Exercise Snacks… and Snack Ideas Around Exercise

Canducci

Healthy living is not only about what we eat, but also about how we MOVE during the day. Recently, I discovered the idea of “exercise snacks”, short moments of movement done throughout the day, almost like little breaks for the body.

Especially after 50, these mini habits can support energy, mobility, posture, and metabolism.

Eggs: A Simple, Nutritious Everyday Food

Eggs are one of the most complete and practical foods you can have in your kitchen. Affordable, quick to prepare, and rich in nutrients, they fit perfectly into a balanced Mediterranean lifestyle.

Frozen Vegetables at Home: Simple, Practical & Always Ready

Freezing your own vegetables is an easy way to save time, reduce waste, and always have healthy ingredients on hand. 

Done properly, they’re often fresher and more flavorful than store-bought.

💡 Want more tips like this? Check my Tips page of the blog — small ideas that make everyday cooking easier and faster.

Sugar in Our Diet

Sugar often has a bad reputation, but its role in the body is actually simple: it provides energy.

Glucose (from sugar and carbohydrates) is:

• The main fuel for the brain
• A quick energy source for muscles
• Useful during physical effort

So in that sense, sugar is not “bad”, it is part of how our body functions.

However, most people today consume more added sugar than needed. The issue is not natural sugars found in fruits or dairy, but excess sugar from processed foods, sweets, and drinks.

As a side note, I am currently working on a new cookbook focused on baking and desserts (Vivian Is Baking). It’s a reminder that sweets absolutely belong in our lives, but as moments of pleasure, best enjoyed in moderation within a balanced diet.

What to Eat During the Day to Support Weight Loss (Especially After 50)

As we get older, losing weight can become more challenging. Metabolism slows down, and the body responds differently to food. Still, with simple and consistent habits, balance is absolutely possible.

Despite working on a second cookbook dedicated to baking and desserts (Vivian Is Baking), it’s important to remember that sweets are life’s pleasures, but best enjoyed in moderation. So my first cookbook, Vivian is Cooking GREEK, seems the perfect companion towards this goal.

I used AI to help structure these ideas, useful as inspiration, but always check with your physician or a nutritionist for personal advice.

👉 Photo: Example of a balanced plate: sea bass with vegetables and a small tyropitaki—protein, fiber, and a small portion of comfort food in one meal.

Vivian is Baking – Final Table of Contents Revealed!

After months of testing, refining, and organizing, I’m so happy to finally share the full table of contents of my upcoming cookbook: Vivian is Cooking: Baking At Home.

This book is a true sweet journey, bringing together my Greek roots, European classics, and everyday baking. All in all, 50 recipes I truly love making again and again 💛

With so many recipes online today and even AI-generated ones, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure what actually works. With this book, I wanted to create a trusted, curated collection: recipes that are tested, simplified, and consistent, so you can bake with confidence. No noise, no uncertainty — just real recipes that deliver real results.

Now I’m entering the refinement phase, working on all the final details and the publishing process, which I’m doing entirely on my own.

I hope this will be the final version… although I might still make a few small changes along the way 😉

Steamed Asparagus Salad

Steamed asparagus is one of the simplest ways to enjoy this delicate spring vegetable. Light, fresh, and naturally elegant, it becomes even more interesting when served as a warm or room-temperature salad with a few Mediterranean touches.

This recipe also works beautifully with white asparagus, which has a more delicate and slightly sweeter flavor.

Beetroot & Yogurt Salad – A Simple Mediterranean Favorite

This beetroot and yogurt salad is one of those simple dishes that feels both light and comforting. It combines the natural sweetness of beetroot with the creaminess of yogurt, creating a balanced and refreshing side dish.

It’s perfect as part of a Mediterranean meal, served alongside grilled meats, fish, or simply with bread and olives.

A Gourmet Twist: Cooking with Gelled Balsamic Vinegar

I recently discovered gelled balsamic vinegar thanks to a thoughtful gift from a dear friend, and it has quickly found its place in my kitchen.

With its soft, jelly-like texture, it adds small, precise touches of acidity without watering down dishes. It’s perfect as a finishing ingredient in simple Mediterranean recipes: 

Print Your Favorite Recipes at Home – My Etsy Shop

If you enjoy my recipes, you can download and print them at home from my Etsy shop ✨

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🍰 What’s Available

• Individual printable recipes
• Recipe bundles at a better price

Each recipe is simple, well-structured, and designed in a clean, elegant format — perfect for your kitchen or a recipe binder 💛

💡 Why Print? Cook more easily without screens and keep your favorite recipes organized in one place. 

👉 Real recipes, real photos, made in my own kitchen.

Vivian is Baking – A New Sweet Project Coming Soon!

After Vivian is Cooking GREEK, I’m excited to share that I’m now working on my second book:

✨ Vivian is Cooking Baking ✨

This new book will be dedicated to desserts — from comforting classics to elegant celebration cakes.

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💛 First Reveal: Signature Cakes & Special Occasions

Today, I’m sharing the first category of the book: signature cakes and desserts for special moments...

Greek Easter Red Eggs (Kokkina Avga) – Naturally Dyed

Red eggs, or kokkina avga, are a beautiful tradition of Greek Easter, symbolizing life, renewal, and celebration. I’ve already shared my classic method (also included in my cookbook Vivian is Cooking GREEK), and this year I tried something a little different - natural dyes - using red onion skins and beetroot for a softer, earthy red tone.

To decorate them, I used flowers and leaves from the garden, placing them on the eggs and tying them with small pieces of stocking to create delicate, stencil-like patterns. Each egg turned out unique, simple, natural, and beautiful (check for yourselves).

Wild Garlic pesto: A Seasonal Trend Worth Trying

Wild garlic is one of the joys of spring, with its fresh, mild flavor and vibrant green leaves—perfect for simple, seasonal cooking.

A few days ago, I met my new friend Aurora and her lovely dog, and she mentioned she was going to look for wild garlic. I told her how trendy it seems lately; everyone is talking about it! Curious, I joined her to learn how to recognize it. It turned into a lovely walk in nature, and a few days later she surprised me with a jar of pesto made from what we found. Such a thoughtful gift!

Wild garlic is so popular because it’s seasonal, easy to forage, and full of fresh flavor, perfectly matching today’s love for simple, homemade cooking. It’s ideal for pesto (see my Basil Peso / Pesto alla Genovese, but also works beautifully in butter, spreads, salads, soups, omelets, and savory bakes—Aurora even used it to cook fish in the oven.