Monday 29 December 2014

Recipes : Greek tzatziki

Hey there again :) 

We need to spread further the greek spirit and tradition so today i made greek tzatziki ( it's not usually served on New Year's Eve or something ) but i like it a lot and felt great to make it in Norway :)



It's super simple and fast to make and the taste will make you crazy huhuhuhuhu

Enough said. Let's get started.

You will need :

  • 1 large cucumber
  • 1\2 kg greek yogurt
  • 1 big spoon of salt ( or more )
  • 4-5 pieces of garlic
  • 1 spoon of vinegar
  • olive oil ( i used 1/2 cup or less - depending on how thick the yogurt is)

Process 

  • Peel out every piece of garlic , and cut each one in two pieces so you can remove the central part of it ( if you don't then you will smell like garlic forever ahahahahahah )

  • Use a proper thing to smash them and then use a small hand mixer to make a mixture of the smashed garlic and salt.

  • Then take the cucumber , wash it but DON'T PEEL IT OUT . Cut of the two ends and also cut it in the middle . Then cut each one of those pieces in the middle too so you will have four pieces .

  • Using a spoon , remove all the central part of cucumber ( seeds and soft flesh of it ) of all the pieces ( we do it because we don't want all this water in our tzatziki .

  • Right after chop the cucumber in smaller pieces and put it in a blender. Don't chop it for more than a minute otherwise it will be like cream and we don't want it . We need the format to be just tiny pieces.


  • Take a big bowl , add 500 gr of greek yogurt and pour in the cucumber . Use a spoon to stir it . When the mixture is smooth enough , add the rest ingredients ( oil , vinegar , salt and garlic ) , stir it enough and BOOOOM ! It's ready .

You can use it as a sause for your meat or salad , or even eat it with crackers or bread. It's the ultimate greek taste and we love it <3



Bon appetite :) 
 

Recipes : Traditional greek candies for Winter Holidays : MELOMAKARONA

Hey there :)






Christmas just passed and we are really close to the Year's change so here is a recipe of my favorite candy that we make during X-mas and New Year's Eve holidays in Greece :)

It's not that hard to make them and if you like honey you're gonna loooooooooooove them :)



Are you ready? Here we go :)

You will need (norwegian translation in brackets ) :



FOR THE COOKIES

  • 2 cups of olive oil (oliveolje )
  • 100 mL water ( vann )
  • 4 cups of flour ( mel ) ( i actually added at least two more in the end but you will see how it will turn out )
  • 4 big spoons of semolina ( semulegryn )
  • 1 big cup of sugar ( sukker ) - I also used a little bit more since i used more flour 
  • 2 spoons of baking powder
  • Peel by two oranges ( appelsinskall )
  • 2 big glasses of fresh orange juice ( appelsin juice )
  • 4 small spoons of cinnamon ( kanel ) - you can use more if you want to
  • 1 small spoon of carnation -powder format- ( nellik )
  • 3 small spoons of nutmeg ( muskat )
  • 1 big glass of smashed nuts
  • 1 tiny glass ( 30 mL is enough ) of koniak ( konjiak )
FOR THE SYROP :

  • 2 glasses of water ( vann )
  • 2 glasses of sugar ( sukker )
  • 1 glass of glycose ( glykose )
  • 2 big spoons of honey ( honning )
  • 1 cinnamon stick ( kanel stick )
  • 1/2 orange ( appelsin )
ALSO FOR THE DECORATION :

  • At least 500gr honey ( honning )
  • Enough of the nuts you smashed earlier

HOW TO DO IT :

  1. At first we are making the syrop . Start by boiling 1/2 glass of water with the glycose until they mix up completely . Then add the rest ingredients for the syrop ( rest of the water.sugar.honey,cinnamon stick and orange ) and let it boil for 8 minutes. Then you have to leave it somewhere to cool down because it needs to be cold when you will use it .

  2. Then it's time for the dough . In a bowl we stir the olive oil with a hand mixer for 10 minutes ( olive oil needs this process so it can be lighter and easier to use since is too heavy on its own )




  3. After 10 minutes of stirring we add the following ingredients : sugar , water , orangejuice and peels , koniak and all th spices .



  4. In another BIG bowl we mix the flour , semolina and baking powder so they mix up all together.


  5. We are making a big hole in the center of the flour mixture and we are adding all the liquid ingredients from the previous bowl . We are stirring everything using our hands and we add 1\3 of the smashed nuts inside making sure it will go everywhere through the dough.




  6. The dough is ready to make the cookies . If it's too liquid ( mine was way too much - add as much flour as you need so the dough will be easy to work with and make the cookies ) 

    This could be me , for sure ahahahha


  7. Pre-heat the oven at 200 degrees.


  8. Place some baking paper on large oven dishes and put your cookies on them ( leave some space in between because my cookies got insta big ) . TIP !! Make some holes with a fork so your cookies will be perfectly baked and will absorb better the syrop later ;) 



  9. Bake the cookies for 20-25 minutes .





  10. When you take them out of the oven , when they are still too hot sink each one in the cold syrop for a second and let them stay back on the baking paper for a couple of minutes.

    Couldn't stop laughing with those accidentally made faces huhuhhuhuh



  11. At last , place them in a big plate , throw really much honey on each one , also pour cinnamon ( powder format ) and smashed nuts and voila ^_^ 

Enjoy :3




That's it :) I really love this recipe and hope you will like it too ! If you do , don't hesitate to share the recipe and your results with your friends :3 For any question or suggestion feel free to contact me :) Have great holidays everybody !!! 



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Monday 1 December 2014

1st DECEMBER : INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR AIDS

Hey there !

Today it's 1st December . The first month of the Winter ( my super favourite season of the year ) is finally here  Besides all these decorations , shiny lights , cosy mood , celebrations there are people between us who fight with really serious problems and need our support. 


Today is also International Day for AIDS .


 Over 40M live with it , SHOW YOUR SUPPORT TO THEM and give a promise to them , to yourself , to the world , you will do your best on STOP SPREADING AIDS. Get informed , protect and examine yourself. Respect .






Wishing a pleasant December to all of you and never ever give up fighting for your dreams and goal . Some people don't have this luxury so feel blessed for being able to breathe and being healthy and seize the day !



Thursday 6 November 2014

Trust

Hey there :)

(Originally posted 6th November 2014 - Reviewed/Updated again 6th November 2017)
What a good thing to come back and strengthen the vibe you want to pass with all the acquired knowledge you gained through experiences during these yearsYou can spot the updated parts in green highlight!)


The original text started like this:

November 2014 is here so far :O ! Autumn is gradually giving its place to winter day after day. The cold, the wind, the extended darkness form the perfect scenery for relaxing nights indoors , holding a warm cup of tea and .... ? And what else ? Do you spend your time watching movies/reading books/sharing moments with beloved people? In my case , these nights usually include hot drinks , cuddling my cat and .. overthinking.

  Just thinking is okay but constant overthinking is a problem. It's a problem because it consumes more time than it should , it absorbs way more energy and doesn't let you enjoy those simple every-day things that brighten up your day when you just accept them as facts and not as covered enemies . 


I could analyze the process forever , as well as the effects and causes of overthinking but this is not the point I want to pass here. I will just focus on a specific reason that gave overthinking this place in my life before I eventually managed to handle and overcome it.

After discussing the topic with my friends and even random people who had similar issues at that time, I got the impression that they just tend to analyze everything too much, as I used to do. I tried to figure out why can't i just relax and instead I feel the urge to explain everything, even in plain situations. I am still not sure but i think all these were an outcome of my acquired difficulty to trust people.    (Update: It was also a sign of awakening. Furthermore, Self Awareness does not occur overnight, it comes in layers and each one challenges you in a different way. Many of these layers are unpleasant because you have to deeply dig into traumatic experiences, negativity and extract the values before  you get rid of it and finally take your first deep breath of Freedom)

(Update: 3 years later I can assure that it is possible to get rid of daily overthinking, which is the root of emotional decay. However, it doesn't mean that you won't pass through its path again. In fact, times will come, when experiences and circumstances will demand your overthinking to take place, but this time it will not be an enemy of yours. It will be your tool, you will be emotionally and mentally strong enough to handle it properly and use it to figure out faster the causes of your problems, the factors concerning them as well as their solutions. Wise use of your deep thinking ability will bring you closer to your mental core and will also allow you to evaluate and appreciate things more, offering you a more pleasant experience in life. Last but not least, it will offer you a precious knowledge of who you are, what do you need/ want in your life and where do you want to vibe around.)

There will always be periods in life when every individual will get disappointed by someone or something. This is natural and it is meant to happen regardless somebody's character or choices. Since the fact of not receiving what we deserve occurs out there, same goes for the follow-up emotion of disappointment, disatisfaction, fear and doubt; which consequently form the frame of Trusting Issues.

Some times , we trust people who don't treat us fair or in other words their behavior doesn't really match the effort we unconditionally made upon them. A theory implies that you can't be hurt if you don't have expectations because in that case there is nothing to lose while everything you might get will be a bonus. There is a solid base and truth in that, but it is not absolutely correct since we do not function upon a mathematical equation. Even when you have zero expectations, the humiliation or disrespect of your effort (which is usually packed with emotion too), hurts. It hurts a lot. This pain is an outcome of either our failure to detect that this particular person is not suitable for us at the first place OR because we tend to deny this fact inspite of our relevant observation. It sounds insane but it is a reality, it is a fact that all of us, at some point, have spotted a person who may not be trustworthy, who shows all the signs of irresponsibility, immaturity even ungratefullness but for some reason (!?) we keep offering willingly parts of ourselves.

The first case is pretty common and "normal", we have all been there and it's not necessarily our fault , not everyone is exactly as he/she appears to be, so making a wrong estimation can just happen. It is really important to acknowledge that and not be cruel to ourselves about making this kind of mistakes. Usually, when we trust the wrong person, we come to this realization, after we come across some signs/actions which in turn, prove that this individual is not a right choice to vibe around. What happens next? The beautiful smooth flow of things takes place, we just cut off the ropes of trust, we extract all the necessary lessons to improve ourselves and protect us from repeating the same mistakes. We get over the bitter feelings and eventually we're just fine :)

The second case is quite tricky. When we already know that a particular person is not reliable and he/she has already proven that several times, it is not just an alert. It is the entire cosmic alarm siren ringing but mysteriously we just remain there. We don't run away, we don't focus on saving ourselves, we just keep trusting and expecting things that this person will never offer, we enter a never ending circle of repeative pain, discomfort and trauma which  in my opinion is the worst form of self-abuse.

Why? Because WE LET others to USE our emotions/actions/everything, even though we know we shouldn't. We feel embarrassed, stressed, confused and trapped in a strange way; we already know the truth in our minds but a part of us stubbornly refuses to accept it .

Up to my personal experience , some times I simply didn't want to admit that my choice was wrong. Some others, I put so much effort/hope/desire on someone/something that I couldn't afford to count all these as a loss. Instead, I preferred to hope that things would workout the way i wanted, SOMEDAY. (This was not just how I needed things to be. I could really convince myself to believe in the potential, back then).

The reason why we choose to remain stuck on negative and wrong-for-us situations are as many as the different combinations of human interaction. Everyone has his own reason(s) to act such.

(Update: A valueble brick i gained through the years was the understanding of relativity. What is right and wrong can be objective regarding a wholistic approach which affects a general part of the population regarding "common" things but when it comes to our personal preferences and choices it is pretty subjective. As individuals, we come with a pack of values, needs, likes, goals, dreams, strengths and wounds. A person which serves good on our unique features might be a wrong choice for someone else and vice versa. A situation/ habit/ circumstance/ choice/ whatever that enhances someone else, can be negative to us. There is nothing wrong with that. We are all different and finding out what do we need to function efficiently and happily is our own responsibility. That's the purpose of our journey. The more we grow, the more we realize that everything around us is mostly a matter of how wise we manifest our energy)

But there is one thing in common . NEGATIVITY . 

As i have stated several times on my past articles , everything starts and ends in your mind . Your brain is a powerful weapon that can either launch you on top or drag you down to the bottom. You are the one who handles it and you are the only one who will choose your place .

Let's zoom in and dive into this prolbem. Most of the times, you have been told to stuck yourself out of something by people around you but the more you hear about it, the stronger you refuse to even consider it. Negativity.

It's too hard to accept your amount of fault on a situation which turned bad and it's even harder to accept that anthing you wanted to offer was just a waste of precious time regarding the receiver, a valuable effort which was never appreciated. No one likes this but everything has a reason to happen. There is no fire without smoke ahead. (Update: At last, nothing is a waste because everything has something to teach us. Of course it feels horrible and the bitterness of the initial plan's failure kicks in but whatever you offered in your own will, came from your heart, it is a magic spread around and it will find its way back to you. It was not a reflection of the receiver (person, goal etc), it was a reflection of you. If it didn't go as planned, there was a reason. It is your job to find this reason and decide your actions upon.)


The point is to realize that it's better to feel pain for some time and get over it rather than being sentenced to en endless offering and disappointment due to unsatisfied expectations (and lack of your effort's decent appreciation).

Experiencing the loss of people/emotions/anything you have been used to, is a form of death regardless if it was YOU who let them go at the first place or not. This process requires some time of sincere struggle, understanding, reorientation and analysis until you can breathe again without this disturbing sense of emptiness and sadness .

You can find out more about it , on my article " When people leave " .

Aaaaaaand let's say you finally got over a disappointment due to trusting someone who was not proper for you, what's next ?

I will use my own example which efficiently ruined my emotional state for quite a few years:

After experiencing the same condition all over again from different people, a titan fear grew inside me. Specifically, I was afraid that everyone will do the same. I was afraid that it was not just a matter of the choices I made. I strongly felt that even when I choose to trust someone who really seems worthy and has shown some good values, a day will come and they will become a stranger to my heart, using all the information i provided through opening up, to their benefit.

Trusting again was harder and harder as i was moving on  and i ended up feeling surrounded by potential enemies, over analyzing every movement and word of them . I gave a promise to myself, i would never let myself get hurt again. However; this didn't help either since every human is born to live and interact with others, he has needs that require the active presence of people in his life .

Being on the otherside was equally awful and didn't make me feel nice. I built a solid wall around me, i didn't let people approach me further or see my dreams/desires/fears/emotions , everything that makes me special and unique . This brought me a lot of loneliness and stole some super worthy moments i would have experienced otherwise, if i was not feeling endangered all the time .

But what should you do in such a state? Trusting everyone and trusting no one are really similar , they have both bad effects for you, they offer you nothing and spoil moments and people in your life ( you can either trust someone who's not worthy or refuse a worthy one just because you think they are all the same piece of shit ) . This was a torture to my soul till 2012. This was the year when i started reorienting my mindset and it took solid 2 and half years (the time i first posted this article) to feel a kind of visible change.

Key word again : BALANCE

Everything is better when it's balanced. There are people who deserve that part of yourself, that part which offers happiness, joy, smile. There are also others, who don't even worth the blink of your eye. You must train yourself enough to " test " people around you , establish some filters and evaluate if someone is worthy enough to receive a piece of you ( thoughts,shared moments,support,gifts,anything ). Great relationships and interactions on this planet are built slowly , step by step, forming a solid and strong base which will support the evolution and transition to something big and beautiful in the pace of time. :)

When you meet someone you don't have just two options : giving it all in or refusing to share anything .

You can just give small chances and people who are compatible to your spirit will use them appropriately to give you a sign, influencing you to offer something more which in turn will motivate them to be more expressive too and so on ! If it works out you'll get a person for life , if not you'll get a lesson for life , there is practically nothing to lose :)

My personal route up to now has shown that this is the
best functional option for me. It will not always work, nothing is ideal but even if something fails, i am capable to get over it and continue my journey while still offering some seats to people who really want to explore this world with me. Those who truly want it, will use these chances in the best possible way !


This was my opinion and personal approach on trusting issues :) I am glad to be able to share my thoughts with you and hope they will cheer you up. If there is anything you want to request/ask/share feel free to contact me ! Thank you all for your time visiting my blog.

Till next time , take care and never ever give up on being the best possible version of yourself :)
Hugs,
Irina




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Irinä Aleksainen


Saturday 27 September 2014

Nutrition : Recipes : How to hack Pizza: Pizza Mushrooms


Hello wonderful people! Welcome back to my blog🌼

Today I'm sharing with you one of my favourite recipes which I highly recommend as it is insanely delicious and pretty simple to prepare. The word's about Pizza Mushrooms or specifically, mushrooms stuffed with all your favourite pizza toppings while replacing the starchy crust.

Source: Life as a strawberry
Besides the kickass taste, you need to pin this recipe because all the ingredients are healthy, very low in calories and rich in vitamins! That makes it an ideal pick whether you're vegan or on keto/fatburn diet.

On the plus side, you can incorporate more fat sources such as avocado if you follow a ketogenic diet to still enjoy a first class yummy snack without getting out of your macro ratio.

Furthermore, the fact that these pizza babes are homemade lets you choose your favourite ingredients to adjust the taste on your preference and still keep your macros on track as you know exactly what they consist of.




Are you ready? Here we go :D



You will need :
  • mushrooms 
  • peppers ( green , red )
  • tomato
  • spices ( salt , pepper , carry , oregano )
  • olive oil
  •  cheese ( i chose mozarella )





" What to do with all these now? "








Clean up your mushrooms

You can use any type of mushroom based on your preference but make sure they will be large enough to stuff more filling. Portobellos are an excellent option.

Pull out the central part and remove as many black fibers as you can with a spoon. 






Time to stuff

Add a tea spoon of olive oil in each mushroom and then chop carefully your peppers and tomato inside your mushrooms. Note: keep one tomato for the next step .
























Spice up

Add all the spices of your preference on the top along with 1 tablespoon of water to let them flow inside. Water is also important for the cooking process but as mushrooms contain a lot of it as well be careful to not overdo it :)




Get cheesy !

Cover the surface of each mushroom with the type of cheese you love, my pick was mozzarella❤
[ For Vegans: choose your favourite non-dairy cheese]
Slice the tomato you saved earlier and place the slices as a "lid" on your mushrooms . Top with some more cheese for extra tasty and crunchy texture.








Oven , sweet oven 

Preparation is done :) Cooking time depends on the size of your mushrooms and the temperature of your oven  :) I left mine in for 35 minutes at 200 oC .





























Bon appetite :) 






Regular pizza filling variation with salami and cheese mix

I hope you guys enjoyed this nutrition hack. 
If you give it a shot I am certain this will become  your top snack to go and the ultimate pizza hack for being in shape while still coping with your craving beast. 

If  you are a parent, note that this is one of the best ways to trick your children into vegetable consumption, I tried it with friends' kids and they were so excited !

Thank you for your time visiting my blog! Feel free to share this article with your friends and follow me on social media to have daily insights on my work and life tips❤



For any question/suggestion/request/feedback you are very welcome to contact me using the info provided below . 
Till your next visit stay smiley , calm and take care!



Hugs,
Irina❤



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Tags: # blog blogger fitness fit health nutrition diet vegan vegeterian keto ketogenic mushrooms macros cheese health healthy pizza recipes lifehacks hacks


Wednesday 20 August 2014

Freedom

Hey people :)

Summer is meant to be the season of lightness,vacation,happiness. An anti-pressure period when you are supposed to do all those things you want to but you didn't have time/right mood/money/perfect circumstances before . In other words it's the season you are meant to be FREE . But are you?

I was thinking about writing an article including my thoughts about this topic earlier but finally it was a good choice to wait until the end of August 2014 for two reasons : The beginning of summer is either way exciting and people usually have high expectations about it and one of them is this exact feeling of relief and freedom. The second and most important reason pops out from the fact that every experience in our life has something to teach us. During the past months i realized i had a doubt on answering straight to the question " Are you really free ? " .


After some sincere consideration of my daily routine,behaviour,thoughts and habits i definitely found out that the answer was a super big NO.

I was not free . Most of my life i was not really free . When i was a teenager i was not free because i was worried too much about the opinion of others. Later i was not free because i was under the fear of failure . I was trying too hard not only to get what i want but also to ensure that i will not fail in anything. Once i realized these issues wouldn't let me breathe unless I face them straight. I worked my ass off till all of them were gone. So after this quite tiring and painful process i thought i was eventually free!  Aaaaaaaand i was wrong !

I noticed that I was trapped in a situation i didn't like but I did nothing to quit . Usually in such cases you count on the possibility that things/people/cicrcumstances will change . Some time later you observe that everything remains the same but you are still there ! You see no possibility of success , you don't really believe it will work out but you are still there ! Why? Why don't you just leave? If you want to be happy why do you force yourself  to face things that just cumber you,suck your energy and don't really help you be the best possible version of yourself?

That was a really common question i used to hear by close people and also a question i frequently made to my loved ones while they were suffering by their own choices . However, i couldn't find the answer even to my own attitude !

I ended up realizing that my obsession to keep everyone satisfied is the major cause of it . The main reason i give second ( third,fourth,fifth,......) chances all the time, even if i have multiple proofs that nothing will change, is basically that i can not handle hurting people . Everyone has made mistakes , so did i. A sense of guilt and disappointment from my own self made me struggle in my desperate try to satisfy everyone even if this required giving my 10000% to any person/situation , sacrificing my own needs or even accepting things i wouldn't normally do if those people weren't in my life .

What happens next? When you are under such circumstances, you are not free to be yourself , you compress your needs/desires/opinions/way of expression so deep inside that you eventually forget who you really are. Every single disappointment you face coming from lack of appreciation to you and your effort, lifts those forgotten tales, your cracked boundaries, unsatisfied needs, a bit higher till they reach up to the surface . Then, they remind you who you used to be and slap you so hard that you finally wonder why did you do this to yourself . The main blame is on you. Not on the person that didn't appreciate you , it was your choice after all . When people treat you poorly, disrespect you, take you for granted and do not appreciate you it is their choice but this is not an excuse to let yourself suffer, no matter what . They are automatically listed as  inappropriate for you. Turn the page and go save yourself. They won't change nor realize the damage they cause to you, even as a "backfire". Even when we make mistakes, we mature and we try to make up for them. There is no worst torture when you are trying to change/ improve/ make up for something than someone who does not appreciate it and not only refuses to see but keeps on reviving the past on his own despite the fact that everything is different!

Back to my story : You can't satisfy everyone, all on the same time . Lesson learnt the hard way .
 I always wanted to, however no matter how hard i tried i never managed to every person around me satisfied. And even if i made it for some time - it was still a disatisfied person here. ME .



 Life is a mixture of joy and sorrow , smiles and tears and this is how it should be . You need a little touch of sadness to appreciate happiness . And this is valid for everyone in this world



If someone makes you lose yourself , suck you mentally day after day, doesn't let you free to be yourself and offers more negativity than smiles then there is no point of stressing nor carrying for that person. If someone doesn't care for your health why should you give everything you've got to that person?




But what is freedom after all ? It's the feeling you get when you wake up in the morning with a biiiig smile and you breathe normally . Without something cumbering your chest . It's when you feel your life is a long highway which you can ride as fast or slow as you want  and choose your stations . When you know who you are , what do you want and you set your destination with no doubts. Until you finally get there , your journey will make you rich in experiences based on the choices you are going to make . You will get even more mature and you will be able to handle your success of reaching your goal in the best possible way . And the best of all ? You will finally be proud of yourself and grateful for all the choices you made in the past. Even the bad ones. No empathy or selfishness will survive through this journey . Only the powerful new you , free to be yourself and love you the way you are . Those who really deserve to be your fellow travellers will follow , support you and celebrate every small or big success of you . Those who drag you back don't deserve to be an issue in your life so don't you ever feel guilty for letting them go . 



And this is the end of this article and of this chapter of my life . Hope my text was helpful and filled you with positive thoughts to seize your day. Be yourself , carpe diem and be FREE to live your life the way you want to . You have only one life , make it as complete and happy as you can . You deserve it ! 
Is there anything you want to share/ask? Feel free to contact me , thank you for visiting my blog .
Till next update , take care and smile :D !
Hugs,
Irina 



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