VEGAN FAST FOOD DUPES! "Happy Meal" inspired Hayley Meal!

I'm back today with another post on a Vegan Fast Food Dupe. The concept behind this series on my blog is that just because you're vegan, gluten free, coeliac, lactose intolerant or whatever the case may be doesn't mean you have to settle for boring and bland food. This being said, I will take a fast food meal and rather than scrap it from my diet, I just adapt it to be vegan and gluten free! I hope you enjoy, and even if you are a meat eater this could be a healthier option you may want to recreate at home! 

On Today's Menu - Happy Meals!  

Chicken Nugget Option
I think everyone is partial to a chicken nugget or two. A friend of mine could quite easily live off the 20 piece boxes that McDonalds do! As I am now vegan, it was really hard to give up my lunch time luxuries until I decided to create my own! It's quite a simple (and some would say obvious) recipe - so much so that I wouldn't really call it a recipe...just a collection of recommendations of food that will satisfy the need for a Happy Meal!

You will need: 

• Quorn Vegan Nuggets (these are vegan + really tasty!)
• Maris Piper Potatoes 
• Ketchup (If you're gluten free this one from Tesco is great!)

Method
1. Slice the potatoes into chip size pieces - as thin or as thick as you prefer. Sprinkle with a touch of salt and bake in the oven until fluffy and crisp

2. Cook the Quorn Nuggets as per the packet instructions

3. Serve with your favourite beverage and ketchup! Toy and box are optional!

Hamburger + Cheeseburger Options
Another firm favourite is the hamburger and cheeseburger Happy Meals. This one has a little bit more to it!  

You will need: 

• BFree Burger Bun (tastes yummy and soft without gluten!) 
• Linda McCartney Vegetarian Burger (they are vegan and the perfect size!)
• Ketchup
• Diced Onion (chopped really finely)
• Gherkin Slice (if you like that sort of thing) 
• Violife Cheese Slice (for the cheeseburger)
• Maris Piper Potatoes 

Method
1. Cook the chips as stated above

2. Cook the burger following the packet instruction 

3. In  a pan, sauté the onions until golden brown. I'm not sure how McDonalds get their onions so tiny but I'm not really a fan of them, so I'd prefer these ones over them any day! 

4. Toast your bun in the oven for a minute or two, spread a generous layer of ketchup on, then onions, pickle slices (that you can pick out later - is that why they're called pickles?) Add the burger and the top bun for the hamburger, and the cheese and the top bun for the cheeseburger! 
  
5. Serve with chips, condiments and a cooling drink! 

I hope you enjoyed my fast food dupes for some of the Happy Meal options that are suitable for vegans! If you wanted to make it extra healthy you could swap the chips for carrot sticks or a fruit bag! To see my last Vegan Fast Food Dupe on Toasted Twisters see here!

Thanks for reading!

Homemade Cornbread (Vegan Option Included)

Recently for my Mum's Birthday, we went to a fantastic restaurant that happened to be Cowboy and Western themed! It was fantastic, and one thing from the menu became a firm favourite with my dad - cornbread! We've searched high and low in supermarkets since, but cannot find any anywhere! I took to Google, found a recipe and adapted it to recreate the ones we had with John Wayne...and here it is! I also adjusted it to make a vegan version which I will show below in this colour. I hope you enjoy!

You will need:

• 1/4 Cup of Butter (Or Violife Butter if Vegan)
• 1 Cup of Milk (Use Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk of Vegan)
• 1 Large Egg (Use a Flax Egg = 1tbsp Ground Flax Seed + 3tbsp Water) 
• 1 + 1/2 Cups of Yellow Cornmeal (I found this one in Asda)
• 1 Cup Plain Flour
• 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1tbsp Baking Powder
• 1/2tsp Salt
• 1/2 Cup Sweetcorn 

Method 

1. Preheat your oven to 160c. 

2. In a large bowl combine the room temperature butter, milk and egg (or their alternatives) with a whisk until well mixed.

3. Add in the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and sweetcorn (all together) and stir to mix the wet and dry ingredients. When your batter looks like lumpy yellow custard - you know it's ready! 

4. Pour into your choice of oven wear. I like to make mine in a muffin tray,  so they come out as individual portions. However you can bake this in a cake tin, a sandwich tin, baking tray - anything you like as long as it's oven safe!

5. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until they have risen and are springy to the touch! 

I hope you enjoyed my recipe for cornbread! I feel like this recipe has something for everyone - a recipe for dairy eaters alongside a recipe for vegans! I hope to do more like this in the future so no one is left out. Being vegan myself, finding out about a "Flax Egg" has made baking a thing I can enjoy again! If you want to see my baking post from last week on testing out baking from a bottle click here! 

Thanks for reading!

Sharing is Caring - Food Banks.

As it's coming up to Christmas - the season of Good Will, I thought I would talk today about how you can share some help to those in need. 

A food bank is a non-profit organisation that provides basic provisions for 3 days in the form of a food parcel for people who need it. The provisions include non-perishable food items (things that won't go off and don't need to be refrigerated such as tins and cereals), and basic toiletries. The items that are available are only available due to donations from the public. You may think that not many people find themselves having to turn to a food bank, but I was absolutely shocked to learn that over 1 million 3 day supplies were given out last year. That's one million people that have been in such a dire situation, they have had to go to a food bank to make sure that they and their children eat that night. It breaks my heart to think of that, so I wanted to write a post to spread the word and let you know how you can help if you are able to. 

The question that runs through my mind is why has there been such a significant increase in the amount of Food Banks opening, and the amount of people needing them? According to the Trussell Trust the main three reasons for people needing to rely on food banks are:

1. Benefit Delays
2. Low Income
3. Benefit Changes 

What strikes me is that these reasons are not the people fault. Delayed or changed benefits are out of their control, and when the benefit officials are contacted they are passed from pillar to post trying to chase it up. Meanwhile they are finding themselves having to use a food bank to support themselves. The same with a low income - it is a known fact that in London most wages do not cover the cost of living, even though you may be working long hard hours. I believe these issues should be tackled in parliament with the utmost importance. 

Some more statistics on Food Banks: - 

• There are currently nearly 500 Food Banks operating in the UK 
• Over 10,000 tonnes of food were donated by the public last year alone
• 40,000 Doctors and Social Workers gave out Food Bank Vouchers last year
• 50,000 people volunteered to work with the food banks 

As you can see, there are a lot of people relying on the use of Food Banks to survive. Here's how you can help...

Donate Supplies
The first way you can help is by donating supplies to fill the Food Parcels. It doesn't cost a lot to do. Simply find your local Food Bank - there are two options to do this. Firstly, most supermarkets have a brilliant system where, as you are doing your own shopping, you can add a few bits to it for the food bank and drop that into the supermarket's food bank collection which is located at the front of the shop. This saves you having to find a Food Bank and as you are already doing your shopping it's simple to add a few extras. Plus it might mean that you are able to regularly donate when you visit the supermarket. Secondly, you can find where your local Food Bank is and take your donations there. They are usually in Churches or Community Centres. See here where you can find one near you.  

Once you have found the Food Bank you want to donate to, check with them what supplies they accept, or what they are in need of. Here is a list of basic supplies that complete a Food Parcel. They are inexpensive to buy and will help someone out a great deal! 

• Cereal
• Soup
• Pasta
• Rice
• Pasta Sauce
• Beans 
• Tinned Meat
• Tinned Vegetables
• Tea/Coffee/Hot Chocolate
• Sugar
• Biscuits
• Toothbrush + Toothpaste
• Baby Wipes
• Nappies
• Sanitary Items 

These are just some basic supplies. You can add other bits, I like to include some sweets in case there are any children the parcel is going to. Just make sure that whatever you donate is a non-perishable. You may want to include some supplies for those with a dietary requirement also. It's best to check with the Food Bank you are donating to as they can give you an idea of exactly what they need. 

Here are some links regarding supplies to donate...

Trussell Trust Food Parcel List 

"20 Things Food Banks Need Most"


Volunteer 
When volunteering and giving your time to help out at a Food Bank, you will be making the Food Parcels and distributing them, talking to the customers and helping them, receiving donations and stocking them. It's very fulfilling and a lovely thing to do. You can see here on how to volunteer, and also here. 

To conclude, I just wanted to write a post today to spread the word about how many people are being forced to use Food Banks, and how you can help after I seen the staggering statistic on just how many people are actually having to use them. I hope the issues that are behind the reasons why will be tackled and help to decrease that number. 

If you feel you need to use a food bank yourself, then please do. They are there to help and have the supplies you need. It is not your fault and it is okay to ask for help. You have not failed, the system has failed you. See here how to find one near you. 

Thanks for reading! 

VEGAN FAST FOOD DUPES - "KFC" Style Toasted Twister! (Suitable for Gluten Free)

Just because you're vegan, gluten free, coeliac, lactose intolerant or whatever the case may be doesn't mean you have to settle for boring and bland food. I want to start a series on my blog called "Vegan Fast Food Dupes" where I take a fast food meal and rather than scrap it from my diet, I just adapt it to be vegan and gluten free! I hope you enjoy, and even if you are a meat eater this could be a healthier option you may want to recreate at home! 

When I ate meat, my favourite fast food treat was a KFC Toasted Twister. Since becoming vegan, I thought those cheat day meals were out the drive through window! I was making a sandwich wrap the other day and thought to myself...why don't I attempt to make a Toasted Twister? I did, following this recipe and loved it. Obviously it doesn't taste EXACTLY like KFC's one, but it's pretty close...

You will need: - 

• 1 Tortilla Wrap (I'm using BFree Tortillas) 
• 2 tbsp Ground Pepper
• 1 Squeeze of Vegan Mayo (I love Hampton Creeks "Just Mayo") 
• Shredded Lettuce 
• Diced Tomato 
• Quorn Breaded Fillet 
• Southern Fried Spice - SEE BELOW 

Method 

1. In a small bowl combine the vegan mayo with the ground pepper, to create the signature KFC peppernaise that coats the twister. 

2. Take your Quorn Breaded Fillet and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and season. At this point you can choose how authentic you want this to taste. If you want to copy the KFC famous "11 herbs and spices" then you can see them here. If not, you can adjust it to your preferences. I like to use a teaspoon of paprika, half a teaspoon of nutmeg, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Use any marinade or rub your tastebuds crave. Place them back in the oven for the remaining cooking time to allow the spices to sink it well. 

3. Time for the twist! Take your tortilla, spread a generous amount of the pepper mayo on, top that with shredded lettuce, diced tomato, more mayo and finally the southern fried chicken! Or should that be Quoricken..? 

4. Wrap the tortilla up and grill in the oven until the outside appears toasted! Tuck in and enjoy on its own, or with a side of fries! 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe for an alternative to the KFC Toasted Twister. It will satisfy your cravings on a restricted diet, but is also good for those that aren't vegan or gluten free, as it is a whole lot healthier than the fast food version - half the calories better actually! Look out for my next instalment of my fast food dupes! 

Thanks for reading! 

Autumn/Winter Skincare Updates (Cruelty Free + Vegan)

Like a Karma Chameleon, my skincare regime changes at this time of year as the leaves turn red, gold and green... Last week I brought you some make up bag updates for the colder weather, and this week I thought I would do the same for my skin! I hope you enjoy!

LUSH Lip Scrub (Popcorn + Santa Baby)
I think your lips are the first thing that alerts you Autumn has arrived, not only from the Pumpkin Spice Latte's they are drinking, but the cold weather that makes them crack and feel dry. To combat this, I like to firstly use a lip scrub. You can make your own as they are mostly sugar, a binding oil and a flavouring, but I'm a LUSH lover and can never resist their Popcorn one, or as we are nearing the Christmas season - Santa Baby which tastes like cola! The idea is that you scrub your lips and then eat it...I don't really like the thought of eating dead skin, so I like to use mine when I brush my teeth and use the toothbrush to exfoliate them further! 

Lush Passion Fruit Lip Balm 
My second tip for protecting your lips in the colder weather is to layer on an armour of lip balm! There are so many great ones on the market, you could even use coconut oil which
works brilliantly also. I happen to be enjoying the passion fruit option from LUSH which smells beautiful and keeps my lips hydrated for ages. Even if you're a chatterbox like me! 

Pacifica Day & Night Moisturiser
I find that in the autumn and winter my skin gets dryer from the weather and the central heating, so I need to put back that moisture with a heavy duty moisturiser. In the summer, I wouldn't really opt for a day moisturiser and would just go onto primer, but at the moment I find my skin is craving it like I crave hummus. This product can be used as a day + night moisturiser, however I prefer to use it in the mornings as it contains a whole host of natural ingredients that help to deeply moisturise and protect your skin, and support collagen whilst providing radiance. It's the perfect consistency - not too thin that it disappears and not too thick so you can wear foundation over it. 

Organic Surge Overnight Sensation Night Cream Moisturiser
This night cream is such a treat! I pop this on just before bed, it goes on really creamy and massages in well. It also helps me to drift off to sleep due to the fact it is enriched with a lavender essential oil that helps your relax and also calms your skin. It also contains cocoa and Shea butters that nourish your skin so in the morning you have softer skin with a brighter complexion! I also love that this is "98.99% natural" is vegan friendly and is not tested on animals! 

Nourish Revital Eyes Eye Cream 
I use a rich and slightly thicker eye cream all year round, but I thought I would include it here as I know some people opt for a lighter one in the summer and may be looking for a winter friendly one! The Nourish Revital Eye Cream is packed full of things that you'd usually use in a salad such as kale, maqui berries and pomegranate which help to get rid of puffiness and dark circles. It also contains peptides and antioxidants to "boost the natural resilience of ageing" whilst still being mild around the delicate eye area! 

Lush Charity Pot 
This body lotion is one of the best I have tried. I use it all over my body and find it leaves my skin feeling so soft and supple for hours afterwards! I sometimes use a bit as a hand cream too, it's that good. It also does good for the charities that LUSH works with, for every pot that is purchased 100% of the prices goes directly to the charity itself which I think is fantastic. You can read more about it here! 

Green People Organic Butterfly Conservation Nourish Hand Cream - Ho Wood & Red Mandarin
Hand cream is a definite must for this time of year. I like to have one in my bag while I'm on the go. I always look for a rich a creamy one that smells gorgeous and this wins hands down! Fragranced with "Ho wood and red mandarin" and packed with essential oils, this keeps my hands soft and hydrated. I also love the beautiful packaging and the fact that for everyone bought a donation goes to the Butterfly Conservation to protect butterflies, moths and their environment! 

I hope you enjoyed my Autumn/winter skincare updates to help you beat the cold weathers effects on your skin this year! All of the above products are vegan and by cruelty free brands. For more information on other brands that are also in the same categories see this PETA list. 

Thanks for reading! 

Monday's Manicure #2 - Kate Spade Inspired Nude Autumn Trend Nails!

If you asked me to name my favourite designers, Kate Spade would be one of the first I'd mention! From the gorgeous diaries to the luxury bags, they have it all! I'm particularly drawn in by the beautiful designs each and every products displays. Most of them follow the "less is more" motto, which makes them look extremely elegant and classy. As the Autumn Nail Trend for this year is nude nails, I thought I would do my take on this with one of my favourite Kate Spade Prints. I hope you enjoy! 

You will need: 

• A Nude Nail Varnish (I'm using Rimmel's "Rain Rain Go Away" from the Rita Ora Collection) 
• A Gold Nail Varnish (I'm using Rimmel's Guilty Pleasure from the Kate Moss Line) 
• A Bobby Pin or Dotting Tool 

(Potted plant - optional. It's from Newlook if you're interested or obsessed with copper potted succulents like me!) 

Method 

1. Paint all of your nails with the nude colour. I did two coats to make it more opaque

,

2. Dip the end of your Bobby pin or dotting tool into the gold nail varnish, and use this to apply dots along each nail in rows. Space them out and make sure each row lines up with the gaps of the row before. See image for a better explanation! Actions speak better than words! Also try to make the dots the same size by dotting the bobby pin once and not moving it around. 

And that's it! A really simple, easy but classy looking nail that satisfies the nude nail trend with an elegant Kate spade twist! 

I hope you enjoyed this nail look! To see last weeks Monday's Manicure on a regal red and diamond glitter look click here. Make sure to check back next Monday when I will have a manicure inspired and dedicated to the one and only, River Phoenix. 

Thanks for reading! 

Hayley x 

Started From The Bottle, Now We're Here - Baking From a Milk Bottle?

Ancient tales tell of messages found in bottles, seaside towns have little boats in bottles (how do they do that?!) But today I bring you a blog post and recipe on a BROWNIE in a bottle! I spotted these in Wilkinsons a few weeks ago, but didn't investigate them further until my friend bought one (which she got purely as a kitchen decoration and something to snapchat) and I thought I would test it out and see if this novel idea actually works. 

Made by "Classic Kitchen" the idea is that encased in a large milk bottle are all the ingredients you need to make your delicious treats. There were many other options, however I chose the Raspberry + White Chocolate Brownies. For just £4, I thought it was a great idea! Or a great decoration according to my pal! (To make this Vegan, you can substitute the white chocolate chips for Humdinger Free From Choc Buttons) 

The bottle in all its satisfyingly layered glory contains the following: - 

 

To go with this baking short cut, I picked up some decorating short cuts as well to show you that you don't have to be professionally skilled or own a cupboard full of equipment and ingredients to produce some yummy baking! I chose some two colour icing in complimentary colours of pink and white to go with the raspberry and white chocolate theme. I also got some glitter spray because...well I just couldn't resist. 

So let's test this out and get on with the recipe! 

Step 1 

Preheat your oven to 170c 

Step 2 

Open the milk bottle and pour the entire contents into a mixing bowl. 

Step 3 

Mix them all up really well. I found the sugar was quite clumpy from being in the bottle, but after a good mix up, it was just right! As goldilocks would say... 

Step 4 

Add in the wet ingredients. The packet calls for 3 eggs, 100g butter + 75ml milk. If you are vegan you can substitute this for a Flax Egg (1 tbsp flaxseed mixed with 3tbsp water for each egg), Vitalife Vegan Butter and Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk (such as soy which doesn't add any extra flavour). Mix it really well, scraping the bottom to ensure all the powder is incorporated! Once that's done it should look thick, rich and gooey just like this...

Step 5

You can choose whether you want to bake this in a cake tin, a square pan or a cupcake/muffin tray. I chose to make these brownies as cupcakes and they made 12 very generous portions. Line the tray with cupcake cases, mine were quite thin so I doubled up on them which helped a lot! Using an ice cream scoop, or my favourite trick since I was first taught to cook - two spoons, fill all of the cases with the scrummy mixture! 

Step 6 

Bake in the oven for 30-35 mins until they have doubled in size and smell gorgeous! 

Step 7

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes. Started From The Bottle, Now We're Here... I was surprised at how rich and large these brownies turned out! For such a simple and easy recipe, I think they look like I've spent all day in the kitchen! This would be perfect if you have kiddies who like to help you bake, or if you want to be a speedy baker! Que the close ups...

So that's it for the baking side of things. You can leave them like this, or decorate them to your taste. I wanted to try out my quick and easy ready to go icing and glitter. Both made by the brand "Cake Decor" these cost under £3 and I was hoping they would transform my cakes into something Mary Berry would appreciate. 

Firstly, the icing. The tube itself acts as a piping bag! To use, you simply:

1. Take off the lid, you'll notice there is a star inside! Perhaps it's for the title of Star Baker you may think? No this is the nozzle!

2. Remove the foil on the top. It smells divine of Strawberries + Cream. How long until Wimbledon? 

3. Place the lid straight back on - star tip and all.

4. Pull the lid off, rather than twist, to reveal your star tipped piping bag! 

Use this as you would any other piping bag and pipe away on your cupcake/brownie/bottle inhabitant. I started off with a swirly pattern...

Which I think turned out quite well...you can definitely see the two colours and I'm happy with that effect! It was quick, easy and cheap to achieve. 

To take it further, you could use a knife to smooth out the icing. Mine became a bit messy at this point. So I decided to call them roses and pretend they were meant to look like that! Also slapped on a load of glitter, which was very fun and easy to use with a simple squirty spray bottle. 

I also used the glitter on the plain brownies and they looked quite Galaxy inspired!

  

MY VERDICT 

Brownie in a Bottle - I would say hands down this works and is a genius invention. The packaging looks great and is very appealing. The ingredients are all there for you - weighed out to the gram and ready to go. You only need to add 3 ingredients, which you probably have in your kitchen already and above all they look and taste amazing! 

Icing - I like the idea of how the tube doubles up as an icing bag, which saves a lot of mess and washing up. The icing smells gorgeous and has a lot of flavour to it. One thing I will say it make sure you loosen the icing by massaging the bottle as it was a bit difficult at times to get the product out. In conclusion I think it's a great time saver as long as you've got some elbow grease! 

Glitter - It made my cakes glittery, it's a win from me! 

So there you have it! A bit of a different post today, I just wanted to test these out and see if they were a gimmick product or if they really work. I'm happy with the results and if you want to purchase your own you can find them at Wilkinsons. Let me know how you get on through Twitter - @HayleyShannon8 

Thanks for reading!

Hayley x