12 Delicious Winter Salads

Image ~ December 29, 2016December 29, 2016 ~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 9 Comments

12-delicious-winter-salads Are you fed up with all those heavy cold-weather meals? Fancy something a little lighter after the Xmas feasting, that is still super tasty and yet easy to prepare? Well, look no further… today I want to share with you a round-up of 12 delicious winter salads, based on seasonal ingredients, which will definitely help to lighten things up.

baby-kale-and-roasted-cauliflower-salad-with-pomegranates Baby kale and roasted cauliflower salad with pomegranates

chickpeas-pomegranate-salad-with-lime-dressing Chickpeas & Pomegranate Salad with Lime Dressing

hearty-radicchio-salad-with-roasted-potatoes Hearty Radicchio Salad with Roasted Potatoes

kale-and-clementine-winter-salad Kale and Clementine Winter Salad

lemon-garlic-roasted-brussel-sprouts-with-zucchini-and-pomegranate Lemon Garlic Roasted Brussel Sprouts + Zucchini + Pomegranate

roast-beetroot-salad-with-lentils-fennel-and-blood-orange-in-a-blood-orange-dressing Roast Beetroot Salad with Lentils, Fennel and Blood Orange in a Blood Orange Dressing

shaved-brussels-sprout-and-cranberry-salad Shaved Brussels Sprout and Cranberry Salad

vegetarian-olivier-salad-salada-russa Vegetarian Olivier salad (Salada Russa)

watermelon-radish-and-spinach-salad-with-barley Watermelon Radish and Spinach Salad with Barley

winter-kale-beet-salad Winter Kale Beet Salad

winter-salad-with-brown-butter-dressing Winter Salad with Brown “Butter” Dressing

winter-sweet-citrus-salad-with-pomegranate-pistachios Winter Sweet Citrus Salad with Pomegranate & Pistachios

I hope this small selection will get you inspired. Yes, salads are more of a summer dish but who said we can’t eat them in winter too, especially as they use proper seasonal produce?

What’s your favourite winter salad?

Super Green Morning Smoothie

December 23, 2016December 23, 2016 ~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 6 Comments

This super green, high protein morning smoothie is packed with goodness, which will allow you to really kick start your day.

Every single ingredient brings something to the table:

Water – essential for good hydration; promotes weight loss and helps to flush out the toxins from our body.

Spinach – not only is it high in proteins and fibre but it is also loaded with microelements and vitamins like A, B6, C, E and K just to name a few.

Kiwi – with its low GI, high fibre content and alkaline properties kiwi is a perfect morning fruit, which adds tonnes of vitamin C, vitamin E and antioxidants into the mixture.

Matcha – super high in antioxidants helps to increase our energy levels, endurance and concentration but at the same time, promotes calmness and relaxation.

Wheatgrass – it contains chlorophyll, which is a natural liver cleanser and detoxifier; additionally it contains all minerals known to man, as well as many other vitamins.

Chia seeds – low calories, high in fibre and proteins, just what you need in the morning.

Protein powder – well this one is optional but if like me, you are struggling with food in the morning, I would highly suggest adding some into your smoothie to boost your protein intake, which will help with metabolism and keep you fuller for longer.

So let’s mix!

This super green, high protein morning smoothie is packed with goodness, which will allow you to really kick start your day. Ingredients:

250ml filtered water*
1 large organic kiwi; peeled and halved
1 scoop of diet whey protein powder**
1 large handful of fresh organic spinach***
1tsp organic chia seeds
1/2tsp organic matcha
1/2tsp organic wheatgrass

*as its winter time I don’t like my smoothie too cold in the morning so I don’t use chilled water, but come the warmer weather, you can use chilled water or reduce the amount of water and add a good handful of ice cubes on top

**I like strawberry flavour from PhD

***frozen would work great too

Method:

Well, you will need a blender, a high power one would be ideal.

Simply pop all the ingredients into the blender bowl, starting with water, pop the lid on and blend.

I start with variable 1, turn it to 10 and then swap too high for around 10 seconds or so. In this time frame, my Vitamix will have blended everything nicely, including the chia seeds and kiwi pips.

This super green, high protein morning smoothie is packed with goodness, which will allow you to really kick start your day. Serve and enjoy!

Homemade Nutty Falafel

December 9, 2016December 9, 2016 ~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 11 Comments

Super crunchy on the outside and light and fluffy inside, this falafel delivers a delicious flavour combination – fresh herbs, nuts with a wonderful spicy finish of ginger and chilli.

300g dry chickpeas
50g pecans
50g fresh coriander; chopped
30g fresh flat leaf parsley; chopped
3 large cloves of garlic; halved
~2cm piece of fresh ginger; peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium size onion; roughly chopped
1tbsp spelt flour
1 1/2tsp salt
1 1/2tsp black pepper
1tsp cumin
1/2tsp chilli flakes
~100ml olive oil for frying
1.5l water for soaking

Method:

Pour 1.5l litre of filtered water to a pot, add the chickpeas, pop the lid on and leave to soak for at least 10h (overnight works best).

When you are ready to make your falafel, drain the chickpeas then pop them into a food processor.

Add all other ingredients spreading them evenly around the processor bowl but leaving the pecans to be added last. They will help to weigh down the fresh herbs, which means that everything will better stay in place while mixing.

Use the pulse function until your mixture is coarse to semi-coarse. Do not over pulse / mix or you will end up with a hummus-like texture, which isn’t ideal for falafels.

Once done, remove the blade from your food processor and start forming your falafels. I used an ice-cream scoop to measure mine out and the mixture should yield 24 almost perfect balls of falafel 🙂

Super crunchy on the outside and light and fluffy inside, this falafel delivers a delicious flavour combination – fresh herbs, nuts with a wonderful spicy finish of ginger and chilli. Do not squeeze your mixture too much as this will make it dense and remove moisture from it, which will result in dry falafels later on. If you are struggling to form your desired shape you can:

Pop the blade back on your processor and pulse few more times.
Pop it into the fridge to help firm it up a bit
Or worst case scenario add some eggs to help it glue together, but you really shouldn’t need to do this, if you followed the measurements as stated.

Once all your falafels have their final shape, it’s time to fry!

Super crunchy on the outside and light and fluffy inside, this falafel delivers a delicious flavour combination – fresh herbs, nuts with a wonderful spicy finish of ginger and chilli. In a heavy bottomed frying pan, ideally a small cast iron one, preheat 100ml of olive oil (or more if you pan is bigger, ideally you are aiming for enough oil in the pan to cover half of your falafel).

Bring the oil up to 180C before popping your falafels in. Do not over crowd the pan. I cook 6 at the time despite having space for 12 or even 15. More falafels at one time popped into the pan means a bigger drop in the oil temperature once you put them in (this will result in your falafel soaking up the oil making them greasy) and a general inability to turn them with ease, so take it easy and fry them in batches.

When I fry the oil drops to 170C, this is temperature of my oil once all new falafels are in. I heat it up to 180C again as quickly as possible before turning the heat down and cook for about 5-6 minutes turning regularly

When done remove with a slotted spoon and place on some kitchen roll to soak up any residual oil.

Serve warm or cold with a green salad or go classic and add into a wrap.

Most importantly of all though… enjoy!

Do you like falafel?

What’s your favourite way of serving them?

9 Delicious Walnut Recipes

Image ~ December 3, 2016 ~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 16 Comments

Walnuts, the nuts of wonder, not only taste amazing but can also provide us with countless benefits. Eating them as a snack is the easiest way to consume a couple of walnuts a day but how about some more adventurous ways of adding them into our diet? Today I want to share with you a selection of delicious recipes which incorporate this wonder nut. I hope they will get you inspired.

blue-cheese-tartines-with-apples-arugula-walnuts Blue Cheese Tartines with Apples, Arugula & Walnuts

broccoli-salad-with-apples-walnuts-and-cranberries Broccoli Salad with Apples Walnuts and Cranberries

butternut-squash-and-pomegranate-kale-salad-with-spiced-honey-walnuts Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Kale Salad with Spiced Honey Walnuts

chopped-walnuts-twist-cookies Chopped Walnuts Twist Cookies

coffee-walnut-cake Coffee Walnut Cake

maple-granola-with-walnuts-and-cranberries Maple Granola with Walnuts and Cranberries

pear-and-apple-frittata-with-walnuts-goats-cheese-and-honey Pear and Apple Frittata with Walnuts, Goats Cheese and Honey

walnut-banana-protein-pancakes Walnut Banana Protein Pancakes

walnut-sage-cranberry-stuffed-mushrooms Walnut, Sage & Cranberry Stuffed Mushrooms

Which of those tickles your fancy?

And if you are in a super experimenting mood, remember walnut pairs well with apple, apricot, banana, caramel, chocolate, cinnamon, nectarine, peach, pear, plum, rum.

5 Benefits of Walnuts

November 29, 2016November 29, 2016 ~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 11 Comments

Who knew that walnuts are truly the nut of wonder… well actually they aren’t nuts but seeds but you get the point. They are among the oldest foods grown by humans, dating back to 7000BC, super rich in nutrition and with countless benefits to our body. I was never a huge fan of walnuts. I do like them, don’t get me wrong, but given the choice of different nuts I would usually go for almonds, cashews or even hazelnuts. Since coming to Bulgaria we have discovered that walnuts are the only protected tree in this country, which obviously means no chopping without very special permission, as a result there are walnuts everywhere! And I really mean everywhere! I can go for a 5 minute walk to my local village shop and come back with a basket of walnuts if I was to collect only those that have dropped from the trees along the sidewalk. With such an abundance of these nuts I have started to look closer into them and to my big surprise I have discovered that they are truly nuts of wonder with many benefits which really shouldn’t be overlooked.

Heart health

Walnuts contain the plant-based omega-3 fat alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is an anti-inflammatory and may prevent the formation of pathological blood clots. Research shows that people who eat a diet high in ALA are less likely to have a fatal heart attack and have a nearly 50 percent lower risk of sudden cardiac death. They also decrease LDL cholesterol, which is the so called “bad cholesterol” and increases production of the good one.

Brain health

Walnuts have a very high antioxidant content, which means that they can improve your brain functions including the memory function, comprehension and possibly even slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease.

Weight control

Surprisingly those fatty, fairly high calorie nuts can help us lose weight. If added to your diet they will help to keep us fuller for longer. One study has shown that people who included walnuts in their breakfast had a sense of fullness for much longer than the group which didn’t, which means less snacking, less other foods, less calories…

Source of vitamins and minerals

Walnuts are an excellent source of many vitamins and minerals including: folic acid, vitamin B, vitamin E, magnesium, copper, phosphorus.

Beauty nut

Well, walnuts can help us with the quality of our sleep (thanks to melatonin), they will strengthen our hair (thanks to biotin / vitamin B7) and make our skin glow (thanks to vitamin B and antioxidants) so how could we not call it a beauty nut?

Those are just five of the main benefits of walnuts. According to many articles on the net there is many, many more, some less proven then others but the bottom line is: walnuts are good for you, really good! Now, it’s just a case of finding some “healthy” (aka organic grown) walnuts near you. And if you struggling give me a shout I can share our stash with you 🙂

Source:
https://authoritynutrition.com/foods/walnuts/
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/19/7-walnuts-benefits.aspx
http://www.thehealthsite.com/fitness/go-walnuts-13-health-benefits-of-this-awesome-nut/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19910942
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16825686