Tag Archives: vegan

Netherlands – Haarlem

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949321F5-BE94-494B-8711-7961B39AB69BLast Xmas, my mum, sister, niece and I went to Haarlem. It’s the city my family is from and where almost everyone from my family is born. Once a year we try to visit one city in the Netherlands together. To spend some quality time, do a bit of shopping and to try lots of yummy food. I really wanted to see what kind of vegan places Haarlem has to offer. There are not a lot of all vegan places, but I did find some nice ones that are worth going to. We went by train, so we did not have to worry about parking the car. We left Assen midmorning and around noon we arrived in Haarlem. We needed lunch!

IMG_4652People recommended some places via Instagram and one of them was Chickpea. It was recommended by a girl who works there. So nice! And because another place I really wanted to go, Freaking Vegan, was still closed and we were all really hungry, we decided to have lunch at Chickpea. Chickpea offers very delicious falafel. Served in/with pita bread or as a salad, with lots of salad options you can choose from. They are all vegan and it was very delicious. Beforehand my mum said that she didn’t like falafel as it’s always so dry. Now she knows what good falafel tastes like and she loved it! I definitely recommend this place. It’s great for lunch, but you can also have a lighter bite for a snack. And it was so nice to meet one of my followers at the same time.

C97157FB-5889-499C-B2BD-FF2606BFDEBCWe walked around Haarlem, through big shopping streets and some really nice cosy alleys and I loved it. When we were in a sports store, suddenly there was a lovely smell.. there was a lady walking around with fresh Turkish bread. I asked where she got it from, because the smell was irrisistable. She told me where to get it and that they were still warm. Oh my!! I rushed there and was lucky, because there were only 3 left. It was sooooo tasty. The shops closed early as it was Xmas evening, but luckily I managed to find some nice big golden hoops for in my ears, just in time. I was looking for these already for a while. We wanted to visit a place called Mica Coffeebar, to have a little break, but it 7E5E8920-F6CF-475B-AFE4-95AA262B0D74turned out that a lot of cafes and little restaurants closed at 16:00, because of Xmas evening. We didn’t know this and by the time we got there we only had 10 min. So we tried to look for something else, because my mum asked an old school friend to meet us for coffee. We ended up in a really chic place, that was open until late, but didn’t have any plant based milk. So I just ordered a water. I mean, what is the point of drinking tea without milk? We met my mum’s friend, had a nice chat. We then tried to look for a place to have some dinner.

IMG_4655We were able to use the train tickets we had from 18:30 again, but everything was closed at 16:00 already. I tried calling several places, including the place Freaking Vegan, that I really wanted to go to, but I got their voice mail and I assumed that they were closed too. So we tried to see if there maybe was a pizza place somewhere that was going to be open until longer. When we looked for that, we happened to walk passed Freaking Vegan and it looked like it was open! When I asked inside, the very friendly guy said they were open until 21:00! Woohoo!! It’s a IMG_4654small place and obviously no one was there on Xmas evening, so we had the whole place for ourselves. It’s all vegan junkfood and we ordered a ‘kapsalon’ (chips, a meat substitute that looks like shawarma and salad), a burger, onion rings and chicken style nuggets. We were so happy to find a place that was open. I was so happy I got to go here and best of all, the food was soooo nice! The onion rings were the best I ever tasted, the portions were big and everyone enjoyed it a lot. We got a hot chocolate to share in the end and without rushing or getting bored, we left perfectly in time for the train.

The train was on time and everything seemed to go well. But when we needed to change to our second train, all trains were cancelled, because of a defect somewhere. So we had to get a bus to Lelystad and from there we were able to continue our journey. The bus journey took long, but was hilarious as we made friend, who we had so much fun with. I really enjoyed it! All together, everything took an hour longer though and my niece really started to get tired, she is only 5. She fell asleep in the last 5 min (isn’t it always like that?), but we did all get home safely.

ACAF9AF2-BBE4-45F1-AD77-0DE2E5631A22Haarlem is a beautiful city, especially around Xmas time. There are so many lights everywhere, a big Xmas tree and of course the beautiful and impressive St. Bavo Church in the central market square. I had great fun taking some nice pictures of this beautiful city. I wish we had more time and I had 2 stomachs to try more good vegan food. But I will definitely go back to add to the hotspot list. For now, these are definitely nice places to check out when you visit Haarlem:

HOTSPOT LIST:
– Chickpea: Kleine Houtstraat 2A.
– Mica Coffeebar: Kleine Houtstraat 103.
– Freaking Vegan: Botermarkt 29.

Have you been to Haarlem yet? Or would you like to visit this beautiful city? Please let me know! I would love to hear about your experience and what nice places you discover. You can do this down below or let me know on Instagram via @freedomevermore. Thank you! X

Complete Xmas Dinner 2019

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IMG_6514_polarrI already start thinking about my Xmas dinner in the summer or even earlier. When I see something that inspires me, I write it down and then it might end up in my Xmas dinner that year. I always like to create several recipes, that make a full Xmas dinner all together. There is something that I always include though and that is brussels sprouts. Cuz I just LOVE them. I often prepare some extra veggies as well, like green beans and broccoli. Just to get your greens in, even at Xmas time. If you are curious what I made last year, please CLICK HERE. Or to see what I made 3 years ago, CLICK HERE. I really like this year’s desert though. It looks so festive and it’s super easy to make. I also like that you can put it in the middle of the table and everyone can share, instead of everyone having their own portion. This whole Xmas dinner is enough for about 4-6 people. You can double the recipes when you need it to be more or add more dishes. Whatever you are gong to make, I want to wish you a very Happy Xmas!! I hope you will have a lovely time, with lots of love, laughter and happy moments!

STARTER

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IMG_3876_polarrPea Spirulina Soup with Smoked Tempeh

Makes: 4-6 bowls. 

soup
2,5 L vegetable stock (4 cubes)
400 gram split peas
1 leek (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
2 carrots (finely chopped)
4 ribs of celery (chopped)
2 tsp spirulina

tempeh
100 gr tempeh (chopped)
1 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tbs sesame seed oil
1 tbs soy sauce
1/2 lime (juice)
1/2 tbs liquid smoke
1/8 tsp smoked garlic
1/8 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt 

extra
4-6 tbs cream (cashew, alpro or oatly)

-Marinate the tempeh: put all the ingredients (including the tempeh) in a container with lid and shake!
-Put the stock and the split peas in a pan and let it come to boil.
-Turn the heat to a medium and let it simmer for about 30 min (keep stirring it once in a while).
-In the meantime: fry the onion, leek, carrot and celery (in water or oil) for about 8-10 minutes on a medium fire.
-Take 2 cups of the soup and use it to blend the just fried veggies and the spirulina. Blend until smooth, before putting it all (back) in the pan.
-Let it simmer for another 5 min.
-In the meantime: fry the tempeh (in 1/2-1 tsp of oil if necessary).
-Serve the split pea soup with some cream and the tempeh on top. 

MAIN & SIDES

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IMG_6097_polarrLeek Bacon Quiche.

Serves: 6-8

1 pastry sheet

1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 broccoli (finely chopped)
1 small courgette (chopped)
100 gr mushrooms (chopped)
1/2 leek (chopped)
100 gr bacon (Vivera)

filling
1,5 cup chickpea flour
1,5 cup oat milk
1 cup water
1 stock cube
4 tbs nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt 

topping
2 tomatoes (thinly sliced)
150 gr Sheese

-Preheat the oven at 200C.
-Fry the onion, garlic and broccoli all together for about 5 min.
-Add the courgette and the mushrooms and fry all together for 3-4 min.
-Add the leek and the bacon and fry all together for about 2 min. Let it cool down.
-In the meantime make the filling: put all the ingredients for the filling in the blender and blend until smooth.
-Line a baking tin with the pastry sheet and use a fork to prick some holes in the bottom.
-Put the vegetable mix in the baking tin and make sure everything is divided evenly.
-Pour the filling over the vegetables and make sure everything is covered.
-Divide the toppings over the top and put it in the oven for about 30-35 min.

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IMG_0212_polarrGarlic Hasselback Potatoes 

Makes: 6

6 medium-big potatoes
3 small cloves of garlic (minced)
6 tbs butter (melted)
1-2 tbs fresh parsley (finely chopped)
1 tsp salt
pepper (to taste)

extra
2 wooden spoons of the same thickness

-Preheat the oven at 220C.
-Put 2 wooden spoons on a chopping board, with a potato in the middle.
-Very carefully slice the potato in thin slices. The spoons help you to not cut all the way thorough.
-To make the seasoning: put the melted butter, the garlic, the salt/pepper and the parsley.
-Divide half the seasoning over the potatoes, using a brush.
-Put the potatoes in the oven for about 25-30 min or whenever the slices are coming apart.
-Take them out of the oven and brush the rest of the oil over the potatoes. Make sure to spread the oil in between the slices. Gently! The potato is softer and its more delicate now.
-Put them back in the oven for another 5-8 min (or until golden/crispy).

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IMG_2445_polarrCourgette, Steak and Blue Cheese Pastries

Makes: 6

1 sheets of pastry (I used jus rol)
1 small courgette
1 steaks (Vivera)
50 gr (vegan) blue cheese (I used Sainsbury’s)

-Preheat the oven at 200C.
-Cut the steacks into 6 sticks. 
-Cut the courgette in half. Then cut cut those chunks in half through the length and through the length again.
-Also cut the cheese into 6 sticks.
-Fry the courgette in a pan for about 5 min. In the last 2 minutes, also add the steak. Let it cool down.
-Cut the pastry sheet in 6 squares.
-Roll 1 piece of courgette, 1 piece of steack and 1 piece of cheese in 1 square. Close the sides and close properly with a fork (push the fork gently on the pastry edges).
-Put them on a baking tray with baking paper and put the tray in the oven for 15-18 min (or until golden).

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IMG_9273_polarrPotato, Cauliflower mash with Peppery Mushroom Gravy

Serves: 4-6

4 big potatoes (chopped)
1 cauliflower (chopped)
1/4 cup oat milk
1 tbs butter
3 tbs nutritional yeast
1/2-1 tsp salt 

gravy
1/4 onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
300gr mushrooms (sliced)
1 tsp bouillon powder
1 cup water
2 tbs flour
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)
salt (to taste)

-Cook the potato and the cauliflower for about 10 min, or until soft.
-In the meantime: Fry the onion and the garlic in a little bit of water for about 3 min.
-Add the mushrooms and fry it all together until the mushrooms begin to get soft (about 2-3 min).
-Add the water and the bouillon powder and let it come to boil. Add the black pepper and the salt (to taste) and let it simmer for about 3 min.
-On a very low heat, add he flour and the nutritional yeast. Keep mixing it until it becomes tick (about 1-2 min). Keep stirring!
-Add 1 or a few tbs of water if you want it a bit more runny, until you have the consistency you prefer.
-When the potatoes and cauliflower are soft enough, use a colander to get rid of the water.
-Add the milk, butter, nutritional yeast and salt and mash it up.
-Serve together.

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IMG_0269_polarrRoasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic 

Serves: 4-6

500 gr brussels sprouts
1/2 tbs (avocado) oil
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 tsp salt
pepper (to taste)

-Preheat the oven at 220C.
-Mix the oil, garlic, salt and pepper together and divide this over the brussels sprouts.
-Put them in an oven dish and put them in the oven for about 10-12 min.
-Shake or mix the brussels sprouts and put them in the oven for another 10-12 min (or until they start to turn slightly brown).

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IMG_4687_polarrCamembert Cheese with Baguette
(inspired by the BOSH recipe)

Serves: 6-8

2 cups soaked cashews
2 cloves of  garlic
4 tbs tapioca flour
4 tsp salt
5 tbs nutritional yeast
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
1,5 cup warm water

topping
1 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)
1/2-1 tsp avocado oil
-Preheat the oven at 180C.

-Blend all the ingredients (except the toppings) in the blender until smooth.
-Put everything from the blender in a sauce pan and heat it for a few minutes, until it gets a bit thicker and stretchy. Keep stirring!
-Pour it in an oven dish (lined with baking paper) and put it in the oven for 20-22 min.
-Brush the avocado oil on top and divide the pepper. Put it back in the oven for another 5 min.

DESSERT

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IMG_8657_polarrApple Pastry Xmas Tree with Ice Cream 

Serves: 4-6

1 pastry sheet
1 small apple
1 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
ice cream (as much as you like!)

-Preheat the oven at 200C.
-Cut the apple in quarters and then slice them up in length.
-Put the apple in a bowl and mix in the sugar and cinnamon.
-Put the pastry sheet on a baking tray (lined with baking paper) and cut as showed in the picture here >>
-Fold one slice of apple per branch. You’ll have to cut the apple smaller moving upwards.
-Put the tray in the oven for about 18-20 min, or until golden brown.
-Let it cool down and decorate the tree with ice cream Christmas balls. 

Do you already know what you are going to make for Christmas? Will you make any of these Xmas recipes? If you do, please let me know. You can do this by commenting down below or even better, by showing me on Instagram by tagging me with @freedomevermore. Thank you! X 

Brew your own Kombucha

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What is kombucha?
Kombucha is fermented tea. It contains a lot of beneficial bacterias that are super good for your gut. It’s an excellent source of probiotics. It tastes a little sweet and you can brew it in a lot of natural flavours.

IMG_7882_polarrWhat is the best kombucha?
There are many different brands and not one brand tastes the same. One of my favourite brands is definitely the Mighty Brew. Available in some health stores and cafes. They have amazing flavours and I really prefer their kombucha over other brands. I also sometimes get LoBros (as it’s available in the supermarket; Sainsbury’s) and Remedy (lots of cafes sell this brand). I find them quite similar in taste. They’re both tasty, but quite sweet. They are a very good alternative when I can’t get my hands on MightyBrew though. But what is even more fun.. is to brew your own kombucha! The taste doesn’t compare to anything, it’s amazing. If you’d like to get into that, here is how I did it. I will tell you how I successfully brewed my own kombucha and what can go wrong.

IMG_4310_polarrBrewing your own kombucha:
To brew your own kombucha, before you can start, you first need to get some essentials. Some are super easy to get, for others you need to do a little research. As soon as you have everything, you can start the process. The first process is called the First Fermentation. This is when the good bacterias start to grow/multiply and it takes 7-10 days, depending on how acidic you want your kombucha. I recommend making it quite acidic, but still drinkable of course. As soon as this process is finished, you can start the Second Fermentation and this is where you add the flavour (fruits that work very well and I recommend for first time brewers: mango (my fave!!) and pineapple) and in this process it will become naturally fizzy. When this process (that takes only a few days) is finished, you can drink it! I will talk you through the whole process.

IMG_4746_polarrWhat do you need to brew your own kombucha?
-Big jar (I recommend 4L).
-Scoby + starter tea. *
-Organic black tea leaves.
-Organic cane sugar.
-(cheese) Cloth + rubber band.
-Funnel.
-Airtight bottles. **
-Fruit for flavouring.

*You can buy scobies and starter tea via the internet, but maybe you know someone who brews kombucha already. For every batch you make, you grow a new scoby. So people who brew kombucha, mostly have a spare one to give away. By brewing your own batch, you grow a new scoby yourself, that you can use for your next batch and so on. 

**I recommend airtight swing-top bottles. 

IMG_2654First Fermentation
(7-10 days):
3,5L of filtered water
3 tbs of tea 
1 cup sugar
2 cups of starter tea
1 scoby

-Boil 4 cups of the water and add the tea and the sugar. Let it steep for about 15 min. Stir it once in a while, to make sure all the sugar has melted. You now made a tea concentrate.
-Put the rest of the water in the big jar and add the tea concentrate.
-Add the starter tea and the scoby.
-Put the cloth over the top of the jar and use a rubber band to keep it into place.
-Put the jar in a warm place (24-29C), out of direct sunlight.
-Try not to move it once you put it away, because this will affect the new scoby that is growing on the surface. 

IMG_9787_polarrSecond Fermentation
(3-4 days):
400 ml blended fruit

-Take the scoby out and put it aside.
-Take 2 cups of starter tea (for next batch).
–Stir the kombucha.
-Add about 1/3 cup to every 500 ml bottle.
-Fill up the bottles with the First Fermentation tea.
–Wipe to bottles dry and seal them.
-Put the bottles away in room temperature for about 3-4 days.
-Put them in the fridge and as soon as they’re cold they are ready for drinking.

You can technically drink it before putting it in the fridge. But cooling them helps a little bit with the fizz, as that process slows down a lot at colder temperatures. Always beware when opening a bottle though, it can get quite messy and I recommend opening it very carefully and gradually. I learned the hard way!

IMG_6938_polarrWhat is a Scoby hotel?
Because with every batch there is a new scoby formed and you can’t make a new batch for every scoby (unless you have a lot of space maybe!), you end up with scobies you won’t use directly. You can give them away or use them for lots of other things (google for all the things you can do with left over scobies), but it’s very useful to keep them as well. For when you want to spontaneously make a new batch or for when one of your brews goes wrong for whatever reason. It’s helpful to always have some on hand. So having an extra jar with several scobies is super handy. This jar with extra scobies, is called a scoby hotel. If you make sure the scobies are in enough tea, you also always have some very acidic starter tea on hand. Win win!

IMG_4820_polarrWhat can go wrong?
So what happened a few times to me and the reason why I’m currently not brewing any, is that my scoby in my first fermentation got mouldy. This mostly happens when the temperature where the jar is stored isn’t warm enough. I brewed my kombucha at work (as brewing in a van is kinda impossible with no stable temperatures and a lot of movement) and the warmest place at work wasn’t warm enough. So every time I tried brewing with my own scoby and starter tea, it wasn’t strong enough and it failed every time. It made me quite sad actually as I find brewing kombucha so so exciting! I did manage to brew about 6 amazing tasting litres though and it was the best kombucha I ever tasted. I will give it another go in the summer, when the outside temperature is high as well. This will be helpful.

Did you ever try brewing your own kombucha? I would love to hear and see your experiences! You can let me know down below or tag me on Instagram with @freedomevermore. Thank you! X

Clever Pumpkin

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IMG_6993_polarrI almost didn’t want to do anything for Halloween, because I’m not the biggest fan. But than I made a 2 layered pumpkin birthday cake for my lovely pig Oliver (it was his 2nd birthday!) and it was so delicious, that I had to make it into a recipe. Around this time of the year pumpkins are everywhere! Go into any supermarket and you will see big boxes with huge pumpkins everywhere and because I love pumpkins so much, I’m always tempted to buy one (or 2..), every time I step into a supermarket. Most people buy them to carve them and make them into pieces of art. Sometimes they don’t even realise what tasty things you can make with them and how delicious they are. So that is why I thought I will buy 1 of those pumpkins and I will show you 3 recipes you can make out of that 1 pumpkin. If you want to carve your pumpkin, you can still make 2 out of 3 recipes. As I said before, there will be the pumpkin cake (and only this recipe is worth buying a pumpkin), but I will also tell you how to roast the pumpkin seeds (sooo addictive) and how to make a big batch of the creamiest pumpkin soup ever (unless you carve your pumpkin, then you won’t have enough for soup). You can also follow my pumpkin soup recipe Pumpi if you don’t like it too creamy. So there we go..

You will need:
1 big Pumpkin (about 4kg)

IMG_2448_polarrPUMPKIN CAKE 

Serves: 8

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
pinch of salt 

Wet Ingredients:
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups scraped pumpkin *
1/2 cup oat milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tbs lemon (juice)

Extra:
1 cup scraped pumpkin*
2 tbs brown sugar
3 tbs pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup raisins

-Preheat the oven at 180C.
-Slice 1/4 off the pumpkin, remove the seeds (keep them for later) and the pulp. Scrape 3 cups of pumpkin.*
-Put 2 cups of the scraped pumpkin + the rest of the wet ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
-Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix it up.
-Gently pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Preferably use an electric mixer to make it a smooth cake batter.
-Add the pumpkin seeds and the raisins to the batter and gently mix them in.
-Grease a baking tin and pour the cake batter in the tin.
-Squeeze as much juice as you can from the last cup of scraped pumpkin (put the pumpkin in kitchen roll, fold both hands around it and squeeze). Then mix in 2 tbs brown sugar and divide this over the top of the cake batter. Use your fingers to push it down a little bit.
-Put the tin in the oven for about 45-50 min.

*See picture: After taking the seeds out, use a spoon to scrape the inside of the pumpkin. It basically looks like grated pumpkin. You can also actually use a grater or pulse it in the kitchen machine until you’ve got the same.

B49DB55B-D947-41D3-BCC6-F41B163D826DROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

Makes: 1 cup 

all the seeds
1/2 tbs coconut oil (soft)
1 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tsp bouillon powder
salt/pepper (to taste)

-Preheat the oven at 220C.
-Try to take out as much pulp as you can.
-Rinse the seeds to get rid of more pulp.
-Cook the seeds in boiling water for 5 min.
-Rinse the seeds to get rid of the last pulp and dry them with some kitchen roll.
-Mix in the coconut oil, nutritional yeast, the bouillon powder and the salt/pepper.
-Put some baking paper on a flat baking tray and divide the seeds. Spread them out as much as you can.
-Put the tray in the oven for 5 min. Then mix it all up and put it in the oven for another 5-7 min. Keep checking, because you don’t want hem to burn. They are perfect when they just start to change colour a little bit.
-Let them cool down and enjoy the crispiness.

1F683E99-C901-4548-B074-91F2AC8AB112PUMPKIN SOUP 

Serves: 6-8 

the rest of the pumpkin (you can also add the pulp, chopped)
3 medium red onions (chopped)
10 big carrots (chopped)
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 L water 
1/3 cup bouillon powder
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp turmeric
salt/pepper (to taste) 

Cream:
200 gram tofu
1 cup cashew nuts
1 can coconut milk
1 cup almond milk 

Serving:
-1-2 tbs (tofu-coconut) cream
-1-2 tbs roasted pumpkin seeds

-Preheat the oven at 220C.
-Put all the pumpkin, the onion, the carrots and the garlic in a big oven tray (you might need 2!), sprinkle some salt on top and put the trays in the oven for 30-40 min.
-In the meantime make the cream: put the tofu, cashew nuts, coconut milk and the almond milk in the bender and blend until completely smooth (0 crumbs!). Keep a little bit separate, to use as a topping.
-Take the vegetables out of the oven and blend them with some water, the bouillon, nutritional yeast and the turmeric until smooth.
-Put it all in a big pan and mix in the cream.
-Add salt/pepper to taste.
-Serve with some extra cream and some roasted pumpkin seeds.

Are you excited to get a pumpkin now? Which recipe are you most excited about? Please show me your results on Instagram. You can do this by tagging me or by using #planetmanel. Thank you! X

Bananananana

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Out of all the baking, I think I make banana bread most often. It’s a great thing to make when you have ripe bananas (which I always have), it’s easy and everyone loves it. This is why it is so so weird that there isn’t a single banana bread recipe on my blog yet! How is this even possible?? That needed to change. So I made my favourite ever banana bread, to share it with you. I think it’s a great autumn recipe too, with lots of delicious cinnamon. I do not always feel like it, but you can also add 1/2 a tsp of ginger powder or all spice, to get the taste of autumn a little bit more. It’s up to you! This banana bread recipe is free from refined sugar and made with coconut oil. I don’t think I will ever call it healthy, but let’s say that it is not that bad for you. Unless you eat it with (plant based.. duhh!) vanilla ice cream, like I often do (sooo good!). Just an extra tip.. after it is all cooled down, slice it up and freeze them separately. This way you can have a fresh slice of banana bread for snack whenever you want to.

BANANANANANA

Serves: 8-10

Dry Ingredients:
1,5 cup flour
2 tbs custard powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1,5 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:
1 cup medjool dates
3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup oat milk
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tbs maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs ground flaxseed

Extra:
1/3 cup rolled oats
2 tbs pumpkin seeds
2 tbs sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pecans
1/3 cup raisins
1 small banana (finely chopped)
1/3 cup chocolate (chopped, optional)
1 banana (cut in length, optional)

-Preheat the oven at 180C.
-Mix all the dry ingredients.
-Mix all the wet ingredients and slowly mix this into the dry ingredients.
-Mix in all the extra things, except the banana you’ve cut in length.
-Grease a baking tin and divide the banana bread mixture in the tin.
-Put the cut banana on top and press it lightly into the mixture.
-Put it in the oven for 55-65 min.
-Let it cool down before slicing it up. 

Do you love banana bread? It’s a great thing to make and to share! Please show me your creation. You can do this by tagging e or by using #planetmanel. Thank you! X

Magic Tea

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An extra recipe this week! Tomorrow my ultimate banana bread recipe will come online, but I wanted to add this one as well, as I already made my first few cups of this and I noticed that people around me are in need of this recipe (I’m not ill or anything, but I started to drink this to prevent this from happening). I thought this recipe was on my blog already, but I was very wrong. I gave this recipe to so many people in the past and I often use it myself. Especially in the colder seasons, which is now. You have probably noticed the (weather) change as soon as autumn started. Rain and moisture in the air.. people are putting their heatings back on (including me! A few times now I was super happy that I’ve got a little heater in my van), spreading germs everywhere.. the perfect recipe for getting a cold and the flu! This needs a counter-recipe and that is exactly what this is. I swear this recipe works. It’s simple, but it saved me so many times and the many people I shared it with benefitted as well. This isn’t only good for when you feel under the weather by the way, but it’s also a great way to prevent getting ill. I hope it will work for you as well!

MAGIC TEA 

Serves: 1

1,5 cup water
1 tbs (loose) green tea leaves
1/2 lemon (juice)
1 tbs fresh ginger (grated)
1 tsp fresh turmeric (grated, optional) 
1-2 tsp agave nectar (optional)
Lots of Love

-Add love to all the following steps:
-Boil the water and let is sit until it’s about 80C (takes about 3-5 min).
-Put the green tea leaves in the water and let it steep for 3-4 minutes.
-Add the lemon juice, ginger, turmeric and the agave nectar and let it steep for 2 minutes.
-Drink 3-4 cups a day or 1 cup daily when used as a prevention.
-Aim to eat the ginger/turmeric as well.
-Within 20 minutes you will already feel a difference.

Obviously I am not a doctor, but I created this recipe by experience and it has worked many times for me. I hope it will work for you as well! I’d love to hear if it made a difference for you! You can do this down below, tag me on Instagram or by using #planetmanel. Thank you! X

Macashew

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Macaroni and cheeeeeeese guys! The ultimate comfort food, am I right?! Confession: I think I actually never had macaroni and cheese before I went vegan. I only know that I love the vegan version. So even though it’s hard for me to compare the dairy and this non dairy version, I can tell you that I love this version a lot. It’s so creamy, easy to make (just remember to soak your cashews!) and full of flavour.. Everything you want when you think of good comfort food. So I dare you to try it and tell me if you love it as much as I do. I would love to hear if it hit the spot and if it satisfied your cravings. I served it with a little bit of fresh parsley and extra black pepper. Yum!

MACASHEW

Serves: 2

1,5 cups macaroni
1 cup cashews (soaked overnight) 
1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
Pinch of salt/pepper
1/3 cup Mozzarella style grated Sheese (optional)

-Cook the macaroni as described on the pack.
-Rinse the cashews and put them in the blender together with the almond milk, the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, the onion powder, the turmeric and if you choose to, the sheese.
-Blend until nice and smooth.
-Add salt and pepper to taste and heat the sauce on a low heat until warm. Do not let it boil.
-Use about 1/3-1/2 cup for 3 cups of cooked macaroni*.

*Leftover sauce can be used for other pasta dishes (add some pesto!), salad dressings, topping for pizza etc.

Is macaroni and cheese something you love as well? Is it something you can really crave and are you going to try this? Please let me know if you liked it and I would also love to see your creation! You can do this by tagging me on Instagram or by using #planetmanel. Thank you! X

Berrylicious

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I love berries! Doesn’t matter what kind of berries, I love them all. As it’s blackberry season at the moment and there are huge huge bushes all around my van, I decided to make a cake with them. It’s to celebrate that my van is all finished now (I will dedicate a special post about my van soon)! Yay! Finally! I already live in it for over a year, but there were still a lot of things that needed to be done. All done now! Woohoooo! The first time I only used blackberries, but I thought it would be even nicer to use different types of berries. So I added some blueberries and one of my all time favourite, raspberries. I played a little bit with the ingredients and the result was mind blowing. I think this might be the best cake recipe I’ve ever created. It is a must try! Especially with the yogurt-cinnamon topping. It’s such a good combination.. the moist, soft cake, the sweet and sour berries and the fresh creamy yogurt on top. Gosh!

BERRYLICIOUS

Serves: 8-10 

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbs custard powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt 

Wet Ingredients:
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup oat milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 tbs lemon (juice) 

Berries:
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1/2 cup raspberries 

Topping:
1/2 cup soy yogurt (unsweetened)
1/4 cinnamon
1 tsp lemon (juice)
extra berries (optional)
mint leaves (optional)

-Preheat the oven at 180C.
-Mix all the dry ingredients together.
-Mix all the wet ingredients together.
-Gradually mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth (preferably with an electric mixer).
-Use a spoon to carefully mix in the berries.
-Grease a cake tin with some extra oil and pour in the mix. Make sure the cake mix is nice and even.
-Put the cake tin in the oven for 45-55 min.
-In the meantime mix the yogurt, cinnamon and lemon juice.
-Before serving (and when the cake is all cooled down) you can add the yogurt topping, the extra berries + mint leaves. 

Are you going to make this Berrylicious cake recipe? Please let me know if you liked it. I would also love to see a picture of your creation! You can do this by tagging me on Instagram or by using #planetmanel. Thank you! X

Quinoa Start

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Did you have quinoa for breakfast before? It’s not something you will think of as a breakfast, but it’s actually a perfect start of your day. Quinoa is super healthy! It’s high in protein and also contain sufficient amounts of all nine essential amino acids. That is not all, it also contains magnesium, B vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and it’s high in fiber. Oh and it’s gluten free! I often cook some quinoa in the beginning of the week and keep it in the fridge. This way I can use it in salads etc. during the week, but also for this recipe. Quinoa is actually a seed and it has quite a neutral taste, this is why it’s perfect to enjoy in savoury and sweet dishes. I’m sure that if you’ve had quinoa before, you probably had it for lunch or dinner in a savoury dish, but why not try it like this?

QUINOA START 

Serves: 1 

1 cup quinoa (cooked)
1/2 cup oat milk
2 tbs porridge oats
1 tbs maple syrup
1/4 tsp cinnamon
fresh berries

-Put everything in a pan, mix it up and let it come to boil on a medium heat.
-Lower the heat and let it simmer for another 1-2 minutes. Keep stirring!
-Put it in a bowl and add some delicious fresh berries.

Are you going to try this for breakfast? Please let me know if you liked it and what toppings you chose. You can do this in the comments below, by tagging me or by using #planetmanel on Instagram. Thank you! X