Vegan, Gluten Free , Dairy Free , Flapjacks, ( Making flapjacks with coconut oil)

They look good right???! Yeah! Good news too....

• They're un-refined sugar free 
• They're butter free
• They're Gluten free - use Flanigan's
• They're soy free, and obviously vegan!
• They're inexpensive to make
• They take minutes to prepare
  
  The recipe uses coconut oil and agave/ maple syrup in replacement of the butter and sugar which is great news for your body since coconut oil is full of crazy-goodness deliciousness which will nourish your body with so many essential fats. The agave/maple syrup has a low GI count which is so much better for your body since it doesn't have a sugar peak that you get with processed refined sugars.
  
• 175g coconut oil
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup
• 150g raw unrefined sugar
• 250g medium porridge oats
• Pinch of sea salt
• 50g of pecan nuts or any nuts/seeds you wish to use
  
  
  
  Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4. Put the coconut oil, maple / agave syrup and sugar in a large saucepan. Heat softly, stirring often, until the coconut oil has just melted and the sugar is still grainy.
  
  Remove from the heat and pour in the porridge oats, salt and nuts , if using. Mix together until evenly combined. Pop mix onto a prepared baking tray, spread evenly and firm down well with a fork.
  
  For a soft and chewy flapjack, bake for about 20 minutes until a  golden colour. Give it a bit longer if you prefer a crispy, well-cooked flapjack.
  Run a knife round the edge to release the flapjack, leave for 5 minutes, then mark into bars or squares. Be sure to leave in the tin until 100% cold as they break up easily.
  
  Storing :The flapjacks should keep in an airtight box for up to 10 days
  

Vegan In Orlando : Downtown Disney | Rainforest Cafe | Vegan options

Well, as I mentioned in a previous post, being vegan avoiding Soy and Gluten in Orlando is tough!

I did extensive research before we went via a few vegan food blogs, but obviously I couldn't see if any of the meals/ snacks were excluded from gluten & soy. Well, I can tell you now! We found 2 places that we were able to eat at in ALL the parks. Everything had soy in it, followed closely by gluten. Most places were unable to even do pasta gluten free.... you'd think a huge place would have ample vegan / food allergy options.


I had to share this with you though:  The one place we did find that Opeie & I could eat at trouble free was Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney, they had a whole lot of options! They were able to produce an allergy menu, which had alot of vegan options, but sadly they all contained soy or gluten apart from the "Vegetable Pasta" dish.

For such a simple dish, the meal was amazingly flavoured, creamy and everything I could have wanted and more. It was also HUGE! I wish I'd have asked which brand of pasta it was because I'd have loved to have brought some home.

Opeie and Seth also had the same, but they had alittle bit of tomato basil sauce on theirs, and they both loved it so much they asked for doggie bags to take the rest of theirs home, since the children's portions were also huge! My meal was $16.95 which is alot for a bowl of pasta - even if it was huge! That said, I would definitely go back and have it, it was delicious and my mouth is watering just looking at it.

The children's meals were $5.95, as I said the portions were massive. Opeie and Seth could have split one easily and still have had some left over. Seth said it was delicious and asked if we could visit again, and Opeie said it was 'Yummy' which is lovely to hear since the little man seems to struggle so much when we eat out as he's always stuck with gluten free pasta, and I think he gets bored of it. Later on he asked for the doggie bag left overs for dinner, which I heated for him, and served with fresh veggie fingers, fruit, hummus and nuts.

About the rainforest cafe.

It's set inside a HUGE Volcano, filled with rainforest animals, vines and leaves all over the ceiling, and crazy attention to detail all over the restaurant including a beautiful waterfall.

Every 20-30 minutes, for around 90 seconds , a huge thunderstorm which is beautiful hits the tropical volcano. It's an unusual that they've set a rainforest inside a volcano, but it works! It's so much fun and the boys loved it! I'd definitely recommend it.

Why I became Vegan / My weight story .( and pregnancy ) UK Vegan Mom | Parenting | Food Blog

I thought Id share my reason / story for becoming Vegan & my weight journey too.

I'd been a veggie since I was 4, and have no interest at all in eating meat or fish .

My life so far :

I have been on a weightless journey since being in hospital / being cared for at home in bed which lasted almost a year . So I thought I'd share with you the reason I gained weight .

4 years ago, come Autumn , I met my partner , Pauly . It was such a fun, lovely time , we went out a lot together and took Seth ( then 3 ) lots of cute places to eat, and adventure around . We were enjoying life, but eating too much "'sometimes food" ( as I call it with my children ) - I think you can guess what happened ? I gained weight . I went from a size 12 to a size 16/ 18

A year later we decided to have a baby and that's when I got very ill. My illness' are something that still scare me now, at 5.5 weeks pregnant my hyperemisis started, I'd had it with Seth my eldest, and it went by 22 weeks , I was admitted twice for fluids, but coped ok , with my 2nd baby I had it so much worse, by week 8 I'd been admitted to hospital 5 times , stayed for 4/5 days then being ferried out , even though my ( amazing, wonderful, lovely ) independent midwife knew I was going to still suffer was desperately trying to arrange drips at home for me . Lots happened in between, but at 8 weeks I suffered 2, pulmonary embolisms , and was given a 1 in 3 chance . It was horrific , and spent a long time in hospital, the hyperemisis continued at full force ( sick 40-60 times a day ) until the day I had Opeie , who was way over due .

Consultant trying to get blood out of me when I'm really dehydrated isn't fun, it clotted all the time as it came out.

Bump at 32 weeks.

Bump at 35+4 weeks.

 I might talk about hyperemisis again at some point as its something that changed my life forever .

During my time of illness , I was lying on my back 99% of the time in a hospital bed or at home almost completely fed through a tube.

Due to this, laying in one position and not eating it changed the way my body functioned .

When I was able to walk without my wheelchair / support of someone I realised my leg muscles had literally turned to jelly.

I also started eating again normally, after loosing 3.5 stone in the time I was ill ( and I might add also pregnant ) my metabolism was literally like a tumbleweed . So , I started to gain weight . A lot of weight .

Due to becoming vegan in about an hour of discovering Opeies Dairy, Egg, Soya allergy, I was clueless of what to eat . I had to give it it, to make sure he had the correct breast milk .

I really did feel unhappy about giving up dairy ,eggs,soya as I was THE biggest dairy fan you've ever met , loved omelettes , egg mayo , soya burgers the lot . So I started eating things that I liked that weren't healthy to compensate the lack of variety. Crisps , biscuits , flapjacks ( a lot of flapjacks) mash with a ton of pure spread in it , loads of bread, crusty baguettes , and I pretty much put on the 3.5 stone I'd lost ( through my illness) in around 4 months .

When I was eating the things, I wasn't really questioning why I did it , it was more of a " well ... There's nothing else for me to eat that I like " and justifying it that way .

Until I went to Florida and discovered all the amazing vegan foods at wholefoods . I will be forever grateful to the vegan guy there . Amazing guy !

So, getting to now. I know what I should be eating . I know when I should be eating , I know why I should be eating what ... And what foods need to be eaten together to keep me fuller , more energised .

And in the last month - 6 weeks I've thankfully lost over a stone . I've still got around 1.5 - 2 to loose before I'm 100% ready to try on a wedding dress , but I'm getting there . And you know what ? I LOVE my vegan diet . LOVE it !

Why? Because my asthmas completely gone , I haven't had a single chest infection in 3 yrs ( thank goodness! ) I feel cleaner in my body , my digestions improved , I enjoy my meals more, the list goes on ...

I would never go back to eating dairy or eggs now , but would like to have Soya again .

So, that's my reason / story of how I became a vegan . And alittle about my difficult pregnancy.

He was totally worth it though!  I'll leave you with a few pictures.....................