Checking in, recent meals out and a vegan vanilla caramel butterfly cake

Well, hello. It is odd to log onto Blogger after nearly 2 months away. I confess that I haven't missed the act of blogging but I have missed the outlet for sharing food-related news and for connecting with regular readers. I hope you are all well.

I have been less active than I expected in reading blogs too. I opened Inoreader this week with a little apprehension - how much would have built up? - but found it freeing to look at 2 months of others' activity and know I could pick and choose what to read and what to comment on. It was a lovely surprise to see Johanna's reflection on blogging as part of my catch up. Her post captures many of my views and it summarises how blogging has changed and time can feel stretched for all of us.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London

I think and hope I may be in a position to return to posting a little more often, but will make no promises in this post. I am pleased, however, to announce one update: Bite-sized thoughts is now on Instagram (@bitesizedthoughtsuk). I resisted Instagram for a long time because I thought it would be another thing to monitor and manage, but I like that I can share snapshots of products and meals when I wouldn't manage a full post. If you're on Instagram, let me know and I will look you up.

For now, I am pleased to share some highlights from the last 2 months.

Mini Bite in action

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Double up strawberry apple bars {vegan + no added sugar}

I am rather proud of these bars. They are sweetened entirely by strawberries and apples, but still taste sweet. The fat content comes entirely from coconut and cashew butter, which add flavour as well as texture. All in all, they highlight that whole foods can be sufficient when baking.

I made these last weekend, when the sun was shining and we had an unusually sunny bank holiday Monday. (Unusual because bank holidays in England are characteristically associated with rain.) We did make it down to the coast, to Hastings, where we had a picnic lunch and visited the sea shore. It wasn't so warm that we wanted to swim - and Mini Bite proved scared of the sea anyway! - but we enjoyed our outing. These bars accompanied the picnic.

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Blackberry bake

The hardest part of this recipe was knowing what to call it. I have taken an easy route and used the very generic 'bake'. As an adaptation of my blackberry chia muffins, this is really a cross between a cake and a slice. Because I cut it into triangles, I am also reminded of American style scones (although that may be where the resemblance ends as I have never eaten them). Terminology aside, this is a minimally sweetened but maximally tasty snack or breakfast option.

The adaptations to the original muffins were relatively minor: adding a banana, swapping the white sugar to coconut sugar, halving the sugar amount, and slightly reducing the oil. I also cut out the salt. These swaps were made with a 1-year-old in mind and Mini Bite did love these, although I can now say that if you give this to a child you will have blackberry stains everywhere (their clothes, your clothes, their hands, your hands...). The stains are worth it though, and to be honest, with a 1-year-old you will probably have stains everywhere no matter what you do.

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Fig cacao balls

Thank you for your birthday wishes to Mini Bite. She has become an expert at spotting presents and cards, although is still just as interested in the paper (and more specifically, trying to eat the paper) than what may be hidden within.

With her birthday over and my sister returned to Australia (sob), normal routines are returning. I made these fig cacao balls during my sister's visit but they could just as easily be slotted into a normal weekend - the preparation time is minimal, they keep well, and they are easy to eat. They were even well received by Mr Bite, who supposedly doesn't like nuts or figs!

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Meal planning

For a long time, I have been someone who aspired to create a weekly meal plan, but who never did so. It has taken our current circumstances to push me from aspiration to realisation. You see, while I am back at work 4 days per week, Mr Bite is now home with Mini Bite. This takes advantage of the UK system allowing parents to take up to a year of parental leave between them. I was home for 11 months; Mr Bite is taking the last month to soak up time with Mini Bite and to ease the transition for her before she starts nursery in August.

To make life easier for all of us, I have taken to planning Mini Bite's meals and snacks for the week. We try and eat similarly to Mini Bite where possible during the day, so there are run-on plans for us too, and I am planning our evening meals separately.

To anyone else who has contemplated meal planning but not quite managed it - do it! It makes such a difference. Some of it will roll from one week into the next, so it is the first week that requires most thought. I don't plan Thursdays or Saturdays in detail, as Mr Bite has a take-away on Thursday (I make something easy at home as local vegan take away's aren't that inspiring, unless we've been out somewhere in the day where I can pick up a vegan meal). We then have burgers on Saturday.

I don't expect to share our plans every week, but I thought I would give you a peek into a week of menus. It reflects the day-to-day of plant-based eating as well as the more impressive meals and recipes that are more likely to make it online. At present we are relying a little more than usual on processed foods (like veggie sausages), but the plan below is a pretty accurate snapshot of how we regularly eat.

Chickpea flour pancakes with a tomato-bean filling

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Microwave banana-raisin oatmeal cookies {vegan, wheat free + refined sugar free}

These cookies are adapted from the 2 minute chocolate chip and pecan cookie featured in the April edition of Vegan Life magazine, with inspiration also drawn from the breakfast cookies in Heather Crosby's YumUniverse Pantry to Plate. The result is a 2 minute, microwave-cooked cookie (biscuit) that is suitable for breakfast or snack time. With a dollop of coconut yoghurt it could even be dessert.

My recipe makes two medium-large cookies and is free of wheat and refined sugars. The cookies are still perfectly sweet thanks to coconut sugar and the banana and raisins - so much so that you could probably leave out the coconut sugar if you are so inclined. 

These cookies do not have the texture of traditional oven-baked cookies. I would describe the texture as between a cookie and a muffin - soft, but sturdy enough to hold together. I am certainly a convert now to this method of cookie production and expect you'll see more recipes in this theme before too long!

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Vegan freezer-friendly meals - A round-up

It is 6 weeks today until I return to work from maternity leave. As you might imagine, I have mixed feelings about that, but they are not the subject of today's post. Rather, I thought I would share a round-up of vegan make ahead, freezer friendly meals. There are similar round-ups out there so this one has the idiosyncratic quirk of including meals I personally want to make! Consequently, this is also a short-ish round-up because I want to make all of the recipe I list below over the next month and a half. Angela shares a particularly useful summary of freezable vegan options, plus general freezing tips, on Oh She Glows if you would like further ideas.

The list below mostly has recipes from elsewhere, but I'm including a few links from Bite-Sized Thoughts too. As I've mentioned before, I tend to forget about my own recipes so this will prompt me to re-make some of my own tried and tested, and likely freezer-friendly, dinners.

I would love to hear your favourite freezable dishes too so please let me know if there are recipes you would recommend!

Cocoa and paprika split peas

Cocoa and paprika split peas from Bite-Sized Thoughts

Curried cauliflower chickpea wraps from The Muffin Myth

Lentil meatloaf from The Live In Kitchen (made in muffin pans!)

Satay chickpea stew with grains from Bite-Sized Thoughts

Singapore street noodles from Once a Month Meals

Thai curry fettuccine from Vegan in the Freezer

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Easy lentil, spinach and tomato puff pastry triangles

I have previously posted a recipe for Indian-spiced lentil and vegetable pastry puffs. Today's post is basically a simpler and quicker version of that recipe. These lentil-filled triangles are not as extensively flavoured as their Indian counterparts but they are still very enjoyable.

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Pecan pie squares

I am surprised to see that nearly a week has passed since my last post. Alas, our household has been ill again this week and it seems that illness affects one's sense of time. We have had a poor winter when it comes to bugs. I had hoped that child-related illnesses would be held at bay until Mini Bite was a bit older, but I suspect our baby groups and activities are a hotbed for germs. Hopefully all of this exposure will be good for our immune systems in the long run!

Fortunately, these pecan pie squares are easy to whip up even if you aren't feeling entirely well. I actually planned to title them 'fruity pecan squares' as it seemed unlikely they would actually taste of pecan pie - and yet, somehow, they do. With a simple, whole food ingredient list they make for excellent snacking.

The topping for these is made from mixed dried fruit - the type that comes with multiple fruit varieties in the one bag. Mine had roughly equal parts of dried pears, dried apricots and prunes. I imagine different mixes would work just as well, with associated variations in flavour profile..

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Blueberry and sweet potato mug cake {vegan + fat free}

Mug cakes are excellent for when time is short and/or you want cake in a hurry. They are also handy for making single serve treats and, in this case, using up small amounts of leftover ingredients. I don't really need help with using sweet potato or blueberries - both are foods I'll happily snack on plain - but they are given a boost in this easy recipe.

In truth, this should probably be called a mug pudding as the texture is softer than a traditional cake. With a third of a cup of sweet potato in the mix that is perhaps not surprising. Happily, as you will eat this from the mug with a spoon, a pudding-like texture presents no problems.

This is not overly sweet, which allows the natural sweetness of the sweet potato and blueberries to shine through. However, it would be easy to increase the added sugar if you so desire. As I made it, this could almost be served for breakfast, which I think is a winning outcome.

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Mango cashew cookie balls {vegan + no bake}

I am a big fan of raw fruit and nut truffle balls, but sometimes I like to mix things up a little. These no bake cookie balls take the classic fruit and nut combination - mango and cashew in this case - but add oats and banana to the mix. The result? Soft, chewy cookie balls that are eminently satisfying yet full of whole food nutrition.

With mango and banana in the ingredient list, these could also have been titled 'tropical cookie balls'. They taste of sunshine regardless of what the weather is doing outside. A version with dried pineapple would be equally delicious, or you could use half mango and half pineapple.

These are softer than pure fruit and nut balls but hold together if kept in the fridge. Or alternatively phrased, they are squishable but won't fall apart on you!

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Made over creamy mushroom pasta {vegan sauce + raw noodles}

After making Mary Ellen's Thai slaw salad last week, I was in the mood for more vegetable spiralising. I love my spiraliser but, as with so many things, go through phases with it. When it comes out it tends to stay out for a while, so you may see some more spiralising over the coming weeks!

I was very pleased with this dish, especially as it is different to my previous raw noodle recipes (which include courgette / zucchini noodles with a spicy peanut sauce, a tahini lemon sauce and a tomato basil sauce, and the Thai beetroot noodles featured in my header). Here, light courgette noodles are topped with a creamy sauce made from hummous, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and paprika. With the addition of mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes, it really is reminiscent of a creamy pasta meal. Unlike traditional versions, though, this one won't leave you feeling overwhelmed by heavy ingredients. 

I used sun dried tomatoes that are dried without oil, which are my favourite type. They are particularly flavoursome but you can obviously use the oil-based variety if you need to. Don't skip them though, or the mushrooms - both are crucial to this dish! Whilst my version of this isn't fully raw (on account of using hummous made with cooked chickpeas), you could also use raw hummous if you're so inclined.

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Raw vegan bannoffee slice

This slice positions sweet, gooey banana caramel between a coconutty base and a rich, dark chocolate topping. It is delicious, satisfying and decadent. It is also made entirely from wholefood ingredients. In all, it is my kind of dessert and I liked it very much.

The slice is also an example of the whole being greater than the individual parts. Alone, the chocolate topping is a bit too dark; the banana caramel is a bit too sweet; and the base is a bit too plain. Together, thought, the layers work perfectly. This feature helps with not eating too much of the batter as you go along. It doesn't help with not eating too many slices at once!

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Cookie dough protein pudding cups (vegan and gluten free)

I have previously had success making desserts with chickpeas and bananas, in the form of banana-cinnamon pudding and coconut banana chocolate-coated truffles. Today's pudding cups drew inspiration from both of those recipes, as well as my chickpea-containing cookie dough truffle balls. The result was a dessert (or snack) that delivered on every front: nutrition, taste, texture and convenience.

If you haven't used chickpeas in sweet dishes before, rest assured that you can't taste them if you use a sufficient balance of other ingredients. The dominant flavours in these cups are banana, vanilla and the chocolate topping - a mix that really does resemble cookie dough, especially with the subtle tones of almond butter underneath and the smooth but thick texture the chickpeas provide. Pear is the other ingredient I used in these, and it adds extra sweetness without distracting from the flavour profile.

 

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Tanya's Cafe, London - raw vegan food

I have had many excellent vegan meals (and snacks, and desserts) since we moved to the UK. London, in particular, is a hotbed of vegan options and I feel fortunate to have it on my doorstep. At the same time, nowhere has yet been able to rival Fremantle's The Raw Kitchen. I posted about that delight multiple times when we lived in Perth and I still have fond memories of it some 2 years after my last meal there.

For a while, I have been wondering if Tanya's Cafe might be the London rival I've been waiting for. Offering plant-based raw food, the menu is also fully organic and free from refined sugar and gluten. It offers dehydrated banana crepes and raw fruit bread at breakfast, main dishes such as raw Pad Thai salad and nachos at lunch and dinner, and an array of desserts and hot and cold drinks for any time of day.

Tanya's is located in Chelsea, which truth be told is not the most convenient quarter of London for me to visit. It's a casual 10 minutes walk from South Kensington tube station and is housed within a hotel, which I found a little off-putting, but it does operate independently of the myHotel chain.

Tanya's Cafe

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Raw vegan lime pots for 5 years of blogging

Mr Bite and I have just returned from 4 nights in the Forest of Dean, staying in a cabin in the woods and enjoying a perfect mix of outdoor walks, indoor reading, beautiful scenery, and hot tub soaking. It was a gorgeous week and I look forward to sharing photos soon.

For now, though, I am sharing these raw lime desserts in honour of Bite-Sized Thoughts turning 5. I am not entirely sure how I got to 5 years of blogging, but remain grateful to have it in my life. That gratitude is about having a forum to summarise my recipes and reflect on my experiences, but also the broader blogging community and the inspiration I get from others' sites.

At the same time, after 5 years, I think it is understandable that my blogging frequency has slowed down a little. I posted 142 times in 2015, compared to around 180 posts in each of 2012, 2013 and 2014. This year I have been even more open-minded about how often I post. For the time being, that feels right.

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Vegan pineapple-coconut French toast with caramelized banana

There will come a time when I hit saturation point with vegan French toast recipes. After all, there are only so many variations one can share for a dish based around bread. At the moment, though, I'd like to think that day is some way off. Vegan French toast has become my standard Saturday morning breakfast and I love it just as much now as when I first discovered it. It might not be as nutritious as porridge or oat-based breakfasts, but it is a delicious way to start the weekend. Saturday is my long run day and French toast also follows running perfectly!

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Tahini chocolate oat balls (vegan, one bowl, no food processor required)

These energy balls are not hugely different to recipes I've shared before (their closest counterparts being peanut butter cacao energy balls, cinnamon peanut butter oat bites and chocolate fudge bites) but they managed to be just different enough. It's amazing how you can combine such a small number of ingredients and get such delicious, fully-flavoured results. These showcase natural foods to decadent perfection and they make extremely satisfying snacks!

The ingredient list is pretty much summed up in the post title, with the exception of liquid sweetener, which I used in the form of Sweet Freedom low GI sweetener. I have mentioned the Sweet Freedom Choc Shot sauce before and was pleased to recently spot this syrup in their range. It's made entirely from fruit extracts and carob and I think it tastes like a cross between maple syrup, rice malt syrup and molasses.

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Tiered orange sponge cake with chocolate ganache icing {vegan and diabetes friendly}

When I offered to make my grandfather's birthday cake, I did so a little bit blithely. I hadn't fully thought through the logistics of making a cake for over 25 people, transporting it on public transport, and ensuring it was tasty enough for all but low enough in sugar to be suitable for my grandfather (he has well managed, non-insulin dependent type II diabetes). For my own benefit, I also wanted it to be vegan. Easy, right!?

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Vegan lasagne with aubergines and hummous

In a comment on my recent hummous post, Lisa of I'll Be There With a Fork mentioned using layers of hummous in lasagna type dishes. I was completely smitten with the idea and have been harbouring vegan lasagna dreams since.

Due to my general dislike of cheese, I've never really veganised savoury cheese dishes or sought them out in restaurants. As such, I haven't eaten lasagna for years. It was a novelty to try this version with pasta sheets, vegetables and hummous. I found it utterly delicious and it met Mr Bite's standards too. Given he likes cheesey pasta, I think that's a good sign.

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