the balcony oasis

So, hubby and I are on a small mission for healthier living. We have decided to attempt to grow our own food on our balcony...Trust me the balcony is nothing to get excited about. Its a tiny space...but we dont mind..its slowly becoming our green oasis. I cant really take any credit for it mind. The hubs has had control over it, However,  its starting to look very good. We currently have herbs , chives, rosemary, mint and basil, and most recently planted are tomatoes and peppers...watch this space for the progress. ..especially with living in the desert. ..wish us luck

Happy Vegan New Year

Happy New Year!! What are your New Years resolution?? Mine?? I'm going Vegan!!

Once upon a time in my early twenties, I was hot headed and highly opinionated. I didn't care what people thought of me...I became Vegan...I had many an argument, debates, heated discussions with people who I believe just didn't understand! But over time, I changed, Society wore me down and I took the easy way out and slowly started introducing dairy and eggs back into my life. However, a few things did change. I always baked Vegan, I could no longer stand the smell of cows milk or the taste of butter....so it became a 'if i couldn't see it then it was ok to eat it' type of vegetarian
I always had a plan to go back to Veganism. It was always what felt right in my heart. I knew that the dairy/egg industry still promotes animal cruelty and I didn't want to partake in that. So, new year, new Vegan me!

It's been a while!

Howdy!

So, since the last time I wrote anything on here, I've had a baby!! I've been busying myself trying to get to grips with motherhood, getting to know my beautiful boy, understanding the new dynamics with my husband, and trying to adapt to being a single married wife about 2 weeks in every month! It's a magical journey that has taught me to compromise, listen, love (even more) and I think, most importantly, that I can no longer be the selfish human being I once was! Having a child is definitly a life changing experience, I can no longer do the things I was used to, sleeping in until 11am, going to bed at 1am, drinking until all hours, or just drinking at all! Going to the gym when I want to, napping during the day when I want, or even just eating when I want...my diet has been terrible as I simply do not have time to juice, blend etc...and that is frustrating, I'm living on bowls of cereal and anything quick I can find in the cupboard!! However, my little beauty is worth it, I know its only temporary, and it is a small sacrifice for now, to have a wonderful, happy little boy! He is growing and changing so much everyday, I do not need to get caught up with anything else other then appreciating the time I have with mini me!
I have, however, missed doing some of the things I enjoy doing, like cooking. And have been able to spend a small amount of time recently, in the kitchen, mainly food for birthdays, but I am greatful for the time I have had, following recipes AND trying new things! My most recent bake, was a birthday cake for my husband. It was a standard vegan chocolate sponge with peanut butter icing in the middle and chocolate peanut butter icing on top, the sponge was to die for, really soft and moist, and the rest was literally the icing on the cake 'ahem' :) pictures to follow!

Cacao not what I expected!

Hey and good morning!

I made a morning Breakfast smoothie, which usually consists of frozen berries, a banana, soya milk...however, I've been a bit more experimental this last week or so, and here is the main reason why....First of all, I've taken to making my own almond milk! The reason for this is because a good quality soya milk can be quite expensive here in Qatar, and if I buy the cheapo stuff, I can not be confident that the soya beans used are from GM or not...I had been drinking the cheap stuff, but decided that it's simply not good enough...anyhow, I came across a website called heathereatsalmondbutter.com and found a nut milk reciepe, so I though I would give it a shot, and it was very simple to make! The only thing I didn't have was a cheese cloth to really filter the milk, but thats OK, lumpy milk is fine with me for now...anyhow...my morning smoothies now look something like this

1 banana
Handful of mixed frozen berries
1 scoop protein powder (vanilla)
Almond milk
Loads of cinnamon (depending on how you like it!!)
oh...and some recent additions
3 teaspoons of oatmeal
and to top it all off some cacao nibs...

the cacao nibs were very bitter, I guess, like most people, we have an illusion that chocolate will taste all sugary sweet, when the reality is that it's far from it!! I liked it though, and it especially worked well sprinkled on top of such a sweet tasting smoothie!! This will now be a new addition to my breakie!! Well for as long as Doha shops stock up on them for now!! :)

Supermarket Finds!

Whilst out food shopping today, I came across an Organic section. Believe me, the Organic sections in the supermarkets here are pretty small and quite honestly, rubbish!! Anyhow, I was quite impressed to come across a few items that I had read on other peoples blogs and have been tempted to buy/order online in the past, but have never really got round to. So I picked up these items (for a small cost of about £6...OUCH!) and thought I would give it a go...

Once I got home, I was a little uncertain about taking the Maca powder whilst pregnant...So I went in search of some info online. I found a lot of conflicting stuff, so to be safe, this product will probably stay in the back of the cupboard for now, at least, until bambino is born. However, I was excited about trying the cacao nibs as I had read that they are actually quite good for you and full of antioxidents...etc....anyway, an update of what I think tomorrow!! :)

I was also quite impressed with the amount of soya mock 'meats' they had in this supermarket. Somedays you go into the supermarkets here and cannot find anything vegetarian, so most of the time we end up having to bulk buy in order to make sure the suply is always there at home! I also came across some vegan cream cheese, which I tried when I got home. It is divine, especially sprinkled with a little chive!!

All in all a good find out here in Qatar! I'm spoilt when I go home to the UK sometimes with the abundance of vegetarian food available! You can get vegetarian here, but you just have to look for it or learn how to be creative with it!!

TTFN xox

WOWSERS, how things change!

It's been almost 6 months since I have updates anything on here, I admit, I am the type of person who can get bored quite quickly, I also have a habit of starting something and then am crappy about finishing something...but these are just excuses for my lack of communication....
GURESS WHAT!!??  I am 22 weeks pregnant!! It was planned and happened very quickly, expecting it to perhaps take months/years? to try and conceive.
So we found out this wonderful news in December and have been battling the Qatar Medical System ever since...we have found it quite challenging dealing with it all as it is all very different, even to the point where my husband has been thrown out of the doctors as it is 'Women Only' I was trying to work the health care system all on my own, which can be very daunting when you are not only a first time parent but also in another country...anyway, so far, I have managed it, and survived!!
To add to all this, the husband is not allowed to go to any of the scans UNLESS we go private....it's important for him to feel involved in this pregnancy, so, our scans have been at a private clinic, which were ace!! We are both very delighted to be starting a family and cannot wait to become parents and have so far, enjoyed watching my belly swelling over the last few months, and most recently spending our evenings feeling our baby kicking!! :)
This has pretty much been occupying my mind over the months!!

Dog Walking and baking

So I dropped the hubbie off at work this morning at 5, then got home  and went to bed...I slept til 12!! Ooopps!! Anyway, I dithered around for a few hours and then I went dog walking.
When I got home I was feeling fussy as to what I should eat tonight. After all, it gets boring cooking for yourself when the hubbie is away!! Anyway, after much consideration I decided to make cheeseless pizza and hummus

before cooking the pizza

before mixing the hummus

the pizza was really easy to make...1 arabic bread, tomato paste, and whatever you want to put on top..I put on it
-jalepeonos
-sweetcorn
-red pepper
-tomato
-fresh basil and dill
-dried oregano
I then grilled it and it ended looking a little crisper then I had hoped (to put it politely)


over cooked pizza

Still tasted good though...and my really simple hummus ended up looking like this



yum

I was in a bit of a baking mood, so I went online to find something simple that I could make with the ingrediants that I had...and I came across banana cake..also vegan...I had to adapt the ingredients slightly as I didn't have ALL of them, so we shall see how it turns out, but here it is so far

the mixture

before it went into the oven



eagerly awaiting for it to cook

Once I had a chance to look up, this was what I was faced with!!

But after 5 minutes of intense cleaning...you would have never had known!!

Phew...so all I have to do is wait for the bread to cook hopefully in all its yummyness...