• Rice 101 | How to Buy, Cook & Eat rice + Health benefits

      AS A STUDENT, I would often make rice for dinner, paired with deep-freeze spinach and something crazy on the side, like plain mixed lettuce. I know, I know… that doesn’t make any sense. TO MAKE MATTER WORSE, the rice would usually turn to mush (be overcooked), sometimes be too chewy (undercooked) and almost never turned out just right. AFTER YEARS OF OCCASSIONAL EXPERIMENTING, and thanks to the influence of good cooks around my friends and family, plus a lot of trial & error, I’ve got a grip on making good rice. IF YOU ALSO STRUGGLE with making rice because it hardly turns out right – or if you love…

  • Healthy Snack: Vegetable Filled Spinach & Feta + Squash & Feta Pastry Triangles

    These pastry triangles filled with spinach and squash are simple, healthy and delicious. Perfect hearty snack on cold, rainy autumn afternoons and great leftovers for lunch. Pair it with a large green salad for a very satisfying dinner. Spinach & Feta Puff Pastry Recipe Olga (whom I’ve met on Instagram) created a beautiful recipe for Spinach & Feta Triangles and submitted it on Ana’s Bananas (submit your own healthy recipe). I loved it and got inspired to create a recipe for Squash & Feta Triangles as well. Taste buds in bliss.   Dairy against diabetes? Out of all dairy products, fermented ones, such as cheese and yoghurt, seem to have a good effect on…

  • simple wellness soup cabbage local healthy food

    Simple Wellness Soup

    Follow my blog with Bloglovin You don’t need quinoa (kee-NU-wah) to eat healthy. Below awaits a recipe with local, seasonal & afforadable ingredients that together create a soup that is exceptionally good for your health. If you are battling the flu or trying to ward one off, this is the perfect soup to make! When my parents used to force me as a kid to eat savoy cabbage soup (in Croatian: kelj), I’d make all kinds of funny faces at them and fiddle with my food. Now I find myself cooking the same stuff, ah the irony! Turns out cabbage is just as good for you as my parents were saying. You’d…

  • Dumplings with Pak Choi

    Making Dumplings with Pak Choi takes 10 minutes from the moment you enter your front door to the moment you sit down at the table to eat – it’s easy, healthy and quick. That’s also why I call it the recipe for power couples – those amazing couples where both people are working hard, being awesome at what they do, and rushing home late without much oomph (definition) to cook (oops). To your rescue comes this Dumplings with Pak choi recipe, introduced to me by a power couple themselves, Madi & Mathias. In 10 minutes of whizzing about in the kitchen, you will have a satisfying meal loaded with vibrant, green vegetables…

  • indian summer salad healthy ana's bananas blog meeha sodha diabetes friendly fresh

    Indian Summer Salad

    As I’m walking around the cookbook section in a bookshop a couple of weeks ago, a pop of color catches my eye – it’s the “Fresh India” cookbook by a lady called Meera Sodha. Indian cooking finally made simple and not taking 5 days of bending over the stove to make? Yes! This summer salad  is refreshing and full of flavors (it originally also includes a spoonfull of sugar, which I leave out). Enjoy it with a big appetite – it has a grand total of zero (0) calories, really. Fun fact: I buy my bell peppers organic because peppers fall into EWG’s (Environmental Working Group) category of the dirty dozen. This is…

  • Breakfast Wraps with Egg & Guac

    GOOD MORNING WORLD! Breakfast is labelled by many as the most important meal of the day. Throw your chia & acai water milkshake out the window. You don’t need it. Every nutrient you need is right here. Start your day & live it to the fullest! Print Recipe Breakfast Wraps with Egg & Guacamole Course Breakfast Prep Time 10 minutes Servings Ingredients 4 eggs1 ripe tomato1 small white onion1 tbsp lime juice1 small handful fresh coriander2 ripe avocadoscooking oil4 corn torillas Course Breakfast Prep Time 10 minutes Servings Ingredients 4 eggs1 ripe tomato1 small white onion1 tbsp lime juice1 small handful fresh coriander2 ripe avocadoscooking oil4 corn torillas Instructions HEAT…

  • butternut squash pasta bacon healthy recipe

    Butternut Squash & Bacon Pasta with Rocket Salad

    THIS PUMPKIN MADNESS RECIPE (pumpkin madness being the general state the world during October) is sage-infused butternut squash with organic bacon, green rocket salad and a bit of delicious pasta. It’s a comfort food recipe, easy to fix up on weeknights and enjoy leftovers for lunch the next day. Print Recipe Butternut Squash & Bacon Pasta with Rocket Salad Prep Time 1 hour Servings for dinner, or 2 dinner + 2 leftover lunch Ingredients 1 white onion2 cloves garlic150 g diced bacon organic, available at better supermarkets1 large butternut squash50 g rocket salad3 tsp dried sage1 tbsp cooking oil or ghee Ghee is a dairy free butter extract with a…

  • minestrone soup vegetable recipe healthy

    Minestrone Soup with Pumpkin, Green Peas and Thyme

    MINESTRONE IS A NATIVE ITALIAN name for an everyday thick vegetable soup put together from any ingredients found in the kitchen. In this version, I combine pumpkin, green peas and thyme for a warm and slightly earthy feeling. THE BENEFITS ARE MANY, including a good dose of vegetables (fibers + nutrients), low calorie count and a very comforting feeling. Print Recipe Minestrone Soup with Pumpkin, Green Peas and Thyme Course Main Dish Cuisine Italian Prep Time 30 minutes Servings Ingredients 2 tbsp cooking oil or butter1 white onion1 large carrot (or 2 small)2 stalks celery1 tbsp flour2 potatoes, diced100 g green beans cut into 3cm pieces2 generous handfuls diced pumpkin…

  • Shrimp and veggie stir-fry Ana's Bananas blog recipe

    Easy Veggie & Shrimp Stir-fry with Brown Rice Noodles

    AS PROMISED, HERE’S A DELICIOUS STIR-FRY RECIPE that I had for dinner last night. 🙂 Green beans and zucchini were on offer at the supermarket – you can also choose other green veggies which you find on sale, to make this meal not only delicious but also affordable! BROWN RICE NOODLES ARE TASTY. They have a lower glycemic index than wheat noodles, meaning they are better at keeping blood sugar stable. BENEFITS OF THIS MEAL ARE MANY, aside from the brown rice noodles, the stir-fry is low in carbs, has a short cooking time leading to vitamin preservation, provides nutrients from many vegetables and garlic, and gives you a daily…

  • Jaime Oliver 45 second ice cream healthy recipe with yoghurt, strawberry and mint Ana's Bananas Blog

    Jaime Oliver´s 45-second Ice Cream

    A QUICK POST ON A WARM SUNDAY AFTERNOON. Craving ice cream? Me too. Here’s a healthy version, and easy too. Jaime Oliver’s 45-second ice cream with yogurt and fruits. This is ice cream made healthy. Low in sugar, high in fiber and (feel free to use delicious full fat yoghurt, it’s good for you) rich in healthy fats.