CLEAN AVOCADO-CHOCOLATE CAKE (PALEO, NO DAIRY, GLUTEN-FREE)

Oh hello there. Have I been neglecting you? Have you been wanting to try out this amazing cake here but I have just postponed and postponed sharing the recipe? Oh dear. Without further ado...HERE IS AN AWESOME CAKE:

Drooling yet? Or is the green putting you off?

I am no longer scared of greens in my food, but if you still are, then just add a tsp or two of cacao powder to the green mix and..it will become brown..and everyone shall be fooled.

In all honesty, I had way too many slices of this last night..And really had to hold myself back not to actually eat the whole thing. SOMEHOW I am the only person insane about sweets in my fam. I can literally live off sweets, I do not need anything else. 

And I am drooling all over the place.

I want to just take a spoon.

Get comfy.

And eat the entire thing. All by myself. In one night.

P-l-e-a-s-e.

Oh people, who can eat whatever they want, without anything happening..I salute you! Please, on my behalf and everyone else's who only dreams of this..Go nuts!

Okay enough nonsense.

YOU WILL NEED:

FOR THE CAKE:

2 avocados
50 g coconut oil
1 very ripe banana (or honey, according to taste)
4 eggs
50 g almond flour (I grind my almonds myself)

25 g poppy seeds
100 g coconut flour (same drill)
2 tsp baking soda
salt
2 tbsp juice of lemon

FOR THE CREAMY AVOCADO LAYER:

1 avocado

ca 150 g of honey

3 tbsp juice of lemon

FOR THE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE:

3 ripe avocados

120g of raw cacao powder

85-100g of honey

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp of coconut milk (optional - if you want a thicker consistency then add only this much, if you want a more liquidy one - add more) 

*OR

1-2 ripe avocados

50g of raw cacao powder

a handful of dates

1 tbsp honey

2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

2-3 tbsp coconut milk

 *Spicey, eh? You can choose which one you want to make. Or go down a third road for all I care. 

HOW TO:

CAKE:

• Whisk the coconut oil and banana. Then whisk in the egg yolks one by one. 
• Puree the avocados with juice of lemon and add to the mix.
• Mix together the dry ingredients and add to the mix.
• Whisk the egg whites into a thick foam and gently...add to the mix of course!
• Bake at about 170C, for approximately 50 minutes, but do go and start checking starting from minute 30.

 CREAMY AVOCADO LAYER:

• Whisk all the above-mentioned ingredients together. 

 CHOCOLATE MOUSSE:

• Cut the avocados in half, remove the seeds, and place into a bowl.
• Add cacao powder, honey, vanilla extract and salt.
• Mix everything together.
• Use a blender or food processor to blend everything together. Add milk if you wish. 

SO!

To sum up, after your cake is done, let it cool for a while. Then cut it in half, like you would your jolly old proper granny cake. Then add the Creamy Avocado Layer on one slice and place the other on top of it. And add the best part ever: THE CHOCOLATE.

Sprinkle some coconut flakes and whatever you wish on top..and if you do not so wish..then do not!

ENJOY!

Eating clean has never been this easy!

PS! It is NOT healthy if you eat it all! :-D

Much Love,

Your Eileen

 

The people who broke me were not to blame any more than gravity can be blamed for breaking the vase. We can’t blame the laws of physics when a twig snaps because we leaned on it for support. The twig was never created to carry us.

Our weight was only meant to be carried by God. We are told in the Quran: “…whoever rejects evil and believes in God hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things.” (Qur’an 2: 256)

There is a crucial lesson in this verse: that there is only one handhold that never breaks. There is only one place where we can lay our dependencies. There is only one relationship that should define our self-worth and only one source from which to seek our ultimate happiness, fulfillment, and security. That place is God.

-Y. M

How do we live in a world so flawed, where people let us down, and even our own family can break our heart? And perhaps, hardest of all, how do we learn to forgive when we have been wronged? How do we become strong, without being hard, and remain soft, without being weak? When do we hold on, and when can we let go? When does caring too much, become too much? And is there such a thing as loving more than we should? 

Hope for God’s mercy should motivate our own desire to forgive and to one day enter the only world that really is perfect.

- Y. M

YouTube

I do go through all my IG comments and each and every single e-mail that I receive, but I stopped reading my YouTube comments a while ago, simply because they were just too many and I had no time to go over them all. I was configuring some YouTube settings on My Channel, and stopped at the 'Comments' page...and I have just been scrolling and scrolling and...I even put the song 'Thank you Allah' by Maher Zain (Vocals Only) playing in the background to get the proper mood going here. 

If even one of those comments is partially true, then wow. I really have to get cracking on some more videos. I am seriously about to shed a tear or two here. 

So emotional. So beautiful. This Ummah.

SubhaanAllah. Alhamdulillah. Allahu Akbar.

How Do I Keep My Imaan Strong?

You would not believe how often I get asked this question, and I still have not thought about it or pondered over this enough, to make a proper full-length in-depth post about it, because this touches some of the most deepest parts of me. 

So, I will merely start.

#1

Mufti Menk.  

Video Series: Pearls of Peace 

If you have not listened to this video series, then please do.

If you have listened to it, then please do it again.

It will now be my 3rd time around, and in shaa Allah not the last. 

No words needed on my part.

The Quran is Our Peace,

We just need to properly comprehend it,

And make an effort to understand it,

And live by it,

To the best of our abilities.

Love,

Eslimah

CHALLENGE: 1 GREEN SMOOTHIE A DAY!

I know I know.. Green smoothies look so yucky and scary to you. They did to me too a while back, and that is exactly why I have attached the before-and-after photo on this post (that, and come on...how pretty is the before-pic anyway - fruit is such an amazing creation of God that I simply cannot comprehend how can it get any better in Paradise..mashaAllah really) 

It IS possible to enjoy whole food meals that transform your body from the inside out. 

Here are the very simple rules regarding the smoothies you are about to make:

• Has to contain a leafy base 
• Fruit/Berries
• A liquid base 
• Optional Fancy Toppings 

 Green smoothies are:

 

• A natural energy booster 
• Aid natural! weight loss 
• Allow you to stay healthy all-year-round
• Full of antioxidants 
• Best.Fast.Food.

 

I challenge you to take part in this challenge for your own sake, bismillah!  

 Here is one recipe to get you started:

CREAMY-MANGO-AVOCADO-SMOOTHIE

You will need:

• 1 avocado
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups of mango 
• 1 banana 
• 2 cups of spinach
• 2 cups of water (can be milk of choice or even better - coconut water!) 

 Instructions: 

Everything in to za blender. 

Serve right away.

Enjoy.

Serves 2 (in my case, 1).

Can not wait for you to hashtag #teamhealthyeslimah and share your creations with me and sisters around the world! I am so so so happy like a little teenager. Why? Because so many of you have joined the health-team ALL AROUND THE WORLD, and wallahy, I feel like it is uniting us even further. God is uniting us by such a good cause! It's not like we are all getting together to...I don't know. Collect Sniker Papers. We are actually trying to make a positive difference and be more healthy and take care of ourselves! Today on IG I read a sister post, how instead of taking the bus, she decided to walk instead, as she remembered our health-challenge. She wrote how she was smiling and giggling the whole way, and all I was thinking was...I WOULD DO THE EXACT SAME THING. Sometimes when I am walking home, and there is noone around, I pretend to be a soldier or a bear or a ballerina, and do the appropriate walk/dance and slide home. I imagine she didn't do something as stupid, but the fact that she felt happy about the change in her life, and being part of such a loving sisterhood...made me so happy as well. Like many of you say, you do not have an ummah in the physical realm around you, and the online-based-sisterhood is the next best thing..And I feel the same. And actually. It is not the 'next' best thing. It is THE best thing. Ever. To. Have. Happened. To. Me.

Alhamdulillah ala kulli haal ya rabbi al-alamin.  

Share the recipes and share the love and stay healthy!

Love,

Your Eslimah

Soaked Overnight Oats with Almond Milk

Now that I am back to my healthy-life, this is an ideal breakfast for me, because here is how my typical routine goes these mornings: 

• Alarm at 7:00.

• Get my @tinyteatox ready, wudoo and then pray Fajr (yep, it's that late now in Europe..the wonders of wintertime).
  
• Eat breakfast at 8:00, AND this way I can take my time in the morning as opposed to starting the whole process of preparing something..either my other family members are still sleeping, and I can't put my food processor on..and just slicing-dicing-frying is too time consuming at such a short time gap and at such an hour in the morning. The meal is very nutritious and the chia seeds add the protein and..it fills me up for my 10:30AM gym class, and I finish my breakfast just about 2 hours before the session, which is perfect in my book.

Now..I have only made overnight oats 3 times in my life now, and every time I sort of wing it according to what my taste buds are feeling like at that specific moment (I usually make it around 11PM or midnight, so at that moment I feel like eating it all up and it is a big challenge for me). You can make them, again, in a million different ways, and I suggest you explore all the ways and hashtag me again, so I can try some of them as well, but here is my current to-go version:

You will need:

• 1 cup of oats (gluten-free if available)
• 2 tbsp of chia seeds 
• 2-3 cups of almond milk (or any other plant based milk, or if you have nothing against dairy, then go ahead!)
• 1 tbsp of linseed 
• 1-2 tbsp coconut flakes
• berries of choice (e.g strabwerries, cherries, blueberries <- I would prefer the latter but never manage to find any)
• 1 smashed banana
• 1 tsp of maca powder (100% optional) I use it because I have it in my 'Eileen's healthy food department' and I would never eat it as-is, so it is a good supplement to add to foods as such. It is recommended to take a spoonful every day, especially if you have hormonal imbalance, which I do.   

Just combine all these ingredients in a jar, and let them soak overnight. In the morning - just add some optional toppings - I added coconut flakes, goji berries & a spoonful of homemade almond butter. 1 spoonful of sweetener would have worked nicely, or a bit of vanilla extract, but I did not have the latter, and having already added the nut butter and all...I didn't want to turn it into an extreme calorie-bomb with another spoonful of honey.  

Enjoy and tag me in your favorite oatmeal recipes!

Love!

Your Eslimah

My Favourite Ice Cream aka The Healthy Choco-Banana Ice Cream

This is very very hard for be to blog, simply because there are A MILLION GAZILLION amazing flavours that you can experiment with when it comes to banana ice-cream. But that is definitely a GOOD thing. Expect many more of these to come. I have done strawberry, cherry, mango, chocolate, peanut butter, grape, date, oh-my-God I can't even think of all the flavours you can experiment with. All I can say is that...You better start experimenting and sharing your inventions with me! 

This recipe happens to be completely vegan and GUILT FREE. Did I say guilt free already? Let me say it again - it is completely GUILT FREE. Now let me introduce you to a world where you can eat ice cream, every day, and eat your body to health. Now, I am going to give you two recipes.

On the photo (a bit melted already because missy here was trying to get a nice photo): 

1) Chocolate Protein Banana Ice Cream

2-4 bananas frozen bananas (they were cut into little pieces in my freezer, I am unsure)

1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I struggle to eat enough protein, since there is close-to-zero halal meat here, and protein shakes are just an amazing and delicious way to get that extra protein-intake and it's an ideal post-workout drink to just mix with milk or water, but this is mainly for my fitness-junkies out there!)

I blended these two together, and it was a tad too sweet for my taste, so I added:

1 tbsp raw cacao powder 

I added some frozen cherries on top and there you go. 

Now, I am going to go out on a limb, and assume that the majority of my followers do not have protein powders at home, so since I am already sharing a choco-flavor, then I will share with you my other favourite, the Healthy Reese's Ice Cream if you will:

4-5 frozen bananas

2 tablespoons raw cacao powder

2 tablespoons nut butter 

Add all the ingredients to your high-speed blender or food processor, or even a hand-mixer can work. Blend all together. I have a Vitamix, so there is no problem, but if you have a blender that is not that powerful, then it definitely helps to add either a bit of milk or water, and keep scraping the excess off the sides and scooping the mix around, so it would get right into the blade, as opposed to just running around and around and around without anything really happening. This happened to me with my old food processor whenever I wanted to add dates or nuts..round and round we went, and went, and went...and nothing. 

Serve right away. Enjoy!

Add whatever toppings you want (seeds, nuts, cinnamon...up to you) if you want any! 

Thank me later! Don't forget to #teamhealthyeslimah and stay healthy!

Love you,

Salam!

Whole Wheat Spinach and Egg Wrap with Avocado

As a part of the #teamhealthyeslimah challenge, today I experimented with some wraps and...yay! I am a happy nugget now! Simple ingredients, easy to make, and healthy. Uhm..YES PLEASE! 'YUM' is all I can come up with at this point. 

You will need:

2 Handfuls of spinach (or more..there can never be enough spinach)
Coconut oil (olive oil works as well, if this is already in your crib)
3-4 Eggs
⅓ of an avocado
Whole Wheat Wraps 

1. Put half a tsp of coconut oil on your pan (or if you have a non-stick pan, even better, you don't need to add anything...but coconut oil is good fat, don't worry) and add spinach. Cook and stir for about 2 minutes.
2. Add eggs to the pan and start scrambling. Yes, just create a nice messy scenario. 
3. Add some salt and pepper to taste. 
4. Place your mix in the middle of your wrap.
5. Top with a few slices of avocado and fol. Slice in half and enjoy! 

PS! You will see find half of my wraps being all cheesy, like so:

And that is because I thought perhaps the meal would be dry, if I didn't add any spread on it. I added goat cream cheese. But I was wrong. I actually preferred it without the added cheese. 

Bon appétit! 

My Healthy Lifestyle

As my personal account has reached nearly 28K, there is something that I have noticed and learned over the past couple of weeks. Something I hoped would not happen, and yet I think it now has...

I always had the freedom of posting and saying whatever I wanted, but at this point, more often than not, I find myself rereading my clauses and going 'wait..should I even?' ... and I don't want to be that person. It is becoming scary, as I see a lot of people taking My journey, My opinions and My own mistakes even, as some sort of guidelines to follow. And then somehow I become responsible? Now that is not fair.

Initially, after seeing your support on Instagram, and how many of you want to get healthy and back on track and start exercising, I got excited beyond words and thought of this as an oh-yay-team-muslimahs-going-healthy-together-teamspirit-wohoo! But now after some contemplation...the above-mentioned is one of the things that makes me a tad hesitant in sharing my health goals and journeys with you, because I would never want to find anyone thinking they should follow what I am follow, or do what I am doing.

Let's get some things straight. I am not a teacher. I am NOT an Islamic scholar. I am not a nutritionist and I am not your trainer. I am just a 22-year-old Eileen, sharing her own thoughts and...life. If that is alright by you, then please continue reading. :-)

As I am writing this, I am in a humongous purple robe with flowers all over it. And the hood pulled over my head. Man, it's cold! Wait, I shall grab a cup of Green tea with Jasmine petals. 

Alrighty,

Let's make a little long story short: Nowadays I am known to be quite the health nut. Up until the age of 14 I had some baby fat. I never considered myself fat, but I remember being called 'fat' at school. Then I grew out of it, but HATED sports. Yes, hated. A very strong word but that's how it was. I remember talking about it all the time, and eating whatever the heck I felt like, all the time. And alhamdulillah for good metabolism or my young age, cause nothing really happened, until one day I had a moment of awakening around the age of 20. I thought... if I continue this way...then by the age of 40... I am going to be quite ruined. 

I believe I have said this SO MANY TIMES, but wallahy, it is our obligation to take care of what God has given to us. Ever since, I have been self-studying about all aspects of fitness and health, started going to the gym, and ended up being one of those people who exercises 5x a week (I actually ended up taking a Zumba Trainer course and I am officially certified to give classes), and eats super healthy, avoids gluten, and doesn't eat after 6-7 o'clock (let's rrrrrrrrrrepeat: this is what IIIIIII do - ME - Eileen - do NOT think this is something you ever gotta do).

So..in all honesty, I do feel like I do know quite a lot about this field, but at the same time, having been surrounded by this for years now, I feel like this is common knowledge to all. But since I have been receiving so many questions and requests for me to share healthy recipes and some personal tips that have worked for MMMMEEEEEE, then I decided to go ahead and do so, while I am at home and have time anyways. :-)

Earlier today, I posted the following on Instagram:

"OH. MY. GOD. I am definitely NOT as happy as I seem on this photo! The people who know me know I can NOT live without exercise and a healthy diet and neither were accessible to me during my travels and... What has happened is extremely sad and I lost a lot of self confidence (yes, my body and health provide a huge amount of it for me - so sue me :-P) in this respect. I just measured myself and I have gained 4kg, my hips are 6cm wider and my thighs 5cm and my skin has changed drastically! See what eating rubbish does! :-O To me it's about being fit and being healthy and taking care of what God has given to us, and thus feeling alive - so the point of this post is not to get the "oh you look good anyway, don't worry", no, the point is to tell you that ALHAMDULILLAH from tomorrow I will be back to my everyday regime, healthy diet, healthy meals, scheduled times for eating, and exercise! From tomorrow you can follow my journey back to my old self. :-D Dear Body, I am so sorry for what I have done to you. Starting from tomorrow I will, in shaa Allah, I will practice what I preach and treat you with utmost respect like I always, previously, have. Its not about being skinny or being fat, its about being healthy and feeling self-confident about yourself and doing whatever makes YOU content and happy with yourself! Tomorrow is Monday and I am starting my day off with a 10:00AM BodyPump and I have not figured out my daily meals but in shaa Allah I will be sharing with you lovelies! Who is up for it? Who is up for a challenge with me? Let's set a 1 month goal at first? Throw away your chips and your soda, and let's start cooking healthy! You can still eat pizza and you can still eat muffins and pancakes and all the stuff you love (at least I know I do!) you just have to replace the ingredients with pure foods and become fit by merely enjoying to the moon and back! It's 70% about what you eat and 30% about your workout, so your diet plays a huge role! We can share recipes with the #teamhealthyeslimah hashtag, and try em out all around the world and show each other our own results! What are your goals? Mine are to get back into the shape I was prior to my travels!"

I believe this is the most personal and upfront I have ever been regarding such matters. 

Anyway, AL HAMDULILLAH - I found so many of you being supportive, and so many of you actually wanting to start a new page and become a healthier you as well! And mashaAllah how awesome to motivate one-another to some goodness!

I am personally going on a 28-day-cleanse, and if I end up liking it, I will share it with you guys, but as long as it is not finished, I can not yet provide an opinion or a review.

Regarding my eating habits, these are some new things that I will aim to doduring the cleanse:

*Avoid dairy (something I usually do not do, this is strictly for the detox period)

*Avoid overeating of fruits (as you all know, I eat fruits way more than a normal person, and as healthy as they are - nothing in excess can be good - come on, in the end...it is actually all carbs)

Now..I can elaborate on my usual daily routine (things that I have experimented with and really do help me and make me achieve my goals) and life, which is actually something I recommend for others as well..how many 'tips' should I list here? Humm..Humm..Let's go with 5 to begin with!

*I try to drink at least 1.5-2 liters of water every day. I add lemon or lime to it, and make fruit infused water (substitute this with juice, if you are a juice-person!). If you are someone who doesn't like the 'taste' of water - like my mom, then this is a supergood way out! And just to spice things up, anyway. Cause how fun is a colorful mason jar. 

PS! Don't forget to experiment with different fruits, berries and herbs, and more importantly, don't forget to share it with your sisters! Pics and Recipes or did not happen, eh!?

*Avoid junk food and processed foods. I know to many of you this sounds difficult. I used to be that girl, who thought being healthy and fit meant eating only salad. But as soon as I discovered the world of healthy cooking..As soon as I discovered I can STILL eat muffins and pancakes and pies and chocolate pudding and popsicles and pizzas... then being healthy became easy and rather enjoyable. Because I have found it to be quite true that..once you know something has healthy ingredients..it automatically starts to taste better. Haa! Prefer everything natural. Check out something called the Paleo Diet (I personally do not follow anything strictly myself, but I do largely agree with their views, as they are all about eating everything natural, as our ancestors would have - without all the jars and the cans and the chemicals and preservatives.) 

*Try to work out at least 3 times a week (many argue that 3 is good for maintaining, and a tad more should be done in order to see effective results..now I am not going to tell you either..this is up to you - what I am going to suggest is for you to do any form of exercise..only dietary changes are not going to cut it..and likewise, just working out will not either. 

If you don't have the time or the money to go to a gym, or you find it uncomfortable to exercise outdoors (for example there would have been no way in the world I could have gone for a jog in the Medina, during my stay in Marrakech), then there are tons of online videos you can follow at home. Also, some of the most effective exercises - like squats and lunges, are totally doable at home! I personally strongly dislike working out at home, as it is the thrive and the emotion that gets me going, and I only get it when I am outsy, but...I know a lot of people, even stay-at-home-moms, who made crazy transformations, never going to the gym! Find something that you love doing! Sports should never be something you hate and just merely force yourself to!

*Have a fulfilling breakfast. They don't just say that breakfast is important for fun. It really really is. Overnight oats, oatmeal, omelet, protein pancakes, agh..breakfast is definitely the favorite part of my day!

Also, what really helps my bloating and my body is not eating a heavy meal 3-5 hours before going to bed. I aim to have my dinner early, not right before going to bed. My trainer told me, that even if we are watching TV, we should try to sit up, as when the body lies down, your organs are not fully active, and same goes for your digestion. Now this one is a TOUGH NUGGET if you are not single. Kids and hubsies and families and TRAVELING, oh boy..I know, man, this makes it waaaaay harder. Again, KNOW your body. This is not a rule set in stone or anything. Every body is different, nurture it and love it, feel what it wants and give it what it wants (unless it's always craving for McDonalds).

 If I am, indeed, hungry... then I will go for tomatoes and/or cucumbers. If those won't cut it, then carrots. If those still don't cut it, then protein. I usually go with boiled eggs, as halal meat is not accessible for me that easily. Haa.

*Try to limit your consumption of gluten (I am very sensitive to it personally, a lot of people are, but many don't sense a difference..but there is a difference. Research it. You will know why.

Prefer wholegrain, wholewheat. If you can afford it, try to substitute wheat flour with almond flour, coconut flour, oat flour, wholewheat flour, rice flour...you name it. The chances are so many in today's world. But it really depends on where you are living. In some countries these alternatives are incredibly expensive and in some, they are very hard to be found. I grind my own flours! I have a grinder, I put whatever I want to make flour of (oats, nuts, rice, buckwheat...) in, and grind, and voila!

<- so these are some of my findings over the years - these things really do help, or they help me at least, they help me be more fit, more healthy, more energized and in the end more confident and happy. If you have any awesome tips and tricks for everyday life, then lemme know!

What are your goals? What foods will you be making? Let us know! Shoot some photos, share the recipes and the love and use the hashtag #teamhealthyeslimah so we can all experiment and try em out all around the world! Fun way to be united once more! Yay! :-)

Lots of Love,

I have BodyPump tomorrow morning at 10:30 and it is 11:25 so I shall now head to bed, after posting a recipe idea.

Your Eslimah