I don’t know about you but I looove this time of year. The Christmas carols, food and happy vibes are just some of my favourite things about December. Obviously living in Australia, our Christmas is in the middle of summer and more often than not is close to 40 degrees celsius (thankfully this year it was low thirties). Because of this a lot of people spend Christmas by the beach or poolside and have a BBQ but my family has quite a traditional Christmas. We drink egg nog as we decorate the tree, we (ie. my Mum) make rum balls and have a sit down feast on the 25th. When it came time to put up the tree I quickly got to searching for a vegan egg nog recipe and found this one which I absolutely love and have had every day for about 2 weeks hahah.

It honestly tastes like Christmas in your mouth and I can’t get enough! My family are big fans of the Paul’s Egg Nog which I never liked, to me it just tastes like sugary milk, whereas this has warming Christmas spices like cinnamon and nutmeg which just perfect it, plus its healthy! And easy. I put all the thin in my Bosch Styline. So give it a go and let me know if you like it too 🙂

The lead up to Christmas was fairly stress free for me. I had done all of my present shopping about a week beforehand for a change so I could just sit back and relax while listening to  2004 (this is THE best Christmas CD by the way). Going slightly off track but i think we need more Aussie carols, it’s a tad ironic singing along to Winter Wonderland when the closest thing there is to snow is my husky’s fur that she’s moulted on the floor. Anyway, my stress-free Christmas came to an abrupt close on Christmas Eve when i got home from work at 9pm and needed to cook my Christmas lunch so that it could be taken down to the country in the morning.

I made this Festive Squash Jalousie and Potato Bake for lunch and rum balls for dessert. I finished up around 1:30 am but it was totally worth it because everything turned out perfectly! The jalousie particularly was delicious and i will definitely be remaking all three dishes.

I was reading Julie’s blog and she made salmon burger for dinner last night.. I thought this would make an awesome lunch for me and the boyfriend..

Salmon burgers on whole wheat bread

Ingredients:

• 2 salmon filets
• fresh chives
• fresh rosemary
• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup light mayonaise
• salt
• pepper
• salsa herbs
• garlic

Combine all the ingredients in the food processor and blend awaaaaaaaaaaay!

Questions:

– Do you ever compare yourself with models or celebrities?

– Do you often believe that the photoshopped pictures are real?

– What’s your favorite salmon recipe?

Hi guys..!

Just a quick message to say that I need a lil blog time out for the moment.

I’ve been super uber bizzy and I’m not sure yet If I want to continue blogging in the future for many reasons..

Keep you posted soon!

Take care everyone!!

Love,

 

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 cup water
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1 teaspoon cacao
• toppings: banana, raw cacao nibs, sunflower seeds

And not to forget a kiwi

Grilled Zucchini, grilled pepper, grilled shrimps and tomato whole wheat pasta..

Apple, greek yoghurt, muesli and goji berries..

 

Steamed carrots, steamed brocolli, steamed green beans, quinoa, veggie steak and hummus..

Sliced apple with coconut butter and Goji berries..

Hello! I apologize for the lack of blog posts. I am excited to say that I have started working as a cheese educator. I am so happy that I followed my heart and found my way back to cheese land!

My new “Hungy Hues” series is inspired by the colors of my favorite foods. Today is all about the cool, icy color of mint ice cream.

1. Berry basket from Fishs Eddy
2. Anthropologie Elka dinner plate
3. Etco paper mache bowl
4. Chocolate covered mint drops available at Dilettante

Say cheese! Have a happy day!

Every woman gets (or used to get) their period every month and they’re not an enjoyable thing. They’re messy, often unpredictable, make you a crazy person, are painful for many and to top it off they’re expensive. A box of tampons costs roughly $5 and lasts for roughly 1 period. Say you got your first period at 12 and go through menopause at 53, you will have had a period each month for 41 years. That means that in a lifetime, you would spend $2,665 on tampons, and this is excluding the cost of liners, night-time pads, etc. How crazy is that?! Not to mention the impact that pads and tampons have on the environment. Did you know that 7 billion tampons and 13 billion pads end up in land fills each year which then leach into and pollute our waters. Not only are they bad for the environment but also for your body. These products often contain toxic ingredients from cotton blends being bleached by chlorine and pesticide-grown. This is dangerous because these chemicals are carcinogenic (cancer-causing) and are absorbed through the vaginal wall.

What is there left to use then? Well here’s where the Mooncup comes in. I would guess that very few or maybe even none of you have heard about this thing called a Mooncup before, so what is it? It’s a re-usable menstrual cup and it is great. It’s made from soft medical grade silicone and is safer, greener and cheaper than pads and tampons. They’re safer because they have no toxins, bleaches, BPA, dyes or latex and won’t dry out your vagina like tampons can. They’re greener because they last for years and years as opposed to a tampon which just lasts one use before its thrown out. They’re cheaper because they cost roughly $40, so even if you bought multiple Mooncups in your lifetime, no way does the cost compare to the $2,665 you will have spent on tampons. I got mine early 2014 and it has been one of my best investments. The size of them I admit can be slightly daunting and it may be a bit painful initially (especially if you’re a virgin), but don’t worry, you do fold it before insertion and the slight pain doesn’t last long. They also seem like they would be messy but they are no more so than tampons. They honestly get ticks across the board from me! Us women should not have to pay $2,665 just for having a period, nor should our bodies and the environment have to suffer.

Okay, this has to be one of the most common questions that vegans are asked and I guess its understandable since our society places such an emphasis on it in our diet. So firstly, why do we need protein? Protein builds and repairs everything from your organs, nails, muscles, skin, bones, hair and certain hormones. So its safe to say that its pretty important. On the other hand though, have you ever heard of someone having a protein deficiency?? I’m guessing the answer is no. That’s because men need about 56 grams and women 46 grams of protein a day. Protein only needs to make up 10% of your diet meanwhile consuming excessive amounts of protein, 35% or more, can actually be detrimental to your health and may cause; weight gain, extra body fat, stress on your kidneys, dehydration, and leaching of important bone minerals. Since animal bi-products are so full of protein and so frequently consumed, the majority of Australians eat far too much protein.

Ask the person how much protein they eat in a day. I doubt they’ll be able to tell you, nor the amount they should be eating. Protein is present in practically all foods to some degree, including vegetables and most fruits. So even if you are a raw vegan you are not going to become ‘protein deficient’.

If the person is still doubtful, let them know how protein-rich many plant based foods are, such as;

• Tofu: 40g in 1 C of hard tofu
• Beans; 39g in 1 C of chickpeas
• Lentils: 18g in 1 C of cooked lentils
• Seeds: 31g in 1 C of flaxseed
• Wholegrain Bread: 3g in 1 slice
• Quinoa: 8g in 1 C
• Raw Nuts: 30g in 1 C of almonds
• Spirulina: 2.2g in 1 tsp of spirulina powder
• Avocado: 4g in 1 avo

After this, I assure you they will not worry about you being ‘protein deficient’ again