In my kitchen - December 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

I suspect a lot of December IMK posts will start with some reflection, or expression of alarm, about the end of 2017 drawing near. I too have no idea how we're at this point of the year. Winter is upon us and Christmas is on the horizon. Here is what is happening in my kitchen as we hurtle towards 2018. 

In keeping with Christmas, I recently brought home the M&S vegan Christmas chestnut roast wrap. There are quite a few vegan Christmas wraps and sandwiches about, and I have also tried the Pret a Manger and Boot's sandwiches. If I'm honest, I preferred both of those to this wrap, but it was nonetheless pleasant enough. I think the chestnut flavours were just slightly too strong for me. 

More successful was this vegan and gluten free pumpkin pie I found at Whole Foods on a recent journey across London (if I can manage it, any journey across London features a stop at Whole Foods).

I loved this an incredible amount, to the extent that I hope I may be able to buy another one before the season of pumpkin products is over. The filling was a beautiful blend of pumpkin flavours, subtle spices, and just enough sweetness while the crust was a bit crumbly but very tasty.

My kitchen regularly features porridge. Now the weather is colder, I much prefer it to cold oat mixes, although Mini Bite is inclined in the other direction (she adores overnight oats of almonst any variety). Fortunately she does enjoy porridge too. The bowl below was a standard mix with almond milk, mixed spice, and plum and blueberries as toppings.

The vegan / vegetarian Fry's range has recently expanded and I tried these new 'rice protein and chia nuggets' recently. I like to think they are slightly healthier than other vegan nuggets, thanks to the chia seeds, but they are still an occasional treat really. They were very easy to eat.

Also an occasional treat are these Vego bars - but that requires greater willpower now they are available in the Holland and Barrett health food store on my local high street. It was easier to have them occasionally when I could only source them from London!

Luckily there is plenty of day-to-day sweetness to be had from fruit. They aren't in season here, but we are still buying raspberries and grapes. They make a nice change to the local, in season apples, pears and mandarins.

Lastly, in my kitchen are some vegan friendly probiotics. I ended up on antibiotics recently for a chest infection and thought I would try to offset any side effects with these. I'm not sure how effective they are really, but hopefully they offer some benefit.

What is happening in your kitchen this month?

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