Appetite for nature - a short break in Bad Birnbach

#appetitefornature - a letter with this motto reached us a few weeks ago. It came from Seeberger and was an invitation to a 2-day nature break. Of course we followed this call with pleasure and were positively surprised how beautiful the selected estate in Bad Birnbach is. At this point I have to give a short excursion to the farm Hafnerleiten in Bad Birnbach: The small estate with theme chalets (huts) and a few rooms in the main house is family-run (and with great passion!). From planting trees to the perfect coffee (Erwin doesn't just make it with passion, he also turns out to be a great expert here! You'll have to test the espresso!) Everything is really right here. Nothing is superimposed or even thought about hotel stars, it is purely about relaxation and wellness in nature. We were allowed to have a look at our "garden house" right after our arrival (with our own sauna!). On the photo you can see the cottage, which is also equipped with a small garden, Kneipp pool, bathtub and a fireplace. 

Directly after we could admire our little house we continued with the next program point: Hike in the "edible" forest. Our nice "tour guide" was of course here from the area and could explain us so much about the "Bavarian Tuscany". We were actually most enthusiastic about the "edible" forest, because not only at the meadow and field edge, but even in the forest there were plenty of wonderful wild herbs like chickweed, sheep donation, St. John's wort and even blueberries, which grow in symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi. At this point I advise you to take part in a wild herb hike, because there you might even get to know some places in your area where you can collect wild herbs again and again.

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ST. JOHN'S WORT
= has a versatile effect on the human nervous system. It balances our messenger substances in the brain and thus has a mood-enhancing, anxiety-relieving and antidepressant effect. 

CHICKWEED
​= belongs to the wild herbs, helps our body to detoxify. The medicinal herb also supports our digestion due to its bitter substances. Besides, chickweed contains a lot of vitamin C and A, potassium, and vegetable protein.​

YARROW
= ​a true miracle herb, because the physical advantages are manifold.  The herb helps to heal internal inflammations (including flatulence, bloating and biliary problems) in the gastrointestinal tract as well as external acne and mucous membrane diseases.

Our tour guide surprised us towards the end of the hike with a "smoking" aka we were "freed from evil spirits" with his words. Very interesting experience, because I - Feli - am a smoking fan, but only because I simply have the feeling that it eliminates the "old" smells in the apartment. It's also a ritual, of course, and we humans are very receptive to rituals. Well, freshly smoked we went back to the estate. Now we had arrived completely and could enjoy the country air properly. After a relaxing shower (oh pardon, before we went for a swim in our own lake pond!) we went to dinner, the ingredients of course from the farm itself. The family of the manor passionately explained to us which (vegan) dishes there will be today and explicitly mentioned that there is no menu (there never is one there). Wonderful, another point relaxation and we do not have to make a decision.

A Gazpacho made the beginning, it followed Pasta (for us Zoodles) with a Pesto from garden herbs of the manor. Also the main course was very tasty: Couscous (from millet) with grilled radicchio. The dessert: a self-righteous strawberry-lime sorbet with grilled fruit. Each dish was refined with exquisite nuts, dried fruits, seeds and seeds from Seeberger. 

That evening we fell into bed satisfied and full (well, of course you know us, more is always possible, but the Seeberger girls thought of everything and we had some nuts and apple chips in our room...) and woke up relatively early the following day with the sun. One hour of morning yoga started the day. Honestly, I have to say that outdoor yoga definitely draws on a romantic notion that it cannot serve in reality at all. I find sun, air and nature sounds ingenious, but I can do without ticks... because one of them caught me. 

But all right, it's half as bad, because we went straight to the Clean Eating cooking course! And of course we brought you the recipes. 
On my page you can see Eva, she also has a great foodblog with delicious dessert and cake recipes (madamedessert.de). So we baked two strawberry cream tartelettes. Two great cream spread recipes can be found below. Have fun preparing and feasting!

Ingredients  for the dough (4-6 portions):
​100 gr Seeberger walnuts
60 gr Seeberger coconut flakes
8 Seeberger Dates
1/2 tbsp vanilla powder
1 pinch sea salt
butter or coconut oil
150 gr Seeberger Organic Raspberry Porridge

Ingredients  for the strawberry cream:
150 ml almond milk
350 gr Seeberger cashew nuts (soaked in water for 2-3 hours)
3 tbsp maple syrup
200 gr strawberries + strawberries to garnish
1 pinch cinnamon
grated peel of 1/2 organic lime
lime juice
​

Preparation:
​Pour all ingredients into the mixer and wait until a moist dough is formed.
Rub muffin tin with a little butter or coconut oil.
press the dough with your hands into the tins
Make Porridge according to packing instruction and put into the muffin cups on the tart base..
Bake the tartelettes in the oven for about 15-20 minutes at 180 degrees.
Allow to cool well afterwards.

Let the cashew nuts soak in water for 2-3 hours (best overnight).
Rinse thoroughly afterwards
​Pour the mixture over the finished tartlets. Garnish with other fruits and enjoy immediately.

CASHEW CHIVES CREAM & WALNUT FIG CREAM

Ingredients (4-6 portions):
200 gr Seeberger cashew nuts (soaked in water for 2-3 hours)
100 ml water
1 bunch chives (optional bear's garlic)
salt 
pepper
lemon juice

MPreparation:
Mix the cashew nuts with a little water to a cream.
Mix cashew cream with chives, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients:
300 gr Seeberger walnuts
300 gr Seeberger figs
1 clove of garlic
1 pinch of cinnamon
1 squirt lemon juice
100 gr yogurt (unsweetened)
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper 

Preparation:
Peel garlic cloves and mix with walnuts, figs, olive oil, cinnamon and yoghurt in a blender.
Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

​By the way, only recently we were able to write a brilliant article with Seeberger about low carb. Not only a few cheat sheets to go, but also a few recipes we prepared for you. Bon Epi-tit <3 !