Healthier Cinnamon Rolls

I have been craving cinnamon rolls for a long time now, and my first assumption is that it must have something to do with the cold weather we’ve been having here in Oslo. When it’s cold outside – get warm inside, and what is warmer and more “cozy” than fresh, fluffy cinnamon rolls?

Cinnamon Rolls

1 cup milk (LETT or low fat milk 1%)

6 tbs margarine

6 tbs sugar

8g dry yeast

3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 large egg (or two small)

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup brown sugar

Cinnamon

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1. In a small saucepan, heat up milk, 3 tbs margarine and 1 tbs of the sugar on low temperature until the margarine has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Once the mixture is luke-warm, add the dry yeast and stir until it dissolves.

2. In a seperate large mixing bowl, put the remaining 5 tbs of sugar in with the 3 3/4 cup of flour and add the salt. Crack in the egg(s) but don’t mix it yet.

3. Pour the milk-mixture into the bowl of flour and mix with a wooden spoon. The trick now is finding the right amount of flour. For my sake the dough was too sticky at this point, so I kneaded a little more and more flour into the dough until it didn’t stick to the counter but DON’T PUT TOO MUCH FLOUR IN! It should stick just barely, but not to the point where you have to peel pieces off the counter.

4. Put the dough back into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise for approx. 35min or until doubled in size.

5. Roll out the dough to the shape of a square, about 1 cm thick (0.4"inches). Melt the leftover 3 tbs of butter and pour it over the dough, spreading it evenly all over. Then spread the brown sugar and desired amount of cinnamon evenly across the dough.

6. Roll the dough tightly into a sausage, then cut into desired slices (about 4-5 cm or 1.5-2inches). Place them on a baking sheet and cover. Let rise for 35 minutes in a warm place. Preheat oven at 175*C (350*F).

7. Uncover and bake rolls for approx. 20 minutes or until golden. Remember to let them cool before digging in!

8. Now to the healthy part; take one and put the rest in the freezer!

This recipe is inspired by THIS recipe on Cooking Light, however I ended up doing some of my own twists (which is the recipe I wrote above). If my recipe is anything like the one on Cooking Light these cinnamon rolls are only 234cal, and their recipe included frosting so they might even be less without the frosting (I didn’t make frosting)!

Enjoy!

Healthy Fried (Rice) Quinoa

I’m a sucker for Asian cuisine. My last meal would be full-blown, deluxe edition asian dinner with sushi, pad thai, all kinds of stir fry. Sadly, all that rice ain’t good for me. So I try sometimes to find healthier replacements. Last night I thought I’d make fried rice, but decided to replace the rice with quinoa in order to make it a little healthier. Definitely worth trying, not a bad replacement at all!

Healthier fried (rice) quinoa

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cup water

1 cube chicken broth (if you can get already made broth, use that instead of water)

3-4 carrots

1/2 – 1 cup frozen green peas (amount depends on preference)

2 large scallions

2 chicken breasts

2 eggs

Low-sodium soy sauce

Oystersauce

1. Put the quinoa and water (with the brothcube) in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, put a lid on and let it simmer on a low heat for approx. 20min. Technically you’re supposed to rinse the quinoa a few times before putting it in the saucepan. If you have a strainer that is fine enough, do that. I didn’t but it went ok!

2. Cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes and toss in a frying pan with about a tbs of vegetable oil. I seasoned it lightly with dried cilantro. Once the chicken is cooked through, put aside.

3. Cut the carrots into 1x1cm cubes and the scallions into slices about the same size as the carrot-cubes. In a wok pan (or a frying pan if it’s big enough), toss in the carrots and frozen peas with about a tbs of vegetable oil and fry on medium heat until they are cooked through and soft.

4. Turn the heat up and add the scallions. Fry the vegetables for about 2 min then make an opening in the center of them. Crack in one egg at a time, making sure to stir so it becomes scrambled. Once the eggs scrambled, add the chicken and the cooked quinoa.

5. This next part is a taste-as-you-go way of seasoning. I add about 1 tbs (?) of low-sodium soy sauce and maybe 2 tbs oystersauce, but this all depends on the amount of the other ingredients and your own personal taste. If desired, add more oystersauce. This is what gives most of the fried rice flavor.

Feel free leave a comment below if you try the recipe to let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

FOOD FOOD AND SKORTS

Suprise! I’m still here, haven’t left this time! January is halfway through, and I’ve been trying little by little to change some things and work on other things. As I mentioned before I’m trying going to lose some weight. At the same time I have to save some money because my new apartment cost a little more than the one we’re renting now. Given that we have had three months notice to cancel this apartment and the one we wanted was available NOW; we’re going to be paying double rent for 3 months. So in a combination of trying to be healthy and trying to save money I have some DELICIOUS dinners to share!

I’ve had a spinach fetish lately (that sounded weird but given my poor vocabulary I’ll stick with it). This salad is made up of spinach, some regular salad (hjertesalat in Norwegian), pasta, pork meat, red pepper, spring onion and feta cheese. YUM! Seriously one of the better salads I’ve ever had. I know I suck for sharing a dinner here without knowing the entire recipe, but Paul did the meat and made a kind of dressing to put on it. All I know is there was balsamico and white vinegar in it. *Drool*.

Last night’s dinner was surprisingly yummy despite it’s simplicity. I took some water, added some vegetable broth and cooked up pasta in that. Then in a frying pan I put some sliced smoked sausage (kjøttpølse), added chopped broccoli and cauliflower, some salt and pepper and finally added the cooked pasta. Cheap and yummy, not to mention filling!
At work we still have the big new years sale going on. There I found a pair of shorts I drooled over this past summer, but didn’t buy because to sum it up: I didn’t wear shorts that summer. I don’t care much how I’ll look in a bikini this summer, more so I want to wear shorts and not feel like a heffa in them. So I bought these shorts in the biggest size we had left: 40. Let’s put it this way; I used to be a 42, am currently 44. So they’re my skorts; SKinny shORTS, and my goal for summer is to get into them without looking like a muffin top.

And the good news is; I’m on my way! Since January 1st I’ve gone down 1,6kg (3,5lbs). I’m very happy. It’s a slow process but it’s also a lifestyle change. I feel super awesome every time I leave the gym, so hopefully I’m going to keep it up and reach my goals!

Thumbs up for looking piggypink in January! That’s a good sign in my opinion.
How are your new year resolutions going?
Sarah

GETTING OUT THE DOOR

I actually like exercising. I rarely feel bad after a workout, and I know I’m not alone about that. Getting out the door is the hardest part, but having someone to push you out helps a lot. I got up early this morning and prepped a cheesy new playlist…

The name of the playlist is the cheesy part, I don’t find Justin Bieber or Bruno Mars cheesy when working out. They’re some of my best workout buddies. I also love Ellie Goulding’s new album Halcyon, awesome workout music.
 
A cup of coffee and some smoked salmon on bread for breakfast, and I am now seconds away from getting through that door. Just need to brush my teeth so I don’t kill anyone at the gym with my fishy breath.
What’s your favourite workout music?
Sarah

SQUARE ONE

Happy new year!

I love how a new year is synonymous with a fresh start, a new beginning, back to square one. We all know that in all honesty it’s not really true. What we did, ate, liked and hated last year is still kind of “here”. However, our wonderful little minds tell us that this is it, this is your chance to change and be awesome! I like it, it’s like a personal coach you get each January. Too bad that coach usually leaves by February. Oh well, I’m gonna try again!

I had a wonderful Christmas that I got to spend with the love of my life and my family. I had a great time and got AWESOME gifts, one of which was a crock pot I will try to share my experiences with right here on the blog. I also got awesome food, mama’s food. I think that says it all. After living with my boyfriend for 6 months, emphasized by Christmas, I’ve realized that I’ve fallen into that comfortable state in my relationship. In just the time I have lived in Oslo, I gained 22 lbs and got stretchmarks from the fast gain. Not even having turned 20 and never having had kids, this stung.
Now, thanks to my inspirational mother who has been doing super good since she started working on her weight and my supportive boyfriend who is trying to keep me “at bay” from snacking and such; I feel highly motivated!

Also, some exciting news! Me and Paul are moving to a bigger apartment! Our current apartment is 322ft², with no bedroom, a tiny bathroom and an even smaller kitchen. It’s been cramped. The new apartment, however, is 592ft2 with a seperate bedroom, slim but bigger bathroom and this wonderful kitchen in the picture above! We’ll be moving in February and there WILL be interior decorating pictures, I promise.
Last news of what is to come on this blog in the year 2013; I am travelling to Vienna, Austria in February. I am very excited, with high hopes for some spectacular pictures of that beautiful city.

What are your plans for the first months of 2013?
Sarah

Chronicles of a student

I’ve been inspired lately to try harder at things, especially because I’ve been lacking motivation in pretty much every aspect of my life. So I’ve been trying to change things up a bit. For example, at school! Today I sat for five hours studying, reading and noting and trying to learn.



And what can make a long day of studying just a tiny bit better? A smiling cup of coffee of course!

I’ve also been trying to be better with my health by exercising more and eating better. This has resulted in som pretty good meals!



Trying harder at these things have resulted in me feeling happier and better, which really motivates me to keep it up! Not to mention all the motivational pictures I’m finding on pinterest!!

What motivates you?

Chicken Hoisin Wraps

The other day me and Paul wanted a nice and easy, light dinner after some previous heavier meals. I found a tempting recipe for hoisin chicken wraps, which fit well since we had some tortillas to eat up before they went bad.
Now I did my own little twist on the recipe because the original called for grilled chicken, and given I have no grill or anything similar I had to be creative.

• 4 flour tortillas
• 4 small skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 4 tsp sesame oil
• 4 tsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
• A handful of lettuce leaves
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped.

I chopped the breasts into about dice sized bites, thought that might make it easier to eat. I put it all in a bowl and mixed in the sesame oil, soy sauce and hoisin sauce and let it sit and soak a little. Then I fried the entire thing in a pan until the chicken was done and then put that, some salad leaves (I used something called crispisalad) and some chopped spring onions. I imagine that you change the number 4 out on most things above depending on how many you’re making it for.

It was super yummy, moist and light. Definitely something we’ll do again! Try it, you won’t be sorry for trying this as an easy summer dinner.

Day two; Good morning!

I’m an old soul, so I tend to wake up earlier than I’d like for the simple reason that I’m awake. Paul however, could sleep all day. So instead of waking him with me I let him sleep in while I got myself a little breakfast and a cup of coffee.

I love this for breakfast. I’m rarely hungry in the morning so this little thing is just the right stuff to get you going without having to fill up. Greek yoghurt, müsli, blueberries and honey – easy peasy.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed the most when I’ve been here before and that I’m enjoying a lot right now is the people-watching possibilities from my apartment. We live on a high first floor, and the view from our window is this:

Right outside this picture on the left is some traffic lights, so most cars driving past here end up stopping. Little do they know that creepy little me is watching them from my window while eating greek yoghurt and drinking coffee. It’s very funny, people do a lot of weird things when they think they’re alone in their car. I’m pretty sure this will be how I keep myself entertained whenever I get sick from now on.
Have a great day!

Back for breakfast

I planned on taking a break from blogging for a month because of all the exams I was going to be having in this period. Turned out I was real lucky. In Norway you “come up” in exams, meaning you don’t have one for each subject but you’ll be picked out for three written exams and one oral. One of these written ones have to be in bokmål, which is one of the two official Norwegian written standard languages. I “came up” in chemistry, bokmål and nynorsk (the other official written language). This was a real joy, because both Norwegians are a lot easier than my science subjects such as chemistry and biology. Now I’m finished with my chemistry exam, and all I have left is the two Norwegians and an oral exam! So because I missed my blog so much, I thought I’d call it a two-week vacation instead!

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I hate breakfast. For me it is really one of the worst meals of the day. This might not make sense to all, but having to eat breakfast for the sake of your health and daily energy when you have absolutely no desire to eat, is horrible. I rarely feel hungry in the morning. I don’t want to chew, I don’t want something heavy in my stomach, I would rather drink a cup of coffee and be on my way. Then one day, randomly watching Doctor Oz, he suggested something I hadn’t thought of before…

I’ve fallen in love. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been eating breakfast every day and enjoying it. Best part is? It’s actually quite healthy.
What you’ll need is:
- Turkish yoghurt or greek yoghurt.
- Honey
- Muslï
- Fresh berries
This is so simple, so fast, and yet so good. You can put it in a cup, a bowl, and choose the exact amount of hungry you are feeling at that very morning. There is just one rule, too much honey will remove the yoghurt taste and turn this breakfast horribly sweet. Find the right honey to yoghurt ratio though, and you have yourself a yummy, light breakfast – perfect for summertime!

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By the way, I’ve updated and changed my entire blog in order to fit the season and the new upcoming events. Everything from the About Me page to the Contact page is new! Explore and let me know what you think!