_________________________________________________________________________________

It's December! Certainly does not feel like it, even though it was raining this morning when I left my house to take my first exam. Got home and made this great lunch; kale, red capsicum, egg whites and some rye bread. Really gave me energy to revise though I just feel like watching a good movie and eating my whole fridge empty. Feeling a little unmotivated, but hey it's the late month of this year, so why not make it a good one? So, gonna try and stick to my diet because Christmas is coming, and we all know what that means....  

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Did you know, that for the first 15 minutes of your workout, your body burns sugars and carbs? And that at 30 minutes, your body enters the so called "fat burning zone"? When I found out about this about half a year ago, I immediately increased my time spent on doing cardiovascular exercises. But that is not the point, because you see, this time includes all sorts of exercise, whether it is gym or cardio. So instead of spending an hour on the treadmill, try and divide your hour of exercise into two sections; 30 minutes for cardio and 30 minutes for body strength. Of course, if you are trying to lose weight you will need to spend more time on the track, but for me I have found that this type of workout works, because I am trying to still lose some fat, but at the same time gain muscle mass. So yeah, we all make mistakes, but the good thing is that we learn from them and how would we know we are doing something wrong, if we didn't make mistakes in the first place?
Had a great workout today, did butt and legs as well some cardio, just to get my body going. Will be having a fancy dinner tonight with my family, so needed to burn some extra calories too you see hehe ;)
x

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

HI and happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating it! I personally don't, but still had a nice Thursday dinner, because it was my moms birthday. So, as an appetiser I made these awesome nutrition packed cups; diced avocado and cold smoked salmon with some light sour cream and rye cracker. YOU HAVE TO TRY THESE.  So so so so good, just remember to add some lemon and sprinkle pepper on top! Simple, nutritious, fast to make and yummy, so who says eating healthy is boring?

 H E A L T H     B E N E F I T S 

 A V O C A D O 

Rich in fibre, mono-unsaturated fats, antioxidants and potassium

Can lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels

Can help absorb nutrients from plant foods

May prevent cancer

Helps with weight loss, because satisfies the feeling of hunger for long periods of time

 S A L M O N 

Rich in omega 3

Improves bone density and strength

Improves cardiovascular health

Helps with brain development 

Protects the eyes

Source of vitamin D

Helps you sleep

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Have you ever had that kinda feeling, when you know you have a million things to do and a billion things going on in your head, but still you focus on just one for most of the time? The feeling that one thing gives you whenever you think about it? Because those things keep us thriving forwards, and help us to survive, in a way you know. I'm just happy at the moment, because even though I have a million things to get done, and my exams are starting next week, I have people around me that make me feel special. So hold on to those people, and show them that you care about them even if it is the smallest thing, like spending an hour with them, because they are a part of those warm and fuzzy feelings that make you happy!

x

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Another throwback to summer. This is absolutely one of my favourite foods, perfect as a light dinner, or as a appetiser for a big dinner. Even though these towers have mozzarella cheese in them, they won't ruin your diet, trust me. AND, eggplants are full of dietary fiber, vitamin B1, and copper. It is a good source of manganese, vitamin B6, niacin, potassium, folate, and vitamin K. Eggplant also contains phytonutrients such as nasunin and chlorogenic acid, that protect cell membranes.

 R E C I P E 

Cut the eggplant to about 1/2 cm slices, spread out to a baking tray and sprinkle some salt on top. Leave to rest for at least 30 minutes to remove excess water. 

Bake the slices in low heat (175 degrees celsius) for about 30 - 45 minutes. Remove and leave to rest. 

In a saucepan, fry garlic in a bit of olive oil until golden brown. Add tomato sauce (I used a paste type, without added sugar), herbs; basil, oregano and thyme as well as pepper and salt. If needed, add some additional water and leave to reduce. 

Cut mozzarella to slices and assemble the towers; alternating slices of mozzarella and eggplant. 

To finish off, place into the oven until mozzarella melts a little and finally plate up and pour tomato sauce on top. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

 Hey hey. Another good weekend behind now, went to Nongsapura in Indonesia with my family for a night and got a new country to my checklist! Thank god the sun was shining otherwise it would have been a complete fail, so spent most of the time enjoying the sun hehe. On Friday spent the night with some friends in Singapore before heading to the ferry in the morning, and met new people. Also visited a local beach at a golf club on Saturday and had a great night with a campfire. Altogether, slept well, ate good food and had a BREAK. I had my doubts about Indonesia, but it turned out to be a great trip so do go! School tomorrow...

x

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Happy Thursday everyone! It's almost weekend! Feeling so energised today although I stayed up way too late last night because I forgot to check the time while I was online. AND to make this day even better, I got home and decided to make some appetisers for me and my family because well, why not? They were so tasty and just what I needed after a long day (recipe down below). Main was baby pea soup, yum!  

Can't wait for this weekend either because I will go t Indonesia for a family weekend, so some time for myself before the exams kick in... and trying to attempt to get my tan back... 

x

 RECIPE ♥ 

Cut 4 pieces of rye bread (I used Archipelago...?) into smaller squares

Spread some light creme fraîche onto the squares, and add half a teaspoonful of black seaweed caviar (can be found in Singapore e.g. from Giant) 

Cut slices of lemon and garnish with some fresh dill

Done ✓

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

192 days. And I will graduate. Wow. 

Can't believe how fast time goes by and I'm truly terrified but at the same time so excited about what the next year is gonna bring with it. I now understand why Peter Pan never wanted to grow up!

Anyways, never ever look back at you summer photographs; I was weak and opened my summer 2014 folder... missing Finland so much right now! :( But the next summer will be even better than the last one, as always ;)

x

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

After so long of wanting to try pumpkin believe it or not hadn't ever tasted it , this salad was just what I needed after todays exhausting tanning session ;) Pumpkins have many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, vitamin-C and vitamin-E, and they are low in calories (100g has about 26 calories) without any saturated fats or cholesterol. Also, they are an excellent source of dietary fibre, which helps with digestion. I paired it with some rucola, cucumber slices, sun-dried tomatoes (without oil) and for some extra fibre, a spoonful of pumpkin seeds. Will no doubt add this to my list of favourites, but now I'm off for a Sunday cardio!

_________________________________________________________________________________

S A T U R D A Y A R M S

_________________________________________________________________________________

I just love arm workouts. My favourites no matter what! I LOVE the burn even though tomorrow is gonna be tough after so long of not doing any proper weight training. Had to go down by 30 kg in my  weights when doing my back, and felt really weak but oh well, a few weeks and I'll be back in shape! Next goal; biceps and back.

x

 _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Take a break and breathe. I'm serious. Just think. Are you happy? If not why? I did just this today and realised that yes I am happy. Even though my life is a chaos because of IB and everything related to that, I still can enjoy the little things like a family dinner on a THURSDAY night. I have no homework for tomorrow (a miracle), so I'm gonna take a moment for myself and make tomorrows foods for school.. haven't been paying too much attention to what I have been putting into my body for the past few weeks :/ I guess it's the stress. So from tomorrow onwards I'll be back to my normal eating habits.. i.e bye bye treats, pasta, rice, potato and white bread.. Also gonna go and watch my school's guys A team's basketball final game after school, so can't wait!

x 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Hey guys, after receiving a request to write about how to do oats the right way a long time ago, I decided now to finally write this post. Now, there are 4 ways to make oatmeal, according to at least what I know; rolled, instant, steel-cut and dry oats.
x
_________________________________________________________________________________

ROLLED OATS                                                                                                   INSTANT OATMEAL

Measure 2dl water/milk & 1 dl oats                                        Add hot water & stir (depending on what

Combine in a pot over medium/low heat                                                              consistency you want)

Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently                                                                                              or......

Add flavourings                                                                            Add cold liquid & put in a microwave

STEEL-CUT OATS                                                                                                      DRY OATMEAL

Measure 3 dl water/milk & 1 dl oats                                                  Add as much oatmeal into a pot as

Bring to a boil for 5 mins                                                                                                           you want

Turn the heat off & cover for additional 10 mins                                                                      Add milk

Add flavourings before letting to set                                                                          Stir &add toppings

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Hey you hope you had great day because I certainly did! Feeling strong and UNDEFEATED. Went to the gym today after school for a quick cardio and then some core and arms, and it felt so good because I was the only one there so I could put the music as loud as I wanted to and just rock it. Have you ever had that feeling? 

x

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Happy Father's day to at least all the Finnish people! I can't believe that next year I won't be able to celebrate with my dad :( Anyway, to celebrate my amazing daddy and the tough and stressful few weeks we've had, I baked a chocolate cake for him with the help of my mom (because the first base, well I put too much flour in it and it was like a solid rock and I swear it could have been used as a frisbee).  It was totally worth all the calories, but since it was so big I guess tomorrow I'll be having cake for dinner .... or then not. 

x

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

I am alive! Don't worry ;) But yeah apologies once again for the long pause, IB is really getting the better of me :/ And as if I wouldn't already have enough to do already, I realised that my exams are in 18 school DAYS time... god help me. Anyways this weekend was amazing, tiring, stressing, exhausting, teaching and everything in between! I was a part of my schools press for the MUNOFS conference and really learned a lot about journalism and all that tech stuff, had fun with friends and got my feet destroyed by high heels. 

Oh and another thing, I decided that I will apply to study to become a personal trainer (still applying for journalism and art stuff at the same time though but not really interested in arts anymore) or something in that field, because hey, it's what I love these days and well what would be better than to spend my life doing something that I actually love? 

x

_________________________________________________________________________________