I mainly ate quite well this weekend which means vegan and plant based and low added extra fat.   I began with a fresh juice on Saturday morning, made with these ingredients.  It tasted ok but it was even better when I added half a melon which just about filled up this glass.

 Lunch was actually incredible.  The flavours were complex and complementary and quite sensational.  I used up some leftovers From the soba noodle dish I made last weekend and added extra vegetables: courgette, broccoli and red pepper.  I also added a splash of Tabasco Chipotle and a small red chilli so there was some sweetness and heat.  I am making this again !  

Then I let myself down.  This would have had animal products and fat and sugar so neither vegan nor healthy nor diet friendly. It tasted lovely but I was disappointed with myself for it.

 I fancied making some bread.  I made a batch of wholemeal bread dough and divided it in 2. The first half I made in to pizzas and the other half I left out to make bread with on Sunday.  I made a sauce with mashed up fresh tomatoes, dried tomatoes, sun dried tomato paste and olives and spread it over the dough.  I added sliced red onions, button mushrooms, peppers and courgettes and a sprinkling of oregano.  I then grated some vegan cheese over it all and baked it.  I have tried several vegan cheeses and not yet found one which comes close to dairy cheese, unfortunately.  This was ok; it was the mature cheddar flavoured ‘melty’ by Cheez.  The rest of the pizza was pretty good.

 Sunday morning, I ate a mango and then went on a dog walk.  For lunch I made a small round loaf with the leftover dough.  

  It turned out quite well.  A bit too yeasty for me but Harvey really liked it so yeasty.  It could probably have had another 5-10 minutes cooking but as it was, the crust was perfect and the leftovers will make wonderful toast.  We spread the bread with humous and ate it with lettuce and roasted red onion and peppers.

 
For supper I made an avocado aioli to go with the potatoes and salad I prepared.  I have a little Braun blender which is perfect for small quantities and made a lovely smooth aioli , made with avocado, garlic, salt and lime juice.

I added red chili and coriander to mine.  I made the ‘smashed potatoes’ from ‘Oh She Glows’, a cookbook by a Canadian vegan called Angela Liddon.  Oh She Glows is one of the first blogs I started following and I still enjoy it.  The potatoes are made by boiling them, in their skins for 15 minutes.  Set them aside to cool a bit and then lay them in a lightly oiled baking tray and press them firmly with the palm of your hand so they smash open a bit.  It helps give crispy bits.   Bake them in the oven at 200C for 30-40 minutes, turning them half way.  Delicious.

 
I ate too much fat today with the humous, avocado and roasted potatoes.  Just one fatty thing a day is more than enough so I will try and cut back on that.  I have also enjoyed 2 glasses of red wine each day this weekend, which won’t help with weight loss either.  But it was all very tasty and lots of plant foods so definitely not all bad.