Wednesday 31 May 2017

What I eat in a day Protein world



Hey Everyone

I have uploaded a new video to my youtube channel. It is a what I eat in a day protein world video. I replace 2 meals with 2 Protein World Slender Blend smoothies and have 1 healthy vegan dinner. I hope you enjoy this video and you feel inspired to try it out. I wouldn't advise anyone to try this if you are not wanting to loose weight.

xx

Tuesday 30 May 2017

Healthy Vegan Dinner




Hello everyone,

I have been creating some really quick, healthy vegan dinners that I wanted to share with you all. A lot of you are starting the 30 day healthy challenge so I thought I can help inspire some of you. Sometimes we are too busy to cook but we want to eat something nourishing and healthy. You still can! It can take up to 30 mins to throw something together. The key is prepping. Anything you do in the kitchen you should prep. If you are using a lot of vegetables that need peeling and chopping then do that first. Get the herbs and spices ready and cook a big portion so you can have some left over for the next day. Plan your week of eating so that everyday you know exactly what you need to make the food and set times of the day that you can make it. Get your self a black chalk board to help you plan. I usually cook dinner around 4pm on my days off and 6pm on the days I work. Of course on my days off I will cook something that takes a bit longer but after work I have 0 energy so I need easy and quick meals.

In the picture above I made Raosted Butternut squash, Quinoa and Avocado.

It took no longer than 30-40 mins.

Butternut Squash

Peel it and cut it into wedges or squares. Season with salt and black pepper and drizzle over some oil. I used rapeseed oil. Then place in a roasting tray in the oven on 220 degrees for 30-40 mins,

Quinoa

Add 100g of Quinoa in a pot and add 400 ml of water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 15mins or still all of the water has absorbed.

Add 1 can of black eyed beans to a pan with some oil, red onion and 3 coves of garlic. Season with cayenne pepper and a pinch of oink Himalayan salt. Heat on medium heat and stir fir around 20mins.

Once the quinoa is cooked add it to the beans then add a handful of raisons and mix it all together.

Serve with a Avocado or a salad.

xx



Saturday 20 May 2017

Vegan Shopping Haul


Hey Everyone

If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen this photo and as promised I am going to write a post of a food shopping haul. I went to Aldi last week for my weekly shop. I usually go to Tesco but I spend a fortune and wanted to try something cheaper. As you know when your buying fresh fruit and vegetables along with vegan/healthy cupboard stables it can mount up your bill. I was pleasantly surprised when I shopped in Aldi and brought more than I would buy in tech for less the price. My shopping bill came to 32.57.

Here is a list of what I brought 

Coconut Oil 2.49
Bananas 48p
Peppers loose 47p
Apples Breaburn 1.09
Green Beans 95p
Kale 69p
Sweet Potato 89p
Carrots organic 95p
Baby Spinach 1.39
Baby Plum Tomatoes 79p
Spring Onions 47p
Red Cabbage 65p
Cauliflower 89p
Broccoli 39p
Chestnut Mushrooms 95p
Courgettes x3 85p
Beetroot in  packet 99p
Strawberries 1.29
Asparagus 89p
 Raw Cacao Powder 1.99
Avocado x4 1.65 
Easy peelers Nectarines 89p
Red Seedless Grapes 1.69

I haven't included everything only the food I brought I did buy a few other personal things. But as you can see the majority of the Vegtables and Fruit is much cheaper. After tasting it I am happy with how it tastes in comparrison to Tesco. However Aldi didn't have good quality Peanut butter, Nut Milk, Sweetner and Chickpeas so I did have to take a trip to Tesco after. But overall I saved at least 30 pound. 

So my point of this post is you can eat healthy a without spending a lot and you have to start somewhere. Don't feel like you have to go to the fancy supermarkets because everyone else is or because you think its better quality. You have to do what you have to do. I hope you liked this post and it has inspired you. 

xx 

Wednesday 17 May 2017

Peanut Butter Flapjacks


Ingredients

Flapjacks

1/4 cup of crunchy peanut butter I like the Meridian one 
3 cup of Oats
Pinch of Salt
1/4 cup of Honey
1 tsp Vanilla Essence

Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix together using a spoon then told together using your hands until it forms a oaty looking doh. Add 1 tbs of water if needed
Add the mixture to a baking tray and freeze for half and hour until it is set.






 Chocolate Layer

1 cup of Cacao Powder
1/4 cup of Honey
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup of coconut oil
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla essence


On a low heat add the ingredients to a pan and stir together until all melted. leave for 10 mins to thicken up then add on top of the Flapjacks and place back in the freezer for about 45min.
Once they are ready cut them in squares and store in a container in the fridge.

xx
  



Monday 15 May 2017

Chickpea Curry



Chickpeas have become a staple in my house. Before I gave up meat I didn't really eat Chickpeas and know what I could do with them. I soon found out all the ways you can add them to your diet. I wanted to eat a lot of protein and When I found out 1/4 of a cup of them is equivalent to 1oz of meat I literally stocked up. The good thing is they only cost 50p from Tesco.

Being brought up eating meet I used to always eat curry especially chicken curry and my all time favourite was Jamaican curry chicken. Caribbean food is one of the best kind of foods. The flavours are just so mouthwatering. So I wanted to recreate this curry chicken without meat. It super easy and super quick to make. It fills you up and has the flavours of curry chicken so you feel like you're eating the curry chicken.

The ingredients you will need are
1 can of chickpeas
1 handfuls of cherry tomatoes
1 onion
4 table spoons of medium curry powder (dunns river one)
3 Cloves of garlic
1 can of coconut milk
1 sprig of thyme
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp of ketchup
   pinch of salt

1. Add a tablespoon of coconut oil to a pan then add in your crushed garlic and diced onion. Saute until onion turns soft.
2. Add the curry powder and cumin seeds and stir in for 1 minute.
3. Add the tomatoes cut in half, coconut milk, Chickpeas drained and washed,  thyme, 1 tsp of black pepper and a pinch of salt and ketchup.
4. Bring to the boil then turn hear down and simmer for 15-20 mins.
5. Add more seasoning if needed you can taste it along the way.
Serve with coconut rice and Avocado or salad

xx


Thursday 11 May 2017

Roasted Vegetables






Raosted vegetables
Sweet Potato
Red Onion 
Courgette
Mushrooms
Baby Plum Tomatoes
Kale
Brown Rice
Avacado

Cut all the vegetables up then place in a roasting dish
Add coconut oil, salt, pepper and garlic
Place in the oven for 40mins at 200oc but depends on your oven

Add your rice to a saucepan then add the water so it sits about 1cm above the rice 
Bring to the boil then simmer for about 20min 

Once all the ingredients are cooked mix the together 
Serve with Avocado or a side salad

xx


Tuesday 9 May 2017

Cocao Breakfast Bars

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. I wake up excited to know I will eat lol. When I have more time my hands and not running around like a headless chicken I usually make a vegetable fry up or avocado on toast but sometimes time just gets the better of me and I find my self leaving the house without eating breakfast which isn't good for my mood I get real hangry as they would say. I end up grabbing something from Waitrose that doesn't fill me up and feel starve before lunch time.
I decided to experiment and see what I could make that would be healthy and quick to make. I came up with these Oat Cacao bars.

They are so simple with only a few ingredients and no need to bake. You must store them in the fridge as at room temperature they will go soft and crumbly.

Ingredients
1 cup of oats
1cup of ground almonds
2 Tablespoons of Raw cacao powder
2 tablespoons of honey
1/2 of a cup of coconut oil

Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan on low heat until all melted. Add the mixture to a baking tray and press down so its all compact and even then place in the freezer for about an hour to set. Once set remove, cut into squares or bars then store in a container in the fridge.

I hope you enjoy these.

Please send me ay feedback and tag me in picture if you make them on my Instagram.

xx

Sunday 7 May 2017

What I have been cooking


Lentil Curry with Peas, Sweet Potatoes and Onions 

This recipe is the same as my previous Lentil Curry Recipe I just added Sweet Potatoes in with the lentils and 10 Mins before its ready I added 1 cup of frozen Peas. 


Kale Stir fry
 Mushrooms
 Red Onions
 and 
Baby Plum Tomatoes. 

Garlicky Red Kidney Beans With Sweet Jacket Potatoes

5 cloves of garlic
olive oil
1/2 teaspoon pf cayenne pepper 
Half of one lemon juice
2x 400g red kidney beans
3 tablespoons of tomato puree

Bake Sweet Potato in the oven for about 45 mins

15 mins before the Sweet Potato is ready 
Add crushed Garlic cloves to a pan with Olive Oil and saute for a minute
Then add the rest of the ingredient apart from the Lemon.
 Heat up for about 15 mins then add Lemon juice. 

At the same time your making the beans make the kale stir fry which takes around10 mins.



Raw Brownies
Add 1 cup of Medjool Dates (12 dates) to a food processor
2 tablespoons of raw Manuka Honey 
3 tablespoons of raw Cacao powder and 1 cup of ground Almonds
Blend together until it turns into a sticky texture
Put the mixture onto a baking tray, press it down so its about 1 cm thick then set it in the freezer for a hour. 
Cut into square and store in the fridge.




Chocolate Yoghurt
1 smashed avocado
2 or 3 tablespoons of raw Cacao powder
2 table spoons of raw Manuka honey
200mls of Coconut Milk
Half a cup of berries (any berries)

Blend all the ingredients together in a blender until it turns smooth. 

These Recipes are all super healthy and good for you. 

Friday 5 May 2017

How I changed my diet

Hey Everyone

As you may know I have changed my diet by cutting out processed foods and meat. I have gone from not caring what I eat to being extremely aware of what I feed my body. Growing up I have always eaten junk food and was raised to eat meat. After doing a lot of research and speaking to people about being vegan, vegetarian, Pescatarian etc I had decided to change my eating habits. I learnt that people with hormonal acne had cleared their skin from cutting out meat, dairy and gluten. I studied this for a while and realised that there was a lot of evidence behind these claims. Not only were people clearing their skin but they said they felt better from the inside out meaning they had more energy and less brain fog! 

So how did I give up meat and dairy? 

Its not easy at first. I struggled to find good alternatives. I am quite good at sticking to something if I form a good routine but I was a bit lost and didn't know what to cook. I started off with finding lentil curry dishes as this was comforting and easy to make. I knew that I had to get my protein in so I was searching for protein foods. I stuck to 1 or 2 dishes for the first few weeks as it was easy to make and I was getting used to the change. I then got easily bored as you can imagine and I found out about Deliciously Ella and her amazing informative cookbooks. This literally changed my life. I discovered so many different recipes and ingredients that I had never before tried. I started cooking different vegan recipes everyday and before I knew it I hadn't eaten meat for like 2 months. 9 Months down the line I still haven't eaten meat. I have replaced it with some really enjoyable meals. I have also replaced dairy milk with oat, coconut and rice milk. I don't eat cheese and I have replaced sugar with Honey and Coconut sugar. My main protein sources are Beans and Lentils. I have a lot of good fats such as Avocado and I still eat carbs but I have replaced white rice and pasta with brown and I eat sweet potatoes more than white potatoes. If I fancy something sweet I use cacao powder to make raw brownies etc.

I feel so so so much better. My energy levels have increased, my skin is glowing, my hair and nails have got stronger. I and so happy I have made this changed and I can control what I eat. I look at food differently now and the more time that goes on the more I learn about different ingredients. I keep my self motivated by looking at lots of vegan cookbooks, Instagram feeds and speaking to people who are vegan. My ultimate goal is to have a plant based diet. I have a link to Deliciously Ella cookbook on my page in the sidebar.


Below are some examples of what I eat.