Day Zero Project: update 19

"Home is where the heart is. And my heart is anywhere you are. Anywhere you are is home." ~ Elvis Presley

The Day Zero Project.

101 tasks in 1001 days.

Update 19


Starts: June 19, 2013

Ends: March 16, 2016

Tasks achieved so far: 72/101

Buckwheat Porridge with Apple Pear Compote

reading time: ca. 1 min

Preparation time: 15 mins
Main ingredients: buckwheat, banana, apple, pear
difficulty level: easy
serves: 1-2
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, nut-free, low-fat

Hi Friends, i hope you all had a cozy Christmas and a not-as-quarrellsome time with your family :)

Usually porridge is made of oats (hence the name oatmeal, duh), but for this porridge recipe I experimented with cooked buckwheat for the first time, cooking buckwheat groats in soy milk with sweet banana, home-made apple pear compote and fresh blueberries.

Buckwheat Waffles (vegan Christmas)

reading time: ca. 2 min

Preparation time: 30 mins
Main ingredients: buckwheat, non-dairy milk
difficulty level: easy
makes: 16 waffles
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free

It's not always easy to find a vegan option at Christmas parties and dinners, especially when it comes to cookies, pastries and other sweets, so here is my suggestion for a filling Christmas meal (either sweet as a dessert or savory).

Quinoa Rice Pudding

reading time: ca. 1 min

Preparation time: 25 mins
Main ingredients: quinoa, soy milk
difficulty level: easy
serves: 2
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, nut-free, low-fat

Have you jumped on the quinoa bandwagon yet? This gluten-free, high fiber, complete protein of a grain has become mainstream and quite popular over the last couple of years, especially among vegans and hipster people like me. Nevertheless, it's been a fairly recent addition to my menu plan, and so far I've only used it as a savoury replacement for rice or pasta.

Raw Gingerbread Cookies

reading time: ca. 1 min

Goodness, i can't believe it's Christmas in four days! 

One of my favourite Christmas sweets, which can even be "veganized" because the base is nuts, is gingerbread and cinnamon cookies (Zimtsterne). I actually just uploaded a recipe for baked Soft Vegan Gingerbread Cookies as well, so make sure to check them out! 

Inspired by Rawmanda, I raw-veganized the original recipe, and oh my god, it's so delicious! And addicting! I actually ate like half the dough during the process of making the cookies because raw cookie dough - it's just soo tempting!

The ingredients are simple: almonds, dates, buckwheat, and cinnamon.

Soft Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

reading time: ca. 1 min

I am a sucker for anything baked anyway (cake, cookies, pancakes, waffles, you name it), but gingerbread gets me every time. If it weren't for my blog, this batch of gingerbread cookies wouldn't even have lasted the day, haha! 

The recipe is very simple, and the cookies are incredibly soft, chewy, and - most importantly - vegan AND gluten-free!

Homemade Hot Lemonade

reading time: ca. 1 min

Preparation time: 5 mins
Main ingredients:  lemon, orange, lime
difficulty level: easy
makes: ~ 1500ml
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, paleo, refined sugar free

Lemonade is usually associated with hot summer days. However, it's not summer any more (at least not on my hemisphere), and since my doctor advised me to drink warm water, especially in the mornings, i thought why not make a warm lemonade? 

Citrus fruits are usually in season when it's wintertime over here, and the Vitamin C helps improve your immune system and prevent or treat common winter illnesses such as a cold. This drink is not a great way to hydrate and regenerate your body, but the orange makes it actually quite appropriate for the Christmas spirit, especially when you add a bit of ginger and/or a cinnamon stick!

You can easily turn this into a cooling summer lemonade of course by using cold water and chilling it in the fridge afterwards :)

Almond Butter Blondies

reading time: ca. 1 min

Hello loves,

as i type this i'm getting more and more nervous about our trip to South Africa - when you read this, i will already be there, so yeah, i'm speaking to you from the past, hehe.

Anyway. 

These almond butter blondies are kind of a marriage between my No-bake Dirty Blondies and the Raw Caramel Fingers i made a while ago. They were a gift for my beloved boy, who took me to the Lion King musical in Hamburg on our anniversary. I don't know what else to say, i love this guy, and i feel like we've been through so much already  even though we don't know each other for that long. Funerals,  birthdays, weddings, vacations, burnt-down kitchens, walks through all seasons, nocturnal conversations in bed and much, much more...

This is for you, J.

Take My Hand

*
 
Take my hand and draw me close to you 

Take my hand and let me take yours too 

Grab my hand and dance – just you and me 

Take my hand and take the leap with me. 


Hold my hand when you are far away 

A gentle touch, and I'll wait – patiently 

Take my hand and take my trust along with it 

Even if it’s shaking, don't let go, hold on to it. 


Take my hand and I will hold yours tight 

Hang on to me and let me be your guide 

Explore with me the world – inside and out 

Be silent with me, crazy, sad and loud. 


Take my hand and squeeze it when you feel alone 

Break down the barriers and let me be the one 

The one to laugh with, love with, live with, 

The one to travel, argue and agree with. 


Share with me your hand and take mine for it 

Share with me your heart and take mine as it is. 

//

Tiny Tales of Love (Pt. 4)

//

The roofs of the city were flat and hot. The bare rock was burning under her feet, showing naked chalk-white soles as she ran. »Kya!« He called out her name, as always as if he were picking up something fragile. Kayah. The diamond in the sky. The one he followed wherever she went, and her steps led him above the city, where the horizon unfolded over the brown roofs of Arusha like a pale piece of paper, the mountain in their backs. Mount Meru. And yet behind it, invisible behind haze and cloud layers, its big brother, the Kilimanjaro.
Down in the laneway it smelled of home, of dried cod and sun-laden fruits and of the dust on the roads, but up here it smelled of freedom.

Maisy ❤ November 2015

reading time: ca. 3 min

Only three more days until we take off to South Africa! Aagh, i'm so excited! Not only have i never been to any African country, but i also can't wait for the biting cold winter to be replaced by summery heat, jungle and the Indian Ocean (skinny dipping... ;)). 

Since i won't be having access to the internet nor the time to put together blog posts, i've prepared a number of posts for you that will be published over the course of the next three weeks on the usual scheduled days Wednesday & Sunday. I hope you'll enjoy them!

Also, it's Saint Nicholas today, so merry Saint Nicholas Sunday to you :)

 
Read: Fangirl (Rainbow Rowell)

Creamy Curry Pumpkin Soup

reading time: ca. 1 min

Preparation time: 30 mins
Main ingredients: hokkaido pumpkin, coconut milk, curry, potato
difficulty level: easy
serves: 4
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, paleo, low-sodium

I'm so sad pumpkin season is officially over :( This curry pumpkin soup was on point! Just veggies and spices, and aargh Hokkaido pumpkin is so frickin delicious! (excuse my language) Sweet, creamy, and satisfying. This is basically the simplified version of the Asian Pumpkin Cream Soup i made for my birthday. 

The recipe is actually so easy to make and so creamy and delicious that i don't really know what else to say about it other than: i hope you like coconut because the coconut milk makes this about 100% better!

Caramelized Banana Oatmeal

reading time: ca. 1 min

Preparation time: 15 mins
Main ingredients: oats, banana, cinnamon, soy milk
difficulty level: easy
serves: 1-2
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, nut-free, low-fat

I'm so full right now. My belly is filled with the warmth of freshly cooked porridge, sweet banana and cinnamon. 

All i want to do right now is curl up to my snuggly blanket and hibernate like squirrels do. Those dang cute bastards. - But instead, i'm gonna sit at out forest green kitchen table with a cup of ginger tea, and type down this recipe for you :)

Get Healthy With Me 04

reading time: ca. 2 min

Hey guys -
it's time for my new series on the blog, Get Healthy With Me. Last time i talked about the first results on my journey to get fit and healthy. But what if the progress doesn't continue? Or even worse: declines? So in Episode 04: Loving yourself i want to talk about loving yourself, no matter what.

The first step is to reflect on how important it is to love yourself - because otherwise you will feel miserable and get depressed eventually from constantly hating on yourself. For a very long time I felt the same, couldn't really stand myself, wasn't able to find a boyfriend (or commit to one), was struggling with my eating disorder, constantly doubting myself and stressing out over grades, how I looked, how I wasn't good enough. 

But that has changed!

Ever since being/coming at peace with myself (that took a whole lot of work), new opportunities have been practically flying at me from every direction, and even though I still have my obstacles and challenges every now and then, I know that I AM good enough and that I will always have my best and oldest friend with me, and that is myself :)

DIY Advent Calendar (last minute)

reading time: ca. 5 min

Whoop-whoop, another DIY coming your way :) 

This time it's a tutorial for a last minute DIY Advent Calendar for your kids, grand kids, siblings, boyfriend, girlfriend, family or friends. As part of my Day Zero Project and also because i will be in South Africa throughout most of December, including Christmas, so instead of a single present for each i crafted an advent calendar for my flatmates to share - which is a) inexpensive, b) easy to make, and c) personal and fun. 

I'm actually so excited for this post, not only because of the effort i put into it (probably a solid 24 hours altogether), but also because i made this as a surprise for my flatmates, and i can't wait to see their faces when they open the bags. I love giving presents or surprising others! (and also receiving them of course)

DIY Painting China Ware

reading time: ca. 3 min

Hello my fellow crafters!

Long time no DIY. 

So today i come to you with a tutorial on how to decorate china ware. Because let's face it. What's better on a gloomy November day than doing something crafty whilst listening to music or an audio book? 

Also, you will be using your personalized cup (for warming tea, hot chocolate or coffee) or your bowl (for warm oatmeal, soup, cereal, casserole) a lot during winter time. Or you could make this a present for Christmas! For your mother, child, partner, grandma...

Veggie Chili Sin Carne (vegan)

reading time: ca. 1 min

Preparation time: 45 mins
Main ingredients: kidney beans, corn, carrot, potato
difficulty level: easy
serves: 4
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, nut-free, paleo, low-fat, low-sodium

I've actually eaten Chili only twice in my life so far, and this is my first attempt to make it myself. This is more of an autumn or winter recipe, i suppose, but it's so yummy and satisfying i could eat this basically any day. And it's super simple because all you do is chop up your vegetables, cook them all together in a big pot and let it simmer until it's done. Easy peasy!

November Essentials /15

reading time: ca. 2 min

Hey guys, it's me.

Last Wednesday turned into a pretty shitty day. A group of my girls at uni had a massive intervention about an issue we were having among our group that caused me to have anxiety -.- we sort of reconciled but I felt really shaky afterwards and wasn't hungry even though I hadn't eaten anything that night - but then my boyfriend comforted me and made me eat some of the vegan gluten-free polenta pizza he had made. That calmed me down a bit. Pizza makes everything better. Right?

Also, yesterday was our monthly Saturday seminar, but instead of going there in a negative, irritated mood I went there with the mindset that I'm the one in control of my stress levels. So I took it easy. Enjoyed the almost empty streets on my way to uni, and did my best to sit back and relax.


Mini Friend

Millet "Rice" Pudding (vegan)

reading time: ca. 1 min

Preparation time: 15 mins
Main ingredients: millet, plant-based milk
difficulty level: easy
serves: 2
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, low-fat

Millet has become my new favourite gluten-free grain and a great alternative to rice and quinoa. 

It contains a variety of minerals and trace elements, in particular silicon, iron (7 mg per 100g millet) and magnesium, which strengthen your bones, hair, skin and nails, and is great for anaemic (mostly iron-deficient) people like me. Above that, millet does not contain gluten (which is great for me!), and therefore is easy to digest, not forming any mucus in your organism.

Classic Banana Split (raw vegan)

reading time: ca. 1 min

Quick banana split without ice cream maker

Preparation time: 15 mins + 3 hours freezing time
Main ingredients: banana, strawberry, vanilla, cacao
difficulty level: easy
serves: 1-2
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, paleo, raw food, low-fat

Yep, this messy heap of deliciousness is a Banana Split. My very first one actually.

There are many variations, but the classic banana split is made with scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream served in a row between a banana that is cut in half lengthwise (hence the name). In no particular order, pineapple, strawberry and chocolate sauces are spooned over the strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream. It is garnished with crushed nuts, whipped cream, and maraschino cherry.

My variation also has vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. It even has mango cubes, crushed nuts, pear, shaved chocolate and homemade dark chocolate sauce! I will probably have to make this dish again because you can barely recognize the banana split as it is completely buried in toppings, lol!

(For my next one, i want to work with raspberries, caramel sauce, shaved chocolate, caramelized bananas(!), perhaps coconut whipped cream and vanilla ice cream only.)

21 Tage Raus aus der Lustfalle Food Plan [Review]

reading time: ca. 3 min

Today's post will be a German post for once. That is because i was sent an electronic copy of a 21 Day Food Plan consisting of 79 pages of vegan, mostly gluten-free low-fat, whole food, plant-based recipes that i will review here and now.

Also, dieser Post ist ein Bericht* über den 21 Tage Raus aus der Lustfalle Food Plan, erstellt und veröffentlicht von Silke Rosenbusch, die den medizinisch-anekdotischen Blog Rohe Lust führt, den ich seit einigen Jahren schon verfolge, da mich vor allem die Erklärung der ganzen medizinischen Zusammenhänge, Fakten über B12 zum Beispiel, sehr interessieren und Silke sie schön anschaulich und nachvollziehbar darstellt.

Der Food Plan enthält 5 Frühstücke, 42 Hauptgerichte und auch 2 Kuchenrezepte für Tage, an denen man sich gezwungen sieht in der Gesellschaft mit zu essen und sich anzupassen, die jedoch nicht für jeden Tag gedacht sind. Alle Gerichte sind glutenfrei, ohne zusätzliches Fett, ohne jeglichen Zucker und ohne tierische Produkte.

Maisy ❤ October 2015

reading time: ca. 3 min

Uni has started again, and i'm back at reading academical essays and research papers. Yay. However, i am also trying to keep up my reading schedule, and i'm also writing again! And collecting ideas like a squirrel collects its nuts, partly for my personal writing projects, and partly for my up-coming master thesis next spring! Wohoo! Excited!

However, as i'm currently drowning in assignments, so please excuse my lack of time and concentration to write these reviews. I typed these down in my spare 30 minutes between lectures and appointments.

Read: Under Wildwood (Colin Meloy / Carson Ellis)

Becoming Alice for Halloween [DIY Costume]

reading time: ca. 2 min

»We're all mad here.«

This DIY Alice in Wonderland costume is a) easy to make, b) cheap / efficient, and c) very adjustable. I hope this helps you to create your own Alice costume!

If you are familiar with my Day Zero Project, you might know that task 90 requires to "Dress up as Alice in Wonderland". So that's what i did this Halloween!

Day Zero Project: update 18

"Live, Laugh, Love." ~ Clay Walker

The Day Zero Project.

101 tasks in 1001 days.

Update 18



Starts: June 19, 2013

Ends: March 16, 2016

Tasks achieved so far: 61/101

Get Healthy With Me 03

reading time: ca. 2 min

Hey guys -
it's time for my new series on the blog, which i named Get Healthy With Me. Today i present to you Episode 03: First Results. 

I'm not looking for quick results - because the longer the process takes, the longer the results will last -, but it's actually funny how fast you will see your progress, and how motivated you will be to keep going! And it's fascinating that the more consistent you are with your exercise, the more loose you can be with your diet. For example, my belly is noticeably leaner now that i'm doing regular morning exercises as opposed to before that.

Also, if the word GYM freaks you out, don't panic. You don't need to spend money in order to get fit and healthy. You don't have to pay monthly gym memberships or crazy program fees. I have never (!) stepped foot in a gym, and i'm not planning to do so. Instead, i prefer home workouts, yoga, pilates, walking, hiking and body weight exercises. All you need is your body, a pair of shoes and your mat! oh and of course cool workout leggings such as the crazy turquoise patterned one below that i got for my birthday, or the turquoise shorts that i'm wearing in the pictures at the end of the post, haha!

Warming Pear Porridge (vegan)

reading time: ca. 1 min

Yay, we got our kitchen back! Or rather, we got a brand new kitchen after our old one burnt down in May, and we lived without a proper kitchen for five months! But now we got a new one, finally, with working oven, fridge and all, hurray! And so my breakfast porridge is no longer cooked on a camping cooking plate in our living room, but on an actual stove, yay.

In celebration of our new kitchen, i present this warming bowl of autumnal pear porridge, made with hazelnuts from my boyfriend's aunt and pears from my parents' pear tree.

Renovation

reading time: ca. 2 min

Hello friend,

if you have seen my Day Zero Project updates, you will know that i have challenged myself with 101 tasks to fulfil within 1001 days, one of these tasks being to "paint one wall or door an outrageous colour". So since our kitchen and hallway had to be renovated due to the kitchen fire a few months ago, we had some left over turquoise paint, and since i've been on a turquoise kick lately, i thought this would be the perfect opportunity to finally paint my wall an "outrageous" colour.

[OUTFIT] Autumn Colours

reading time: ca. 2 min

Autumn is such a beautiful time. The leaves are turning yellow, red and rusty brown, ready to fall and scatter. I love the turn of the seasons, there's something thrilling and wonderful about the year in transition. It gives me a frisson of excitement and makes me want to be writing, or reading, or snuggle up in my favourite hoodie or sweater.