week 8

Week 8 is nearing it's end and I've got some lovely recipes for you.  Not all of them are mine, in fact, the majority are from my lovely non-vegan friends.
We had a long overdue get-together over the weekend and being the amazing girls that they are, they all made vegan meals so that we could all eat to our bellies content.
All of them cooked vegan recipes that they had never cooked before, and it all turned out amazingly yum.  This just goes to show, that there's nothing to be scared about when it comes to vegan food.  In fact, it's probably easier and less time consuming than waiting for a roast to cook, or making sure you don't overcook the scallops, e.t.c.
I must admit though, vegan food can take some preparation, specially when making raw meals.  Otherwise, I think it's pretty simple.  But don't let me tell you that.  Give it a go and see for yourself.

I'll start with my dish because I've been flogging it since it was made for me.  This recipe was inspired by my neighbour, she is a self-described non-cook, but she made me the loveliest, most moorish salad I've had in a long time.  I've used the base of her recipe and added some plump juicy figs that I thought really worked well with the flavours.  Thanks Leanne for the idea, I think you're a great cook :)

I made the grains and legumes the night before and stored them in air-tight containers.  This meant that I could assemble it quickly the next day and not worry about being stuck in the kitchen the whole time.  In fact, you can prepare all the ingredients ahead of time and just assemble when you are ready to eat.  Perfect!


Protein Power Salad
serves 8 as a side

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice
1 cup quinoa 
1 cup french lentils
1/2 Tbs coconut oil
1 1/2 cup fennel diced
1/3 cup raw almonds
1/3 cup sunflower seed and pepita mix
1 cup fresh mint chopped
6 figs quartered
1/2 lemon juiced
evoo
sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

Method

Cook brown rice, quinoa, and lentils separately and to packet instructions.  Remember to always rinse your grains and legumes, especially quinoa, as the rinsing removes the bitter taste you can get otherwise.
Heat up your coconut oil in a frying pan and add your fennel, heat gently until fennel is soft.  Put aside to cool.
Heat the frying pan again, this time no oil is needed, and roast your almonds until golden.
When they are cool enough to handle, chop them into slivers.
Rinse your grains and lentils once they are cooked.  About 20 minutes for quinoa, 30-40 for brown rice, and 30 for the lentils.
To make the salad, you just toss all the ingredients together in a bowl, adding the figs last so that they don't break apart when you are mixing it.
Check your seasoning and adjust as required, same for the lemon juice.  I like mine zingy but everyone is different.

The following recipe is by the lovely Natalie, and it's one she got from here.  It was really delicious, and so colourful and the dressing is THE bomb.  I have made the dressing since then and have added it to other salads and also the rice salad and i'm happy to say that it goes really well with just about anything.  You could even use it as a dip, it's that good.

The next dish was made by the sweet Angelica.  She's little, she's Italian, and she makes the best pasta this side of Sicily.  And would you believe it, she made egg-free pasta for us! There was no left-overs of that one, otherwise, we would've all been fighting for the last perfect little ravioli.

I'm still to get the recipe for this, but patience is a virtue and I will practice it.
The ravioli was filled with a mixture of baked pumpkin, garlic and spinach and it was divine! I could have eaten the whole platter.
Ange tells me that it was really simple to make, just flour, water and some olive oil for the pasta.  But I have never made vegan pasta before and I'd rather have the right amounts before I go covering myself in flour and oil.
The sauce itself was outstanding too, so I will post up this little gem as soon as I get it.

As you can see, there was no real theme for our lunch, just that it had to be vegan.  This next recipe was so yummy and for some reason, silky comes to mind when I'm remembering the textures.
This dish was cooked by a crazy Indonesian girl called Dea, and it was just delish.
It was a delicious blend of enoki mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, tofu, and chinese greens with a vegetarian oyster sauce.  A side of soba noodles, the perfect accompaniment.  You can get the recipe here.

Of course, every good kitchen needs a good prep chef, and we had that in the lovely Briana aka Jazzy. Thanks lady for the cheese (yes, the non-vegan kind for the non-vegans) and for your assistance in making the dishes happen.

And last but not least is the dessert I made.  
I must admit, this was a first for me.  Not the dessert making, but this recipe. I was initially going to make a salted caramel and chocolate tart and I still did make that but it just turned out different to what I initially had in my head.  I was aiming for a dulce de leche type tart that I was going to cover in melted dark chocolate so that I would have a hard chocolate top with a soft caramel centre and a crumbly base.  However, the dulce de leche was an experience in itself and I thought that it would be too rich to have the caramel and the hard chocolate on top, so instead, I made a more creamy chocolate topping to go with the salted caramel.  Enjoy.

WARNING: This dessert requires you to have a lot of time, and is best to make ahead of time as you will need to soak, freeze and stand in one spot for at least two hours!  But well worth it.

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Tart
Makes 20 cm tart 

Ingredients

Crust

3/4 cup desiccated coconut
3/4 cup walnut and pecans
6 pitted medjool dates
1 Tbsp coconut oil
pinch of sea salt

Method

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until crumbly but able to hold together when pressed.
Press the mixture into a lined springform tin, using some to come up the sides.  Bake in a moderate oven for 10 minutes or until lightly golden.  This last step is optional, but I like it because it gives it a toasted coconut taste.  Alternatively, you can toast the coconut before you process your ingredients. I just didn't think of that at the time.

 Dulce de Leche
Yields about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

2 cans of coconut milk full fat
3/4 cup brown sugar
pinch of sea salt

Method

Place coconut milk and sugar into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat stirring occasionally.  When it begins to boil, turn heat down to low and cook for about 2 hours.
Yes, that's not a misprint, 2 HOURS!!
Add the salt at the end and stir to dissolve.
Make sure you keep stirring every few minutes to stop the mixture from burning or sticking to the bottom.
Now this is what happened to mine, I left the stove because I could no longer wait to go to the toilet and when I came back, the mixture had curdled.  ARGH!  You can imagine my annoyance, having stood in front of it patiently, crossing and uncrossing my legs, for the past two hours!  Now what was I to do? My dream of making vegan dulce de leche had gone, just because I had to wee.  
But not all was lost my friends.  In my desperation to make this work, to not let the past two hours be a waste of time, I did what any self-respecting girl would do.  I drained off the liquid that was floating on top, which was just oil after all, and after a little bit more stirring, about 5 minutes, I was left with the most delicious dulce de leche.  YEEEAAAHHHH!!
This taught me a very important lesson.  Always trust your gut, it'll let you know what to do :)
Pour dulce de leche in a jar or glass container and let it cool in the fridge.

Liquid Gold!

Chocolate Filling

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup raw cashews soaked overnight or for at least 4 hours
1/3 cup coconut oil liquid
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup almond milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)

Method

To liquify your coconut oil, stand the container in boiling water.
Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until creamy and smooth.  
You will need to scrape down the sides a couple of times.

Assembly

Pour your cool dulce de leche into prepared tart base.  It will be considerably more thick than when you first poured it into the container.
Smooth it out to cover the bottom.
Pour your chocolate mixture on top of the dulce de leche and smooth the top.
Cover and place in freezer.  Take out of freezer a couple of hours before you are going to serve it.  Store left overs, if any, in the freezer and just cut off a slice whenever you fancy.

Ta-Dahhh!

So that was our vegan cook-off, not bad if I do say so myself.  We all had happy bellies and I was floating on my happy cloud for days afterwards, it's amazing what good company and good food can do :)

With the end of the challenge nearing, and feeling pretty confident about eating a plant based diet, I've decided to add a little more challenges to my challenge.
So for the month of October, I will be doing Gluten Free and for November, I will be bidding farewell to my friend Sugar.
I anticipate that both will be, to say the least, um, challenging.  But, I'm always up for a hard slog so there you are.
I anticipate that No-sugar-vember will be a tough battle.  No sugar means no fruit, which means no green monster smoothies, no berry-chia jam, no chocolate tarts, no vegan dulce de leche, no dried fruit, no stewed apples in my porridge, no banana peanut butter gelato, no raw vegan chocolate......oh dear, the list is endless!!
I have done a no sugar challenge before so I know what lies ahead. The nausea, the headaches, the lethargy, the irritability.  Yes, I will be a sugar junkie seriously crashing from a sugar high.  I plead with you to keep your treats to yourself and away from my face, or I might eat your face!
But seriously, the bad part only lasts a few days and then it's all good.  I'll be on top of the world, feeling smug and silently snickering behind your back when I see you eating a chocolate, feeling rather holy at the fact that I can kick sugar, even for just one month.  Maybe I'll have a cat, maybe the cat and I will sit by the window sill and drink liquorice tea and read books and stuff.  But hold on, I'm not sugarless yet, why am I delirious?  Oh yes, it was just the idea of having no sugar that's sent me loopy.  Oh dear.
But then I will become normal again and celebrate, and we can hold hands while we slurp a delicious green monster smoothie, filled with sweet bananas, yay!

What will October bring I wonder?  A month of no bread, no cakes, no pasta.  It really is the only way I can see to ease myself into dreaded No-sugar-vember.  Yes, babysteps indeed.

Til next time lovers, dreamers and cat owners

Peas, love and mung beans

xxb

ps, i don't have anything against cats or people who love them.  I just prefer dogs.

just a quickie.....

it was a little chilly when I woke up this morning, so I decided to make some delicious porridge.  It always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

I never understand when I hear that people don't like porridge, it makes me think that their experience was marred by substandard, gluey porridge that was cooked wrong.

What I say to those people is this:  Make yourself a bowl by following the next few simple instructions and you will never look back.

Basic Porridge

serves 1

Ingredients

1/3 cup wholegrain oats (you can use any type of grain here, and quinoa/brown rice works well for those with a gluten intolerance)

2/3 cup non-dairy milk 

1/3 water

pinch of sea salt

Method

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil on medium heat.

Stir whilst cooking to avoid sticking on the bottom and to make it super creamy.

Remove from heat when it thickens and becomes creamy.

Serve with your favourite topping.

Now, my favourite combinations are:

• grated apple and cinnamon 
• stewed pears and vanilla
• berries and cacao powder
• cacao powder and coconut
• banana and cinnamon
• pumpkin spice with pecans/walnuts

I also love it with nut butter and some delicious jam.

Here's a recipe for jam I came up with by accident but it's a good one.

Berry Chia Jam

makes 2 cups

Ingredients

2 cups of strawberries

1/4 cup blueberries

2 Tbsp chia seeds

3 Tbsp maple syrup

Method

Place berries and syrup into a saucepan and cook on low-med heat until berries begin to soften and break down.

With a fork or potato masher, mash some of the berries but leave some chunky also.

It should be a little bit syrupy by this stage.

Add chia seeds and stir.  Mixture will thicken after a few minutes.

Turn off heat when it reaches your desired consistency.

Easy peasy!

Cashew butter

makes 2 cups

Ingredients

2 cups of roasted and unsalted cashews

3 Tbsp dairy-free milk

2 Tbsp maple syrup (optional)

1/4 tsp of sea salt

Method

Blend until smooth in a food processor.  You may need more milk if you're not using syrup.  You could also use water but do it a bit at a time so you don't end up with a liquidy mess.  The desired texture and consistency is up to you so adjust as you go.

I store both in a glass jar and so far, they keep pretty well.

The cashew butter is quite thick, like almond butter, so what I like to do before I add it to my porridge, is mix it with some more dairy-free milk and pinch or more of cinnamon.

Here's what I had this morning.

Have it on  some crusty sourdough or homemade bread that's fresh out of the oven.

Or use it to make some Berry Chia gelato.

YUM!

    








And here's a photo I took of the pumpkin spice porridge.

It was my send off to winter, and it was delicious.

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 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

....and another thing

In my haste of trying to get all the recipes down before they evaporated from my mind, I completely forgot to mention what's been happening body wise.

Apart from being sick for those few days, I have noticed some positive changes.

My skin has cleared up (thank goodness) and it's feeling rather good and looking quite bright (so i've been told).  Not sure if this is just down to the extra hydration, the fact that I've changed my beauty products or my diet.  I'd like to think that it's a mixture of all three but at the end of the day, you are what you eat :)

I've also noticed that I'm not snacking any where near as much as I used to.  I really don't know why this is.  Also, I'm not as hungry as I used to be and I really cannot explain this. 

I do however, have a couple of theories.

If you remember from the first few weeks, I was eating like a sumo wrestler.  Filling up on all the sugary vegan treats that I could, stuffing as much carbs as I could and so on.  I was ravenous.  At the time, I put it down to my lady times, but I think that maybe it was my body's natural response to detoxing from animal products.  Maybe it was going bananas and trying to get me to replace what it was craving with anything I could get my hands on.

Now that's out of my system, I feel like I don't actually need to consume as much to feel full.

I am actually satisfied after every meal, and have found that in the last two weeks, my cravings have greatly reduced.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a sugar head, it's my downfall, don't judge me. BUT, even when I bake, I can have a piece and then put it away.  This is a new concept to me.

I now only eat two squares of raw dark chocolate every now and then, not half a slab.  Yes, it is very, very bizarre.

I like to think that my body has re-calibrated or is in the process of recalibrating and this is what life is meant to be like. A day not filled with thoughts of what I can eat next!

Another thing that I've noticed, and this is really amazing to me, is that I feel much, much calmer.  I noticed this specially when I am having conversations with people.  

I don't know what it is, but I just feel content.

And it's not that I wasn't content before, it's just a different type of contentment, like a feeling of calm from the inside.

Oh dear, I'm really not explaining myself too well here.

I think the next step is to match my diet with a diet for my mind.  Meditation work shop anyone?  Yes, it's been on my radar for a while, trying to break into my waking psyche for a long time and now I feel like I'm ready for this.  I'm going to do it!!

Ok, ok, but before we get there, should we just have one square of this?

  

peas, love and mung beans

xxb

half way mark

Before I go into what's been going on, I should point something out.  Maybe I should have clarified this at the beginning, my apologies but here it is.

When I use the word vegan, I am not by any means stating that I follow a vegan way of life.  I love shoes way too much.

I use the word vegan to describe a plant based diet that I am currently following.  That is not to take away from those individuals who live the vegan lifestyle, it is just to simplify my life and so that I don't have to write 'plant based diet' all the time.  Hopefully, I haven't offended anyone and I'm sure that who ever owns the word vegan, will not mind.  I think this because I imagine that most vegans are non-judegemental, loving, peaceful humans.

Phew, ok, is anyone else getting annoyed by that word?!

So, the last week and a half have been rather eventful.  I had a birthday, I worked a lot, I got really sick and I tried to squeeze as many new recipes as possible into one day so that I had something new to give you.  

I should also inform you that I finally went to see my doctor, figured I needed a blood test so they were probably the best bet.  Plus, I've got a really good relationship with my G.P and he's a very open individual.  Didn't even bat an eyelid when I told him of my challenge. I really thought he might try to talk me out of it as some non-vegans (there we go again) do.

I get my results next week so will keep you posted (unless it's super embarrassing than I might not).

Ok, so my birthday was awesome although I did leave my party after only an hour of getting there.  No dancing with my girls as planned, no hangover the next morning, just in bed by midnight like cinderella (although I had my prince with me, bonus).

That wasn't the bad part, the bad part was feeling like something was not-quite-right for four days before it hit me.  The worst nausea and many trips to the loo.  Had to leave work early because it was THAT bad.  Who would've thought a tinie tiny little bug could cause so much grief?  But it eventually got better and here I am.

Whilst sick, I hardly ate.  This is not good.  I love food and the sight of it made me sick sick sick.  Not to mention it was the prelude to many uncomfortable situations.

But, one must nourish the body in order for healing to occur so this is what I made.

Save Me Soup

serves 4

Ingredients

1 zucchini 

1 carrot 

1 brown onion diced 

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 parsnip

1 sweede

2 stalks of celery

2 cups of spinach shredded

1 handful of vermicelli noodles

1 cup of creamed corn (i use fresh corn, kernels removed and whizzed with some water)

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1 litre of water

1 tsp of vegetable stock

Method

Chop vegetables roughly (except those as above).

In a medium saucepan, add the water, vegetable stock, onion, garlic, carrot, swede and parsnip.

When the water starts boiling, reduce heat to simmer and add the rest of the vegetables except parsley and creamed corn.

When the carrot and swede are soft but not mushy, add vermicelli, spinach and corn.  If it's too thick, add more water at this stage.

Cook for another 5 minutes, then turn off heat and stir in parsley.

I don't have a photo for this and it doesn't actually look very pretty but it tastes delicious and it was the only thing I could keep down.

I had it with a slice of organic sourdough spelt toast.

Yum.

I have also been trying new ingredients and one that's been interesting me of late is buckwheat.  Now, I am trying to eat less gluten (very hard, I love bread) and buckwheat actually has NO wheat in it.  Sometimes they just really get the names wrong don't they?

Anywhoo, here's a recipe that I came up with for lunch today.

Buckwheat and Kale Salad with Ranch Dressing   

Serves 3 as a light meal

Ingredients

1/2 cup buckwheat

1 1/2 cup kale shredded

1 1/2 cup tuscan cabbage shredded

1/4 cup char-grilled capsicum* chopped

1/3 cup baked pumpkin cubed

1/4 cup fresh coriander chopped

1/4 cup ranch dressing

Method

Soak the buckwheat for 20  minutes, rinse and steam for another 20 minutes.

Fluff with a fork when it's done.

In a large bowl, add all ingredients and toss gently to coat.

Add more seasoning if required.

Easy peasy japanesy.

*To char-grill your capsicum, place whole washed red capsicum over your gas stove element and cook until black and charred on all sides.  Once done, place in a bowl of cold water and leave for a while until cool enough to handle.

The blackened skin will peel off easily.  Remove seeds and store left over in a container with olive oil and add some peppercorns for later use.

But you can't have a salad without the dressing, and I got this beauty from here: http://www.yumuniverse.com/2012/01/11/creamy-dairy-free-soy-free-ranch-dressing/

It's a great recipe but next time I will change a few things.  I'll repost the updated version once my stock runs out.

I should also report that my man has decided to go on a bit of a health kick.  No, I have not been able to convince him to go meatless but it does mean that he's happy to have more than one meat free night a week.  Good for him and good for me because I get to try out some more recipes.

As a family with two young kids, spaghetti bolognese is a favourite at our place and the lover is usually in charge of making it so I thought it might be a good time to introduce my version.

Spaghetti Veganese (he he he) 

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 large eggplant

2 zucchini

1 carrot

1 brown onion

2 cloves garlic

3 stalks celery

1 Tbs coconut oil

1 can organic diced tomatoes

1 Tbs tomato paste

1 Tbs dried oregano

1 tsp vegetable stock

2 Tbs fresh basil

Savoury yeast flakes

Cracked pepper to taste

1 handful of dried spaghetti (about half a pack)

Method

Make pasta to packet instructions and whilst that is cooking, make the rest.

Place all vegetables into your food processor until finely chopped (or looks like mince).

In a large frying pan, heat your oil and add minced vegetables.  Once soft, about 3-5 minutes, add your oregano, paste and vegetable stock.

After 2 minutes, add your canned tomatoes.  If too dry, use a little water to rinse your tomato can and add that to the mixture.

Cook until it starts to boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 10 minutes.

Once cooked, turn off heat and add fresh basil and cracked pepper.

Once your pasta is cooked, rinse and add to sauce.  Mix well until all pasta is covered.

Serve with a sprinkling of yeast flakes and season if desired.

I added some raw fresh spinach also but that's just because I love it so much.

What was the verdict?  Empty plates! And that's good enough for me :)

And here's another meal that I cooked for them.  You can make it meat friendly by serving it with a side of free range grilled chicken.  I marinated the chicken in mexican spices.

Black Bean Chilli   

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Tbs coconut oil

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup brown onion diced

1/2 cup carrots diced

1/2 cup red capsicum

1/2 cup zucchini

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp smoky paprika

1 Tbs dried oregano

1 tsp chilli flakes*

1 tsp vegetable stock

1 can organic black beans rinsed

1 can organic diced tomatoes

1 Tbs fresh coriander chopped

Freshly cracked pepper

Method

In a large fry pan, add your coconut oil, garlic, brown onion and carrots.

When onion is translucent, add the rest of your vegetables, stock powder and spices and cook until fragrant.

Add canned tomatoes and add a little water if too dry. 

Turn down heat once it reaches a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add your beans and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Turn heat off and add fresh coriander and cracked pepper.

I served it top of some left over rice that I had and topped it with a basic avocado, red onion and tomato salsa with a lemon and evoo dressing.

*Omit the chilli flakes if your children don't like it.  Mine don't so we just add some once on our plates.  I don't think it compromises the taste.

  

After my terrible hiatus from food, albeit brief but terrible none the less, I was craving the baked goods I missed out on those few days.

So what's a girl to do?  

Well bake of course!

I revisited a fond friend in the pumpkin cake and this time I used a recipe I found here:http://joythebaker.com/2010/11/vegan-pumpkin-cranberry-apple-pecan-everythinbread/

This recipe is to-die-for delicious and results in the moistest, crumbliest, most delicious bread you'll ever sink your teeth into.  If you love pumpkin, you will love this.  The only change I made was that I used 1/2 cup of raisins and 1/2 cup of dried cranberries as I didn't have any fresh ones.  I also added 1 tsp of ground ginger.  Still delicious in my opinion.

My girls loved this as an afternoon treat which always makes me happy.

This bread is still high in sugar so as a random treat it's ok. 

I'm mindful not to feed my girls too much sugar (and I'm trying to cut down also) so I've had to play around with recipes to come up with something they like.  There has been plenty a time when my nearly 4 year old has told me "mum, it's a little bit yum but not very yum".  She's so sweet, always trying to let me down gently.

Here's a recipe that they both loved, phew!

Bananut Cake Bars

Ingredients

2 medium bananas mashed

1/4 cup sultanas

1/4 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup almond milk

1/3 cup unhulled tahini and sunflower oil mixture (half and half)

2 Tbs maple syrup

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/3 cup wholemeal self-raising flour

Pinch of sea salt

Handful of flaked almonds

1 tsp chia seeds

Method

Line a brownie pan with baking paper and set aside.  Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees celcius.

Carefully mix bananas, dried fruit, tahini/oil mixture, syrup and cinnamon.

Fold through flour and salt but don't over mix, this will result in a tough cake.

Spoon into prepared tin and spread out evenly.  Mixture will be thick, that's cool, it's meant to be.

Sprinkle with almonds and chia seeds and gently press into the batter.

Bake for about 35 minutes but start checkin at around 25 minutes as all ovens are different.

It's ready when your skewer comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack (if you can wait until then).

Store in an airtight container.

Can be warmed up and served with freshly made coconut custard.

And I'm spent!

Peas, love and mung beans

xxb