2 Cauliflower 'Rice' Recipes to die for

Am I the last one to try cauliflower 'rice'? Recommended as a healthy and calories-free alternative to rice, this invention is making waves in the foodie world for a couple of years already but only last week landed to my kitchen. 

The following two recipes were created from scratch, using a medium sized cauliflower, shredded in the food processor. In each case, it serves 3 hungry people.

Veggies overflow

Ingredients:

- half of the 'rice' of a medium cauliflower

- one medium-sized onion, finelly cut

- 1 teaspoon brown sugar

- 100 gr. fresh shiitake mushrooms, finelly cut

- 150 gr. fresh cottage cheese

- 2 tablespoon corn oil

- 200 gr. fresh canned corn

- 100 gr. Allgäuer Emmental, finelly shredded

- 1 fresh tomato sliced for decoration

- 1 teaspoon za'atar

Directions:

Add the oil, the onions and the brown sugar in a pan, at 250C. Mix and fry until brown. Add the za'atar, 'rice', the 2 sorts of cheese, mushrooms, corn and mix well for around 10 minutes. Serve it with the fresh tomatoes. 

Preparation time

10 minutes

Cooking time

15 minutes

Thai impressions

Ingredients:

- 1/2 'rice' of a medium cauliflower

- 3 tablespoon corn oil

- 2 tablespoons za'atar

- 3 tablespoon cottage cheese

- 2 big garlic cloves, finelly chopped

- 50 gr. Allgäuer Emmentaler shredded

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 100 ml. Wok Sauca - Coconut Lemongrass - which is very spicey

Directions:

Warm the oil in a pan at 250C. Add the ingredients one by one and mix them well. You can accompany it by a a fresh cucumber and tomato salad.

Preparation time

10 minutes

Cooking time

10 minutes

Planet Bamboo: Ecological toothbrushes for a healthy planet

As a strong supporter of the idea of 'brands with a conscience', I am parcimonious when it comes to product reviews and promotions. On my blog, I am always supporting products and companies that are not always tempting from the visual and price point of view, but who are generally supporting projects aimed to create a positive impact in the society, be it environmentally or otherwise. This is how I've found at the beginning of this year Planet Bamboo, a Stuttgart-based company creating ecological toothbrushes made of bamboo that accepted to send me for testing their products. 

Created in November last year, Planet Bamboo aims at challenging the harm made by plastic by offering the alternative of a material that has a limited environmental risk: bamboo. As one of the founders, Anton, an engineer by profession, told me earlier this year in a phone conversation, the company was created having in mind the idea of 'making the world a cleaner place', by avoiding the plastic polution risks. 

The tooth brushes, produced in China, were delivered in a nicely looking brown paper boxes featuring a panda brushing his teeth, with a short description in German of the main features of the products and a website address. My testing lot included 2x toothbrushes: 1 for adults and 1 for children. My testing time was of around 2 intensive weeks, using them twice the day, both me and my 20-month year old son.

The first thing you notice about the toothbrushes is how light they are. You can hardly notice you are holding something. Especially for small children, they are a very good start for practising their tooth brushing skills. As for now, the products do not have the approval of any local dentists' association. Cleaning the teeth is very easy and efficient, the brush being robust and soft, and easy to move too.It makes the brushing early in the morning a very easy work, not only for the little ones. 

The products themselves are permanent work in process, as since the first launch of the product, an improved variant was already offered, in less than one year. The tooth brushes are BPA-free, 96% biologically built, vegan and ecological. 

Personally, I was very happy with the product and I can strongly recommend to anyone. Well, maybe the colours of the brush aren't so attractive, but I definitely loved the lightness of the brush body and its features.

You can check their website: www.planet-bamboo.de for the various offers and price discounts.

Disclaimer: Although the products were offered for review by Planet Bamboo, but the opinions are, as usual, my own

The secrets of Eat Fat Be Fit

I am not a big fan of diets and readings about diets in general, but I am lately interested in healthy hacks and everything that has to do with a toxic-free lifestyle, therefore this book rose my interest. Also the fact that it is written by an experienced coach with background in neuroscience and not by any hobby dietetian next door increased the book credentials. 

My expectations were not in vain. The book is accessible also with people without a medical background, but it keeps the professional level and tone. Most importantly, it blows up a couple of easily vehiculated myths about fats, as for instance, that 'fats will make you fat', outlining their role in keeping a balance of vitamins into the body. 

For those interested to move a step forward into the pursuit of wellness, a 28-day meal plan is offered, packed with delicious recipes, aimed at creating a healthy daily life, focused on 'optimizing stress tolerance' and well being. Stress is taken here in both physical and mental sense. 

I recommend this book to anyone interested in reading more than a strict diet plan, but understanding how our body works and what we need to eat in order to have a healthy life, without fasting or creating additional pressure and stress on our body. Additional information and the app created to offer online help are available on Kusha Karvandi website.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Honey melon and banana smoothie

Summer is (almost) in full bloom in Berlin - forget one or two days or hours of heavy rains as today, and finding the best ways for a healthy hydration is one of the many questions of the day. Yesterday, I decided to be out of any smoothie books and prepare my own, unique smoothie, using the available ingredients in my fridge (efficiently using and combining leftovers and food is one of my latest objective, as I realized I am wasting a lot of stuff because not always thinking about how to create new recipes or meals). Here is my experience. It serves two and the preparation time is maximum 10 minutes.

 Ingredients:
1 and a half medium-sized banana. If you want a more creamy effect, you can use two.
2 teaspoons of Veganz coconut flowers sweetener
1/2 medium sized honey melon
175 cold water
Directions:
Cut the banana into little rounds
Scoop the seeds of the melon and cut it into cubes
Add all the ingredients in the blender and mix for around 3-4 minutes at medium speed

Here we are! The smoothie has a lot of natural sweetness - both banana and honey melon do have plenty of sweet. If you keep it in the fridge for half an hour, it is even get fresher. You can have it in the afternoon, while sitting in the balcony wrapped in the warm rays of the sun, or any time when you need a fresh drink for a healthy, happier day!