done and dusted! now on to the next thing......

It's been a while, way more than 12 weeks......so it has.

The 12 week plant based/vegan diet challenge has come to a close.  A couple of weeks ago in fact.  But it's been a busy, busy time so I apologise for my tardiness, and I will also add that now that the challenge is over, I probably won't be posting as often.

So what have I made of this challenge?  First and foremost I have to say that it has made me more aware of what I put into my mouth.  I always thought I had a pretty good diet, and mostly I did.  But eliminating animal products and having to make most of your meals means that you become a little more knowledgeable of all the stuff that's added to our foods.  Some ingredients I can't even pronounce, yet I was eating them on a daily basis!!

If anything, this way of eating has taught me to be mindful, to be patient, to eat slowly, to eat cleanly and to be present.

All that from food, really?

It's also made me experiment with foods, try different approaches to eating and preparing them, and it has made me realise that saying you're going to do something can only go as far as you want it to go. 

Like my gluten free October challenge.  I wasn't very strict in the first two weeks, in fact, I sucked really bad at it.  Once I put my mind and made a wholehearted promise to myself that I would stick to it, I did.  However, it wasn't easy at first, and I had to disguise it in the way of making it a Raw Vegan Challenge rather than calling it what it was.  Sometimes life is just like that I guess.  But whatever gets you through and gets you to that goal is what matters, as long as you don't sacrifice yourself or others for it though!!

So Gluten-Free October, disguised as Raw Vegan has gone really well.  I've been gluten-free for 14 days now and I feel great!  No bloating, no excessive amounts of wind (*cringe), and generally feeling pretty awesome.  Maybe it coincides with the raw food, although I will admit, I find raw vegan living pretty tough.  And I'll be 100% honest with you, I have slipped at times.  There have been times, when I was feeling rather emotional, that I reached out for my frying pan and made myself some vegan chilli.  I just needed a little bit of Mexican to cheer me up.  A little fiesta never hurt anyone right?

This dish is super quick, no joke, 20 minutes tops.  This is what I make when I'm feeling tired, or time poor and I need something feeling and super tasty.  My family can it it too so that's a bonus.

Burritos
Serves 2

Chilli

Ingredients

1 400g can red kidney beans
1 400g can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup brown onion diced
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp smoky paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 TBS coconut oil
1/2 cup zucchini diced
1/2 cup capsicum diced
1/4 cup celery diced
1/2 cup carrot diced
1 TBS fresh coriander chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a large frying pan, heat your coconut oil and add your onion, garlic and spices.  Cook until translucent.  Add your tomatoes and vegetables, cook until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.  Putting the lid on will speed up the process and prevent it from drying out.
Once veges are cooked, add your beans and cook uncovered for 3 minutes, or until the beans are heated through.  Turn of your heat and stir in coriander and seasoning if needed.
Whilst you wait for your veges to cook, make your......

Guacamole

Ingredients

2 avocados
1/8 cup red onion diced
1/8 cup red capsicum diced
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Use a stick blender and process your avocado with lemon juice and seasoning.  Tasting as you go.  Alternatively, you can mash the avocado.  Whatever tickles your fancy :)
Add the rest of the ingredients to the avocado mixture and voila!

Salsa

Ingredients

1 tomato diced
1 cup cucumber cubes
juice of half a lemon 
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Mix all your ingredients together

Cos lettuce leaves to serve.

Now place your chilli mix into your lettuce and top with guacamole and salsa.
Enjoy!!

What I love the most about doing the raw thing, is the desserts. Now it's no secret that I'm a big sweet tooth, it's my crux.  That's why I'm doing No-sugar-Vember.  OMG, so scary!! Today is my last day of being able to eat sugar so I'm treating myself by doing the raw vegan workshop because I know that there will be some delicious raw vegan treats to try.  Although raw vegans don't use refined sugars, they do still use plenty of dried fruit which in all intents and purposes, is just sugar.  Sorry to say.
But let's not get down about it, we still have a few hours left until November hits, so with that in mind, let me introduce you to some pretty tasty little snacks that you can keep in your freezer and sneak out any time the sweet fairy pops in. 

Teenie tiny choc berry tarts

This recipe is a mixture of recipes put together to make these delicious little treats.

As you can see, they are still a little bit frozen as I just couldn't wait to dig in.

You can make as many as you like but I got about 8 using the same quantities for the chocolate mousse and coco berry gelato from a previous post.

Fruit and Nut Crust

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw brazil nuts
6 medjool dates
6 dried apricots
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 TBS coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Place all ingredients in the food processor and pulse until desired consistency is reached.  Should be crumbly and hold together when pressed.  If you need too add more dates/apricots if too dry, or some more nuts/coconut if too wet.

Now you just have to assemble them.

I used a muffin tray and pressed in the crust, filled it with chocolate mousse and topped it with the gelato.  Throw it in the freezer for a couple of hours.  This will make them easy to pop out of the tray.  Once frozen, I pop them all out and placed them in an airtight container back in the freezer.  I take mine out of the freezer about 30 minutes before I want to eat them.

If you have left over crust, roll them up into little balls and roll them in some dried coconut, or sesame seeds, or raw cacao powder and make some Protein Power Balls.

I store mine in the freezer also, and just take out a few to have on hand when I'm out and about.
They're also good as a pre-workout snack and the kids love them too.
You can experiment by adding some almond butter instead of coconut oil.
You may want to try adding chia seeds to them also.
The only boundary is your imagination really :)



One other dessert I'd like to share with you is a pudding I absolutely love and could eat everyday, no joke.

Chocolate Chia Pudding
Serves 1

Ingredients

1 banana
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup coconut water
1/8 cup coconut cream
1 TBS chia seeds
1 TBS raw cacao powder
1 tsp raw cacao nibs
1 tsp fruit and nut crust (optional)

Method

Place all ingredients in a blender except for cacao nibs and crust.  Blend until thick and creamy.
Pour into a cup or bowl of your choice, and top with cacao nibs and fruit and nut crust.
Place in the refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes to thicken.
Enjoy!

If I'm feeling extra crazy, I substitute the coconut water for coconut milk and 1 TBS of coconut cream.  It makes it super thick and creamy.  YUMMINESS on another level!

People who can't comprehend vegan/plant based diets always ask me what I eat.

Here's a snapshot of some of my meals whilst I've been on the raw tip.

So there you have it kids, a month in the raw.  It hasn't been easy, a few slip ups here and there but all in all, I think it was awesome.  The above and middle picture is actually a cauliflower 'rice'.  So good, just throw some raw cauliflower in your food processor with a tsp of salt and 1 tsp of garlic powder and pulse until you get the rice consistency.  So easy and  you can use it like rice.  LOVES IT!

And I just can't live without my nori rolls.  The best thing ever, and you can add whatever fillings you love the most.

And now one final thing.  Throughout the whole raw thing, I have been getting a lot of compliments on my skin.  Not sure if it's the raw thing, or the fact that I've now been vegan for over 3 months.  I always give a new thing the 3 month check so I'm thinking it could be a combo of the two.

Lesson learnt:  Keep it simple and clean, eat raw mostly, be gentle with yourself, don't sweat the small stuff. 

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

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 4 comes to a close

I'm nearing the end of week 4, 1/3 of the way through the challenge, and I'm a bit up and down.  
Not so much with the food, but maybe my hormones. I don't think that has anything to do with having a plant based diet, or does it?
I've been reading a lot about the effect of hormones in your body and I know for sure that dairy and soy products can play havoc on your system in this regard.
I'm not saying you shouldn't have these things, after all, we're all different and what works for some, doesn't work for others.  I'm not sure where I lie, but I do know that hormones suck and I personally wish I wasn't so susceptible to their effects.
The lability in mood at your lady times, the impact they can have on your skin and even what you crave to eat!!! It's fair to say, they are important little buggers who are not going away.

Although dairy isn't an issue for me at the moment, I am having soy on a nearly daily basis every time I have my coffee.  If there was a coffee shop that used nut milk instead I would be there in a flash, but alas, soy is the only alternative at this stage, and I'm not yet ready to give up my coffee.

I've also been thinking more about the products I'm using on my body.  It makes sense to be on this path I guess, after all, you can't be so aware of what goes into your body to feed your organs and not worry about what you put ON your major organ.
What I found out is this:
-  there are toxic substances in just about everything, and just walking out the front door exposes you to a lot of it....and you haven't even started eating yet!
-  some things found in everyday items, including personal products, mimic the action of natural hormones found in your body, thus altering your body's performance.
-  although you can't avoid everything, there are definitely things you can do to minimise your exposure.

For this reason, I have begun purchasing products which are based on natural ingredients and where possible, organic.

Now I must say, I'm a product junkie.  I love it all, creams, serums, sun care, make up, facials, e.t.c., and after having terrible skin post babies, I really became obsessed with it.  
So, this hasn't been an easy thing for me to do. I'm terrified that my new routine will result in break-out hell and ruin all the time I've spent getting my skin back to normal.
But, for the sake of research, and on the quest of a cleaner, healthier, more aware way of living, I've done it.
So, my new routine is an Australian organic cleanser, hydrogen peroxide 3% at night to keep breakouts at bay and coconut oil to moisturise.  I use a tiny amount of coconut oil on my face and then use it all over my body.

Here's something I found scary but useful and led me to change my routine:

Obviously, it's still early days to know whether this will work for me or not but I'm hoping it will, besides, paying $10 for 500 mls of organic coconut oil really makes my wallet happy :)

Now, let's talk food!

So, I've been dying to try out a cheesecake recipe I found whilst trawling the net during my snack attack phase, and, having friends over for lunch today, proved the perfect time to try it out.

I adapted this recipe from one I found at http://mynewroots.blogspot.com.au, an amazing blog you should check out if you haven't already.  Thanks to my lovely friend Angelica for putting me onto it.

Raw Raspberry 'Cheese' Cake

Ingredients:

Base:

1/2 cup raw almonds 

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup soft Medjool dates

¼ tsp. sea salt

Filling:

3 cups raw cashews (soaked for at least 5 hours but overnight is best)

juice of 2 lemons

1 tsp. alcohol-free vanilla extract

2/3 cup raw coconut oil, melted

2/3 cup maple syrup

1 cup raspberries (thaw completely if using frozen)

1/2 cup strawberries

Method:

Line a deep pie dish or small round springform pan with glad wrap or baking paper.

Place nuts and dates in a food processor with sea salt and pulse to chop until they are to your desired fineness (process a finer crust longer than a chunky one). 

Scoop out crust mixture in prepared pan and press firmly, making sure that the edges are well packed and that the base is relatively even throughout. Rinse food processor well.

Warm coconut oil and maple syrup in a small saucepan on low heat until liquid. Whisk to combine.

In the food processor/blender, place all filling ingredients (except berries) and blend on high until very smooth.  About 3 minutes.

Pour about 2/3 of the mixture out onto the crust and smooth with a spatula. Add the berries to the remaining filling and blend on high until smooth. Pour onto the first layer of filling. 

Place in freezer until solid.

Remove from freezer and allow to thaw for about 30 minutes prior to eating. Run a smooth, sharp knife under hot water and cut into slices. You can have it on it's own or serve it with whatever accompaniments you desire.

The best thing about this recipe, apart from the taste obviously, is that you can keep whatever is left over in the freezer.  WIN!

But, it was not just cake that we fed our lovely guests, we also made a seafood paella and of course, being on a vegan journey, I just had to make a vegan version.

Here's one I adapted from this recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=738168

Quinoa Paella

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups quinoa

1/4 teaspoon saffron, crushed

2 teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

400g can organic diced tomatoes

1/3 cup red capsicum chopped

400g can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

750ml vegetable stock

2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

1 cup fresh or frozen peas

1 cup artichoke hearts, rinsed and cut into quarters

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/2 lemon

Directions

Rinse quinoa thoroughly and set aside to drain in a colander.

Sauté onion and garlic in a heavy based saucepan with a little water until soft. 

Add quinoa and saffron and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add paprika, cumin, cayenne, tomatoes, capsicum and 500 mls vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to very low, and cook covered for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, check to see if more stock is needed (If it looks dry, add the remaining vegetable stock, if it looks too wet, take off cover until some of the fluid evaporates). 

Place the zucchini on top of the quinoa and re-cover. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until quinoa is done. 

Stir in peas and beans and cook uncovered until peas and beans are warm and all liquid is absorbed. 

Pour into a serving plate and arrange the artichoke hearts on the top.

Sprinkle with parsley and squeeze lemon juice over the top.

Serves 6

I was really impressed with this recipe, and even though there was no chorizo to give it that extra hit of flavour, it was still super tasty.

I served this with a kale, watercress and orange salad that I dressed with orange juice, olive oil, maple syrup, cumin and red wine vinegar.  It was a good accompaniment as the citrus and astringent quality of the salad really set off the richness of the paella.

This is another recipe that keeps on giving and I'm planning on using the left overs to put into wraps with some wedges of avocado and some red cabbage slaw. Mmmmm, makes me hungry just thinking about it.......

Oh, and not to forget, I found some vegan friendly wine at my local wine shop.  Happy days :)

peas, love and mungbeans

xxb