I didn’t even miss egg!

As a child, I always loved egg mayo sandwiches but they were that sandwich that you weren’t supposed to choose and everyone would go eeew egg! But anyway, I liked them!

I’ve not had egg mayo for years, and so going vegan never really phased me on the egg front. In fact, I didn’t even particularly miss fried eggs. But then Mouthwatering Vegan did it again, she stepped in with a recipe for a vegan fried egg which rocked my world.

You can find the recipe for the fried egghere, and follow the links for the egg mayo sarnies.

So here it is… My first attempt at a vegan egg, and I can assure you my fry ups will never be the same again!

It was delicious with the toast, and I can just imagine the scope that this yolk recipe has. You can add more water to make it runnier, which would facilitate dippy egg & soldiers. Or you can scramble it with tofu for a more realistic ‘scrambled tofu’. I suppose you could even use this fried egg in recipes that call for poached eggs (I.e. served over asparagus). It really is phenomenal and I’m so glad I stumbled across this recipe!

Since then, I have had a tea party with the girls in the sun, featuring a 100% vegan buffet. We had ‘egg mayo’ finger sandwiches, then hummus, pomegranate & cucumber, hummus & falafel, and jam . We also had peppers and cucumber with dips, then I made a batch of raspberry cupcakes. Oh and not forgetting the hand squeezed orange juice and cups of tea! The egg mayo sarnies were hands down the star of the show!

And then today, as I couldn’t quite resist it, (and yes, for the third day in a row)… I had a egg mayo bagel.

My life is now complete!

My Ten Vegan Lessons, One Year On

I have been vegan for a year!!!

Well it’s 13 months! If you’d have told me this time last year that I’d still be vegan in a year, I’d probably have believed you. I felt so strongly passionate about going vegan that I think it’ll take a good few years for it to wear off (if ever).

I feel happier and more vibrant than ever, my skin radiates health and I don’t have to ‘diet’ or restrict myself to feel amazing, I just plod along and it comes naturally with a balanced plant-filled diet! So are you ready for this… what have I learnt in my first year?

1. Maybe discovering how to make vegan cakes was a downfall, as they are gorgeous and irresistable.

2. ANYTHING can be vegan. I celebrated this lesson yesterday when I made the Vegan Fried Eggs (by… You guessed it… Mouthwatering Vegan). They were PHENOMENAL. But yes, if you have a craving for anything then it can be satisfied through vegan food.

3. Bacon, as much as I thought it was, is not the best food in the world. For a long time (even being vegan) I accepted that yes, bacon is the god of foods. But then I realised, I haven’t eaten anything greasy or fatty like that in a year and it would probably make me throw up to eat bacon today. So I think I’ve officially gone off bacon (SHOCK). Oh and fake bacon does NOT taste or look like bacon, but I do love a facon butty when I have a hangover.

4. When I thought I took the maximum possible number of photos in a day, I was wrong. Becoming vegan has made me photograph everything to within an inch of its plant filled life. But I love it!

5. PLANTS don’t taste like plants as I knew them. Like, plants are just food. When I heard plant-based-diet before I’d have been like what the hell do you eat, don’t you get hungry, and do you not have any taste buds? But actually, using the right spices, infusions and varieties of vegetables and fruit that I’ve become used to has blown my taste buds out of this world!

6. Health=happiness. I used to think you went on a diet to get skinny, but now I know that being healthy makes you happy, and the aesthetics are just a side bonus!

7. Anybody can be a cook. I can create and experiment in my kitchen and if it goes wrong who cares… I have learnt to be a cook rather than just follow recipes or packet instructions. (A good example of this is my TERRIBLE cake).

8. And when cooking goes right, you feel GREAT and can say ha! See vegan food IS nice like these Courgette Chilli Noodles… Simple but still off the top of my head

9. Vegans aren’t necessarily freaks I know I might be a bit weird, but they are just normal people! I always assumed vegans were hippies who had their heads in the clouds, and I always assumed they were over exaggerating about the problems in the world. I mean after all… It’s all humane right?!

10. And heres the one big lesson that fuels my every day life. There is nothing humane about any animal industry I have come across. Yes, maybe the hen in your back garden isn’t being battered to the ground by you every day. But where did that hen come from? Animals died and suffered before that hen arrived nicely at your garden.

Yes, those dolphins at sea world are given a nice big space, and ‘stimulated’ every day. But where did they come from? And how many other animals were killed/tortured at this expense? I have learnt about things like this, and the ‘wider’ effects of animal abuse.

I have learnt that a lot of people around me, (and also this was me a year ago), are either completely oblivious, or completely blindly putting their faith in… to the source of the products they use. This to me is mind boggling. TAKE A LOOK AROUND YOU. Real life is nothing like the ‘happy egg’ video you get on the TV adverts, and lets face it, your foundation has probably been rubbed in a rabbits skin until it bleeds.

The use of animals is like a huge taboo subject! I never ever ever realised this was the case!

I have learnt so many things about being vegan. People always ask ‘will you be vegan forever’ and I have no idea, I’d say for as long as I know what’s going on in animal-related industries, I will not contribute to them! I’m not militant about it and at the end of the day I just love good food, but at the root of it there will always be that mind-boggling thought that this is going on in the world, and it will probably sway me away from non-vegan products for a long time.

I am so happy, healthy and vibrant. How did nobody tell me about Veganism earlier. I have to give full credit to my friend Laceyahna who completely converted me, because she’s changed my life forever!

Kimblake soup

Reblogged from Veganism as a meat lover:

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This is an Ayurvedic recipe, one which I was taught by Linda Bretherton. She is a friend of my mums, and runs workshops in the Ayurvedic lifestyle.

The soup is thought to have certain healing qualities, which is why it's become a favourite for when feeling ill or weak. I made this soup for my Grandma in the summer when she'd been ill, and a few months ago my nan has the sniffles so I took her round a batch!

Read more… 335 more words

Making this tonight to try and 'heal' my hayfever/blocked head... nothing a bit of positive energy can't solve!

Aubergine Ciabatta Serving Platter

I saw a ‘hummus on toast’ by @figbasil on Instagram, her website is http://www.figandbasil.com and its great!

Anyway, it inspired me to make my next creation… Aubergine Ciabatta Serving Platter

Just slice 1/2 an Aubergine, and place on a roasting tray. Drizzle with oil and pop on a medium-high heat for 15 minutes, until soft.

Whip up a salad with anything you’ve got in… I chopped some cherry tomatoes, half a pepper, 8cm of cucumber, a few lettuce leaves and one spring onion. Dress with balsamic vinegar.

Serve with hummus, olives and dress the finished Aubergine with balsamic vinegar, using a spoon to make lines (makes it look like charred sections of ciabatta!)

Yum yum yum, or you can assemble it as follows and use it as a non-sharing starter:D

Enjoy

Breakfast smoothie

This morning… Introducing the smoothie.

I’m completely taken over by Hayfever at the moment, so I’m pumping myself with ‘whole’ ‘good’ foods to give my immune system every chance of fighting back

This recipe is from sofeminine.co.uk and is a perfect balance. I subbed the honey for agave nectar.

Sweetie
Ingredients: 50g strawberries, half a banana, half an apple, 1 tsp honey, 1 yoghurt, 1 or 2 ice cubes.
Preparation: Wash and de-stalk the strawberries. Peel the banana and apple, slice the banana and chop the apple into small pieces. Place everything except the ice into a blender and whizz for 30 seconds on full power. Serve in a glass with 1 or 2 ice cubes.

Yum in my tum!

Yesterday I tried making my first smoothie in ages, and I just chucked in a load of spinach, avocado and raspberries (frozen). It was very seedy but definitely gave me a boost!

I made it at night, and drank it the next morning by which time it had gone bright green! I also had porridge with seeds/nuts as I was really feeling like I needed nutrients.

Until I feel better… I’ve been taking these supplements from Holland & Barratt :

To do list

I have found a few recipes I’m dying to try, and thought you might be interested too (none are exactly ‘healthy’ haha:

1.

http://mouthwateringvegan.com/2013/04/27/the-perfect-vegan-fried-egg-sunny-side-up

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2.

http://mouthwateringvegan.com/2013/02/23/best-ever-vegan-steak-sandwich-on-the-planet-with-caramelized-onions-mushrooms/

3.
And this ‘vegan bacon’ I saw on YouTube and on sweetestvegan

http://thesweetestvegan.com/double-bacon-cheeseburger-recipe-the-sweetest-vegan-fast-food/

Vegetarian/Vegan Bacon Recipe

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons liquid smoke
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions:
Preheat the oven 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

In large bowl, whisk together liquid smoke, soy sauce, maple syrup, water, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper.

Add the unsweetened coconut flakes to liquid mixture. Stir all the ingredients together well until the coconut flakes are covered and brown. Allow to sit and marinate for 5 minutes to 1 hour.

Spread the coconut flakes evenly onto a baking sheet.

Bake the vegan bacon 10 minutes. Check on the vegan bacon and move them around every 5 minutes until the darkness you desire is reached.

Remove the bacon bits from the over, transfer to a plate, and allow to set and crisp.

Fan mail

Only joking about the fan mail, here’s a photo of the Aubergine bakes that my friend made and sent me! If you guys have any photos of dishes you’ve made using my recipes, feel free to send them this way!