Superfood Banana Bread Muffins.

Banana Bread? Yes, love it. Superfoods? Yep! Love them too. Combining them to create some deliciously healthy cake? Count me in.

The lovely folks over at VITL recently sent me a cute parcel to celebrate the launch of their newest product; VITL Greens, handy sachets of superfoods and nutrients to boost your inner health. What makes them more unique, however, is that these sachets actually taste good. Like, really, really good. Sweet, vanilla-ry, fruity and with no green aftertaste. I’d have no problems adding these to plain water or porridge instead of trying to conceal the taste in a smoothie, though I did actually add mine to smoothies because they improved the taste so much! ha.

Each 6g sachet is made up of 19 super ingredients. It’s protein rich, contains greens to alkalise and contains a host of minerals and vitamins. I haven’t taken a superfood blend like VITL Greens before, preferring to stick to just one or two powders (I like maca and wheatgrass) in my smoothies. I’m wary of how beneficial these ingredients could really be when you are consuming just 6g (about a heaped teaspoon) at a time of so many ingredients. There must only be micro amounts of the ingredients listed at the bottom of the ingredients list. Are they really beneficial?

Then again, there are studies that show we don’t get enough trace minerals these days thanks to gmo crops, pesticides, processed foods and the depletion of natural minerals in our soil, so I see how having a handy nutritional boost like this every day can really help keep everything ticking over nicely. It may only be a subtle change, like not waking up feeling so sluggish or realising you haven’t had a headache in awhile, but hey those are good things and signs your body is working just great. There certainly isn’t anything bad for you in these sachets so even if you are only consuming tiny amounts of the good stuff, at least you’re getting something. What do you think?

Ingredients: Organic Whole Spirulina, Flaxseed, Maca Root, Coconut Sugar, Date Fruit, Organic Wheatgrass, Barley Grass, Organic Broken Cell Wall Chlorella, Dried Goji Berry, Natural Vanilla Flavouring , Strawberry, Blueberry, Kale Leaf, Broccoli, Florets and Stalk, Seagreens® Arctic Seaweed, Beetroot Juice, Green Tea Leaf Extract, Turmeric Root Powder, Corn Maltodextrin


Now onto a lovely recipe. My parcel from VITL contained the ingredients needed to make their Supergreens Protein Banana Bread and I couldn’t wait to get baking. I decided to make mine as mini muffins though, as I’ve never had good luck when baking anything in a loaf tin.
Ingredients:
  • 100g Ground almonds
  • 50g Hemp protein
  • 50g Ground oats
  • 1tsp Cinnamon
  • 4 Sachets VITL Greens
  • 1 & 1/2 tsp Baking powder
  • 4 Eggs
  • 3 Ripe Bananas (mashed)
Method:
Blend together the mashed banana and eggs. Mix all the dry ingredients separately. Then combine the wet ingredients with the dry. Pour into bread tin (or muffin cases!) lined with baking paper and greased with coconut oil. Bake at 180 for 40-45 minutes for bread and 20-25 for muffins until cooked right through. Allow to cool and enjoy!

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My Fave Vegan Foodie YouTube Channels.

Happy World Vegan Month!

Since becoming vegan I’ve found myself obsessed with food, even more so than I used to be, that is. I love cooking, I love trying new foods and I love experimenting in the kitchen. Being vegan has made me so much more adventurous and my tastes and palette have expanded so much.


Gone are the days where I would binge-watch beauty vloggers, these days I’m all about the vegan YouTubers who inspire me to try new foods, be a little healthier or make me crave cookies like nobodies business.


I thought I would list a selection of my favourites below for you to explore, and hopefully, you find some new YouTubers to watch! I feel like I have a really good mix of wholesome whole food healthy vegans and those who post ice cream taste tests and put plenty of butter in their cookie recipes.

Cam & Nina


I love this Australian duo, they’re so calming to watch and make some of the most beautiful videos. I’ve made a bunch of their recipes and love watching their ‘what we eat in a day’ videos for healthier food inspiration.

A Chill Vegan


Emily posts really great ‘What I eat in a week’ vids and her sense of humour is everything. She’s super chill about veganism and I dig it.




So You’re Dating a Vegan


My favourites!! I freaking love Duncan and Liz and this is the only channel that Mikey and I have watched every single one of their videos TOGETHER! (at first, it was just because I had to show Michael how much he looked like Duncan, but then we got a bit hooked on their fun & unique videos). The pair actually got married this summer and I cried watching the video. I LOVE THEM.

Mary’s Test Kitchen


Mary posts ‘what i ate’ and recipe videos. Her recipes are amazing and so easy to follow. She has everything from homemade vegan cheese and yorkshire puddings, to donuts and bbq ‘pork’ buns. (those are next on my list!)




Ellen Fisher


Ah, that perfect Hawaiian life. Ellen is a ray of sunshine and her videos are becoming more and more beautiful. She definitely inspires me to eat more whole foods, salads and greens whenever I watch her videos. I’ve watched every single video she has uploaded.

Liv B


One of my more recent subs, I like Liv’s easy, comfort food recipes and simple ideas for tasty meals. There’s plenty of easy recipes for mug cakes, waffles, snacks and all the pasta. Plus, have you ever seen someone with such gorgeous blue eyes? ugh.

Sarah Lemkus


Sarah is from New Zealand and is also about to have a baby any day now like meeeeeee! I think I found her channel from searching what vegan toddlers/kids eat videos, (gotta be prepared – also most interesting videos ever!) where she showed her 2yr old daughter Beth’s meals. I fell in love with their happy little fam and have been subbed ever since.

Hot For Food


What vegan isn’t subscribed to Hot For Food?? I think she must have been one of the first all-vegan food channels I found. I’ve made so many of her recipes, the cauliflower buffalo wings are my favourite and I make them once or twice a month at least! Chicken noodle soup, corn and courgette fritters, mac and peas… all staples! I can’t wait for her cook book next year.

Taira


One of only two UK YouTubers I’ve listed – oops! I definitely need to find more. Taira has six children. Yes. Six! and they’re all vegan and amazing. She mostly posts vlogs but I love seeing what they get up to and of course, what they eat – they make me feel totally chill about having a vegan baba with a totally ‘normal’ diet. Nuggets and chips do happen, and that’s totally okay because they’re vegan nuggets 😉

Sarah’s Vegan Kitchen


I subscribed to Sarah 9 months ago when she posted a video of her taste testing two different vegan smoked salmon recipes. It blew my mind! Vegan salmon! (I made the carrot one btw and it was tasty but so much effort). I then binge watched every video she had ever uploaded and have watched every new one since, so much delicious food!

The Viet Vegan


Lisa’s recent recipe for a lemongrass banh mi inspired me to make seitan for the first time! and it was a hit! So I obviously had to subscribe.

Cheap Lazy Vegan


Need inspiration for cooking on a budget, Rose is ya gal. Plus, she’s Korean and posts a lot of noodle recipes, and I love anything with noodles, so that’s great.

Mommytang


Mommytang doesn’t seem to upload anymore, but I had to include her because she fueled my love for all things vegan korean food. I would never have found kimchi without her, I owe the lady a lot.

Avantgardevegan


Gaz is our second UK YouTuber! His recipes are absolutely insane, just one quick look and you’ll understand. Katsu curry, toffee apple brownie, nut roast… yum! It’s no wonder he also has a cookbook coming out soon. His videos are TV standard and really professional, too!

And that’s all I have for you, for now!


Do you have any recommendations for channels I can check out??


Get in the Line to Fine!

Calling all Benebabes!! By now you’ve definitely heard the buzz about the NEW they’re real! push-up liner. From your very own #linercrimes to the REAL innovation behind the product, even the criminally sexy video—by now you must be dying to get your hands on your (about to be) new favorite gel liner in a pen.

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What is it!? 

Get in line to be one of the first to purchase they’re real! push-up liner—before it even hits stores. UM—YES, PLEASE!

Tell me what I need to do immediately!

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But wait! That can’t be all…

You’re right! You know we always have more beauty secrets to unveil. SO, not only do you get EARLY access, but you also get free shipping! Plus, we’ve partnered with some amazingly fine vloggers to bring you exclusive videos all about they’re real! push-up liner. We’ll update them daily, so check back often.

Want another reason to come back & visit thelinetofine.com? We’re giving you the opportunity to jump ahead in line! Want to skip 10 spots? Just watch one of the exclusive videos! Want to jump 10 more spots in line? Look our for the hidden gems… think diamonds, locks and little jail birds, we mean, #justsayin. Okay, there’s one more way you can jump the line—SHARE! Share with your friends on Facebook & Twitter via the buttons on the site, and we’ll jump you TEN more spots.

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Whew! We’re so excited about all of this info—are you feeling a little overwhelmed, too!? Don’t worry, once you get in line the rest will be a breeze. Just make sure you’re checking back daily to jump your spot in line to get first access to the first ever lash-hugging gel liner in a pen!

Best of bene-luck, gorgeous! xo

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Agave shortage to hit cosmetics

Agave shortage to hit cosmetics

Cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and foods are among the products being made from agave in Mexico, where the plant provides the raw material for tequila and mezcal, but the cactus is in short supply, pushing up prices.

“We are clearly seeing a rise in the price of agave because this has always been the industry that feels it the most,” Mexican Mezcal Quality Regulation Council, or Comercam, president Hipocrates Nolasco told Efe.

In the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico’s main producer of mezcal, a kilo of agave was going for less than half a peso ($0.04) three years ago.The price of a kilo of agave is now four pesos ($0.30) and estimates are that it could hit eight or nine pesos ($0.70) in the next three years.Mezcal is gaining more market share in Mexico and around the world, rivaling tequila and pushing up production of the distilled liquor.

The western state of Jalisco is the birthplace of tequila, the Mexican national beverage.Agave is also being used to make pharmaceuticals, providing a coating that can extend their shelf life, Nolasco said. The plant can be used to treat people with diabetes, a common illness in Mexico, because it has glucose, the Comercam chief said