Food & Drink

This Isn’t Chicken Plant-Based Lemon & Herb Skewer Review

April 14, 2021 19 Comments

Hello everyone

I have been vegetarian a while before deciding to go vegan (I watched Cowspiracy & Seaspiracy-they opened my mind). Since going Vegan I have been pleasantly surprised and seen more varieties of delicious no matter which supermarket I go to, 90% of things you know has a vegan option. THIS Isn’t Chicken Plant-based lemon & herb skewers in my local Tesco and I just had to get them, don’t they look great?

I can’t remember the last time I had skewers before but since I thought these looked amazing I just had to try them. I just had to mention it’s the first time I’m trying THIS.

This Isn't Chicken Plant-Based Lemon & Herb Skewer Review

…

Read this Post

Simple Low Sugar Vegan Oat Pancakes Recipe for One

April 7, 2021 28 Comments

Simple Low Sugar Oat Pancakes Recipe for One — How delicious do they look? yum!

Hi everyone, I hope everyone is well! So onto today’s post. My weight loss journey started I have been adjusting my diet around to see what works for me, while on that journey I have also learnt to make new foods. I am the only one who eats vegan food in my home so I like to plan and make meals measured just for me so I can make everyone else meals without worrying about mine. So this is where the Vegan Oat Pancakes come in!

Now I will be the first to admit I am not a huge fan of eating porridge, it’s tough to eat as I find it very filling. I have seen oat pancake recipes floating around the internet and in cookbooks so I thought I’d adjust to make ones I would love to eat. I tried them and I have never looked back, they taste amazing!

Vegan pancakes?

When changing my diet from vegetarian to vegan I was on a hunt for something that would work like eggs so I tried OGG’s egg replacer and they work fine in this. Other egg replacers online such as banana, apple sauce and soya yoghurt.

If you follow me on social media you will see make my own foods in my home I will be posting more recipes for one on my blog whenever I get the chance. I will also add other meals too. One of my favourites is vegan shepherd’s pie, yum!

Nutrition

The pancakes contain 5.2g of protein but this can be upped by simply adding protein-based plant milk or using a vegan protein powder. Carbs are 28.9g and fat is 4.0g. Fillings are separate in this recipe but adding peanut butter will add more protein with little effort.

Simple Low Sugar Vegan Oat Pancakes Recipe for One

moonlightmelinfo

Simple Low Sugar Oat Pancakes Recipe for One. Easy to make and delicous

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Course Breakfast

Calories 185 kcal

Equipment

hand blender
mixing bowel
fork
frying pancake

Ingredients

40g Quaker Jumbo oats
50ml Oat Milk
50ml OGG's Aquafaba Egg Replacer
1ml vanilla extract
1tsp Canderel sugarly

Instructions

get all ingrients and measure
put oats in blender
combine all ingrients in bowl
mix until comined
spray a frying pan with low cal spray
pour mixture into the pan and fry until golden on each side
enjoy, top with whatever you like!

Keyword low sugar, pancake, pancakes, vegatarian

Tasty toppings & Fillings Ideas

The best thing about pancakes is that they are so verastile. You can make them savoury but if your like me you will like the sweet option. My favourite fillings in lotus biscuit spread with strawberries ontop with low sugar maple syrup.

Until next time

Mel x

Check out my other ‘Vegan Food’ Posts

Doisy & Dam Chocolate Review

Trying the new Ogg’s Bites

Trying out ‘Huel’ Ready-to-Drink – An affordable meal in a bottle

March 14, 2021 22 Comments

Before I start this post I would like to state I am not on a liquid diet. I just like trying out vegetarian/vegan protein drinks to make sure I get the most out of what I eat in a day, especially when time is not on your side haha! Huel Ready-to-drink is part of my balanced diet.

I have seen Huel nutrition floating around social media for a while now but it’s only recently that I decided to give one of their products a try. I went shopping the other day in Sainsbury’s for vegetarian goodies when I noticed this drink near the milk aisle. Huel ready-to-drink complete meals, containing 26 essential vitamins and minerals, carbohydrates, protein, fat, fibre and phytonutrients.

If you have read my blog or followed my social media then you would have seen that I have lost 40lb in Lockdown. All of this done without restricting my diet and keeping myself active. Very simple. Check out my post on how to keep fit during lockdown.

…

Read this Post

I’ve Lost 40lbs in Lockdown

March 9, 2021 22 Comments

A 5 Year journey

For the past 5 years, I have been on and off ‘fad’ diets and the result?… I failed! I used to get random bursts of ‘let’s eat better and get the fitness journey started, but for whatever reason, I would end up giving up within a week as everything i have tried in the past has been to constrictive.

In August I turned 30 and I knew I had to improve my lifestyle. I was eating whenever i wanted and I wasn’t even hungry, only because I was bored, upset or just used to the routine. Lockdown didn’t help either.

I promised myself to start a healthier lifestyle a day after my birthday as I was tired of continually gaining weight and eating for no reason so before starting anything, I did a little homework on what would work for me and the first thing I did was download a calorie counting app. The one thing I knew I couldn’t do was give up my chocolate and crisps as this girl has a sweet tooth LOL!

How it started and my journey

In my early twenties, I was between size 8-12, including two pregnancies with my daughters when I was 21 and 22. When I got to the age of 25 I got comfort eating because I felt insecure in myself because of very personal relationship circumstances that really affected my self-esteem and confidence. From then onwards my weight spiralled out of control and I’ll be honest, I never even noticed it much because I bought larger clothes and it wasn’t until they got tight that reality sunk in and stepping on the scales was another reality check.

I changed my mindset. I knew I couldn’t continue on that route because it was damaging for me physically and more importantly, mentally. It was slowly getting painful for me so I decided to get fitter and healthier not just for myself but for my kids too.

10 things that helped me lose weight

Food scales – These have been the most helpful thing in my kitchen! I measure most things I eat with this. Using scales helps me know how much I am eating because with eye measurement you don’t know unless you have been using scales for a long time.
Avoiding Liquid Calories – Now i can’t say I completely got rid of sugary drinks, I like to have them on occasion, like a weekend. Other times I prefer to have sugar free drinks or flavoured water.
Using NutraCheck or MyFitnessPal – My absolute favourite thing ever! It has kept me motivated and shown me all the food calories and nutrients I eat, love it!
Wearing a step counter – I like to keep my steps to 10,000 and having a counter whether it be a phone or watch helps keep me motivated.
Enjoying the foods you eat – Now I love to eat and I like to make sure I eat what I like. I fit foods I like into my calorie deficit.
Eating plenty of protein – Protein has been a big help on the journey so far as it helped keep me fuller for longer. Eggs, yoghurts and tofu are my favs!
Taking progress photos/Measurements – I know it sounds daft but I never noticed the loss until I took photos. My clothes used to be tight but now they are loose haha!
Try out new recipes – I bought a couple of cookbooks to help me learn to make healthier alternatives. My fav at the moment is pinch n nom.
Treating myself to something every 10lb lost – I like treating myself to something for saying girl, you go this! I have previously got makeup, a house plant and books.
Finding the extra motivation Occassionly when needed – Sometimes I need a kick up the bum for motivation so I like to read books on confidence, anxiety and positivity. This could vary for everyone but for me, it helps. Feel-good films also help me.

weight loss journey 40lb lost in lockdown — On the left is July 2020 looking fabulous and on the right is me a few days ago in March 2021!

I am here for the long haul

I don’t have a goal weight in mind but I will see what happens when I go back to the gym and when society is back to normal. One thing I am excited about is to start weightlifting again. It also shows you that it’s mostly calories/nutrition compared to going to a gym. But the gym does help polish up everything and the atmosphere is awesome!

I know weight loss isn’t for everyone and that is fine. We are all unique and we all know what we want for ourselves and me, this is what I want and I love the journey i have been on and continue. Loving yourself is important.

The journey to lose 40lb has taken me since August. It hasn’t always been plain sailing as some weeks I wouldn’t lose and other weeks I would stay the same, its a journey and I am enjoying flowing with it rather racing ahead.

Anyways I am happy with how I have improved in terms of mind and soul. I know it might be a slow journey but this girl is enjoying it, no matter how long it takes, I am here for the long haul.

Until next time

Mel x

Check out my other recent fitness posts

How to Keep Fit in Lockdown

Triyit ‘New Year, New Me’ Campaign Box Review

February 3, 2021 26 Comments

This post contains PR/gifted items, no paid content. All opinions are my own

Hello, Everyone. Triyit’ is a product discovery club in which you can try new products for free! It’s a UK based company that is very similar to the Influenster box. All you need to do is go on their website https://triyit.co.uk/ and fill out a personal profile to you. They will contact you if you are successful in a campaign. They will send an email to confirm that you want one and to see if your address is correct.

So what’s in the box? This campaign theme is called ‘New Year, New Me’ which I just love since it just turned 2021. The box contains 9 full-size products to try out. With Triyit the campaigns are always different and you never know what you get until you physically open your box. I think its a really fun way to try new products.

…

Read this Post

Doisy & Dam ‘Vegan and Palm Oil Free Chocolate’ Review

January 24, 2021 23 Comments

This post contains PR/gifted items, no paid content. All opinions are my own

I am a huge fan of chocolate and have it most days. I have tried Doisy & Dam Ballers before so I couldn’t wait to try more chocolates from their range.

Their chocolates are palm oil-free, natural ingredients and ethically sourced cocoa. They have many varieties to choose from. I got four different to try.

I got the following to try out. D&Ds, Diddies, Nuttercups and Coconut chocolate bar.

…

Read this Post