I've moved!!

From now on catch me at http://thequirkykitchen.wordpress.com

xoxo

On the move

Hi y'all!
How's your weekend been? I've been feeling kinda "Bleurgh". A little low on energy, tired and just a little out of sorts....but hey, we all get days like that :-)

I'm currently sipping on a coffee with amaretto syrup, made by my gorgeous boyfriend. We've had a lazy kinda day, only leaving the house for a couple of hours to have a look around the local shopping centre. I'm currently feeling quietly content wrapped in a blanket, pressed up against the radiator :-)

My last couple of hours have been spent creating a new blog. I'm moving over to wordpress, just to see how things go on that side of the fence :-) I made a resolution to myself to blog more and experiment more in the kitchie...and that is what I shall do! I got the urge to turn over a new blog leaf....come and see me at http://runnerbeangreen.wordpress.com To the few girlies that drop by regularly, I love ya loads and hope to see you in wordpress world!

Big hugs to all
xoxo

Bowen Therapy

Hi there! Happy Saturday! I hope you're all having a great weekend. I'm sitting in my usual spot on the sofa, sporadically dipping my hand into a bowl of green grapes :-) My head is a little fuzzy after the Lychee Martini I sampled after completing a charity danceathon a few hours ago. The cocktail was pretty good....but I think I was a little dehydrated after a monster workout! :-s

My weekend started by having a Bowen treatment. One of my besties is a holistic therapist and asked me to be one of her "case studies" for her Bowens course. Yesterday I had the first of three treatments...it was very interesting and after the therapy, I fell into bed and slept for 15hours!!!!

My job as a dentist means that I often have a sore neck and my right shoulder gets sooooo painful! Today, things feel a lot easier and less achy. I'm really looking forward to seeing how my body responds to the remaining treatments.

How are y'all doing anyway? Have you tried Bowen therapy before?

Much love xoxo

The Dairy Debate

As I sit here typing this blog, having just finished a quick dinner of avo and tomato puree on wholemeal, I have a copy of "Skinny Bitch" to the left of me. I have turned to this book as my source of evening reading because I want to sort my head out when it comes to dairy. I want to make an informed decision about adopting a vegan diet/lifestyle.

So let me see....."Chapter 5 - The Dairy Disaster".....woah! If you've ever read "Skinny Bitch" you'll know what I mean when I say these girls don't pull any punches! The authors present a damn good argument against dairy consumption, mentioning that dairy products have been linked to a host of diseases. In addition to this, they assure us that we can definately obtain enough calcium from a vegan diet (i.e from kale, greens, cabbage, chickpeas, broccoli, red beans, soybeans etc).

For all you vegans out there, did you miss or crave any non-vegan foods? How did you overcome this? Any advice on transitioning to veganism?

I hope you're all good in your part of the world :-)

Comfort Food :-)

Sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! That may involve dragging herself outta bed really early to wash her hair because she couldn't be bothered the night before. Sometimes it's rushing around the house doing a mad cleanup because mum called to say she was on her way. Sometimes it's just sitting in your PJs, eating beans on toast :-) That's what I did tonight. Baked beans on wholemeal with a side salad to get my veggie quota filled. Perfect comfort food after a super long day at work.

I've been thinking a lot about veganism lately. I've been wanting to try it out again. Go the whole hog and veganise my life. It's something I believe in. It's something that fills me with happiness, positivity and energy. I've done it before. I lasted 6 weeks before I succumbed to some cheese. Yes, cheese is the problem. I really enjoy it - it's the reason that I have remained as a veggie since the age of 6. Cheese.

I think the trouble is that here in the UK, all our cheese substitutes taste like used gym socks. They barely melt and leave a horrible aftertaste. I need a good cheese substitute!

Anyone recommend a good vegan cheese in the UK?
Much love xoxo

Cut Loose!

Hi guys! How is everyone? Happy Sunday! :-) I'm currently sitting in my typical blogging position, in my usual blogging attire (PJs!). My boyfriend's little pupper is curled into her niche in my bent legs....and all feels right with the world :-)

I've been having the BEST weekend! On Friday night I hurried down to the cinema to meet my Phil. We joined the busy queue and snapped up two tickets for "Black Swan" just before the movie started. Luckily, "The King's Speech" was the main was the cause of the humongous crowd in the ticket office.

I didn't quite know what to expect from the movie, having read some of the opinions of fellow American bloggers but it's safe to say that I was captivated from beginning to end. It was dark but beautiful, dramatic but delicate, inner torment and outer beauty, all summing up the contrasting facets of the dance world. I would say, go and see it if you love dance and films with a bit of grit.

Last night also featured a good old bit of dancing! I took two of my best friends to see "Footloose" at the theatre. It was so great! One of my favourite places in the world is the theatre :-) Cut loose! Footloose!

Song.Stuck.In.Head!

Gotta dash....got a lunch date with my man! Back later with piccies :-)

xoxo

4 Things.....

Here goes.....

4 TV shows I watch

- Friends

- The Inbetweeners

- The Hills

- Any Attenbrough wildlife programme

4 things i'm passionate about

- running

- dancing - especially ballet

- healthy eating/raw and vegan cookery

- helping my patients at work

4 things I learnt form the past

- talk to people - don't bottle up your worries

- take a break now and again and say no sometimes

- things don't have to be perfect

- eating is not something to be feared or feel shameful about - eating healthy, norishing food keeps me happy and healthy

4 things I did yesterday

- took a zumba class

- found brown rice syrup and coconut flour in the health store (and proceeded to get very
excited about this!)

- saw a whole tree full of waxwing birds - a rare site

- met my boyfriend for lunch after my workout was cut short by a powercut in the gym

4 things I'm looking forward to

- seeing "Black Swan"

- getting married and having children

- trying out some vibrams on a sandy beach run

- seeing my man!

4 things I'm craving

- a run

- a rainbow salad

- a good book

- peace at work

4 places I'd like to visit

- Canada

- Anywhere in America!

- Fiji

- New Zealand

4 things I love about Winter

- bright, snowy days

- running in the snow

- going out for a winter drive with my man and his camera

- cosy nights in under my fleece blanket

Chocolate Dreams and Fab Friends :-)

Hiya!

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great start to your week. My lack of posts in the last few days were a sure sign that this gal was one busy bee!

I had such a great weekend :-) I had some friends stay over on Saturday night. Girls nights rule! We had wine, I made DIY fajitas and we chatted about the most random of things :-s

Friday night's meal was very "student days". I'm not one for pasta usually - like I said, it takes me back to my days as a poor student. Well on this occasion, I really fancied a simple pasta dish so I added vegan pesto, chopped tomatoes, sweetcorn and peppers to some wholewheat penne. Hit the spot after a long run :-)

On a more chocolatey note.....as soon as I read Angela's Choc Almond Butter recipe, I knew I just had to give it a go....

Almonds + vitamix


Good quality dark choccie + a bit of coconut oil = melty deliciousness :-) :-)

Whizz em all together

Three words......yum, Yum and YUM!! :-)

I dipped strips of wholemeal pitta into the spread......and scraped the chocolate bowl with clementine segments. Soooo good!

Check out www.ohsheglows.com Angela is fab and her recipes will rock your socks off!! Go make this!

Much love

xoxo

Vegan Summer Berry Ice Cream

Even though the ground is frosted outside, Summer returned to my kitchen this evening, when I whipped up a vegan berry ice cream in the Vita-Mix. I served it with some almond flakes and fresh fruit. Just the job!

Summer Berry Ice-Cream
- 1 cup of frozen berries
- 1 cup of ice cubes
- 1 cup of soya yoghurt
- a splash of almond milk
- a squirt of any sweetener if desired (I didn't use any sweetener as the berries were fine and dandy!)
- fresh berries/nuts/sauce/whipped soy cream to serve - pick and mix your toppings to enjoy a variety of combinations :-)

My boyfriend and I had mini bowls of this summery dessert whilst parked in front of the TV, discussing where to hang a newly bought painting. I actually bought the picture as a gift for a friend but couldn't part with it in the end! Oops!

Today also marked my first outdoor run since the start of our snowy period in November.....and what a fantastic run it was. I downloaded an app on my iPhone that turns it into a GPS tracker, providing details on your speed, distance, pace, route....it's so great! It really helped to keep me motivated and keep track of my distance. I did a killer 7.3 miles, averaging at 8.57mph. I was a sweaty mess when I got home!

What type of runner are you? Speed or long distance? I'd rather run a marathon than do sprints up and down the sportshall....I hate sprints!


Anyway.....off to read a few bloggies and then sleeeeeeeeeeep!
Much love xoxo

Salad Gleek :-)

Hi guys. I write this post from the familiar comfort of my sofa having just eaten this simple salad. I was totally craving salad! I hope you all had a good Monday. I've had a lovely day, despite the fact that it started with a whole lotta cleaning! Yep....that's right...I got up early and made a long list of "to dos". Take rubbish out - check. File all paperwork - check. Iron huge pile of clothes on chair - check. Do more washing - check. Sort out spare room.....still on with that task! My spare room has been nicknamed "the dump room". One little room, one big job on my hands to sort it out! Phew!

Anyway....cleaning aside, I ventured into town to meet one of my best friends. We had starbucks americanos with sugar free vanilla syrup and a dollop of foamy milk on the top :-) You can't beat starbucks and friend chats.

Whilst on a caffiene high, I shopped for gifts for the friends that are coming to visit me on Saturday (girls night - woop woop!). I bought cute ice cream dishes and quirky fondue sets for them :-) Happy with my gifts, I headed to the gym and filled in time on the elliptical before zumba class. It was an amazing class tonight with lots of new routines. Lurve <3

Now....now I'm snuggled on my sofa, cup of hazelnut low cal cocoa in one hand, typing with the other and Glee playing on tv - Emma is a happy bunny :-)

Much love to all xoxo

Lazy Sunday mornings

Hi guys! I just totally slept in! Oops! Didn't intend to but I feel rested so no worries :-) I'm currently munching on cereal and have a date with Zest magazine once I've finished this post. I love the occasional lazy Sunday :-)

Here are my oat bars all sliced and ready to eat. They definately passed the taste test! They're moist, bouncy and you can taste a hint of all the flavours, notably pecan, banana and maple syrup. These'll make great additions to my boyfriend's lunchbox throughout the week. No doubt his boss will get some samples too!

Oat bars in the morning light.

I think I'll chill for a bit more and then head out for a run. It's a really cold but bright morning here. A day to enjoy by going outdoors for sure.

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday :-)

Much love

xoxo

Road trip, tea pots and banana pecan oat bars

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope things are good in your part of the world. Check out the gift my bestie gave to me - a recipe folder. So cute! Can't wait to come up with some new culinary creations :-)

Today has been a wonderful day because my boyfriend and I decided to take a mini road trip to the Lake District. For those of you who don't know, the Lake District is a beautiful place bursting with mountains, walkers, wildlife, quiant little cafes and spectacular lakes.

We had a car picnic, took photos, went for tea and scones and wandered through a variety of great shops specialising in outdoor and running gear. I spotted some vibram five fingers but they didn't have my size :-( I'm really intrigued by the barefoot running thing...I'll definately give it a try one day.

Phil and I bought matching teapots after a discussion over lunch about how loose leaf tea is waaayyy better than teabag tea :-) I currently have amaretto tea leaves brewing in my little pot. Mmmmmm!

Speaking of mmmm.....ever since Angela over at OSGs posted her recipe for "Healthy Banana Cranberry oat bars", I've been looking forward to making some banana oat bars of my own. I altered the recipe a bit to suit what I had in my cupboards. Needless to say....they're yummy! Thankyou Angela!

Banana Pecan Oat Bars

- 3 cups oats

- 1/2 cup chopped pecans

- 2 large bananas, mashed

- 1/2 cup cherry/raisin mix

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- 1/2 cup applesauce

- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp cinnamon

Fresh and frothy almond milk in the Vita-Mix. Yum :-)

I <3 Maple syrup :-)

Homemade applesauce in the Vita-Mix

Mix the wet ingredients together then throw in these babies! Mash your naners by hand or with a fork first.

Add your oats.....

And then bake at 190degC for 25 mins.

By this point your house should smell like christmas and Thanksgiving all rolled into one! Mmmmmm!

It's just cooling down before I cut it into bars :-)

What have you been up to today? I'm just about to watch "Bruno" and I'm slightly uneasy after the whole "Borat" experience (I really didn't like it!). However, my boyfriend really wants to see it so I'll give it a go. Fingers crossed it's not too cringeworthy!

Much love xoxo

Ouinoa Salad with Sundried Toms :-)

Hi Guys!

How are y'all? ;-) I'm currently snuggled under a blanket on my sofa having just finished taking the christmas tree down. It's so sad and bare :-( After a mad hoovering marathon, the trail of pine needles is no more and the cosy glow of the christmas tree lights has diminished.

In amongst the havoc of cleaning, running a bath, folding washing, taking the rubbish out, packing away baubles (and subsequently tripping over the neatly packed decorations box, flying across the room and sending baubles everywhere!), I managed to rustle up a healthy dinner from "Everyday Vegan". I didn't follow the recipe exactly (I missed out the olive oil and pine nuts) but the result was yummy! The different flavours come together wonderfully - the kick of the mustard, the lemony lemon juice :-), cool and crunchy cucumber and sundried toms. Perfect! In fact, anything with sundried tomatoes is always fine by me :-)!

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup quinoa

- 1/2 cucumber (slice and dice it baby!)

- 1/2 cup rehydrated sundried toms (soak these little dudes and then mash em up!)

- 1/2-1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

- splash of lemon juice

- fresh basil, chopped

- a mashed up garlic clove (I missed this out as I've got patients to see at work tomorrow and don't want their dentist giving off garlic fumes!)

- 2 chopped spring onions

- salt to taste

Mix it all together!

Ta-dah! Yummalicious!

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a complete protein and a great source of the 8 essential amino acids. It makes a great substitute for rice and pasta. I'll definately be makng this dish again. Pity I didn't have any pine nuts as I think they would have added great taste and texture. I just can't bring myself to buy pine nuts at the moment because they have recently become hideously expensive in the UK. I'm talking £5 for a 100g bag! On yer bike mate! ;-)

Ooh....I went to see "Love and Other Drugs" at the cinema last night. LOVED IT!! If you like chick flicks and men with cute butts then this could be the movie for you!

I hope all is well in your world. I'd love to hear from you if you're passing. Have a great day!

Much love x x x

Broccoli stuffed tomatoes and first day back

Hi guys!

How is everyone today? I'm pretty good considering I had "first day back" syndrome last night. There's always something comforting about getting back into a routine I guess. Anyway.....I just had a wonderful dinner, adapted from "Everyday Vegan". A light and nutritious meal that would be great as a starter if you used one tomato per person.

This recipe called for fresh basil but the shop was void of all varieties of fresh herb. I used vegan basil pesto instead and it was a tasty substitution...in fact if I made this dish again, I'd probably still use pesto!

Broccoli Stuffed Tomatoes
- 1tsp olive oil
- broccoli
- 1tbsp vegan pesto
- 1 medium onion
- 2 large tomatoes
- vegan or regular cheese to melt on the top if desired

Dressing
- the insides of the scooped out tomatoes
- olive oil
- cider vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste








This was absolutely SCRUMMY! I'd deffo make it again. Dead easy too!

After my dinner and a super sweaty workout at the gym, I'm currently relaxing on the sofa. PJs - check. Huge fluffy socks - check. Cherry-cinnamon tea - check :-) I'm one happy bunny :-)

love and hugs
xoxo

I wish, I wish, upon a star......

......that it was only Christmas Eve so far......

.....I really wish it was only Christmas Eve and we could do everything again! I'm currently sitting in my little flat, looking at my wonky christmas tree and thinking about how wonderful the festive season was this time round. I guess thrown into the mix is the dreaded "I REAAALLLLY don't wanna go back to work" feeling. Yeah, I'm not too enthusastic about setting my alarm for an hour earlier tonight :-(

One of my goals for 2011 is to consult my cookbooks more. I currently have many fabulous vegan recipe books but haven't put them to optimal use yet. I plan to try and make 2 new recipes per week in 2011. The ones for this week shall be "Quinoa salad with sundried tomatoes" and "Broccoli-stuffed tomatoes", both from "Everyday Vegan" by Jeani-Rose Atchison. Will let you know how they turn out :-)

Ok....I'll leave this post as a short one as I'd better get myself ready for work tomorrow. I always have the WORST nights sleep on the last night of a holiday so I guess hitting the sack early wouldn't do any harm.

Night everyone x x