Since my family loves quiches and since we had plenty of fish and poultry past week I decided to go with meat free Sunday lunch and prepared this easy and light zucchini pie with vegetable soup and fresh salad. My whole family loved it including Anabela who can eat all of these light and healthy ingredients.

I did however made the dough myself which took few minutes longer but you can also use purchased pie dough no problem and get the same result quicker.

INGREDIENTS

4 zucchini
3 eggs
2 onions
2 oz grated Parmesan cheese
1 purchased pie crust (defrost earlier if you purchased frozen crust)
1/2 teaspoon well chopped fresh rosemary (fresh herbs make huge difference)
1 and 1/4 cups milk (if you like more condensed you can use cooking cream)

Herbs & Olive Oil Pie Crust

1¼ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
½ cup very cold water
½ teaspoon fresh thyme, leaves only
1 to 2 tablespoons freshly grated cheddar

Crust Directions

1. Combine the flour, salt and olive oil and mix in food processor for about 5 seconds. While the food processor is still on, slowly pour the very cold water over the flour and keep running until the pastry begins to come together, after about 7 to 8 seconds. Do not over mix it!

2. Add in the thyme and grated cheddar cheese and pulse just a few times so that the thyme and cheddar become incorporated into the dough.

3.Put the the dough on to a floured work surface, knead just a few times, gather to form a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out.

4. Preheat your oven to 400 F/200 C. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured work surface.Transfer dough to a pie plate, gently pressing the olive oil pastry into the pie plate.

5. Prick the dough with a fork and bake it for about 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 375 F/ 180 C.

Katarina Štimac, fashion blog – LaKatwalk

I love combining fresh fruits in my Summer desserts and I avoid recipes which take to long long to make or bake or those that are packed with butter and sugar. This recipe is light, fluffy, healthy and absolutely guilt free in terms of calories.

If you don’t like cherries you can certainly use fresh strawberries or blueberries or even mix of fresh mint leaves and different berries all mixed together.
Give it a try!

INGREDIENTS
CRUST
1 cup/236g coconut flour (you may use regular flour but it won’t be gluten free)
⅓ cup/79g chopped almonds
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup/60g pure maple syrup or honey
½ cup/118g coconut oil, solid at room temperature

*If you don’t have time to prepare crust feel free to use purchased quiche dough or fluffy pastry.

FILLING/GANACHE
6oz/170g chopped dairy-free dark chocolate
½ cup/118ml canned coconut milk
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon almond or vanilla extract (optional)
1 cup/236g fresh cherries pitted and halved
Toasted sliced almonds for garnish

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. I used 9 to 10 inch /23 cm pan.
2. Mix coconut flour with almonds and salt in a bowl. Add maple syrup/honey and coconut oil to form a smooth dough.
3. Spread and press dough into the pan evenly all around and up the sides. Poke with fork all around and bake 8-10 min, until edges are golden brown. Set aside to cool while preparing filling.
4. Place chocolate chopped to pieces into a bowl. Heat up coconut milk and pour over the chocolate. Wisk until smooth. Add and wisk salt and almond/vanilla extract.
5. Pour mixture into cooled baked dough evenly. Arrange cherries evenly over the top, sprinkle with toasted almond slices and coconut flakes. Cool in the fridge at least for 1 hour before eating.

Keep in fridge for up to 5 days (even dough I doubt it will last that long).

Katarina Štimac, fashion blog – LaKatwalk

This has happened to me million times when preparing a grilled chicken for salad or my diet meal of grilled chicken and steamed vegetable until Mrs. Deb whom I babysat for taught me to brine the chicken.

Five steps to making great, moist and juicy chicken breasts are:

1 – Brining & drying
2 – Brushing
3 – Rubbing
4 – Roasting
5 – Resting

I promise you, once you try this simple and fast way of preparing chicken breasts it will make your cooking choices so much easier as you can prepare ahead and use it next day in a salad or switch up the side dish and have several meals ready at once.

INGREDIENTS
Boneless chicken breasts
Olive oil or melted butter
Salt and pepper
Powdered sweet red paprika
Optional: garlic powder

The recipe is simple.

DIRECTIONS
1. BRINING: place chicken breasts in warm (not hot) water in which you mixed until dissolved 1 large spoon full of salt and keep it in the water for minimum 15 minutes and maximum 6 hours (if you are preparing it for dinner or day later.

IMPORTANT! Rinse each piece of chicken breasts in cold water and DRY each piece with paper towel on both sides.

2. BRUSHING: brush the chicken generously with melted butter on both sides. If you prefer low calorie version use olive oil instead.

3. RUBBING: Mix together salt, pepper, sweet paprika and powdered garlic. Rub the spice mixture generously on both sides of the each chicken breasts.

For low fat version you can just use salt and pepper and squeeze some lemon juice over the meat and add a couple of slices of lemon around it in the dish while baking. You could also add fresh rosemary or other spices you like.

4. ROASTING: Warm up the oven to 230C/450 F. Line the dish with baking paper and place chicken breasts on it with leaving enough room in between each piece. Bake for 15 minutes.

5. RESTING: Before you dig in, let the chicken breasts rest for 5-10 minutes this will make them soft and moist.

As a side dish I often serve gnocchi with creamy mushroom sauce. You can also just slice the chicken and add it into a green leaf salad with tomato and brushed Parmesan cheese. Alternatively, you can serve it with steamed vegetables (broccoli and green beans) and if you still don’t want to eat chicken without a sauce you can mix honey and mustard and dip chicken in honey mustard sauce.

Katarina Štimac, fashion blog – LaKatwalk

What I am trying to do is to avoid dinner and not to eat after 6pm, I have to say I haven’t managed to work out daily as my boyfriend is traveling frequently but I did loose bread from my menu as well as sweets and the rest of the ‘bad’ carbs and saturated fats.

This salad fits right into my diet and it’s also a great, protein rich meal for my athlete boyfriend. People who are not accustomed to cooking with quinoa are sometimes afraid to try but it’s really super easy to cook. You just rinse quinoa and cook it in double amount water and that’s it!

The great thing about quinoa salad is that it’s easy to make and it keeps longer then green leaf salads and it actually fills you up even without bread and can serve as a full meal. It’s really easy to customize so if you want you can also really put any veggies you like into it you don’t have to do the ones I listed below. You can easily play with adding grilled chicken to it if you can’t live without meat, otherwise this is a great vegetarian dish as well.

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup of well rinsed quinoa
1 small eggplant diced in small pieces
1 zucchini sliced or diced in bite size pieces
1/2 of medium squash (or you can use 1 sweet potato)
1 cup of halved grape tomatoes or diced regular tomatoes
2 tbsp of fresh mint leaves
2 tbsp of fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoon of pine nuts or sunflower seeds, toasted
Crumble feta cheese (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Dressing:
2 tbsp of olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
juice of 1 medium lemon
1 clove of garlic pressed

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 220C/425F. Put the diced vegetables in large bowl and sprinkle with 2tbsp of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

2. Line two large baking dishes with baking paper. Divide the vegetables on two large baking dishes in a way that you have enough space in between them and it’s not packed otherwise some pieces might come out raw. Bake on second and third rack of the oven together for about 20-30minutes, after 20 minutes check to see if soft and beginning to brown, if not leave a bit longer. Set aside to cool.

3. Cook quinoa by rinsing it first in water and then cook 1/3 cup of quinoa in 2/3 cup water (use double the water of what you have quinoa) and bring to boil on medium high temperature. Cover and reduce temperature to low and cook for another 15 more minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool a bit.

4. Toast the seeds (pine nuts or sunflower seeds) on a hot pan (medium high) for about 5-10 minutes or until they get brown color or you can smell the fragrance. Set aside.

5. Wisk together in the salad serving bowl pressed garlic and lemon juice lightly, slowly poor 2 tbsp of olive oil and continue mixing into coherent mixture. Add to it sliced tomatoes, quinoa, washed and cut into pieces fresh basil and mint leaves, add roasted vegetables and toasted pine nuts. Season all with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese, toss well and try it. If you want it more zesty add another squeeze of lemon.

This fabulous salad serves great as a side dish with meat for lunch or dinner or you can eat it as a meal on it’s own. Keep it in the fridge up to 3 days.

Bon appetite my ladies!

Katarina Štimac, fashion blog – LaKatwalk

Just kidding…not about making of the Italian sausage ragu part but about just because part. My boyfriend is flying in late from his game in Belgrade so I made him a full dinner with protein rich salad, ragu with polenta as the main dish and desert and all. It wouldn’t be fair to have him eat a sandwich after the long and late trip.

Off I go to share the recipe, it’s quite simple actually, when I make it for myself I make it with red wine while tonight I made it ‘healthy way for an athlete’ with home made chicken stock.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 of a big onion finely chopped
1 big clove of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
6 mid size Italian sausages
1.5 tbsp of fresh rosemary leaves
1 cup (cc 250ml) of red wine or chicken stock
Instant polenta
1 tbsp of tomato paste
400g chopped cherry tomatoes (you can use a can of pellati tomatoes as well)
grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Optional: mushrooms

DIRECTIONS
If you are using cooked sausages you don’t need to bake them, I used fresh ones and I baked them before preparing as part of the recipe.

BAKING SAUSAGES
Heat the oven on 200C. Coat the baking pan with aluminum foil (for easy cleaning) spread sausages evenly over the pan and bake for 20-30 min. Let cool a bit, slice and prepare as per recipe bellow.

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook onion until softened and gold in color. Add the sausage slices in pieces, garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until the sausage is browned and all well combined. If you are using mushrooms add them now, cook with steering until mushrooms are softened.

2. Add wine/chicken stock and cook for a few minutes until liquid is slightly reduced. Add tomato paste and stir for a bit, then stir in tomatoes. Add spices, salt and pepper to taste. Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. When it bubbles Reduce to low and simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is reduced and you reach desired thickness of the ragu sauce.

3. Meanwhile, cook polenta according to packet instructions (I got instant 1min polenta. Add grated cheese, serve topped with the sausage ragu, parmesan cheese and topped with rest of the rosemary.

I served it with salad.
Bon appetite!

Katarina Štimac, fashion blog – LaKatwalk

It will probably take you about 10 minutes to prepare it and about 40 minuted to bake it.

INGREDIENTS
500g (1 Ibs) thin sliced turkey or chicken breasts
1 pack of puff pastry
300g (0.6 Ibs) mushrooms
100g (0.2 Ibs) thin sliced carrots (optional)
100g (0.2 Ibs) thin sliced zucchini (optional)
1 medium size onion finely sliced
1 tbs mustard
1 clove of garlic (minced)
1 (200g / 0.4 Ibs) sour cream
2 eggs (1 for coating)
100 g of shaved Gouda cheese
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp sweet paprika powder (optional)
Croatian spice mix Vegeta (optional)
sesame seeds or linen seeds for garnish

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Cut turkey (or chicken) into small bite size stripes, season it with salt, pepper and sweet paprika spice. Cook until meat is well cooked, set meat aside on a warm plate.
Heat the oven to 185C (365 F).
2. Use the same pan, add some more olive oil if needed and brown onion and garlic over medium heat, add mushrooms and vegetables. When vegetable is roasted add meat and mix well.
3. Beat 1 egg, sour cream and mustard in a bowl.
4. Spread puff pastry over the baking paper, spread vegetables and meat mixture over it, poor sour cream mixture over the meat & veggie mixture and spread shaved cheese over it. Roll the pastry with tucking the ends inwards.
5. Coat the role with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds or linen seeds. Bake for 40 minutes on 185 C on baking paper.

Bon appetite! Delicious!

Katarina Štimac, fashion blog – LaKatwalk

All recipes are followed by gorgeous photos. The book introduction describes advantages of making raw food desserts and it provides simple tips on how to work with ingredients to get the most nutrients out of them. Currently, this recipe book is only available in Croatian.

For one of our Summer parties I made two recipes out of this book, this Berry Cheesecake and fabulous Banana Pudding for which I will share recipe in one of the next posts.

INGREDIENTS

Dough:
1.5 cup of walnuts
1 cup of dates
1/2 cup of coconut

Cream:
2 cups of cashew nuts (soaked in water)
3/4 cup of cacao butter
2 limes (juiced)
1 cup of blueberries & raspberries (fresh or defrosted)
10 drops of sweet orange essential oil
4 tbsp of agava syrup

Decoration:
1/2 cup of fresh or defrosted raspberries or blueberries
several fresh mint leaves

DIRECTIONS
Prep: Presoak cashews in water for 2-3 hours for this recipe. Presoaking nuts has great advantages for your digestion. Nuts contain the inhibitor of the enzymes such as phytic acid which makes them hard to digest, soaking them you will get more of the nutrients from the nuts and it will be easier for your body to digest them.

Mix all listed dough ingredients in the blender until you get them well minced. Place the mixture in the small cake pan and press it firmly with clean hands coating the bottom of the pan with it evenly.

Melt cocoa butter, add it along with other cream ingredients listed in the blender and mix until you get smooth, even, creamy mixture. Pour the cream onto the dough in the cake pan.

Decorate with mint leaves and fresh berries. Cook in the fridge for minimum of 4 hours.
This cake keeps well so you can store it in freezer or fridge for about 4 days.

This recipe definitely requires some non-standard ingredients which are not necessarily cheap but it is super delicious, gilt free if you are watching your weight, it’s super healthy and it’s quick to make. All who tried it said they didn’t feel heavy and tired as they do when they finish the meal and top it with a desert. It’s light and it turned the biggest healthy food skeptics into believers in my home!

Definitely give it a try! You will love it I promise!

Katarina Štimac, fashion blog – LaKatwalk

In total, it takes about 30-40 minutes max to make this recipe and fish remains soft and absolutely delicious! Actually, this was the best hake fillet I ever ate as well!

INGREDIENTS

Main Dish:
1 kg hake fillet
2 lemons (1 sliced to garnish)

Crust:
4 slices of bread toasted (I used a multigrain bread)
50 g / 1.7 oz of grated cheese (I used dry cheddar)
50 ml / 1.7 oz virgin olive oil
1 tbsp of fresh cilantro chopped
30g / 1 oz almond slices

Side Dish:
400 g /14 oz potatoes peeled and chopped into bite size pcs
300 g / 11 oz fresh chard leaves
3 cloves of garlic
olive oil to taste
salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
If you are using frozen hake fillets set them aside to defrost.

Peel and chop potatoes into bite size pieces, place it into a pot full of cold water and cook until soft.

Prepare marinade for hake fish by squeezing juice of 1 lemon (with no pits) into a small bowl, adding some sea sold and freshly ground pepper to taste. Place the fillets in the large plate, cover it with marinade and coat each fillet with it on both sides. Let it marinate for about 15 minutes.

Wash chard leaves very well on both sides, dry it well and and cut it into thin stripes. Check if potatoes are cooked, when ready just add prepared chard leaves a little by little into the hot water along with cooked potatoes. Mix gently and cook on medium heat until chard leaves are cooked (less then 5minutes). Drain excess water and serve potatoes and cooked chard into a large bowl. Season it with olive oil, minced garlic, sea salt and pepper and mix gently.

Prepare a crust mixture by adding together toast cut in small square pieces, chopped cilantro, olive oil, grated cheese and almond slices and mix it in grinder until it has a consistency similar to bread crumbs. Coat ceramic baking dish with olive oil and place thin layer of crust (half of the mixture) on the bottom of the dish. Place hake fillets over the layer of crust, poor a bit of left over marinade over the fish, coat the fish with the remaining mixture to create a top coat and sprinkle some more almond slices over it.

Place thin slices of lemon over the final layer for decoration. Bake on 150C/302 F for about 15 minutes or until the crust is golden.

Alternatively to cooked potatoes and chard you card serve hake fish with rucola salad.

Katarina Štimac, fashion blog – LaKatwalk

This chicken breasts recipe in orange sauce with brown rice is great for all of those who like a bit of sweetness in their dish (healthy sweetness) and for all of you who like to eat healthy but delicious food which will fill you up but you won’t feel sleepy and heavy after having a generous portion.

As I mentioned on my Facebook page post I have started going to the gym daily after having Anabela three months ago now and I am testing some quick, healthy and delicious recipes to help me loose weight without feeling hungry and miserable

This recipe is super easy to make, there are a few ingredients which are mandatory, others are just healthier and tastier additions. I made this meal for my boyfriend who usually doesn’t like sweet meat and brown rice or pasta, he had it two days in a row and loved it! It’s even better next day so make a full portion from recipe to have some leftovers for next day.

INGREDIENTS
2 oranges
5 pcs skinless and boneless chicken breasts
150 ml (5 oz) orange juice (squeezed)
1 orange zest of 1 whole orange
20g (0.7 oz) brown sugar
2 soup spoons of olive oil or 2 tea spoons of coconut oil
1 tbs honey dion mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Optional:
Croatian spice mix Vegeta
2 tea spoons of flour mixed into a little bit of warm water

DIRECTIONS
1. If you got a thicker chicken breasts slide them on thinner pieces before seasoning. Marinate chicken breasts on both sides with salt & paper or optionally with Croatian spice mix. Vegeta. Set a side for 10 minutes. Coat chicken breasts with mustard with a brush on both sides.

Prepare a side dish: steamed vegetables (broccoli or green beans seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper) or brown rice. I love this recipe with brown rice. 1.5 coffee cup of brown rice is cooked in 3 coffee cups of water and ready in 20 minutes.

Extra tip!
The secret of preparing rice well is to use wide sauce pan so rice can cook evenly, make sure you add some sea salt to water and mix well.

2. In a bigger sauce pan heat the coconut oil (or oil of your choice) on medium high (I used setting 7/10). Grill chicken breasts on medium heat for 8 minutes total (3-4 minutes each side depending on thickness).

3. Meanwhile, squeeze 150ml (5 oz) orange juice and prepare orange zest from 1 orange and weigh brown sugar. Wash and dry one whole orange and cut 3-4 thin slices to add to sauce later on.

4. Once chicken is done, set it aside on a warm plate. Keep the remaining oil in warm sauce pan and add orange juice, orange zest and brown sugar and boil on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. If it appears to thick add a bit more orange juice.

5. Optionally, add a mixture of a bit of warm water and 2 tea spoons of white flour if you would like the sauce to be thicker. Add 3-4 thin slices of well washed orange.

6. Add chicken to orange sauce and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Let me know how you like it once you try it and if you made any tweaks to make it even better! Would love to hear about it!

Katarina Štimac, fashion blog – LaKatwalk

This easy coconut chicken stir fry has enough of protein and fiber (when made with right rice and veggies) to make a complete healthy meal, I just made it today again and my boyfriend loved it! It takes about 35 minutes to make in total and it’s absolutely delicious.

INGREDIENTS
0.5 kg chicken breasts cut into long small pieces
1 tablespoon of coconut or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
1 teaspoon grated ginger root ( I used powdered ginger cause I didn’t have fresh)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 can (about 14 oz) coconut milk
1 teaspoon packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 medium green/red or yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves (I used dry basil)
3 tablespoons of tomato sauce

Optional:
1 jalapeño chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup sugar snap pea pods
1 medium zucchini (or broccoli)
1medium yellow onion

Side dish:
1.5 cup hot cooked jasmine or integral rice

DIRECTIONS
1. Cut chicken breasts into thin bite size pieces and cut vegetables into thin long pieces (so they soften up quicker).
2. Heat coconut oil or vegetable oil in a wok pan or skillet, add chicken and fry it for 2-3 minutes until chicken is no longer pink inside. Add ginger root, lime or lemon peel, cilantro and optionally chillies and stir-fry for another 1-2 minutes over medium heat.
3. Pour coconut milk over chicken. Stir in brown sugar, salt, soy sauce and vegetables and fry uncovered on medium heat for 3-5 minutes until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomato sauce. Top with basil and serve with rice!

Bon Appetite ladies!
Let me know how you like it if you try it!

Katarina Štimac, fashion blog – LaKatwalk