It’s Sunday and Sundays are there to relax. So todays recipe will be an exceptionally easy one. Take a few eggs, bushels of fresh herbs and you are half way done. Kookoo is one of the easiest breakfast and brunch snacks around. It has its origins in Persian cuisine. A classic kookoo does come with a lot of onions though. Nothing to fret about, they aren’t really missed in this recipe. The parsley, cilantro and dill make don’t need the taste of onions to shine and will win over your omelette heart in no time. …
The culprits: Black tahini and coconut butter! The victims: Two broken kitchen machines in less than a week, one of which wasn’t even mine.
For once I’m taking the back seat. Instead of letting my own voice do the talking, I asked my lovely sister 
It’s not always easy. People like you and me, are surrounded by endless menus, we run around supermarkets for hours, but in the end we still end up going home hungry and annoyed. “Do we really need to add onions, wheat, tomatoes, sugar, honey and dates to every freaking dish?” According to research, “every third German suffers from fructose malabsorption”, so do I really need to argue with the waiter when all I need to know is exactly what they put in the that dressing? Whoever came up with fructose malabsorption, must have loved complaining. After all, it’s what really comes naturally to us (sarcastic undertone), isn’t it?…
Happiness is when you receive “2 star”-ratings on Amazon, but still have every reason to smile. Who cares about critics, when there are care-bears like you?! Okay, give the critics some credit. It’s true, I didn’t include any tables or hard nutritional facts in my cookbook, but why should I have done so in the first place? I never pretended to be anything I am not. I am not a professional dietician or physician, but simply someone confronted by the daily difficulties of handling fructose malabsorption and trying to do my best to turn the negatives into positives and live a healthy life. …
This is pure deliciousness: Lucky rice, forbidden rice, the emperor’s rice, call it what you like. But if there’s one thing you might want to try this week, make it black rice! Its slightly chewy texture and sweet tang make my senses dance the samba time and time again. What’s more, 
There may have been few signs of it lately on FRUCTOPIA, but don’t be fooled, fructose malabsorption still plays a major role in my life. While I sometimes feel as though the symptoms are not worth mentioning anymore, I can’t help but remember the hell I used to go through before receiving the liberating diagnosis. Who would have thought, I’m actually feeling rather fine these days. True story.
Is this really today’s date? Are we already this close to October? As for the summerlong silence on Fructopia, that could only mean one thing:
Spring arrived in Istanbul a few weeks ago and we are already heading full speed towards Summer. While in Southern Turkey the skin-warming sun lures people into the sea for the first time this year, in Istanbul we are celebrating the sun’s return by letting sweet and plump, bright red strawberries melt in our mouths. All the while the Spring showers, turning the Black Sea region into a bright green wonderland, are responsible for the abundance of delicate and rich greens on display at our weekly farmers market. Trying to refrain oneself from those treats would almost be an insult to this country’s fertility. Thus, happily volunteering to pay tribute, mint, parsley, dill, thyme, basil and other greens pile up in our kitchen every week. We’ve become quite creative in terms of putting the various herbs to use, though sometimes we just can’t keep up and the delicate little plants wither away. To use up all of the leftover herbs in due time I came up with this little rainbow salad. Instead of the usual lettuce I put in bol bol (Turkish for plenty of) fresh herbs resulting in a feast for the eyes and fireworks for your taste buds. I wouldn’t even mind having this salad two days in a row. …
Last month I treated myself to a little something special. No, I didn’t visit any expensive restaurants, nor did I spend a day at a local Hamam (well actually, I did that too). I did however venture into the world of Ayurveda. Seriously? Ayurveda? Yes, seriously. At the end of the day everybody has their own idea of what a proper ‘treat’ should look like, right? And no, just to spoil the premature excitement and even though that would have been a nice treat as well, I didn’t spend 4 weeks at a yoga resort, meditating all day and sipping on one chai after another, as might be the common association when it comes to Ayurveda. (Note to self: Remember to travel to a distant place and meditate for four weeks someday). Anyway, my exploration into the field of Ayurveda was of course food related and came in form of an Ayurveda cooking class. It sounded interesting enough to make me get up very early on a Sunday morning and literally hop on a ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul.
When it comes to breakfast, pretty much everyone has his or her own idea of the “perfect” set-up. The choices are endless, be it cold or warm, liquid or solid, savory or sweet, or nothing at all. Since being diagnosed with FM breakfast is not only mandatory for me but also a way to start my day in a calmer manner. It’s a chance for me to be nice to my stomach first thing in the morning, so that it won’t be too upset later in the day if something wrong comes along. Whenever I skip breakfast entirely the day is basically ruined. Then all I think about is ‘how on earth will I get something quick to eat on the way to wherever I’m headed. Which is, as you probably know yourselves, rather impossible. So breakfast has become a very important part of my morning routine. …
Sundays for me are preferably spent relaxing and in most cases also cooking ahead. Even though I do not meticulously plan out my meals for the upcoming week, I still like to be prepared. Prepared in terms of knowing that sometimes it can be difficult for people like us to quickly whip up a healthy and filling meal. That is why on Sundays I usually cook up a batch of buckwheat, potatoes or millet, or all of the above, to store in the fridge. That way I have a fructose friendly and gluten free base on hand to ready a nice meal. This is particularly convenient when I’m running late and still need to pack lunch rather than returning home on an empty stomach.
It’s been seven months since we left our home in Berlin in an attempt to grow roots in Istanbul. A few days ago we arrived back in Berlin. It’s our first time home since February. I was looking forward to these upcoming three weeks. Looking forward to all the breakfasts, lunches and dinners with friends and loved ones, to happy bike rides in the city and enjoying morning runs in the park close by. Other than that, I must confess, there is not much I missed about Berlin. Who would, considering the numerous hours of sunshine Istanbul provided us with, all the Turkish food and fresh seasonal goods grown on the fertile lands of the rough Black Sea, the thousand plus different views of the Bosphorus or the seemingly endless supply of new and one of a kind impressions. Istanbul has not failed to keep us entertained. Needless to say the Gezi Park protests and the surprisingly violent response by the police caused quite a stir in our daily lives.
Willkomen in Fructopia! In dieser kleinen Welt dreht sich alles um ein gesünderes Leben ohne Fructose, ohne Zucker, ohne Weizen. Schön, dass ihr da seid! 
