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I realised over the weekend that it was coming up to 1 year since I became vegetarian! I had to check back over the blog as it was more of a gradual shift in diet. I think my last ‘meat’ meal was a Turkey Subway with chilli sauce, I kind of wish I’d had something a bit nicer!

I can’t believe that a whole year has passed without meat, and I can honestly say I haven’t missed it one bit. Why would I when I’ve been eating meals like this?

Roast Vegetable Curry 

Vanilla Cupcake with Vegan Coconut Icing 

Warm Sweet Chilli Sweet Potato Sesame Salad 

Chocolate Mint Raw Vegan Cheesecake from Aloka in Brighton

Sabra hummus topped salad beasts

Smoked almond sesame tofu with brown rice, roasted veggies and spicy peanut sauce 

Baked Tempeh with roast veggies and almond butter sauce

 Strawberry Coconut Oaty Buttery Bars (vegan)

Just a few of my favourite meals and treats over the last year, and yes they are all vegan! My diet has transitioned to almost 100% plant based – I do still eat honey and some trace dairy in things like chocolate, but apart from that I haven’t had any diary or eggs for about 6 months. I’ve always tried to take a flexible approach to veganism, one which balances my bodies needs with my beliefs. The two big influences in my shift in diet were really due to reading The Kind Diet and Eating Animals (amongst other considerations of course)

I absolutely love eating this way, I feel the healthiest and happiest I have in years, and recently I have become a lot more confident in talking about why I choose to eat this way. I’m also starting to become more aware of the wider vegan lifestyle – which of course involves excluding all animal products such as leather and wool clothing. I’m completely honest in this being something that I’m working towards, and I still do wear my existing leather clothing etc.

As I’ve said many times before, I really don’t judge people on how they choose to eat. I eat to like this because it is right for me, but I’m well aware that following a vegetarian or vegan diet may not be for everyone. I think having a judgemental attitude does the vegan cause no favours. As one of my work colleagues said, her experience of vegans before me was not good – they were extremely confrontational and aggressive with their beliefs. I do think that following a vegetarian or vegan diet is worth fighting for, but I think leading by positive example is way more effective than being aggressive which simply makes people defensive and closed up to the potential of eating a more plant based diet.

If your a veggie or a vegan how long have you being following that diet? Do you ever get cravings for meat or animal products? I was probably most surprised by my lack of cheese and greek yoghurt cravings, I thought that would have been my downfall! As for meat, I’ve even found that I’m no longer going crazy for substitutes like Linda McCartney Sausages, I’ve found that I’m quite happy eating tofu, beans and more recently tempeh.

For all veggies and non veggies alike, what’s your absolute favourite veggie meal? Without a doubt, mine would involve hummus!

Hi Everyone, hope you’ve all had a great weekend! Back to the grind now though, I have lots on at work at the moment and thankfully I’m able to work from home tomorrow to get caught up!

As the kids are off school this week the traffic situation isn’t as crazy as usual which meant I had time to enjoy a more leisurely breakfast including a cup of delicious cinnamon and hazelnut coffee which I drank black and sweetened with agave. I also had a bowl of Dorset Cereal High Fibre muesli with added jumbo oats, ground flax and nut mix, a grated apple and soy milk.

I love grated apple with muesli it makes it so juicy!

Mid morning I snacked on a big russet apple and one of my pumpkin spice cake bars.

Lunch was a big salad of spinach, carrot, red onion, cucumber and almond sesame smoked tofu with a little green tomato chutney followed by two plums.

Afternoon pre gym fuel was a bag of bear fruit nibbles – mango and pineapple.

I did my usual Monday evening gym session of 30 minutes HIITs followed by 30 minute spin class and abs and core exercises. My abs and core work is really paying off, I can feel some serious abs under my belly! My workout was really excellent again tonight, it just didn’t feel too hard. I think I’m ready to ramp it up next month so I feel the burn again!

For dinner I decided to make up one of my high protein egg white and spelt wraps (1 tablespoon of spelt flour mixed with 3 egg whites and fried up like a pancake) and filled it with some leftover mashed roast butternut squash, some kidney beans, red onion and a slice of cheese then fold over and griddle to make a Butternut and Bean Quesadilla. I served it with some roasted broccoli.

 

My word this was delicious! Everything went together so well and the egg white spelt wrap went really crispy and pancake like. You could make a vegan version of this using a wholegrain wrap and leaving out the cheese or add chicken or turkey if your not a veggie. Just so yummy!

Desert was a smoothie in a bowl made using a scoop of cookies and cream spiru-tein powder, rice milk and ice cubes. I topped it with a few cacao nibs.

I’ve also just eaten another russet apple, I have an apple problem at the moment, just can’t get enough!

I mentioned yesterday that I have ordered The Kind Diet and another vegan cookbook La Dolce Vegan, I’m just feeling so inspired by vegetarian and vegan recipes at the moment. I checked over the blog and I’ve eaten completely vegetarian for a week and I haven't missed meat one bit. I think I may actually be ready to go fully veggie rather than ‘only freedom food / organic meat’ as I had planned to. I still don’t want to label myself as following any kind of particular diet at this stage but that’s certainly the direction I feel myself heading.

In terms of the blog obviously that’s going to mean veggie and vegan food and recipes. I hope that everyone is ok with that and sticks with me! :-)

As I have previously said, I certainly don’t judge others for their dietary preferences, this is just what I feel is right for me. When I post recipes or meal ideas I’ll include what meat / fish options I think would work well then you can decide which way to make them.

Anyway, on to some hair care products! Yesterday I noticed these in Sainsbury’s and decided to pick them up as after reading this post from Sarah I switched to hair care without parabens or silicone which has really worked well for me. My hair is in pretty good condition considering how long it is.

Has anyone came across ‘Happy Hair Days’ products before? I got the pomegranate and ginger moisturising shampoo and conditioner at £3.50 a bottle. I have to admit the main thing that made me buy these as well as being paraben free is the smell. They smell divine, I tried all of the range that was on the shelf and they all smelled amazing!

Talking of hair, I have a hair cut booked for Friday and I really fancy a change. Before I got married over 2 years ago my hair had always been in a bob, this is the longest its ever been. After all of this growing I’m reluctant to cut it all off although my hair does grow extremely fast (which I put down to all the healthy food I eat!) Not sure what to do!

How often do you change your hair style?

Big thanks to everyone who commented on yesterdays post regarding my thoughts on The Kind Diet, vegetarianism and veganism, I really enjoyed reading each comment and feel that I learned a lot!

I think I need to do my home work on freedom food / organic meat and what I feel is the better option for my values. It was also interesting to hear about some peoples experiences and opinions on soy and Quorn products. I think my approach is going to be one of moderation and variety!

I was working late yesterday so here are yesterdays eats:

Butternut Smoothie in a bowl with muesli topping (after getting my butt kicked by Jillian doing the 30 Day Shred Levels 1 and 2)

Hummus, olives, seeded flatbread crackers, cucumber, carrot and a nectarine for lunch:

Afternoon snackage of apples and babybel light then my mango and brazil bar from Goodness Direct (very tasty – lots of honey flavour, chewy like a flapjack – yum!):

After my late meeting I had some un pictured miso soup followed by some berries topped with cottage cheese, cinnamon and maple syrup:

Today’s breakfast was Mornflake 5 fruit and nut muesli with some additional jumbo oats added, a chopped nectarine, and as it was so cold, some warmed up soy milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Try adding warm milk to cereal on cold mornings – this warmed me up a treat! Mid morning I snacked on some cashew butter with apple slices for dipping.

Lunch was a new recipe I wanted to try out:

Fresh Asian Salad (makes 1 large serving)

• 1 large carrot, half a cucumber and 1 diakon / mooli root made into ribbons using a veggie peeler
• 1/2 cup of frozen then defrosted soya beans.

Dressing:

• 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce
• 1 inch piece of finely grated ginger.

Mix together the veggie ribbons and pile on a plate, topping with the beans. Mix together the salad dressing ingredients (I put them all in a screw top jar and shake – also handy for taking the dressing to work so the veggies don’t go soggy) Pour the dressing over the veggies and serve immediately.

This was lush! It tasted amazing - the dressing worked exceptionally well, very sweet and earthy. This could also be beefed up with some soba noodles to make it even more filling. A great salad for getting in a good few portions of raw veggies too! I also had an orange.

Before heading to the gym I had an apple, blueberry and cinnamon protein muffin.

I’m on a mission to try and eat the baked goods I have stashed in the freezer – got to make way for new stuff!

At the gym I ran 5k on the treadmill doing some speed work then ran for about a mile at a slow pace to cool down (about 35 minutes and 4 miles in total). I finished off my workout with some abs exercises.

For dinner I had half a sweet potato to use up along with loads of veggies so I decided to throw together a yummy stew type dish. I started by frying an onion then adding the cooked sweet potato which I had chopped into cubes until it had browned slightly. I also added some chopped mushrooms. I then added hot veg stock, a tablespoon of tomato puree and a pinch of hot chilli powder. I also added some shredded savoy cabbage and kale then allowed to simmer for 5 minutes before adding about half a cup of spicy roasted chickpeas.

I served it with some roasted brussel sprouts for a perfect filling vegan meal :-) Desert was some RAW zesty orange chocolate kindly sent by Goodness Direct and a large russet apple.

The chocolate was interesting. It has a different texture to regular chocolate, kind of soft (despite being in the fridge) and a bit grainy but not unpleasant. It contains no added sugars, is organic and made with raw ingredients including cocoa butter and cocoa powder. The orange flavour is also nicely balanced. Not sure I would buy as it is quite expensive but a good way of getting your chocolate fix with added health benefits. This is the second RAW product I have tried (I have also tried the crackers which were delicious) and I do like the idea of eating more raw food so could be good if your into that kind of thing.

Have you tried any products from RAW? What did you think? Hope your all having a good week, I’m looking forward to my yoga tomorrow night already! Catch you later :-)