Crazy weather and my first trip to Wholefoods!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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!