As I write this it is 1am on Saturday morning and I am rugged up on the couch watching Come Dine With Me with cough syrup, honey and lemon tea, tissues and a thermometer.

Okay folks! Things got serious this week when a new shop opened at my local shopping complex right next to my house. I do all of my shopping there every few days and now they have opened up a tiny Vietnamese Place. Which means that I can now go and get tofu Banh Mi's (vietnamese rolls) so much more frequently!! Excitement overload!

Here is the first one I purchased the other day. It was YUM! and my husband and I were the very first customers and we will be regulars for sure. 


I also work at the complex so I now have access to glorious food ALL the time! Double excitement. Basically my life is made. I find it hard to find vegetarian options locally (there is a lot closer to the the city) unless it is just a salad so you can understand how happy this makes me. I now how variety at work with Sushi, Vietnamese rolls and salads :D Yay!

Breakfast the last couple of days has just been oatmeal or toast. Nothing too exciting but more exciting things will come up again soon. I am trying out some recipes.

Dinner has been pretty basic as well. We haven't been major food shopping for a few days so we have just been having whatever is in the house. Using the pasta's etc. I will be shopping again soon which will mean more fancier foods again.

Not every day has to be full of fancy foods. I have been snacking on plenty of fruits. Yesterday I ate almost half a watermelon. I just love watermelon.

Apart from food, my wellness adventure has been  going well. Part of my wellness plan is to spend more time with friends and family which has been going really well now that I am planning my time more wisely and realising what is important to me.

The girls and I had a fun night out with a a cinema date to go and see 'Don't Breathe'. I was pretty keen to watch this movie because I love horror movies. But this movie wasn't really scary it was more sick and twisted. Picking it wasn't the best decision I have ever made but it was worth it for the giggles that us girls had and the horror on our faces at some of the twisted storyline.

I definitely wouldn't say that it was a masterpiece or anything. But it is good for a squirm or if you really like watching how twisted people can be. I don't know who comes up with these storylines that's for sure.


Next on our list of movies to watch is definitely the new Blair Witch movie. I'll let you know how that one goes too :P

I'm starting to go to bed every night and think of 5 things to be grateful for in my day. It is really helping me to relive my day especially when it seems like it has been stressful or not the best experiences. Being able to look back through and find those 5 things of gratitude that totally outweigh the negative is so good! Especially at night time because you can sleep knowing that it wasn't that bad and that tomorrow is a new start. I find that it makes me wake up so much more refreshed.

I thought I might start sharing my 5 daily gratitudes with you all as part of my blog posts. So here goes...........

Today I am grateful for: 

1. My girlfriends who provided so many giggles
2. The new Vietnamese place 
3. The memories that music can hold and create
4.  Having clothes to keep me warm
5. My husband for keeping me sane and happy

Stay Happy & Healthy
Liane Xx

Life is turning some more corners yet again. The last couple of days I have been looking at different pathways to take for my future. I still haven't decided on anything concrete but I am definitely looking at a whole bunch of alternatives.

The fact that there are so many options that I would love to explore gives me so much excitement. My bucket list is forever growing and I am always on the look out for more of life's experiences. There are so many things I would love to learn like nutrition, psychology, history and minimalism and I would also love to get involved in volunteer work and lots of travelling.

I want to live life to the fullest and also give to others whether that is through teaching, helping or caring for others. I don't want to be tied down to one thing. It has taken me a long time to reach this level of confidence and satisfaction in myself. Admitting to myself that I am not somebody that wants to be tied down to one thing has been a huge step for me. I have always been under the belief that I had to be brilliant at one thing. That I had to choose one career to be succesful. Now I believe that the person I am is always going to be learning and growing. I seek everything that the wide world has to offer and i'm happy and excited to get out there and venture into the unknown. This is my life now and i'm finally happy with where it may go.

The last week has really been one of many thoughts, ideas and revelations. You will all see many changes in me over the coming months, I am sure. I am so excited to be able to have this platform to share all my adventures and what I learn from life. My blog makes me incredibly happy.

Okay now that I have shared some of my deep dark thoughts from the week, let's get back onto the whole food topic. Today was a pretty good day food wise.



Breakfast: Turmeric Tropical Smoothie
Snack: Dried Mango
Lunch: Minestrone Soup
Snack: Peanut Butter Toast
Dinner: Salmon Capsicum Pesto Spaghetti

Ohhh another exciting moment from this week......I discovered the fun world of op shopping!! I spent a whole day this week just browsing several secondhand shops at Darlington and I am a total fan. Completely hooked. Check out these amazing bargains I picked up. Just $30 in total!!


There is a Forever New dress in there folks! I'm certainly going to make this a regular thing.

I would love to do some blogs on minimalism soon as I venture into that. Stay tuned.

Stay Happy & Healthy
Liane Xx

The most important thing for helping make most dishes that extra fantastic and tasty is the sauce or dressing that you use. I spend a lot of my time in the kitchen just throwing all sorts of flavours together but I do also have a few go-to recipes for sauces, dressings and dips that I absolutely love and use very frequently.

Today I thought I would share these favourites with you all.

The secret to making all these condiments by hand is this amazing mothers day gift my husband and kids gave me last year. The most used appliance in my kitchen it is perfect for whizzing up dips and sauces as well as blitzing those yummy homemade soups.




Vegan Basil Pesto

2 cups fresh basil
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts
pinch salt and pepper

Just blitz all of those ingredients in a processor until at your desired consistency and hey presto :D
I use my basil pesto for dips, pasta, sandwiches, wraps and sometimes on my vegan lasagne. Yum!

Balsamic Salad Dressing   

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vingear
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon agave syrup or honey
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together with a fork or mini whisk.
My favourite dressing for lunch salads.

Thousand Island Dressing 

1 small onion finely diced
1/8 cup tomato paste or sauce
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp sweet paprika
2 tbsp vegan mayo for extra creaminess

The perfect dressing for a summery pasta salad.

Sweet Chilli Red Capsicum Relish

2 tsps extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 kg red capsicums, chopped into 2cm pieces
400g can diced tomatoes
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup sweet chilli sauce

Stay Happy & Healthy
Liane Xx
 
 







 

 

Don't label yourself guys. I don't like labels. I have mentioned this many times and I just think labels suck. Am I vegan?? No but most of the time I eat a vegan based diet. Other times very minimally I eat some toast with honey on it. One day.........I went out for lunch with a friend and the food I ordered had some Feta on it...............Am I angry at myself? NO!!

I chose to go mostly vegan because of the health factors. I still believe in these health factors and I still 95% of the time eat this way because raw plant based foods are the very best for my body.
2% of the time I accidentally eat normal foods because I didn't read the label properly. 3% of the time my whole family is sitting down eating a meat based meal and I am just so tired that I will just eat it, i'm human!

I won't feel shit about it. I am living my life. I try my best to eat plant based foods. Most of these foods end up being vegan! YAY! I believe this is the best way to be, I won't deny that. I love it for the animals, I love it for the health benefits and I love it for the environment. If I have a choice between a vegie meal and a meat based meal I will pick the vegie meal. I just won't beat myself up about it when I choose something different and I certainly won't let people judge me.

I'm choosing to eat healthier foods. My body deserves that. Maybe one day I will get to the point where I am fully plant based. Until then i'm just trying my best to get healthier everyday and love myself. I just wanted to hit this topic up again because lately I have seen so many people hating on each other and it just breaks my heart. It is so much better to inform and teach others what you have learned than to judge them and hurt them for choices that they make. Labels give others a reason to point the finger and judge and that is just not cool........Therefore I am not a fan of labels.

Pancakes. 

Stay Happy & Healthy
Liane Xx

10 September 2008.

I went on my first date with my now husband. Our first date was a cinema date to see the new comedy at the time, Tropic Thunder. Such a funny movie and the start of a wonderful new life. 8 years later and we are happily married and on our way through an amazing adventure together. We have so many plans for our life and I couldn't have asked for anyone better to spend my life with.


Because today was a very special occasion Ross and I went out for a date night to celebrate. It was a lovely evening and we decided to spoil ourselves. One of our favourite restaurants is a Thai place called 'Pranee's Thai' it is at Brighton in South Australia and it is AMAZING. No exaggerating at all this place is da bomb!

They have a vegetarian menu that I love as well. It is really authentic flavours and the staff are o friendly and welcoming.

So we headed there for dinner. I went a little over the top with choices because......special occasion!!
Here is what we chose: 

Ross's Choice: Sweet & Sour Pork & Veg

My choice: Salt & Pepper Squid

Shared choice: Pad Thai

It was all so delicious. The salt & pepper squid is the best I have ever had ever!! If they could put this flavouring on tofu it would be even better for me. But like I said I was splurging today for the special occasion. This is how life should be.

For the rest of my day the menu was as follows:

Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Honey on toast
Snack: Latte with almond milk
Lunch: Sweet Potato Fries
Snack: Banana
Dinner: Thai Food

An easy day and a day full of delicious foods.

Stay Happy & Healthy
Liane Xx

Guys it is basically official. I hate meat!

For my 30 day challenge I was going to go back to eating meat.....occasionally. Well I just can't stomach it anymore. It makes me feel blah for my tummy. I don't feel any benefits health wise. I don't have more energy eating it and in all honesty I kind of prefer the vegies now. YAY! Which is extra great because I couldn't stomach the meat emotionally either. It never bothered me when I was younger but now that I am older and have researched the methods used and cruelty to animals my heart just sinks and I feel like I have to stand up against it.

Today I made a chicken stir fry for the family for dinner. I thought what the hell I have made it i'll just eat it. I ate it but I felt crap afterwards. I was still hungry later anyway and the whole time I looked at my plate I just thought of the chicken and how the stir fry would have been better with some cabbage and extra broccoli.

Cabbage folks!

I have actually got to the point where I prefer cabbage over meat! My mother would be shocked that this once vegie hating individual who at the age of 16 had never eaten capsicum and never even heard of Kale would now be living off vegetables and ENJOYING it all.


My 30 day challenge is still continuing. Clean eating is what my challenge is all about. So apart from the meat the other guidelines still stand. 30 days no processed foods. Even when I was vegan it was hard to stay away from all the processed foods they are so readily available and when you have been eating meat all your life you seem to believe that every dish has to have some sort of meat type product on the plate. I don't know if other people feel this way but I know I certainly did so of course when I went vegan I was constantly putting mock meat on my plate. This is fine every now and then but I really do feel that real raw clean foods are the best and should be consumed more often than anything else.

Day 4 and I am slowly getting there. It is definitely a different experience for me but i'm really excited to see what the next few weeks bring.

Enough of me talking. Here is a list of what I ate today:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with Bananas and Berries
Morning Snack: French Earl Grey Tea
Lunch: Avocado & Feta on Grain Toast with Lime (I shouldn't have had the Feta but I was out with a friend for a catch up and this was the quite expensive vegetarian option.)
Dinner: Chicken & Veg Stir Fry
Late Night Snack: Toast with Marmalade