Tag Archives: Protein

Autumn – Time to Strenghten Immune Power

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With the most welcome weather change it is wise to prepare our immune system to fight off flu attacks. Vitamin C rich foods help to stengthen immune power best. With cranberries in season I made this a vitamin packed delicious smoothie in almost no time. It features a great combination of lactic protein, pectine to bind and eliminate toxins, plenty of vitamin C, which is besides a great immune shield also helping to burn fat if you work out, Provitamin A, and it is wholesome. Perfect.

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My Cranberry Smoothie

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 What to buy
200 ml fresh pressed carrot juice
200 ml fresh pressed apple juice
200 ml low fat yoghurt or laban
2 Passion fruits – pulp and seeds
2 tablespoons agave syrup
2 tablespoons fresh or frozen cranberries
Crushed ice

How to Make It

Blend the cranberries with the agave syrup, the juices and the yoghurt or laban. Serve on crushed ice, toped with fresh passion fruit pulp.

Here are some interesting facts about cranberries:
The tart little red fruits are high vitamin and high health supportive phytonutrient wonders (phytonutrients are for example phenolic acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins – they are all impressive antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties) while they are extremely low in calories. They contain plenty of vitamin C, K, and E, manganese and fiber.

Wishing you a great and healthy UAE National Day – enjoy the festivities!

Bye Bye Bavaria – Welcome back to Dubai

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Autumn is on its way, you can clearly tell by the night temperatures falling to 10 degrees Celsius at times in Bavaria. I have decided to increase my knowledge about wild mushrooms (any mushrooms are a great source of protein by the way) and attended one of the rare occasions where experts share their wisdom with the public: I enrolled to a guided tour with THE HOUSE of NATURE in nearby Salzburg on my last days home. Oh wow! It was very interesting, for sure I will use the newly gained insights next year, when I am back.

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after a walk through the area our mushrooms got evaluated….

and in the end an impressive line out of all things found got a last informative recap. I truly enjoyed the tour and would come again next time! Special thanks to our dear friend Helmut, who restored energies with a lovely surprise lunch at his impressive Salzburg home, showing how delicious simple food prepared with love is:

By the way, I was all of a sudden very fortunate on one of my private tours in “my” forest: I walked, already a little bit grumpy because the forest was almost empty, when I felt a strong feeling to turn around and look back. It was that silent communication with the forest I sometimes feel and very often it means something. What I saw sitting on the back side of a single tree attracted my attention. A sponge larger than others, and paler than the usual mushrooms. I came closer, and YES! Below rare find is a Sparassis crispa, a 850 g mushroom with a taste resembling to morels. Last time I found a similar mushroom was 8 years ago. So now you know how much my heart jumped when I found it! Needless to say it made a great, proud meal for many friends……

Happily recalling great days home in Berchtesgaden I am now back in Dubai and also back to my busy, yet very interesting and inspiring work life in the UAE. Keep reading this blog and I will update you what I am cooking here in a different scenario, with different food, but still healthy, vegetarian, and delicious!

All Things Wild part 2 – more about mushrooms

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One of the pleasures of a passionate mushroom lover are the lonely morning walks through a silent deep green forest, breathing the fresh air, while the eyes are scanning the moss and fern covered soil.  Unfortunately not always is going on a mushroom foray crowned with the desired success.  The right time, the place, the weather, the moon, all was perfect - but…..no mushrooms. Or let’s say at least no cepes. That can happen. That’s what exactly happened to me last week. I walked the area in pouring rain, early morning, and found not even one cepe. I was also unlucky to spot the white dotted, red capped fly agaric, a poisonous mushroom indicating the potential presence of cepes, because they prefer the same soil and environment.

So I bent down for some other edible delicacies to fill my basket:

Chanterelles

 

 

 

 

 

Hedgehog Mushrooms

 

 

 

 

 

Saffron Milk Cap

 

 

 

 

 

Goat’s Beard Mushrooms

 

 

 

 

 

and Yellow Foot Chanterelles.
 

 

 

 

 

 

I appreciate them even more when there are no cepes in my mushroom grounds! They taste great too. Coming home, wet from rain, tired, a little bit frustrated (no cepes!) and hungry, this simple mixed mushroom pan fry with onions and scrambled eggs brings definitely back energy and happiness.


Quinoa – a complete plant based Protein

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PROTEIN

Proteins are essential to the building and repair of the body’s tissues and to basic functions like growth, digestion and excretion. However, where to find excellent plant based protein, if you are looking for an alternative to meat, eggs, and dairy or highly processed soy products as a protein source?

Here is one true nutritional treasure box worth considering in your food repertoire:

QUINOA

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Quinoa is a so called “complete protein” containing all 8 of the essential amino acids. One cup of quinoa has around 9 grams of protein, which tops the protein-rich egg with only about 6 grams.   Quinoa is a low-cholesterol source of complex carbohydrates. It is rich in fiber but low in glycemic index. The tiny seeds of a South American grass are high in vitamins, minerals and protein, while low in fat and calories.

I love to sprout quinoa to boost its nutritional value even more. Sprouting activates natural enzymes and multiplies the vitamin content. Quinoa sprouts easily within 3 hours rest in plain water. Other seeds take much more time for example.

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Here is one of my personal favorites with sprouted quinoa:

Quinoa Grissini
for around 30 sleek and crispy Grissini

What to buy
20 g quinoa, germinated in 200 ml water for around 6 hours at room temperature, strained
150 ml water
1 teaspoon acacia honey or agave syrup
5 gm fresh yeast
200 gm whole spelt flour
15 ml olive oil
1 pinch of salt

How to make it
For the dough mix gently water, yeast and agave syrup or honey. Then add the flour, and beat the dough with a wooden spoon until it is soft and elastic. Allow the dough to rest and rise for around 10 minutes at room temperature. Add then a pinch of salt and the olive oil. Eventually add some more flour and beat the dough again until it starts cleaning the bowl you work the dough in.
Place a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray. Portion the dough into 30 very small pieces and roll each piece to a thin grissino. Roll each stick in quinoa and place the sticks on the baking tray. Use a ruler or a straight stick to ensure your grissinis are straight.  Allow them to rise again for around 10 minutes. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees and bake the grissinis for 3 – 5 minutes until the dough is golden and crispy.

Chef Gabi’s Tip
These grissinis can be kept for a couple of days – however they taste wonderful when they come fresh out of the oven and I am sure they will be eaten immediately.
I serve it very often with chilled soups like a spicy green pea gazpacho.

Click to view our next post: Chilled Green Pea Gazpacho, which you can enjoy with the Quinoa grissini. You might also want to try sprouted Quinoa Tablouleh.