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www.veganistik.weebly.com

Sponsor me for my 5K Santa Dash I'm doing this weekend in Glasgow, it's going towards a really amazing - animal related - cause.

x

I've moved!

Please visit veganistik.weebly.com to view my posts from now on!


xxx

Whole Foods Store and New Plants!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, even though I said I would! Things got a bit busy.

I started writing a post about my first visit to Whole Foods, so I'll continue..

A few months back me and the boyfriend decided to visit the Whole Foods store nearest to me, which is Giffnock, Glasgow.

(picture from http://stirlingretail.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/whole-foods-giffnock-apples-or-pears/)

It took some planning to figure out which busses to get from Glasgow City centre to Giffnock, but thankfully, there was a bus which took us straight to the door. By car was a nightmare!

I was majorly excited to go here, I think I almost got ran over about five times trying to cross the umpteen roads that seemed to be between the bus stop and the store.. But it was worth it.

Upon entering the store, I remember it being almost like a scene from a movie, where the guy sees the woman of his dreams and a big shining light is around them. I was stunned by the amount of veggies that were presented in front of me, some I'd never even seen before; smoked garlic, white asparagus, many types of lettuce! 

I grabbed a basket, thankfully one of those wheelie baskets you usually only see abroad (good thinking guys!), and made my way around the store. After spending about 20-30 minutes looking at the veg alone, we moved on to the fish/meat section, passing the cool coffee bean/nut/cereal dispensers with your choice of jar to hold it in (gazed in awe at it for a while, it was pretty cool). Now, I don't eat meat, or fish, obviously, but being a previous meat/fish eater, it was cool to see some different fishes/meat cuts that I'd never seen before, and it was all prepared and presented so nicely. 

Then we turned the corner and were presented by colourful juices and waters, which again, I looked at for what felt like hours, fascinated, but it was what was next to this juice display that I was interested in.. Vegan food.

All the vegan glory you could imagine, tofutti, tofurky, vegusto, Amy's kitchen, tempeh, so much stuff I'd heard of and never seen before, I felt in my element. I packed my basket with as much as I could afford. 

Aside from this, I bought a few other things, a small tub of dairy-free icecream (far too expensive though), some fish-free fingers, coconut water and chocolate. I didn't get the best look around the place first time, but I went back a few weeks later and loved it twice as much (probably down to the fact I had more money and time).

I advise everyone, vegan, veggie, or meat eater, to go visit your nearest Whole Foods, check http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com to find your nearest one! & I hope you enjoy it as much as me!

- - -

On another subject, I've been planting veggies, well, I planted them ages ago, and I've never really grew anything apart from cress, parsley, coriander and mint all my life, so this was new for me.

All growing incredibly well.

Strawberries, chives, onions, purple broccoli, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, radishes. 

I also made chive flower vinegar with the chive flowers, but more on that on a different post!

Hey Guys.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, had a few things with the dog and college work etc. Been snapping food photos and will be posting about my fruit/veg garden soon! This weekend actually seeing as I'm going on holiday on Tuesday.

Speak soon, contact my Wizpert (button below somewhere) and I'll answer any questions you have regarding vegan/vegetarianism or even health/fitness.

x

Crunchy Peanut Butter Mo-chi with Banana Puree

Ingredients (Serves 1)

4 Peanut butter mo-chi (found at Chinese supermarkets, I prefer the frozen to the fresh ones as they boil better)
300ml hot water
Enough banana puree for garnish (I cheated here and used Tesco's dairy free banana smoothie, found in larger Tescos in the yoghurt isle!)
Kiwi slice for garnish

Method

- Boil mo-chi according to packet instructions.
- Place in a small ramekin.
- Garnish with banana and kiwi.
- Enjoy!

* I must admit, I don't like peanut butter at all, but I loved these mo-chi! However, I didn't really know what to have with it, so this probably seems really random, but the sweet/sour ratio worked well for me, but feel free to use a garnish you think would taste much better!

Sichuan Pepper Soup with Crunchy Tofu Croutons

Ingredients

For the Broth

500ml hot water
1 tsp sichuan peppercorns (smashed) or powder (available at Chinese Supermarkets)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1tsp salt
1 vegetable stock cube
2 large florets of broccoli, quartered
Small handful of udon noodles
Handful of Brussels sprouts, chopped (you can swap them for cabbage if you don't like them!)
2 small carrots, roughly chopped
Julienned baby leeks and spring onions for garnish

For the Tofu

Half a block of firm/extra firm tofu, pressed and chopped into chunks
Handful of plain flour for dusting

Method

- Add all of the broth ingredients into a large pot apart from the leeks, spring onions and noodles.
- When carrots are almost tender, add in the noodles and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a chip pan/deep fat fryer until boiling *BE CAREFUL*, dust the tofu with flour thoroughly and then carefully add to the fryer and fry until a golden brown in colour.
- When the soup and tofu are ready, place them in a bowl (see above for serving suggestion) and garnish with leeks and spring onions.

* These tofu bites are great on their own, you can make more and taste delicious dipped into the leftover broth!

Enjoy!

Crispy Sweet Tofu with Lemon Rice and Steamed Greens

Ingredients

For the Tofu
Extra Firm Tofu, pressed and cut into cubes/rectangles
3 tbsp of agave nectar (available at Holland & Barrett and larger supermarkets)
3 tbsp of dark soy sauce
1 tbsp of cayenne pepper (or any chilli pepper powder!)
2 large garlic cloves, minced

For the Rice

Rice, boiled (however much you want, just adjust to your taste)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp of dried coriander, or fresh, finely chopped

For the Veg

Handful of julienned leeks
Handful of julienned choi sum (or pak choi, these are now available at supermarkets)
Handful of shredded green cabbage
Finely chopped baby radishes to garnish

Method

- Mix together the minced garlic, agave nectar, soy sauce and cayenne pepper in a bowl.
- Add the tofu and coat well with mixture, leave this to marinate until you are ready to cook it.
- Add boiling water to a wok (or frying pan) and line the bottom of a bamboo steamer with parchment paper (if you don't have a bamboo steamer, you can substitute the wok for a small saucepan and the steamer with a bowl, making sure you have a lid big enough to cover the bowl)
- Add all veggies, except the radish, to the steamer and cook until tender, but still with a crunch.
- In another pot, cook the rice, drain well and add lemon juice, salt and coriander and mix. Cover with a lid and reheat when ready to serve.
- Heat a chip-pan, deep frying pot, whatever you call it in your house, on a high heat. When boiling, CAREFULLY add marinated tofu to the pot, discarding the marinade (you can use this to dress the dish afterwards if you like).
- Fry the tofu until golden brown and crispy on the outside, you can check this with a knife or chopstick. *BE CAREFUL*
- Reheat the rice, watching carefully as to not burning it.
- Line the bottom of a dish with the steamed veggies, adding the rice on top and topping with the tofu.
- Garnish with the chopped radishes and serve!

Pets and Vegan/Vegetarian Diets

So recently my dog (13 year old Border Collie named Shep) has been having trouble with his back legs and walking long distances. We also noticed a substantial weight gain.
Now, we only feed Shep once a day (with occasional treats), we normally feed him 1 can of Winalot dog food mixed with two small cupfuls of dry mixer.

So we have decided to start him on a vegetarian diet, perhaps even pescatarian, as he loves tuna! We don't feed him dairy products (minus a slice of cheese very very occasionally), so his diet would be more or less plant based.

I want to keep you guys informed of how it goes, and will supply recipes I've used for anyone who is trying to convert their dogs - I will attach recipes to the bottom of this blog however so people aren't making strange meals for themselves!

PLEASE NOTE:
Dogs (and cats!) need certain extra supplements to live on vegetarian diets. Dogs and cats are omnivorous (like us!) but, just like normal dog food, supplements are added to these foods that we as humans do not need, but that pets need for certain health aspects.
These supplements are Taurine and L-Caratine, which can be found in whole foods markets such as Holland and Barrett, maybe try somewhere else for lower prices, Amazon?
I'm not sure on exact amounts at the moment.

Some Useful Links
http://www.peta.org/living/companion-animals/vegetarian-cats-and-dogs.aspx
^ This will tell you the gruesome truth about what goes into your dogs tinned food!

http://thekindlife.com/blog/post/what-to-feed-my-dogs-2



*MORE COMING SOON*

Donkey Sanctuary

So today I came across this beautiful little website for a donkey sanctuary in Devon.
You can play games, sponsor/adopt donkeys, watch loads of adorable donkey videos and just learn about donkeys in general!

Donkeys go through so much cruelty every year, being used for entertainment purposes (Blackpool beaches etc) and being held in small stables with barely any room to move.

* Must add that I do not know if Blackpools donkeys in particular are cooped up in small places. I also have just read that they are checked every few months or so for any signs of cruelty/disease etc.
(But they surely can't be very happy walking around the beach with little kids on their backs all day :(!)

Help stop cruelty for these poor, defenceless animals <3

The Donkey Sanctuary

Asparagus and Potato Soup

This ones real yummy!

     

Ingredients

1 decent sized packet of asparagus tips
Half an onion
4 small potatoes
Generous pinch of salt
Generous pinch of dried chilli flakes (or 2 normal medium chillies)
Small bunch of parsley
Handful of quinoa (dry)
1 vegetable stock cube
300ml of water, add more if needed

Method

- Chop onions and asparagus tips roughly
- Peel potatoes and chop into small cubes
- Wash quinoa and dissolve stock cube in water
- Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until soft
- Remove from heat and add in any remaining ingredients
- Blend until smooth and creamy
- Garnish with chillies or parsley
- Serve and enjoy!

Wizpert

Hello guys, I've signed up to Wizpert, so you can now click the button below if you would like any advice on vegan/vegetarian via Skype. I hope I can help as many of you as possible with delicious recipes, recipe ideas or even with a veggie/vegan transition! Much love!

Vegetable-packed Miso Soup

Ingredients

- I used a mixed veg pack here, which consisted of: bamboo shoots, spring cabbage, carrots and beansprouts

- 1 Dried nori sheet, torn into small pieces

- 3 mushrooms, chopped

- 1 large pak choi

- 1 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tsp habanero tabasco

- 1 tsp cayenne pepper

- Dried/fresh coriander & parsley

- 1 tsp Miso paste

- 1 vegetable stock cube (or paste)

- 250ml boiling water

Spring onions for garnish

Optional

- Tofu

- Favourite noodles, I recommend udon, soba or rice noodles!

Method

- Mix boiling water together with stock cube

- Put all vegetables into a large pot and pour veg stock over mix

- Add spices and tabasco and bring to the boil

- Once brought to the boil, simmer for another five or so minutes until pak choi and mushrooms have softened slightly

- Turn off heat, cover and leave to steam for ten minutes

- Once steamed, add in miso paste and stir through

- Garnish, serve, and enjoy ^.^!

Good News!

I finally found the charger for my dslr!

This is great, I can finally take decent pictures of my recipes! Instead of having to make do with terrible instagram/mobile phone pictures..

So happy!

Thai Lemongrass Pasta

This burned the mouth of of me, made it a tad too spicy, but I'll give you guys a less spicy version!

Ingredients
Generous helping of large macaroni/rice noodles/rice
Green and red peppers, sliced
Coriander/Parsley, chopped
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup of coconut milk/cream
2 tbsp of garlic puree
Thai Lemongrass sauce (I've used Blue Dragon here)
1 tsp of thai green curry paste
1 veg stock cube (I used Knowe)
Lemon juice to taste
Sugar snap peas
Salt to taste

Method
- Boil pasta/rice until soft
- Drain out some water and dissolve stock cube amongst the condiment
- Add peppers, sugar snap peas, coconut cream and garlic puree
- Add cayenne pepper and Thai Lemongrass sauce and thai green curry paste
- Stir until mixture thickens and boils
- Add lemon juice and salt to taste
- Serve and enjoy :3!

Grilled Peaches with Yoghurt and Raspberries

Ah this recipes is just delicious! I seen this recipe on Symon's Suppers on FoodNetwork UK last week and I had to veganise it! I have to admit, I burned the peaches slightly on the grill pan, but they were still magnificent!

Ingredients
2 large peaches, halved, pitted
Generous helping of soy plain yoghurt (I've used Alpro here, you can use any flavoured soy yoghurt too!)
5/6 raspberries
Generous helping of agave nectar (available at Holland and Barrett and online supermarkets)

Method
- Grill peaches either on a grill pan (I don't recommend this as I burned mine) or in a conventional oven until browned lightly
- Place neatly onto a plate and drizzle yoghurt and nectar over the peaches
- Place some raspberries nicely between the peaches and serve

Optional
I think some raw cane sugar or cinnamon would go delicious with this recipe, too bad I was out!

Miso soup with Rice Noodles, Pak Choi and Seasonal Squash

This is my favourite! Pak choi, pak choi and more pak choi!
And some vodka..

Ingredients
1 tbsp of miso paste (apparently you get different kinds, I haven't tried them, but I use the little jar from Sainsburys!)
2/3 cups of water
1 veg stock cube (I use knowe)
As much pak choi/kale as you like (recently being sold at Tesco, but always available at chinese supermarkets)
1 seasonal squash
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 tsp of garlic puree/powder
1 tsp of ginger
1 tbsp of Five Spice
Lemon pepper and salt to taste

Method
- Usually, I just chop everything up, throw it into a pot of boiling water and cook until the squash is nice and soft. Its really as easy as that!

Vodka Screwdriver (shown above)
Vodka
Orange juice
A little lemon juice

Vegan Potato Salad

This is one of those recipes that I feel doesn't need measurements, that is all about how much you want and what your taste is like. So I'm not going to give measurements but rather what I think are some lovely ingredients which make a great vegan potato salad!

Ingredients
Potatoes, roughly chopped (skins on if preferred)
Vegan mayonnaise (I like Solesse- purchased at Asda, which is soya free too!)
Red/green onions
Spring onions
Parsley/Coriander, chopped
Cider vinegar (malt is fine too)
Lemon juice
Salt to taste

Method
- Salt a pot of cold water and boil potatoes for 20 minutes on a medium/high heat until soft but not falling apart
- In a bowl, chop up all the herbs and vegetables, scoop in some mayonnaise and flavour with vinegar, lemon juice and salt
- Once potatoes are tender, drain water and rinse with cold water to cool slightly
* I find it easier to transfer the potatoes back into the pot and coat them here rather than in the bowl, however if you are using a larger bowl they can go straight into there
- Either serve like this or chill for later!

Enjoy :3

Meat-free chilli con carne with almond 'feta cheese'

Ingredients (Makes around 3 servings)

Chilli
1 vegetable stock cube (I use knowe)
Boiling water (enough to cover 'mince')
2 cups of vegan mince
1/2 tin of kidney/black beans (add more if you prefer!)
2 cups of rice (I've used spaghetti here but much prefer rice!)
1 tbsp of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp of paprika
1 full onion, chopped
1 can of tinned chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp of garlic puree
1 tbsp of tomato puree
Parsley
Coriander

Optional
I like to add bell peppers, red and green chillies and jalepenos too.

Almond Feta Cheese (adapted from Food.com)
Half a bag of ground almonds
I find I always change the amounts of garlic/salt/lemon juice I use so add a little at a time until you have a desired taste!
Half a cup of water (you can use rice milk etc if you prefer a creamier taste)

Method
- Dissolve stock cube in the boiling water
- Add in the 'mince' and boil until mince has softened slightly
- Add in chopped tomatoes, tomato/garlic puree and beans
- Bring to boil
(If you're adding peppers/chillies etc, add them now)
- Add cayenne pepper and paprika

-Put the rice on to boil at this point

- Once rice is almost done, add parsley, coriander and onion to the chilli and simmer for the remaining time the rice has
- Serve chilli on top of the rice, sprinkle with the feta 'cheese' and enjoy!

Almond Feta 'Cheese' Method
This ones real easy!
- Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth but not runny
- Put into a cheesecloth (I use Tesco Value disposable all-purpose cloths) and drain 'cheese' mixture
I like to eat it like this, but you can put it in the oven, in an oven safe tin, at about 150 degrees for 20 minutes (until top is golden)

Lily and button mushroom soup.

Theres nothing I love more than a creamy bowl of mushroom soup!
Ive used lily and button mushrooms here, but you can adapt it to your favourite mushrooms.

Recipe
As many of your favourite mushrooms
1 vegetable stock cube
Half a cup of non-dairy cream (I used alpro)
Two cloves of garlic or two spoonfuls of garlic puree
Half an onion (optional)
1 tsp of dried rosemary
1 tsp of dried coriander
1 tsp of dried parsley
2 tsp of cornflour to thicken
Fresh sprig of one of the above herbs as a garnish
Salt to taste

Method
- Boil mushrooms in the vegetable stock until soft
- Add onion to soften
- Let broth cool slightly then transfer to a food processor
- Add dried herbs, cream, garlic and salt and mix for five minutes
- Transfer back to pot and bring to the boil
- Dissolve 2 tsp of cornflour in water and mix into soup
- When thickened, transfer to bowl, garnish and serve

I absolutely adore this soup recipe. I hope you will too :3!