My first you tube video

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 

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

  

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

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

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

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. 

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.

What I have been cooking

Lentil Curry, Roasted cauliflower and Sweet Potatoe Wedges, Green Beans and Fried Plantain.

Click on the link for how to make the Lentil Curry.

Season cauliflower with 1 teaspoon each of Ground Cumin, Cayenne Pepper and  Tumeric. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and mix it together well. Cook on medium heat in the oven for 25mins.

Season Sweet Potatoes with onion salt. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook on medium heat in the oven until crispy 40min.

Boil Green Beans and fry the Plantain 15 mins before the potatoes are done.

Healthy Simple Meals

 Salmon, Roast Baby Potatoes, Broccoli, Mushroom and Vine Tomatoes 

 Spiced Roasted Cauliflower 

Roasted Caulifower with fried Salmon, kale, Mushrooms, Tomatoes and Avacado 

MY SKIN SAVIOUR

Hey everyone

Its been a while since I updated you all with my skin care regime. I have completely changed what I use after breaking out quite bad. As much as I loved using the Epiduo, once I had stopped using it my acne came back. I feel like most chemically harsh treatments this happens to me personally. Anyway I discovered Skin Accumax when I started a new job in a  lovely Blowdry/Beauty bar Blush and Blow. Which is my current job as a  Blow dry specialist. My boss who is a absolute beauty queen (you can find her here http://blushingbeautyblogger.com/mother-of-the-bride-makeup) told to me I have to start taking Skin Accumax, that it will clear my skin and make it look plumed and glowing. Curiously I asked what Skin Accumax was.

Its a skin supplement which contains vitamins a, c and e and a highly active plant compound called DIM found in Broccoli. It works by balancing out your hormones and targeting the hormone causing the acne. So it has no harsh chemicals but can clear my acne?! Very excited, I brought my first multi pack and started taking them straight away. You have to take 4 a day for moderate acne and 2 a day for mild acne/breakouts. I took 4 a day as my skin was breaking out quite bad. It's now been 9 months and my skin has transformed. I have hardly any breakouts maybe like 3 spots on my chin when my period is due but that's all. I don't need to apply a lot of makeup as my scars have faded and the texture of my skin has noticeably improved. It's recommended to take 4 a day for a year and then go down to 2 a day and then 1 a day.

I honesty couldn't recommend this enough. Even if it doesn't work, Which I doubt, you are still getting the benefits of taking the vitamins which I'm certain have made my hair grow and my nails stronger. Please do tell me if you have taken Skin Accumax before and how it was for you.

 

What I have been cooking

Since giving up meat and dairy I have come across a variety of different ingredients, herbs and spices. I never knew vegetables could taste so nice.




I have replaced meat with beans and lentils to ensure I am still getting enough protein. Chickpeas, Red kidney Beans, Butter Beans are some of the few that have protein. One of my favourite dishes is lentil curry. It's super easy to make and very quick. The kids love it too.




It's ingredients are

1½ tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil

1 cup diced onion

1 cup dried red lentils

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon mild curry powder

1 teaspoon ginger powder

1 teaspoon garlic salt

½ teaspoon Himalayan Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3½ cups water

1 cup of coconut milk


You just need to brown off the Onion then add the rest of the ingredients, bring to the boil and then simmer for 25 minutes until lentils are soft.


This is a very basic lentil curry. You can add vegetables and potatoes to it. I added sultanas which gave it a sweet taste. Also I didn't make it too spicy so the kids can eat it so if you wanted to spice it up you can add cayenne pepper or chilli.


The spices in this curry are super good for you. Turmeric is anti-inflammatory and a antioxidant. Ginger is also anti-inflammatory. It helps with digestion and nausea. It also has been proven to lower blood sugar levels.

                                                           

I'm Back

Its the 8th of April 2017, 2 years since I posted on my blog and it feels so good to be back. I have had a very long break from blogging for various reasons. I had to take time out to work on my self and my personal development which is continuous as we are always learning.  I also was struggling to juggle having 2 children, blog and take care of my home. I felt like the content I was posting was a bit scattered. Although I look back, read it and makes me happy to see actually how much I have changed and grown as a person it also does make me cringe a little. So here I am and I have so much to share with you. So much has happened in 2 years. I'm a pescatairian and 70% vegan, I have a new job as a Blowdry specialist and my skin is remarkably better. That's just a few of the big changes that has taken place. I have so many new skincare products to share with you and the most mouthwatering vegan recipes.