Silence.

Balcony Bliss

Is there anything better than growing your own herbs? I would think not. 

A Weekend In Pink

Green Tea + Smoothie

Pink Goodness

Ingredients

• Frozen raspberries + green tea (mixed in a blender)
• 1 apple,1 pear and some lemon juice + green tea mixed in a blender)
• Everything mixed together in a tall glass

The Way To Keep Your Figure...

(Quasi) Homemade Chai Latte

This year... oh no, wait, last year I fell in love with chai latte. However, as the ones at cafes are usually too sweet (and very expensive in the long run), I have been experimenting in the kitchen. I tried mixing my own spices, that just turned out weird (after a re-search on Google, I have some ideas on how to make it better). So, today I settled for using two different types of chai tea bags and a lot of milk. The drink was warm and comfy, and sweet enough, even without the added sugar.

Lunch Box

What's simple, yet delicious? Satisfying, yet light? Quick?

A salad. I think that healthy food doesn't need to be tasteless. In my opinion, it's easier to eat healthily and strive for a healthy life when the food tastes good. There are many ways to make a dish healthier, when it comes to salad for instance, no dressing is needed if one uses the right kind of spices. Mixing textures and adding protein is also a good idea.

The salad in today's lunch box took about two minutes to make.

The ingredients?

• rocket & spinach
• crayfishes
• 1 avocado
• feta cheese
• lime & pepper

Autumn Is Soup Time

Autumn is soup time, don't you agree?

In an attempt to be more food conscious, I have tried to focus on foods that can be considered a) vegetarian, b) ayurvedic, and c) light. While being tasty and somewhat filling as well.

So, the answer is SOUP. Ever since I came across this recipe from BBC, I have wanted to try their red lentil, chickpea and chilli soup. And yesterday I made a lot of it, so now I have much lunch covered for the whole week.

I did do some changes to the recipe, though. Instead of red onion, I put leek in it. And a lot of garlic was added, as well as basil instead of coriander. Because of the spices, the result was more Mediterranean than exotic.

Here's the result:

Colour My World!

There is one thing in life that makes me happier than no other - colour. It might sound rather silly, I know. Is There is colour psychology and all types of theories how colours affect our mood and well-being. Political parties are often associated with colours and colour plays an important role in different cultural and social contexts.

One of my favourite colours is raspberry red. While red is often considered a colour of energy, passion, action and anger, the softer shade of raspberry is more appealing to me. Maybe it's the berry itself that makes me think of forests, silence, peace and autumn. It is also a sweet colour, not too hard but also not too insipid. The taste of the berry is similar to its colour, the taste lingers on the tongue, the scent lingers in the air. 

And here you see the ingredients for the perfect smoothie - just add some fresh orange juice and it's ready!

Petit-déjeuner suédois - frukost på svenska

What I love - and I mean absolutely love - about weekends is the breakfast. Generally, I am not a breakfast person (as long as I get my coffee) and I don't believe that it is the most important meal of the day. However, it is nice when one has the time to calmly enjoy the food, and the coffee, and the news (or, great blogs) without the need to rush to the train.

I thought I'd make today's breakfast experience a lesson in language and culture.

This is a kanelbulle (cinnamon roll) and it is one of the finest and tastiest sweets of the Swedish cuisine. These are so delicious and you will find them in every cafe, every supermarket, in people's freezers and you will be most likely to find them in your nearest IKEA as well. And the smell? Just imagine the smell, heavenly!

Don't forget to celebrate the day of the kanelbulle on October 4.

Here comes a short list of how to say kanelbulle in the languages covered in this blog:


English: cinnamon roll
Finnish: kanelipulla
Russian: коричная плюшка
Spanish: rollo de canela
Polish: bułka cynamonowa
Slovak: Škoricový koláčik
Hungarian: fahéjas tekercs

Mango & Peach Smoothie

This mango & peach smoothie is refreshing and the lovely color is energizing. [Oh. Let's learn languages the smoothie-way..] The following ingredients are needed for 2-3 servings:
1 mango
1 apricot
Some orange juice
Skimmed milk.

Just throw everything in a mixer and enjoy.

Prísady: mango, broskyňa, pomarančový džús a mlieko bez tuku

Składniki: mango, brzoskwinia, sok pomarańczowy i mleko beztłuszczowe.

Ингредиенты: манго, персик, апельсиновый сок и обезжиренное молоко

Smoothies Deluxe

Ahojte, milí priatelia!

In an attempt to be a bit more healthy, I have been (tried to) keeping track of my food intake. The tool I'm using (kiloklubi.fi - in Finnish) was telling me that I'm not getting enough fruits and veggies.

What better way to eat fruit and veggies, I thought, than in smoothies?

So. Smoothies it is. 

Tropical Smoothie

Ingredients (1 big glass)

• ½ orange
• 1 kiwi
• 1/4 pineapple
• 1 dl sour milk (strawberry-lemon flavored in this case)

Green + Red Smoothie

Ingredients (1 big glass)

• 1 green apple
• 1 avocado
• 5 strawberries
• some orange juice

The Saturday That Was

Lovely, lovely weather. It almost feels like summer outside. It's the season of colorful dresses, barbecues and bright drinks. In a moment I need to start working on my dissertation - tomorrow I'm having an interview in Stockholm and the plan is to explore that wonderful city afterwards. But now, right now I'm enjoying my cup of coffee and looking at the photos from yesterday. I hope you have enjoyed your weekend as well! 

One That Never Fails: Feta Salad

Home-made dressing that's lovely with the feta salad: white wine vinegar (1 tablespoon), olive oil (3 tablespoons), lemon zest, coriander, French herbs and 1 garlic clove. Mixing and matching works! 

More Energy? Yes, Please.

Spring is here! Some people start bubbling with energy as soon as the sun shows itself. Others (like me) get tired. I have tried to make a conscious decision to increase my energy levels - sometimes you have to work a little bit to find energy. 

So, there are essentially two factors that will have an impact on your energy levels. The first one is food. I usually feel very heavy and drowsy after eating candy and carbs. Oily food is also a big no-no. The second factor is exercise. Exercise in itself is valuable, but I find that exercising outdoors is what makes the difference.  Tea (preferably green and preferably with spices) also feels energizing.

Lemonade must be the best thing ever. It's refreshing and the flavours are endless. If you make it at home, you know what you're putting into your mouth as well. I would also say that the colour yellow is very cheerful. 

Colours - or in this case, polka dots - brighten any day. 

Healthy food - tasty and satisfying :) Here: porridge with cinnamon and raspberries. Yum!