Raw Chocolate & Peanut Butter Oat Bars

Ingredients

1/2 cup peanut butter (plus extra for spreading on top)
1 1/2 cups soaked dates (soak for 10 min)
1/2 cup oats
1 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (extra for decorating on top)
Coconut oil for coating baking tray


Method

1. Place all ingredients in food processor and blend.
2. Coat baking tray with small amount of coconut oil.
3. Place mixture in tray and squash down.
4. Place in fridge for 4 hours or overnight to firm up.
5. Cut in 'bar' shapes and decorate with peanut butter and pumpkin seeds.


Notes

Makes 10 bars
Keeps for 3 weeks in fridge
Great as a snack or desert


Vanessa X ( @vanessagoesvegan )

Raw Energy Balls

Ingredients

1 cup medjool dates or regular dates soaked in boiling water for 10 min
3/4 cup cashews
3/4 cup almonds
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp of raw organic maca powder (or another super-food powder)
3 tbsp cocoa powder
coconut and extra chia and pumpkin seeds for coating (optional)


Method

1. Place dates, nuts and seeds in food processor. Blend until in small pieces.
2. Add other ingredients in food processor. Blend until smooth.
3. Roll small balls with the mixture using your hands.
4. Roll balls in coconut or seeds.
5. Place in fridge for 2 hours or until firm.
6. Store in fridge.


Notes

Makes 20 balls
Keeps for up to 3 weeks
Use as a snack, for breakfast or as an energy pick-me-up

Vanessa X ( @vanessagoesvegan )

Sushi Bowl 1

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups of cooked jasmine rice
1/2 raw diced red capsicum
1/4 raw diced cucumber
1 raw spring onion diced
1/2 small avocado diced
4 pinches chia and sesame seeds for sprinkling on top
1 pinch chili flakes for on top
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari sauce


Method

1. Cook rice.
2. Cut veggies.
3. Place cooked rice on one side of the bowl.
4. Place raw veggies on other side of the bowl.
5. Garnish with seeds, chili and soy sauce


Notes

Serves 1
Great for lunch or dinner
Easy to make
Good way of incorporating raw veggies into your diet


Vanessa X ( @vanessagoesvegan )

Blueberry Banana Nice-Cream

Ingredients

2 frozen bananas
1 cup frozen blueberries
Seeds and dried fruit for topping (optional)


Method

1. Place frozen bananas and blueberries in food processor. Blend until smooth 'ice-cream' consistency. Add a few table spoons of water if struggling to blend.
2. Serve and eat straight away in bowl.


Notes

Guilt free 'ice cream'
Eat once blended



Vanessa X ( @vanessagoesvegan )

Hummus

Ingredients

2 cans chickpeas

5 tbsp water (add extra water to make creamier)

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (add extra oil to make creamier)

2 tsp tahini paste

juice 1 lemon

salt to taste

1 tsp ground cumin

1 sprig parsley

2 sprigs basil

1 clove garlic

Method

1.     Put all ingredients in food processor

2.      Blend until smooth

Notes

Lasts up to a week in the fridge

Enjoy as a dip, on bread/crackers or as a dressing

Vanessa X ( @vanessagoesvegan )

It's A Crime Not To Prime! - All About Primers

Hi everyone,

Today I am going to talk to you about primers! I absolutely love primers and believe that they are an essential part of anyone's makeup routine or any makeup look. I only have three primers (two for my face and one for my eyes) and I love them all.

The three primers that I own are:


Too Faced Primed and Poreless Oil-free (face primer)

This is definitely my favorite face primer out of the two! This primer makes your skin so soft and smooth and assists in keeping your makeup on all day. It is also oil free and good for sensitive skin. Also, as this primer is the cheaper one out of the two, I use this for special occasions, when I want my makeup to look flawless or when I need to where makeup for a long period of time.

L'Oreal Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer (face primer)

Like all my primers, I like to apply this one with my fingers. I find that by doing this it warms up the product and therefore applies more evenly. This primer does a great job at giving your skin a matte finish and eliminating any shine. However I wouldn't recommend this primer for extremely oily skin.

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion- Original (eye shadow primer)

This eyeshadow primer is as good as everyone says it is! It makes my eyeshadow stay on all day and not crease at all. I would definitely recommend the original formula as it comes out skin colour and dries transparent, so it won't effect the true colour of your eyeshadows.

The Benefits of Face Primers:

• Fill in pores
• Fill in fine lines
• Even out your skin tone
• Helps foundation to glide on smoothly
• Helps your foundation to last all day

The Benefits of Eye Primers:

• Makes your eye shadow look more vibrant
• Helps your eye shadow to last all day
• Stops your eye shadow from creasing

Other primers that I would recommend:

FACE
Innoxa Skin Perfect Pore Vanishing Cream
Benefit the POREfessional
Face of Australia Base Primer
Stila Onestep Correct
L'Oreal Lumi Magique Base Pure Light Primer

EYES
Maybelline Colour Tattoos (cream eyeshadow base)
Mac Paint Pot
Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base (good for oily eyelids)


Let me know what your favorite face and eyeshadow primers are in the comments below!

How to: Wash Your Hair Effectively

Hey everyone,

Washing our hair is something that we have done so often that many people don't really think about various techniques to get the most out of your shampoo and conditioner, so today I will tell you how!

Shampoo and Conditioner that I use: Click here for review!

Firstly, I like to wash my hair at the start of my shower routine.

Applying the Shampoo: As the shampoo that I use does not have any 'bad' sulphates (which make the shampoo lather up and essentially multiply the quantity), I like to apply a bit more shampoo than what is normally recommended with other shampoos. I firstly tip my head upside down and apply a 20 cent size amount to the hair at the nape of my neck (this is where a lot of oil builds up). Then I apply the same amount to the crown of my head and my hairline. A mistake that a lot of people make when applying shampoo is that they concentrate it too much on the ends of the hair (which are not as dirty). Shampoo is meant to be used to clean your scalp, so just let the remaining shampoo wash down the lengths of your hair. I use my finger tips to massage the shampoo into may scalp for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, then gently rinse it out using the same massaging technique.

Applying the Conditioner: You can estimate how much conditioner you need to apply depending on the length of your hair. I only apply the conditioner to the 'pony tail of my hair' by massaging it in as conditioner is not essentially made for your scalp. By washing my hair at the start of my shower routine, I am able to leave the conditioner in for as long as possible (so it really works its magic), rinsing it out is the last thing I do before stepping out of the shower.

How often do I wash my hair? I like to wash my hair with shampoo 2-3 times a week and one other time with just conditioner alone. When I don't use shampoo I wash my hair with just water by rinsing it (using the same massaging technique that I would when using shampoo). Even though I have oily hair, using this technique actually reduces the amount of oil your hair produces while still keeping it moisturised, nourished and healthy!

Tip: Cleanse your face after you shampoo and condition your hair because the shampoo and conditioner can get into your pores on your face. Your pores are also wide open at this point so you will get a much thorough cleanse.

I hope these tips are useful for you as they have been for me!