Vegan Berry Pie Smoothie

It may be my birthday, however I wanted to give you all something today. 

This recipe came together completely on a whim yesterday morning. I needed to create a smoothie recipe for a competition, using the Fast & Fruity pouch, and I basically just took some of my favourite breakfast ingredients, and whatever was around the house and chucked it into the blender.

I knew this would taste good because the berry puree is beyond amazing, but magic was made in my blender. This delicious vegan smoothie tastes just like berry pie, but is completely guilt-free! 

Who needs fat-filled pastry or to spend hours in the kitchen baking when this quick and easy smoothie tastes like the real deal. 

Ingredients

120g Freshfields Be-licious Berry

3/4 Cup of Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/4 Cup of Oats

3 Ice Cubes

4-6 Drops of Now Foods French Vanilla Liquid Stevia

Directions

Chuck everything into a blender and pulse until smooth

Makes 1 serve

Macros

197 calories

5g protein

6g fat

36g carbs

19g sugar

6g fibre

This also tastes great with some cinnamon sprinkled on top

Tropical Coconut Slice [Vegan & Low Fat]

With several family birthdays in the month of February (mine included), I have been baking quite a bit these past few weeks. Rather than reverting back to family favourite  recipes, I wanted to make something tropical as we grasp onto the end of the Summer season here in Australia. 

My discovery of the preservative-free Fast & Fruity puree pouches is a huge time saver, with the fruity filling as simply as squeezing it out of the packaging. If you see them in the supermarket, I suggest buying one in every flavour - I highly recommend them.

Unlike the jam and coconut slice, I have reduced the amount of oat flour in order to create an even fluffier and moister base. The fruity filling flavour is absorbed into the base

The addition of the puffed corn has greatly reduced the fat content of the topping, all whilst adding more texture. If you're not a huge fan of coconut you could substitute more puffed corn in place of the coconut. 

One bite of this slice and your mouth will be watering for more, and you can because they're so low in calories!

Ingredients

3/4 Cup (75g) Oat Flour

6 tsp Orgran Egg Replacer

1/3 Cup of Water

60g Natvia or Norbu

250g Fast & Fruity Tropical Puree

15g Unsweetened Dessicated Coconut

14g Abundant Earth Puffed Corn

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celcius (fan-forced)

Take your desiccated coconut and puffed corn and pulse in a blender or food processor until crumbly, then set aside 

Whisk egg replacer and water until it is fluffy like egg whites

Add in the Natvia and whisk further until dissolved

Gently fold in the oat flour

Pour into a baking paper lined tray and spread out evenly

Place in the oven for 10 minutes and the base is slightly browned and firm

Spoon on the tropical fruit mixture again spreading it out evenly

Crumble over the coconut and puffed corn and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes

Allow to cool before cutting into squares

Store in the fridge in an air-tight container 

Makes 15 serves

Macros per serve

48 calories

0.8g protein

1.2g fat

7.8g carbs

2.4g sugar

1.3g fibre

Rites of Passage Festival 2012

With the return of the Rites of Passage Festival just ten weeks away, I wanted to share with you my experience from 2012. I pulled this piece from the archives at my former blog, Modern Medusa.

RITES OF PASSAGE FESTIVAL 2012

April 29, 2012

    

Yesterday I went to Day 2 of the 2012 Rites of Passage Festival. It was held at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens. The amazingly detailed painted walls and ceilings that decorate the building made for a perfect setting for equally amazing art being tattooed on people’s skin.

Once I stepped inside, I made a bee line to the Japanese booths. I wanted to see people getting hand poked tattoos to see what I was in for.

I couldn't help but cringe at a young guy getting his stomach tattooed by another Japanese artist. Whenever he sat up to take a break, he looked white as a sheet. I’d love to see photos of that completed piece as I’m sure all the pain he went through would have been well worth it.

There was a slight miscommunication, as I was booked in to be tattooed 12-4pm, but was changed to later in the afternoon. It was probably a blessing as I was able to see most of the expo.

I would like to say a special thanks to Crystal from Gimeneko Books. She organises the artists to come to Australia from Japan, books their appointments with clients and acts as their translator. Crystal made sure the artists knew what to tattoo on people and answered any questions people had.

With time to waste, I made my way around the booths, trying not to spend all my money before getting tattooed. I was tempted to buy an adult animal costume at one booth. I don’t care how impractical it is, I really wanted that turtle costume.

I purchased an amazing Sam Rulz print of a hammerhead shark. I am obsessed with these creatures and hope to one day have one tattooed on me.

I love my henna tattoo that I got done on the top of my right hand. I couldn’t believe how quickly the woman drew it. She was doing all pieces completely free hand. The designs are said to last somewhere from 1 to 3 weeks.

The Outre Gallery booth was one I couldn’t miss. I finally got my hot little hands on Angelique Houtkamp’s books Tattoo Darling and Tattoo Mystique. There were plenty of Shawn Barber, Angelique Houtkamp and other artists framed and numbered prints on show.

I visited the Inked Australia magazine booth where I got to meet the lovely editor, Ness in person for the first time. I had a sneak peek of Issue 13 which is on sale this coming Wednesday, May 2nd.

Unfortunately I didn’t get around to the Tattoos for Wishes booth as I was running behind schedule due to my other tattoo. I still plan on making a donation to the Make A Wish Foundation. If you would like to also, click here for more details.

Overall it was such a great day. Being only the second tattoo expo that I have attended, I know I will be back next year. There’s nothing I love more than being surrounded by local and world renowned tattoo artists.

Click here to read about my tebori/hand poked tattoo experience.

[Magazine Review] Inked Australia/NZ Inked Artists Volume 6

I know I've said it before and I'm sure I'll keep saying, but time and time again Inked Artists blows my mind. 

The artwork and the quality of tattoo artists chosen to grace its pages is a reminder that true talent always rises to the top to receive the attention it deserves.

This twice-yearly publication should be your bible for tattoo artists to add to your wishlist. 

(Source)

There are plenty of black and grey portraits in this issue, beginning with the work of covergirl Kimberley Purton (p.10). Others worth a mention include Tye Harris (p.40), Fernie Andrade (p. 58) and Harley Kirkwood (p. 94). Their tattoos are so clean that they look just like a black and white photograph. It really amazes me what can be done with so few colours.

Benjamin Laukis (p.14) is simply a freak of nature. He dominates the tattoo competitions at every expo he attends and it's no surprise why - his work is unbelievable. Whenever I see his Oswald Cobblepot (The Penguin from Tim Burton's Batman Returns) tattoo, I am in awe - he's just as ugly in tattoo form as he was in the movie, and for that, I LOVE it. 

Typographic tattoos are a huge favourite of mine at the moment. Maybe it's studying graphic design and looking at fonts all day, but there's something so simply beautiful about just a nicely tattooed word (or words). Big Meas's (p. 32) fancy font work is especially appealing to me.

Back when I first began looking through tattoo magazines and looking online, I came across Kamil Terczynski's work and was mesmerised. That was when artists like him were beginning to be recognised for their work outside the realm of traditional tattoos. Kamil's pieces are still unique and visually stunning, with my favourite being the Predator on page 39. It's funny how I'm always drawn to the tattoos of characters from movies I watched as a little kid.

Being the owner of a Japanese tattoo, I just love seeing all the different artists interpretations of Japanese culture, in tattoo form. When done right, Japanese themed tattoos are beautiful, but what is the most satisfying is seeing people asking for different creatures, other than the traditional dragon, tiger or koi fish. Jess Yen (p. 52) has stayed true to Japanese tattoos but put this almost playful spin on it. There's more emotion on the faces of the dragons, koi fish, neko, and the hannya, almost as if interacting with the people viewing the tattoos.

But really, there's not much point just reading about me talking about a magazine - go out and buy a copy for yourself!

Special mentions

The sacred geometry and dot work tattoos by Alex Arnautov (p. 72) and Michael E. Bennet (p. 100).

Working on skin, a flat surface it takes skill to add dimension to tattoos, however the tattoo by George Mavridis on page 87 just messes with your mind. The depth of the cubes just makes you want to reach out and touch it.

Timmy B's (p.136) messed up, evil-looking animals are so creepily cute.

I still feel like the eyes of the suspicious looking doll by Andy Engel on page 145 are staring at me.

One last thought...

I see some people shitting on traditional tattoos for being too simple and easy compared to that of a portrait. A good point to remember is that they style of tattooing one artist produces makes them no less talented than an artist producing another style. Sometimes the simplest tattoos are the most difficult as every single element has to be perfect, and if it's not, everyone will notice.

It's easy to write an artist off and say their work is shit simply because their style is not to your tastes, but tattoo artists themselves are their biggest critics. There's a reason why only certain artists succeed and that's because tattooing is not easy. Forget the bickering and arguments and just appreciate the art.

Subscriptions

Get all 12 issues of Inked Australia/NZ, Inked Girls and Inked Artists magazine straight to your door for just $99. That's a huge saving of over $68 and means you'll never miss an issue again.

Subscribe now!

Australian Tattoo Expos

If you read Inked Australia/NZ magazine, then you have no excuse not to know about the tattoo expos happening across Australia in 2014. First up is Sydney in March, followed by Perth in June, and for the first time in Adelaide this August, and ending with Melbourne in December.

Keep yourself informed by liking Australian Tattoo & Body Art Expo on Facebook, or check out their website. 

And for all my Melbourne readers, don't forget about the Rites of Passage Festival which returns to the Royal Exhibition Building in April. 

Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InkedAustralia 

Twitter: @Inked_Australia

Website: https://www.inkedaustralia.com/