Vegan MoFo 2015 - Day 15

"OMG, Barack Obama is coming over because he knows you make awesome vegan food! What are you going to make?"

You know what, I think Barack would much rather see what delights the Surrey/Hants border has for him in the way of cuisine.

So I'd take him for a cheeky Nandos! He could get a soy veggie burger, in a wrap, with chips and macho peas!

Then on the way back to the train station (pretty sure Barack would be happy to train it!), I'd buy him a bag of co-op custard donuts!

Don't ever say I'm not generous!

Laterz
xXx

Sleek Palettes - the confusion continues....

OK so Sleek!

I have always bought the Sleek eye palettes, even though the website has said that they are not vegan in the past and the reason for this is that when I first asked years ago if they were vegan, they told me no, due to possible cross-contamination. Which to me means, still vegan.

Anyway, to be sure I googled all the ingredients individually, as I couldn't see anything obviously non-vegan on there and the only one that was possibly iffy was ethylhexyl palmitate, which can be animal or vegetable sourced. But as this is used in other products marked vegan I assumed ok.

Over the last 5 (I reckon) years, I have emailed Sleek loads of times to clarify and received the same answer, not vegan. When I would respond and ask why, no response! They're not particularly helpful.

So recently I asked again and took a different tack. I asked if the ethylhexyl palmitate they use was animal derived as it appeared to be the only non-vegan ingredient. The response I got was "we don't use ethylhexyl palmitate and all the palettes are vegan".  Confusing, as it is listed in ALL the palettes' ingredients lists.

So then I checked on the website and a few of the palettes say they are vegan and also not vegan in the same page!!  Totally confused, I emailed again as a last ditch attempt to find out once and for all and they have come back saying all the iDivine palettes are suitable for vegans.

So there we go. I don't know how knowledgeable the people answering the emails are and we can just hope that the website will soon have a definitive answer. 

I think everyone will have to make up their own mind about this one. I personally think that the palettes are probably vegan and will use the ones I have (because I have a tonne of them!) but I don't think I'll buy anymore until they can definitively give us an answer. I also won't feature them on this blog until I know either.

Would love to hear others' thoughts on this?

Sal
xXx

Vegan MoFo 2015 - Day 14

"Share something vegan (and delicious, duh!) with a non-vegan"

So I've been bangin on about going to Cookies N Scream with Mr A for soooo long now and the other weekend he said to me, "shall we go to London tomorrow and get cake from that place you want to go to". Love him!

Not gonna turn that down... so we went off to London for the day and ended up in Camden, eating enough sugar to put an elephant into a diabetic coma!! :)

We got a donut ice cream sandwich to share! OMG! Ice cream sandwiched between 2 amazing cakey donuts, covered in melted chocolate.

We also got a salted caramel milkshake to share. So sugary and delicious.

I don't have pictures of the peanut butter & jam cookies that we also bought, to takeaway but they were also yummy.

If you're ever in Camden, get yourself to the market and indulge. And if you're gluten free then you DEFINITELY have to go, because everything at C&S is vegan and gluten free! Win.

Laterz
xXx

Vegan MoFo 2015 - Day 12

"Tell us about your favourite cookbook!"

I didn't even really have to think about this one. Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz is my favourite cookbook. Ever.

Everything I've made from it has been good, everything I've made has been easy and most recipes do not have any crazy ingredients that I would struggle to find in UK supermarkets.

I love that the nutritional information is right there for me to see. I have always struggled with my weight and I often switch between calorie counting and Slimming World's Extra Easy plan. This book is brilliant to help me with both of those!

My favourite recipe, the one I've made most from this book is the Portobello Pepper Steak Stew. I make it with fry's chunky strips for ease and it's soooo good. I know it by heart now, I've made it so often! Which is is why I'm surprised I've not got a photo of it! hmmm.

In fact, I really thought I would have more pictures 'on file' to share with you guys as I use this book a lot, but I don't, sadly. I will share the few I could find though.

Kidney Bean & Butternut Jamba Stew: I love this dish, it's super easy to throw together and it makes a LOT. The portions are really generous and I quite often split it into more portions than it says to.

Mushroom Paprikas and Scarlet Barley: This has reminded me I need to make this again! I made this for my mum and dad and we all loved it.

Red Thai Tofu: Another one that is super easy and really good (and HOT if you use the brand of curry paste I use).  I love this just with plain rice and some green veg, but here I served it with coconut rice and it was delicious.

This is another favourite of mine, the Arabian rice & lentil soup. I make this a lot and have used both red and brown lentils in it and both work. It's delicious. The first time I made it, I didn't add the lemon juice it called for. It just seemed weird (and I didn't have a lemon!). The next time though I added it and it really does make a HUGE difference. I never leave it out now, unless I am out of lemons, in which case I use a healthy splash of apple cider vinegar instead. 

I found another one I've made a couple of times too: the Kale & White Bean Quinoa Stew. I'm not Kale's biggest fan but it works well in this. This is another one that has pretty big portions sizes so I find I can usually stretch it out. Also it has potatoes in. Winning!  (It's normally more saucy than this but this is what freezing and reheating in the microwave does to it!)

What's your favourite recipe from this book? It could be one I've not tried yet!

Laterz
xXx

Vegan MoFo 2015 - Day 11

"Focus on a nutrient"

For me this one is kind of a no-brainer: Iron.

There might be a bit TMI in this post, I will only put in what I have to though I promise! :)

I have always had dodgy iron levels, even before I was vegetarian. To be honest it wasn't something I really worried about, until I was going through some health problems a few years ago, and a blood test showed that my iron levels were dangerously low and I was anemic.

I was put on iron pills (and the pill to sort out lady problems which were contributing) and didn't really think of it again for a few years. Until I had an hormonal IUD fitted earlier this year (worst thing I ever did by the way!!) which made me bleed constantly for almost 3 months until I couldn't take that (and the horrific cramps) anymore and had it removed. Obviously losing this much blood made my old problem rear it's head and I was constantly exhausted and dizzy/headachey and felt generally like crap. The doc put me back on iron tablets and all seemed to get better for a while.

6 months later and the iron pills I was prescribed are long since finished and I was feeling dizzy again. So I had some more blood taken and it turns out, my iron levels are fine! They are normal (I think the dizziness was down to a particularly nasty cold/flu bug that went around a month or so ago).

So to keep on top of those pesky levels, I'm taking an Iron supplement that also has vitamin C in to help absorption (I take this one from Holland & Barrett). Also, I have smoothies most mornings for breakfast, now that I have my Nutribullet and I pack in a good healthy dose of spinach to them.

"This is my no makeup makeup look!"

Sometimes I'm prettier going in....

Than I am going out :o/

"I'm strong to the finich, cause I eats me spinach" 

(you can thank me later for getting that one stuck in your head, if you're old enough to remember it that is!)

I drink ma smoothie from a mason jar, like a proper hipster!  (Holy shit, I look demented!)

There are loads of other vegan sources of Iron, a few of my faves are:
Soybeans
Blackstrap Molasses (I quite like a spoonful of this in warm soymilk, is that weird?)
Dark Leafy Greens
Chickpeas
Lentils
Tofu/Tempeh

What's your favourite way to keep your iron intake up?

Laterz
xXx

Vegan MoFo 2015 - Day 10

"Something Blue"

Well I never.... what a pottymouth that seemingly innocent plate of food has!! Watch your ruddy mouth, food plate! My ears are not a toilet!!

Oh errr wait, did they mean the colour blue? Oh this is embarrassing.  Um, well here - have a terribly lit picture of some blue bonbons instead!

Laterz

xXx

Vegan MoFo 2015 - Day 9

"Most Retro Recipe"

I googled retro recipes, I didn't have a clue! haha.  One of the first ones I saw was mushroom stroganoff and I knew that I had to make that, because I love it. When I was veggie, if I saw it on a menu, I'd order it.

It's really easy to make and also, it's really easy to make vegan, by swapping out the sour cream for plain soya yogurt.

Ingredients:
350-400g mushrooms of your choice (I used a mix of chestnut and regular white because that's all I could find in the crap local supermarket!)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
1.5 - 2 tsps paprika
1 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce
125ml/0.5 cup veggie stock
125ml/0.5 cup plain, unsweetened soya yogurt
Tbsp or so of fresh parsley, minced.
Salt & pepper to taste

I sauteed the mushrooms in batches, in a little bit of olive oil, as my pan wasn't big enough to get them all in a flat layer. Once they were browned on both sides, I tipped them out of the pan onto a plate and then added a bit more oil and sauteed the onion for a few minutes. Then add the garlic and paprika and stir round for a minute or so then add the worcestershire sauce and stock.

Let it bubble for a few minutes and reduce a bit. When you're happy with the thickness of the sauce, turn it way down and add the yogurt and parsley. Stir through and let it cook a minute or so to heat through, then serve.

I served it with a pack of white/wild rice.

Laterz
xXx