Ham and Cheese Pie 🥧 • Low Carb Pies #4

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Another brilliant variation of my super popular low carb pie recipe: Ham and Cheese pie.

Again, super yummy and super easy to make; filling this time is basically diced ham, cheese, and oregano!
You can watch the video above to learn how to make it, step-by-step, or simply follow the directions below.

Easy peasy!

Ingredients
  • 4 medium eggs
  • 1 cup (260g) of tahini (or almond butter)
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 2 cups (340 grams) of ham, diced
  • 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
  • 2 cups (340 grams) of mozzarella cheese, diced
Directions
  1. In a bowl mix together eggs, tahini, salt, and baking powder.
  2. Line a parchment paper on a cake tin and pour half of this batter in. I’m using a 24 cm square tin.
  3. Then make a layer of ham, followed by mozzarella cheese, finishing with a layer of the remaining batter.
  4. In a preheated oven to 160°C (320°F), bake it for 50 minutes or until golden brown. ⏰
  5. IT’S DONE! 🎉

Would like to see more low carb pie recipes?
I have an entire collection of ideas and recipes especially created for you! 🙂

Ah, as you may have noticed, I used tahini for the main recipe, which gives you a nut-free result.
If you’re OK with nuts, you can also use almond butter. 🙂

Belforte Ristorant • Vernazza – Cinque Terre

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After spending all morning exploring the smalls towns of Riomaggiore, Manarola, and Corniglia, we decided to stop at Vernazza for lunch, before heading to our last stop, Monterosso.

Your day trip to the Cinque Terre can only get better with a fantastic lunch, right? 😀

Our choice for the day was the highly recommended (by online reviewers and friends), Belforte Ristorant.

It is located literally at the beach, on the left side when you face the water, going up a set of stairs.

You will easily identify it as it looks like to be on top of a construction that resembles a fortress (sorry forgot to take pictures).

My order

We shared all dishes listed here, except for the grilled beef that we got one each:

  • Caprese salad – Tomatoes, mixed leaves, basil, fresh mozzarella, olives, and capers.
  • Spaghetti al sugo (tomato sauce).
  • Grilled beef with rockets and tomatoes.
Caprese salad - Tomatoes, mixed leaves, basil, fresh mozzarella, olives, and capers.
Caprese salad – Tomatoes, mixed leaves, basil, fresh mozzarella, olives, and capers.
Spaghetti ao sugo.
Spaghetti al sugo.
Grilled beef with rockets and tomatoes.
Grilled beef with rockets and tomatoes.

Salad and pasta were gorgeous! Nothing to add or remove, great choice.

On the other hand, our beef was a bit disappointing, bland and tasteless, although correctly cooked.

Anyways, I understand that Hubby and I were a bit naive with our choice. Let me explain you why.

They are well-known for their servings of seafood, so asking for a beef steak sounds quite wrong, right? 😜
But at the same time if a restaurant puts it on their menu it should be prepared as good as the others dishes, in my opinion.

In a nutshell, the restaurant is good, overall; it also has amazing views.
Just play safe and go for a seafood dish instead. 🙂

The verdict

Considering that we were a bit unlucky with of our choice, the place has great options (we loved our salad and pasta), good service and amazing views.

It is also incredibly popular during lunchtime, so if you can make a reservation or get there as soon as it opens (like we did).

Exact location: maps.google.com/maps/FgS3G8KFGVn

More information: www.ristorantebelforte.it

You can check more posts here on the blog about my holidays in Europe and also everything I published about Italy or Cinque Terre.

Flourless Chocolate and Banana Bread • Healthy cakes #10

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Who doesn’t like the convenience of a flourless recipe?
Even more, if this cake is a healthy option right?

This Flourless Chocolate and Banana Bread recipe is ridiculously simple and still incredibly delicious.

Actually, I would suggest you watching yourself once this beauty is ready … otherwise, the whole cake can end up in your tummy in the blink of an eye. 🤣

Another quick note, I used tahini for a nut-free version, but this cake is equally delicious made with almond or peanut butter!

Ingredients
  • 1 and 1/4 cups (324 grams) of tahini (or almond butter)
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 medium (260 grams or 1 cup) ripe bananas, sliced and mashed
  • 6 tablespoons (48 grams) of cocoa powder
  • 1 and ½ teaspoons of baking powder
  • A pinch of salt
Directions
  1. Add tahini, eggs, bananas, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt to a blender and pulse until smooth and creamy.
  2. Grease a cake pan with coconut oil and cover it with a baking sheet. I used a 20cm loaf pan here.
  3. Now, add in the batter to the pan.
  4. In a preheated oven to 180°C (350°F), bake it for 45 minutes. ⏰
  5. Depending on your oven, it might take more or less to be ready.
    The right moment is when a toothpick inserted in the centre of the bread comes out clean.
  6. IT’S DONE! 🎉

Travel itinerary: Day trip to Cinque Terre – Italy 🇮🇹

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Everything you can do in 1 day in Cinque Terre!
Everything you can do on a day trip to Cinque Terre!

Cinque Terre is located along the Italian west coast, and it’s formed by 5 charming villages: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso.

These villages are very famous for their unique architecture, mesmerising views from the mediterranean sea, and a super cool hike passing through all five cities.

Totally a must go, especially for those spending a few days in Florence, and this is what we did!

We decided to spend a day exploring the region; we took a train in the morning: from Florence to La Spezia, and then another train to the first city in the Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore (check here my Google Maps).

Our idea was to do the complete hike from Riomaggiore to Monteresso, however, due to the bad weather on the previous days, 70% of the path was closed!
Bummer!

Sadly enough, you only get this kind of information when you are already there.
But that doesn’t mean we did nothing, we did a lot and I’m about to show you what!

What we did then

Riomaggiore
Our first stop, so we decided to buy the Cinque Terre Card, which gave us access to the trail and unlimited train travels between the 5 cities and La Spezia.

As the trail was closed here, after exploring a bit of the village we got the train to our next stop, Manarola.

Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore

Continue reading “Travel itinerary: Day trip to Cinque Terre – Italy 🇮🇹”

Cauliflower and Spanish chorizo creamy soup • Low Carb Soups #1

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnRDI1nQcrg

Winter is knocking on the door, and the only thing you can think of is to have a cozy and warm meal, right?

Which means you have only thing in mind these days: soup, soup, and soup!

To help you out, this week we are having here this gorgeous cauliflower and Spanish chorizo creamy soup.

It is low carb, super tasty, and has that spicy Spanish chorizo kick perfect for cold nights.
In case you are not a fan of chorizo, you can use any other type of sausage as well.

Ingredients
  • 4 cups (500 grams) of cauliflower
  • 1/2 medium (85 grams) onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
  • 2 chorizos (375 grams), sliced
  • 2 cups of fresh spinach (50 grams), chopped
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
  1. In a pot add chorizo and toss it until well cooked. Then move to another container and reserve.
  2. In the same pot, add onion and garlic, cooking until tender.
  3. Next, add cauliflower and cover it with boiling water, letting it cook until the cauliflower is soft.
  4. Turn off the heat and, using a stick blender (or pour it in a blender), blend everything until you have a smooth mixture.
  5. Now you simply add in that chorizo we previously cooked, and also the spinach.
    Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Cook it for more 10 minutes. ⏰
  6. It’s DONE! 🎉
    Enjoy your cauliflower and Spanish chorizo creamy soup!

This soup also works fine if you freeze it to have another day. 🙂