Energy bites

Found this lovely recipe from Sprouted Kitchen, but with the intent to have them as a workout-snack tonight I thought I'd tweak it a bit. Hemp protein powder with its nutty flavour works well in chocolaty or nutty sweets, a pinch of salt is a good addition when you're drinking and sweating it balances the sweetness of the dates well too.

Mash up soft fresh dates (with a fork or food processor) with unsalted peanut butter and enough almond flour and hemp protein powder to form a crumbly thick dough, add cocoa nibs if you have and/or some dry cranberries. Roll small balls and sprinkle a little Maldon salt on top. Store cold.

The tiny 5min batch I did this morning, took 6 pitted small fresh moroccan dates, 1tbsp smooth unsweetened peanut butter, roughly 1/2dl almond flour and about 3tbsp hemp protein powder and made 8 bite-sized balls.  (And for a batch this small, forget about storing, my biggest problem is not eating them all before practice!)


They're absolutely divine and chewy (not hard) when you stick them in the freezer for a few hours. And, why not roll them in cocoa powder and serve them up, like truffles, with champagne?

Workout treats

Salad vinaigrette formula

A salad is not a salad is not a salad without a dressing. I'll use up the last drops of any random sauces in the salad dressings I make. Once I managed to empty 6 different condiment bottles and jars at the same go (see the asian dressing below). So I promise you, you can always stir one up with any remnants in the cupboard...

I'll usually mix my salad dressings in any empty glass jar with a tight lid, filling it up halfway (to leave room for shaking it) with 

• something or some things sour (usually fresh lemon juice, but sometimes any kind of vinegar, lime juice etc), this together with the fat is really the bulk of the dressing
• something or some things fat (olive oil, unsweetened peanut butter, tahini, sesame oil etc etc)
• something sweet (some sugar, honey, fruits, jam or marmalade, a little goes a long way)
• something or some things salty (salt, shoyu, anchovy, grated parmesan cheese etc etc)
• and maybe something more (dijon and finely chopped shallots, mustard, chives, herbs, sesame seeds, a little cream, yoghurt, grated ginger, fresh or roasted garlic, fresh or roasted chili etc etc)

Go wild!

Close the lid (properly) and shake it, taste and add whatever you feel is missing and shake some more, repeat til you're satisfied with the flavour. 

An always sure bet is the Dijon vinaigrette including lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt, dijon mustard and shallots. But I'm pretty sure everybody, really everybody, already knew how make a Dijon vinaigrette. Right?

My asian flavours dressing include lime juice, rice vinegar, peanut butter and toasted sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce, spring onions and a mix of dark and light sesame seeds. Or I'll do a simpler version with soy sauce, lemon juice, peanut butter, honey and some roast garlic and chili oil. Nice with any greens, kale, cole, shrimps, chicken etc.

Right now I have this strange sounding chocolate dressing idea in mind that I have not tried out yet, playing with the idea of a mole really. I'm thinking balsamic vinegar,  chocolate syrup, sesame oil, salt and chili... maybe some peanutbutter too if it falls too flat without,  this to top off some really dark green leaves, roasted pinenuts and cooked torn-up chicken. Try it if you fancy, but I'm taking no responsibility for it...

Snack pack porridge

Take a jar with a tightly closing lid add...


about 1,5 dl soft greek yoghurt (or half and half yoghurt and milk) 

1 spoonful of Maca (if you like it), 

1 handful of frozen blueberries (or other berries or fruits you like), 

1 handful of rolled oats (or a little less rolled oats and with some chia seeds or flaxseeds) 
and a sprinkle of demerara sugar on top (or honey or mashed dates if you prefer)

Stir, put the lid on and put it in your pack, go for a few hours hike in the November sun...

... find a sunny spot, take the snack pack out and a spoon and enjoy!

The frozen blueberries wont break when stirring them cold, so it looks nice too and the slow defrosting process will keep the yoghurt fresh for longer. 

Afternoon snack

You could of course use these as an afternoon snack at work, before heading to the gym which unfortunately happens more often. The packs will last nicely a few days in the fridge too, so make a few once you're at it. 

Flax crackers

Flaxseed keep me healthy and happy, especially on the road when my eating habits are disrupted. But scooping down flaxseed gets a little one-sided. I made crackers like these the first time on the clean diet, cutting out grains, dairy and other foods that induce the inflammatory state in the body etc etc. The diet worked wonderfully, I felt better than in a long time, but I don't stick with it all the time. Life is to be enjoyed and, I love baking bread too much. Either way, the crackers stuck. They make a brilliant fiber-rich snack on the go and are perfect with salsas, hummus, baba gannouch and any kind of wholesome dip you can think of. 

To make, take 3dl of flaxseed and grind about 0,5dl - 1dl of it, put all of it in about 4dl water overnight. The seeds will swell and make a gooey looking mess (not appetizing at all). The amount of flaxseed you grind will determine how crumbly vs compact your crackers become. The more ground seeds you have the more compact crackers you get. The next morning, add 1 or 2 finely grated carrots, and according to your personal likings some dry herbs (I particularily like rosemary in this), perhaps some garlic, cumin seeds or grated parmesan. Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, buckwheat etc can also be included. 

Spread the mixture over a baking sheet on a baking tray, about a 1-1,5 cm thick layer, sprinkle sea salt on top and dry the mixture in the oven overnight on 50'C with the oven door slightly open until dry. You could use a dryer (if you're lucky to have one!) to make these raw, or to speed things up you can turn up the heat slightly to 75'C. (I usually start up with 50'C overnight, then give them a final blast during the morning routines on 75'C before I turn the oven off, still with the door slightly open, and head out to work...)

Then finally break the sheet of flaxseed in good sized pieces, peel them off the baking sheet and enjoy or store for later. 

**I'm thinking of experimenting with a sweeter version, with a little honey some raisins, nuts and other goodies in there. For the next climbing trip...

Enjoy!

Flatbread with oats

I still bake all my bread adapting the basic bread recipe I shared with you earlier, this one is no different. The rolled oats in the recipe keeps the bread fresh and moist for a long time, they're full of fiber and makes a perfect filling lunch sandwich.

To start with, stir 12 g of fresh yeast (1/4 of a block) and 1 tsp of sea salt into 3dl of cold water. Add about 3dl of rolled oats and 2,5dl of bread flour and give it a quick stir.

The dough just after first mixing.

Let the dough rest for a half-hour, fold it over by hand and cover with a little extra flour and let it rest for another half hour. Sprinkle the worktop with some flour and transfer the dough over, form a round flat cake on the worktop (about 1,5cm thick and the size of a large plate), sprinkle with flour and cover with a tea towel while heating the oven for another halfhour.

Baked out on the countertop

Heat the oven to 250C with the baking stone, if you have one, or the baking tray inside. 

Transfer the bread to the hot stone, might help to fold it over in half and/or using a spatula. Fold it back out on the stone, prick the surface with a fork and cut the cake in 6-8 pieces (without cutting all the way through). Then, put the bread in the oven and lower the heat to 200C and bake for about 20 minutes.