App of the Month!

I was Vegan for a year before I fell pregnant with my daughter, for personal reasons (I vomited up everything I ate) I reverted to Vegetarianism, but now I feel myself edging toward Veganism again. 

I miss the way it made me feel, yes a big bar of milky chocolate makes me feel good... whilst I'm eating it, but it's nothing compared to the feelings I got ALL the time from eating fresh and healthy foods...

Especially food that is cruelty-free, but that's a discussion for another day and another blog post.

I spied this app whilst flicking through recipe recommendations on the app store, the hot pink avatar did well to attract my attention, as did the cheery chirpy face of Sarah Kramer holding a bowl of my favourite fruit of all time!

Whats more, it was free, and I do enjoy free things!

The first thing I loved about this app is how neat and well designed it is. 

The bar across the bottom helps you to navigate from the meal you fancied, to specific recipes, videos and any files you wanted to save as your favourites.

There's even a handy little button you can click to add all of the ingredients from a particular recipe into a little shopping list for you that you can take to your supermarket, rather than having to write down and lug around a huge separate list.

The recipes themselves are laid out in such a way that makes reading the a delight. 

Bright, captivating pictures of the dish immediately make me want to lick the screen. This soup looks amazing!

Sarah adds little recorded notes into each recipe, to give extra tips, the lists are clear and even link to separate recipes on how to make your own flavorings, butters etc.

Even if you're not a Vegan, or even a Vegetarian, I encourage you to download this lovely app. It's full of such delicious healthy recipes, that would suit the budget and waist-line of any health conscious soul, or penny-pinching dieter.

I wish I had more time to cook all of these recipes, but I will be slowly making my way through this app, throughout my transition back to Veganism!

Love,

Laura xxx

Pudding!

Whether through choice or through allergies, dairy-free and egg-free puddings can still be delicious! This is one of my favorite quick and easy puddings that uses up a lot of leftovers.

Rich, sweet, soft and crunchy at the same time, this is such a homely and comforting dish for this time of year.

(For those of you who read my 'Veggie Pie' recipe, you'll know that I'm not big on measurements and specific instructions, so it's all done by eye and taste!)

The ingredients are either readily available in most people's cupboards or can easily be attained, the bread pictured here was stale but not quite off and the strawberries were beginning to soften. A great way to use up old fruit!

I didn't have enough almond milk to soak my bread in so I added in some soya cream... oh my goodness, I don't know why I didn't do that sooner!

Butter both sides of your bread, cut in half and arrange so that the fill an oven-proof dish (grease the sides so the edges don't burn or stick). Sprinkle through some raisins or currants and squish down.

Half-fill a bowl with Almond milk, Soya cream, some Strawberries and a couple of tablespoons of caster sugar and whisk together... this mixture tastes like heaven!

Pour the mixture over the bread and squidge (real word) it all together so the bread soaks up all of the milk, it should be lightly swimming in a sweet almondy bath.

Sprinkle a handful of the brown sugar over the top to form a sweet crust then pop into an oven (about 190 degrees C) for 10-20 minutes, until the edges are golden.

This is the easiest and cheapest pudding and so delicious! It's also delicious cold, but better hot and steamy!

The strawberries are a sneaky reminder that Summer is only a few months away and that the cold nights will soon end, so enjoy hot comforting meals when you can!

Love,

Laura xxx

Mmmm Pie!

It may not be the fanciest looking thing in the world but I love this recipe! My Mama made this pie for me when she stayed at mine to help with my new baby, so the pie embodies everything that is homely and loving in my life, so I thought I would share this SUPER simple and cheap recipe.

It feeds four people... or my Husband in one sitting. 

(Disclaimer: There is no actual recipe for this pie, so there are no measurements or any accuracies like that, it's all done by eye, but it's really easy!)

As well as what is written in the picture above, you will need; Some sort of milky drink (I use Almond milk) and butter for the white sauce, salt and pepper, a vegetable stock cube, garlic oil and ready-roll puff pastry.

Chop up your veggies and extras!

Fry off your onions, mushrooms and extras in a heavy-based pan until they're lovely and brown, then remove from the pan and fill it with boiling water from the kettle (saves time!)

Boil all of your veg in one happy little veggie-Jacuzzi and leave to simmer until the contents are nice and soft.

(Excuse the state of the milk pan, apparently 'dishwasher-safe' does not mean 'dishwasher-safe' these days.)

Next, make a Rue. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter into a pan and melt, then add a few tablespoons of flour and mix until it forms a sort of tacky plasticine. This is when you add your milk, little by little, until the butter and flour has dissolved to make a deliciously creamy thick sauce. Add your stock cube to the sauce and stir in.

Mix your sauce and veggies together then transfer into an oven-proof dish, roll your ready-made puff pastry onto the top of the dish and put into a moderately hot oven (190 degrees) for 20-30 minutes!

Like I said before, it's not gourmet and you won't be seeing me on Masterchef in this lifetime but it's delicious and comforting and so so SO simple and quick to make.

Enjoy!

Love, 

Laura xxx