Who doesn't love a barbecue on Australia Day?? I know I couldn't think of anything better. In past years I have always just rushed to the shops to stock up on BBQ meat. The usual snags, rissoles, lamb chops, burgers etc etc and then I would begrudgingly get a salad to go with it just so that there was something other than meat on the table.

Of course this year was a whole different experience. Now that I am following a plant based diet I had to actually sit down and think hard before I rushed down to the shops for some BBQ goodies.

For Australia Day we were heading to a friend's place for a BBQ and pool party while listening to the Triple J Hottest 100 as we usually do. I knew that everyone was going to stock up on the meat and I wasn't planning on eating any of it so I came up with some vegan things to take along with me to share and let's just say that they were a huge hit with everyone!

I am a huge burger fan, so I whipped up a double batch of these awesome Spicy Chickpeas Burgers that I found on Pinterest! I make these guys all the time as they are amazing. Turns out they are even better on the BBQ.

 You can find the recipe by clicking on this link:
http://www.runningonrealfood.com/chickpea-veggie-burgers/

Here are the ones I made just before we flattened them to go on the BBQ! We had them in burger buns with spinach, rocket, biocheese (vegan), beetroot, tomato and vegan mayo. They were SO damn good.


I also took some bananas and water bottles so we could snack during the day and I took a vegan dip for crackers.

For a treat I made these Berry Coconut Bars which we cut into squares when we arrived. They have a muesli bar type base with a berry and coconut layer on top as well as fresh berries scattered all over.


So there you go, you can still enjoy yourself while eating the right foods. My body has never felt more amazing in my whole life and I don't feel like I am missing out on anything so far. I don't even crave meat and dairy like I thought I would.

What foods did you enjoy for Australia Day??

Stay Happy and Healthy
Liane Xx

Today the Hubby and I headed out to the city to watch the Tour Down Under and enjoy the sunshine. My husband is a huge fan of cycling and manages to ride 100+ kms at least once or twice a week, sometimes more. So I decided to do something he enjoys today and join him to watch the race. It was a little hot so we got a little too much sun but it was an awesome day out and now i'm super pumped to buy a new bike and get some motivation to ride more.

They had so much free stuff on for kids to do and so many give aways like iceblocks, wrist bands etc. They also had free sunscreen stations set up all around the place which I was thought was AWESOME!! It was amazing to see so many people out and about with their bikes. So many kids getting involved to which was absolutely brilliant. It is always great to see kids being active and playing around.

Such a great event and i'm actually really looking forward to it again next year. I have never really been into these kind of events but since starting my healthy journey all of these active adventures just make me so motivated to do more and get out more. Who knows, by next year I could be riding the Adelaide Hills alongside my cyclist husband and not dying from exhaustion after 5 minutes on a bike............

Stay Happy and Healthy (and enjoy the pics from today)
Liane Xx

Happy Monday Folks!

Monday's are always a feel good day for me even though it means 'back to work'. I always feel like Monday is the start of a week to come, the start of new adventures and the start of all the organising I have been doing on my Sunday off.

One of the biggest things to be organised on a Sunday is my meal planning. I always find that organising a meal plan makes my life SO much easier to get all the food shopping done and so much easier to eat healthy. Basically being organised is my thing (if you hadn't guessed that yet).
One of the items that I have found makes my meal planning so much easier is this awesome Recipe Organiser I recently purchased from Officeworks. This organiser is so awesome and it even stands up if needed or folds down so you can slide onto a bookshelf etc. I find this guy so good for meal planning because I keep all of my 'go-to' recipes in there. You know all those quick and easy throw together recipes that make life so easy. My organiser is mostly packed with vegan goodies because I tend to just throw things together and if they taste amazing I write the ingredienst down and pop it in.

Yay! It is Saturday today which means I get to sit back and relax tonight and then I get to chill out all day tomorrow :) ahhh the joys of days off! 

The little sister getting her Chia Seeds.

The Foodland Load

Lots of people ask me where I get my recipes or inspiration from and although i'm not a huge fan of technology and I prefer books I do watch quite a lot of youtube videos because vlogs absolutely fascinate me. I love that real people in their real environments can share their ideas and spread so much enthusiasm about being healthy with such a gigantic audience.

Because these guys are always motivating me to get up and go I thought I would share with you all my top 5 Foodie/Fitness Vloggers. These guys are the vlogs I never miss and the peeps that have pushed me to want to become 'mostly' vegan, want to be fit and healthy and helped me on my path to living my life to the fullest (They are not in any particular order).

1. Bonnyrebecca 
I came across Bonnyrebecca because my sister told me that she was watching her and she was cool. I was instantly hooked. I love that she just seems so normal and I love watching her what I ate in a day vlogs. The fact that she is vegan also is a big draw card for me because I love getting different recipe ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOu3SAozsyQyKE2wDAIJtdQ

 
It's 1.30am New Years Day and I thought I would share with you my New Years Resolutions while I'm laying in bed on holiday.