The Hunt Life

The Hunt Life: July 2015

Friday 31 July 2015

Thank goodness its Friday

It seems like this Friday has taken forever to arrive, it has been a pretty busy week here at The Hunt Life and I am pretty happy to see the weekend finally arrive.

1// The Bachelor //
So the Bachelor is back on TV, thank you television gods!!!! I love good old trashy TV and I think this years batch of girls might be the trashiest yet. One of my best childhood friends was back in Adelaide on Wednesday so I drove up to the city to watch it at her house with our other friends, that is a pretty big deal considering I never really leave the house for anything other than work. #hermitlifeforever! I'm not sold on this years bachelor yet, he has been given the offical title of #bachiewood ;) but at this point in time its only a reference to his last name not anything else unfortunatly. Looking forward to Wednesday and Thursday nights with a new enthusiasm.



2 // Migraines //
Can I just take a second to unload on migraines please, I hate them! I know strong word but honestly is there anything worse I think not. I was so proud of myself I had made it to 11 weeks with no sick days!! that is a big thing for me considering how debilitating my migraines can be. I had been looking after myself so well in hopes of getting to 12 weeks no sick days and then of course a horrific migraine has to pop out of nowhere and ruin that for me!! Oh well back to week one for me next week.

3 // End of the month //
Is there anything better than the end of the month? I feel that everything is refreshed and renewed, I have a whole month to do everything I want and there is so much at my feet. The end of the month just makes me excited for what is to come, I am really looking forward to August.

4 // August Step to the Beat Challenge //
Another reminder that my August challenge officially starts on Monday next week, make sure you join up.

 photo Step-to-the-beat.png


<div class="The Hunt Life" style="width: 333px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://the-hunt-life.blogspot.com " rel="nofollow"> <img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r503/gigigogo89/Step-to-the-beat.png " alt="The Hunt Life" width="333" height="500" /> </a> </div>

.....the challenge runs from Saturday 1st August till Wednesday 31st August.

.....you need to complete 200,000 steps for the month, wow nelly that seems like a lot but it can be broken down however you like. If you want to get the majority of your steps done Monday to Friday and then rest on the the weekends just aim to get 10,000 steps each day you choose. 

.....but there are 3 extra days the last week of August what about that I hear you ask? Well you can choose to continue to complete your 10,000 steps for the day and break the 200,000 steps needed for August if you are feeling fancy!

.....where can I join up? Just send a email to the-hunt-life-@outlook.com to let me know you have joined up, grab the button and use the instagram tag #Auguststeptothebeat to post your progress on instagram.

.....but what do I get if I complete this challenge?? On completion of the challenge you will receive a weekly magnetic typo planner to help plan you weekly fitness goals. The person that complete's the most steps for the month receives a motivational BPA free 700ml drink bottle.


....if you have any questions don't hesitate to email.

5 // Vegan fact of the week //
Of course I am going to end this Friday as I always do with a Vegan fact, this week I learnt that if one person goes Vegan they save 1.3 million gallons of water per year CRAZY!!

How was this week for you?
Did you link up with Oh Hey Friday?


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Thursday 30 July 2015

That Dentist

I wan't to be serious for a moment and talk about "that dentist"  I am sure by now everyone knows what I am talking about, the Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer who thought it sporting to pay $55,00 to kill a lion with a crossbow. 

Walter Palmer on the left with another Lion he has previously killed.
Cecil lived out his days in the Hwange National Park a safe park which ensured his safety, Cecil was beloved by locals and considered a fairly placid lion. For Walter to "hunt" Cecil the poachers had to ensure that he was not still in the park boundaries so they tied a dead animal to the car and lured Cecil out of the park boundaries. 

Walter then shot Cecil with a bow and arrow failing to kill him straight away Cecil struggled for survival for the next 40 hours until the poaches caught back up with him shot him with a gun, beheaded him, skinned him and then left the rest of his body just left like trash, they also left the GPS tag that park officials had painstakingly placed on Cecil there next to his body.

This is not the first exotic animal that Walter Palmer has killed, this in not even the first Lion that Walter has killed however Walter is not the only big game hunter out there in fact there are multiple reserves in Africa that raise exotic animal for the soul purpose of big game hunting. I find myself asking how is this a sport? How are business thriving based on the torture of animals?

Then I am lead back to the thought, how are the lives of game animals more important than that of livestock raised for human consumption? Why is it that we get so outraged over the death of a lion and then sit back and enjoy a dinner of beef. Animal suffering is still suffering no matter the species.

Cecil has been compared to Vincent Van Gogh in the likeness that he has enjoyed a fame in death that surpasses anything he experienced in life. Cecil has shone a light on the face of big game hunting and I am hoping that these business that thrive on tourists drives to kill will be stamped out on the back of his death.

This may not end animal suffering around the world but it may help end a industry that only exist on the back of hunting animals.


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Wednesday 29 July 2015

What I ate Wednesday - 29th July

I really love to follow Vegan bloggers who post regular What I ate Wednesday posts because it really is interesting, Veganism is such a broad lifestyle term and there is so many different ways one can eat vegan including HCLF, Raw, Raw till 4, The Starch solution, Vegan junk food, plant based and of course my favourite Orea's for every meal ha ha.

I personally like to eat a plant based HCLF lifestyle because it means more adventure in the kitchen, I often start with a animal based recipe I find on pinterest and then using my vegan wit I subtract a few things and then add a few steps then presto and delicious meal reminiscent of regular meal.


// Breakfast //
I love a good smoothie for Breakfast, something I can grab on the go and can drink whilst working. This morning I had to make 2 because the first smoothie I made I put cumin in instead of cinnamon, not a great start to the morning! The smoothie I did end up drinking was my usual go to 1/4 cup oats, 1 cup vanilla flavored almond milk, 1 large frozen banana and a good sprinkle of cinnamon.


// Lunch //
Normally I make enough dinner each night to take the leftovers for lunch however if I am lazy and didn't make anything or mostly likely I was rushing in the morning and ran out the house forgetting to grab the lunch I had sitting in the freezer then I usually grab a crushed watermelon juice and a fruit salad for the health food shop by my office like I did today.
 

// Snacks //
I get home from work and am usually starving so I tend to gravitate towards the toaster, toast some delicious home made bread, slather on the vegan butter and than devour the toast before I can take a photo of it for a post just like I did today!

// Dinner // 
Tonight's dinner was certainly a new fan favourite! It was Quinoa Chilli, now I have made this before and felt that it was lacking the right flavour so tonight I added a secret weapon Tabasco which gave it just the right amount of kick and that little flavour that was missing. I will be posting this recipe sometime soon, be sure to check it out when I do as I think this tasted better than the stuff I ate before becoming Vegan.


// Dessert //
I love myself some dessert, I have always had a crazy sweet tooth that cannot be satisfied which is what I blame my severe oreo's addiction for. Tonight I was craving something sweet hard core so I made one of my favourites what I call a Apple Pocket. This is a quick recipe, the dough take around 5 minutes to make then just pile in the apple and dried cranberries, a little bit of coconut sugar for extra sweetness and bake in the oven for 15 mins. Is there anything easier or sweeter? I think not.


It was a pretty plain Wednesday food wise, Monday to Friday afternoon is all pretty similar home cooked meals and then Friday night paves the way for Vegan Pizza, Saturday is all about the farmers market and Sunday is normally home made bread and Indian takeaway. I need to stop eating out so much on the weekends but its one of my only vices at the moment so oh well.

What was your WIAW like?
Do you have any suggestions?

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Tuesday 28 July 2015

Leek and Potato Soup with Garlic Croutons


I don't know about you but I am all about soups, especially in winter. There is nothing better than a pipping hot bowl of soup to warm you up in the middle of winter. I am obsessed with potato and leek soup, whenever I make it I am always reminded of my mother when she would make it specially for me as a child.

This recipe is super easy to make and you can make it in large batches then freeze and should keep pretty well. Of course I was just making this recipe for dinner and lunch the next day so I also made some extremely addictive garlic croutons to garnish. 

*Warning the garlic croutons are super addictive and I had to kick my husband out of the kitchen to stop him eating them*

Okie Dokie so lets get to this recipe shall we...


For the leek and potato soup
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion sliced
  • 1 leek sliced
  • 1 garlic clove crushed
  • 2 potatoes diced
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 1 tbsp white cooking wine
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • spring onions

For the garlic croutons
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 slice of crunchy bread
  • 1 garlic clove crushed

1. In a pot of boiling water add the potatoes and let them boil for around 5 minutes or until the potato is soft.

2. Place the sliced onion, leek and crushed garlic into a large pot with olive oil and cook until everything has sweated down so around 5 minutes.

3. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and then place in the onion mixture. Allow the onion to caramelized slightly.


4. Add the vegetable stock, white wine, garlic powder, onion powder and thyme then bring the mixture up to a boil, reduce to a simmer and the leave to cook for around 20 minutes.


5. Whilst the soup is simmering its time to make the garlic croutons, rub oil and crushed garlic over the sliced bread.

6. Cut the bread into small cubes and then place in a hot no stick pan for a few minutes or until it becomes golden and crispy.


7. Once the soup mixture has cooked for 20 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and use a stick blender to puree.

8. Serve the soup in bowls garnished with sliced spring onions, garlic croutons and pepper. This recipe should make around 3 to 4 serves depending on how hungry you are.
This recipe was souper duper easy (See what I did there!) and only took around 30 minutes to make, perfect when you have had a long day at work.

What are your favourite soup recipes?
Do you have a recipe you think I should try?

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Monday 27 July 2015

August Step to The Beat 200 K Challenge

I spoke briefly about my August step challenge on Friday, I have decided to create a monthly challenge.

With August just around the corner I thought it would be fun to create a step challenge for the month of August, I have found them floating all over the blogosphere (I would have joined A Farmers Wife's most recent challenge but I saw to too late), the principles are pretty simple.....

 photo Step-to-the-beat.png


<div class="The Hunt Life" style="width: 275px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://the-hunt-life.blogspot.com " rel="nofollow"> <img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r503/gigigogo89/August-step-challenge-.png " alt="The Hunt Life" width="300" height="250" /> </a> </div>

.....the challenge runs from Saturday 1st August till Wednesday 31st August.

.....you can sign up after the month starts it just means you ill have to push yourself a bit harder to make up the lost days.

.....you need to complete 200,000 steps for the month, wow nelly that seems like a lot but it can be broken down however you like. If you want to get the majority of your steps done Monday to Friday and then rest on the the weekends just aim to get 10,000 steps each day you choose. 

.....but there are 3 extra days the last week of August what about that I hear you ask? Well you can choose to continue to complete your 10,000 steps for the day and break the 200,000 steps needed for August if you are feeling fancy!

.....where can I join up? Just send a email to the-hunt-life-@outlook.com to let me know you have joined up, grab the button and use the instagram tag #Auguststeptothebeat to post your progress on instagram.

.....if you would like to track this through fitbit then please let me know and I can add you as a buddy to help check in and keep you motivated!

.....but what do I get if I complete this challenge?? On completion of the challenge you will receive a weekly magnetic typo planner to help plan you weekly fitness goals. The person that complete's the most steps for the month receives a motivational BPA free 700ml drink bottle.


....if you have any questions don't hesitate to email.

.....oh and don't forget to tell all your friends, the more the merrier.

Will you join my step challenge?
Do you try to aim for 10 K steps a day?

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Friday 24 July 2015

Thank Goodness It's Friday

Is the anything more beautiful then a Friday afternoon are a long and stressful week at work?...........No! well maybe there might be but hey I will settle for a Friday afternoon any day of the week!!!

I think my favourite thing about Fridays is the Oh hey it's Friday link up because not only is it my favourite day of the week but I also get to recap my favourite things from this week woooooo!!

1// Winter//
So it seems that winter has well and truly arrived in Adelaide, it has been hitting and average of 5 degrees celciuis each night this week. I love it but it seems like the whole of Australia is having issues with the cold, it was just the other day that Australian's where making fun of the British for whinging about a high 20 degree heat wave (a heat wave in Adelaide is 40 degrees plus) and then the cold hits and we can't stop whinging about a cold snap they think is nothing, ohhhh the irony!!


2// Christmas in July//
It is crazy to think but I am already planning what I have to organise for Christmas at work this year. It is incredible how fast this year has flown past and worrying how I actually have to start planning and budgeting for Christmas decorations and it hasn't even reached August yet.

3// Garden Veggie Dreams //
I have dreams of this amazing Vegetable garden and am hoping that I get time in the coming weekends to get stuck into making one, I need to stop browsing all the beautiful garden's on pinterest because I know that we cannot afford anything too lavish but a girl can dream can't she. As I am eat vegan mostly plant based foods I am hoping that his will keep the shopping costs down too.
// One // Two // Three // Four // Five //

4// August Step to the Beat Challenge //
With August just around the corner I thought it would be fun to create a step challenge for the month of August, I have found them floating all over the blogosphere (I would have joined A Farmers Wife's most recent challenge but I saw to too late), the principles are pretty simple.....

 photo Step-to-the-beat.png


<div class="The Hunt Life" style="width: 333px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://the-hunt-life.blogspot.com " rel="nofollow"> <img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r503/gigigogo89/Step-to-the-beat.png " alt="The Hunt Life" width="333" height="500" /> </a> </div>

.....the challenge runs from Saturday 1st August till Wednesday 31st August.

.....you need to complete 200,000 steps for the month, wow nelly that seems like a lot but it can be broken down however you like. If you want to get the majority of your steps done Monday to Friday and then rest on the the weekends just aim to get 10,000 steps each day you choose. 

.....but there are 3 extra days the last week of August what about that I hear you ask? Well you can choose to continue to complete your 10,000 steps for the day and break the 200,000 steps needed for August if you are feeling fancy!

.....where can I join up? Just send a email to the-hunt-life-@outlook.com to let me know you have joined up, grab the button and use the instagram tag #Auguststeptothebeat to post your progress on instagram.

.....but what do I get if I complete this challenge?? On completion of the challenge you will receive a weekly magnetic typo planner to help plan you weekly fitness goals. The person that complete's the most steps for the month receives a motivational BPA free 700ml drink bottle.


....if you have any questions don't hesitate to email.

4 // Vegan fact of the week //
Of course I am going to end this Friday as I always do with a Vegan fact, this week I learnt that McDonald's fries aren't vegan or even vegetarian, they contain beef flavoring and also milk solids. Not that I like to eat McDonald's anyone but I guess I will be skipping their fries next road trip!

How was this week for you?
Did you link up with Oh Hey Friday?

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Thursday 23 July 2015

Cheat's Mediterranean Risotto

It is a really cold winter this year and I seem to be craving comfort foods hardcore, thankfully being vegan means that mean high fat comfort food is still readily available (HELLO HOT CHIPS!) unfortunately I really really want to try to eat high carb low fat plant based dinners so that means that when it comes to comfort food it means making the real deal that normally takes a little bit of time.

Monday night I was craving risotto more than I though humanly possible but CBF standing at the stove for a couple hours and cooking so I came up with this sneaky little recipe that took me about 1/2 to cook and most of that was leaving a pot on the stove cooking.

Here is one of my new favourites.......



So my cheat's Mediterranean Risotto is really just baked veggies with pearl barley instead of rice but hey it gave the desired effect and filled my risotto craving without standing around WIN!

  • 1 Zucchini chopped
  • 1/2 Eggplant chopped
  • 1 Onion chopped
  • 1 leek chopped
  • 1 tsp Olive Oil
  • 2 Cloves Garlic crushed
  • 1/3 Cup Pearl Barley
  • 1 Cup Salt Reduced Vegetable Stock
  • 1 Bunch Broccolini
  • 1 tsp Mediterranean spices
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Chop the Eggplant, Zucchini and Broccolini into cubes and place on a baking tray, drizzle the veggies with half the olive oil and Mediterranean spices then place in the oven for 15 minutes or until crispy.

3. In a large pan place the other half of the oil, the crushed garlic, chopped leek and chopped onion then allow to sweat down on a medium heat for around 5 minutes or until translucent.

4. Once the onions, garlic and leek have cooked down add the vegetable stock and 1/4 cup of water. 

5. Place the pearl barley into the pan, bring to the boil then reduce heat and leave to simmer for around 15 minutes.


6. Once the pearl barley has absorbed most of the vegetable stock turn the heat back up to high and stir continuously until the stock has completely cooked down.

7. Add the roasted vegetables to the barley mixture and toss to combine, then serve.


  • Servings: 2
  • Calories: 248
  • Fat: 3 g 
  • Carb: 51 g  
  • Fiber: 11 g 
  • Protein: 8 g 
  • Sugar: 11 g
  • Sodium: 562 mg 

Well there you have it, a cheats way at achieving a high carb low fat plant based comfort dish which doesn't take hours to make. 

Do you have any recipes I should try?
Did you try this recipe?
What did you think?

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Tuesday 21 July 2015

I AM VEGAN.

"The world owes you nothing. 
It was here first"
- Mark Twain


I have been willing myself to write this blog post for the last few months but just seem to have enough courage to put the words down and push publish. A lot of things have changed for me in the past few months.....

.......my manager just up and quit leaving me in the deep end.
.......I found out a family friend's son who had a kidney transplant died recently after rejection which scared everyone.
.......I also found out trying for children could put my kidney transplant in jeopardy which has been messing with my head. 
.......I decided to become a vegan and spent the June living off hot chips and oreo's before getting organised and making the transition to plant based veganism.

So that brings you up to speed pretty quickly, I have spent the last few months really contemplating my life, who I wish to be and where I want to go from here which has meant that I have spent the last few months emotionally raw and not able to place my emotions onto my blog. It may have taken a couple of months but I am finally ready.....


Why Vegan I hear you ask....

//KIDNEY HEALTH// As someone living with a kidney transplant it is obvious that I want to ensure that I eat foods that will prolong my transplant. Animal products are tuff work for our kidneys to remove from our blood into our urine and when you only have one, that wasn't originally yours it has to work overtime to prevent build ups in your blood. Since removing animal products from my life I have had my levels checked and the creatine (junk in your blood) has decreased dramatically, I can't be happier.

//WEIGHT LOSS// Lets face it, shoveling mounds of processed foods into my body verses shoveling mounds of plant based foods will show a decrease in my weight which can only be looked at as a happy side effect of eating a plant based lifestyle so I will happily reap those benefits.

//ETHICAL// The average America (I am sure this is true for the average Australian too) consumes over 130 shellfish, 40 fish, 26 chickens, 1 turkey, 1/2 pig and 1/10th of a cow. If you think about that number it really is quite shocking number of creatures that have to die because meat supposedly tastes better or is more filling. I think that everyone has the right to their own opinion but personally I can't wrap my head around a animal dying so I can eat when they don't have too.

//ENVIRONMENTAL// It requires at least 7kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef, raising animals for food uses 30% of the earth's mass, more than 2/3rds of the land is used for growing fodder for livestock's, 18% of the greenhouse gases are caused by livestock, it requires 249 gallons of water for 4.15 pounds of potatoes versus 12,009 gallons for a pound of beef and finally if everyone in america went vegan we could feed 800 million people just with the grain that is currently fed to livestock.

//COOKING// I never really enjoyed cooking but since becoming vegan I have found a new love for cooking, a new love for vegetables, herbs and spices. I love creating amazing meals that even my still meat eating husband can't say no too. 


Those are just a few of the reason's I have become a plant based vegan, I don't expect to change someone's opinion on what to eat as it is a extremely personal, my husband still eats meat and that is his choice. I have struggled writing this post as I was concerned that people would be rude and expect that I am a judgmental-hate-spouting-negative-superiority-vegan that seems to be popular these days but I promise I am not, I am here to post what I think are delicious and fun recipes that just happen not to contain any animal products.

If you would like to look into veganism a little more I suggest the following links:

//YOUTUBE//
Earthlings
101 Reasons To Go Vegan
Gary Yourofsky's Best Speech You'll Ever Hear
If Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls


//BLOGGERS//
Oh She Glows
Minimalist Baker
Healthy Happy Life
Connoisseurus Veg
Running on Real food
This Rawsome Vegan Life
Hell Yeah It's Vegan
MORE.

//BOOKS//
Skinny Bitch
Vegan with a Vengeance
How It All Vegan
1000 Vegan Recipes

Of course there are thousands of youtube channels, bloggers and books dedicated to veganism, those are just a few of my favourites. 

Have you ever entertained the idea of going vegan or vegetarian?
Do you have any suggestions on recipes?

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