Masha’s Jars Nutrition Week: Monday

Tighten your body, lose weight or build muscle mass. We work out for many different reasons, but actually movement is only part of the process. Good nutrition is an essential part of working towards your goal and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on your intakes and nutrients and let that be exactly what I can help you with!

I am Masha, the person behind the food blog Masha’s Jars. Four years ago I started a blog about healthy breakfast in glass jars and in the meanwhile it transformed into an all-round healthy veggie platform with recipes, tips and stories. Here at Aesthetic Wolf, I’ll provide you with a week’s worth of protein-rich vegetarian recipes and useful info about nutrients and what they do. Enjoy and feel free to message me in case you have any questions!

I’ve been making healthy breakfast bowls with homemade granola on a daily basis for 5 years now. It has been providing me with the proteins and vitamins I need throughout the day.

I mainly use my own granola, add 2-3 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt and cut up a piece of fruit or go for a handful of berries. Usually, I add ½ teaspoon crushed flaxseed or chia seeds for their impressive nutrient levels.

Greek yoghurt is full of proteins, and so are oat flakes. Nuts have many healthy fats that slow down your digestion of sugar and add valuable minerals to your food. Fruit takes care of your vitamins and energy in the form of glucose, while blueberries and apricots actually burn more calories than they add. 

Will your day start with a Masha’s jar? Go ahead and use this recipe of my favourite granola:

INGREDIENTS – for 500g

• 350g coarse oat flakes (fine ones are okay too, but I prefer bigger crispier pieces)
• Handful of almonds
• Handful of cashews
• A handful of seeds (e.g. sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds)
• Feel free to add your own nuts/seeds / kernels or leave them out: granola has no rules
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (or corn oil, nut oil or sunflower oil)
• 2-3 tablespoons liquid honey
• 1 bag of vanilla-flavoured vanilla sugar (or 5-10g protein powder)
• 1-2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt (I use coarse sea salt without iodine)
• Lemon peel from 1/2 to 1 lemon, grated (and well washed, because of pesticides and other stuff you don’t want in your body!)
• Large, flat oven dish
• Baking paper
• Spoon or spatula 
• Oven

INSTRUCTIONS

Put the oat flakes, nuts and seeds in a bowl.

Heat the coconut oil at a low temperature in the microwave and add it to the oat-nuts mixture. Add in the honey as well.

Sprinkle the cinnamon, salt and vanilla on top. Turn on the oven at 180°C.

Mix well in the bowl until all the dry ingredients and liquids are perfectly mixed. Too wet? Then add more oat flakes. Too dry? Then you can add more oil, however, it should look on the dry side.

Place baking paper in the oven dish or plate so that it is completely covered and fill the dish with your granola to a height of 1cm. Press well. This is THE trick to get clusters instead of falling apart granola. Cooling down is also key! (see the last step).

Put the dish in the oven. Take it out after 15mins to stir and mix in the lemon zest. Press very well again.

After this, put it in the oven for another 10mins.

Take the dish out of the oven and let it sit until the granola has cooled down completely. This helps to form clusters and become crunchy. I know it’s hard, but don’t touch it!

Once the granola has cooled down, you can break your “very large granola bar” into pieces and keep it in a jar or box. I use large glass jars – obviously!

 

Want to see pictures of the process? Check out my blog mashasjars.com.

I myself try to maintain a low-carb lifestyle to prevent bloating and weight gain, but your body needs carbohydrates if you are going to exercise or stud, cause they provide energy and are the fuel of your brain. With a carbohydrate-rich meal, you replenish your glycogen levels, which are responsible for your energy. In this way, your body will not break down proteins during an intensive workout and prevent you from building muscle. After the exercise, you need to replenish your glycogen levels up to 2 hours after working out.

A nice and easy meal as pre- or post-workout is a buddha bowl. They come in all colours and flavours, so you can choose your own composition. I’m sharing my favourite recipe with you with explicit indications of where the carbohydrates are.

INGREDIENTS – for 1 bowl

• 3 to 4 falafels – The best can be found in South and Middle Eastern shops. I simply bought a frozen pack, but they taste so good! (protein&carbs!)
• 3 vine tomatoes
• ½ pack of feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons of spicy olives
• ⅓ cucumber
• 2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt (protein!)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 pinch of lemon
• Optional:
• Pomegranate syrup (carbs!)
• 1 tablespoon sweet corn (carbs!)
• 1 boiled sweet potato (carbs!)

INSTRUCTIONS

Chop the garlic clove and mix with the Greek yoghurt. Squeeze in about 1 tablespoon (or a little less) of lemon juice, stir and leave to rest while you do the rest.

Bake the falafel in a pan, in the oven or in a(n) (air) fryer.

Cut the tomatoes, feta, cucumber and sweet potato into bite-sized pieces.

Place your fried falafel, the feta cheese, chopped vegetables and the corn and olives on a plate in little bunches, type by type. Pour a few stripes of yoghurt sauce over it and finish off with a few squeezes of pomegranate syrup if you have any. It gives a sweet and sour touch to your dish.

There you go, in less than 10 minutes you’ll have a perfect meal. Low-carb in itself, but rich enough if you add the corn and sweet potato. Eat a banana for dessert and don’t forget to wait an hour before going to the gym! 😉

Tomorrow I’ll be back with new recipes and tips! Feel free to send me your questions via @mashasjars on Instagram.