Week three of January was filled with carbs, baking and pancakes. Basically all comfort food! Who ever still thinks a vegan diet is automatically a healthy diet, couldn't be more wrong. There are tons of less nutritious foods which are also vegan, like french fries, pasta and veganaise.. and I ate all of that this week. So it wasn't necessarily the most healthy week but that's not what this month is about for me. As long as it's vegan, I'll eat it! It's all about balance, after all.
I've tested many many different plant-based milks, and my favourites right now are Oatly (the blue one) and Almond Dream (since I can't find Nut Dream anywhere any longer). I like these milks because they foam up well in the Aeroccino (to make cappuccino), and most other plant-based milks don't.
My favourite purple salad, with some extra carrots, hemp seeds and cranberries
Vegan pizzaaa (yes that's already twice in one month hehe)
I used two types of vegan cheese. The Tofutti mozzarella seemed to vanish because I couldn't see it anymore once the pizza got out of the oven, so I wouldn't buy it again. The Wilmersburger pizza cheese was pretty good!
I made a first attempt at vegan carrot cake, using this recipe (more or less). It was really tasty! I want to fine tune it before sharing it with you guys.
What every morning looks like: vitamins and supplements before breakfast; this time washed down with freshly squeezed blood orange juice. I take vitamin B12, vitamin D and Spirulina.
This is what I had for brekky 4 out of 7 mornings last week (hmm variation? what's that?) It's Swiss bread, toasted, with homemade vegan chocolate spread and peanut butter. I go through phases with my breakfasts. Some weeks I'll only eat porridge, and this time it seems like toast with chocolate and peanut butter is my thing. Not particularly "healthy" but I like it! This is also the kind of breakfast which isn't Instagram-worthy but I eat it most days, which again shows how Instagram isn't always as close to reality as it might seem ;)
Work lunch: purple cabbage salad with avocado
Made a pasta-bake one evening and I documented the steps so I could include a micro-recipe in this post. Step 1: fry 200 gr of mushrooms in a pan with some oil | Step 2: add vegan mince | Step 3: add fresh spinach and one crushed garlic clove & fry until soft
Step 4: in another pan, cook the penne with salt | Step 5: add one pack of soy cream | Step 6: add a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast | Step 7: add salt and spices like smoked paprika and lots of pepper. Stir it together, add some of the pasta water in case it's too thick. | Step 8: once the penne is cooked al dente, drain it and then mix it with the sauce. Put it into an oven-proof dish, top with vegan cheese and some extra olive oil and pop into the oven for 10 minutes. Now your baked pasta is ready! Kind of simple and real comfort food!
Leftover pasta at work
Lunch part 2: little gem lettuce with sweet red pepper and half an avocado
Work-snack: red grapes and coffee with almond milk from Exki
I was a little frustrated one evening because I missed my train so I went to the store at the station to buy snacks. I bought Doritos and pistachios, but then realised that the Doritos (cheese) weren't vegan so I could only eat the pistachios. So I ate the whole bag which was like 600 calories (a dinner's worth). Woops!
Coffee with nut dream!
Buckwheat crêpes for lunch, because breakfast is my favourite meal of the day so I can also have it for lunch or dinner if I want :) (the perks of adult life?)
A super gorgeous grapefruit salad with passionfruit. Vitamin C!
Easy snack: roasted almonds and hazelnuts
Had crêpes for lunch TWICE this week, lucky me! I went over to my sister's, who prepared a beautiful lunch!
Oven-baked banana topped with fresh mango, pomegranate and coconut flakes.
Passionfruit & kiwi. There's nothing more appealing to the eyes & tastebuds than fruit!
Friday night is a typical night for Belgians to eat fries. I cut some sweet potatoes and regular potatoes to make homemade fries. We ate this with roasted veggies, salad and lots of vegan mayo and ketchup.
Comfort lunch: penne with my classic tomato sauce. Didn't I say that this week was all about carbs?
My sister's yummy banana oat chocolate chip cookies. Super easy recipe, will be up on the blog soon :)
Had dinner at Bún in Antwerp with my siblings on Saturday night. It's not always easy to eat out when you're eating vegan but Bún is a really good option because they make a super tasty noodle salad with homemade tofu. It's not the cheapest place but the food is good.
Sunday brunch at a friends' place. My siblings and I didn't say that we were eating vegan in advance, but there were enough options for us anyway.
I had: 2 bread rolls with spicy mustard, sundried tomatoes and salad. It was VERY tempting to eat the Old Amsterdam cheese (my favourite) but I resisted.
And a fruit salad as "dessert" which had massive blueberries in it. Thank god for imported fruit ;)
On Sunday night I made the BIGGEST pan of vegetable curry. I'll share the recipe of this in another post since it's a little different than my other veggie curry recipe and this post is getting a little too long if I include all the recipes!
I made these curry bowls for my brother and I. So tasty, healthy and very filling, even my brother loved it!
I hope you're still going strong on your vegan month. So far so good! Only one week left, but I think I'll continue eating vegan for at least 90% of the time after January, we'll see!