Steaming: my favourite way to cook vegetables

So I'm probably going overboard on the amount of posts I'm doing but I am new, and we are all enthusastic at first, right? 

I wanted a lightish dinner as I had a bigger lunch and I will go on a run in an hour or so. I found chantenay carrots (short fat ones, my fave), broccoli, and a humungus sweet potato. I've chopped them into enough for three portions and will be easy to steam tomorrow with my dinner. As I write this the pan is boiling away with the carrots in the steam basket. In three minutes I will throw in the broccoli as its less dense and I like it al dente. 

Image from 101cookbooks.com

Steaming not only requires no oils or fats but it maintains the bright colour of the vegetables. The gentle heat process via steam helps lock in more nutrients too. 

I'll top with coriander and garlic and chili salt and munch away. 

Shanie says: 'Do like bugs bunny and popeye and eat more vegetables. Those guys are full of energy.'
Mum says: 'Carrots help you see in the dark.'

NuMe Beetroot Crisps

Who'd have thought that the purple juicy root vegetable could be transformed into healthy air dried crisps. 

Morrison's is the supermarket next door to my gym so I often pop in there after and am usually impressed with their deals. It's nice because it is a fairly small one too so you can walk in and out in minutes. These beetroot crisps were hidden within the nuts and dried fruit section and I was pleased to come across them a few months ago. When I looked at the ingredients to see only: BEETROOT I was a bit too excited. I've not seen these in any other store except when they trick you into thinking the vegetable crisps next to Walkers are healthy however they are fried and salted!!!!!!!!!!!! NuMe is the healthier supermarket own brand and they produce apple and carrot crisps too which are just as tasty. For only 70p or 2 for £1 you can mix and match between vegetable crisps, nuts, and dried fruits all in snack bags so no over-eating possible (unless of course you eat more bags but that's not the idea)

They are so vibrant in colour and smell. Unique indeed. It's also amusing to witness the looks of envy and 'What IS that?' from the strangers who see you eat them on the train. 

I struggle to not eat a whole pack when leaving the till and walking to my bike - that's how good they are.

So that purple vegetable you avoid in the supermarket is now perfectly crisp and 100% a better alternative than potato crisps (or chips). But please Morrison's sell them in multipacks so I don't look like the crazy lady when at the till!

What I thought

Taste: naturally sweet, beetroot-y, err scrummy

Texture: crispy and light

Nutrition: 62kcal per 20g

Affordable: 70p per bag, or 2 for £1

Find it at: Morrisons NuMe range 

Have it with: hummus or the Metro newspaper

Rating: 4.5/5 - I want multipacks so deducted half a star

Shanie says: 'Beet cravings with veggie crisps.'

Matcha

Green tea matcha is finely milled green tea leaves which then forms a powder that can be dissolved into liquids unlike the ordinary green tea which is steeped in water from tea leaves.

When the tea is dried to form Matcha it means that all of the benefits of green tea are consumed by the body other than the water just being flavoured by the tea leaves. So the nutritional and health benefits are much greater. There are over 100x the amount of antioxidants in Matcha compared to green tea. And it boasts to improve focus, awareness, metabolism, burn fat, anti-aging and good for a detox. As with ordinary green tea it has only a few calories when mixed with water only.

In America Starbucks sell a Iced Green Tea Latte and is Hulk green in colour and more like a milkshake with the famous squirty cream on top. When buying it like this you mix 1tsp of the powder with about 200-250ml of steamed milk or hot water.

So my verdict: as much as I love green tea, especially when fruit infused, I found that this was very overpowering in taste and I didn't enjoy it as much as I would like. But I have had a few using steamed milk because I know it's healthy. 

Online you can find Matcha for really cheap however the 'Grade' affects its quality and so I chose Vitalife which is an online store for all sorts of teas including: detoxifying, energising, slimming, cleansing, everyday and green. It also sells vitamins, cocoa powder, organic food/snacks and accessories with free delivery over £50 and most teas on a 3 for 2 offer.

If you are looking for the Vitalife Matcha it is currently on buy one get one for half price at Holland and Barrett for a limited time only. 

Here is my testing Matcha Latte:

What I thought

Taste: strong tea, 'dirty water', yet can be sweetened with sugar and milk

Texture: creamy (when served as a latte)

Nutrition: 2kcal per tsp (additional when add sugar and milk)

Affordable: 37p per cup, or £36.60 per 100g (not affordable if have everyday but as a treat, yes)

Find it at: health stores or vitalifeteas.com

Have it with: milk and honey

Rating: 2.5/5 (based on personal taste not quality)

Let me know what you think of Matcha. Do you use it in baking too?

Shanie says 'Keep hydrated.'

Special K Cracker Crisps (or Chips)

Recently Kellogs have launched there Special K Cracker Crisps which is a more savoury snack compared to their Special K cereals and bars. They come in three amazing flavours including Sour Cream and Onion, Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar and Sweet Chilli. And one portion (a large one at that) is only 95 calories. 

On my first visit to B'n'M which is a discounted food and home store I saw these on offer for £0.79. In comparison to all the supermarkets who have them on offer for £1.99. When a serving is 25g it means this box holds 4 portions at 20p each. A cheap and healthier alternative snack. Perfect for the movies too. However dipping into the box makes it hard to control portions, just like popcorn.

I chose the Sour Cream and Onion flavour and am highly impressed with its flavour. It also has a good crunch and I have personally nicknamed them the 'posh Disco'. You remember: those old school crisps which were disc shaped too. Other reviewers think that the Sweet Chilli is disappointing and although the Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar is tasty it's hard to identify the balsamic hints. I'll be back when I try them to give you my opinion. 

This is the ingredient and nutrition. So unlike normal crisps which use slices of potato this only uses dried potato starch similarly found in lower fat crisps and it means they aren't fried. Oddly it contains milk powder which I assume aids the texture and sour cream flavour. 

It's great to see that the carbohydrates of which sugars is around 10% of total carbohydrates because too many of modern day snacks are high in sugar. And as with all Special K snacks it is roughly 10% fat with only saturates at 0.5g per serving. WOW! Be careful of salt content as that can creep up when we eat other food throughout the day. 

And although I don't promote eating the entire box on your own but if you were to share it the whole box contains just over 400kcal which is less than half of regular share bags of crisps. Or count out the crisps and take to work for your snack :)

What I thought

Taste: great flavour and super addictive

Texture: perfect crunch and majority of them were whole discs

Nutrition: 95kcal per 23g serving; low sugar and fat

Affordable: 79p per 100g at B'n'M at most supermarkets £2.00 per 100g

Find it at: all major supermarkets

Have it with: dips, cheese, pickled onions, a movie

Rating: 5/5

Shanie says: 'Happy snacking. Thanks Kellogs!'

My September Resolution

Today I've decided to start a blog.

So this is the first summer in my entire life (21 years of it) that I haven't had to think about buying my new school bag, getting new pens or remembering my new timetable because I have now graduated from University and it means I have hit the world of work. 'Reality' they call it. 

Although I have a part time job I have noticed that the lack of mental stimulation is really getting to me: I'm forgetting people names, forgetting dates and feel at the most dumbest point in my life even though I have a first class honours under my belt. I am hoping that doing this blog will keep me busy and creative.

I have been inspired from other fitness, health, review and recipe blogs and decided to do a combination of all these types. It's my first so be nice. There's going to be alot of tweaking along the way I'm sure!

My September resolution is to therefore start a blog. And here it goes.........

If you have any advice for me, it would be much appreciated, and I hope you stay tuned in.