I like tea.  I really like coffee too but it doesn’t make me feel good if I drink it more than once a day so I tend to stick to teas and I have quite a collection that I drink regularly and even more for occasional use.

I do however tend to drink the same one all the time but it has now run out so I am being more adventurous.  I am not going to replace the favourite tea until I have drunk the others. I love my little tea-pot.  It makes a mug sized serving so is perfect for one. Juice for breakfast made from a pear, 5 tangerines, 2 apples, 2 carrots and 3 celery sticks. Harvey and I then went on what was probably the wettest and muddiest walk we have ever been on.  We walked from home to David and Annette’s and with them, to Sissinghurst Castle Garden where thankfully David had some cash and treated us to a coffee (and Harvey to cake, which I resisted).  It was a 3 hour round trip and when we returned, we were literally soaked through to the skin.  Check out the drippy coat!  I was glad we went though and it contributed significantly to the 14,351 steps I have walked so far today.  According to my Fit Bit, I was walking for 105 minutes which is a good effort, particularly considering the conditions.  The company helped though. We were cold wet and hungry when we returned home but a hot shower, a cosy pair of PJs and a steaming bowl of probably the best lentil soup I have ever had, ensured a complete and most enjoyable recovery. I think my version matches the recipe very closely.  It was easy to make, I followed the recipe exactly and it was sensational.  The ginger and cayenne pepper created the perfect amount of warmth which rolled gently around the mouth and the overall flavour was rounded and just delicious.  Mopped up with 2 slices of home made wholemeal bread made for a very nourishing and satisfying lunch.  The recipe apparently made 4 portions but we polished it off between us. The recipe came from the cookbook my sister Abi gave me for Christmas; My New Roots, written by Sarah Britton, a nutritionist and blogger/instagramer living in Copenhagen.  Her blog is mynewroots.org and is well worth a look.  It is one of the first blogs I started reading and remains one of my favourites.  It is not vegan but many of her recipes are vegan anyway and many are plant based.

The recipe can be found here on her blog.  For ease of use, I have copied it out too.  Try it, you won’t be disappointed.

Four Corners Lentil Soup (serves 4)
Ingredients
1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed very well
1 large onion, or a couple of leeks, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. minced ginger root
1 Tbsp. Ground cumin
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 15 oz. can of tomatoes; or 4 large, fresh tomatoes, chopped
4 cups stock
salt to taste
1 un-waxed, organic lemon

Instructions
1. Rinse the lentils very well until the water runs clear.
2. Heat oil in a medium pot and sauté onions, garlic and ginger for 5 minutes until soft. Add a pinch of salt.
3. Add spices and stir for another minute or so, until fragrant.
4. Add tomatoes, 3 slices of lemon and rinsed lentils, then add vegetable stock. Stir well.
5. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. Squeeze in the rest of the lemon juice.
6. Serve hot with some coriander with a slice of lemon.

The soup and bread kept us going for hours and we just had a very light supper.  Bowls of ice-cream !!  Well, obviously not dairy ice-cream, but lovely banana nice-cream. I had banana and peanut butter topped with Goji berries and some pecans.  To make it you blend 4 frozen bananas with a splash of dairy free milk (or coconut water) to get it going and 1 heaped tbsp of peanut butter.  Then blend until it is smooth.  Very easy to make but you do need a good blender. Harvey wanted chocolate nice-cream, so I just added 1 tbsp cocoa powder to the same recipe I had for myself plus I added some chocolates to his bowl.

So a good day of eating and an excellent amount of walking.  I must eat more leafy greens tomorrow as that was the only thing I think today was lacking.  Back to work tomorrow so a big challenge for me but I do feel very motivated so am confident I can continue with my vegan eating.