I've been on a foodie kick lately, trying to recreate a lot of Italian recipes from my summer holiday in Sicily. With that in mind I wanted to share an Italian food diary post from that trip. Usually wouldn't post two food posts one after the other, but we all need a bit of mid-week comfort food inspiration. As you kow Italian is one of my favorite cuisines and food cultures. And like most people, I could have that every day without getting bored, which I did when I lived in Italy.
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses
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Foolishly, I have deleted most pictures of my meals in India and only have 4 left. Not sure how that even happened seeing how many food pictures I have in my phone, but must have saved my favorite four. Since I was keen to share more, I decided to add a few from the Berlin trip. Loved all the dishes in the pictures and would love to recreate some of them. Let's bring back #CookingWithCari on the blog. I've brought it back on Instagram on stories, so until make sure to have a look there and follow.
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses
I can't believe it's been two years since I did a proper food post, honestly shocked seeing I used to share them bi-weekly / monthly. Glad I'm doing them again, it's not like I stopped cooking for two years, so hope you're as excited as I am. We'll start with a plant-based one. Some of you might remember the post after 50 days vegan, click here for a refresher, but I've done the 50 days vegan again this year. Honestly, I always feel so much better while going plant based and this year I've enjoyed it more than ever. Mainly because I've discovered some delicious vegan meat and cheese alternatives, which have made my life easier, additionally I've also been more creative when cooking.
My close friends know what a foodie I am, so compromising on taste isn't an option. I will admit there were a couple products that texture-wise threw me off and aren't featured here. Tried Seitan and while it works for some, I couldn't get on board with the texture and taste. If you're confused, Seitan is wheat gluten and popular amongst vegans because it's a high source of protein. There was also a specific brand of tofu sausages, which I won't name and shame, that tasted off to me. Trust me when I say there is no need to compromise on flavor when there are incredibly delicious alternatives in all supermarkets. There's one specific product worth mentioning which texture wise needs some adjusting, but can work well in stews and curry and I'm talking about tempeh. Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans and, again, a high source of protein. However, it has a sandy texture, which is why I recommend cooking it with sauces.
If you're on a vegan kick or want to give it a go, my favorite plant based brands are Plant Pioneers and Vivera, not sponsored just sharing the love.
After the 50 day period I did have animal products, but have to say that unless I am craving something specific, it's always cheese, prefer to go for a plant based option. I'm not going to label my diet in any way. My sister gave me a great advice, she said I should eat intuitively rather than pressure myself into being vegan or pescatarian or anything else. I think that's a very smart suggestion. Your body knows what it needs in order to function healthily, so just listen to it. That being said, I'm curios have any of you tried going vegan? How did you find it?
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses
Grab a cup of tea or coffee and make yourself comfortable, this is going to be a long one!
I have mentioned in a video a while back and possibly also in some posts that I did a vegan diet for what I hoped would be 40 days but actually turned into 50. My thoughts before starting the diet were that it's obviously going to be hard, that it will help me loose fat, my body will detoxify and that my skin will clear out. In order to prepare for the 40 days I searched for a lot of recipes and obviously ate almost everything I could possibly crave during the vegan period. Undeniably stuffing your face and pigging out is not the right approach ever, but oh well.
A few tips before starting a vegan diet:
- Check out your supermarket's vegan selection
- Research vegan recipe alternatives for your favorite meals
- Buy vegan snacks to avoid missteps
- Buy different teas to help with the cravings
- Research restaurants that have vegan dishes - comes in handy when everyone wants to eat out
- Stock up on quinoa, beans and lentils - you need the protein
- Get a friend to start the diet with you - having a support group helps a lot
- Find a vegan inspiration - could be a cook, blogger, celebrity, whatever helps you. Mine was Beyonce because she's amazing, let's be honest.
The first 2 weeks I was excited and pumped, found it quite easy to cook vegan foods and thankfully had a lot of options when buying lunch. I ate a lot of falafel wraps, soups, curries and stews. However at an event I had the meat dish which was smelling like heaven. It was bad, but I didn't let it bring me down and most certainly I didn't give up. That's a crucial lesson for anyone going vegan, you will have missteps and eat meat or cheese or both, but don't give up. After that episode I learned to be stronger-willed and more motivated, even ate vegan dishes while others had burgers for example. Let's be honest, it was hard, but you have to respect other people's choices like they respect yours.
A few ideas for dinner / lunch:
- Red/Green Thai curry
- Mushroom / Quinoa Burger
- Beans / Cauliflower Tacos
- Mushroom Pho / Ramen
- Rice / Quinoa / Couscous with veggies
- Pasta Arrabbiata / Tomato - Basil / Soy or Rice "Cream" with Mushrooms
- Stuffed Tomatoes / Paprika with quinoa and veggies
- Buddha Bowls
- Vegan Gyros
- Lentil Shepards Pie
Half way through the diet I started getting impatient, but was still highly motivated. It was in the second half that I started ordering more takeout and buying more lunches. At this point I was comfortable reading the ingredients, which is of the essence as you can find animal products in anything. I wasn't having major cravings, except chocolate thus purchasing some nice dark chocolate. Preparing a nice breakfast followed up by a hearty lunch helped with the urge to eat junk food. The most difficult for me were the last three days when all I would think about were burgers, ahaha.
A few ideas for breakfast:
- Coconut yogurt with berries / kiwi
- Fruit Salad
- Green Smoothie
- Homemade vegan cookies
- Rye bread with hummus / olive pate
- Chia pudding with fresh mango
- Avocado Toast with tomatoes and chili flakes
- Overnight oats with bananas, nuts and seeds
- Power balls made with dates and coconut
- Acai bowl
In retrospective it wasn't that hard. I think it's because of London being full of vegan restaurants and vegan sections in supermarkets. Having a lot of variety helped me keep up with the diet without feeling like I'm missing out. Something you need to know is that I didn't eat salad more than 3-4 times as this was a good time to experiment with cooking more veggies, it was a time of being creative in the kitchen and you all know how much I love to cook.
Things to know after the diet finished are that I didn't loose any fat percentage - still the same, my skin didn't clear out despite everyone swearing to God that's what happens and on the bright side it wasn't that challenging to be vegan. I did feel overall better and there were a few noticeable improvements like my digestive system not being upset. Before starting, my fitness trainer was concerned I would feel week and unable to exercise, on which I am proud to report he was wrong. I felt energized and motivated to go to the gym. While it didn't all go as planned I am happy for doing this diet.
A few tips once the diet finishes:
- Don't pig out - which I did and regretted
- Keep incorporating vegan dishes in your diet - you can have both of best worlds
- Try to give your body a break from processed foods at least once a year
- Listen to your body - if you feel like eating only salad that's awesome, if you want home cooked meals thats amazing as well
Would you think of going vegan for a month or more?
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses
Just in case anyone was curious about the vegan lifestyle choice, it all started when my friend said she'll keep the orthodox easter fasting which means 40 days of being vegan. This sounded like a great opportunity to detox and help my body feel better. Since moving to London I've been eating a lot of junk food which has taken a toll on me. I really wanted to get back on a healthier track while challenging myself to avoid all animal products. I slipped once, but otherwise it hasn't been awful. Of course I crave burgers and ice cream, however my body is feeling better so clearly this was much needed. I'm going to detox until the 9th April and if anyone is interested I will share my final thoughts then.
In today's video I'm sharing what I eat in a day all vegan meals, sharing recipes and sweets. Let me know if you like the video, please subscribe and tell me if you would like more food posts.
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses
Crazy hair and constant laughing sums up this video. I had so much fun filming this and you can really see my bubbly personality in this video. Matteo had never tasted Romanian food, so it was quite interesting and fun to see him react to different dishes. I love Romanian food, of course, but if you're curious to see his first reaction press play!
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses
For this week's video I prepared something a bit different. I love food and cooking, so you're going to see a typical day. Well...not that typical, because I'm also doing a workout, which is very rare these days.
I would say my meals are quite balanced, they include protein, veggies and carbs. The stuffed pasta shells are a bit naughty, but that's why they're filled with homemade ragu, to make me feel a bit better about devouring that cheesy goodness.
To make it enjoyable for the people who don't love food as much as I do, there is also a bit of Milan sightseeing included.
Hope you enjoy the video! Please subscribe!
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses
What's the worst thing that can happen to a foodie? Of course, except diseases. To find out it has food allergies or intolerances. At the end of April, after receiving some not so good blood analysis, I decided to investigate what was causing them. This led to finding out I have 12 food intolerances and I needed to be on a diet for two months while taking some homeopathic medicine.
Of course I put it off until exactly one month ago. I didn't want to be on a restrictive diet while on holiday, but did exercise some moderation and cut a few things out completely. However I wanted to hold the diet in summer because of the abundance of fresh fruit.
Here is a list of everything I'm intolerant to:
- Milk
- Soft cheese (I'm aloud to eat aged cheese and mozzarella)
- Butter
- Soy (this really hurt, because I was already replacing a lot of dairy products with soy products)
- Wheat ( If you know me, you know I love bread so this was devastating. However I'm not allergic to gluten so yay for that)
- Tea ( I almost cried for this, I have drunk green tea daily for the last 6 years at least)
- Coffee ( this was also pretty bad, but not as bad as tea)
- Honey (why?)
- Sugar of any kind ( Do you know how hard it is to avoid sugar? It's in everything)
- Cacao ( again, why???)
- Alcohol
- Legumes (beans, chickpeas, peas, etc.)
You can imagine that before starting this diet, I ate like a cow everything that wasn't permitted anymore. However, like I mentioned, there were a few things I excluded almost immediately and those were : tea, coffee, honey and legumes. I don't drink milk, but ate a lot of ice cream.
It all sounds pretty dramatic, but it isn't really. Because I'm not allergic to gluten, I was able to eat a lot of spelt pasta, quinoa and rice, which I already ate. I'm going to share today what I've been eating.
Welcome to a new video my loves!
Today I'm sharing what I eat in a day. This will be different from my usual "diet", because I filmed it in Sicily. To make it more fun, I filmed this on the day we went on a fishermen's boat trip. If you don't like fish this may not seem as appetising, but for those of you who love fish know that it was very tasty!
Do you love seafood?
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses.
Hello Dolls!
Welcome to a new Food Diary! As in the last few months, today I'm going to share a mix of healthy and naughty foods I ate. This time I also offered some mini reviews to some of the dishes, in order to help you get a better idea about those dishes. Hope you enjoy it!
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses.
Welcome my dear! Please have a look around and join me for today's foodie post. Do you love food? This might make you hungry.
I try to eat healthier when I cook, incorporating a lot of veggies. I'm the kind of person who really enjoys eating her vegetables, of course depending what they are and their preparation. As you can see my homemade food is very colourful and nutritious. However, this isn't always possible while eating out. Not because restaurants don't heave healthy options, but because as much as I enjoy healthy food, I also love naughty treats. It's all about balance, right?! Hope you enjoy this post!
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses.
I have to admit I was more than thrilled when food posts were requested on my announcement post, so today I bring you a foodie post featuring some of the yumminess I ate while in Bucharest. A quick shoutout to all the cakes I ate too fast and that didn't stand any chance of being photographed. ahaha. I tried to drink a lot of cold pressed juices, but I also ate cake almost daily, so let's call it balance. Hope you like this tasty looking post!
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses.
Welcome to a new Food Diary post babes!
This will be a mix of extremely healthy and very naughty, cause apparently I like extremes. Don't ask why, I haven't planned it this way, it just happened. I do try to eat on the healthy side, but sometimes fail miserably. However it is important to have a balance and not deprive ourselves.
What is your favourite dish?
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses.
As you've probably noticed, I missed this Sunday's foodie post, but I am making it up to you guys today. There will be a mix of home cooked food and restaurant picks, as well as a selection of international cuisine. If you love food like I do, then this should totally be up your alley. Hopefully it will also inspire some of you to try something new.
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses.
Today I'm excited to finally share with you my mostly Romanian food diary. More than just Romanian food, most of these were home cooked by myself and my mother, I helped but she was the chef. I know not everything will be as appealing to everyone, especially because we eat a lot of fermented foods, but it's healthy and what we enjoy eating. I tried to explain the dishes a little bit, in case you liked something. Hope you enjoy this post!
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses.
Octopus with spring onion and a salad.
Hi Dolls!
Today I bring you another foodie post sharing with you what I ate this week in Italy.
Beware! A lot of meat ahead! Since March has started, my vegetarian month has ended. There was only one time that I really craved meat, so I would say it was pretty easy to keep. Though I've stopped the vegetarian diet, I still wish to decrease my meat intake. I'm not saying it's better or right, it's just a personal choice. To each its own. What's your favourite dish? Hope you enjoy this post!
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses.
Whole wheat pizza margherita with truffles.
Over the month of February I decided to follow a vegetarian diet, so today I want to share with you some of the dishes I cooked and ordered out. As always "diet" stands for the kind of food I ate, not a regimen. As you'll see some dishes are healthier than others, so remember it's all about balance. Hope it inspires you to cook something new. Which is your favourite dish?
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses.
Smoked salmon over muffin focaccia with truffle cream cheese, roasted parmesan and fried zucchini.
Hello beautiful dolls!
Today I want to share with you some yummy treats that I had in the last 2 weeks. Some of the dishes are very naughty, while other quite healthy. Hope you get inspired to cook something new this week.
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses.
Hello Dolls!
The holidays are over and it's time to get back in the game, which means making healthier choices and working out. Today I want to show you how my diet has shifted from the greasy and delicious holiday mode to a healthier version.
One thing that really helps me is to make soups for lunch. If you're the kind of person who gets bored easily and needs to have a different dish every day, you could cook 3 different soups that you really love and freeze them in portions. This way you have 3 soups or as many as you want on rotation. Or if you don't want to fuss with that, simply change the soup a little: on the first day have it plain, on the next with whole wheat or brown rice noodles, on the third with falafel and so on. Choose ingredients that you like and are somewhat healthy. For dinner try something new and have fun with it, make your dish as colourful as possible with loads of veggies. Try the 80/20 rule, where you eat 80 percent of the time healthy and 20 percent naughty. I don't think you should deprive yourself from sweets or pizza or pasta, just have them in moderation and whatever you choose don't starve yourself. Hope some of my dishes inspire you to cook something new.
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses.
Hey Dolls!
For this post I want to share with you my holyday diet. Trust me, it was delicious, maybe somewhat unhealthy, but definitely worthy. Hope this inspires you to try something new and I would love to see your Food Diaries.
Have a pink-tastic day!
Kisses.
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