Kale Chips........

This recipe came about when I found I regularly had about a ¼ of a bag of kale left over each week and no idea what to really do with them. Then I found this gem of a recipe! It has been tweaked to my liking with the top tip to make them crispy (yum!) They taste great alone, as a topping to stews and soups or as part of a Buddha bowl. Delicious!

 

Kale Chips (serves 2)

·        2 bunches kale

·        4 TBSP of oil of your choice

·        1 teaspoon  sea salt

·        Dried herbs you like (garlic, paprika, oregano and rosemary all work well)

How To -

·        Wash and dry your kale. Cut out the large central stem (these can get kind of "sticklike" when dry)

·        Mix together the sea salt, herbs and  oil.

·        Put your kale in a large mixing bowl, then pour the salt herbs  and oil mix over it and massage the kale for several minutes (until it feels like the kale is coated pretty evenly).

·        Set the oven at the lowest setting (in my case 190 degrees) and put the kale on baking sheets – thinly spread, and then check them and turn them every 5 minutes until done. Normally about 20 mins.

·        This is the magic part – take out the oven and leave on the side the cool so they go yummy and crispy. Do not touch until cold else they will go soggy! Pile them in to a bowl and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Crisps......

Sometimes we just need a junk food fix – a big bowl of crisps to nibble and enjoy (maybe with some homemade hummus or guacamole). But the shop brought bags are full of junk, fats and other nasty’s so when I am craving some crisps this is my go treat. Quick, easy and nutritious this is the perfect snack.

 

SWEET POTATO CRISPS (serves 1)

·        1 medium sweet potato

·        4 Tbsp olive oil

·        Salt and pepper to taste

How To –

·        Heat the oven to 274F/135oC/Gas mark 1. Set a wire rack on a baking sheet and set aside.

·        Thinly slice the sweet potato (use a mandolin if available). Toss the slices in olive oil and make sure they are coated well. Season well with salt & pepper.

·        Place the slices on a wire rack in a single layer. Bake for about 50 minutes, flipping the crisps halfway through baking, until golden and crisp.

·        Cool for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Cucumber & Dill Hummus.....

Hummus is a delicious and healthy dip or spread but what if you could make it even healthier? With the amount of hummus I consume it’s nice to sometimes make a “lighter” version of it, like this Cucumber Hummus. It’s not as dense as your typical hummus and actually tastes quite light and airy.

There isn’t much to say about this recipe other than the fact that it’s amazing. I nearly ate all of it within an hour. I couldn’t resist. First I tried some with carrot sticks. Then, I told myself that I need to see what it tastes like spread on oat cakes. Then obviously I needed to see if cucumber hummus tastes decent with different vegetables…..

The great thing about that is I could have (I didn’t though, I was good!) made  up some more within 5 minutes or less. Put  everything in a food processor and blend and…you are done!

I like adding a drizzle of olive oil over my hummus, a dash of paprika or cayenne pepper, and garnish with a spring of dill. Amazing!

Cucumber Hummus (makes 1 big bowl)

·        2 cups Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans (rinsed and drained from can or soaked and cooked dried chickpeas)

·        2 springs fresh Dill (washed, stems removed)

·        ½ Cucumber (washed, skin on, roughly chopped)

·         ½ teaspoon Salt

·         2 tablespoons Lemon Juice

·        1 tablespoon Olive Oil (or more , optional)

·         2 tablespoons Tahini

·         1 small Garlic Clove

How To –

·        Put all ingredients into a food processor / blender.

·        Blitz until smooth (or chunky if that’s how you like it!)

·        Serve in a sandwich or as a dip with tortillas, crudités or oat cakes. Enjoy!

Holy Guacamole.......

My name is Kate and I am an avocado addict. That beautiful little green bit of heaven is perfection with most meals – if you ask me! Creamy, chunky, flavoursome and healthy this is the perfect super easy snack. After playing with several recipes this is my version of the best-ever chunky guacamole.

Holy Guacamole (serves 2)

·        1 large ripe tomato

·        3 avocado, very ripe but not bruised

·         1 large lime juiced

·        A handful coriander, leaves and stalks chopped, plus a few leaves, roughly chopped, to serve

·        1 small red onion, finely chopped

·        1 chilli, red or green, deseeded and finely chopped

How To –

·        Use a large knife to pulverise the tomato to a pulp on a board, then tip into a bowl. Halve and stone the avocados (saving a stone) and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh into the bowl with the tomato.

·        Tip all the other ingredients into the bowl, then season with salt and pepper. Use a whisk to roughly mash everything together. If not serving straight away, sit a stone in the guacamole (this helps to stop it going brown), cover with cling film and chill until needed. Scatter with the coriander and eat with tortilla chips, spread on toast or dip in crudités. Enjoy!

Salt & Vinegar Chickpeas........

I love salt and vinegar crisps. I mean REALLY love them. As in left unattended I could eat bag after bag of them…. So, in an effort to keep showing my body some love with what I put into it, I’ve decided to break up with that naughty habit and instead indulge in a protein packed bowl of salt and vinegar chick peas.

Tangy, savory, crunchy, healthy—win.

While these are a bit more labour intensive than popping open a plastic bag, I promise they’re just as satisfying (plus, no plastic packaging involved—double win).

Salt & Vinegar Chickpeas (makes 1 bowl)

·        1 can rinsed and drained chickpeas

·        2 cups white vinegar

·        sea salt

·        3 tbsp olive oil

 How To –

·        Put chickpeas, vinegar and a dash of salt into a pot and bring to a boil.

·        Remove immediately, once it starts boiling, and let the chickpeas soak for 40 minutes in the warm vinegar.

·        Preheat oven to 400°F.

·        After 40 minutes, drain chickpeas of excess vinegar (save the extra fluid for your next batch, because I promise you’ll be making more).

·        Place chickpeas on oven safe baking tray. Coat with 3 tablespoons olive oil and more salt (to taste).

·        Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes, checking every 10 minutes to stir them around and make sure they’re turning golden brown (not black).

·        Remove once they’re nice and toasted, and let sit for 10 minutes before munching. They should be crunchy on the outside and a bit soft on the inside. Pour into a big bowl and enjoy!

VeganRebeccaBlog (guest post)...............

  I am beyond privileged and excited to be able to share with you this guest post from the very lovely Becky. It has been a wonderful experience to collaborate with such a fabulous person who shares so many of my values. She really is an amazing vegan with a fab sense of humour. Please feel free to share this blog, give her a follow on social media and support a fellow vegan sister in her journey. This recipe looks amazing and I cannot wait to try it out! So with no further ado let me hand over to her, I hope you enjoy her blog as much as I do…..
 

This is my first ever guest post so I hope you all enjoy it. I'm not entirely sure what to talk about if I'm honest but we shall just have to see where it takes us. So hi, my name is Becky and I'm 21 and from Wales. I've been vegan now for about a year, I say about a year because if I am honest I'm not actually sure when I turned vegan. I was vegetarian for 5/6 years before I turned vegan and I didn't really take notice of any dates or days I just know it was around now last year. I found it incredibly easy making the transition from vegetarian to vegan, I'm not sure whether that was because I was already vegetarian? Or whether it's because I'm also intolerant to dairy and have never been a big lover of eggs or honey? I'm not sure but whatever the reason it's the best decision I ever made. I've actually been really enjoying the food, not so much the preparing side of it all, if all the cutting up and thinking of meals was done for me I'd happily cook everything all the time. Speaking of cooking I have added my favourite meal I have had so far, I only actually had it a week or so ago but it is for sure my favourite thing right now. It is from the VeganLife magazine and I hope you enjoy it.

Sea Shepherd's Pie - Serves 6

 

Filling

1 tbsp veg oil

1 tbsp vegan butter

750ml (3 cups) sliced button mushrooms (I'm guessing this is maybe meant to be in grams? unless you can measure muchrooms in ml..)

1 leek, thinly sliced (tender green parts only)

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 stalk celery, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp reduced - sodium tamari

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

750ml ( 3 cups) no - salt - added veg broth or water, plus more as needed

750ml ( 3 cups ) dried french lentils, picked over, rinsed and drained

2 tomatoes, finely diced

1 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

 

Topping 

 

4 potatoes, peeled and diced

1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp thinly sliced fresh chives

 

Method

 

1.   To make the filling, put the oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat until the butter has melted. Decrease heat to medium and add mushrooms, leek, onion, carrot, celery, garlic and cook, stirring it frequnetly, until soft, about 10 minutes.

2.   Add the tamari and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes.

3.   Add the broth, lentils and tomatoes and bring to the boil over medium-high heat.

4.   Decrease heat to medium, partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the lentils are tender, about 25 minutes. If necessary, add more broth as the lentils cook so they don’t become dry. Stir in the vinegar and nutritional yeast. Transfer to a 4L casserole.

5.   Preheat oven to 205 C (400F)

6.   While the lentils cook, prepare the topping. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to boil over a high heat. Add the poatoes, partially cover and cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain, Add the oil and salt and mash until the potatoes are smooth and creamy.

7.   Spread the topping evenly over the filling. Sprinkle the chives evenly over the topping and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.

 

 

I can't even explain to you how amazing this is. It's so delicious. TRY IT! See if it's as tasty for you as it is for me. 

www.rebeccavegan.blogspot.co.uk

 

Raspberry & Dark Chocolate Flapjack (vegan gluten free).........

Peanut butter and jam is a favourite of mine - it's sweet and creamy, and the vegan gluten free staple of many! Having managed to get myself a jar of Homemade by Erica Jayne raspberry & almond jam (buy it here) it felt wrong to merely slap it on some toast (although that would have been delicious!)  So I decided it was only right to pay homage to all that goodness by combining all those flavours into my favourite sweet treat. Flapjack. Easy to make, loved by vegans and none vegans alike with a sprinkle of chocolate to add to the all-round fabulousness of this cheeky treat, it makes it an essential with your morning coffee.....

 Raspberry and dark chocolate flapjack (makes 12 squares)

225g gluten free oats

 110g gluten free flour

 75g brown sugar

 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

 1/4 teaspoon salt

 50g softened coconut oil

 50g peanut butter

 5 tablespoons raspberry jam

 110g vegan chocolate chips

 How To -

·        Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

·        In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

·        In a microwavable bowl place the coconut oil and the peanut butter. Gently heat in the microwave on low until the mixture starts to melt. Pour into the dry mix and stir in until the dough just comes together. The dough should not be crumbly and should stick together.

·        Gently press 2/3 of this mixture into the bottom of the baking pan.

·        Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until the edges just start to brown.

·        Carefully take the bake out and cover with the jam. Sprinkle on the chocolate chips.

·        Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the chocolate chips.

·        Bake for another 22-25 minutes or until the top has lightly browned and the filling is bubbly.

·        Cool and refrigerate for two hours before cutting. Serve with a big scoop of almond icecream. Enjoy!

Treat time......

Perfect for sharing.....