of kale

Greek yogurt

feta cheese

fresh thyme

Marinade

1 dl olive oil

½ dl soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

1-2 garlic cloves

salt & pepper

The How

Mix the marinade in a large plastic bag or in two smaller bags. Add the chicken. The marinade should completely cover the chicken. Close the bags and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, turning the bags once. 

Set the oven to 200 degrees. 

Cut the sweet potatoes into sticks, I cut mine a bit bigger than regular fries, but you can do as you like. Keep in mind that thinner fries have a tendency to get dry faster so keep an eye on them in the oven. Spread the fries on an oven tray, season with salt & pepper as well as chili flakes, if you like. Drizzle over olive oil and put in the oven for about 20 minutes, depending on the size. 

Put the chicken in an oven safe dish and set in the oven. The chicken is done when the juice is clear, the meat is white and comes easily off the bone. If you're unsure, cut one open and check. Better safe than sorry! 

Crumble the feta cheese, add the yogurt and some pepper. Mix together and top with fresh thyme. 

Serve with the kale salad, just as it is or with some freshly squeezed lemon, olive oil and salt & pepper. 

Chicken pie with asparagus and broccoli, topped with Parmesan

If you have a lot of ingredients at home that you can't really use for a full meal, like 1 chicken breast or 4 mushrooms or ½ a piece of ham, then make a pie! Easy and good, gets rid of all your leftovers and it's easy on your wallet too.

This is what I used:

Dough

3 dl flour

125 g butter

3 tbs cold water

Filling

6 eggs

6 dl whole milk

thyme

1 chicken breast

½ piece of smoked ham

300 g broccoli

6 mushrooms

asparagus

1 spring onion

2 cloves of garlic

grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

The How: 

Start making the dough as it needs to sit for about 30 minutes in the fridge before pre-baking it in the oven. Cut the butter in small pieces, put in a bowl together with flour and use your fingers to "nip" the dough together. Add the water and mix to a doughy consistency. Put the dough in your pie form and use your fingers to press it out evenly in the form. Use a fork to prick the bottom of the dough and stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Set the oven to 225 degrees and while it heats up, start with the filling.  

Cut the chicken into slices and fry in oil until cooked all the way through, add salt and pepper while it fries. Don't cook it too long, you don't want it to get dry! Put to the side for now. 

Cut the ham into smaller pieces, put to the side. 

Cut the mushroom, slice the onion and finely chop the garlic cloves, add salt and pepper. Fry in oil in a pan until soft and until the mushrooms have let out most of their water. Put to the side. 

Cut the broccoli in smaller bunches and break the asparagus to get rid of the thready part. Blanch in salted boiling water and quickly cool down under cold water. Put to the side for now. 

Mix the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add fresh thyme. 

Take out the pie crust from the fridge and pre-bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and put the chicken, mushrooms, ham, onions, garlic and broccoli in the crust. Pour in the egg and milk mix and top the pie with the asparagus. 

Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes. You may have to cover the pie with some foil after about 30 minutes so that it doesn't burn. When there's about 10 minutes left, take out the pie and top it with Parmesan cheese. Finish off in the oven. 

Serve with a nice salad!

I realize the HOW looks super difficult, but I promise, it's not. It's just a lot of steps. The prep time is only about 20 minutes and worth it to get a really good pie, bursting with flavor. And you can use whatever ingredients you like, which means that you can minimize the prep time. 

Get going, make use of your leftovers!

Beautiful Farmers Salad

As you might have already guessed, I love vegetables! I love them in every way; oven baked, seared in a pan, fresh in a salad, as a side dish, as the main... well, you get the point. You've already seen my Hot Salad, hopefully you've even tried it :)! This beautiful and rustic farmers salad is made in the same way; hot in the oven. What makes it different is the veggies used and the fact that they are mostly roasted whole.

The What:

A bundle of asparagus

1 butternut squash

about 5 or 6 carrots

1 bundle of large spring onions

fresh thyme

olive oil

salt and pepper

Crumbled feta cheese and arugula to serve.

The How:

Turn the oven to 200 degrees. 

Peel the butternut squash and cut into smaller pieces, not too small though since the rest of the veggies will be roasted whole.

Cut the spring onions into halves. 

Break the asparagus in two to get rid of the "stringy" part. 

Wash the carrots and cut off any rough bits you don't want to eat. Keep the skin on. 

Put all the vegetables together in an oven safe pan, drizzle over olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Put the dish in the middle of the oven, keep an eye on the onion so that it doesn't burn!

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the veggies are nice and roasted. 

Serve with a piece of meat, chicken or, as I did, all on it's own! 

It really doesn't need anything else!

Oven baked avocado filled with egg, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and chili oil

An easy, healthy meal filled with healthy fats and proteins - the eat after your workout!

The what:

1 avocado

2 eggs

Parmesan cheese (or any other cheese that you like)

Chili oil

Balsamic cream (if you want)

Salt and pepper

The How:

Put the oven to 200 degrees.

Slice open the avocado, making two halves. Remove the pit.

Crack an egg into the hole made by the pit, in both halves. 

Season with salt and pepper, and stick it in the oven for about 15 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. After 15 minutes they are creamy, after 20 they are hard boiled. 

Take out of the oven, carefully pour over a bit of chili oil, sprinkle over some Parmesan cheese and season with some balsamic cream. Serve immediately and enjoy!

It's very filling and super healthy, you'll be happy you tried it!

Energising berry water

The perfect refreshment on a hot day; cold water, frozen berries and a cool straw. 

That's all you need!

5 Ingredients; Vegetarian Salad

I really felt like something light and easy a few Fridays ago, so I started of thinking about some of my absolute favorite things to eat;

oven roasted aubergine

chevre goats cheese

soy beans

sourdough bread

spinach and arugula salad mix

I had some left over sourdough bread that was getting a bit stale so I cut it into crouton sized bits and quickly roasted it in the oven with some olive oil and garlic. 

I sliced the aubergine, salted it and let it sit for about 15 minutes to draw out the bitter tasting water, after which I washed it and oven roasted it in 200 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes. 

In the meantime, I blanched the soy beans in salted water, quickly cooled them down and removed the outer layer of skin on the bean. 

Add all the ingredients in a big bowl, cut down the aubergine when its nice and soft and add the cheese. 

I made a lovely dressing, inspired by an old friend, using olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, honey, salt and pepper. It goes SO well with the chevre. 

There´s your light and tasty Friday night meal :)

A very berry smoothie

Last night I forgot to make my lovely overnight oats which really annoyed me this morning since I was in a bit of a rush to get to work. I will never wrap my head around the fact that 10 more minutes in bed always means 20 minutes late for work in the morning, how does that work..?? Anyway, so I had to improvise a quick and healthy breakfast using basically the same ingredients as I would to make my oats;

The what

Almond milk

Vanilla yoghurt

Fiber oats

Chia seeds

Psyllium seed husk

Frozen raspberries 

Dried blueberries

The how

Mix all the the ingredients together using a mixer or a hand blender.

Top with dried blueberries and chia seeds, serve in a jar or something equally trendy with a nice coloured straw!

Beetroot & kidney bean patties with feta cheese & soy bean cream

So me and the boy have decided we need a bit of a healthy streak from all the snacking we've been doing lately, so we're cutting down on the carbs for a while. Easier said than done when you're a pasta lover like I am, but so far it's going pretty well. There are a lot of great alternatives and it leaves you feeling a lot better to be honest... Don't get me wrong, pasta will ALWAYS be my go to dish when I want to splurge!! I didn't get the nick name Pasta Girl for nothing... ;)

Beetroot and Kidney bean patties are really tasty, extremely healthy and have a great purple / pink color to it. They're easy to make and taste even better the next day which means they're great to bring in the lunchbox :)

The What:

3 beetroots, peeled and grated

400 g precooked kidney beans

1 egg

breadcrumbs

coriander (if you want)

salt

pepper

feta cheese

soy beans

creme fraishe

pepper

Salad of your choice to serve.

The How:

Peel and grate the beetroot. 

Rinse the beans and put in a bowl together with the beetroots. Add the egg and mix together until smooth. Add the breadcrumbs, the salt and pepper as well as the coriander. 

Crumble the feta cheese in a bowl, add the soy beans and mix together with creme fraishe, finish with pepper. 

Heat a pan with butter and make the patties straight in the pan. Be careful not to burn them!

Let cool before serving them with a nice salad and the feta cheese and soy bean cream.

Let's play - what's in the fridge?? or Avocado and cherry tomato linguine

My super smart and hot friend Lisa gave me the brilliant idea to do a post on "What do I have at home RIGHT NOW?" (Thanks Lis!! I will prove to you now that I can do a lot more than just burn electric kettles on gas stoves...)

I had this at home: 

Avocado

Feta cheese (of course)

Cherry tomatoes

Garlic

Lemon 

Linguine

Cream (because I'm a Swede at heart and stomach apparently, although perhaps also a little Italian?)

(salt, pepper, chili and olive oil are a given in my kitchen)

This became an avocado and cherry tomato linguine with feta cheese! Super easy and as you can see above, not a lot of ingredients!

The How

Finely chop the garlic clove and fry until soft on low heat in some olive oil. 

Throw in the tomatoes and let sizzle for a bit, add the cream and season with salt, pepper and chili (if also addicted, like I am). 

In the meantime, cook the pasta until al dente.

Carve out the avocado meat and throw into the now simmering cream sauce.Squeeze some lemon over it and throw in the pasta and top with the feta cheese - mix and serve. 

Super tasty!! 

Hot Salad

Do you ever feel like someone else should do all the work for you in the kitchen? Can't get your best mate to come over and make you dinner? 

Step away from the pizza menu!!

This Hot Salad is super easy and super healthy, and best part of all, it basically cooks itself! Use your favorite veggies; 

I used

Aubergine

Zucchini

Red and yellow onion

Beetroots

Whole garlic cloves (with the skin still on!)

Chop them up (no need to make it all fancy, unless you really want to make them Julienne or Brunoise!), put them in an oven safe dish, pour over some olive oil, salt, pepper, whatever other herbs you want to use and stick them in the oven at about 180.200 degrees for about 20 minutes or until they are done (cooking time depends on what veggies you've used). 

Top with arugula or baby spinach (maybe even both if you're feeling adventurous) and crumble over some feta cheese (yes, I do use it for everything. But that's because it goes with ANYTHING! Amost anyway). Give the black pepper grinder a twirl over the veggies and serve when it's still warm.

Easy, healthy and basically carb free!

Chicken burger on sour dough bread with mango dressing, spicy fries and baby spinach salad.

You know when you really feel like having a burger? But then you're like "No, I really shouldn't, I have to think about beach 2014...". Living in Sweden I will only get about 2 months (if I'm lucky) of sun and it won't even be strong enough to make me tanned. To be honest with you, I would love to have that will power to say NO to pasta, NO to cheese, NO to wine, NO to the occasional pizza or burger and really go for that tight sexy beach bod this year.. But I just can't, food is just too damn good!! ... and also, I am a bit too lazy.

Chicken burger on sour dough bread with mango dressing,
spicy fries and baby spinach salad.

Take some advice from one of the greats: 

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” 

― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

Or as I like to say:

"The belly rules the mind".

- Spanish Proverb

The burger below is actually quite easy to make your own; you can eat it without the bread and you can use whatever dressing you like, add or take away anything really to make it more, or less, healthy. This is what I used (and it tasted amazing!):

Prepping; sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, baby spinach
 and the mango dressing.

The What:

500 g minced chicken breast

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 egg

Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese

200 g baby spinach

Tomato(es)

2 dl creme fraiche

Mango Chutney to taste

10-12 potatoes

chili flakes

salt and fresh ground pepper

Sour dough bread

Making the chicken patties; It's a lot easier using a spoon
and make the patties right in the pan!

The How:

Put the oven to 200 degrees.

Slice the potatoes into halves and slice the halves into sticks. Put the potato sticks in an oven safe dish, add olive oil, salt and fresh ground pepper and chili flakes to taste. Put in oven for about 20 minutes. 

Put the finely diced red onion, the grated garlic and the egg in a bowl. Using a spoon, mix together with the minced chicken breast and finish with some salt and pepper.

Mix the mango chutney with the creme fraiche to taste, add more if you want it extra mangoey!! Add salt and pepper here too if you want, although it's not necessary.

Slice the tomatoes, the mozzarella and wash the baby spinach.

Heat a pan with olive oil and use a spoon and make the chicken patties straight  in the pan. Fry until they are a golden brown and cooked all the way through. They burn quite easily though so be careful!

Cut the bread into slices and put them in the oven on top of the fries when they've been in the oven for about 15 minutes. 

Home made fries in the oven; letting the bread soak
up the oil and spices.

Put the bread on a plate, add the chicken patty, mozzarella, tomato, baby spinach and finish with the mango dressing. Serve with the chili fires and a nice spinach salad.

Overnight Oats

Overnight Oats with frozen raspberries, mango and organic Coconut flakes. Talk about breakfast for champions!!

So I finally tried the trendy "new" breakfast, Overnight Oats, hitting the kitchens and blogs of foodies and healthy people everywhere. And.. it really was great. I've never really been a breakfast person, always being way too tired to chew before my frst cup of coffee. When I lived at home, my mum made sure I ate something, then there was a whole long period of time when all I had for breakfast was a coffee and a cigarette (sorry Mum and dad) after which I ditched the cigarettes (yay, thank you Allen Carr!!) and just lived on coffee. After I got myself an outstanding man, he actually gets up every morning and makes me a sandwich to go. I know, I'm just bragging now. With Overnight Oats, though, I really think that I can let my guy sleep in once in a while, it's so easy to prepare, way tastier than a sandwich, not to mention much healthier. And for someone who really doesn't like the time between 12 am and 9 am, it's SO good that I can prepare pretty much everything the night before!! 

See How below!!

 

The What

1 dl almond milk (or regular if you prefer)

1.5 dl vanilla yogurt (or regular, greek or turkish is also good)

0.5 dl fiber oats

1 tbsp flaxseeds (linfrö)

1 tbsp psyllium seeds

frozen raspberries

frozen mango

(or other fresh fruit if you have access to it)

Organic coconut flakes (preferrably from Biofood, they have some great stuff!)

The How

Mix the milk, yogurt, fiber oats and seeds together in a jar or box with a lid. Put in the fridge over night.

In the morning, take out of the fridge, add desired amount of fruit and cocnut flakes.

Go to work. Drink coffee. EAT.