I love Juicy and Veganese - Lush

Although I try and shop around and not just run to Lush for all my toiletry and beauty needs. Sometimes it is nice to give in and treat yourself and it is even nicer when someone treats you. 

After wanting to try some of Lush's shampoos and conditioners but being too tight to spend my money, a friend brought me I love Juicy shampoo and Veganese conditioner as a treat so I thought I would give you a run through of my opinions on them. 

Lets start with the shampoo. I love Juicy which as the name would suggest does smell lovely and fruit juicy. The smell reminds me of those orange fanta lip balms you can get. This stuff is amazing at removing build up. Your hair feels super clean after the first use, maybe a little too clean. It can feel a little dry after using it which is fine as long as you follow it with a good conditioner. The rrp of this product is £5.75 for 100g which won't last you long so it can be pretty pricey to use as your every day go to but well worth it for a treat. 

Next is the Veganese conditioner which has a very subtle lemon and lavender scent to it which I really like. It is super light yet leaves your hair feeling very soft and nicely conditioned. I did find however that I had to use a lot to get it to cover my hair to ensure that it was conditioned but this might just be because I used it following the shampoo which was a little drying. For price this comes in a little cheaper at £4.75 for 100g. Again probably more of treat. 

I hope this helps you guys when it comes to deciding what products to buy from Lush. If you ever want me to try anything out or want my opinion on anything, just leave me a comment and I will test or try and help you guys as much as I can. 

Fancy Breakfast/Brunch

Breakfast/Brunch is my favourite meal of the day! Breakfast food is just soo good. From porridge to granola, pancakes to bagels. But how to impress guests or friends with an exciting vegan breakfast/brunch. 

I have one very simple and easy answer! Jus-Rol! Yes it may be cheating but who has to know right. I love going to the supermarket on a Friday night and picking up some croissants and pain au chocolats to make fresh for Saturday morning breakfast. They are so simple and cheap. Each pack usually costs around £2.10 and takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes to cook. 

So next time you are struggling to think what to make when your friends suggest breakfast at yours because you are the annoying vegan. Give them a french delight and knock their socks off. You can serve croissants with jam and "butter" or go savoury with cheese and avocado. Whatever you fancy. 

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

If you like super moist and yummy cupcakes then this recipe is for you. They are light and fluffy yet still packed full of a nice chocolatey flavour. I tested these on my non vegan family and they could not believe that they were vegan and that there was no butter in them.

This recipe makes 12 cupcakes but as it is usually only me eating them, I tend to half the recipe and make 6. The cupcakes will keep in an airtight container for approximately 4 days. 

Ingredients

Cupcakes

1 cup of non dairy milk 

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar 

3/4 cup of granulated sugar

1/3 cup of oil (I use olive oil)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 

1/2 teaspoon of any additional extracts (I like to use peppermint to make after 8 cupcakes) if you don't want to add another flavour then just add more vanilla. 

1 cup of plain flour

1/3 cup of cocoa powder 

3/4 teaspoon of bicarb of soda 

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

pinch of salt 

Icing

1 cup of non dairy butter/margarine 

1/2 cup of icing sugar 

75g of dark chocolate 

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 170c (fan)

2. In a bowl mix the non dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Place to one side for approximately 5 minutes until the milk has started to cuddle

3. In another bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, bicarb, baking powder and salt

4. To your flour mixture add your milk and vinegar. Followed by your sugar, oil and extracts

5. Mix until smooth and transfer to cupcake cases. Fill the cases approximately 3/4 full

6. Place into the oven and cook for approximately 20 - 25 minutes

7. Once the cupcakes are cooked remove them from the oven and place onto a cooling rack to cool 

8. Whilst the cupcakes are cooling, begin to make your icing

7. Melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler

8. Whilst your chocolate is melting, add your butter and icing sugar into a food mixer and beat for approximately 3 to 4 minutes until the butter becomes light and fluffy

9. Once the chocolate has melted again this will only take a minute or two. Place it to one side to cool slightly. The chocolate needs to be warm but not too hot that it will melt the butter

10. When the chocolate has cooled, add the melted chocolate to the butter icing and beat until combined. Once combined, pipe or spoon the icing onto the now cooled cupcakes. 

Enjoy! 

Quick, Easy and Simple Avocado Pasta

If you are looking for a creamy yet light and fresh pasta sauce then look no further! 

Ingredients

Pasta - how much and whatever you like 

1 avocado 

hand full of basil leaves (I use spinach when I don't have basil) 

10 baby tomatoes

1 clove of garlic

splash of olive oil 

pinch of salt and pepper 

2 teaspoons of lemon juice (vinegar works perfectly if you don't have lemon) 

Method

1. Cook the pasta

2. Whilst the pasta is cooking, cut and remove the stone and skin from the avocado and place into a food processor along with the basil, tomatoes, garlic, oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. 

3. Blitz the ingredients until they form a smoothish paste. The consistency of the sauce is up to you really, I like mine fairly smooth. 

4. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and return to saucepan. Add avocado sauce to pasta. 

This recipe makes enough sauce for 2 large or 3 small servings. 

I often like to take this to work with me and if I do that, I cook the pasta and then let that cool and through in a splash of olive oil to stop it from drying out and then in a separate container take my sauce. Then at lunch time I reheat my pasta and then stir through my sauce. As there is lemon/vinegar in the sauce it should stop it from going brown. 

The sauce will keep in the fridge for about a day maybe two. 

Best Vegan shower gel

When thinking of vegan beauty and bath products, most people jump straight to Lush which is amazing and their products rock but the price of them can seem a little much a time. 

Here are a couple of my favourite low end vegan products, that still smell and make your skin feel lovely. 

Treacle moon 

Their range of products are amazing and cheap. Their products are bath and shower gels, hand soaps and body butters. With scents from Lemonade to almond and cinnamon to marshmallow. Treacle moon can be found in Tesco and Waitrose where the average RRP is £3.00 for 500ml which is dirt cheap when compared with Lush's products. Plus Tescos often have it on offer for £2.00 which is when I like to stock up, although their products last forever! 

Original Source 

Another great easy to find brand of shower gel is original source. Their product range is far to wide to  list but it includes shower gels, moisturising shower gels, body moisturiser, body scrubs and hand washes. You can usually find original source in any supermarket or boots/superdrug etc. Average RRP for these products is £2.00 for 250ml and again it can usually be found on offer in stores. 

I hope this helps for when you are stuck trying to think of cheap vegan shower gels as Lush is great for a treat but far too expensive for every day use, well for me anyway! 

Left over tortilla tortilla chips

I don't know if you are like me but a pack of 8 tortillas is always too much for me so I usually end up freezing the odd one here and there. Today when searching through the freezer I found two in there and thought I could put them to good use before they became freezer brunt. What better use for tortillas than tortilla chips! So simple and so easy. 

Ingredients 

Tortillas
oil (for two tortillas I used 4 tablespoons - just make sure it is enough to coat the chips)
salt
pepper
chilli powder

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 180c (fan) and place into the oven whilst it is heating up your frozen tortillas (if frozen, if they are not, simply pre heat the oven and move on). 

2. Whilst the oven is heating up, in a large mixing bowl the oil, salt, pepper and chilli powder (the seasoning can be done to whatever taste you want it to be). 

3. Take the now deforested tortillas out of the oven (they will only take about 2 - 3 minutes to defrost) and cut the tortillas into triangles. I tend to get approximately 8 triangles from each tortilla.

4. Take your tortilla triangles and mix them in the bowl. I do this by simply swirling and tossing them in the bowl (less messy than getting your hands in the oil).

5. Once the tortilla triangles are covered, place them onto a baking tray and cook. Make sure you watch them whilst they are cooking as they can quickly catch and become burnt. They will only take about 7 to 10 minutes to dry out and be ready but make sure you take them out every couple of minutes to move them around and turn them over to make sure they all cook evenly.

Plant based foods do not have feelings.

I am usually so good at staying off my vegan high horse and letting people get on with whatever they want in life. Most of my friends are meat eater so I am used to peoples ignorance when it comes to being vegan and not eating meat etc but on Friday radio 1 mentioned people who think food such as crisps and sausage have feelings and how some people will throw another crisp on the floor if they drop one so the one they dropped isn't lonely. Madness in my mind. 

Plants do not have feelings. They have no nervous system and therefore cannot feel pain or any other emotion. That crisp is simply a cooked potato. It will not get lonely on the floor but that steak you eat was once a cow who had a mum and wanted to live but you see no problem eating that. I really do not understand peoples logic on the matter. If you really cared about the 'feelings' of food, then maybe you would not be eating animal products. 

If you want to eat meat for whatever your reason is that is fine, it is everyones choice but do not go around making stupid comments about plant based foods having feels and worrying about them being lonely etc. What a joke. You don't really care it is all rubbish. 

Rant over. 

Home Made Pizza Dough

Who doesn't love pizza and who doesn't love making food. Pizza dough is so simple to make and very impressive! 

Ingredients 

2 cups of strong white bread flour

1/4 of a cup of wholemeal bread flour

Pinch of salt

3/4 of a cup of warm water

1 packet of dry yeast 

Method

1. Mix warm water and dry yeast and set aside for 10 minutes 

2. In a food mixture combined flour, salt and yeast water

3. Mix for 5 minutes and set aside in a cling filmed bowl (this can be left to one side for between 1 hour to 4 hours)

4. Take the dough mixture out of the bowl and kneed on a floured worktop

5. Place back into bowl and set aside for 20 minutes

6. Roll out the dough and shape into a pizza shape

Any topping can be added to this pizza and then simply pop in the oven at 180c (fan) for 15 to 18 minutes. 

Vegan Doughnuts

Ingredients 

1 cup of self raising flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of soy milk
1 Flax egg (1 tablespoon of flax seeds + 3 tablespoons of water)
1/4 cup of vegan margarine
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 150c (fan)

2. In a large mixing bowl add flour, sugar and salt.

3. In a small saucepan heat milk, margarine and vanilla. Heat until margarine is melted.

4. Add to the dry ingredients the flax egg and then the wet ingredients

5. Spoon mixture into doughnut tray

6. Bake in the oven for approximately 12 minutes. The doughnuts will not turn brown.

This mixture will make approximately 10/12 doughnuts.

Once the doughnuts are cooled, they can be topped with whatever you fancy. I used a dark chocolate icing and a vanilla icing.

Vegan Scaremongering

This is one topic I am very passionate about. Vegans have a very bad name for themselves. We are crazy outsiders who have wild outlandish views and shove those views down peoples throats. 

For most of us that isn't true. We are just regular people trying to lead a less damaging and more healthy lifestyle. 

There are a few Vegan out there who for whatever reason feel they are above everyone else, I like to call these people the Vegan police. You know what I am talking about, the people that comment on someone's photo on Instagram calling them a fake vegan or just hating on them for their simple and easy mistakes. 

Being vegan isn't about who can do it the best or be the purest. It is a community who should support anyone who wants to give it a go even if they only go vegan once a week or live the most Vegan lifestyle ever. 

A woman at work today asked me about being Vegan etc and said she had been put off doing it in case she did it wrong! How crazy is that. She was already a veggie but didn't want to make the leap for fear of being judged if she did it 'wrong' whatever that is. 

Being Vegan comes with guidelines but no set in stone rules. People should not be feeling like they cannot join the group because we will judge them when we find out they are not using Vegan shampoo because they cannot afford it! That is madness. 

We all know the harsh reality is that we will never be able to get everyone in the world to go Vegan but by making it such a selective group only open to the Vegan police we are stopping people from doing their bit to help even if it is simply meatless Mondays or going veggie. 

As a community it is our responsibility to welcome and help as many people as we can and not let newbies feel like they are outsiders or as if we will judge them for whatever aspects of being Vegan they try and take up. 

I don't want to be pigeon holed into a freak who hates people who don't follow the unspoken rules.

Fuck all of that. I am Vegan but I also make my own rules to go along with that and screw anyone who tried to tell me that I am not doing it right or what I do doesn't make me a Vegan. 

Rant over!

Almond Vanilla Granola

Yet another one of my favourites for breakfast. 

Ingredients 

3 cups of rolled oats

1/4 cup of chopped pecans

1/4 cup of dried cranberries

1/4 cup of flaked coconut 

1/4 cup of flaked almonds 

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

1 tablespoon of agave 

1/4 cup of oil 

1/4 cup of water

Method 

1. Pre heat the oven to 150c (fan)

2. In a large mixing bowl combined oats, pecans, cranberries, coconut and almonds

3. In a small saucepan, mix and heat brown sugar, vanilla, salt, agave, oil and water. Bring this to a gentle simmer until all of the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, pour the liquid into the dry ingredients. 

4. Combined the wet and dry mixtures well and spoon out onto 2 lined baking trays. 

5. Cook in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown and dry

6. Leave to cool and then store in an airtight container for approximately 3 weeks. 

This recipe will make approximately 10 to 12 servings 

Vegan Guacamole

I am yet to meet a person who doesn't like gauc! Like seriously who cannot love this stuff. And homemade is even better, so fresh and tasty and oh so simple to make. 

Ingredients 

2 large ripe avocados 

half a red onion (diced)

1 clove of garlic 

4 cherry tomatos 

1 lime (juiced) 

pinch of salt and pepper

dash of olive oil 

half red chilli (deseeded and chopped)

Method

This is really the easiest thing you could ever make and though it may be simple, it will still impress your friends! Simply take all of the ingredients above and put them in a food processor, blend them up and there you go. Guacamole is made. Be careful not to over blend though, it should still have some bite to it. 

Bagels

I have developed such a love for bagels. Bagels for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

There is a bagel for every occasion. Whether it is cheese and tomato, avocado or mushrooms, it is a winner. Simple and easy to make yet so filling and delicious. 

Vegan Banana Granola

Another yummy staple for breakfast in my house. I love anything I can make in advance and grab when I need it!

Ingredients

3 cups of oats
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of flax seeds
3 tablespoons of sugar (any sugar is fine, I used brown)
handful of pecans
handful of coconut flakes
1/4 of oil (any oil is fine)
2 tablespoons of maple syrup or agave (I had both in so used 1 tbsp of each)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 medium bananas (mashed)
50g of chopped dark chocolate

Method

Pre heat the oven to 150c (fan)

In a bowl mix oats, cinnamon, salt, flax, sugar, pecans and coconut flake

In a medium saucepan, melt and mix oil, maple syrup/agave and vanilla extract. Once combined, remove from heat and mix in bananas. 

Add banana mixture to oats etc. Combined well

Line a baking tray and spread oat mixture out

Cook for approximately 20 to 30 minutes depending on how crunchy you like your granola. Give the mixture a mix up every 10 minutes or so to break it up

Once the granola is cooked and cooled, mix in dark chocolate 

Store in an airtight container. The granola will keep for approximately a month and makes approximately 12 servings 

Vegan Burritos In Norwich

If you are ever in the city and get a lunch time craving for Mexican Food look no further than Chihuahua Burritos which can be found serving in The Ally (on bridewell ally) from 11am to 3pm daily. They also offer a delivery service - great for the late night munchies! 

Their vegan burrito is to die for! One of the best I have had and at a great price to at £4.50. You can eat in and take in the cool art work and vibes or you can take away and enjoy on the comfort of your own sofa in your sweats.

Stuffed Peppers

An easy to make hearty meal

Ingredients 

1 red bell pepper

vegetable couscous (I used a pre packet mix as it is so simple) 

Method 

1. Pre Heat the oven to 180c (fan)
2. De-stork and seed the pepper and place on a baking tray, cook in the oven for approximately 5 minutes 
3. Whilst the pepper is cooking make the couscous. If you are lazy like me this this will involve adding hot water to a mixture and leaving it for 3 minutes 
4. At this point cook any other vegetables that you wish to add to the couscous such as mushrooms, onions, carrots etc. Add your cooked veg to the now ready couscous mixture 
5. Take the pepper out of the oven and add into the middle of the pepper the vegetable couscous
6. Cook in the oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes

I served mine with a simple side salad but you could have chips, salad, more vegetables. Whatever you fancy really. 

Easy to Grab Vegan Snacks

One of the things I struggle with being a vegan is the lack of easy snacks you can grab from the shops when you have the munchies! Gone are the days of just picking up some crisps and a chocolate bar. 

Finding snacks these days take a lot more research and planning. 

Here are a few of my go to snacks that you can grab from most UK supermarkets. 

Narns Snackers (balsamic vingar flavoured) - I love these little cracker type crisp. They are so easy to eat on the go and taste great. They also come in a caramelised onion flavour. RRP £0.40. 

Side Note - the cheese flavoured Narns Snackers are not vegan. 

Choices, Rondellos (white chocolate buttons) - great little sugar boost and they don't taste half bad for vegan chocolate. RRP £0.65

Sainsbury's Free Form Chocolate Buttons - again a great little snack for when the chocolate cravings set in. RRP £0.50

Lotus, Biscoff caramelised biscuits - I have never been as happy as when I found out these were vegan. I am such a biscuit person and it had been killing me not being able to grab a pack from the shops and devour the whole thing. That was until these came along.  They also come in a handy pack with individually wrapped biscuits which makes them super easy to pop in your bag and take out with just in case you get hangry! RRP £1.25

Vegan Deodorant

Being a vegan isn't just about what you eat. Animal products are in everything we use and a lot of the chemicals in products are tested on animals. 

Finding good vegan products is a real struggle. It is not simple a case of popping to boots when you need a new deodorant because most main stream brands test on animals. 

Lush is an obvious choice to check out when looking for vegan beauty products but it is also an expensive choice. Their deodorant range offers bars and powder coming in at between £4.50 and £7.00. 

After doing a lot of research I found this gem in M&S.

It is their Peach Roll On which costs £1.50 and is often on buy one get one free. It is part of their natures ingredients range and comes another scents. 

I was so hesitant at first about vegan deodorant, as deodorant is such an important thing. I didn't wanna go around smelling bad! But this works a charm. It keeps you dry all day and smells lovely. Only downside for me is that it is roll on and I have always been more of a can kinda girl but never mind, that was easy to get over. 

If you are on the look out for an affordable great deodorant then look no further. For £1.50 it is definitely worth a try. 

The hardest thing about being vegan....

The hardest thing about becoming a vegan is not giving up meat or animal products, it is finding a good place to eat out with friends. 

None of my friends are vegan so it can be a real struggle at times. A few will try vegan places with me but others are total meat eaters and would freak if I told them I was taking them somewhere where ribs would not be a staple on the menu. 

My advice for my fellow vegans who struggle with this is to do your research! A lot of places have vegetarian options on the menu that can be adapted to be vegan for example salads with cheeses or veggie burgers with cheese. And if all else fails, chips are always a winner! Restaurants are usually very accommodating to any changes you make to the menu so don't be afraid to ask, after all if you had a nut allergy or were lactose intolerant, you would make damn sure there was no peanuts or cheese in your food. 

Be careful with some menus though as I have noticed quite a few restaurants will say that have veggie/vegan food but then state on the menu they have no designated place in the kitchen to prepare this food. Does that really make it veggie/vegan then?! That is a little bit of a grey area. 

In this world we are never going to get away from meat and animal products, all we can hope to do is reduce the amount that is consumed. So if my food is cooked on the same surface as meat does that make it non vegan? I am sure some die hard vegans would say that it doesn't but to be able to still enjoy a social life, I have decided that for me, as long as the actual food I am eating does not contain meat or animal products then that is good enough for me. 

I would be so grateful for your thoughts on this and any helpful tips you have for eating out with vegan and non vegan friends. 

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These cookies are the perfect balance of chewy and crunchy. Perfect for a late night snack or a move night with the girls. A cookie people won't even be able to guess is vegan.

Ingredient

1/2 cup of soya milk (any non-dairy milk is fine)
2 tablespoons of flax seeds
dash of white wine vinegar
1 and 1/2 cups of plain flour
3/4 teaspoon of bicarb of soda
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon (this doesn't have to be added if you are not a fan of cinnamon)
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 and 3/4 cup of caster sugar
3 tablespoons of peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1/4 cup of oil (any oil works)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of molasses
100g of chopped chocolate 

Method 

1. Pre heat the oven to 150c (fan)
2. In a bowl whisk together milk, flax seeds and vinegar. Leave this to one side to thicken, this acts as the egg 
3. In a mixing bowl combined flour, bicarb, cinnamon and salt. Leave this to one side
4. In another bowl combined sugar, peanut butter, oil, vanilla and molasses
5. To the sugar and peanut butter mixture add the flax egg
6. Next add in the flour mixture
7. Combine ingredients together and mix in chocolate chips

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a tablespoon, spoon the mixture onto the baking trays in little balls. Allow approximately 3/4cm gap between each ball as they will spread a little. Cook in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until they begin to harden

This recipe makes approximately 20 to 24 cookies depending on the size of your balls. I had to bake mine in two batches as I did not have enough room on the baking trays.  

Vegan Street Food In Norwich

If you are in Norwich and need some quick and easy street food then look no further than Bia Kitchen on the Market. Amazing food at amazing prices. The board changes weekly so check out their Facebook page to see what is on the menu. 

When I went I got to try the Kofte Kebab which was amazing. Kofte spiced vegan kebab with a turkish salad, pilaf rice, harrisa sour cream on a warm flatbread. All for £4.50. 

The food all looks amazing and is all made fresh to order. They also serve homemade drinks (cold mocha and flavoured iced teas). 

(Kofte Kebab) 

Vegan Burrito Bowl

Perfect cold winter night food. Colourful and Tasty. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup of brown rice

250g of kale

1 lime (juiced)

1/4 teaspoon of cumin 

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 avocado 

pot of salsa

1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 onion 

1 clove of garlic (pressed)

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon of chilli powder

tortilla chips 

cheese (grated to scatter on top)

Method

1. Cook the brown rice 

2. Whilst the rice is cooking, mix lime juice, cumin and salt into a large bowl and mix in kale. Leave to one side 

3. Add black beans to saucepan to warm through. Whilst warming, brown onions and garlic in frying pan. After approximately 5 minutes, add black beans to frying pan and add cayenne pepper and chilli powder. Continue to cook for 5 to 7 minutes. 

4. Once the rice and beans are cooked put these onto a plate and add kale, avocado, salsa, cheese and tortilla chips.