week 9

Ok, as I am a bit late posting, I thought I'd start by giving you Angelica's recipe for the vegan pasta as promised.
I've made no amendments as I didn't want to mess around with the goodness.   So here it is in all it's glory.
If I was to make this dish, I would substitute the olive oil with coconut oil.

Vegan spinach, pumpkin & pinenut ravioli
serves 4 as a main or 6 as a side or light meal

Ingredients


FILLING

SPINACH
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bag of washed baby spinach
2 cloves of garlic

PUMPKIN
1 tablespoon olive oil
Half a butternut pumpkin, chopped into cubes
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup pinenuts

Method

Preheat the oven to 150 degree
Place pumpkin in casserole dish and toss oil. 
Season with salt and pepper and place in the oven until soft and cooked through.
Heat a fry pan over medium heat. 
Add oil and 2 cloves of crushed garlic. 
Sauté garlic in oil for 2 or 3 minutes. 
Add spinach to the pan turn leaves in warm oil until they wilt. 
Season the wilted spinach with salt and pepper and remove from heat.
Place the pumpkin, spinach and pinenuts in a food processor and wiz until combined. 
Set aside until the dough is ready.

PASTA DOUGH

200g white flour
150ml warm water
1 tblsp olive oil
Pinch of salt

Method

Put the salt and flour in a large bowl and mix. 
Make a small circle in the middle and pour the water in a little at a time, mixing with a fork. 
Once combined, knead the mixture your hands until smooth. 
Wrap in glad wrap and let rest of 20 minutes. 
Once rested, cut the dough into 4 pieces and use a pasta maker to roll out the dough. I rolled it out to notch 5. 
Dust with flour and lay to rest while you repeat with all pieces. 
Cut circles out of the rolled pasta dough with a cookie cutter and place a teaspoon of filling into the center of each. Brush the edges with a little water and place another circle of dough on top. Pinch edges to seal. 


SAUCE

1 Brown Onion, diced
400g tinned Tomatos 
400g passata
1 tblsp olive oil
½ cup Fresh Basil
Pinch of powdered vegetable stock
Pinch of salt and pepper

Method
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan
Add the onion and the vegetable stock and fry on a low heat. Do not brown the onion. 
Add the remainder of ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes.

Boil some water in a large pot.
Add in the ravioli and cook for about 5 minutes
Remove from heat once al dente and drain
Add in the sauce and serve. 

vegan cook off tasting plate

Now that's out of the way I will make a confession.  I have turned into a baking machine this past week.  It started off with a banana bread, then I experimented with a banana and mango bread, then I went somewhere I've wanted to go for a long time, and that was baking some cinnamon scrolls.  But not just any cinnamon scrolls, no, these were a much healthier alternative, with no oil added and with wholemeal flour.  Although I promised myself it would only be a treat, I couldn't help but scoff two down as soon as they were out of the oven.  What can I say, tasting is part of cooking :)

Cinnamon, pumpkin and apple rolls
makes 7 (odd number I know)

Dough

1 cup almond milk
1 yeast sachet
2 cup wholemeal plain flour
1/2 cup white plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBS cinnamon powder
4 TBS pumpkin puree

Filling

1/4 cup apple sauce (homemade using stewed apples which I blended)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 TBS cinnamon

Icing

1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 TBS almond milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

coconut oil for greasing or baking paper

Method

Heat almond milk in a small saucepan until tepid, add in yeast, stir and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin.  Pour in milk/yeast mixture and mix with your hands. Be gentle, try not to over mix.
The mixture will be sticky but don't worry.
Pour some plain white flour onto a clean surface and knead your dough.  Keep adding flour until you get a ball that holds together and is a little elastic.
Use a rolling pin to spread out your dough in as close to a rectangle as possible.  Don't make it to thin or else it will be hard to roll, about 1 cm thickness is good.
Spread the apple sauce on top and then add the mixed sugar and cinnamon.  Get as much coverage as possible.
Roll your dough from one end of the other.  Go slow so you don't end up with a broken mess!!
Slice into desired thickness, I did mine about 4 fingers width.
Place in a baking dish that's been greased with some coconut oil or lined with baking paper.  
Leave to rest either overnight or for at least 20 minutes.  This will cause the dough to rise.
Bake in a moderate pre-heated oven for about 25-30 minutes.
Let cool slightly before icing.
For icing, mix all ingredients together until you have a nice runny consistency.
Drizzle icing on top and serve stat!!

I don't just love these because they taste so damn good.  I also love them because they smell so good!  It makes the house feel welcoming and nurturing, hmmmmm......warm fuzzies all round :)

Now with my cake fix completed, I endeavoured to experiment more with gluten free recipes seeing that I will be going full steam ahead with that challenge in 4 days!!  YIKES!!
And what better way to experiment than with pizza!  
Definitely a favourite meal at our place, and we normally make our own using wholemeal lebanese bread and a range of toppings.  My daughters prefer pineapple, mushrooms and ham. The hubby loves lots of veges with chorizo or ham and I used to eat olives, basil and anchovies.
But now that I am on a plant based diet, I have to be honest, I've been avoiding it.  No cheese and no anchovies?  What's the point?
But, I do love mushrooms so here is my recipe for a gluten free "pizza" that's filling and full of vitamin B.
I got the idea for this recipe from a portuguese friend at work. Sometimes she brings polenta squares that she bakes and then eats with whatever side she makes.  It made me think about how well it would be as a pizza base because it holds it's shape really well and you can bake it, or just cook it on the stove and let it sit until it becomes solid.

Mushroom Pizza
serves 8 as a light meal

Ingredients

Base 

2 cups water
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sea salt
1 TBS coconut oil
1 cup of polenta

Topping

4 cups mushrooms of your choice, sliced
1/3 cup brown onion sliced
1 kale leaf torn into slices
3 TBS pine nuts toasted
1 TBS coconut oil
Pasta sauce*
handful fresh parsley/basil
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Bring water to boil in a medium sized saucepan.  Once boiling, add oil and seasoning.
Pour in polenta in one thin stream whilst stirring.
Keep stirring for about 5 minutes or until the polenta is thick and creamy.  
Once cooked, pour your polenta into a square or rectangle pan that's lined with baking paper.
Use a spatula to evenly spread.  Don't use a wooden spoon, it won't work as polenta will get stuck to it.
Whack it in the fridge to harden (about 30 mins).
Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius and bake your polenta base for about 40 minutes.  Set aside.
Whilst there is still 15 minutes left of cooking time for the polenta base, heat oil in a frying pan, sauté onions and add mushrooms.  
I like mine soft so I usually put the cover on and let them sweat a bit.  Season with salt and pepper.
Add the kale and sauté until bright green.  Remove from heat.
Spread tomato sauce onto polenta base, sprinkle on your pine nuts and then arrange your mushrooms and kale over the pizza.
Cook in the hot oven for 15 minutes or until the kale starts toasting.
Sprinkle with fresh parsley and enjoy.
You can substitute any topping on this recipe so go nuts!

*I used a basic pasta sauce for this, if you're rushed for time, you can use store bought or maybe some tomato paste sprinkled with some dried oregano.

Next time, I'll make a batch of Angelica's tomato sauce for sure.

This next recipe has more of an Indian flavour to it, thanks to the cumin seeds and turmeric.  I served it with some rice, lentils and quinoa for dinner, than I had a big bowl of it on it's own for lunch the next day.

It's a good meal to cook because the left overs taste better the next day after the flavours have had time to develop.

Another thing I love about this recipe is that it's super easy and you can use whatever vegetables are dying in your fridge as long as you have an eggplant as it's the main point of the dish.

This recipe was adapted from one I found in Mr. Wilkinson's favourite vegetables cookbook.  A lovely birthday present from miss Italy herself xx

Eggplant Casserole

serves 4 as a side or 2 on it's own

Ingredients

1 TBS coconut oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp sweet paprika

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 large eggplant cubed

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 brown onion diced

1 zucchini cubed

2 squash cubed

2 carrots cubed

1 can chopped tomatoes

1/2 TBS caster sugar

2 cups kale strips

1 lemon juiced

2 TBS continental parsley chopped

Method

In a large heavy based saucepan, add your coconut oil and heat on medium heat.  Add your onions and garlic and sauté.

Add the rest of your vegetables except kale, and cook until eggplant is soft and a little mushy.  Add your tomatoes and sugar and cook until other vegies are soft but still have a little bite to them, and the sauce is a little reduced.  About 10 minutes.

Add your kale and lemon juice and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Take off heat, taste and adjust seasoning as required.  Stir in parsley.

Serve straight away and store left overs for tomorrow's lunch.

The next recipe is really good for those that are time poor and I usually have it for lunch at work because it requires minimum preparation.  It's also a go to meal on Mondays, when I'm exhausted and don't feel like cooking dinner for myself.  I normally make a big batch of brown rice a couple of times a week so that I can just make meals as I go.  This is a perfect example of a meal on the run for me.

Brown rice bowl with tofu and sesame

serves 1

Ingredients

1 cup of cooked brown rice

handful of mixed salad greens

1/4 cup cucumber julienne

1/4 cup carrot julienne

1 TBS coriander finely chopped

1 TBS tamari

1/2 TBS sesame oil

1 TBS sesame seeds

1/2 cup of firm tofu diced

Method

Put your brown rice at the bottom of your bowl (hot or cold, up to you).

Add your vegetables, herbs and tofu.  Sprinkle on your sesame seeds and drizzle with oil and tamari.

Mix it all together and enjoy.

Can't get simpler than that!!

Feel free to add whatever vegetables your belly desires, steamed or raw broccoli go well in this, or any other asian style vegetable. 

The next gluten free recipe is rice pudding.  You know I can never finish without a dessert!!

Growing up in Peru, rice pudding was a popular dessert and I remember that it always made an appearance at birthday parties.  It was served on it's own with a sprinkle of cinnamon, or with a side of mazamorra morada which is a dessert made from purple corn and it is delicious. As a combination, it's killer.  Everytime a family member returns from Peru, they always bring sachets of instant mazamorra morada for us.

Eating rice pudding brings back warm memories of my family and my dad's rice pudding is the best.  Always creamy and sometimes he would add raisins which would turn into soft plump little pillows. 

Here's my recipe, and I topped it with some stewed pears and chia for some added sweetness.

Rice pudding with stewed pears

serves 2

Ingredients

Rice

1/3 cup arborio rice
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1/3 cup water
1 cinnamon stick

Pears

2 medium sized pears
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 cup water
1/2 TBS chia seeds

Method

Put rice, water and cinnamon stick in a small heavy based sauce pan over medium heat.
Bring to the boil and cook until the water has nearly absorbed.  
Add the almond milk, turn heat to low and cover for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove lid, rice should be getting close to ready, stir gently and cook until liquid is reduced and rice is cooked and creamy.

Slice your pears, and place in small saucepan.  The pears won't be covered by the water but they will drop some liquid so don't despair.
Cook them on medium heat until soft and liquid has reduced by half.
Stir in your chia seeds and cook for a further few minutes or until mixture thickens slightly.
Remove from heat and stir in your vanilla extract.

Place your rice in glasses and layer with stewed pear.
Or you can just pop it in a bowl, top with pears and gobble it up!

OH my goodness, only 3 weeks to go! I can't believe it, I feel like I've only scratched the surface of my vegan journey and I feel that stopping at 12 weeks would really not be in my best interest.  I still have SO much more to learn about a plant based diet and living as cleanly as possible.  
Needless to say, I'm excited about the possibilities! 
I'm actually very excited about a couple of things, first of is that I was able to get a table at Quay restaurant at very short notice for next week, thanks to a certain crazy Indonesian goddess.  It's the boy's birthday and I'm going to surprise him (don't worry, he doesn't read my blog)!!
I know that they are pretty good catering to dietary restrictions so I'm waiting to hear back about what they say in regards to accommodating a vegan.  If it goes ahead, you can bet I will be photographing every dish so that I can share it with you.
You don't just get three chef hats for nothing, and it's rated number 29 restaurant in the world.  Not to mention that executive chef Peter Gilmore won chef of the year for 2012 in Australia.
Check out their amazing menu here.

I'm also excited because I'm doing a raw vegan workshop at the end of October at that little raw vegan cafe I told you about in a previous post, sadhana kitchen.
It's only for 3 hours but I imagine that I'll learn a lot and I'm really looking forward to the ebook that the chef, Maz Pugoy, is bringing out about embarking on a 14 day raw food adventure.  Yay!
So if there is any Sydney peeps out there who are interested, check out the above link for more details and I might see you there.

Next thing I'm excited (and terrified) about is that I'm embarking on a 3 day juice cleanse.  Yes, it's been a long time coming and I've been putting it off because I'm scared about not being able to actually munch and chew food but I think that if I'm going gluten free and then sugar free, I might as well start with a cleanse to get everything going.
I've had a look at some juices that are recommended by different sites and I think I have a few good ones to get me through and also give me the required nutrients I need to get through the day.

I've started experimenting with some and here's a cleansing tonic that I got from ecosalon.

Morning Liver Tonic


Cup of freshly boiled water
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
Juice of 1/2 lemon

And here's one that I think I'll have whilst on my cleanse, probably at night time as it feels nurturing and the blend of cinnamon and almond milk would be nice just before bed.

Thanks to the folks at Urban Remedy for the list of ingredients, I played around with the quantities and I think I found one I like, I also added some raw mesquite powder for added protein.

Urban Remedy ABC Dessert Smoothie

7 simple ingredients:

1. Almond milk

2. Coconut water

3. Filtered water

4. ABC nut butter*

5. Four dates

6. Raw cacao

7. Cinnamon

These are the quantities I like:

200 ml unsweetened almond milk

200 ml coconut water

1 TBS ABC nut butter

4 dates

1 tsp raw cacao

1 tsp raw mesquite powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Blend and serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

I didn't add any water but I imagine you could add more water to make it more filling.

So wish me luck on my cleanse, I'll be sure to fill you in on what happens on Wednesday night when it's all done and dusted.

I'm hoping I can carry it out, 3 days seems a long time but I'm confident that I'll get through it.......just!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

Just a little update, I got a call from Quay restaurant and they've accepted my vegan challenge.  SO bloody excited! Can't wait to see what they come up with!

week 7

So i now only have 5 weeks left of the challenge.  I feel like the time has flown.  I am really entrenched in this way of eating now, and I'm wondering how I'm going to give it up, if it is that I decide to do that at the end.

Whatever the case, I feel like eating to nourish your body is not always a 'be all and end all' type of scenario.  It's more about what works for you, your body and your morals/ethics regarding food and food production.

This is not an easy idea to accept, specially for people like me who are stringent followers of the rules.  I've chosen to eat a plant based diet, and I am enjoying the ride, however, I don't want my health to suffer as a result of developing deficiencies, so my hope is that I can work through this and maintain this way of eating.

Now that we've got the serious stuff out of the way, let's look at some delicious summer treats that I've been playing around with.

I can smell summer in the air, it just keeps getting warmer in gorgeous Sydney, and there's nothing I love more on a warm sunny day, than stuffing my face full of ice cream.  

That's right, I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!!

These two recipes are sugar-free but feel free to add a sweetener of choice if you like things a little extra indulgent. Personally I don't think you really need it, so give it a go without it.  I dare you!

Berry-coconut gelato
serves 2

Ingredients

2 bananas frozen
1/4 cup berries of your choice (i used frozen raspberries)
1.5 Tbs coconut cream
1 tsp sweetener of choice (optional)

Method

Place all ingredients in a food processor and whiz until it reaches the desired consistency.

Banana Peanut Butter Gelato
serves 2

Ingredients

2 bananas frozen
1 Tbs natural peanut butter
pinch of sea salt
1 tsp of sweetener of choice (optional)
1 tsp crushed peanuts for topping

Method

Place all ingredients except crushed peanuts into food processor and whizz until you reach ice cream consistency.
Serve with a sprinkle of crushed peanuts on top.
You could add the crushed peanuts and stir it through the gelato, I think that would add a really nice texture.  Crunch Crunch Crunch :)

Do you get the picture now?  

This is the simplest, most easiest way to make delicious, healthy ice cream in minutes, so there's always a new flavour that you can whip up at a whim.

I always have bags and bags full of bananas in my freezer.  It's such a good way to store them if you have them turning brown.  

I use them to make banana bread, cakes, smoothies, and of course, ice cream.
I picked up 2 kilos of bananas the other day for $2.50!!  Just because the skin is spotted and a little brown doesn't mean the insides are dying.  As long as there's no soft bits and black bruises, they're as perfect as unspotted ones.

Now, as you can see, the banana peanut butter gelato is not alone.  Next to it is a delicious serving of vegan chocolate mousse.
This indulgent treat is delicious on it's own, and also makes a great filling for a chocolate tart.

I have tested this out on my non-vegan friends and told them the secret ingredient afterwards and they couldn't believe it.
Give it a go and see for yourself.

Chocolate Mousse
serves 6 on it's own or makes one 8 inch pie tart

Ingredients

2 cups of avocado flesh (about 2 1/2 avos)
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup non-dairy milk of choice (i used oat milk for this one)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs arrowroot powder
1 Tbs almond butter
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup raw cacao powder (you can use cocoa powder if that's what you have)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 block of dark chocolate (i used Lindt 70% as it doesn't contain any dairy)

Method

Place all ingredients in a food processor except for the chocolate.
Blend it until smooth, you will need to scrape the bowl a couple of times to make sure it's all incorporated.
In a double boiler, or in a bowl placed over some simmering water, melt your chocolate until smooth and there's no more lumps.
Add to avocado mixture and blend again until all mixed through.  Mixture will thicken into a delicious smooth blend.  Try not to eat it all!!

The mousse will harden somewhat when refrigerated, and if you are using as a filling for a tart, make sure you place it in the freezer for a couple of hours before you serve it.  It will make it easier to cut.

I have some recipes that work well for tart bases but I will post that up next week as I will be making some salted caramel and chocolate tarts this week.

I have made this as a tart before and it it delicious.  The best thing is that you can freeze the left overs and cut off a piece as you go.

It definitely is a rich chocolate flavour, so a small serving is really enough to satisfy your chocolate craving.

Now that we've had dessert, how about a main?

As I've said before, I HATE waste, so I made the following recipe with the left over risotto I put up in my previous post.  

I made a big batch of the sauce from my spaghetti veganese recipe, and used the left over to make a pasta for the family that included chorizo (they are NOT doing the challenge).

All you have to do is stuff your capsicum with the risotto, spread the pasta sauce on top and a little on the bottom of the baking  pan, and stick it in the oven at 180 degrees celcius and bake for about 30-40 minutes.

Once out of the oven, sprinkle some chopped herbs and some nutritional yeast flakes for some added vitamin B.

Add a side salad and there you have it!  

Now for another savoury dish. 

I was playing around with making some vegan pesto and this is what I came up with.

Tomato Pesto

makes approx. 2 cups

Ingredients

1 cup basil leaves

1 1/2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup semi dried tomatoes

1/4 cup evoo

1/4 cup walnuts

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Method 

Place all ingredients in your food processor and process until nearly smooth.  Now, it will be a little bit thick so I added about 1 Tbsp of water at a time until I got the desired consistency.  I ended up adding 3 Tbsp but it's personal preference.

This is good to have on hand when you are stuck and need to jazz up a meal.  Here's two I used it with.

Quinoa Topped Mushrooms

serves 6 as a light meal

Ingredients

1 cup of quinoa rinsed and drained

1 tsp of vegan stock powder

1 1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 garlic clove minced

1/3 cup brown onion diced

1/3 cup squash diced

6 sundried tomatoes cut into strips

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1/4 cup fresh basil

3-4 Tbsp water

6 large field mushrooms

pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.  Line a baking tray with baking paper.  Clean mushrooms by wiping with a paper towel to remove dirt.  Place clean mushrooms, caps down on lined baking tray and place in oven for about 30 - 40 minutes.

Whilst your mushrooms are in the oven, place the rinsed quinoa in a medium saucepan with water and stock powder and bring to the boil over medium heat.  Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until all liquid has evaporated and quinoa is translucent and cooked.  Turn heat off.

In a frying pan, add your coconut oil, garlic, onion and squash. Cook until squash is a little soft but still has some crunch in it.  Add to quinoa.

Process your herbs and water with a hand held blender if you have it and add this mixture to you quinoa, along with the sun dried tomato strips.  Stir gently to combine.

Return the quinoa to a low heat and cook uncovered until there's no more liquid, this should only take about 3-5 minutes as there's not really that much water added.

By now, your mushrooms should be ready.

Take them out of the oven and place them on a plate, top with herbed quinoa and your tomato pesto.

Bon appétit!

Mediterranean Pasta

serves 1 

Ingredients

Wholemeal pasta or pasta of choice (enough for one person)

1/2 Tbsp coconut oil

1/3 cup of eggplant strips

1/4 cup brown onion diced

1 garlic clove minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)

4 sundried tomatoes cut into strips

6 kalamata olives chopped

3 Tbsp tomato pesto (or more if you like)

1 Tbsp fresh parsley chopped

2 tsp nutritional yeast 

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method

Cook pasta to packet instructions

Heat coconut oil in frying pan and add garlic, onion and eggplant, cook on medium heat until eggplant turns golden.

Add oregano, chilli flakes, sundried tomatoes and olives.  Cook for a further 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and add to hot drained pasta.  Stir in pesto and parsley and mix until well incorporated and covering every inch of pasta.  Add your seasoning at this stage if you feel it needs it.

Plate it up and sprinkle with nutritional yeast.

Serve with some crusty bread and a basic salad.

I also use the pesto as a spread on my sandwiches, and stuff them with salad and baked pumpkin. Yummo!

On the body front, I am still losing hair :( but I have started taking the supplements and it's early days so I'm hoping it will stop soon.  I guess I have to give it some time.  I think about 4 weeks should be long enough to start to see some difference.  Fingers crossed!

Otherwise, energy levels are good, my sleep is still great, give or take a few nights when work has been really hectic, or my girls have a bad night.  But these are normal everyday things that would happen regardless of eating habits.

I've started doing some meditating, just small 5 minute intervals at this stage.  Trying to find a regular time to do it is the only problem as you can imagine.  At this stage, I can only do it at night after the family are all tucked in and asleep.

I know it's best to practice first thing in the morning but alas, it's a rare occasion when I wake up before everyone else.  I'm usually woken up by my youngest poppet calling out 'maaamiiiiii!' from her cot!!

But never fear, I will persevere.

Peas, love and mung beans

xxb

week 6 and test results

There's nothing I love more than having a good, hearty breakfast.  Porridge really is my favourite breakfast to be had as the possibilities are endless.  I never do tire of it and it really keeps me going until mid morning.

But with the weather beginning to heat up, I've got to find a new way to enjoy my oats without having to cook them.

Enter the saviour, overnight oats!!

Essentially bircher muesli with a few tweaks :)

Here's a quick recipe to get you started on what I've found, is the beginning of a serious addiction.

Basic overnight oats

serves 1

Ingredients

1/4 cup of wholegrain oats

1/4 cup apple juice

1/4 cup non-dairy milk of choice

2 tsp chia seeds

1/4 fruit of your choice

Method

Mix all ingredients together and leave in fridge overnight.  Oats will become soft and chia seeds will expand with the fluid giving the finished product a thick consistency.

Here's the flavour I'm flogging at the moment.

Choc-berry overnight oats

serves 1

Ingredients

1/4 cup wholegrain oats

1/4 cup apple juice (freshly squeezed if you have the time)

1/4 cup almond milk 

2 tsp chia seeds

1 Tbs hemp seeds*

2 tsp raw cacao powder 

2 tsp raw mesquite powder* 

1/4 cup strawberries chopped

1 Tbs shredded coconut

1 Tbs of raw flaked almonds

Method

Place in screw close jar and shake it.

Place in fridge overnight and be ready to have a seriously delicious breakfast in the morning.

If I'm making a big batch for me and the kids I just throw it all in a big bowl and cover it, making sure I mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

You can really let your imagination run away with this recipe and try all types of combinations.

Here's a few ideas:

• Grated apple, raisins and cinnamon.
• Carrot, ginger and nutmeg (using freshly squeezed carrot and ginger juice).
• Pear, almond and vanilla.
• Green monster (blend kale/spinach and spirulina with almond milk and juice and then add to other ingredients)

*raw mesquite powder can be found at health food stores, it is high in protein and has good quantities of calcium and magnesium, as well as containing lysine which is really good for people who get recurrent cold sores.  It's also low GI and has a yummy caramel taste.

*hemp seeds are big in the U.S where I first came across them but you can still get them here.  Hempseed's amino acid profile is close to "complete" when compared to more common sources of proteins such as meat, milk, eggs and soy. Hemp protein contains all 21 known amino acids, including the 9 essential ones adult bodies cannot produce. 

They also contain essential fatty acids (omega 3,6,9 & GLA)so double bonus.  

Pretty healthy and nutritious breakfast if you ask me.  

You can double the measurements if you like, but I always like to have a piece of toast with my breakfast, so this serving size is perfect to allow a bit of room for that without feeling stuffed.

Hmmm, I have been having a lot of grains lately, if I'm not careful I'm going to turn into one.  Don't know what it is, just my body craving the extra energy I guess.

And speaking of grains, I've been craving risotto lately.  

For some reason, I have acquired a lot of lemons. Oh yes, that's why. I was intending on making some preserved lemons but I need a hell of a lot more in order to do that.  That, and my pickled onions, will have to be another post.  But I digress.....

Here's a recipe I came up with tonight to fix my risotto craving and to make use of all those lemons!

Lemon and herb risotto

serves 4 as a light meal

Ingredients

1 Tbs coconut oil

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 medium brown onion diced

1.5 cup arborio rice

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup lemon juice (about two lemons)

2 Tbs of lemon rind grated (from above lemons)

500 ml vegetable stock liquid (i make it with boiled water and vegan stock seasoning)

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbs parsley chopped

1 Tbs dill chopped

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Method

Heat coconut oil in a heavy based saucepan on medium heat.

Add garlic and onion and cook until translucent, being careful not to burn.

Add rice and stir until all rice is coated and continue cooking like that for approximately 4 more minutes.

Add wine, lemon juice, lemon rind and stir until most liquid has evaporated.

Add stock a ladle at a time, being careful not to squash the rice when you stir and waiting until most of the liquid has evaporated before you add next ladle.

Should take about 25 minutes until all stock is gone and liquid has evaporated.

If you're rice is not cooking, turn the heat down and cover with a lid for a few minutes.

You're rice might cook before you have finished adding all your stock.  Leave it as is, if you keep adding, you'll end up with a mashy mess!

Once rice is cooked, turn the heat off and add seasoning to taste, as well as herbs and walnuts, reserving some for garnish.

I served this with a side of baked vegetables.  

I hate wasting so I grabbed whatever was on it's way out.  Today was a mixture of fennel, carrot, capsicum, spanish onion, zucchini, cauliflower, sweet potato and pumpkin.

I always dry bake my veges (no oil) and toss them with white wine vinegar and evoo once they are done.  Voilá, roast vegetable salad!

I find that when I dry bake, the leftovers last a little bit longer in the fridge. I can stretch them out to fill in sandwiches or if it's pumpkin, I can use in cakes or mash and add it to my oats for breakfast.

I really love pumpkin, it's super versatile.  I mash it and use it as butter when I'm making sandwiches for the kids, or blend it with chickpeas, tahini and lemon juice for a quick pumpkin hummus dip for our afternoon snack of vege sticks.  Kids love it :)

Now, to some health news.

I finally got my blood results back and it was what I expected.  I'm low in iron and zinc.  My iron stores are not too bad so that's a good thing and the best part is that I can do something about it.

So I have purchased the recommended iron + vitamin c tablets, a zinc supplement and a good multivitamin.  I now have to be religious about taking these.  I'm planning on having my bloods done again in another couple of months to see if it has improved.

And whatever the outcome of those results, well, I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get to it.

I am positive that I will get my levels up and I'm going to be more diligent in regards to adding more iron and zinc rich foods and so on.

So many vegans do this lifestyle successfully so I will try and get some tips from all the amazing support that there is out there.

Watch this space

Peas, love and mung beans

xxb