Welcome to Veganuary!

With its ever-increasing popularity, 2019 is set to be the year of the Vegan. January has been dubbed Veganuary in an effort to encourage people to give this lifestyle choice a try for themselves.

Veganism is one step beyond being vegetarian, not only choosing to not eat animals but also avoiding dairy, eggs, honey, as well as anything made from fur, leather, wool or down. It also involves being selective with the products you buy and checking they have not been tested on animals.

There are numerous reasons people may choose to become vegan, the biggest one of course being the moral aspect and choosing to live a cruelty-free lifestyle, but it also benefits the environment and your own health through a healthy diet and lifestyle. Whilst some people merely like the challenge of it and trying something new!

Vegan food has come a long way over the years, once assumed to be tasteless and dull there are now a whole array of recipes out there to tantalise the taste buds. Whatever your reason may be, if you have decided to give Veganuary a go, or simply would like to try out a vegan meal, we have a selection of recipes for you courtesy of James Wythe, AKA Healthy Living James, to give you a helping hand. To find out more about Healthy Living James please visit www.healthylivingjames.co.uk

 

10 Minute Chickpea & Spinach Curry, SERVES 4
Prep: 1 min; Cooking: 8-10 mins; GF, DF, VG, V, RSF

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red onion, roughly diced
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander
Pinch of chilli flakes
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 cans chickpeas (400g x2)
200ml veg stock
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup ground almonds (60g)
1 bag spinach (200g)

1. Heat a large pot on a medium heat with olive oil/coconut oil and crushed garlic
2. Meanwhile roughly dice the red onion and add to the pot to cook down for a minute
3. Add all the spices and tomato puree and stir
4. Now add the chickpeas, coconut milk, veg stock and cook on a medium/high heat for 5 minutes making sure to stir
5. Add the ground almonds and stir. Allow to cook down for a further 2-3 minutes
6. Finally take off the heat and stir through the spinach until wilted

TIP: Serve with a side of brown rice or quinoa

 

Comforting Black Bean Chilli, SERVES 4-6
Prep: 5 mins; Cooking: 20 mins; GF, DF, VG, V, RSF

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small red onion, diced
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 red chilli, deseeded and diced
2 large carrots, grated
680g passata (good quality)
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp cacao powder (optional)
200ml veg stock (good quality)

1. Start by grating the carrot, dicing the red onion and fresh chilli
2. Heat a large pan on a medium heat adding the olive oil and garlic until sizzling
3. Add the onion and all the spices along with a pinch of salt and pepper and stir
4. Now add the carrots and chopped chilli and cook down for 2-3 minutes until soft
5. Add the passata, tomato puree, beans, cacao powder and stock and stir
6. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a low/medium heat to cook for 15 minutes (making sure to stir every 5 minutes)

TIP: I like to serve mine on brown rice or inside a roasted sweet potato and top it with plain coconut yoghurt, extra chillies and fresh coriander.

 

Gooey Nut Butter Choc Pot, SERVES 1
Prep: 1 mins; Cooking: Oven 10-12 min or microwave 40-80 seconds; GF, DF, VG,V, RSF

Ingredients for the base
3 tbsp oat flour (make your own by simply blending GF oats into flour, takes 30 seconds)
3 tbsp raw cacao powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
60ml unsweetened almond milk
Spoonful of nut butter (optional)
Pinch of salt

1. Pre heat your oven to 200C (make sure its up to temperature before cooking the choc pot)
2. Create your oat flour by adding gluten free oats to a blender for 30-60 seconds until it forms a flour
3. Now to a mixing bowl add the oat flour, cacao powder, baking powder, tiny pinch of salt and whisk until well mixed with no lumps
4. Now add the maple syrup and pour in the milk slowly whilst hand whisking until smooth
5. Add a spoonful of nut butter to your pot (optional)
6. Pour the mixture into your pot/mug and place in the oven for 10-12 mins or microwave for 40-80 seconds (the time for the oven really depends on your oven and can take a couple tries to get it right)
7. Let cool for a minute before eating and it should still be gooey in the middle and slightly firm on the top and sides

 

Spiced Pear, Fig & Orange Crumble, SERVES 6 – 8
Prep: 5-10 mins; Cooking: 25 mins; GF, DF, VG, V, RSF

Ingredients
1 tbsp coconut oil
4 pears, chopped into chunks
4 oranges (3 peeled and chopped into chunks and save 1 orange for the oat topping)
4 figs, sliced into quarters
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups rolled GF oats
4 tbsp maple syrup

Vanilla Cashew Cream
100g cashews (soaked in water for at least 3-4 hours)
100-110ml unsweetened almond milk
1/2 vanilla pod (slice in half and scrape out the seeds inside)
1 tbsp maple syrup

1. Pre heat the oven to 200C
2. Roughly chop the 4 pears, 4 figs and 3 oranges into chunks
3. Heat a large pan on a medium heat with the coconut oil, add all the fruit along with 1 tsp of cinnamon and cook down for rough 10 mins until soft
4. Meanwhile make the crumble topping. To a large mixing bowl add the oats, 1 tsp cinnamon, maple syrup, the zest of half an orange along with the juice of the whole orange and mix well with a spoon
5. Once the fruit is cooked, add to a large baking dish and then simply top with the oat mixture.
6. Place in the oven for 15 minutes at 200C
7. If you are making the cream then simply add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth

Recipes by James Wythe, www.healthylivingjames.co.uk