The Minimalist Vegan

I used to make a delicious creamy cauliflower bake with cheese and cream before I became vegan. It was quite a heavy, rich sauce.

The first few months of being vegan, I wanted to recreate a white sauce that I liked for dishes like this leek and mushroom pasta. So I set out on a mission to recreate a vegan and healthier alternative. Once I landed on the fact that cashews make things nice and creamy and thicken a sauce up really well, this was my base for a lot of different dishes. Creamy sauces and curries are the ones I use cashews in regularly. / Read More »

“If being a vegan is so good, why is Michael still fat?” My mother asked my wife…

This right here, ladies and gentleman, is the question. It’s the question that pushes culture towards or away veganism, rightly or wrongly.

Lot’s to unpack in this post. Let’s start at the beginning. / Read More »

In the past, I’ve talked about sharing more quick and easy lunch recipes, and this brown rice salad with greens recipe is a prime example.

You can whip it up the night before or if you have some time in the morning for prep, you can do it then as well. Or if you’re lucky like I am and work from home, you can do it when you’re ready to eat!

This brown rice salad with greens is really easy and this post will mainly serve as a guide, as you can have a million different variations. All you need to make sure is that your grains are cooked and ready to go. Otherwise, that will delay you if you use a grain like brown rice. For a quicker alternative, you can use quinoa. I like using the tri-coloured one in this instance.  / Read More »

When you think about fast fashion, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Cheap clothes? What about slave labour in sweatshops?

How many people pause to think about the true cost of their $10 garment?

The True Cost is a documentary that we have talked about before, it’s an amazing way to educate yourself on how the fast fashion industry is contributing to an array of issues globally, from worker exploitation to environmental degradation.  

This industry (as well as lots of others) really gets under my skin. It’s not good enough what we’re doing. Which isn’t much, to change the demand for these types of products. / Read More »

I’ve never considered myself to be frugal. I was always one to indulge impulsively and lacked the discipline to think long-term about money and time. But since becoming a minimalist, the idea of frugal living has fascinated me.

On the surface frugality and minimalism appear to be close relatives. Spending less and buying less go hand in hand. At least so I thought.

It wasn’t until I started researching topics on frugal living that I realised that these two ideas could be at odds. Especially when you layer veganism over the top.

In this post, I’m going to share why frugal living poses problems for those looking to live with less. At the same time, there are some areas where frugal living amplifies minimalism.

Before we look at the challenges and benefits, it’s important to define the frugal mindset and the minimalist mindset. / Read More »

I’ve been dreaming of recreating my favourite (or at least one of my favourites, after Ferrero Rocher and Raffaello) chocolates ever since moving to Australia, as you can’t buy Mikado chocolate with rice here. It’s a Croatian brand which was sold in Slovenia as well where I grew up.

So, I decided to recreate it and make it vegan-friendly too. I didn’t realise it used milk chocolate, as to me it tasted quite dark. To replace the milk chocolate, I used a combination of dark chocolate buttons and almond milk (nicer when homemade) to give it that lighter milk chocolate flavour. / Read More »

Our decision to adopt a dog, let alone having a vegan dog was not something we took lightly. We see the commitment of raising an animal not too dissimilar to raising a child.

Any living being that we bring into our home, we want to ensure that they have an enriched life.

However, for us, there’s another layer of requirements. For Maša and I, our goal each day is to live out our values, specifically minimalism and veganism.

At the same time, we felt compelled to bring a dog into our home. It’s something we had been thinking about for years up until this point. It was time… / Read More »

Age is just a number.

Some people would agree with this statement and others wouldn’t. This is the difference between a growth or a fixed mindset.

People with a growth mindset see it as just a number and don’t let their age or their current stage in life hold them back or define what they’re capable of. You get one life. There’s no re-doing it if you miss the opportunity to live it to the full.

Let me give you a scenario. / Read More »

I’m excited to share this Asian eggplant and mushroom recipe with you! It’s been a little while since I last shared a recipe, over three months actually. Time has flown by, and lots has changed. But here I am, sharing another delicious recipe with you.

The reason I stopped writing recipes was that I was feeling a little overwhelmed with them. Every time it was my turn to write content, and we were due to put up a recipe, I felt completely paralysed. It took me a while to realise that I should just take a step back and let recipes come naturally to me rather than forcing them into existence.

So moving forward there will be fewer recipes but the ones that I do share, I promise will be worth the wait. If there is something, in particular, you would like me to focus on (easy throw together dinners, soups, stews, using specific ingredients etc.), let me know and I’ll incorporate it in. / Read More »