Fresh & Delicious Green Potato Salad

I have tried to take better care of myself, especially what comes to my eating habits. This summer I have prepared salads, soups and other dishes from different kinds of vegetables. Adding cheese, nuts, fish, or chicken I've made it sure that my food is not lacking proteins.

This green potato salad goes as a side or main dish. It's easy to make, ingredients are not breaking a bank, and it takes less than an hour to prepare.

Ingredients for 4 persons (side dish, 2 persons when a main one):

• 800g new potatoes
• 1 small zucchini 
• 2dl (cups) green peas
• 200g feta cheese

Sauce:

• 2 garlic gloves
• 2dl (cups) fresh basil
• 1dl (cup) fresh mint
• 1/2dl (cup) grated parmesan cheese
• 1-1,5dl olive oil
• 1 tbl spoon lemon juice
• seasblt & black pepper

On top:

• 1dl (cup) roasted pine seeds
• 1/2dl (cup) grated parmesan cheese

1. Brush and clean the potatoes. Cook them in water with a hint of salt. 
2. Slice the zucchini. Grill or fry the slices with oil in a pan. Cook the green peas in water with a hint of salt for a couple of minutes. Pour the boiled water and put the peas in cold water to cool them. Crumble the feta cheese.
3. Make the sauce. Peel and crush the garlic. Put them in a blender together with herbs, parmesan, oil and lemon juice. Spice it with seasblt and black pepper. The texture of the paste should be rather rough.
4. Pour the boiling water away from the potatoes. Cut them half or in sizes you prefer. Add the sauce and the roasted zucchini slices, peas and feta. You can decorate the salad with herbs and seeds.

If you try this salad, let me know how you liked it!

Kesäinen ja raikas vihreä perunasalaatti

Nopea, edullinen ja helppo valmistaa. Voit nauttia salaatin lounaaksi tai lisäkesalaattina kanan, kalan tai minkä vaan proteiinipitoisen ruoan kanssa.

Näitä tarvitset 4 annokseen lisäkkeenä tai 2 annokseen pääruoaksi:

• 800g uusia perunoita
• 1 pieni kesäkurpitsa
• 2dl herneitä
• 200g fetaa

Kastike:

• 2 valkosipulin kynttä
• 2dl basilikan lehtiä
• 1dl mintun lehtiä
• 1/2dl raastettua parmesania
• 1-1,5dl oliiviöljyä
• 1 rkl sitruunamehua
• merisuolaa ja mustapippuria

Viimeistelyyn:

1dl paahdettuja pinjansiemeniä

1/2dl raastettua parmesaania

1. Putsaa perunat ja keitä suolalla maustetussa vedessä. 
2. Viipaloi kesäkurpitsa. Grillaa tai paista öljyssä pannulla kypsiksi. Keitä herneitä muutama minuutti suolalla maustetussa vedessä. Kaada keitinvesi pois ja laita herneet jäähtymään kylmään veteen. Murustele feta.
3. Tee kastike. Kuori ja hienonna valkosipulit. Laita ne tehosekoittimeen yrttien, parmesaanin, öljy ja sitruunamehun kanssa. Mausta suolalla ja pippurilla. Aja karkeahkoksi tahnaksi.
4. Valuta perunoiden keitinvesi pois. Puolita perunat ja kaada kastike joukkoon kesäkurpitsan, herneiden ja fetan kanssa. Viimeistele yrteillä ja siemenillä.

Jos kokeilet tätä salaattia, kerro mitä pidit!

Healthy Quinoa Salad

You need tomatoes and parsley,

I mean loads of parsley, and some cucumbers,

and, of course, garlic.

Mix in a bowl some olive oil, sea salt & black pepper, 2 crushed garlic gloves and chopped parsley. 

Boil 1 cup of red quinoa in plain water for about 15mins. When ready rinse it well in cold water.

Add tomato & cucumber cubes to the spiced oil mixture and the chilled quinoa. Mix well.

Cooked red quinoa.

Red quinoa has the highest protein content of all grains. It's also rich in essetial minerals and vitamins such as folate, iron and zinc, and it's gluten-free. 

 Did you know that parsley is an excellent source of vitamin K and vitamin C as well as a good source of vitamin A, folate, and iron?

I also added some sheep's (milk) cheese that I bought at local market. 

 PS. for dessert I had a bowl of whipped cream & raspberries 

Bon appetit!

My Lunch Salad

How about some tuna and avocado salad? Made plenty of it so I can eat it during the day.

My new favorite is a mixture of soya yogurt, banana and cinnamon.

Believe me or not - it's delicious! 

Chia Seeds & ...

 I like to start the morning with a healthy breakfast with fresh berries & fruit which I mix with...

 ...a tablespoonful of chia seeds & soya milk.. 

 ...and I add some thin slices of ginger to it too, especially with apples. 

Chia seeds are rich in Omega-3 and a great way to increase daily fiber. The taste is mild and it can be mixed with almost anything without grinding it.

 For a snack I take a couple of bite-sized cacao-goji-chia-maca superfood snacks. They are high in fiber & vitamin C. They are pretty heavy and very addictive.

 For lunch I prefer salads. Garden mixes are my favorites at the moment - I love the color of flowers and their mild taste.

 Kale is also one of my favorites. I used to eat so much spinach that it was time to find something new to replace it for a while. Avocado, tomato & mozzarella makes salad a perfect lunch.

 To continue the healthy way of eating I have some bundles for the afternoon snack. They are made of walnut, banana, almond butter, maca, mesquite, date, vanilla, cinnamon and pink salt. In the package there're only 6 pieces and they are quite costly so these bundles are not for my every day diet

Do I eat this healthy day after day? I wish I would, but everyone who knows me knows that I can't say no to chocolate. But that's not the only thing...

 ...I'm almost addicted to Diet Coke. I like soft licorice a lot... 

 (There's also a blueberry one!)

 ...even though my stomach does't like it, I like to eat some (meaning the whole pint in one go!) ice-cream every now and then.

Chunky Monkey is my big time favorite.

No-one is perfect.

My Lunch Salad

I love baby spinach - added some sprouts, grated carrot, olive oil, garlic, sea salt, black pepper and some shrimps. Perfect for lunch!  

Nutrition facts of baby spinach:

It's very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. It's also a very good source of dietary fibre, vitamin A & C, calcium and iron.

The not-so-good side is that it's high in sodium.

My Lunch Salad

Trying to eat healthy these days… Salads are, anyway, my favorites! There are so many ingredients that I should avoid for not upsetting my stomach, so I try to keep it simple.

All that was needed for my lunch salad:

mix of green salad leaves, cherry tomatoes, crayfish, garlic, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.

Keep it simple, making lunch is not rocket science, is it?