Japanese Egg Moulds

I have a couple of cute Japanese egg moulds and just wanted to quickly show you how the eggs turn out.

The key to making the shapes in these moulds is to peel them when they are still relatively warm and immediately lock them for a few minutes. Make sure to place the eggs straight up in the mould and squish them down with the top. Don’t worry, the eggs won’t break apart.

To make a nice little bento, you can fill the box with some rice, cut the eggs in half to show the cute pattern with the yolk and add a few cherry tomatoes for colour.

If you would like to get some Japanese egg moulds, you can find them on Amazon.

Smoothie Recipes for Digestive Problems

Over the last few years, I have developed many digestive problems, especially when it comes to digesting greens like spinach and kale. This has created many problems getting adequate vitamins and minerals from the foods that I can normally eat.

I have tried to eat small amounts of different foods to get proper nutrients, but nothing worked (and it was painful for me too).  My best friend was kind enough to give me a healthy smoothie book full of recipes that are easy to digest and provide a wide range of vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants.

I tried some of the smoothies from the book and they were delicious. The only problem is that hardly any of them had kale (which I love). This book also made me want to experiment with my own smoothie creations using kale.

I’ve tried different combinations and this is the one that has been the easiest on my stomach. Try it out and see if you like it!

Ingredients

• 1 large kale leaf (you can slowly add more as you get used to it).

• Banana

• Chia

• Silken Tofu or Natural /Vanilla Yogurt ( I use lactose free vanilla yogurt)

• Almond Milk

• Optional: honey, stevia or agave nectar

Toss everything into a blender and blend for a couple of minutes until it has a smooth, uniform look.

Be aware that silken tofu will thicken the smoothie quite a bit and fill you up pretty well. I normally drink this with a snack in place of a full meal.

Benefits of the Ingredients:

Kale –  vitamin A,  vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, calcium, manganese, copper, fiber, potassium, iron, magnesium, omega-3, and  phosphorus.

Banana – vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, manganese, fiber, copper

Chia – fibre, omega 3,  calcium, manganese, phosphorus, and protein

Silken Tofu – calcium, manganese, iron, copper, protein, selenium, phosphorus, vitamin B1, omega-3, magnesium, and zinc

Yogurt – iodine, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, phosphorus, calcium, protein, zinc

Almond Milk – calcium, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin E, zinc, and fibre

Honey – protein, calcium, iron, natural sugars, carbohydrates, Vitamin C, folate, and potassium

Agave Nectar – fructose, glucose, carbohydrates, fibre

Stevia (natural stevia leaf) – protein, fiber, vitamins A, vitamin C, carbohydrates, iron, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, and zinc

If you have any digestive problems, I would love to hear what you do to help get nutrients each day.

Use Japanese Loose Leaf Tea Bags for Cooking

I purchased these tea bags from Japan and absolutely love them! You can buy empty tea bags that you fill up with loose leaf teas instead of using tea infusers. I find the bags to be better for teas since infusers tend to let small bits of tea through.

I also love these bags for infusing flavours when cooking soups. I love to use dried bay leaves and coriander in soups, but I don’t like biting into them when I eat the soups, so I place them in the tea bags and place it in the pot of soup. Everything stays in the bag as the soup boils, and when it’s done, I just scoop the bag out and that’s it!

I’m sure there are different variations of these tea bags available in specialty tea shops, but I highly recommend these Japanese ones. They are the best!  You can find some on Amazon here.

Enjoy Something New – Try Eating Japanese Natto

Natto is a Japanese food that will usually make people scrunch up their faces and say “eew”.  It’s fermented soy beans that have a very thick sticky consistency. It also doesn’t help that it’s also quite pungent.

I personally love natto and strongly urge anyone to try it at least once in their life. If you would like to know why, check out some of the health benefits.

In most countries, you can find natto in Japanese or Asian supermarkets. They will usually be found in the frozen food area.

When you open one up, you will find two little packets along with the natto. The small yellow pack is a type of mustard and the brown liquid is a sauce. The sauce will normally have a slightly sweet flavour…. which I personally don’t like, so I replace this sauce with standard Kikkoman soy sauce.

I also add chopped seaweed for extra health benefits, as mentioned in a previous post “How to Make Ramen Healthier“.

Throw in some chopped green onions for a bit of zing and mix furiously. This will make the natto very sticky and oh so delicious.

 

Eat it on its own or place it on top of steaming hot rice. It’s a filling dish that’s very healthy for you and olny costs a couple of dollars to make!

 

How to Make Ramen Healthier for You

Ramen, the glorious instant noodles that come in hundreds of different flavours and types, are not exactly the healthiest meal option but certainly delicious to have every now and then.

As a way to make these meals a little less guilt inducing, you can easily include any number of healthy add-ons that are very good for you.

Tofu is very high in protein, calcium and iron.

Enoki mushrooms have a mild flavour and are very high potassium, iron and fiber.

Green onions are very high potassium, iron, magnesium and fiber.

Seaweed (also known as “wakame”) is a fantastic addition to any dish, especially ramen.

It’s very high in calcium, potassium, iron, manganese, magnesium, vitamin A and vitamin C.

Throw everything in with a simple pack of ramen and you’ve instantly added incredible amounts of vitamins and minerals!

*I forgot to mention that you can also add a sliced clove of garlic to add a little more zing to the broth!*

 

Simple and Healthy Recipe – Maple Greek Yogurt Snack

Greek yogurt seems to be *the* yogurt for anyone wanting to eat healthy. I’ll have to agree with most, it has a great thick and creamy texture and so much easier on my stomach compared to standard yogurt (it’s either lactose-free or very low in lactose). The only problem with buying Greek yogurt all the time is that it’s generally more expensive than other types of yogurt, sometimes even more than lactose-free types. To help keep it a little more affordable, I now buy plain Greek yogurt (always the cheapest of the lot) and add my own ingredients from home.  It’s a great way to save a little extra money and you get a different tasting treat each time.

Here’s a list of the ingredients that I added the other day. It was delicious!

3 heaping tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon Canadian Maple syrup (you can adjust to your sweetness level)
2-3 tablespoons granola
1 small handful of dried raisins

That’s it!  Mix it up and enjoy as a healthy treat for anytime you crave something a little sweet.