Give Me Bananas

It’s Friday.

It’s been raining a lot.

And I had a vegan whole spelt chocolate chip brioche for breakfast.

And a chocolate protein smoothie too.

Needless to say that life is good when chocolate is involved.

In one week my friend Simone and I will leave for the US of A and I still haven’t wrapped my head around it. So much more is happening right now and I can’t wait to share it with you all but you’ll have to stay patient for a bit longer.

Anyway, we will fly to Seattle on my mum’s birthday, 31th July. My parents will drive us to the airport at 6am. Aren’t they crazy? Aren’t they fantastic? No wonder why my genes are so nutso. Haha!

It still feels like the holiday (or in American English: "vacation" ) is so far away. Is it really true that we will drive down to San Francisco in less than two weeks? Will we really stay in New York for one day on our way back? It all feels pretty unreal right now.

Simone and I have planned everything, besides the exact route we’ll take. We just know that we want to visit Mt. Rainier, Yosemite and Napa Valley on the way. Everything else is still unsure.

Do you have any insider tips? Which restaurants in Seattle, San Fran and New York do you like?

I only know a bunch of (apparently) great places in NY (Pure Food & Wine, Candle 79, Babycakes NYC…) though Simone and I already talked about eating our way through NY. I like that.

It’s odd, I’ve never been that far west before. Also, it doesn’t really feel like I’m leading my life right now. I’ve never travelled that much before (Rrmember Japan in January, Florence on Easter and London in May?) and you know what? It’s getting even crazier! But that’s still a secret. I hate secrets so I’m really sorry that I can’t share it with you right now.

Oh well, I work my butt off so it’s time to get a breather.

I usually spend most of my money on food (who would have guessed) but I LOVE travelling. Cheap. I stay in hostels and do lots of camping which allows me to "save" some money and travel a bit more. Maybe it’s my multicultural background but I always have an urge to pack my bags and explore the world.

On an other note, my lovely friends Christine and Janine came around for dinner. We made some whole wheat pasta with tomato/zucchini sauce, served with garlic bread and salad. I was feeling a bit carby you know .

Tomorrow I’ll go hiking with my besties Livia and Daniela. I can’t wait! It’s my first hike this summer and it’s already the end of July!

Do you like travelling? What’s been your favourite place you’ve ever visited? There are so many great places I’ve seen, it’s nearly impossible to choose one. But I’d have to say that I really love my grandmother’s place (in Japan). I always feel extremely “home” there even though I’ve never lived there. The countryside is breathtaking (except for in winter ) and thinking about it makes me miss it so much.

Howdy people!

How’s life? I actually wrote an entire post but accidentally deleted it. Duh! (Don’t you love it when that happens?)
I will keep this short and sweet, I hope you don’t mind.

The Gurtenfestival was so much fun! The weekend was filled with lots of music, laughter and friends. Can’t beat that!

Are you tired of concert pictures yet? If not.. here’s an other round:

Gossip!

I love seeing Beth Ditto in action. The last time I saw her she stripped on stage. That woman is one hell of a force of nature.

The main stage area turned from this…

Into this… within minutes!

Maybe they were scared of the rain?

Editors (again!) it’s actually the third time in a year that I’ve seen them in Bern. I don’t mind it though – their music is fantastic.

I’ve seen lots of bands that were playing at the Festival before even though I’m not that much of a concert-goer anymore. However, it was my first time for Biffy Clyro and they were great live. I like their music.

Stereophonics – As good as ever. Their bass player once wanted to chat with us after a concert but we were already walking towards my friend’s car. Once we left we realized who that actually was. Oops!

I was SO excited for Florence + The Machine. My boyfriend stated that it was a pretty lame name but I love her voice and songs. I’m currently listening to her music nonstop.

An other band that I saw were The Parlatones. I’ve never seen them before but I really enjoyed their music. It’s a band that still wears matching outfits (remember when Franz Ferdinand did that? Oh the times..)

Yes I know, I’m an Indie girl at heart. Don’t fight who you are, right?

Alright let’s move on for those who don’t like music that much.

I had french fries, pizza, garlic bread and crêpe at the Festival! I rarely eat that stuff (well besides the pizza ) so that was ok. I guess I burned off those calories by running uphill.

(It’s blurry because I was racing up there. Uh-huh)

There are two ways of getting on the Gurten hill:

• Take the Gurten rail
• Walk

It takes 25 minutes to get up there if you’re a really fast walker but don’t take all the shortcuts. It often takes less time with the rail even though the line seems a bit crazy. However, I’m really not good at waiting and standing around and I always rather walk.

As I was walking uphill I thought about strolling and realized that I can’t do it! Isn’t that odd? I can sit still and meditate without a problem but strolling annoys me for some reason..

Let’s move on to food!

I made Tone It Up’s Blueberry Protein Muffins on Sunday and they turned out a bit dry.. Maybe because I left them in the oven too long or because I should have added more water.

However, they are great with some almond butter sandwiched in between..

Mmmm chocolate!

I’m sorry but I have to admit it: FOOTBALL IS BORING!!

Please don’t throw rocks at me.

I get that it’s “bonding” and loved by almost everyone. It’s emotional. But my goodness.. I really don’t understand why people get so extremely sad when their team loses.

Oh well, at least it’s fascinating to people from all over the world and World Cups can help with cultural exchange as well. So it’s not all bad.

(I just wish that some football fans would also start doing sports – lifting beers not included)

After watching 15 minutes of the Holland – Spain final I decided to go back home and relax a bit. It’s been a really hot day and I’ve been craving ice cream like a mad woman. However, I didn’t feel like eating real ice cream…

So I whipped up some chocolate banana protein soft serve!

Believe it or not but I’ve never made banana soft serve before. I know, it’s quite shocking.

I combined 1 frozen banana, 1/2 chocolate protein powder (I used Sun Warrior) and a little bit of rice milk in the food processor and let it do it’s thing.

Oh heavens. I feel really Swiss right now because we always miss the major trends. (Ugg boots came up last winter!!!)

Better. Than. Ice. Cream.

There. I said it. And I will not take it back.

It’s healthier for you too.

I have some fun news to share with you tomorrow! And even more news by the end of the next week (hopefully).

Ps. Speaking of being Swiss.. I saw a Federal Councillor this evening in the old town of Bern. In case you didn’t know: Switzerland doesn’t have a Prime Minister or President. There are 7 Federal Council member that “rule” the country.
Anyway, I saw her walking around on her own and realized how unusual this is.  Aren’t such important people supposed to walk around with an entourage? Ha! Just imagine Obama or Cameron walk around on their own.

Pps: *Cough* my incredibly neglected TV is on. I need to hear when Holland wins after all *Cough*

Hej!

Work was.. intense. And even though I should be completely knackered I’m feeling kind of fine right now. Granted, it’s only 9pm. We’ll see how it looks like in an hour.

It’s kind of odd to work 12 days straight without a break but so far it hasn’t been too bad. I’m only half way through though so we better wait until Thursday before I say something. Hehe.

I got some sweets though!!

Macaroons to be precise.

I don’t mind working for food. Not at all.

For some reason I don’t really know what I should  write about. Today was so.. unspectacular. Nothing else besides work happened!

I have a picture of my lunch but I’m pretty sure you’ve seen salad and quinoa before.

Hum hum hum…

Lalalaaa.

Maybe I should just go and grab a book, I feel like there’s nothing smart coming out of me today. I am pretty sure that this post won’t get a spot in the top 100 blog posts of 2010.

Q:Do you sometimes feel like you have nothing to talk about? I talked to my boyfriend on the phone earlier and I had no idea what to talk about. “Hmm. Yes work was busy…. How was paragliding?”. A chair would probably be more entertaining than me right now.

Happy Saturday you non-boring people!

Ever since finding out that we’ll have a day long stopover in New York I’ve been extremely exited about going to Babycakes. All the “good” cupcakes, cookies, muffins.. make me swoon!

Though actually I could have made all those goodies myself since I’m in possession of this book…

But you know how it goes; you get a cookbook, want to try all the recipes because they look so amazing, find out that it needs certain special ingredients that you don’t have on hand and set it aside. I never forgot about my Babycakes book but I never got around trying the recipes. Not so on Thursday.

I’ve never had American scones but I dared making some anyway. So I got some raspberries and a new (huge!) jar of coconut oil because I just ran out.

The cookbook suggested to make separate scones but I decided to just pre-cut the entire dough and bake it like that.

I can’t share the recipe for obvious reasons but the scones are made with whole spelt flour and sweetened with agave (which is only of semi-cleanse-friendly.. I must admit.).

Post baking in my stupid oven..

They certainly didn’t end up looking like the ones in the book (for some reasons the finished products never look like the ones on the recipe pages!) but they were GOOD!

I used more raspberries than the recipe called for which made the scones a bit soggy but I love that extra moisture.

There’s only one left  now (don’t worry – I didn’t eat them all. I gave 4 to the boyfriend) and will probably have it for breakfast tomorrow. I’ll make sure to eat it very slowly while having my eyes closed.

Qs: Have you ever made scones before? Are you familiar with Babycakes?

Ten minutes after writing yesterday’s post I collected some DVDs to take with me to my friend’s house but didn’t see the glass of water on the shelf. Well, I did notice it after it fell on my big toe.

So I really hope you don’t mind me posting a picture of my toe, otherwise just close your eyes and scroll down .

The glass didn’t even shatter but I still got a cut.

After hopping around like an idiot I decided to skip the run. However, I will try to run my 10 miles this afternoon.

Yesterday’s girl’s night was so much fun! We watched Love Actually (Hugh Grant’s dancing scene is hilarious!), The Notebook (makes me cry every time) and The Holiday (I wish Jude Law weren’t that handsome!).

We also had lots of goodies to eat.. It was a huge food fest to be precise!

Crudités

Olive tapenade and dipping sauce

Tortilla chips and guac

Cucumber tortilla rolls

Tomato mozzarella sticks

Brownies

Carrot banana mini-muffins that I made earlier in the afternoon.

We definitely weren’t lacking food. Or white wine .

A few people asked what the white frilly thing in my last post was. Well it’s cheese!

I haven’t done much today which is rather heavenly. I’m currently watching Avatar. I really like the message of the film even though the story’s a bit weak. Have you seen it?

Ugh. It just started raining. Running in rain is ok but still not my favourite thing to do (especially when it’s pouring down like right now).

I’ve got to get ready for the run now and drink some more water!!

Q: How much water do you actually drink each day? I usually drink 2 litres of water (and tea) but make sure to drink even more when I work out a lot.

When I was walking to yoga after work I was completely stressed out. All I wanted to do was to curl up in bed and hide from this world for a couple of weeks.

And then we did all sorts of poses that I absolutely hate and I was cursing up a storm on the inside but pushed through it.

And in shavasana I felt pure bliss.

Life is like yoga: there are a lot of things that get in your way that you don’t like but you just have to suck it up and go through it. And you know what? It’s not too bad.

As I was walking to the open air cinema site after yoga (yes! open air cinema in April!) to go and see “The Big Lebowski” with my friends I realized that I was the one who put unnecessary stress on myself.

First of all it was all for pleasure. It’s not like I had to study hard for an exam! I played squash with my friends, had great dinners, went to a runner’s event with my dad and so on.. it’s all things that I wanted to do!

So why the heck was I complaining? Well I guess I just often wish that I wouldn’t want to do so many things at once. And to be honest, I just wanted a night off for myself for some blogreading, hehe..
But again, I wanted to do these things or else I would have been a bit annoyed.

Sorry for the rant but maybe I’m not the only one who sometimes feels like that.

I set my alarm for 5am though it’s nearly 00:30am. Guess that sleeping in for an other hour is ok .

Tomorrow we’ll spend the day with Silvio’s family and I have no idea what we’ll do. Hiking was planned but it’s supposed to rain like crazy. So we’ll see.

Despite my whining there has been some amazing stuff going on. Like the chocolate banana cake that I made for my friend Simone on Wednesday (which was my secret mission – she sometimes reads the blog so I couldn’t write about it. )

Also.. I think I found the best sandwich ever. Tibits makes a great one with asparagus, sundried tomato paste, bear’s garlic pesto (with tofu), tomato and lettuce. (I had it before but fell in love again hehe)

To. Die. For.

Too bad that it’s only a spring-offer. Good that I ate the exact same sandwich today for lunch again.

It tastes especially well with a green juice and some magazine on the side..

For Simone’s birthday we went and had dinner at an Indian restaurant yesterday! We started with samosas and something else… Ha! I ordered it but forgot the name. Too bad..

I had a veggie curry with garlic naan which was heavenly.

My camera’s battery died right after taking this photo.

So you see, life isn’t all too bad. Though I must say that too much good stuff often sometimes put unnecessary stress on us too..

I guess it’s time for bed. Or better: my yantra mat!

I read so many good things about it and decided to order one. It arrived today and I can’t wait to try it and loosen up my neck and back muscles.

Whoooo party time!

Have a wonderful weekend! I just realized that it’s already May now. What the eff?? Where did the time go?

I like being busy though it’s weird to check the clock and realize that it’s almost 10pm. Where did the time go?

Thanks for all the ideas for the finger food party! I was actually thinking of making stuffed mushrooms though I didn’t know what to stuff them with. Amanda had the amazing idea to fill them with hummus. Why haven’t I thought of that earlier? (Thanks hun!)

I will write a huge post about all the food when the party’s over. I just hope that things turn out as planned.

Today for lunch I had the last of my sweet potato curry. It froze so well and I already miss it. Time to make a new batch soon!

Heaven. Multiple foodgasms. Pure bliss.

I got some new chocolate after lunch. Because I was craving chocolate and because this was kind of laughing at me. Organic, fair trade dark chocolate with cranberry? Yes please! (Pure bliss!)

Since I’m a Foodbuzz publisher (which sounds fancy but which food blogger isn’t a Foodbuzz publisher? ) I got a free set of Moo cards!

I love how cute and small they are. I was definitely excited. Selina claimed that I constantly get packages (I wish!). Ha! It’s just business cards baby. Now if that doesn’t make me super fancy..

..though I still have to find out how to develop some amazing super powers (well besides the ones that I already have of course ). I had to skip squash because I had too much on my plate and knew that getting back home at 8pm would be a no-go.

When I got back home I went on a quick 4m run though. I ran 2 miles by the river, took a break and sat at the riverbank and ran the 2 miles back home. It was fantastic. Running outside is so wonderful (especially when the weather’s nice but not too hot).

Enter: Weight training (arms) 10min, laundry, chatting with my sis, shower, making dinner.

I threw everything together that I craved.

A SSS (Say that out loud! Now… who said ass? Huh?? Ok, I sound like a 13yo boy now ). SSS stands for super simple salad of course.

+ Steamed broc and cauliflower with almond and sesame tofu (which is like crack to me. SO good!)

And then Selina brought me a cone. That evil little devil. I was actually quite full and wasn’t really fancying a dessert as I had one yesterday (I like desserts but rather have the “unhealthy” kind as a special treat once in a while). However, she said that I mustn’t refuse. So I obeyed .

She isn’t even that much into sweets but she thought that the wrapping was fun. lol.

I LOVED this organic treat but I’m super stuffed now.

After dinner I made some preparations for Sunday (I was on a gift-mission. Top secret because the boyfriend sometimes reads the blog and you’ll never know…). Speaking of Sunday.. We’re going to be in such a huge food coma. I spent ages making a shopping list and writing down a schedule (yes a schedule.. I hate being stressed!) and had the best time ever. And after what felt like a few seconds it was 10pm.

So again: WHERE DID THE TIME GO?

Could also someone please tell me why time seems to drag on when work’s boring? Just wondering..

I’ve got to hit the hay now. I’m supposed to get up at 5:30am tomorrow and get my bum to gym. Wish me luck!

It was so interesting to read your comments on my blood donation post. It seems like it’s different in every country.. Apparently in Japan you only donate 0.2 litre. Over here it’s 0.45  no matter how much you weigh (you just have to be heavier than 50kg/110 lbs).

A lot of you are scared of needles (or seeing blood) and I can totally understand that. It’s one huuuuge needle after all. I thought that I was going to freak out when I donated the first time but for some reasons it was pretty easy.. weird.

Danielle mentioned that she might pass out because of all the running she does. Does anyone have any information on that? I wondered what an impact running could have because I also run 3-5 times a week.

Anyway, yesterday was such an amazing day. It started off with rain + no umbrella. Ha. But I went and got a fantastic multi grain bagel at Tingel Kringel and didn’t let the rain ruin my mood. 
Tingel Kringel such an adorable shop/café and sells all sorts of bagels, muffins and unusual (often vintage inspired) drinks, ice cream….

Sorry, the pic’s really blurry..

I topped my fabulous treat with some almond butter and apple slices.

Work was good and busy + for lunch I had some organic vegan spelt ravioli filled with veggies. Love!

I also had some tofu sausage. For some reasons I had a weird sausage craving (??)

After work I met up with my friends for squash (we always play squash on Thursdays in case you didn’t know) and afterwards I got a huge surprise.

See my title? Yeah I wasn’t kidding…

Hahaha.

I still don’t know what to say… I can’t believe that I have such wonderful friends .

Parking lot shooting. Yeah we’re as classy as that. .

But seriously.. these girls are AMAZING and definitely needed to be featured on my little blog.

I got the cake for my birthday btw and it’s vampire shaped because of a dream I had 6 months ago! (Which was about me being chased by vampires and an Edward Cullen who looked like Robin Hood. I know – it’s pretty weird )

We went and had dinner at a new restaurant called Mishio. It opened on my birthday and I’ve been dying to go there because it offers healthy Asian food. I had vegetarian fried rice which wasn’t heavy on the oil – thank god. It was lovely.

You could also watch the cooks which is always great.

Afterwards we headed to my place for coffee and cake. I’m actually not a huge coffee fan (shocking, I know) but I sometimes enjoy a cup after dinner or so..

The cake is enormous! I had tons of leftovers and gave half to Silvio. The other half will be taken to France this weekend.

Yes to France.

…

..

.

I’ll spend the weekend in my neighbour country!!
I know this might sound super crazy to you considering the fact that I was in Italy only a few weeks ago. But Switzerland is such a tiny country- heck, most states of the USA are even bigger – and you can reach the border within 2 hours from Bern!
However, I must admit that I’ve never done any weekend trips to other countries before and this year’s travelling is really unusual. So don’t think that I’m always jetting around.
It’s just that my dad and his mates will go paragliding and they asked me and my boyfriend if we wanted to come along. Silvio is a huge fan of paragliding as well and so he’s dying to go. It will be so nice to have a weekend off and just do things that I enjoy – such as running, yoga and lots of reading .

Q: What are your plans for the weekend?

PS: Happy birthday Marina!! Welcome to the twenties, dear!

Oh Saturday, how I love theee!

Jane Austen has me again. I was doing some “research” on iTunes last night and accidentally stumbled upon the Pride & Prejudice soundtrack. I instantly knew that I had to go and watch the film. At 11:30pm. Oh the joy! I’ve never watched the BBC version but I love the one with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. The scene in the rain is my favourite. Sigh…

Anyway, no more cheesy talk.. (God, I’m such a girl sometimes! ) Let’s get to business.

This morning I met up with my parents at a huge sportswear store. They wanted to buy me a race outfit as a birthday present. Dad also wanted to get some Nike Free shoes (in case you didn’t know: he’s also a passionate runner). He went to a seminar where they talked about that shoe and he was intrigued. And so was I .

I also tried one pair on and It fit like a glove. We were meant to be together. It was definitely like love at first sight. So my beloved parents got me a pair too (though I protested and wanted to pay it myself – I don’t like getting things from my parents…). Oh well.. thanks anyway

Nike Free is pretty special and trains the foot and the legs and it definitely isn’t your average running shoe but they’re fantastic. I tried them afterwards at the gym.

My gym is actually next to the store (how convenient!) and I got a good workout in:

• 2 miles run in 18 minutes or so (I’m not 100% sure because I accidentally hit the Stop button 4 (!!) times..)
• Upper body strength training / 30 minutes. (Shoulders, arms, back, abs)
• Stretching

I was starving when I got home and whipped up lunch in 10 minutes flat. Who said that fast food can’t be healthy??

Salad with ice berg lettuce, carrots, radish, chickpeas and walnut oil + white balsamic vinegar.

WW wrap with 1/2 mashed avocado and sesame seed + almond tofu

So simple and delicious!!

This afternoon I made a banana carrot bread. I’ve been wanting to combine banana & carrot forever and couldn’t wait to get into some baking action today.

Carrot Banana Bread

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used safflower oil)
• 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup maple syrup + 1/4 cup rice syrup
• 2 eggs egg replacer (I bought a mix ages ago.. I believe it’s similar to Ener-G)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans completely forgot to add them

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine oil and sugar. Add eggs (or replacement); mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; gradually add to the creamed mixture alternately with bananas. Stir in carrots (and pecans). Transfer to a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (I covered the bread after 30 minutes of baking to prevent burning). Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

I really like this bread because it’s so moist. Definitely a keeper

Dinner was pretty good with one exception. I made Tempeh (for the first time at home– I had it at a restaurant before) and wasn’t impressed. I didn’t not like it but it was only ok..

I also had some brown rice mochi and zucchini on the side (which were both great)

(Btw: my camera seems to take such blurry pictures sometimes even though the lightning’s fine. Sorry for that)

I added some shoyu and curry to the tempeh which helped a bit. Does anyone have a great trick for a good tempeh dish??

Okay, I’ve got to go now… Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!