Unprocessed Weekend #1

Weekends usually have quite random for mealtimes for us!

I am not usually motivated to make anything special. And often our meals aren't at regular times.

 

Saturday's breakfast was had at 12 noon!
It was a chocolate smoothie made with blueberries, banana, spinach, and cocoa. So tasty!












Of course that meant I wasn't particularly hungry come 'lunchtime'! ;-)

At about 3pm I made myself a mini pineapple microwave cake. 
I mixed some spelt flour with some pineapple and maple syrup. 
Put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and then covered it with pure prune spread. 


So simple and so tasty!

For dinner we enjoyed a pizza and movie night :-)
I used the polenta base I had made earlier in the week. It kept well in the freezer. 
Topping was mushrooms, onion & capsicum with my pizza cheeze sauce on top.

Sunday
Breakfast was blueberry choc-oat pancakes. They are soooo tasty. I LOVE using oatbran in pancakes - makes them so delicious. I definitely recommend trying this recipe.

We went out for the day & had lunch at a cafe.
I ordered a chick-pea salad with sourdough....
And this is what I got?!?!?!?!?

I'm not quite sure how this is a chick-pea salad with sourdough... but I didn't dare complain since it took them 45 minutes to bring this out! I couldn't bare the thought of waiting another 45 minutes for what I actually ordered. It looked quite nice but it was so dry :-( I definitely WON'T be going back to that cafe.... ~ever~. None the less, I should just be grateful I got a vegan meal :-)

 

At 6pm I realised it was that time of day when I'm supposed to be sorting out dinner! Sometimes that really just feels overwhelming doesn't it?!?!?!? Am I the only one who feels like that? lol
I felt hungry and didn't want to be tempted to grab a ~packet~ of something to nibble on so I had a banana while I decided what to make for dinner.



Come to think of it - a banana is quite a funny looking thing isn't it!!!!???

I reckon if you'd never seen one before it could provide a little bit of a chuckle!



For dinner I ended up making a 'stew' type thing?!? I don't really know what to call it.
I just water sauteed 1 onion, 1 potato with a handful of button mushrooms and lentils. Added a tablespoon of salt free tomato paste. Topped with oregano.

Results = AMAZINGLY TASTY DINNER THAT WAS HASSLE FREE! Perfect for weekends!

Blueberry Choc-Oat Pancakes

My kind of breakfast! 

You'll need:

3/4 cup oat bran
1/2 cup spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup plant milk
1/4 cup frozen blueberries

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. 

Make pancakes :-)

Serve with fresh blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup! Adds a nice touch of sweetness to your pancakes.

 Breakfast perfection!

Makes 6 pancakes.

Chocolate Popeye Ice-cream!!!

We all know how much Popeye loved his spinach! So if he ever did eat ice-cream, I'm sure he would of had it like this!!!

Ice-cream Popeye would love!

Combine:

 --> one chopped frozen banana
 --> 1 cup of frozen spinach leaves
 --> 1 Tablespoon cacao or cocoa powder
 --> 2-4 Tablespoons plant-milk    

Blend in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Blend really well so you don't get any large pieces of spinach.

The amount of milk you need will depend on your processor. Add it Tablespoon by Tablespoon til you find the amount you need - you want enough to combine and blend the ice-cream but not too much that it becomes runny.

Click here to find out all the amazing nutrients that spinach contains.
I guess Popeye was right.... spinach really does pack a powerful punch!

Day 5 Unprocessed

Today started with quinoa & raisins for breakfast.
I really love having quinoa for breakfast. I just think it goes so well with milk :-)

Quinoa is so easy to cook. Its just like cooking rice or pasta. `1 cup quinoa to 3 cups of water in a pot, bring to boil, simmer 10-15 minutes. You'll be able to tell when it's 'done' because the seeds pop open and become translucent with a little white ring around them. It keeps well in the fridge and freezes well too which means you can make a big batch & then use it when needed.


Lunch was soup! Best thing to have on cold, rainy days.... Well I just love soup on any day really!

This soup is really simple yet really tasty.
1/2 cup red lentils, 2 carrots, one small onion, 1 cup stock, 2 cups water. Bring to boil, simmer. Use a stick blender til desired consistency of soup is reached.

Baked dinner of tofu, herbed potatoes, green beans and a corn cob.

YAY FOR DESSERT TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
Check out the recipe for my Pop-eye Ice-cream.

Day 4 Unprocessed

Yesterday was far too filled with adventure to worry about what I ate! So back on track today.....

For breakfast I enjoyed soaked oats with strawberries and a spoonful of my nut-seed milo that I have made a nice big batch of to get me through these unprocessed weeks!

I was at a seminar today in the city. Even though it was completely lousy weather, I still enjoy a day in the city!!

Darling Harbour

Harbour Bridge from Pyrmont Bay

Centrepoint Tower

For morning tea I had a mandarin and one of my banana rock cakes that I made on Tuesday.

I think chef's ~secretly~ love when us vego's come along and they get a chance to cook something different cause I always get the most amazing meals!
Today's was a dish of spinach, onion, potato & sweet potato in a tomato mash/sauce thingo with cannellini beans! I was soooo delighted to get beans with my meal cause I love beans, and usually I just get a mixture of vegetables at places like this! 
It was sooooooooooo delicious, I wished it was double the size hahahaha

For dinner I had some leftovers from our freezer.
This was the Sweet Potato Lentil Chili recipe that was part of the 21 day kickstart. I love this recipe so much! It makes a nice big batch - great for freezing = convenience! :D

I then raced off to netball with no dessert :-( Very unlike me!!!!
But WE WON! So I didn't feel too bad afterall ;-)

WIAW - Anniversary!!!!!!

Today is our second anniversary :-)
Yes, for those of you who are numbers people you might of worked out that means we were married on 10/10/10!!!!!!!!!!!! :D 
I still get excited thinking about how cool our wedding date was!
And just for the records, yes it was a morning wedding which means I walked down the aisle at exactly 10 past 10 too! Heck why not!!!!!!!!!

It truly was the best day of my life! :D

We went out for breakfast to the The Sanctuary Cafe where I enjoyed toast with sauteed spinach & mushrooms and a treat of hash browns!!

To celebrate our special day we enjoyed a Starship cruise around Brisbane Water.

Here's some pictures of our wonderful day:

 I love seeing the sun reflect against the water! It looks like little crystals!

Rileys Island Nature Reserve - and nature we saw! :D

Perfect weather today - much appreciated after rain all this week so far!

I LOVE being on a boat!

I opted not to have the optional fish and chips lunch that was provided on the cruise! My hubby had packed an Iku muffin for my morning tea..... which became lunch!

Our afternoon was delightful on a bushwalk to see lots of waterfalls....

And after walking up many exhausting and somewhat ~slippery~ steps....
Home for dinner - made and bought by my hubby!!!! Iku pie with mash and veggies. Very tasty and very satisfying after lots of adventure today!

After dinner we enjoyed a warm spa at home.... to the light of our new bamboo lanterns!

Well that just about wraps up my day! Perhaps I should of called this post "What-I-Did-Wednesday" cause there was definitely more action than eating!
Thanks to peas and crayons for the fun of WIAW..... just perhaps more LOVE than veggies this week ;-)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MY AMAZING HUBBY WHO I LOVE MORE THAN LIFE! 

You are more than I could of ever wished for xxx

Day 2 Unprocessed

My day started out with this:

This is a 'yogurt' made by mixing frozen blueberries and dates with just enough plant-milk to combine it but not to make it too runny. Tastes delicious.

 Who am I kidding - I always mix everything on my plate together!

For lunch I had leftover of last nights green & bean mix with some quinoa:

Of course, I mixed all that together too ;-)











I had a few grapes with lunch too. Grapes are just so pretty aren't they?!?

For dinner I tried a Polenta Pizza from the fat free vegan kitchen.
It worked out really well! I loved the taste of it, even though it didn't really feel like I was eating pizza!

The base - cooked

Not bad for a 'different' type of pizza!

And yes, of course, I didn't forget dessert! ;-)

I used the okara from yesterday & made "banana rock cakes" - well something similar to that anyway! I just mixed the okara with 2 mashed bananas, a bit of maple syrup, a handful of currants & enough spelt flour to make a dough. Baked for 25 minutes = divine! When I'm convinced I've got the recipe right I'll do a blog!