planet vegan scotland

Well - things have been pretty silent from me for the last week and there's one main reason: School! McGonnagle and Ho-Tep have been back at School and Nursery school respectively and we've been very busy! We leave the house at 8.30 in the morning and I don't get back until 1 - 1.30pm with Ho-Tep - just in time for lunch! We're walking everywhere as our local train service has been crippled by the snow and freezing temperatures meaning Skint Vegan Dad has had to take the car to work every day instead. And let me tell you, dragging a stubborn three-year old muffled-up in warm clothes and waterproofs up and down a steep hill twice a day takes time and patience. Three miles a day is little more than 'to-the-shop-and-back' for me but for Ho-Tep it may as well be three hundred miles. Or should that be 500 miles? (n_n)

I've been going for a swim and a steam at our local pool each day after dropping the kids off at their respective schools. Bliss! I love Bathgate swimming pool. A lot of my friends see a dark, grotty, archaic establishment with no splash pools, no water chutes and not enough heating! I see an oasis of Victorian tiled serenity, with proper private male and female changing rooms , a good steam room and friendly staff. My last job was quite stressful and I used to long for my lunch break where I could just wash the stress away as I swam laps, up and down, up and down, before emerging calmer and re-energised for the afternoon ahead. It sure beat the pants off spending my lunchbreak chainsmoking in my car!
With the start of school comes the start of the extra-curriculars, so needless to say, I've been running around like a madwoman! The secret to staying in control has been meal-planning. For example, McGonnagle finishes school at 3.30pm tomorrow, we go straight to Judo which starts at 4.30pm and we'll be back home by 5.30pm and the kids will be starving! So I know I need to take a PB&B sarnie with me for the girl to snack on before her class, and I'll prepare a salad ahead of time so all I need to do is reheat lasagna - our dinner tonight - in the microwave when we get in tomorrow night.
Similarly, lunches need to be instant and tasty for the boy -

and after all that rush, I need something to help me unwind in the evening before bed.

And to get the day off to a good start what better than a purple smoothie?

Put cup of kale and 1/2 cup of the water in your blender. Blitz until smooth and green (n_n) with the majority of the fibrous kale successfully blended. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until you have a fairly smooth drink. You vitamix and blendtec lovers out there will have no problem but for the rest of us, this may entail adding more water and stopping a couple of times to push your fruit down towards the blender blades with a blunt instrument before replacing the lid and blitzing again. If you like a thinner smoothie then add more water, but personally I like it thick like this as it tastes rich and indulgent - like an expensive juicebar smoothie - and I LOVE IT!!!