An old Serbian traditional dish revamped

I was going through some old posts when I stumbled across this one. Can you believe it? It will be 2 years next month since I opened this blogger account. Thanks so much for being a part of my world. So glad you have been on my ride. Can't wait to share the next part, a new website which I am totally excited about and would love your feedback. I will post shortly to get some input so we can create an amazing place we can hang out.  

It was my Mum's 66th Birthday yesterday and I spoke to her while she has been in Serbia looking after my Baba AKA Grandmother. So the below Serbian traditional beauty is back on my chalkboard menu :-)

I hope you enjoy it!!!  

10th June 2012

We had a great today, I did my 15 minutes Fit Yummy Mummy resistance training and a quick tabata workout as we had to get out the door quick smart! Of course after my very long sleep in 10AM!!!! Thank you to my darling husband Adrian for giving me a sleep in. I love you.

It was such a gorgeous winters day today and I managed to capture that beauty on my new instagram account, oh how I love thee!!! Loving all those filters.

Lake Wendouree Ballarat

Here is our youngest daughter Zali and I, having some photos together at home on her 10 month birthday today!!!! ;-)

Now....getting back to some food. After my workout this morning I had a post workout shake. It's always important to fuel your body with supportive foods.

1 banana
180 Nutrition protein powder
1tbs frozen raspberries
250ml of water/milk

NB: get your exclusive 10% discount off all 180 Nutrition products. Use promo code 264464 at check out 

Breakfast rather brunch (remember I had a sleep in)

I typically poach our eggs but fried these in olive oil 
Served with cheese, tomatoes, spinach and corn thins 



This presentation of an egg monster face was for the kids :)

Afternoon snack
Fruit salad with a sprinkle of walnuts
1 blackcurrant tea
2 peanut butter cookies

Dinner
Chicken paprika
served with golden puree, dollop of natural yogurt, lemon rind and chives

Now this brings me to the title of this post. I remember trying to get a piece of the "cooking" action in the kitchen when I was a little girl but the only action I would get from Mum was a wave of the "Drvena kašika" wooden spoon! :-))) ha ha (sorry Mum). Let's just say kids in the kitchen wasn't a favourite activity with my Serbian Mum. Nevertheless the cooking was always something I remember and here is my version of a classic Serbian meal we used to have growing up as kids.

Mum typically served this with either white rice or mash potato and of course with a BIG dollop of sour cream :-)))) YUMMO but I have placed my healthier twist on this type of meal and hope you enjoy it.

My revamp version:

Dust 600g sliced or diced chicken with GF or sometimes I use rice flour
Season with salt and pepper
Shake in a zip lock bag and dust off any excess flour
Heat some olive oil in a fry pan and cook the chicken
Once browned, add a diced onion, 1tbs paprika and water to allow these juices to absorb and cook for approximately 20 minutes, stirring regularly  and add water if the mixture becomes too dry.

I typically stir natural yogurt through the chicken mix and serve with a sweet potato and carrot puree.

Growing up what was your favourite food?

Much love and friendship,
xxDani 

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Healthy living and what we typically eat

I was looking through some of my old posts today and came across this one I did in the very first month of my blogging venture.

Not much has changed and it's great to see that we are not on any yoyo diets, this is now our healthy lifestyle.

June 2012

Here is what we ate today....

Almond Milk

I occasionally substitute cows milk with almond milk which is 1 cup of almonds blended with 2 cups of filtered water (or just depends how thick and creamy you like it). I know some recipes suggest to soak the almonds overnight, I find the result is the same......so just keep blending the almonds until they completely infuse into the water making it look all creamy like milk. Then strain in a cheese cloth and voila! you have an amazing tasting milk alternative, especially for those that get some tummy bloating after having too much cows milk.

Breakfast ~ Quinoa with strawberry, kiwi and raspberries

Simply cook the quinoa as per package instructions, add milk and load up with fresh fruit and there you have an amazing supportive and clean eating breakfast that will keep you fuelled for the morning!

Quinoa with strawberries and kiwi fruit

Morning snack ~ Yogurt with pineapple pieces

Super fast, as there is always yogurt in the fridge and if ever your fresh fruit supply is down, make sure you have some handy "tinned" fruit to add. Also nuts are power protein food!

Yogurt with pineapple

Lunch ~ Salmon beetroot salad with corn kernels

We had salmon last night and this was my left over. Mixed some salad, canned corn kernel and beetroot. Super fast, super tasty!!!! Simply splashed vinegar and olive oil and voila!

Salmon beetroot salad

Afternoon snack ~ Chick peas, celery, gala apples with dip

Our kids are famished when they come home from school and kinda and love this snack. We also incorporate rice crackers too

Chickpeas with with dip 

Dinner ~ Poached chicken with broccoli & peas on a bed of rice

These are considered my cheat nights, where I just wrap the chicken in foil and spice accordingly, in a steamer beside the broccoli and peas whilst the rice cooker does it's magic. Then crumble feta cheese over it. There's no slaving over a hot stove for this ripper dinner!

Poached chicken with broccoli and peas

So that was our day of meals. I hope it gives you some insight on how you can eat healthy and colourful dishes and not spend too much time in the kitchen. I'd rather play "cars" with our kids, as I did while dinner was steaming away :-) XxDani

Do you plan your meals and keep a record of what you eat? 

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Day 14 - no added sugar challenge on Valentines Day

WE DID IT!!!! 14 days with no added sugar! Bravo! I am so pleased you all took the plunge and read your labels with all that extra uneccessary added sugar and replaced it with the natural foods that have already has sugar in them (as our bodies still need some sweetness :-)

How do you feel? Did you think you were not able to do the no sugar over 14 days? What now? Can you try to continue it and allow yourselves a treat once or twice a week? I'd love to hear your thoughts!!!

Breakfast
180 Nutrition coconut protein drink
1 banana
chia seeds
milk

*For your exclusive 10% discount on any 180 Nutrition product simply use my 264464 promo number at checkout 

Morning snack
Watermelon and mango fruit salad with ricotta

Lunch
Eggs with asparagus

Asparagus with poached eggs on wholegrain bread

Afternoon snack
Spinach dip (store bought with no added sugar or preservatives) with wholemeal crackers

Healthy kids snack dip with crackers

We've had a superb day! A lot of fun in the sun today with the heat being over 30C degrees. I was going to make dessert from Sarah Wilson's I QUIT SUGAR but we opted against it as we just wanted the frogurts we made yesterday! Although having said that Noah did ask for a special request that we go buy that healthy dark chocolate because a little sugar is okay as long we don't consume the entire block! He obviously doesn't know his mother!!!! HA! Well the old one anyway......




Dinner
BBQ porterhouse steak with vegetables

Porterhouse house steak with steamed vegetables

Instagram your day!!!


I will be running a mini challenge called #igyourday over in Instagram land until the end of the month and of course here on my blog, Twitter and Facebook page. Just share what you do throughout your day and we can all learn off each other, how to best utilise our day as everyone says how busy they are. Let's see how everyone fits in their healthy living, eating, fitness regime, work/study, family time, hobby etc.... so it doesn't matter if you are student, single parent, family of 8 we can all get ideas on how best to manage our time and day. Please join in and invite your friends!

Watch this space and let me know if you will still be doing the no added sugar as part of your new healthy regime. I know I will be!!!! Especially when I see results like this!!!

NO SUGAR CHALLENGE 

Until next time.

♥ Dani

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Day 13 - no added sugar challenge

Hello there! Feeling more energised? Skin clearer? Mood better? That's all the feedback I have been receiving about this challenge and you know what? That's brilliant!!! That's what this is all about. Becoming healthier and happy peeps.

Today was a struggle for me. I have a pretty hectic day when Mietta goes to Kinda (early learning centre) for 2 hours as I drop off the boys to school in the morning, run some morning errands before heading back home for Zali to have her sleep, we then have lunch and then wake up Zali to take her big sis to Kinda for 2 hours! Then it's either another errand or walk around the lake during those hours. Then pick up the boys between 3-3:15pm and then rush to grab Mietta at 3:30pm!!! WHOOSH! That's the day GONE!

Breakfast
180 Nutrition coconut green smoothie (needed something to take away for the kids school run!)
spinach
celery
apple
ginger

Green smoothie spinach, apple, celery and ginger

*For your exclusive 10% discount on any 180 Nutrition product simply use my 264464 promo number at checkout 

Morning snack
Fruit salad with yogurt

Lunch
Tuna salad wholemeal wrap

Afternoon snack
Tzaziki dip with cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs and wholemeal rice crackers

Healthy snack

Dinner
Steamed vegetables with legumes

Steamed vegetables

Wasn't feeling overly hungry tonight, especially with the warm weather today. So we just steamed some vegetables and served the kids with tuna while we had a chickpea/legume mix.


Dessert
Yogurt mango and berry icy poles

Method:
Mix natural yogurt or coconut milk with mango and berries (or whatever fruits you have) freeze and enjoy!!

Can I just say how pleased I am to see such wonderful no added sugar meals in our #noaddedsugar #nashchallenge gallery. I am blow away!! Here's just a few that caught my eye!!!

No added sugar challenge

Thanks to @pippafitness for her mexican inspired stuffed capsicum @mrs_parkinson for her amazing protein pancake stacks layered with coconut yogurt and banana @fithealthymade sweet treat ideas for Valentines Day and @laura_rixon for her array of food colours!


This challenge has been fantastic and I am so proud of you all for taking the plunge! I'm loving my Sarah Wilson I QUIT SUGAR ebook, grab a copy here if you need some inspiration.

What about next month? And the rest of the year? Please let me know what other challenges you would like to see me run!!!

Ready for next months challenge?

List them in your comments below and see you tomorrow on the most romantic day ever.

♥ Dani

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Day 12 - no added sugar challenge

Day 12.....can you smell the roses????

I love Valentines Day, I'm one of those hopeless romantics (and yes my husband tends to deliver every year) however, we have agreed I'd much rather them spread out throughout the year. I see no point spending $200 on the one day!!! Well, I do but that's another romantic story....

How have you survived the last couple of weeks? Can you believe we only have 2 days left? Awesome! I'm pumped and so proud to know there are many of you across the globe doing this with me. I really appreciate you. I sincerely do.

Do you think you will be able to continue this way of living after the challenge ends? I really do hope to do our best. Our kids are brilliant and are such a supporting force to make this happen and live a more healthier lifestyle. It's not that we ban the sugar or say no! no! no! YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT!!! IT'S GOT SUGAR IN IT! Instead we just know it's not healthy for us, no panic, no fretting of missing out. Well, let's just see how we go.                                                                                                                      

As a super treat on Valentines Day I will be making our family Gwyneth Paltrow's berries with caramelised cream which she shares in Sarah Wilson I QUIT SUGAR ebook. Make sure you grab yourself a copy. Pretty cool meals in there that won't even make you want sugar any more.


Our day today in a nutshell.

Various errands, plenty of home domestic bliss, more errands and of course fun times with the kids!!! Trying to fit in one on one time with the boys and their reading whilst girls are playing together. We also plan for our day and get everything ready for another day at school, work and my home office of course! :-)


Breakfast
Pear porridge with blueberries

Pear and blueberries porridge

Method: Cook oats on stove top with canned (or fresh) pear with juices and add milk. Cook until fluffy. When serving I mix frozen blueberries to cool it down for us all as we are typically rushing to get all kids out for our school run!


Morning snack
Ricotta & watermelon with almonds

Watermelon with ricotta and almonds

Lunch
Beef salad

Afternoon snack
180 Nutrition coconut (green smoothie)
handful of spinach
1 banana
A glass of milk/water

Incredible HULK and SHREK green smoothies

Our kids love these and named them a few years ago when SHREK was out so for those that need to get greens into their babes, name it after their favourite super hero and cartoon character. I do the same when I make broccoli soup!


Dinner
Quinoa turkey burgers with salad

Just a reminder to send me your meals that you would like me to "make over" into more of a healthier option for us all!! I know I love to eat taco's but have converted them into cos salad cups. Little things like that make a huge difference and can change your entire family's health around! We still need it looking and tasting cool.

Until we meet again tomorrow.

♥ Dani 

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Day 11 - no added sugar

Hello all, well done!!! We survived Day 11!!!!!

3 more days left! How you doing with no added sugar?

I am having an early one tonight so forgive this short post but you are looking at (well reading really) one very tired Mama of 4 that desperately needs sleeeeeep. I hope you understand. I love you so much and am always here, so here's just a quick overview of my day.

Did an awesome 15 minute workout today and worked up a sweat. For those that don't have time to work out like me or are working out too long and not achieving results, I highly recommend this fitness regime. I have followed it since the birth of our 2nd son Oscar. He turns 6 later this year. So I am living proof that by eating healthy meals and doing only 15 minutes of resistance and 15 minutes of interval training, truly shapes your body and melts your fat away!! COME CHECK IT OUT!!!


I was rushed with kids errands ALL DAY!!!! Sorry no recipes below.

Our food today;

Breakfast
Overnight soaked muesli with strawberries

Morning snack
180 Nutrition coconut protein green smoothie

Green smoothie

NB: Don't forget to take up my exclusive offer. ALL my readers in Australia (overseas shipping COMING SOON) who purchase any 180 Nutrition product via my link will recieve a 10% discount off all your orders!!! Simply use promo code 264464


Lunch
Grilled capsicums with cottage cheese and chick pea salad

Chickpea salad

Afternoon snack
Fruit salad with cottage cheese

Cottage cheese with fruit

Dinner
Chicken thai salad

Chicken thai salad

Make over meals

Over to you now. Give me some of your dinners that you would like me to make over to a more healthy dish version.

For an example: Spaghetti bolognese, Taco's, Fish and Chips etc...something that is not so healthy but kinda is, sorta....... if it didn't have the thickened cream, added sugar, wasn't fried etc...

You name it! I need some of your meals to get this make over dinner underway!

Happy day 11 without added sugar! Super proud of you. Grab yourself a copy of Sarah Wilson's I QUIT SUGAR to help you tackle no added sugar in your day to day meals. You won't regret it. I love it!!!

KEEP GOING......XxDani

Smile and keep going

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Day 10 - no added sugar challenge

Did someone just say 10? WOWZA! Well done everyone, what a superb team we are. I am so happy to read all your comments and glad we have each other for support. Another 4 days to go!! We can do this!!!

Today was a fun filled day with the kids and Adrian. We try to do as many kids activities together as a family over the weekend as during the week we are pretty time poor as it gets late in the evening when Adrian arrives home and it's time for the kids bed routine.

Another sun shining day and I took this picture to showcase how I utilise my time whilst supervising and having fun with the kids, along with blogging and working on my weekly planner.

Today was my day of rest but managed to do a little practise with my headstand (you may remember my handstand pose last month). I am really loving my yoga stretches pre and post workouts. I do want to take it to the next level and actually go to a class. Until then I practise and self teach myself at home.....

Headstand (Shirshasana) yoga pose

Headstand (Shirshasana) is often referred to as the king of all yoga poses. Here are some reasons why headstand should be practiced everyday. 

1. Improved circulation occurs with a headstand practice. Because the heart constantly has to pump blood upward to the brain, the headstand gives the heart a rest and reduces unnecessary strain. In addition, while in headstand de-oxygenated blood is able to flow more easily from the extremities to the heart.

2. A headstand simulates a “face lift” by letting your skin hang in the opposite direction (which is always a good thing!) By reversing the flow of gravity, the inverted position of a headstand also flushes fresh nutrients and oxygen to the face, creating a glowing effect on the skin. We all love beautiful fresh and youthful looking skin :-)

3. Some yogis say that it will even convert grey hair back to its natural color! So I'm doing these every day since I have no colour pigmentation in my hair! Headstands increase nutrients and blood flow to the scalp, decreasing onset of grey hair.

4. Increases your sexual hormones, so you can expect better sex with a consistent headstand practice. Headstands stimulate and provide refreshed blood to the pituitary and hypothalamus glands. These glands are vital to our wellbeing, and are considered the master glands that regulate all other glands in the body (thyroid, pineal, and adrenals). 

5. When the adrenal glands are flushed and detoxified with headstands, we create more positive thought. Depression will decrease, as going upside down will almost always put a smile on your face. 

6. Once you have perfected these you can do a headstand at the next party you attend. Your friends will be extremely impressed!

7. Strengthen deep core muscles. To hold a straight headstand for an extended period of time, the practitioner must engage the obliques, the rectus abdominus and the transverse abdominus. To really engage and strengthen the core, pike the legs by lifting and/or lowering both legs at the same time when coming in and out of the pose.

 

Please ensure you learn a headstand from a qualified teacher, these should be avoided if you have neck injuries, extremely high blood pressure, ear and eye problems, if you are menstruating, or have acid reflux.

Our food today;

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs with bacon, feta and spinach

Clean eating scrambled eggs

Ingredients:

8 eggs (serves 6 people)

5 slices of rindless bacon

1/2 cup of feta cubes

splash of milk

minced garlic

spinach leaves to serve

Method:

Cook bacon with garlic until golden. In the meantime whisk eggs, add milk, feta in a bowl and pour into frypan on a gentle heat. Swirl and stir until cooked to your liking. We served ours on a bed of spinach and sundried tomato pesto. Real quick, kids had a second serve.

Morning snack

180 Nutrition chocolate protein drink

1 banana

1/2 cup berries

250ml milk

NB: please take up the exclusive 10% offer when ordering your next 180 Nutrition protein powder and bars. Simply quote promo code 264464 at checkout.

Lunch

Chickpea and 3 mix bean vegetable salad

Afternoon snack

Corn thins with laughing cow cheese

Vegetable sticks and cherry tomatoes 

Dinner

Prawn salad with tartar sauce

Clean eating tartar sauce with prawns

Tartar sauce

1/3 cup of plain yogurt

1-2 tbsp of dijon mustard

3 diced baby pickles 

5-6 diced capers

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp of lemon juice

Mix all these together and enjoy a guilt free dipping sauce!

Dessert

Watermelon with ricotta cheese

I hope you had a sensational weekend and are looking forward to finishing off strong this week with the no added sugar challenge. Have you found the Sarah Wilson I QUIT SUGAR ebook helpful, do you think you will kick the habit after 14 days as well? Let's see how we go. I would like to try and perhaps incorporate some indulgences throughout our week so we don't go out and binge. But hey! That's just me.  

Any plans for Valentines Day?

♥ Dani 

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Day 9 - no added sugar

Hello everyone and happy Saturday to you!!!

I did my resistance training earlier this morning and absolutely love the fact that I can do this at home and usually within 15 minutes! What's your favourite resistance training? To follow the program I do, simply click on this link and download the ebook as I have been able to maintain my body for the last 5 years using this Fit Yummy Mummy fat loss system. It just works!


My favourite post workout drink is (as you all know) 180 Nutrition and I love the fact that it comes in 2 natural flavours with no added sugar of course! It has stevia as a sweetener and I use the coconut natural flavour when mixing up my green smoothies and the chocolate natural flavour when I am craving something sweet.

This went down a treat today!!!! How you coping with no sugar after 9 WHOLE DAYS???? I am starting to get some chocolate cravings!! Must research dark chocolate with no added sugar :-) or simply stick to my protein powder of choice to save the day!!!

Which reminds me, I will be posting later tonight about my exclusive offer. I am super excited to have this available to you all!!!! Watch this space................but here's a little clue;

I also managed to go for a run but can officially say I will be hanging up my running shoes (not that I have been a huge runner as I only started last June/July) however due to my lower back issues and ongoing stitches my rehab doctor has advised I stick to my resistance and core strength training and not over exert my body with high impact exercise eg: running. I need to listen to my body and apologies to my girlfriends that are doing the fun run in Melbourne next month, I will be there in spirit!!!

Running 

Our food today.......


Breakfast 
Home made muesli

No added sugar home made muesli

I simply mix together whatever ingredients I have in the pantry and this morning made a batch with;

rolled oats
fruit & nut mix
shredded coconut
chia seeds
pumpkin & sunflower seeds

You can have this with your preferred milk or even with yogurt as a snack.


Morning snack
180 Nutrition chocolate post workout shake
1 banana

Lunch
Chicken salad with spinach, cherry tomatoes, grated carrot and feta cheese
Squeeze of lemon juice and drizzle olive oil and add S&P to taste

Afternoon snack
Peanut butter sandwiches with grated apples and cinnamon

Dinner
Oven baked chicken tomato basil with sweet ribbon potato chips & salad

Oven baked tomato and basil chicken

Method: Wash chicken pieces thoroughly and rub tomato passata sauce (no added sugar of course) minced garlic, basil and season with S&P. Coat generously and oven bake until cooked. Clean and peel sweet potato and use your peeler to make ribbon pieces, toss in olive oil (I sometimes sprinkle cinnamon) and also oven bake with the chicken.

This is a quick cheat meal for me as the oven pretty much does all the work. What are some of your low maintenance healthy meals?

I am wanting to do a post on converting the not so healthy meals into clean eating meals. Please share some of your classic dinners that are NOT SO healthy so I can try and convert them into healthy dinner meals!


Until we meet again, much love

Xx Dani

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Day 8 - no added sugar

Hi. Yes. I am much better today than yesterday. Thank you for asking.

Sheesh! I haven't felt that bad in a while but I'm sure it was a combination of other things going on here. Restless nights with the warm weather and kids waking up for some water in the middle of the night. Remember we have 4, so they don't all wake up at the same time for that drink of water, it's sporadic!

New day today and guess what? NO ADDED SUGAR!!! Day 8! That's right, still going strong like you! Well done! Super proud of us all and it's so great we are all on the same road. Some of you are stronger than us (who could easily slip back and get into the sugar routine) to those that are doing this challenge for the very first time. This is huge! I don't think you realise what a superb effort you are doing!!!! BRAVO!!!! Xx


Today we made some of these fruit slush icy poles as the kids have been wanting dessert after dinner recently. So here's what we had after dinner tonight.

Sugar free icy poles

Grab whatever fruits you have and your blender and blend away!!! Set in moulds until frozen and enjoy!

Breakfast

180 Nutrition coconut protein shake 

with 1 banana and milk

Morning snack

corn things with laughing cow cheese, avocado and tomatoes 

Lunch

Tuna bean salad 

1 small tin of tuna

1/2 cup beans mix (red kidney, chick peas etc...)

1/2 cup corn

1 sliced small cucumber

squeeze of lemon

So light and very refreshing. When I don't have time to make or cook a lunch, this is my tin pantry emergency food. Simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl and enjoy! 

Afternoon snack

yogurt with strawberries and canteloup 

Dinner

Home made pizza's (this recipe always varies as I mix new ingredients each and every time)

Clean eating home made pizza's

For the base I'll crush in a garlic, sprinkle chia seeds, oregano and rosemary herbs and the base is like a herb bread which I make with wholemeal flour. For those celiac or wheat=belly bloat readers, use gluten free flour. I also need to make mention that when you do this pizza base in your fry pan, heat your grill in your oven. Once you add the toppings in the pan and the base is cooked (takes 2 minutes), all you need to do is further melt the toppings and crust under the griller (another 2-4 minutes). 

NB: you don't bake this pizza in an traditional oven style method. It's the Jamie Oliver pizza stove stop type pizza which will never make you buy take away pizza EVER AGAIN! We love it!!!

Here's an example of how I cook it on the stove top in a fry pan...... 

Healthy quick and easy pizza's 

Clean eating pizza's ready in 5 minutes!!! 

Dessert no added sugar icy poles

Also for those that read my post yesterday about sugar being the addictive drug, I later edited this post and added this great article healthy sugar alternatives. Let me know your thoughts. 

Everyone has different views, Sarah Wilson author of I QUIT SUGAR talks about it. She also makes reference to David Gillespie's SWEET POISON book, his entire family has NADA as well! I have to get that book as well to read up on all this sugar stuff. Anyone else read these books or is it just me???? 

Before I go, just a gentle reminder to.......

WE CAN DO THIS!!! See you tomorrow.

Xx Dani

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