Vegan Meal Prep for a Week

Since it is currently the school holidays in Sydney, I have quite a bit of extra time on my hands so I thought I would plan out some meals that were fairly healthy and could be eaten quickly with little to no preparation.  For this week I made 10 full meals, side meals and snacks.

Coconut Quinoa

Vermicelli Noodle Salad

Ingredients - Vermicelli noodles cooked in veggie stock, spiralised cucumber, carrots, spring onions, mint, coriander, 'Thai flavoured' tofu, satay sauce and sesame seeds

Veggie Tofu 'Bolognese'

Ingredients - Sauce (Sautéed onion, garlic, portabello mushrooms, pumpkin, broccoli, 'Dolmio' extra veggies sauce, all blended together), Tofu 'mince' (crumbled firm tofu cooked in BBQ sauce, pepper, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast and dried oregano), spelt pasta

Blueberry Muffins

I used this recipe but instead of soy milk I substituted unsweetened almond milk and instead of normal sugar I used coconut sugar.

Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Soup

I used this recipe from Taste.com

Roasted Sweet Potato and Pumpkin and Rockmelon

Lastly for snacks or side dishes I roasted some sweet potato and pumpkin and also cut up some rockmelon that needed to be cut up

For my breakfasts I have a fruit smoothie with coconut water and apple juice which I also add chia seeds which are full of omega 3, antioxidants, fibre and protein, flaxseed which contains omega 3 and fibre and 'Vital Greens' powder which contains over 70 vitamins and nutrients which you can read about here. If I'm still hungry after the smoothie I will usually make toast with avocado and tomato or just plain vegemite toast.

This meal prep has helped me to ensure that I always have a filling, delicious and fairly healthy meal on hand which are chock full of veggies!

Love Morgan x

What I Got For Christmas 2015

Hi :)

I hope you all had a really wonderful break and time spent with your families these holidays. I was very fortunate to be given some really great presents which I though I would share with you today!

Probably one of my favourite presents that I received was these gorgeous Victoria's Secret 'Body by Victoria Supersoft Short PJ Set' in Ruby Wine. These are so comfy and even though I'm fairly tall (5'10"/178cm) the shorts are short but still long enough to cover everywhere they're supposed to.

I was so happy when I opened this present it was a copy of Amy Winehouse's Frank on vinyl. If you know me you know that Amy is one of my all time favourite singers (RIP) and Frank was my favourite era of hers. This record has been on replay since I received it!

I was given this Zara perfume duo from my parents and the fragrances are really beautiful. One is 'oriental' and the other is 'floral'.

I received this Lush Christmas bath box from my aunt, uncle and cousins and it smells incredible. I love everything from Lush and I always feel so much better after having a Lush bath. I've already used the blue one which I believe is called Lord of Misrule, it turned my bath all kinds of pretty colours (blues, purples, pinks etc.) and smelt amazing.

I was given this reusable piping kit from my grandparents and I definitely wasn't expecting it however it was so sweet. I love baking and cooking and my grandma is definitely a big part of that as a lot of the recipes I grew up cooking were hers. I also had a major assignment this year which involved making my own cookbook my grandparents were really supportive of the whole thing and came to see my project when it was all done on the day. This present was really thoughtful and I will definitely be using this heaps (also it came in an adorable elephant box which isn't shown).

This beautiful little Christmas tealight holder was given to me from my little brother and it is from Dusk. I really loved this gift more for the meaning behind it, my brother is only 11 so the fact that he actually went out of his way to go and pick something out for me himself with his money that he spent meant a lot.

From my parents and grandparents I received $80 worth of Zara gift cards, I also got a $50 Westfield voucher from my aunt, uncle and cousins which means I get to go on a bit of a mini shopping spree soon :P

I was given some beautiful stationary from my great aunt and uncle and also from my aunt, uncle and cousins which will definitely come in handy as I'm the type of person who is always writing things down or making lists.

I was given this sweet little butterfly bracelet from Tuscany Silver from our friends in Norway, the chain itself is rosegold and the butterfly charm is studded with diamantes.

I was given these pyjamas as well from my aunt, uncle and cousins and our friends in England. The polka dot ones are from a brand called Love to Lounge and the pink and navy ones are from Primark.

I also received a few other bits and pieces which aren't pictured such as black Forever 21 skinny jeans for work, a grey knit, high necked top from Cotton on, a few books etc.

I'm so grateful to all of my amazing family and friends who gave me these beautiful gifts.

In case I don't post beforehand hope you all have a fantastic and safe ending to 2015 and a great start to 2016!

Thanks for reading xx

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Christmas Marbled Meringues (GF, Vegan)

Hi :)

It's been a while :/ Anyway, I first found out about 'marbled meringues' about 4 years ago by accident when making 2 different coloured meringues and not bothering to clean the piping bag :P I've made aquafaba meringues a couple times and am amazed at how they taste.

Since it is my last week of school, my friends and I decided to do our Kris Kringle tomorrow and so I decided to make some Christmassy treats to celebrate.

Christmas 'Marbled' Meringues (Gluten free and Vegan) 

Ingredients:
- The liquid of one can of chickpeas
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup of caster sugar
- 1 drop of red food colouring
- 1 drop of green food colouring

Materials:
- Kitchen Aid / Stand alone mixer
- 2 medium sized bowls
- Spatula
- Baking tray and baking paper

Method: -Preheat oven to 100 degrees Celsius
1. Using a stand alone mixer whip the chickpea liquid until formed into soft peaks approximately 6-7 minutes. Make sure not to under or over whip. Towards the end of the whipping add vanilla extract and cream of tartar.

I ended up remaking these in a stand alone mixer because the
Thermomix didn't make the meringue fluffy enough

2. Gradually add sugar until combined and mixture is glossy, occasionally scraping mixture off the side of the bowl. Whip until peaks are stiff and you can hold the mixture upside down over your head without the mixture falling out.

The chickpea liquid should look fluffier than this before you
 add the sugar

3. Separate even amounts of mixture between the two bowls and mixing bowl. In the mixing bowl keep the mixture plain white, in one of the bowls add a drop or two of red food colouring and in the other bowl add a drop or two of green food colouring. Gently fold the colour through the meringue mixture making sure not to over stir it.

4. Add the two bowls of food meringue back into the plain white mixture and fold through a couple times carefully mixing the colours a little but not mixing them together or they the mixture will turn brown.

5. Using a spoon place small-medium sized mounds of mixture onto the prepared tray (these meringues expand quite a bit so make sure to not make them too big and to leave room between them).

6. Put tray into oven and bake for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours, do not let brown. Take out of oven and leave for at least 10 minutes to set.

The colours will mute a bit through the cooking process, if you want them to look
more vibrant add a couple more drops of food colouring.

These meringues are so good, I took them to school and at first didn't tell my friends what they were made of. Even though they aren't vegan they all loved them and couldn't believe they were made from chickpea liquid!

Xx

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What I Got For Christmas 2014

Hi :)

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, I thought that today I would make a post about what I got for Christmas this year. I'm incredibly grateful for everything I was given and for everyone who spent their time and money on buying things for me. Also these were the things that were on my bedroom floor from Christmas Eve/Christmas Day, I did get a few more things from friends and family that have already been used etc.

Work-out clothes

I got LuluLemon shorts and orange shirt and Forever 21 socks from my parents and a Lorna Jane quote shirt from my uncle.

Earrings

My brother got me these cute combi van earrings from the Newcastle markets we went to.

Books

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell from my parents

Decadent Gluten-free vegan baking cookbook from one of my best friends

14,000 things to be happy about from my cousins, aunt and uncle

Bikini from Seafolly from my parents

Black shirt from Target and pyjama shorts (store-Susan) to go with it from my parents

New Look crop top and TopShop bag (also Topshop make-up/nail brushes) from family friends in England

Lush 'Whoosh' shower jelly and 'Blooming Beautiful' gift box from my cousins, aunt and uncle.

Tigermist faded midi dress from my parents (BTW it doesn't look that great in the photo but it's beautiful on, it's really well fitted and I wore it on Christmas Day and got so many compliments!)

Parisian Pedicure set from family friends, Body Shop Moringa Trinket Tin from my Secret Santa, Australis Parisian Pretty gift set from my cousins, aunt and uncle and Body Shop Brazil Nut shower cream.

I was also lucky enough to be given money from different people in my family, a Westfield gift card and tickets to Taylor Swift tickets which was a joint present from my Nanny and parents!

Thank-you for reading and I hope you had a great holiday time spent with family and friends!

Have a safe and relaxing end to 2014!

Morgan xx

Newcastle Markets

Hi :)

Yesterday I went with my family to the Olive Tree Markets in Merewether, Newcastle and then spent the day in town and at the beach. I took heaps of photos so I chose some of my favourites and thought I would share. I also found some really cute brands at the markets and restaurants so I thought I would share!

First thing we did was take the two hour drive up to Newcastle which meant a lot of listening to Taylor Swift ;)

 

Sorry about the awkward selfie and bad quality photography but this is me, hello :P

I wore my grey Glassons basic shirt, black H&M a-line, midi skirt and grey boots from Monoprix Femme (skirt and boots bought in Paris). I finished the look with my new favourite lipstick the Rimmel Kate Moss 107.

 I'm so upset because so many of my photos didn't turn out well because the lens was fogged over or something :(. Anyway there were so many beautiful brands and home made goodies at the market, a lot of the food there was all organic and artesian type foods which was super yummy!

Cannot express to you in words how delicious these macarons were, the one pictured was red skin flavoured (I know right!!) and I also got vanilla bean flavoured. The stall (called Sugar Jones) was so cute there was a little caravan that you could go and eat your macarons in and they had so many interesting flavours. You can find them here. 

This brand (Lauren Merrick illustration) had the most beautiful prints, my mum and brother both bought prints and our family friends bought beautiful wrapping paper. Also everything was so well priced and amazing quality!! You can check out their products here

After the markets we explored in the town and there was some really pretty wall art and graffiti and this really creepy animal head thing in a store window...

 We also found this old book and record store where I bought a few books. We also found a normal record store and look what I found hahah.

Just a little reminder in case you'd forgotten ;) (it's actually 4 days now) and unfortunately I didn't buy a super hip shirt but the sign made me laugh.

The last thing we did before dinner was go to Merewether beach where we had coffees and then I went exploring with my brother and cousin along the rock pools.

Thanks for reading this super long blog post but all in all I had a really lovely day in Newcastle and it's a really cute town with some really great shops and restaurants! If you ever get a chance I would totally recommend taking a trip to Newcastle and also going to the Olive Tree Markets. Just 4 days until Christmas eeeeek :P
Morgan xx

P.S. Huge shout-out to the people at DeLucas Pizza who made me an amazing salad super quickly after I couldn't eat what I chose due to allergies (stupid me forgot to check...)

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