What I Eat In A Day | Vegan Recipes

Hello, lovelies! Who doesn't like food? I love food! And, nearly more than that, I love finding new recipes to try. Now, I don't always eat vegan, which is terrible I know, but I try to as much as I can. That said, I spend far more time than I should watching vegan what I eat in a day videos on youtube and jotting down the recipes to try, and I adore spending my time in the kitchen playing about until I've got a dish that I just can't stop eating. So, I thought I'd join in and tell you all what I eat in a day, along with the recipes so you can try them out too. 

Breakfast 

Now, this is pretty non-negotiable. I'm not one of those people who can sit down to a huge plate of pancakes or a cooked breakfast. I almost always have the same thing - porridge. I switch my add-ins and toppings around pretty often, but you can almost always bet on the fact that I'll be sitting down to a bowl of hot porridge on any given morning. Even the summer. Because I'm always cold. 

Recipe: 

This one is pretty simple. Add 1/2 cup of oats and 1 cup of your liquid of choice to a pan, and heat over a medium heat. About halfway through, add 1/2 a mashed up banana, a small handful blueberries and 1/2 tsp maple syrup and keep stirring until it's combined fully and your consistency of choice (I like mine pretty thick, so I cook for a longer time). The banana and syrup make this super sweet, but the tartness of the berries cuts through the sweetness really well. And, it's loaded with fruit so you're already well on your way to your 5 a day! Top with the remaining banana and a drizzle of peanut butter and you're good to go.

Lunch

Unlike breakfast, I try to have a different lunch every day. I get bored very easily, and if I have the same food too often I literally can't eat it again for months with the exception of a few things, but this veg soup is a super simple, versatile and filling meal. You could even double up the serving and have it with some crusty bread for dinner. I don't have a set-in-stone recipe for this, I just use whatever veg looks like it's about to go off with my go-to base of onion, garlic and chilli, so no matter what you've got you can just throw it in without having to go out and spend a fortune on new ingredients. 

Recipe: 
This makes about 8 generous portions. 

Cut up any veg you've got lying around into medium sized chunks. I used 2 sweet potatoes, about 7-8 carrots, and about 6-7 mushrooms in this but you can use anything. Finely chop one onion, and 1/2-1 chilli, and mince 3-4 cloves of garlic. Fry this off in a small amount of oil and a pinch of  smoked paprika until everything softens. Throw in your veggies and add enough veg stock to cover everything. Leave to simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until you can easily break apart the veg with your spoon (this will depend on what you use, but about 30-45 minutes). Leave to cool, then blitz everything in a blender. You can then divide into portions, and freeze what you aren't going to use. 

I forgot to take a picture, but here's one from last week! Sorry.

Dinner

Now, I'm not a fan of spaghetti. At all. But, this pasta bolognese is one of my favourite dinners. I switch out the spaghetti for whatever pasta I've got lying around, and even chickpeas if I fancy a change. You can also use this to top sweet potatoes, quinoa.. the list is endless! Topped with a nice helping of vegan cheese, you can't beat sitting down to this comforting pasta dish.

Recipe:
The sauce makes 2-3 portions. 

Cook your pasta according to the pack instructions. Chop 3-4 cloves garlic, 1/2 red onion, and cook in a pan with 1/2 a veggie stock cube and 1-2 tbsp boiling water. When the garlic and onion have softened, add 1 can chopped tomatoes, 1tbsp tomato paste/puree and 3-4 chopped mushrooms. Leave to simmer over a medium heat until the sauce is piping hot. Drain the pasta, add your sauce and toss to coat. Grate some vegan cheese over the top, and you're done! Freeze any portions you haven't used.

So, that's that! I didn't add snacks into this because I'll be doing a separate vegan snacks post soon, but I hope you liked these recipes. They're all so easy, but super delicious. 

Much love, Maxine xo

Follow Me On:

Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin |

Apple Chips | Healthy, Easy Snacks!

Hello Lovelies! I'm a snacker. I like to snack. I'd be perfectly happy just grazing through the day instead of eating actual meals. So, I've recently been on the look out for things I can snack on that are as healthy as possible. You may or may not know that over the past few weeks I've been really trying to eat a plant based, clean diet. I've been eating 'clean' for quite some time, but I've recently made the decision to eat plant based where I can. So, adding that into the mix I've found the tastiest, easiest plant based snack: apple chips! 

The first time I made these, I tried them and knew I was in love. So, I gave some to my sister and my mum, and the entire pot was gone before we knew it! They're only 2 ingredients, and although they don't necessarily take minutes, they take about 5/10 minutes to prepare (depending on how you cut your apples, more on that in a second!) and then you bung them in the oven and leave them there while you get on with your day. I personally batch make these over the weekend and then I've got enough to last the full week. 

What You Need: 

2 baking trays, lined

2 Apples (1 per baking tray), thinly sliced. 

Cinnamon. 

thats it!

What You Do:

Preheat oven to 100c

1. Cut the apples thinly (about the thickness of a regular crisp for reference). I have got no knife skills at all and I managed to cut them super thinly, but you can use a mandoline slicer if you want to (I find a cerated knife works much better)
2. Place them on a lined baking tray, making sure they don't overlap but are close together. I find 1 apple fills 1 baking tray, and I bake them 2 trays at a time, but that's up to you.
3. Sprinkle one side with cinnamon, and put in the oven.
4. After 1 hour, flip them over and leave for another hour.
5. Once they're out, leave them to cool and really crisp up for about 30 minutes, then transfer to an airtight container. 

I find these last about 5 days to a week in an airtight container, as long as you keep them in a cool, dark area. 

What are your favourite snacks? Have you tried these?

Much love, Maxine xo

Follow Me On:

Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin |

Vegan 'sausage' rolls | Vegan Recipes

Hello, lovelies. You may or may not have been aware that I've been trying to phase a lot of vegan foods into my everyday diet. Although I'm not following a strict vegan diet yet, I'm getting there! And, after recently seeing this recipe I had to try them out! I didn't have everything handy and I don't like other things, so I've adapted them to my taste, but I think they turned out well! They're a lovely treat if you're a vegan/vegetarian, or even if you just fancy something new! 

What You Need (makes 8): 

250g Mushrooms, very finely chopped

Half a white onion, very finely chopped

Half a red onion, very finely chopped 

4 cloves of garlic, crushed 

1 large carrot, grated

1 potato, grated

Vegetable stock

Smoked paprika (about a tbsp)

1 tsp coconut oil 

40g Breadcrumbs

1 sheet of ready-made puff pastry (by all means make you own, but I'm lazy!)

What To Do: 

Preheat oven to 180.

1. Heat the coconut oil over a medium heat in a pan, and add the onions and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, until soft and just caramelising. 

2. While that's cooking, add the mushrooms, carrot and potato into a bowl and mix until they're well combined. Make up the vegetable stock and add the paprika to taste (I used about a tablespoon, but I like mine strong!)

3. Add the mushroom mixture to the onions and cook for a few minutes until it all starts to combine and soften. 

4. Add the stock, stir thoroughly and leave to simmer until all of the liquid has evaporated. Check for seasoning and add salt, pepper and more paprika to taste. Leave to cool. 

5. Once that's cooled, add the mixture to a mixing bowl and add in the breadcrumbs. stir thoroughly. 

6. Lay out the pastry and cut in half lengthwise, so you've got two long strips of pastry. 

7. Add the mixture to the pastry, in a sausage shape along each length of the pastry. 

8. Brush the edges with almond milk (I used oat but I presume almond it more popular, and it's what the initial recipe used) and fold over. 'Crimp' the edges with a fork, and brush over with the milk again. Cut each length into 4 rolls, and cut 2 holes in each roll with a knife. 

9. Pop in the oven for 25-30 minutes. 

10. And, enjoy! 

And, that's that! I think the most faffy part is chopping up all the veg, but I just pop it into a food processor. After that, they're really simple to make and they're a great treat! 

Much love, Maxine xo

Follow Me On:

Twitter| Instagram | Bloglovin |

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs | Recipe

Hello lovelies! Today I've got a recipe I've been so excited to share with you guys. I adapted this from Lucy Mecklenburgh's Be Body Beautiful, just by playing with the recipe and finding what I liked best. They're also just as delicious without the mozzarella!  I love cooking food from scratch, and in an effort to eat clean(er!) I've been really turning to home-made food, and this book has been an absolute Godsend! This is real comfort food, but with the added bonus of being healthy! 

As you can see, I served these with a baked sweet potato and a salad, but they're super versatile and you can really put with with pretty much anything! 

Recipe:

200g mince 

1 tbsp chopped chives 

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 

1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped 

Pinch of salt 

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp paprika 

1 tbsp coconut oil 

60g of mozzarella, chopped into 8 equal pieces. (If using) 

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 8. Add all of the ingredients except the mozzarella to a bowl, and mix together. Form the mixture into balls (I found about 2 teaspoons of the mix made the size I wanted), push 1 piece of mozzarella into the centre of the ball and close the ball around it. Place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, and bake for about 10-15 minutes. 

And, there you have it! It's as simple as that. You can add or takeaway whatever you like to suit your tastes, just like I did. Plus, any leftovers can be frozen for a later date! 

What foods have you been loving lately?

Much Love, Maxine xo

Follow Me On:

Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin