Recipe: Orangeberry and Fruit Granola within 5 minutes

This makes a great vegan breakfast, snack or dessert.

Ingredients for vegan orangeberry and fruit granola

• 250ml Orangeberry
• 2 of handfuls of granola
• 1 chopped banana
• 1 handful of raisins
• Sprinkling of desiccated coconut

How to make vegan orangeberry and fruit granola

1. Pour your granola into a bowl
2. Put the fruit on top
3. Scoop some orangeberry on top
4. Sprinkle with the desiccated coconut
5. Leave for a few minutes so the orangeberry starts to melt and soak into the granola - Orangeberry is a great fruity alternative to using soya/almond milk on your cereal/granola
6. Enjoy!

Recipe and photo courtesy of Michael and Victoria

Tips For Staying Vegan

Different approaches 

I have found that there are varying opinions about how we tackle things generally. Thus it's refreshing to hear someone else's take on 'how to do it well' with regards to a topic, which is very close to my heart - being vegan!

So here's some tips, courtesy of Rebecca.

Be consistent to help you stay vegan

If you have decided to become a vegan, you may at times find that you have trouble sticking to your eating plan. With so many non-vegan options tempting you, it can be hard to stay focused and on track. However, as with any 'diet', the most effective way to see results is by being consistent. By following these simple guidelines for staying vegan, you might find that you have an easier time staying healthy.

Make 'feel good' vegan meals

One of the best ways to stay vegan is to ensure that you make the best food choices that you can. If your meals feel like “diet food,” you will be tempted to stray from it and eat something easily, which seems more indulgent.

Try searching for 'delicious vegan recipes' and look for healthy foods that can be bought in stores, so that meal times are enjoyable. It can be especially hard to have the right food available when eating at family get-togethers, or while on the road. If you have to stop for snacks somewhere, remember that there are often meat and animal product - free products, such as, nuts and nutrition bars available, as well as fresh fruit. At family gatherings, you may want to consider bringing along a vegan dish to share.

Know the health benefits of going plant-based

Be sure to become knowledgeable about the health benefits of staying vegan. You may find yourself up against criticism from others who follow mainstream diets, and this can really make it easy to slip back into old habits. Be sure to have information to hand about where to get healthy nutrients like protein and calcium, so that you can nip inaccurate, negative conversations in the bud.

Be kind to yourself

Finally, if you do make a mistake, do not beat yourself up over it. Gently remind yourself about why you made the choice in the first place, whether it is for environmental reasons, health reasons, or humane reasons, remember, you are only human, and you can always strive to do a better job next time. Staying vegan can certainly be hard, but the health and moral benefits are endless.

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“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
- J.K. Rowling

Recipe: Filling Hemp “Oatmeal” within 5 minutes

Ingredients for vegan hemp oatmeal

• ½ a cup of oats
• 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds*
• 1 tablespoon of raisins
• 1/4 of a tablespoon of ground cinnamon
• ½ a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk

How to make vegan hemp oatmeal

1. Add all dry ingredients into your favourite breakfast bowl
2. Add plant-based milk of your choice
3. Enjoy a nice, filling, sweet without being a sweetened bowl of oats!

Notes *You may add more seeds if you'd like just be aware how much you add as hemp seeds are high in calories and fat--good fat, but even so, it is not beneficial to have too much of anything.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Braelynne Morrow.

Veganz Supermarket is soon to be opening in the UK

I was so excited when I found out about Veganz. It is a Supermarket that ONLY sells plant-based products. It is successful in other parts of Europe, but more importantly, one will be coming to the UK soon. So here's some information about Veganz, courtesy of Elisabeth Dober.

The mission 

We strive to make a vegan life possible for everyone worldwide. Our partners love us because we are sustainable, responsible and honest. We act. We innovate. We support. But most of all, we care. We love life.

What is Veganz?

Veganz is the first vegan full-range supermarket chain in Europe. Veganz stands for respect , respect and responsibility towards all people , animals and the environment.

We want to sensitize people for their actions towards other beings , the environment and their own health through food.

Our goal and mission is to provide high quality products to stimulate interest in the vegan lifestyle and make it accessible to the general population . Therefore Veganz is much more than a vegan supermarket. It functions as an importer & wholesaler, offering our customers an extensive range of products. We also have a range of cooking classes, seminars/workshops and movie nights as a platform for the vegan diet and lifestyle.

The variety of vegan food is unique and not limited to the classic vegan products such as fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, dried fruits and cereals.

Any Veganz market has a huge cooling cell with a choice of meat, sausage and fish alternatives, 80 cheese alternatives and more. Moreover, there is a well equipped beauty department, cleaning and hygiene products, pet food and lots of sweets like chocolate bars and biscuits, in every Veganz store.

There is a department for people with gluten intolerance. Many allergies are taken into account in the product range .

The pure herbal product range includes over 6,000 products from approximately 200 suppliers from 30 countries worldwide. The entire range has been through the " Veganz - quality check " and there are no ingredients of animal origin in the products.

Some history and vision

The first Veganz market opened in summer 2011 in Berlin - Prenzlauer Berg. In 2013 an additional shop in Berlin Friedrichshain was opened. Also, since 2013, other cities in Germany e.g. Frankfurt and Hamburg have a Veganz store there. By the end of 2015, there will be 21 stores throughout Europe .

Recipe: Mango Passionfruit Pie

Tools needed

- Blender
- Food Processor
- Dehydrator (Optional)
- 7.5” Pie Tin

Ingredients for the vegan mango and passion fruit pie crust

• 1 ¼ cup Macadamia Nuts (soaked and dehydrated)
• 3 tablespoon of Desiccated Coconut
• 1 tablespoon of  Coconut Oil
• 1 tablespoon of Coconut Palm Nectar*
• ¼ tablespoon of Salt
• ¼ tablespoon of Vanilla Extract

*This is not raw – for a fully Raw recipe replace this with Date Paste

Ingredients for the vegan mango and passionfruit pie filling:-

• 1 cup Chopped Sweet Mango
• ¾ of a cup of Sour Passionfruit Goo
• ¼ of a cup of Coconut Palm Nectar*
• ¼ of a cup of Irish Moss Paste
• 3 tablespoon of  Coconut Oil
• 2 Vanilla Beans
• 1 pinch of Salt

How to make vegan mango and passionfruit pie

1. Blitz Macadmia Nuts and Desiccated Coconut in food processor until it's almost powder
2. Add the remainder of the ingredients for the crust and blitz until well incorporated and it compresses easily between your fingers
3. Gently wipe down the pie tin with coconut oil and press crust into it
4. Blend all of the filling ingredients until it's smooth and creamy
5. Pour the filling into the crust and let it set in the fridge for 4 - 6 hours or in the freezer for 2 - 3 hours
6. Garnish with Desiccated Coconut or Mango Chunks and Serve!

Mango and Passionfruit pie (whole)

Photos and recipe courtesy of Jonny Freesh

Recipe: Strawgo Cheesecake

Strawgo Cheesecake is a great recipe, which is quick, easy and involves no cooking! A sure quick fire dessert to impress at any time of the year.

Michael and Victoria

Ingredients for vegan Strawgo cheesecake

• 500ml tub of Strawgo
• Half a packet of vegan digestive biscuits
• 1-2 tablespoons of vegan margarine spread
• 1 punnet fresh strawberries
• 1 large mango - alphonso is preferable

How to make vegan Strawgo cheesecake

1. Put the vegan biscuits in a food processor until they turn to a light crumb texture
   • If you don't have a food processor or just want to do it without using one; just put into a sealed plastic bag and bang away with a rolling pin
2. Once you have your biscuit base in a light crumbly texture add in the margarine spread and mix together until the biscuits turn slightly darker and thicker in texture - your base is then ready
3. Pour into your baking try base and simple flatten and smooth with a spoon until compact
4. Now get your tub of Strawgo (to make the frozen fruit dessert easier to spread leave it to thaw for 5 minutes)
5. Once it has softened scoop it onto the base and smooth - Be quick otherwise it will melt
6. Finally top with your punnet of strawberries and sliced mango in whatever way you fancy - We like to do a mixture of leaving the chopped and whole strawberries with stalks for a more pretty effect
7. Cut up and serve
8. If you are not going to eat it straight away, pop the dish into the freezer and take out a few minutes before serving or serve frozen for a great frozen cake

Recipe and photo courtesy of Michael and Victoria

Recipe: Sugar-Free Hazelnut Spread

This recipe makes approximately 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients for hazelnut spread

• 1 cup organic hazelnuts - roasted
• 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons of organic cacao powder
• 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1 tablespoon of organic coconut oil
• 1 pinch of sea salt

How to make vegan hazelnut spread

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
2. Lay out the hazelnuts onto a baking sheet and pop in the oven for ten minutes
3. Watch them carefully as oven temperatures vary and these can go from perfectly fine to burnt quickly
4. Remove hazelnuts from oven
5. Using your fingers or a paper towel, remove skins from hazelnuts - they will come off easily but it doesn't need to be perfect
6. Place the hazelnuts in a food processor
7. Process at high speed for 2-3 minutes until you have a paste
8. Add coconut oil and process for another minute, until it looks smooth
9. Add all remaining ingredients, process for another 2-3 minutes until you have a creamy texture
10. At this point it will be quite thin and liquidy
11. Place it into a jar (I use mason jars) and refrigerate for one hour
12. Remove from fridge and it will be a spreadable texture

If you store this in the pantry, it will remain fresh for about 2 weeks. I like to make it in small batches so we never get to the point that it’s gone bad because we didn't use it quickly enough.

Use the spread on your favourite baked goods, fresh fruit (like apple slices) or on sprouted grain bread.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Sophia.