Almond vanilla balls and my experiences in food photography

As you know I’m sharing my food photography pictures on Instagram as well as on my blog. Some people ask me why I’m sharing my pictures on Instagram as well. The main reason is to improve my food photography skills. To learn from others and to share my experience and to get experiences back from other food photographer.

Social media is a good place to interchange.

To be honest. Working as a food blogger in your free time means to focus on your favourite tasks. Otherwise you can burn yourself out really fast. Food blogging is such a big field where you can work hours and hours to get more follower and traffic on your page. Everybody need to find his real passion in this niche. Mine is taking pictures. Not getting more and more follower.

I like to share a little bit of my food photography journey as well as my recipe today. I won’t go into the details. This is only an idea how my journey has been.

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Food photography

Food photography is a big part of my life and I’m always really thankful to find time for it. I’m only taking pictures when I’m sure I have no other obligations during the day to focus myself completely. It’s a kind of creativity and silence for me. Something where I can stop thinking.

Some of you follow me since I started my blog or my Instagram account 1,5 years ago. As you can see in my pictures my results getting better and better. To be honest. I invested a lot of time and patience to learn how to take good pictures. Why? Because I love taking pictures. I love to look at stunning food photography and I love to realize I can do it as well.

Example 1: Turmeric cashew smoothie with lemon

One of my very first pictures was my turmeric cashew smoothie with lemon.

Kurkuma Cashew Smoothie NEU I

As you can see this picture isn’t really clear. Ist blurred.
It is overexposed and the props are really simple. But when I shot it I was so proud of it. Haha.

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I took this shot a few days ago with my new skills. My new lense and I edited it in Lightroom. This picture has a nice  depth of Focus and the probs are so lovely. It isn’t too loud. As you can see it looks much more professional in total. But it takes 1 year to learn how to shot it.

Inspirations

First of all I got a lot of inspirations from other cook book authors, bloggers and Instagramer. I always have a look and think about which kind of food photography I prefer. I read a lot. I bought books to learn how to start. I could tell you in detail how I improve my skills. But it’s so much better to have a book on hand and learn it step by step.

My German recommendations for good books: Food-Fotografie: Leckere Bildrezepte für Einsteiger and  Food-Fotografie – Essen perfekt in Szene setzen (Digital fotografieren)

Natural light & Props

I started using natural light early because I read it everywhere! Natural light is one of the most important things to follow in taking good food pictures. I didn’t use man props like napkins, towels or different cutlery in the beginning. My first pictures were really simple. But I was really proud of every single one because I took it. LOL. Later I discovered my pictures looking better and better when I use some props.

Example 2: A simple smoothie in a small jar

Look at the difference between these two smoothie pictures. I didn’t used probs in the first one. It looks so lonely and not inviting. Sad smoothie.

Kakao Amaranth Smoothie I

In contrast you feel the athmosphere when you look as this simple banana almond smoothie. I try to avoid too many colors but I added some green in the backround and red from the figs to create a nice view. It fits perfect to the wood I used in that picture. Wooden boards are always a good idea.

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Camera Equipment

I started with a good DSLR camera. Maybe this was the reason I had so much fun when I began. You can easily take pictures with your mobile phone as well but trust me the results with a good camera is so important to improve your skills. And when you decide to take pictures in the future and to invest time to learn it, the camera invest is appropriate.
I use a Nikon DS5200 with a 50mm f/1.8D Lens .

Editing program

In the beginning I used a freeware program to edit my picture. It is from google and the name is picassa. You have the possibility to start editing your pictures without buying an expensive program like Lightroom. You can play around and try out how you can edit your picture to make it looks better. One year later I spend all my money and bought an Apple IMAC with Lightroom. I use it 2 month now and it is the best I ever bought. My results are so much better! I’m also really happy to use Dearnas Food Fotography Guides to learn how to take good pictures and how to edit them in Lightroom.

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My journey isn’t at the end

I’m sure I can learn so much more about this amazing creative hobby. I’m so happy I discovered my passion of food photography because it’s a place I can turn myself off.
I love to share this recipe today because I’m proud of one of my absolutely first action shots. I watched a guide from Dearnas Food Fotography Guides how to take this kind of pictures. And these balls are really delicious, easy to prepare and healthy. My plan was to make almond butter with peeled almonds. But is don’t works. So I decided to convert the paste into balls.

So let’s go!

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Almond vanilla balls
 
Author:
Recipe type: Treats
Ingredients
  • 100g almonds (1 cup)
  • 100g desiccated coconut
  • 400g medjool dates (2 cups)
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp ground vanilla
  • 4 tbsp raw cacao powder
Instructions
  1. Mix up all ingredients (except the cacao powder) in a food processor.
  2. Form the paste into balls.
  3. Sprinkle the balls with cacao powder or icing sugar.
  4. Enjoy!

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Creamy coconut lentil curry with veggie meatballs

Veggie meatballs? My hubby asked me about the association between meat and vegan / vegetarian Food. He think it’s stupid to bring vegetarian or vegan food in connection with animals. I need to think about my opinion. Vegan or vegetarian food often get names like “Veggie Tuna”, “Veggie Chicken” or something like that. For me vegetarian food has nothing to do with meat. Sure, it sometimes tasty similar but never complete equal. The reason we vegetarians or vegans call our meals sometimes like this is to show people the big range of possibilities in the vegetarian and vegan kitchen. Sometimes the meals looks like a “meat meal” but it isn’t one. I really thought about the name of this new recipe and decided to use veggie meatballs because I’m sure lots of people who haven’t ate a lot of vegetarian or vegan food in the past will take notice of this recipe when they read “meat”. The people were raised by eating meat and some people have problems to change their diet. Names like this helps people to find a way to test new ways of cooking.

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Thank you by the way

Lots of people leave a comment on my last Blog Post about „How to grow your Instagram Following„. I hope people who didn’t use Instagram aren’t upset I talked about this topic as well. For me Instagram is a big part of my life and I want to share my experiences with all these lovely people who supports me at any time. I had the feeling to give something back. So this food blog is more than food and sharing recipes. This blog is a place where I share my experiences about my food journey and Instagram is a big part of this.

I definitely will write down a second blog post about the details of my (food) Instagram growing. Lots of you asked my about the details as well. These details are more about the food Instagram in a special niche. But I’m sure the most of my follower are food lover as well. Not a surprise right. Haha.

About the recipe and veggie meatballs

Back to the recipe. This creamy coconut centil curry with veggie meatballs was a spontaneous creation from me because I need to use my leftover I have at home when I was hungry. I always stock some lentils in my kitchen as well as coconut milk or cream. So it was easy to prepare a coconut lentil curry with some spices. It is such a fast and healthy meal. As you maybe know I’m still experimenting with tofu in my kitchen. By the way you find the best tofu scramble on my friends blog. In this way I also have some different kinds of tofu in my fridge. Herbs in the garden are a standard base as well. I got the preparation tip for these aromatic veggie meatballs from a good friend and decided to try them out as well. Really good stuff ;o).

This meal is full vegan and really healthy because of the high quality fatty acids from the coconut milk. Lentils are such a big source of protein. They are quick and easy to prepare when compared to other dried beans and you can stock them always in the kitchen for a long time to have them on hand when you need them.

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RECIPE
CREAMY COCONUT LENTIL CURRY WITH VEGGIE MEATBALLS

Serve 4

For the veggie meatballs

400g Tofu (natural one)
200g breadcrumbs (I use whole grain)
1 red onion
1 bunch of fresh parsley
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp Italian herbs (dried)
2 tsp salt
Black Pepper
Coconut Oil

Preparation
veggie meatballs

  1. Pick up the parsley leaves
  2. Roughly cut the onion and the tofu
  3. Mix all ingredients in a blender or with a immersion blender
  4. Form 12-15 small balls
  5. Heat coconut oil in a pan
  6. Fry the balls over medium heat for 2-3 min each side
  7. Set aside

For the creamy lentil curry

800g canned tomatoes (I use cocktail tomatoes)
400ml coconut milk
120g red lentils
100g cherry tomatoes
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
2 garlic gloves
2 tsp salt
Black Pepper

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Preparation

  1. Press garlic and fry in coconut oil over high heat
  2. Rinse lentils
  3. Add canned tomatoes, grated ginger, turmeric and cayenne pepper
  4. Bring it to boil and cook for 5 min.
  5. Add red lentils and 700ml of water
  6. Reduce heat and let simmer for 35 min.
  7. Chop the cilantro (save a few leaved for decoration)
  8. Once the lentils are soft, add the cherry tomatoes and coconut milk
  9. Simmer for 2 min.
  10. Add chopped cilantro (save a few leaved for decoration)
  11. Taste with salt and pepper
  12. Serve with veggie meat ball
  13. Enjoy

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Anti-Aging with Coconut Water and Coconut Peeling against Cellulite

This post is sponsored by Holly’s Natural

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Who knows me and follow me for a while know that I love a healthy living and take care of the balance in my life. Not only the right diet is important for me. First and foremost I’m aware of living. Find time for me and do things I really love is so important to feel good and get back energy.

I’ve been to the Maldives and drank a lot of fresh coconut water. There are so many reasons to drink more of this natural liquid. Sure you don’t get fresh coconuts everywhere but you can buy the natural water in supermarkets. Here are some fact about the health benefits of coconut water:

  • Coconut Water is perfect for a clear and soft Skin because the Minerals clean up the Skin from the inside
  • The ingredients in coconut water are the best to hydrating your Body
  • Coconut water contains 5 of the essential electrolytes that are really healthy for your Body
  • Coconut Water is very low in calories

Beside Yoga and Meditation I practice my own wellness regularly. I tried out my new Holly’s Natural Peeling and Oil and I’m really excited about the results. Normally I want to make my own peeling with natural products and I collect all the magazines where I find those recipes. But until know I was too lazy to try it out. So I’m really happy to found that alternative from Holly’s Natural.

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They have a peeling made from coffee. Coffee is an essential aid for most people to get started in the morning not only due to its delicious taste. Did you know, coffee is a true miracle cure for your skin? Besides this Coffee not only contains beneficial antioxidants it also has the power of caffein. Our natural reviver has the strength to activate an enzyme called triacylglycerol lipase. This enzyme breaks down fat by releasing water into fatty acids and glycerin, which soothes the appearance of unwanted cellulite. Also, when using coffee as a scrub and massaging onto your skin, it eliminates dead skin, stimulates your body’s blood circulation which has a tightening and smoothing effect on your skin.

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The peeling also contains coconut oil. Coconuts rich and precious Oils are attained through its dried pulp. Coconut Oil is definitely a rising star amongst other cosmetic Oils. It bursts with the goodness of Laurin, Capryl and Myricstic Acid and also contains Vitamin B and E. I will never forget how the father of my friend rub his face with coconut oil I normally cook with. That was too funny. Coconut Oil is so good for your skin.

Furthermore you find Almond Oil in the Body Oil. Normally I eat them. I eat Almonds nearly every day. In my breakfast or as an Almond Butter. Self-made Almond Butter is the best snack. Almonds consists of around 80% oil acid, 15% linoleic acid and about 5% of palmitic acid. It also benefits from Vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, E and protein. It turns rough skin into smooth beautiful skin. Leaves skin feeling moisturised, soft and looked after.

You find 2 products on Holly’s Naturals Website. They explained their products so lovely and I really love the package as well. You find the Body Oil and the Body scrup their selfs or a package of both.

  • Coconut Crush – Body Scrub
    I am after cellulite, skin impurities, dryness, redness and acne. My super weapons include exclusively selected organic Arabica Coffee, a large helping of Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Almond Oil, Organic Cane Sugar and natural finished Sea Salt paired with the irresistible scent of the Coconut.
  • Daily Detox – Body Oil
    I can help you to detoxify your body and fight stretch marks and cellulite. My secret weapons for a cleaner body are essential organic grapefruit oil and mandarin oil as well as virgin organic argan oil, almond oil, grape seed oil and coconut oil.
  • Body Scrub & Body Oil Set
    The perfect duo in the fight against cellulite and stretch marks. Use our Daily Detox Body Oil and Coconut Crush Body Scrub for an incredibly soft and supple skin. Now at an unbeatable price!