I normally stay away from spirulina, often referred to as blue-green algae. There are a lot of great health claims attributed to the use of spirulina supplements, but spirulina is also quite often contaminated with toxins. So if I would like to add spirulina to my smoothies to give it a nutritional boost, I need to be sure that I get my hands on the most flawless spirulina. Last week I had the pleasure to test the spirulina from ALGO-RITME.
ALGO-RITME spirulina grows in basins protected by conservatories. As such, they can prevent contamination from the outside. They are fully committed to quality, not quantity. Also, their algae is grown at their natural rhythm with the ideal temperature all year round for the growth of the microalgae.
For this smoothie I blend 2 bananas, 1 cup of almond milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 pitted Medjool date, juice of half a lemon, 1 tablespoon ALGO-RITME spirulina and about 6 fresh mint leaves in a high speed blender and serve it with ice cubes.
Staying more at home equaled more baking. I have been experimenting more than ever with bread recipes, such as focaccia, pizza, cakes and different types of bread such as this applesauce bread. I am not even such a big bread lover, but I really enjoyed the process of baking bread from scratch. A few tools that help me a lot are my beloved coox Wunderform, this adjustable rolling pin and a baking mat to roll out dough.
If you are an avid water drinker like me, you can get easily excited about gadgets that make your water just that extra interesting. Sodastream did that for me. I personally skip the drops and lemonades they offer and use it only to create a nice fizzy drink. I find it great to make sparkling lemon water and sparkling iced tea, such as iced nettle tea and cold brew hisicus tea. I feel this kitchen gadget will be in the same category as my popcorn popper. I thought I might not use that often, but I end up using it every week.
As you maybe know by now, there are many different ways to make your own plant-based milk at home. My latest was this article and video on how to make coconut milk. But The Almond Cow method was a new one for me. The Almond Cow is like half blender /half coffee grinder. It is designed specifically for hard nuts to blend and strain at the same time in a matter of minutes. It creates the most delicious plant-based drinks without any effort. When you use this link and enter discount code BIANCA you get $15 off. And they ship worlwide!
The last two months, unfortunately, I haven’t read as much as I would like, but I have read a few fantastic books. For a full review you can follow me on Goodreads. There were two popular books that unfortunately disappointed me. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Ownes and The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah did unfortunately not live up to my expectations. The books that I did enjoy are Lanny by Max Porter and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I also enjoyed Just Kids by Patti Smith. Right after I finish a book I write a review and share it on Goodreads, so I would love to welcome you there if you would like to know why I liked or disliked a book.
Another book that I truly enjoy is the book Fiber Fueled by Will Bulsiewicz. I am not reading it in one go as a novel, but I’m going back in to (re)read certain sections and it is truly amazing to read the science about a whole food plant-based diet and what positive impact it can have on our gut and therefore our health.
The last few weeks I have been testing out a new gadget (shaped like a credit card) to eliminate the effects of electromagnetic radiation emitted by electronic devices, such as my laptop. If you are interested in this I encourage you to do your own research. My research led me to AiresTech. I have one card near my laptop and one smaller version on my phone. This brand is one of the very few I could find with a patented technology that was independently tested. On the website you can find peer-reviewed studies, scientific publications, their patents, calculations, and more. At the moment, there is a 10% sitewide sale June 12th through June 19th 2020.
Another thing I have been super excited about are my new tripods. My dear Manfrotto tripod (I bought it many years ago) broke and it became a true hassle to shoot overhead. I knew the day would come that I have to invest in a new setup. After weeks of looking into options the Joanie Simon overhead setup was the one I was going for and I LOVE it. So I went for this Manfrotto tripod and ballhead and this beast of a light stand with this adapter and monopod head. I need a good setup for overhead shots with a tripod that can go high enough, but I also need a setup that can easily switch to a landscape position to shoot videos. This setup allows me to easily switch from head-on shooting to overhead (video) shooting in less than 5 seconds.
Oh and if you are interested in any of Joanie’s courses you can have a look here at her Beginner Bootcamp course or her Artificial Academy Course (this is the one I followed).
