Ok, we did have a few good summer days.. weeks? This last week has been quite lovely too, but the summers here in the UK can be a little cloudy (and stuffy) and with quite some rain too. I definitely don’t mind the rain, but it would be nice to have some more sunshine, no? In London it’s always barely summer.. and then Autumn starts again. Luckily we did have quite a nice spring and Autumn can also have some sunny days. And to keep the summer vibes going, why not make this yummy super healthy salad? It’s super filling, colourful and great as a side dish too (a big salad for a bbq or a buffet maybe?)! It’s super easy to make, it just involves some simmering, chopping and mixing. That’s it!
BARLEY SUMMER
serves: 2
200gr barley (uncooked)
1 cube vegetable stock
2 stalks Celery (chopped)
1/2 sweet corn (chopped)
1/2 cucumber (chopped)
2 tomatoes (chopped)
1 slice red cabbage (chopped)
1/4 red onion (chopped)
3 tbs pomegranate
Bunch of coriander
1 tsp Lemon juice
1/2 tsp soy sauce
Salt/pepper (to taste)
-Rinse the barley thoroughly before putting it on the stove. The water that is coming off should be clear, not white.
-Put the vegetable stock in the water and let the Barley cook until the stock is completely dissolved, whilst stirring.
– Lower the fire and then let it simmer for about 50 min, until tender.
-Let the barley cool down completely.
-Mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl and add some salt and pepper to taste.
-You can also add some peas if you like to get some extra veggies.
Will you make this for lunch or as a big salad at a bbq? Please let me know when you’ve tried them. You can do this in a comment below.. or you can tag me or use #PlanetManel on Instagram. Thank you! X
Cake for breakfast.. don’t we all dream of that?! Chocolate-peanut butter tarts for breakfast.. reality! Yes really.. I invented these very yummy breakfast tarts for you. It’s super healthy, with the oats, bananas and raw cacao (of course you can also use regular cacao powder). It doesn’t contain any refined sugar and it’s incredible tasty! To keep it healthy, make sure you use only quality products and no products with sugar or any additives inside (especially talking about the peanut butter here). It will keep you going the whole morning (you might want to eat 2), so why not start your day with a breakfast tart?! Of course you can also make these tarts for a birthday party or any occasion that requires cake.. I can thinks of tons of occasions! So from now on you can start your day with chocolate.. you know what to do this weekend!
CAKEFAST
-Put all the base ingredients in a food processor and blend until it’s sticky.
What do you put on your sandwiches? It’s a question I get quite a lot. Of course you can spread your toast and sandwiched with nut butters, jam or houmous, but there are so many spreads you can make yourself, to add nutrition and to enjoy something different. Today I’m giving you a spread made of sweet potatoes. The great thing about this spread is that you can make sweet and savoury combinations. Spread it on a piece of toast, sprinkle some nuts and drizzle some agave nectar on it and you have a great sweet breakfast or snack. Combine it with some spicy rucola and black peppers and you will have a yummy savoury variant. You can of course also add cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce.. you can combine endlessly. It’s great for a bbq too! Check out 
SWEEPO SPREAD
My favourite hot drink is a chai latte and I don’t know about you, but when it’s 30C I don’t really feel like drinking something hot. I rather have something cold, even though they drink hot tea in the Sahara desert. Lots of times I do forget to drink my tea (I can’t be the only one right?!), but I’ll drink it anyway. So this all, made me think of making a cold chai latte, you can also enjoy when it’s 30C. Not sure if we’re going to reach that temperature here again in the UK, but you can also make it on holiday or when you live in a country that does have a proper summer, hehe.. Maybe I can’t really call it a recipe, because it’s too easy. So let’s say it’s a cheat recipe, one that is really worth making it though. You can treat yourself of course, but this will also be a cool (literally) drink to serve as a dessert after a bbq (for vegan bbq ideas, 
ICE CHAI
Nicecream is very healthy. Greatest invention ever I would say. It’s ice cream, what you can actually eat all day long if you want to. Though, the nicecream recipe I’m going to give you today, you better don’t eat all day long. Even though you really want to after tasting it. It’s very good, very heavenly, but not so healthy. This nicecream contains the yummy Biscoff biscuit spread from Lotus. My favouriiiiiteee! So be prepared to be amazed, but try to hold back a little, ok? Now go to the supermarket and get yourself a nice big jar of ‘Biscoff’ spread and biscuits! Hehe..
HEAVEN’S ICE
When it’s summer, there will be bbq’s! I love it and I hate it. I hate the smell of dead animals all around the neighbourhood on a lovely summers evening. There is nothing what ruins the amazing smell of summer more when you ask me. But I understand that it’s super fun to be outside and to enjoy a bbq together, with a little music in the background and lovely chats. It’s so easy to have a cruelty free bbq though! So why not enjoy the same things, but then without all the cruelty involved?! I created these yummy kebabs, I call ‘kebables’, to enjoy with your family and friends. Big chance they will love them too. For more vegan bbq ideas you can read my article about 
KEBABLES
-Ideally marinate the chicken pieces a day before. Put the chicken style pieces in a container with lid and add all the marinated ingredients. Put the lid on and shake it (lightly) until it’s all covered. Leave it in the fridge overnight.
Ice lollies are just yum and especially when it’s very hot. And it has been very hot here in London already. Summer in London always comes out of the blue I would say. One day it’s cold and rainy, the next day its 30C! I don’t think we can complain though, because it has been a lovely summer so far in my opinion. Though won’t it be nice if you have a healthy treat to cool down on the hot days still to come? You better be prepared now. That’s why I created these yummy and super simple ice lolly recipes everybody can make. You just need a ice lolly mould. There are loads on amazon, but they even have the at IKEA too. Blend some yummy summer fruits and pop them in the freezer. Cheers to summer!
WATERMELON COOL
TROPICAL COOL
Yay, the summer officially started! And how.. it was 34 degrees that day! With that heat I was craving some cold ice tea. You probably know the feeling?! The ice teas in the supermarket are full of sugar, so why not make it yourself? It’s so super easy! I would definitely call this a cheat recipe. You can make this ice tea with any tea you like. Last year I bought a very nice pina colada tea in Mallorca and that is the one I used, to give it this extra summery flavour. It was delicious with some extra lemons in there. So refreshing! You can also make this with green tea, passion fruit tea (or any other fruit flavour), earl grey or even the old English breakfast tea. Experiment what your favourite flavour is. So for all the hot days to come.. you will be prepared now!
ICE YAY
Are you vegan and did you used to like pasta carbonara? Or do you want to make something nice for an omni friend or family member? A vegan pasta carbonara: Veganara! This is definitely a good comfort food, but also very nice to make when you have company over. I’m sure they’ll like this! Did I mention that it’s also super easy to make? You can basically make this within 10 minutes. As you can easily prepare the sauce in the time the pasta is cooking. You don’t even need that many ingredients to make this fantastic plate of food. For the bacon style pieces I used the ones from Vivera. They have new bacon pieces now and they are amazing. Definitely worth a try!
VEGANARA
Do you have the balls to make these Dutch Balls? Haha.. I’m not sure if Dutch people are the most courageous, but we are known for being direct. I think that counts! These snack balls are made with a Dutch spice called ‘speculaas’. Speculaas is actually a mixture of different spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg. All these spices together is called ‘speculaas’. You might know this as in Dutch biscuits. Or in the ‘pepernoten’ we eat when it’s ‘Sinterklaas’. It’s a super nice spice and I thought why not make snack balls with it? This way it’s healthy too! If you can’t get your hands on the ‘speculaas spices’, you can always make this yourself:
DUTCH BALLS
Planet Manel 