Food Archives - Babblewell.com

Category: Food

17
May
2016

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

categories: Food, My video recipes picks, Recipe, Tips, Uncategorized

Do you ”know” your cookies? Have you ever read the food label of a box of chocolate chip cookies or any other food label for that matter? Did you recognize all the ingredients? There is a great chance that the answer is no. But you still bought the box of cookies? You probably bought it because it was convenient, right?

We buy store bought products because it is convenient. Most of us have the impression that making cookies takes a lot of time. Yes it does take time, but then again nothing tastes better then homemade food. Did you know that whipping up cookie batter is pretty easy, it’s not rocket sience. (the science begins once they are in the oven). We only need a few ingredients for a basic vanilla cookie: eggs, butter, flour, vanilla, baking soda and some vanilla extract. That’s it. Make your favorite cookie by adding some nuts, chocolate chip or dried fruits to the batter. Let them cool completely on a cooling tray and store them in a cookie jar or a cookie tin. They will keep up for up to a month. Need a great cookie recipe? You really should try this Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe:

You could even put a badge of the cookie dough into the freezer. Just scoop the cookie dough into a container and bake them when you are craving for some fresh homemade cookies. There is no need for you to buy store bought cookies anymore. If you want to, you can take it a step further; buy organic ingredients if your budget allows it, that is. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you could use a stand mixer. Or you could use a whisk or a wooden spoon to make the batter. They say for every problem there is a solution and it is a great workout for your arm :).

Happy Baking and please do share your favorite cookie recipe with us.

15
Jan
2016

Food cravings after the holidays

categories: Food, Recipe, Tips, Uncategorized, Weight loss

The second week of January 2016 already, time flies doesn’t? Did you make any new year’s resolutions or did you already chuck them in the bin? Well if you did, it is never too late to get them out of the bin or later this year when you are ready. It is never too late.

It is never too late to pick up your studies, never too late to call that dear friend, never too late to lose those extra pounds. Speaking about those extra pounds, don’t you have cravings for some extras and we are not talking about carrot and celery sticks here. Well I know I do. I always try to “satisfy” my cravings with healthy options like a fruit salad with a little dot of whipped cream for example, or some yummy walnuts and almonds.

The other day I was craving for something more. What recipes did I have to satisfy my cravings? It had to be a recipe which was a healthy one and quick to make. I decided on making an oatmeal crumble apple pie, a low fat version, but yummy enough to satisfy my cravings only 120 calories per serving (estimated). This recipe is not for people who are on a carb and/or fat free diet….

This recipe is a keeper. It would go well with a dot of vanilla ice cream and some whipped cream, if you would like to turn it into a not so healthy version. But hey it is January and I have been sampling quite a lot of yummy stuff during the holidays, I am sticking to this healthy version for now that is. I would only make a few changes to this recipe. I would decrease the amount of sugar with 2 teaspoons. It was a little bit too sweet for me. And I would use more apples, a mix of sweet and tart apples.

Here’s the link for the recipe: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=11935

Happy baking!

01
Dec
2015

It is that time of the year, the holiday season

categories: family, Food, My babbles, Tips, Uncategorized, Weight loss, Working out

Yes, it is that time of the year, December. It is holiday season! Don’t you just love the holiday season or do you think it is overrated?

For me December is watching lots of Christmas movies and picking up my crochet projects from last year, family, baking, cooking and eating. And since four years we also have a Christmas tree. When our little Maharadja turned two he also “wanted” a Christmas tree of his “own”. I don’t mind setting up the Christmas tree but taking down the Christmas decorations and the tree….. But I guess that nobodies favorite part.

I know many people who love the holiday season but dread the extra calories. It’s a fact, during the holiday season we tend to eat more. I know I do (but in moderation). And how can we resist all the yummy things which are presented in front of us? Someone took the time and effort to create the yummy goodies so it is our “obligation” to sample every single item. And the trick is doing this without feeling totally stuffed. You know what I am talking about, don’t you?

Hmmmm……. Is it not a good idea to prepare our body for the holiday season? Before, we indulge ourselves in all the goodies. And by prepare I do not mean to eat something extra each day, so that our tummy can get used to al the extras we are having a week before and after Christmas. Although that would be a great idea wouldn’t it?

Why not prepare our body by eating in moderation and doing some extra work outs two weeks before it “all” starts? (Like going for an extra walk or whatever works for you.) Why not eat some more vegetables and fruits to prepare our body for the” upcoming” goodies we are going to have in a few weeks time.

But on the other hand why we do eat so much during the holiday season? Do we have a green card to go “bananas” during the holiday season? Isn’t our body our temple? Or are we looking forward to eating lots and lots of food which will lead to extra weight and lots of frustration in January, for some of us.

What plans do you have for the holiday season?

16
Nov
2015

Food wastage

categories: Food, Food Pictures, My babbles, Tips, Uncategorized

Food wastage….. How much food do you waste weekly? How much food do you throw away because….

Food wastage is a big problem especially in the Western countries. We throw away so much food which the poor and hungry could only dream about. But why doesn’t that stop us from throwing food away? Because we just don’t think about it if we throw away those bruised apples. Those bruised apples could be turned into a yummy apple pancake, an apple sponge cake, a smoothie or maybe even apple sauce. If the solutions are that easy why don’t we do it? There are many reasons why we don’t do it. We are tired, we are busy or we are just plain lazy. Or we are …. Just fill in the dots. And did you know that you could make these dishes within 15 minutes. But still many of us choose to throw away those bruised apples which we worked so hard for so we could afford them. May be the next time when we want to throw away food we have to remember that we or our spouse woke up early in the morning to earn money so that those apples could be bought. And we have to realize that those apples did not magically appear in the supermarket or at the farmers market. A lot of effort has been put into growing these apples. Are we taking food for granted?

There are so many things we could do with leftover food. You could make your own fresh homemade croutons, a grilled cheese sandwich, French toast. Leftover meat or poultry could be turned into an easy tomato sauce. Vegetables just lying on the fridge waiting to be thrown away could be turned into a soup. Or add them to your tomato sauce.

Shouldn’t we actually be more aware of all the food that we have in the fridge or in our cupboards? In my opinion one of the solutions to keep food wastage to a minimum is to cook with leftovers once or twice a week. And don’t forget to look into your cupboard because those canned goods you bought when they were on sale will expire eventually.

How are you going to keep food wastage to a minimum?

11
Jun
2015

Weight loss and a fall back

categories: Food, My babbles, Uncategorized, Weight loss, Working out

Does this sound familiar to you? You are so proud about your weight loss journey and then there is this one day that you crave for some chocolate, candy maybe even a hamburger or something else which is not that healthy. And then before you realize it yourself you just can’t stop eating. At the back of your mind you know that you should stop eating but you just don’t stop. You are just filling your mouth with all the yummy goodies. Then after you had your, let’s call it “eat attack” you feel guilty and think that you have ruined everything you have worked so hard for. And therefore you start going back to being your old you.

If you ever have one of this “eat attacks” please do not go back being the old you. Instead go ahead with what the new you was doing before the “eat attack”. One eat attack won’t ruin what you have worked so hard for. Let me tell you, there will be more of these kinds of “eat attacks”. We are humans after all. The most important thing is “pick yourself up” after such an “eat attack” and keep yourself in control for the next few days. Doing some extra workouts and watching your diet carefully like a hawk. You will shed the extra calories you consumed in the next few days, don’t worry about them. And don’t feel guilty or think you have failed, you haven’t at all!

During your weight loss journey many events will take place, there will be holidays, birthdays, weddings, vacations or other special occasions. At all these events there will be lots of yummy food which you should absolutely enjoy, in moderation that is. You can’t be on a strict diet all your life that is just impossible. Enjoying the food at all these occasions can prevent “eat attacks”. Discipline yourself to shed the extra calories after such an “eat attack” and you will just be fine.

The most important part is, is to be nice to yourself :).

When and where was your last “eat attack”? Please do share with us.

23
Apr
2015

Sweet or savory?

categories: Food, Food Pictures, My babbles, Recipe, Uncategorized

Sweet or savory, which one do you prefer? Or do you prefer both? Every now and then (or all the time) 🙂 we like to munch on a sweet or savory snack. When this happens to me I prefer to make my own snack. Yes it takes time to make your own snack but in my opinion the result is much more better and much more yummy.

Whenever I crave for something sweet, I make a simple sponge cake with just four ingredient, eggs, flour, sugar and vanilla extract . Sometimes I add pieces of apple which I lightly coat with some flour before adding it to the batter. Coating the apple with flour prevents that the apple sinks to the bottom.

This is a low fat cake since no fat is added but it does contain sugar. It only takes 5 minutes to make the batter and 30 minutes to bake at 180 degrees. You get the best result if all the ingredients are at room temperature. Easy sponge cake recipe:

Preheat the oven to 180 C or 350 F
Line an brownie pan with baking paper
For an brownie pan you will need 8 medium eggs
Weigh equal amounts of eggs, flour and sugar, start with weighing the eggs first
Cream the egg, sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract for 5 minutes with your hand or stand-alone mixer
The mixture is done when the mixture changes to light yellow
Now spoon the flour through the batter but not overbeat. You want to keep the batter light and fluffy.
Pour the batter into the brownie pan and bake for 30 minutes.
Since all ovens are different, do keep an eye on the cake
You can check if the cake is done by inserting an toothpick or fork. If it comes out wet bake it for another 5 minutes
The cake is done when the toothpick or fork is dry
Let it cool ad enjoy

When I make this cake I decrease the amount of sugar by 25 to 50 grams. If you want to make an apple cake, add the apples after step 6 to the cake.

This cake is so yummy try it with homemade custard, blueberries, raspberries and whipped cream, see picture above. Yummy yummy, can you feel it into your tummy?

Next week I will post a yummy savory snack.

Happy baking.

24
Feb
2015

Store bought or homemade yummy salad dressing?

categories: Food, Recipe, Tips, Uncategorized

Picture this: you just washed some crunchy fresh salad leaves. Added a handful of diced fresh carrots and chucked some garlic olives along with some fresh cherry tomatoes in the bowl. Now it’s time to choose your protein, grilled chicken, some grilled tofu or some kidney beans maybe?

You walk towards the fridge to get your favorite store bought salad dressing to pour it over your homemade salad. And then you stop and start to think. I made all the effort to make a lovely homemade salad. Why am I going to pour store bought salad dressing over my salad?

Salad dressing is really easy to make. I make this salad dressing from “Eugenies kitchen” (see video below) all the time. Eugenie’s recipe is my basic recipe. Sometimes I add some dried herbs to the dressing or some extra garlic. I just make the dressing and keep it in the fridge.

Want a more creamier dressing? Make your own mayonnaise or buy a really good one. Add a tablespoon of mayonnaise in a bowl and add a few drops of water. Whisk it till the mixture is combined. You could add some dried parsley, some finely chopped onions, some garlic maybe (yes I love garlic!).

Lots of us choose the easy way because it is convenient or it didn’t came up to make our own. It goes without saying that when you make your own food from scratch it is (usually)much more healthier. In this case the salad dressing has no additives, thickening agent or artificial flavors.

By the way salads are really easy to make you can add anything you like. Baby spinach, roman lettuce, onions, cabbage, beans, corn, mushrooms, walnuts, almonds, leftover protein from last night meal (chicken, tofu, beans, fish or any kind of meat), leftover pasta, cheese, some fruits maybe? The options are endless.

Store bought salad dressing or homemade salad dressing?

13
Feb
2015

How many empty calories did you had?

categories: Food, Food Pictures, My babbles, Tips

Did you had any empty calories this week? You might have…..

Empty calories are calories which supply little or no nutritional value. A few examples of empty calories are candy bars, cookies, a hot steaming caramel macchiato, a blueberry muffin, potato chips, sodas. All the yummy stuff people crave for (most people) when the days are getting colder, when you are having (or going to have) your period, when you are bored……….

Should we ban foods with empty calories then? The question is, how often and how many empty calories do you consume. If you are having empty calories on a regular base it might be time for some change. By the way empty calories have another side effect most of them are bad for your teeth. Did you know that a Kit Kat of 43 grams contains about 220 calories and a Snickers bar of 57 gram contains about 273 calories. A Grande Caramel Macchiato contains about 240 calories. And a large blueberry muffin contains approximately 385 calories?

You might be consuming empty calories without even being aware of it. Why not substitute those empty calories for nutrient-dense foods. (This is the opposite of empty calories.) Here is a list of nutrient dense foods:

Dry fruits such as dates, prunes, cranberries, raisins, apples, apricots
Nuts: Walnuts, almonds, pistachio, cashew (have a handful)
Carrot sticks
Any Fruit: apple, banana , pineapple, mango, pears, kiwis
Rice cakes
Instead of soda have some water with lime and mint leaves
Instead of a fancy coffee have black coffee or coffee with skimmed milk with sugar (in moderation!) or sweetener
Hot steaming tea with fresh mint leaves
Homemade salted popcorn with NO butter (read: no microwave popcorn)
A small piece of dark chocolate
Fresh fruits with a little dot of whipped cream
(Vegan) Yoghurt with some muesli and fresh fruits
What would you recommend?

Have empty calories once in a while but remember in MODERATION is the keyword.

What is in moderation according to you?

22
Jan
2015

Maharadja’s eczema caused by a food allergy

categories: family, Food, My babbles, Tips, Uncategorized

My little Maharadja eczema was caused by milk and the additives in our food.

Just before Maharadja turned two we went on a holiday to dream destination Mauritius. We booked our accommodation and trips thru Island Explorer & Tours (www.islandexplorertours.com), I highly recommend them :-).

During the holidays Maharadja had milk for breakfast which he gulped down much to my surprise. At home he did not want to drink any milk. I was one happy mom. Because they say milk is healthy, right? I was wondering why he did drink the Mauritian milk and hated the milk at home. I took a small sip and tasted the milk, it was sweeter then what he got at home. Now I understood why he drank the milk without any tantrums.

At the end of our holidays he started to scratch severely . But there were no sign of eczema. When we got home the eczema appeared. He started to scratch but little did we knew that the dairy, sugar and food additives were the culprits. So I kept feeding little Maharadja cheese and yoghurt drinks, which he loved.

We took our Maharadja to the doctors. They prescribed him hormone creams. Since these creams have many side effects I refused to use them for my two year old. I am surprised that doctors are not interested in what causes the eczema.

I tried every cream and gel on the market. I walked into every store which sold creams to find a solution. And I tried a lot of creams and oils. Maharadja turned 3 and I was searching the internet for a solution. Meanwhile I did find out that if he had sugars and foods with additives (like a stock cube which contains MSG or a juice with additives or sugars or both) he started to scratch right away. So these foods were banned. I also introduced spelt bread into his and our diet. I used and still use hemp oil and coconut oil and neutral crème the doctor prescribed. Maharadjas clothes were and still are washed with a perfume free detergent. We also got him perfume free soap. Then right after his 4^th birthday I found the culprit by accident. One night I was watching some videos on YouTube about eczema. By accident I stumbled upon a documentary about eczema and allergies. There was this one boy who had a dairy allergy and severe eczema. Once these foods were removed from his diet the eczema started to disappear. The next morning I removed all dairy products from his diet and in the next few days, he stopped scratching! We were so happy for our Maharadja. He slept through the night. Usually he woke up because he was itchy. We told our Maharadja that he cannot have any dairy products due to his allergy and he understands now.

By accident we found out that my Maharadja can have sheep cheese. So he is one happy Maharadja because he just loves cheese soo much! He is a real Dutch boy ;-)!

Cookies and cakes I make myself. When I go to a birthday party I make a cake for my Maharadja and take it along. For his 5^th birthday I made dairy free muffins which the kids could decorate. I found out that he can have chocolate as long as it is 72%. White bread is a no-no and so is white flour. Sodas are also a no-no. Maharadja drinks water and 100% apple juice. He can have real butter. The culprit is the milk protein in dairy products. If you have a good brand of butter there are hardly any or no milk proteins in it. I buy organic food as much as I can. I do read the labels because some organic products contain milk protein or even palm oil! I am one lucky lady, I buy organic flour at an authentic Dutch mill. I bake pancakes with coconut milk or almond milk.

The eczema is disappearing now, Maharadjas skin has to heal over time.

Do you have any experience with eczema?

11
Dec
2014

5 Easy dishes to cook when you don’t feel like cooking

categories: Food, Food Pictures, My babbles, Uncategorized

Sometimes we just don’t feel like cooking. Are you familiar with this feeling? We-just-don’t-feel -like-cooking-dinner. We don’t want any take-out either or go out for dinner. And we want to eat something healthy. That leaves us only one option. If we want to have a proper dinner we have to cook it ourselves. Yes, it is possible to cook a proper dinner in less than 20 minutes. Ask your family members to give you a hand since you are already in a lazy mood.

5 Easy dishes to cook when you don’t feel like cooking at all. These dishes come in handy when you don’t have time to cook.

Fried rice

Fried rice is real simple recipe to make. It only takes a few ingredients. The best part is you can add (almost) any ingredient you like to this dish. Make it the way you like it.

Ingredients:
Rice, eggs, vegetables of your choice, oil, salt, white pepper (or black if you don’t have white).

Directions:
Cook some rice and let it cool.
Heat up a pan or a wok. Add some oil to the pan and make scrambled eggs. Don’t forget to season them. Take them out.
In the same pan add some oil stir fry your veggies and season with some salt and pepper. Take the vegetables out.
Time to assemble the dish.
In the same pan, heat some oil. Add the rice, the eggs and vegetables and stir fry. If you like you could add some soy sauce at the end.

Pasta salad with tuna and tomatoes

Pasta dishes are easy to make. And they really fill you up.

Ingredients:
Cooked pasta, tuna, tomatoes, salt and pepper

Directions
Mix the pasta, tuna and tomatoes together. Season with some salt and pepper. Add some fresh basil or grated cheese if you have any. This dish can be served hot or cold.

Salad with your choice of canned fish

Ingredients:
Salad, cucumbers, tin of corn, grated carrots, boiled eggs and homemade dressing

Grab a bowl combine all ingredients, season, add dressing and enjoy!

For an easy homemade dressing try this recipe.

Fried or boiled egg sandwich

Ingredients:
Eggs, bread, tomatoes, mayonnaise

Method:
Fry or boil the eggs and make sandwiches. Spread the slices lightly with some mayonnaise add the egg, sliced tomatoes and seasoning.

Homemade noodle soup

Ingredients:

Noodles (soba or any kind you like), (organic) chicken cube, green onions.

Make the chicken broth. If you like you could use a vegetable cube. Season it with some pepper. Add some cooked noodles of your choice. If you’re in the mood boil an egg and add it to the soup. Add Some finely chopped green onions and your meal is ready.

Make these recipes the way you like it. Add or omit any ingredient(s).

What do you cook when you don’t feel like cooking. Please let me know!