DIY Infused Olive Oil

I was really excited about my last Christmas, because I would spend here in Canada with snow and my Canadian family. But I didn't have enough money to buy presents for everybody, and I was worried about that. Then I decided to make something by myself. I thought maybe I could  make some Christmas cookies, or a nice desserts, but I really wanted something special. The next weekend I went to the Christmas Market downtown Toronto, actually this place is amazing, the decoration, the restaurants, definitively this is one of the best programs to do with your family and friends during Christmas time. Anyways I was there and I saw a store selling spices and infused olive oil, it was a incredible. At that moment I realized that I could  make my own Infused Olive Oil.




     Toronto Christmas Market









DIY - Infused Oilve OIl



I came back home that night and I decided to make my own, as I have a little garden in my condo, it was easier than I thought! I just chose the herbs that I had in my garden to make different flavors., but you can use the herbs that you like, lemon, peppers, flowers. It will depend on your taste and for what you want.

The best thing about an Infused Olive Oil is you can give more taste to your food. Instead of using a plain olive oil to season your salad, use a Lemon Infused Olive oil or Basil one. I changed butter for Rosemary Olive Oil in my toast, and it is full of flavor.


                                            
My toast in the morning: Rosemary Olive Oil and avocado so yummyyyyy


 I made it again just to show how easy it is to DIY; and you can make and give it as a gift to your friends. I believe they 'll love it.
I hope you enjoyed it and had a great time!

See u soon...

Beijos e bye bye

Quinoa one of the Healthiest Foods in the World

Happy New Year!!!! I hope 2016 will be a great year for all of you, with big changes and much prosperity!



We need to start the year with the right foot,  it means eating healthy, doing exercises, being more happy and always thinking positive. And for the first recipe of the year I prepared a good and healthy QUINOA. I realize that Quinoa remains unfamiliar to many people, especially in the practical sense of cooking and recipes. But I hope that situation will change, given the remarkable nature of this easily-prepared, nutrient-rich food.Quinoa has now been singled out by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) as a food with "high nutritive value," impressive biodiversity, and an important role to play in the achievement of food security worldwide. 








Nice to know:

• Researchers have recently taken a close look at certain antioxidant phytonutrients in quinoa, and two flavonoid—quercetin and kaempferol—are now known to be provided by quinoa in especially concentrated amounts. In fact, the concentration of these two flavonoids in quinoa can sometimes be greater than their concentration in high-flavonoid berries like cranberry or lingonberry.
• Recent studies are providing us with a greatly expanded list of anti-inflammatory phytonutrients in quinoa. This unique combination of anti-inflammatory compounds in quinoa may be the key to understanding preliminary animal studies that show decreased risk of inflammation-related problems (including obesity) when animals are fed quinoa on a daily basis. The list of anti-inflammatory phytonutrients in quinoa is now known to include: polysaccharides like arabinans and rhamnogalacturonans; hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acids; flavonoids like quercetin and kaempferol; and saponins including molecules derived from oleanic acid, hederagenin and serjanic acid. Small amounts of the anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), are also provided by quinoa.
• In comparison to cereal grasses like wheat, quinoa is higher in fat content and can provide valuable amounts of heart-healthy fats like monounsaturated fat (in the form of oleic acid). Quinoa can also provide small amounts of the omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Given this higher fat content, researchers initially assumed that quinoa would be more susceptible to oxidation and resulting nutrient damage. However, recent studies have shown that quinoa does not get oxidized as rapidly as might be expected given its higher fat content. This finding is great news from a nutritional standpoint. The processes of boiling, simmering, and steaming quinoa do not appear to significantly compromise the quality of quinoa's fatty acids, allowing us to enjoy its cooked texture and flavor while maintaining this nutrient benefit. Food scientists have speculated that it is the diverse array of antioxidants found in quinoa—including various members of the vitamin E family like alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-tocopherol as well as flavonoids like quercetin and kaempferol—that contribute to this oxidative protection.

This information I took from one of favorites website about healthy food 

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=142

Everybody knows now more about the Quinoa benefits, and learned how to prepare an easy, healthy and delicious recipe of quinoa with zuccini. Try to make it, and you will love it. And maybe in the future you can create your own recipe and share with me and your friends. That's the best part to cook quinoa, every time you will prepare you can make different, change or add new ingredients!

I hope you had a great time cooking and being healthy!!!

See u soon...

Beijos e bye bye

The Power of Change!

Today I want to talk more about why I chose do be healthy, why a chose to start to make my own food and why I love so much to do exercises and be fit. I know that I created this blog to share with you guys some recipes and my zest lifestyle. But to get to where I am today, I had to make some changes in my life.
I have always been thin, I always ate everything that I wanted. I am a fan of chocolates and sweets, but I always did sports and exercises.  However we will not be young forever, I mean we can feel  in our mind and spirit and body, to be like this we have to change some little things in our lives.

WHEN YOU CHANGE THE WAY YOU LIVE. THE BETTER YOU WILL FELL AND FEELING BETTER,  MORE YOU WILL WANT TO CHANGE.

I learned this with my sister, she is a Lifestyle Medicine doctor. She works with seniors, with people that really have health problems and they really need to change, but when you are too old, changes are more difficult. So why not start now? Why not start to change, when you really can make a difference in your life?

                               

https://www.facebook.com/takecareBR/?fref=ts

When we become more aware of how powerfully our choices in diet and lifestyle affect us—for better and for worse—then we can make different ones.When you make healthy choices, you feel better quickly. This allows us to connect the dots between what we do and how we feel.  Feeling so much better, so quickly, re-frames the reason for changing from fear of dying to joy of living.

The 4 pillars that you need to know for being healthy are:

1- Nutrition: 

What you include in your diet is as important as what you exclude. Foods are neither good nor bad, but some are more healthful for you than others. You have a spectrum of choices.

                             

2- Fitness: 

Research studies have shown that most of the health benefits from exercise are achieved when an individual transitions from not exercising to becoming moderately active. Slightly more benefits are gained from increasing the duration or intensity of the exercise. 

      

3- Stress Management
Releasing stress empowers you to react in healthier ways. Stress can be defined as the response of the human organism to any change or demand. Whether the demand or stress is positive or negative, the body responds automatically. 

4- Love and Faith

Giving and receiving love and support makes you healthier and happier. To believe in yourself is really important and more than everything you need to have faith in yourself. YOU CAN DO IT, BELIEVE!

             

What do think about starting now, and change these 4 pillars in your life? In 6 months you can tell me how you feel!
 

Guacamole Delicious, Healthy and an Easy Recipe!

I am a fan of avocados! All of my friends and my family know if I can choose my best fruits in the world, avocados will be one of my favorites, for sure!!!



In Brazil we have many types of avocados. The most common eating there, it is a big one and a little bit sweet. We normal eat like a dessert with sugar or honey, and it's really nice to make smoothies.







                                            

                                                          Types of Avocados in Brazil

* Recipe: Quintal Avocado with milk and honey, so yummy!!!

I was telling on the video for you guys, how the avocado is healthy. If you read more about, more you will eat it!

Avocados are a good source of pantothenic acid, dietary fiber, vitamin K, copper, folate, vitamin B6, potassium, vitamin E, and vitamin C. Although they are fruits, avocados have a high fat content of between 71 to 88% of their total calories—about 20 times the average for other fruits.

You can check on these websites below:

The World's Healthiest Food

Medical News Today

The Fit Food Fruit

After this post I hope you guys will eat more avocados, and start to make your own Guacamole.

Thank you to watch the video, and trying to be healthy!

Beijos Bye bye

Banana Pie, one of my favorite desserts!

I am so glad that I could make on of my favorite desserts for you guys! This recipe I learned how to make when I was 15 years old.

Remember my first post, when I told you guys that I used to spent my vocations in my family's farm? The place where I could learn and enjoy my first experiences with fresh and healthy food. My aunt, who still lives there taught me this delicious recipe, and now I am sharing with you guys!

I swear, if you guys try to make this recipe, you guys will love it as well!


Follow the instructions here:


Ingredients:

300g of Whole Wheat Flour

300g of Oats

300g of Brown Sugar

300g of oil ( coconut, canola or butter)

Pinch of cinnamon




How to prepare:






Mix the first 3 ingredients in a big bowl, til it's a single mix.








After you'll add the oil and the mix it will turn a crumble




Get a round cookie sheet and you will start to prepare your layers. This pie needs to have 4 layers. Two of crumble and two of bananas, interspersed. The first layer, it will be the crumble layer, the second one it'll be a banana layer and you will repeat. In the end you'll add a pinch of cinnamon, as much as you want.

When your pie it is ready, you will put in the 350 F or 180 C oven for 30 minutes. 

That's it! A delicious, healthy and fresh Banana Pie. Watch the video and you will learn exactly how to make it. Try it and tell me if you liked it or not!

Thank you for your attention again, and see u next time!!!!

Beijos and bye bye

Cooking and Having fun

I was in my course other day (who doesn’t know, it is a Digital Content Strategy extension course that I am doing here in Toronto), and we were arguing and creating a campaign for a traditional Canadian food, it calls Campbell`s. This is a kind of fast meal, soups in a can, as far as I know this kind of food it is nothing healthy, normally they have a lot of sodium and preservatives. We were trying to find the perfect persona who it will fit well for this brand (target).  Most of the students said: the perfect persona is a business and busy mom. What???? I didn’t agree with this choice.  I believe, the perfect persona is a single man or a student. In my view who will eat this food, it is someone either doesn’t know how to cook and it is a lonely person. But in their view the persona it is mom who wants spend more time with her kids than cooking. For her cook it is a waste of time.

FORGIVE ME MY SCHOOL FRIENDS, BUT THIS IS NOT RIGHT!!!

First of all, cooking is not a waste of time. I understand that some people they don’t like to cook, or they don’t know. But a mom needs to know or needs understand what is the best food to feed her kids. The best time for a person to educate and understand which is better to eat is in the childhood. If a mom doesn’t teach her kids well, probably they will have problems in the future with food.

  

                                                                                

These sites below it will give more information about healthy children, and why it is so important to pay attention on it:

Healthy Children Org

Healthy and Parenting

What I am trying to say to you guys and I tried to say to my school friends is; cook can be fun and in the same time you can share this moment with your family and friends. Cooking together it is much more fun than cook alone, you can share the recipes, and also you will understand what you are eating. The nutrients, how much cost to prepare that recipe that you really like. Actually one of my favorite hobbies is cooking with my friends. Sometime I prefer having a dinner at home that go out to eat. It is cheaper, no lines, no stress if the food is not exactly what you thought. One day I will be a mom, and I will try to feed them with a real nourishment. It is far from my life plan to give them fast food, or ready food in a can. 

 COOKING WITH FRIENDS IT IS MUCH BETTER...

            

 

                  

I wanted to share with you guys this story, because I want to say: go try to cook something and have a real meal with your family, or date with friends and try to cook together. Never prefer to buy ready food or go out to buy Mc Donald’s. The only people in the world that can do that are: single men, students or a lonely person, and in this case they deserve that!!!!;)))

Healthy Turkey Burger

Today I made some Turkey Burgers, you can watch the video and see how easy, simple and fast it is.


I was feeling like eating hamburger so bad this week. My weak side always been cheeseburger with french fries. But I never was a person that I liked Mc Donalds. I always preferred to eat a homemade one. Taste is much better, it is healthier, and you don't feel that you are eating garbage.



I am not the person that like beef a lot, but I am not vegan either. Sometime I like to eat beef, but just some kinds of beef. And if I can, I always will prefer to change the beef for fish, chicken or turkey. My digest is much better with this types of meat.



If you are like me, want to change some ingredients to help you to digest or feel better and with more energy ( digest beef use a lot of your energy, and than you will feel tired and sometimes depress), you need to try to make this recipe.



As you can see on the video, I like to eat my burger with salad and my homemade "french fries", I will feel satisfied with the desire to eat junk food and in the same time I eat healthy.



My "french fries" is so easy to make as well. I make in the oven with rosemary and love a lot. Actually I prefer more than the way that I make than the french fries. I will teach you guys the next time how to make it, and how to make some chips in the oven as well.



I hope that you enjoyed again and had some fun!!!!



Bye bye and Beijos