#fedupchallenge - day 10! We made it!

DAY 10 DAY 10 DAY 10! THE FED UP CHALLENGE HAS BEEN COMPLETED! Above any of the benefits I've felt or seen over the last 10 days the best thing that's come from this challenge is the rediscovery of my willpower. We all have willpower somewhere inside us and if you're really looking for something to drag it out from hibernation this is it! And, if 10 days without sugar really isn't yo thang but you're still seeking a wake up call for your willpower I actually really recommend the book that changed my life: Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking. Even if you don't smoke, this book provides many valuable techniques that can be used in any situation, namely the choice method. I don't know if that's what he called it but it's definitely something I learned from the book. You're in charge of your own choices, every moment of every day. Yes, you could definitely

eat that chocolate bar, enjoy it for a bit and then feel shit later, sure, go ahead. Or, you could consciously chose not to and forget all about it 5 minutes later. Obviously if you're not avoiding chocolate like the plague then go ahead, stuff that bar of deliciousness in your pie hole but if you're aiming to test your willpower it's simply a question of making conscious choices. And those lie in no-one’s hands but your own, my friend.

Breakfast

As I had woken up early to study for my french exam, realized quite quickly I suck at French anyway and given up, I had a little extra time on my hands this morning! I decided to whip up a round of eggy bread - a mix up between my avocado toast and berry oatmeal hey, sticking to what I know!

Nutmeg & Cinnamon Eggy Bread with Forest Fruit "compote"

1 Large egg

Coconut milk

Cinnamon 

Nutmeg

Frozen berries (or any other fruit really)

Cottage cheese/cream cheese

Crack an egg into a bowl whisk it with a fork, incorporating cinnamon and nutmeg. Slice your bread into triangles and let them soak in the egg mixture. Heat some butter in a pan and pop the triangles in. Let them toast until they are golden brown on each side. Notice at the last minute that all your spices are still at the bottom of the bowl. Cover toast in cinnamon. Mush microwaved frozen berries into a spoonful of cottage cheese (or cream cheese I think would also be fab) and slather this on. Enjoy with a cuppa and wish you'd made more.

Dinner

As promised, I made my chickpea burgers and they were definitely my best yet. I made these all the time and the recipe varies greatly. Tonight, I made them with oat flour, something I picked up at AH for a change and I'm pretty sure it's what made them. I teamed them with red pepper and some left over tzatziki as I usually have them with yogurt, I figured it would be nice too. However, I didn't make them as spicy as I usually do and the tzatziki was almost too bland to have with them. I would recommend a spicy sauce. I have a few left so I'm going to experiment with sauces tomorrow!

Chickpea Burgers (makes about 4)

1 Can of Chickpeas - drained

1 medium egg

Half an onion

Crushed garlic

All the herbs you can find and think will be nice

Chili 

Dash of lemon juice

Oat flour (or any flour, or none at all - I've tried both ways and no huge differences)

Grated carrots - with as much moisture removed as possible (I use a bit of kitchen towel)

Mash the chickpeas, onion and crushed garlic with a potato masher. You can make it as smooth or as coarse as you like. I tend to leave a few chickpeas whole but it really doesn't matter. Add the rest of your ingredients. I find it easiest to add the carrot at the very end just because it's easier to mix in once the eggs in. Roll, prod and squish your mixture into burger shaped patties. Put into a pan with hot coconut oil, let them sizzle on both sides and hey presto. I've never actually tried this but I'm pretty sure the mixture will freeze well. It survives in the fridge for like 3 days too so this is a great recipe to make a batch of! When I'm not avoiding sugar I always have these with sweet chili sauce because I think every meal should include sweet chili sauce, but particularly this one. 

Et, c'est tout! I've completed the 10 day challenge. I'm going to enjoy a humongous glass of vino now, have a day off tomorrow, then maybe continue for the rest of the month. Thank you all for ALL the messages, I've really enjoyed blogging again! Holla if you think I should continue!

Wine time.

Over and out, Tiger Laylay xo 

#fedupchallenge - days 8 & 9!

Wowzers, day 9! Can you believe it!? I've almost reached that 10 day mark and it's genuinely been a breeze. I've been toying with the idea of having a little break on Wednesday (read as: eating an entire bag of cool doritos and drinking an bottle of red) then continuing for the rest of the month. We'll see! 

So many busy days ahead and I'm starting to get a little stressed over masters. Even though I'm not applying for any. Empathy stress. All I hear around uni and in my classes is masters, masters, masters. It's like being back at school again where all the other options are dismissed or little to no information is provided about them and all we're trained for is uni, uni, uni. My heart breaks a little for the current 18 year olds who will graduate with me at 19 years old and finish their masters by 20. I know everyone is different and some people genuinely do know what they want in life and have worked their little academic butts off to get to where they are now but personally, I wouldn't be who I am today if I'd have gone to uni at 17 and not taken the two gap years that I did. I feel so much pressure is placed on our shoulders at such an impressionable age to go to uni that other opportunities are missed out on. What about taking a year off to do an internship or two? What about volunteering locally or abroad? What about getting a part time or a full time job? What about all the other academic options that aren't university? Why aren't any of these discussed at schools and why aren't further options discussed at university? 

I have no idea where all of that just came from! Okay stop, recipe time.


Breakfast

In case you hadn't noticed I seem to alternate between oats and avocado on toast. I'll leave you with an exciting guess as to which one I chose today! 











Lunch

Using the left over "rice" from my shrimp stirfry I whipped up another one during my way too short lunch break today. Grated carrot, diced red bell pepper, leek, onion, garlic, chili, ginger, dried italian herbs and a swirl of my tomato sauce made up this stir fry. It tasted absolutely amaze however it was lacking something. Much to the amusement of my housemates (who had to taste every change too), I set out to discover what it was. First I added some extra tomato sauce, which was lush but still not it. Then some salt and pepper, which also helped but wasn't quite it. Raisins? (Definitely not - please don't try these it was pretty gross) Cheese? Extra carrot? Nope, nope and nope. Then came the peanut butter, a desperate suggestion from Danielle who was either laughing at my by now or with me. Either or she found the solution! This literally brought the whole thing together and for some reason just WORKED. I added a (generous) tablespoon (to the bowl... maybe more to my mouth) and also toasted some peanuts to add too. I say that so nonchalantly however I had and still have no idea how to toast peanuts. I literally put them in a hot frying pan. The first batch burnt horrendously and the second batch were pretty tasteless. So yeah, long story short: add some peanuts. Delicioso!

Dinner

Here's a fun fact! A few housemates and I were happily making dinner a few hours ago and my boyfriend popped in to say hi on his way home from work. As he was leaving he jokingly called out 'bye, I hope your burgers don't have sugar in them!" because we're romantic and loving like that. I lovingly stuck my middle finger up as he pranced off and muttered oh yeah, sugar in homemade burgers, suck on that...... okay, you get it. But something in the back of my mind was making me race through the ingredients and slap-bang-back-in-my-face: the flavored breadcrumbs. After 9 days of meticulous label checking I'd gone and deemed myself an expert. Big mistake - Dextrose, sugar AND bloody glucose syrup. In breadcrumbs. Why?!? Dinner became a sad cheese and cucumber sandwich. Luckily I'd had a fun snack after school so it didn't sting too much.

Aubergine/Eggplant crisps & homemade tzatziki

Cut your aubergine into slices, not too thin as they really do shrivel! Pop on a metal baking tray, lightly cover in oil and pop some salt on them too. In the over for 15 mins at 200 degrees, flip them and then another 10 mins. Yes, it was that easy! These were a bit of an experiment so feel free to go cray on your own seasonings.

The tzatziki was also a bit of an experiment as I wanted to somehow up the protein game of this well loved snack. I made mine with kwark, garlic and grated cucumber but also added a good dollop of cottage cheese. It was gurt lush (very lovely for my non bristolian readers). 

More tomorrow! I'll be sharing my top secret chickpea burger recipe so better get excited!

Buenas noches, hasta mañana, Tiger Laylay xo

#fedupchallenge - days 6 & 7

Attending UCR ain't no walk in the park. In between my part time jobs, contact hours, homework and extra curricular activities I also have to teach as part of one of my courses. Although it's exciting being part of an innovative program designed to educate young dutch students about Global Citizenship it's also exhausting! Travelling back and forth, designing lesson plans, reflecting on said lessons and painstakingly explaining our motivation for each one backed by academic literature isn't always as fun as it might sound. However, my time teaching at Pontes has now come to an end and despite all my moaning I do think I'm going to miss the students. They've been challenging at times but they are also ridiculously refreshing. I mean, what's more exciting than a 14 year old boy, seemingly interested in everything but your passionate teaching on human rights, raising his hand to answer a rather complex question about the right to life with the exact answer on abortion you were desperately hoping for but never expecting to hear? Nothing. Except maybe a vegetable spiralizer. I guess I'll find that out next week though.

Due to my busy, busy schedule I didn't get round to blogging yesterday much to my dismay. This being said it was probably the best day to miss as I was so busy I nibbled at the same bowl of soup all day long. I did, however, make a very happy breakfast which I doubt requires explanation but I thought I'd share!

BREAKFAST

A piece of toast covered in my homemade peanut butter (INSIDER TIP #5: I always freeze the other half of my breakfast banana for future use. Frozen banana treats like ice-cream and smoothies are lush just make sure you chop your banana before you freeze or your blender will hate you!), topped with apple slices. This is how you make a breakfast pineapple. Because breakfast pineapples are obviously totally acceptable breakfasts for a 22 year olds, particularly ones running late for meetings.







  Lunch DAY 6

I am a huge soup fan. I make soup out of anything and everything and firmly believe anything in a pan with some water added is soup. I'm the (slightly self-proclaimed) soup queen of B10 best known for leaving pans of soup all over the kitchen. And soup unfortunately doesn't always look very appetizing. Sorryimnotsorry. I whipped this soup up with no real idea in mind and was really pleased with the result. I'd give it a 9/10, a 10/10 if I had managed to get a dollop of kwark in it. I didn't have any to hand so I added coconut milk at the end but to be honest, I'd say that lowered it to an 8.5/10 so don't do that. Just enjoy it with or without kwark!

Carrot, tomato, ginger & lentil soup
2 medium Carrots
Can of Tomatoes
Can of Lentils (I think this is very dutch [and very useful]. If you can't find canned lentils cook your lentils before hand following the instructions on the packet!)
Roughly and inch of Ginger
Chili Flakes
Garlic
1 big Onion

Chop your onion, crush your garlic and ginger (I always crush my ginger in my garlic press. Not sure if that's the optimal way but it works!) and pop in a deep pan with heated coconut oil with a pinch of salt, pepper and chili. Make sure the oil is not tooooooo hot, don't want to burn your garlic! Let this fizzle for a while whilst you chop your carrots into bits and boil the kettle. Drop the carrots into the pan, stir around a little just because the noise is funny then cover with water. Pop a lid on, lower the heat and leave for 5 mins. Add your tomatoes and leave for 10 minutes or so, up to you. Jamie Oliver always says leaving tomatoes on a low heat for a while thickens them out but I'm not sure about this theory. Go with the flow! Once you feel you've left it long enough add the lentils and hey presto! I wasn't satisfied with the texture of the soup when I was done (too watery) so I blitzed it with my food processor. And by blitz I really mean blitz, in and out, two seconds, leaving the carrots pretty much intact but mushing the lentils just enough to bulk it out a little. Fabuloso.

Lunch DAY 7

Once I read a recipe on thelondoner.me (one of my favourite blogs) for cauliflower fried rice. The "rice" has been a staple recipe ever since and I use it regularly. It's such a good base to mix and match fried rice is so quick, cheap, muy delicioso and easy, just how I like my food! A good friend of mine is a great chef and he recently gave me some leftover baby shrimps (HEY RENALD SECOND SHOUT OUT BE EXCITED). As I wrote this I realized it doesn't sound very exciting (maybe even a little bit weird) but as a cash strapped student this was like receiving an A+ on an exam you completely winged. As soon as I got them I knew what I wanted to make with them - egg fried rice!

Egg-fried "rice" - adapted from thelondonder,me

1 Small cauliflower
1 Egg
Garlic
Spring onions
Ginger
1 medium Onion
Mustard seeds (optional)
Handful Mushrooms - chopped
Shrimps

First, you need to make your rice. All the cool food bloggers do this with their Vitamixers or something like that but I just use a good old fashioned grater. It makes the perfect "rice" consistency and I bet it's much easier to clean! Yes you read that right, step one is to grate your cauliflower. It should look a little like cooked couscous when you're finished. Heat some oil in a wok (or a normal frying pan) and add your garlic, onion, chili and ginger. I know I literally start every single dish this way so I decided to add some mustard seeds to the mix today. I genuinely have no idea what they taste like or how to prepare them but I just chucked them in because for some reason I had them uselessly lying around. The dish turned out spectacular so I encourage you to follow this step! Once you feel you've sufficiently infused your oil add the "rice". Stir it all around a bit then crack an egg into the middle and stir really quickly kind of like you're making scrambled eggs. Because you kinda are. But not. Okay, next step! Add in your chopped mushrooms to the rice. In a separate pan, lightly fry your shrimps in butter and garlic. Once everything is done put it all on a plate, stress about how to make this bland-looking but out-of-this-world-tasting dish look instamazing, give up and shove it in your gob. Muy bueno.


These last two days have not been easy. I've been extortionately busy with limited time to prepare food plus working (after which a glass of wine is definitely never unwelcome!). Cravings have definitely started! For example, I usually feel beyond fortunate to work in an exquisite restaurant where the deserts are the talk of the town and the chef can't count (always in my benefit). Not being able to snack on all the "accidental" extra bits and bobs was actually soul crushing. I decided to take this on as motivation to kick the sugar addiction rather than wallow in my self-pity. But only after cradling a strawberry baby macaroon before throwing it in the bin. And the homemade boterkoek. And the chocolate fudge bonbons. And I'm going to stop typing now.

Roll on Wednesday now please!

Tschüss, Tiger Laylay xo

#fedupchallenge - day cinco!

Another busy day in my no added sugar life! You never really realize how busy you are until you decide to document it (and subsequently struggle to find the time to do so!) Today was market day so I've stocked up on my veggies to continue giving you guys some fun recipes! Thank you all so much for the lovely messages I've been receiving about the blog - I can't explain how exciting it is to hear that you're enjoying my rantings and even trying out my recipes. Almost as exciting as being one day closer to receiving my vegetable spiralizer. Almost.

Breakfast

I recently heard someone comment that they'd love to have a boyfriend just for the winter as it's a cold season where all you really do is drink hot chocolate and watch movies. Well, let me tell you, dragging your toasty butt out of bed at 7 a.m whilst your significant other lovingly snores on for another hour is SO. DIFFICULT. I have NEVER cycled home so fast in the morning in my life. Talk about FREEZING! SO MANY CAPS. SORRY. BUT I HAVE TO EMPHASIZE JUST HOW COLD IT WAS. In order to warm my cockles this morning I made a hearty bowl of banana oatmeal with extra nutmeg, always a winner for instant warmth! Aesthetics of my nourishment and pictures were definitely the last things on my mind. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Lunch

As mentioned previously, 45 minutes is just not enough time for lunch! Need to start prepping for days where I know I don't have much time! I recently made the much hyped about cauliflower pizza (will upload recipe soon! still playing around with consistencies) and had some left over sauce so decided to put it to good use. I managed to make whack some pizza breads together, a recipe which actually originated from a desperate, drunken snack but actually turned out quite satisfactory! I've also made this on pita breads before which is also boomtastic.

Sober Pizza Breads

Bread (I used the sugar free Pumpkin Rye)

Cheese

Tomato sauce - homemade

Dried oregano

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees whilst you whack all your ingredients on to your bread. You can lightly toast your bread first and pop some olive oil on it but I didn't have time for all that faffing today so just slapped everything on and ran. 

Dinner

Again, cooked for! Feeling a little spoiled! Amber and her boyfriend made a delicious Jaime Oliver "paella" with red bell pepper, peas, carrots, chicken and chorizo. The chorizo unfortunately contained dextrose so I skipped out but added extra peppers to my own bowl, handed out my chorizo and everyone was happy! Moments like these make me realize just how simple it really is to maintain this lifestyle. Sugar may be in absolutely everything but cutting it is an easier task than I expected. A few small tweaks here and there and bobs your uncle. 

I have saved the best for last however. There has been one food I used to eat daily, raved about on most health blogs, which I unfortunately had to cut out due to its sugar content. Peanut butter. I absolutely adore peanut butter. Amber and I once decided (and maybe tested) that peanut butter goes with just about absolutely bloody EVERYTHING. So, whilst I was at the market today I passed a little stall selling peanuts for peanuts and I decided to give it a go. It was so easy to make however next time I'll definitely be buying shelled peanuts as to fill one jar I spent 1 hour shelling! Is it weird that the whole time I thought I could start a "Stop Smoking with Tiger" factory with all the people wanting to quit shelling the peanuts for my peanut butter? Even if it's just because it was such a satisfying manual task? Yes? Okay, pretend I never said that.

Tiger Peanut Butter

Peanuts

Olive Oil

Salt

Cinnamon

Put your shelled peanuts into a blender (I literally own Hema's cheapest blender and it did a top job!) and whizz them into crumbles. Add some olive oil. I'd try to be specific here but the quantity of your oil is relevant to the quantity of peanuts. Go with your gut. I used about 4 tablespoons for all my peanuts which ended up filling an old peanut butter jar. Add salt and lots of cinnamon. I always put cinnamon on my peanut butter but everyone's taste buds are different! Also, if you're not following a no added sugar diet I'd add some honey. Blitz in the blender again until you have a smooth paste. Try not to eat the whole jar at once. Delicioso!

And that just about sums up day 5! I'm still feeling good, even better than I did 5 days ago in fact. My worst moment so far happened today during developmental psychology as my teacher had adorned every single table with mini chocolates. As everyone tucked in I sipped my lemon and mint water cursing the challenge. But apart from that (and maybe the excessive sniffing of my housemates treats), I've been doing just fine. Bring on dia 6.

Toodle pip, Tiger Laylay xo

#fedupchallenge - day 4!

Two days ago I promised I'd find out about the sneaky lil buggers that are carbohydrates and how they affect the sugar challenge. I contacted my cousin, a nutritionist, who informed me that indeed, the consumption of carbs is going to affect my sugar cravings (or lack thereof). Apparently, when you consume carbohydrates they are released into your body as glucose. A medium potato can basically give you the same blood sugar spike as a chocolate bar! Eating carbohydrates alongside protein can slow down this glucose process and always pick complex carbs over crap carbs! So, that's been made pretty clear, and I'm also pretty sure a normal person would just accept the fact that there's no way they can live without sugar, alcohol AND carbs and move on their merry, carby way. Emphasis on the normal. Because what have I gone and done? Bought a fucking vegetable spiralizer AND almost peed myself with excited at the prospect of courgetti, zuccaroni and perfect sweet potato curly fries. My carbless life saver arrives Friday.

Day four has been hectic so unfortunately there's a lack of instagram photos to adorn this blog entry. My meals, however have been fabuloso, y'all just gonna have to belive me on that one!

Breakfast

Avocado on toast! Literally one of the most amazing go to meals when you're in a rush. Toasted pumpkin rye (available at AH, discovered by my partner in sugerfree crime) slathered with creamy avocado topped with a little lemon juice, salt, pepper & chili flakes. Shoving into face whilst you speed around the house gathering your teaching materials is optional!

Lunch

As I've mentioned, today was a busy  day! Rushing around uni from 8:45 and then off to Goes to teach I'm usually starving by the time we finish around 3pm. Today I really learnt the true meaning of PREPARATION IS KEY! Armed with a banana, a baby tupperware filled with almonds and 2 liters of water I survived like no man's business. This being said, lunch was definitely well received!

BIG OL' MUY DELICIOSO SALAD

Kale
Peper
Mushrooms
Garlic
Onions
Butter/oil (again...... Butter wins here every time)
Lemon
Olive oil
Black olives
Cottage cheese

Pop kale in a bowl and massage with oil and lemon juice. Leave this to one side whilst you sauté mushrooms in butter with crushed garlic and roughly chopped onions. Cut, chop, nibble at (and maybe slightly spill under the table) the rest of the veggies, whack everything into the kale bowl and eeeeaaaat. Making Mmm noises and force feeding all your housemates some is definitely not optional.

Dinner

Treated by my man to a lovely healthy meal of chicken, veggies and my home made sweet potato fries. He and his housemate enjoyed theirs with a honey mustard dressing and an amazing smelling baguette which, like most bread, was laden with dextrose. I resorted to smelling it. Like I had done with Amber's chocolate chips around lunchtime. Weird? Me? You try four days without chocolate my friend, then we'll talk.

Sweet potato fries

Sweet potatoes
Cinnamon
Salt
Tad pepper
Garlic powder
Chili or cayennepepper
Oil

Chop your potato into chip (fries for you americanos) size bits (haha, INSIDER COMMENT: my phone just autocorrected that to boys... Sorry seemed funny when it happend. Be there moment.) and boil until almost tender. Drain and pat dry. Lightly cover in oil and season with all the things listed above. Space out (IMPORTANT step if you want them  to be crispy) on a baking tray and cook at 200 degrees for 40 mins, tossing once.

My food today was styled by Stijn and the picture was taken whilst Renald (his lovely housemate) held up a lamp so I could get a good snap. Take a moment to picture this scene. Enjoy.

Day four is over and I'm still not missing the sugar. I usually only really drink at the weekend so I haven't missed that toooo much either. I do really fancy a massive hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream. But, following the nicotine cravings I suffered all those 18 months ago and am still traumatised by this is nooothing! So basically what I'm saying is: if you wanna attempt this challenge start smoking first, then quit, then try.

Ok doei! Tiger Laylay xo

#fedupchallenge - day three!

When I was quitting smoking I read and reread that it only takes 72 hours for nicotine to leave your body and that any cravings after that were purely psychological. When I started this no added sugar challenge I was expecting the same kind of withdrawal pangs, the same intense suffering of something I thought I enjoyed so much being quickly and cruelly ripped away from me... by myself. Weirdo. Anyway! What I'm trying to say is that we've reached the end of day three and that's 72 whole hours of the #fedupchallenge completed with STILL NO SYMPTOMS! I have noted zero changes in myself aside from a little outbreak of very attractive zits on my chin (joining the burn mark from attempting to close the kettle with my chin) and the occasional hallucination of dancing chocolate bars (okay this only happened once and during a VERY boring class). 

Then again, I've noted pretty much zero changes in my diet so far apart from the fact that I'm eating 3-5 solid meals a day as opposed to "grazing" throughout the whole day. The only major factor is alcohol which I must admit I am missing but mainly for it's social qualities. I've attended two grownup parties (sit down dinner and sophisticated chats kind of affairs) since I've started and there's simply something a little off about enjoying a good conversation with a sparkling water (not to mention the absence of enhanced political knowledge alcohol tended to provide me with).

Breakfast
Oats
Dash coconut milk (canned)
Banana
Frozen berries
Almonds
Flax seed

Does this need an explanation? Just in case: dump all ingredients into a bowl. Eat. Mm delicioso.




Lunch
This lunch time was definitely my favourite moment of the challenge so far! As I started chopping the onions for my fritatta the doorbell rang and a housemate of mine joined me in lunch making. I'd just like to note that I'm not bashing her lunch option because it's a firm favourite of mine but the comparison for means of the challenge is just too good not to share. She was running around the kitchen in a fluster (because our lunch breaks are just TOO SHORT FOR ANYTHING) hoping to prepare a quick, delish lunch. She definitely succeeded with her fishfinger sandwich but the funny thing is it took exactly the same amount of time to prepare as my mushroom, kale & Parmesan fritatta. People often mention that they don't follow a healthier lifestyle because it's "too time consuming", a misconception that makes my hair stand on end. It's as time consuming as you make it!

Spicy Mushroom, Kale & Parmigiano "Fritatta"

Handful of mushrooms chopped as you wish
Two big handfuls of kale
Small onion - finely chopped
Garlic clove - crushed
Chili Flakes
Butter or oil (I used butter because everyone knows mushrooms and butter are a winning combo)
Two large eggs - whisked

Heat your oil/butter in a frying pan (best if it's non-stick but as students most of our pans definitely ain't - just an excuse to add more butter!) and add the mushrooms, garlic, onions and chili flakes. I know you're supposed to add all these things at different times because of aromas, water release, flavours or whatevs but who got time for that? Not me. Once you think your mushrooms are almost done cover the pan in kale, like genuinely cover it, kale shrinks and you want lots. Or not, then don't cover your pan in kale and just put in as much as you want... Moooving on. Once your kale starts to wilt throw the eggs on top and push the forming omelette/fritatta thang to one side of your pan (unless your pan is awesome and two eggs cover it nicely. Mine didn't so I made it in half the pan). Turn off the heat (completely if it's an electric hob and will stay warm for a while or otherwise just really low) and cover with foil. Leave it until it's almost done then remember you haven't actually seasoned it so throw some cheese on it and some fresh herbs or whatever you have lying around then cover it again and leave for an extra 5 minutes. Eat. Enjoy.


Dinner

I had to babysit tonight so dinner was courtesy of my housemate Dan and on the table for me upon my return! Lush. He'd made a giant couscous (never heard of giant couscous but it was SICK, almost like eating those little jelly balls that were all the rage in primary school that came in a jar and were definitely NOT edible but you always wondered what it would be like to put them in your mouth because putting your hand in them was so much fun... no? just me? okay.) with cucumber and feta cheese. I added some tomato, mint, tumeric and pomegranate because I had them lying around and I thought why the ffffffff not. It was fabtastic.

Over and out, Tiger Laylay xo

p.s Jamie Oliver didn't end up visiting me today. What a loser. He'll be around tomorrow FO SHO so stay tuned! xo

#fedupchallenge - day two!

As a form of positive procrastination today I've spent hours researching how carbohydrates transform into glucose. Thrilling. No really. In my (weird) opinion, it's common knowledge that complex carbohydrates are better than the starchy, "white" carbs found in white pasta, potatoes, white bread and white rice. I understand that their darker compadres (buddies for those of you not down with the lingo) are friendlier to our bodies however carbohydrates still aren't our bodies best friend. This makes me sad because I love me some carbs (particularly when they are liquid, bubbly and served cold). However, I'm now intrigued obsessed with getting the real low down on these little buggers so I'll keep you updated!


Breakfast was exactly the same as yesterday, come Thursday (market day!) I'll up my breakfast game.

Lunch 

Mondays are a super busy day for me with class from 08:45 until 18:00 thus I usually have left overs or something quick. MIND BLOWING INSIDER TIP ALERT! I've always got a stash of hard boiled eggs in the fridge. A cheap, veggie friendly source of protein and healthy omega-3 fats that can be enjoyed in so many different ways! Today I teamed them up with a piece of the Soda Bread we made yesterday, raw sugar snaps and cucumber slices finished off with apple slices drowned in cinnamon. My friend Becci mentioned that my plate looked sad as it was lacking colour. This comment caught my attention because I've always been told eating colours is actually really important as each colour group provides your body with different nutrients. Maybe I'll blog about that some other time I'm only bringing it up because I'm justifying my flag which although provided no nutritional value it definitely made my lunch THRILLING. Take that for colour, Becci!

Dinner

On Mondays Lonneke, our friend Lisanne and I run a public speaking workshop (Vox) at our university. As we all have class until 6 and it starts at 7:15 we always grab a quick dinner beforehand (definitely not time used to plan our lessons in...). I decided to whip up my FAVOURITE go to soup recipe which literally consists of one ingredient: sweet potato. I love sweet potato for so many reasons, so many that I'm going to dedicate a whole post to them in the near future. And trust me, you'll be seeing a lot of them in the coming days! This dish is SO versatile that literally every single ingredient (bar the sweet potato, obvs) can be tweaked, removed, multiplied or googled. I'm not going to include quantities because I literally just throw things in a pan and hope for the best. I genuinely believe this is the way forward! Here goes:

Sweet potato soup

Sweet potatoes
Water
Onions
Garlic
Oil (I always use coconut oil, there's a chemical in olive oil that doesn't like being heated up and becomes toxic! SECOND SNEAKY TIP OF THE DAY - WE'RE ON A ROLL!)
Chili Flakes
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Bacon Bits
Kale
Kwark

Peel your sweet potatoes and cut them into chunks. I don't know if this actually speeds up the boiling process but it will make the blending easier so just do it. Or don't. Whatevs. Pop them into a pot, cover them with water, add a little salt and wait for them to become tender (tender = you can effortlessly glide a knife through them). Whilst you're waiting for this chop your onions and crush your garlic then pop them in another pan with your oil of choice (not too hot or you'll burn your garlic!). Add chili flakes and fry them all around until the onion looks softish then take off the heat. If you're feeling really talented (and have enough hobs) fry your bacon at the same time. You don't need to add any oil because it's fatty enough as it is! In fact, once it's done pop it on a plate on some kitchen towel (or toilet paper if you're a normal student who doesn't own that kind of shit) and let it absorb some of the fat. Your tatties (potatoes for those of you still not down with the lingo) should be boiled by now so drain them, give 'em a quick rinse and then put them back in their pot. Add some water and your onion pan contents. Season with cinnamon & nutmeg, salt & pepper then blitz with a food processor (hand held ones are easiest here!). Add more water until you have you desired consistency. Now you can add your bacon & kale! I usually leave my soup off the heat for a while now so all the flavours can mix but by now it smells so bloody good that you might want to skip this step. Pop into bowls, sprinkle some extra kale (or bacon... or both) and add a dollop of kwark. Boom. So friggen cheap & easy it's almost a sin not to make it. I dare you to try. Let me know how it goes!


Day two of the #fedupchallenge has been survived! Lonneke and I have the feeling that we're doing something wrong because this is way too easy! Anyone who knows any more about nutrition maybe care to comment?

I'm well excited for day three as I have the day off uni and I've recruited my secret crush (whoops, sorry Stijn) the one and only Mr Jamie Oliver to help me out in the kitchen!

Okay, bis morgen, Tschüss! Tiger Laylay xo