Recipe: Fish en papillote

My mom and I decided to try out a totally different recipe. A little diverse than what we normally make, but definitely worth trying. This fishpackage is awesome for when you simply want to make something else. This dish is full of flavours and a little party for your tastebuds!

What you will need (4 portions):

• 4 cod fillets
• 150 grams of spinach
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 100 grams of small tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 1 lemon
• 4 branches of rosemary
• 4 branches of thyme
• Peper and salt
• Olive oil
• 4 pieces of silver foil/bakingpaper

Preparation:

1. Heat the oven on 200 degrees Celsius
2. Wash the spinach and place some on the different pieces of foil
3. Season the cod fillets with peper, salt and chilipowder and place them on the bed of spinach
4. Slice the red onion into rings and add those to the packages together with the tomatoes
5. Press the cloves of garlic and put this into the packages together with a branch of rosemary and thyme
6. Cut the lemon and place one slice on each of the fish
7. Sprinkle the packages with olive oil and close the packages
8. Steam them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes
9. Perfectly to be served with spinachrice and a lovely fish sauce

What is your favourite way to prepare fish related dishes? Let me know in the comments!

Have a sunny day. -x-

Do you know what it feels like to keep going?

Wow. Seriously, wow. What an amazing run I had today. Yes, amazing it was. I decided to take the same route as wednesday, to see if I could beat the time. I have been struggling with a knee injury for two years now, and it keeps coming back, just like during my wednesday run. Fortunately, my knees weren't bothering me today at all. Aside from a stomachache it was going as planned. I beat wednesday's time with a total of three minutes.

Every little improvement makes me so motivated to train more and more. During the run I faced a stomachache due to which I wasn't motivated to keep running. Then I remembered something I saw on the internet today:

This may seem a little exaggerated, but it is the general idea that really speaks to me. While remembering this quote, I figured every little bit of progress is progress. You just got up to do workout. Dressed up to get fit. Tied your shoe laces to become in better health. Why would you quit now? You may know what giving up feels like, but do you know what keep going feels like? Appreciate all the little steps of progress you make during the way to your goal. In the end, it is the journey that got you there.

For if you were wondering, yes, I got up, went running, maybe faster than ever. I had wings, I was flying. Figuratively speaking. Here is a picture of what I encountered in the forest. It had been storming and raining a lot overnight and this is the result: 

What makes you motivated to keep going, when quitting seems like the easiest option? 

With this all said, I wish you a great day! -x-

Recipe: Pastasalad with diced ham

Since we went barbecuing I decided to make a pastasalad as a healthy sidedish. As you could have probably guessed, I have got an addiction for pastasalads during the summer. They are just so easy to make and you can costumize it however you like it! I invented this salad myself by just trying out some ingredients that I thought would fit well together. The nice thing about this dish is that you can add any ingredient you like or use other ingredients which match your preferences.

What you will need (for two bowls):

• 500 grams of pasta
• 300 grams of diced ham
• 4 tbsp of black olives
• 15 cherrytomatoes
• 250 grams of green beans
• 450 grams of mozzarella
• 2 tbsp of fresh cream
• 4 tsp of italian spices
• olive oil
• peper

Preparation:

1. Shuck the ends of the green beans and wash them. Put them into a pan with boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Then swill with cold water, so that the beans remain green.
2. Boil the pasta following the instructions on the wrapper. When done, cast the pasta into a colander and swill with cold water. Let it leak out afterwards.
3. Cut the cherrytomatoes into pieces, as well as the black olives and mozzarella. Put the pasta, diced ham, olives, tomatoes, fresh cream, mozzarella and green beans in a bowl and toss it around. Season the salad with italian spices, peper and olive oil. Ready to serve!

Just a little note: I used olive oil that I got as a holiday present from a dear friend of mine. It is formed as the tower of pisa and contains olive oil with rosemary and pepers. It is absolutely delicious and really adds something special to the dish!

What kind of pastasalads do you make during the summertime? I would love to hear from you!

Have a lovely day. -x-

Running, hardlopen, laufen!

A new blogpost today. About running, hardlopen, laufen. What a wonderful thing that is. I went running yesterday while just having downloaded a new running app, called strava. It basically measures about pretty much everything, so you might want to check it out yourself (you can also use it for mountainbiking etc.).

I figured I would tell you something about my summer cardioprogramme. I wake up early on a workout day because I prefer working out at the start of the day. Before leaving the house, I eat two slices of gingerbread and drink a glass of water or juice. I run with a bottlebelt so that I always have access to water. I tend to delineate the route in my head before I go.

I like running with music, it gives me a great energy boost. Songs I really love listening to while running? Beautiful day, Ordinary Love and One by U2 (and basically all the other songs by U2), All of Me Remix by Tiësto and Waiting for Love by Avicii.

After running it is significant to keep hydrating yourself. When I come home I drink one or two glasses of water straight away. I also like to eat a citrus fruit. After my shower I still take a small breakfast. That is often a slice of bread with topping or a bowl with fruits and oatmeal. After, I am ready to take on the day!

What do you eat/drink before, during and after your workout? I would love to hear from you!
Have a beautiful day. -x-

Salmontartare

This recipe is one of my favourites on a hot summer evening when you are seeking for something fresh and full of flavours; a real joy for your tastebuds! The ingredients go suprisingly well together, and you just can't get enough of this delicious creation.

What you will need (4 portions):

• 1 lemon
• 300 grams of salmon
• 8 grams of dill
• 3 branches of parsley
• 1 spring onion
• 2 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tsp horseradish

Preparation:

1. Grate the yellow skin of the lemon and press the juice out of the fruit. Slice the salmon into small blocks. Slice the dill as well as the leaves of the parsley into tiny pieces. Cut the spring onion as well. Blend the lemon grater, the salmon, the dill, the parsley, the spring onion, the capers with one tablespoon of olive oil. Additionally you might want to add some peper or salt.
2. Blend the mayonnaise and horseradish in a bowl and flavour it with lemonjuice.
3. Make a tartare of the salmon (you could use a bowl or a cup for this). Serve the tartare with the horseradish mayonnaise. You might also want to decorate it with another branch of dill.

Leave a comment letting me know what your opinion on this recipe is, I would love to hear from you! Have a great day. x.

On my way to Uganda!

That is a little odd... Let me explain: this heading is the title of my other (Dutch) blog, on my way to Uganda. In February 2016 I am off to Uganda to work as a volunteer for development project in the pearl of Africa. This expedition is instead of my internship to an English speaking country. I chose to join this expedition because of two reasons. First of all, I am eager to give my share in the development and building of the country of Uganda, including learning about the culture, the people and the traditions. Second, I believe this expedition could really help my own development flourish. I would love to broaden my view on the world and learn about other societies and lives.

As said before, in the two weeks I will spend there I will be doing voluntery work. Think about building a stove out of clay, teaching English at a school, working on the land and playing football with the local children. For these local projects, I was asked to raise money. I have found a, in my opinion, fun way for doing so. Every so often I invite two couples (whom each bring another couple) for a fancy dinner at my house. My mom and I will make a 3 course dinner based on the season. My guest will pay for a lovely night out and good company. All the profit of such a dinner will be for the local projects in Uganda. The previous two dinners were a great success and I am looking forward to more good experiences. 

If you would like to know more about my expedition or the raising of money, do not hesitate to leave a comment! I would love to hear from you guys.

Have a lovely day! x.

A morning workout

Since my fieldhockey season only starts in the last weeks of the summer holiday, I try to stay fit via other sports. During the 3 weeks I spent in France, I went mountainbiking with my dad, did some running with my mom, practised some exercises in the pool (think about swimming laps, aquarunning, etc.), did some kayaking and went hiking for a few days. Now that I am back at home my mom and I go for a nice morning run in the forest at least 3 times a week. 

The reason I am writing about this, is because I figured I would tell you something about my motivation to start running and about my workout routine. My main motivation to do sports is because it is healthy. We all have those days where you are just not motivated to do anything, let alone getting up and start exercising. I too have those days, it is normal I guess (?). 

I have been playing hockey for quite some time now, and it is a great way to exercise and meet new people. My weekly hockey routine consists out of two trainings and one match in the weekends. Still, I chose to start running next to my weekly hockey routine. My mom started running a couple of years ago, She wanted to become strong and fit and she has really inspired me to start running. It is a lot of fun to hear about all her stories evolving around running and if you want to read for yourself, you should check out her (Dutch) blog, under the label: 'rennen'.

So, back to my motivation to start running. I really wanted my body to become stronger (which is also very handy for hockey) so I decided to join my mom in a run on a sunday morning. What suprised me very much is the freedom and energy you encounter during and after the workout. Gosh, how great it feels when you have started your day all healthy. You would think you get very tired after a morning workout, which indeed is true, but the energy you gain outweighs the tiredness. So I started joining my mom every sunday and we always picked different routes through the forest so we won't get bored. Our loyal dog always comes with us and it brings me a lot of joy to see him so happily running through the forest (after which he will lay outside in the grass for the remaining day resting). 

Now that the previous hockey season has finished, we were asked to do some intensive sporting each week. So I decided to go and do running 3 days in a week. And, if you were wondering: yes, I still face those days where I am just not motivated to do anything. However, I know now how important it is for your health and how great it feels, coming back after a refreshing morning run, ready to start the day!

Recipe: Pastasalad with tuna

I have tried out this new recipe today and decided to share it with you right away. It is a very refreshing salad perfect for those typical summer days, when you are in for something light but still delicious. The great thing about this salad is that you can make as much as you want, put the left over in the refrigerator and have a great lunch the next day!

What you will need (4 portions):

• 350 grams of pasta 
• 65 grams of pine nuts
• 1 courgette
• about 20 small tomatoes
• 4 teaspoons of capers
• 500 grams of tuna (in sunflower oil)
• 2 spoons of greek yoghurt
• 2 spoons of mayonnaise
• pepper
• salt
• italian spices

Preparation:

1. Cook the pasta following the instructions on the wrapper. After, put the pasta in a colander and wash with cold water
2. Heat up a frying pan and put the pine nuts in there for a minute (keep tossing them in the pan). Afterwards, take them out and put them in a bowl
3. Slice the courgette and put some salt and italian spices on it. Put them in the frying pan with some oil and bake the courgette until it turns a little brown. Take it out of the pan and put it into the bowl with pine nuts
4. You can now add the pasta, tomatoes, capers and tuna into that same bowl and mix the ingredients
5. For the dressing, which is additional, mix the greek yoghurt and mayonnaise with some salt and pepper. You can also put in some orange juice for the sweetness
6. Put the dressing over the pastasalad and mix it all together, and there you have your healthy salad!

I like to have a little bit of bite together with my salad, this is why I also made bread snacks (see the picture).

What you will need (you can make as much as you want):

• a couple of slices of bread
• some olive oil
• salt
• italian spices

Preparation:

1. Put the slices of bread into a toaster
2. Take the toasts out of the toaster and cut them in strips
3. Take a bowl and mix a dash of olive oil, some salt and some italian spices
4. Dip the strips of toast into the bowl one by one for a few seconds
5. The bread snacks are done!

I would love to hear your opinion about this recipe and if you have tried it, let me know! Don't hesitate to leave a comment. Have an awesome day! x.

Recipe: Eggbowls with bacon and spinach

So let me just describe my current situation: I just got back from a morning run in the forest, which I really enjoy during the summer time. I am now sitting outside with my laptop while eating my breakfast, which consists out of a slice of bread topped with strawberries (this is good, trust me). Today I decided to share with you this recipe I found out about a year ago that is so good, and very easy to make. You can make it for a lunch, snack or an entree. It only consists out of a few simple ingredients.

What you will need (4 portions):

• 100 grams of bacon strips
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of paprikapowder
• 4 eggs
• 300 grams of spinach
• 1 baking dish
• 4 caserroles (one for each person)

Preparation:

1. Heat up the oven at 200 degrees Celsius
2. Heat up a frying pan (without oil) and bake the bacon
3. Take the bacon strips out and let them leak out in a bowl
4. Wash the spinach and put that in the frying pan after the bacon is out, press out the garlic into the spinach and steer a little (make sure the garlic does not burn)
5. Let the spinach diminish and afterwards put it in a strainer to let go of most of the moist
6. Divide the spinach over the 4 caserroles, crack 4 eggs and put them in each of the caserroles and lastly divide the bacon strips over the bowls
7. Place the 4 caserroles in the baking dish and fill the baking dish up with some water. Put this in the oven for about 18 to 20 minutes, or until the eggs have solidified
8. Take the baking dish out of the oven and sprinkle some paprikapowder over the caserroles

I hope you like this recipe and try it out sometime! Have a great day. x.

Recipe: Mango curry with chicken

The reason I decided to share this recipe with you is because I am absolutely in love with it! This curry is reasonably easy to make and it tastes amazing. The ingredients go well together and are a suprise for your tastebuds!

What you will need (4 portions):

• 3 mango's
• 4 teaspoons of spicy currypasta
• 500 grams of chicken breasts
• 1 cucumber
• 275 millilitre of coconut milk
• a splash of white wine vinegar
• some wokoil

Preparation:

1. Peel of the skin of the three mango's and remove the seed, then cut the mango's in pieces
2. Put a pan of cold water on the stove and boil the rice following the instructions on the wrapper
3. Blend 2 of the mango's together with the coconut milk, you do not have to blend it until it is one whole, you can leave some bite in there
4. Cut the chicken in pieces, put the wokoil in a wok and add the chicken. Wait until the chicken is white or a little brown before adding the currypasta and the mangopurée
5. Keep steering consistently. Once the curry has become hot, you can lower the gas, put on the lid and let it simmer for a bit
6. Put the left over of the mango in a bowl together with pieces of cucumber and splash a little of white wine vinegar over this salad. Additionally you can put some coriander on this salad
7. Serve your curry and rice with some refreshing salad to compensate the spicy flavour the curry brings

Please let me know if you have tried out this recipe! Enjoy your day :)

Identity Alphabet

I figured the best way to start off my new blog was to tell something about me, the author of Silspiration. I found out a fun way to do so: the Identity Alphabet. It works like this: for every letter of the alphabeth, I think of a word that fits my identity, and give a little explanation. So here it goes!

A- stands for all-stars. These are my favourite brand of shoes, and I make sure I always have a pair to wear on casual days!

B- stands for Bethany Mota. She has given me so much inspiration. She has thrived and accomplished so much by just following her own path, that really awes me.

C- as you could have probably guessed, C stands for cooking. I just enjoy being in the kitchen, turning up the music and making your own food. I especially love the moment you get to share it with people, and know you have accomplished this all by yourself!

D- stands for development. Being in your teenage years, you learn a lot about who you are, what your future might be like and how you should make your own way. Development might sound eerie, but I believe it is an unbelievably strong word.

E- stands for earth. I find it so fasinating how we, as human beings, all live on this world which seems to be the only planet suitable for living creatures. The only planet, in the whole universe!

F- stands for friends & family. I believe life is about giving and taking. I always try to help as much as possible and hope people do the same to me. 

G- stands for generosity. I just love the sound of the word so much.

H- stands for my number one sport: hockey. What I love about hockey so much is that you play in a team, that makes it fun on, but also off the field.

I- stands for identity. I have always wondered how everything is created with so much detail and passion, I strongly believe that is beautiful.

J- stands for joy :)

K- stands for kitchen, my favourite spot at home!

L- stands for life. Life is, as far as our knowledge reaches, the biggest thing one whil ever come across. 

M- stands for mercy. 

N- stands for nature. I love being outside, especially in summer.

O- stands for optimism. Everyone needs some of it somewhere during their lifetime.

P- stands for philosophy. I love to come up with theories about our planet and the universe and I adore wondering about life.

Q- stands for queen. This is just such a powerful word.

R- stands for running. I love being outside (especially in the forest) on an early morning working out. It is just such an awesome feeling during and after a long run.

S- stands for summer. When I think of summer, I think of the colours green, blue and orange. Everything is just so much prettier in summer.

T- stands for time. Just take a moment to think about it. Time is one of the main aspects of life. We cannot live without it.

U- stands for universe. It is such an odd matter. You cannot imagine what it looks like because you have never seen anything as big as it is. 

V- stands for value. 

W- stands for we. Everyone is connected to one another.

X- stands for XVI, my favourite number, 16.

Z- stands for zones. I like the word for its many different aspects.

I hope you enjoyed reading this! Have a lovely day. x.

Health & Joy

A new blog means a new space for ideas, theories, plans, opinions and adventures. Silspiration it shall be called. Why? It is based on the meaningful word inspiration. I love this word for its strongness and large capacity of different perspectives. First, because of the inspiration that has been sent to me. All the influences from society have always given me inspiration to try new things, to think out of the box, and to be myself. Second, the inspiration I want to send out to others. All the people that inspire me have been inspired by others. I love the idea of giving to others, what people gave to me. I changed inspiration to silspiration, because that makes it my own. Sil is my nickname and is short for Silke. So there it was: Silspiration.


Silspiration is a website full of inspiration to live a healthy and enjoyable life. Health and joy are, in my opinion, so close related that they shall be the fundament of my blog. I love cooking and eating healthy and my biggest passion is sport. I really want to inspire and teach people how fun health can be. Often, people believe eating healthy is boring and sporting is a waste of time. However, getting to know how important a healthy lifestyle is and experiencing how easy it is to keep up with your health, I can assure you that health will bring joy!

On this website you can expect pieces of writing about sport, food, cooking (so lots of recipes!). Also you will find writings about fashion, lifestyle and school.

Enjoy, take your time, and discover Silspiration!