The story behind FOODSY

Hello there! Welcome to my first blog post. Here’s a short story of how I decided to start blogging and what you can expect in terms of content.

The idea of creating this blog was conceived once upon a time, when I decided to change my diet and focus on being healthy(ier). And let’s be honest, I wanted to lose some weight. As you will see, my diet does not restrict almost any kind of food, so one might think that there wasn’t much to be changed. But oh, trust me – there was. Until I find healthy and tasty alternatives to traditional pizza, lasagne, pasta, pastry, bread and fat rich meals, which were the foundation of my diet, do not expect to see them around here…often. Nowadays I try to focus on salads with fresh ingredients, such as veggies and fruits, and mostly fish and chicken. Sometimes I also eat beef. I avoid frying, but when I can’t (or don’t want to), I use olive or coconut oil to make it slightly healthier. At the end of the day, I have such a sweet tooth and I could never say “no” to a dessert! Some days I am happy with a piece of fruit, but sometimes I could eat the entire cake. So, regarding desserts, do expect a variety of content.

To get inspired and find ideas for meals, I used platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram. It didn’t take long until I got hooked on the theme and wanted to try out every single recipe. So, once I started preparing meals according to this diet, I found them so pretty and colourful, that I started taking pictures just like those I found online. Then I found it interesting to edit them. Then I figured that it would be a shame if I didn’t share them with others, who also enjoy scrolling through such content. So hey, here I am. Hi again! I hope that you’ll like my blog! #newbie haha

The name “FOODSY” is inspired by Joey’s bedtime penguin pal Huggsy. For those who don’t know, I am talking about the TV show FRIENDS and I am sorry, but we cannot be friends if you are one of those people. Jokes. Please follow, Friend ♡

Oh, and if you were wondering if I lost some weight – I did. A lot. And I feel great!

Stay tuned for upcoming blog posts.

DAY 43 | Burger Meatballs and more

Greetings from autumnally colored Austria! With still a few traces of Sun and bright days, but enough chill to justify having blankets all around the house and drinking warm tea all day long, this is also a perfect time for kitchen experiments, if you ask me! Not to mention that having your oven on will provide just enough heat for your home, so you do not have to turn on the actual heating yet. 

Breakfast

I enjoyed a quiet and fresh morning in the kitchen, listening to one of live jazz recordings on YouTube and sipping the first cup of coffee whilst preparing my colorful plate! 

Whenever I have time, and especially during autumn-winter season, I prefer having warm breakfast, so today I cooked polenta with nothing but a pinch of salt and as addition to the meal, I also fried a handful of green beans on an olive oil greased pan. On the side I had, as you can see, a few cherry tomatoes, chopped and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Snack

Now look at this turnover! By the time I got hungry again, I was craving summer leftovers, so I treated myself with slices of luscious melon and delectable figs! 

Advice: seize the opportunity and eat melons while they are still sweet! 

Lunch

And finally – the real deal: tomato risotto with beef meatballs. Surprise surprise, they tasted like burgers! But tomato risotto gave the whole dish the note of a home cooked meal, and besides that, it complemented their taste wonderfully. 

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It is not the first time I am making these meatballs and you can find the complete recipe in the blog for DAY 40 meal plan. 

For tomato risotto I used:

• one red onion, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 can (500g) of mashed tomato 
• 1 cup rice
• 2 cups of water (can be substituted for veggie stock)
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• pinch of sugar
• olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat some olive oil in a saucepan or a small pot:
2. Add chopped onion and yellow bell pepper and fry it until onion turns translucent;
3. Add rice and fry it together with veggies for 2 minutes, mixing often so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan;
4. Pour in tomato, add sugar and one cup of water:
5. Reduce the heat and let it simmer;
6. Once the liquid evaporates, add one more cup of water if needed (if the rice is still not cooked) and the rest of seasonings. Again, let it cook on a medium heat until the rice absorbs all liquid.

In the end I garnish the whole dish with chives. Easy, ha?

DAY 42 | Crispy, Creamy, Crunchy

Crispy, creamy, crunchy, crumbly, colourful, creative,… the list goes on! But tell me, what are your favourite C-food-related-words?

Breakfast

With weather getting worse and worse as we are getting deeper into the autumn, I am kind of saying goodbye to figs, and I am almost 100% sure that this is the last post this year featuring them. Not gonna lie, this makes me sad, but I am still excited for new food obsessions!

As I have stated in my Monday’s Instagram post, despite the rainy morning, I started the day with happy thoughts and flavoursome breakfast:

I spread mashed avocado in a thick layer over a thin rye cracker, then added slices of boiled egg and fig. Now, I have to make a small digression here: the idea to put a fig on a sandwich is absolutely new to me. I saw an image of a salad with figs, then a bruschetta with figs and finally I had to create some sort of savoury meal with this fruit! I found it so refreshing and interesting and cannot recommend it enough! Hurry up, before figs are gone from the market! Finally, I drizzled tahini paste on top of the sandwiches and added freshly ground black pepper.

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Snack

Morning snack looked like this:

sweet pears, sliced and garnished with cinnamon, flax seeds, cranberries and raisins. There’s no such thing as too sweet snacks, right?!

Lunch

Crispy gnocchi? Creamy chicken? Chicken and mushrooms? Tomato and chives? Oh well, this dish has it all!

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Creamy Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients:

• 400g Penny Bun mushrooms, sliced
• 500g Chicken drumsticks, deboned
• 2-3 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 heaped tbsp ff spelt (dinkel) flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Season chicken drumsticks with salt and pepper;
2. Heat some oil in a deep pan over medium high heat and fry chicken until it starts turning golden;
3. Add sliced mushrooms, reduce heat and cover the pan with the lid; mix occasionally;
4. After 10 minutes, add garlic and 1 cup of water;
5. In a separate bowl, mix flour and hot water until it has no lumps and it reaches the consistency of a crepes batter.
6. Add the mixture to the pan and mix until it incorporates with the rest of ingredients and reaches the creamy consistency.
7. Season with salt and pepper and this part of the dish is done!

Crispy Gnocchi

If this is new to you, you’ll be surprised by its easiness and tastiness!

1. cook gnocchi according to the instructions on the package (be careful not to overcook them);
2. let the gnocchi dry out a bit and then cover them with 1 tbsp of corn flour or polenta and a pinch of salt;
3. heat a tiny bit of olive oil or butter on non-stick pan and fry gnocchi for 2 minutes both sides.

Then serve with sliced tomato sprinkled with chives et voila! There you have it, enjoy and come back for more recipes by Miss Foodsy!

Until then…. stay well!

Dessert 5 | Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread

Hello and happy Sunday, Foodie! Welcome back to my Miss Foodsy Blog. 

Because I haven’t been posting as much as I should in the past couple of months, I’ve decided to treat you with a brand new Sunday special – a post dedicated exclusively to a new dessert recipe! 

This week’s special is, as you can see from the title, a chocolate raspberry banana bread. Another invention of mine, inspired by what I had at home that needed to be used up! Haha, I obviously work well under pressure! Time-pressure caused by bananas getting unusable, due to their overripeness! The best thing about overripe bananas is that they are super sweet and you don’t need much of an additional sweetener. Although I would never ever judge anyone for adding more sweetness in any shape or form… cause that would mean that I judge myself! Having that 80-20 balance makes enough space for having a sweet tooth, so no worries. 🙂

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Now let me show you the recipe! I know I say it almost all the time, but this recipe is really, REALLY simple. There is basically nothing you can do to mess it up, except for maybe forgetting about it and burning it. But if you’d just set the alarm, you’ll be on the safe side.

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Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread 

Ingredients:

• 3 bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 150g spelt (dinkel) flour (oh well, or any other!)
• 15g baking powder
• 4tbsp cacao powder
• 4tbsp maple syrup
• 2tbsp coconut oil
• 8tbsp shredded hazelnuts
• 60g frozen raspberries

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C.
2. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl (flour, baking powder, cacao powder, hazelnuts) and wet ingredients (bananas, eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup) in another. 
3. Add dry to the wet and fold using a spatula.
4. Add and mix in raspberries as well. 
5. Pour the batter mixture into the loaf pan, lined with parchment paper, and bake for 40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
6. Leave it to cool for 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan and then leave it to cool completely.
7. Serving suggestion: with raspberry jam and a cup of coffee. 

I hope that I have sweetened up your Sunday even a little bit! I would really like to know if you try this out, so please let me know! Thanks for stopping by, for reading and for sharing my love for food! Until next week’s post…

Love, Miss Foodsy

DAY 41 | Let the baking begin!

Happy Autumn, peeps! This is one of my favourite seasons. I love everything about it: colours, smells, crisp mornings, cosiness… but most of all – baking! And guess what?! The first batch of cookies is already out of the oven! Check out “snack” section for the recipe!

Breakfast

Have I already said that I loooove crisp autumnal mornings? Well, I do and they usually arouse cravings for a warm, comforting breakfast in me. So today I enjoyed oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg, which I have topped with roasted nuts, sliced figs and a drizzle of honey!

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And may I share a secret with you? These pictures are not quite true. After I made it look all pretty, I buried it in even more figs and nuts, haha! But that’s something I am only sharing with you, so please keep it safe! 😊

What are your favourite oatmeal toppings? Give me some ideas!

Snack

It is that time of the year when ovens get multi-purpose: baking, heating, diffuser. Am I right? Who does not like the smell of baking cookies or oranges or apples or cinnamon cakes?! And all of that while your home gets lovely warmth and cosiness during the first cold days. Autumn is just perfect. But tell me, what are you snacking on these days?? Have you already baked your favourite autumnal cake? Here is one of my newest inventions:

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Chocolate-Oats Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1 banana, mashed
• 2.5 cups oats, blended
• 3 tbsp flax seeds, blended
• 0.5 cup coffee
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp chocolate flakes
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• (optional) 1 tsp whey protein powder
• 100g dark chocolate for topping

Instructions: Mix all ingredients together, form cookies and bake them on 200°C for 12-15 minutes. Let them cool completely before melting some chocolate and spreading it all over cookies. Wait for chocolate to cool and get firm, then store cookies in air tight container.

Lunch

So few ingredients and so much flavour – chilli anchovies risotto. I teamed it up with a zucchini side salad. If you love the combination of chilli, fish and creamy risotto, this dish is just right for you!

Chilli Anchovy Risotto

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Ingredients:

• rice
• chili anchovies in oil
• yellow bell pepper, chopped
• broccoli and
• cauliflower
• chives
• salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil from anchovies in a pot over a medium high heat.
2. Add chopped pepper and let it soften a bit before adding anchovies.
3. Pour in rice and 2 times as much water, or alternatively you can add fish stock.
4. Reduce heat to medium, cover the pot with a lid and let the rice absorb most of the liquid.
5. Add broccoli, cauliflower, chives and seasonings. Add more liquid if needed and cook 10-15 more minutes.
6. If needed adjust flavour with more seasonings and serve!

I hope you liked these meal suggestions! Until next one…

Love,
Miss Foodsy

DAY 40 | Eating enough colours

Getting back on track – new week, new menu. Hi and welcome back ♡

Breakfast

You may or may not remember, but months ago I did a full menu inspired by traffic light colours. I feel like someone stole my traffic light idea – ahem, ahem. Now I am continuing in the same spirit, and it has nothing to do with corona traffic light, I promise!

First time having string (green) beans for breakfast, and also first time having green beans prepped this way – fried with a tiny bit of olive oil, then seasoned with salt and pepper. Amazing! On its left you can see simple scrambled eggs, and on the right a few cherry tomatoes, chopped to ease poking process (I know you know what I mean).

Snack

Snack time got very special this time. I made an effort the other day and made my first granola! I can’t even pretend to be modest – I rate it 10/10!

So, today I had it with some Greek yogurt, apple sauce and a pinch of cinnamon.

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Homemade Granola

Ingredients:

• 3 cup oats
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tbsp flax seeds
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 3 tbsp apple sauce
• Handful of chopped nuts
• Dried cranberries
• Pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, until everything is evenly coated.
3. Transfer the mixture onto the baking tray and press down similarly to making granola bars – make sure it is of even thickness everywhere.
4. Pop into the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly golden.
5. Take it out, let it cool for a few minutes and then break it into clusters. Put it back in the oven for a further 10 minutes.
6. Let it cool completely before storing it in your favourite granola jar!

Lunch

I love all things red: clothes, wine, meat… We are slowly but surely approaching that time of the year when the colour of love will be all around us! Yay!

Now, red meat isn’t often on my menu, but it is definitely something that I crave from time to time. In my last week’s post, I shared the recipe for Chilli con carne, which I also made with beef, so check it out if you want something more stew-like. But today’s post is all about beef meat balls.

Beef Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 500g minced beef
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• ½ cup kidney beans, mashed
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp parsley
• Salt, pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Form balls using your hands (1-2 heaped tbsp of mixture should do) and place them onto the tray.

Tip: keep your hands wet, so the mixture does not stick to your palms.

3. Slightly coat meatballs with the oil of your choice – I used olive oil.
4. Place in the oven for 40 minutes or until they turn golden-brown.

I combined them with roasted zucchini, just like I usually make it – coated in olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper and thyme, and balsamic glazed mushrooms, for which you can find full recipe here.

As there can never be enough green food, I added a side salad made with cucumber, lamb’s lettuce and balsamic vinegar.

I hope you liked this meal plan and please, if you try to follow it, don’t forget to add some chocolate here and there between meals! And coffee too!

Many thanks for reading!

Love, Miss Foodsy

DAY 39 | Something old, something updated & something completely new

Two weeks flew by really quick – that is how long it has been since my last post. Not only did I have no time for writing, but I also didn’t have any material to write about, because I ate most of my meals out. Some of those meals I did take a picture of and posted it on my Instagram page. So, if that is also something you would like to see, check out a highlight named “out & about”. But now let’s continue with my own creations!

Breakfast

Once again, I prepared overnight oats – this time it was carrot cake inspired! Sometimes a cake flavoured food first thing in the morning is just the right treat for me. I usually have sweet breakfast on weekends, because I easily get hungry afterwards, but since overnight oatmeal is so easy to prepare and speeds up the morning “get-ready” process, it is not uncommon to enjoy it also during the week. Well, I say “enjoy” but I actually think devour it within seconds.

Carrot Cake Overnight Oats

• ¼ cup oats
• 1 grated carrot
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp flax seeds
• 1 tbsp cranberries
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• ¼ cup water

Mix everything together in a bowl the night before, cover it with a cling wrap, so that the wrap touches the surface of your oatmeal (this will prevent proteins from creating a thin crust on top) and put it in the fridge. Don’t forget to add your favourite toppings in the morning! I added some walnuts, but pecans would work just as good or even better! Enjoy!

Snack

This season one of my favourite snack foods are figs! I grew up having a fig tree in my backyard, but other than climbing it and basically living on it during the whole summer holidays (little monkey), I don’t really remember eating figs all that much. However, this year due to corona virus I was unable to travel back home and weirdly enough, I really missed figs. So, here’s a picture of my most eaten snack in the past couple of weeks.

Lunch

Now please welcome my first attempt in making Chili con carne! Wowza! It was delish! Hardly contained myself from adding even more uncommon ingredients, but those that I did, I have no regret adding. Feel free to follow the recipe all the way.

Chili Con Carne

Ingredients:

• 1 aubergine, cut and let it sit seasoned with salt for 15 minutes; rinse before cooking
• 1 can chopped tomato
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red chili pepper, chopped (this is optional though, don’t add it if you are not into spicy food)
• 2 onions, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 500g minced beef
• Handful string (green) beans, cut in 1” length
• Parsley
• Salt, pepper, paprika
• Olive oil

Instructions:

1. Heat some olive oil in a deep pan on medium high heat
2. Add chopped onions. Toss them around to prevent burning, add water if needed.
3. Once onion turns translucent, add minced meat.
4. When the meat gets cooked through, add peppers, green beans and aubergine. Mix well.
5. After 3 minutes you should reduce heat to medium and add tomato and garlic.
6. Once it starts simmering, add ½ can of hot water, kidney beans and reduce heat to low. Let it simmer for 30 minutes. Mix occasionally.
7. During that time, you can season the chili with salt, pepper, paprika and parsley to taste.

This recipe is enough to feed a family of 3-4 grownups.

Sending you lots of love,
Miss Foodsy

DAY 38 | Self-control Fail – getting a food belly

Hello there, dear MFB Reader! Let me introduce you some new meal ideas! Relax and enjoy. 😊

Breakfast

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. I know I already mentioned this, but it really is the reason I get up sometimes. I love practicing creativity, finding complementing flavours and arranging food, and starting the day by treating myself with an appealing deliciousness.

So, I was convinced that the idea to put balsamic mushrooms with sesame seeds on top of with guacamole (find recipe here) topped protein bread came from my head. But ever since I prepared this breakfast for the first time, I keep seeing the same thing online. Instagram is getting overflooded with similar pictures. And now I am not sure whether I saw an image even before I decided to make this and it got stuck in my head without me realising it, or do we all get inspired by season/weather and/or supermarket offers.

Balsamic glazed mushrooms

Ingredients:

• Mushrooms
• Sesame seeds
• Balsamic reduction
• Olive oil and/or butter
• Salt, pepper, thyme

Instructions:

1. Slice mushrooms
2. Heat some olive oil with 1 tsp of butter (optional) on medium high heat
3. Add desired amount of sesame seeds and toss them around to prevent burning
4. Add mushrooms, mix and fry them until they start to soften
5. Add seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, thyme
6. Once they are done, add balsamic reduction and mix well until every mushroom slice gets covered.

Snack

Due to the heat wave we were experiencing here in Vienna during the last week or two, I had to make something super cold and refreshing, ready to grab and enjoy any time I walk by the freezer. And what is better than frozen yogurt bark? There are literally endless options to enrich and give more flavour to it! So, I made mine with blueberries and then I also sprinkled some chocolate flakes on top, because why not 😊

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Frozen yogurt bark

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cup Greek yogurt, 2% fat
• 1 tsp vanilla flavoured whey protein powder (optional)
• 1 tsp honey (add more if you have a sweet tooth. I know because I wish I added more 🙂 )
• Handful of blueberries
• Chocolate flakes

Instructions:

1. Prepare a wide and flat, freezer friendly dish by lining it with a cling film
2. Mix yogurt, honey and protein powder in a bowl until smooth
3. Spread the mixture evenly in the dish
4. Sprinkle blueberries and chocolate flakes
5. Leave in the freezer at least 3-4 hours (I left mine overnight)
6. Once frozen, you can remove cling film by soaking a sponge cloth with warm water, and going over the cling film. It will melt thin layer of yogurt and you will be able to remove the film easily. Alternatively, leave it at room temperature for 20 minutes before removing it.
7. Break into pieces and enjoy!

Lunch

And here’s one overfull plate for all my hungry-eye fellows!

So, this happens when I make a longer pause between meals than usual – I’ll take anything that meets my eyes and I’ll make a portion that will later give me a second trimester belly. But that is ok as long as I choose ingredients wisely.

This portion consists of one Tilapia crispy baked (breaded) fillet, one entire small sweet potato, mushrooms and a side of a handful of lamb’s lettuce with cherry tomatoes salad. 

Both sweet potato and mushrooms were coated in olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme prior to baking them in the oven for 20-30 minutes on 200°C.

Baked crispy (breaded) fish fillet

Ingredients:

• Fish fillet – I used Tilapia
• Breadcrumbs, or alternatively use corn flour
• Olive oil
• Salt, pepper

Instructions:

1. Season the fillet with salt and pepper
2. Give it a coat of breadcrumbs / corn flour
3. Place on a baking pan lined with parchment paper and drizzle with some olive oil
4. Put in the oven for 20-30 minutes on 190°C

And finally, let me know if you liked it!

Thank you for visiting and reading through! Until next week’s post

Love, Miss Foodsy

DAY 37 | Veggie Freak

Hello Foodie and welcome to my new blog post! It is a colourful 3-dish meal plan, full of healthy ingredients that 100% enjoyed both – making and eating! Take a look!

Breakfast

Super easy cheesy breakfast: omelette with bacon cubes and a side of caprese!

To prepare omelette I simply:

1. fried bacon cubes on a pan (without oil, because bacon fat melts and that is more than enough),
2. added previously beaten eggs (for this portion I used 2 large eggs),
3. diffused them into a crepe,
4. seasoned with salt and pepper,
5. folded it in half and
6. cut folded omelette right in the middle for no apparent reason
7. and served! Oh, I also sprinkled some residual bacon cubes on top (because I had so many)

Caprese salad always reminds me of summer holidays and seaside restaurants. So when I started my day with such beautiful feelings and memories, I knew that the day was going to be successful!

Snack

Happy snack time, everyone! Oh, how much I liked this snack: homemade hummus, veggie sticks and pretzels.

Usually I prefer sweet snacks, but for some reason I was craving raw carrots for the whole week. Like a bunny, I was devouring them at all times and ate the whole packaging (1 kg) in less than a week. And I have never ever done this before, so I have no idea why it happened. I may only assume that my body needed some nutrient that carrots are rich in.

So, mid-way through the week I had an amazing idea to try and make my own hummus to pair it with carrots. I used a blender to mix the following ingredients:

• chickpeas
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• garlic
• parsley
• salt
• pepper

That is the hummus that you can see in the picture. But since it turned out to be too thick, later I added a bit of water and blended it again, so it was way smoother and nicer. Depending on the texture you prefer, you can add or omit water.

And as you can see, I added cucumber, yellow bell pepper and some pretzels to enrich my snack.

Lunch

Well my lunch kind of merged summer and carrot (surprise, surprise) theme: shrimps, seared veggies and rice.

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How surprised are you, after my story-time in previous section, that my seared veggies portion was actually planned around carrots? The whole point was to incorporate them into a meal and not overcook them, but to keep their crunchiness. So, I seared them (using olive oil) together with red bell pepper and some mushrooms. For seasonings I used salt, lemon-pepper spice mixture and thyme.

I hope you liked this meal plan and that you were able to follow and recreate recipes!

Lots of love, Miss Foodsy

DAY 36 | Busy, busy, quick & easy

Breakfast

Busy mornings call for quick grab & eat type of breakfast. However, I like my meals to be healthy and balanced even in that scenario. That’s why overnight oats make perfect sense for me. Here’re the ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt with 2% fat
• 1 tbsp vanilla flavoured whey protein
• 1 tsp flaxseeds
• pinch of chia seeds
• ¼ cup oats
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 3 dates, chopped
• 1 small apricot and coconut chips on top.

I simply combined all of the ingredients (except the last item), covered with cling wrap to prevent the proteins from forming a thin crust on top (wrap has to touch the surface). In the morning you can just remove the wrap and top your overnight oats with desired toppings! My choice of fruit was apricot and then I also added some coconut chips, because I am a topping freak and nothing is ever enough for me. Hungry eyes.   

Snack

There are also great solutions concerning snacks on the go! Although I usually make my own nut/fruit/seed mixtures, I do occasionally end up buying student’s mix or similar products when I am outdoors, in a rush, and I start feeling hungry. That was exactly the case when I got my hands on this mixture: walnuts, almonds, brasil nuts, hazelnuts, cashews and cranberries. I paired it with some delicious figs and enjoyed with coffee as my morning snack.

Lunch

And in case you were wondering what’s for lunch – it is, again, an oldie but goldie, quick and easy lunch solution:

Creamy Mustard Chicken

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All you need for this meal are the following ingredients:

• 500g chicken breast
• 150g crème fraiche
• 2 tbsp mustard
• Olive oil for frying
• Salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Chop chicken (chops, stripes, or however you like), season it with salt and pepper, and mix with mustard until completely covered.
2. Heat olive oil to medium high temperature and fry chicken until it turns golden.
3. Reduce heat to medium, add crème fraiche and mix well.
4. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Add additional seasonings if needed. If you like it sour, you can add some add lemon juice (1 or 2 tbsps., depending how citrusy you want it to taste)
5. Et voila! That is it!

While I was dealing with the chicken, I was also baking some sweet potato as per usual: coated it in olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme, and baked on 200°C for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how thick you cut it.

As for side salad, I used lettuce mixture and seasoned it with pepper and white balsamic vinegar.

Even though cooking makes me happy and I truly enjoy my time in the kitchen, there are also days like this one, when I just need to think of quick meals that do fit into my diet. I know that professional cooking is so much more than what I do, but when I find myself successfully managing my diet during hectic days, I do feel like a pro and like I am in charge.

I hope you liked this meal plan and can’t wait to share even more recipes with you!

Love, Miss Foodsy

DAY 35 | Bake it till you make it!

Today’s meal plan is probably most suitable for a rainy weekend, since it requires quite a lot of time in the kitchen. But as a result, it provides very delicious outcomes, so take a look and decide if you are willing to indulge in such treats before you discard it judging by its time consumption. No spoilers, but there’s a high drooling possibility.

Breakfast

Look how lovely my day started: spinach and cheese pie with tomato. I baked this pie the night before, so I had no trouble waking up the next day – breakfast is basically the only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning, and when I plan and prep it beforehand, I turn into an early bird!

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Spanakopita

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 100g sheep cheese
• 2+1 eggs
• 1 handful of grated walnuts
• 250g defrosted spinach
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 sheet (275g) puff pastry
• Sesame seeds
• Salt, pepper
• Olive oil and butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C, prepare one baking tray (lined with parchment paper) and one skillet
2. Add some olive oil and butter mixture to the skillet and heat on medium high heat until the oil is shimmering. Toss in diced onion and stir to coat all the pieces with the oil and spread them out evenly. Let them cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if needed to prevent onion from drying out.
3. Reduce heat to medium low and add sugar to speed up caramelization, pinch of salt, garlic and walnuts. Let cook for another 10 minutes, again stirring occasionally.
4. While that cooks, beat two eggs in a bowl and add crumbled cheese to them. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper.
5. Add spinach to the onions and mix it in well. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly before pouring eggs and cheese to it.
6. Place the filling on the puff sheet and roll the sheet. Smear the top of the pastry with the remaining egg (beaten beforehand), sprinkle with sesame seeds and salt and put in the oven for 30 minutes or until pastry turns golden brown. Here’s how it looked like after I took it out of the oven:

Snack

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If you follow me on Instagram, you have probably already seen this recipe. I shared it almost immediately over there, because I was so thrilled with the result! I basically experimented with the ingredients that I had at home and didn’t really know what to expect – but in the end, it turned out to be a chocolaty heaven!

Lunch

I wrote recently about pilaf and how it in my home always meant “baked rice” dish and how I was surprised when I looked it up online and it turned out to be something else. Well, it was time to try out “something else” pilaf prep style.

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Chicken and Mushroom Pilaf

Ingredients:

• 250g chicken breast
• 1 onion, diced
• 8-10 medium sized mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• ¾ cup of (uncooked) rice
• Salt, pepper, parsley
• Olive oil and butter

Instructions:

1. Take a deep pan that has a lid because this is going to be one pot dish 😊
2. Chop chicken into thumb sized pieces and fry them on some olive oil over medium high heat. Remove chicken from the pan and set it aside.
3. Reduce heat to medium and add about 1 tbsp of butter to the pan.
4. Add rice and fry it for 5 minutes, stirring often, so that it doesn’t stick to the pan and burn.
5. Add onion, mushrooms and pepper and stir well.
6. When veggies soften, add chicken back to the pot, season with salt and pepper and mix well.
7. Pour in two cups of hot water and cover the pan with the lid.
8. When rice absorbs water, check for the taste, adjust it and add fresh parsley.
9. Mix and serve!

This recipe yields 2 large portions.

For the side salad this time I opted for lamb’s lettuce, tomato and basil with a dressing made of pumpkin seed oil and balsamic reduction.

I hope you liked today’s meal plan and I hope that it inspired you to experiment more with ingredients and flavours! I only listen to my intuition when it comes to cooking. That way I have fun, I feel creative and usually enjoy the final outcome. 😊

Love, Miss Foodsy