A few things I've been eating recently, from coconut flour weirdness to pink milk

During January, I've was experimenting with new breakfasts, doing that pseudo-self-improvement 'new year, new me' nonsense. You know, the one where you're still eating the boxes of vegan mince pies, chocolates, and biscuits that have survived Christmas and then trying to counteract it with things like granola and matcha, hoping there's some sort of karmic element to eating whereby I can shove junk food down my face if only I counterbalance it with stuff with chia or hemp seeds in.

Turns out, I really like matcha, even though it reminds me of grass (no bad thing, I guess as we're herbivores, people think we eat grass anyway!) I even like granola too, despite the fact I think it should really be marketed as some form of jaw-strengthening workout food. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say 'I really like granola, apart from the insane amount of chewing it requires'.

As well as the Lizi's granola (all their granola is vegan-friendly) are that I tried up there, I also dipped my little granola-y toe into Lucy Rocks, another happily all-vegan brand with this cute little number, which turns your milk pink. (Turns out that cereal that changes the colour of your milk is still exciting, whether you're eating chocolate rice pops as a kid, or granola and soy milk as a grown-up.) The pinky tone here comes courtesy of some beetroot, which keeps company with lucuma, baobab, goji berries, cashew nuts, coconut, and all sorts of other fun stuff.

Talking of coconut, I also decided January was a good month for trying out new baking - because if something's got a truckload of flour and sugar and fat in it, if that is coconut flour and coconut oil and maple syrup, it's generally perceived to be healthy. (Yes, I know it's cobblers, you know it's cobblers, but as a method of deceiving myself into eating cake on the grounds it's a health food, I'm all for it!)

I used this Raw Co recipe for chocolate and banana bread to make a hearty loaf cake. For my first go at cooking with coconut flour, I thought it turned out none too shabby. It tasted good, but it was crumblier than a very crumbly thing. Maybe some chia or flax would fix that next time around.

Any cooking-with-coconut pros give me any tips on how to put coconut flour to good use? A friend of mine gave me two bags a while back, and I'm still trying to think up new ways to cook with it.

One thing that I never need an excuse to cook with is a combo of broccoli and chick peas. You know when you get stuck in that sort of mood where you only want to cook one thing? Well, this is pretty much the only thing that I can be bothered to cook right now. It's just a mix of some salad leaves, topped with roasted chick peas and broccoli coated with the same spice mix that Green Gourmet Giraffe introduced me to for making coconut bacon.

I've also managed to find enough time to catch up with an old friend and her lovely young daughter to go to the South Bank Centre's Adventures in Moominland exhibition. There's no photography allowed, so I can't share what I saw, but I can assure you it's a treat.

 If you're in any way a fan of Moomins, then get yourself down there -- you'll not regret it. It's a really creative and immersive look at the furry creations of Tove Jansson. It's aimed at kids, but equally enjoyable for bigger kids (like me!)

What I can share though is a picture of the lunch said kind friend treated me too afterwards - a big bowl of yasai itame from Wagamama. It may be as big as my head, but it didn't stop me finishing every last bit. And, like the Adventures in Moominland exhibition, I'd quite like to go back for a second helping.