Skip to the recipe It’s no surprise to hear that going for a plant based diet can be good for you. The benefits of fruit and vegetables is well known, and the UK’s five-a-day campaign recommends everyone gets at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Easy right? Well not quite — a recent survey found the average Briton only eats 2.7 portions of fruit and veg a day! UK diets revolve around meat so much that I’ve had friends tell me they couldn’t go vegan because they wouldn’t know what to eat. To make things easier, here are five simple tips I used, to help you reduce…
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Cajun Palm Hearts with Gnocchi (Vegan & Gluten Free)
As a general rule, Kenny and I don’t celebrate valentines day. Instead we celebrate the anniversary of our first date on the 8th of February. It’s a date that actually means something to us, not just a socially mandated date for romance. Of course, for you that means you get our anniversary dinner just in time for valentines day. This year I returned to heart of palm for their lobster/scallop like texture but without any relation to any actual fish. Tossed in cajun spices and paired with fluffy homemade gnochi, in a creamy, herby sauce, this makes for a deliciously tasty dish that seems like it’s so much more work…
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Vegan & Gluten Free Ravioli Two Ways
I did a thing and I am oh so proud of it. I made homemade pasta, it was vegan and gluten free and it was oh so tasty, and I’ll teach you to do it too. It’s not difficult and you don’t need a lot of special equipment. You will need time and patience but hey, we’re in lockdown, time isn’t something we’re short of right now. Get the kids involved, they’ll love it, or spend your next Friday night making pasta, while you watch something fascinating. I found it really quite satisfying. But first, before we look at pasta, we need to talk about flour. Gluten free flour to…
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Sweet Potato Gnocchi (Vegan & Gluten Free)
The end of summer has arrived, the kids are heading back to school and holidays are coming to an end. I admit we don’t have kids but life always seems to speed up this time of year. There’s this subconscious feeling that time is running out, just as the days start getting shorter. I even had someone quip to me last week that ‘Christmas is only four months away’! With the hectic days it’s still important to take some time to chill. Surprise, surprise, I’ve always enjoyed using mindful recipes as a chance to pause. Gnocchi is so easy to make, a few leftovers, a spare 30 minutes, and you…
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Creamy White Wine Spaghetti with Seared Hearts of Palm (Vegan & Gluten Free)
Seared hearts of palm can look just like scallops. With their mild taste and melt-in-your-mouth buttery texture once cooked they can taste just like them too. Pair with a pile of pasta smothered in a creamy, garlicy sauce and you’ll have a dinner fit for any special occasion. What’s more, you’ll only need to spend 15 mins in front of the stove for this dinner with minimal prep work! This is so easy to make, a child could probably handle it with with few issues. The hearts of palm will cook easily if you just leave them alone in the pan, don’t mess around with them and they’ll be happy.…
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Vegan Lasagne (Vegan & Gluten Free)
A good lasagne is a labour of love and one of those dishes that is greater than the sum of it’s parts. Everything needed is basics I tend to always have in the house. It’s not difficult and all it needs is plenty of time to turn into a rich, filling, tasty, comforting dish that will feed a crowd with ease. This recipe features a rich lentil bolognese and creamy bechamal – you won’t miss the meat here! I always make a huge batch in a large roasting tin so we can freeze the leftovers as it freezes so well. What’s more, even though it can take a while a…
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Gnocchi Puttanesca-ish (Vegan & Gluten Free)
Lets just pretend this recipe doesn’t exist for anyone with an Italian background – I think I might get into trouble for messing with an Italian classic! Translated as ‘Spaghetti a la whore’, Putanesca is traditionally a spaghetti based dish. While there are plenty of arguments on where this was originally invented, one of my favourites is the claim it was originated in the brothels of the Spanish Quarters as a dish mistresses made for their clients. With a few tweeks from the original, it’s perfect for a quick, one pot dinner. The comforting little pillows of Gnocchi cook perfectly in the sauce. Finished with some vegan mozzerella and finished…
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Vegan Spaghetti Alfredo
Carbs are my comfort food, and there’s no mistaking it, some days you just want a big bowl of pasta with a creamy sauce. But its a weeknight, so you want it to feel decadent but to be relatively healthy too, and well, I’m still me, so vegetables were going to have to be involved here. So in response to that urge I revisited Pasta Alfredo with the thought of putting my own stamp onto it. Done right, with a cauliflower and cashew base, the sauce is wonderfully smooth and creamy. However, I like a little bit more depth to my meals – it needed more than your standard pasta…
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Vegan Mac & Cheese
It’s creamy, it’s cheesy, it’s a satisfying bowl of carbs – but it’s all based on veg that’s begging to be used from the bottom of the fridge. This recipe has been a life saver for me when we really need to go to the shops and all we have in the fridge is odds and ends of old veggies. Brought together that old veg can make something extraordinary with out really much effort or tie spent. I also like to tell myself it’s much healthier than your typical non-vegan mac & cheese as it actually contains some vegetables! A lot of this recipe is really quite forgiving so feel…
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Butternut Squash and Kale Spaghetti
There are days when I just don’t want to cook dinner, when I’m tired, can’t be bothered, or just want something with very little effort. This is the recipe I make when those moods strike. It’s incredibly easy and once you’ve roasted the butternut squash there’s really only 15 minutes more work. So if you’re getting tired of social distancing, tired of cooking, and just overall frustrated – pull together this dish, pour yourself a glass of wine, and breathe. Believe me, it’ll all feel better over a massive bowl of carbs! Makes: Serves 2 (Generously) Ingredients 900g Butternut Squash 1Tbsp Paprika 300g Spaghetti 2 Red Onions 4 Garlic Cloves…
