cinnamon spiced oats

"Why would anyone eat anything besides breakfast food?" Leslie Knope

Leslie Knope has never said anything I've agreed with more. I'd happily eat breakfast food for every meal of the day.  

Since it's so cold outside, a giant bowl of cinnamon oats has become my favourite breakfast lately. The best bit about the way I make them is that they can soak while I'm waking myself up in the shower. Then it only takes 5 minutes to warm up on the hob. 

 1 cup rolled oats (gluten free if possible)

2/3 cup of boiling water

1/3 cup non-dairy milk (I prefer coconut, but anything will work)

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

Toppings: frozen blueberries, raspberries, banana, agave syrup, cinnamon and anything else you fancy.

1. In a small pot mix the oats and boiling water and leave with the lid on for 10 minutes
2. Add the milk and cinnamon, and mix over medium heat for 5 minutes
3. Add whatever toppings you like
4. Enjoy 

Classic Waffles

Most people seemed pretty surprised when I got a waffle maker for my birthday back in January, but it turns out there's plenty of ways to make waffles without using any animal products. I ran out of sugar when i made these, so ended up using agave syrup instead and it ended up making them a lot fluffier than usual. 

This is the recipe I use to make classic waffles, but you can easily add coconut or frozen blueberries to the mixture to make it a bit different.

Ingredients
1 cup organic flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1  tbsp egg replacer
1 cup coconut milk
2  tbsp agave syrup
3 tbsp melted vegan margarine
A pinch of salt
3 tbsp vegan cream cheese
2 tbsp icing sugar

1. Preheat the waffle maker

2. Mix the vegan soft cheese and icing sugar together until smooth.

3 In a bowl mix the flour, agave syrup, salt, egg replacer and baking powder together.

4. Whisk in the coconut milk.

5. Melt the butter in a pan and whisk into the mixture.

6. Pour the mixture into the waffle maker for two minutes.

7. Remove and add toppings! I personally think cream cheese is the best with some frozen blueberries, fresh berries and chia seeds.

Enjoy! 

The Vegan Life: One Month

Happy 1st Month Vegan Day To Me!! 

Well technically it was yesterday, but i didn't have any time to do an update then. So i celebrated it this morning by going for a run along the canal, before i had cinnamon waffles, homemade cake batter ice cream (frozen bananas, baking soda, sprinkles, vanilla extract and agave syrup), and blueberries. I'm pretty sure it's the best breakfast I've ever made myself, especially since the waffle recipe came out a book i picked up from my favourite bakery in San Francisco. 

I've found the past month so much easier than i thought it ever could be. It's still difficult when i eat out, unless i got to places like Mono and eat their smoked tofu, pesto mayo, tomato and spinach sandwiches. I also need to go back soon to try their cheesecake with tequila and lime syrup, because i way was too full yesterday to eat another bite.

It's also done great things to my health too. I've not nearly as tired as i used to be, although my sleeping pattern has been thrown off course due to other things at the moment. I am finding it a lot easier to get up in the mornings, and I've even managed to go out running three mornings this week. I've also managed to lose a couple of pounds, and i'm a lot less bloated too.

So i guess overall, January has been a complete success.