Tag Archives: avocado

Wrap It Up

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A super quick lunch dish.. wraps! Wraps are easy, super tasty, nutritious, handy to take with you, easy to prep and filling. Perfect for lunch, but they can be enjoyed any time of the day really. I like wraps for lunch though. Especially bean wraps. They are high in protein and what I like about it, is that I can make everything the day before. The next day (and the day after that) I only need to warm up a tortilla wrap and scoop everything on top. You fold it up and it’s ready to go. If you want to take it with you, I advice you to cut it in half just before you will eat it, to prevent everything falling out. I hope you will enjoy these delicious wraps just as much as I do.

WRAP IT UP

Serves: 4

4 wholemeal tortilla wraps

filling
1 tbs olive oil
3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
1/2 can chopped tomatoes
½ -1 tsp chilli flakes
1 can black beans (rinsed, drained)
1 can kidney beans (rinsed, drained)
1 tbs harissa(optional)

salad
2 tomatoes (chopped)
½ cucumber (chopped)
½ cup sweet corn
handful of fresh coriander (chopped)
juice of ½ a lemon

sauce
1 avocado (smahed)
1 clove of garlic (minced)
1 tsp lemon juice
salt/pepper to taste

-Fry the garlic and the onion in the olive oil until they go a little soft (about 2-3 min).
-Add the chopped tomatoes, the chili flakes and the harissa and mix it well. Let it simmer for about 2-3 min.
-In the meantime: mix the avocado, the garlic, the lemon juice and add salt/pepper.
-Also mix the tomato, the cucumber, the sweet corn, the coriander and the lemon juice.
-Add the beans to the tomato sauce and mix for another minute. Add salt/pepper to taste.
-Spread about 2 tbs of guacamole in the middle of a tortilla, add the bean filling and the salad and close the tortilla by folding it (fold the left and the right side towards the filling and then roll it up).
-Cut the wrap in half and enjoy.

Do you love wraps? Such a great lunch dish! When you make the recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, so I can give you a shoutout! You can also use #planetmanel if you like. Thank you! X

Shape It

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It’s almost Easter! When I still lived in the Netherlands or whenever I’m visiting the Netherlands at Easter now, I always make an Easter brunch. I used to always make egg/pastry bites, but obviously egg is off the table now. That doesn’t mean I can’t make something similar of course. So that is why I came up with this recipe. I made a filling with tofu and chickpea flour and used a slice of bread as a base. I kept the shapes I cut out to decorate the plates and table (I also put them in the oven, so they get toasted). They will be nice to dip in jam or chocolate.. These slices of toast are delicious with some smashed avocado and mayonnaise. They will look great on an Easter brunch table. Are you going to do a brunch this Easter?

SHAPE IT

Makes: 6-8

6-8 slices of bread
1/3 cup PB milk
150 gr silken tofu
1/2 cup chickpea flour
2-3 tbs nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp garlic granules
1/4 tsp onion granules
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
pepper (to taste)

Easter cookie cutters

-Preheat the oven at 180C.
-Put all the ingredients, apart from the bread, in a kitchen machine and blend until smooth.
-Use a cookie cutter to cut out a shape from each slice of bread.
-Put the slices of bread on a baking tray that is covered with baking paper.
-Carefully put the mixture in the shape you cut out.
-Put them in the oven for about 12-15 min, until the filling is nice and firm.
-Eat when still warm.

Are you going to make these? What shapes will you use? Please show me your creations on Instagram by tagging me or by using #planetmanel. Thank you so much and have a lovely Easter! X

Spring ‘n’ Roll

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YES!! Finally it’s spring. I’m already looking forward to this day since Autumn. Haha! If it was up to me, we skip winter all together. I’m just not made for the cold. On the other hand.. the feeling of the first sun rays will only make me feel extra euphoric after the horrible cold. So let’s try to see the positive though. Luckily we only had snow once and I thought that most of the time the winter was doable this year. Still.. I can’t wait to chase the sun forever with my van! To celebrate the start of spring I created a super colourful recipe. It’s a simple recipe, but it does require some technique and some patience and gentleness. The more often you do it, the better they look! And don’t you feel happy just looking at these? You can use different dips or you can simply dip them in some soy sauce. I chose to mix up a simple peanut sauce, because I love peanut butter with a hint of spiciness. I hope you will enjoy them, because I personally thought they were yum!

SPRING ‘N’ ROLL

Makes: 6-8

spring rolls
6-8 spring roll rice pancakes
3 hands full vermicelli rice noodles
1 beetroot (chopped)
1/3 red bell pepper (sliced finely)
1/3 yellow bell pepper (sliced finely)
handful red cabbage (sliced finely)
2 spring onions ((sliced finely)
1 stalk celery (sliced finely)
1/2 avocado (sliced finely)
2 tbs edamame beans
6-12 eatable flowers (optional) 

sauce
2 tbs peanut butter
2 tbs oat milk
1/4 tsp chilli flakes

Blender
Fine colander
Clean tea towel

-Boil water and put that in the blender together with the beetroot. Blend for about 1 minute.
-Put the noodles in a pan and pour the beetroot water over the noodles through a fine colander. Put a lid on the pan and leave this for 5-8 min.
-In the meantime slice all the vegetables very finely and make the sauce:
-Put all the ingredients of the sauce in a bowl and mix until all ingredients are nicely blended.
-Put the rice paper in a bowl (I actually used a frying pan) of warm water for about 5-10 seconds.
-Very gently, put the rice paper on a clean tea towel.
-Put the flowers upside down on the rice paper and divide some veggies on top of that.
-Divide some of the pink rice noodles on top of the veggies and then fold and roll.
-Repeat this until finished.

Have you ever tried making something like this? Give it a try! Please show me your creations on Instagram by tagging me or by using #planetmanel. Thank you! X

About Sprout

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Remember the recipe ‘Stamp-Pot‘? A great dish for this cold winter weather and that’s why.. Here is another stamppot recipe! This time with brussels sprouts, sage and with ‘rookworst’ (it’s a Dutch sausage: smoked sausage) from the Vegetarsiche Slager (Vegetarian Butcher). This one is soooo good. I even find it much better than the original rookworst, because the taste and structure are the same, but it doesn’t have all the fat dripping out (also, it doesn’t have any mashed up animals in it, which is a big pre!). Unfortunately, they don’t sell this in the UK (yet?), but you can use any other plant-based sausage to substitute it. Preferably sausages with a smoky flavour. I loveeee brussels sprouts, but even people who aren’t a big fan of this least liked vegetable, do often like this recipe. So give it a try!

ABOUT SPROUT

Serves: 2 

2 rookworsten (or any other sausage)
500 gr potatoes (chopped)
300 gr brussels sprouts (halved)
1 red onion (chopped)
1/2 avocado (smashed)
3 cloves of garlic
4 big sage leaves (chopped)
splash of oat milk
1 tbs olive oil
salt/pepper (to taste)

-Preheat the oven at 220C.
-Put the chopped potatoes, the brussels sprouts, the onion and the garlic in an oven dish. -Divide the olive oil over it and mix it all up. Then put it in the oven for about 30 min or until soft.
-In the meantime, heat up the rookworst (or any other sausage) the way it’s described on the packet.
-Take the dish out of the oven and mash it all together, together with a big splash of oat milk and the avocado.
-Add salt and pepper to taste.

Do you know what is a ‘rookworst’? Did you ever try the original one or did you even try this vegan version? I would love to know if you liked it and what you think about this stamppot recipe. I think it’s a great combination! Please leave a comment below or contact me on Instagram. Whenever you make one of my recipes, please tag me or use #planetmanel and I will give you a shoutout! Thank you! X

MY COMPLETE XMAS DINNER

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When you read this I’m on my way to the Netherlands. I’m going by car/ferry this year, so I can take my dog Nola. Tomorrow I will celebrate Xmas with my family, as that is the only day we can all make it. After the presents we will enjoy our Xmas dinner. This year I’m making the whole Xmas dinner by myself. Years back we always all made one dish each, last year my brother and sister in law made dessert, but it looks like this year it’s just me. I do like to make everything by myself, but I also think it’s a shame, because I always enjoyed the dishes of others too. And just the idea you made it together is nice. But because I’m making everything by myself, it does mean that I can share a complete Xmas dinner with you (8 dishes in total). I will give you all the recipes I made for the dinner itself and I will give you dessert separately (so 9 recipes if you include dessert). You can find the ‘Xmas Stars‘ dessert here. I chose to make it into a buffet style, so I can make lots of separate dishes and everybody can eat what they like best. If you want to, you can choose one of them (the chicory for example) as a starter. It’s up to you. This Xmas dinner is enough for 4-6 people. I hope you will enjoy the recipes.

VEGAN WELLINGTON

2 pastry sheets
600 gr mushrooms (chopped)
2 steakcs (I used Vivera) (chopped)
2 onions (chopped)
2 small cloves of garlic (minced)
handful of parsley (chopped)
salt/pepper (to taste)
1/2 tbs butter

-Preheat the oven at 200C.
-Fry the onions and the garlic in a frying pan for about 3 minutes.
-Add the mushrooms and fry them until they start to get smaller (about 3-4 minutes).
-Add the steakc, the parsley and add salt and pepper to taste.
-Grease a baking tin with butter and put the pastry sheet inside.
-Make sure that all the water from the filling is gone before you put it in the baking tin.
-Cut out a big rectangle (as big as the baking tin) and cover the top. Make some cuts in the top and put it in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

FRIED RICE

100 gr of rice
100 gr firm tofu
1 onion (chopped)
1/2 courgette (chopped)
1 carrot (grated)
1 bell pepper (chopped)
2 tomatoes (chopped)
2 pak choi (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1-2 tbs sesame seeds
3 tbs peanuts (chopped)
salt/pepper (to taste)

-Cook the rice as described on the package.
-Fry the onion for about 4 min in some olive oil.
-Scramble the tofu: crumble it up and add the garlic and the turmeric. Mix it all together for about 3 min with salt to taste on a high fire.
-Add the courgette and fry again for about 3-4 min.
-Add the carrot, bell pepper, tomatoes and pak choi and keep mixing it for about 3-4 min.
-Then you can add the rice, the soy sauce (use more if you like), the chilli flakes, the sesame seeds and some salt and pepper to taste. Mix again until everything is mixed up well.
-Sprinkle the peanuts on top.

AUBERGINE

1 aubergine (sliced)
3 tbs olive oil
300 gr cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
1 shallot (chopped)
1 small clove of garlic (minced)
handful of fresh  basil
salt to taste

-Cut the aubergines in big slices (about 1 cm thick).
-Brush the on both sides with some olives oil.
-Put them on the grill until you can see black lines (about 3 min each side).
-In the meantime fry the shallot and the garlic in a frying pan. Add the tomatoes after about 2 minutes and fry them until they become a little soft (about 2-3 min).
-Add the basil and salt to taste.

CHICORY

2 chicory
4 slices of ham (I used the vegan Quorn)
handful of cheese (grated) (I used daiya)
3 tbs corn

-Preheat the oven at 200C
-Cut the chicory in half (in length) and cut out the hard bit in the middle.
-Put them in an oven dish and put a slice of ham on each half.
-Divide the corn on top and then sprinkle the cheese on top.
-Put it in the oven for about 20-25 min.

CAULIFLOWER

1/2 cauliflower
2 tbs nutritional yeast
splash of oat milk
salt to taste
1 tbs of olive oil

-Chop up the cauliflower very finely. You could also use a kitchen machine and pulse a few times.
-Fry the cauliflower with the olive oil and a bit of salt in a frying pan until it becomes a little soft (about 5 min).
-Add the nutritional yeast, mix it up and then add a splash of oat milk. Mix well until the nutritional yeast and the oat milk form a sauce.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

250 gr brussels sprouts
4 cloves of garlic (cut in half)
1 tbs olive oil
salt/pepper (to taste)

-Preheat the oven at 220C.
-Put the brussels sprouts and the garlic in an oven dish and add the olive oil + salt/pepper to taste. Mix well.
-Put them in the oven for about 20-25 min.

MASH

300 gr potatoes (peeled and chopped)
200 gr carrots (peeled and chopped)
splash of oat milk
1-2 tbs butter
1 tbs whole grain mustard
2 tbs nutritional yeast
salt to taste

-Cook the potatoes and the carrots for about 20 min.
-Mash them up together with the oat milk and the butter.
-Add the mustard, nutritional yeast and some salt to taste. Mix well.

SALAD

1 cucumber (chopped)
3 tomatoes (chopped)
1 big avocado (chopped)
handful of basil (chopped)
handful of parsley (chopped)
1/4 cup black olives (sliced)
2 tbs Caesar salad dressing (I used ‘Follow Your Heart’)
salt/pepper to taste

-Mix everything together in a big bowl and add salt and pepper to taste.

 

What are you having for Xmas? And will you make everything by yourself or do you have help? Will you copy my Xmas dinner or make some of my recipes? Please let me know or show me on IG by tagging me or by using #planetmanel. Thank you! X

Sweet Chick

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Sweet potatoes are one of the best things in this world if you’d ask me. I absolutely love them and eat them a few times a week. They’re delicious and super nutritious. I often combine them with avocado and chickpeas and I thought you might like this too. So I hope you will enjoy this recipe. It’s a perfect lunch, but also great for a dinner party. Always make 1 or 2 extra sweet potatoes when you put them in the oven. You can easily eat them cold and then you only have to make the filling. It means you’ll have a super quick lunch for the next day. Handy for when you do not have a lot of time or for when you want to take it with you!

SWEET CHICK

Serves: 2

2 sweet potatoes (washed)
1 avocado (smashed)
1 cup chickpeas
4 red onion rings
1 clove garlic (smashed)
1/2 tbs sesame seed oil
1 tsp lemon juice
pinch of smoked paprika
pepper/salt (to taste)

-Preheat the oven at 200C.
-Put the sweet potatoes in the oven for 45-60 min.
-In the meantime mix the avocado with the garlic, the sesame seed oil, the lemon juice and the salt and pepper.
-Take the sweet potatoes out of the oven when they’re nice and soft.
-Cut then open from the top and stuff them with the avocado/chickpeas mixture.
-Serve them with the onion rings and sprinkle some smoked paprika on top.

Are you going to make this recipe? Please let me know when you’ve tried it. You can do this in a comment below. You can also tag me or use #PlanetManel on Instagram. Thank you! X

Mexican Bowl

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img_7505Mexican food is so satisfying. It has lots of veggies, it has beans, avocado, tortilla’s and it’s spicy. The Mexican kitchen is yummy! Now let’s all put these delicious things in one bowl. And with pieces of crispy tortilla’s, you can scoop the goodness out of the bowl and into your mouth! How does that sound? The ingredient list seems a bit long and maybe it is, because they’re actually little recipes in one bowl. It does take a little time to make it, but it’s very rewarding and I’m sure you’ll be very satisfied when this colourful bowl is in front of you. The recipe is for one person, but you can easily double the recipe and eat it with your lover or a friend! What about making it together?

img_7498MEXICAN BOWL

Serves: 1

-2 tortilla wraps
-100 gr mince
-1/4 onion
-1/4 tsp smoked paprika
-1/4 tsp thyme
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp chilli flakes
-2 tomatoes
-bunch coriander (chopped)
-1/4 small red onion (chopped)
-1/4 tsp lime juice
-1/2 avocado (smashed)
-1/4 tsp lemon juice
-1/2 clove garlic
-1/4 iceberg lettuce (chopped)
-1/6 cucumber (chopped)
-3 baby corns (chopped)
-1/2 cup black beans
-1/2 corn cob
-1/4 jalapeño pepper (sliced)
-1 tbs olive oil
-salt/pepper (to taste)

img_7506-Preheat the oven at 180C.
-Cut the tortilla’s in 4 pieces and make them wet. Put them in the oven for about 6-8 min. Let them cool down.
-Mix the tomatoes with the onion, some jalapeño pepper, the coriander and 1/4 tsp on lime juice. Add some salt to taste.
-Mix the avocado, 1/4 of lemon juice, the garlic with some salt and pepper to taste.
-Fry the onion in a pan with 1/2 tbs of olive oil. Add the garlic and then the mince. Fry this all, on a high fire, together until the mince is hot and has a slightly darker colour. Add the smoked paprika, the thyme, the chilli flakes and some salt and pepper to taste and fry again for only 1-2 minutes.
-Mix the iceberg lettuce, the cucumber and the baby corns with 1/2 tbs of olive oil and add some salt to taste.
-Let the corn cob boil in water for 5 minutes.
-Warm the black beans for just a minute on high fire in a pan.
-Put it all in a nice big bowl. Serve with the pieces of crispy tortilla.

Do you like Mexican food? Are you going to try this recipe? Please let me know when you’ve tried it. You can do this in a comment below.. or you can tag me or use #PlanetManel on Instagram, so I can see it. Thank you! X

What I eat in a Day! #3

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I thought let’s do another ‘What I eat in a Day’ post. I often get questions about this and people always seem to be interested in what I (do) eat. I also like to show people that we, vegan, can just have normal and delicious food. So here we go!

I just picked a random day: I always start my day with a big glass of luke warm water, the juice of half a lemon and 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar. This isn’t something I love drinking, but it gives me a good feeling as it gives me energy and a boost of vitamin C. It also has a cleansing effect and for me it’s perfect to start my day. About an hour later I drink my green smoothie. This is a smoothie with 2 very ripe bananas, a big handful of spinach, 1/2 tsp spirulina, 1/2 tsp wheatgrass and 1 tsp of linseed. I use a little bit of water to blend it. I had this with 1/2 a medium sized papaya. When I got to work they had a bowl full of delicious fresh plums from the garden they went to at the weekend. So I just had to  snack on those in the morning. So delicious! It makes me think of my childhood as we had 2 plum trees, full of plums, in the garden where I grew up. A little later in the morning I was quite hungry weird enough, so I made myself a small bowl of porridge. As a topping I used some strawberries, coconut, cinnamon and a little bit op agave nectar. Just to keep me going until lunch time.

For lunch (around 14:00) I made myself a little chickpea salad with 1/2 an avocado (+ salt/pepper/lemon juice/a drop of sesame seed oil and a little bit of smoked paprika), a sweet potato from the oven and some sugar snaps on the side. I love lunches like this. They are filling, nutritious and just delicious. I had my lunch fairly late today as I had the porridge around 10:30. Normally I will eat porridge around 9:00ish, but the plums were in the way there.. haha! I wasn’t actually hungry all afternoon, but I did get myself al little treat at Starbucks later on (around 16:00). My ultimate treat there is a Green Tea Latte with soy milk (and some cinnamon on the top). I love it! Unfortunately they put sugar in there, so I only have it now and then. In the morning I made my Nori Nori recipe, so I could take some pictures for the recipe I will share here soon. They are little wraps from nori sheets, filled with spinach, mushrooms, bell pepper, alfalfa and tempeh. So as I made them, I had those for dinner, with some extra spinach on the side. It’s definitely one of m favourite recipes, so tasty and very healthy! I wasn’t feeling hungry in the evening, so I only had a cup of bedtime tea a little bit before I went to sleep. Also I drink about 2-3 litres of water a day.

Do you eat similar to me? Or do you have a whole different routine? I’d love to hear about it. Please let me know in the comments below or show me by using #PlanetManel on Instagram. Thank you! X

Spain – Mallorca 2017

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A little more than 2 weeks ago I was still on the (very) sunny Spanish island, Mallorca. I’ve had a lovely week there. It was a working-holiday, as I travelled with the family I used to work for, as their nanny. They go every year, with family and this is the 3rd time I went with them. You might remember it from last year. If you didn’t read that yet, you can read it here if you like. So it was the same group of people and the same lovely chefs who cooked me amazing vegan food every day. There are some hotspots in the end of this article too, in case you decide to go to Mallorca yourself.

FRIDAY
Our flight was at 12:50, from Luton. I left my flat around 9:30 and got there perfectly on time. There was was a very little delay, but 2 hours later we landed. The rental car was ready and so I drove (I love driving) us all to the villa. It’s about an hour drive from the airport and so we got there around the kids dinner time. Dinner is served around 20:30 and they made me the most delicious carrot soup as a starter and my main was an oven dish with potatoes, aubergines and tomatoes. So delicious! For dessert I had a soy chocolate pudding. The rest of the evening I just relaxed a bit, before an early sleep.

SATURDAY
It’s so hot here. Like 35C-37C.. and it will stay like this the whole time we are here. Luckily the vila has a swimming pool. So we swam all morning. For lunch we had a lovely pasta. This is I think one of my favourite things they make here (though it’s hard to choose). Delicious pasta, with cherry tomatoes from the vegetable garden, garlic and fresh rocket on top. Simple, but define. In the afternoon we collected fruits and veggies in the vegetable garden and the orchard: tomatoes, aubergines, beans, bell peppers and lemons. For dinner they made me a salad with melon and potato crisps as a starter. Couscous with peanuts, aubergine and a broccoli burger for main and one of the chefs made me an amazing chocolate cake for dessert. It was so so good and I ate from it the rest of the week, lucky me!

SUNDAY
The chefs were not here this day, so everybody who got up first, helped with getting breakfast ready. So like every morning I had lots of nice fruit for breakfast (breakfast here must be my favourite moment of the day as it’s all different kinds of fresh fruit. We then went swimming all day long, as it was super hot. For lunch I had some leftovers from yesterday and after everybody’s siesta, we picked some delicious grapes in the vineyard to snack on. For dinner I had the left overs from last Friday, the potato dish with aubergine and tomato, so yummy. And of course I had a piece of cake (duuh!). After dinner I went for a quiet swim, just to cool down (such a relaxing moment). Then had a shower and spend my time reading. First outside, but there were too many mosquitos, so I had to go inside. I’m read Marie Kondo and I still am actually.

MONDAY
It was, again, a super hot day today. As usual, I started the morning with lots of yummy fruit and freshly squeezed orange juice and then went swimming almost all morning. I had some very nice and huge (and delicious!) potato fritters, with salad and baked apples for lunch. In the afternoon we all went to the nearest town, called Pollenca. We were going to get an ice cream and lucky me, they had a delicious strawberry sorbet. It was nice to have a change of scenery for a bit and Pollenca is a lovely place. I was starving for dinner, but I didn’t eat anything until dinner, because the portions are always quite big and I wanted to enjoy it to the fullest. I had an avocado salad as a starter, very yummy baked potatoes and broccoli for main and another piece of delicious chocolate cake for dessert. Well worth the wait!

TUESDAY
After breakfast and a quick swim, we went to the Formentor beach. It was such a nice ride, over the mountains. Mallorca is really beautiful. The beach was bus, but not too busy. The children loved it. A lot more than me, haha.. because though I love the idea of beach and sea, I don’t really want to go into the sea too far. As I have this huge control freak fear of not knowing what’s under and around me. It was still nice to be on the beach though and I did go in the water a little bit. We also had lunch there. I had the vegetarian pizza without cheese, what was quite nice. So much better than the pizza’s I’ve had in Spain before. Then we went back to the villa for our siesta. Before dinner I read some of my book in the hammock and it started raining a little, what was amazing, as I love rain. Especially in combination with hot temperatures. Dinner was bruschetta on very delicious nut bread for a starter. Then for main I had some rice, with grilled veggies and an avocado. And another piece of chocolate cake for dessert. It was the last piece, but we sliced it in half, so I can have another piece tomorrow (yay!). It was raining after dinner again, so I hurried outside and I just lied down on the terrace, what was still very hot from the sun. The feeling to the warm tiles, the cold rains drops on my skin whilst staring at an olive tree and a black sky was just a great moment of happiness.

WEDNESDAY
Like yesterday we went out after breakfast and a quick swim. This time we went to the beach in Port de Polenca, a 15-20 min drive. Almost everybody came, so we were with a big group. The sea was calm and clear here, so I was ok going in until the water was a little over my knee. After that we had lunch and all the kids behaved so well. I ordered an asparagus and buckwheat salad, without cheese and honey. It was an alright salad, but it was mostly just lettuce. There was I think 1 asparagus  (cut up) and maybe 1 tbs (yes really!) of buckwheat. Luckily there were some fries to fill me up too. In the afternoon we all went swimming at the villa again. Because the chefs were off today, I helped making dinner for the kids. When they all went to sleep, I made some dinner for myself with some leftover veggies and rice. Super yum! Almost everybody went out for dinner that evening and when the kids were all sleeping, I went for a quick topless swim, lovely! Then a shower and some reading, before going to sleep. It was a lovely last work day!

THURSDAY
My day off! I had a very easy morning, some relaxing and sorting out some things for my blog etc. I missed breakfast, but that was ok as I was going out anyway. I was able to take the car all day, what was super handy. First I made a quick stop at Pollenca as I saw some earrings there earlier, which I couldn’t forget. Buddha hand earrings, that will match my ring. At the same shop, what is called ‘Nilay’ btw, I also got 2 bracelets for the kids from work. The oldest loves all my tree of life things and I found a tree of life bracelet for her. For the younger one I bought a braided colourful bracelet. I hope they’ll like it. Then I drove to Port de Pollenca to go to this place called ‘Bellaverde’. A vegetarian place with lots of vegan options. I had brunch here, with yogurt, fruit, muesli and a (very perfect) croissant. You also get orange juice with this. Not the best juice, but it certainly looks nice on the plate. I did really enjoy it all together. It was a beautiful little restaurant (a must go!), with a garden to sit in, under big old fig trees. There were also 2 cats, so sweet! From there I drove to Alcudia, which is only a 10 min drive from Port de Pollenca. I parked the car and walked around a bit. A funny thing is that the exact same shop (Nilay), with the same earrings was here too, what made my Pollenca stop a little unnecessary. Oh well.. It was sooooo hot though. When I passed an ice cream shop and asked for the sorbets, they had quite a few, so I picked mango, passion fruit and banana. It wasn’t the best sorbet, very sweet and with bits of ice in it, but it did help for the heat. I went here to find a place called ‘Verdeteja’, another vegetarian place. I walked around a bit, taking pics of beautiful little streets, when suddenly I bumped into Verdeteja. I must be a magnet to vegan food, hehe.. I was still full from brunch and I was eating the sorbet, so I decided to come back later. Instead I sat down on somebodies doorstep (in front of a beautiful old door), in a lovely quiet street, to finish my sorbet. There was even a little breeze. Perfect! Then I went for a little walk, but it was just too hot for this. What explained why there was almost nobody on the street. I still wasn’t very hungry, but I decided to have lunch anyway, because it was simply too hot to stay in the village and I really wanted to go an review this place. It turned out that only 2 products in this shop are not vegan, what does make it, very officially, a vegetarian shop. The vegan products were all very nice. It’s a tiny place, but the products are good, tasty and helpful. Like these very nice raw biscuits from Mrs. Sweet (I’m afraid its only in Spanish).The lady was so nice too! I felt super comfortable and welcome. She cooks a dish every morning and it’s almost always vegan (sometimes it’s quiche, what contains egg). I had gazpacho as a starter, courgettie with an amazing tomato sauce for main and a delicious carrot-banana cake for dessert. I was very full after though. I did buy 3 of the Mrs. Sweet biscuits, to try for later. Back at the car I first had to cool down a little bit, before driving up. I drove up to Penya Fort and further, (until I wasn’t allowed to go any further) it was absolutely breathtaking! A little narrow road up to a mountain, along the coast. It was hard to let another car pass, but it was all well worth it. A beautiful view with such blue water, very nice! Coming back down the mountain I drove back to Port de Pollenca and spend an hour in the (shallow) sea. I snacked on the biscuits I got and they were very tasty. Especially if you like a lemony taste, you’ll love them. Then I drove back up to another mountain and enjoyed the amazing view and the sunset. After I took about 10 pictures for other tourists (as a single girl, I was the person to ask! Haha! It’s a good thing I like doing it..), I drove back to the villa. By the time I got back it was a little after 21:00. I packed my suitcase and took a shower, ready for the last night. This day was a lovely end of this very nice week. I sooo enjoyed this day!

HOTSPOT LIST:
Nilay (jewellery shop) – Carrer d’Alcúdia, 14, 07460 Pollença.
Bellaverde – Carrer de les Monges, 14, 07470 Pollença.
Verdeteja – Carrer del Lledoner, 13, 07400 Alcúdia.

I had an amazing week! Have you been to Mallorca yet? You should definitely go and check out these lovely places. Please let me know if you do! You can leave a comment or show me by tagging me or by using #PlanetManel on Instagram. Thank you! X

The Bon Vie Tops

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I was gifted these great looking tops with beautiful designs from ‘The Bon Vie’. This is the company of a lovely girl who started to make tops with vegan designs. She always loved animals, but it wasn’t until about 2 years ago she came to realise how many animals suffered on a daily basis. This made her go vegan. She also started to volunteer at animal sanctuaries and shelters, trying to make a difference. But about 6 months ago she felt like she wanted to do more and make a bigger impact. She already knew a lot about T-shirts and graphic, so she decided to combine those 2 and I’m happy she did. Her designs are so nice. Quite different from other ones. The Bon Vie is all about spreading awareness and bringing people together. In the future she hopes to switch to recycled shirts to help the environment. I think the avocado shirt is so cute.. ‘Wanna Avocuddle?’ hehe.. This T-shirt I like best in white, so the design is very visible. I really like the V-neck too. I don’t like tops with the color too high and V-necks are perfect, my favourite. Both the other tops, whilst not having a V-neck, are low cuts and that is the best thing about these tops. Out of all the design and shapes, I chose the avocado T-shirt, but I said I also liked the elephant and the ‘I just want to yoga all day, eat yum vegan food and save animal’. It was hard to choose! When I received my parcel it turned out she also include the other 2 designs. So sweet en generous of her! And it turns out I like the elephant the best. Even though it has a round neck, I absolutely love it. It has such a nice fit and I really like the colour, a very nice, not so common, blue. A few weeks ago I bought new elephant trousers and they are a perfect combination together. Very nice for the summer. Make me so happy!

The shirts are a very nice shape and fit nicely. The T-shirts are quite a small fit, so if you like a lose fit, I recommend choosing a size bigger than you normally get. Though the tank top was perfect fit. You can go to The Bon Vie website to see all the other designs. For every sale, $2 goes to help animals! This either goes to a sanctuary or a shelter (it changes on a regular basis). So you don’t only get a nice top, you’re also doing it for a good cause. Help yourself to a nice T-shirt and help an animal to have a better life. Where are you waiting for?

Are you familiar with The Bon Vie tops? Do you love them as much as I do? Please show me your choice on Instagram by using #PlanetManel. You can also tag me (and @thebonvie) of course. Would you like me to test and review your product(s) or do you have any suggestions? Please send me a message via CONTACT! It can be anything (food, drinks, beauty..) as long as it’s vegan. Thank you! X