Bits & Bobs: Natural Balance Foods

After spotting my blog a little while back Natural Balance Foods have been kind enough to send me some of these delicious naked snack raw bars! These are literally my favourite health food snacks so obviously I jumped at the chance. As a plant based vegan (and a greedy one at that) I can get through a box of snack bars quite quickly which is great as they are on the list Iron rich foods so help keep my levels balanced whilst I am rushing around running my business or teaching craft workshops out of town. We can't always be super organised an make sure there is a pack lunch ready... that's when these come in handy... and they come in fantastic flavours! 

My favourite flavour continues to be Cashew Cookie, in close second place is Cafe Mocha and last but not least Bakewell Tart which is a new edition AND very tasty! If you love the idea of raw snack bars but also love baking why not try making something similar at home with this simple recipe! Mmmm

Happy National Vegetarian Week!

Happy National Vegetarian Week folks!

I'm not going to lie I do slip off the vegan wagon on occasion and when I do its normally something silly like a cheese croissant... (Never meat or fish i hasten to add!)

One thing I have never missed though is chocolate as there is such a fantastic variety of vegan friendly confection available. So when Seed and Bean contacted me I jumped at the chance to give their amazing flavours a try... I was not disappointed! They are the official partners of Glastonbury Festival and have a huge variety of fair trade milk and dark chocolate. I chose dark sea salt, dark raspberry and coconut and dark ginger and orange. You can find full info about their brand here on the website and they also regularly run recipe competitions for customers to get involved and inspired about what they do!

Do you have plans for National Vegetarian week? I'd love to hear about them and what your favourite vegan treats are. x

Recipe: A Pistachio Cake for Claire.

Recipe: A Pistachio Cake for Claire. A couple of weeks back one half of S+S got married and we were all asked to bring a cake to the party…  I decided to try a cake that had caught my eye in a new vegan recipe book but give it a little bit of a twist. This is my version of their totally delicious pistachio cake!

The book itself is a must have for any veggie or vegan food enthusiast and is jam packed full of great info about how to make vegan alternatives to things like eggs as well as fantastic recipes!

You will need:

160ml vegetable oil

250g caster sugar

180ml soya yoghurt

1tsp vanilla extract

2 tablespoons grated orange zest

100g shelled pistachio nuts finely chopped or blended

200g self raising flour

30g cornflour

1tsp baking powder

2tsp ground cardamon

1/4 tsp sea salt

120ml soya milk

fig preserve for in between the layers (our cake was 3 layers!)

Method: heat oven at 160 oC and line a cake tine with grease proof paper. Beat together oil and sugar until well combined (I did all the mixing in my food processor) Add the yoghurt,vanilla, and orange zest next.

In a separate bowl mix together all the dry ingredients. Now slowly add them to the wet mixtures mixing well as you go and alternating adding a little soya milk at the same time. spoon into your cake tin and bake for 45-55 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

For the icing. I made a coconut cream icing by whisking together 2 tins of coconut (the solid bit from the top of a tin of Thai coconut milk) and 400g icing sugar. I then added a few drops of bright turquoise food colouring gel and left it to chill in the fridge for an hour or 2.

Lastly I layered the sponges up with fig conserve to stick them together and spread a thick layer of icing all over the tower of sponges. It was great fun to make!

Recipe: Savoury Kale Chips

Recipe: Savoury Kale Chips. I have been meaning to have a go at baking kale chips for ages as I have several foodie friends who rave about how good they are! As a lover of all things savoury and snacking (and as I am aware that being vegan I should keep an eye on my iron intake) I have finally gotten around to trying my own variation of the health food lovers snack a la mode! And do you know what...? They were way easier and even tastier than I had expected!

You will need: 

A bag of shredded kale or baby kale such as the new selection at Florette salad

olive oil

Marigold bouillon (I used the vegan, lower salt variety)

Black pepper

A baking tray and some parchment

Method: Start by removing any woody stems from your kale leaves and cut off any large leaves. Wash and pat dry! Its crucial that there is no excess moisture on our leaves. 

Dress with a drizzle of olive oil (Approx 1 desert spoon) and 1 tsp bouillon powder. I used half a bag of kale.

Mix with your hands for a couple of minutes until all leaves are evenly coated and then grind over some peper

Spread leaves out onto your parchment covered tray so that none are touching

Bake for 4-5 minutes checking on their progress several times...

Remove from the oven when edges begin to brown and leaves shrink a little!

Enjoy as an alternative to crisps with a really good film or as an accompaniment to a mezze! For more kale recipes take a look here!

Recipe - Vegan Fig And Almond Tart

There are lots of juicy figs around at the moment so why not grab a couple and make this simple delicious vegan frangipan style tart. Its not too sweet but fruity and creamy! This one didn't last very long... eaten whilst still warm is best.

For the pastry:
100g Pure sunflower spread (or other similar dairy free spread)
250g plain white flour
2 tbsp cold water

Filling:
50g Pure
50g golden caster suger
125g ground almonds
a few drops vanilla extract

2/3 ripe figs

pre heat your oven at 175oC

Rub the spread into the flour until crumb like, add water and mix well. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Next roll the pastry out thinly and line a tray with parchment, cut your pastry to fit and place it int the tray. Blind bake for 5-10 minutes

Cut your figs into rough slices and set aside... try not to eat them!mmm

To make the almond filling mix ground almond with butter and then stir in sugar and vanilla. Once the tart case is bling bakes use the back of your spoon to spread it roughly onto your lovely slightly golden pastry. Layer the fig slices on top and pop into your oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden on top with juicy figs!

Sunday Bake - Peach & Plum Crumble

Its getting to that time of year when lots of local fruit stalls are selling off over ripe fruits cheap as they come to the end of their season, or that they just don't keep as long due to the hot weather. Instead of throwing them out add a little sugar and cook em' up! This summery crumble was an accidental bake yet delicious and made with 4 over ripe plums and a squashed peach.

You will need:

4-5 over ripe plums

1-2 over ripe peach

2 tbsp dairy free butter spread

100g plain flour

3 tbsp caster sugar

De-stone fruit and chop into quarters place into a Pyrex dish and sprinkle over 2 tbsp of your sugar. In a mixing bowl rub together spread and flour til its like bread crumbs and stir in last sugar. Put your crumble crumbs on top of your fruits and pat down. Bake on 170oC for 15/20 mins til golden on top and the fruit is bubbling!

I am greedy so ate it straight from the dish when it was still a little too hot... You could serve it with vanilla ice cream like the delicious one Swedish Glace do!

Sunday Bake - Very Squishy Vegan Lemon Cake

This super juicy vegan lemon cake is part bake part pudding (warning its very gooey and delicious you'll need a fork to tackle it) and perfect as a Sunday afternoon treat.

You will need:

100g golden caster sugar

100g diary free margarine spread

220g self raising flour

2 tsp egg replacement powder such as Orgran

the rind of 2 lemons

100ml almond milk

the juice of 3 lemons

2 tblsp caster sugar for syrup

Pre heat your oven at 175oC. Whisk together butter and sugar and then add lemon rind. Sift flour and egg re placement powder in slowly mixing as you go. As the mixture thickens up pour in a little almond milk to make stirring easier. You don't have to use all the milk but just enough to get your batter to a thick pouring consistency. Grease and line a medium sized loaf tin and pour all of mixture in. Bake for 30 mins until cracked and dark brown on top. Once out of the oven pour over your syrup which is simply made by mixing 2 tblsp of sugar with the juice of 2 lemons (minus pips!) If you add the syrup whilst the cake is still hot the sugary goodness seeps through making a deliciously zingy and juicy top!

You'll need a fork to eat this one and a nice pot of Darjeeling tea. x

Sunday Bake - Cocoa Beetroot Cup Cakes with Coconut Icing

This recipe combines two of my best things, cake + veg. Its vegan, gluten free and topped with the best  coconut creme frosting.

For the cake:

175g Doves Farm gluten free self raising flour
1tsp xanthem gum
1tsp Agron no egg
2tsp cocoa or cacao powder
1 medium sized fresh betroot peeled and grated (approx 50g)
100g golden caster sugar
100g dairy free butter spread, eg Pure
100ml almond milk

Icing:
1 tin coconut milk (full fat)
3tblsp icing sugar

electric balloon whisk

Pre heat your oven at 175oC. Place sugar and spread in a mixing bowl and whizz till fluffy. Combine flour, cocoa,  gum and no egg and sift in to the bowl together little at a time adding a splash of almond milk as the mixture thickens. Stir in the beetroot and watch your batter go a lovely pink colour!

Spoon mixture into a greases and lined muffin tin and bake for 20 mins. Whilst the cakes are baking whisk together your coconut milk and icing sugar, cover and place in the fridge until your cakes are baked and cooled. Spoon a generous amount of coconut cream onto each cake before devouring!

Recipe - Breakfast Smoothie's Obsession

For those of you who occasionally take a peek at my Instagram you will know I am a recent convert and huge fan of a smoothie breakfast. This all came about a few months back when I completed Dr.Junger's Clean Detox and has continued to become my morning staple. I am finding posting occasional pics of my concoctions a good way to make note of their random recipes and also to share the vegan joy! I do not have the fancy kit or nutribullet etc but my handy stick blender which works a treat and costs a fraction of the price.

I always try and make my smoothies a 50/50 fruit to veg split as I am a little concerned about too much fruit acid hurting my teeth.. eep! But sometimes thats not always possible. The idea is that having a smoothie for breakfast allows your stomach to absorb precious nutrients without having to stress itself in breaking them down... You may however find you need a handful of almonds or a cereal bar by 11am!

Here are two of my current favourite recipes:

Chocolate dreamz (pic 4)

1/2 raw beetrrot peeled/grated

1/4 ripe avocardo

4 pitted medjool dates

100ml almond milk

1 tblsp flaxseed

2 tsp cacao

100ml H20

Whizz with stick blender and enjoy a chocolaty treat for brekkie!

*Sometimes I add a handful of spinach or chard if I have some in the garden for a little extra iron. I also use Flaxseed with added Vit D and bio-cultures as I am vegan and feel like it can't hurt!

Fruiti Tutti (pic 6)

1/8 fresh and seeded watermelon

1 cup frozen raspberrys

200ml coconut water

1/2 avo

3 medjool dates

I often freestyle recipes depending what has been reduced at my local fruit and veg store 'Tropical 4 U' yep that's its real name. So last week watermelon halves were only £1 and thus my mornings were a little more tropical than usual which was lovely!

p.s my recipes usually make two glass fulls which works out just perfect for me.

Top tip! If you can't stand the taste of spirulina but really want to jump on board with its magical health benefits I found that its taste is almost pleasant when whizzed alongside a smoothie that has frozen raspberry's in it! Who knew!

Do you own a Nutribullet or Vitamix? Jealls. Are they as good as all that? Let me know what you think x

DIY - Homemade Sugar Scrub

Buff those dull over sunned skin cells away with a super natural and moisturising sugar scrub. Made with two or three ingredients usually found in the kitchen cupboard, it's low cost and very simple to make.

For this basic recipe you will need:

450g golden demarera sugar

180g coconut oil

a couple of stems 2-4 of fresh aloe vera or 10 drops of your favourite essential oil

Melt your oil in a bowl over a pan of hot water and then add sugar. If you have a juicer peel aloe and juice it otherwise do what I did and peel and blend. Mix the 3 ingredients together thoroughly with a spoon.

Spoon into an air tight jar and keep in the bathroom.

NB... Because I used solid coconut oil you will find that the mixture will solidify... scoop a spoonful into your hands and warm it up before applying to skin in shower or even use a teaspoon! You will come out of the shower smooth and extra moisturized!