My new favourite outfit and a tasty chilli!

Hello everyone! How's your weekend going? Mine has been great, I kicked it off on Friday night by making a lovely meal. Last weekend I had cooked up some pinto beans from scratch and really fancied something warming and comforting so I came up with this delicious chilli!

Pinto Bean and Aubergine Chilli (vegan serves 2-3)

• 1 large onion
• 1 aubergine
• 1 pepper (I used a yellow pepper)
• 1 courgette
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of tomato passata
• 1 cup or 1 tin of pinto beans (black beans or black eye beans would also work)
• 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp of cumin
• 1 tbsp of cocoa powder

Begin by chopping the aubergine into cubes, putting it in a colander and sprinkling with salt to remove the bitterness. After 10 minutes fry the aubergine until it is browned, set aside. Chop the onion and fry in a little oil over a medium high heat until softened then add the pepper and the courgette chopped into pieces. Continue to fry for a few minutes then add the aubergine. Fry for 3-5 minutes then add the chopped tomatoes, passata, beans, spices and cocoa powder. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes until all the veg has softened and the tomato sauce is thick and syrupy. Serve!

I ate mine with some roast purple potatoes, steamed greens and avocado. Its the first time I've tried adding cocoa to a chilli recipe but it works very well to add depth of flavour. The purple potatoes were unusual, they roasted up lovely (I used coconut oil) but I'm not sure I'd make an effort to buy them again, I much prefer sweet potatoes!

For a late night 'snack' I made a massive bowl of popcorn with melted coconut butter:

This was delish! Other tasty eats from the weekend include yesterday mornings breakfast:

Cherry oats with cinnamon topped with tofu cream and pecans, yum!

For lunch, a smoothie made with beet greens, banana, chocolate sun warrior, maca, ground flax, berries powder, water and ice topped with massive amounts of sunflower seed butter, muesli and extra raisins:

I totally added more muesli and nut butter as I ate it off the top, so good :-)

After a 30 min treadmill run, 15 min bike and my kettle bell class, I came home this morning and devoured another Protein Buckwheat Bowl:

So loving these! I made this one with chocolate sun warrior protein powder and some almond extract then topped it with raisins and dried mixed berries, it was gorgeous. I also ate a big bowl of grapes, I was ravenous!

Oh and I have to give a quick mention to these amazing raw flat breads from Viva Pure:

These are sweet onion flatbreads and I had them with veggies, avocado and olives. They are so tasty! I'll definitely be treating myself to those again. I can't forget this lovely snack I had too:

Fresh figs with tahini, tofu cream, honey and bee pollen, it was just utterly wonderful!

Last night we went out for a meal to celebrate my Dad's and my Sister's birthday:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OOTD: jewelled necklace: Topshop, stripy tee: Topshop, buckled wide belt: Dorothy Perkins I think?, green skirt: Urban Outfitters, black tights: M&S, ankle boots with zip detail: New Look, metallic clutch bag: Accessorize, chunky ring: Topshop

I really love this outfit! I can't wait to wear this combo again, of course it features my favourite stripes and I just adore that green skirt, I think its so unusual and very 'me'!

We went to a pub called The Old Mill and I had some Spicy Vegetable Enchiladas:

Delicious! These were packed with vegetables in a spicy tomato sauce and were super filling, although I still found room for plenty of chocolate when I came home! We had a fun night looking through some old photographs of us all when we were little and my Dad when he was a teenager, it was nice to be reminded of good times.

Yesterday morning we hit the shops as I wanted to return another of the dresses I had bought in the sales to exchange for something in a bigger size, no point in kidding myself if I'm aiming to gain weight right? I am really loving all the new season fashion, the colours are great! I ended up spending a bit more than the sale dress I was returning and bought this new season dress:

Warehouse: £42

Its blue polka dot with neon coral highlights on the arms and with the belt. I love it! I also got some jeans from Primark in black and dark rinse and some cropped workout pants from TK Maxx.

Do you have a current favourite outfit?

How's your weekend been? I'm looking forward to more of that chilli for dinner this evening! I also have an interesting week ahead, tomorrow we are having a planning day for work and I'll be going to my first taught yoga class in almost a year! I have to say I'm pretty glad to be seeing the back of January next week too, I can't wait for the spring! Hope you have a good one whatever your up to!