Spring: New Beginnings, and New Promises.

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. 

-Proverb 

This winter must have been one of the harshest and longest I have ever known, not just because of my personal circumstances, but because I have missed the presence of light over darkness. But that is why I love the above proverb so much. Because no matter how long or dark and gloomy the winter may have been, the spring is sure to make its way back to us again. Always.

Spring is traditionally seen as a time of growth, renewal, and of new life. And for me, it is the same. The hope that a new beginning and fresh start is waiting just around the corner is such a beautiful promise. Spring must be my absolute favourite month. Because winter is over and a new chapter is about to begin. A chapter that is full of untold stories and surprises. The grass is green, the flowers are blooming, animals are coming out of hibernation, the sun is shining, and the sky is blue.

Whenever I go out with my dog Jessie and see the yellow daffodils and white snow drops scattering the ground I'm reminded of that wonderful reassurance. And for that I am forever grateful. Grateful that winter doesn't last forever, and neither does anything that I may be going through. And like everything else, this too shall pass.

Happy Spring everyone! I wish you all the best for this next season.

Love always,

Emily X

Cashew Shortbread Biscuits

These biscuits are nothing fancy, but are something that are lovely if you feel like making something in the kitchen or need a little pick me up. When I made these last week I didn't expect to enjoy them so much! They were one of those gems of a find that happen to really surprise you.

They are great because you can do whatever you want with them. If you have some biscuit cutters you can cut them into pretty shapes of all sorts. Hearts, flowers, stars.. you name it! Be creative. If you didn't want to just have them plain and are desperate for some extra sweetness, another thing you could do is drizzle some dark chocolate over the top. Yummy!

Note: Your biscuits may turn out a little darker than the ones in the picture as I was short on coconut sugar and only used a bit and for the rest used light brown.

For this recipe one thing you will also need is some kind of machine to grind your cashews, I use my Nutribullet. If you have a high speed blender or food processor that would work great too.

PRINT THIS RECIPE

Makes 12-24 biscuits

Ingredients:
4 oz Vegan butter (Pure/Vitalite/Biona)
2 oz Coconut palm sugar
3 oz Raw cashews
4 1/2 oz Self Raising Flour (To make healthier use just under 4oz SR and the rest Spelt Flour)
1/4 tsp GF Baking Powder
Pinch Himalayan Pink Salt

To Make:

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees/375F/Gas Mark 5 and grease a baking tray. 
2. Cream the butter and coco sugar with the back of a wooden spoon until smooth.
3. Grind the cashews to a fine powder then add to the butter/sugar mixture.
4. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture and mix until combined. This will make quite a sticky dough. 
5. In your bowl, gradually add around two or three tablespoons of flour to the mixture then press in & gather together so that you can roll the mixture into a ball ready to roll.
6. With a rolling pin, roll out your dough to a reasonable thickness and cut into shapes with biscuit cutters and place them on your greased baking tray. You may need to use a knife to help lift them up. 
7. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy! 

Emily X

Becoming vegan: 2 months on!

On January 1st I decided to make the decision to become a vegan, and exactly today it will be two months eating this way. So I thought it would only be right to blog about my experience as a vegan, with all my successes and failures. Before I get into the rest of this short post, I would also like to add that I still stand by all the original reasons I set out to become one in the first place, even if everything hasn't worked out quite to my plan.

I must say that I think have may been a little overly ambitious, which I think we sometimes do when we feel passionate and enthusiastic about something. In the first few weeks and month, I did really well. I drank no milk, ate no cheese or eggs. If I fancied eggs I would make myself some scrambled tofu which might I add, is lovely! And not to be compared to scrambled egg! And eating out was no bother either. But then at the beginning of February onwards I started to slip and had an egg or two, and now I have started eating eggs now and again.

In a way, I'm happy that I decided to become a vegan. Because for two months, well..almost-I experienced something different. And not only did it benefit me, it benefited the animals and environment greatly too! My skin has been clearer, my eyes have been brighter, and my digestive system has thanked me also. Now, I have decided to stick to no milk, no cheese (apart from the very occasional bit if I eat out) and eggs once or twice a week.
Plus scrambled tofu because I love that too. :)

What are your thoughts and experiences on removing animal products from your diet? I'd love to hear from you, comment below!

Love always,

Emily X