Recipe: Hot chocolate with something extra, which will make all the difference!

I am not sure what made me do this but I got a bit creative the other day and the result was a delicious hot chocolate which was bursting with flavour and texture. This recipe serves 1.

Ingredients for vegan hot chocolate

• 1 cup of Oatly
• 4 teaspoons of Swiss Twinings Hot Chocolate
• 1 piece of vegan chocolate

How to make vegan hot chocolate

1. Put the Oatly in a pan and heat it up
2. Add 4 teaspoons of hot
3. Give it a stir
4. When it's almost ready to drink add the piece of chocolate to the pan and mix a little - the one I used is shown below
5. Pour after about 30 seconds

The result will be yummy.

Don't forget to scoop up any remaining chocolate at the bottom of the cup.

Recipe: Tofu and sprouts within 15 minutes

This is a quick, simple, light, healthy meal.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients

• 14 Brussels Sprouts
• about 150g of Tofu
• 1 fresh chilli
• Salt
• Pepper
• Soy Sauce
• A handful of freshly chopped coriander
• Vegan margarine - I use Pure Sunflower Spread

Method

1. Boil some sprouts
2. While it's boiling, get some Tofu and dice it up
3. Chop some fresh chillies and scatter it over the tofu
4. Season the Tofu with sea salt and freshly ground pepper
5. Drizzle some Soy Sauce around it for colour, moisture and flavour
6. Garnish with chopped coriander
7. When the sprouts are boiled, drain the water into a glass and drink it or use it in a soup
8. Mix the sprouts with margarine
9. Season the sprouts with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and serve it alongside the Tofu

Recipe: Pilau Rice within 30 minutes

This dish takes less than 30 minutes to make. It's healthy, filling and can be eaten hot or cold.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for vegan pilau rice

•    1/2 teaspoon of oil – I use sunflower oil or olive oil
•    1/4 teaspoon of mustard seeds
•    1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
•    2 cloves
•    1 stick of cinnamon
•    a handful of raw red skin peanut kernels  – about 30g
•    1 fresh chilli – finely chopped
•    2 carrots - chopped into small cubes
•    a handful of chopped fresh coriander
•    1 bowl of peas – about 150g
•    3/4 of a cup of rice  - brown or white
•    salt to taste
•    1/8 of a teaspoon of turmeric
•    2 and 1/4 teacups of water

How to make vegan pilau rice

1.    Soak the rice in hot water
2.    Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and when it’s hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cloves and cinnamon
3.    Put the lid on the pan and leave it on a low heat
4.    When the seeds begins to pop add the peanuts and chilli
5.    After 30 seconds, add the carrots and put the lid on the pan
6.    Wash and drain the rice
7.    After 2 minutes add the washed rice, 2 and 1/4 teacups of water, salt and turmeric
8.    Turn the heat up to medium high, put the lid on the pan and leave it to cook for 5 minutes
9.    Add the peas, stir, turn the heat down to a low setting and leave the contents to cook with the lid on the pan
10.    Cook on a low heat for 15 minutes
11.    Keeping the lid on the pan, tilt the pan towards you to see if there’s any excess water in it
12.    If the rice is fluffy and there’s no water left in the pan, turn the heat it off
13.    If not, continue cooking for another 5 minutes
14.    Add some coriander and serve in a bowl or a small plate 

Serving suggestion

Enjoy with some plain vegan yoghurt.

Recipe: Savoury Tomatoes with Cous Cous within 15 minutes

This is a quick, healthy and light meal which is full of flavour.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for the savoury tomatoes

•    8 tomatoes – chopped into small pieces
•    1 finger chilli – finely chopped – reduce or increase the amount of chilli you use depending on how hot this particular chilli is, whilst considering your love of spice
•    1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
•    1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
•    1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil
•    salt to taste
•    1 pinch of turmeric
•    2/3 teaspoon of ground coriander powder
•    1 handful of freshly chopped coriander

How to make the savoury tomatoes

1.    Put the coconut oil in a pan
2.    When it warms up, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and put the lid on the pan
3.    When the seeds begin to pop, add the chillies and cover the pan again
4.    After 15 seconds, add the tomatoes, salt, turmeric and ground coriander powder
5.    Let it cook for 7 minutes
6.    When the tomatoes are as soft as you'd like, add the fresh coriander – I usually do this after 5 minutes

Ingredients for the cous cous

•    1/2 a cup (125ml) of cous cous
•    1 cube of vegan stock
•    1 tablespoon of olive oil
•    water
•    freshly ground salt
•    freshly ground pepper

How to make for the cous cous

1.    Boil the kettle
2.    Put the cous cous in a bowl
3.    Crumble the stock on the cous cous ensuring there are no lumps and mix
4.    Drizzle the olive oil on it
5.    Add water so that the level of water reaches about 1cm above the cous cous
6.    Add freshly ground salt and pepper
7.    Stir a little
8.    Cover the bowl with a plate and leave it for 3 minutes
9.    The cous cous will be ready when the water has been absorbed completely
10.    Put the cous cous in a little bowl and turn it upside down to create a mound of cous cous and serve the tomatoes alongside it 

Serving suggestion

Suraj put the cous cous in a little bowl and then turned it upside down to present the cous cous as shown in the photo

Recipe: Crumpets, vegetables and tofu within 15 minutes

This is a light meal that doesn't need much preparation or cooking time.

This recipe serves 2

Ingredients

• 14 Brussels Sprouts
• Salt
• Pepper
• About 150g of Tofu
• Soy Sauce
• Freshly chopped coriander
• 4 crumpets - I like Warbutons because they're soft, fluffy and vegan
• Vegan margarine - I use Pure Sunflower Spread
• Marmite

Method

1. Wash some sprouts and put them in a pan with some water
2. Add a little salt, put the lid on the pan and let them boil until they are as soft as you like them to be
3. Meanwhile, chop some tofu and place it on a plate
4. Drizzle soy sauce on the tofu and dress it with some chopped coriander - I like coriander so I am generous with it, you may want to use a handful, taste it and then add more if you like the flavours it adds to the dish
5. When the sprouts are nearly done, toast some crumpets
6. When the crumpets are as soft/crunchy as you  like them to be, spread some soya margarine on
7. Drain the water from the sprouts into a glass so that you can drink it or use it in a soup
8. Add the margarine to the sprouts and mix
9. Add freshly ground sea salt and pepper to the sprouts and place them on the plate

Snippets from different speakers who share their reasons for advocating a vegan diet

In a previous post I mentioned that I like hearing why people make a shift towards a vegan diet or lifestyle. This is because the reasons tend to vary so much. The footage below shows summaries from a range of people who share why they made the shift to a vegan diet.

Can you think of any other reasons to go vegan?

More about this film...

The entire film lasts 30 minutes. It explores the benefits of being vegan. Some of these are: -

• an exciting lifestyle

• eating delicious food

• consuming healthy food

• tackling the ethics behind making this shift

• global challenges that we face now and in the future.

It was produced by The Vegan Society.

Will you make the connection and become part of the solution?

Here, you can find out what made me transform my diet from one which included meat, to a vegetarian one, which was followed by a shift to a vegan diet.

"I just could not stand the idea of eating meat - I really do think that it has made me calmer.... People's general awareness is getting much better, even down to buying a pint of milk: the fact that the calves are actually killed so that the milk doesn't go to them but to us cannot really be right, and if you have seen a cow in a state of extreme distress because it cannot understand why its calf isn't by, it can make you think a lot." Kate Bush

Recipe: Mixed vegetables in a wrap within 30 minutes

This meal is becoming an all time favourite! It's quick, healthy, versatile, full of different vegetables and most  of all, delicious!

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for the mixed vegetable filling

•    1/2 a teaspoon of oil – I usually use olive oil
•    1 fresh chilli – finely chopped - decide whether to use all, more or less, of the chilli, based on how spicy it is, also considering how spicy you like your food to be
•    1 small carrot – chopped into small bite-size pieces
•    a handful of olives – I prefer black olives because they’re not sharp
•    1 small (200g) can of sweetcorn
•    1/2 a courgette – chopped into small cubes
•    1/3 of a yellow pepper – chopped into thin 2 cm strips
•    1/3 of an orange pepper – chopped into thin 2 cm strips
•    1/3 of a green/red pepper – chopped into thin 2 cm strips
•    vegan mince – use as much, or as little, as you would like - many supermarket own brands tend to be vegan
•    salt to taste
•    1/4 of a teaspoon of pepper
•    a pinch of cinnamon powder
•    a pinch of nutmeg powder
•    2 large wholemeal wraps

Method for the mixed vegetable filling

1.    Put the oil in a pan and heat it using a medium setting
2.    Once it's become hot, add the chilli
3.    After 20 seconds, add the carrots and cook for 7 minutes, after which they should be semi cooked
4.    Now add the olives, sweetcorn, courgette, peppers, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon
5.    Stir and let it cook with the lid on the pan
6.    After 1 minute, add the vegan mince and mix
7.    Cook until it's as soft as you like it to be – I usually turn the heat off after 5 minutes
8.    Warm the wraps
9.    Place the filling along the middle of the wrap, take the bottom of the wrap and fold it towards the centre, do the same with the sides, leaving the top open
10.    Put this on a plate and enjoy

Serving suggestions

Spread some Guacamole on to the wrap before adding the filling