Today is Earth Day!

Each year on April 22 one of the most important days of the year is celebrated - the Earth Day. This day is seen as one of the most participatory political actions in the nation's history and is also considered as the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970 (when the first Earth Day took place). Since then Earth Day has spread across the globe with thousands of events in more than 190 countries. It is now celebrated by more than a billion people every year. 

Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson, who was inspired by the student anti-war movement. On the 22nd of April 20 million Americans demonstrated for a healthy, sustainable environment. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. The Earth Day was launched by Denis Hayes, who took it international in 1990 and organized events in more than 140 nations. This event was supposed to be an action which changes human behavior and provokes policy changes. More and more groups, that campaigned for the environment in the world, suddenly realized that they shared common values.
"Earth Day is a commitment to make life better, not just bigger and faster," according to the organizer of the first celebration. "It is a day to re-examine the ethic of individual progress at mankind's expense."

Every time I see a program or documentary about our planet I get goose bumps. Our earth is so beautiful, breathtaking and overwhelming and humans are obliged to protect mother nature. We have to save the world. The natural beauty of landscape can be preserved, it's not too late. We are all in this together and should act as one single world towards one single goal. Together we can make a difference!

Earth Day by year with links to the websites

2010

• Billion Acts of Green - Official Earth Day Network's "Billion Acts of Green" website for students and young adults

2011

• A Billion Act of Green - "A people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy"

2012

• Earth Day 2012 - Mobilize the Earth

2013

• Earth Day 2013 - The Face of Climate Change 

This is the official website from the organization Earth Day: http://www.earthday.org/
Here you can donate, for instance, and support EDN's work with 22,000 organizations in 192 countries. 
This is the link where you can find information about climate change: http://www.earthday.org/faceofclimate/

Flaky Apple Turnover

Today I would like to present my special Apple Turnover recipe :) I enjoy eating the little turnovers ever since I tried them out for the first time, so I though why not share such a great recipe with you guys?

So here we go:

Ingredients

For the puff pastry:

I just bought some puff pastry but you can also prepare it on your own (however it is a bit time-consuming that's why I bought it) ;)

For the filling:

3 large apples (or which every fruit you prefer in your Turnovers)

1 tsp. sugar (optional; you can also use stevia)

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. cinnamon

breadcrumbs

1 egg yolk

For the topping:

1 tsp. powdered sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

First preheat your oven to 180°C. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Peel your apples and grate them (or use your food processor to shred them). Combine the grated apples, lemon juice, sugar and salt in a bowl. Mix it and place everything into a pan. Fry them on medium heat until the consistency looks like an applesauce. Let sit for five minutes.

Unfold the puff pastry sheets and cut them into equal-sized squares. 

Place 2 tbsp. of the apple filling (or other fruits) in the center of each square (be sure that you divide it equally, otherwise you will not have enough) .

Separate the egg yolk from the white and place in small mixing bowl. Whisk the yolk and moisten the edges of the pastry with it. 

Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Next fold the squares and press edges together to seal. Repeat with the remaining squares. Brush them lightly with the remaining yolk and sprinkle them with cinnamon. With a knife carefully scratch fine cuts in the pastry.

Finally place the turnovers on the baking sheet, leaving enough space between because they will puff up.

Bake for 20 - 25 min until the turnovers are puffed and golden brown, but keep an eye on it because we don't want them to be overcooked, undercooked, mashy or watery filling. Moreover we don't want soggy dough. The pastry needs to be crispy on the top and flaky inside.

When done, let the turnover cool slightly. Either serve them warm (I served them warm) or at room temperature. Sprinkle some powdered sugar and place apple slices with cinnamon on them and voilá - the perfect dessert is done!

Whether they are served as a dessert at the end of a meal or offered during afternoon tea, they are perfect for the "small hunger" or as a snack. ;)

Eat clean, train mean, stay lean!

Fitness motivation

Hey guys :)

Since I am going to the fitness center I am interested in everything that has to do with sports, workouts and being happy and healthy.

In order to get your "dream body" you have to know that nothing can change without hard work. I know that spending, let's say, two hours daily in a fitness center seems to be much, but when thinking twice about it you will realize that if you would not go, you will certainly do other unimportant stuff at home. In addition to that, if you go to the gym three times a week it is enough to stay fit. 

People have always excuses not to work out. "I'm too tired from work/school", "I'm too busy, I'll do it tomorrow". Have you ever heard the quote 'Don't put off tomorrow what you can do today?' You always can find at least 30 minutes to do a quick work out, can't you? You don't even have to go to gym to stay fit, it's easy to do some exercises at home. And if you don't know how to do them or which exercises you have to do, you can always research the web. There are a bunch of tutorials on a lot of websites that show and explain how to do workouts for special parts of your body. 

If you are not motivated - find motivation! I am very motivated at the moment so maybe I can help you? :D
Who is ready to get started? Who is ready to do something productive with their life, ready to achieve and make a difference? Your mind is your strongest tool, not your body, not the gym, not your supplements, but your mind. If you want to change, it all starts with the thought in your mind!

To achieve something you have to work for it. Hard work pays off!
You only have one life, are you going to be like the majority of the population and only dream or are you going to make it reality? Learn discipline and the value of hard work and you will never forget it! People will look up to you, but most importantly, you will be happy, healthy and confident. You will be proud of what you have achieved. We all have greatness within, but it's up to you to unlock it. Always remember - believe you can and you are halfway there! ;)