Four Ingredient Salad

Threw this salad together last week as a side dish.
I was in a rush & I used whatever I had on hand.
This is the result...

Ingredients:
- 1/4 - 1/2 a pack of Organic Alfalfa sprouts
- 4 Walnuts (fresh from shell) - Coarsely chopped
- A handful of grated Vegan Cheese (I used Edam style Cheezly)
- 1/2 an Apple - Diced (Peeled or skin on, whatever you prefer)

Method:
1. Put all prepared ingredients into a bowl & gently mix :) DONE!

Give it a go (ノ＞▽＜。)ノ

Cheezly is available from most health food shops. I haven't seen it at any supermarkets yet, but I hope they do get some soon, cause it's pretty good stuff c:

Enjoy everyone~ [＾ェ＾]

Amazing Double choc Chai Muffins :0

I've been making vegan muffins like crazy recently, trying to work out some good recipes to share. I developed this one using this recipe as the base.

Ingredients:

- 2 Cups of your preferred Gluten-free Self raising flour (I use Orgran)

- 1 Cup of Organic Raw sugar

- 1/4 Cup of Cocoa powder

- 1 tsp of Baking powder

- 1/2 tsp of salt

- 1/4 cup Vegan chocolate chips

- A few Walnuts - Roughly chopped (optional)

- 1.5 Cups of Boiling water

- 3-4 Organic Chai teabags

- 1/3 Cup of Canola oil

- 1 tsp of Vanilla essence

- 2 tsp Apple cider vinegar

- Nuttelex for greasing (Any vegan margarine will do)

Method:

1. Put the teabags into a heat safe bowl or jug & add the boiling water. Stir well & allow the tea to brew until the water becomes luke warm.

2. Preheat the oven to 170 ºC (338 ºF) on fan bake. Lightly grease the muffin tray & set aside.

3. Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl, & stir until mixed.

4. Measure the oil, then add the vanilla essence & apple cider vinegar.

5. Once the tea has brewed, remove the tea bags, & add all the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, & mix until combined.
6. Pour the mix out into the muffin tray, & bake for 20-25 minutes. Once cooked, allow the muffins to rest in the tray for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 12 muffins (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♡

These muffins are fairly heavy, but somehow still fluffy too, & they have a nice spring to them :) I plan to keep on experimenting, I haven't tried using egg replacer yet, so it'll be interesting to see how that works out. These keep well for a couple of days, but they're best fresh, so spread the vegan love & share them around ;)

I hope you all like them, enjoy!

The deliciously squishy insides...

Digital painting -lost & blue- + random sketch

I felt like drawing today (fufufu-fwha?) Didn't know where it was going, but this is what happened -

Just because (it's fun) :D

(image source LINK)

...
Today I really feel like making a little compilation post about a few random things that add shine to my day.
...
First off, text emoticons (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ How could you not love them...
Text emoti sources I use -
...
#1. LINK - Possibly the most enormous source of emoti's
#2. LINK - A long & cute list
#3. LINK - Another great list :)
#4. LINK - Nice compilation of cute emoti's
#5. LINK - Short list with some good ones
#6. LINK - Wikipedia emoti page
...
Next, a song I recently discovered (& now love) via this artist -
...

...
& finally, there has to be some Vegan stuff .｡:*☆...
...

...

Vegweb.com - A great Vegan Recipe website <3

Like A Vegan - Vegan Foodie Blog

...

& remember, these are delicious!

(Eli's Earth Bars by Sjaaks)

Get them from The Uproar Shop!

...

Live compassionately. Live free. Woo!

(image source - LINK)

...

Enjoy everyone~ ｡◕‿◕｡

Awesome Nori Roll with 'Mock Tuna'. Fresh, delicious & Vegan :D

This is now officially my favourite way to eat nori <3
To make this roll you'll need 'mock tuna' you can use my mock tuna recipe, or try one of these. Once you've got the mock tuna sorted, it's super easy from there...

Ingredients:
- 1 sheet of Nori
- 2 - 3 tbs of 'mock tuna' mix
- A handful of organic Alfalfa sprouts
- 1 small carrot

Method:
1. Wash the carrot, grate it & set aside. Lay the nori sheet shiny-side down on a flat clean surface, & spread out a thin layer of the mock tuna mix, leaving the sides bare.
2. Lay the alfalfa & grated carrot in a line down the middle.
3. Carefully roll it up, & form it into a neat log (this may take a bit of practice) Let it sit on the join for about 30 seconds to allow the nori to seal closed. Slice the roll down the middle with a damp, sharp knife & serve it up :)

You don't have to slice it in half, I like to chow down on the log as is ':) but it is nicer for presentation c;
These travel well, so they're handy to take for lunch, & they're great for picnics & the like too :) Test out different fillings & customise them to suit your tastes, lettuce, almond, avocado, etc are all nice fillings to try.
It's a good idea to include some Vitamin C rich food or drink to help your body absorb the Iron from the nori, & leave out tea & dairy, because these can inhibit the absorption of Iron ;)

Enjoy~

Chickpea 'Mock Tuna' Recipe. It's been a long time coming...

I've made this stuff four or five times in the past fortnight, & each time I'd intended to photograph it & share the recipe, & each time I ate the lot  >_> I guess it didn't help that the battery for the camera went flat... No matter, because I've finally managed to get a shot of this elusive (delicious) food.

This recipe is based on the first recipe on this page, so give that one a try if you like, but the way I do it is pretty similar.
The finished product is referred to as a 'mock tuna', & whilst it looks kinda like tuna, it doesn't taste anything like it to me. There's no cooking required if using canned chickpeas, so it's almost impossible to mess it up.
This recipe does require some veganaise, which of course you can buy if you like, but mayo is pretty easy to make, & homemade is so much nicer, not to mention you can customise it to suit your tastes :) If you would like to make your own mayo, feel free to check out my Vegan mayonnaise Recipe. I use homemade veganaise in my chickpea salad, but if the mayo you're using is fairly basic (no herbs, etc) you may want to add some minced garlic & finely chopped parsley into the chickpea mix to add some extra flavour.

Chickpea 'Mock Tuna' Recipe

Ingredients:
- 1 can of Chickpeas (aka. garbanzo beans, ceci, chana)
- 1.5 - 2 TBS of homemade vegenaise 
- 1 medium Pickle (whichever type you like)
- 1 Artichoke heart (whichever you like, marinated, plain, etc)
- 1/4 - 1/2 a small Red Onion
- 1 tsp of fresh Lemon juice
- 5cm piece of Celery
- 1-2 tsp Dulse flakes (Optional. Adds fishy/ocean-type flavour)

Method:
1. Strain & rinse the chickpeas & set them aside to drain.
2. In the mean time finely dice the onion, pickle, artichoke heart, & celery, & set aside.
3. Put the drained chickpeas into a medium sized bowl, & use a fork to roughly mash them. Once there are no whole chickpeas left & the mix resembles mushed tuna it's done.
4. Add all the other ingredients to the mashed chickpeas & mix until well combined.
5. Munch immediately, or whack it in the fridge for later :D

I absolutely love this stuff, & my favourite way to have it is in a nori wrap with alfalfa sprouts & grated carrot (I'll get a recipe up for this asap)
Another great way to serve it is in a cos lettuce leaf, topped with dulse flakes, chopped walnuts & grated carrot ♥ ♥ ♥ (see below)

Enjoy everyone (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Vegan mayonnaise (vegenaise) Recipe :)

Today I decided I really really wanted to try a mock tuna recipe, & for that I needed some vegan mayo. My recipe is based of this one >>> vegan mayonnaise, but I changed it up a little :)
Here's how you do it -
*NOTE This recipe requires a blender or food processor* (I used a Vitamix)

Ingredients:
- 1 cup of Canola oil
- 1/2 a cup of Soy milk (apparently other milks don't work as well)
- 2 tsp of Lemon juice
- 1 tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar (optional)
- 1/2 - 1 tsp Agave Nectar
- 1 tsp of Salt
- 1 tsp of Pepper
- 1 tsp of mustard (I used dijon, but any will do)
- 1 clove of garlic - Minced
- A sprig of fresh Parsley - Finely chopped

Method:
1. Add all ingredients except the lemon juice & vinegar into the blender or food processor, & blend until well combined. (If the mix gets stuck (which mine did) stop the blender & loosen it up with a spatula to help it blend properly)
2. Add the lemon juice & vinegar while still blending, & the mayonaise will thicken.
3. Taste the mix & add any extra seasonings. Extra seasoning may need to be stirred through by hand if the mix is too thick to blend. And it's ready!
4. Stick your mayo into a jar & refrigerate :)


Enjoy!

Omega 3 Fatty Acids *Vegetarian & vegan sources*

...

Every now & again I have a little bit of random info that I think is worth sharing, so I'm starting 'mini posts'. Today it's Omega 3 :) Lots of people know that fatty or oily fish are a good source of omega 3, but that's not much help to people who don't/can't eat fish.
So, guided by the wonderful book 'Green for Life' I've compiled a few of the richest Omega 3 sources. It's important to check the ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 though, because too much Omega 6 is no good, & many of us will already be getting a lot (maybe too much) in our diet.
...
#1. Flaxseed oil (1 tbs) - Omega 3: 7,196mg / Omega 6: 715mg
#2. Chia seeds (approx 28grams) - Omega 3: 4,915mg / Omega 6: 1,620mg
#3. Flax seeds (approx 28grams) - Omega 3: 6,388mg / Omega 6: 1,655mg
#4. Beans, snap/greeen (1 cup raw) - Omega 3: 39.6mg / Omega 6: 25.3mg
#5. Lettuce, Green leaf (1 head 360g raw) Omega 3: 209mg / Omega 6: 86.4mg
#6. Lettuce, Cos, aka Romain (1 head 626g raw) Omega 3: 707mg / Omega 6: 294mg
#7. Spinach (1 bunch, 340g raw) Omega 3: 469mg / Omega 6: 88.4mg
...
Flaxseed oil is one of the most convenient sources, but you do have to be careful with it because it can go rancid very easily, it must always be refrigerated. It can be mixed into a meal or drink, however it must not be heated or the omega 3 fatty acids will be destroyed.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that there are 3 types of Omega Fatty Acids, ALA, EPA, & DHA. DHA can be an issue, because whilst our bodies can construct it using ALA, people who eat little or no fish may be deficient. There are supplements available, including vegan options.
For more information, check out veganhealth.org.
If you're wandering what the best way to consume a whole bunch of raw spinach might be, maybe check out greenforlife.com ;)
...
All the best everyone~