Fave Veganuary Clean Eats

You asked and I answered. So a lot of you have seen me posting about the Arbonne 30 Day Challenge that I have been partaking in to start 2019 strong and have been asking me what I eat and how I make a lot of them.  

I thought that after Christmas is a perfect time to do the 30 Days as it's Veganuary and I've already eaten my weight in cake over the festive period, it gives my body a nice break. Plus this time of year I am always so lack lustre due to the dark mornings and nights, so I chose to give myself a nice boost to start this year off healthy.

As promised to all that asked, here are a few of my fave recipes.

For me doing the 30 days is pretty simple and easier than I anticipated. As long as I have some healthy snacks on hand for when the cravings kick in, especially at 11am or 3.30pm when I start to flag, I'm all good.

I absolutely love me some hummus as one of my snacks. And I also adore avocado, so I decided to experiment and make some *drum toll please* Avo Hummus. And to my great delight, it came out absolutely yummy. Here’s how I made it:

Ingredients:

1 Ripe Large Avocado

1 Tin of Chick Peas

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (add more or less depending on how thick you like it)

Juice Of 1/2 A Lemon

1-2 Large Cloves Of Garlic

1 Tbsp Tahini

Pinch of Sea Salt

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for garnish)

1 Tsp Smoked Paprika (for garnish)

1 Tsp Sesame Seeds (for garnish)

Method:

Add the lemon juice and olive oil to a bowl/jug/blender

Drain and wash chick peas and add to the mixture, as well as the tahini, garlic, avocado and salt then blend until smooth, adding more lemon juice if too dry.

Spoon into a bowl for serving and drizzle on the oil then sprinkle with the paprika and sesame seeds (or whatever you fancy topping with)

Et Voila! Super simple and yummy. Plus chick peas are protein rich, so keep your hunger at bay, so no hanger over here!

I personally love serving this with cucumber batons, sweet potato fries and carrot sticks

Since going vegan, I have acquired a new found love of falafel. However, on the 30 Day's we cut out wheat and gluten. As all of the falafel that I could find in the shops contained wheat, I took it upon myself to do some more experimenting in the kitchen and make my own. Now, the last time I made it, they came out pretty horrendous, so not gonna lie, I wasn't holding out much hope. But lo and behold, they came out pretty decent even if I say so myself. I found a recipe on the Loving It Vegan website and then tweaked it to my own tastes and swapping out the flour for coconut flour.

Here’s what I used:

For the Falafel:

1 Tin Chickpeas

1/2 Onion

3 Cloves Garlic (crushed)

1/3 Cup Parsley (finely chopped)

2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

1/4 Tsp Dried Chilli Flakes

1/4 Tsp Coriander Powder

1 Tsp Cumin

4 - 6 Tbsp Coconut Flour

4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for frying)

For the Garlic Tahini Sauce:

1/4 Cup Tahini

Juice Of 1/2 A Lemon

2 Cloves Garlic (crushed)

1 Tsp Agave Syrup

2 Tsp Coconut Rice Milk

For Serving:

2 Large Sweet Potatoes

1 Large Purple Sweet Potato

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika

5 Leaves of Iceberg Lettuce

2 Beef Tomatoes

1 Sprig of Spring Onion

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C

Drain and rinse the chickpeas, peel and chop the onion, peel and crush the garlic and add to a food processor.

Wash and finely chop the parsley and add to the food processor with the sesame seeds, salt, pepper, dried chilli flakes, coriander powder and cumin.

Add in 4 Tbsp coconut flour and process. If the mixture is still very wet, add in 2 more Tbsp flour.

Generously sprinkle flour onto a baking sheet and scoop out a generous spoonful of falafel mix onto the floured baking sheet. Roll the ball in the flour, adding more as necessary to stop it sticking so that you can roll it in your hands. The mix will still be quite wet and the balls won’t be very firm. Don’t worry they will firm up in the freezer.

Roll all the mix into balls adding flour to the baking sheet generously as needed. Place the baking sheet into the freezer for 20 minutes so that the balls can firm up.

In the meantime, wash and slice your sweet potatoes into fries. Place in a bowl and drizzle with the oilve oil. Then rub them with your fingers ensuring they are thoroughly coated in the oil and place on a preheated oven dish

After 20 minutes, either dip the bottom of a glass in some flour and press down on the balls to flatten or flatten them with a spatula once frying.

Add 2 Tbsp Olive Oil to a frying pan and once sizzling add in half the falafels, provided they will easily fit in your pan.

Fry the falafels turning regularly until crispy and nicely browned on each side. Turn out onto a plate covered with a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Repeat for the second batch.

Once both batches are done, put the falafels in the oven to cook through for 10 - 15 minutes

When your falafels and sweet potato fries are cooked, prepare your salad then throw your sauce ingredients into a bowl and whisk with a hand whisk until smooth.

Serve and enjoy immensely. This tahini dressing is perfect to drizzle all over the falafel and salad as well as for dipping. So yummy!

With the 30 Days, we have 2 smoothies a day, loads of healthy snacks throughout the day and then one full whole foods meal. Now you get to choose whether that be at breakfast, lunch or dinner. I chose to eat my whole food meal at lunch. Just because I feel that the smoothie in the morning will gently kick ease my metabolism in to the day before having a solid lunch and then having a smoothie in the evening will be easier for me to digest before bed time. But everyone’s digestive system is different so it’s completely up to you how you would choose to do it.

I love he fact that you get this recipe book by the fabulous Sarah Law, one of Arbonne’s qualified Nutritional Therapists. This has been a massive help for me when I’ve gotten stuck making the same old snacks and smoothies.

Last but definitely not least on the recipe list is this super delish Key Lime Pie Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 Scoops Arbonne Vanilla Protein Powder

200 Ml Coconut Rice Milk

Juice Of 1 Lime

Zest Of 1/2 Lime

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds

4-5 Ice Cubes

Method:

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy.

I actually love making this the night before, as the chia seeds soak over night and become super gooey and yummy

So these are my fave recipes for eating clean this Veganuary. But I’m always experimenting so may come u with some new ones soon.

Until then, let me know your fave recipes for eating healthy

Thanks for reading and feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments