Student Vegan from the UK

Long time no post yet again and decision about future of blog

2010-04-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

I am getting so lazy with this blog! Things have been crazy at uni though, I recently had to hand in my dissertation, which was a huge relief but very stressful beforehand.

I am now at home for the Easter holidays, which unfortunately I cannot completely enjoy due to the need to revise for my upcoming exams (start 12th May eek!)

Anyway I had a lovely day today with a great friend of mine! We ate oven chips and Linda McCartney sausages- yummm!! We also watched Matilda (fave comfort watch of mine!) and Step Up 2 (love a cheesy dance film)

Good times...

I have decided that I am no longer going to update this blog. I still read many blogs daily and plan to comment from time to time but at the moment I think I need to focus on my recovery in terms of achieving both good physical and mental health.

100th post!!!! Childhood food memories

2010-02-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

As a vegan, many of the foods I enjoyed as a child I no longer consume (well not in the same form at least).

Nevertheless, I still have fond memories of baking with my sister and my mum. I remember often making what we called 'cheesy biscuits', which were basically savory biscuits with cheese added to them. What was most fun this (other than eating them) was the wide range of different shapes we made from cookie-cutters that my mum had bought. I also remember baking bread, which I enjoyed because you could take out any aggression on the dough when kneading it before putting it into the oven!

In terms of meals, a firm favourite was macaroni cheese. I never actually made this myself but as people knew I was such a fan, I often ate it when staying with my Grandma (always in front of a Postman Pat video- of which I was also a big fan!) When my mum made it and there were leftovers, I would always eat them for breakfast the next day!

I have made vegan versions of macaroni cheese and although I am sure they bear little resemblance to 'real' macaroni cheese, I find they are tasty and always invoke strong memories of when I enjoyed this meal as a child. For me, there is definitely something special about childhood food memories and I find that they are particularly vivid.

Anyone like to share any childhood food memories?

I love shopping!

2010-02-13T01:03:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

I have been thinking about what I would like to post on this blog. I have decided that I would like to make it a little less food-oriented. I have come to realise that while suffering from an eating disorder, my life essentially revolved around food and consequently lacked meaning. Therefore, I want to rediscover and share my other interests on this blog. I still intent to post about food on occasion but will be mainly posting about other topics. I hope that it doesn't become boring!

Anyway, starting as I mean to go on, I thought I would share my 2 most recent shopping purchases:

Mint chocolate= yum!

2010-02-02T12:10:00.000-08:00

My lovely flatmate bought me this scrummy bar of chocolate recently:

I had never actually eaten a mint chocolate bar before. I have always been a bit weird about flavours with chocolate but this was really delicious! I enjoyed the whole bar in one sitting (after a yoga class- I think the combination makes for a perfect formula to achieve ultimate relaxation!)

Update

2010-01-19T21:19:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in ages and thought I would explain a little more about my personal issues. I would like to re-start posting on my blog but feel that I need to be honest about what has been going on.

Basically, I have been diagnosed with an Eating Disorder. I have struggled with disordered eating on and off for the past 7 years. I don't think that I wanted to admit that I had a problem but things became particularly bad towards the end of the summer of last year and when I came away to university in October. I stopped posting on my blog because there was nothing interesting about the food that I was eating and I stopped enjoying food. I have recently seen a doctor and am now receiving treatment. I am determined to get to a place where I can eat healthily and enjoy food again.

I want to start posting again as I think it might help me in this journey. I know that my meals have never seemed especially exciting but I did used to like eating them!

Anyway sorry for waffling on!

From Emma
x

Long time!UI

2009-10-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't updated my blog for ages!

I have been experiencing some personal issues, which I have had a hard time dealing with and combined with the pressues of my studies, I have not felt able to update my blog. I hope to pick up blogging again in the future and I do enjoy reading all the other blogs out there when I get the time.

Best wishes to all
Emma
xxx

Birthday pics!

2009-08-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

It was my 21st birthday on Saturday and I had a brilliant day!

There were some lovely decorations and pressies....

There was cake (it was yummy!)....

I also enjoyed a delicious meal with my family at a restaurant called The Real Greek (http://www.therealgreek.com/).

I had 2 cold meze dishes, one was Gigandes Plaki (butter beans in a herby tomato sauce). The other was a lentil dish called Santorinian Fava, which was pureed lentils with different herbs (lots of garlic!) and was rather like hummus in texture. I ate these dishes alongside some new potatoes, dressed with olive oil.

Everything was presented beautifully and tasted really good! I did take pictures on my mobile phone but I am having trouble uploading them at the moment. If I eventually manage to transfer them to the computer I promise I will post them!

Edit: photos now uploaded:

Gigantes Plaki on the bottom and the top

Home-made hummus in the middle (I didn't eat this as I was too full from my other dishes but it looked scrummy!)

Close up photo of Gigantes Plaki:

New potoates (I ate two bowls of these they were so yummy!)

Non-food things!

2009-07-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of pics I wanted to share:

1. My sexy new vegan trainers:

When these arrived (I bought them online) I was so excited I was so eager I tried them on straight away and was walking around the house in them for ages! I didn't wear them outside the house for a few days though because I couldn't bear the thought of them getting dirty- ha!

2. A necklace made by my cousin:

I think this cupcake necklace is so cute! I am always amazed by her talent and creativity! I posted the link to her website a litle while back bu here it is again if you are interested in checking out her stuff :http://porgecreations.deviantart.com.

Pizza and white chocolate in their wonderful vegan-ness!

2009-07-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

It was about 2 years ago that I made the decision to become a vegan. I was a vegetarian at the time and had been so for about 10 years. My choice was an ethical one and therefore the foods that I would possibly 'miss out' on as a vegan were not a primary consieration.

However, I did not expect that I would come enjoy pizza without cheese, which I now think I actually prefer to the pizzas with cheese I ate as a vegetarian. Anyway, rambling aside, here is a picture of a recent pizza I enjoyed at the restaurant Pizza Express.(http://www.pizzaexpress.com/).

The pizza was part of their 'Leggera' range, which means that the pizza is actualy made with a hole in the middle with a salad there instead. I was intrigued to find out what this pizza would be like so I ordered the 'Vitabella' pizza without cheese. The pizza was topped with lots of different grilled veggies.
All in all, it was pretty tasty but I think I prefer my pizzas without holes in- more dough= better!

Another food that I previously did not know existed in a vegan form is white chocolate! Although I do like rich dark chocolate, there is something special about the creamy taste of white chocolate that really hits the spot when you are in the mood for something sweet!

Yesterday, when I arrived home from work I was very excited to see a package for me, which contained these wonderful bars of deliciousness! (not a real word I know but these bars deserve new vocabulary!) They were sent from the lovely Vaala (http://goddessvaala.blogspot.com/) who I previously did a fun food swap with! Thanks very much Vaala!!

I cannot wait to munch them! Although, at the moment the weather is very hot so I will have to be careful that they don't melt (good excuse to eat them up quickly methinks!!!) ; )

A lovely award from an equally lovely blogger!

2009-06-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

I was absolutely thrilled to receive this award from Fleur (http://fleursathome.blogspot.com/)! Thanks so much, it was a really nice surprise that really brightened my day!

Lazy!

2009-06-05T04:35:00.000-07:00

I have been so lazy with regrds cooking recently! I have been really struggling with my weight gain and have been really determined to get in plenty of calories. Therefore, I have just been thinking about my meals in terms of calories and nutrition, which has meant my food has been fairly unexciting!

Here is an idea of what I have been eating:

I have eaten this meal once before and remember quite liking it but I was not so keen this time. The sauce was quite sweet (although maybe that is normal for teriyaki) and there was not much in the way of veggies. I actually added in some more veggies! It was nice being able to have brown rice though because I rarely eat it due to the long cooking time!

As per usual, stir-fries have been on the menu. The meal above was made with gnocchi, which does make a nice change from pasta and adds a nice soft texture, which is a nice contrast to the crunchy veggies.

Chips!! Now this shows how lazy I really am because I KNOW I could make them myself by chopping up a few potatoes but these are sooo tasty! They are pretty healthy (skins on and the only extra addition to the potatoes is vegetable oil). I have been eating this fairly regularly over the last few weeks, in attempts to gain weight I have been making sure that I eat the whole bag in one go (1kg!!)

On the non-food front, I have been getting really into weight training recently. I now go and lift weights most days of the week and love the feeling of becoming stronger! I can now squat with a barebell that is the same as my own bodyweight!

Colourful meals and yummy snacks!

2009-05-12T12:35:00.000-07:00

I have nearly eaten everything in the wonderful package that I received!!! Everything has been really scrummy though. My top 3 faves were:

1. Cookies and Cream Luna Bar (I really wish you could get Luna bars here in the UK they are so delicious) I love the chewy texture of the bars and the white chocolate topping on them is yummy! This bar had a great contrast with the main part of the bar being nice rich dark chocolate and the topping being nice and creamy white choc- a great combo!

2. Apricot Clif Bar. Also really yummy, this had a nice sweet taste and was similar to a flapjack in texture but a nice and light in the stomach. I think these bars may be available from some online stores that ship to the UK so I will investigate!

3. The highly anticipated vegan white chocolate bar. This was absolutely delicious! It was lovely and creamy but not sickly or rich at all so did not last long (I ate the whole bar over the course of one day!) I enjoyed the bar so much that I emailed the company to ask whether the bar was available here in the UK. I was disappointed to hear that it is not but they did tell me that white chocolate buttons may be in Tesco stores from later on this year so I will keep my eyes peeled!

Another regular snack I enjoy eating is baked beans! I have recently discovered these mini pots of baked beans that can be put in the microwave (great for lazy people like me!) I have enjoyed these little pots of goodness both hot and cold and I love them both ways!

The meals I have been enjoying lately have mainly been nice and colourful:

Sweet potato curry:

Corn and rice pasta with a mix of stir-fried veggies:

The meal used this pasta:

I have been wanting to try this for ages and it was really yummy! The shapes kept their texture really well even after cooking and I really liked the soft texture of the pasta. It was nice and soft but not mushy, unlike this pasta:

I made a rather boring- looking but yummy meal with this pasta: black-eyed beans in a spicy tomato sauce. The texture was a pretty mushy but actually nice and comforting to eat. Here is a pic:

I am really excited because on Saturday (16th) I am planning to attend an event in Birmingham called 'Veggie Pride', which has never been held in the UK before!. Check out the details here:

http://www.veganmidlands.org.uk/veggiepride/index.html (I will not be dressing up as a vegetable- although I cannot wait to see what other people will be wearing!!)

Packages= happy Emma : )

2009-04-30T13:23:00.001-07:00

I was absolutely thrilled to receive an amazing package from Vaaala (http://goddessvaala.blogspot.com/) in the post today. She kindly sent me loads of amazing goodies:

The goodies consist of: 3 Clif bars, a Clif Nectar bar, 2 Luna bars, 3 Jocalat bars and VEGAN WHITE CHOCOLATE (especially exciting!!!!)

I cannot wait to try all these amazing treats, they all look so scrummy! Thank you so much Vaaala!

Packages!

2009-04-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

I love getting packages!

I recently did a package exchange with the lovely Agnes (http://agnesworldofveganpleasures.blogspot.com/) who sent me these amazing raw goodies:

Above are raw food energy bars, raw snacks (in flax, hazelnut and date flavours), dried banana, dried pineapple (my fave- and a real treat because I can never find it unsweetened!) and a coconut and orange juice. Everything is currently being enjoyed by me and my family!

Agnes also sent two adorable cards with the treats- they can be seen on either side of the picture above!

I was also really excited to receive a package from the lovely people at Clif! I have tried Clif builder bars in the past and have been anxious to try some of their other stuff ever since. However, the products are not sold in the UK so the only option is ordering them online, which I have been a little hesistant to do, having never tried them before! Generously, the company offered to send me a box of Luna goodies to try (info about them here: http://lunabar.com/).

My thoughts on what I have tried so far:

1. Luna Cookie- A nice texture but I wasn't quite sold on the minty flavour with the chocolate. am strange about other flavours with chocolate but I would definitely try this again because I think it would definitely grow on me!

2. Chai Tea- An unusual flavour and hard to describe! It was covered in white chocolate, which was nice and sweet but the bar itself had quite a strong cinnamon taste. I wasn't quite sure about it but after one bite I definitely started enjoying it! I think it was hard to tell whether I liked it at first because the flavour combination was unfamiliar to me.

3. Chocolate Peppermint stick- Another bar I was not so sure about because of the chocolate and mint combination but I definitely enjoyed the strong chocolate taste. It was quite rich but really hit the spot!

4. Chocolate raspberry- definitely my favourite flavour that I have tried so far. Chocolate with fruit is a flavour combination that I really like. The texture of the raspberries, which were nice and chewy, really made the bar satisfying to eat!

I have yet to try the Berry Almond flavour and the Luna Sunrise bar but I will definitely be munching them soon!

Current faves...

2009-04-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

Recently I have really been enjoying butternut squash!

I sometimes have it plain (seasoned with a little salt) as a side dish:

Or sometimes it gets incorporated into my all time fave meal:

I am also really into refried beans at the moment, I particularly like this brand:

These are 'Mexican style' refried beans and consist of whole and mashed pinto beans, onions, peppers and jalapenos- nice and spicy!

I also like the 'La Preferida' brand of refried beans (available from wholefoods). They do lots of different flavours of these but I like the plain ones best.

I actually quite like eating refried beans on their own as a snack (occasionally even cold- I know I have strange tastes!!)

Another favourite snack of mine is hot cereal mixed with protein powder. I have always used a plain flavour of soya protein powder, but I recently decided to try a chocolate flavour:

I highly recommend this flavour. It is so yummy, there is no way I can go back to the plain flavour!

I love it mixed up with some 'wheat biscuits' and microwaved until nice and mushy (kind of like porridge in texture- sounds and looks gross but tastes really good!). I use this cereal to make my choccie cereal combo:

Before I go, is anyone out there interested in doing a snack bar package exchange? I really love swapping goodies with other bloggers! If anyone is up for it, please let me know by leaving me a comment or sending me an email!

I hope everyone is having a nice Easter weekend!

Freebies!

2009-04-07T02:43:00.001-07:00

I was lucky enough to receive another package of freebies from the lovely people at Natural Balance Foods! (check them out here: http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/)

This company is so generous!

Here are the goodies they sent me:

In the box is: 3 nakd bars (cocoa loco, berry cheeky and apple pie flavours), 3 mini nakd bars (same flavours as well as banana bread flavour), 3 trek bars (peanut and oat, mixed berry and cocoa brownie flavours), 4 packets of flavoured raisins (orange, cherry, pineapple and lemon flavours) and most exciting of all the brand new trek flapjacks (oat crunch and cherry crunch flavours)

The company even sent a sweet handwritten note along with the package:

The postcard reads: 'Eddie's cow disguise hadn't fooled the vegetarian for one minute...'

This package really made my day and I cannot wait to get munching!

Meals with buckwheat

2009-04-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

So I tried the buckwheat and the sweet potato and buckwheat noodles and wasn't that bothered about them! They seemed to stick together when cooking even though I used lots of water and did not cook them for very long at all! The noodles did taste good though.

Here are my dinner pics using the noodles:

1: Using the 100% buckwheat noodles in a stir-fry meal with cabbage, carrots, beanshoots and soya chunks:

2: Using the sweet potato and buckwheat noodles with mixed green veggies, carrots and beanshoots:

I also tried buckwheat pasta:

As you can see, pretty mushy in texture but I actually preferred the pasta to the noodles.

Somehow the soft texture made it nice and comforting to eat. Also in this meal are peppers and peas. I would definitely buy this pasta again (shame it is so expensive!)

Also- just wanted to mention that Katie (http://chocolatecoveredkatie.wordpress.com/) is doing a fabulous giveaway at the moment, with all her fave goodies up for grabs for 2 lucky winners! The closing date is April 10th so if you want to enter, you don't have long!

The link to the contest is here:

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/life-is-like-a-box-of-chocolates/

Vegan goodies!

2009-03-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

I have been lucky enough to get my hands on some yummy treats lately!

First up is a lovely package from the lovely Agnes of (http://agnesworldofveganpleasures.blogspot.com/).

Isn't the box so cute?

Here are the goodies:

raw chocolate truffles, raw chocolate (I had never tried raw chocolate before and can say that it is yummy!!)

2 mini loaves of sprouted spelt raisin bread and some nice face packs

I have not eaten the bread yet but look forward to doing so soon! Agnes has given me lots of great ways that I can try having it, which I am eager to try out!

I also made a trip to Wholefoods the other day and got this load of stuff:

Above is canned pumpkin (2 tins because it it sooooo difficult to buy here in the UK so I always buy lots when I get the chance!), 2 tins of refried beans (1 had jalapenos in and was extra scrummy) and I also bought 2 types of noodles to try in my stir-fries: 100% buckwheat ones and ones with buckwheat and sweet potato in.

I haven't tried the noodles yet but I cannot wait to see what the taste and texture will be like!

I am not working this weekend so I am looking forward to doing relaxing and trying some new foods!

Stir-fries and exciting links

2009-03-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

So, stir-fries have been a regular on my menu, as usual. I have been working lots of evenings recently and I just can never think of anything that is quicker to cook that is still tasty and healthy. I think I should try having other grains with my stir-fries though, I tend to always have noodles but I will try to mix it up in the future and have cous-cous, bulgar wheat, quinoa etc.

Piccies:

Stir-fry with polenta, loads of different veggies and soya mince:

Bit of an odd one, a stir-fry with baked beans (I know weird- but tasty!!), noodles and veggies:

Animal-shaped pasta stir-fry with kidney beans:
This is my 'I will get my 5 a day quota of fruit and veggies even if it kills me' dish (I think I had prob not had mucho fruit and veg during the day so was getting major cravings- ha!):

This is made with wholewheat pasta shells, green beans and mushrooms:

In other news, Katie of (http://chocolatecoveredkatie.wordpress.com/) is generously doing a Jocalat bar giveaway! I have never tried these bars but they are made by the larabar company and involve chocolate so they have got to be good! Here is the link if you want to enter: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/so-what-about-this-chocolate-giveaway/

I also made one of Katie's yummy recipes! I think that all her recipes look relaly scrummy but I don't have access to a good blender, which unfortunately prevents me making many of them : (
However, I was especially excited by her butternut squash fries recipe (check it out here: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.wordpress.com/2009/01/26/the-butternut-tales-part-two-the-future-mrs-butternut-squash/).

I ate the fries for dinner last night, alongside those Grassington's 'chicken style' nuggets I bought recently. The meal was really scrummy and different from my usual pasta and noodle dishes that I eat so frequently!
Here are some piccies:

Bowl of nuggets:

I really enjoyed these. They had a nice chewy texture and were nice and moist. They tasted relaly yummy too and I will definitely be buying myself some more soon (especially as I ate the whole bag in one go ; ) )

Fries just after baking:
Fries just before being eaten : ) :

Also, I wanted to provide a link to my cousin's online jewelry gallery/shop. She is amazingly creative and handmakes her own fun 'food-themed' jewelery 'for anyone with a sweet tooth'. Here it is to check out: http://www.porgecreations.deviantart.com/

Back soon!

New Foods!

2009-02-19T23:32:00.000-08:00

I have been enjoying some new larabar flavours that received in my lovely Valentine's Day package. I have tried the coconut cream pie so far and the cocoa mole flavour- both are really scrummy! The cocoa mole flavour was lovely and chocolate-y but had a little spicy kick to it- yummo! The coconut cream pie was really tasty too. It had a nice texture because of the coconut and tasted really nice and sweet.

I will definitely be stocking up on these flavours when I next go to Wholefoods! Sadly, I don't think I can get these flavours in any shops nearer me : (

On the savory front, I have been loving these:

I am a huge fan of regular baked beans (I eat them cold straight out of the can!!) but these are even better! They are soya beans instead of haricot (the usual beans in baked beans) so have a totally different texture and are in a rich tomato sauce. Now, I have eaten these both hot and cold and they are scrummy either way! I have actually just eaten them on their own as a snack (I know I am strange!) but I bet they would be great to cook with too.

Branston also do soya beans in a sweet chilli sauce, which I did think about trying but I wasn't sure if I'd like it. Maybe I will try them next time!

I also found these cutie and threw them into a stir-fry recently:

The finished product;

I really loved this gnocchi. They held their shape really nicely and absorbed all the flavours of the stir-fry really nicely. I will definitely be buying some more soon!

I have also picked up these, which I have yet to try:

These are Grassington's 'chicken style nuggets'. I have never eaten vegan chicken nuggets before so I was really excited when I saw these in the supermarket where I was shopping. I have like the other Grassington's products that I have tried so I am hoping that these will not disappoint!

I also bought these noodles, which will be making an appearance in a stir-fry very soon methinks:

They are fresh ramen noodles and come with a little bottle of 'Wakame dressing'. I assume that because it is called a 'dressing' rather than a 'sauce' that they are meant to be eaten cold but I am not sure I fancy cold noodles! I will let you know what I think of them anyway!

Valentine's Day Package!

2009-02-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

I was soooooo excited yesterday to receive my Valentine's Day package as part of the blogger V-day exchange (arranged by Lee of For The Love Of Peanut Butter- http://philabundanceoflife.wordpress.com/). I was lucky enough to receive an absolutely amazing package from the lovely Katie of http://lilveggiepatch.wordpress.com/.

Here are the fabulous treats:

They are: 'Fudgy Wudgy Brownies' (from Veganomicon), Candy Bar Bites (gluten-free), Hazelnut Caramel Clusters (also gluten-free) as well as 4 larabars!!

Close-up of the home-made treats: I cannot express how impressed I am that Katie made these herself- all look and taste amazing!)

Close-up of the larabars:

The flavours I received were coconut cream pie, cocoa mole, pistachio and chocolate coconut chew. I had only tried the pistachio flavour before so I was really excited to have the chance to try the other flavours!

I ate the cocoa mole bar today and it was absolutely delicious (my new fave larabar flavour methinks!) I bet Wholefoods in London stocks these so I will have a look next time I go and stock up if they do sell them!

Katie also sent me a lovely letter along with the yummy goodies:

Along with the choccie treats, I have been getting my veggies in. Here is my dinner this evening, which featured a yummy mix of stir-fried veggies from Tesco (cut up and everything so very little prep needed!)

It also featured this sauce:

It is a sample-sized packet of a Peri-peri sauce, which is served in the UK restaurant chain Nando's (which I have blogged about before). They were giving away free samples and vouchers to buy their sauces in the supermarkets!

I actually was not particularly keen on the sauce in my stir-fry. I don't know whether that is because I needed more or whether it just goes best in dishes similar to those served in the restaurant (ie burgers etc). I have not bought a full bottle with my voucher yet but when I do i think I will have to experiment a little to see which dishes it works well with.

The finished dish (served with wholewheat pasta twists and soya chunks)

Anyway enough babbling for now, I am going to relax and watch a good film methinks!

Snow!!!! (and some food pics!)

2009-02-06T01:04:00.000-08:00

It has been snowing loads here recently, which has meant that I have been treated to 2 days off work (Monday and Today- wohoo!)

I thought I would show some pictures of the views around my house:

This is what my drive looked like:

This is what my mum's car was like:

This is the view outside in my backgarden:

Of course I have some food piccies as well:

The usual stir-fries:

The dish above was made with edamame (soya beans). You can buy these frozen now in my local supermarket which is cool!

This dish also involved edamame and some wholewheat pasta shells (I love trying new pasta shapes!)

This dish feature lots of green veggies, soya mince, wholewheat penne and adzuki beans (one of my fave beans I think- great both raw and cooked)

For snacks recently I have been eating lots of my fave bars by Naturalbalancefoods- the nice people who sent me the freebie package!

I love these babies:

This is a trek bar, mixed berry flavour (sorry I don't have my own picture!) Trek bars are protein bars made with 'unsweetened fruit, rolled oats, nuts, soya, spices, and herbal extracts' so no junk in them. They are really yummy!

You can also buy these bars in cocoa and peanut and oat flavours but the mixed berry is my fave.

I have also been eating Nakd bars, made by the same company. I like the apple pie and 'cocoa loco' flavours of these best:

Like all Nakd bars, it is made using just raw fruit and nuts. They do taste just like a brownie but are not sickly at all! I have yet to try these warm but I reckon they would taste amazing warmed up in the microwave!

I am the queen of stir-fries! ; )

2009-01-24T12:02:00.000-08:00

So basically I have been eating stir-fries loads! I have been working lots recently and when I get home at 8.30pm they are the easiest thing to prepare and eat! I never get bored with them though because I always add different veggies/ protein/ sauces etc!

Here are some of my recent ones:

This was made with wholewheat noodles, beansprouts, cabbage, carrots, chillies, soya mince and a tin of mixed beans

A similar one with a tin of kidney beans:
This was made with green veggies (apart from the chillies!) and soya chunks:

This was made with chopped up Grassington's 'beef-style steaks' (http://www.grassingtons.co.uk/range/meat-free-peppered-steaks.asp) (by the way I have ever eaten steak in my life so could not tell if they taste like meat but I think they are yummy, they have a great peppery taste and are really moist)

I also eat pasta on occasion, like this dish which was wholewheat penne in a creamy mushroom sauce

I also used wholewheat penne and mushrooms to make myself another pasta dish but this included soya mince and chillies

Sorry for being boring with my food I will try to post something more interesting next time- maybe some of my other meals or snacks?

My recent eatings...

2009-01-09T09:14:00.001-08:00

As usual I have been eating lots of pasta and stir-fry meals in the past couple of weeks. They aren't very exciting but here are a few piccies:

Above is a stir-fry made with soya mince, mixed veggies and wholemeal spaghetti

Above is a vegan maccie cheese dish made with wholemeal animal pasta, nutritional yeast as well as carrots and broccoli for a nice bit of crunch and extra nutrients!

Above is a stir-fry made with soya chunks, spring greens and is served over some straight-to-wok noodles (egg free of course : )

Above is a pasta dish made with wholewheat penne, soya mince and loads of broccoli!

Above is a noodle dish made with udon noodles, a spicy tomato sauce and tofu.

I also went out for a meal at Nando's with a friend earlier this week (http://www.nandos.co.uk/index.cfm). Although this restaurant chain is known for it's chicken meals, it is possible to get a tasty vegan meal there. They do both 2 burgers (a bean one and a soya one) that are vegan if ordered without mayo. They add a spicy sauce to your burger and you can specify how hot you want it (I always go for extra hot). I enjoyed my burger with a side of chips (you can get healthier sides if you are so inclined but I definitely wanted chips! ; ) )

Here is my meal below:

In snacking news, I have recently tried the bar below as a snack and it was really tasty. It was like a vegan nutri-grain bar (an oaty bake surrounding a sweet blueberry filling). I bought it from Holland and Barrett (a health food shop chain here in the UK). I will definitely be eating this again soon!

I was also lucky enough to be treated to some vegan chocolate cheesecake. I went around to a friend's house recently and he had made some (yes a guy that not only bakes but does vegan baking!!!!)

A lovely Christmas!

2008-12-26T01:03:00.000-08:00

I had such a lovely day yesterday! I always enjoy Christmas but yesterday seemed particularly perfect!

The day started when I opened a lovely box of vegan treats that arrived from the lovely gal who has this amazing blog (http://www.cosmicwild.blogspot.com/), Thanks chica!

She also made me this adorable little guy: 'Herb' the 'teabug'- he looks just like a tea bag- he is sooo cute!
Above are the fabulous gifts inside the box! Clockwise from the back is:

*a box of Apricot biscuits (perfect with a cup of tea methinks)

* a face mask (my skin will be looking good!)

*chilli pepper puree (cannot wait to use this in a stir-fry)

*gummi bears (gelatine free- wohoo!)

*rice stuffed vine-leaves (great for lazy people like me who would never be bothered to make them myself!)

* red pepper and tomato salsa (yummy as a dip for crisps!)

* fruit flapjack (filled with sultanas : ) )

I cannot wait to try all of these treats! They all look absolutely scrummy! As you can tell I was pretty excited with my stash of goodies (I somehow managed to grab them all without dropping them for a quick piccie!)

I also received some yummy goodies from my family for Christmas: snack bars!

I have never tried a Pecan Pie larabar before so I can't wait to find out what it tastes like!

Yesterday, I also took a picture of our Christmas tree (yes it really is that huge!):

Here is the table, which my sister and I enjoy decorating every year:

And here is my family sitting at the table about to dig into the Xmas dinner:

Along the left hand side is my sister and my mum, my dad is at the back and then on the right is my cousin and my two aunts.

As Christmas always involves turkey, I always prepare my own dish which I have with the veggies (my mum cooks them without butter- yay!) I was feeling pretty lazy and uninspired this year so I decided to buy something to eat rather than making it myself. However, it was yummy nonetheless (also not very festive!)

My meal was a vegetable curry!

I ate it with lots of brussel sprouts (my fave traditional Christmas veg) although I forgot to take a picture of my plate!

I followed my meal with some Chistmas pudding (I bought my own vegan one as my mum's has eggs in) Here it is:

So all in all a great day- I hope everyone else had a great Christmas too!

It's getting closer to xmas!

2008-12-17T00:04:00.000-08:00

I have just under 3 days until I have the xmas holidays- yay! This has meant that I have been really busy (everyone is ill at work so we've all had to work extra hard to make up for it!). This has meant unexciting eats (as usual!)

I have also had a few meals out recently, which has meant I have eaten loads of chips (the vegan option!). Therefore, I have been enjoying lots of stir-fries when I have been cooking for myself. I love them soooo much! They are so quick and easy to make and I can get in loads of veggies to keep my immune system up and make up for the lack of nutrition in the chips I have been eating!

Stir-fry 1: With udon noodles, soya chunks, a tasty mixture of veggies and some green chilli peppers for some heat!

I used these noodles (so quick to cook because you can shove them straight into the wok- hence the name 'Straight to wok')

Stir-fry 2: Stir-fry with soya chunks (again), loads of different veggies, green chilli peppers and I think it was some wholewheat noodles that were buried underneath!

I also tried a new product- this Spelt tortellini (filled with veggies) which I ate in a creamy cheeze sauce. I bought it from a trip I made to wholefoods. Sorry for the awful pics- I was hungry!

I was a little disappointed by this product as I didn't think it has much flavour. I preferred the other pasta I tried from this range, made with tofu and spices so next time I will buy that instead.

I also tried this ready meal:

I was so excited to see this in my local health food shop as I have never seen an Amy's meal there before. I enjoyed this meal for lunch earlier this week, which made a nice change from my usual lunch dishes. It was so quick to cook too- only 5 mins from frozen, which is great because I was feeling hungry and lazy!

I still haven't got around to making my Pumpkin pie but I hope to make it soon and I will post a picture of how it turns out!

New yummy eats!

2008-12-06T13:59:00.000-08:00

Although I often stick to similar meals I do love trying new things!

Recently, I have bought some new foods to try, which I have really enjoyed.

Here is what I have been eating:

Yummy seitan strips:

I enjoyed them in a spicy tomato sauce over wholewheat couscous:

I also tried frozen soya beans in pasta (I usually eat them cold in salads):

I wasn't quite so keen on this combo actually, I think the beans where a little too crunchy for my liking- I prefer my crunch in cold foods.

I also bought some kamut pasta to try:

I made a macaroni cheeze: (perfect comfort food- especially appreciated as I have a bad cold at the moment :( )

When I was out and about shopping, I needed to grab a quite bite for lunch and managed to pick up this yummy salad- mixed beans with sweetcorn in an olive oil dressing- yummo!Of course I have not forgotten my favourite go-to meal- the stir fry: (this was made with beans, soya mince, spinach, peppers and wholewheat noodles)

Also this week it was my mum's birthday so we went to a local Italian restaurant and I ordered a pizza with veggies (without cheese)- yummy although I would have loved some chilli peppers on them for a bit of heat!

Here is a picture I took of my family during the meal (my dad looks very strange in this photo because he was about to say something and didn't realise I was taking the photo!)

I also have bought this can of pumpkin (yes it really is huge!) and am thinking I will make an American-style pumpkin pie. I have never made (or even eaten) anything like that before so I will be really interested to see how I get on!

Any ideas of what to do with the rest of the pumpkin I have leftover?

Simple meals...

2008-11-23T09:35:00.000-08:00

Recently I have been finding work particularly draining so my meals have been pretty simple and boring. Despite this, I have still found them enjoyable!

A lot of my dishes have featured the addition of this sauce. It is scrummy; nice and spicy and gives any dish a really good kick! It is made with peppers and vinegar.

Below is a pasta dish made with wholewheat pasta twists, tomato sauce and soya chunks (they do not have a lot of flavour but have a great chewy texture that I love)

Next up is polenta chopped up in a spicy bean chilli made with tvp and mixed beans- it was really yummy!

The next dish features a new product I recently tried, purchased from Tesco. They are large patties made with butternut squash, chickpeas, potatoes, seeds, cranberries and lots of veggies. I wanted to try them but I fancied pasta so I decided to mash 'em up and have them as a pasta sauce.

Here is what they look like smashed up in my pasta:
I was not overly keen on these roasts as they tasted quite sweet (I think due to the addition of maple syrup as well as the butternut squash) but they did have a nice texture so I might try them in a more conventional meal next time (with a jacket potato or something perhaps).

I will hopefully be cooking some less boring meals soon!

Good and not so good eats!

2008-11-08T23:39:00.000-08:00

Ah it is so nice to have the internet back! We lost it completely for a few days earlier this week and I missed reading all the blogs! Luckily, we got it back late on Friday night but I am still catching up on what I have missed!

This past week's eats have not been very exciting (no change there ; 0 ). I have been pretty busy (working over 45 hours) and so my food has not been very imaginative. However, I have enjoyed eating most of my meals and they have been healthy, which is good!

Remember that tofu pasta I bought from wholefoods? I loved it! I enjoyed it with a sauce made from the canned pumpkin (also from wholefoods) and some dried soya mince (for a nice bit of texture). It was sooo nice! I am definitely going to buy some more soon!

Also, I tried the Cherry pie larabar I picked up from Wholefoods. I am sorry to say I didn't like it! I found it very sweet and a little too bitter for my liking! I was really disappointed because I was expecting to really like it! : ( I will not be buying this flavour again! I found out from work yesterday that there is a market stall nearby that sells larabars really cheaply (4 for £1!!) so I am going to check that out soon and see which flavours they have! I think I will probably buy one of everything they have- haha!

I have eaten curry twice this week. I made one myself, using this Jalfrezi sauce:

It was bought from a health food shop and I was excited to try it because I find that lots of curry sauces contain milk : ( I was expecting to really like it because it said that it was really spicy. I used chicken-style soya pieces to make a curry with this sauce and served it over wholewheat couscous.

Unfortunately, I found the sauce to be pretty tasteless and it wasn't even that spicy! : ( I will not be purchasing this brand of sauce again.

Luckily, I did get the opportunity to eat a really tasty curry this week! I went for a meal at Wetherspoons (http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/). Wetherspoons is a pub chain here in the Uk that is known for it's bargain prices and usually pretty decent food! Until recently the only vegan item on their menu was chips, which can be nice every now and then but don't really make a a very satisfying as a meal on their own!

However, recently I noticed that they had added a Sweet potato, chickpea & spinach curry (vegan if ordered with extra poppadums instead of naan bread). The description of the dish sounded good: 'An award-winning dish with sweet potato, fried and tossed in a rich coconut sauce with chickpeas and spinach, served with yellow basmati rice, naan bread, mango chutney and poppadums. ' I was eager to try the new dish so asked a friend if she fancied going there for a meal and drinks.

Here is a photo I took of the meal:

This meal did not disappoint! It had lots of flavour and the textures really worked well together! I think chickpeas and spinach go really nicely together and the sweet potato was great as it made the dish really filling and satisfying. I would definitely order this again!

My friend also bought me a t-shirt, which I love! It really made me laugh! She knows my taste in clothes so well! Here is a picture of the t-shirt:

And here is a photo of my lovely friend (I think she was feeling a bit shy : ) )

Back from the festival!

2008-11-02T01:28:00.000-07:00

I really am lucky to have parents that are so supportive of my veganism. My mum is always happy to whip up a batch of vegan chocolate cupcakes and yesterday my dad showed his support by accompanying me to a Vegan festival in Wolverhampton.

When we arrived in Wolverhampton, I got very excited when I saw this sign:

The festival was inside and consisted of about 40 stalls selling a wide range of different vegan items, with everything from food to cosmetics. They also had various speakers, who were giving talks on an array of topics.

My dad and I went to a Nutrition lecture given by Dr Stephen Walsh PhD (nutrition spokesperson for The Vegan Society and author of Plant Based Nutrition and Health). He covered the basics of good vegan nutrition and then allowed the audience to ask any questions. It didn't really teach me anything new but it was good to reinforce the importance of a healthy diet. I was impressed that Dr Walsh also talked about the importance of eating well within the context of a healthy lifestyle.

The festival was really busy so was it tricky to take any pictures there but I took some of the items that we came back with!

Pictured below is what we bought:

Soy jerky (BBQ flavour), a wallet with the vegan society logo (my dad bought this for me as a surprise present!) and a teddy bear (for my sister).

I had never tried soy jerky before and really loved the taste and texture! They had a nice flavour and were satisfyingly chewy. Sadly, I think this jerky is only available online but I think I will have to order myself some soon anyway!

Here is a picture of my sister with her bear:

Just in case you can't see what is written on the bear's t-shirt:

My sister is a big fan of French Connection (FCUK) so we thought it would make her laugh!

Here is me with my wallet and jerky:

We also bought two cupcakes back for my sister and my mum but they were gobbled up before I managed to take a picture! I took that as a good sign that they liked them though ; )

HAPPY WORLD VEGAN DAY!

2008-11-01T00:31:00.000-07:00

I am so excited because today I am off to the West Midlands Vegan Festival: http://www.veganmidlands.org.uk/festival/home.html

I have never been before (I didn't know about it last year) and cannot wait to see all the stalls, listen to some interesting speakers and eat some tasty food!

I am taking my camera so will try and take some pictures!

Have a great day!

Crazy weather and my first trip to Wholefoods!

2008-10-30T23:49:00.000-07:00

The weather is still so cold here. However, the other day it actually snowed, which is definitely unusual for October! I took some pictures of the view from my house:

Just outside my front door:

The back garden:

My mum scraping her car!

As you can see, the snow was pretty thick! This meant the roads were a bit of a nightmare for a little while. Luckily, the sun eventually melted the snow, which meant it was easier to get out and about, although it certainly didn't look as pretty!

Also this week, I was so excited because I took my first trip to Wholefoods in London! I had the day off work (half term holidays so no school and no library work) so my mum and I went up to London for the day! I have been desperate to go to Wholefoods for ages so I could not wait to get there!

On the way, we passed this shop:

Sorry for the rubbish picture but it was a shop called Tofu! Sadly, it had closed down but the name made me smile!

This display made me very excited! I had never seen so many flavour of Larabars before!

I could have bought sooo much stuff there but I managed to control myself because otherwise I would have spent too much money! Next time I will have to take an icepack and cool-bag so that I could take home some frozen items. They had Amy's frozen meals, which I didn't even know you could buy here!

Here is what I decided to purchase:

A multigrain loaf (it was a whole loaf but my parents had already eaten some before I took the picture!), a cherry pie larabar (I can't wait to try this!), refried black beans (usually refried beans are made from pinto beans), canned pumpkin (never seen this before- ever!), soft silken tofu (for dessert- making purposes methinks ; ) and some pasta filled with tofu and spices!

I was especially excited about the pasta because I used to like eating cheese-filled pasta in my pre-vegan days, so I hope that this will be a great substitute!

We also picked up a slice of chocolate cake for my sister (sadly it was not vegan). She was very happy with it though!

More pasta dishes, cupcakes and a fabulous box of treats!

2008-10-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

I am such a creature of habit. I absolutely love pasta and never get bored of eating it several times per week! Therefore my dinners this week have not been too different from my usual fare!

Here is what I have been eating:

Veg spaghetti bolognaise made with soya mince and lots of chilli peppers:

Spag bol too but this time with pasta twists:

Soya 'chicken style' pieces in a basil sauce (bought not home made ; ) ) with spaghetti:

And now for the sweet stuff! Here is a picture of some cupcakes I took into work for a colleague's birthday. Someone even asked me for the recipe (and was very really surprised to find out they contained vinegar and no eggs!) Vegan baking is the best!

I was also lucky enough to receive a lovely package in the post yesterday. It was from natural balance foods (http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/) who make the yummy Nakd bars and Trek bars, both of which I adore.

They are also a hit with other bloggers living in England- Mi (http://wholefoodswholeme.wordpress.com/) and Peony (http://www.cosmicwild.blogspot.com/) have also blogged about their enjoyment of these products.

Anyway, I emailed the company to tell them how much I like their products and they were kind enough to send me a huge box of freebies in the post! I was so excited to receive the package and it even contained a hand written note from the company!

Here is the box of goodies:

Before opening.....

I was definitely ready to be happy- in fact happy is a major understatement!

After opening...

Contained in the box was:
3 Trek bars (flavours were Mixed Berry, Cocoa Brownie & Peanut & Oat)
3 Nakd bars (flavours were Berry Cheeky, Apple Pie & Cocoa Loco)
4 Nakd Nibbles (flavours were Berry Cheeky, Apple Pie, Cocoa Loco & Banana Bread)
3 Nakd Raisins- fruit juice soaked raisins (flavours were Cherry, Orange & Lemon)

All made from natural ingredients (fruit and nuts) and even better all totally vegan!

This box made my day! I am also in a great mood now because it is half-term at school so no full-time work for a week (although I am still working my other job- the library but I love that so it doesn't really seem like work!)

Salads and comfort food!

2008-10-17T00:10:00.000-07:00

Although the weather is getting really cold here I still enjoy eating salads sometimes. In fact many veggies, like carrots, I actually prefer the taste and texture of raw. I don't just put veggies in my salads though- I make them substantial! Recently, I have been loving salads made with this basil tofu:

The tofu is made with olive oil and has lots of herbs added to it. It is perfect for me, who could never be bothered to do that with regular tofu! It tastes really nice in salads, like the one I made below:

I have also been enjoying some salads with fresh soya beans added in:

However, when the weather is chilly, I enjoy eating foods that are warm and comforting. When I think of comfort food, one food item always comes to mind: pasta!

1: Macaroni cheese made with nutritional yeast and wholewheat animal-shaped pasta:

2: Wholewheat spaghetti with a creamy tomato sauce made with nutritional yeast and a can of chopped tomatoes

Sometimes, I don't have enough time to cook pasta so go my favourite stand-by meal: a stir-fry:

This was made using chopped up soya sausages, peppers, cabbage, leeks and was served in black bean sauce over wholewheat noodles. I should have used a larger bowl but I was too lazy to transfer the food once I had cooked it!

2008-10-11T23:56:00.001-07:00

As a result of my busy schedule, my food has been pretty boring for the last week. However, last night I went out with a friend to one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants: Mr Man Chinese restaurant (http://www.vegmrman.com/). I have written about a meal I enjoyed there previously with my parents (http://studentveganuk.blogspot.com/2008/07/i-love-mr-man.html) .

I didn't take any photos this time because the restaurant was quite busy and I felt a little self conscious but we ordered Mixed Hors D’oeuvres to start, which looked like this:

It consisted of spring rolls, sesame toast (no prawns!), mock chicken pieces (with satay sauce for dipping) and mushrooms in a mandarin sauce. It was really yummy!

For my main course I fancied something nice and light so ordered Singapore noodles, which were so scrummy! They were rice noodles cooked with chillies and mixed crunchy veggies with tiny fried tofu pieces in. It was such a huge plateful but it was so tasty I ate the whole thing!

I hope to be back with some more exciting eats soon!

Lazy!

2008-10-05T00:56:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I am a lazy cook!

I hate spending ages in the kitchen cooking something (the eating is always the best part of the cooking process : ) ) Therefore, I usually opt for meals which are easy to prepare, such as pasta and stir-fry dishes (as anyone who reads this regularly will know!) I do always try to ensure that my meals are healthy though and I try to use as many fresh ingredients as possible. However, this last week I have been working 2 jobs so my meals have not always been so healthy! Here is an example:

Pictured above is a Madras curry using a can of curry sauce, soya mince and served with chips on the side (they only take 3 mins in the microwave wohoo!) Although this meal was not so healthy (lack of veggies and no wholegrains!) it was very tasty and filled me up nicely!

Not all my meals are so low in veggies though. Here is a picture of a spaghetti and tempeh dish, in a tomato and veggie sauce:

And a couple of creamy pasta dishes with veggies:

This was made using wholemeal spaghetti, cabbage, leeks and a sauce made from soya milk, nutritional yeast and some soy protein powder.

This dish was made using wholemeal noodles, sweetcorn and spinach. I used some unflavoured soya mince in this sauce because I was fancying a slightly chewy texture.

I also thought that I would post a snack a tried yesterday. I usually love all things chocolatey (that should definitely be made into a real word) so I opted for this choccie bar when browsing in a local health food shop:

Since my experience of a no added sugar carob bar, I have not been so keen to try other products without sugar. However, this shop does not stock many chocolate bars and all of the ones they had in store were made without sugar. I decided to try this bar made with hemp seeds, which I thought would add some nice crunch. However, I was a little disappointed. I loved the rich taste due to the high cocoa solid percentage of the bar but I was not so keen on the hemp part! I think hemp is perhaps a little to healthy to have in a chocolate bar! ; )

New foods!

2008-09-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

Although I tend to eat similar meals day in and day out I do love trying new foods! Here is a selection of foods I have recently eaten:

First up is a new product- alpro cheese! It is similar in texture to cream cheese but has quite a tangy taste so reminds me of what I remember cottage cheese as tasting like:

I have enjoyed it both with salads and in pasta dishes like the one below:

I have also been enjoying stir-fries made with this spicy sauce. It is really tangy and gives any dish a fab kick:

Although I do love tofu and tempeh, I do enjoy a bit of mock meat every now and then! I really like these 'chicken style' pieces. I have no idea whether they taste like chicken (it has been so long since I have eaten meat) but they have a nice chewy texture and absorb flavours really nicely.

Here is a stir-fry using the chicken pieces, with wholewheat pasta and loads of veggies! :

I have also eaten some meals that have not included noodles or pasta : 0 ! (this is a pretty new thing for me haha!)

First up is nachos made with soy and flax corn chips, soya mince, tomatoes and lots of fresh chillies:

Next is tonight's dinner- polenta pizza!

It was made using ready-made polenta (as the base), tinned tomatoes and nutritional yeast (for the sauce) and soya sausages for the topping.

This was really yummy and perfect comfort food for the horrible weather here today (wet and miserable : ( )

Sorry for the rubbish picture- the sausages started falling off the pizza because the polenta base was not very even!

Lastly is a sweet treat I found in a local health food shop- a vegan cookie! It also happened to be wheat free (I can't remember the flour it was made from- I think I was more anxious about gobbling it up!) It was nice and sweet (but not sickly) and had a nice chewy texture. I think it would also be great warm so I might buy one to heat up at home next time (this one did not last long enough- I think I will have to buy multiple next time!)

Random eatings

2008-09-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

I don't usually post my lunches (they are usually pretty boring and eaten at work where I feel a little self-conscious about taking pictures) but I thought I would show you my favourite sarnie that I grab when I am out and about. It has a cool title:

Sorry that the picture is not brilliant but you might be able to read the ingredients-carrot, hummous, rocket and alalfa sprouts on wholemeal bread. It is really scrummy and that little sticker that says meal deal means you can get a drink and a snack with the sarnie for a bargainous price! : )

Stir-fries are, of course, still on my dinner menu, alongside my regular pasta meals. I have been very impressed with my friend Katie's posts about innovative and delicious looking stir-fries she has made for herself. Read about them here: http://howtogainweightonavegandiet.blogspot.com/2008/09/stir-fry-salad.html and here: http://howtogainweightonavegandiet.blogspot.com/2008/09/stir-fry-sandwich.html

I have been trying new things for my stir-fries too (though nothing so creative as Katie!):

Unfortunately I was a little disappointed with this soy sauce. I found it VERY salty (perhaps I used too much?) but it was very overpowering and did not make for a tasty stir-fry! I think next time I purchase a soy sauce I will buy a low-sodium one to avoid this problem because I do like to add plenty of sauce to a stir-fry so that it is not dry.

My mum kindly bought me these chillies to try:

I was really keen to use them so put them in my stir-fry last night. I drained them first because I am not a huge fan of vinegar (I tend to find the taste a little too overpowering). However, I think I should have rinsed them first because they still tasted very strongly of vinegar, which I didn't like very much! They did add a great kick to my stir fry though and made it a lovely red colour:

Not that you can tell easily from the picture but the dish also contained these:

I usually prefer to use wholewheat noodles in a stir-fry but bought these as a change and really liked them. They were really thin and I think I overcooked them because they stuck together a little. However, they were lovely and light and absorbed the
flavours of the stir-fry nicely.

Below are some cupcakes that I took into work recently. They were baked by my mum (luckily she never minds my baking requests because she enjoys baking and these are so easy to make) but decorated by myself. I used a chocolate buttercream-style frosting and put some edible stars on top. These went down very well at work and one woman even asked for the recipe! I thought this was a brilliant opportunity to drop into the conversation that these were VEGAN cupcakes. I think it is usually best to reveal this after people have eaten them otherwise they sometimes can be reluctant to try them and will be missing out!

Mmmm pasta!

2008-09-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

Recently, the weather has really taken a turn for the worse. It has been cold and wet nearly every day since the beginning of September. It is so depressing!

Since the beginning of September, I have also started a new job. My university course includes a 1 year work placement of my choice and I have chosen to work in a secondary school as a Teaching Assistant. I really love my job because it involves working with special needs pupils, which I find so rewarding but it can be exhausting! All this has meant that I haven't been very inventive with my evening meals so pasta has been on the menu frequently, as per usual!

Anyway here are a few piccies:

1. Pasta 'carbonara' with a creamy cheezy sauce and vegan bacon pieces:

2. Pasta in a creamy tomato sauce with some red and green peppers

3. Pasta in a bolognaise sauce with tomato pieces

The last two meals pictured above used a new purchase of mine- animal shaped wholewheat pasta! It is very tricky trying to determine exactly which shapes are supposed to represent which animals but it is definitely fun trying to guess!

Holiday!

2008-08-30T23:23:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from a lovely holiday to Lake Garda, Italy, with my family! We booked a last minute deal (my family nearly always do this) and we quickly packed up our stuff and made for Italy!

During the holiday, we stayed in a small town close to the Lake but also visited Venice and Verona. I was actually a little disappointed by Venice as I was expecting to be blown away by its beauty but I felt that it was very tourist-y. It certainly did not help that it was really busy but you had to be really careful in all the restaurants and cafes, especially around the centre, that you did not get ripped-off. However, I absolutely loved Verona. It is such a beautiful place. The buildngs are beatifully preserved and the modern city is a lovely contrast to the old buildings and landmarks. I would definitely love to return there some day.

The weather there was very hot and the Lake was really beautiful. Food-wise, it was not so great as a vegan because the holiday was half-board and the hotel food was not particularly vegan friendly. This was because all of the pasta was made with egg and the main course each night was meat/ fish and potatoes. Still, they had a salad bar which always had some beans, so I managed to get something every night. For my lunches, I also found that pasta was not an option because of the egg, or the waiting staff did not understand that I was asking about egg in the pasta, rather than the sauce (lesson- learn the phrase for I am allergic to... rather than just the words for egg, milk etc). However, I did get to enjoy some seriously yummy vegetable pizzas without cheese!

Anyway, here are a few pictures of my holiday:

Venice:

Verona:

View of Lake Garda:

Pizza!:

My family:

And me:

I like birthdays!

2008-08-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

So, it was my birthday last Friday (I turned the ripe old age of 20 so have officially left my teenage years behnd me!) Anyway, my lovely friend decided to treat me to a meal out at a restauarant of my choosing! I just knew that I wanted to try this place: http://www.222veggievegan.com/menu.html 222veggievegan! As the name implies, the whole menu is completely vegan! I was so excited and kept looking at the menu before I went because I knew that I was going to have such a hard time selecting what I wanted to order!

We shared some garlic bread to start but we were both pretty hungry so dived in before I remembered to take a photo!

For my main course, I chose the Pasta with wild mushrooms (Wild mushrooms, wholemeal pasta and leek well sautéed, turned in lime, fresh herbs, and finished off with cashew cream. An excellent combination). It was so yummy, really creamy, yet not heavy at all. Sadly, I managed to lose the photo I took of my meal : (

My friend chose the 222burger (Organic tofu and veggie mince burger on a wholemeal roll, served with fresh leaf salad, oven-baked chips, and home-made ketchup.) My friend is a vegetarian yet doesn't eat much tofu so I wasn't sure that she would like the burger but she loved it! I did manage to take a photo of her meal:

Also on my birthday, my mum baked a batch of vegan chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate butercream-style frosting. They were really yummy and devoured quickly by me and my family!

A few days after my birthday, it was my dad's birthday so my mum whipped up yet another batch of vegan cupcakes. This time, she made lemon ones, by modifying the chocolate recipe. She was a little unsure about how they would turn out but all was okay! My mum will definitely be requested to make these again sometime soon!

And lastly, here is a picture of my dad about to blow out his candles!

Things that are tasty for stir fries and a treat for myself

2008-07-31T00:25:00.000-07:00

I am always eating stir fries (as anyone who reads this regularly knows!) but recently I have tried a few new things in them, which I have enjoyed.

First up is a Hot Pepper Creole sauce, which is really scrummy! I have never tried it before. It is quite tangy and gives my stir fry a nice kick! It makes a nice change from the usual sauces I use so I will definitley be buying it again!

Here is a tofu and veggie stir fry using the sauce:

Next up is a Chow Mein mix I bought from a local health food shop. The box contains dried wholewheat noodles with dried veggies (I thought that was weird) and a spice mix. I thought this would be great for when I was feeling especially lazy as the whole thing cooks in about 5 minutes!
The noodles were short and curly and looked really cute. Here is my stir fry with added tofu pieces:

Although the packet was fairly tasty for an instant mix, it didn't have loads of flavour and I think I prefer adding fresh or frozen veggies rather than dehydratying dried ones! However, I think it is good for when I haven't got many veggies to hand and fancy a stir fry.

I also tried using hummous as a stir fry sauce. My mum bought me a few mini tubs of different flavours of hummous. The flavours were lemon and corriander, caramalized onion and roasted red pepper. I don't really eat sandwiches much (just not much of a bread girl) so I fancied using them in my all-time favourite dish- the stir fry!

I thinned out the hummous mixture with a little water and then threw it in with my veggies and tofu. I tried all of the different flavours and I think that lemon and corriander and the red pepper ones worked best. I would definitely use hummous again in a stir fry!

Also I have been on the hunt for new snacks and decided to treat myself to some treats from Veganessentials.com:

I ordered a dozen Clif builder bars! These bars are not available in the UK but I really wanted to try some so decided to go for it! I would have treated myself to some other items (they also sell a white chocolate peanut butter that I have my eye on) but the shipping was really expensive!

I bought 3 different flavours to try: chocolate, cookies and cream and peanut butter. So far I have just tried chocolate and it was really tasty. The bar was like a chewy brownie inside and was covered in chocolate. I couldn't believe it was actually healthy! The nutritional information is seriously impressive: http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_builders/1230

The box isn't going to last me long.... ; )

Some old faces and some new tasty foods!

2008-07-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

My dinners have been the usual pasta and stir fries mostly (I am such a creature of habit!) I'll post a few pics but they aren't too exciting!

Below is an old fave that I hadn't actually eaten for a while- spag bol made with soya mince and ots of chillies because I love it nice and spicy! It was eaten on newspaper so as not to get any sauce on the table (my mum had just cleaned it!)

Below is a tempeh stir fry that I really enjoyed. I thought that tempeh would be just as yummy in a stir fry as it was when I had it with pasta and I was right! It has such a nice texture and makes a nice change from tofu (although I do love tofu in a stir fry!)
Anyway onto some new foods that I have been enjoying:

I really liked the vanilla swedish glace ice cream but I spotted this new flavour in a health food shop and had to try it! I loved it even more than the vanilla. It was creamy but not sickly and had just the right amount of sweetness. Yummy!

I have also been enjoying larabars recently. I had never tried them before but they were on special in a health food shop near me so I bought a few to try.

I was not so keen on the banana bread flavour. The bar contained bananas, dates and almonds. Although I like fresh bananas I don't often enjoy banana in other products. I think this bar was a little too sweet for my liking because of the dates and the bananas. I think just bananas and nuts would have made for a tastier bar.

Despite my dislike for the banana flavour, I liked the pistachio flavour very much! It contained dates, pistachios and cashews. This combo made for a very yummy snack!

I also enjoyed the apple pie flavour. It contained dates, walnuts, unsweetened apples, almonds, raisins and cinnamon. I sometimes find that cinnamon can be a little overpowering but I certainly didn't find this to be the case with this bar. It was nice and sweet and I liked the nuts in the bar for a little crunch. I will definitely be purchasing this flavour again!

I know that there are many other flavours of larabar but sadly I haven't seen any other flavours available in any health food shops near me. I will be on the hunt though and will post about any other flavours I try.

Another snack I enjoyed trying were these:

These were basically crisps made from lentil flour with added spices. I am not usually much of a crisp person (I tend to prefer sweet snacks) but I polished off the whole tub so I guess I must have liked them ; ) They reminded me of pringles, which I used to like (pre-vegan days):

I love Mr Man!

2008-07-16T22:25:00.000-07:00

There are not many vegetarian restaurants near where I live. However, there is a lovely Chinese Restaurant called Mr Man (strange name I know) that my parents and I have now visited on two occasions.

The first time that we went, we enjoyed a lovely buffet consisting of lots of mock meat dishes, noodles, brown rice, veggies, spring rolls etc. I knew that the restaurant was vegetarian but our server informed us that the whole buffet was vegan! I was literally in heaven!

My parents and I recently returned to the restaurant in the evening, where an A La Carte menu is served, rather than a buffet. We looked at the huge menu and could not decide what to order! We decided to order several dishes and share them so that we could have a taste of lots of different items.

I took pictures of most of our food but I was really hungry so forgot to take a picture of the appetizers. Here are a few food pictures anyway:

This dish is a 'prawn' dish with stir fried vegetables I have to say the taste was a little scary to me because it tasted exactly how I remember seafood as tasting! I had never eaten any mock seafood before either so this was certainly a taste I have not had in a very long time! My parents also enjoyed this dish very much.

These were Singapore-style noodles and were really yummy (I could not believe the noodles did not contain eggs- they didn't taste like rice noodles I have had before) The noodles were cooked with lots of veggies and deep fried tofu pieces:

This was my favourite dish. It was mock chicken in a spicy tomato sauce with lots of crunchy stir fried veggies. It had lots of chillies in so I loved it!

And here is a photo of my omni parents looking happy after eating yummy vegan Chinese food:

I really like this restaurant so we will definitely be taking a trip there soon. My birthday is coming up soon (August 8th) so we might take a trip there then!

Old favourites with new twists!

2008-07-06T23:21:00.000-07:00

More of my usual eats for dinner this week- pasta and stir fries! I have tried some new foods though, which have been yummy!

Stir fry 1:
Seitan stir fry

I have never been able to buy seitan before. However, recently I went to a health food shop which had a jar and I bought it to try. I loved the chewy texture and really enjoyed it in the stir fry. Unfortunately, the shop is not somewhere I can get to often, so I may have to try making some seitan myself for next time!

Stir fry 2:
Soya mince stir fry

I tried using soya mince, just for a change really. I also used some beetroot in this stir fry. I thought it would add a bit of colour (it turned the mince sort of pink in places!). I also thew in sugar snap peas, which I love in a stir fry. They are so lovely and crunchy!

Stir fry 3:

Tofu stir fry in a garlic and lemongrass sauce sauce

I bought a new stir fry sauce to try when I went shopping the other day. I usually alternative between black bean and spicy tomato szechuan sauces or I just season with a little salt. However, I fancied trying something different and so picked up a garlic and lemongrass sauce, with I thought would make a nice change. It was really tasty as the garlic was really strong in flavour, so it is definitely a sauce I would purchase again.

Pasta dish 1:

Basil tofu pasta with tomato sauce

A pasta dish, which I enjoyed this week, used a packet of basil tofu that I purchased from a earlier in the week. It is basically firm tofu, marinated with olive oil, basil and some other herbs. It smells just like pesto! I chopped it up and put it in a tomato sauce with peppers and mushrooms, which I served with wholemeal pasta twists. Yummy!

Pasta dish 2:

Tempeh with noodles in a creamy sauce

Another pasta dish this week used another new find of mine- tempeh. I loved it! I have been desperate to try tempeh for ages and finally tracked some down in the freezer section of a health food shop I visit regularly. I was really excited to use it but couldn't decide what to cook! I didn't want to use it in a stir fry because I thought that it would get lost with all the veggies etc and I wanted to really taste it. In the end, I made a simple creamy sauce for the tempeh and ate it over rice noodles. I found the texture really unusual but really, really delicious! I hope that the health food shop continues to stock it- next time I think I will have to buy several packets!

Yummy cereal and even more more pasta and stir fries : )

2008-06-30T00:20:00.000-07:00

This is my new favourite cereal. I usually prefer hot breakfasts (even in summer) and tend to have either weetabix (heated up in the microwave) or porridge. However, this cereal caught my eye last time that I was shopping so I decided to give it a go. It is really healthy because it is a good vegan source of omega 3 and is fortified with loads of healthy vitamins and minerals. I have been enjoying it for breakfast for the past few days but I think it would also make a great snack any time of the day!

Unsurprisingly, my dinners have not been a break from the norm. I was in a realy lazy mood last night so made myself some noodles with a nutritional yeast sauce. It was nice comfort food and was so easy to cook.

This is a seriously spicy stir fry that I made for myself the other evening. I used birds eye chillies (which are much hotter than the larger chilli peppers I buy!) I love spicy food so this was lovely. I used a tomato based sauce to coat the veggies and tofu and burried underneath is some wholemeal spaghetti. This was certainly dinner with a kick!

I also added some chillies to this stir fry but I used the larger chilli peppers so the heat was not quite so intense! I used a black bean sauce, wholewheat rice noodles, tofu (which I remembered to freeze then defrost for a better texture) and loads of veggies! Sorry that the picture is rubbish- it was taken hurriedly with my phone because I couldn't find my camera and I was really hungry!

Also over the weekend I enjoyed a lovely meal out with my parents at one of our favourite restaurants: Wagamama. My favourite dish there is yasai itame which is: 'stir-fried bok choi, fried tofu, red and spring onions, red peppers, portobello mushrooms and beansprouts. served with rice noodles in a spicy coconut and green chilli soup. garnished with coriander, mint and a wedge of lime '. I love it!

Both my omni parents also had tofu dishes and they both enjoyed their meals very much! My dad had: saien soba 'wholewheat noodles in a vegetable soup topped with stir-fried courgettes, asparagus, fried tofu, red onion, leeks, shiitake and portobello mushrooms, mangetout, beansprouts and garlic. seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil and garnished with sliced spring onion'. My mum had: yasai chilli men 'stir-fried courgettes, white and portobello mushrooms, mangetout,green and red peppers and fried tofu in a sauce made from chillies, ginger, garlic, onion, tomatoes, lemongrass and sweet red peppers. served with wholewheat noodles.'

We all really enjoy eating there because all the food is cooked freshly to order (so sometimes food comes at different times) but it is always delicious! They do a wide range of different dishes, including milder dishes,which is great for people like my sister who don't like spicy food! I would highly recommend this restaurant!

I don't know if anyone has any experience of growing veggies but my mum has been trying to grow courgettes and chilli peppers (both in pots). The chilli plant is still in its infancy but I cannot wait to start eating the chillies from it! The courgette plant however has been growing faster. Last night this courgette was picked last night by my mum and she used it in a pea and courgette soup, which she and my dad enjoyed for dinner last night.

She was really proud of her plant so I took a picture of her next to it!:

More of my usual- and my dad's father's day brekkie!

2008-06-22T01:02:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post a picture of my dad's special brekkie, which I made for him last Sunday! He usually eats a really healthy breakfast of porridge with a banana (he absolutely loves bananas!) but I wanted to treat him to breakfast in bed... so I made some chocolate peanut butter pancakes!

I used this amazing spread! It is something I found in my local supermarket and I was so excited when I found out that it was vegan! It is crunchy peanut butter with chocolate chips and is really tasty. Although I prefer smooth peanut butter, anything with chocolate always goes down very well with me!

My dad is also a big fan of peanut butter so I decided to make him some pancakes with some of this stuff stirred in and then I chopped up a banana on the top of the pancakes. He said that he enjoyed them so I was pleased with my efforts!

Despite attempts to branch out a little with my evening meals, I have been eating my usual pasta and stir fries but I can't help it because I love them!

Below is my dinner last night. It is a creamy tomato sauce made with some nutritional yeast and was served with wholewheat noodles. It was just what I fancied, simple and tasty!

My dinner the night before was this stir fry. I used thick udon noodles and used loads of different veggies- I can't even remember them all! I also chucked in my usual tofu and the whole thing was very yummy! It took me forever to eat this plateful but I enjoyed every mouthful!

For dessert last night I had some chocolate tofutti. I realised I hadn't eaten anything chocolate-related in the last few days (very unlike me!) so I really enjoyed it! I think I might slightly prefer the Swedish glace ice cream though so I may see if I can get some chocolate flavour Swedish Glace ice cream... now that would be yummy I am sure!

Sweet eats

2008-06-17T23:53:00.000-07:00

In general I am a pretty healthy eater but I do have a sweet tooth and love enjoying sweet treats on a regular basis!

My current favourites are:

I love this custard! It is strange because I never liked non-vegan custard but I really like this stuff. I tend to eat it cold straight out of the box! It is also much healthier than it sounds. It is fortified with both calcium and vitamin B12 and naturally contains omega 3 and 6!

This is not quite as healthy but definitely just as delicious! It is sooo creamy and tasted to me like I remember 'luxury' dairy ice cream! My omni dad had a spoonful and really liked it but I was enjoying it so much I wouldn't let him eat any more!! Heheee!

Some of my dinners this week...

2008-06-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

I have been enjoying a range of different evening meals this week, which has been nice. Over the exam period at uni I was cooking the same meals over and over so it is nice to be out of that rut!

First up is an regular of mine- the beloved stir fry! My dad bought me some rice noodles dressed in canola oil (an oil I had never tried before). I was just dying to test them out in a stir fry! I often find that rice noodles get stuck together when cooking them but the oil helped them not go so clumpy and they were really tasty. This stir fry also contained tofu, loads of veggies including peppers, onions, sweetcorn and cabbage. Usually I add a stir fry sauce but I fancied having the stir fry plain so just added a little salt for enhanced flavour.

The next meal pictured on my blog was an attempt to do something creative with falafel! I had some in the fridge that needed to be eaten so I got my thinking cap on! I knew that I was in the mood for pasta (as I am most of the time) so made a sauce with the falafel to go with some wholemeal spaghetti. The sauce was made used tinned tomatoes, chilli peppers, mushrooms, and mushed up falafel! I was thinking of having them 'meat ball' style but decided to be different! It turned out really nice and I enjoyed the meal muchos! Unfortunately, my family are a little more sensitive to chilli peppers than myself so they were coughing as I was cooking my meal!

Finally, is a thai curry that I made for my dinner this evening. It was made using some red thai curry paste, soy milk, peas, sweetcorn and some soy 'chicken style' pieces. It was nice and creamy and really hit the spot! I will definitely be making this again soon. I might try it with tofu next time or maybe some chopped up soy sausages...

Back from hols- nice and rested!

2008-06-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

I had a great holiday in Greece with my friend Samaan. It was a lovely treat after my exams and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I did not take many pictures of my food while I was there (I felt a bit self conscious) but I did take plenty of other pictures, some of which I thought I'd share : )

On the flight I tasted my first vegan aeroplane meal so I had to take a picture! (I'm sad like that ; ) ) It consisted of sausage in a tomato sauce with some has browns on the side. It was pretty tasty for plane food! The passenger sitting next to me commented that my food looked better than his : ) Score for the vegans! ; )

A piccie of the swimming pool...

Our hotel...

My friend Samaan (baker of the vegan chocolate cheesecake and other yummy vegan delights)

Me in my outfit for the 'Binbag ball' evening of fun!

I'l be back soon!

2008-06-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

Yay my exams are FINALLY over and I am off on holiday for a week to Greece- I'll post some pictures when I get back!

Mmmm chocolate....

2008-05-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend my mum baked some yummy chocolate cupcakes!

Warm from the oven! I was tempted to eat one but I decided to wait until they had cooled and were frosted!

The cupcakes with frosting....

And here is a picture of my mum- the baker! : )

I have also eaten some yummy chocolate bars recently (luckily much better than that carob bar I tried)

Mmmm orange and chocolate, always a winning combo! This bar was flavoured with an orange oil which was really yummy. The texture of the bar was perfect too, lovely and smooth!

I also really enjoyed this bar of chocolate. Although it is a long time since I had eaten dairy chocolate (over a year) I don't really know whether this bar tasted like dairy chocolate. It was certainly delicious though!I would definitely purchase it again! (Sorry for the ruler in the background of the photo- I was revising on the table before stopping for a chocolate break!)

I have not only been eating chocolate though...

I recently enjoyed making (and eating) a pizza with loads of veggies and some cheddahflavoured

Cheezly! I love the flavour of Cheezly, it is just a shame that it doesn't really melt! I think you might be able to buy a certain type of Cheezly that does melt though- I will look out for that!

I also have been eating lots of stir fries. These are great when I am busy revising because they are so quick to cook! I never get bored with them either as you can always mix up what you throw in and it usually results in a tasty meal! Below is a stir fry with sugar snap peas, beansprouts, beanshoots, chilli peppers, tofu, in a spicy tomato sauce with some wholewheat noodles.

Recent munchings...

2008-05-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I was lucky enough to enjoy yet another vegan cake baked my my wonderful mum! I mentioned to her a little while ago that I had never had a vegan carrot cake (I haven't seen many recipes for them and I think my mum was initially a little sceptical about doing a cake without the usual buttercream frosting). Anyway, she came across a recipe in her magazine that was aimed at people with various allergies, which included a tasty looking recipe for a (vegan of course) carrot cake! My mum therefore decided to make it when I came home this weekend!

The cake had lots of dried fruit in, which is the reason that I think the recipe does not include a frosting. My mum decided to finish it off my just dusting the top with a little icing sugar. The only adjustment she made to the recipe was halving the amount of cinnamon. I think the recipe initially called for over a tablespoon of cinnamon, which my mum thought would be a little overpowering, especially for my little sister who likes quite plain foods.

I think my mum was right to make the alteration because the cake still had a lovely hint of cinnamon but you were able to taste all the other flavours of the fruit in the cake too. It was surprisingly moist, almost in between the texture of a cake and a pudding. That means that it should keep well (not that we needed it to, it took the 4 of us in our family only 2 days to finish the entire cake! I did mean to post the recipe but I left it at home- I will try to remember to get it next time I go home!

I also had the pleasure of enjoying a chocolate cake (yet another one!) baked my my lovely omni friend. I think he is better at vegan baking than me! This cake was a chocolate sponge cake with a chocolate buttercream-style frosting. It was absolutely lovely- nice and chocolatey but not too rich (the piece pictured below is my generously sized slice!)

A less tasty item that I consumed this weekend was the bar of carob pictured below. I eat lots of dark chocolate but rarely carob, so I decided to give this bar a try. Unfortunately, the health food shop only had this 'no added sugar' bar, which I would not have selected by choice (when having a treat why not have the sugar too?) However, I decided to buy it nonethless and hoped it would be nice. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed! The bar had absolutely no sweetness to it at all! The only way it was vaguely palatable was if I dipped the pieces into sweet tea : ( I was very disappointed and wished I had just purchased a bar of my favourite Green and Blacks instead. Fortunately, my mum had sneakily bought me 2 bars of Green and Blacks with cherries so all was not lost!

Recently, I have especially been enjoying 'Trek bars' as a snack. They are primarily made from dried fruit and nuts and are really yummy! They are nice and moist and a great snack to have 'on the go'! My favourite flavour is shown below: 'Cocoa Brownie'. While it doesn't taste exactly like a brownie, it has a nice chocolate hint to it and is a very similar texture. I am all out of these at the moment but will be stocking up on some more very soon!

Meals recently and verdict about the seed butter

2008-05-13T10:04:00.003-07:00

Pasta- always a regular feature on my menu! It was a bolognaise type sauce made with soya mince, in a tomato sauce, with lots of fresh chillies added for some heat! I served it with wholemeal pasta twists rather than spaghetti because I realized I was out of spaghetti! It would have been a little messy with spaghetti anyway as the sauce was quite runny (I was getting impatient when cooking and couldn't be bothered to wait for the tomato sauce to reduce down!)

Mmm lentils... I knew I fancied lentils for dinner one evening but wanted to do something a little unusual with them. I looked at what I had in the cupboard and saw that I had some black bean sauce. I thought that this could be a good opportunity to try something different so I combined the two and added some more fresh chillies (they were on offer at my local supermarket so I have loads!) I served it over wholemeal cous cous and it was very tasty! It is definitely a combination I would try again! I think perhaps next time I would add in some chopped up sausages, which I think would complement the dish nicely.

As regards the seed butter I purchased, I was not very impressed by the flavour. I was anxious to try it and so just grabbed a spoon and dived in. Unfortunately the taste that greeted me was not a pleasant one! It was almost bitter tasting and had a very gritty texture. After swallowing, I was left with a rather nasty aftertaste and the 'grit' of the butter remained. I needed a drink to get my mouth back to normal! However, I was determined not to let this put me off the spread and have since tried it in porridge (not too bad but peanut butter is definitely nicer), on rye crackers (too much crunch going on) and on toast (the best combination so far- actually pretty pleasant).

Therefore, I do not think I will be purchasing this spread again in the near future! I am very keen to try other spreads though. I plan to make a trip this weekend to the health food shop where I purchased the spread because they have such a huge choice of other spreads. I will post whatever spread I decide to purchase!

A tasty weekend!

2008-05-04T23:29:00.000-07:00

I was feeling pretty stressed out yesterday evening. I did have a good weekend, which I spent at home with my family. It really helped ease my uni stress by getting away from it for a couple of days. Anyway as I so have a nightmare exam tomottow, last night I wanted food that was easy to cook but nice and healthy to keep my brain (and body) well fuelled!

I realised that I hadn't eaten a stir fry in a long time and decided that this meal would be perfect. I was going food shopping anyway so decided to buy the neccessary ingredients. I made my stir fry with tofu, loads of different veggies, udon noodles all mixed together in a black bean sauce. It was really tasty and filled me up nicely : )

Also on my food shopping trips (supermarket and the health food shop) I picked up these treats:

As you can see, I bought: 4 bars of chocolate, two of my favourite Green and Blacks, 2 plain dark chocolate bars (they were buy one get one free!), as well as 3 flapjacks (labelled as giant bars) and 2 raw food bars (also buy one get one free :) )

I have also found a new butter to try! I mentioned that I was on the hunt for a new nut butter but in fact found a very tasty looking seed butter to try, organic raw hemp and lindseed butter:

Sorry for the awful picture; you cannot turn the flash off on my camera!

I love the green colour of this spread, it looks like the colour of pesto! I haven't tried it yet but definitely will be sampling some very soon!

Additionally, my very kind mum baked a yummy vegan chocolate cake (and everyone knows that chocolate really helps to ease stress ; )) Here is a picture of my piece:

I love chilli!

2008-04-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

Due to exam stresses etc I have really been craving comfort food recently. I find that chilli to be a very comforting meal, which is why I have eaten it for the past two nights running! Pictured above is one of my chilli meals, which was yummy! I added lots of fresh chilli peppers so it was really spicy, just how I like it! I served the meal in the glass microwave dish because I find that on a plate it gets cold before I am halfway through it!

I am not sure what I am going to have for dinner tonight, I think perhaps something with lentils...

I love chocolate!

2008-04-28T07:39:00.001-07:00

One of my best friends came round last night (I have blogged about him before- he is the maker of the amazing vegan chocolate cheesecake!). We enjoyed a nice meal of pasta with A spicy lentil sauce (I was really hungry so dived in and forgot to take a picture!)

We followed the pasta with a yummy dessert of chocolate tofutti- a new fave of mine! My omni friend had not tried it before but love it and said it tasted just like regular dairy ice cream (I would argue it is even better- but I guess I am biased!) The only problem was that it had frozen really hard in my freezer so we needed to microwave it for ages to soften it up- we were both too impatient to wait for it to soften at room temperature!

Anyway he also gave me not one but TWO bars of my favourite dark chocolate- Green and Blacks! He gave me a bar of Maya gold ('infused with spices and a twist of orange') and Cherry (whole dried sweetened cherries).

Unsurprisingly I have consumed the entire bar of Maya gold already- it just hit the spot for my afternoon snack! The cherry will be on tomorrow's menu methinks....

Snacks that I have been enjoying recently!

2008-04-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

I really like nakd bars!

I have written about these before but I hadn't eaten them in a while and forgot how tasty they are! I think my favourite is the cocoa-loco one (not pictured above) which basically tastes like a fruity brownie! : ) I tried the 'Berry Cheeky' bar today- the purple bar in the picture and it was yummy!

I have always enjoyed porridge for breakfast but have recently been having it as a snack or as a dessert. I added some peanut butter to the porridge above, which really added to the flavour and was a great way to get some healthy fats in me! In fact, I was enjoying it so much that I was halfway through before deciding to take a picture of it (hence the rather unattractive looking bowl!) I have read about other bloggers who enjoy nut butters in their 'oatmeal' but had never tried it myself, sticking to eating it 'plain' with soya milk. However, porridge with nut butters will now be a regular feature on my menu!

Talking of nut butters, I am currently on the hunt for new ones to try. I have tried cashew nut butter, which although was pretty tasty, I found it a little bland in comparison with peanut butter. Maybe it was just the particular brand that I tried; I expected to love it because cashew nuts are one of my favourite nuts to eat raw.

I continue my quest for new and yummy nut butters....

Warning- bumper picture post ahead!

2008-04-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

So I am back to blogging after a long break! I am going to try to get back into regular posting now that I feel more up to it! I have been taking pictures of several of my recent meals so I have plenty to share:

First up are two variations of one of my favourite comfort food meals- Macaroni cheese. I try to add some veggies where I can and found it is especially tasty with spinach and mushrooms, although peas are nice too! I did rather overcook the pasta in the dish with spinach so it was a bit of a mush, but a tasty mush nonetheless!

Next up is yet another pasta dish! This was a creamy tomato sauce with mushrooms, red peppers and wholemeal pasta twists. Yes- I did eat it all up!

Next is a yummy thai curry cooked by an omni friend of mine. It was made with coconut milk, thai green curry paste, bamboo shoots and some soya 'chicken style' pieces. We had it with some white rice on the side (I always use brown rice when I am cooking but hey my friend was treating me to a meal- I'm not gonna complain!)

My amazing friend also made his signature dessert- tofu chocolate cheesecake, garnished with chopped almonds : ) It was scrummy as usual and he even let me take an extra slice home for later (it did not last long in my fridge!)

I also tried my first vegan chocolate ice cream recently! I have tried chocolate soya yoghurt type desserts before but never a frozen dessert. This was made by tofutti as you can see below. It was not too rich and tasted really creamy. In fact I was enjoying it so much that I ate the whole tub in one sitting!

I will try to be back soon with some more food piccies!

I have been a bad blogger....

2008-04-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

For several different reasons I have not been updating lately. These reasons are:

I have lots of uni work on at the moment and I am finding that it is occupying much more of my time than I would like.

I have lost the cable to connect my digital camera to the computer so I can't upload any pictures at the moment.

I have been experiencing some personal issues recently that have not put me in a good 'blogging' mood- I hope to deal with these and get back to blogging again soon!

However, I am enjoying lots of other blogs at the moment- especially Chocolate Covered Vegan whose blog is always a delight to read and whose pictures of food always look absolutely delicious!

What I have been eating for dinner recently,,,

2008-03-16T07:15:00.001-07:00

First up is gnocchi with a cheesy pasta sauce (made with a tin of chopped tomatoes with onions and some very yummy Cheezly). It was the perfect comfort food!

Next up is a yummy vegan fry up with baked beans, 'cheatin rashers' and Linda McCartney sausages. Although this type of food is traditionally eaten at breakfast time I ate it for dinner as I tend to prefer my porridge in the mornings. It was very tasty- although next time I might have a go at making a tofu scramble to go with it (maybe instead of so many sausages!).

Finally is my dinner last night, which was a tomato and chickpea sauce, served over wholewheat pasta twists with some grated Cheezly on top. A nice warming and comforting meal, which I enjoyed on the sofa, feeling very pleased to be inside and sheltered from the horrible rain outside!

Chocolate heaven!

2008-03-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately my camera is out of batteries at the moment so I have been unable to take photos of my meals. I haven't been making anything particularly unusual for me though- have been eating loads of pasta as usual!

Anyway, onto the good stuff: I was lucky enough to receive a Green and Blacks Easter egg from my friend (he knows my tastes so well) which consisted of a large dark chocolate egg as well as 2 150g bars of Green and Blacks chocolate. One was my favourite (or maybe former favourite) one with cherries, the other was a bar the same as the one pictured above which I have never even seen in the shops before (otherwise I definitely would have sampled it- I have tried all of the Green and Blacks dark chocolate bar flavours that I can get in my supermarket!).

I hadn't had any chocolate products with nuts since going vegan as I find that mostly the products available to buy are milk chocolate items, or the dark chocolate coated nuts are covered in shellac (for some stupid reason). Anyway this chocolate bar was absolutely heavenly and I have to admit I ate the whole bar in its entirety because it was so delicious! (I am aware that Easter is not for a little while but chocolate around me never lasts very long- I already consumed the Easter egg that came with the chocolate bars!)

So if you ever get the chance to try this yummy treat I highly recommend that you do- you will NOT be disappointed!

Happy porridge, chocolate-themed baking and a pizza!

2008-03-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

What better way to start the day than with a nice warm bowl of porridge (or oatmeal to you Americans!) It is so comforting in the cold weather (especially when it is smiling!)

I have also been doing some baking! I was after a chocolate-themed recipe for something that would not be too tricky to make and I came across a recipe for 'Brownie Oatmeal Cookies' (http://www.fatfreevegan.com/desserts/brownie-oat.shtml)

I did not follow the recipe exactly- I used golden syrup instead (which I had in the cupboard) and also added some chopped glace cherries to the cookies. I also made several large cookies rather than making the suggested 2 dozen- bigger is always better I think!

The cookies were nice and moist, definitely similar to the texture of a brownie but were not quite as rich as some brownies can be. They could perhaps have done with being a little sweeter , so I think I might adjust the recipe next time. Nevertheless they went down very well with my family- my dad ate 2 the same day I made them!

Finally, I have a picture of a pizza made by myself and an (omni) friend.

We made the base from scratch (500g plain flour, 1 sachet of dried yeast and about 300ml of warm water). Then we topped the pizza with some chopped tomatoes, onions, orange peppers, sweetcorn, jalepeno peppers and some 'Parmazano' cheese. It was baked in the ovven for about 20 minutes at 200 degrees celsius. Both me and my friend really enjoyed it!

I have not been blogging... but I have been eating!

2008-02-28T11:42:00.001-08:00

Right- here come a load of food pictures!

Fajitas! This was made with kidney beans in a chilli sauce, chopped tomatoes and some soya mince- It was yummy!

More beans! This was kidney beans in a tomato sauce, red peppers and some chopped up vegan sausages! I served it over brown rice and it was tasty!

Pasta- always a regular feature of my meal repetoire! This was a spaghetti bolognaise made with soya mince and a tin of passata sauce. I enjoyed it mucho!

Next up is a tofu stir fry made with lots of veggies, some firm style tofu and some soy sauce. I didn't have any noodles so I used pasta! It wasn't quite as good as with noodles but they weren't too bad a substitute!

I am rather embarassed to post this picture of my dinner but it was very tasty despite how it looks! I am not very experienced with baking pies so I burned them on the top (because I attempted to grill them rather than bake them in the oven) then I was getting really hungry so decided to take them out of the oven and microwave them- hence why one fell apart!

Nevertheless they were nice and moist with not too much pastry and were not greasy at all. I wasn't sure what to serve them with but I fancied something with a contrasting flavour so cooked a tin of chopped tomatoes to accompany them. I would eat them again- although would remember that they are probably not the best thing to prepare when I am really hungry because of how long they take to cook (over 30 minutes in total which is a long time for me!)

Ah- I saved the best for last. This chocolate delight was baked by my wonderful mum for my sister's 18th birthday. It is a self-saucing chocolate pudding and really easy to make- I will ask my mum to give me the recipe so that I can post it later on!

It is not originally a vegan recipe but is easy to veganize because it does not contain any eggs and the only other non-vegan ingredients are butter and milk (soya margarine and soya milk work just fine!). It was all gone within seconds of serving it- and my sister, my dad and I all had second helpings!

Finally this is a picture of my little sister looking at her yummy pudding!

More pasta and a curry!

2008-02-19T11:38:00.000-08:00

I'm still loving pasta at the moment!

The picture below is of a lovely meal that I enjoyed at Zizzi, an Italian restaurant near me. The dish was called Penne alla Pineta and consisted of spinach, mushrooms and pinenuts in a thyme and garlic olive oil sauce. It was yummy but I wish there had been a little more of it!

Next is a dish I made for myself last night. It was green lentils in a creamy mushroom sauce with wholewheat spaghetti. It was quite nice, although the sauce was a little runny as I overestimated the amount of liquid that the lentils would absorb! However, the dish was very different from what I usually make with lentils (usually a tomato based curry) so it was a welcome change!

Just to prove that I have been eating dishes which do not involve pasta, below is a picture a curry! It was made with kidney beans, and lots of brussel sprouts (one of my fave veggies!) and was with Rogan Josh curry sauce (from a can as usual!). I served it over brown rice (which I overcooked slightly as can be seen from the picture!). I enjoyed it very much though and hopefully the spicyness might scare off the cold I have at the moment!

Mmm pasta

2008-02-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

Lately I have really been craving comfort food, which usually means pasta with some sort of creamy/ cheesy sauce. So that is exactly what I have been making!

First up I made spaghetti carbonara, which involved 'cheatin rashers' bacon, Cheezley, soya milk and my usual wholemeal spaghetti. It was really yummy!

I was really craving something similar for dinner this evening and knew I had some Cheddareeze in the cupboard so decided to have a generous amount over a tomato and garlic sauce with the same pasta. It hit the spot nicely!

Chilli- a new twist with an old favourite

2008-02-05T11:04:00.000-08:00

I always like to try different things with my meals, just to ring the changes. I knew that I fancied chilli for dinner this evening but knew that I didn't have any soya mince in so decided to use some firm tofu instead.

I crumbled up the tofu, browned it in a pan and then added a jar of chilli sauce (very lazy I know!) It was really yummy! The tofu has a much softer texture than mince does but it was good. I served it over brown rice, which I haven't eaten for ages because of how long it takes to cook! I would definitely make this dish again, although I think I would freeze the tofu beforehand and then defrost it to remove some of the extra water to give it a slightly chewier texture.

Anyway you can see a photo of my dinner below:

Tasty vegan goodies!

2008-02-04T11:13:00.000-08:00

I went home from uni to visit my family this weekend, which was really lovely. I hadn't been home since the Xmas hols so it was nice catching up properly.

Anyway onto the food:

Over the weekend my mum very generously treated me to all these vegan treats from various places! I got 3 flapjacks in different flavours, some tasty lemon and chilli mixed seeds, a bar of dark chocolate, some chocolate coated sesame snaps and 2 nakd bars. The nakd bars are actually a pretty healthy treat as they contain no added sugar, or any artificial ingredients and are mainly made from raw fruit and nuts which is great!

I have eaten 2 of the flapjacks already because they are so yummy! They are really moist but not at all greasy and nicely sweet without being sickly. I will definitely be stocking up on some more soon!

I can't wait to try the other treats!

I also did some baking over the weekend. I decided to make some peanut butter and chocolate cookies. They were based loosely on this recipe:

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=12477.0

The only alterations I made was to substitute 1/2 cup of flour for half a cup of cocoa powder to make them chocolatey and I used sunflower oil instead as I didn't have any canola oil. I also didn't bake them for as long because I like my cookies to be quite chewy!

My family gave them the thumbs up (even my sister who claims to dislike peanut butter) and I thought they were pretty tasty! The cookies were moist and chocolately without being too rich. As they were so easy to make I think I would definitely make them again.

I enjoyed another stir fry for my dinner tonight, this time made with tofu, loads of veggies and a szechuan spicy tomato sauce. I decided to serve it over wholewheat pasta rather than noodles just for a change!

Mmm stir fry- with soya mince

2008-01-28T11:12:00.000-08:00

When I went food shopping I was delighted to find that my favourite soya mince was on offer. I stocked up and now my freezer has 2 big bags of the stuff! I decided that for dinner tonight I had better use up some of it but fancied making something other than spaghetti bolognaise.

So I decided to make a stir fry! I used some different veggies that I had in, some soya mince (obviously) and loads of soy sauce and served it over some yummy udon noodles. It was nice as the mince which added a very different texture to the tofu I usually use for stir fries. The only negative was that the mince absorbed a lot of the soy sauce, which made it very flavourful but a little dry. I think next time I would use something like a black bean sauce, which I find is easily absorbed by the ingredients but also coats them nicely, making the dish more moist.

Some meals I have been enjoying this week

2008-01-27T09:21:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy with uni work this week that I haven't been updating very regularly, so this is a bumper post! First up is spaghetti bolognaise- with soya mince of course! I really enjoy hearty meals like this when it is cold so I think I will be having this a few times again next week! I served it in this dish as I often find on a plate that spaghetti gets cold quickly and I was eating it on my bed in front of the TV so wanted it to stay hot awhile!

Next up is a lentil curry which I really enjoyed. I didn't have much in the cupboard except some green lentils and a jar of curry sauce (Madras- very spicy : ) ) so thought I would combine the two and serve it over wholewheat cous cous (something I didn't know I had at the back of my cupboard!)

I think that this was probably my fave meal of the week! I made a tomato sauce and then added some Cheddareese to it to make it nice and creamy. I served it with wholewheat pasta shells (which I will not be buying again as I found when cooking the pasta that it all stuck together!) The picture does not make it look tasty at all but it was really yummy!

A delicious meal out with friends

2008-01-19T14:35:00.000-08:00

It was one on my omni friend's birthday today so we went out for dinner at Pizza Express to celebrate. I had already checked in advance that the pizza bases were vegan so knew that I could request a pizza without cheese for my meal.

I decided to opt for the garlic mushroom pizza and was asked whether I would like another topping as I did not want cheese. I immediately thought of spinach, which I think goes really nicely with mushrooms and the waiter informed me that this would be no problem. I was very pleased with my choice when the pizza arrived as it looked really tasty and certainly did not disappoint! I would definitely order this again!

Exams are over- back to regular blogging!

2008-01-19T10:23:00.000-08:00

Although I haven't been very inventive with my meals of late I have been enjoying them! I have mainly been making things that are very quick to prepare and the curry above is one of those meals.

The sauce was shop-bought and was a Rogan Josh curry sauce so was a nice tomato based one that is medium in terms of spicyness. Unfortunately I didn't have any fresh chillies in otherwise I would certainly have added them to give it an extra chilli kick but I still enjoyed the meal nonethless. I used a can of beans (unfortunately I now cannot remember what type they were!. I served the curry over bulgar wheat as usual (cooks in only 10 minutes!) and added carrots, green beans and cauliflower to the curry. I always add vegetables very near the end because I really like them pretty crunchy!

Last night I was really worried about my exam today (which actually wasn't too bad luckily : ) ) so was craving comfort food for dinner!

I knew I wanted to have something involving my favourite 'cheese' but wanted to make something other than macaroni and cheese for a change. So I decided to make a tomato and cheese sauce with a tin of chopped tomatoes and the cheese. I decided to serve it with ready cooked noodles for quickness. The noodles were udon noodles so were lovely and soft and went well with the consistency of the sauce. Overall I was pleased with how it turned out- it certainly hit the spot for me and was very speedy to make!

Long time no post

2008-01-12T09:07:00.000-08:00

So I haven't posted about any of my meals I have been eating recently (well only like a week but that is a long time for me since I started this blog! My lack of posting is for 2 reasons:

1. My camera has run out of batteries and I keep forgetting to buy some new ones.

2. I am currently revising for exams at the moment and am generally eating pretty boring meals that are quick and easy to make but not very exciting to blog about.

Anyway I hope to be posting about a meal in the near future with some pictures!

Yet another post today- my lunch and dinner!

2008-01-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

I usually only post what I eat for dinner so thought for a change I would show what I tend to eat for lunch. This was what I ate today. It was a tomato and bean soup with kale and was really tasty. I can't remember what beans I used (I was especially hungry when making it so just grabbed the nearest tin to me in my cupboard!). They provided a nice contrast in texture to the kale, which was slightly crunchy. I am not always a big fan of kale as I find the taste can be a little bitter but in the soup it was not bitter at all and worked well.

For a treat this evening my family and I decided to order in an Indian takeaway. I chose to eat a 'Balti vegetable dhansak', which was a mixed vegetable curry made with lentils. The picture is not very good I'm afraid (I couldn't wait to tuck in!)

I also ordered an Indian bread called chapatti, which is a flat bread that is not fried and it mopped up the sauce in the curry very nicely! I would love to try and recreate a similar curry myself but fear the result would not be half as tasty!

Pasta with 'cheese' and mushroom sauce

2008-01-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed my vegan version of 'macaroni cheese' that I recently made so decided to make a similar dish with a few alterations. I opted for spahetti (wholewheat) rather than pasta twists and decided to add mushrooms, which I think are especially nice in a creamy sauce. I made the cheese sauce the same as before and added the mushrooms nearer the end as I tend to find they don't need much cooking. I think I preferred the dish with the alterations and would definitely make it this way again, although I might try adding spinach, which I also really enjoy in creamy sauces.

Tasty fajita dinner

2008-01-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed this dinner! I made a spicy tomato sauce with some fresh chillies and chopped up some (vegan of course) sausages and put them in the sauce. The result was a very spicy (I used lots of chillies!) filling for fajitas (wheat based flat breads). I have made a similar filling before with beans but really enjoyed the sausages instead as they have such a nice texture and are very yummy! This was so easy to make so I will definitely be enjoying it in the not too distant future!

A tasty breakfast of pancakes with banana

2008-01-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

I usually have either porridge or weetabix with soya milk for breakfast but I decided to break with tradition the other day and make myself some pancakes. I made up the recipe myself- it involved white plain flour, a powdered egg substitute, soya milk and I decided to top them with a chopped banana. As bananas are very sweet I decided not to use sugar in the pancake mixture. I attempted to make a smily face with the banana with one of the pancakes but it came out a little scary-looking. I thought I would post the picture anyway! The most important thing though is that they were very tasty and I would definitely make them again!

Baking disaster!

2008-01-01T12:28:00.000-08:00

As I am not very confident at baking I decided to pick up a cake mix at the supermarket the other day. The mix was for 'fairy cakes' which I thought would be difficult to mess up. The box stated that you just had to add egg and water. Obviously as I don't eat eggs I needed to use a substitute. I have some powdered egg replacer that I have used before when making pancakes so thought that it would be appropriate for using for my fairy cakes.

As you can see from the picture my cakes did not turn out well at all! They didn't rise so I ended up with some very dense cakes that did not look appealing to eat at all! As they didn't rise properly they weren't flat on the top so icing them was really difficult. However, my frustration at how badly the cakes came out meant that I did rather take out my anger when icing the cakes and just threw icing in the general direction of the cakes! Anyway lesson learned- don't buy cake mixes and don't assume that egg replacer will always work in recipes.

Despite my disappointment, my family finished the cakes over the course of 24 hours so they can't have tasted all that bad.

Yet another stir fry (although not with tofu) and a lentil curry

2007-12-30T11:23:00.001-08:00

I have been having stir fries really regularly recently! I love them though! This one I ate for dinner last night was made with my fave black bean sauce, a large range of veggies including peppers, sugar snap beas and bean sprouts and some udon noodles. Instead of using my usual tofu I tried slicing some of my favourite vegan sausages and stir frying them. They went really nicely in the stir fry and I would definitely use them again!

For dinner this evening I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat! I looked in the cupboard and found I had a tin of lentils, which I haven't eaten in a while so decided to use them in a curry. I used a Rogan Josh curry sauce which is a medium hot, tomato based sauce. I added some kale for texture and some fresh hot chilli peppers (because a love my curries with heat!). It was really yummy and hit the spot nicely!

Another yummy stir fry and a tasty black bean curry

2007-12-28T12:17:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed a very nice tofu stir fry with hosin sauce, loads of veggies and some udon noodles for dinner yesterday.

As you can see I made rather a lot (I was really hungry) and the food was fighting for space on my plate!

For my dinner this evening I really fancied a curry and as I have lots of tins of beans to use up I decided I would make it with black beans. I used a Balti sauce (shop bought not home made!) which said it was 'medium' spice and as I like my curries really hot I decided to add some fresh red chilli peppers.

It was certainly really spicy and really filled me up nicely! You can't see from the picture- because I started eating it and then remembered I wanted to photograph it!) but I served the curry on bulgar wheat (my fave grain at the mo) which complemented the curry really nicely. I would definitely make it again although I would maybe add some mushrooms because I love their texture and I think that they go well with beans.

Some very tasty chocolate for xmas and my falafel dinner this evening

2007-12-26T12:24:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a nice Christmas Day. I really enjoyed my baked tofu (recipe here http://www.fatfreevegan.com/soy/baked.shtml) which was really easy to make and I ate it with all the usual xmassy veggies. I was so hungry that I didn't take a picture before eating it sorry!

I was also delighted to receive 2 lovely bars of my favourite chocolate (60 % dark chocolate with dried cherries- picured left) from my parents for xmas. They will not last long I can assure you!

If you are a fan of chocolate I highly recommend trying this!

I wasn't sure what I fancied for my dinner this evening so looked at what I had in the freezer. I saw that I had some falafel so decided to use them up. I often eat them with pitta bread and veggies but I wanted something more 'hearty' and warming so decided to make a tomato sauce with some peas (for extra veg!) to go with the falafel and served it over bulgar wheat. It was very filling and very yummy : ) I took a photo of it on my lap shortly before I devoured it!

A nice warming bowl of chilli for dinner

2007-12-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

As it has been soooo cold today I really fancied something nice and warming for my dinner this evening. I wanted something quick to make so I made myself some chilli. I used a tin of mixed beans in a spicy tomato sauce and also added some hot chilli peppers for extra heat! It was so easy to make and took less than 10 minutes from start to finish! I used the soya mince pictured above which is really tasty. It has a lovely chewy texture and absorbs other flavours well. Although it is frozen, it cooks really quickly so is great for meals in a hurry!

A yummy but boring breakfast and some tasty choccie treats!

2007-12-23T06:41:00.000-08:00

I love porridge! I have it nearly every morning with soya milk. I have seen loads of exciting variations of porridge (or oatmeal as Americans call it!) but I always just eat it plain! It is lovely when the weather is really cold though (like today).

I was planning to do some baking today but felt kind of lazy so decided to make some No Bake Peanut butter Chocolate Oat Cookies based on this recipe: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6809.msg80211 . They were so easy to make and were really tasty (although quick rich so a little does go a long way- not something I usually say about chocolate!) My family approved too and enjoyed them with a nice cup of tea.

I adjusted the recipe slightly- only using 1/2 a cup of sugar instead of the suggested 2 cups and about 1 cup of oats instead of 3 (otherwise I thought they would be too dry). Next time I would also reduce the amount of fat used as they came out a little greasy. I was worried about reducing the fat too much though as I thought that they might not stick together very well. Maybe I will use less next time and use something like half a banana mashed up to hold them together (much healthier too!)

Another stir fry

2007-12-22T11:46:00.000-08:00

I finally have boguht some batteries for my camera so am back with a picture of my dinner this evening. Feeling a little uninspired tonight I decided to plump for the quick and easy option of a stir fry. I knew there were loads of veggies in the fridge, as well as tofu, a stir fry sauce and rice noodles so I didn't need to buy anything extra.

I used a new stir fry sauce (I should really try making my own but there are some really yummy ones you can buy). The one I used for my dinner this evening was a sweet chilli and garlic sauce. I was a little disappointed as it didn't really have much flavour so wouldn't buy it again. I think my favourite sauces are Black Bean and Spicy Tomato Szechuan, both made by Blue Dragon. They both have strong flavours and coat the tofu and veggies really nicely.

I plan to do some baking tomorrow. I can't decide what to make though- I am thinking either cookies or muffins of some sort (and probably either will involve chocolate!). I will post pictures of whatever I do decide to make!

My first vegan macaroni cheese!

2007-12-19T01:07:00.000-08:00

I managed to track down the cheese I was after, although I could not track it down in either of my local supermarkets, they had some in a health food shop in a shopping centre not too far away. I had to go out to do some last minute xmas shopping anyway and was pleased to have finally managed to buy some cheese!

I was thrilled with how it turned out as I didn't follow a recipe of any sort. But this is what I did:

I brought water to the boil and began to cook the pasta (you can't buy wholemeal macaroni where I live so fusilli had to suffice!)

I used 250ml of unsweetened soya milk and all of the cheese (the package is 60g and is in powdered form).

I added both and heated them together on a medium heat until the sauce began to thicken (this happened really quickly)

I used a whisk and stirred it regularly to stop it going lumpy.

I then drained the pasta and added it to the sauce until all of the pasta was nicely coated.

And then I ate it and it was yummy!

I don't think it tasted exactly like regular macaroni cheese but it certainly tasted good and will be something I will definitely make sometime again soon!

What I am craving right now...

2007-12-16T13:46:00.001-08:00

I really fancied some macaroni 'cheese' for dinner this evening but have been unable to find my usual vegan cheese anywhere! I settled with spaghetti with bolgnaise sauce instead (it happened to be what I had in the cupboard).

I usually buy Parmazano (pictured left) and it is really yummy. It has quite a strong flavour and really tastes similar to dairy cheese. Both my local supermarkets are out at the moment though- I was not impressed.

I will continue my search tomorrow!

A Tofu Stir Fry with Black Bean Sauce

2007-12-14T11:45:00.001-08:00

I wanted something nice and quick for dinner this evening (I was starving!) so a tofu stir fry fitted the bill perfectly.

I used a block of firm-style tofu, a sachet of black bean sauce, some udon noodles and a selection of veggies including peppers, beansprouts and carrots.

It was ready in about 10 minutes and looked nice and colourful. Most importantly- it was really yummy so I enjoyed it mucho! : )

Chocolate Banana Cupcakes

2007-12-14T10:57:00.000-08:00

I decided to do some baking this afternoon (I should have been doing revision for my upcoming uni exams but couldn't face it!) I fancied baking either muffins or cupcakes and wanted something chocolatey.

I went onto the PostPunkKitchen website and found this recipe for Chocolate Banana Cupcakes: http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=279

I was really pleased with the result! Both my parents sampled one and I think they passed the taste test! I also enjoyed one with a cup of tea in my favourite mug (which was especially appropriate with the cupcake- see picture above!)

A yummy meal with a friend

2007-12-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine came over for a meal the other evening and I cooked us spaghetti bolognaise, one of my favourite meals when the weather is cold as it is nice to have something really 'hearty'.

I made it using wholemeal spaghetti as usual and used dried soya mince (my recent new food find) for the sauce with a tin of chopped tomatoes. Meal is pictured above.

For dessert, my friend baked a gorgeous chocolate cheesecake that we have enjoyed several times before. (See picture below)

The recipe can be found here:

http://www.veganvillage.co.uk/recipes/deepchoc.htm

It is called a 'Pie' in the recipe but comes out just like a cheesecake. It can be really rich if you use dark chocolate with a very high cocoa percentage so it is worth considering this before you make it. It always turns out really yummy though!