Preparation 1 hour  |  Cooking Time 15 minutes  |  Servings 8

1. Soak chickpeas overnight then boil for 20mins until tender (not soggy).
   
2. Steam the rice:
   
   1. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in white rice and salt. Return to a boil over medium-high heat.
      
   2. Reduce heat, and simmer, covered, until rice is tender and has absorbed all the water, 16 to 18 minutes (check only toward the end of cooking time). The rice will be studded with steam holes when ready.
      Remove from heat, and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.
      
3. Smash the fennel.
4. Smash the chilli flakes.
5. Add coconut oil to a pan.
6. Add the cajun + salt mix, curry powder, fennel, and chilli flakes to the pan with the coconut oil and fry for a few minutes.
7. Take a brief moment to spell and appreciate beautiful aromas :)
8. Add chickpeas and rice mix to the pan and fry for a few minutes until it looks cooked. Remember to keep stirring to prevent the spices from sticking and burning onto the pan.
9. Combine all of the tahini garlic dressing ingredients into a jar, close the lid, and shake vigorously.
10. Serve the dish with a dash of garlic tahini dressing and a pinch of coriander to taste.

Preparation 25 minutes | Cooking Time 3 hours  |  Servings ~10

Ready in 45 minutes  |  Serves 10 slices

If you're attempting to live the lifestyle of a whole-food, plant-based diet, it can be daunting to realise how expensive the lifestyle can be. It's not uncommon to visit your local supermarket and realise that non-plant-based ingredients are more expensive than processed foods. Organic produce is obviously going to be your preferred choice, but if this doesn't fit within your budget, there are plenty of healthy low-cost alternatives you should consider.

To help you out, here's a list of my top 12 items to consider adding to your grocery list when on a tight budget:

1. Frozen vegetables
2. Frozen soups
3. Frozen fruit
4. Intact whole grains (quinoa, lentils, buckwheat, oats, etc.)
5. Canned beans (unsalted) (kidney beans, butter beans, canaloni beans, etc.)
6. Canned tomato products (unsalted)
7. Whole wheat pasta or brown rice pasta
8. Instant brown rice
9. Dried fruits
10. Almond butter (or make it yourself: check out a recipe here)
11. Raw almonds
12. Salt-free spice mixes

How to be smarter when it comes to eating on a budget
Ok, so even the cheap plant-based supermarket foods can still be a little expensive -- so my advice is to think outside the box (or supermarket, in this case) and consider buying in bulk online.
 
Foods such as whole grains, potatoes, and beans are generally very affordable, and can be bought in bulk. In fact, buying these ingredients in bulk can often save a lot of money in the long run.

Here's a couple of places I often buy my basic ingredients in bulk from:

• Buywholefoodsonline.co.uk
• Amazon

Do you have any questions about the suggestions listed above? If so, leave your comment in the section below or email me at [email protected]

Did you ever have a dinner guest who brought you a giant watermelon as a house gift?
🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️ I did!
I tackled half of the watermelon alone with a spoon and I gave in the white flag. Whilst holding onto my full watermelon belly I had a thought, I wonder what it would be like to dehydrate a watermelon? 🤔Amazingly enough it existed! Vegan watermelon jerkies!!! 
I marinated the watermelon in Lime, Smoked paprika, Onion powder and Cayenne pepper.
Which then I dehydrated in my dehydrator for 24 hours at 70 degrees celsius.
​OMG this turned out amaaaazing. 
Of course dehydrating for 24 hours ins't something we can do or want to do often.
But do it once, you must try.
For those who are concerned about electricity cost, please refer here. This should give you a little idea and a little relief to try this amazing recipe just once 😉.

Dried watermelon itself gives full blast of sweet flavour, all you need is a little sourness, a little saltiness and a little spiciness for a party in your mouth 🤤

Prep 15min Cooking time 24hrs 

Ingredients

• 1/2 Watermelon, cut into strips with about 2cm width
• 1 tsp Smoked paprika (Or 1 tsp normal Paprika) powder
• `1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper powder
• 1/4 tsp Onion powder
• 1 Lime zest
• 1/2 tsp salt​




​

​Instructions

1. Mix all the spices, lime zest and salt together in a shallow dish.
2. Slice the watermelon to about 2~3cm thick strips and roll  the strips in spices.
3. Place watermelon slices in a dehydrator at 70 degrees about 24 hours. For some thicker slices you might need dry for few more hours until completely dry.

Having given up a 6 figure earning career in Sydney and moving to Europe to start a completely new career from scratch, whilst being an Artist means... BUDGET. Budget, Budget, Budget.

By September 2018, we had decreased our weekly grocery budget from €200 to €100. When I say we, I meant me and my 6'1" muscle cladding husband who hits the gym 6 times a week. 

I had to think, I had to be creative! AND created I did! 😆

One bowl of this delicious and healthy Vegan Buddha bowl on my estimate costs approximately €2.50. Not only is it budget, it met the nutritional value for my husband and the dish contained "Complete protein" for muscle growth! 💪🏻

Plus, the best part of this dish was the feedback I got from my husband "Oh my god"
​
​Now that's good enough to share 👌🏻

I have outlined the 3 key steps in creating this delicious dish, as follows:

1. Budget TVP Meatballs
2. Coconut sesame Long Beans and Spinach
3. Mixed grain rice/Quinoa

Budget TVP Meatballs
Prep 10min Cooking time 25min Yield 10 Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 cup textured vegetable protein
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Tamari or Gluten free Soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Bring veggie broth to a boil and pour over tvp. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes until completely absorbed. 
2. Add the remaining ingredients and combine into a thick dough that holds together. Depending on the type of flour you use, you may need to add extra.
3. Add salt as needed, depending on whether the broth and Italian seasoning contain salt.
4. *** lay a spoon full of mixture on your clean palm. Firmly close and squeeze your fist to create meatball 
5. To bake, cook in preheated 200  °C  for 20 minutes

Recipe notes:
*** In Sarah Sullivan's recipe, it says "Shape mixture into 1-2" balls"

Coconut sesame Long Beans and Spinach
Prep 5min Cooking time 5min Yield 2 servings

Ingredients

• 200g Long beans
• 200g Spinach
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon Sesame seed
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg* (Optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

1. Cook trimmed Long beans (trim ends of Long beans) in salted boiling water for 4 minutes. Long beans should be slightly cooked but still crunchy.
2. Heat frying pan and melt Coconut oil, fry Spinach, Long beans, Garlic powder, Sesame seeds and Nutmegs until Spinach is just wilted.
3. Remove from Heat and serve onto the Buddha bowl

Mixed grain rice/Quinoa
Prep 2min Cooking time 30min Yield 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup of uncooked mixed long grain rice or any long grain rice or quinoa
• 2 cups of water
• 1 tsp of Vegetable Bouillon 

​
Instructions

1. Wash Rice/Quinoa under running water or in a pot. Throw out the water used to wash. 3 times is enough
2. Add water and Bouillon to cook. On high heat, bring it to boil then reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on
3. Once the 20 minute timer goes off, turn off the heat and let the rice sit on the stove for 10 minutes with the lid on. Don't open the lid during this process! Let the steam finish cooking the rice!

Prep 5min Yield 2 servings

Ingredients

• Cooked Long grain Rice or Quinoa
• Coconut Sesame Long beans and Spinach
• TVP Vegan Meatballs
• 1/2 Avocado
• 5 Almonds or any nuts or seeds of your liking (Small pinch~a hand full) 

​
Instructions

1. In your favourite bowls, spoon in Rice/Quinoa.
2. Arrange the TVP Meat balls, Coconut Sesame Long beans and Spinach and 1/2 Avocado
3. Sprinkle some Almonds or any nuts or seeds of your liking

After I visited my mother in Seoul Korea June 2018, I came back to Germany with much fulfilled heart AND a second hand Dehydrator! 🙌🏻
I have always wanted to own a dehydrator so bad that my heart began to beat fast with excitement with anticipation of finally getting one. So naturally, I needed a calming agent and decided to make my own blend of Tea for much needed zen-ness.