Erika's World

Hello everyone! How was your weekend? I see that you really liked my How To Be Vegan post from last week and that inspired me to do a part two of that post. This post is going to be about my favorite vegan food brands. I feel like that when people think about vegans they think that we only eat salad. That is not at all true. Yes a vegan diet is 100% plant based but that doesn't mean that we only eat salads. There are a lot of vegan alternatives/ versions of "regular" food. Some of them taste exactly the same or much better than the non-vegan version. Like this vegan mayonnaise. I would say that homemade mayo (at least the one I used to make myself) taste a billion times better than store bought. So when I tried this vegan mayo I was a bit sceptical but honestly I can't tell difference and the best thing is the it tastes just like homemade non-vegan mayo. I have not tried other products by this brand only the vegan mayonnaise. I just used it as point to say tha...

Hello! As you know I have been a vegetarian for many many years (that makes me sound like I am at least 100 years old) but I recently decided to go full on vegan. No more animal products. It may sound very hard but it's not. Or at least not for me whom has been used to eating a lot of vegetables and beans for several years. That's the kind of food I like. I realize that being vegan is not a choice for everyone. 1) Because you actually like meat and hey it is nothing wrong with that. 2) Your health problems may make this difficult and I respect that because HEALTH ALWAYS COMES FIRST .  My reason wasn't 100% that this is the kind of food that I like. It was also because I rarely ate any dairy products anymore and I saw no reason on continuing just every now and then. When I made up my mind I was determined and kind of disgusted at the thought of eating dairy again. Sometimes when I set my mind on something there is no way going back. What do I eat? I eat anything plant bas...

Hello guys! How are you? I am good but I have a small cold so I am also not good. Seriously where is the vaccine for the common cold?! That should be a shot that is included in those vaccines you get as a kid. This is so annoying! I never get sick other than that I get a cold like six times a year. It's not funny. So now I am sitting here on my couch trying to recuperate so that I have energy for next week. My mom is coming to Stockholm tomorrow. We are going to see Chris Rock. I have been looking forward to that for months! He is someone that I have wanted to see for years so I am really excited that he is finally coming to Sweden. My mom and I are going to go out to dinner and the go and see Chris Rock. Actually we also saw Kevin Hart when he was here almost two years ago. We are also going to see that new movie Girls Trip . It's seems really funny. Right now I am just sitting here on the couch and having a little snack. Just some tea with honey and a toast. Not just a to...

Hello! I was going to post this last night but I was too tired. I barely know how I managed to bake these buns but I did. Okay, so a few weeks ago I saw this picture on instagram of these delicious looking vegan pumpkin spice cinnamon buns. Immediately I just knew that I had to make them. Last night I finally decided to fight my fatigue and bake them. I even made my own pumpkin spice pumpkin puré (because you know I make everything from scratch). It was very easy.  As you can see I made twice as many buns as the recipe says, but you should still bake them for 25-30 minutes. I skipped the glazing on my buns.  I have missed baking so much! When I was younger, before I started high school and even in high school I used to bake all of the time. Cookies, cakes and I even made my own ice cream. It was so much fun. Now I don't do that as much or I mean even at all. It's just that I don't really have the same craving for sweet stuff as I did back then.   If...

Yesterday I tried out a new thing in the kitchen. I made rice pudding with coconut milk instead of regular milk. I just had this idea in my head that it would be really tasty. I was right! It was so good. I love cooking. I love coming up with new ideas and trying them out. Sometimes it works out really well and sometimes it doesn't. The the beauty of it and how you learn. If you want to make coconut rice pudding yourself, all you have to do is switch the regular milk for coconut milk. It's as simple as that! But in case you don't know how to make rice pudding I am going to share my recipe with you. My aka the recipe on the packing of Eldorado's pudding rice. (So it's really Eldorado's recipe and not mine, anyway I am sharing it with you but all credits go to Eldorado for the recipe. Except for the coconut milk, that is all my idea.) Coconut rice pudding 2 portions Ingredients 0,75 dl pudding rice 1,5 dl water 1 krm salt 2-3 dl coconut milk How to...

Today I am trying out this new recipe. Or it's really not a recipe it's just an idea that I had. I am making coconut rise pudding. Doesn't it sound delicious?! I made this coconut rice for dinner the other day and that just got me thinking that wouldn't it be delicious if I made some coconut rice pudding. The end result of the coconut rice was almost like a rise pudding which is where I got the idea from. It's on the stove cooking right now. I will tell you how it turned out when it's finished. Talk to you later! your writer, Erika

Hello! Has any of you tried facebooks Marketplace? I just put up an item there and I am going to put up some more after I have finished this post. You know the other day when said that I was going do to a bit of fall cleaning because I have a lot of stuff collecting dust in my closet. Yeah so I just thought that I would try and sell them on marketplace. I mean it's free to post adds on there so why not, right. If you want to buy my stuff go on marketplace and look for me. Before I leave you with this post I have to tell you about Oatly's new vanilla flavored oatgurt (oatgurt = oat based yogurt). If you have ever tried outlays vanilla sauce you will love their vanilla oatgurt because it tastes exactly the same! Yum and who doesn't want to eat vanilla sauce for breakfast (Am I right!?). Normally I don't like flavored yoghurts because they have so many artificial ingredients to make it taste "normal". Oatlys regular oatgurt already has a bunch of artificial in...

The other day I had the biggest craving for pasta with tomato sauce. Like I could really visualise the plate of food being infront of me. I wanted it so bad that I almost made it for breakfast. Almost. This pasta dish is very easy to make and it doesn't take more than 15 minutes. This recipe is for two people. Erika's vegan pasta with tomato sauce 150g chickpea pasta 1/2 onion 1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes 2 cloves garlic 1/4 lemon 150g rocket leaves A pinch of chili flakes Black pepper Salt Olive oil for frying 1. Fill a pot with water and let it boil. Add the pasta. Chop the onion and the garlic cloves and fry them in a pan with olive oil for about three minutes. 2. Stir in the can chopped tomatoes. Let it simmer for a few minutes.  3. Add a the chili flakes, black pepper and salt. Squeeze the juice from the lemon directly in the pan. Lastly add the rocket leaves and mix them with sauce. Let it simmer until the pasta is done and then...

Translated the title means "bake bake little cake". It's a saying that we having in Sweden that's why I wrote it in Swedish. Oh, I thought that I would show you guys my delicious buns with an olive filling. They are so yummy and are the perfect snack for when you are a little bit hungry. Though I just had three and I think that more qualifies as a meal instead of a snack. Hahaha but they are so delicious that I just couldn't help myself. Ooops! your writer, Erika

As you know I am a vegetarian but I am trying to eat more vegan. The thing that separates me from vegetarian and vegan is that I eat dairy. It's mostly because I love yoghurt and cheese. Those are my two favorite things. But really there isn't much that stops me from being vegan. I mean I can easily quit dairy. Yogurt and cheese is the only dairy that I consume. I don't consume regular butter or milk. I eat vegan butter and oat drink. My favorite vegan brand is Oatly. They have some many great products. I love their ice-cream, oat drink (aka oat milk but it's totally vegan and oat based), their oat chai drink is amazing, and I love so many more of their product. I thought that I would share my favorite Oatly products so that hopefully you will fall in love with them as well. picture source:  http://www.oatly.com/products/sweden/ikaffe/ picture source:  http://www.oatly.com/products/sweden/glass-vaniljsmak/ picture source:  http://www.oatly.com/product...

It's such a beautiful day! Such beautiful weather and I feel so good. I felt so good that bought an other Ben and Jerry vegan ice-cream. I told my mom that if Ben and Jerry keeps making this vegan ice-creams I am probably going to gain 20 pounds. It's so freaking delicious, I love it! your writer, Erika

Hello! You know that I love everything vegan and organic and always willing to try new products when I see them. Today I saw this organic vegan yoghurt with a coconut base. You just know that I had to try it! It was good. It tastes exactly like coconut milk. The brand is called Abbot Kinney's. Check out there website here for more information about their products. your writer, Erika

So I have been sitting here for over an hour just staring at the screen not knowing what to write. It's really hard being a blogger sometimes. I understand why some bloggers don't update their blog every single day. I really do need to get better at preparing posts. When days like today happen I'll have something to post even though my mind really is blank. Okay so what now? What am I going to talk to you about today? I thought that I try and inspire you all to eat more vegetarian. I would say vegan but I am not even vegan myself since I eat dairy. Really, that's the only thing the keeps me from going vegan, dairy. But I am going to order a bunch of food from Mathem this weekend so I am going to see what kinds of different vegan yoghurts they have. Mathem actually have a great selection of food. No matter what your allergies are or whether you're vegetarian or vegan I am you'll find lots of food that suits you. I thought that I would try and inspire you wit...

I went to the grocery store yesterday because I had to pick up some things. When I walked past the non-dairy section I say this new vegan butter. First I wasn't going to buy it because I already have butter at home. But then I just had to try it because it's made out of coconuts, almonds and shea oil! Yum yum yum! I tried it as soon as I got home. I was good and has a little nutty flavour. So if you love nuts try this butter. Oh, one more great thing about this butter is that it's organic! your writer, Erika

You know what, I rarely eat candy or cookies and cakes and all of that stuff. Just mostly because I don't have any cravings for it. If I do eat candy it's sometimes chocolate or liquorice. Also I don't like candy because all of the unnatural chemical ingredients. I don't care about the calories! I care that the food I eat is made from all natural products. I am so glad that I have found Mormor Magdas vegan ice-cream because it's organic and made from natural ingredients. I thought that I would share some of my healthy snacks with you so you also can have a healthier alternative to candy. I am not saying not to eat candy but as with everything moderation is key or as we say in Sweden, a lagom amount. 1. FRUIT SALAD. Usually when I make a fruit salad I choose three or four of my favorite fruits. I cut them into cubes mix them in a bowl with raisins. You can also add nuts and coconut flakes, that's really delicious. If you want you can have some whipped Greek o...

Some people think that eating healthy is actually a hassle, too much of a hassle to actually bother doing it. That's so not true! Eating healthy is not any more of a hassle than not eating healthy. It's just as easy doing both. The only thing is that you either choose you eat healthy or unhealthy. It's a choice, where both options are just as easy to make just that healthy foods will save your life in the end. Below I have written down some helpful tips for eating more healthy foods! 1. PREPARATION.  It can be just as easy that you once a week cook a bunch of healthy dishes and put them in your freezer. Then when you're hungry you just take one and pop them in the oven or the microwave. When you do this you can also get portion control. Divide your food in equal sized containers. That way you won't over eat. Preparation is also great because (at least for me) some nights I don't really feel like cooking but I still want to eat a real and healthy meal instea...

Yo! yeah that's right you get a second post today! I thought that you all deserved that. You're good to me so I am going to be good to you. It might not be a huge post with a bunch of research. It's just personal preference on how you make the perfect most delicious smoothie. What you need is (for one glass): 1 banana, 2,5 dl/ 1 cup of full-fat yoghurt and fruit or berries of your choice. Mix in a blender until smooth. Pour in a glass and drink that delicious drink that you just made for yourself! A banana is a must! 1 - the texture will be a little extra thick and 2 - it will add natural sweetness so you won't have to add any sugar or other sweetener. What kind of fruits or berries will you add? Comment below! (Psst! My favorite combo is to add either blueberries, raspberry or pineapple and mango). BTW, do you know that smoothies and juices are actually a really good way for you to get the nutrion that you need from fruit? If you don't like eating fruit or...

Oh hello! How are you? I am good. Just sitting in bed and watching The Hangover . A girl got to do something at night, right? Hahaha. Nah, I just like to have something to entertain myself with while I am writing. Okay, I do enjoy just watching movies and not blogging at the same time because you some times miss important things. Good thing that I have seen this movie before than. But I don't want to miss the hilarious jokes. So I went to the doctors and did a big health screening. They took a lot of blood, I had to do this breathing test and they listened to my heart. All of my vitals and the other test came back awesome. So I am just as healthy as they can be. The only thing the doctor said if she had to comment on something was maybe I should eat more fat. That got me thinking that didn't know what I could eat. What are some good vegetarian fats? So to educate both you and myself I thought that I would look it up. I found some great vegetarian fat sources and 10 deliciou...

OMG, it's so so so so late! I mean I can't believe that I haven't posted anything yet. Just been busy and I am still tired from the all the things that has been going on this week. But that doesn't mean that I don't have a post for you guys. I always have a post for you (except for the two days that I was absent this week, sorry again). Okay but since it's late its going to be a short post. A short post about soy. Yeah that's right. That magic little thing that taste so delicious and have a lot of benefits. With all that praise it can actually be hard to believe it when you hear it but soy is not as good as you think! Yeah, first I say it has a lot of health benefits and then I say it's not as healthy as you think. It's very contradicting. Why is not as good as we think? Well, first soy contains phytoestrogens which is very similar to the bodys natural estrogen hormone. This can cause serious problems for both men and women. For men this means th...

I have been on the phone all day. Feel like I can't get anything done because I am on the phone all of the time. I mean I can't concentrate and write a post for you guys and be at the phone at the same time. This may sound like I am bad at multitasking but that is not at all true. It's just when I write a post I have to fact check what I am writing about. I am writing a post and simultaneously doing research at the same time. So you see. Enough about that. Today I want to talk to you guys about antioxidants. I think that we all know that they're important. Why are they important? Why do we need them and most importantly, how and where can we get them? Lets just first start with what antioxidants are and why we need them. An antioxidant is a molecule that prohibits the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that produce free radicals. This can then result in reactions that may harm cells. An antioxidant will prevent this from happening. So w...