Aussie Day Barbeque! Carrot Sausages :)

Hi there friends!

In case you hadn't realised, or in fact, live in another country, yesterday- the 26th of January- marked the founding of the colony of New South Wales in 1788... in other words; AUSTRALIA DAY!

 And if there is one guaranteed tradition on Australia day... it is the great Aussie barbie! (Barbecue, for all you out of the Aussie slang loop ;)

Ok, I'll stop bombarding you with random pics of strangers celebrating Aus day and instead get onto the topic of this post.

BARBECUES!

See, as a vegetarian, I have found some really great veggie sausages over my years, whether they be made with soy, beans, mushrooms, rice, lentils- whatever the case may be I've had some good ones. However, there comes a time when a girl simply craves something as close to nature as possible. And no, I'm not talking about meat. Because when one does not eat meat, one substitutes in something else...

Yep, you guessed it- veggies!

But what would be the right shape and texture and general appealing-ness of a regular sausage??

Yes, my friends, I made carrot sausages... and they were delicious!

I first came across this genius idea from Clean Eating Veggie Girl's blog where she made carrot hotdogs by steaming some carrots, rubbing them in a marinade and then pan frying them.

So I decided to act upon that idea and transform it into my own carrot 'hot dog'.

Carrot Sausages

Ingredients:
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut on both ends to form the most sausage like shape
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a tray with baking paper
2.Heat some water in a deep fry pan until simmering
3. Place the carrots into the simmering water and boil for around 15 minutes until slightly tender
4. Meanwhile stir together the oil, garlic, onion flakes, paprika, vinegar until combined
5. Remove cots from water, pat dry with a tea towel and place on tray
6. Rub with oil mixture and place in the oven for 40 minutes or until golden and tender:

7. Leave to cool slightly and then transfer to plate/ bun and enjoy!!

This is what my Australia Day barbecue dinner turned out to look like:

Carrot sausages on a spelt bun with lettuce and salsa with some spinach, grilled eggplant and charred corn on the side- so tasty!

I also cannot describe the amazing aromas from these 'sausages' as they cooked and if I closed my eyes and bit into this hot dog I would have a hard time accepting them to be merely cooked carrots!

Next time you want a barbecue but not the heaviness of meat? Try one of these bad boys! Still full on flavour with all the goodness of a regular ol' carrot!!

Your turn:
Are you a fan of barbecues?
Favourite veg to barbecue with?
Ever tried carrot sausages?

That's it from me today folks, I hope you all have a brilliant day, take risks, show love and SMILE! Bye for now!! :D

My favourite foods that I eat. Repetitively.

I don't like repetition.
Or so I thought...

I know I don't like change and I don't like changing up a routine I've grown comfortable with, but when it comes to food, I like to mix things up and hate having the same things ever. single. day.

But then I started to notice a few meals that kept popping up on my memory card, over and over again and I realised that I do in fact, eat some of the same foods quite often. At first I thought this was a bad thing, you know like I'm not venturing out of my comfort zone or trying new flavours, but then I came to realise that these are my favourite meals and that's why they're always popping up in the craving section of my brain.

So below are a few of the meals that happen on repeat around these parts and that I've grown so accustomed to that I could probably whip them up asleep (and wouldn't be surprised if I did ;)

Oat balls/ truffles:

You guys have seen these a lot because I post about them a lot, because I like them. A lot. See this post, this post, this post, this post (possibly my favourite), and we'll end it with this post :).

That was only a few of the links... Anywho, they're delicious, super easy to make and awesome as a make-the-night-before-and-not-have-to-think-in-the-morning breakfast! (see here)

You may have also noticed that beautifully deep-purple stuff in the picture above and you may have already guessed, but it's my beloved fro-yo!

I guess it all started back to this post Since then I've been buying all the fruit and freezing it to whaz up with greek yoghurt to make all different flavours of 'frozen yoghurt'.

This guy was 1/2 chopped banana + a handful of frozen blackberries + 3 spoons greek yoghurt, whazzed up in a mini food processor until smooth. So good!

Another breakfast creation that is going no-where in the foreseeable future is my beloved smoothie bowls!

Smoothie Bowls:

Smoothie:

+ home-made granola:

= Happiness:

Again, I just can't seem to get enough of this warm, fudge-y, refreshing, fruity bowl of awesome. And have made many, many, many, many (and many more) smoothie bowls in the past 1-2 years or so.

Onto the savoury stuff (although, this isn't really savoury... ahh well :)

Baked  and stuffed sweet potatoes:
I love me a full baked sweet potato stuffed with delicious-ness and have come to realise that I have at least one every week (generally 2).
My favourite combo of the minute is piling on top some beans, lentils, peas and corns that have been fried up together in a pan with some coconut oil (see this post) :

But I'll stuff em' with nut butter, coconut butter, falafel, salsa, hommus, Mexican beans- whatever I'm craving at the time really!

And no, there are no knives or forks when i have a baked sweet potato boat I can holg onto like a hot dog. Things do get a little messy, I will admit!

Lastly, the ever favourite grilled sandwich that features about once a week. Every week:

The grilled veg sandwich.
Originated here.
Can also be found here, here, here and here.

It's a beats. It fills me up and tastes so, so good!

This guy was on some dark rye bread (love that rye flavour!) spread with hommus, topped with spinach, grilled pumpkin, a curry veggie patty, grilled mushrooms + capsicum + zucchini+ eggplant and the other slice of hommus spread bread:

Toasted in a sandwich press!

There are no words people. Go and make this now.

And if you're anything like me, take pictures of it while you eat it... because you know, that's normal :)

Nom.

What about you?
Do you have favourite meals that you eat on repeat?
Are you a same meals everyday kind of person, or have to change it up?
Are you a fan of rye bread? I just can't get over the flavour :)

I hope you all have a fabulous day, do something you enjoy, give someone  hug aaannd just relax for a few mins, I think we all need to do that sometimes (me especially!) Bye for now friends!! :D

Boxing day magic

I don't know what was in the air this Boxing Day morning but whatever it was gave me so much energy and stamina as I ran with a smile on my face for a whole 50 minutes!

I've never run so far, for so long and I felt great- even at the end (although I had to stop as my blisters on my feet (I acquired from burning them on the super hot ground) were rubbing) and felt like I could run for miles! I don't track how far I run as I don't think it's necessary for me at the moment, I just run until I don't feel like running any more and head home- today I didn't want to stop!

I don't know if I'll feel the same way the next time I head out in my bright pink and yellow running gear (favourite colours ;) but right now I'm just in such a good mood that I don't even care.

Running is my happy sport/ activity and it's days like today that remind how great it is for me. Emphasis on the for me part. I know not everyone's a fan of running (I know quite a number of people who are strongly against the entire idea of running) and to that I just want to urge you to find something you absolutely love that makes you feel great and do it often! If it's dancing, or cycling or swimming, or walking the dog, or painting, or playing music, or knitting... whatever it is- if it makes you ridiculously happy/ relaxed/ motivated then do it! It'll be good for your mind and soul!

Wow, this post suddenly got kind of deep...

Back to this morning- and a breakfast perfect for refueling!

A big bowl of vanilla protein powder steel cut oats and a side of blackberry fro-yo (a handful of frozen blackberries + 3 big scoops of greek yoghurt)

Unfortunately my usual protein powder wasn't at the shops when I needed it so instead I decided to try Michelle Bridges plant based vanilla protein powder and even though it tastes a bit different, it's a good different and still makes my oats taste so decadent and dessert-like.

And of course the fro-yo was absolutely delicious too (love the colour! :)

I tried the protein powder first on its own in some rolled oats with a side of berry ice cream in an almost empty jar of peanut butter

On it's own the protein powder had a bit of a strange taste but it did seem to grown on me.

It was quite sweet? But not really sweet... I'm not too sure what it was. It reminded me of a jersey caramel, that's how I can explain it.

The delicious ice cream was 1 frozen banana + a handful of frozen blackberries, whazzed up in a food processor until smooth (stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides)

Like a very delicious dessert when eaten with some peanut butter and warm oats:

Your turn:
Do you ever have days when you just want to run forever?
What's your favourite activity that makes you really happy?
What protein powder do you use? If you use any :)

Bye for now friends- off to go see The Hobbit (family Boxing Day tradition) and then maybe brave the Boxing Day sales! :D Have a great day!

Food- kinda neccessary

I thought for this Thinking Out Loud I would talk about one of the most talked about topics ever. It's a topic with a mixture of emotions. Absolute love, absolute hate, enjoyment, guilt.. etc. etc. It's food, by the way:)
You know I eat food. You know I love food. You know I have passion for good, wholesome food.  But for once, this isn't really about me.. it's about those who hate food, and yes they exist.
Not hating the taste of food (I mean, come on!) but the idea of eating certain foods or eating in general.

Now, I'm a teenage girl who goes to high school. Let's just say that I've come across the craziest, extreme diet ideas and ambitions there are, which just results in frustration (partly from me too, because I pretty much study healthy living as a hobby and I know the damage of these actions)

 Just the other day, a friend of mine told me she was eating healthy now. One of her friends butted in with 'Eating healthy requires you to eat more than celery.' I let this comment pass and instead wanted to share the fun fact about celery being negative calories:

In response she just smiled and said; 'I know.'

There were so many things I wanted to say to her- and every other girl for that matter. I want to tell these girls that food is necessary, especially at our age! We need quite a bit to fuel our daily lives. I want to tell them that the reason they're feeling fatigued, stressed an fuzzy is because of their diet. I want to tell them...

Well really I want to show them the foods I eat- because I'm not ashamed to admit it- I like my food and have a very healthy appetite!
Exhibit A:
My big nacho stacks (full of veggies, fibre and protein)

Exhibit B:
My ultimate veggie sandwiches( filled with mashed avocado, grated carrot and beetroot, spinach, mashed four beans and salsa, sprouts and tomato on home made spelt bread)

Exhibit C:
My ultimate stuffing skills (If it's going to be stuffed, I'll make sure it's stuffed!)
A hot dog (vegan sausages) on a wholemeal spelt roll with a side of healthy baked fries and steamed pumpkin and swede.

A wrap filled with mashed veggies, (sweet potato, pumpkin, parsnip and beetroot) tofu, steamed brussels sprouts, hommus, lentils, wrapped up and grilled in a sandwich press.

A squished and crammed pita pocket with sauteed veggies (tomato, eggplant, mushrooms, capsicum), salsa, avocado and a torn up veggie patty.

Exhitbit D:
A big ol' snack plate:
Organic veggie tortilla chips, quorn mince with taco seasoning, tomatoes and mushrooms, steamed greens and some spelt bread with hommus.

Popcorn, (I simply place raw kernels in a saucepan and heat until all popped (no butter and salt, because I don't think it needs it) sweet potato, guacamole, brown rice and lentils and peas.

If these girls saw the amount of food I eat, they would probably faint. But here's the thing. What I eat is all whole foods. A rare amount is processed. It's full of fibre, plant protein, and veggies along with those things comes essential vitamins and minerals.

My friends look at me and say 'How can you be so skinny and eat so much?' sure that hurts a little bit, but I take it in my stride and say exactly what I said above- they're my friends after all, they'll still love me :)
They look at girls around us and see them eating chips and chocolate and pizzas from the school canteen who are stick thin and sigh into their wholegrain sandwiches or salads.
 I feel like screaming to them that those girls who eat terrible and can still maintain a thin body aren't healthy... but of course at this age, that doesn't seem to matter.
It's a tough life being a teenage girl!
My message in a picture:

Hmm, maybe not.. it's probably this one:

Wow this post got a lot lengthier than I intended- I guess it just shows how passionate I am about this topic.
Feel free to add any thoughts to this, or write your own discussion on it, I'd love to hear the different views out there:)

Thanks Spoons for hosting this link-up where us bloggers who can talk for hours can brain dump every week :)

Bye for now folks! :D