Sunday 24 March 2013

Converting more people to Veganism

The idea of this blog is to try to encourage more people to eat vegan food. By showing how simple, but interesting, vegan food can be, the hope is that more people add it to their diet.  However, my ideal aim would be to convert more people to being full time vegans.  I am just not sure how to do this yet. 

Friday 22 March 2013

Evesham Vegan Fair

Very excited today as we are going to the Evesham vegan fair to sample all the delights there.  My kids are particularly looking forward to it as they have never been to anything like that before. I just hope that the snow doesn't keep people away. We have about 10cm here in the places where it wasn't cleared from yesterday and even deeper where it has drifted but I don't think they have had as much down there. It is still snowing here too, my trees are starting to bow down under the weight of the snow, and the cat is going mad around the house as he doesn't like going out in it.


Simple but Tasty Dinner

I had some purple sprouting to use up, and as I love fried broccoli thought this might be nice fried as well. So I added some mushrooms and fried it in vegetable oil. After cooking I just put on some salt and pepper and ate with some mayo.  Quick, simple and tasty!  Would probably have been even better with some garlic.


Chill Tofu Fingers

I thought it would be nice to have something to warm me up for lunch today, so I marinated some sliced tofu with olive oil, mixed herbs, paprika, salt and chilli powder. Then I fried them until they were crispy.

They were lovely and warmed me up after walking through a blizzard this morning, but maybe I shouldn't have eaten them all myself, feeling rather full now!!


Thursday 21 March 2013

Brownies part 2

I forgot to say in the first part that I also put 2 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon full of baking powder.

They came out really well. After cooling for half an hour the edge of the tray had lovely crispy brownies and the middle had softer ones, so something to suit everyone.


Brownies Part 1

I have never eaten chocolate brownies but thought it was about time I tried to make some, but to make it even harder for myself I thought I would make them wheat free too.

I made a mixture of pure soya margarine and sugar and then added some rice flour, vanilla essence and cocoa powder and mixed up with some soya milk. I ended up with a texture similar to ice cream. I then spread it on a greased tray and have put it in the oven at 180.

I didn't measure quantities of ingredients so will probably never be able to reproduce this recipe but hopefully it will come out well.  I will report back on how they turned out with a photo of the finished product in about half an hour!!

Snacks for Baby

My youngest boy is nearly a year old now and starting to take a lot more interest in food. However, finding non-processed snacks to take out with us can be a problem.  He can share a piece of fruit with his brother, but cutting it up can be a problem. Soft fruits are great, but very costly at this time of year. I often end up resorting to using fruit bars, oat based  cereal bars or crackers.  I think I need to start making my own cereal bars but I always have trouble getting them to stick together as I don't use any sugar in them.

Wednesday 20 March 2013

Recommended Blog

If you haven't found this blog yet you must give it a try. Deliciously Ella contains loads of fab healthy (mostly) vegan recipes that look lovely and taste delicious.

http://deliciouslyella.com/

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Good reasons to be vegan

Today another good reason to be vegan has been discovered.  It has been found that women who suffered from breast cancer were more likely to die after treatment if they ate dairy products.  See the article below for more details:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2293426/Breast-cancer-patients-eat-cheese-yogurts-ice-cream-HALVE-chances-survival.html

Sunday 17 March 2013

cakes

My husband has been making cakes this evening and they smell delicious!

He has used this recipe

http://www.recipesforvegans.co.uk/display/Grandma%20Jewell%27s%20Chocolate%20Sponge%20Cake

but made them into individual cakes. Some have walnuts added, some chilli jam, some raisins and some peanuts.  I have been tasting a few and there are some really interesting flavours but I think the chilli jam is the best.

Wednesday 13 March 2013

RECIPE: Baseless Pizza

I needed a quick and easy lunch today, but something that would warm me up.  So I thinly sliced two tomatoes and sprinkled mixed herbs and salt on top. Then I grated some soya cheese and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. A very simple baseless pizza.  If I'd had more time I could have added some fried mushrooms, courgettes or any other suitable vegetable or topped with olives.


Tuesday 12 March 2013

RECIPE: Lentil Sauce

I am always on the lookout for ways to add more protein to the meals I cook for my children. So here is my recipe for the pasta sauce I make with hidden lentils.

Boil your red lentils until soft. Chop an onion, green pepper, a few mushrooms and some courgette and fry together with garlic and mixed herbs.  Once the vegetables are soft add the lentils and a tin of chopped tomatoes.  Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and a small amount of chilli powder.  This makes a tasty and filling topping for pasta.



Friday 8 March 2013

Fruity Breakfast

After trying the dried strawberries in my supper last night I decided they might be nice to have for breakfast too. 

I sliced a pink lady apple and put it into a bowl with some of the dried strawberries and some sunflower seeds.  This was delicious with some soya cream poured over it.


Thursday 7 March 2013

Strawberry and vanilla cereal

Before bed I always have a bowl of toasted oats with sultanas and seeds and lots of soya milk.  However I have run out of sultanas and seeds at the moment so was looking for an alternative. The only dried fruit I had was some strawberries so I cut a few up and added them to the toasted oats with some mixed chopped nuts and vanilla essence - delicious.

RECIPE: black eyed bean casserole

Today's dinner needed to be something quick that all the children would eat, that was warming and full of energy so here is what I did.

Take 3 small shallots, peel and chop finely.  Finely chop half a red pepper and a quarter of a green pepper.  Cook all of these in vegetable oil with 1 clove of garlic.  Add some mixed herbs, salt and paprika.  While these are cooking take your pre cooked (or tinned) black eyed beans.  Heat in the microwave for two minutes and then mash up with a potato masher.

When the peppers and onions are nicely softened add a tin of chopped tomatoes, when heated through slowly add the mashed black eyed beans and mix thoroughly.  Serve with couscous and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Monday 4 March 2013

Vegan cookbook

Well my vegan low carb cookbook kindle version seems to be selling about one copy every day at the moment.  I am really suprised at how popular it is, and really pleased that so many people are interested in using vegan recipes.  If there are any other categories of vegan cooking that you think people might be interested in reading about then let me know as I would be happy to write more.