Healthy Food - Better Mood!

  Have you ever considered that a fast food can be healthy? Many would say NO, no way! But our answer is YES - if such fast food is cooked in a proper way and from organic fresh products. You will be surprised how delicious homemade chips, chicken nuggets, or chicken wings can be. And, at the same time, they will not add a lot of calories to your weight! So, what are the main tips? Let's take as an example chicken wings. First, roast them in the oven, do not fry them in a pan. Try not to over cooked and not to over dry the chicken. Half an hour is usually enough (180C). Second, it is better to use only fresh organic products. Frozen meat sold in supermarkets has completely different taste. And this influences the quality of a final meal. Next, give preference to olive oil instead of butter, milk, or eggs. Make breadcrumbs at home. And, as a sauce, use the one from tomato pasta or natural yogurt instead of ketchup or mayonnaise.  And last but not the least! Even being homemade,...

  Today we will travel to the north of Europe. England, Finland, Russia, - what do these countries have in common? Yes, correct, - a long and cold (in comparison with Southern Europe) winter. So, obviously, the traditional homemade food is different there. For every day cooking at home, especially when it is cold outside, a soup is very popular. Meat soups, fish soups, accompanied by vegetables like potatoes, carrots, cabbage, beetroot are considered not as a starter like in Mediterranean countries, but as the main course. These soups are thick, nutritious, and usually served very hot with bread and cheese. In this case a small salad can be offered as a starter. For the full family lunch or dinner also meat dishes can be served after a soup, and then a dessert - tea or coffee with bans or cookies. This is really nice to warm yourself like this and enjoy looking through the windows when snow is falling down and snowflakes are dancing in the air! Welcome to the North!

Hi! Today we will check two recipes of pancakes from two countries that are far away from the Mediterranean Sea - USA and Russia. I mean the recipes of very popular dessert, pancakes! Everybody knows how American-style pancakes look like - small, thick, cooked with minimum veg oil and served with jam or nutella one above the others.  Russian 'blini' look more like Breton crepes, they are big, thin, cooked in a pan with a lot of oil. They have neutral taste and can be served with sour or sweet filling. The most favourite ones in Russia are jam from various berries or plain yogurt.  You can also close them as an envelope, put inside cooked minced meat or cottage cheese with an egg, and put in a freezer. It is very delicuous and easy-to-make snack!  

Hi! Let's come back to Malta! Do you know which fast food Maltese people like to eat most of all? Of course, pastizzi! In every town and village in Malta there is a pastizzeria, a shop where locals and tourists can buy and enjoy the authentic taste and flavor of this icon of Maltese go-to street food. So, what is pastizzi? Simply, it is a savoury phyllo-pastry envelope filled by ricotta or green peas. Pastizzi are the best when they are just from the oven, fresh and hot. Locals eat them with a cup of tea when meeting and talking with neighbours in a village bar or small cafe during a day.  Pastizzi are popular at any time of the day and for any occasion. People buy them for breakfast, as a snack instead of lunch, for get-together with friends, or for family dinner. Yes, it is not the healthiest food because pastizzi have a lot of fat. BUT pastizzi are nutritious and delicious and they have become a really important part of Maltese cuisine and culture!

  Easter lunch cannot be without a lamb! Lamb is a centuries' old tradition that is deeply rooted in Mediterranean climate and Christian faith. I prefer to cook a lamb roasted in the oven to keep it soft and juicy and add potatoes as side dish.  The most important is to buy a fresh meat, not frozen. A leg suits better than a shoulder or back. And it should be room temperature before cooking to warm it faster in the oven. I would recommend to cut meat first and to put into a marinade for 20-30 minutes. Rosemarie, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil, and garlic make a great combination. Besides, I like to mix onions and potatoes with salt, pepper, oregano, and olive oil before adding them to the meat. Lamb requires high temperature to roast it in the oven - for the first hour at about 220C, and then at about 200C for the second hour. And it is important to put a half of glass of hot water inside a cooking tray to prevent meat from becoming dry. When ready, serve a lamb...

  Good day to all healthy food lovers! Today we will virtually travel to Italy.  Italy is really like a heaven for those who enjoy tasty food! Pasta, pizza, panini, cappuccino, tiramusu, gelato, and much more!  But do you know that Italians are very good in cooking rice, particularly, risotto? Italian risotto can be with cheese, seafood, shrimps, squids, asparagus... Just to name a few! I personally like mushroom risotto very much! Why? Because in Italy you can find natural, organic mushrooms grown in a forest that have amazing flavor! Do you know another secret of cooking nice risotto? Right, the rice! Not every type of rice is suitable for risotto. It is recommended to use either Arborio or Carnaroli rice and to cook it until 'al dente', not more.  And, of course, your risotto will only benefit if you add there authentic grated Parmesan cheese and Italian dry white wine. Buon appetito!

  Today let's jump from Greece to Malta! Do you know what Maltese cuisine is mostly famous for? Maltese rabbit! Many centuries ago Phoenicians brought rabbits to Malta to have a source of fresh meat in this tiny island in the Mediterranean Sea. Since then other domestic animals have been taken to Malta too: sheep, chicken, goats. But the most favorite recipes are still about various ways to cook rabbit.  What are the most popular dishes? Rabbit stew in a pan, spaghetti with rabbit sauce, rabbit roasted in the oven, fried rabbit liver. And the necessary part of all these recipes is wine! Malta has a plenty of nice and relatively cheap wines, red and white. And Maltese people love to add wine while cooking meat, including rabbit. I prefer to use red wine to marinate rabbit before to roast it in the oven. As a sauce I use cream sauce made from cream milk for cooking, grated cheese, garlic, and seasoning. The rabbit roasted in this sauce is very soft and delicious. Alternativ...

  Hi, all! Here we are with the most famous salad from Greece - Greek salad which has spread worldwide. But do you really know that... In Greek language it is called " χωριάτικη σαλάτα ", ' a salad from villages' because it was made from the organic products that grew in the countryside: olives, vegetables, feta. Centuries passed but the salad remains the same. Why? Because it is healthy and nutritious at the same time. It includes vitally important vitamins, fiber , protein, fats. Not to say that Greek salad is very easy-to-make. BUT the only requirement is the quality of its ingredients - olives, feta, oregano, and olive oil should all be organic, high-quality products, preferrably produced in Greece. Of course you can add fresh vegetables that you like. Tomatoes and cucumbers are the most popular, sometimes people put also red onions, green sweet pepper, or lettuce. Enjoy authentic food from Greece!

Hi! We are Greek-Russian family living in Malta and we have a passion for cooking healthy and delicious food. Since we had settled in Malta in 2016, we have discovered a lot of tasty and healthy homemade food recipes of Mediterranean cuisine and of the national cuisines from other countries. Because although Malta is very small island located in the middle of Mediterranean sea, next to Sicily, it is very international. Not to mention that all Mediterranean nations enjoy cooking and eating delicious food! And we will be happy to share our favourite recipes from all other the world with you in the following posts!💗