banana & peanut butter quesedillas

Some days you just need a hot, quick and easy breakfast. Although a variety of oatmeal recipes usually pop up in these situations, some times it is good to have something entirely different.  When this feeling strikes me I like to make quesedillas, but for breakfast I prefer a sweet variety!   Peanut butter and banana are my favorite, although I must say these are also quite brilliant with cream cheese, blueberries and some cinnamon.  The outside of the tortillas becomes nice and crunchy, while the banana and the peanut butter on the inside become so nice and gooey. They are quite plant-protein heavy because of the peanut butter, and the banana provides a lot of potassium. I really recommend making these.

I know these are not highly original,  Pinterest is full of them, but I do really like eating these for breakfast ;) hence I thought it wouldn't hurt to share!

You will need (for 1 person):
2 small, or 1 big, tortilla
1 banana
2 tbsp of peanut butter

you will need to do:
spread a generous amount of peanut butter on the tortilla. Slice the banana in thin slices and cover half of the tortilla with the banana slices. Fold the tortilla over, making sure you seal the outsides so that the banana wont fall out during transport.

In a dry frying pan ( no oil! )  on medium heat, heat the tortillas until the outsides are nice and crunchy and the filling hot and gooey.

Bon appetite!!

Time for Chili! (vegan / vegetarian)

Busy busy week. Or it is supposed to be busy week. Presentations and deadlines around the corner, lectures to attend and tons of academic writing to be completed; but I have a massive writers block and so just stare at screens hoping inspiration will strike. I even went to a lecture about writers blocks, but I think it might have made it worse.  The main advice I got from it was 'just write, start small, but write. no excuses and no distractions'.  Easier said than done.... but I am sure I will get there somewhere this week...  Motivation will hit eventually... ( or is that sheer fear? ) 

In the mean time I will do some writing that is not absolutely necessary...  so much easier! So I thought I should tell you about a dinner we like to have on a regular basis. So easy, and ideal for when there is no fresh vegetables around the house anymore, but you really can't be asked to do groceries.  Chili is ideal because all ingredients come either from the pantry or the freezer, and despite a lack of fresh vegetables it is full of healthy protein and vitamins. Of course, if you do have the fresh produce, these would be good ingredients too!  You can combine it with so many things; you can eat it in wraps or with pita bread, with rice or bulgar wheat, or like we did last night with home-made oven fries. 

I think this chili tastes really great, and I feel healthy eating it because of the many colours in this dish. The spices in this dish make it very warming, and the beans make it really filling and satisfying.  The version here is vegetarian because of the fake mince ( I used Quorn), which often contains some animal products like eggs, but there must be vegan varieties of fake mince out there.  The dish is also really nice without the meat replacer, so it is entirely up to you! 

What you will need: 

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion
corn (canned, fresh, or frozen)
peppers ( fresh or frozen)
mushrooms (fresh or frozen)
tomatoes ( fresh or tinned)
chili or kidney beans (tinned)
baked beans (tinned)
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of paprika powder

optional: vegetarian fake mince meat ( or any other vegetarian or vegan meat replacer that looks like mince)

What you will need to do: 

If you are using it, cut your fresh veg, and the onion, then heat up some oil in a pan.   Add the Onion to the oil, followed by the fake mince. After about 5 minutes add in the corn, peppers and mushrooms. Wait a little then add in the beans and the tomatoes.  Although both kidney beans and chili beans work fine, I prefer the chili beans. They come in a sort of chili sauce that helps add moisture and taste to the chili ( I know this is sort of cheating ... ).

Let the chili simmer for a little bit until it is properly heated through and through, then add in the chili powder and paprika powder to taste.   Serve with anything you fancy, and happy eating!

Vegan Banana Peanut butter Pancakes

I LOVE pancakes, it is one of the few things you are allowed to wake me up for in the middle of the night.  One of the things I don't like about pancakes is that they often contain lots of animal-based fats from the milk, eggs, and butter with which they are prepared. After watching many, many documentaries about plant-based diets and the increased risks that come with a diet that is filled with saturated fats and cholesterol from animal based products, I figured it is better to make this healthier, vegan, option.

I was not so excited about the banana at first - I am not a great banana fan. I don't like eating bananas as a snack .. it is something about the texture - but I discovered I do like them when they are heated up or incorporated into something. From banana-muffins, to banana bread, banana fritters, banana oatmeal .. but I especially like these banana-peanut butter pancakes which you can eat guilt free as no animals were harmed in the process.

What you need:
2 bananas
150 grams of flower ( whole meal if you can .. )
150 ml of plant-based milk ( Soy, oat, rice .. all work fine).
1 tsp of baking powder
2 tbsp of peanut butter
vegetable oil for baking

What you will need to do

put the plant-based milk and 1 of the bananas in a blender, and blend until you have a smooth milkshake type mix. If you don't have a blender, just puree the banana with a fork and add to the milk. This will work just fine.

Add the banana mixture to the flower, and add the teaspoon of baking powder, and stir until fully combined. add in the two tablespoons of  peanut butter. slice the second banana into thin slices, and add to the mixture. stir until the banana and peanut butter filling is equally spread through the batter.

in a frying pan, heat a little bit of vegetable oil. when the oil is hot, add in two serving spoons of batter, a pancake each ( this should make a sshhh sound... I do love that sound). Bake until golden brown on both sides. continue this process until you run out of batter.

This should provide you with a nice stack of pancakes for 2 - 3 people .. ( more likely 2 ....). Serve with some maple syrup .. or some kind of chocolate spread works pretty damn good too.

Carrot & Coriander soup (vegan)

As I mentioned in my previous post - I think soup is the way to go for eating healthy on a budget, and a busy schedule. To me soup translates as easy, tasty, healthy vegetable goodness made in bulk, ready for meals for the rest of the week.

I really like carrot and coriander soup ( although apparently some people find it boring? ), it makes me a bit nostalgic of my student times when I studied in Bristol.  Every Monday afternoon after class there was a place where you would pay a pound, and then get unlimited soup.  I think it was a way to make poor students, like me, eat more veggies. Me and my class mates went down there quite a lot, it was a nice and cheap way to spend our lunch break.  I think this initiative was run by a church-group and the soup was cooked by these elderly woman with real grandma-like qualities. One of the soups that was always available, and soon turned into my favorite, was carrot and coriander soup.  I had never had carrot and coriander soup before, it is not really a thing where I am from,  but I really fell in love with it. So much in fact, that I like to make it myself on a regular basis.

It is very easy to make, and so lovely  and comforting.  It has a nice, naturally sweet, almost nutty flavour and the coriander really adds some herbal freshness to it.  This big orange pot of 100% vegetable goodness in addition is low in calories and fat, free from dairy and other animal products, and has tons of vitamin A.

What you will need: 
1 tbs of olive oil
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
2 stock-cubes (vegetable stock)
2 lbs carrots
a generous amount of coriander
salt, pepper
water

What you will need to do: 

Clean the carrots, and chop them in small chunks.  Clean and finely cut the onion and the garlic.

In a big pan, heat 1 tbsp of Olive oil and add the garlic and the onion.  When the onions start to caramelize crumble in the stock cubes and add a generous amount of water. I often just boil the kettle, but there is no reason why you couldn't do it with cold water  from the tap. Add in the carrots, and make sure there is enough water so that all the carrots are covered. Bring everything to a boil before turning down the heat, and then let it simmer for about 15 - 20 mins. ( the longer you leave it the more the flavours will come out .. )

When you think the mixture has simmered for long enough add half of the coriander ,and then puree until the soup is nice and smooth. add in the remaining coriander, and add some salt and pepper to taste.