carbs – Beary Strong

Festive Apple Hazelnut Cake with Cinnnamon Crumble

Crumbly, creamy, cinnamony.

I love easy bakes full of flavor but quick to prepare, without a ton of steps to follow. However, there are occasions where something more soffisiticated is just the right thing to do. While watching a baking show, I came across this gorgeous combination of ingredients and textures, which tingled my baking nerve. The single components aren’t difficult to prepare and with the proper timing it won’t take long until you have a scrumptious festive cake to serve to your guests.

The Glycemic Index And Insulin

Understand the basics to make an informed decision.

There are two “new” bad boys in the nutrition bubble: carbohydrate and insulin. The carbohydrate-insulin-hypothesis claims that carbs are noxious for your health because they raise blood sugar and, as a consequence, insulin, inherently making you fat. In the light of this, insulin gets a bad reputation for being the hormone driving adiposity. The glycemic index of foods is rediscovered in a desperate attempt to keep blood glucose as low as possible. But is this even necessary? Let’s take a look!

Vanilla Shortbread

Pure luxury for special occasions.

Saying this is a cookie is almost an insult. This is pure luxury. A single piece of vanilla shortbread takes a simple cup of tea and elevates it to a proper tea time. We choose best ingredients, so this is something special, reserved for special occasions or special people. I’m sure you’ll like it.

Irish Soda Bread

A quick and simple fix for your carb cravings.

It’s hard to come up with things that beat a fresh, homemade bread. The smell alone is worth it. As much as I like a good sourdough bread, sometimes you need a quick fix. Less time commitment, but still a perfect loaf. Give this classic a try, it needs no kneading and no time to rise.

The Carb Guide

Intake, health, appropriate carb sources, all explained.

Opinions on carbs differ widely in mainstream fitness media. You’ll find everything from “essential for health” to “addictive as cocaine and equally dangerous”. And for all of these opinions you will find some guru propagating them in the form of some weird diet to make money. Forget all of the non-sense, I have compiled a science based guideline on carbs to answer all the questions. Enjoy!

Banana Poppy Bread

Tales of a Crossfit post-workout treat revised.

The first banana breads Stefan and I baked were as we both were eating Paleo style, which means without any grains, dairy and legumes. Why did we do that? First, I was suffering from weekly gut issues and had regular migraine attacks and a TCM doctor suggested me to avoid these products. In addition, we were both training Crossfit-style and it was very popular in those circles. The banana bread was our post-workout and probably the best part of it 😉 The old version of our banana bread was without flour and with plenty of nuts, delicious but a caloric bomb. Inspired by a lovely girl training at Das Gym with us, Kathi, we modified it and created a lighter version of it.

Cranachan Cheesecake

The perfect, Scottish way to start your day.

Scotland loving lifting foodies, I have created the perfect breakfast for you! I took inspiration at the traditional Scottish dessert as well as from Chantal‘s favourite baker, Paul Holywood, and transformed it into a protein rich, calorie friendly breakfast. Curd, oats, eggs and berries make this the perfect pre-workout and generally a great way to start your day. Enjoy!

How To Meal Prep

Basic calculations and cooking guidelines.

Even if meal prep sounds like something only fitness freaks do, it is a very convenient and time efficient way to assure that you get something proper to eat for the whole week. It may also be a great strategy to save money since often it is cheaper to buy certain foods in bulk. Meal prep is more than just cooking something in batch and then putting the leftovers in tupper boxes, although this is already a big step in the right direction for most people who are not used to cooking. Here we delve a little deeper: distribution of protein, balancing calories and eating well while doing so.

How To Calculate Your Macros

Basic calculations for everybody.

Now that you know how to calculate your energy intake, the question is “How much of each macro should I eat?” Calculating your macros is rather easy and I think everybody should know how to do it by himself. Considering that there are services out there that “calculate your personalised macros”, I can help you save some money too. Read on and enjoy the Beary wisdom gains!

Pomegranate Beef Stew

Easy, bold flavour from Persia.

Today there is a Persian inspired dish on the menu. Exotic spices, pomegranate and comforting poppy seeds may seem weird at first glance, but work together perfectly. Give it a try, I am sure you will like it!