english mademoiselle vegan

Vegan Meal Ideas| On Top of Toast

Toast has been a go to breakfast for so long now, it is one of those things that you can still eat when you are running late or having a lazy morning.Not only that, toast is not only reserved for breakfast you can have it as a snack, as part of lunch or dinner, you can put things on top of it and inside it. Basically toast is the holy grail of easy meals and student life.

Number1: Fruit on Toast, I cannot recount the number of times this has helped me reach my 5-a-day, all you need to do it grab some toast, spread either vegan margarine or nut butter on, and top with fruit. And in my case I sometimes add maple syrup and coconut...


Number 2: Smashed Avocado and Tomato, this is a well known snack or meal in the healthy eating and vegan community on Instagram. Cut your avocado in half, mash it up with a fork while it is still in the skin with some lemon juice. Spread all over your toast. Top with your tomatoes of choice and season with black pepper.


XO, Miriam

english mademoiselle personal style travel

Slytherin vs. Gryffindor

//My Outfit //Moto Jacket - Topshop//White button down - ASOS//Skirt - UO//Brogues - Clarkes//

The other week while on holiday in the Scottish Borders my family and I took a trip to Alnwick Castle where the infamous scene in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone where harry learns to fly was filmed. So naturally my sister and I took a few photos, and naturally we wore our house scarves... Unlike a lot of the families in the books we are not in the same house, and yes we had this confirmed by Pottermore, I am definitely a Slytherin no questions asked and like Draco I am proud of this fact. Emily on the other hand is a Gryffindor, and I can see why we have very different personalities, she is more socially confident and more like Hermione in the classroom. You can probably even tell the difference in by our taste in clothes, I am generally more preppy and put together whereas Emily is far more confident in what she wears and is a bit more daring with her choices.

Visiting the castle definitely has me excited to go back to the Studios with some friends from university and get to see the Hogwarts express obviously.

XO, Miriam 

english mademoiselle recipe vegan

Vegan Meal Ideas| Coconut Choc-Chip Ice Cream

I don't know about you but I definitely need a dairy free alternative to ice cream to indulge with when I watch films with friends and for summer afternoons. Not only that but this Ice Cream is so easy to make, even if it is harder to scoop out of the pot compared to the dairy alternative.


Ingredients: 3 cans or packs of coconut cream, 1 bar dark chocolate (chopped up), 1/4cup desiccated coconut, and 3/4 cups icing sugar.

*I said it was vegan not healthy...



As I said the method is pretty easy, whip the coconut cream and icing sugar until it leaves stiff peaks.

Then gently stir in your chocolate and coconut.

Pour into some tupperware, place in the freezer and stir between every 30minutes and every hour.

I made this in the morning and ate some in the evening, so serve as soon as you think it is ready. 



XO, Miriam

P.S. Are you following me on Bloglovin' and Instagram 

Books english mademoiselle

A little book haul

english mademoiselle recipe vegan

Vegan Meal Ideas| Nana Nice Cream

Until recently when I started looking into the vegan lifestyle and beginning to change my lifestyle accordingly I thought that vegan food was restrictive and boring. How could I have been so wrong, you can literally have ice cream for breakfast and it is good for you.


























Ingredients:
2-5 frozen bananas in chunks
Any flavourings e.g. fruits, cacao powder, dates, coconut etc.
Toppings e.g. chia seed, chopped fruit, cacao nibs etc.

Method:

1. Put the frozen bananas into a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
2. Add your flavourings, and blend again until well mixed
3. Pour into a bowl and top with what ever you want.

It really couldn't be easier and who doesn't want ice cream for breakfast.

XO, Miriam

P.S. Are you following me on Bloglovin' and Instagram

english mademoiselle personal style travel

Airplanes in the night sky

//Moto Jacket - Topshop//Jumper - Nepal//Top - People Tree//Jeans - Hollister//Shoes - M&S//

As I mentioned in my last post, I am currently wishing I was jetting off to somewhere new and exploring the globe, but alas I am currently holidaying in Scotland and being super nerdy at all the Harry Potter filming sites up here. But as I was feeling inspired after my last post I wanted to show you what I wear to fly, especially on long-haul flights.

The keywords when it comes to dressing for a flight is layers and comfort, who knows what kind of heating or air-con levels there might be at the airport and on the flight. Not to mention who you might be sat next to and how much leg room you may or may not have. But this doesn't mean you have to look like you just got out of bed, even if you did... I chose to wear my moto jacket as it is both warm and adds some protection from the elements on the occasion you have to be outside during your trip. Well that and it makes you look so much more put together. Next up is a jumper and top, because I have had flights where I have been surrounded by people with the AC on full blast and quite frankly it is cold, but then sometimes it gets too warm so you need options. I wear jeans everywhere, they are so comfy so that explains them. And finally the shoes, I always wear shoes I can take off easily if required at security, and if I am wear shoes that look weird with socks I bring them with me for the flight.

If you are flying out this summer you might find this table explaining all of the hand luggage restrictions useful, because lets be honest no one has time to read through all the waffle on an airlines website just to find out the bag size.

XO, Miriam

P.S. Are you following me on Bloglovin' and Instagram 

*disclaimer this post has been sponsored by Purple Parking

english mademoiselle travel

Carry-On Essentials

For all of you lucky people traveling abroad this summer I have made a little list of all the things I bring with me in my carry-on bag. Well not all the things...

1. A magazine and a book, why both I here you ask, well there are going to be times when you are waiting at your gate to board the flight when you want something short to flick through and read. And on the flight you might want to read something more substantial as you have more time, especially on those long-haul flights.

2. Your Passport, if this wasn't already obvious.

3. iPod, to fill the expanse of time on your flight when you run out of films to watch or don't have any to watch. This is also good to block out the noise of any annoying noises or passengers near you.

4. Your boarding passes, this may sound obvious but I know people who thought they could get through just with their proof of booking, come on now.

5.Your phone, for contacting people, scrolling through social media at the airport, and for photo taking. I also take my camera, and all my chargers in my carry on.

6. Money, take some cash from both your home country and your destination, and if you have change for that country take that. Not being able to use a public toilet because you don't have change is just plain annoying.

7. Make-up wipes, I don't fly while wearing face make-up. If it is a short flight I will wear eye and lip make-up but on those long-haul flights make-up is a massive no-no. As well as this I use the wipes to refresh myself after a flight.

8. Lipstick and other make-up, depending on what time you arrive in a country and what your plans are you may want to take some light make-up to apply after your flight.

9. A lucky charm, this is something I have started doing recently I carry round this little wooden Ganesha that my tour guide in India gave to all of us. You can also carry something that reminds you of home for long trips to prevent homesickness.

10. The right sized bag, as you all know that depends on the airline. But you can use this link to find out what size bags are allowed for each airline.

Have a great trip!

XO, Miriam

P.S. Are you following me on Bloglovin' and Instagram 

*disclaimer this post was sponsored by Purple Parking

book review english mademoiselle

The Book Club| Lolita

"It was love at first sight, at last sight, at ever and ever sight."

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - 3/5

So this book is something that when I first read over a year ago scared me, but then I read the words that filled the pages and that all changed. It is no secret that this book is pretty controversial, given it's subject matter, despite this Lolita is one of the books that has changed my life. And no it is not a 'five star' book but it doesn't have to be. Nabokov's writing contains layer upon layer of meaning, and during this re-read I came out with a different view point on the book than I did last time. So many questions are raised, was Humbert Humbert totally a fault or did his Lolita provoke and manipulated him into his actions.

"And the rest is rust and stardust."

The thing I love most about this book is undoubtedly the writing, the story is told in a conversational style from Humbert's point of view after the events have been concluded. There is definitely something about the way he transgresses through different points that reminds me of Dickens. As well as this the character reminds me of Meursault in The Outsider, as he feels alienated by his own emotions to the rest of society. For the read this is not said explicitly to begin with, but you feel apart from him as he regularly thinks in french throughout the book. And while I do know a bit of french there were somethings that I would have needed to look up to understand the meaning.

"Human life is but a series of footnotes to a vast obscure unfinished masterpiece"

There are so many questions that I had at the end of the book, is this all a fabricated story created by Humbert to gain sympathy from the reader? Who was to blame for the murder? And would I convict him if I was on the jury?


XO, Miriam

P.S. Are you following me on Bloglovin' and Instagram 

english mademoiselle the true cost

The True Cost Movie And Why You Need To Watch It

So back in June Tolly from Tolly Dolly Posh Fashion, wrote a lil' blog post about this film, and it
took me about a month to get round to watching it. But I am so glad I did, as someone who is interested in the fashion industry and possibly even working as a part of it someday this film was almost compulsory watching, and it should be for not just fashion enthusiasts but everyone who consumes "fast-fashion".

There are some graphic scenes so if you are under 13, ask a parent to watch it first or with you.
 
The True Cost is a documentary film, about the impacts that the development of "fast-fashion" in "West" is impacting not only our mental health, but the physical health and the environment of the countries who produce the clothes and other fashion items for our consumption. The film is available here or on Netflix. This film is important in a number of ways, not only to raise awareness to the consumer but also to educate and show fashion brands the impact the outsourcing of their production lines has on communities and the environment. Not only that the film demonstrates the way in which "fast-fashion" companies have influenced our society in to consuming things we don't need because of the price, using YouTube haul videos as a reference to this change in the way we shop.

Since watching the film I haven't actually bought any clothing or fashion items, but I definitely will be making more informed choices about where I buy my clothes and the possible impact an item can have on the environment and the community it is created in. It is important that our spending habits and our awareness of the impact of the products we buy on the world change. Because the reality it a lot of the raw materials that are used to create fashion products are not infinite, they will run out. If this film didn't already hit home the fact that this cannot go on to me, the fact that one of the places they mentioned that is being affected is somewhere I have traveled to. The amount of pollution of the River Ganges especially near Varanasi, was obvious to me, and yet chemicals from the production of leather and other materials are pumped into the river everyday.

I really hope you go and watch this film, it is profound, eye-opening and as I said before compulsory watching for anyone who wants to work in fashion or cares about the planet and its people.

XO, Miriam

P.S. Are you following me on Bloglovin' and Instagram 

english mademoiselle personal style

Across The Line

While the weather in the UK has not been that consistent when the sun was out last week I took full advantage and wore this lovely playsuit that I haven't worn since last summer when I was on holiday with my family. Not only does the playsuit look amazing, it is also really damn comfy which during summer is a requirement for any clothes.

While most people like to wear more colour during the summer, I tend to stick to my uniform of black, white, grey and blue. Which is why I think this piece might just be a staple for me this summer, as not only can I wear it by itself I can always layer it with other items to switch up my look. And as for the shoes, I chose to wear my mum's oxfords mainly because have you seen them, they are a wonderful colour and that fabric detailing is perfect. It is a shame I can't take them back to university with me.

XO, Miriam

english mademoiselle recipe vegan

Vegan Meal Ideas| Fruit and CoYo Bowl

I said these were going to be every week but well I ended up working everyday last week so no blogging activity took place at all. You would think I would be getting better at this after 3 years, but no. Anyway I am back with a breakfast idea but honestly I would eat this at anytime of day, because breakfast foods are the best!

There is no method to the bowl as such, I chopped up two bananas, topped with CoYo, frozen blueberries, granola, freeze dried strawberries, chia seeds and coconut shavings. Obviously this is a recipe that can be altered to what you have in your house at the time, but it leaves me feeling so energised and fresh in the morning which in my view is what breakfast is meant to do.

XO, Miriam