Thursday 30 January 2020

Yam Toast with Sweet and Savoury Toppings | Gluten-Free Bread Substitute


Humour me for a second. Yam is such a neutral-tasting root vegetable that surely it's the perfect base for all manner of creative toast toppings. Right? Well, I was certainly curious enough to try.
The key things to remember: slice your yam as thinly as possible, put it through two rounds of toasting on the highest setting so that it cooks all the way through, and approach this with an open mind - ha!

And here are a few pictures to inspire your yam toast munching adventures...





Okra and Sweet Potato Salad




OG blog readers may recognise this recipe from 2014. It feels like yesterday but alas six years have indeed passed since this dish first graced my palate. I've been feeling the pull to revisit old recipes and breathe new life into them, perhaps modify certain aspects based on new cooking techniques and principles I've adopted. In the original recipe, for instance, I use olive oil to sauté the veg... In this version I replace that with a bit of low-sodium vegetable stock. Same delicious taste, but a notch healthier.

Expect to see more revamped recipes this year. There's so much past content to leverage on the blog but of course I'll share new creations as and when inspiration strikes.


If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Roasted Carrot, Fennel and Mint Salad
Stuffed Plantain Cups

Friday 17 January 2020

Using Paysend to Organise My Next Event

I have some exciting news and you’re the first to hear about it.

In less than a month, I will be back in Nigeria after many years away and while I’m there, I plan to host my very first Vegan Nigerian pop-up in Nigeria. What a glorious way to celebrate the 7 year anniversary of this blog! More details to come in a future post…


In organising this event all the way from London, I am grateful for the internet and all the electronic tools and services that make the process easier. One of the services I’d like to shout about in this post is Paysend

Paysend is a money transfer platform that is revolutionising the way we send money across borders. In a few easy steps, I was able to transfer money to my collaborator in Nigeria, to go towards the cost of pre-ordered ingredients and specific kitchen utensils. To tell you that I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the platform would be a huge understatement. What if I told you that I was able to transfer money to a Nigerian bank account from my UK account within a couple of minutes? Out of everything I will hype up about this brand, the speed of service tops the list.

Other key features that impressed me is the fact that they enable transfers between over 70 countries (and the list keeps growing). At a transparent fixed fee of £1/$2/€1.50, they are also a stunningly low-cost option, and for a bonafide bargain-hunter such as myself, they are truly speaking my language on this front. Their exchange rates are among the most competitive rates on the market too. In terms of security, you may be wondering just how secure the platform is. Well, thanks to their high-tech anti fraud system, and the fact that they are authorised by the FCA in the UK, I was able to feel confident as I proceeded to try them out.

All I had to do was sign up (this takes literally one minute to do) and fill in the details of the transfer in a short, uncomplicated form. By the time I checked with my recipient a couple of minutes later, they confirmed that they had already received notification of the transfer.

In the spirit of transparency, I took screenshots as I used the platform to make my transfer, just so you can see the clean, easy and speedy format for yourselves.

1. I filled in my basic information to sign up. A simple email/phone verification followed.




2. I was immediately taken to my dashboard. Notice the clear, user-friendly layout. They also have 24/7 online chat support but with a user-experience this simple, I doubt you’ll run into any problems as you navigate.


3. I entered the details of the transfer I wanted to make. Notice the fixed transaction fee of £1 (talk about a bargain!)


4. Transfer done in seconds!

Overall, I cannot recommend Paysend enough. Whether you want to send money to family and friends abroad or pay for bills overseas, I’m pretty certain that once you try Paysend you won’t want to use any other money transfer service. 




Ready to get started? Click HERE to sign up online or download the Paysend app. As a special bonus, use offer code VEGAN to get a free transfer!

Sunday 12 January 2020

Trying Every Vegan Option in Covent Garden



Well, almost...😋

A few months ago, I was commissioned to create a vegan guide to Covent Garden. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect as it coincided with my friend Sofia’s visit to London. If there’s anything we enjoy more than a great catch-up, it’s eating great vegan food. In this week’s vlog-style video, we take a tour around one of my favourite vegan-friendly neighbourhoods in the city.

Which places did we miss?

Join me on Instagram to see more pictures of the food!

If you like this video, you'll also enjoy:
Vegan in Nice, France
Vegan in Urecht, Netherlands
Vegan in Singapore

Sunday 5 January 2020

Vegan Weight Loss - How I Lost Over 50 Pounds

In my first YouTube video of the year I discuss the surprise I experienced when I stepped on the scales for the first time after 7 years.

Shortly before going vegan, I’d grown disillusioned with toxic diet culture...stopped counting calories & stopped obsessing over my weight, choosing instead to focus on total self-acceptance, channeling my energy into more productive endeavours. Anyone else relate?

Over time, I’ve taken a gentle and forgiving approach, allowing myself to learn about nutrition as I go along, incorporating healthy habits as I discover them (the most recent being the whole food/plant-based way of eating as outlined in the book ‘Eat to Live’).

It was interesting to see how all these little decisions have added up to me shedding over 50 pounds.. in a way that seems almost effortless. I discuss all my food/exercise habits and more in the video. Check it out below!

And If you want to find out more about the vegan lifestyle in general and get an idea of how I build my daily meal plan, you can download my free guide to going vegan.




Some before and after pictures...






Thursday 2 January 2020

Top 10 Vegan Recipes 2019

Happy New Year! Here's a quick look back at some of my favourite recipes of 2019. How many of them have you tried? :)





1. Jollof rice and moin moin stuffed peppers

2. Pounded yam pancakes


3. Cassava flour pasta


4. Vegan tiramisu


5. Cashew ice cream


6. Guinea corn porridge


7. Sweet potato bites


8. Apple pot pies


9. Low-fat scrambled tofu


10. Stewed apples