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Finally. This crazy year is coming to an end. After all of these ups and down, surprises and shocks of this year we should genuinely enjoy the last month of the year the best we can. The month of peace, joy and family. The month of comtempletiveness and cozy times. And in order to make this month really enjoyable and good for you I am bringing to you my last top 5 for the year. My food of the month, recipe of the month, product of the month, workout of the month and last but definitely not least (be excited for that!) – my inspiration of the month!

Please notice that this post is in no way sponsored or payed by anyone to advertise certain products. These just really are my favourites, my recommendations and based on my experiences with these products. I just wish to inspire you and help you make your December a bit better!

Food of the month: Chai

It was impossible to not be putting this as the food of the month! I have discovered this a few months ago and ever since then I have added it to pretty much everything I make. Porridge, pancakes, energy balls, drinks,.. chai spice everything! But what actually is chai?

Chai originally is a black tea mixed with spices that comes from India. Today you can still find it at some coffee shops as a tea but more often you’ll find a chai latte or a dirty chai latte nowadays. This chai latte basically is the same as chai just with milk instead of tea and the spices. To be honest, whenever I add chai to something I only use the spices because I truly cannot be bothered boiling the tea every time.

Chai spices consist of cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and sometimes star anis and vanilla. You can easily make this yourself as a lot of people already have all of the ingredients for this at home – or you can buy a ready to use spice mix, which you can find in a lot of supermarkets or organic stores.

This spice mix actually is super health-beneficial. Cinnamon, the main ingredient, is high in antioxidants, has been shown to reduce heart pressure and has anti-inflammatory compounds. Ginger also works anti-inflammatory and has various healthy benefits, as you probably know from ginger shots, is can, among other aspects, lower blood sugar level. Also the other spice compounds have been shown to contribute something to a healthy well-being. So all in all, it can be said, that chai spie is a very nutritious spice blend! Just make sure to not mix it with too much sugar or sweetener when preparing it.

Recipe of the Month – Ultra comforting Roasted Sweet Potato and Chicken Tikka Masala

The comfort level of this dish is unreal. It really warms you from the inside out! I mean, we all love curries and who does not like sweet potato or chicken? This recipe is truly for everyone – for those who cook for the family, for those who just like to treat themselves to a good meal, for those who want to eat healthy, for those who don’t want to compromise flavour and even for those who eat a plant based diet since there is a vegan option to it!

Ready in 30 Minutes, made from whole foods, and packed with so much flavour! Really, I could have this every week, especially during this time of the year! Dip it up with naan, or enjoy with some fluffy rice. It will warm you from the inside out.

My mom, my dad AND my brother loved it (that means a whole lot), so I bet you will love it too! Get all cozy with this in front of you favourite movie – or even better – in from of your phone, face timing your best friend or someone you genuinely miss and haven’t talked to in ages!

Product of the month: SKOG scented candle

I have actually discovered this brand (Sandinavisk) last year as I was gifted one of their candles and since then we love their candles, soaps and hand creams. This Scandinavian based company who wants to bring the Scandinavian feeling and lifestyle to your home. They have various fragrances that are all kept simple and natural. Their body products (like hand lotion, body lotion, hand wash, etc.) all all organically made. Their candles are made FSC-certified and the packaging and glas is partially recycled and died with natural die only.

What I really love about their products is the simplicity, in both the design and the fragrances and that you, unlike other scented candles, actually smell what is written on the package.

The SKOG candle, which I chose as the product of the month smells like „Pine needles and fir cones, birch sap and woodland lily of the valley“ – and tbh you actually have the feeling of walking through a wintery forest. The great thing about this candle is that it does not only smell Christmas-y (although there are Christmas fragrances on their website too) but it is a smell that also is pleasant in January or February.

If you want to get it and live in Austria, I would not recommend buying it at the website directly but at Copenhagen Hus, which is a Scandinavian lifestyle store in Vienna. Why get it there? Because this way you support local, small businesses that are having a difficult time right now – and – it is more than 20% cheaper due to shipping and the different price. So it’s a win-win!

Workout of the month: @christmas.fitness

What’s that? Christmas and fitness – two words that would usually not go in line with one another. That’s what Basti thought too! So why not make them match? Instead of spending the last month the unhealthiest and laziest of them all – use this last month of the year to end it off strong and find motivation to start the new year healthy and fit!

What is @christmas.fitness ? This is an instagram page where you will find a DIFFERENT 15 minute body-weight workout EVERYDAY from now until Christmas! And the best thing? Since it only is done with body-weight, it is suitable for everyone – young, and younger, men and women!

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As if this would not be enough – you will find a high protein, fitness recipe twice a week! One is a main meal and one is a snack! They all are easy to make, healthy, and of course – most importantly – delicious! If you want to take this December next level & make it healthy and fit, join us and accept the challenge!

Inspiration of the month: The 5AM club

Before you skip reading this, already being sure you will never get up at 5AM, know that this book made me jump out of bed at 5AM to read it. The title already says a lot: own your morning – elevate your life. A book full of inspiration, amazing quotes, insights and life-changing formulas.

I have read several books of this kind before, these „your whole life will change if you read this“ kind of books but none has inspired me so much. Just to say beforehand; no book ever has the power to change your life – the only one having this power is yourself. But anyway, no book has ever motivated and inspired me this much to take action and uplift my life.

What makes this different is that it is not all science based and backed up research with huge numbers and any words you don’t understand but that it is written in a story-telling way everyone understands and can relate to in one or another way. It is not straight „get up at 5 am and your life will become better“. It is more about explaining the HOW and WHY. It shared such valuable insights that you cannot only apply to your „victory hour“ in the morning but to your life in general. And it makes you start to think and reflect (at least it did this to me and my dad – who both have read it) about everything. That is what is golden about this book. It touches on life on the whole and not simply one thing.

I have written 105 – yes I counted – sentences, quotes and thoughts out of that book to remind myself each and every day. Maybe you’ll read this book and get up at 5am every day and maybe not. What I believe is more important is that you can apply these insights to your current life – no matter whether you are extremely happy with how it is going or you are absolutely not and want to change something – to live it in the best, most gorgeous and most magical way you could.

I hope that these 5 things will contribute something positive to your December and that they will make the end of the year a tiny bit better! I am looking forward to hearing how you like them!

Love, Katie

11/12 – we now are in November. And I truly do not know how this year passed by so quickly. Is ut just me or does anyone else feel like it went Janiuary, February, Lockdown (felt like 1 week), 2 weeks of summer, a few days of fall and now it’s almost Christmas. How? But anyway, we are in November, which means we need some new things to get excited about, and we definitely have got some! As every month, I´ll share my food of the month, my favourite recipe (soso good this time), product of the month, workout and inspiration to get us through this cold month! Enjoy, I hope this will upgrade your month a bit!

Food of the month – Pumpkin

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How could it not be? Fall = Pumpkin. October & November are THE pumpkin months. But what makes pumpkin healthy and what qualifies it as a food of the month?

What was really surprising to me is that pumpkin originated in middle and South America. It is a very ancient food, which apparently has been discovered almost 10 000 years ago. Very very old. But pumpkin is not just pumpkin. While the most common ones are Hokkaido, butternut, spaghetti and acorn squash, there actually exist more than 800 different types of pumpkin. Crazy number right? But there is something they all have in common, their nutritional value. It varies a bit from pumpkin to pumpkin but is very similar with everyone.

Pumpkin is very low in calories, with an average of 50/100g. But it is extremely high in vitamins, especially in Vitamin A. It also has a decent amount of fibre to keep you full for longer. Besides Vitamin A, they contain Vitamin C, E and Iron, which have shown to improve the immune system. This is great for the colder months ahead of us!

But what I love about them the most is that they are so versatile. And believe me, you will see this in my November recipes – just saying: Pumpkin overload. You can make them into soup, risotto, add them to pasta, bowls, oatmeal, even coffee. Bake, steam, fry them. Whatever you want, it basically is possible with it. My favourite probably is soup or adding it to pasta.

If you like pumpkin, I can promise you so much: be excited for November. We have got them with pasta, in a Middle Eastern inspired sit, sweet and another surprise. And all are healthy and so DELICIOUS.

Recipe of the month – Saucy Green Curry Noodles with Oven-Baked Crispy Sesame Tofu

I know that it might sound very complicated to make. But it is not. It is everything else than traditional (sorry Rin, Sai – my Thai friends) but it definitely is AT LEAST as delicious. Very family friendly, easy to make, pretty quick. A complete favourite of mine.

What is in this dish?

Everything we love. We have got an abundance of vegetables – whichever you like, I love to make use of the greens that are now in season such as Brussel sprouts, broccoli, spinach, kale, but any vegetable will work. Those are tossed in a creamy and spicy coconut milk and curry sauce.

To have something filling we are mixing this with noodles. Rice noodles work best here because they soak up the sauce best. But soba or udon would also work. The combination of noodles and curry really is unbeatable.

And let’s not forget about the best part of the dish. The crispy tofu. And ys, this actually is crispy, and healthy. It is not deep-fried but baked and it is crispy. With soy sauce sesame flavour, the perfect addition.

I can only tell you this much: if you like curry, you must try this! It is next level good food.

Product of the month – Everdrop

„With every product we want to make the world a little bit better“ – that is the vision of Daniel, Chris & David, the founders of everdrop.

But what is everdrop?

Everdrop is a brand that produces products for sustainable cleaning and washing. Instead of buying a plastic spray bottle to clean your glas, your bathroom or your kitchen their idea is to buy a tab that you add to a bottle with water. This way you sort of make your own cleaning products at home. You buy a bottle once and reuse this every time. When it is empty, you simply add another tab and water and you have got a new product. Simple, efficient and cheep.

It actually is cheaper than buying a regular cleaning product at the store. One tab – so one bottle – costs 1€. Cheaper than if you’d buy a whole new bottle. You can order them and they’ll come straight to your door. We have been using these products for about 3 months and are super happy with them.

Besides cleaning products for kitchen, bathroom and glass, you can also find Laundry detergents for a more sustainable washing of cloths.

What is amazing about this company is that they produce in Germany only, produce 93% less plastic and 77% less CO2. Definitely worth a try if you want to make your home more sustainable.

Workout of the month – Daily Yoga

„Yoga is just laying on the floor and stretching“. I do not know how many times I have heard this sentence. Way too many times. But really, most people who have said this have never tried Yoga.

It can be relaxing but it also can be really challenging and it will give you a good sweat. That is what I love about it! You can choose your level of difficulty. I have been practicing Yoga for a few years now but never really regularly because I did not always want to go to a studio and have never really found something that I loved 100%. Until a friend of mine recommended me this app.

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Daily yoga is an app you simply download on your smartphone or tablet and you have hundreds of Yoga courses. There are a bunch of free ones to try out (they are great) and if you like them you can subscribe to a membership for more courses (although I think the free one is really great – I also am using the free courses only at the moment). There is not only the „normal“ yoga on there but also guided meditation, yoga for sweat, yoga for abs, or yoga for flexibility. Something for everyone.

Inspiration of the month – @dariadaria

Madeleine Darya Alizadeh mostly known as Dariadaria on Instagram. I have found her profile through a radio interview two years ago and follow her journey ever since then. Madeleine is one of Austrias most successful activist, podcaster and blogger.

She started her blog in 2010, which focused on fashion. She then got interested in the climate change and shifted her focus to raise awareness about sustainability. She also founded a sustainable and inclusive (beautiful!) fashion label called Dariadéh.

Why did I chose her as the inspiration of the month?

Because she really is an inspiring human from day to day. If you follow her on instagram you know what I mean. She fights for rights, equality, in general for a better world. And her stories are such a positive contribution to each day. No matter whether it is her sweating and dying at a workout or just fun things that happen on a daily basis.

Besides, she also shares a lot of sustainable brands, especially fashion brands, as she also has her own one. Madeleine has also written a book called „Starkes, weiches Herz“ in which she addresses lots of small question regarding life. A really inspiring book and also a very motivating one. I have almost finished it in one read. Just an enrichment every day. I can really recommend following her.

All of these foods, workouts, inspiration and products are things I genuinely enjoy and consume on a daily basis. I really hope that these will make your November a bit better. If you do try out any of this I would love to hear how you like them!

Have a beautiful November,

Katie // Une Petite Cusiniere

Everything is slowly coming to get back into a routine and our daily lives with work, uni and school are starting again after a summer break. With the start of a new routine and a start of fall, I decided to start something new too. A series on my blog, where I´ll introduce you to my 5 favourite things every month. I hope to inspire you a little bit with this and make you life a tiny bit easier! I would also love to hear, what your top 5 things are, so feel free to leave a comment at this post!

Food of the month – Beetroot

The beetroot is part of the beets family (who would have guessed?!). It is a food that has already been eaten for many many years. It is believed that it has originated in the Middle East but also been eaten by the Romans, the Egyptians, and ancient greeks. Today they can be found in almost every part of the world, in foods but also in food and other natural colouring.

The part of the beet that usually is eaten is the root, although you can eat the greens as well. Usually they are steamed, boiled or roasted but it also is possible to have them in their raw form (not sure if this is quite delicious though). You can purchase fresh beets at pretty much any market from August to January or you can find them precooked and repacked in most supermarkets.

Beetroots actually are a super healthy root vegetable. They are very low in calories (with about 43kcal /100grams), since they are made up of 88% water. The rest is carbohydrates and protein. They also come with a decent amount (3.8g/100g) of fibre. Besides this they are high Vitamin B6 and C, Manganese, Iron and Potassium. These are important for cell function, immune system, reducing blood sugar levels and the transport of oxygen in the blood cells.

So, it is a true superfood actually. Plus, what also is great about it is that it can be grown regionally and that it has a very long season, so almost half a year! I truly believe that it is very underrated. Beetroot is delicious and so versatile. I already have some super delicious beetroot recipes on my blog, like the Beetroot Pasta Bake with Goats Cheese or the Seed Coated Beetroot Balls! And don’t worry, there are a few more to come. Don’t want to spoiler, but I´ll give you a little hint; hummus, falafel,…!

I can only recommend incorporating more beetroot into your diet because it is super delicious, and extremely healthy!

Product/ Brand of the month – Pastafani Organic Basil Pesto

I know I know, I have told you of this a few times already. However, I cannot stress enough HOW good this is! Since summer is coming to an end, and the fresh basil is disappearing to make your own homemade pesto, packed pesto is a life saver.

Organic pesto made from Austrian ingredients only! That really exists. And believe me, I would not tell you that it is good, if it wasn’t! It is at least as delicious as the freshly made pesto in Italy. You can already tell by it’s colour that it’s got to be delicious. The darker the better.

And I have got a BONUS for you: you can even get 10% off your order when you order it with the discount code UNEPETITE10 ! Guys, I can tell you, it is worth the 5 euros spent. More than worth!

If you need some pesto recipe inspiration you can make the Incredibly easy Strawberry and Pesto Couscous with Crumbled Feta (just use figs instead of strawberries since they are in season), or the Ultra Green Pesto Salad with Burrata.

Recipe of the month – French Toast with whipped Ricotta and Figs

This recipe is from last year but believe me, it is incredibly delicious! Softly soaked bread that’s crispy on the outside, creamy, honey dreamy whipped ricotta cheese, that is so smooth and delicious and the fresh figs on top. Sunday morning heaven.

No matter if you make that for brunch when your friends are over or as a breakfast for dinner, it is incredibly delicious any way! Plus, you can make use of the juicy and sweet figs that currently are in season!! Just heaven!

See the recipe here!

Workout of the month – 15 minute Sixpack by Pamela Reif

Since I love working out and we all know that being active is an essential part of staying healthy, I though I needed to include a workout into these top 5 as well!

I think since quarantine started, we have all gotten to know Pamela. And to be fair, her workouts are really good. While she definitely has something for everyone, from total beginner who works out for the first time – to extremely hard ones, I currently love her 15 minute Sixpack workout!

It is not something where you do lots of mountain climbers and jump around but one, which is rather focused on slower movements. This is great because you can really feel how you are using your abs and you also really do feel it after.

It is great if you want a slower workout focused on your abs. And a little tip: do it at the beginning of the workout because it is a killer at the end!

Inspiration of the month – The Happiness Advantage

For this last part of my September top 5 series I want to introduce something to you that has changed my life a little bit and influenced it positively. This can be a book, a person, a documentary, or anything else. But for this month, it is a book.

I have actually stumbled across this book accidentally when I was studying about happiness. I found it sounded interesting and that’s why I ordered it. I was so keen to learn about what Shawn Actor had to tell, so I immediately started reading it. And believe me, it is not a book that you will put away and don’t continue reading for a while but it’s a book that will make you forget about dinner (and that means something, coming said from a food blogger who wouldd never forget about dinner).

The author basically makes the claim that contrary to what is generally believed, that you need to be successful to be happy, the reality is the other way around. You need to be happy to be successful! In his book he describes 7 simple principles that will help anyone be happier and therefore also more successful. It is scientifically proven with studies he conducted.

I need to say, that this is something extremely interesting and fascinating to read. It basically makes one realise that you already have everything you need to be happy so it really is down to you to make use of these 7 tips to turn your life around. I can definitely highly recommend this book to anyone, and especially to those who are struggling to be happy or successful at the moment!

These are my 5 favourite things in September, things that make the month a bit better, brighter, and easier. I hope you enjoyed these five things and I would love to hear if you like this new kind of series in the comments!

I am wishing you all some beautiful last weeks of late summer and enjoy the first leaves turning brown!

Love, Katie // Une Petite Cusinière