Creamy Pearl Barley Risotto

Pearl Barley has a wonderful pasta like consistency, whilst being similar in size to rice, making it a good ingredient for risottos. It's high in fibre, lowers cholesterol and is good for our digestion, so go on give this recipe a go!


Creamy Pearl Barley Recipe Risotto
(serves 4)


1 Litre of vegan vegetable stock (£1.25 for 8 cubes from Ocado)
200g Pearl Barley (55p for 500g Ocado)
Cream Sauce:
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard (69p Ocado)
100ml Oatly Cream (75p 250ml Ocado)
8 tsp of Free & Easy Dairy Free Cheese Flavour Sauce Mix (£1.65, 130g, Ocado)
1 tbsp Coconut Oil (Coconut Merchant from Ocado-pricey but lasts a long time)
Half a bag of mixed frozen grilled vegetables (£2.49 750g, Ocado)
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs (70p Ocado)
Salt and Black Pepper seasoning


Bring the 1 litre of stock water to the boil and add the pearl barley. Simmer with a lid for around 40 minutes (you want the majority of the water to be gone and the consistency of the barley to be like rice). 
Whilst the barley is simmering, prepare the cream sauce by adding the Oatly cream to the cheese sauce mix, whisk until smooth and thick, adding a tsp of water at a time till the desired consistency has been reached. Add the dijon mustard and mixed herbs and set aside.
Start frying the frozen grilled vegetables in a pan with the coconut oil once the barley has only 15 minutes left to cook.
Add the cheese sauce to the barley for the final 10 minutes of cooking, stirring well so the barley is coated.
When the barley has finished cooking, add the fried vegetables and seasoning, mix well and serve!

Est Calories per serving: 400Kcal

Easy Peasy Cheesy Pasta

There are of course many recipes where you can make the 'cheese' sauce from scratch but if you're looking for a quick, gluten free, cheap vegan mac'n'cheese then look no further!

Easy Peasy Cheesy Pasta recipe
(4 servings)

1 tub of Free & Easy Dairy Free Cheese Flavour Sauce Mix (£1.65 from Ocado)
900ml of water
Handful of chopped basil
Tbsp dried oregano
Salt & black pepper
400g Gluten Free Fusilli pasta (500g for £1.89 from Ocado)
(Optional-Linda McCartney vegan sausage chopped into small pieces) (£1.95 from Ocado)

Boil a large saucepan of water with a handful of Himalayan Rock Salt. Once boiling add the fusilli and cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile mix a tsp of the cheese mix with a little of the water and stir into a paste. Continue to add the cheese mix, alternated with water till the whole tub and 900ml of water has been used. Add this to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Continue to simmer on a medium-low heat until the pasta is ready. If you are including the vegan sausage then they should take around 10 minutes to fry in the Air Fryer previously mentioned in another post. Once the pasta is drained, mix it into the sauce and top with the basil, oregano, seasoning and chopped sausage. I also like to drizzle a little bit of chilli oil over the top :)

Est Calories per serving: 330Kcal

Unicorn Bark

Yesterday I made Unicorn Bark for the first time...you may have heard of it or seen it on facebook, you know the brightly coloured marble that looks like dried playdough! I was drawn to the idea of making it as it's low in fat, full of vitamins and it actually tastes delicious. I, of course, wanted to share with you my Vegan alternative:


Vegan Unicorn Bark Recipe
(9 servings)

4 Strawberries halved
1 Mango peeled and chopped
1 Banana peeled and sliced
1 tub of Alpro Soya yogurt
3 tbsp Agave Nectar
2 tbsp Coconut Flakes

Heat each portion of fruit in the microwave separately for around 60-90 seconds each.
The idea is that the fruit becomes easy to puree. Add half a cup of soya yogurt to each portion of fruit and continue to puree until smooth. You may find the mango is a bit more tricky, especially if it's not fully ripe yet. If this is the case just pop it in a blender with the yogurt. Add 1tbsp of Agave Nectar to each portion of puree and mix in. 
Once the purees have been made. Line a baking sheet with parchment/greaseproof paper and pour the banana puree into the middle of the tray. Then get the strawberry puree and spread the mixture onto all four corners of the tray. Lastly, fill the gaps on the tray with the mango puree and cut through the mixture with a knife just to slightly blend the colours. Top with the coconut flakes, cover the tray with plastic wrap/cling film and freeze for around 3 hours so that the bark becomes hard enough to break without melting. 

Est. calorie intake per serving: 96 calories

Vegan Makeup

One of the first things I realised when I decided to become vegan was that the majority of makeup isn't vegan! After trialing a few brands I thought I would share my favourite brand that I now use daily e.l.f makeup (who also have an international site). The brand originated in Australia and is now used all over the world. They have a great range of products to choose from and at reasonable prices too.

I have sensitive, acne prone skin and have always been quite fussy with the foundations I used in the past. If your skin is similar, then I really recommend the Acne Fighting Foundation (only available on their international site). I noticed a huge difference in just 3 days! I don't tend to wear makeup everyday but it does last me a long time and I find a small amount goes a long way.

If your skin isn't acne prone, then I recommend their Studio Flawless Finish, it's lovely and smooth, doesn't smell of chemicals, has spf 15 and is oil free.. I use this foundation when my skin isn't having a breakout and like the Acne foundation, only a small amount is required each time. The one difference I noticed is the shades come up different between the two foundations, where the Studio foundation is slightly darker than the Acne one.

I'm absolutely loving the Studio Velvet Matte lipsticks range that they have released too, Ruby Red and Blushing Brown being my favourites! Before putting on my lipstick I have started using their Lip Exfoliator and Lip Primer & Plumper. I get really dry, chapped lips, especially in the winter season and the exfoliator really helps to smooth my lips out and add some moisture back into them. The primer and plumper are great if you have thin lips like myself, it just gives your lips the added boost they need and smooths your lips which is a must if you're wearing matte lipsticks!

I'm really fussy with eyeliner and prefer to use liquid liners over pencil, I find it gives you more control and creativity. The Studio Intense Ink Eyeliner is great for this and doesn't go on too thick and allows you to define how thick the finish will be.
This is just a small showcase of the amazing products they sell. I have tried other vegan makeup brands but e.l.f has come out on top for quality and affordability. They often do free delivery with free gifts when you spend £25 and more importantly they are cruelty free!

Tofu, Avocado and Borlotti Bean Burrito

Last night I made a really scrumptious Vegan Burrito with scrambled tofu, borlotti beans and avocado. If I'm honest I wasn't sure how it would taste, but these ingredients combined with some spices and lime make for a really healthy and filling dinner.

Tofu, Avocado and Borlotti Bean Burrito
(serves 4)

For the beans:
1 onion finely chopped
1 tin of borlotti beans (400g)
1tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
100ml of vegan vegetable stock (£1.25 for 8 cubes from Ocado)
1tsp tomato puree
1 tbsp dried parsley
Salt and black pepper seasoning-for the salt I use Himalayan Rock salt which has no toxins, sugar or chemicals found in everyday table salt, plus the added benefits of 84 minerals! (£4.19 500g from Ocado)

For the tofu:
Around 250g, about half a block of Cauldron tofu (£1.50 for 396g from Ocado)
1tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp cider vinegar
Salt and black pepper

For the avocado:
1 medium avocado peeled and diced
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp of dried coriander leaf
1tsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper

For the wraps:
Although I am not gluten free, I do try to include gluten free, vegan products where possible. 
For this recipe I used BFree Gluten free wraps that are just as tasty and also only 99 calories per wrap (£3.50 for 6 from Ocado). They are obviously a lot more expensive than 'ordinary' wraps and so I don't always use them, but they do make a nice gluten and wheat free alternative whilst watching the calories!

Start by preparing the borlotti beans: combine the spices, puree and vegetable stock whilst frying the onions in a small saucepan till they are soft and translucent. In the meantime, drain the tofu and scramble using either a fork or masher. Add the spices to the tofu and shallow fry in a separate pan. Add the borlotti beans and vegetable stock to the onion and leave to cook through on a low-medium heat. Prepare the avocado with the seasoning and oil. I like to make my avocado a bit smooth and therefore mash mine with a fork, but you may prefer to just leave it diced. Once the beans and the tofu are heated through, serve with the warm wraps and a side salad. A nice option is heating the wraps on a frying pan for a slightly toasted version. Why not try adding some hot sauce and vegan sour cream to your burrito!

Est. calorie intake for 1 burrito minus any cooking oil-300 calories.

First Post, First Recipe

So this is the first post, it was always going to be a bit tricky-where do I start? What do I talk about?
Well, maybe I'll just start with a yummy, healthy and cheap dinner that I made the other night. I didn't make every single thing on the plate from scratch, but that's my aim with this blog-realistically a lot of families don't have time to make everything from scratch, whilst being healthy, whilst staying within a budget. I like to find a nice balance between the two!

Pudla pancake with falafels and mixed veg
(serves 2)

For the pancake:
165g chickpea (gram) flour (£1.39 for 1kg from Ocado)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 spring onion finely chopped
1 tbsp dried coriander
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of dried chili flakes
plenty of salt and black pepper
juice of 1 lemon

Veg:
Chopped chestnut mushrooms (250g) seasoned with 1tsp of ground cumin and 1/2 tsp of garlic powder.
250g of frozen mixed grilled vegetables (£2.49 750g from Ocado)

4 (or more) Goodlife Gluten Free Falafel-(£1.99 280g from Ocado)

Combine all of the above ingredients into a stand mixer if you have one or mix well the good ol' fashioned way by hand and spoon! For frying, I used an Electric Pancake Maker as it's easy to use, quick to clean and doesn't require a lot of oil for frying but obviously a frying pan is just as good. Place a teaspoon of sunflower/coconut oil on the fryer or the frying pan and empty the mixture onto the pan. Don't be surprised if it doesn't form a perfect circle, it's not meant to and after all, it's the taste that's more important! Leave the pancake to fry on one side for about 5 mins on medium to high heat.
Meanwhile fry the mixed veg and mushrooms in 2 separate pans, again with a little sunflower/coconut oil. Cook the sweet potato falafels in an Air Fryer or oven for around 15 minutes. Total cooking time for everything should be around 10-15 minutes. After 5 minutes, flip the pancake over, this should be easy to do with a spatula as the pancake would have already solidified and should be forming a dense texture. The end result should be slightly golden on the outside but fluffy on the inside.
Serve the pancake with the falafels and a portion of each vegetable mix and voila! I like to have the pancake with a bit of sweet chili sauce next to it also :)

Est. calorie intake for 1 person minus any oil used for cooking with 2 falafels-400 calories.