Vegan peanut butter chocolate and coconut balls!

I have wanted to make these for a long time, as I love coconut, peanut butter and chocolate and these are like 'healthy bounty bars'. Deliciously Ella had the simplest recipe with ingredients I had or could adapt from her Raw Coconut and Cacao Bites.

As well as being vegan and gluten-free, they are a healthy combination of lots of protein, good fats and natural sweetness, with no refined or added sugar. This makes them perfect both for pre/post workouts and for sweet tooth, after-meal cravings!

I used coconut, organic peanut butter, almonds, dates, cocoa and olive oil for my version.

You can eat them straight away but they really firm up after being in the fridge so I enjoyed them even more the next day.

These are perfect snacks/sweets for me and I can't wait to make more!

The luxury vegan

One of the reasons I started this blog was to bring out the 'sparkle' in the vegan lifestyle, because there are beautiful vegan creations out there. Dairy-free can still be delicious, deserts can still be luxurious, daily treats can still be had... and not involving animals and being naturally healthier surely makes them even more appealing? Well, you can decide... but here are some examples of doing vegan the luxury way and I heart them!

Tesco Finest

This year I have seen more vegan and dark chocolate Easter Eggs than ever! But this Easter Egg is stunning as well as vegan. Dark chocolate sprinkled through with gold lustre. Rich in more ways than one ;)

My own creation

I turned this strawberry sorbet (naturally vegan) into a nutritious desert bowl by adding melted dark chocolate, cashew nuts, fresh blueberries and milled flaxseed. This looks gorgeous, the chocolate breaks beautifully and compliments the fruit and nuts perfectly. Yum!

This crafted soya chai latte is pretty in itself, but chai tea plus frothy soya plus lots of cinnamon is a stolen moment of bliss <3

Face of BWC Day!

Photoshoot and award day with Beauty Without Cruelty

Sunday was the day the 'Face of BWC' winners from around the UK got presented with their awards and certificates and had their photoshoots for the vegan make-up brand. I was so happy to be chosen as a winner because I have been a vegan for seven years and I love make-up/photography/artistic imagery as part of being a performer. You can find out more about Beauty Without Cruelty natural cosmetics here: BWC

I met the lovely Emma who is The Vegan Make-Up Artist and she did beautiful work with the BWC colour range.

















I was presented with my exclusive 'Beauty Without Cruelty' winner's sash (properly exciting), a certificate and really beautiful award by the chairman of the company.

I had a professional individual photoshoot alongside some group and presentation shots.

The organizers and models were lovely and cared very much about vegan living or being vegan in the media.

The official shots for the website/promotion will be revealed soon. In the meantime I have this great experience, lots of new vegan make-up and this treasured award. It is of two swans making a heart, the official logo of 'Beauty Without Cruelty', sculpted in glass. I think it is so beautiful.

This is the description of the swan logo from the BWC mission statement:

"Known for their grace and beauty the swan is symbolic of our mission to deliver beauty by the intertwining of natural elements in our product offering."

My Superfood Smoothie Recipe

I have been asked to share some of my recipes... so starting simple, here is my version of a Superfood Smoothie :) Not for the faint-hearted, and it's pretty green... this smoothie is packed full of protein, amino acids and healthy fats, with an emphasis on vitamins from the kale and blueberries.

Superfood smoothie ingredients:

1 banana
1 small cup almond milk
1 desert spoon flaxseed
1 desert spoon peanut butter (organic &clean)
2 large handfuls kale
1 handful blueberries
15g protein powder
Splash of water to mix
Top with dessicated coconut!

Face of Beauty Without Cruelty vegan make-up 2014

I am delighted to be one of the faces and ambassadors for Beauty Without Cruelty vegan make-up this year! 'Beauty Without Cruelty' products offer a natural alternative to preservative and chemical-based beauty products. They are 100% vegan and free from fragrance, carmine, talc, parabens, PEG, toulene, phthalate and formaldehyde chemicals (estrogenic/carcinogenic toxins). They offer the only carmine-free true red lipstick available anywhere!

I'm really looking forward to trying, wearing, reviewing and representing the whole range and my first event with the brand is in two weeks! In the meantime, check out their unique make-up range at: http://www.bwcshop.com/

Vegan and gluten-free Pizza

I love vegan pizza (although I have white or gluten four very rarely) and places like Pizza Express have always been great with vegan-ising my order. However, this month, Pizza Express officially put a vegan pizza on their menu! Here is 'The Pianta', a very wholesome-tasting pizza with spinach, artichokes and pine kernels and slightly spicy sauce.

The Pizza Express Pianta

This is the gluten-free version too which is a brilliant option to have, but it does lose texture without the normal, softer base.

Zizzi's does a vegan pizza option and uses a wholewheat base, which is nutritious and naturally low in gluten.

Vegan and gluten-free sweet treats

The cocoa Nakd bars are my favourite vegan treat/snacks around! Vegan, raw, natural, gluten-free with no added sugars they are pretty much perfect!

There is a sale on their website at the moment so I treated myself to a whole box <3 of the 'crunch' variety that have extra protein... but I love all the cocoa flavours.

Nakd bars website: http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/nakd/

                                                                                 




These are perfect for a more indulgent tasting but healthy vegan truffle treat... raw and organic dark chocolate with no added sugar. Booja-Booja is a dairy-free company which has an incredible luxury vegan chocolate range: http://boojabooja.com/

These Kallo dark chocolate rice cakes thins are vegan and gluten-free and satisfy chocolate cravings whilst being very low-calorie. They are addictive though...!

Website: http://www.kallo.com/