Vegan Jaffa Cakes

The one thing I really wasn't happy about giving up when I started eating a vegan diet was Jaffa Cakes. This quintessentially British treat is one of everyone's favourites, so I went on the hunt to find some recipes and then came up with my own.

INGREDIENTS

• 200g self-raising flour
• 120g caster sugar
• 200ml non-dairy milk
• 100ml sunflower oil (or any other flavourless oil)
• 2 tsp vanilla essence 
• 2 bars of dark or dairy free chocolate
• orange marmalade 
• dairy free margarine

METHOD

• Pre-heat the oven to 200C and grease a cupcake tray using your dairy free margarine.
• Mix together your self-raising flour and caster sugar, then mix in the milk, oil and vanilla essence.
• Spoon and tablespoon amount of the mixture into each cupcake opening in the tray.
• Put in the oven to cook for 8 - 10 minutes.
• Once the Jaffa Cake bases are done, leave them to the side to cool for 30 minutes. 
• Spoon about a teaspoon of marmalade onto each base and put in the fridge to set.
• Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over a small saucepan of water.
• Once melted, dip the marmalade side of the Jaffa Cake into the bowl of melted chocolate, then put in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set.

Let me know if you try these out!

Thanks for reading, 

My Go To Breakfast | Chia Seed Pudding

Many say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day but I've always been one of those people who just skip it all together. Recently, I have been making more of an effort to get up and eat breakfast, instead of just spending the extra 20 minutes in bed (we've all been there). After deciding to go plant based at the beginning of the year, I needed a quick yet filling meal to start my day, which is when I came across Chia Seed puddings. They're a weird jelly consistency but don't let that put you off - they honestly taste yummy. This is perfect for those rushed mornings because you make it the night before and pop it in the fridge for the morning. So, I thought I'd share the recipe I've been using with you.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice)
• 4 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (or sweetener of your choice)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

It really is just as simple as mixing all the ingredients together. Leave in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably over night. Before eating, pop some fruit on top and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Dear January

Dear January,

I can't quite believe the first month of 2016 has already been and gone. 

The past 31 days have set this year off to a good start and I'm more than excited for what's to come. In your time here, January, I started a journey. A journey to becoming a better person and feeling more at peace with myself.

I've started trying to achieve the goals that I set me self at the beginning at the month and I feel so good to finally be improving on the things that didn't go so well in 2015.

You given me an insight into what this year will be like, January, and I'm excited. Thank you. 

Thanks for reading,

Vegan Pancakes

Pancakes are something no one should have to live without, no matter what your dietary requirements are. So, I thought I'd share the recipe I use for vegan pancakes with you.

For two people, you will need:

- 1 and a half cup of oats or oat flour.

- 1 ripe banana.

- 1 cup of milk (I would recommend almond milk).

- 1 tbsp coconut sugar.

- 1/4 tbsp cinnamon. 

Optional:

- Choc shot.

- Maple syrup.

You could also add in some cocoa powder to make chocolate pancakes.

Method:

Blend the oats until they create a flour consistency, then add in the milk and banana and blend again. This should create a smooth pancake batter. Blend in the coconut sugar, cinnamon and anything else you want to add.

Once you've finished blending, melt some coconut oil onto a pan on a medium heat. Pour some of the batter into the pan to create a pancake, keep doing this until all the batter has been used. I like to make small/miniature pancakes but the sizing is completely up to you.

You can then decorate however you want. I like to pour over some maple syrup or choc shot.

Let me know if you try these out!

Thanks for reading,

My Scrapbook

At the beginning of last year, I decided to make a scrapbook of that year seeing as it was a pretty big year for me. I actually found the process of cutting and sticking a great way to relax and unwind at the end of each month and seeing all your memories from the past year laid out in front of you is quite rewarding. I'm definitely going to make another one for 2016!

I started of with new years eve on the first page, then just when through, creating a page for each day that something I want to remember happened.

Some things that I would suggest you get for your scrapbook are:

- A scrapbook, obviously. I got mine for paperchase.

- Some chalkboard stickers and a chalk pen.

- Colourful paper, such as wrapping paper.

- GLITTER!

- Gold and silver pens if your scrapbook has black paper.

- Washi tape.

- Decorative stickers.

I got my photo's printed out in a polaroid style from a place called 'cheerz', I would recommend them as they had quick delivery and it wasn't too pricey - however, I haven't tried out any other places.

Let me know if you decide to do something like this for 2016!

Thanks for reading,

Going Plant-Based/Vegan

If you read my 2016 Goals blog post, you'll know that something I want to do this year is start eating a plant-based/vegan diet. I thought I'd share with you some of the foods I bought in preparation in case any of you are considering a change in diet.

Almond milk - I think this is such a brilliant alternative to cow milk. To be honest, I never really liked the taste of 'normal' milk but almond milk is so delicious and I will probably be drinking this for the rest of my life because it just tastes so good.

Nakd bars - I've been eating these bars for a while now and they not only taste amazing but they are so good because they only have 3 or 4 ingredients. My favourite flavour by far is bakewell tart - this tastes exactly like a bakewell tart and the bars are brilliant to grab on the go.

Alpro soya yoghurt -  The chocolate flavour of these is perfect for those chocolate cravings. It tastes so good and obviously a lot healthier than any normal chocolate yoghurt.

Muesli - I've been eating this Dorest Cereals simply fruitly muesli with fruit on top for breakfast recently. It's a great way to start the day and the extra little fruity bits in the cereal taste delicious. I do want to try other brands however, as this probably has lots of added sugar that it really doesn't need.

Chia seeds - These have been my absolute favourite thing by far recently. I mix them with liquid, usually almond milk, to make a chia pudding for breakfast. It has almost a jelly-like consistency. These little seeds are full of protein, omega-3 and fibre.

Tea - I've never been a big breakfast tea drinker, however, I absolutely adore herbal teas. Green tea, peppermint tea and camomile teas are my favourite. Green tea is great for energizing and hydrating you, peppermint tea is brilliant for digestion and camomile is great for relaxing (I usually drink this before bed).

Maple syrup & choc shot - Perhaps not the healthiest, but both of these a brilliant for sweetening up things like chia puddings or putting on top of vegan pancakes.

Dried fruit - Urban fruit have lots of different options of dried fruit, which are great for grabbing to eat on the go. I often get these whilst at college, just for a little snack. My favourite is the dried strawberries because they just taste like strawberry sweets.

Bananas -  Bananas are amazing. They are brilliant for putting on top of things such as muesli or for making things such as pancakes or 'nice cream'.

Frozen fruit - I love buying frozen fruit to put into smoothies or smoothie bowls. Not only does it taste delicious, but it's also super healthy for you.

Let me know if you try out any of these foods!

Thanks for reading,

2016 Goals

New year's resolutions are something I've always been rubbish at sticking to. Saying that, I think it's important to always set yourself targets to hit in order to better yourself as a person. I now try to set myself 5 goals at the beginning of each year and writing them down is the perfect way to help ensure that I stick to them.

01. Start eating a plant based/vegan diet. This is my main goal for 2016 and I've been doing lots of research leading up to the new year. I've been very interesting in eating a plant based diet for quite a long time now and after researching it, I realised just how easy it was and what an amazing impact it could have on my health and the environment. 

02. Get a job. Having left school in June, I've just kind of been floating through life. This year definitely needs to be the year I start taking life a little more seriously and start to earn some sort of income, even if it is just to sustain my make-up collection! 

03. Start volunteering. I carry out work placement as part of my college course but I feel like that's not going to be enough experience to get me into university or to get a good job. I want to start volunteering within the health and social care sector this year, not only to gain experience but also to help people.

04. Cut toxic people out. We all come across some very negative people in our lives, who bring us down or just make our lives a little bit more miserable. Sometimes it's impossible to get rid of those people, but this year I'm going to get rid of those toxic people that I can. I think this is important for a happy and peaceful life.

05. Take better care of myself. Finally, a selfish goal. Taking care of yourself can be easier said than done and a lot of the time, we forget to put ourselves first. I feel as though I need to start taking better care of myself in all areas, such as my skin, my body and my mental health.

All in all, I want to make this year count, I want to make this the year that I got my life on track and I want to feel genuinely content in all aspects.

What are your new year's resolutions or goals?

Thanks for reading!