Vegan Overnight Oats

Okay- this is a totally 4th of July inspired post. 

It has nothing- and I mean ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the fact I was watching Captain America. 

Nothing WHATSOEVER!

This is totally 4th of July inspired. 

Happy 4th of July to those who are celebrating by the way! 

Okay- so this is very regularly my breakfast. Even more so now I just bought a 16oz jar of Chia Seeds. Cause that's totally something 'normal' people do. 

They're called overnight oats. I have the vegan version- cause.... I just do. 

Essentially- it's a mixture of oats, milk (I usually use almond, sometimes I have oat or coconut) and chia seeds. You combine the ingredients, cover, and leave overnight in the fridge. You wake up in the morning (although if you decide to have a midnight snack I'm sure they would be good then too) and you have a really yummy breakfast.

Chia seeds are one of the wonder foods going around at the minute- but I can't tell you exactly what their wonders are because everyone disagrees slightly. But they all agree that they pack a BIG nutritional punch- and some say that they are one of the only sources of all the amino acids in one go. Basically- they are a little seed- usually black but can also be white (and there is no difference between the colors apart from aesthetics) that can do wonderful things. They absorb liquid- like a lot of liquid. Different people claim different things- anywhere between 8 and 20 times their weight in liquid- but however much it is (and I'm sorry that the Internet failed me this time) ... it's still impressive. And as they absorb liquid like that, they are very good at turning a mixture of oats and milk into a yummy breakfast. If you want to know more about chia seeds- just Google it. There is loads and loads of stuff about them on the Internet. Chia seeds are pretty expensive- however you only use a little bit at a time, so it's not that bad per breakfast- and if you shop around you can usually find some at an okay price (surprisingly, try Waitrose or the Internet).

Okay.... you are going to have to use you're imaginations here guys- cause there is only one way I can think of to describe overnight oats, and to be honest- it sounds like something that's come from a Dicken's novel. So... use you're imagination cause it's actually really good....

Possibly the best way to describe is to say it's like cold porridge. 

There you go- I told you it sound's like it came straight out of a Dicken's novel. You thinking of Oliver Twist right now? Please don't. It's not that bad. To be honest- it's more like a cross between cold porridge and muesli. Does that make it any better? Maybe you could think of it like Bircher Muesli without the apple. There- that better? 

Okay- possibly not. But the best thing about overnight oats? The add ins and the toppings. Cause you can go crazy. Like, real real crazy. We're talking about uber amazingly absolutely crazy. Which trust me, is really fun. I bet anyone they could have overnight oats every day for the rest of their life- and never have a repeat combination. I mean - you can seriously- do anything!!!!!

Except today I went with the really plain (okay slightly boring) overnight oats so that you could see how simple they are at their best.

Cause really - they are simple. I mean- real simple. Add oats and chia seeds- shake- add milk- leave overnight in the fridge- eat. We're talking that simple.

No time in the morning to make breakfast? This is the answer- all you need to do is take the lid of your container.

Too hot to want to turn on the stove top? No cooking required.

Just looking for a really yummy breakfast that is really customisable? Overnight oats are the answer.

Okay- so bear in mind that this is overnight oats at their very bare bones- and because of that mine are a bit runny (they'd be thicker if I had lots of add in's like I normally do) so they do NORMALLY look thicker.

And this recipe is a guide- it's how I like my overnight oats- but you may wanna play around with it till you find what's best for you. Want less- scale it down (try 1/4 cup of oats and 2/3 cup milk). Want more- scale it up (try 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup of milk and then add a splash for luck). Too runny/too thick- adjust the milk- add more/less by a couple of Tablespoons.

Also- yeah- I didn't leave it plain cause I had a load of fresh berries in my fridge..... and I like berries.

Vegan Overnight Oats

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1 cup milk
• 1 Tablespoon of chia seeds
• Add in's (literally whatever you want)
• 
  

Method

• Combine oats and chia seeds in a lidded container.

• I find the easiest way to combine them is to put the lid on and give them a really good shake - and trust me- you want to combine them cause otherwise you get these strings of chia seeds and they can freak you out a bit if you're not used to chia seeds. 

• Add the milk- and give it a good shake again (you're gonna have to take the lid OFF to add the milk and then put it ON again to shake)
•  
• If you're using add ins (and you should- cause there are a lot of yummy things in this world to add in) - add any dry ones in AFTER you have shaken the oats and chia seeds together but BEFORE you add the milk. Add any wet ones (including things like fresh fruit) in AFTER you add the milk but BEFORE you shake it again. 
• Place in the fridge overnight- or at the very least a few hours. 
• When you're ready to eat it take it out of the fridge- if it's too thick you can stir in a bit more milk- it it's too thin it's harder to solve- but you can add more chia seeds and wait 10 minutes for it to thicken up a bit. 
• 

• If you want to add any topping- feel free- nothing's stopping you!
• Enjoy (and if you don't- try it again. You'll love it once you get the fact that it's cold porridge out of your head!) 

Nothing, what so ever, to do with Captain America guys!!!!

You Don't Bring Desert to a Barbecue

Apparently- you don't bring desert to a barbecue. 

Trust me- if you turn up to a 4th of July Barbecue with disposable pie dishes covered in tin foil- you will get told that you don't bring desert to a barbecue. 

This. Is possibly. Not the best. Time. To tell someone this. 

Ya know- with the them just having turned up with dessert and all. 

I mean- at least they haven't brought a melon for once (cause that's what my parents usually and infamously did) (and at least they had a different reason for turning up late). 

But it's okay- this was dessert that went on the barbecue (cause what else do you take to a barbecue? Apart from a melon- and why would you do that cause you only then have to cut it up at the hosts house and then isn't that a pain?) 

And FYI- desert that goes on a barbecue goes down very well. The three trays we bought weren't enough. 

And it was MY plan to take desert to a barbecue- ha ha ha!!!

So I thought I'd recreate those tinfoil pie dishes.

The original dishes were chopped fruit coated in butter, sugar and cinnamon- with a lot of emphasis on canned peaches (that was obviously what we had in).

This time tho- I didn't want to make dessert.

Because you don't bring dessert to a barbecue.

Veggie-dog Barbecued Peach Relish

Makes Enough for 8 Veggie-dogs

1 can of Peaches

1/2 a small Red Onion

Marinade

2 T Sriracha (or other hot chili sauce)

1 T Soya Sauce/Tamari

1/2 t Dijon Mustard

1 T chopped Jalapenos

Directions

Chop the canned peaches into bite sized pieces. 

Whisk together the first 3 marinade ingredients till well combined- then stir in the chopped jalapenos. 

Chop the red onion into a fine dice.

For Barbecue Method: 

Combine the peaches, onion and marinade in a disposable pie dish, cover with tinfoil and place on the barbecue until caramelized slightly and 'piping hot'. 

For Grill/Broiling Method:

Combine the peaches, onion and marinade in a ovenproof dish, and place under the grill/broiler on high for half an hour. 

Best served hot- although delicious cold with leftover sliced veggie dogs the next day. 

Noodle and Cheese Salad

And here starts the start of a very complicated venture. Called writing my blog posts backwards. Starting with the week of my last exam and working backwards, so hopefully (if it works) there will still be posts even when I am not able to write any because I am revising. So I am going to try and write as many as possible in the next week and see how far (back) that takes me.

So actually- you will be reading this post last- so you possible already know all this.

Is it just me or are you thinking Professor River Song out of Doctor Who? 

Glad it's not just me.

Someone once told me that cheese with noodles was totally normal.

I was not so sure. So I had to try it.

I'm still not so sure that it's totally normal- but I'll accept that it's not horrendous. It's actually quite okay. And a good source of calcium to boot.

It does, however, need a bit of thinking. I'm willing to accept cheese with noodles, I just have to draw a line at something like cheese with stir fry. Because.... urgh.

I think I can cope with cheese in a noodle salad though.

I had to think logically about what to put in it. I mean real logically. Putting cheese with noodles may be normal to some people, but to me it is something with should be approached with great caution. Like brushing a tigers fur. I hope I got it right, because really, I'm still not sure. Cheese and noodles?

No, now is not the time to point out that it is basically mac and cheese. Not the time at all!!!

Noodles and Cheese Salad (serves 1)

• One portion of whichever type of noodles you like using best. Here I used instant noodles because I had a load that I wanted to use up, but normally I would have used my wholewheat egg free noodles or soba noodles. 
• Either half a red (bell) pepper or a few smaller sweet peppers. I used three mini sweet peppers
• Either 4 small tomatoes or one big one. 
• Two spring onions.
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1/4 t cumin
• However much cheese you want. I used a small handful but I don't eat a lot of cheese. 
• Optional: some chives. I cut up a fresh one, but you could also used 1/4 t dried chives. 

• Cook your noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Add the turmeric and cumin to the cooking water. If your using dried chives add them too. 

• Meanwhile, cut up the veggies. I like the spring onion and pepper cut up small, and the tomatoes cut up into bigger pieces. 

• Drain the noodles. Yes, that means your getting rid of most of the turmeric and cumin, but you don't want a sauce. Just a bit of color/flavor. 
• Mix the veggies into the noodles. 
• Top with the cheese and fresh chive if using. 

So here is the end (or start) of my pre-written posts. And the day of my last exam, so, see you soon (in your view) or in a really long time (my view). 

You know... we do something like this in physics... I should revise.... for an exam I've done... messing with your heads yet?

Barny Bento

This is the last in my bear-y bento mini series. 

And next week- I can assure you- isn't a bento post. 

I know because I just wrote it. 

Okay, now, you know when you really really REALLY want something- even though you know that there is a high probability that you won't like it? 

Good.... and glad that it wasn't just me. If you've never experienced this- just pretend. It makes me feel less stupid- okay? 

So... we were down in Birmingham on an intensive week of physio (and that was less fun than it sounds, I assure you). And we frequented the local Tesco shop a lot. Because to be honest- there was nothing else to do. Except watch Food Network. Although that was actually a lot of fun and we have done it several times at home since. 

But they had a 'reduced' section. And in it were apple flavored Barny cakes. And despite the fact that I don't like cake at the moment and had never wanted one before- an apple flavoured Barney cake was suddenly very desirable. Unfortunately they only come in packs of 5. 

You know what? I don't like Barny cakes. But we are not telling Mom that and so I have to eat all of them. 

I should point out this probably doesn't mean that the cakes were bad- I just don't like cake.

Luckily this time someone gave me a couple of biscuits to take the taste away. 

So that is a Barny cake (apple flavoured), some grapes and celery sticks, some Quorn cocktail sausages, and some chickpea omelet. 

1. TIME This took me all of about 10 seconds to put together. I'd pre-cut the celery, pre washed the grapes, and cooked an extra (much smaller) omelet when I was making one for tea. So the time to pack this bento? Very little. One star for me. (Red today I think)

3. RECORDING I loose that star. We're talking months afterwards guys. 

4. BALANCE This is the first time that I used an 'omelette' as my calcium sauce. (okay, I don't think that it's the first time that you've seen me do it, but it is the first time that I actually did it). The omelette's are made with fortified milk, the chickpea flour is a source of calcium (who knew- right?) and this particular omelet mix contained sesame seeds. So we're good on calcium. So one red star (I'm currently talking to my friend about rubies, hence the red star). 

9. EATING I could possibly have eaten more. Well, I ate my friends biscuits so I did eat more. But this is not necessarily the fault of I didn't pack a big enough lunch- because as my friend pointed out- I had eaten breakfast very early- so by lunch I was very hungry!!! So the fault was actually more that I hadn't packed a snack! So we'll stay neutral on this one. Once. If I do it again I'll deduct a star. 

Which means that I end on one star. (and it sparkles. for the record)

Bear-y Pancake Sandwich Bento

Because no- it is 7 am and I was up all night talking to my friend - I can not think of a better title than that. Creative title naming juices are not flowing people. 

Sorry. 

Here is another lovely bear themed bento for you today. You can't really see properly (it was the middle of winter and bad lighting is definitely a killer) but in there is two BEAR YoYo's , some amazing crisps by Ten Acre (review coming at some point), a pot of banana and custard topped with some dairy free chocolate buttons- which were brilliant but they seemed to have stopped doing them. Which is not so brilliant. Do you know how hard it is to find dairy free chocolate chips? (the answer is immensely). There is also a 'pancake sandwich' in there. 

I made a load of apple pancakes and added a load of BEAR Paws and then cooked it in my bear shaped pancake mold to make extra bear-y pancakes!!! Topping pancakes that you are going to pack in your lunchbox can be slightly problematic- because you are, um, packing it. You can't just pour syrup over the whole thing- because you will end up with syrup EVERYWHERE- and that would not be good! So instead I made a pancake sandwich by putting the topping in-between the two pancakes so that it was contained, didn't go everywhere, and wasn't a sticky mess for me to eat. This works better with, thicker 'spreadable' pancake toppings, and did make quite a thick sandwich, so if you are going to do this you might want to make your pancakes a bit thinner than normal. 

When deciding what to fill my sandwich with- I went down the path of "what do bears eat?" I mean, real bears eat fish, but that one was a definite no obviously. Paddington eats marmalade, but I really hate marmalade- and so that one was a no to. How about honey? And peanut butter? So I went with that- a honey and peanut butter bear shaped bear-y pancake sandwich. Yes, that is a mouthful! So how did I do?

1. TIME This bento didn't take me that long- I did it in an advert break. (I don't sit around and watch television all the time guys- it's just that advert breaks seem to be the best time to make a bento time efficiency wise and so if I am going to watch television it's when I will usually make my bento) I didn't make the actual pancakes in that 5 minute slot of course, but they were already made that morning, so when it came to bento making, all I needed to do was make the banana and custard pot (and that really isn't an arduous task) and put it all in, trying to make it look as cute as possible. That means that it fits in the time limits of not taking any longer than it took my Dad to make my brothers lunch, and so one star for me! (Blue please)

3. RECORDING I probably did this bento at about 7pm and it was dark outside. Can we just realise that I did this bento a long time ago and move on, with no stars? Please? The least said about this matter the better. 

6. BOXABILITY I'm not all that happy about how this bento fitted together. There is a lot of empty space in that box- and to be honest- it just doesn't look that bento-y. It's a poor representation of a bento box because it doesn't fit well. So I'll loose a star here. 

8. PLANNING I think I get a star here. I made the pancakes in the morning- with a mind to putting them in my bento so I saved two from the freezer. AND I made sure that we had a banana in that I could use. This is no easy feat in a household where we are not aloud more than one bunch of bananas at a time but where we get through bananas so quickly!!! also- I think we should have two because then we could have one bunch ripening whilst we eat the other- which would solve the problem of the supermarkets only ever having green bananas (I like mine spotty, and my brother only likes them in Dad's banana cake- so really green banana's are not good). But I have now gone way off topic of how I think I should be aloud one star for good planning. 

Which leaves me on no stars :( 

I really need to get onto blogging my bento's when I actually do them... 

Until then, see ya, have a good week!

Bear Pressed Sandwich Bento

I have got an amazing new kitchen gadget!!! (seriously, this type of thing gets me way too excited). It's a bear shaped sandwich sealer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It de-crusts the sandwich (a function which is always good), cuts it out into the shape of a bear, imprints the face of a bear on my sandwich and seals the crusts together a bit like a pocket sandwich- which means that no filling falls out!!!! 

What can't my little plastic gadget do? 

You can just about see the bear face. 

This is my bear. I've decided to call him Hawking. You might meet him a lot around here. 

I thought I would get some milk loaf, because I love it for a treat and also- it's smaller than standard sliced bread and so I thought there would be less waste. It was actually a bit to small, so my sealed sandwiches didn't work all that well. 

Look at this banana!!! I got them in Booths. Aren't they cute!!!! I had been having an argument with my parents for months about the mini banana's that appear in (and on) Vegan Lunch Box are the same as the children's (Eric the Elephant) banana's that we get from Sainsbury's. They said that those were the mini bananas featured. I disagreed- those were small banana's- as opposed to mini bananas. This proves that I was right all the time. Look- they fit in my (very pink looking here) hand!!! And my hands are amazingly small- this is a very mini banana!!! 

They are so cute. Just look at it. How can anybody not want to adopt that?

So - how did this bento do? 

It contains a (homemade and only slightly lumpy) vanilla pudding, a mini banana, a (homemade) date bar (can't remember what flavor), and two peanut butter bear shaped sealed sandwiches. 

2. LEFTOVERS Yes- even thought the bread was slightly too small- I still ended up with a lot of left over bread. However- I used them to make bread pudding!!! (It was soooooo good). I used a recipe from a cookbook that I had- but that makes too big a batch. One thing that is on my summer bucket list is to create a bread crust bread pudding recipe. So stay tuned. (unless you actually eat your crusts...) One star to me please!!!

3. RECORDING Loose a star and move on

5. BOXABILITY It just doesn't work. I'm seriously lagging on this one at the moment. Loose a star and move on! 

6. PACKAGING People, would you join me in my happy dance around my bedroom because THERE WAS NO EXCESS PACKAGING in this bento. This makes me happy on sooooo many levels. Dancing around. I think that of all the 'marking points' getting a star here makes me feel the best. Even above cuteness. 

7. CUTENESS My sandwiches had a bear imprinted on them. AND LOOK AT MY BANANA. Actually- overall this bento doesn't look all that cute- but the components are all cute. 

Which leaves me on one star. (I think I'm going to go for a blue star here.)

Look, I even added a (polar) bear ice pack!

Teddy Bear Picnic Bento

Okay- so you know how I'm doing this backwards? So I started the week of my last exam and have been writing and scheduling my posts backwards so that I will have posts published when I am too busy revising to post? 

Yeah- well this starts (or ends if you are me) a four post long mini series on bear themed bentos. (Wow- I've done all these in a day and I've just realised that you will have nothing but bear themed bento's for a whole month- sorry). 

It's okay- I'll make sure that next time (or for you last time) will be a not bento recipe!!! Cause I am nice like that!!! 

I'm not quite sure what you will get yet but I can promise that it isn't a bento. I like how you will already know what I posted last week. 

So this is my teddy bear picnic bento. It includes cucumber tulips, mini mozzarella cheeses, a Bakewell Tart Nakd bar, a Quorn sausage roll and some pom bears. (Do you know it is practically impossible to get the salt and vinegar ones know- and they're my favorite). 

I really liked the Bakewell Tart flavor- I had to wait for ages to get one because they came out ages ago at the same time as the 'xmas pud' flavor (and auto correct wants that to be 'xmas phd'. A doctorate in Christmas- wouldn't that be nice?). Sainsburys got the xmas pud flavor in straight away- but didn't get the Bakewell Tart flavor in until after the xmas pud flavor went out (funnily enough after Christmas). I guess they only had room for one of them on the shelf. The Bakewell Tart flavor was definitely worth waiting for (although the Xmas Pud flavor was AMAZING). I have started making my own date bars now and this is on the list to recreate!

So- how did I do?

1. TIME This didn't take me too long. Maybe about five minutes. So I get a star here (red I feel). There's not much more to say about time- other than, it didn't take me that long

2. LEFTOVERS There were some leftovers here. Partly because I didn't use the whole packet of pom bears for this bento - but mainly because I got a bit carried away with how much cucumber that I would need. I made way too much. The pom bears I ate as a snack at some point- and I kept the cucumber and added it to my noodles a few days later. So- I used up my 'leftovers' properly. So one star to me. 

3. RECORDING Loose a star and move on. 

5. BOXABILITY I'm quite happy with the boxability of this box. I've made quite a few that haven't been so brilliant (I guess they're coming up) but I am quite happy with this one. It all fits in nicely. So one more star for me. 

6. PACKAGING The pom bears came individually packaged (not quite individually packaged, but you know what I mean. That would be some very tiny packages) and as you can see- so did the Nakd bar. So that's not that brilliant. But the sausage roll didn't- and up until that point Sainsbury's had only been stocking the individually packaged one- so I will count that small victory as negating the other excess packaging- and so will neither gain or loose a star here. 

7. CUTENESS There isn't actually that much 'cuteness' aspects here- but all together I feel it does look kind of cute. It just seems to have a cute aura around it. Maybe it's the crisps. Or the cucumber. Whatever it is, it feels cute and so I'm going to give myself a star here. Happy face. 

That's three stars to kick of my bear themed bento mini series. I have a feeling that I will need it! (maybe cause I've already written the rest of the series). 

Hej hej

Nana Nut Polenta

I'm not happy. A boy in my physics class has more Taylor Swift CD's than I have. And we're talking about WAY more. And that's before we got onto the digital ones. Yes, I am affected by such trivial matters. 

Right, now. It's not Nana Nut Polenta, as in a nut polenta that belongs to you're grandmother (sorry Nana), but nar-na. As in ba-nar-na- without the 'ba' at the front, cause then their ain't any alliteration audience. (I do English Lit, I am GOOD at alliteration.) (But no, I can't get banana and nut to start with the same letter).

This was the first time I used polenta to make polenta (before I'd only ever used it to make cornbread like products) I've done so several times since. It's yummy. It's not anywhere near as good as oatmeal (because let's face it- nothing is as yummy as oatmeal- oatmeal is in a league of it's own). The color is definitely nicer though- it's such a pretty yellow-y golden color. It kind of matches out kitchen walls- which my parents decided to paint yellow.

So it's a nice change from oatmeal. You are 'supposed' to cook it and then bake it- but who has time- it's early in the morning and you want breakfast! Not lunch. (Okay- in the future I will probably post all about how wonderful baked polenta is- but until then baked polenta is bad). And even without baking polenta is thick and gooey and sticky. 

If you spend about 10 minutes in-between the polenta being ready and eating it because you are trying to find the perfect light and the perfect angle, you will end up with very thick- almost jelly like polenta. I do not advise this because as yummy as polenta is when it's gooey and warm (I really need to find a synonym for yummy) - it isn't so toothsome (thank you thesaurus) when it's kind of cold and jelly like and slightly gag inducing. Moral of the story- polenta is best eaten straight away when it's hot. 

Apart from the fact that it's not oatmeal, if you leave it too long it becomes kind of yucky, and it matches the color of the kitchen walls- polenta is brilliant. It's made from ground corn, originated in Italy- and is very similar (if not the same) as cornmeal and grits. It is super quick to cook- (about a minute after the milk has boiled- the packet said 3 minutes), it's gluten free (if that's important to you), it's cheap (13.75 pence a serving from Sainsburys), the color is sooo pretty- it's easy to make into a sweet or savoury dish, and it makes up for the fact that someone else has more Taylor Swift CD's. He doesn't have polenta. 

Nana Nut Polenta

Ingredients (Serves 1)

• 1 cup milk of choice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/3 cup polenta
• 1/4 cup flaked almonds
• 1 'nana
• Honey (or equivalent) to taste

• Place milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a saucepan and heat until it's boiling. 
• While the milk is heating, cut up the 'nana into slices. If you want to eat the ends as you do this that's fine. I won't judge if you don't. 
• When the milk is boiling, add the polenta to the pan. Do not decide to take a picture at this point but instead proceed to stirring it immediately, and don't stop. This stuff cooks fast!! 
• After 1-2 minutes (and unless you are some sort of super hero slightly thinner than you want to eat it) remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. 
• Top with the almonds, the banana and the honey (or it's equivalent if you don't eat honey). (Or just don't like it). 
• I know lots of recipes say enjoy immediately, but I would advise you actually do enjoy it immediately with this dish. 

We're Having a Crisis

When I say we- I really just mean I. 

Apparently I am the only person in the house who is deeply troubled by the lack of peanut butter. 

The rest of the household- just not bothered. 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!!!!! WE ARE OUT OF PEANUT BUTTER AND THEY ARE NOT IN THE LEAST BIT INTERESTED!!!!! 

This is a lack of peanut butter people, this isn't even a lack of something weird like a lack of chocolate, or tea, or pizza- THIS IS A LACK OF PEANUT BUTTER!!! 

And not just there wasn't enough in the jar- there wasn't a jar. Someone had used up the last of the peanut butter and hadn't gotten a new one. 

I MEAN ..... >stops because she doesn't want to swear on her blog<. 

>Has a moment, because, hello, we've ran out of peanut butter. There should always be peanut butter<

So I thought that this would be an excellent time to post a 'bento' (I'm using the term very loosely) from ages ago - that I really wasn't going to post because it is an appalling excuse for a bento- but I just thought I would add it in here so you can see what a bento looks like when we are having a "nobodies been shopping" crisis. To show you that I (and you) can produce a bento when you REALLY have nothing in to make a bento from and you haven't planned anything. (which would be the main reason you have nothing in). 

Also- no spoilers, but I don't do well on the 'planning' aspect.

So - in here- I have an American Biscuit that I rescued from the freezer - spread with peanut butter. (Because every house needs to have peanut butter in case of emergency), some dried dates (the only dried fruit we had), a banana and a cookie. And that was the best- most imaginative lunch I could come up with. The most balanced lunch that could come out of my kitchen at that moment in time. It was a bad day... and in fairness, I wasn't the only one who hadn't planned sufficiently because we had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN. 

I even think that that was the last banana. 

So... 

1. TIME This one took a long time. Not because I did anything fancy- or because I made it pretty- or at all bento-ish. But because it took ages to find anything. Like, a really REALLY long time. I'm just glad that the biscuit had had time to defrost before lunch! So loose a star here...

3. RECORDING Loose a star here as well....

[FYI, it doesn't really get any better]

4. BALANCE No calcium rich foods. Loose another star... 

5. BOXABILITY It's not particularly good 'boxability' wise, but I am THAT desperate- and have you ever tried to fit a banana in a lunch box? Its very near IMPOSSIBLE. I mean seriously, hard. Like, immense. That's why these were created. So I'm giving myself a star here. It won't matter what color it is.... I'm going to be in the negatives anyway...

6. PACKAGING Actually, now that I think about it- there was no excess packaging. Without even trying- just through lack of anything to put in my lunch. Wohoo. One more star to me. 

7. CUTENESS. There is nothing cute about it. Those food picks do not redeem anything. So loose another star.

8. PLANNING Yeah... Lesson learnt

9. EATING The whole point of me even posting this bento- is not because it's amazing. I am under no illusions. It is horrendous. The whole point is to show you that even when you are 2 microseconds from resorting to a TESCO sandwich (actually- I was 2 microseconds from just taking the banana for my lunch. Satisfying... not.) it is perfectly possible to put together a lunch from home. It may not be spectacular- but saying that- last time I got sent with a few pound coins in my pocket to get a lunch, I came out the store with a packet of chocolate raisins and a plain bread roll. So... this is definitely preferable! But I made a perfectly eatable lunch from absolutely nothing- so one star here. 

Which leaves me on minus two. Which is okay. I wasn't expecting fireworks. I was under no delusions that this was an award winning lunchbox. I just wanted to say- don't give up just yet. 

And don't run out of peanut butter. 

For the record- I used some powdered peanut butter that I had gotten for baking. 

We need peanut butter.

I Love Exams.... Said Nobody Ever

Actually- I think I did. Once (well- like, several times). In my defence, I was young (like, 11), I was foolish- and OH SO STUPID. 

Okay - so I have committed myself to publishing a blog post once a week. Have you noticed that each week my posts are getting later and later... Cause I have (like- seriously noticed!) I mean- my week starts on Thursday.... and today's Wednesday..... and I am oh so desperately super speedily typing this because I HAVE AN EXAM TOMORROW. 

And- you know- I wanna revise (although I have had an exam 3 time's this week and each time I had to revise the same stuff for it- so I'm getting good. I am brilliant if you want to know the percentage uncertainty of a measurement. Not so good if you want to know how to integrate something which is tending towards infinity. Luckily - that isn't going to come up tomorrow). 

So.... I wanna tell you what's going to happen on here for the nest two months. (Or just under. But we're not talking about that. Because that's scary.) 

I start my exams. I finish my exams. And I don't care if you try and make me feel better by saying 'they're not that important'. 

These exams (A levels) are the most important exams that I will ever have sit. To be honest- after examining the evidence- they may well be the most important exams that I will ever sit. 

So - as much as I love you guys - right now - I love getting good grades more. And as much as I love you guys- I have all summer to love you guys. Any time after June 18th is too late to love getting good grades. By then - I will be all done.

And I will have asked my teacher how to integrate something that is tending towards infinity. Cause I have read the textbook like- 6 times now. And I am still none the wiser. I think all A level textbooks should be in color. And have pictures of anthropomorphized veggies everywhere.

So until then- I am not going to commit to writing any blog posts. Luckily/unluckily for you- I have already written a load. And so - each week (usually on a Thursday) there will automatically be a new post up here. Hopefully. Unless it all goes wrong. In which case there won't be- and in that case I'm sorry.

So luckily- there will still be new content each week. So you won't have to look at this - rather sad- picture less post that is being written by a girl - who- to be quite honest- is more bothered by her integration skills. Or lack there of.

Unluckily- they just aint' that grate. I take pictures ALL THE TIME. And sometimes- they amass on my computer- all neatly put into folders by which future post they belong to. But then something else more exciting comes along. Now- I know I shouldn't of let this happen. I should have posted these ages ago. In some cases - like 8 months ago. (Wow- I say that and think 'Have I had this blog that long? And then realise I've had my blog more like 18 months). But for one reason or another- I didn't.

And then I looked back- and wondered what on earth was I thinking? Cause.... some of them are just plain...... [enter swear word here]. So I decide that I'll just press delete on the photo- but I can never do it. I just can't bear to delete something that- although is now so awful to me- I tried really hard with and thought was really good at the time.

I know it may not seem like it to you- because a lot of my posts are no where near as good as I want them to be. Some of my posts seem to be worse than ones that I published at the beginning.

But I am trying my best- and inside- I feel like I have gotten better. I feel like I'm improving- I feel like I am making progress. And a lot of the time- I'm proud of myself.

And that means- that I started these posts. I want to see them through.

So what you are going to see for the next two months isn't going to win any awards. But hey- I'm not in this to get an A*. I'm in this because I love it. And so hey- learn to live with me. I'm not perfect.

Just a head's up- you're going to be seeing a lot of bento boxes.

I'm not saying that I'm going to be ignoring you completely. I'm getting into quite the routine of Insatgraming at breakfast - if I ever have a revision break- you can bet that I'll be on here (very excited as she nears 5000 page views- cause- exciting!) I will be CONSTANTLY thinking up recipe idea's - cause that part of my brain isn't turning off at the moment. We're talking Princess Aurora Smoothies and Honey Mustard Stir Fry. I will be writing- cause there is a lot I want to write about just now - but maybe don't expect anything to be published. Cause I will be spending way more time writing essays. I may add notes to the pre-scheduled posts- just to say hay in real time. I'm not going to ignore you completely- but I can't commit to you. As much as I love you.

If it makes you feel any better- all this summer? I am going to be doing lot's of blogging. And writing. But a lot of blogging. Like- several hours a day. And lot's of cooking. I have some taste tester's lined up already.

So- just to warn you what's going on. I have already written all the post's you're going to see for approximately the next two months. They aren't grate. But I'm busy.

So- I hope you all have a good time- enjoy the sunny weather which we all know will end the moment exam's finish- and I'll see you on the other side.

If I don't return- Einstein's Theory of Relativity has killed me (and that is actually on the specification, so...)

Wish me luck! 

In Other, Less Interesting News # 6

I compile these posts by adding any photos into a folder- and then creating a post when I have enough uninteresting news.

That's how I know that it has been way too long since I have done one of these- because the photo's in here? They're from a long time ago. 

We're talking last September people. > 6 months = too long. 

So... Since I am really really late doing this- and also because I should REALLY be revising- let's just get on with it. And hope that none of this is too outdated to bear. 

And sorry that this weeks post is AMAZINGLY late. A combination of revision, busy back to college rush, and being ill. I know- excuses excuses!!! Also, please bear in mind that these photo's are a) unedited, and b) taken over winter with, like, no light!

1. I have started loom banding. Yes, I'm very late to this craze- possibly too late- but hey. It's cool- it's fantastic, and I love it. That loom broke the first day I used it :( Never fear- I now have a non breakable loom. 

2. Last September, I did a review of Innocent's fruit tubes.  It was a bit of a disaster- turned out they weren't vegan and it was during Vegan MoFo. But Innocent very kindly sent me some money off vouchers - I wasn't asked to write about them, it was just a nice surprise that they sent me some vouchers for writing about them! And my brother liked the smoothies, and I liked the alphabet magnets. Because yes, I collect the alphabet magnets.

3. I spent a long time trying to convince my parents that yes, you are supposed to leave persimmons until they are beyond soft and squishy- because that's when they taste their best. 

4. My parents decided that I didn't need a piano and decided that was wear Christmas presents were going to be stored this year. This little (Christmas) bunny was not impressed!

5. Cafe Nero do banana hot chocolate. Yes, I know. I mean, I know. I know. 

6. I got a goodie bag from BEAR because I collected enough cards. Yes, like collecting magnets, I am a sucker for gimmicks. But I got a goodie bag through the post. HOW COOL IS THAT. Free yoyo people- come on!

7. Vegetarian jelly. Enough said. 

8. I decided that I like veggie sushi and I know want to eat it. All. The. Time. Like literally. All the time.

9. Pre-Senior Section sushi. 

10. We found a card with 'Grampy' on it. He's waited almost 27 years- but finally a card with 'Grampy' on. 

11. Breakfast sushi and miso soup. Because yes, I will even eat sushi for breakfast now. 

12. Talking of breakfast, apparently, if you sprinkle a few oats on the top of a cereal bar, you can then call it a breakfast bar. Who knew?

13. I had a lot of putting away to do after spending possibly too much in Waitrose. And they didn't even have what I went there for (buckwheat). Apparently every Waitrose but ours sell it. What?

14. Speaking of Waitrose, sushi from there even comes with sushi ginger and wasabi paste. And Inari sushi. Be impressed. 

15. Again, Waitrose: B for Basil, M for Mint, T for Thyme, and P for.... Rosemary? Anybody going to explain how that one works?

Okay- until next time (when I promise you will get a better post than this.)!

TTFN, Ana

Chocolate Raisin Oatmeal

The girl who sits next to me in physics is the best. She introduced me to Agent's of SHIELD and Marvel (and now I'm hooked). She explained to me just exactly how cashews grow on trees (who knew they didn't grow inside the fruit like a peach stone or apple pip), she is a fellow vegetarian and so sat in solidarity when the rest of the class were eating the spoils of the M & M experiment. (Yes, that is an actual experiment that A level physics students do). She revises with me. She gets DVDs (Captain America) out of the college library for me so I don't have to explain why I have still got books from almost 2 years ago (I was off ill and then...). She is interested in a lot of the same things as me and so we can have good conversations which I enjoy having (education, second languages, coconut oil etc...) She's awesome. 

And she doesn't like raisins so this is probably not the oatmeal for her. She could always just leave them out I guess...

For some reason early sunday morning at the gym they have CITV on the big televisions. And early sunday morning's on CITV are currently sponsored by Kellogg's cereals- including.... wait for it.... Coco Pop porridge!!!!! How cool is that!!!!

What is not cool is that you can't get it in Sainsbury's yet. :( 

I wanna try Coco Pops porridge. :(

So- as soon as I can get my hands on a box expect a review of it on here. 

But until then- I decided that I would just make some Coco Pops porridge- which as far as I can tell is basically just sweetened cocoa flavoured porridge- which is officially 300% cooler because it is in a yellow box with a monkey on the front. 

No I am not joking. That monkey should not be allowed to advertise on children's TV. He makes me want to buy oatmeal never mind poor defenceless children who do not know the cruel tricks of advertising! (Although if he get's kids to eat oatmeal maybe we should let him for just a little while longer...) 

But then I was munching on chocolate raisins (and yes, if you hadn't already gathered from this post I am going through a chocolate raisin phase. Next stop- chocolate raisin cookies.) and I thought- chocolate raisin oatmeal.

Happy days.

I tried something new here- I wanted some really creamy oatmeal- I didn't want to add any cream (even any non dairy cream) because really- (non dairy) cream is for special occasions- it's expensive and once you open it you then have to face making sure you use up the rest of the carton before it goes off.

So I added instant hot cereal. As in Ready Brek, but the cheaper version. When I told Mom that I wanted to get some- she said that it would make a mess. She was right. That stuff is like icing sugar- it creates this cloud of oat dust- like some sort of chemistry experiment gone wrong - but without the nasty smell of the chemicals. And despite how careful I was- I managed to get oat dust on the table. I didn't get it everywhere- but I don't think I can count this as being a no mess breakfast.

And no Mom, I did not want to get the sachets because a) I am trying to reduce packaging and b) I only want a tablespoon at a time and so trying to get a tablespoon out of a sachet is probably harder than trying to get a tablespoon out of the big box. Plus, the big box is cheaper.

Win win win on using a box rather than the sachets.

Although the sachets do come in gingerbread flavor. And who doesn't love gingerbread?

And they made the oats so creamy. They are supposed to make super smooth oatmeal (which is nice sometimes) but because I was mixing them with oats (that are not super smooth but have some nice texture) it made some sort of best of both worlds oatmeal. (If you want to start singing the Hannah Montana song at this point, please feel free. I've just got it up on Youtube).

Add the dry stuff to the pan

So if you want super creamy but still textured oatmeal and don't mind a bit of mess (which to be honest- I think if you transferred it to a jar would be reduced because you wouldn't be dealing with the inner bag)- then add a bit of quick oat cereal to your oats. If this isn't your thing- this oatmeal will still be totally awesome without it.

Because all oatmeal is awesome- right?

Add the milk and stir

I need to start an oatmeal is awesome club. They said at the uni's I've visited that if there is a club that you think should exist and doesn't - you can start one. Do you think they'll pass an oatmeal club? Because- oatmeal!!!

Seriously- when is oatmeal appreciation day?

Start it cooking slowly

I didn't add any sweetener to my oatmeal- but the cocoa can be quite bitter so if you want to add some- feel free- just taste as you go. I used my favorite milk- almond- here- but you can use what ever you have in - I haven't tried any others- but it's oatmeal. It works perfectly with whatever milk you want. (although I would suggest thinning down canned coconut milk if you really want to use that). Sometimes I've added a whole tablespoon of cocoa to one portion of oatmeal before- but here I've used less- 1 teaspoon. I wanted a more chocolate-ly taste- rather than a dark cocoa-y one. I love both- but I think using the lesser amount is preferable here. If you want a really dark cocoa-y taste (that won't be at all like Coco Pops porridge) then go ahead and add more cocoa. No one will give you funny looks- because who can blame you for wanting more chocolate?

It's really hard to take a picture of bubbling oatmeal! 

On that note- hopefully I'm going to be getting some cacao today. For some reason the prospect is making me feel all grown up. Like drinking coffee for the first time.

One tablespoon of raisins is a serving (according to the governments five a day leaflet)- and I added a  tablespoon- then decided to add a few more (maybe, like, 6-8 more) because raisins are so yummy.

If you don't like raisins (hello fellow coconut oil loving friend)- then leave them out. But still call it chocolate raisin oatmeal- just to mess with peoples mind. (Like this week's episode of S.H.I.E.L.D. I mean- wha...) Or put them in- and then painstakingly pick them all out. But as far as I'm concerned- that would be a bit pointless. But each to their own.

If you want- I would suggest that soaking your raisins in the milk before cooking would make for really plump and amazingly 'juicy' - but please stop before you resort to adding grapes to your oatmeal. They plump up some whilst cooking anyway.

Chocolate Raisin Oatmeal

Serves 1

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1 Tablespoon instant oat cereal (or oat flour- just blend/process up some oats and measure after blending)
• 1 Tablespoon raisins 
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder (not hot chocolate mix or drinking chocolate)
• 1 cup milk of choice

• Measure all the ingredients into the pan and give them a stir. You don't want a clump of oat-y oatmeal and a clump of hot oat cereal-y oatmeal. Not good. 
• Put the pan on the heat- you want a gental heat because there is a lot of milk in there so it will need to cook for a bit longer than normal. 
• Keep stirring while the oatmeal cooks- it makes washing up a lot easier if the oatmeal doesn't stick!!!! (I guess you could always use a non stick pan if you have one.)
• Cook it at least until it's bubbling. Then cook it until your happy with the texture. I wanted it quite thin here- but not runny. I thought this thinner texture went well with the milder, creamier oatmeal. But its up to you how you like your oatmeal best. 
• Transfer to a bowl and eat it whilst it's hot! and if you want some 'real' chocolate raisins- then chocolate for breakfast every now and again can only be a good thing - right?

Try eating when listening to Bright by Echosmith. It's awesome. 

"oooh, la, la, la."