Breakfast Smoothie

Good Morning :D
It might not be morning when you red this, but it's morning when I'm making it :D
Today I decided to make simple smoothie, yet it went out really tasty :)

I used frozen strawberries ( about 200 grams), 2 large banana and 200 ml peach yogurt. 

When my smoothie was ready and served in beautiful glas I tasted it and realized it is too sour :D I added teaspoon honey and two tablespoons of bran and blended it again :)

I served it in glass I made myself ( not made, painted myself :) ) with straw and mint leave :)

Enjoy!

P.S. What's your favourite smoothie recipe?

Schiava

The original name of Schiava was Farnatzer or Vernetzer, it is a red German / Italian wine variety that was likely first originally cultivated in the wine regions of south Tyrol and Trentino, but today is almost exclusively cultivated on steep, sunny locations in the Württemberg wine region of Baden-Württemberg.

Its first ever documented historical mention dates back to the end of the Middle Ages, and it has played a central role in Alto Adige wine growing since the sixteenth century.

At some point the grape migrated northwards to the southern regions of Germany though the exact date of its arrival is unknown.

Also known as Vernatsch, in Germany, produces a light wine that is low in tannins, with a moderate alcohol content. The grape produces mostly red, though some dark color rose styles are also produced. In Württemberg, the wine is often slightly sweet with some residual sugar leftover after fermentation is completed. 

Italian styles of Schiava tend to be similarly light but are more often dryer and more noticeably acidic.

Fiano Grape

Fiano is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Campania region ( 18.11.2015. ) of southern Italy and on the island of Sicily ( 8.07.2015. ).

In Campania region, this fairly strong favored white grape is particularly noted around Avellino where the DOCG wine of Fiano di Avellino is produced. The grape has a long history in this region and is believed to have been the grape behind the ancient Roman wine Apianum. Even today, the name Apianum is permitted to appear on wine labels.

The Roman wine Apianum was produced by a grape known as vitis apiana, whose name is related to the Latin word for "bees", which were strongly attracted to the sugary pulp of the grapes.

The small, thick skinned berries of Fiano usually produce very little juice, it was for reasons that Fiano saw significant declines for most of the 19th and 20th century as growers uprooted the grape in favor of varieties like Trebbiano (24.06.2015. ) and Sangiovese ( 23.09.2015. ) that could yield larger amounts of wine. 

Fiano can produce an ageworthly wine that has to potential to develop in the bottle for several years after the vintage date. 

in it's youth Fiano is often intensely flavored and aromatic with honey notes that over time develop more spicy and nutty notes. 

The advent of modern winemaking techniques with its emphasis on limiting oxidation and preserving freshness, have improved the overall quality of Fiano wines.

Enjoy :)

Broccoli and Sweet potato side dish

Prep time  - 10 minutes

Cooking time - 25 minutes

Serves - 4

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato

1 large broccoli head

1 cup couscous

1 avocado

Few fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil

teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup water

salt, pepper and basil 

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 200 C
2. Peel and cut in bite sized pieces sweet potato and place on a baking tray. sprinkle with a teaspoon of olive oil and cook for 15 minutes or until soft.
3. Cut the broccoli in smaller pieces and boil or steam for few minutes - just until it starts to loose crunchiness.
4. Bring water to the boil, add salt, pepper, basil and couscous. Turn off heat and leave couscous for 5 minutes.
5. In a large bowl mix couscous, sweet potato, broccoli, diced avocado, mint leaves and season with lime juice and olive oil mixture, salt, pepper and basil.
6. Toss well and left for a ten minutes on a room temperature.
7. Serve :)

Ingredients:

Broccoli: an edible plant in the cabbage family.

Broccoli is high in Vitamin C and dietary fiber. A single serving provides more than 30 mg of vitamin C . Boiling broccoli reduces the levels of suspected anti - carcinogenic compounds, such as sulforaphane, with losses of 20 - 30 % after five minutes, 40 - 50 % after 10 minutes, and 70 - 80 % after thirty minutes. So try to use  steaming or quick stir frying methods.

Fashion Friday I Rectangle Body Shape

The rectangular Body shape you can determine if you look at yourself in the mirror in your underwear.

Stand with your legs together and your arms a bit away from your sides. Look at your are from under your arms, past your bust and ribcage, over your waist and hips to the fullest part of your thighs. Then just compare yourself to the image .

Then think, do you:

Wear the same size on both - your top and bottom halves? Do you have quite small bust? Do you have a little waist definition? Do you have quite flat hips and bottom?

If you have more than one "yes", congratulations - You have a beautiful Rectangle body shape :)

But keep in mind - you have to create the illusion of waist. it should be easier if you'll keep your silhouette uncluttered, invest in some unstructured jackets that gently shape your waist. Also hip and bottom detailing works good for you - as long they create gentle curves.

Better avoid details at the waist, such as noticable waistband, high waisted trousers and belted jackets as they will keep attention to your not defined waist part. Also you should stay away from fussy ar droopy style in your clothing, as well as from rectangle shaped bags or clutch bags.

Unfortunately square toe shoes also is not made for your body shape. 

Beauty Myths

One thing I learned lately?

Flip through the pages of some fancy fashion magazine or check out huge/popular/professional beauty blog, and I get a million of advice.

Even readed someone say that dry skin can be fixed just by drinking more water - I have dry skin! No it is not working. I do drink about 1,5 - 2 liters water, but still - my skin is dry :)
Do you know some beauty myths?
Here is few I finded:

1. There are skin-care products that work like Botox
No! I'm sorry, there is no skin-care products that can work like Botox, because the ingredients cannot reach their target areas. And in fact - no one will use a Botox if there would be magical cream :D
There is absolutely no research showing that any skin-care product can even remotely work in any manner like Botox.

2. Make up causes acne

Probably not. There is no research indicating that make up or skin-care products can cause acne. Even more - there is no consensus an which ingredients are or are not problematic.
I feel it is more about how well you take off your make up or for how long you are wearing make up. Everything is good if you are using it wisely :)

3. Everyone needs an eye cream

There is no evidence, research or documentation validating the claim that the eye area needs ingredients different from those you use on your face or neck area.
I have 4 face creams and 2 eye creams at the moment. And guess what? They all have the same ingredients, even organic one doesn't have different ingredients!!!! It's crazy - only thing that changes is proportion.

However I think I'll keep my it is. Don't think I can live without, for example, eye cream. Only next time shopping for one I'll check ingredients for something different :)

Wine Wednesday I Müller-Thurgau

Müller-Thurgau is a white grape variety which was created by Herman Müller in 1882. Herman Müller, born October 21, 1850 in Tagerwilen. He was Swiss botanist, plant physiologist, oenologist and grape breeder.

Müller researched and published on a wide range of topics in viticulture and winemaking, including the biology of vine flowering, assimilation of nutrients by the wine, wine diseases, alcoholic fermentation of wine.

Müller-Thurgau he created during his time in Geisenheim, in a breeding programme initiated in 1882, by crossing Riesling ( 29.04.2015. ) with Madeleine Royale.

The grape is used to make white wine in Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Hungary, England, Australia, The Czech Republic, slovakia, Slovenia, New Zealand, The United States and Japan.

By the 1070s,Müller-Thurgau had become Germany's most planted grape. A possible reason for the popularity of this varietal is that it is capable of being grown in relatively wide range of climates and soil types. Many of these were planted on flat areas that were not particularly suitable for growing other wine grapes because it was more profitable than sugar beet, which was the main alternative crop in those locations.

I totally agree - wine is better option than sugar beets :)

Have a nice Wine wednesday