No ice cream, no soda, no store-bought pasta sauces, no chocolate, no chips, no scones, no cheesecake, no cookies, and almost no processed food of any kind (because when you look at the labels, there’s added sugar in almost everything). That’s what it’s like to not eat added sugars. For 67 days, I have been sticking to this rule. Here are the challenges I’ve been facing so far. On August 2nd, 2018 I set out (completely terrified of what was to come) on a journey of 30 days without added sugars. You can read about my start of this experiment in my last post “Sugar addict? Me too, until recently”.…
-
-
Sugar addict? Me too, until recently
All sorts of medical guidelines recommend a maximum of around 30 grams of added sugars per day. There is no required minimum. You won’t die if sugar is not added to your food. Although you might feel as if you might die. Which brings me to sugar addiction. When I realised I was a player in that game, I decided to embark on an experiment. Today marks day 43 of my no added sugar diet. Ever since I remember, I have been eating sugar every single day, except for two occasions – one summer a couple of years ago where I went 30 days without artificial sugar (but still had…
-
Understanding Scientific Articles: 4 Questions You Need to Ask to Make Science Easy & Keep Your Health
Many a hundred of scientific articles get published in (bio)medical journals each year. Some of them about diseases, some of them about prevention, and some of them about health and nutrition. Only a tiny minuscule proportion of those get portrait correctly in the media, and lots of times you will find yourself being misinformed, while you actually want to know what’s going on. With the following tips, you can decipher any (bio)medical article, find out which ones apply to you and easily know which ones to discard. The four questions you need to ask are: What is the population studied? Has the study been carried out in cells, animals…
-
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…
-
Top 5 Things I Discovered About Food While Travelling India and Thailand
Are you trying to eat healthy but noticing that your eating routine feels plain or is missing rich, exciting flavours? Or you want to eat fresh and raw foods but find it time-consuming to make meals from scratch every day? When trying to eat healthy, even if you do have variety and you do have the time, sometimes it is simply hard to follow a healthy eating plan what with all the organic produce and expensive ingredients you need to keep buying. I felt the same way. Being a foodie in a Western country, I am immensely curious about how different foods contribute to health. I want to eat healthy and…
-
Tips for Frugal Shopping at any Organic and Health food store
I am grateful for their existence but, organic foods can be insanely expensive. If you, like me, want to support this branch of business without going into debt, read on for tips on how to shop frugally at organic & health food stores. In my years as health-food-store-wanderer, I have discovered how to shop and how not to shop at any health food store. By making wise choices and leaving a bunch of groceries behind (to be bought at regular stores), buying organic can be easy and cheap! I’ve gone from a 40 euro bill each time I even just entered a health food store (for groceries for 2 people x…
-
Staying Active Despite Your Sedentary Job & Working Behind An Office Desk
You might have seen photos floating around on Instagram of me taking walks, doing yoga or admiring the fruit basket on my desk. Ever since I started a relatively sedentary job (PhD), and thereby joined a world that most adults live in (a sedentary existence for 6 to 8 hours per day), being fit & active is no longer a given. On the up side, I have become creative in finding ways to stay active throughout the workday – and think it could be very valuable for all of us to create more dialogue about this subject at the work place. Lack of activity in Western lifestyle Lack of physical activity is a…
-
Aubergine & Raisin Risotto-Stuffed Bell Pepper
If you want to eat healthy (which I know you do), adopt vegetable stuffed meals in your diet. This Moroccan-Mediterranean fusion of a dish fits perfectly in that repertoire, it’s easy to prepare on a weeknight and extremely healthy due to high vegetable content. Aubergine tastes great paired with raisins (I use yellow ones – which I thought meant they are made from white grapes, but just found out it actually means these raisins have been treated with sulphur dioxide to keep their color, bummer). Still, yellow raisins are a bit sweeter and plumper than black raisins, which works great in risottos and stews. This recipe is suitable for a healthy food pattern,…
-
Delicious & Healthy Brownies (Less sugar, More walnuts)
Delicious, moist brownies chock-full of bitter-sweet walnuts. There’s wholegrain flour in the batter and deliciously crunchy almond flakes on top. I baked a batch this morning and I won’t lie to you – had 3 pieces as breakfast. Yum! Less sugar and more walnuts make this recipe the perfect alternative to traditional unhealthy desserts. These brownies are diabetes-friendly due to high fiber content and a lower glycemic index (making your blood sugars not raise as fast). Recipe inspired by Gaia’s Kitchen Cookbook, here’s Gaia’s cookbook on Amazon! Print Recipe Delicious, Healthy Brownies with Walnuts and Almonds Cuisine Healthy Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Servings pieces Ingredients 140 grams…
-
Squash, Tomatoes & Black Beans in Creamy Coconut Sauce
This delicious, healthy & simple vegetarian Kerala Curry recipe is based on a recipe from the ‘Fresh India’ cookbook. Squash is in season, perfect to combine with heart-healthy black beans and aromatic spices such as garam masala mix. Serves 4 for amazing dinner, prep time 45 minutes from start to table. Ingredients for Oven-roasted Squash 1kg butternut squash, unpeeled, cut into thin wedges 1 tbsp garam masala a sprinkle of salt and pepper Ingredients for Creamy Coconut sauce 1 onion, diced 2 green chilis, diced 3 garlic cloves, minced 400g tin black beans, rinsed and drained 150g ripe tomatoes (or tinned tomatoes if not in season) 400ml good coconut milk…
