Mango, Chilli & Lime Vegan Quinoa Salad

I spend entirely too much time thinking up ideas for sweet recipes so in a bid to force myself to come up with savoury recipes I’m embarking on a great adventure...if you call eating salads a great adventure.

Coconut & Seed Dark Chocolate Bark topped with Mini Eggs

This should probably be starting with something like “Easter’s coming up soon” but no, in true fashion Easter is in two days and I am late to the having an organised life party! If you could call eating copious bags of mini eggs preparation though I am definitely overly prepared. Lateness aside this is definitely something you can make last minute, it's really easy to whip together and I might be tempted to say I’d take a bowl of this over an Easter egg, well, unless it’s a G&B 70% Easter egg then it’s a pretty tough tossup, better yet just make this with green and blacks 70% chocolate.


There seems to be a little bit of a theme running in my bakes right now in the form of chocolate, seeds and coconut, and when I thought about making bark all signs pointed to it needing seeds and coconut. The best part about adding seeds to bark is the crunch; I love crunchy food it’s incredibly satisfying to eat not that I had much chance to eat this because it all but vanished in 24 hours. While staring at hundreds of photo of this (yes, I got a little snap happy, note to self: don’t do that) I managed to forget about the fact it was sitting in the kitchen ready to be eaten, I’m not really sure how that works but by the time I got to the box there was only 4 pieces left. If this hadn't have been inhaled a few days ago this would have been the perfect thing to have out on Sunday bear that in mind if you're planning on keeping it a few days, if you have a chocolate hungry family you might need a few chains and a padlock.

I guess I have to mention what I have in the last couple of posts but just a quick public service announcement: if you didn’t know seeds are healthy! If you make this with a really good quality, high percentage dark chocolate with only a few ingredients (I’ll always sing the praises of green and blacks) and take off the mini eggs this has the workings of an indulgent and healthy vegan snack. Although side note you could also add reese’s pieces, if big bags of those were widely sold over here I would be all over that.

Seedy Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This might be a little bit of a bold claim but I think these might be my favourite cookies.

I went away last week and my obsession with these cookies went as far as me acquiring the ingredients, which was a little bit of a mission because supermarket are lacking around those parts, cute fishing villages and soggy beaches (okay, they weren't that soggy) but the most you’re going to get is a quaint little village shop and a metro/express/local version of a supermarket that probably stock the weirdest combinations of food that make entirely no sense. Case and point, no dark chocolate and only dark brown sugar.....of all the brown sugars I don't quite believe that dark brown sugar is the most versatile, what's the deal Tesco metro! I'm going off point; the point is I went out of my way all because of my love for the cookies....and maybe a little because I have a slight issue with chocolate at the moment.


One of the reasons I'm so incredibly happy with this recipe aside from the fact that they’re the yummiest cookies I've ever had is that I've finally worked out how to make double chocolate chip cookies so they're moist (I apologise for the word choice) and cookie like and don't need a kilo of chocolate in them. Nigella Lawson’s double chocolate chip cookies are the bomb but 400g of chocolate is not something I have casually laying around the house to make cookies with and melting chocolate to stir into cookies just means more washing up and I mean l believe in things being worth the wait but I don't particularly want to have to wait for my cookies please and thanks.

I am all about making recipes with things you always have in the house because who knows what you're gonna do at midnight on a Sunday evening when all of the shops are closed and there is no chocolate, well you make chocolate cookies obviously. Also can I mention, there's something that goes on in my brain when I add seeds to things it’s like that "practically a salad" quote although more like...there's seeds in this....they're good for me....and really how bad is dark chocolate....that's good for you....and I mean all that balances out the bad stuff right? Anyway, I'll stop waffling and get on with the recipe.

Lime, Avocado & Grape Vegan Quinoa Salad

Do you have those meals you always make when you don’t know what to eat? My mum’s is egg and chips; it’s sort of become a running joke. When I don’t know what to eat and I feel like I should be eating something healthy my go to salad is my Vegan Quinoa Salad with Apple, Sultanas and Sunflower Seeds, it’s probably one of my favourite salads and is ridiculously easy to whip up, although now this blog post sounds a little bit like an advert for that salad (p.s. You should check out that salad if you like quinoa salads; it’s delicious).
I’ve been eating a lot less meat recently, not as a rule just more of a ‘it happened and now I’m slightly avoiding it where I can’ because I sometimes find that meat free life agrees with me more so I figured another “go to” vegan quinoa salad under my belt would be useful so I’m not absentmindedly eating the same thing all the time.

I’m definitely torn between which salad is better which surprised me because avocados aren’t my favourite; I usually need to eat them with something to cut the creaminess because I’m not much of a fan of creamy foods. I always think it’s good to try things you’re not too sure about again or with other foods to find a way to make them enjoyable and even though I wanted a salad to go along side the other one as a regular I wasn’t expecting to love it this much. Grapes and avocados together? I’m sold! This is probably the most I’ve enjoyed an avocado and I think I might be putting them in the shopping basket from now on.

Spiced Pumpkin Seed & Pecan Muesli with Blackberries

I have this very idealistic view of breakfast, early mornings, frost covered grass, sipping coffee, reading a book with a bowl of cereal. I think I just always like the idea of being a morning person and I honestly am, I love getting up early and pottering about, having time to relax and drink coffee before I do anything, although if I’m in a good mood I usually start what I’m supposed to be doing before I’ve even finished breakfast but having the option is nice. Problem is I’m only a morning person when I can actually get up...does that mean I’m not a morning person? Because I like getting up early and getting stuff done and I’m usually sleepier if I get up late, I just don’t like the getting up part. I also like to go to bed at 3 in the morning and unfortunately I can’t really have it both ways. One of the best things about muesli is that its healthy and really quick to make, okay, so it’s not quite as quick as pouring a bowl of cereal but I mean its close. Muesli used to be my favourite thing to have for breakfast specifically this version, but I've been making that for years so I figured it was time to spice things up a little...literally, because who doesn't love seasonal breakfast.

Healthy Cranberry, Coconut & Pumpkin seed Oatmeal Cookies

I feel like this recipe is a PERFECT excuse to have cookies for breakfast. It’s basically porridge in a cookie. I made this recipe over a year ago when I was doing a month of no processed sugars and wanted to improve on it and well...honestly I just wanted cookies. They may not be the prettiest cookies you’ve ever seen but for what they lack in looks, they make up for in flavour, although my mum saw these in the kitchen and actually asked me if they had cheese in them, nope, definitely not. I’ve been trying to be a little healthier and add more protein into my diet due to my lack of meat consumption recently, I wouldn't really call these protein cookies but they have the ingredients with every intention of giving you a bit of a kick in that department, does that make you feel better about eating them? Also, did I mention there's no processed sugar or fat in these YOU'RE WELCOME!

Flapjacks (Wholesome & processed sugar free)

When I think of flapjacks I think, healthy, lot's of nut's and seeds, high energy and again, healthy? but your regular flapjack recipe, which is oh so misleading, is not usually all that healthy. Yes, if you pack it full of seeds and nuts it does make it feel healthier but even so, they're still usually full of a lot of sugar and butter.

When I was out with my mum a week or so ago, we went to a Harris + Hoole coffee shop in between food shopping, let me just add I love love loved their crockery! As I was walking around the food shop I started talking about eating flapjacks and the joy that's involved with all things flapjack related; we only went to the cafe for coffee, but coincidentally they had sugar free banana flapjacks, so we bought one to share. Surprisingly, note: I am not a fan of bananas, it was oh so tasty, it didn't actually specify if they had artificial sweetener added which I don't actually use or eat but I figured why not give banana flapjacks a go.

I'll be honest this recipe is completely different to the flapjacks at Harris + Hoole, theirs had more of a raw texture (even though we asked and it's baked) however this flapjack actually tastes like a regular flapjack, granted you don't get that sugary taste, although if that's why you're eating flapjacks you've clearly been living under a very large rock without any baked goods, but this flapjack is a pretty wholesome healthy version without lacking in taste. I feel like you'd be able to give this to anyone and most people wouldn't notice the difference.