New Blog

Hi guys,

I have moved this blog over to an exciting new site!

Come and check it out – I’m now at:

www.shecanteatwhat.com

SEE YOU THERE!

Love,

Emma x

Fresh-thoughts Friday (…yes I know it’s a Wednesday)

Each week I spend a few thousand years scrolling through the web and if you saw the amount of bookmarks I have on my computer you would most likely laugh at me. I probably don’t need the link to the London internship I was going to apply for three years ago or a link to ’50 fun pugs and their friends’ but you just never know… I have have however, recently got a new shiny Macbook Pro (yes I’m terrified every time I pick it up that I’m going to drop it but shh) which means that I have a fresh bookmarks bar!

Now instead of going mad and frantically favourite-ing everything I see like I normally would, I’m going to condense each weeks search results into 5/10 links to share with you guys. Partly to save my sanity and partly to give you some foodie, thoughtful, or funny links each Friday.

So here goes – my favourite links on the web this Friday:

1) 17 things every girl needs to remember at all times by Hannah. It’s blunt, ingeniously true and  fantastic and every girl should read it because it’s just hilarious. Amen to no. 12 – why I think my leggings are still an exception to this rule I really don’t know.

2) When the FAO’s last Livestock report came out in 2006 it caused a big hoo-ha (and rightly so) after finding that farms breeding chickens, pigs, and cows for meat and dairy products, produced a disconcerting 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions (more than the greenhouse gas discharge from planes and cars combined). In the latest study the number was issued at 14.5% but there’s still a long way to go – this article on the subject might be a bit of an oldie, but it’s a really interesting read whether you’re vegetarian, pescatarian, fruitarian, or a serious meat eater – go have a look!

3) There’s been a lot of attention in the media about gluten-free fad diets recently and finally the low FODMAP approach is making waves –  professors at Monash University and Kings College London are getting their study on in this article, that I wish I’d had a chance to read at the start of being diagnosed with IBS.

4) A big yesss to Tesco banning sweets being placed at the checkouts of each of its stores – it’s not going to change the world but it’s one small step in the right direction.

5) And finally, for anybody else bogged down with exams, having a manic week or in a need of a chill out – a link to Musical Notes. My friend Dott constantly posts great songs, with guest features and snippets about her life in London which will have you grinning (don’t worry she has much better taste in music in music than me).

            … And I just couldn’t have a list without food in it – these lemon ginger hemp bites by Janet over at the Taste Space had me drooling at first sight and would go so perfectly with my regular strawberry-banana-oat smoothie pictured above.

Oh PS. I know publishing my first post in this series on a Wednesday this week isn’t ideal, but graduation deadlines have left this blog pretty bare as of late and what ya gonna do ay 🙂 Fresh-info Friday (the name might get changed if I come up with something wittier) will continue from next Friday, each week!

 

Vanilla and strawberry swirl cheesecake with a chocolate brownie base

It was my sister’s 18th birthday yesterday and I wanted to make something special. She’s recently just gone vegetarian and has become really interested in the ideas surrounding a primarily plant based diet – I saw this this recipe on Pinterest and it looked perfect! It was really easy to make, tastes incredible and looks oh so pretty. Completely vegan, raw, gluten free, dairy free, grain free, egg free and wonderfully plant-based.

This recipe is from Hannah at Health Yeah – the only thing I did was switch the blackberries for strawberries. Go check her site out if you haven’t already, it’s quickly becoming one of my new favourites. Unfortunately it’s not low FODMAP – but I’ve got a FODMAP friendly version that I’m working on in the pipe-line!

Make sure you’ve got the following:

Base

1 1/2 cups raw almonds
Pinch sea salt
1/2 cup pitted medjool dates. If using dried dates, soak them in hot water for ten minutes to soften. Drain.
3 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder
1/4 cup desiccated coconut

Coconut filling
3 cups cashews, soaked
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut cream
1 tbsp melted cacao butter (optional, helps it set nice and firm)
1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup to be truly vegan)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out, or 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
Extra water, if necessary, to achieve a thick but pourable consistency (about 1/2 cup)

Strawberry filling
2 cups strawberries
2 cups of the coconut filling

a 7 or 9 inch spring form pan (7 inch gives you a taller cake – i.e looks prettier!)

Method:

Prep: Soak the cashews in water overnight or for three or more hours. Drain them of water and set aside. Soak your dates in hot water for ten minutes if dried.

Base: Place the cacao, desiccated coconut, almonds and sea salt in a food processor and grind roughly. Add the dates and process until the mixture is uniform and sticks together when you squeeze a bit in the palm your hand. Press mixture firmly and evenly onto the bottom of your springform pan (I always line mine with clingfilm first to make your raw desserts waaay easier to get out). Refrigerate base while you make the filling.

Filling: Using a powerful blender or a food processor, blend all filling ingredients except for the strawberries, until silky smooth. Give it a scrape/stir like a pro as needed, to ensure it’s all mixed in. If the mixture is super thick, take care of your blender by adding a some water to make it easier blend and pour. Go easy – I was too impatient waiting for the cashews to blend fully so probably put a bit too much in. 1/2 cup should do it.

Pour half the vanilla/coconut filling into a bowl. Set aside. Blend the strawberries into the remaining mixture until it is well blended, and rich pink colour.

Next: take your base out of the fridge. Now it’s the fun part! Do it like this:

One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.
One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.
One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.
One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.
One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.
One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.
One heaped dessert spoon of coconut. One heaped dessert spoon of strawberry.

(Hannah very cleverly took pictures of this method – look here!)

Do until all of the filling is used up and the swirls come to life. Finally cover and place in the freezer for at least six hours (or overnight). Then decorate and serve! It will keep for around 3-5 days in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer.

Super Green Smoothie Bowl and a dusty student radiator

I never really understood smoothie bowls bar the fact that they looked very pretty. Why bother with a bowl I always thought – you can drink a smoothie waay quicker  in a glass.

But then I made one. And they’re actually amazing.

I often gulp down a smoothie in about two minutes – and sometimes it just doesn’t satisfy. This is thicker, even more nutrient dense depending on what you put in – aaaand you can fit more toppings on! Always a fan of that, plus I love that you’re having a  big bowl of raw for breakfast. So much better for you than sugar filled cereal.

I really upped the greens in this one because I needed a bit of a detox after a hectic week, so swap in some more fruit if you’d like it sweeter – frozen berries would be great or some pineapple. A huge fan of wheatgrass I added a tsp of that too. A natural food source of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and the green plant pigment chlorophyll it’s a great way to add healthy nutrients and fiber to your diet, plus it tastes good and is sweet, so is a good superfood to start with I found – Chalk Board Mag has a great Superfood Spotlight section which is good to get an overview of superfoods if you fancy getting your knowledge on!

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Ingredients:

– 2 frozen bananas

– a big handful of spinach

– a big handful of kale

– tsp wheatgrass powder (can omit)

– tsp almond butter

– coconut water

– toppings of flaxseed, gluten free oats, frozen blueberries and goji berries

To make:

Simply blend all of the ingredients in a blender until thick and creamy before adding toppings! Coconut water is a great liquid to add more of if you want a thinner consistency, and ice is great to thicken – an ice cream esque texture is what you’re aiming for. Enjoy with granola, oats, fruit, superfoods or whatever the hell ya fancy.

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Kath at Kath Eats Real Food has an insane collection of smoothie bowl recipes you should go check out – or I love to use Pinterest for getting inspiration. I’ve just set up my own profile and the organiser inside of me might just be in love with the platform. Check back in a few weeks for pins of great plant-based, vegan recipes, eating clean tips and tonnes of inspiration!

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