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Übersetzt heißt das Gericht (Gigantes fournou) soviel wie weiße, große Bohnen aus dem Ofen. Es ist ein griechisch-orthodoxes Fastengericht. Das Gericht wird in meiner ganzen Familie geliebt. Es schmeckt richtig gut, natürlich auch noch nach der Fastenzeit. 🙂

Gigantes fournou (vegan)

Als Vorspeise für 6 Personen.
Als Hauptspeise für 4 Personen.
Serviert wird mit Brot.

Zutaten:
❤g Olivenöl
❤2 Zwiebeln
❤2 Karotten
❤3 Knoblauchzehen
❤g Tomaten in der Dose
❤g Gigantes (große weiße Bohnen) oder ersatzweise kleine weiße Bohnen aus dem Glas/Dose
❤g warmes Wasser
❤2 EL Tomatenmark
❤1/2 TL Zucker
❤Salz, Pfeffer
❤3 EL Petersilie

Zubereitung:

Introduction

Hello everyone, if you’ve visited my blog in the past, you probably know that I like to write about topics such as spirituality, mental struggles, and growth. And if you haven’t I greet you wholeheartedly.

In the few posts that I’ve written, I talked a lot about my spiritual growth and how this came about, so if you’re interested in reading those stories or want to enjoy a little refresher feel free to check them out here. Usually, these posts were very long, and I would work on them for about a week or two. I intend to change this from now on and instead want to focus on writing more posts regularly.

There are a couple of reasons for that and all of them have to do with being paralyzed by insecurity. Insecurity has been a general theme in my life which I recently decided to take head-on. It was also the primary reason I stopped writing at the time. I was feeling overwhelmed and was very insecure about myself. This is furthermore why my posts were so long because I was being too perfectionistic about it. 

“Insecurity kills all that is beautiful.”

~Demi Lovato

Relapse

At the time that I was posting on my blog, I was sober and talked about my previous relationship with weed. Regrettably, after that summer I completely relapsed into my old habits. Three months after I smoked my first joint that year I was back to smoking daily. Alongside it enforced even deeper feelings of regret, shame, and insecurity. But why was I feeling so insecure in the first place? 

Looking back at it now, I remember being extremely ambitious at the time. My girlfriend (now fiancee) and I just got together, and I was ready to start my dream life. At least I thought I was. 

I never really addressed the problem of insecurity. I was just trying to fake it ‘til I made it, which can be an effective strategy from time to time. But it can get difficult if insecurity is so deeply rooted in your survival strategy.

You might be wondering what I was so insecure about. At the time it was many things. First of all, I had no idea where my career was going. I never completed a study and was worried that if my newly found girlfriend were to see my inability to become successful the relationship wouldn’t last. As a result, I tried extra hard to become a person of significance. And over the past 2 years, I’ve started and quit multiple entrepreneurial endeavors.

So as you can see the problem I was trying to avoid led me to my failures. Fortunately for me though, my girlfriend was very understanding of the situation. She loves me no matter what person I become. 

“Only the insecure strive for security.”

~Wayne Dyer

The Root Of The Problem

Not long ago, I quit weed again and this time I made it a very conscious undertaking. I made sure to have people to talk to and aid me through the entire process. I wrote daily in my diary to make sure I never forget why I quit and which things triggered me to smoke weed. I’ll write about this more in-depth in the upcoming posts.

As I’ve been focussing on my insecurity issues it occurred to me that I’ve had troubles dealing with this my entire life. This is also presumably the main reason I never finished a study, and in more recent times didn’t manage to succeed as an entrepreneur. Every time the going got tough I felt overwhelmed and instead of breaking through this resistance I just grabbed the first thing that distracted me from this uneasy feeling. Most of the time, this was weed, but another one of my favorite distraction tools was gaming. 

Over the years it has come to grow on me that this is indeed the case. I am distracting myself whenever I feel overwhelmed and need to stop doing it and start working on the things that I see myself doing in the future. The problem has been that all of this primarily happens unconsciously. And so without even thinking about it, I would already be smoking a joint or have started up a video game. 

One of my favorite things to tell myself was that I just genuinely liked doing these things. The underlying frustration that came from that I simply redirected onto other things or people.

For example:

‘Why are my teammates so bad at this game?’

‘Why aren’t people just nice to each other?’

There was always a way to redirect my frustrations in some way, while in reality I was frustrated with myself for not pushing through the resistance I felt. It’s been this way for a very long time. When I was a teenager I would do the same thing. 

“Sometimes our thoughts are backed by so much insecurity that they create lies we believe.”

The Solution

There are probably hundreds of approaches to fixing this problem. Chances are likely that I’ve read or have known about all of them for a while now. Which in a way further developed the issues I was dealing with. I call this Paralysis By Overanalysis. Simply put, I’d rather engage in learning about how to deal with the problem than deal with the actual problem.

This, in turn, would result in feeling even more insecure, because every time I learned a new solution another thing was added to the List Of Things I Need To Do, But Can’t For Some Reason.

This is also why being addicted to something is so incredibly dangerous because whatever reasoning I had to engage in the addiction stemmed from some kind of negative emotion. The interaction is always cyclical. In the very same way, the solutions I might find can be cyclical. 

Anyone outside of the same addiction pattern would simply tell me to quit. And this is the only real solution to any addiction. The result of quitting brought up that negative emotion I had been avoiding for years now, insecurity.

Aside from writing about it and putting my insecurities on paper for everyone to read, I meditate on it every morning. I sit down and let myself get into a deep trance state. After I reach the state of being completely relaxed, I bring up this feeling of insecurity and observe it as if it wasn’t me. Then I acknowledge to myself that this is the feeling I want to overcome and that I desire to be free from it.

So far it felt like I’ve made huge progress in this. My insecurities do still arise, and I certainly have a long way to go, but working on it actively has unleashed a bunch of energy within me. I can now work on my career without feeling like a failure. I started working on art with a passion I’ve never felt before and have rekindled with the beauty of writing. These are just the first steps and I’m excited to keep working towards the life that I dream about.

“It’s only when you get beyond the emotion of fear and move into the unknown -despite the fear- that you turn your fear into passion and courage.”

~Dr. Joe Dispenza

Last Words

Thank you for reading this post, and I hope that you enjoyed reading it. If there’s anything you recognized about yourself or want to share with me, feel free to leave a comment. As I said earlier I’m making it a goal to post regularly. Some of the upcoming topics I want to write about are motivation, quitting weed, and meditation. On top, I am going to make an extra section on the blog to share my art. 

Make sure to sign up your email to the email list or follow me on social media to get the latest updates.

I cried the day I gave up breastfeeding so I took myself off and bought some new bras.

Breastfeeding is the most glorious heart melting, mothering and loving action you can share with your newborn child. That is of course if it works. The first four days I fed my beautiful little girl colostrum and hoped desperately for my milk to come in. The midwives applauded my perseverance daily and encouraged me for not offering formula, though when the feeds become every hour and my poor baby was clearly distressed from lack of food I began to question my judgement. The wearing and cracks caused by the demand on my nipples were beginning to take it&#;s toll. On the day they discharged me from hospital my daughter wouldn&#;t leave my breast, my milk had shown signs of arriving and she was there willing to take every drop without a break, the midwives literally suggested I pull her away after 3hrs straight just to get me in the car and out the door. We arrived home exhausted and grateful of creature comforts, we introduced our new baby to her home, the dogs and took our first breath as a family. We were home and ready to settle into our new life.

The following day my husband returned to work and that was when my baby began cluster feeding. With ten minute breaks throughout 8hrs my warn skin became open wounds, no amount of shields, balms or ice packs could help nor prepare me for the sight of my blood gushing out of my daughters mouth once pulling away from a feed. I had a little vampire on my hands, something I can laugh about now but at the time I was hysterical. I tried hand expressing but produced nothing but blood. I was beside myself, panicked, alone and with a starving baby screaming in my arms. Totally unprepared for the idea I wouldn&#;t be able to breastfeed I didn&#;t have a steriliser, breast pump or milk storing containers at home. Fortunately a friend had given me a sachet of formula at my baby shower and with that in mind and the tears streaming down my face I tried to calm my screaming child whilst I boiled the kettle and attempted to read the formula instructions. Once the bottle was in her mouth and devoured in only a few minutes I was able to call for help, sort out a breast pump, steriliser, bottles, teats, bottle brush, milk storage containers and formula.

I never had enough milk for my beautiful big baby girl, so for ten whole weeks I breastfed, followed up with a bottle and pumped milk in-between. I became a walking talking milking station. They say you should sleep when the baby sleeps, well clearly they hadn&#;t walked a day in the shoes of someone with low milk supply as her sleep time was my pumping, storing, cleaning and sterilising time. Hang on, I hear you say aren&#;t you meant to eat well, sleep and rest to encourage breast milk? I had little chance of that with my pumping routine. It was non stop and absolutely exhausting but I was happy to persist to make sure I could breastfeed my girl. I guess in the end it was my daughter&#;s decision that caused me to change. She loved the bottle, the ease and flow of never ending milk and her frustrations grew with my breastfeeding, never was she satisfied and quickly she knew a short suck on each breast resulted in a full bottle (containing what breast milk I had pumped and topped up with formula) She was drinking more than an average baby, she was of course an above average size and weight and continued to grow at a rapid pace. As the breasts became an obstacle to her main goal she began to show her irritation. If anyone has undergone breast refusal you will understand what it means to have full, sore breasts on offer and tears streaking down your cheeks as you plead with your babe to accept them only to be met with screams, scratches and tears on their end. I even attempted a standoff whereby I wouldn&#;t offer the bottle without her taking some breast first, but she let me know over the course of a few hours and days that her stubbornness was far greater than my will to fight. (I wonder where she gets that from?!)

I loved breastfeeding. I loved the closeness you have with your child, the nuzzling of their nose and the deep look they give you. I loved her head in my hand and the grip her fingers would offer wrapped around my little finger. But, in the end breastfeeding wasn&#;t the best option for her or me.

I persisted with morning feeds up until two weeks ago, when my daughter woke in the morning I could sneak her onto my breast and hope she&#;d get involved and take what she could get in her drowsy state. But, whether from my daughter&#;s lack of interest or my bodies response to rejection I dried up the other week and I had to come to terms with the fact it was my last day breastfeeding my daughter. I cried with her in my arms knowing I would never have that closeness with her again, that true dependence a child has on it&#;s mother. But as I popped a bottle into her mouth and she wrapped her tiny fingers around my pinky and smiled up at me I realised I was pushing breastfeeding for me, for the idea that society pushes upon you that breast is best and anything less is unacceptable, for the midwives that applauded a hungry baby over a top up of formula. Instead of helping ease my child&#;s stress and hunger I made her hold out. The decision should have been made by what she was telling me and what was and is right for her is to be full, happy and content from a bottle.

I hope that if I have another child I can successfully breastfeed, but if I struggle again I will know next time not to fear the looks from breastfeeding mums when I produce a bottle to feed my child with, not to kill myself and my body every waking minute if it&#;s not the right decision. The day I accepted that formula feeding would be the predominant form of milk for my child I changed, I remember it being week 10 and I finally thought, wow, I love this gig (motherhood) my baby was full, happy and smiling during her feed, she wasn&#;t fighting me, she wasn&#;t complaining. I relaxed and enjoyed motherhood on another level that I hadn&#;t felt before. I stopped caring what others thought because I knew I had a happy baby and that made me a proud and happy mumma.

So when I was able to pack away those horrendous maternity bras last week I went out and celebrated with buying some new bras. (Bendon have a great sale on at the moment check it out here). My Nana used to say to me &#;in proud moments in your life you have to go and buy yourself a new bra&#; I remember when I was 16 asking why I needed a new bra for being proud and she responded, &#;well if you&#;re proud of yourself you&#;ll push out your chest and let everyone know it.&#;
So I guess I had more than one reason for buying a new bra.

Ahh, Croatia, one of my favorite destinations….food and drink, one of my favorite things to talk about! Guess what?! It’s all in this Croatian Food Guide! How exciting is that?! I want to give you a full in-depth look at everything you should eat and drink when you are in Croatia. Trust me, bring some stretchy pants because you will need them on this food tour of beautiful Croatia!

The one thing I loved about all of the food in Croatia was that it was all fresh. Everything I ate tasted as fresh as you can get and it was oh so good. I honestly felt like I was on a cleanse when I was there and as soon as I got back to the States the food just wasn’t as good.

Before we get started, let’s get acquainted with some of the dialogue that will help you on your food tour.

Hi → Bok → “Bock”

Please → Molim → ”Moh-lim”

Thank you→ Hvala→ “Hvah-lah”

Cheers!→ Zivjeli→ “Zheevyelee”

Beer→ Pivo→ “Pee-vho”

Wine→ Vino → “Vee-noh”

Water → Voda → “Voh-dah”

All of the food I had in Croatia was simply amazing, but there were definitely some dishes that stood out more than others. The following are definitely items you should try, but obviously eat whatever looks good to you while visiting. Eating local food is definitely one of the best ways to submerge yourself into the culture of a new country.

Shopska/ ”Greek” Salad

Oh my goodness! Greek salads are one of my favorite salads ever, but the ones I had while in Croatia were the absolute BEST I have ever had. The feta was so good, so rich and creamy and the vegetables were always so fresh. This is also such an easy dish to make! All that is in it is cucumber, tomato, red bell pepper, onion, olives, and feta. Then top it off with some red wine vinegar and lemon juice if you want. So easy, so yummy. I literally had at least one of these salads every single day on my trip.

Pršut, Kulen and Pag Cheese

Both Kulen and Pršut are the two premium dried meats of Croatia. They are normally served as an appetizer accompanied with Pag cheese and bread. Kulen is a spicy sausage so be prepared when trying it, while Pršut is ham normally made from the hind leg of a pig. Both are really good and have very different tastes to them. Pag cheese is a hard cheese that is made from sheep milk on the Croatian island of Pag. When all three of these come together, it makes for a wonderful appetizer.

There are always debates about which of these meats are better so when you visit make sure to try both and let me know what you think is best. All of these in combination are so yummy, but you have to watch yourself so that there is room left for the main course.

Burek

This is the most popular street food in Croatia, hands down, and for good reason. It is so easy to eat, and delicious. Again there are debates surrounding this food item, from which country actually invented it, to if it has to have meat in it to be considered a true Burek. One thing that seems to be consistent though is the layers of dough that are flaky and delicious. In Croatia you can find really anything inside of a Burek, from meat to cheese to fruit or even potatoes. Either way, this is the easiest food you can get on the street and enjoy while walking and exploring more.

You can see different types of Burek here. Photo Credit: Kyra Baker

Soparnik

This dish is very common and easy to eat. The dough and consistency is a little different from a Burek; it is crisper and more savory. Normally the filling is swiss chard and one of the best ones we found when in Croatia had feta in the filling as well. Again, this dish is one that you can order from a food cart and enjoy on your walking journey rather easily.

Photo Credit: Kyra Baker

Ćevapi

This was actually the first dish I had while in Croatia, so it has a special place in my heart, or err stomach. When I was going from restaurant to restaurant though I found that some of the places say different things for what type of meat this dish is made of, so I am going to be safe and say it is made of minced meat. There is a little bit of a spicy kick to it and it is served with a bread similar to pita bread, together with onions, sour cream, and ajvar. Ajvar is a sauce that is close to hummus in texture and made from red bell peppers and olive oil. This really is a great dish that I had more than once on my trip.

First meal in Croatia

Peka

This is the longest dish of our Croatian Food Guide to prepare in Croatia, or maybe even the world. Just kidding! But in all honesty, it took 4 hours from when we ordered it to when it was ready to be served at our table but well worth the wait. Peka or the “Under the bell” dish is made using a cripnja which is a bell-shaped lid that covers the pot filled with any meat you choose, vegetables, and potatoes. The dish is then cooked covered in hot coals for 4 hours before being served.

This is a lot of food, so when ordering it be prepared to eat and bring along good company for that 4-hour wait while it cooks. This was by far the best dinner I had in Croatia, not just because of the food, but because of the company. We had our dish on the charming island of Mljet right on the water, and the meat we chose was fish. Yum!

Still so much left!

Risotto

Risotto is on every menu in Croatia, from mushroom to shrimp you can find it anywhere. The must-try dish while in Croatia is the black risotto. The only thing with the black risotto is you must like seafood to enjoy it. Normally it is made with cuttlefish, calamari, and doused in cuttlefish ink to give it the black appearance. There is definitely a seafood taste to it which is why I caution those who don’t like seafood before giving it a go.

If you are a seafood lover, or not, you can find a risotto that you will love while visiting Croatia. Trust me, you can’t go wrong with this dish.

Palačinke

This dish is a favorite in Croatia and is basically a crepe pancake. I was surprised on our first night out and about there are stands and restaurants dedicated to just this dish. It is perfect for a dessert or a drunken late-night snack. There are also not so sweet versions of this dish that you can eat for lunch or dinner. My favorite Palačinke was in Hvar. It was a dessert one that was drizzled with chocolate.

Pasta with Truffles

Really just pasta and just truffles are two must eats in this country, but when you put them together, it is pure magic! There is nothing fancy that they need to do to make this dish spectacular, which is why I think it is amazing. Just cook some pasta, add some olive oil, and have some freshly grated truffles on top. There you go, the best dish of your life and it is oh so simple.

Pasta with Truffles and Prawns

Oysters

Seafood in Croatia is so fresh and exquisite that you must try it! I am really not a huge oyster fan, but Croatia changed my mind for sure. They were so yummy, fresh, and simple.  I didn’t get the chance to visit Ston, this is where most people say the absolute best Oysters come from. When I go back to Croatia, I think I will book a tour of one of the oldest oyster farms in that area to see exactly what makes these ones the best.

Dirty Macaroni

This is a dish that you can find throughout Dubrovnik. The title on some menus is misleading, calling it Mac and Cheese, which it really is not even similar to, except for that fact that they are both pasta dishes. The dish normally uses a macaroni noodle, and the sauce is like a meaty marinara, but definitely a different flavor. You can find this dish being served year-round, but especially around the day of the patron saint of Dubrovnik, St. Blaise. Give this Croatian Food Guide highlight a try when you are in Dubrovnik!

Photo Credit: Kyra Baker

Grilled/BBQ Squid

On the island of Korčula, there were a lot of restaurants that had grilled squid as an option. While I saw it in other parts of Croatia, it was definitely more popular on Korčula. Luckily my friend Kyra ordered it and thank goodness she did! It was a great dish. After talking to some people from Croatia they told me that Korčula actually had the best BBQ squid, so Kyra ordered at the right time on the trip. Normally the dish is served with some potatoes and grilled squash. Worth a try when visiting Korčula.

Photo Credit: Kyra Baker

Now that we have covered some food, what about drinking while in Croatia?! Well, I have you covered for that one as well!

Rakia

First on the list of drinks on our Croatian Food Guide is Rakia. It is probably the most popular alcoholic drink throughout Croatia. It is a strong fruit brandy that can really be made out of anything, even non-fruits. I came home with a lot of different flavors, but my favorite is Orahovac, which is a walnut brandy. While this drink is served in a small glass, like a shot glass, you don’t take it all in one sip. Turn it into about 3 sips, and then order the next round.

If you can, try to find one that is homemade… the quality and flavor are so much better.

Our first glass of Orahovac, homemade by our waiter&#;s friend.

Beer

Ožujsko and Karlovačko were definitely the beers that I saw most frequently throughout the entire country. I tried both and they were good. You can find beer really anywhere you go in Croatia, and most people have one or two with their meals.

The best tour director! Ingo!

Wine

I drank more wine on this one trip then I have in my whole life I think. Wine just seems to be everywhere! There are also a lot of wineries on the islands we visited, so of course to be like a local we had to try them. I am certainly no wine expert, but at dinner, I would usually ask for a recommendation for whichever dish I was ordering and was always happy with it.

We did a tasting in Orebić and it was very good. I actually ended up purchasing a bottle of red wine because I liked it so much, and normally I am not a red wine drinker at all. Definitely an important part of this Croatian Food Guide!

Photo Credit to above 3 images: Lauren Breaux

There is obviously so much more you can try, and that I will hopefully be able to go back and try while in Croatia, but from my experience, these are some items you must try while visiting. The people are nice, the food is fresh, and the alcohol is always flowing, so there is no doubt that it will be a good time. Let me know below if you&#;ve tried any of the items in this Croatian Food Guide! And check out my &#;Bri Meets World&#; series to try out some tasty recipes from all over the world!