San Valentine’s Day … Ok so if SUGAR comes to your mind and you are trying to cut or reduce it? This article for food ideas is for you.
After quitting sugar for longer a year now, When San Valentine’s day comes, I do not think… “Uff I need sugar”, but I do think instead “How can I eat healthy & still pinky”? 😀
Well, what here goes but before you can have a look at the 1minite YouTube video to open your appetizer
I usually follow the same rule in terms of eating, that way I do not emotionally eat.
- Starter or First plate: the sweetest salad; baby spinach with strawberries, pecan nut. Dressings; maple syrup, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salta bit of feta cheese and lemon!
- Second plate or main course: A delicious salmon (oily fish), veggies with gratin cheese and nuts – cover.
- Side: well I usually have enough with the first and second place but I could not say NO to this delicious mix, which is… Lentils with quinoa and sweet potatoes! A mix of nice texture and nutritional ingredients!
- Dessert: here you go! Vegan beetroot and Hibiscus Tart. Delicious beetroot, oats, coconut and pecan nut among others and the other dessert is, Raw coconut cherry hearts.
- Coffee: light coffee tho with my favourite plant-based milk, Rice (t is hard find it in some coffee shops and the answer I got in a place was, “It is too expensive” what the hell… xD
1. Here go the starter or first plate, the sweetest colourful salad! The combination of such nutritional and sweet ingredients, make the starter just a desire to keep eating! The dressings are natural lemon, maple syrup, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt. Specially lemon dressing, can help to make a fresh salad and the sweetness and sourness the combined feelings that you will experience in your mouth 🙂
2. The Second plate or main course: A delicious salmon (oily fish). Salmon is very common in Ireland, I would even say one of the most famous oily fish in the market. Oily fish is rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which have been shown to reduce inflammation and potentially lower the risk of heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. Both white and oily fish are good sources of lean protein. Stick to eat oily fish three times a week.
This is one of the 5 ingredients we should include in our weekly diet.
The most side to eat with salmon is veggies, why? because salmon by itself is very “heavy” due to oily fish wich means, it is mainly fat so it is needed in small portions, no like chicken for example that you eat bigger portions. So veggies cooked in the oven and topped with cheese and chopped nuts will make the digestion lighter and it will make you fuller for longer.
No cravings in the long term and you eat your snack when you have to. Last but not the least, your concentration will be up so you will be more productive at work and in your fitness journey.
3. Side: A super delicious mix of nice texture and nutritional ingredients! The ingredients? Lentils with quinoa and sweet potatoes.
Lentils are a very good source of dietary FIBER, phosphorus and manganese. Additionally they are a good source of IRON (I heard this since I was a child but eh It is true :D) , protein, zinc, potassium and vitamin B2 and B6.
Summary, lentils will give you the amount of fiber and iron you need in only a serving in your meals (the portion you see on the picture). The same with quinoa.
Just to put you in situation, the cooked quinoa’s Nutrition Facts, as an average, consists of water (72%), carbohydrates (around 22%), protein (5%) and fat (2%). One cup of cooked quinoa (185 grams) contains 222 calories.
Sweet potatoes is a large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are a root vegetable. Sweet but eaten in a savoury meal, what else can we ask for? That’s why I try to include it in my meals on a regular basis.
4. Dessert: here you go! A delicious SUGAR FREE Vegan beetroot and Hibiscus Tart DESSERT. Coconut and pecans are the main ingredients, those that you can be appreciated when eating it.
First, could you imagine this dessert does not have sugar, not even cane sugar? It does not have at all!
This mix of natural sugar food combined made my day happier. I am so happy to see how the idea of dessert is changing and does not need to be associated with sugar 🙂
Ingredients: walnut, sunflower seed, cinnamon, agave nectar, coconut oil, beetroot, hibiscus, coconut cream, vanilla, orange, agar agar.
The other dessert I ate is called Raw coconut cherry hearts.
You feel the sweet ingredients but no sugar at all!
Ingredients: coconut, dark chocolate, coconut oil, cherries.
I enjoyed so much eating these two desserts, they were so sweet but did not make me full because they did not have sugar at all! More desserts like this please…
As usual I finished my plates but feeling full (good), satisfied and like I had a food orgasm 😀
