A while ago, I went through a phase of fascination with healthy snacks – both home-made and store-bought. One of the ready-made snacks that I discovered were date balls covered with crushed nuts. Literally, just dates and nuts – the ingredient list had 4 items (dates and 3 types of nuts 🙂 ). So I thought, why not try and make them at home? I then discovered that date balls were actually a thing and a trend (yep, I know I’m not the first one to make them). I’ve seen loads of recipes and – by trial and error – combined them into one that works best for me.
Oven Baked Dumplings
These crunchy oven baked dumplings are a great idea for a weekend dinner – or, a party snack! You can make them with a variety of different fillings and serve with a selection of dips. Absolutely delicious!
The Perfect Office Breakfast – 5 Minutes Porridge (no cooking) – Cherry and Coconut
It’s often said that you either love porridge or hate it. I certainly belong to the first group and porridge has been my go-to breakfast at work for years – ever since I started working, actually. 😉 Although I love the cooked version of porridge which I can make at home, on most days I eat breakfast at work. And that’s where, after many tries, I managed to find the method which yields the best results. What you add to the porridge is a matter of preference, the possibilities are countless. 🙂 Today’s version is one of my favourites – cherry, chocolate and coconut. And yes, this does take some (5 minutes?) preparation – it’s not store-bought, sugary oatmeal which you just dissolve in boiling water. I always prepare the food that I take to the office at home, the evening before – in terms of my breakfast porridge, that involves measuring, weighing, chopping or defrosting the ingredients – whichever is needed that day.
Healthy, Quick and Easy Chocolate Spread
I have to admit I’ve ever been a fan of avocados and guacamole is one of the very few plant based dishes I don’t really like. However, knowing how healthy avocados are and seeing great offers on them in stores literally every 2 weeks I was determined to find a use for them. So far, this is probably my favourite one. Super healthy, super quick, super simple (2 ingredients!) and it manages to fix my chocolate-sweets craving even though it has no sugar and no chocolate (just raw cocoa).
Red Lentil Vegetarian Pate
So the other day I bought a huge bag of red lentils and… it turned out that through using small amounts of them in salads I will never be able to finish the bag What to do with red lentils? I needed to find something else that I’d be able to use them for, and I did! And now I have a feeling I’ll be buying more of those 1 kilo bags because this red lentil pate is just perfect! The texture is really soft, so you can easily spread it on a slice of bread, but it also holds together really nicely and you can eat it alone. I will definitely be experimenting with extra ingredients and spices, but this basic version is delicious as it is (the fact that I ate half of the tin in one day should speak for itself… oops). Also, yet another time curry spices prove to be just the best, for everything! The pate gets its beautiful bright yellow colour and warming taste from the curry, so if you choose to experiment with spices, I’d recommend keeping curry on the list. 🙂
Valentine Anise Cookies
As we probably all know (it’s hard not to notice the ubiquitous heart-shaped, pink decorations wherever you look) – it’s Valentine’s Day this week. I hope all of you who celebrate it have a lovely time with your partners. Even though I’m not convinced by the commercial aspect of this holiday (you should show your love and appreciation every day, not once a year through buying overpriced themed gifts), I do enjoy all those cute, pink, themed things that we see everywhere at this time of year and I gave in to that mood.
Fat, fat Thursday
It’s here, it’s today! The day when calories don’t matter, the day when every doughnut eaten magically turns into prosperity and luck rather than fat cells.
Fat Thursday, it’s today.
Why my bag weighs a ton – what’s in my bag – essentials
‘The hell are you carrying in there? Bricks?!’
If I got a pound every time I heard that I’d be a millionaire now. I only have bare necessities in my bag though! A lot of them… sure… but I do need them all.
1. Hand sanitizer. Cause there’s nothing worse than accidentally touching something sticky and being unable to wash your hands. (HA-HA, oh the irony… I’m reading this post in 2023. It was originally written in 2018. Who would have thought that 2 years later people would fight in supermarkets over the last bottle of hand sanitizer… So glad that we made it through those times.)
2. Adhesive band-aid. Cause you never know when you’re gonna need it.
3. Tangle teezer. Cause one can’t live without a hair brush with hair as long as mine.
4. Chapstick. Cause leaving home without my trusty Carmex is like leaving home without an arm or a leg.
5. Handcream. Might not seem like a necessity but it’s genuinely my most used thing from this list.
6. Little nail file. Cause a broken nail with sharp edges is one of the most annoying things in the whole wide world.
7. Chewing gum. Cause if you happen to eat something you wanna refresh your mouth afterwards.
8. Umbrella. Cause if you leave it at home you’re guaranteed to be caught by heavy rainstorm. Even if it doesn’t usually rain, just leave the umbrella at home and it will.
9. A piece of paper and a biro. Cause… Hm. I guess it might be useful sometimes, right? I’m not a fan of writing things down on the phone.
10. Clear nail polish, especially if I’m wearing tights. Cause you wanna prevent that run from spreading.
11. A pack of pocket tissues. No need to justify this, I believe.
12. A tiny bottle of refreshing perfume. Cause I wan’t to feel (and smell) fresh, especially in summertime.
13. Painkillers. Cause you don’t want an unexpected headache to ruin your day.
14. Earbuds. Cause I need my music to go with me everywhere.
(15. Powerbank, in case I plan on being outdoors all day)
Phone, wallet, documents, keys… all the regular essentials everyone usually carries around.
It all makes sense, right?
Is there anything I’m missing that would make my life easier (and my bag even heavier)?
Although I have a lot of stuff in my bag I believe I have it all under control. I was a lot more unorganized in the past though. When I once lost a remote control from my tv I found it after a week… in my bag, of course.
January in photos
A little throwback to January. Looks like all I did that month was eat and craft Hopefully February will bring more diversity, although the weather is still wintery (we got hit by a fresh supply of snow last night…) and doesn’t encourage leaving the warmth and coziness of my house. I do however have one exciting afternoon planned for next week and I can’t wait for it!
Bye bye, Christmas!
I know, I know. Most of you are probably thinking: ‘Saying goodbye to Christmas now? It’s February!’. Well, in Polish tradition (which originates from catholic traditions), we’re allowed to keep all Christmas decorations and Christmas trees for over a month after the actual holiday, until February 2nd! Pretty cool, isn’t it? Having that lovely Christmas spirit at home for such a long time 🙂
![Healthy Snacks – Date Energy Balls [Fit]](https://alphes-corner.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/date-energy-balls.jpg?w=1108&h=737&crop=1)








