This menu for an all-vegan Easter is brought to you after carefully selecting the best springy recipes so that you can enjoy a tasty Easter without harming any animal nor the environment. What can you ask more?!
During these holidays there are many blogs that will give you 30+ recipes suitable for such events. Now, I don’t know about you, but I find it a bit overwhelming, especially if all the recipes look so good making it difficult to select the “right ones” (there obviously are not “right” recipes, but I mean it in the sense that are best for how you are feeling on the day, how much you want to cook, what do the Moon and the rest of the Cosmos suggesting, etc.). So, looking around, searching my favourite vegan blogs, I selected those course that I think would make a nice menu for Easter 2021.
[I was going to suggest a potato salad – the Roast Potato Salad – YumVeganLunches – but I also understand that you might have had the Devied Potatoes as an appetiser so this recipe is only if you’re feeling extra (after all it’s holiday, so why not?)].
Disclaimer: This post doesn’t want to give any medical advice. I am merely sharing my experience, and What I do to get through these days/weeks when I am affected by SAD.
What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)? You probably heard about people feeling low when Winter comes, usually feeling quite low and lethargic. These are just some of the symptoms of this peculiar illness, that doesn’t affect many people, but still, it is taken into consideration by the medical profession and the health services. It is estimated that 3 out of 100 people in the U.K. suffers from SAD, while it is six per cent of the U.S.A. population. The idea is that coming Winter, there is less exposition to the sunlight and this affects your mood and metabolism. However, this can potentially happen at the change of any season.
The SAD that affects me is mostly of physical nature, but you’ll read that this can heavily affect mental health.
Then
As I was telling you in this post, this is something that affects me, but in the opposite way. When Spring arrives, when Nature is reborn and birds are chirping and the trees are in blossom, that’s when I feel at my lowest: my energy level drops drastically, my ability to focus falters, I get gastrointestinal problems, etc. This has been happening for years: I have always felt low mood as soon as the warm weather arrives and much less energetic compared to Autumn or Winter. I have been reflecting on this and I think this goes back to my childhood when I was being bullied for having a big bottom (90s child, the time when fashion icons were skinny, with pop idols of the time having a more androgynous look): it was easier to cover in Winter but less so in Spring and Summer, creating even more uncomfortability (it didn’t help that even my family were all commenting that I should have lost some weight – but let me be clear: I wasn’t obese, probably slightly overweight and a bit weirdly shaped as my stomach was flat, like a table): obviously, I wasn’t happy to go to the beach and wearing bathing suits.
It might be that, or it might just be that I don’t agree with a warm climate (hence I moved from a Mediterranean country to the U.K.): who knows.
I have accepted this thing, I know it comes every year, I know that I can do less than what I would do in Autumn and Winter. Also, this disorder brings gastrointestinal issues: one year it was so bad that I lost 20 pounds in one month because I couldn’t eat much otherwise I would suffer from stomach cramps for the following hour (I am talking about those cramps where you have to lie-down, folded in half, without being able to move because the pain is that much). One of the few foods that I could eat was plain white bread because it soothed the stomach, a bit of oily pasta and sauteed veggies. It wasn’t fun. Some people say that it’s just stress and these are the signs of a near-burnout. But I know when I am stressed, yes my stomach might have some issues, but this is different: what I feel during these weeks is unlike the state of mind and body that I experience when I am working too much, say, in October, or when I have too many things going on (personal and work-related).
Now
I learned to accept that my organism and that my body reacts to the seasons in different ways. I know that I have to go easy on myself when I feel like this, that I have to reduce overly complicated foods, go easy on the work that I can take as well as the physical exercise that I can do. Integrating more wholesome ingredients and habits is key to successfully survive the next few weeks for me. This year I felt it a bit more than usual: persistent brain fog and I don’t have that much stamina (at the beginning of March for three days I could barely making it from the bed to the sofa in order to work and then feed the cat – most important task). While I decided to implement some changes in my habits to see if they can help with this year’s symptoms (started jogging – twice a week for 15 minutes -, being more persistent with daily exercises – every day for 20-30 minutes, plus the same amount of time for yoga -), I found that I was feeling well in the morning but having a drastic drop of energy in the afternoon. So at the moment, I am at the end of a week of only yoga and I am feeling a bit better. I’ll go back to my usual rhythm in the next weeks.
As I am already working a 9-5 job, finding the mental strength to dedicate to the blog, at this time is a bit challenging, and that’s why I am posting a bit less and mostly at the weekend (be patient with me, pleeaase!).
Oily pasta is still a must during this time, but I integrate with some pulses (mostly white beans, sauteed, and veggies like spinach ad kale). A great aid is fennel: raw with some olive oil, or boiled, is great to soothe gastritis. You can also drink the water after you boiled it as a warm beverage to calm the gastrointestinal tract.
As well as pasta, I can easily eat plain white bread: unfortunately, the bread that I find at the supermarket is always full of extra useless ingredients, so I decided to make a batch of bread once a week, freeze some of it so that I can take it out when I am unable to bake some fresh bread. Really any recipe that doesn’t require too much effort in the making of the dough, is perfect during this period. Also, when you start making your own bread it will be difficult to go back to the store-bought one. There are so many recipes around, you just need to try them and see which one gives you the best result and munch on it! I’ll leave you some recipes below.
At some point, when I was still finding about this disorder, I went to the GP: they sent me for abdomen ultrasounds, a colonoscopy and many blood tests, to find out that was all regular. So, they prescribed both Maalox and Diazepam: I can tell you that while they were not useful at all, the second at least was kind of fun to take for a little bit.
Now I much prefer to see what my body needs, how it reacts and respect it. Sounds a bit hippie? Well, I don’t care, I don’t want to take drugs when I can fix the problem with tuning in with myself, especially since my symptoms are not in the extreme of the SAD spectrum.
I hope this gave you a better idea of the Seasonal Affective Disorder, and maybe now that you know something about it and you have always been wondering why you are feeling a bit low come the change of season, you might understand that you have SAD but more importantly, you are not alone.
For this Sunday recipe I bring to you something that is so tasty, quick and easy to make and will bring back so many memories of Spring lunches and pic-nics. Do you remember deviled eggs? Well, here we have the vegan version!
Perfect for a snack, lunch or pic-nic
I made it yesterday and really had to stop myself from eating them all in one go because they are way too good. And it will be perfect for your Easter lunch: it will be a hit with your family and friends (if you don’t have too many restrictions, pandemic-wise).
When I grew up, possibly like many of you, deviled eggs were something that would be brought to a pic-nic as tehy keep quite well and are easy to manage. But also they remind me of Easter lunch with my family, with quiches and dumpling soups as well as refreshing salads.
There are few versions around, but I tried this because it seemed the quickest and usually Sam’s recipes come out always great.
The recipe
Without further ado. The recipe is the one by Sam from ItDoesn’tTasteLikeChicken: you probably are already familiar with her recipes. If not, go and have a look at her website because you’ll see so many easy, quick and delicious recipes for all the occasions.
You just need small potatoes, vegan mayonnaise, a bit of kala malak (black salt – this is fundamental to give the egg taste), bit of apple cider vinegar and turmeric. Boil the potatoes, half them, scoop a bit of the centre of the potatoes. Use the scooped bits of the potatoes as filling with the mayo and spices. You won’t believe they are not deviled eggs!
It is almost the end of March, so I am still on time to write about it, about Women’s History Month. What does this mean? As I hinted in a previous post, some months are dedicated to acknowledging, remembering, commemorating and observing important events in the history of the people to which such months are dedicated. March is the month dedicated to women’s history as well as having the International Women’s Day on the 8th of this month. This makes people think that now is all well, if there were problems, they were in the past and we can now celebrate each month something good. Unfortunately this is not the case. These are not the cases. And I will explain why.
What would you understand from these words? That there is the acknowledgement of what women have done from more or less recent history: that we recognise the hard-working women that have never stopped fighting for their rights, from better working conditions to the right to vote, to sexual rights, etc. That is the idea. That women have fought and they have won, that now we can look at the past and see what the fair sex has done and be grateful that it’s been done. There is nothing else to do, right? Mh.
But there is no “man’s history month” and men too have done quite a lot. So why is there a women’s month?
Similarly to Black History Month, LGBTQ+ History Month, etc., it means that there are actually unresolved things going on, that we still need to work on bettering the situation of these people in every aspect of their lives. So it has been decided to dedicate one month a year to say “Thank you for your contributions” or “Sorry, you still don’t have some basic rights because you are different”. And this brings us to…
Why Still Need a Month Dedicated to Women
Because there are still women that are beaten and raped daily;
Because women are denied basic rights;
Because little girls are forced into marrying much older men;
Because women are still not granted protection by the authorities;
Because there still is a pay gap;
Because it is the 21st Century and women are slut-shamed.
And I not talking (only) about those countries that are considered developing countries, but also those that are allegedly developed ones.
Why am I talking about these matters on a vegan blog? As I previously explained, I am a firm believer in veganism as a holistic social philosophy. Like many others, I went vegan for the animals and the environment, but soon I realised that one can’t do much in aid of these issues without integrating the issues concerning people, which are strictly connected to affairs of social justice: we can’t achieve total animal liberation and have a clean, healthy Earth without the eradication of racism, fair working conditions for everybody, equal rights for women and men, recognising the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, etc.
Be kind, be more empathic, stand up against abuse: this is the way to a better world for everybody and our beloved Earth.
Spring it’s here! After months of snow and cold, as nature intended, we are now officially into the new season: a time of rebirth, blossoming, the birds are chirping, the days are lighter and lighter and this is the time when we should do some detox to get ready to enter this new period. Hence, I am sharing this recipe with you, because it is packed with nutrients that will help you dealing with Springtime in an energising and refreshing way.
Now, I don’t know about you, but going from Winter to Spring for me it’s always devastating: it has been like this for more than 10 years (before I went vegan) and it’s the only change of season that brings with it, physical and mental issues: from brain fog to feeling physically depleted as well as gastrointestinal problems (I am going to talk about this Seasonal Affective Disorder soon because maybe there some of you who suffer from the same stuff and I can help you with the solutions that I am using for myself), leaving Winter is quite a challenge every year.
For this reason, I was absolutely delighted to read about a very quick and easy recipe for Chia Fresca by Choosing Chia. And it’s obviously vegan!
Mix all the ingredients in a glass or jar. Stir or shake it up to make sure the chia seeds don’t clump together.
Let sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before drinking.
It is easy, delicious, very quick. However, I have modified it a little bit: I have been using 1/2 cup of boiled water and 1 cup of cool water, no maple syrup nor cayenne. Instead, I have been adding 1 kiwi (peeled and sliced). I prepare this first thing in the morning, while I prepare breakfast and I drink it until lunchtime: it does provide a good kick and I have been able to focus a bit better at work while also calming my stomach.
But I would also like to show you the nutritional value of the ingredients used for this amazing recipe. And again, all this is vegan and superhealthy, so give it a try!
Chia Seeds
From Harvard T. H.. Chan School of Public Health: “Two tablespoons of chia seeds (1 ounce or 28 grams) contain about 140 calories, 4 grams of protein, 11 grams of fiber, 7 grams of unsaturated fat, 18% RDA for calcium, and trace minerals including zinc and copper. They are the richest plant source of omega-3 fatty acids. Chia seeds are a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids that cannot be made by the body.”
From Healthline.com we have another complete brakdown of all the nutrition facts of these little seeds. For example, what they might be lacking in vitamins, they’ll make up with minerals: Manganese, Phosphorus, Copper, Selenium, Iron, Magnesium and Calcium. They also contain many antioxidants (the good stuff that it’s supposed to be helping against cancer).
But lemon juice is not only a magnificent source of such vitamins: it is also your ally against kidney stones and anemia (amongst other benefits – read more here and here).
Kiwi
As I said, my version of the vegan Chia Fresca sees the use of kiwi. I have always been used to eating kiwis when I was little because my grandma loves them and this has been passed on to my mum. Now, I am not crazy about them like my grandma, but I like their taste: the combination of bitter and sweet and the juicy pulp, makes it a nice snack. Or also it can be used to take away a bit of the sweetness of some foods that sometimes are really too sweet, if you get what I mean. For example, I used to slice a kiwi to put in those yoghurts where cleary they used a bit too much sugar and/or sweetners. I am not trying to sell you some kiwis, but just to give you an idea one kiwi has
42 calories (cal)
215 milligrams (mg) of potassium, or 5 percent recommended daily value (DV)
It is just over a year and a month now, that this speech was made. So why am I writing about this just today? Well, first of all, this blog was born like three months ago, and unless we have a time machine available it would have not been possible to write this at the time. Second: I didn’t think about this speech until a couple of days ago, and I actually don’t even remember why I thought about it. Third: I don’t believe this speech has gained that much consideration, even at the time it was made, a year ago, while it is absolutely still relevant (despite this fast-running, speed-racing machine that is the contemporary world, where things become obsolete after few months). Hence I feel like this should be made more widespread.
The speech I am talking about is the one that Joaquin Phoenix gave when he won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as Joker in the homonym movie (which is brilliant: if you haven’t watched it yet, do it, you won’t regret it! I leave you the trailer at the end).
So, Joaquin Phoenix is a long-time vegan (since he was a child) and he has publicly spoken many times as well as taking part in public protests for animal rights (you can read it here, here, here and what a recent interview here). If this wasn’t enough, he has also been arrested during a protest on climate change.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that he took such an important opportunity, such as the Oscar’s acceptance speech, to raise awareness of animals rights. But in these 5 minutes, he managed to include themes of social justice, the fight against racism, gender rights and LGBTQ+ rights. Few moments, with very powerful words.
You might remember that Leonardo DiCaprio did something similar when he won his first Oscar (whoo-hoo! Well done Leo, you should have gotten one much earlier, but better late than never!). He said that “making The Revenant [the movie for which he won the award] was about man’s relationship to the Natural World, a world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow. Climate change is real, it is happening right now, it is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating, we need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, the big corporations, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people who will be most affected by this, for our children’s children and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed. I thank you all for this amazing award tonight. Let us not take this Planet for granted, I do not take this night for granted.”
I find that Joaquin’s speech went beyond that: that through veganism people can not only live in a more compassionate way, but also that the vegan lifestyle can benefit non-humans and humans alike, helping in the fight against social injustice as well as for a better environment.
I leave you the video here (and the transcript below it):
“I’m full of so much gratitude right now. And I do not feel elevated above any of my fellow nominees or anyone in this room because we share the same love, the love of film and this form of expression has given me the most extraordinary life. I don’t know what I’d be without it. But I think the greatest gift that it’s given me and many of us in this room is the opportunity to use our voice for the voiceless. I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the distressing issues that we are facing collectively and I think at times that we feel, or were made to feel, that we champion different causes. But for me, I see commonality. I think whether we are talking about gender inequality, or racism, or queer rights, or indigenous rights, or animals rights, we are talking about the fight against injustice, we are talking about the fight against the belief that one nation, one people, one race, one gender, or one species has the right to dominate, control, and use and exploit another with impunity. (applause) I think that we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world and many of us, what we are guilty of, is an egocentric worldview: the belief that we’re the centre of the universe; we go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources; we feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and when she gives birth, we steal her baby even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable and then we take her milk, that it’s intended for a calf, and we put it in our coffee and our cereal. And I think, we fear the idea of personal change because we think that we have to sacrifice something, to give something up: but human beings at our best, are so inventive, so creative and ingenious and I think that when we use love and compassion as our dieting principles we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and to the environment. (cheers) Now, I’ve been a scoundrel in my life, I’ve been selfish, I’ve been cruel at times, hard to work with, and ungrateful but so many of you in this room have given me a second chance, and I think that’s when we are at our best: when, when we support each other, not when we cancel each other out for past mistakes, but when we help each other to grow, when we educate each other, when we guide each other towards redemption. That is the best of humanity. (applause) When he was 17, my brother [River Phoenix] wrote these lyrics, he said ‘run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow’. Thank you.”
It’s Sunday and despite being in March it is still quite cold. So it comes natural seeking some comfort food. And there is not comfort-er food than this vegan babka: a cake that will be perfect for your breakfast, but also for an afternoon snack (and why not, after dinner, while you’re watching your favourite TV show).
The first time I heard the word ‘babka’ was when a friend showed me the picture of a babka he made. Unfortunately, this was not vegan. But this was not a deterrent for me: the cake was way too beautiful and looked so darn tasty so I started researching for recipes of vegan babkas, that were reasonably doable without requiring the help of celestial being for overly complicated cooking and baking processes (something that happens when I see the list of ingredients for some recipes).
And there it was: after comparing some recipes, I found it! The Domestic Gothess shared the recipe for a beautiful Vegan Chocolate Babka and I didn’t hesitate to make it straight away (when I find something that I like I am like a dog with a bone). The ingredients are almost all vegan pantry-staples so you too can make this delicious treat right now. The process might seem lengthy, but trust me it is actually straightforward. Plus, you have the sensorial experience of working the vegan butter into the dough and I found it so fun! Very squishy and messy at the beginning, but I enjoyed it a lot. The only downside is that you have to be patient with the rising time because you’ll have to leave the dough to rise in the fridge overnight. But other than that, this recipe won’t take too long and all this work will be well worth the result: a luscious, delicious sweet treat for yourself (and all those that appreciate bread and chocolate).
Hello, hello and Happy Pancake Day! I didn’t have anything prepared for this because I just found out. But I couldn’t refrain from writing a post about this because there is a pancake recipe that I have tried a couple of weeks ago and I need to share with you in case you didn’t know about it. You must try it!
So, the recipe is for Fluffy Vegan Blueberry Pancakes by The Viet Vegan: I stumbled upon the video where she makes these pancakes and not only she makes a recipe that is easy (I don’t know if you got it from the past posts, but I like simple yet satisfying recipes) but also she sends some good, positive vibes (she also has a blog where she shares a ton of brilliant recipes, and also some more deep thoughts so go and have a look!), which is what everyone needs.
Valentine’s Day is here. And you’ll want to surprise your partner with some good homecooked meal that is both delicious and plant-based. Then you are on the right page! Here, I will list some of the recipes that are perfect for celebrating love, while also being obviously vegan.
I have tried a couple of these and I can assure you they are deliscious and will pleasantly make your partner happy.
Let’s start with some Vegan Bruschetta, which is also gluten-free and my own perfected recipe!
Ingredients:
10 oatcakes
5 big garlic cloves, minced
25 plum or cherry tomatoes, chopped
salt, a pinch
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
10 basil leaves
In a bowl assemble garlic, tomatoes, salt, pepper, oil. Leave to rest for 10 minutes. Take one spoonful of the garlic-tomatoes, put on one oatcake and place on a serving plate. Repeat for all the oatcakes. Garnish with basil leaves.
Note: If you or your partner are not too much of a garlic fan, you can always reduce the number of garlic cloves to 1 or even not put it at all and you’ll still have a great result because the tomatoes have already a decisive taste which is enhanced by the olive oil.
Another appetiser can be hummus served with warm pitta. A delicious recipe is for a Roasted Sweet Potato Hummous by Nourish Plate. And if you feel adventurous, you can make your own pitta following the My Greek Dish recipe.
A third delicious option are the Chocolate Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies, recipe of From My Bowl. Trust me, these little guys are extra tasty, and the work behind them is almost non-existent.
Today is the Lunar New Year, more commonly known as Chinese New Year.
Fu meaning “good fortune”, is the symbol used during these celebrations (source: Macau Photo Agency)
It is mainly known as Chinese New Year, because China is famous for the big celebrations that they do during this day. However, this day is also observed in the rest of Asia, from the Middle East with the Islamic New Year to Vietnam, to Nepaland Indonesia.
Lunar New Year is the first day of the lunisolar calendar which is
A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures whose date indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year. If the solar year is defined as a tropical year, then a lunisolar calendar will give an indication of the season; if it is taken as a sidereal year, then the calendar will predict the constellation near which the full moon may occur. As with all calendars which divide the year into months there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of months. In this case ordinary years consist of twelve months but every second or third year is an embolismic year, which adds a thirteenth intercalary, embolismic, or leap month.
Their months are based on the regular cycle of the Moon‘s phases. So lunisolar calendars are lunar calendars with – in contrast to them – additional intercalation rules being used to bring them into a rough agreement with the solar year and thus with the seasons.
Now that you know a bit more about why there is another New Year, let’s go and see what is the most traditional food consumed during this day: we have dumplings, sweet&savoury tofu, spring rolls, longevity noodles, etc. I selected some recipes that I have personally tried and can confirm are delicious, easy and quick to make: all pros and no cons.
I’d start with a Vegan Fried Rice, recipe by FoodPassionical. Already since the first time I tried it, I fell in love with it: super easy, using easy-to-find ingredients, and it takes less than 30 minutes to make.
Then I would go for some Vegan Gyoza. They are great both steamed or fried. The only con is the making of the wrappers: I still need to find the right way of making them (I know that it would be easier to buy them, but I always try to make them – You only have yourself to blame, I am aware), but with this recipe they come out very decently. The recipe is by Bianca Zapatka
Followed by some Hotteok by Maangchi. They are nice, and fluffy and rich with nutricious veggies. I made them not long ago, it’s a recipe that doesn’t take too long and with a delicious result.
This is another recipe by Maangchi:Vegetable Pancake. I make them quite often, because are very easy to prepare, between preparation and cooking time it’s no more than 20 minutes.
To these beauties, I would add some Sweet and crunchy tofu. Every time I make it, I can’t even wait until it’s cooled down: it’s too good! Trust me: you’ll thank me later.
The Vegan Cat Librarian 