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

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Back To School Haul 2016 | Maxine Studies

Hello, Lovelies! As I mentioned in my recent 'where have I been' post, I'm going back to college for the millionth time this year. I don't actually start until the 20th, so I'm a bit ahead of my own schedule, but I like to be organised so I've already got everything in and ready to go. Plus, for anyone going back a bit earlier, you might see something you fancy! I picked all this up over the last few week, and it wasn't until I was getting everything together and getting the last few things I realised I've accidentally got a bit of a colour theme going. 

I've still got a ton of stuff leftover from last year, so this isn't everything I'll be taking. I will be doing a "what's in my pencil case" type post soon with all the things I take on a daily basis, so keep your eyes peeled for that. 

Obviously, the first thing I needed was a ring binder. I just wanted one I could divide up, instead of having to carry a few different ones around, so I went for one of the bigger lever arch files. I love this baby blue one from Wilko's (£2), and the design inside is lovely. I'm not a fan of anything too 'busy', so I like that it's plain on the outside but cute and girly on the inside. To separate the folder up, I just got these subject dividers (95p). I won't need all 12, but they seemed a bit firmer than the cheap cardboard ones which always end up ripped and falling out after about a week in my folder, so I just picked these up. Much the same with these plastic wallets (89p for 50), they aren't anything fancy, but they'll do to stick any loose bits of paper in which is all you need them to do, really!

Next, of course, I had to pick up a notebook. Like the folder, I wanted to just have to take one, and I always tend to get the Pukka project pads, but I loved the print on this one and it was only £2 in Morrisons. I also needed a diary, because I'm a micro-planner and organisation freak! This rabbit one was, again, £2 in Wilkos, and I love the cute design on the front. It was hard to find one that wasn't either a plain block colour or aimed at a younger audience, but I thought this was a nice middle ground, and the baby blue colours go well with my accidental theme this year!

Like I mentioned, I've got a ridiculous amount of stuff left over from last year, so all I needed to pick up on the pen front was some ballpoint pens and some colouring pencils. For pens, I picked up this pack of Paper Mate pens in 8 different colours (£1.50) I normally go for a super thin nib on a pen because my handwriting is cursive and really 'loopy' and gets lost with a thicker nib, and I didn't notice that these ones were marked as medium. So, I might end up not really using these in the end; which is annoying. I didn't really want anything fancy with pencils, so I just picked up the first ones I saw, which ended up being this 30 pack from Wilko's. They were only £1.75, which I thought was a complete bargain for the amount you get. To stick all this in I picked up this pencil case (£1.50), which isn't anything fancy but it gets the job done and looks nice with all the other baby blue things I bought.

Of course, even though I've got a massive pile in the house, I couldn't walk past these books of sticky notes from Morrisons. I can't remember which and I've lost the receipt, but one pack was 50p and the other was £1. They're really cute, and a nice change from the typical neon or pastel colours you get, and I like the fact they come in a little book with loads of different shapes and sizes. Next, my course is assignment based, with a lot of posters and things like that, so I thought I'd get this 4 pack of glue (£1). You get two 21g tubes and two 15g tubes. I might not need it, but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it! And, for £1 for 4 tubes you can't really go wrong. 

Finally, I picked up this USB. I have got one lying around somewhere, but God knows where I've put it so I obviously had to buy a new one. I ended up going for the 16gb pastel blue one, which was £5 from Wilkos. I wasn't going to get a 16gb one, purely because I don't think I'll ever need that much, but the 8gb was £4 and this one was £5, so I thought I might as well. Plus, just like with the glue I'd much rather have a load of spare memory space I don't use, than need it and not have it for the sake of another £1. 

And, breathe! I didn't think I'd bought that much until I came to write this post up! I still need to buy a bag, but I'm so fussy about what I want that I'd never get this post up in time if I had to wait until I'd bought one. Let me know what you've bought for going back to schoo/college/uni in the comments below, and definitely leave any links too! 

Much love, Maxine xo

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The August Playlist | Recent Music Loves

Hello, lovelies! Fancy having a bit of a snoop around my playlist for this month and finding out what songs I've been loving? You've come to the right place! I've gathered together all the songs I've had on repeat over the past month or so into one handy little post. Good, eh?

Bastille - Good Grief 

I honestly couldn't have made this post without adding this song. I've been obsessed with it probably for a little bit over a month, but it's still one of my go-to songs even now. I love Bastille, and I think this may be my favourite of all their songs. 

Rihanna - Love On The Brain 

This is a very recent love, but a love all the same. Now, I'll be the first to say I'm not Rihanna's biggest fan. I don't necessarily dislike her or her music, it's just not something I'd seek out either. But, I stumbled across this song in another playlist and I literally had it on repeat for the next 2 days. Solid. Like, it's all I listened too. Seriously! 

James TW - When You Love Someone 

This is the first I've heard of this guy, but I sincerely hope it's not the last! It's one of those easy listening, stick it on in the background when you're reading or just relaxing songs. Then, you listen to the lyrics and you're like "oh. so it's like that". Very much like Jamie Lawson's Wasn't Expecting That, where you don't really listen to the lyrics but when you do you realise it's a lot more meaningful than you first thought.

What have you guys been loving this month? I'm always open to new music, so leave your links below. 

Much love, Maxine xo

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Life Update! | Mental Health, Education + Pets!

Hello, Lovelies! It's been a while, eh? Quite a bit has happened, and you wouldn't believe the number of times I've thought "I must blog about that" and then just haven't had the time to actually sit down and have a good old natter about life. I've got a ton of posts hanging around in drafts over the past month or two, but it didn't feel right to start writing them up and getting them posted without having a little catch up on where I've been, and most importantly where I'm going! 

First things first, we really can't have this post without mentioning my new little babies! I got kittens! I was originally just going to get Henry; but in the end, we decided to get his brother, Winston, too. They were far too attached to each other to separate them, and actually the morning I rang about Henry the people who had reserved Winston had rang up to say they couldn't take him after all, so it was definitely fate. Winston loves nothing more than sitting down on your knee and watching Youtube videos (I've trained him well!) whilst Henry is a bit more reserved. They've settled in with the other pets really well, too. Kaiser is in awe of them, and they've taken to him really well. The home they came from also had a German Shepherd, which was one of the main selling points in picking them, as it was important to us that they wouldn't be scared of Kaiser and that their first few interactions were positive; which is obviously a lot easier when they've been brought up with another big, slobbery dog. 

Henry is mostly black, and Winston is the one with a lot of white.

The next biggest thing has got to be my mental health. I've spoken in posts before about my mental health problems, but Thursday the 4th of August marked the day I was officially discharged after nearly 2 years in counseling! I also came off my medication about 2 months or so ago, which was a big step. I honestly couldn't be happier or prouder in the way that my life has changed this year. I've got a post in the works all about my mental health problems in more detail and how I coped with counseling, medication and things like that, which I'm really looking forward to putting together.

Another big change is my education! After many failed attempts, I'll be doing an Access to HE course this coming September. I'm keeping tight-lipped about the degree I'm hoping it will lead onto just in case it all goes tits up, but I'm beyond excited! It feels like everything's falling into place, and this just feels like it makes perfect sense. I've tried a few times before but it's just never been the right time for me, but with all the big improvements in my mental health; I think this is the right time, finally! I'll have a ton of posts up on applying to uni as a ~mature student, study tips, and all that kinda stuff once I get into the swing of things myself.

Let me know what things have been happening in your life that you're excited about below! 

Much love, Maxine xo

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The Almost Mid-Year Review | Looking At 2016 So Far

Hello, Lovelies! This was a slightly ad-hoc post. I didn't have this planned, but it popped into my head and who am I to say no to an idea? They don't happen all that often! So, I thought I'd take a look at the first 4 months of the year, review my new year's resolutions, and have a chat about the plan going forward. Let's do this!

One thing I want to discuss is the way that my mental health has played a part in the way the last 4 months have evolved. I mentioned briefly the history of my mental health in this post, and actually felt somewhat better until recently. I find that these things come and go with me. However, I've recently began counselling again, and am making steps to improve that area of my life. Although, of course struggling with your mental health takes it's toll, and I feel like that may be reflected in the way I've attempted to achieve the goals to far.

The first thing I wanted to do was be more organised with my time, which has pretty much been a non-starter! I tried really, really hard, but I'm a creature of habit, and sadly a lot of my habits are bad. This is definitely a goal I need to start working on, though. Hopefully in another 4 months, I can come back and tell you all about my success in managing my time. Until then, though...

I feel like the next two go hand in hand with me: worrying about pleasing myself instead of other's, and accepting that perfect isn't obtainable. I've really been struggling with this one, recently. I very much hold myself to other people's standards rather than my own. I feel like we're all guilty of doing this to different degrees, but this is a recurring theme in my counselling sessions, actually. If I'm happy with x thing, but Person A wants me to do y thing, then x thing is now a failure in my eyes. I think very black and white: perfect and useless, win and fail. I need to start to accept that the grey area exists, and I need to start choosing what shade of grey I am happy with. Something I've been working on in recent weeks, but certainly something that needs to be in the front of my mind in the coming months.

Next is blogging more, which is very hit and miss! I did perfectly, and then things wained. Although, I'm definitely getting the bug back! We'll see how this goes, I've noticed my want to blog varies with my mood, so hopefully things will only get better! Not the achievement I've wanted, but actually, all things considered, I'm happy with that I've achieved with this goal so far.

My final thoughts on the past 4 months as a whole: they haven't gone the way I intended. My motivation has dipped a lot, and life has certainly got in the way a lot more than I planned for. That said, I know that I could've done a lot worse, and actually I feel like I've put in place enough ground work to absolutely kill the next 4 months! 

How have you been getting on with your new years' resolutions? 

Much love, Maxine xo

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