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This weekend I have been eating a lot of these:

Yep, more specifically pumpkin and squash!

I’ve made my own pumpkin puree following Alison’s method:

This made a big tub of delicious pumpkin puree which I have used to make Pumpkin Porridge:

• 1/2 cup of rude health fruity date porridge
• 1/2 cup of soy milk
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp of ground flax
• 4 heaped tablespoons of pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp of mixed spice
• Agave syrup to taste
• desiccated coconut to decorate

I made this on the hob instead of the microwave, I thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing stirring for a change! I cooked the porridge with soy milk and water till it had thickened then stirred the egg white in one at a time followed by the pumpkin and then the spices and agave. I then topped with some coconut, cinnamon and more syrup – yum!

I’ve also made some pumpkin spice cake bars which I based on this recipe:

Pumpkin spice cake bars (makes 12 squares)

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 cup of wholegrain spelt flour
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp each of cinnamon, ground ginger and mixed spice

Pre heat oven to 180c. Combine the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, oil and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices and mix till smooth. Pour into a large greased baking tray and bake for around 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

These babies turned out fantastically!

I even roasted the pumpkin seeds with soy sauce:

They probably could have done with longer in the oven but they taste great!

I’ve also been eating plenty of butternut squash. I made up a stew for last nights dinner and today’s lunch including roast butternut, roast parsnip, onion, veg stock, kale, dried mixed herbs and tofu sausages:

 

Last night I added some sweet chilli sauce to the mix and today I added some green tomato chutney that my best friend had made – this lifted the stew to a whole new level of yumminess!

Other tasty weekend eats have included some apple cider pound cake with warm berries and tofutti vanilla ice ‘cream’:

Chocolate and blueberry protein pancakes with maple syrup and granola:

Chocolate tasting plate: Lindt Dark with Sea Salt, Amaretto Chocolate from Majorca, Montezuma Chilli Dark Chocolate:

Yesterday I was browsing the iHerb store and I ended up making a huge order. I have some money saved up (plus I’m hoping to make some money on ebay) and at the end of the day making and eating healthy food and playing with new ingredients makes me happy so I indulged! I’ll post the details when I receive everything but I can’t wait to get my order!

I also decided to order my own copy of ‘The Kind Diet’. I’ve found myself going back and re reading sections and a lot of the recipes have grown on me too. I also ordered ‘La Dolce Vegan’ for more vegan meal ideas in line with my new diet direction.

Yesterday I also got in a great treadmill run at the gym. I did 10k in 56 minutes doing a mix of speed and hill intervals, I just felt really good for the whole workout like I was running on air :-) I also jumped on the bike afterwards for 15 minutes. Yesterday I got to take my new dress out for the day: Jumper dress: Miss Selfridge, Princess coat: Oasis, Tights: Accessorize, Boots: Peacocks, Scarf: Accessorize, Bag: H&M.

Today I have been out in search of kitchen storage solutions. Things are starting to get out of hand and with the iherb order on its way I need to do some serious re organising! I’m going to have to do a post on the contents of my kitchen, I can’t be the only one with a tea collection, nut butter collection, chocolate stash and drawer full of nakd bars, trek bars, 9 bars and other healthy but tasty goodies?

All in all I’ve had a great weekend! Hope you got to check out my guest post over at Salad and Sequins too :-)