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Vegan eating out!

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I haven’t posted in a while as my house has been in a state of disarray. Luckily we’re getting organised and I’ve been able to spend the day leisurely. I ate a quick snack at Wagamama. They were very helpful when showing me their allergy menu and explained everything in great detail. I sneakily too photos to upload which I’ve posted below. They’re able to modify certain dishes, these are clearly labelled in the vegan column in a blue box saying ‘no.’

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I hope this is helpful. I wasn’t very hungry so had the veg gyoza and a drink. They’re militant about cross contamination so anything fried in the same oil as meat is considered unsuitable.

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BAKED CHEESY KALE CHIPS

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These are the easiest thing to make! In a mini food processor blend:
1cup of pre soaked cashew nuts
1 chopped bell pepper
Onion salt – to taste
Marmite – to taste (I used half tsp)
A splash of soya sauce – you can skip this if you’d prefer or use tamari
Half a peeled lemon
2-3 tbsp grape seed oil
*use about half of the cashew cheese, the rest can be used for your other cashew cheesy needs!

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Now spread the blended mixture onto about 500g washed kale, as seen in the above photo.

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Bake on 150c, keep checking. They need about 10-15 mins, after you’ve turned the oven off you can keep them in there to dehydrate. Come back to the blog to see them cooked!

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Uncle’s BBQ

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We recently went to my uncle’s house for a BBQ. When we arrived they all looked horrified and said ‘oh there’s nothing for you to eat!’ Hmmmm. Not strictly true as I found out when I went outside and was greeted with a huge rocket, tomato, cucumber, salad. Beet salad with garlic, artichokes, potato coriander salad, corn on the cob, pitta, hummus and olive oil grown on my aunt’s cousins farm! Yummy!

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Easy weeknight dinner

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I love this recipe because it’s so easy, quick and filling. Plus it’s budget friendly and can be eaten cold. You will need:

1 large red onion

1 head of broccoli (I used organic)

1 red bell pepper

2 cloves garlic

Sesame oil

Soy sauce

*Other vegetables that work well are snow peas, mangetout, baby corn – I hate baby corn because it sucks, sprouts, bean sprouts etc.

For the satay -ish sauce:

1 can coconut milk (don’t go cheap on this, it makes a difference)

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter or almond butter

1/4 cup chunky peanut butter or sesame paste

1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

3 tbsp soy sauce

I chopped up the veggies and stir fried them in a few splashes of sunflower oil and a small splash of sesame oil, add the soya sauce:

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I then turned the heat off and made the saTay sauce in a saucepan over a low heat, just till everything mixed in together. I then took this off the heat and added it too the stir friend veggies, turning the heat onto medium for about two to three mins. I tipped it onto a plate and added an amazing Japanese seasoning, bought ready made, called gomashio. It’s basically salt and black sesame seeds. I also made rice noodles but it’s up to you.

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TRYING to be organised

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Yes, yes, yes. I’ve been USELESS. I know. Our house has been so insanely busy that everything seems to have fallen by the wayside. My husband is still in the USA and I’m in London. We have no idea where we’ll live so I’m moving in with my parents…(who are thrilled.)
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As you can see the transition is not easy! I’ve lived away for five years and combing that much stuff AND trying to make room for a baby and husband isn’t easy. I’ve been googling ‘organising suggestions’ and ‘storage options.’ Pinteresting ‘bedroom cupboards and closets’ and even searching for things like ‘drawer dividers.

I’ve found a good website called http://www.alejandra.tv/ which, is great for people trying to get organisation inspiration. I’m in nowhere near as pernickety but find the ideas interesting. Below is how I’ve organised my drawers.

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I’ve also found that giving old clothes to the goodwill or to charity shops as I’ve always done is great in theory. However, as a newlywed couple, with a baby on the way I needed to be a little thrifty. I cleared out my closets and found sacks and sacks of old clothes and shoes I no longer wanted. A friend of a friend has taken her clothes to an organisation that pays you £0.55p per kilo and then donates the clothes to countries with no textile industry. I then found items that I thought would sell on Ebay and posted them, though I’m still waiting to see if they’ll sell – fingers crossed! I like the idea of being inventive.

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Midnight Craving

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Pregnancy hasn’t really taken a toll on me physically (mentally is another story – I’m a worrier!) The only real symptom I’ve had, aside from a sticky out belly button, is heartburn. I’m averse to taking medicine and indigestion tablets make me feel nauseas. I’ve even lied to my mother in law several times, telling her I’ve taken chewable calcium carbonate just to avoid a lengthy discussion. Basically they make me feel sick and hinder iron absorption, so no thanks. I have found that bananas help as does cold water and smoothies!
Today my midnight craving was a mango, coconut milk, strawberry and banana smoothie sweetened with maple syrup. I added 2 cups mango, 1/2 cup strawberry, 1 banana and 2 cups coconut milk. I then added filtered water as necessary and sweetened to taste. Yummy!

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