Ta dah!!

Well, that's all folks!

A full month of vegan and gluten free.  When I think back to that first weekend of misery!! But we turned a corner, and dare I say it, actually enjoyed some aspects of VGF living.

The plus points include, feeling like I've got more energy.  In fact, I'm often still buzzing going to bed and that's without any caffeine.  We've enjoyed some really tasty dishes.  And as Kate said, you feel quite pure and a little smug at how 'good' you've been.  Denying yourself those sweet treats becomes a way of living, and you stop battling the "should I or should I not" argument in your head.

That said, there have been a few disasters, the pancakes and the bread were two pretty soul destroying events!  The amount of planning, shopping and preparation is difficult to cope with.  Sometimes you just want a ready meal from m and s, no hassle!  I've not really craved anything other than a bit of normality.  I also think that if I was VGF permanently then it would affect how Doug (husband) and I share and enjoy food.  

The way forward... Try and include some VGF days in to my week.  I'll definitely keep my caffeine levels down with the help of peppermint tea.  I'm also growing fond of almond milk so it can stay.   A few more nuts in my life won't hurt either and those tasty lunchtime soups and dips are a real must!  Best shared with my pal of course.  The granola and peanut balls are likely to feature highly.

So give it a go readers, have a day of feeling pure and try the VGF way of life.  One day won't hurt...

Thanks for reading.  On to our next challenge.

Foodbag Kirsty x

Day 31 - we did it!!

Wow.  We made it.

Lunch today more yummy swapsies and then the mythical vegan gluten-free Pizza Express pizza for my tea:

Feeling kind of mixed about the end of this month.  I've really enjoyed it in many respects - experimenting with food and sharing the highs and lows with Kirsty, and I will miss that. It's made me think a lot about what I actually put into my body, and has opened my eyes to so many different options.  I've been surprised by how full and satisfied VGF food can make me feel, but also how time consuming and sometimes how monotonous it feels to make pretty much all of your food from scratch.  Physically I feel healthier and I'm not really sure quite how to describe it - sort of cleaner or more vigorous or something like that. On the other hand the digestive side effects have been difficult to deal with and I won't be sorry to go back to normality in that respect!

I've been amazed at how little I've missed meat, and really haven't had the cravings for forbidden foods that I expected to have.  I would say the thing that I've missed the most has been milky tea, and I'm sure looking forward to having a cup of that this weekend.

I think quite a few of the recipes I tried out this month will make it into regular rotation, and I will definitely try to cut down the amount of meat and very processed food that I eat.  Also Kirsty and I hope to continue our vegan lunch-sharing... and now need to get on with planning our next challenge!!

Thank you for reading :D

Kate xx

Day 30- happy non vegan eve eve

Great day with Kate on the swapsies front.  We pinched some rice cakes from our secretary, Sylvia- very generous lady.   This VGF thang has got loads of people talking and thinking about the food they buy and eat, which is a good thing, leaves room for stealing to odd item here and there.  I will definitely use some (and hopefully add) to my VGF reportoire.  Be warned future VGFs, you must be prepared and happy to do loads of food shopping.  Kate said that the manager of her local lidl might come looking for her after this experiment is over!  Still, at least he won't need to search in the loo, because things should have returned to "normal" (Kate hopes).

Day 30

Our penultimate day of veganism... both amazed we have got this far relatively unscathed!

I say relatively... Over dinner at Wagamama's tonight (VGF of course) Kirsty and I were discussing the highs and lows of the last month. One of the biggest issues with the whole vegan-gluten-free thing has been...how to put this delicately in a blog where people are expecting photos of tasty food...the, um, bodily side effects.  Think human compost heap but much worse. At times rather dismaying and certainly impressive in a sort of horrific kind of way. 

Anyway! Back to the food :D. Today was the best day of the VGF week, i.e. Wednesday swapsies day!

Today we feasted at lunch on spreads, crackers, felafel, raw chocolate and peanut and cacao cookies:

And then for tea mmmm Wagamama's: yummy rice noodle dishes and tasty fresh juice:

Day 29

I had a delish dinner tonight.. Homemade falafel on a (very expensive) vegan and GF focaccia with homemade tomato sauce and left over salad dressing (both detailed in earlier posts).  The falafel recipe was from Honestly Healthy.  They really taste good.  Bit of a faff, but what's new??  Looking forward to non vegan eve eve with Kate tomorrow.

Day 28

This is the final week of Veganism as I know it.  Will defo be using some recipes and principles (more on that in my reflection blog) but won't be as restrictive as this month has been.

Here's dinner...

Baked tattle with homemade tomato sauce and nooch.  Also getting quite in to my salads.  Good idea to roast some nuts, make some buckwheat ( thanks Kate for the boil in the bag stuff) and some sort of beans (I've been using black eyed beans).   Then throw in whatever.  I've been enjoying a sesame oil dressing with tahini, tamari, garlic purée, maple syrup and lemon juice.  Yum!

Day 29

Sometimes the simple things are the best...

Sweet potato roasted in coconut oil with chilli flakes...

And delicious mint raw chocolate.

Day 28

My last Monday of vegan preparation for the week ahead - carrot and cashew spread, walnut, beetroot and mint dip and some more mint raw chocolate.

...and then a wee late night snack:

Vegan gooseberry fool.  I love gooseberries so much so had to try to recreate this- I sweetened stewed gooseberries with maple syrup and mixed them with soy 'cream' and soy vanilla yoghurt. Delicious!

Day 24

Not much time to cook tonight after a busy day at the office and late home but I did make my own tomato sauce and added it to pasta.  Fresh tomatoes were sacrified to create the delicacy and I added coconut butter to give creaminess. Dead easy!

Day 27

Another GFVG triumph for breakfast:

Buckwheat waffles - and Marc liked them too! Bonus!  Had some with agave syrup instead of icing sugar with lemon, and some with maple syrup.

Then later on for tea in the middle of working out harmonies for 'Blue Moon' and 'Book of Love':

A couple of Yotam Ottolenghi recipes veganified - delicious Batata Harra (potatoes roasted with red pepper, garlic and coriander) and roasted butternut squash and tahini spread (used tofu to replace the Greek yoghurt). Yum!

Day 27- convenience central

Well I'm on a day off on the cooking front (well for me anyway).  

Thoroughly enjoyed some brown rice pasta with this very tasty pesto, which I bought yesterday.  

Here's me enjoying my pasta with salad with my fairy daughter.

Yes, even Fairies must wear bibs because how would the fairy godmothers wash those wings??

Another great find today in my old friend, Lidl, a lovely wee cereal topper (everyone knows how much I love my cereal).  

Day 26- the renegade master with some ill behaviours

JWell if it's good enough for Kate, it's good enough for me.  I too fell off the wagon yesterday and had a very nice, non vegan and GF, lunch at the Ox and Finch (highly recommend you visit this restaurant).  Here's me finishing one of the vegan (think the only vegan) dish we did order- spicy carrots and chickpeas, yum!

Whilst in the west end I treated myself to a little convenience food shopping in Roots and Fruits.  One purchase was these focaccia, which tasted fab toasted with almond butter.  They had a mild herby flavour but were very good for being vegan and GF, mind at £3.59 I would expect luxury.

Day 26

The final Saturday and just getting on with things today - left over Vietnamese spring rolls for lunch and then for dinner another vegan quiche. Just so good.  Think the few remaining days left might end up being like a 'greatest hits' repeating the best food from previous weeks.  

Still trying my hand at new vegan sweet treats though.  This weekend it's been the GFVG's take on a version of Oreo cookies with a peanut filling. Of course when I make them they are not terribly photogenic, but they don't taste half bad:

Hmmm yes really not very photogenic at all.

As usual lots of dates involved.  Not sure exactly how many packets of dates I've bought from my local Lidl over the last few weeks but it is a LOT!

Day 25- it's the final countdown

Fortunately hot weather and Veganism lend themselves well to salad tastic..

Roasted veg, buckwheat, black eyed beans, spinach, peas and a maple syrup and lime dressing.  I added a swapsie from Kate.  Can't remember the name of it but it defo had aubergine and garlic in it.  Nice one Kate! 

Day 25

Smoking hot in Edinburgh today so enjoyed a chocolate-banana vegan ice lolly courtesy of a Delicously Ella recipe:

Fancied a light and fresh dinner so made these beauties courtesy of the GFVG:

Cucumber, carrot, apple, avocado, bamboo shoots, lettuce, steamed sweet potato, mint and coriander wrapped in rice paper with delicious spicy peanut sauce.  Perfect!

Day 24

Feeling a bit iffy today after the sudden shock to my system of meat, dairy and gluten I have to say.  Had a lot of soothing soy drinks and fruit, and then a lovely evening singing with friends :)

Day 23 temporarily off the wagon

Well my vegan-following friends... I have a confession to make! Tonight I had a temporary dismount from the gluten-free-vegan wagon.  It was for a good reason though! Several months ago, before this crazy month was even a vegan twinkle in Kirsty's or my eye, I booked a table for tonight at Kitchin, a Michelin-starred restaurant here in Edinburgh for my friend Em's birthday. When it transpired that this hard-to-come-by booking fell within the VGF month I got special dispensation to have the night off to make the most of the occasion.

Me tucking in to my very definitely neither vegan nor gluten-free crowdie cheescake served with Coupar Angus strawberries and strawberry sorbet. 

So, anyway, I was VGF until tea time.  Awesome swapsies at lunchtime - Kirsty's granola honestly one of the highlights of the week thoughout this experiment.

Day 23

Great swapsie day today.  Kate did me proud.  I can't even pronounce everything she made, I let her fill you in.  The poppy seed crackers were a real triumph!

Too busy watching the commonwealth games opening to make dinner, so here's one for Kate's mum's friend...

Homemade millionaire shortbread (by Kate, the new vegan guru).  Hope it doesn't make my nose grow anymore!!!

Day 22

Started off my day with homemade almond milk.  Soak blanched almonds overnight then drain and add to food processor with three times the amount in water.  Drain through a jelly sieve and hey presto!  It tastes very natural but I can't justify making it every morning because two little faces are just staring at me wondering when they are going to get fed.

Busy day in the sun.  Picnic outside with homemade hummus on rice cakes with cherry tomatoes, yum!

Dinner was a variation of a HH dish, rather than baked aubergine and cashew pesto, I made a baked potato.  I added too much garlic (sounds like a runny theme for Kate and i). But I did like the addition of some lemon juice, cumin and a sprinkling of the ol' nooch to the pesto.

Nearing the final week. Looking forward to reflecting over this experience.  Highs and lows my friends, highs and lows! 

Day 22

At work today - lunch of baba ganoush and rice cakes (note to self to put less garlic in food I will be eating at work - feeling very sorry for my patients this afternoon despite chewing gum!). 

Then for tea went out for dinner with work friends to an Italian in Livingston - they did gluten free pasta- here is their vegan-friendly gluten-free penne arrabbiata:

Tasted like brown rice pasta and the sauce was deliciously garlicky, spicy and herby.