100% vegan Halloween treats – We’re not tricking you!

The Vegan Answer to All Your Favourite Treats This Halloween: Best Vegan Halloween Sweets, Cakes & Drinks

Whether you’ve recently begun your vegan journey or you’ve been vegan for a while, you’ll know that Halloween is one of the saddest times of the year, along with Easter, when you have to watch your non-vegan friends and family enjoy all the sweets and goodies while you just observe and cry, right?

Wrong! There are so many amazing vegan treats to enjoy during the Halloween season, from classic biscuits with a spooky twist, to monster-shaped donuts and hot drinks packed with autumnal spices and many of these are right around the corner in the Leeds area.

I’m sure many of you, like me, are annoyed at the fact that it’s not socially acceptable to still go trick-or-treating in your twenties. However, you can keep your inner-child happy with some gelatine-free sweets this Halloween. 

Gelatine-Free Sweets

M&S currently have fizzy bat wings in stock (£1.20) in blackcurrant and cola flavours or pick up some Halloween themed pick’n’mix gummies from Bear & Bee (£4), available on their website or on Amazon. If you’d prefer to support a local, independent business, Simple Candy are based in Kirkstall and sell hard-boiled sweets in yummy flavours like apple pie and cinnamon and ginger and orange (£3.50).

Vegan Chocolate

Are you more of a chocoholic? Have you missed Cadbury’s Creme Eggs since you went vegan? Introducing the blessing that is Mummy Meagz eggs (£0.99). Sold in Holland and Barrett, these Halloween-themed dark-chocolate eggs are filled with a sweet green fondant to replicate slime, perfect for the spooky season. You can also enjoy Asda’s Free From Trick or Treat Bag (£2.50), filled with vegan mylk and white chocolate treats- or if you fancy investing in some luxury chocolates, Hotel Chocolat are selling Wingston the Bat, Dark Boo Box (£8) full of rich individually wrapped chocolates which are 70% cocoa.

Best Bargain Sweets

Don’t want a vegan Halloween to be so spenny? All you bargain hunters can pick up some limited-edition Halloween orange Oreos (£0.50) in Asda or Jammie Dodger’s ‘slime edition’ gooey apple flavoured biscuits (£0.49) in B&Ms. You and your housemates could get in the Halloween mood together by making Asda’s ‘slime’ cupcakes (£2): vanilla sponge with white icing and edible green glitter slime. Simply add your favourite egg-alternative, some oil and water to the ready-made mix. 

Vegan Doughnuts

For more vegan baked goods this Halloween, check out glazedandconfused.uk that are based in Leeds and offer delicious doughnuts (4 for £12) with free delivery to all LS areas! You can also find them at Leftbank Leeds’ Halloween Fiesta on 31st October, selling yummy flavours like pumpkin spice and orange chocolate.

Vegan Hot Drinks

If you’re looking for something to warm you now the weather’s getting a little colder, Starbucks now offer free vegan whipped cream with their Pumpkin Spiced Lattes and Frappuccino’s, and for a Halloween-themed extra, try Dandies gelatine-free orange pumpkin marshmallows (£4.99), available on their website or online at the Vegan Kind Supermarket. Grab a ginger-spiced treat with your hot drink this Halloween with Costa’s new vegan gingerbread skeleton (£1.75) and if you’re more of a tea-drinker you will love Bird & Blend’s seasonal teas in flavours like bonfire toffee and spiced pumpkin chai (£6).

Enjoy Halloween this year with these delicious vegan treats. Whether you’re a tea-lover, prefer coffee, adore chocolate or have a soft-spot for the classic trick-or-treat gummies, there is so much on offer this October for everyone. So next time someone asks you what vegans can have at Halloween, you can give them pumpkin to talk about…

What’s in My Uni Bag? Unexpected Essentials

So, you’re packing for your first day of Uni. You’ve got your nice new backpack, pens, notebooks etc. You are ready for the day! Or are you? I’m going into my 3rd year of Uni and there are some unexpected essentials that I ALWAYS have on hand.

Cereal Bar/Small Snack

This is a bit of a random one, but I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve been sat in a lecture and my tummy’s rumbling, or I’m feeling a bit hungover, or most likely I rushed out the door and didn’t have breakfast, and was in dire need of some sugar! Trust me this one saves lives.

A Spare Pen That You Don’t Care About

There will absolutely be a time in Uni where someone asks you for a pen. Now, this is a great opportunity to get chatting to someone new and make a friend on your course! However, there is a big chance that you will never see that pen again, so having some “disposable” pens is always handy.

Spare Socks

So, you brought some nice new shoes and decided to wear them to Uni. They look great. You’re feeling confident. Then, you’re two hours in and you are severely regretting wearing them. Most likely you’ll have plasters with you, but what I’ve found to be super helpful is to have spare socks! Especially if your feet have rubbed so much that the back of your sock is blood soaked, and we all know the horrible feeling of peeling that sock off later on.

Tote Bag

Often after Uni I like to pop into a shop to get some food for tea, and it’s always handy to have a spare bag, especially when you buy a lot more than expected! Tote bags are great because not only are they reusable, but you can throw them on your shoulder, and it won’t be digging into your hand like those pesky plastic bags.

Remember, you can never be too prepared!

Header image credit: Pinterest

The Power of Diagnosis

Would it be ethical to give a patient suspected of a peanut allergy a peanut to eat to prove this hypothesis correct? To a certain extent, this is how I was diagnosed with vaginismus.

In a previous article ‘Why I feared penetration aged fourteen: Vaginismus’ I explain why painful penetration has been normalised. Vaginismus is a painful condition whereby the vagina tightens up just as insertion is attempted, the individual has no control over this. Upon realising that I owed my body a better explanation then ‘this is normal’, I visited my student medical practice. After describing my symptoms, an internal vaginal examination was established as necessary to deal with the suspected diagnosis of vaginismus. This is despite NHS guidelines stating an internal examination is ‘unlikely’ to be beneficial due to the potential pain and upset it could cause. Physical abnormalities or other conditions such as infections can be ruled out by visual assessment, with doctors needing to ‘take a quick look’.

This was not my experience of diagnosis. I gave consent for the internal examination to take place. This decision was made because I thought an examination was mandatory in order to receive psychosexual therapy. I was given the choice of having a female doctor and a chaperone present. She attempted to insert the speculum whilst I was hysterically crying. Gentle pressure was repeatedly applied to my legs as I attempted to close them. When she was able to insert the speculum into my vagina to the smallest extent, she confirmed the muscle tension that she was expecting to detect. I then had to ask her to remove the speculum.

I am not a doctor and am writing this exclusively from a patient perspective. I am extremely grateful to live in a society where I can receive free public healthcare. Despite this, I find it hard to understand why a GP insisted on an internal examination when other psychosexual conditions, such as delayed ejaculation, are diagnosed by GPs listening to the symptoms described. Why did I have to experience insertion in front of a GP to prove it was painful? Why didn’t a trained doctor conclude that due to my obvious distress leading up to the internal examination, that an external examination would be better suited? Why not acknowledge that if indeed I did have vaginismus, that the internal examination could further reinforce my association of pain with penetration? At 19 years old I started worrying about future cervical smear tests. I would often become tearful when asked if I wanted to do a STI swab at the practice. My simple statement of ‘no thanks, I can’t use swabs’ was once replied with ‘oh it only goes in a little bit’.

It is impossible to approach this subject without acknowledging the current context of COVID-19 and the incredible work of NHS staff. I was given exceptional support once diagnosed and am very grateful for the therapy I received. However, this specific experience unearths a systemic issue surrounding how female pain and body autonomy is viewed and valued in modern society. These views have undoubtedly affected the prioritisation of services in the NHS, and the importance of holistic approaches to sensitive diagnoses should not be understated.

It is also incredibly important to acknowledge the privilege I have experienced as a white woman within the NHS. Stereotypes surrounding black female sexuality, of their representation as hypersexual and promiscuous (See Hart’s 2013 article), establishes a power imbalance for black female patients in healthcare systems. It is a common discourse that black women are more likely to have STDs; therefore their pain can often be dismissed. One need only emphasise the case of Loretta Ross- a black female reproductive rights activist who fell into a coma in the 1970s after being wrongly accused of having an STD for months. She was actually suffering from an unrelated infection (See Starkey and Seager’s 2017 article).

Relationships between GPs and patients intrinsically revolves around power. However profoundly wonderful and pioneering the NHS is, it has to be acknowledged that it was built within a society where power has historically stemmed from white men, especially in the context of medical diagnosis. It is this power to diagnose, and the notion that to comply with such a diagnosis means to offer up one’s physical body, that needs to continually be assessed and held to account. To what extent, and why, do certain people have to prove their pain is valid?

For more information on topics discussed in this article see the sources below:

NHS vaginismus guidelines: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaginismus/

Hart, T. 2013. Constructing Syphilis and Black Motherhood: Maternal Health Care for Women of African Descent in New York’s Columbus Hill.

Starkey, M and Seager, J. 2017. Loretta Ross: Reproductive Justice Pioneer, Co-founder of Sistersong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective.

Why I Feared Penetration Aged Fourteen: Vaginismus

At fourteen years old, I attempted to use a tampon for the first time.  I thought that hysterically crying on the bathroom floor whilst I tried to insert it with the help of my mother was entirely normal. My response felt valid because I expected pain. Just as I expected pain when I attempted to have sex for the first-time years later. What I am learning to do now, at twenty years old, is to break this cycle of thinking.

It was after many attempts at having sex that my expectations of pain were matched. Initial attempts, whereby penetration was practically impossible, caused confusion, anxiety and a general queasiness. This feeling I can only describe as wanting to completely shut my legs and curl up into a ball. I remember setting myself goals of being able to use a tampon by age fifteen, then sixteen, which turned into seventeen and before I knew it I was attempting to have sex without any biological understanding of my own body. I couldn’t even use a mirror to look at my vagina as it made me too uncomfortable. When the slightest form of penetration became possible with a boyfriend, the searing pain it resulted in caused me to visit the doctors. A horrifically uncomfortable examination later, and I was diagnosed with a condition called vaginismus. This condition has gained recent attention due to its inclusion in Netflix’s Sex Education, whereby a college student named Lily has the condition and describes her vagina as a ‘Venus fly trap’. The technical definition of vaginismus is the involuntary tightening of the vagina due to muscle spasms that prevents penetrative sex, (or the insertion of a tampon etc) or causes pain during it.

Pain is not normal in sex. It is not something that schoolgirls should chat about to make them feel grown up because they are tolerating another female woe. ‘I cried for hours after I tried’. ‘I bled for like three days after’. But who is to blame us? We were educated about safe sex and consent (arguably) but not about pleasure or therefore lack of, specifically from a female perspective.

To an extent these conversations will always take place between kids and teenagers at school. However, I believe with the right education these inevitable conversations can have a positive effect. A curriculum including female anatomy, masturbation and pleasure could prevent painful sex being normalised for a generation of teenagers. I have experienced so much positivity from talking to my female friends about sex, but only in recent years (at least two friends I have met at university have shared with me that penetrative vaginal sex is impossible, or painful for them too). If these positive examples of communication can happen at an earlier age perhaps sex would be such a better experience for so many more women. Sex is not something that should only be discussed between a child and her parent, teacher or counsellor. Girls should talk to other girls about sex in an honest, non-sensational way so that women go on to have better sex.

Not everybody would have taken such a negative experience away from the way in which these conversations were framed in social circles. The way these conversations effect certain students and not others of course ties into other debates around self-esteem and confidence. After my diagnosis and a nine-month waiting list, I began psychosexual therapy through the NHS in Leeds (which after three sessions was halted due to coronavirus but nevertheless, I made substantial progress both during that time and beforehand with my partner). With the help of my therapist I have been able to establish that personally, I found many of these conversations intrusive at a young age. An initial intrusion surrounded pressure I placed on myself to be able to use a tampon for a surfing school trip in year nine. I have also been able to identify times in my life where I have felt a loss of control of my body, talking therapy for these examples have provided me with methods to retake control; with this article being one example. My therapist has also introduced me to physical exercises I can practise that aim to break the cycle of fear and pain. Certain exercises have been as simple as using a mirror to routinely look at my physical anatomy; I can now do this without my legs seizing up. There are several other methods and tools to treat this condition, and these along with being in a supportive relationship have vastly improved my experiences of sex and penetration in the last year.

However, this article is not explicitly about the discussion over methods post diagnosis. It is about the significance that surrounds fundamentally changing the notion that sex is something women endure.

Don’t Spend A Bunch On Brunch

Let’s be honest brunch is expensive, with most places charging £8 for some avocado on toast! But it doesn’t have to be. You can make an amazing budget friendly brunch at home, and the best part is you can eat it in your pyjamas. Listed below are some delicious brunch ideas, that will definitely impress your brunch pals.  

Frittata 

This Italian omelette is extremely easy to make, and much easier than a fancy French omelette. The basis of the frittata is slow-fried beaten egg, but you can throw anything into the mix to make it extra tasty. A frittata is a great way to use up leftovers so why not try adding cheese, boiled potato, asparagus, or even sweet potato? Great served with salad and even toast.  Not only is this dish extremely budget friendly, but a great dish to share! 

Loaded Toast 

Why buy toast from a restaurant when you can make it so easily? Honestly, I’m not a big fan of avocado unless it’s encased with other flavours. Therefore, my favourite way to eat avocado on toast is to use a tub of guacamole, and to top it with a fried egg and some chilli flakes, to make an instantly flavoursome avocado on toast.  Alternatively, why not try toast topped with hummus, cracked black pepper, cucumber slices, and some rocket.

Crepes

Once you nail how to make crepes you will always have an impressive dish. My recipe: whisk together 2 eggs, and 360ml oat milk, then add 8 heaped tablespoons of plain flour one at a time until fully combined. The mixture should lightly coat the back of a spoon. Cook in an oiled hot pan and be patient with them. The best thing about crepes is that they use 3 ingredients that you probably already have, and you can top them with anything from sweet to savoury.  I like to add cinnamon to the batter, and topped with maple syrup, bananas and whipped cream. 

French toast

For us brits French toast is more well known as eggy bread, which frankly makes it sound gross. But I think it’s highly underrated. French toast can be made with very few ingredients, all of which are cheap and probably already in your kitchen. Soak your bread in a mixture of egg and milk, and feel free to add vanilla and cinnamon if you want it sweet. Fry the bread in a pan and it’ll be done in minutes! Top with anything you have, or if you really want to impress your brunch pals then whisk up some ricotta, icing sugar, and vanilla, with some chopped strawberries to make an impressive sweet topping.

Header image credit: Twitter

Changing The Way The Cookie Crumbles

Statistics show that 83% of chefs in the UK are male, according to data from the Office of National Statistics employment in 2018. Time then to cover three incredible chefs, who have managed to force their way into the small demographic of female chefs to show that women can be successful in a culinary world.

Claire Saffitz

Credit: Claire Saffitz x Dessert Person, YouTube

If you don’t know Claire Saffitz then where have you been? Not only is Claire Saffitz a trained pastry chef (though she recently claimed that she’s “not a chef”) and a contributing food editor of Bon Appétit magazine, she is also a YouTube sensation! Saffitz’ stardom began in 2017 when she began the show Gourmet Makes for Bon Appétit’s YouTube channel. The show consists of Saffitz trying to recreate popular snack foods as well as elevating the foods to a more gourmet standard. Indeed the rising popularity of Gourmet Makes was due to Claire’s relatable ‘low’ moments. 

Claire herself stated in an interview with Mashable that “there’s some sort of transference from people, they get stress relief from watching my stress” and for anyone that has watched the show, this is certainly true. We are used to watching culinary shows where the chef is the expert and we absorb the information as viewers but it is Saffitz’s stressful cooking that engages us with content that has more entertainment value. It is certainly uplifting to watch Saffitz go through a rollercoaster of emotions, to then seeing her happy and relieved at the end of the episode. Therefore it is this emotional vulnerability, that is often deemed a ‘weakness’ in women, which has catalysed Claire Saffitz’s success. 

Ravinder Bhogal

Credit: The Independent

Ravinder Bhogal was born in Kenya to Indian parents and grew up in London. It is this mixed culture and heritage that has enabled Bhogal to create impressive fusion dishes and menus. Bhogal is not just a remarkable chef, for she is also an award-winning food writer, journalist, TV presenter, stylist and restaurateur. Her most impressive achievement is the opening of her restaurant Jikoni in 2016. 

Jikoni is frankly an adorable restaurant with a cosy almost café-like feel to it and is designed in an overtly ‘feminine’ style, with a pale pink colour scheme and floral designs. However, it is not only Jikoni’s design that makes a statement but Bhogal’s menu too. Jikoni offers a variety of Asian comfort food, but with intriguing British, African and Middle Eastern twists, showing off Bhogul’s accumulation of travel and culture. The dish on the menu that appealed to me the most was the “Cold Silken Tofu, Peanuts, Puffed Wild Rice, Caramelised Foxnuts”, mainly because I was very intrigued by what foxnuts were, and also because it was one of the many creative vegan options on the menu. Bhogul’s interest in developing vegan dishes came about when her niece decided to become vegan. Consequently, Bhogul created a completely vegan menu for W London, which included her niece’s favourite, caramel tofu with garlic confit rice and chilli smacked cucumbers.

Samin Nosrat

Credit: People.com

Samin Nosrat introduces herself on her website ciaosamin.com with “Hi. I’m Samin Nosrat. I cook. I write. I teach” and while it’s clear and simple, it undoubtedly does not give Nosrat’s talent justice. If you’re a foodie, or simply have access to a Netflix account, then you need to watch Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. The docuseries is based on Nosrat’s New York Times bestselling, and James Beard Award-winning book titled Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, which is written on the premise that the way to master the culinary arts is to master these four elements. In the Netflix series, the four elements are explored through four episodes in four countries: Italy, Japan, Mexico, and her home in California, USA. Its success led to Nosrat becoming an international culinary celebrity. 

Nosrat is recognised for her talent as well as her endearing personality (please watch “Brad Makes Focaccia Bread with Samin Nosrat” on Youtube). The Guardian even described her as someone that “projects the kind of charisma that fosters a sense of familiarity, allowing audiences to believe they know her”, which is very similar to the reason behind Claire Saffitz’s success. 

Header Image Credit: Pexels

Why Do Men Feel Uncomfortable Identifying as Feminists?

It’s 2020. In the rear-view mirror is an exciting decade, wherein the feminist movement gained more mainstream media representation than ever before. In the last decade, many male celebrities have proudly self-identified as feminists, from the likes of our beloved Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, to Will Smith, John Legend and even tennis-player Andy Murray. Despite this progress, the majority of men remain unwilling to self-identify as ‘feminists’… not because they are opposed to gender equality, but because they simply ‘don’t see’ themselves as being feminists. According to a 2015 survey carried out by YouGov, 81% of British men believed that men and women should be equal. Yet, only 27% of them identified as feminists, despite the definition of a ‘feminist’ as ‘someone who advocates for gender equality’. This begs the question: what misconceptions do men have about feminism? And, more importantly, how has this put them off joining the fight for gender equality?

In contemporary society, our perception of a feminist has been dominated by the image of a male-bashing, bra-burning, armpit-hair-growing radical feminist who dreams of a world without men. An image by which even women have been guilty of being misled. For instance, Dr Christina Scharff, senior lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King’s College London, interviewed a diverse group of young German and British women. Scharff discovered that they associated the term “feminism” with “man-hating, lesbianism or lack of femininity”, which influenced their rejection of the label “feminist”. If such misconceptions prevent women from identifying as feminists, one can only imagine the negative connotations some men associate with feminism. The British public were able to get a glimpse of this reality in the second episode of Reggie Yates’ BBC Three documentary series Extreme UK, where Yates shed light on the existence of the ‘manosphere’ – an underground online community of men who harass feminists and circulate anti-feminist views and misogynistic propaganda. Given the perceptions that these men had of feminism as having ‘gone too far’ and silenced the voices of men, it is apparent that there are men who misconceive the movement as a personal threat to their autonomy, rather than a threat to the patriarchal system.

The feminisation of the language surrounding the fight for gender equality also seems to factor into men’s resistance to identifying as feminists. The word ‘feminist’ derives from the Latin word ‘femina’, meaning ‘woman’, which inherently creates a false impression: that feminism has been produced exclusively for women, by women. Whereas, in reality, the feminist movement is concerned with issues which directly impact the lives of men, such as insufficient paternity leave and men’s high suicide rates. Nevertheless, the label ‘feminist’ seems to either threaten to make men feel emasculated and ‘feminine’; or men perceive themselves as outsiders in the struggle for gender equality. One example of this is Bisi Alimi, a Nigerian gay rights activist and the first-ever Nigerian to ‘come out of the closet’ on national television. In an interview with Quartz at Work, when asked if he identifies as a feminist, he refused, and referred to himself as a “fem-ally”. He stated that he “doesn’t think men should [call themselves] feminists”, since “[they] represent everything that led to the feminist movement in the first place” and, therefore, should no longer “want to still occupy that space”. Nevertheless, Bisi advocates for gender equality and “[believes] in being a responsible ally to women’s struggles”, demonstrating that some men may support gender equality, yet actively choose not to identify as feminists to avoid overshadowing the voice of women. 

One reason why men of colour, in particular, may struggle to align themselves with Western feminism is the movement’s failure to acknowledge the ‘intersections’ – the racial and class disparities – between all women. In an interview with a black male friend, he voiced that he actively refrains from calling himself a ‘feminist’ because modern-day feminism is ‘whitewashed’. He criticised, for example, the abundance of media attention focused on minor gender disparities in pay between white men and women in middle-class professions. In contrast, issues such as high maternal mortality rates, Female Genital Mutilation and honour-killings, which affect mainly women of colour (especially in the ‘global south’ – Africa, Asia, South America) are often denied a platform in mainstream media. Historically, white women have always been presented as the face of the feminist movement. For example, according to Gwendolyn Pough, a professor in the Women and Gender Studies Department at Syracuse University, the US Women’s Suffrage Movement was “really about getting the white women the right to vote”, and “when it came down between patriarchy and sisterhood, they chose patriarchy”. Essentially, when white women were forced to reckon with the intersection of their race and gender, they chose white privilege over female solidarity, setting the stage for future decades of racial exclusion within the US feminist movement. Ultimately, the journey to today’s ‘third-wave’ feminism has been rife with racial disharmony. So, it’s no surprise that a 2018 survey carried out by GenForward, revealed that 75% of all the women polled said the feminist movement has done “a lot” to improve the lives of white women, in comparison to only 60% who thought it had also achieved much for women of colour. By failing to adopt an ‘intersectional’ approach in its analysis of the female experience, the feminist movement creates the illusion that whitewashed, Eurocentric feminism is a rose-tinted, one-size-fits-all solution to gender inequality for all women—a misconstruction which seems to influence men of colour to dissociate themselves from the feminist label further.

Without a doubt, there will always be men who loathe the prospect of gender equality. However, the silver lining is that the majority of men seem to support it, even if they can’t bring themselves to reconcile with the label ‘feminist’. After all, when there are so many societal misconceptions of who iscan and should be a feminist, how can men reach a consensus on whether or not to identify as ‘feminists’?

3 Easy Noodle Dishes

If you’re someone that practically lives off pasta, then why not try expanding your range of carbs. There is more to noodles than just a pot noodle, or super noodles (not that these aren’t tasty). Noodles can be extremely easy to make, and these recipes will give you a range of delicious, cheap, and quick ways of expanding your carb cooking. I know that supermarket stir fry kits can be very tempting, but I promise that these dishes will be much more satisfying. All recipes below are either vegetarian or vegan but can be adjusted easily.  

1. Simple Soy (serves 1) 

This dish requires the least amount of ingredients and effort. This is my go-to recipe for a quick meal.

Ingredients:

One packet of “Straight to wok” noodles (or dry noodles slightly softened in boiling water) 

Half a white onion

1 clove of garlic/ ½tsp ready chopped 

Half a bell pepper (cubed) 

Soy sauce (2tbsp/adjust to taste)

Olive oil (or any you have)

Black pepper

Optional:

5 florets of broccoli chopped into small pieces 

Sesame seeds 

Method: 

First, heat 1tbsp of oil in a frying pan at medium heat. Then, dice half of a white onion (place the other half in a sealed container for 7-10 days!) and add to the oil. Stir the onion to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Once the onion is translucent, add the garlic, peppers, and broccoli, and any veg you might want. Turn the heat up slightly and stir fry the veg until mostly softened, as you still want some crunch. 

Add the noodles and stir fry for a minute before adding about two tablespoons of soy sauce and stir fry for a further minute until dry. Transfer to a plate, top with a bit of black pepper, and enjoy!


2. Reliable Ramen (serves 1 very hungry student)

This is slightly more complicated than the first dish, but it’s worth it! This is the dish that’ll warm your cockles on a cold Yorkshire morning. 

Ingredients: 

1 half white onion (leftover from previous recipe)

2 cloves of garlic 

1 half a carrot (chop thin pieces for quick cooking) 

1 spring onion 

Handful of spinach/chopped cabbage/bok choy 

Red chilli flakes (to taste)

Vegetable oil 

One vegetable stock cube

Soy sauce (1tbsp)

1 nest of dry noodles 

Optional:

5 florets of broccoli chopped into small pieces 

Miso paste (2tbsp)

1 egg (optional)

Method:

Chop all the veg to make the assembly of the dish quick and easy. Next pour 500ml of boiling water into a jug and add the stock cube, soy sauce, and miso paste if using, stir until combined. 

Heat a small amount of oil in a saucepan (low heat). Add the onion, garlic, chilli flakes to the oil and fry until fragrant but not browned. Add the stock liquid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the hard veg you are using and reduce heat to medium and leave for 8 minutes (if you are using cabbage and/or egg, add these now).

After 7 minutes, remove the egg and place in a bowl of cold water (if using make sure to peel before serving). Now you’ll want to add your noodles and spring onions and simmer until noodles soften.

Before serving, add the spinach and stir until wilted (if using). Serve into a large bowl, use tongs for the noodles, and ladle in as much soup as desired. Top with chilli flakes, black pepper, and egg (halved).


3Practical Pad Thai (serves 2)

Out of all the dishes this is my favourite. This one is a fairly simple Pad Thai, but is immensely flavoursome. This dish works best as vegetarian, but if vegan just don’t add the egg and use Udon noodles.

Ingredients: 

1 whole white onion (finely diced)

2 spring onions 

3 cloves of garlic 

1 carrot (julienned/thinly sliced) 

Cooking oil – Sesame wok oil (1tbsp)

Chilli flakes (to taste)

Sesame seeds 

Two handful of peanuts roughly chopped (unsalted)

2 nests of dry egg noodles 

Fresh beansprouts (canned if more convenient) 

1 large egg 

Sauce:

Juice ½ Lime (half for garnish)

Soy sauce (4tbsp)

Rice wine vinegar (2tbsp)

Brown sugar (2tsp)

Sriracha (1-1½ tbsp)

Tamarind sauce (1½ tbsp)

Method:

Place the noodles in a jug of boiling water to soften. In a large pan/wok heat the oil at medium heat. Then in a small bowl, add sauce ingredients and whisk to combine. 

Once the oil is hot, add the onion and carrot, frying for 1 minute. Add the garlic and continue to stir to avoid burning. After 6 minutes add noodles, sliced spring onion (leave some for garnish), and beansprouts. 

After 2 minutes, add the sauce and use tongs to toss the noodles. Move the noodles to the side of the pan add sesame seeds to lightly toast, then and add the eggs to the empty side of the pan. Stir the eggs for 1 minute, and just before they reach a soft scramble mix them into the noodles.

Plate noodles and garnish with spring onion, raw beansprouts (if desired), lime wedges, and chopped peanuts.

Bon Appetit! 

Header Image Credit: Tesco Real Food

Should you shave your armpits?

I, amongst others, wish to seek to find out why so many people find it repulsive when someone has made the personal decision not to shave their armpits.    

As a female, I shall be focusing on the pressures that women face surrounding the shaving of underarm and other body hair. However, my overall belief is that for any gender, it should be your own decision to do whatever you want to your body. Only you control your body, and no one should force you to do anything you do not want to.

The history of shaving armpits

Women in the early 20th Century did not care about shaving their armpits, in fact, it would not be surprising if a woman had lots of hair. The debate of shaving is a very modern issue, most likely developed due to the loosening of rules on how females dress, and the development of razor technology. By the 1950s, legs and underarms were targeted in ads and many women were encouraged, even expected, to be smooth, silky and stripped.

Thankfully, as we entered the 21st Century, it became more common for women to not feel like they have to shave, and many women now embrace the ‘au-natural’ look. It is more common to see celebrities with unshaven arms, and many women feel more comfortable to talk about it.

So should you shave your armpits?

No matter how much you may convince yourself, when you see an image of a woman with long underarm hair, you will subconsciously notice it and form an opinion. Yet, if it was about our male counterparts, there would be no disbelief.

I am guilty of doing this myself. A friend of mine recently decided to grow out her underarm hair and I naively pointed this out to her. Whilst I am completely supportive of her decision, I still brought attention to it. Why? Because, I suppose I wasn’t expecting it. Because, it is still not considered the ‘norm’.

It is seen as powerful and inspirational when a woman chooses to grow out her underarm hair. I think that it is a statement and takes a lot of confidence and bravery. From experience, people may pass comment. I personally choose not to shave my leg hair, and I have faced so much judgement from this decision in the past. Am I not womanly enough? Does body hair really change a person’s appearance so much?

The solution is to not say anything at all. Some people may think it is funny to pass comment, but it can make someone feel insecure and pressured into shaving their body hair, when it should not.

Of course, some women do prefer to be shaved and smooth. It is a luxury, can make you feel more confident, or they simply might not find their body hair attractive. There is nothing wrong with this either.

Shaving your body hair will always be your own personal choice. No matter what anyone says, it doesn’t make you any different whether you have body hair or not.  So, as long as you are shaving your body hair for YOU and YOU only, then all women should support each other on the fight against the stigma of shaving armpit hair.

Tackling University: How to Survive as a Vegetarian

Most students arrive at university with a lack of cooking skills, and a longing for “mum’s cooking.” Cooking for yourself can seem daunting, especially if you follow a stricter diet such as vegetarianism. I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t be at all worried.

Most of your concerns will probably be based on myths. The myths that vegetarian food is more expensive, more difficult to cook, and it’s more difficult to source protein and iron.

However, if you aren’t surviving just on pot noodles and can boil water you will be just fine. In fact, cooking as a veggie is much easier. You will never need to worry about defrosting meat, or if you’ve cooked your meat long enough to not give yourself food poisoning. 

I’ve been vegetarian for five years now, but during my first year of university I learnt a lot about my own diet, how to cook well, and how to cook flavoursome vegetarian food on a budget.

My first piece of advice for anyone tackling a vegetarian or vegan diet, is to choose 3-4 veggies that you love, and use them for every dish.

If you did this, you’ll cut down the amount you spend on food, and decrease your fresh food waste. There’s no point in having a whole head cauliflower in your fridge that you’re never going to use! Personally, I am always stocked up on red peppers, carrots, broccoli, and of course onions and garlic, as they add flavour and nutrients to any dish. I would also recommend having frozen veg in the freezer ready for those busy weeks, when you don’t have time to pop to Aldi. Additionally, if you aren’t too big on vegetables then buy a bag of spinach; spinach wilts into your food, so you’ll barely notice that you’re eating greens!

Of course, vegetarian and vegan diets aren’t always healthy. Probably one of the biggest challenges at university will be finding veggie drunk food and trust me you’re going to need it!

While your meat-eating friends are stuffing their faces with kebabs and burgers, you don’t want to be missing out when your only options are limp French fries. Luckily, Leeds has a breadth of veggie and vegan drunk food options. My go to drunk food stops includes: Crispys, Milanos, Chicko’s, and of course good ol’maccies. From a wide range of pizzas, to wraps, to burgers you won’t be subjected to limp French fries. Though, a few of my vegetarian friends have fallen victim to the temptation of a chicken burger! However, there’s no need to put lots of pressure on yourself to get it right all the time, we’re all trying our best.

My final advice is to try your hardest to not just live off Quorn and Linda McCartney sausages, because unfortunately you won’t be able to afford that in the long run. Learn how to make your favourite dishes, and to nail the perfect fluffy rice (a staple of my diet). Experiment with your food and try different spices and combinations.

Finally, just practice cooking, because in actuality it’s therapeutic, fun, and a lot more rewarding than sticking a frozen lasagne in the oven!

Header image credit: Healthline