Stuffed bell peppers with shrimp and mango salsa

This dish is so easy to make, with minimum cooking. The flavor palette is beautiful, sweet, savory with a spicy kick. It's everything I look for in the perfect, refreshing spring dish. I love playing with colors and this time I really enjoyed the ensemble. I made plenty of salsa, that would have been enough to fill 6 big bell peppers, but I decided to have some of it to the side.

Ingredients:
- 4 big bell peppers (you can stuff up to 6 peppers with this recipe though)
- 500g small shrimp
- 2 fresh mangoes
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 fresh chilli peppers
- handful of cheese (optional)
- handful of fresh parsley (steinselja)
- 5ml pure lemon juice
- black pepper

-------------

Virkilega skemmtilegur og góður réttur sem ég hugsa að væri gaman að bera fram í matarboði, sérstaklega í sumar! Hann er léttur og ferskur með smá chilli pipar sem mér fannst alls ekki yfirgnæfa ferska bragðið. Það var virkilega gaman að setja saman þennan rétt því margir fallegir litir og fersk hráefni komu til sögu, auk þess sem það er fljótlegt að bera hann fram :) Þetta mangó- og rækju salsa má einnig bera fram sem meðlæti, í tacos/vefjur, eða útbúa úr þessu dýrindis salat.

Start with cutting up all the fresh ingredients 

Clean out the insides of the bell peppers. Make sure you choose sturdy ones that can stand 

Lightly heat up shrimp on a pan, then blend with the fresh ingredients along with a tsp of black pepper and lemon juice

Stuff the peppers :) 

I added a little bit of cheese on top, this is optional. The peppers are baked in an oven at 180°C/350°F for about 20-30min 

Tasted great with quinoa and fresh water :)

- Amanda <3 

Red lentil and butternut squash soup

Mm yet another warm and cozy soup. I've already posted a recipe for a carrot- and sweet potato soup. 

The butternut squash has some similar properties to a sweet potato, it's so sweet, filling and full of aroma when cooked. Lovely :)

Now, if you have a small food processor, you will need to do this in two batches. I had to do that and yes, it got soo messy. But it's absolutely worth it :) The soup is completely vegan if you skip the greek yogurt on top

you need:

- One butternut squash
- 500g red lentils
- one big red onion
- one red bell pepper
- vegetable broth and seasoning (nota frá himnesk)
- Avocado and greek yogurt for garnish and extra creaminess (optional)

-----------

Virkilega ljúf og góð súpa :) Ég elska að hafa þær aðeins þykkar þannig ég mauka hráefnin ekki um of. Ég nota gríska jógúrt gjarnan í staðin fyrir sýrðan rjóma en henni er hægt að sleppa og er þá súpan alveg vegan. Avókadóið er yndislegt með súpunni og gefur extra mýkt :)

Cut up the squash in half and bake in an oven at 180°C/350°F for 30-40min or until soft (stab with a fork). 

Boil the red lentils for 15-20minutes

Scoop out the squash from the shell when it's baked

While the squash and beans are getting ready, heat up red bell pepper and red onion on a pan in coconut oil. Once everything is ready, add to a food processor with a tablespoon of vegetable broth and extra seasoning if you like (I used black pepper and ginger). Process until smooth :) add water as needed (I used about 2 cups but I like it thick). Add everything to a big pot and bring to boil. Let it zimmer for 10 minutes. 

Soup is ready! I was about to leave for work so I just added it to a tupperware to go :) Add slices of avocado for extra creaminess. Greek yogurt is optional instead of sour cream. This tasted so good and filling. The soup was even better the next day, yum! 

Feel free to follow me on my instagram or facebook page :)

- Amanda <3 

Instagram 2

A few photos from my instagram, @amandasophy :) Sorry for the lack of variety, this pretty much sums up my last days. Study, train, eat, sleep :)

1. One of my pole selfies   2. Veggies and beans are a cheap and healthy stable <3 

3. Going to a school gala   4. Standing brass monkey :)

5. Obsessed with cottage cheese and fruit!  6. Between workouts

7. New in, pretty and blue  8. Denim and unicorns <3 

- Amanda <3 

Peachy

I got these light peachy jeans last autumn and instantly fell in love with the color. I've always been a fan of pastels, especially peachy, minty and baby blue. I'm used to wearing the jeans in a pretty laid back combination but wanted to dress them up a bit. These heels are from Zara and absolutely stunning, I've noticed that I'm starting to eye out sandals in the stores much more than before..

Shirt: Zara  Jeans: Lindex  Shoes: Zara

Unfortunately, my feet were a bit wounded when this photo shoot happened, jiu jitsu girls can relate ;) 

One of my favorite watches :) Got it as a gift a few years ago, it's a beautiful D&G watch 

- Amanda <3 

Luxurious cauliflower crust pizza!

I often crave carb loaded foods, rather than sweetness. I also love pizza, absolutely one of my favorite cheat meals and carb craves, when done right. But even though I have cheat days, I like to make conscious decisions. Do I really want normal pizza with that gluten rich crust that's just lathering in oil? Topped with pizza sauce that's high in sugar and unnecessary ingredients? 

I decided it was time to bake my own pizza and make better choices with it :) I know cauliflower crust can sound complicated but with these simple steps, you'll be enjoying flavorful, gluten free and lovely pizza without the extra fuzz. 

You need: 

- 1 cauliflower head

- 1/2 cup (1dl) grated mozarella cheese

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 tsp dried Basil

- 1/2 tsp oregano

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder 

- 1 egg

- Pizza sauce, I simply used pure pureed tomatoes 

- Toppings of choice (I used spinach, black olives, red bell pepper and extra cheese)

----------------

Hæ elskurnar :) Það er búið að vera rosalega mikið að gera í skólanum en hér kemur ný færsla með dýrindis pizzu úr blómkálsbotni. Ég er mjög hrifin af pizzu og öðru fæði sem inniheldur hátt hlutfall kolvetna og vel það yfirleitt framyfir sætindi á betri dögunum. Um dagin langaði mig einmitt rosalega í pizzu en fór aðeins að spá í innihaldinu. Pizzakassinn eftir tilbúnar pizzur er alltaf löðrandi í olíu, svo og skorpan og botninn sjálfur, auk þess sem pizzasósan inniheldur heldur mikinn sykur og önnur óþarfa innihaldsefni. 

Mig langaði að baka mína eigin en helst sleppa hveitinu. Ég hef áður tilraunast með kúrbíts pizzu sem mér fannst ekki haldast alveg nógu vel, né líkjast pizzadeigi. Þetta er hinsvegar alveg málið! Pizzan varð yndisleg, botninn var stökkur en mjúkur, svona eins og pizzur eiga að vera. Ég mótaði botninn soldið þykkan, til að líkja eftir pönnu pizzum, en ykkur er velkomið að hafa þær þunnbotna :) Fylgið þessum einföldu skrefum að þessari yndis böku :)

------------

Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F. Cut the florets of a small head of cauliflower. 

Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor to make cauliflower "rice" 

Heat in the microwave for 4 minutes in a microwave safe bowl

Add the cauliflower rice to a clean cloth/towel and let it cool for a few minutes. Then squeeze the cauliflower in the towel to get out as much excessive liquid as possible. This is the most important step as wet cauliflower won't stick well together

Add the cheese, spice and egg and mix well 

Spread a little oil on a baking sheet and form your pizza on it. Bake the crust for about 10 minutes or until the crust is golden

The crust is ready! :)

I used pure pureed tomatoes (hægt að fá m.a. frá Sollu eða mauka sjálf) instead of pizza sauce, and added my toppings of choice. Don't worry about the sauce getting bland, the crust adds enough flavor :) Bake for another 5-7 minutes

Let it cool for a few minutes before cutting it :)

I was so so so excited. It held perfectly together and it smelled and tasted so good. The texture was just like any pizza I would normally have and the taste was even better.

Highly recommend trying out this deliciousness :)

- Amanda <3 

Flower power

Might sound a bit cliché but I found this title to be the most descriptive one. I've had these floral jeans for a long time and they always remind me of summer. Wearing bold patterns like this can be challenging though, but you can't go wrong with basics. I paired the jeans with a white sweater since it's still pretty chilly outside, it happens to be warmer than it looks like, and very cozy :)
I do however see myself pairing the jeans with a white tee and sneakers this summer for a more relaxed look. I really liked this outfit though, it brought up the happy hippie in me and I can totally see myself strolling like this downtown with ice cream. Ah, summer, come soon, please.

Enjoy your weekend :) I'm going to study, work out and have a cozy time

- Amanda <3 

Strawberry chickpea muffins

Can you believe this pretty little muffin is made of chickpeas? Neither did my friends. These are sweet, moist and flavorful. You most certainly do not taste any chickpeas, just sweetness of the strawberries and white chocolate. YUM!

You need:

- 240g/ 1 14 oz,  cooked chickpeas 

- 3 eggs 

- 3 tablespoons honey

- around 8 strawberries (small box)

- 50g white chocolate

- 1 banana

- 1 tsp baking powder (notaði vínsteinslyftiduft)

- zest from one lemon

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp salt

Add everything to a blender/food processor except for strawberries and white chocolate. 

 Then add the strawberries and chocolate to the batter. Simple as that! Bake at 175°C/350°F for 25mins. I recommend using silicone forms since the batter is a bit runny and sticky. 

My cute girls :) We ate the whole batch up! 

------------------

Þessar voru svo mjúkar og sætar :) Jarðaber og hvítt súkkulaði klikkar ekki. Kjúklingabaunirnar koma í stað hveitis og þó það hljómi furðulega passa þær stórvel í baksturinn. Það finnst ekki bragð af þeim og kökurnar verða mýkri fyrir vikið. Elsku vinkonur mínar mættu í kaffi til mín og datt þeim alls ekki í hug að þær væru að borða kjúklingabaunir :)

Mæli með þessu elskurnar, sérstaklega tilvalið að skella í bakstur í leiðinlega veðrinu!

- Amanda <3