easy vegan pizza

I've been craving pizza for DAYS ON END but I'm trying to save for an upcoming trip so struggle to justify the £15+ it costs to have one delivered! This DIY version definitely hit the spot, my best attempt yet - it's super easy to make and costs next to nothing once you have the basic ingredients in the cupboard.

I used plain flour in this recipe but next time I think I'll experiment with half plain, half wholewheat to make it a bit healthier. Usually I forego cheese and use a combo of nutritional yeast and olive oil but I had some Violife Pizza Cheese in the fridge, it melted amazingly and tasted great :) 

Ingredients - Dough

• 350g plain flour + extra for dusting
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200ml warm water

Ingredients - Sauce

• ½ a punnet of cherry tomatoes (I counted - I used 18)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp oregano

Ingredients - Toppings (use your choice!)

• Violife pizza cheese, grated
• Chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• Green olives, sliced
• Sweetcorn
• Cherry tomatoes, sliced
• Rocket, (add after cooking)

Method

Begin by preparing the sauce. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth with no lumps. Set aside in the fridge. 

Sieve flour into a large bowl, add yeast and salt and stir. Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil and water. Begin to stir in the flour and continue until everything is mixed well. Scatter some flour on your counter and begin to knead the dough - if it's too sticky, add more flour. Knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. Now you can either leave the dough to rise for 1-2 hours (I did - I had something else to do before dinner!) in a covered bowl or continue (only if you want thin crust). 

If you've left the dough to rise, give it a quick knead then split into two balls. Sprinkle some flour on your counter and roll out the dough into two large rounds - try to get it as thin as possible as it will rise in the oven! Lift each round onto a silicon mat. Preheat the oven to 220°. Place two upturned baking sheets in the oven to heat up - we will place our pizzas on top of these, this will ensure the bottom of the dough gets cooked properly. 

Smooth a few spoonfuls of sauce over each base then add cheese. Scatter your toppings and a drizzle of olive oil on then place the silicon mats on top of the preheated baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until crisp. Scatter some rocket on top and enjoy :) 

warm salad of broad bean, courgette and walnut

This dish was inspired by a recipe I came across on the BBC Good Food page and the fact that I had 145845212584 courgettes waiting to be used. It turned out SO tasty - walnut is such a nice addition to  a salad! 

I served this salad with my fail safe baby roasties (recipe coming up soon!) and purple sprouting broccoli, however I think it would go well with most sides - perhaps some homemade garlic bread? YUM.

This recipe yielded 2 portions.

Ingredients - Salad:

• 1 large courgette, sliced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pack of fresh, podded broad beans
• A handful of walnuts, chopped roughly
• Chopped parsley to serve

Ingredients - Dressing:

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 clove of garlic, grated
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Begin by putting your broad beans on to steam for about 5-6 minutes (or per pack instructions). Whilst the beans are steaming, heat a tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat then add courgette slices. Fry courgette until it softens, and begins to turn a nice golden colour. In the meantime, add all dressing ingredients to a bowl and stir well.

Once broad beans and courgette are cooked, add to a bowl along with chopped walnuts. Mix well, top with chopped parsley and dressing. Serve with your choice of side. Enjoy!

green juice

MOAR JOOS! This radioactive looking substance was actually really tasty (swear!) - I made this green juice using the below ingredients:

• 1 bunch of kale
• 2 carrots
• 1 orange
• ½ a cucumber
• ½ a lemon

This made a medium sized glass of juice. Try it out! .. Appearances can be deceptive. Enjoy :)

miso vegetable soup with soba noodles

I made this miso soup last week when I was sick - it's not exactly soup weather but when you're sick nothing else will do! I used loads of fresh garlic, ginger and veggies in the hope that it would fix me. It definitely helped!

You can use whatever veggies you want - I just went for what needed used up in my fridge, plus some frozen peas :) 

Ingredients

• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp ginger, minced
• 5 cups of vegetable stock
• 4 tsp miso paste, I used Clearspring Barley miso
• 200g soba noodles
• Assorted veggies - I used leek, carrot, mushrooms, broccoli, courgette, beansprouts, chinese leaf and  peas
• Spring onions and sesame seeds to garnish
• Optional: Sriracha for serving

Method

Begin by heating the sesame oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic and fry for a minute to release flavours. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. 

Add carrots and simmer for 5 minutes. Add soba noodles, leek, courgette, brocolli, mushrooms and peas and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Remove some stock - about a cup - and mix with miso paste, then add this back into the soup. 

Add chinese leaf and beansprouts and simmer for another minute. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped spring onions. I served mine with a healthy dousing of extra hot sriracha - SO GOOD. Enjoy!

5 ingredient 'Nutella'

This recipe was inspired by a vlog post I watched by The Happy Pear.. If you haven't followed these guys.. do it! They have loads of 5 minute recipes that are seriously great - have a look HERE.

I made a few amendments to the original recipe - I switched sunflower oil for coconut as I have a full jar that needs using, I switched honey for agave nectar to keep it vegan and I left out the vanilla essence as I felt that the mixture was sweet enough.

I'm using an old food processor at the moment as my Nutribullet died (sadface), so the consistency of mine wasn't as smooth as it could have been.. but it still tastes amazing!

Ingredients

• 250g of hazelnuts
• 2 tbsp of cocoa powder
• 100ml agave nectar
• 3 tbsp of melted coconut oil
• ½ tsp salt

Method
Begin by preheating your oven to 175°. Spread hazelnuts out on a baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes - this will release the oils in the nuts and make them easier to blend. Remove hazelnuts from oven and add to blender with melted coconut oil and salt. Blitz for 5-15 minutes (depending on the power of your blender) until a smooth paste forms. If you need to add a little water/almond milk to loosen the mixture up at this stage, go ahead. I added a couple tbsp of water and mine came out just fine. 

Remove hazelnut mixture from blender and mix in all of the remaining ingredients - give it a really good stir to make sure everything is blended through evenly! Put your 'Nutella' in a jar and enjoy :) This will last for months and does not need to be refrigerated.

garlic and herb 'cheese'

If, like me, you've been trying to track down that elusive PERFECT vegan cheese - behold! This cheese is ridiculously easy to make, and the taste is far superior to any pre-packaged vegan cheeses I've tried of late. 

This was inspired by The Buddhist Chef's famous vegan cheese recipe - you can find it here, however mine was made on a whim so I had to substitute some ingredients. I can't wait to experiment with this recipe some more! I'm thinking sun-dried tomato and basil next... CASHEWS Y U SO GOOD?!

Ingredients

• ½ cup cashews
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp Herbes de Provence 
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp tapioca starch
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup water, divided
• 1 ½ tsp agar agar
• Oil, to coat the bowl/ramekin

Method

Place cashews in a saucepan and cover with boiling water - boil for about 5 minutes, until cashews have softened. Once softened, strain cashews and add to blender along with herbs, salt, tapioca starch, garlic, nutritional yeast, maple syrup, lemon juice and half of the water. Blend for five minutes, or until mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the other half of the water to a saucepan along with the agar agar, stir well and pour in the cashew mixture. Heat this mixture, stirring continuously, until bubbling. By now the mixture should have thickened up. Remove from heat and pour into pre-oiled bowl/ramekin. Place in fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. Enjoy!

sweet potato, carrot and orange juice

Okay so I know this isn't really a *recipe*, but it was so good I had to add it here for future ref. Sweet potatoes are something I'd never have dreamed of juicing, more fool me..it was delicious!

If you decide to juice some SP's, try to include something citrus-y - it cuts through the sweetness/starchiness of the potatoes.

To make two glasses of juice I used:

• 4 small organic sweet potatoes
• 4 carrots
• 2 medium oranges

Enjoy :) 

sesame-oregano crispbreads

This is my first time trying to make something like this - baking has always scared me for some reason, whooole different ball game to cooking. But! These wee crispbreads are super easy to make, even for a novice like myself.. This recipe was inspired by Elephantastic Vegan - check out her page, loads of fantastic (and simple) recipe ideas.  

You'll probably have everything you need in your cupboard already too, win-win! 

This recipe made 12 large crackers.

Ingredients

• 100g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 
• 100g buckwheat flour
• ½ tsp of baking powder
• ¾ tsp of salt
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 tbsp of white sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp of black sesame seeds
• 1 tsp of oregano
• ½ cup of water

Method

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl - flours, baking powder, salt, sesame seeds and oregano. Add olive oil and one half of the water, mix. Add remaining water and mix well - if the mixture becomes too sticky add some extra flour. 

Preheat oven to 200°. Take dough and roll out on a silicon baking sheet (or parchment paper) - try to roll this as flat as you can. Cut dough into strips (whatever size you choose!) and place in oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes then remove from oven. Set aside to cool. Once cooled serve with your choice of topping - I went for tahini, cherry tomatoes, capers and oregano! Enjoy :) 

avocado panzanella salad

You need to make this. You need to make this NOW! 

This dish was inspired by a recipe I found on the lovely Iza's blog - so many amazing, healthy ideas - check out the page here :)

Crunchy ciabatta, fresh herbs and zingy dressing make this salad waaay more exciting than the typical lettuce leaf/cucumber combo. Oh, and red wine is a must! Hope you enjoy..! 

Ingredients - Salad

• Loaf of ciabatta, cubed
• 800g assorted cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 1 small red onion, finely sliced
• 3 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• A few sprigs of fresh basil and oregano

Ingredients - Dressing 

• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp salt

Method

Preheat oven to 180°. Place cubed ciabatta on baking sheet and bake for around 5 minutes - just until the bread has dried out. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Pour lemon juice over avocado and mix gently - this will stop the avocado going brown if you want to save some salad for later. Mix tomatoes, avocado, onion, ciabatta and capers in a large bowl.

Mix together dressing ingredients and pour over salad.

Garnish with fresh basil and oregano... enjoy!

Thai style coconut soup with rice noodles and courgetti

Okay so I actually made this soup last week but I've been too busy/lazy to post until now. Also, my laptop seems to be on the way out.. so every time I start to make a new post I end up so infuriated I have to switch it off and walk away before it comes to a sticky end. Random cursor freezing/movement = hello maddening rage. 

ANYWAY. This soup is totally easy and delicious. I actually made it twice last week - the second time I added tofu cubes and replaced the (white) rice noodles for brown rice noodles. Tofu is a great addition - I didn't bother to fry/bake it, I simply cut it into cubes and added to the broth. 

This recipe yields 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 4 servings of rice noodles, prepared per package instructions
• 3 tbsp of green curry paste, check for fish sauce if you're veggie/vegan - I used this one
• 4 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
• 4 cups of vegan chicken stock 
• 2 fresh stalks of lemongrass, bash these a bit to release the aromatic oils
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 5 coriander stems (save the leaves for garnishing)
• 1 400 ml tin of coconut milk
• Juice of 1 lime
• 3 tbsp of liquid aminos (or soy sauce/tamari)
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 head of pak choi, cut into wide pieces
• 6 chesnut mushrooms, sliced
• ½ a pack of beansprouts
• 1 courgette, spiralized

Method

Place the curry paste in a large saucepan over medium heat - fry this for a couple of minutes to release the flavours. Add grated garlic and ginger and fry for another minute. Pour in vegan chicken stock and add bashed lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and coriander stems. Reduce heat to medium-low and let this simmer for around 20-30 minutes, the longer you simmer the more aromatic your broth will be - this is a good thing!! 

Once you're finished simmering the broth, remove lemongrass, coriander stems and lime leaves. Add coconut milk, liquid aminos, lime juice and carrots and simmer on medium heat until carrots have begun to soften - around five minutes. Add mushrooms and simmer for a further five minutes. Finally, add pak choi and beansprouts and simmer for two minutes. 

Divide rice noodles and courgetti between four bowls and ladle over broth. Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy! 

sushi bowl

I've been in the mood for sushi the past few days but kept putting it off because it's SO messy to roll. Cravings became toooo much so today I got all the ingredients and just fired them together in a bowl, simplez. Bowls are better anyway - this applies to burritos as well, you heard it here first!

This recipe yields two servings.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of shortgrain brown rice, prepared per pack instructions and seasoned with sushi rice seasoning - you can find directions here
• 1 avocado, sliced lengthways
• 2 carrots, spiralized or grated
• ½ a cucumber, spiralized or sliced
• 225g block of Clearspot smoked tofu, excess liquid squeezed off, cut into ½ inch slices (widthways)
• 1 tbsp of sesame oil
• 1 sheet of toasted nori, cut into thin strips
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• Liquid aminos (or soy sauce), wasabi and furikake sesame seed seasoning for serving

Method

Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil to a pan on medium heat. Place tofu into pan and fry until golden - about 10 mins on each side. Once done, remove from pan and set aside to cool down. Start to arrange ingredients into bowl - add rice, avocado, cucumber, carrots and nori. Once tofu has cooled down, slice horizontally to make triangles and place on top of rice. Sprinkle over sliced spring onions and furikake. Serve with liquid aminos and wasabi. ENJOY :) 

oil-free baked potato kofta curry

FAKEAWAY SATURDAY. Although I'm considering ordering a real one soon which kinda defeats the purpose. Damn you willpower.

These koftas turned out SO good. I have to admit I was apprehensive - since there was nothing to bind them together I was sure they would fall apart in the oven. Delighted I was proven wrong! 

This recipe yields two (large) portions. 

Ingredients - Koftas

• 4 large potatoes, boiled and mashed
• ½ a small onion, chopped finely
• 1 tsp of chilli powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ small bunch of coriander, leaves only, chopped finely
• 1 tsp salt

Ingredients - Curry 

• 1 onion, chopped finely
• Thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
• 5 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 3 tsp coriander powder
• 3 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tin of coconut milk - I used the solidified cream at the top along with half the liquid
• ½ small bunch of coriander, leaves only, for serving

Method

Start by making the sauce - the longer this simmers the thicker and more flavourful it becomes. Mix chilli, turmeric and coriander with 3 tbsp of water and set aside. Heat your pan to medium and add onions to pan. Fry onions until they become golden - about 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add grated ginger and garlic - fry for 2-3 minutes. Add mixed spices to pan, stir well and fry for 2 minutes. Add tomato puree, salt, water and coconut milk and mix well. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes. 

Whilst sauce is simmering start to make koftas. Begin by preheating oven to 200°. Mix mashed potato, chopped onion, chopped coriander, spices and salt in a bowl. Form into balls about 2"x 2" and set on a non-stick baking tray or silicon sheet. Bake at 200° for 25 mins until golden in colour - turning half way. Arrange in bowl, pour over curry and serve with your choice of bread/rice. Garnish with chopped coriander - ENJOY :)  

Moroccan style stew with lemon and coriander cous cous

Okay so stew is far from summery but c'mon.. look outside! *cries*

I decided to make a stew as I wanted something warming, cheap and easy for dinner - I also had some harissa paste and ras-al-hanout sitting in my cupboard crying out to be used.. I tend to buy these things then use them once and forget about them. BAD.

This recipe yields four servings.

Ingredients - Stew

• 1 brown onion, finely diced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 courgette, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
• 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp harissa paste
• 2 tbsp ras-al-hanout
• 10 baby potatoes, diced
• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained
• Half a cup of red lentils
• 500ml of stock (I used Massel Vegan Chicken Stock), plus extra water as required
• Salt/pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp of tomato puree
• Handful of kale/spinach (optional - I just added for some 'green')
• Juice of half a lemon

Ingredients - Cous cous

• 1 cup of whole wheat cous cous
• Small bunch of coriander, leaves only, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Salt to taste

Method

Heat a large saucepan to medium (use oil if you wish - I didn't), add onions and carrots and fry until they are beginning to soften - about 3 minutes. Add courgette and pepper and fry for a further 2 minutes. Finally add ginger and garlic and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add harissa paste and ras-al-hanout, and fry off for a minute. Add potatoes, chickpeas and lentils to pan, give this a good stir. Add stock and tomato puree and stir again - ensure that the potatoes are covered by the stock - if not, add extra! Cover pan and reduce heat to medium-low. Let this simmer until the potatoes are soft and the lentils are cooked, adding extra water if required - about 30 minutes. 

While the stew is simmering, prepare cous cous as per pack instructions. Once ready, add to bowl with lemon zest, coriander and olive oil. Stir then add salt as required. Set aside.

A couple of minutes before removing the stew from heat, add a handful of kale/spinach and juice of half a lemon and stir. Serve with lemon/coriander cous cous prepared earlier - ENJOY. 

lemon chilli spaghetti with garlic mushrooms and asparagus

This is my first post for over two weeks.. I've been off gallivanting on holidays and haven't cooked a single thing. Unless you count hummus and tomato sandwiches as cooking, in which case I've been cooking EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. Camping = hummus, tomato, bread, repeat. 

Today was my first day back to work and in true post-holiday blues style, all I wanted to do was come home, hit the couch and order a takeaway. I managed to refrain (!!) from hitting up Just-Eat  - need to save some £'s/lose some lb's now that I'm home and back to normality (boo). This dish is cheap to make, low in fat and really satisfying - hello carbs! 

This recipe yields four servings.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250g pack of chestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 1 Portobello mushroom, thickly sliced
• 1 bulb of garlic, thinly chopped (I LOVE garlic, use less if this is too strong for you!!)
• Small bunch of parsley (leaves only), chopped
• 1 courgette, sliced
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
• 3 tbsp of tomato puree
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped (deseed if you prefer less heat)
• 2 tbsp chilli flakes (omit if you prefer less heat)
• Glug of red wine
• Dash of balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 400g of dry spaghetti
• Bunch of asparagus tips
• 1 lemon

Method

Heat 1tbsp of olive oil in a pan, add the mushrooms then fry over a medium-high heat for about 4 minutes until they have softened and look golden. Add garlic and fry again for a further 2 minutes. Remove from heat and tip into a bowl with parsley. Set aside. 

Add the chopped onions to the pan and fry for around 2 minutes, add the courgette then fry for a further 3 minutes until everything is softened and the onions look translucent. Add chilli and chilli flakes to pan and fry for a minute. Tip in tomatoes, tomato puree, red wine and balsamic vinegar. Reduce heat and simmer for around 20 minutes until sauce has thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste (I used a tsp of salt and half a tsp of pepper). When sauce is done, stir in spinach and remove from heat. 

Whilst the sauce is simmering, prepare spaghetti as per package instructions and steam asparagus (approximately 10 mins for spaghetti and 5 mins for asparagus). Drain spaghetti and and fold in sauce. Top with garlic mushrooms and asparagus. Squeeze the juice of a lemon on top and serve. 

aloo karahi

Friiiiiiday again (TFI), craving takeaway AGAIN - the weekly struggle!

I decided to try another fakeaway tonight, curry this time. I adapted this dish using a few 'chicken karahi' recipes I found online, taking different elements from each. Many of the recipes I looked at used yoghurt at the end to add some creaminess, however to keep this dish vegan I subbed yoghurt with lentils - these help thicken up the sauce. CoYo coconut yoghurt could be a good addition to this recipe, I'll add some next time and see how it turns out!

Ingredients

• 12 baby potatoes, cut into thick slices
• 1/2 a cup of red lentils
• 1 red onion, sliced thinly length-ways 
• 4 large vine tomatoes, diced
• 2 green chillies, minced 
• Thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
• 7 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp of coconut oil
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp of cumin
• 2 tbsp of ground coriander
• 2 tbsp of fenugreek leaves
• 1 tbsp of 'chicken' bouillon (I use Massel)
• 1 tbsp of chilli powder (in place of deggi mirch - if you can find this, use it!)
• 1 tbsp of turmeric
• 1 tbsp of garam masala
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp of tomato puree
• Juice of half a lemon
• Half a cup of chopped coriander (about one small bunch)

Method

Heat coconut oil in deep pan or wok to medium-high. Add garlic and ginger and fry for a minute. Add red onion slices - fry these until they are golden and caramelised, about five minutes - if they begin to stick, add a little water. Add cumin and chillies and fry for another minute. Add chopped tomatoes, stir well and cook for two minutes. Add spices - coriander, fenugreek, chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala and salt/pepper - mix well then stir in bay leaves. Add potato slices, lentils, water, bouillon and tomato puree. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Allow to simmer for twenty minutes. Remove lid and check that potatoes are cooked. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and coriander. Serve with boiled rice. ENJOY. 

one pot Mexican quinoa

One pot recipes are my thang. Minimal effort (chuck ingredients in..leave to simmer for a while) and barely any dishes afterwards, win win!

This quinoa dish is deeelicious. I've made it a million times and it's turned out perfect every time - fail-safe recipe. This can be used as a main, a side dish or even as part of a burrito bowl. 

This recipe yields four portions. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup of quinoa, rinsed in cold water
• 1 tin of black beans, rinsed
• 1.5 cups of 'chicken' bouillon (I use Massel, you can find it here)
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 1 small tin of sweetcorn (198g)
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 2 peppers (I used red & yellow), diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp of ground coriander
• 2 tbsp of chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp of cumin
• 1 tbsp of chilli powder
• 1 tbsp of tomato puree
• Salt/pepper to taste
• Juice of half a lime
• Toppings - avocado slices, chopped spring onion and chopped coriander leaves

Method

Heat up a large pan to medium-high and add onions, garlic and jalapeno. Fry for a couple of minutes until softened. Add peppers and fry for a further 2-3 minutes. Add quinoa, black beans, 'chicken' bouillon, sweetcorn, tinned tomatoes, coriander, chilli flakes, cumin, chilli powder, tomato puree and salt/pepper. Give this a good stir then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes then remove from heat.

Squeeze in the juice of half a lime and stir. Top with avocado slices, sliced spring onion and chopped coriander. IT'S THAT EASY. Enjoy :) 

vegan pad thai

This is my vegan version of pad thai - it was really quick and easy to make and super tasty.. I thought there would be enough left for lunch tomorrow but alas it is ALL gone. Back to the lentils!

I spiralized the courgette and carrot, and ATTEMPTED to spiralize the red pepper to no avail. If you don't own a spiralizer just chop them up into noodle-y shapes.

This recipe yields around 3 generous portions. 

Ingredients

• 125g buckwheat noodles
• 225g block of Clearspot Smoked Tofu
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 courgette, spiralized
• 1 carrot, spiralized
• Handful of beansprouts
• 1 red pepper, chopped into thin strips (or spiralized if you can!)
• Toppings: Sliced spring onion, sesame seeds and chopped cashew nuts

Ingredients - sauce

• 4 tbsp of aminos
• 2 tbsp of coconut sugar
• 2 tbsp of lime juice
• 2 tbsp of sesame oil
• 2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp of sriracha 
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder

Method

Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil to a pan on medium heat. Chop tofu block length-ways into 1/2 inch thick slices. Fry for around 10 minutes on the first side then flip and fry for a further 5 mins. Remove from heat, set aside and chop into cubes once cooled. Prepare your noodles per the pack instructions then remove from heat, rinse with cool water and set aside.

Mix all sauce ingredients together, stir well and set aside. 

Heat 1 tbsp of sesame oil in a pan and add courgette, carrot, beansprouts and red pepper. Stirfry for around 3 minutes until veggies are cooked but still crunchy. Remove veggies from pan and place into a bowl. Add buckwheat noodles to pan and stirfry for 1 minute. Add veggies and sauce to pan and stirfry until everything is coated and the sauce becomes sticky. Serve in bowls with spring onions, sesame seeds and cashew nuts sprinkled on top, ENJOY. 

curried green lentils with fresh tomatoes

I threw this dish together at around 10.30pm last night. I'd just arrived home from a festival a couple hours earlier - tired and fragile, cooking was the last thing I wanted to do. I put it off for hours but eventually found the will to move away from the couch - summer holidays are looming so I'm trying to keep spending to a minimum/eat as healthily as possible, so packed lunch it was! 

Lentils have been my go-to ingredient for lunches for ages now. They're so versatile, cheap and easy to prepare - definitely a cupboard essential. 

I'm really bad with chucking in spice after spice, no measurements required (love spicy food!) so the below is just a rough estimate of what I use to make this dish, these can be easily amended to suit your taste buds :) 

This recipe yields approximately 4 big portions of curry.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of green lentils
• 5 cloves of garlic (garlic obsession rages on), chopped
• A thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 2 peppers - I used green and yellow, diced
• 2 vine tomatoes, diced
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp of tomato puree
• 1 tbsp of turmeric 
• 2 tbsp of ground coriander
• 2 tbsp of cumin
• 1 tbsp of garam masala
• 1 tbsp of dried fenugreek leaves
• 1 tbsp of 'chicken' bouillon (I used Massel - you can find this on Amazon)
• Approximately 1.5 litres of boiling water, add to this as necessary

Method

Heat a large pan/dish to medium on your stove. I didn't use any oil in this recipe since I'm trying to cut down on my fat intake, but feel free to add a tablespoon of coconut oil/rapeseed oil. Add onions, peppers, garlic and ginger to your pan - fry until soft, around 3 or 4 mins. Pour in lentils and stir to coat. Add all spices and continue stirring for about 30 seconds. Add boiling water, tomato puree, 'chicken' bouillon powder and tinned chopped tomatoes to the pan and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 mins. Remove from heat and stir in chopped vine tomatoes - they give the dish a lovely freshness. 

Serve with your choice of rice, potatoes, salad or veggies. Enjoy!

falafel burger with portobello mushroom bun, hummus and sweet potato wedges

I've been craving some kind of badness alllll week but I managed to refrain (yay)! The temptation to grab a takeaway for this evening's dinner was high but something managed to stop me, maybe the thought of having to fit into summer clothes in two weeks, hmm.. 

Falafel has been my go-to takeaway lately, I just absolutely adore it! Falafel-y, hummus-y goodness, the best! SO I decided I would try to recreate this dish at home tonight, fakeaway stylee. These burgers were surprisingly easy to make so I'll definitely revisit soon for weekday dinners. Initially I had planned to try to keep this as healthy as possible by only baking, however once I started working with the mixture I realised they would probably need fried on each side for a few mins - this stopped them disintegrating! I used 1 tbsp of unrefined coconut oil for shallow frying the burgers - no guilt required.

This recipe yields 2 large burgers and 2 small falafel balls (these didn't even make it to our plates..). 

Ingredients - Falafel burgers 

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained
• Half a red onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• A handful of flat parsley sprigs (about half a bunch)
• A handful of coriander springs (about half a bunch)
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp unrefined coconut oil
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp coriander
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 2 tbsp buckwheat flour
• 2 portobello mushrooms
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salad for serving - I used lettuce, tomato and cucumber

Ingredients - Hummus

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 4 tbsp water
• 1 tsp cumin
• Pinch of smoked paprika

Ingredients - Sweet potato wedges

• 3 sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika

Method

First we'll start by making the falafel burger 'dough'. Add the garlic, fresh herbs and onions to your chopper/food processor - pulse until chopped. Add in the chickpeas, lemon juice, spices and tahini - pulse until the chickpeas are well mixed in but still slightly chunky. Remove mixture from chopper and place in a bowl. Add buckwheat flour and stir well. Take a handful of dough and form into the shape of a burger, continue until you have used up all of the dough.

Once you have formed the burgers, set aside for a moment. Pre-heat oven to 180°. Add the sweet potato wedges to a heat resistant dish and pour over olive oil. Make sure the wedges are well coated then place in the oven - we will bake these for 40 minutes. 

Heat the coconut oil in a pan on med-high heat then add the falafel burgers. Fry on each side for about 3-4 minutes - until golden brown. Once golden, carefully (they're very soft!) remove the burgers from the pan and place on a baking sheet. Place baking sheet in the oven - we will bake these for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. 

While the falafel burgers and wedges are baking we'll make our hummus. Add chickpeas, lemon, tahini, garlic, olive oil, water and cumin to your chopper/food processor and pulse well until you reach a smooth consistency. Sprinkle some paprika on top and set aside. 

We will prepare our mushroom buns when there's about 15 minutes cooking time left. Take the mushrooms and remove stems. Brush a little oil on both sides then place in the oven (gills side up) turning over after about ten minutes. Let the mushrooms bake for another 5 minutes then remove - you'll need to dab these with a clean cloth to remove some of the cooking juices. 

Once everything is cooked assemble the burgers with mushroom 'buns', salad and hummus. Serve with sweet potato wedges and your choice of hot sauce (I recommend CHOLULA - so good!)