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Shadowing practice: 5 meals I eat each week » vegan & healthy

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  1. What I eat in a day and in a week it always varies but I've been noticing lately that there's a few recurrences in our meal choices so in today's0:00
  2. video I was hoping to share with you five different meal ideas that we commonly enjoy each week.0:07
  3. Two of them are breakfasts, there's one lunch, and there's two dinner recipes.0:12
  4. The breakdown to all of the recipes as usual can be found on the blog, I'll leave those links for you in the description and I also wanted to take0:17
  5. a brief moment to thank Wix for sponsoring today's video.0:23
  6. Wix is the amazing platform that we used to create the Pickup Limes website, I'm going to speak more about them at the end but for now let's dive in.0:26
  7. In these colder fall and winter months Robin and I go for the good old comforting and wholesome oatmeal.0:33
  8. I know I've shared something like this before so I'll keep it brief, it's just this is genuinely what we enjoy most days of the week.0:39
  9. Now I used to be someone who didn't really like oatmeal to be honest until my cousin shared some tips with me that made all the difference.0:45
  10. For example I now cook it in plant milk instead of just water, it makes it more creamy and flavorful.0:51
  11. I also like to add some flax seeds, it helps it to stick together a bit more nicely and also offers some beneficial omega -3 fats.0:56
  12. And the best part I think is cutting up a banana in it while it's cooking because the banana starts to kind of caramelize and dissolve making the oatmeal naturally1:03
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  1. sweet and creamy.1:11
  2. The other thing that makes this oatmeal amazing is the stewed frozen berries that we add to the top along with some kind of nut butter like hazelnut or almond1:13
  3. or peanut butter and we always like to sprinkle on top some pumpkin seeds and chia seeds too.1:20
  4. So like I said this is literally our breakfast most days of the week and we also like to enjoy it with a cup of tea.1:25
  5. As for the weekend I mean what's a weekend without some pancakes right?1:31
  6. And this is a super wholesome recipe that we eat either on Saturday or Sunday morning sometimes both.1:35
  7. I like to use buckwheat flour because it's made from a seed which also means it's a more nutrient dense alternative to white flour.1:41
  8. So how you make it is pretty simple.1:48
  9. I first mash two very ripe bananas until it's as mashed as I can make it and then I add about a tablespoon of ground flax seeds and three quarters1:50
  10. of a cup of plant -based milk.1:58
  11. Then I mix it all together before adding a cup of buckwheat flour, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a quarter teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, a teaspoon of baking powder2:00
  12. and a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.2:09
  13. I then mix it all together until I get this pancake batter consistency and to a non -stick pan on medium heat I add some coconut oil and then spoon2:11
  14. on top some of the batter using the back of my spoon to shape them into little discs.2:20
  15. When the bottom is golden I give it a flip and that's pretty much it.2:25
  16. For the sake of this video I did the classic good old stacking the pancakes on top of each other but in reality we just lay them flat, we top2:29
  17. them with some peanut butter or some homemade vegan Nutella.2:36
  18. I'll leave that recipe for you below as well and we top it with some berries.2:40
  19. More often we actually go for stewed berries again it's just easier to find in these colder months and if you didn't drizzle on any syrup did you even make2:44
  20. pancakes but in all honesty this was just for fun.2:53
  21. We usually don't add any to our pancakes I find it sweet enough especially with those berries but Robin likes to top his with some hoagelsloch which is a very2:56
  22. Dutch thing it's these chocolate sprinkles that some Dutch people like to have on toast for breakfast.3:05
  23. Lunch is usually either leftover dinner or these sandwiches so while I make oatmeal in the morning Robin is whipping these together for us for our lunch.3:12
  24. It's pretty straightforward and insanely delicious.3:19
  25. It's some whole grain bread that's been toasted and then we spread on top of it some hummus either store -bought or homemade and then dice up a ripe avocado3:23
  26. that we put on top of that.3:31
  27. We also cut cherry tomatoes in half, dice up some cucumbers and also add on some pickled jalapenos that came from a jar and if we have it on hand3:33
  28. we'll also add some chives or green onions.3:41
  29. Then we load it up on the arugula a lot and on the other slice of bread we either add some chili sauce or the store -bought vegan honey mustard3:43
  30. and that's it.3:51
  31. I've had this for lunch at least a few times each week for the last two years and I have yet to get sick of it it's seriously the best.3:52
  32. Some nights I make dinner and some nights Robin does so I'll start with sharing my default which is always some kind of curry.4:00
  33. I find them incredibly comforting whether it's Thai or Afghan or Indian inspired curries so this one is a creamy cauliflower and lentil curry.4:06
  34. To start it up I bake some cauliflower which you can always do on a meal prep night too if you want to speed things up so just break it4:15
  35. up into little bite -sized pieces drizzle on a bit of oil and give it a toss before adding a teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder, half a4:21
  36. teaspoon of paprika powder and a small sprinkle of salt and pepper then toss it again and bake it in the oven at 210 Celsius or 400 Fahrenheit for about4:29
  37. 40 minutes or until it's a bit crispy and golden.4:37
  38. For the curry itself you're going to need one yellow onion diced and three cloves of garlic crushed.4:40
  39. To a pot on medium heat we're going to add a bit of oil and the onion, sauteing until the onions are lightly golden.4:45
  40. Then we're going to add the crushed garlic and a whole lot of spices, a tablespoon of curry powder, half a tablespoon each of gram masala and turmeric and a4:52
  41. teaspoon each of ground cumin, ground coriander, cinnamon and salt.5:01
  42. Then stir it until it's fragrant so about one minute and all of these spices are optional so just use whatever you have on hand.5:05
  43. We'll then add a can of diced tomatoes and give it a stir and let this cook for about five minutes.5:12
  44. If I have it on hand I also like to add a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes it gives such a little burst of flavor when you bite into it.5:17
  45. We'll also add a can of coconut milk and the roasted cauliflower.5:23
  46. Stir it up before you add in some cooked lentils and finally we'll add a big handful of spinach.5:27
  47. Give it a stir and let it all heat through and serve it warm with some naan or in this case some brown rice.5:32
  48. It's so incredibly hearty and filling, warm and comforting.5:38
  49. Of course the link to this one is going to be in the description box below but I'm also going to leave the links for some of our other curry5:42
  50. recipes in case you're interested.5:47
  51. Now on to the dinner that Robin loves to make.5:50
  52. Robin is part Dutch, part Portuguese and part Indonesian and when it comes to food the Indonesian side of him always wins.5:53
  53. He loves anything with rice, noodles and some form of stir fry so this recipe is his specialty and my absolute favorite.6:00
  54. For this you're going to need two red onions, diced and four cloves of garlic thinly sliced.6:07
  55. We're going to add it to a pan on medium -high heat with some oil and let it cook for about five minutes.6:12
  56. Robin is also a fan of the mock meats so for this he uses a plant -based soy product that resembles chicken.6:18
  57. We just break it apart into smaller pieces and then add it to the onion and garlic mixture letting it cook also for five minutes.6:23
  58. Meanwhile we're going to wash and then cut the ends off of about four big handfuls of green beans and then we're going to cut those in half.6:29
  59. It's seriously a lot of green beans so this is wonderfully nutritious.6:37
  60. When everything in the pan is nice and golden we're going to transfer it to a bowl, set it aside and in the same pan we're going to add those6:40
  61. green beans and also a cup of water, place the lid on it and let it steam for about five minutes.6:47
  62. Meanwhile we're going to dice up two medium red bell peppers and add this to the pan as well again letting it sit for another five minutes.6:52
  63. Then we're going to make the peanut sauce.7:00
  64. For this you're going to need half a cup of pure peanut butter, a clove of garlic, a teaspoon of rush sugar, a tablespoon of soy sauce and the juice7:01
  65. from half a lime.7:09
  66. Then blend it up in the food processor until it's creamy and smooth and when the veggies are cooked to your liking.7:10
  67. Drain off any excess water leaving about a tablespoon or two of liquid in the pan.7:17
  68. To the pan we're then going to add back in the onion mixture and about a quarter cup of diced sun -dried tomatoes that were in oil and I know7:22
  69. this sounds like a really strange addition to a stir -fry I thought so too when I first saw Robin doing it but trust me it's amazing.7:28
  70. So add that to the pan we're also going to add two teaspoons of sambal hot sauce and a third a cup of sodium reduced soy sauce.7:35
  71. Mix it all together until it's heated through and serve it on a bed of rice or noodles.7:42
  72. Top it with the peanut mixture and that's it.7:47
  73. Robin's version of an Indonesian gado -gado so intensely full of flavors I can't wait for you guys to try this one.7:49
  74. So now you've gotten a bit of a glimpse into some of the meals that we enjoy each week but because we're always also making new recipes for the blog7:57
  75. everything else that we eat really varies but if you're ever looking for more inspiration and meal ideas I welcome you to check out the Pickle Blinds website and speaking8:02
  76. of which I again wanted to thank Wix for partnering with us on today's video.8:10
  77. Wix is the platform that we actually use to create the Pickle Blinds website and I chose to use them from the very beginning because I have no experience in8:14
  78. web development or coding but with Wix you don't need any of that.8:22
  79. You can create an incredibly professional looking website all on your own and you have total creative freedom so they provide these templates that you can plop your pictures and8:26
  80. your videos into but you can also customize them however you'd like and if I can be honest another reason I tried Wix is because it's completely free to try8:34
  81. and that's something I really appreciated as somebody that was new to blogging and I just didn't know what I could commit to just yet so if you've ever been8:42
  82. interested in creating your own website that looks professional but you don't know where to begin I definitely recommend Wix again it's completely free to try so I'm going to8:49
  83. leave that link for you in the description box below.8:58
  84. So now I've shared a few meal ideas things that we enjoy each week now it's your turn what are two or three of your go -to meals that you9:00
  85. enjoy I'll see those in the comments so I'll see you guys down there thanks a lot for watching Pickup Limes signing off we'll see you in the next video9:08

English speaking practice with a fast American food vlog

This clip is from a Pick Up Limes video where the host talks through five meals she and her partner eat most weeks, starting with a weekend oatmeal and moving into a buckwheat pancake recipe. It is one person speaking straight to camera, at a conversational, unscripted pace, in an American accent, which makes it good material for english speaking practice on ordinary, everyday topics like cooking and routine.

The level is B1 and the recording runs at 233 words per minute, faster than 88 percent of the catalogue. There is no pause for effect between ideas: she moves from the week's meal pattern into a sponsor mention into the oatmeal recipe in a single breath. That density is exactly what makes it worth shadowing this line by line rather than skimming it while reading a transcript.

The language in this vegan meal prep clip

A few lines are worth slowing down on before you try to speak them back. Listen for how each one is stressed and where the breath falls, since the words alone will not tell you that.

  • "there's a few recurrences in our meal choices" packs four content words into a short stretch with almost no pause, and "recurrences" is the kind of word that gets swallowed at speed, worth isolating on its own before you shadow the full line.
  • "I now cook it in plant milk instead of just water" is a plain contrast sentence, the intonation has to rise slightly on "plant milk" and drop on "water" for the comparison to land, good practice for improving english speaking on everyday explanations.
  • "what's a weekend without some pancakes right?" is a rhetorical question tacked onto the end of a sentence, the kind of colloquial turn a script rarely gives you, and the pitch has to lift on "right" or it just sounds like a statement.

How to work through this B1 oatmeal and pancake clip

Treat the first part of the video as three short blocks rather than one long recording, since each block has its own rhythm.

  • Start with line 1, "there's a few recurrences in our meal choices", on its own, three or four times slowly before matching her speed, since it is the most word packed line in the opening.
  • Move to lines 7 to 13, the oatmeal explanation, and shadow "I now cook it in plant milk instead of just water" as one clean unit, then add the next clause about it being "more creamy and flavorful" once the first part feels automatic.
  • Take line 17, "what's a weekend without some pancakes right?", by itself and practise the rising question tone at the end, this is the line most learners flatten on a first attempt to speak english fluently at this pace.
  • Run the full line 1 to 19 stretch once at normal speed with subtitles on, then again with them off, so you are checking your ear against the accent rather than reading ahead of the audio.
  • If a phrase still trips you up, isolate just that phrase and repeat it five times before rejoining the full line, rather than replaying the whole clip from the start each time.
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