Dear diary I have a confession to make…

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Malin

This year so far I have met so many new people who have touch me in so many different ways. Some I have lived near by for years, others I got to know better and some I have randomly met because our paths has crossed. What they all have in common is that they are all unique, I think if we are open to the fact we are all different from one another because of our upbringing, experience, religion or what ever it might we have one thing in common. We do all share that we are “peculiar” to one another and if you can embrace that and listen to their stories I think we become a happier person.

So one of my sweet, sweet Swedish friends and her family are moving back to Sweden so last night we had a girls night out and we had a blast. With great food and a lot of laughters the girls was ready for a sleep in this morning so we canceled this morning class which also meant a sleep in for me, yeah right!

Although I had the house to myself (I think for the first time ever) I still woke up bright and early and made it out for a 3 mile run just before the thunder rolled in over us. It was really humid and I had decided in my head not to go all out because I was going to an “invasion” yoga class afterwards but that was not happening. You know when you start and you feel pretty good and you push it, it is hard to stop! It was far from my greatest run but yet I fought all the way and as I walked trough the door the rain started pouring down as did the sweat at the back of my back.

I hurried to change clothes and ran off to the yoga studio for an 1 1/2 prep for handstands. I thought I knew how to get on to my hands but not so much, I guess because when my teacher Jodi Ryan told me what to do it totally made sense. She told me to lift my shoulders through the ribs and engage my core (she probably would describe it in a different way) it was like a “aha” moment and I became an addict. There you go, I am and addict! It is an amazing feeling when you figure out your body and you are able to take it to a new level, you just want more and more. So when I got home I was doing stuff around the house I kept on practicing handstand just so I could get that rush again. I guess this is what yoga does to you…haha. So to sum my day up I have had a great day and I am absolutely knackered and looking forward to get my family back!

Jodi and I playing around after the evening class…like i said I am an addict 😉

Did you dream about a burger?

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Malin

Whenever we are grilling burgers I always skip the bread as I am not really doing so good with it and t that’s ok but to be perfectly honest I do miss to be able to hold it and the texture of the bread. So I have finally been introduced to unmodified Potato Starch that apparently have been proven to improved insulin sensitivity, lower blood sugar levels, reduced appetite and various benefits for digestion just to mention a few. So I decided to try a recipe making burger buns and it was healthy and heavenly!

2 Eggs
1 pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon unflavored coconut oil
1/2 dl water
1/2 dl coconut flour
0,5 dl unmodified potato starch
2 tablespoons psyllium husk
1 teaspoon baking powered
sesame seeds

How to:

Whisk the eggs until it’s fluffy. Add the coconut oil and the water and keep on wishing. Mix the rest of the ingredients and add to the eggs and keep on mixing. Let the “dough” rest for a few minutes before you wet your hands in water (so the dough don’t get stuck to your hands) and make small buns. Before placing in the over for 10 minutes at 300-350 F sprinkle sesame seed over them.

Patties

1 pound minced beef or your preferred protein

1 egg

garlic

oregano

Paprika powder

chili sauce

salt and pepper

chopped olives

Mix it all together and make patties, before placing them on the grill add your “grilling seasoning” and top off with your favorite toppings.

There is nothing wrong with quirky!

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Malin

It’s been a while since I did spinning but now when the “half” is over and done with I thought I’m going to change it up a bit to make it a bit easier on my body. So I with all this ambition that I was going to do great in this spinning class I entered into the room which was cold and dark and all of sudden all my motivation went out the window and all I wanted to do was to get out in the sun and lie by the pool.

But I pulled myself together and adjusted the bike to my liking as the instructor started with some light stretches before we got going. And as the first song was playing out load in the speakers this woman, slightly in front of me started cheering and clapping her hands and saying “I am Stephanie and I can do this, yay”. It was the most quirky moment I have ever experience in a dark room filled with strangers, that together was going the sweat their guts out for an hour. But you know what I used her energy and cranked the speed and resistance and gave everything I had as she kept on doing her “yays” throughout the class…so I guess there is nothing wrong with quirky 😉

After rain there is sunshine so lets make dinner outside!

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Malin

I think this is honestly the roughest winter I ever experienced, even for a swede! So when I woke up to a coldish gloomy day I never thought I would make dinner outside but I guess behind the clouds the sun is always lurking. So the I whipped the together some delicious beef patties filled with sundered tomatoes served with a basil and feta cheese spread.

I think Gary-Taser was the happiest of all not being stuck inside 😉

Beef Patties

1 pound of organic minced beef

1 chopped garlic clove

1-2 tablespoons of chopped sun dried tomatoes in oil

1/4 cup chopped basil

1 egg

salt and pepper

Mix everything together and make small patties ready to put on the grill

Grilled Vegetables

Asparagus

Mushrooms

Bell pepper

Red onion

Squash

Unflavored coconut oil

salt

I used whatever vegetables I had in the fridge and I am so happy that Heinen’s, our new grocery store has unflavored coconut oil as it is so good for you.

Basil and feta cheese Spread

1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt

1 Crushed Garlic clove

feta cheese (to you liking)

1/4 cup chopped basil

chopped sun dried tomatoes

salt and pepper

Mix everything together and store in a cool place until it is time to serve dinner and when you do…I guess the summer is back!

The core is everything

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Malin

Being strong is one of the most wonderful feeling that I know and even if the journey can be painful there is few things that beats the feeling when you realize you can push your body to new limits. And as a house needs a strong foundation so does your body and therefore is he core one of the most important areas to strengthen (not only because you will look good in a bikini).

This is a few moves I did yesterday to strengthen my abs so I can do even more fun things at my yoga practice 😉

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I started out doing a slow pull in followed by as equal slow hip adductor and then finish off with a pushup. I did not have to do a crazy amount before I started feeling the nice familiar burn 😉

I kept on working my abs but did a different variation to get deeper into my shoulders and upper back. This was a pike from a shoulder stand…

From there I popped up to my hands and did another 10 pikes from the hands

To finish the series off I oblique crunches…from a push up position you swing your knees to the outside of your triceps alternating the sides.

Beetroot soup with ginger, lemon and chili

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Malin

It seems like everyone is escaping this never-ending winter and traveling south. At the same time we are receiving letters regarding strep throat, infections and stuffy noses so what else can you do than trying to stay healthy by eating food that boosts your immune system. Not only is beetroot good for defeat colds but it also enhance physical activities because it improves the oxygen uptake…so I guess more beetroot for the people!

3 big beetroot
1 yellow onion (i used a red onion)
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 tablespoon Ginger
Chili Flakes (depends how spicy you like it)
6dl /3 cups water
3 tablespoons beef fond or 2 cubes vegetable stock
salt and pepper
1 lemon (juice and peel)
Sour cream
Direction: Chop the beetroot, onion, garlic and grate the ginger. Fry the beetroot and the onion for a couple of minutes before adding the ginger, chili and garlic and sauté for another couple of minutes.

Add water, bouillon, season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer for 15 minutes, mix the soup until it is smooth and serve with a splash of sour cream.

Original recipe by Linnea Sward

What is your goal!

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Malin

What is in your grocery bags?

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Malin

I am a pretty good planner when it comes to what I am making for dinner but lately I have been working out of what I have had available in front of me. Then yesterday came and I finally sat down and planned my week ahead and went to my new favorite store Mariano’s and Costco and this is our first dinner.

Sweet Potato Soup with Coconut milk

1 big Sweet Potato

Ginger

Cumin

Chili flakes

Lemon Grass

2 cups of Water

1 cube of vegetable bouillon

1 can of Coconut Milk

Coconut Oil

a small “squeeze” of agave nectar

1 Sausage from Greenridge Farm

Chopped Cilantro

Direction: Boil the sweet Potato for about 5 minutes, drain and use a hand blender to make it into a smooth paste.

Fry the lemon grass, chili, cumin and ginger for a couple of minutes in the coconut oil.

Mix in the spice mix with the sweet potato, add the water, bouillon and coconut milk and let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes.

Fry the sausage and chop the cilantro. Serve the soup with sausage and cilantro…mmm

LowCarb Nasi Goreng

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Malin

I always have my freezer stocked with meat or fish but when I opened it up today I realized the only thing left was a piece of pork tenderloin. Not knowing what I was going to do with it I started to unfreeze it and pulling out whatever we had in the fridge…and this is what it turned into 😉

1/2 shredded Cabbage
Sesame Oil
chopped Garlic
fresh grated Ginger
Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon tomato pure
1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek
Fish sauce (I used touch of taste)
apple cider vinegar
splash of Worcestershire Sauce
1-2 teaspoons Hoisin Sauce
leek
Cilantro
2 egg
Salt
Edamame Beans
Pork Tenderloin
Salt and Pepper

Direction: Start by shredding the cabbage and fry it in the sesame oil. Add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, hoisin, sambal oelek, tomato pure, fish sauce, vinegar, worcestershire sauce and let it cook or simmer until dry. What you will find is all the spices will really infuse into the cabbage.

Whisk the two egg with some salt and fry in sesame oil. Slice into smaller pieces add into the cabbage together with the edamame beans and the chopped leek.

I used the grill to cook the pork tenderloin. I love to use the grill, less mess and the meat taste 100 times better!

Serve the meat on top of the cabbage with some fresh cilantro. The kids loved it and so did the grown up…so tumps up!

Unfortunately I did not keep track of the measurement but I think with common sense it will be ok 😉

That is how a recovery run should go down!

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Malin

Oh gosh, this weekend has been really busy with one thing after another. The premier of “The Ghost Pirates” was at seven o’clock friday evening, all the kids had practice really hard and did an amazing job and Mira was really buzzing when she got off stage. She though it was so much fun so the next morning I found her totally dressed up with bright red lipstick and a pair of my highest heels on ready to bring on the world.

But in-between all the birthday parties, hockey and theater I managed to get my 7 miler in and it is amazing how your mind works. I mentioned my 4 mile recovery last Wednesday and it was sooo hard and I was disappointed because half way through it felt like it was never coming to an end.

This time around, I knew I was “turning” around at 3.5 mile and was running “home”. The only thing that gets me is the “sprint session” in the middle of the run, they are truly killers for the legs so for the rest of the afternoon it looked like I had **** in my pants…haha.

So when Sunday morning came around I had a choice to make…the 3 optional miles. The thing is optional is not really optional unless you hanging on by thread so I decided I was not going crazy. I took it nice and easy and I really enjoyed the brisk sunny morning not meeting a single soul on my first run of the season through the forest preserve! My legs were a bit stiff as expected but I went straight to a well deserved hot yoga session and what can be better for both the soul and the muscles to reach for your fullest potential to complete the workout week…this is truly how a recovery run should be like!