Olá! Hoje decidi partilhar algumas receitas que podes experimentar em casa, para recriar as tuas bebidas de outono favoritas do Starbucks, por metade do preço.

Salted caramel mocha

In a blender, add milk, an expresso, caramel topping, cocoa powder, sugar and a pinch of sea salt and then start blending. When the drink is ready, pour it into a cup and then top it with caramel topping and whipped cream (if you want to, add the caramel topping also on top of the whipped cream). 

Num liquidificador, adiciona leite, café, topping de caramelo, cacau em pó, açúcar e uma pitada de sal e mistura tudo. Quando a bebida estiver pronta, põe-na num copo e adiciona topping de caramelo e, depois, chantilly (se quiseres, podes, também, adicionar topping de caramelo em cima do chantilly). 

Pumpkin spice latte

In a pan, cook some pumpkin in boiling water. When it is cooked, add 1/4 of a spoon of nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger and some sugar. Transfer this mixture to a blender and add an expresso and then start bending. When the drink is ready, pour it into a mug and top it with whipped cream and some cinnamon. 

Num tacho, coze alguma abóbora em água a ferver. Quando estiver cozida, adiciona 1/4 de colher de noz moscada, canela e gengibre e algum açúcar. Transfere esta mistura para um liquidificador e adiciona café e depois começa a misturar. Quando a bebida estiver pronta, transfere-a para uma caneca e adiciona chantilly e alguma canela no topo.  

Hot chocolate (with marshmallows!)

In a pan, mix together cocoa powder, some sugar, milk and vanilla extract. When this mixture is hot, pour it into a mug and add some marshmallows on top and then put it in the oven for about 5 minutes. Then top it with some chocolate topping. 

Num tacho, mistura cacau em pó, açúcar, leite e extrato de baunilha. Quando esta mistura estiver quente, muda-a para uma caneca e adiciona alguns marshmallows no topo e depois põe-na no forno durante cerca de 5 minutos. Coloca, por fim, calda de chocolate no topo. 

Hope you liked this post! Rita and I had so much fun preparing these drinks! Let us know in the comments if you try them! 

Mariana xx

Hello! 

Fall, one of my favorite seasons of the year, has finally arrived! It is now the perfect time to light up some scented candles and sit by the fire with a fluffy blanket while drinking some hot chocolate.

In this fall spirit, I decided to share with you a recipe that I really like of apple and cinnamon muffins.

Olá!

O outono, uma das minhas estações do ano favoritas, finalmente chegou! É, agora, a altura perfeita para acendermos umas velas perfumadas e sentarmo-nos junto à lareira com um cobertor quentinho, enquanto bebemos chocolate quente.

Neste espírito, decidi partilhar uma receita, que adoro, de muffins de maçã e canela.

What you are going to need...

                ...for the muffins

                ...for the crumble





Directions...

Step 1: to make the crumble, mix the flour, the brown sugar and the butter together / para fazeres o crumble, mistura a farinha, o açúcar mascavado e a manteiga. 

Step 2: in a bowl, stir together the flour, the baking powder, the cinnamon and the sugar / numa taça, mistura a farinha, o fermento em pó, a canela e o açúcar.

Step 3: peal and cut the apples into small pieces / descasca e corta as maçãs em pedaços pequenos.


Step 4: in a different mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, the butter and the milk and then add the apples / numa taça diferente, bate os ovos, a manteiga e o leite e depois adiciona as maçãs. 

Step 5: after that, add the mixture made on step 2 and mix it all together / adiciona a esta mistura a do passo 2 e mistura tudo. 

Step 6: place this mixture in a muffin pan and add the crumble on top of each muffin / coloca esta mistura numa forma para muffins e o crumble no topo de cada muffin. 

Step 7: bake the muffins in a pre-heated oven at 180 ºC, until the crumble has a golden colour / cozinha os muffins num forno pré-aquecido a 180 ºC, até o crumble ter uma cor dourada.


Hope you liked this post! Let us know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Mariana xx

Hi! 

As you already know if you read our blog regularly, we decided to do some posts related to the beginning of the school year.

Olá!

Como já sabes se lês o nosso blog regularmente, nós decidimos fazer alguns posts relacionados com o início do ano letivo.

This time I'll give you six ideas for your breakfasts and lunches. Since I know time is tight while we're at school, these recipes are really easy and quick to do (and they're still healthy) so you can prepare them the night before or in the morning before leaving!

Desta vez vou dar-vos seis ideias para pequenos-almoços e almoços. Como eu sei que em tempo de aulas o tempo é apertado, estas receitas são muito fáceis e rápidas de se fazer (e ainda não saudáveis) para que as possas preparar na noite anterior ou de manhã antes de saíres.

1. Scrambled eggs

Scrambled eggs are really easy to make and they taste so well in the morning! I usually make mine with ham, cheese and tomato or with asparagus and fresh cheese on the side. You can also do a natural orange juice to drink with it, or eat a natural yogurt with jam.


Os batidos são ótimos mas normalmente são muito leves. Por isso, esta ideia é perfeita e dá-te toda a energia que necessitas para começar o teu dia da melhor forma! Faz o batido como mais gostares, misturando as tuas frutas preferidas, iogurte, leite ou qualquer outro sabor. Coloca-o numa tigela e depois adiciona pedaços de fruta, sementes, cereais ou outro tópico à escolha!

Last Tuesday we went to "Casinha Boutique Café" in a very important boulevard in Oporto called Avenida da Boavista. 

We ordered the brunch menu that included a soup or a greek natural yogurt with strawberry jam, a scone, a flavored croissant, a drink, a sandwich (that could either be veggie, with tuna or with prosciutto) and a dessert, all homemade.

Na terça feira passada fomos à "Casinha Boutique Café" na Avenida da Boavista, no Porto.

Pedimos o menu brunch que inclui uma sopa ou um iorgurte grego com compota de morango, um scone, um croissant com sabor, uma bebida, uma sandes (que podia ser vegetariana, de atum ou de presunto) e uma sobremesa, tudo caseiro.

It is a great recipe from one of my favorite healthy recipe's book (As receitas da mafalda, that in English means Mafalda's recipes, you can check her webpage HERE).

Since it is summer and I live near the beach, my lunches now are always salads, because they're fresh and I don't loose a lot of time waiting to get in the water because they're easily digested.

This one is specially delicious and complete! 

Recipe (for 2 people):

All you have to do is cook half a cup of quinoa with a cup of water and salt, some of your favorite vegetables (I cooked broccoli, courgette and tomato). I mixed it all with some raw vegetables (lettuce, grated carrots and beet).

And then, I mixed olive oil, honey and parsley for the sauce!

It was absolutely great! 

What are your favorite summer recipes? Share it with us in the comments below! 

Xx, Rita

You can simply put your favorite fruits in a mixer, you can add water if it gets too thick or you can had a natural yogurt or some milk to make a milkshake. You can also had more than just fruit! Some seeds or some spices, for example.

These are great at many different times. You could mix more energetic ingredients for your breakfast or pre-workout snack, or less caloric fruits and even some vegetables to do a light or detox juice.

(Posts giving more specific juices ideas will be coming soon)

2 - Flavoured water

Water is really important all year, but specially now that we tend to get dehydrated! But most people don't really enjoy drinking plain water, so this is a great solution! 

You can just add a few lemon drops (lemon is great because it helps you to lose weight), or you can just fill a jar or a bottle with a liter of water then add your favorite mix and leave it in fridge until it gets cold (or just add some ice cubes, if you're in a hurry). 

Some mix ideas are: 

  - blueberries, basil and lime

  - passion fruit, mint, lime and ginger

  - pineapple and mint

  - orange, thyme and lemon

  - strawberries, ginger and mint

Among many others!

3 - Alternative ice creams

As I already said, in the summer ice creams are great! And this is a great alternative to the regular, caloric ones!

You can do your own fro-yo (I admit, I never tried this, I usually just buy froyo, but everyone says it is even better when it is home-made!). This is really easy! You just mix frozen pieces of your favorite fruit with some honey or agave nectar, a plain yogurt  and a bit of fresh jemon juice in a food processor and it's done!

You can also frozen bananas, cut it in half, put a stick and cover it with your favorite topping (melted chocolate or cocoa sauce) and then add some other thins, like grated coconut, diced berries or whatever you like the most.´


Hope this gave you some ideas!
Don't forget to keep on checking out our blog to see some more healthy ideas for this summer! And let me know if you try any of these!
Xx, Rita!