Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers (vegan)

reading time: 2 min

Another burger recipe. What can i say, this is my crack.

When I was in South Africa, we would eat sweet potatoes, beans and papayas pretty much all day every day, and I LOVE the taste of sweet potatoes. And black beans. And peanuts. And fresh ginger!! This goes sooo well with one another. Along with the Falafel Chickpea Burgers these are definitely my all-time favourite burgers. They are soft, sweet, spicy and inspired by the (West) African cuisine. 

So let's quit talking and get cooking! :)

Cozy Pumpkin Lentil Dahl (vegan)

reading time: 3 min

This dish marks the official marriage of two of my favourite foods: pumpkin and dahl. (I know, pumpkin season is almost over, but I'm squeezing the last drop out of it!)

Like I already mentioned in my basic Indian dhal recipe, dahl (or dhal, dal or daal) is my personal comfort food. It's a kind of South Asian lentil stew that is often served with rice - you could say, it's the Asian equivalent to Mexican chili: just toss some legumes and veggies into a pot, mix in the spices and let it simmer until it becomes a yummy stew-y mass. 

In this case, I used pumpkin to create some cozy, wintry comfort food. However, feel free to replace this with sweet potato or any other vegetable you like! Or: sub 1 cup of coconut milk for an extra creamy and delicious dish!

Friday Favorites - Week 348

Hello everybody,

another week, another cute Christmas-y linky party! I know, it has just been Thanksgiving, but I can't wait to start thinking about Christmas and all that comes with it (Christmas menu, decorations, ice skating, movie nights...) This weekend we will "celebrate" the first Advent (with a lit Advent wreath and a Lord of the Rings movie night with my boyfriend), so I will decorate our flat for Christmas this weekend :)

Here are some great DIY décor and recipe ideas that you can make this holiday season!

Crunchy Chocolate Granola

reading time: 1 min

I love making my own granola and muesli and oatmeal, and I am always trying new recipes and flavour combinations. It's all so easy to make yourself and not only does it save you money, but homemade granola often tastes much better than the store-bought ones and when you make it yourself you know exactly what is in it.  

This chocolate granola is a little more on the indulgent side, given it contains real chocolate (shocker!), as well as maple syrup and nuts, but due to the lack of any additional refined sugar it is still healthier than conventional chocolate granola, not to mention super delicious, nutty and crunchy. Oh, and it clusters!! :)

Wintry Orange Rice Pudding (vegan)

reading time: 1 min

To me, rice pudding is the ultimate comfort food - especially in winter, and especially with some melting chocolate on top, nom nom.

This childhood classic can easily be turned vegan. The only slight negative to such recipes is that dairy-free rice pudding (unless you use coconut milk) will have a light beige/brownish colour to it as you can see in the pictures, but as long as it tastes amazing, that should be an issue, right? :)

Weekly Meal Plan CW 46

click to enlarge

Hi guys,

as promised, here is the meal plan of what's on the menu for me and my boyfriend this week. That way it's easier to get some variety into our menu, manage our grocery shopping (and avoid unhealthy impulse buys), control our spending, and also get a feel for what we're actually eating each day. 

Friday Favorites - Week 347

Hello friends,

this week we have a much more pleasant topic than last week: giveaways! And of course: loads of Christmas-y things to look at and inspire you! :) I love Christmas time! Since I "missed" it last time due to my vacation in South Africa, I'm double excited for this year's Christmas season! Tacky, cute, glittering, sweet smelling? Bring it on!

Which is why I chose a DIY Christmas ornament tutorial for this week's favourites that basically requires nothing than your fingerprints!

Let's jump right to the party! :)

DIY Peanut Butter (only 2 ingredients!)

reading time: 2 min

Conventional store-bought peanut butter, whether smooth or chunky, is loaded with additional fat, sugar and salt with almost 10g of sugar per 100g serving!! This is absolutely unnecessary.

Luckily, peanut butter is super easy to make at home. Homemade peanut butter will be a little more gritty than Skippy peanut butter, but it will be as smooth (or chunky) and as spreadable as you need it to be. Plus, it only requires 2 ingredients!

Sweet Pumpkin Oatmeal (vegan)

reading time: 2 min

I love oatmeal, especially during the cold seasons. It's just so cosy and satisfying! During winter, I usually have it for breakfast every single day, and to prevent me from getting tired of it, I try to mix up the condiments and flavours as often as possible. So far I've done green oatmeal, pink oatmeal, dark chocolate oatmeal and loads of other variations that you can find in my recipe index - but I've never made orange oatmeal before! So here goes: Pumpkin Oatmeal! It's

Sweet

Filling

Warming

Autumnal

Cosy

Spicy

& super scrumptious

Friday Favorites - Week 346

Hey guys,

I'm not in such a good mood right now, to be honest. Until recently, I thought Brexit was the stupidest, most self-destructive decision a country could make. I was wrong. 

Yes, I know, I'm living all the way over in Europe judging the choice that the majority of the Americans have made, and that might seem somewhat patronising. I also know that Hillary Clinton isn't an angel by any means and that my own chancellor, Angela Merkel, isn't perfect either. But honestly: voting a racist, sexist, narcissistic and absolutely unreliably man such as Trump as president of the United States? You've got to be kidding me.

I'm aware that many people in the United States have voted against this unbelievable pretentious and narrow-minded man, especially the younger, more educated and open-minded people (that sounds harsh but look at the stats - and also, look at this and this video), but it makes me sad, very, very sad indeed, that so many more or less intelligent individuals would rather vote for a man with all mouth and no trousers (even worse: all FOUL mouth, no backbone and definitely no respect for anyone else) than for a woman with clear ambitions to lead the United States of America (just watch her Concession Speech - so much dignity and ethical values). Well. I can only hope that the senate will keep Trump on a short leash for the next 4 years... I'm honestly terrified of a possible WW3 that will blow up our planet.

Anyway. Enough politics. I hope I didn't offend anyone or ruin your mood. Let's move on to something more enjoyable, like this lovely linky party.

Lentil No-Meat Loaf (vegan, gf)

reading time: 3 min

Are you still looking for a vegan recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas? Don't worry, I got you covered with this A-Ma-Zingly vegan lentil "meat"loaf. This is honestly soo good, even thinking about it is making my mouth water, lol. 

It's hearty, savoury, satisfying, filling, nutty, meat-free and absolutely delicious. Oh, and easy to make too!

Easy Vegan Shepherd's Pie

reading time: 2 min

“If everyone lived on mashed potatoes, the world would be a happy place.”

– EV, Food Philosopher and Potato Lover

I couldn't agree more! Whether mashed, baked or roasted, potatoes are definitely one of my staple foods. They are plant-based, gluten-free, low-fat, filling, diverse, rich in vitamin B6, potassium and other essential nutrients. Unfortunately, most people eat potatoes in the form of greasy French fries or potato chips, and even baked potatoes are typically loaded down with fats such as butter, sour cream, melted cheese and bacon bits. Such treatment can make even baked potatoes a potential contributor to a heart attack. But take away the extra fat and deep frying, and a baked potato is an exceptionally healthful low calorie, high fiber food that offers significant protection against cardiovascular disease and cancer.

One of my favourite ways to eat potatoes is mashed! It's a true comfort food for me: creamy, thick, soft and super satisfying.

I had actually never made or tried a shepherd's pie up until now, but the recipe turned out so well, I decided to take pictures and share it with you! I even measured out the exact ingredients for you this time :) It's already become one of my favourite dishes!!

Friday Favorites - Week 345

Hey guys,

now that Halloween is over (I hope you all had a fun Halloween night! I just stayed in and had a relaxed night with my boyfriend and flatmates), Thanksgiving is next on the agenda.

Being a plant-based vegan, Thanksgiving might seem like a challenging task at first. But it really isn't! There are SOO many vegan-friendly options for a Thanksgiving dinner with the family, such as veganized Shepherd's Pie, maple sweet potatoes, Pumpkin Soup, kale salad, cornbread, Meatless Meatloaf, glazed carrots, rice-stuffed squash, Chili non Carne, huge mixed salad with nuts and fruits, roasted Brussels sprouts, hearty vegetable pot pie such as this one, mashed or baked and stuffed potatoes, crispy tofu cutlets, vegan gravy such as this one, veggie casserole, Chocolate Avocado Pudding or Chocolate Coconut Mousse with fresh berries or vegan whipped cream, vegan and gluten-free Apple Crisp, cranberry sorbet, pumpkin spice rice pudding, Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream, pumpkin pecan pie, Baked Apples, and many, many more. 

So, for this week's feature, I picked a vegan-friendly Homemade Cranberry Sauce recipe that will not only taste great with meat dishes, but all sorts of vegan dishes as well :) 

Now, enough rambling - let's get this party started!

Lifestyle Favorites ❤ October /16

reading time: ca. 4 min

Hello hello, and welcome to my little lifestyle update. First off, I hope you had a really fun Halloween night - I didn't really do anything, I just had a chilled night-in with my boyfriend and flatmates after a weekend with my boyfriend's family. 

I haven't done a Lifestyle Favourites last month, but you know what, I'd rather do a favourites post every other month (or whenever I have something to actually show you) instead of doing a half-hearted blog post every single month. So yeah. I'm sure you won't mind :)

BTW: If I don't reply to your comments within 24 hours that is because my gmail notifications are messed up lately, and won't get notified about comments any more... so annoying! I am SO SORRY if I don't get back at your lovely comments in time :(