beans and burgers

I made the best beans last night! I know that is such a nerd thing to say but it's true. I ate them for lunch today with crumbled up corn chips on top and I am sure everyone was jealous.

I worked today, so didn't get any cooking experiments done. I just woke up, drank my chlorophyll, ate some Crocodile Crunch (YUM), then hung out with Luke for a while, then went to work. I brought a massive green smoothie, homemade trail mix (dried cranberries, goji berries, pepitas, hazelnuts, raw peanuts, dried coconut and cacao nibs) and my bean stew to eat so I wouldn't be caught hungry. I definitely wasn't hungry, although my sweet colleague was still concerned about my vegan diet- she refused to eat her packaged chips in front of me so I didn't feel like I was missing out.

Trust me, I ain't missing out on anything! Eating like an elephant right now. A healthy elephant.

Hello tofu burger, get in my belly

For pre-dinner I ate some brown rice crackers with homemade kale pesto, then for real dinner I had this tofu burger and some vegan liquorice-flavoured chocolate for dessert. It reminds me of Ouzo. I do not enjoy.

i love you alicia silverstone

After waking up at the slightly cray hour of 12.30pm today (I guess I had some sleep debt??) I was starving and went to make my breakfast. Well, brunch. But we all know that I will still have lunch and dinner too. YOLO.

I picked up my well-loved copy of Alicia Silverstone's "The Kind Diet" (it always takes a bit of hunting around the house to find it as I carry it around with me and leave it lying around) and looked up a recipe that I have been planning to make for a little while: Crocodile Crunch. And HOLY SHIT - excuse my French- it was INCREDIBLE. I wanted to eat about six bowlfuls of the stuff, but I hadn't made enough! I am so stupid!

Alicia Silverstone is my number one girl crush. This sounds ultra stupid as I have never met her, but she actually inspires me every day. My Dad caught me printing out pictures of Alicia to make a small shrine (just a small shrine, okay?!) and it was quite embarrassing, but I don't care. She is awesome, vegan, kind, bird-fed her baby and stuck up for herself when everyone crapped on her for doing it, and everything I have made from "The Kind Diet" has been a raging success.

The amazing Crocodile Crunch

Thanks, Alicia! Call me!

sunday lazy sunday

It has been a very slow day today- my Mum is in Victoria visiting my grandparents, and I already have a tonne of fruit and vegetables to use up so I opted out of our traditional Sunday morning market trip.

I woke up this morning feeling awful, like really fatigued deep in my muscles but couldn't go back to sleep. I had porridge for breakfast, and have started soaking my raw nuts as I heard that this helps deactivate the enzymes that inhibit absorption of nutrients from the nuts. And I want my damn nutrients! So I had my porridge with berries, soaked almonds, LSA, maple syrup and almond milk.

My projects today will involve making kale pesto and a big vegetable soup. Preparation for the week ahead is super important, as I hate being stuck with uninspired dinner options when I come home from work and it is much nicer (and generally healthier) to cook good food and freeze it in portions. Hardly a new discovery, I know, but helpful to know nonetheless.

Lunch today was a big green smoothie and a handful each of prunes, walnuts and natural corn chips. Random. Luke said that my smoothie smelled like "a freshly mown lawn," which I think is kind of cute. And true; I sure do put a lot of greenery in there!

In other news, I just ate an entire Sweet William chocolate bar and it was good, but crazily sweet! They are vegan and also gluten and nut-free, so good news for kids, adult or coeliacs with an INSANE sweet tooth.  Why did I eat it right before I am supposed to have dinner? I wasn't even hungry! Sorry, belly.

Goji-topped green smoothie

Giving my Peace Lilly a bit of sun so it doesn't get sad

happy birthday skye

Today for something different I would like to introduce you all to my friend, Skye, as it is her birthday today and I think she deserves a shout out. Happy Birthday!

Skye and I met when I happened to sit next to her on the very first day of the Diploma of Animal Technology. I had a look around the room and she looked like a pretty cool girl, lots of ear piercings and really long legs, and I guess I kind of recognised a kindred spirit. We hit it off, sat next to each other that lunchtime and never looked back! 

Since that day, she has acted as the half of my brain that I am missing, and me hers. We have studied for awful exams together, dissected dead rodents (NEVER AGAIN), cried, exercised, laughed, swapped clothes, and seen pets and boyfriends come and go. She cooks for me and I type up assignments. We kicked off 2013 together on New Year's Eve with some vegan nachos and some extremely potent hash brownies, which was a laugh and a half. That NYE was way better than getting drunk in the city with thousands of other people, and much more memorable...

She will also be my Maid of Honour for the wedding, although she is still under the impression that we aren't having a traditional bridal party. Well, we are now! Get your shit together!

When I told her I had become vegan she invited me over for lunch and cooked a delicious Japan-inspired feast of fresh vegetables with black sesame seeds, pan-fried tofu, soba noodles and a couple of amazing vegan cupcakes to top it off. Then I typed a new resume for her. If that ain't friendship, I don't know what is.

Love you x

bedridden with a book

I was so fatigued and generally unwell today that I called in sick to work and hung out in bed all day. Exciting, I know! Fortunately, I had some leftover green smoothie, a bar of Loving Earth raw vegan organic chocolate and a  book on my Kobo to keep me company (the stupid thing actually worked for once! Hallelujah!).

[The book] "Vegan Freak: Being Vegan In A Non-Vegan World" by Bob and Jenna Torres is SO FREAKING GOOD. I devoured it in one sitting. Well, I got up to pee and eat, but pretty much one sitting. I didn't pee and eat at the same time, though.

They are hilarious, but also extremely intelligent and well-educated about the ideas behind ethical veganism (Bob Torres also has another book which examines animal rights from a social anarchist position- this guy is quite serious about making changes to the way we regard and treat animals in society). Anyone who is even considering becoming vegan should read "Vegan Freak", as it will totally wipe any doubts you might have had about cutting animal products out of your life and to me, the more people who manage to cut out animal agriculture and all the gross shit that comes with it, the better!

It is also chock-full of practical advice (eg. how to talk to your family without inflaming anyone, how to travel and still eat well as a vegan, food ideas, and how to explain the ideas behind your vegan lifestyle to the haters) for anyone making the change, which I appreciated as I am still obviously a newbie.

Anyway. I am going to go sit on the couch and cuddle with my little family now- love them!

Thanks for making such a delicious product, Loving Earth!

i eat dog treats

I have spent almost the entire day in the kitchen! First I did the massive mountain of dishes that were totally ruining my vibe, then I set about doing my cooking projects for the day: a tofu pumpkin pie with raw almond-meal crust, and spirulina dog treats inspired by Jess from The Wellness Warrior. I am totally hooked on her blog, girl is amazing!

She originally made these as her pug Edie has an itchy skin condition, and all the ingredients used in the recipe are skin-friendly and, importantly, skin-improving. I decided to make them because I think my little fur baby needs a bit of TLC, vegan-style! I am a bit ashamed as her diet mostly consists of those little individually packaged wet dog food tins and the occasional fresh bone, and I really want to put more effort into taking care of her diet especially. I just want to be a good dog mama! My treats were made from spirulina, raw organic oats, banana, honey, flaxseed oil and cooked beetroot. Unfortunately, the dog treats were so delicious that I ended up eating some of the mixture, so there will be a little less for her. Sorry Totes! But seriously, they taste incredible.

Now I have to go back into the kitchen and clean up my mess (the kitchen is all shades of green and orange due to the spirulina and pumpkin), then I will lovingly cook dinner for my fiance. I feel a bit bad because I really wanted to buy some Udo's 3-6-9 Oil Blend for him today as he has really bad dermatitis on his hands, but my card got rejected at the checkout. How embarrassing. Dinner will have to do! I love him a shitload.

She will have green poops I think

Mama and baby

sour green smoothie

I am drinking the most amazing green smoothie right now! At first I wasn't quite sure about this one because it is pretty sour, but it has grown on me. This is my dinner (along with a vegan Tim Tam, which is pretty naughty) as I ate my massive lunch at around 4pm. Smoothie contains water, kale, coriander, lemon, green apple, half a banana, barley grass powder, maca powder, flaxseed oil, a splash of apple cider vinegar and some goji berries. 

Today is Sunday so I went to the farmer's market with Mum, then out to breakfast with Luke and his brother Ben at our wedding venue. The waitress was more than happy to oblige my vegan request of a fresh orange juice, some mushrooms, kipfler potatoes and delicious sourdough toast with olive oil. Then we stopped by the other fresh food markets and stocked up on fruit and vegies. 

I purchased Kimberly Synder's "Beauty Detox Foods" today as well and am very excited to read it. There are so many celebrity testimonials in the first few pages of the book- who knew that Ben Stiller started off his mornings with a Glowing Green Smoothie? Not I.