When it's scalding hot outside, eating fresh foods in the summer heat really gets you by. Not only does it freshen you down but it also keeps you active and your energy levels up whilst also keeping you hydrated from all the water we would have lost through sweat. I'm not one who usually can endure the heat but when I eat light, healthy and fresh ingredients I feel all the way better and it boosts my mood completely. 

I love nourish bowls which could also be considered as Buddha bowls. These super bowls are basically a bunch of nutrient dense foods put together to make up a tasty lunch or dinner. There isn't a specific way to make them - honestly the ingredients you choose are limitless. I kind of went with what I had left in my fridge and threw everything together from there, I did have artichoke hearts in the freezer which I knew would work fantastically for this recipe and my judgement call was spot on. 

Kalamata olives are one of my favourite things of all time. In general I'm an olive person I know it's a love or hate food but put olives on anything and I'll be content. In this case the black olives compliment the artichokes and tomatoes so nicely, to give it that Mediterranean touch which it's all about. I do recommend if you have any on hand or are considering to make a nourish bowl of your choice to include some olives - you won't be disappointed. This has just inspired me to make one of my all time favourite french dips : tapenade. so stay tuned for that!

HERE IS HOW TO MAKE YOUR NOURISH BOWL:

GRAIN: It's ideal to always have a base in this case referring to a form of grain. Start by adding some rice, quinoa, Bulgar wheat or any grain of your choice to make this meal more substantial and balanced. 

FAT: We should always incorporate fat in every meal. Here I have added 1/2 an avocado to this dish. The black olives are also considered a fat. 

VEGGIES: Fill up with as many vegetables as you want. Vegetables are so low in calories you can eat in abundance until you feel satisfied, eat the rainbow so they say add as many colour variations as you like to get in various forms of micro-nutrients. Try to stick to vegetables which are in season to guarantee it's fresh and organic as possible. 

PROTEIN: In this case the quinoa works for both  my carbs and my protein. Usually I would have added an extra boost of protein which could vary from anything such as beans, lentils, tofu, chicken, beef, tuna.. whatever is on your mind and you think will mesh well with the other ingredients.

SAUCE: This goes down to the finishing touches which will make your nourish bowls almost come to life. Having that added flavour always compliments a dish. I decided to just squeeze half a lime on mine just to keep it as minimal as possible but there have been other days where I added hot sauce for an extra kick. A tahini dressing could work so nicely also. Again experiment with what you like and just go with it!

I'll tell you one of the struggles of having moved out - I miss my kitchen. The lighting somehow was perfect, my counter boards were a lighter colour so everything meshed well together to aid in making my food photographs look good.  Just a heads up that until I find my own place which I dream will have a great kitchen (which might/can take a few months) in the mean time: both you and I will have to make do with the photo presentation and I will try my best to make them visually appealing despite of the lack of lighting in my current kitchen. As long, as you can still get the gist of the recipe I hope you enjoy what I present to you nonetheless.

It's been super duper hot here in Malta - I'm starting to recollect why I left this country in the first place. Every time I used to mention I'm from Malta I got so many different faces from foreigners saying I was crazy to have moved to grey, cold and rainy London,  which even I sometimes found it hard to answer at times as with time I got to gain an appreciation for my Mediterranean rock but somehow, it suddenly all came back why I decided to leave. THIS HEAT IS TOO MUCH FOR ME TO HANDLE. Sorry I had to get it out. The only plus side to summer and heat waves; is fresh and delicious food that you can make and that becomes so refreshing and revitalising after a long day.

I have been onto zoodles lately, if you follow me on Instagram and check out my stories you'd see that I have made them on multiple occasions exploring with various sauces this past week. This particular dish I made is naturally vegetarian and could easily become vegan if you just opt out of the Parmesan which I added just for an extra touch. This dish gave me the right kind of energy and is surprising how for no carbs they are equally as filling as a normal plate of pasta, minus the bloat and that feeling of being lethargic right after which turns into a big plus!  

I kind of made my own tomato sauce -  the thought of fresh tomatoes, I couldn't miss out on that opportunity. If you prefer you could add a bit of marinara sauce, which originally was going to be my plan but if you can opt for fresh - fresh always wins. 

Zoodles are honestly amazing, it's only now that I suddenly joined the hype - what can I say I never follow a crowd. I was literally craving some good pasta sauce but at the same time didn't feel like a heavy plate as it's so hot outside yet, I didn't want to just pour my sauce all over my salad which is what I sometimes do. This time I wanted to feel like I was tucking into something 'heartier'. I got out my spiraliser which was still in one of my many boxes that came down from the UK and which was still in its original packaging as I had barely used it, (perhaps once or twice prior to this week) and this is where the magic started. I sharpened my  zucchini  and saw it turn to spaghetti like shapes which I can tell you works well not only as a stress reliever but also giving your arms a small workout. 

TIP: Something I've learnt as you get towards the end with a sharpener spiralizer its a bit hard to keep twisting the bottom - poke a fork through your marrow and keep twisting the fork whilst having a better grip to sharpen - it makes the whole process so much easier and makes you waste less! 

Alternatively, most supermarkets provide zoodles, cauli rice etc ready made for you - so it makes the process even quicker than the original recipe. However, keep in mind its probably much more costly and will have to be consumed fast so somehow the fact it takes no effort to prepare it cost you more to make them fresh and make sure all the micro nutrients stay intact. However, I have bought store bought in the past and when you have zero energy I can vow for myself that even preparing a sauce seems like work (don't worry we all get those days) lets just say this beats binging on a takeout and is still looking after your waistline by eating low carb so either way works. 

INGREDIENTS

Serves two or one heaped plate

- x2 zucchini

- x4 medium tomatoes

- x1 bunch of parsley

- x3 cloves of garlic

-x1 tbsp of olive oil

-x5 mushrooms

-x20g of Shredded Parmesan
(Do NOT add if keeping it vegan)

- x1 tsp of soy sauce
(or Tamari  sauce for a gluten free option)

-x1 tsp of tomato paste 

HOW TO:

Start off by adding some garlic with olive oil and bringing it to a heat before adding your mushrooms. Let the mushrooms brown slightly and then start by adding the tomatoes. 

Once the mushrooms have softened, add the parsley and season with salt and pepper for taste. 

Add a tsp of tomato paste to help bring out the tomato sauce, and also to add a little bit more texture. let it all simmer together for the ingredients to come together. 

Add an extra clove of fresh garlic on the top. I am loving fresh garlic lately and it's good for the immune system and giving that extra boost.  

The final touch for your tomato sauce and which would be more of an unexpected one is adding a dash of soy sauce, this helps the sauce come together, this somehow brings out more the taste of the tomatoes. If you couldn't tolerate too much of the tomato acidity you could add also a dash of sugar to sweeten it slightly but quite frankly I don't always. 

If you plan to keep this dish vegan then skip out this step altogether. I added some parmesan to add a little more flavour but you can add some yeast flakes OR some vegan cheese to give off that extra bit of a taste. You could also leave it as is, you can't go wrong with a fresh marinara sauce, garlic and parsley with a drizzle of olive oil. YUM.

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You can add extra parsley on top to varnish, as well as salt and pepper. At this point, meat eaters can add an extra portion of protein with or on the side. If not, you can just eat as is like I did in the below picture. Dig in and Enjoy I guarantee you'll feel full, satisfied and light considering the plate you would have just devoured. 

Hello Stranger.. Or perhaps I have been the stranger in this equation. I never thought that after starting this blog, I would have taken more than a month break of not writing - as I just love doing it in my free time ; or more multi tasking as free time has been limited these last few months. However, 2017 has definitely printed it's mark already. If you have been following my blog - you would have read that since the start of this year I had a bit of a rough start - by the time I got to find my feet, I had to go through other several changes recently such as mourning a loss, leaving a whole life/country behind and starting from scratch. With that it entailed me quitting my job and having to say bye to a few people who have become like family these last few months so it wasn't easy to pack up six-years in a nutshell and pretend that life can just go on with no bruises along the way. Let's just say every time I got back up I got knocked the hell down twice over. Nonetheless, I am here now, might have taken me a bit longer to get here but it's important to listen to yourself and go at your own pace in anything that you do. This blog was a small project or diary if you'd like to call it that which I started for myself, and as much as I am writing in an open space - I wanted to keep it personal to myself and write my blog post with pure honesty and for this it's better to have quality rather than quantity - although I do apologise for my absence,  I can assure you that even I have felt it!

Whats the next step? At this point, who knows. Now that I have left my London life behind it's pretty much all about starting a new journey, which can be quite intense and daunting if I had to be completely honest, although at the same time can be quite exciting. I mean how often do we just get to start afresh? Ok granted, this is my home town - but having family here is just an added bonus. Although, finding an apartment is definitely a priority on my list - I need my own place... (I love you mom) I'm sure the feeling is mutual - after living alone it's hard to go back to living under someone else's roof. Although, being in my old room right now brings back such nostalgic memories and makes me feel like a kid all over again which I am not going to complain about but let's be honest; there's a limit of how long I can live like that. I need to snap back into adult life soon, at this point I'm just taking an adult holiday for a short while until I get things sorted and whilst I still have the opportunity to do so. Don't mind if I do.

A main key point and an important asset to have when starting over is organisation.  Here are a few of my tips to starting a new life and what we perhaps should do for an easier transition. Perhaps they may vary for you, or might be similar - at this point you can just take in and see what you might be able to gather from the below and my experiences.  

1) STRUCTURE PLAN YOUR FUTURE

First off, having an idea of which way you want your life to go is super important. Even if it's not precise, write down a few pointers as to what you would like to achieve and which direction more or less you want to take. It's true like myself, we might be at the stage where you have no idea what you are doing or in which route your life is heading towards but with a small vision and plan this can help in not feeling totally stressed and having a small inclination as to what to look forward to and work on - even if in time the plan changes along the way which 80% of it might change.  At least, like this it can help to look at things from a different perspective and evaluate.

2) MEET NEW PEOPLE 

This isn't particularly an easy one no matter how sociable you may be as a person. Meeting new people is very important on what you engage in and perhaps the best way will usually be once you start a new job. In my case, being back home I have several childhood friends which I am looking forward to have the opportunity to rekindle with again. However, I am open to meeting people and building new friendships, taking on a new step.

3) HAVE AN OPEN MIND 

Things will naturally be different, the way of doing things, places to go, certain habits. Especially changing country all together you have to take into consideration the different culture. Learn how to adapt to your surroundings and embrace change for every good and bad you had in your old life, try find the good and bad in your current situation - it's there you might have to dig to figure out what these things are. Accept that things will be different - different is good. You like it, take it in - you don't drop it, move on to something else.

4) TRY NEW THINGS 

Starting fresh, can be strenuous and God knows it is. Speaking first hand from my experience, try to incorporate a positive attitude towards the change despite of the mixed feelings you might be having, try look forward to what's to come. Starting over is the equivalent of doing new things - taking up activities you've always wanted to do or never had the time or courage to do so. Go for it, do new things. In my case I've been wanting to start boxing lessons - Something I've always thought about doing but never got around to doing. Maybe it's time.

5) MAKE A TO - DO - LIST 

Blah blah, here we go another to do list. haha - I have my whole life written in a list almost. The good old to-do-lists we swear by them or at them. I am definitely the former. Having so much on your mind when moving, can be very overwhelming. I had and still have a lot of errands to run following my return, from bank appointments to sorting out a new phone contract , to other important meetings. A to-do-list definitely keeps things at bay, it also helps you rank the importance of what you have to get done and how urgent it might be as well as helps to NOT forget, which without writing down sometimes is very plausible and might cost you something important or charge you a great deal if you forget to cancel certain old subscriptions. I've been there in the past - not going to let it happen to me this time.

6) UNDERGO A NEW LOOK 

Hmm... I'm still considering this one myself.  Sometimes when you're starting over why not go ALL the way and change your look in the process to match your new lifestyle.  I have been one to always play with my style / looks. Before leaving to London I remember cutting my locks from long hair straight into a pixie hairstyle and god knows I loved it but over the years I've alternated back and forth - I'm at the stage where my hair is now mid-length and questioning what is next on the agenda. Perhaps now that I'm tanned and back to a Mediterranean lifestyle I might return to blonde, love the glow it gives me especially in the summer time. Getting in better shape is also a major plan on the list. New life - New you.  

7) LOOK FORWARD 

Accept change. Most times, we start from fresh to leave something behind, perhaps it's a form of escape, sometimes we have no other choice to start from scratch. Whatever the case, at this point it's time to leave the past behind and it's good to just look forward and take on the next chapter. Focus on the present moment and look forward always not backwards. Remember, the decision you took to start fresh was for a reason. 

8) NOTHING IS SET IN STONE

Decisions that we make can always be undone - for the most part. In this scenario, if you decide to leave home or turn your life around in a complete 360 - there is always returning back if worst comes to worst. When I left to London - I always knew I could return home if I wanted to, with this in mind it enabled me to have fun and live in the moment knowing that I am in control of any situation - now that I have made the decision to return home even at this point, it doesn't mean this decision is definite. You never know which direction your life will take you or what opportunity might come along. Either way you can always amend your plans down the line. so Just focus on the experience and not fear of the big leap of faith that you decided to take, because you are in control of your own life and what you chose to do. 

9) BE INDEPENDENT

It's important that taking this step we often find ourselves alone. Trust yourself - and your intuition always do what you think is best for yourself,  just trust that you can do anything you put your mind to do. Try learn how to be with yourself and to please yourself without having to depend on anyone - it will make you stronger and feel more empowered that you can do this, whatever journey you decide to commence. 

10) HAVE FUN 

I have just done six years in London - SIX. what? Where has all that time gone? I still remember the day I embarked on this journey - it feels just under a year ago... I can't believe so much time has passed  - I guess I am starting to feel the absence that I have left at home since being back. It's important to make the most of each day, because  life is passing at a speed for all of us and before you know it we always move on to another chapter in our life with or without our consent. So no matter on the situation you are currently dealing with, be it good or bad it's always good to appreciate the life we living at the moment, as before we know it we always end up missing the good old days and wish to go back in time. Have fun - make new memories that you can always look back on - your future self will thank you for this one.