Spaghetti with beets, capers and mozzarella

Beets to purify almost everything!

The recipe below, is one I made some weeks ago. It was on a rainy afternoon when I just felt I needed a good lunch, with some great colours to brighten up the day. The combination of the beets and thyme worked very well, especially when topped with some parmesan cheese :-) But of course, this probably would do for dinner even better. The sweet beets and silty capers, and I guess these veggies would even work out with some nicely cooked quinoa, when you're not too fond of pasta's.

Beets are incredibly healthy, and that's not just because of the high level of various vitamins and minerals. Beets are Particularly beneficial to women who are pregnant, as the vitamin B and iron are very beneficial to new growth cells during pregnancy and replenishing iron in the woman's body. But even if you're not pregnant beets happen to have many benefits: they are a wonderful tonic for the liver, (when you 'oops' drank too much!) and they work as a purifier for the blood. To top that, they even can help prevent various forms of cancer.


When you're not feeling too cheerful, beets are really a godsend. They contain 'betaine', a substance also used in certain treatments for depression. It also contains useful 'trytophan', which relaxes the mind and creates a sense of well-being, a bit like chocolate. And finally, they can lower your blood pressure.

Convinced? Good, because there are numerous different and delightful recipes to be made with beetroot! You could use them raw,  finely chopped in a salad with some mint, or for example, a juice with apple and carrot, or in a salad with potatoes and chives, and so on. That said, I'd better think of what beet dish is going to be next on the blog!

SEE THE WHOLE RECIPE

Crispy spinach salad with orange-gorgonzola vinaigrette

Have it fresh!

It's been an incredibly good summer this year, and I can tell, since we've stayed home and really hoped for some sun and do-able temperatures. It was exactly what we got: it was a blast to be able to go outside with only some flip-flops, tops and shorts.

We live in the south of Amsterdam, just a few hundred meters near the famous Vondelpark, where friends and family meet each other after work or in weekends, with bottles of chilled drinks and  baskets stuffed with goods. So you can imagine what we've been doing night after night!

Barbecues and little gatherings with kids and friends, sun and fresh food... staying out 'till the sun is long gone..  it's like the ultimate summer joy. And since I kind of know how to get around in my kitchen I've been sorting out some good salads to bring along.

 This spinach salad really isn't hard to make but has this nice twist because of the gorgonzola mixed with orange, which makes it a dish of it's own.

Healthy as hell, and great on your plate! ;-)

See the whole recipe

The vegetarian version of 'The Authentic' Pasta Bolognese!

Oh,  so tasty & fine!

To be honest, I'm not really a sucker for meat-replacement products. Not wanting to eat meat doesn't necessarily makes me want to eat fake meat instead. I'm not into the specific taste and structure of meat, and anything made that looks and tastes just like it, isn't really on my list of interests.

However, I do not live alone, and i'm the only 'real' vegetarian in this household. (And the only one that cooks.) Though, Wolf doesn't get any meat (yet), but he's not even two years old, so his opinion doesn't count. He just is a vegetarian, and loves his quinoa-veggies-lentils-egg-or-whatever-dinners deeply.
All the others dó like some meat sometimes, and I don't want to prohibit them from eating it, as long as it is of good quality and just not too often. I hope one day the choise of being a vegetarian will be one of themselves. (Of course I use some discreet propaganda here and there :-) )

This Pasta Bolognese is one of my favorite recipes, because it's always satisfying and very much appreciated by everybody eating it. And the funny things is, the kids really believe they're eating meat. Even Nicolaas didn't taste the difference at first (yes, I told him later on). It's because my kids assured me a Pasta Bolognese without meat is no Bolognese. So I found a meat replacement product from an organic brand named 'Provamel', which doesn't really look apealing at first sight, but works very well in a dish like this. It's made of soy and looks just like the real stuf. (There are so many brands out there, and it's all quite the same i guess.)

Of course I do get questions like 'but mom, why do you eat meat, while you're a vegetarian?' But for some reason, they never seem very much interested in the answer, which I just mumble away. They're happy to eat a real Pasta Bolognese. And that's it.

SEE THE WHOLE RECIPE

Ridiculously good green Minestrone!

Let the sun shine in!

As i write this, we are at day 24 of our so called '30-day-elimination-diet' and are appreciating our new way of living, more and more each day. I think not drinking alcohol, or coffee for that matter, really makes a difference, but not eating gluten just changes everything. I really feel 'thin' and energised. Not that I've ever been 'big', but the bloated- and full feeling, I often felt at the end of the day, is as good as gone. And besides that, my skin finally starts to look the way it's supposed to be: healthy and shiney! 

The fact that all our effort really makes us feel better, healthier and cleaner is just something to celebrate and to share. A 30 day elimination diet is therefor one thing I can highly recommend to everybody.

So. What we'll eat than? What about this slightly adjusted recipe I found in the awesome cookbook Vegalicious: a green summer minestrone with freshly made pesto, that tastes ridiculously good? It's just made of freshly organic vegetables and herbs and looks like a little party in your bowl. 

Eating all these greens isn't only delicious, it's certainly good for you too: asparagus have a high content of vitamin C, E, K and folic acid (vitamin B11) and contain substances that help you break down fat stores. They stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria in the intestines that make for good digestion. Basil, for example, gives relief from colds, coughs, asthma, headaches, and fever. It relieves mental fatigue, is enlightening mind and improves concentration. Also mint helps relieve colds and coughs, but also eases the gastrointestinal tract to rest after vomiting or nausea

Enjoy!

SEE THE WHOLE RECIPE