What comes to your mind when you think of the word vegan? Perhaps a highly restrictive diet that mostly consists of boring salads or the same bland food every day. This couldn’t be furthest from the truth! In this blog, I will show you what it’s like to eat vegan for a day with three nutritious meals packed full of flavour.
All recipes serve 2 people
Banana Pancakes
Why not swap your regular breakfast cereal with these scrumptious pancakes
Step 1 Take a bowl and mash a large ripe banana with a fork until it becomes a smooth paste.
Step 2 Add 60g of oat flour (blend whole oats into a fine powder), 75ml of almond or soy milk and a teaspoon of baking powder. Combine this mixture well enough so it forms a cake batter consistency. Adjust milk and flour ratio if needed.
Step 3 Now heat a saucepan on medium heat and drizzle some oil. Pour the batter to create pancakes of the desired size. Gently flip the pancakes after 2-3 minutes and allow them to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Serve onto a plate and top it off with some chopped banana slices and chocolate sauce.
Note: You can substitute any type of flour in this recipe if oats aren’t preferred
Peatastic Pizza
You’ll be surprised to find out this healthy pizza tastes just as good as the original version!
Step 1 – To make the dough: Combine 2 ¼ teaspoons of yeast with 1 teaspoon of sugar and one cup of hot water. Let this rest for 2 minutes before adding 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt. Now gently knead until a firm dough is formed and allow it to prove until doubled in size (around 30 minutes). At this stage, preheat the oven to 200 degrees C or gas mark 6.
Step 2 – In the meantime, you can prepare the pea puree which will be the pizza sauce. Bring water in a large saucepan to a boil and add 350 grams of frozen peas. Cook the peas until they are bright green but not completely soft since they will be cooked again in the oven later.
Step 3 – Add the peas to a food processor along with 2 cloves of garlic, some mint leaves, a teaspoon of salt and blitz to smooth paste.
Step 4 – Grease a baking tray with a layer of olive oil. Take the dough and roll it into a round shape with a rolling pin. Carefully place this onto the baking tray.
Step 5 – Spread the pea puree over the dough in an even layer, ensuring to leave an inch border for the crust. Add grated vegan cheese and your choice veggies for the topping. I chose some sliced red onion, sundried tomatoes, red peppers, chopped asparagus pieces and baby kale leaves.
Step 6 – Place the tray in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes. Serve with sprinkled pepper flakes and a dash of lemon juice on top.
Lentil Curry with Rice
End the day with this warm, aromatic meal
Step 1 – Add 1 cup of white Basmati rice and 1 cup of green lentils to a colander and rinse well. Keep aside.
Step 2 – Heat some oil in a large stockpot. Add a tablespoon of chopped garlic, ginger and a chopped onion. Sauté until the onion becomes transparent.
Step 3 – Add your favourite spices you have in your food cupboard, I added 2 teaspoons of turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala powder and salt to taste.
Step 4 – Now add the rinsed lentils and rice to the stockpot and stir well until the mixture is well coated with spices.
Step 5 – Pour in 3 cups of water and allow it to boil. Once it has reached this stage, simmer and cover with a lid, cooking for another 20 minutes or so. Once the rice and lentils have absorbed the water and become soft, turn the heat off and add chopped coriander for garnish. It is ready to serve!
After trying these dishes, I hope they inspire you to experiment with your cooking creativity during lockdown.
Read other lockdown tips from our students
Try more vegan recipes (bbcgoodfood.com)
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