How To Feed A Vegan - VibrantKate

How To Feed A Vegan - Vibrant Kate

What happens if a vegan appears in your conventional kitchen and needs feeding? Here are some helpful tips:

Snacks:

1. Fruit : It's easy. It's healthy. It's a winner!
2. Crisps. Plain ones are potatoes, oil and salt. No animal products. Some panicky people in sandwich shops have told me there is nothing for me, with a display full of crisps right there.
3. Biscuits. Check the packaging, but some are unintentionally vegan: Bourbon biscuits, Hobnobs, Ginger nuts and Oreo cookies. Wahey!!
4. Oatcakes, rice cakes, Ryvita, crumpets, hot cross buns. A little jam or peanut butter can enliven them if required (omit the margarine - most brands contain buttermilk!)
5. Dried fruit and nuts. If you provided me with a little bowl of raisins and cashew nuts I would tuck in quite happily. Did you buy a particular dried fruit for a baking project then forget about the rest of the packet? Feed them to a hungry vegan!
6. All of the above - If your visitor stays for ages, this lot would sustain them for a good while!

Lunches

I will give you three basics to start with:

1. Baked beans - with toast (most bread is vegan - check if using GF bread), or a jacket potato if you have advanced notice of their arrival.
2. Houmous - a vegan classic. If you haven't got any in your fridge, it's easy to buy.
3. Peanut butter - depending on the consistency of your peanut butter, you can put it on toast or bread. Or, buy a jar of cashew/almond nut butter and see if you get addicted yourself. If you aren't into nut butters, offer a banana sandwich. Mmmmm!

Planned Lunches

If you have a bit of notice that your vegan friend is arriving, here are some suggestions:

1. Soup. Check the packaging if it's bought soup - there are milk free soups out there. If you are making soup (hurray!!) lots of recipes don't actually need stock. If you had time, invest in some organic/vegan stock cubes or powder. Stock is always useful! 
2. Falafel. You can buy them ready made, or buy a mix and fry them yourself. I have had some super tasty lunches at my friends' houses where they have provided a feast of falafel, pitta bread, houmous, and a selection of salad items.
3. Bean Burger. Check the packaging, but some of these could live in your freezer for spontaneous BBQ's or fry ups! I made an eye-catchingly yumptious lunch with a ripe avocado mashed into a jacket potato instead of butter, topped with raw tomatoes and red pepper, with a bean burger balanced on top.
4. Simple pasta. Some tomato based pasta sauces are vegan. Alternatively you could make a nice and nutritious dish in about 15 minutes by cooking pasta with a few frozen peas thrown in, add a few walnuts, some avocado (if you have it) and a drizzle of olive oil.

And three pieces of miscellaneous info:

1. New food labelling regulations put allergens in bold, so read the ingredients and if any milk/egg products jump out at you, probably best to save that food for yourself. If it says may contain traces of milk, that is generally a legal disclaimer rather than a promise, so it is possibly ok for the non-allergic vegan.
2. There is usually a free-from section in supermarkets, so if you feel indulgent, you can invest a quid in a bar of vegan chocolate and stash it at the back of your cupboard to delight your guest. There are all sorts of cake-y type things in those aisles too, if you aren't sure about doing some vegan baking of your own.
3. Ask your vegan friend what they like or what they can eat if you aren't sure!

I hope this demystifies this for you!

Have you got any tasty and hasty suggestions to add?

-Vibrant Kate

Sarah Cupcakes - Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes!

Sarah Cupcakes - Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes!

Soon it will be my lovely daughter's birthday! She will be 3 (I know right!! Time flies!). I was looking for a good vegan cupcake recipe to make, and preferably one that I could taste! Luckily, my lovely friend Sarah sent me one of hers! The design above was a fluke, but amusing! I think I'll probably change the design for a 3 year old's birthday party!! The first vegan AND gluten free cake I have made, really delicious.

Makes 12-14 cupcakes

What you need:

*50g Cocoa Powder

*6 tbsp Boiling Water

*3 Egg replacer eggies ( make them up with the instructions on the box - you can find them at most health stores :) )

*4 tbsp almond/rice/soy milk

*175 Gluten Free Flour (we used Dove's Farm)

*1 rounded tsp baking powder

* 100g Vegan Marg

*200g Caster Sugar (you can get away with less though :) )

*1/2 tsp Xanthin Gum

*Almond Flavouring ( I used maybe a tsp in the cake and 1/2 tsp in the icing)

* Cupcake cases (12-14)

For the icing:

*Icing sugar

*Coconut Oil - Melted over a stove

*Almond Flavouring 1/2 tsp

*Cocoa Powder

What you need to do:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
• Mix cocoa powder and boiling water in a cup/jug until it forms a paste. Add almond flavouring

• Cream butter and sugar in another bowl
• Add the egg replacer, then sift in the flour, baking powder and xanthin gum.
• Place the cupcake cases on a tray, then scoop the mixture into the cases. Should look something like the above picture.
• Into the oven!
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until they look and smell delicious! Check with a fork or skewer, if it comes out clean it should be done.
• Cool on a wire tray

• Now time for the icing! The measurements are kind of sketchy on this so just make as much as you feel you need! If you make too much, then you can just eat it! Omnomnom!
• Sift the icing sugar in a small bowl
• Melt the coconut oil in a pan, and pour into the icing sugar once liquid.
• Add the cocoa powder
• Add the almond flavouring
• Mix!
• Spoon over the cupcakes, and leave to dry. Before it sets, decorate! 

So there you go, delicious chocolatey vegan gluten free cupcakes!! Deelicious. :)

Thank you to Kate for delegating, and Sarah for the lovely recipe!

Hannah x

Stuffed Butternut Squash with Tomato Chickpea Sauce Recipe

Stuffed Butternut Squash with Tomato Chickpea Sauce Recipe

OH MY GOSH I seem to have acquired an actual working oven!! This is wayy too exciting for me, life without an oven isn't impossible, just makes life a little more difficult. Plus having to fry everything isn't the most healthy way to live!!

I have been ridiculously busy today, toddlers are really amazing, but exhausting! If you still have a toddler running around, trying to sleep in the cupboards or taking things out the fridge, giving them a few tasks to do with this will keep them occupied and be pretty helpful! Anyway, FOOD!

What you need:

1 Butternut Squash

Punnet Mushrooms

Basil

1 Onion

2 - 3 Cloves Garlic

1 Tin Chick Peas

Carton of Passata (or tin of tomatoes)
Cherry Tomatoes (optional)

Bag of Spinach
10 olives

Salt/Pepper

1 tsp chilli powder 

Olive Oil

What you need to do:

• Preheat the oven at 180 degrees
• Slice the Butternut Squash in half, scoop out the seeds with a spoon
• Lattice (make grooves across and down the flesh) but very lightly (treaadd lightly)
• Drizzle olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and put in the oven for 45mins - 1 hour (depending on how big it is - check with fork for softness!)
• MEANWHILE... (in another universe)
• Chop mushrooms finely.. I got my daughter Esme to chop them with a blunt knife, and then went over with them with a sharp one. Alternatively throw them in the food processor.
• Chop 3-4 leaves of Basil and 3/4 bag of Spinach finely, then 1-2 large cloves of garlic, and the onion, as finee as you possible can!! Try to chop the olives, if your 3 year old doesn't try to eat them all.
• Fry up the onion, garlic, olives and mushrooms with a slug of olive oil. Put to the side
•  In another pan, fry 1 clove of garlic, empty a tin of chick peas and the passata, and stir. Add the chilli powder, cherry tomatoes and 3-4 leaves of basil (roughly tear up), cook on low heat, then turn off.
• If you have time, put your feet up for 10 minutes! I went for a run, like a crazy person.
• Check the butternut squash, if getting softer, move onto next step
• Turn on the heat to the mushroom mixture, add the spinach and basil, and heat for a few minutes.
• Once wilted, scoop into the hollow parts of the squash, and bake for another 10-15 minutes
• Heat the tomato sauce through, place onto plate with extra spinach if you fancy :)
• Serve, eat YUM! I added seeds and nutritional yeast to mine, but then I am obsessed with nutritional yeast.

Extra Puddingy part!:

I spotted a discounted pineapple at my local co-op, so I thought it was only fitting to do something with it. Spending hours making a roasted butternut squash didn't leave a lot of time to cook anything else. So I just threw something together:

All you need is: 1 Pineapple, Coconut Cream (just buy coconut milk in a tin, scoop the cream off the top - I bought quite a few of these on offer for 3 for £2), Sweet Freedom or syrup of your choice, Coconut oil (not required, just tasty!)

What you need to do is: Cut the pineapple into rings (or just buy ones in a tin!), prepare a baking dish with a little coconut oil. Place the pineapple rings on the dish, add a little sweet freedom/maple syrup/anything and bake or grill for 5-10 mins. Add the coconut cream and voila! Pudding! 

Time to zzzz
 Hannah x

Vegan Nanaimo Bars Recipe

Vegan Nanaimo Bars Recipe

Ahh the elusive Nanaimo bar (or Noonoo bar, when I'm too tired to pronounce things right!). I have been meaning to blog about these since we made them last week, but have been wayy too distracted by reality. Damn you reality!

The above picture is from the raw vegan food night we went to, and although they aren't 100% raw, we brung them along anyway!! The bar is the one right at the back. Being organised humans as we are we took a lot of photos, but had to rush out at the end to eat all this delicious food. Whoops!

We used the recipe from this blog here. As I have worked out from many American recipes on the internet, it is well worth investing in a set of cup measurements, so as to spend less time converting measurements.  

So here is is! Much deliciousness in a bar!:

What you need: ( A lot of stuff!)

Base:

3 Tbsp Cacao Powder

4 Tbsp Coconut Oil

3 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1/4 Cup + 1 Tbsp Dates

1 1/2 Cup Walnuts

1 3/4 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

Middle:

1 1/4 Cup Cashews (soaked overnight) (alt. 1 Cup Cashew Butter)

4 Tbsp Coconut Oil

5 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1 Tsp Vanilla

Top:

1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Cacao Powder

2 Tbsp Coco Butter

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil

2 Tbsp Maple Syrup/ Agave

(We left out the salt in the recipe, but feel free to add if you feel it needs it!)

What you need to do:

• Base:  Whizz up (or if you are using a Masha aka Marsha then mash!) all the ingredients in a food processor. Press into a lined 8'' x 8'' tin. Set in the fridge while you make the filling.
• Middle: Puree the cashews, then add the oil, maple syrup, and vanilla, and then continue puree or mash! Spread over the base and put in the fridge for 30 mins.
• Top: Melt ingredients together. If you want to do this at a low temperature you can put a jug in a pan, and surround the jug with warm water out of the tap. Add ingredients to the jug and stir, refilling the pan if the water becomes cold quickly. Pour over the middle of the middle section and set in the fridge.
• Cut into squares, eat all the squares, become wayy too excited because of the deliciousness :) *bounces*

We hope to make these again soon, because they are sooo addictive, so may actually post proper pictures of the finished product. Cannot guarantee 100% because OMNOMNOMNOM

Hannah xx

All The Kale Please Vol. II..The Coconut Edition

All The Kale Please Vol. II..The Coconut Edition

I was inspired today by going on a play date with Esme. The kids were eating Thai Green Curry and the house just smelled amazing! It made me SUPER hungry! So I thought, what do I have in my cupboards or fridge that can even remotely replicate this? Being the beginning of the month, we had slightly more of an abundance of food than usual. So this means..KALE!! YUM!!

It was definitely a 15 minute throw everything together sort of meal! But pretty delicious and worth it :)

Note: This does not taste like Green Curry, but the nearest I could get with the ingredients in my cupboards!!

What you need: (feeds 2-3 people)

Tofu (1/2 block for 2 people)

Kale (1/2 bag, more if needed!)

Olive Oil/Coconut oil

Rice

Onion

Garlic (2 Cloves)

1 tbsp flour (GF)

1-2 tsp chilli powder

Salt & Pepper

Tin of Coconut milk
Seeds

What you need to do (apart from save the world)

• Put on enough rice to feed ALL the people
• Fry Onions and Garlic for a couple of minutes, throw in the chopped tofu. Saute until Tofu is brown
• Add the Kale, saute, then the chilli powder.
• Scoop the cream off the top of the coconut milk
• Add the flour, stir, then the water from the tin of coconut milk
• The sauce should thicken, add as much coconut cream as you think is needed!
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Decorate with seeeds
• EATS!!!

Hannah xx

Vegan Power Muffins - Vibrant Kate

Vegan Power Muffins - Vibrant Kate

Hannah suggested these Vegan Power Muffins (by the inspiring Jack Monroe) using her fave medium: a Facebook post (probably with a hint of Scott Pilgrim, I'll leave the .gif finding to the expert).

My friend saw the post, made the muffins and assured me that they were delish. So, inspired by the power of a double recommendation, I made them. I agree. They are brill. I used my Gadget of the Moment, a futuristic mashing device, and the process was super speedy!
Quite a short post, based on someone else's recipe, so here is some added value:

Trivia of the day: The gadget is called a Masha; Masha is a popular Russian girl's name (pronounced Marsha).

Pun of the day: if I had put more effort into composing this pic, would it make me a Power Muffin A-Ranger? Ho ho.

Note: We got wayy too excited today when this happened:

:D :D :D!!!!!

All The Kale Please.. - Quick Eats

All The Kale Please..

I have been really obsessed with Kale lately. I love cabbage, but Kale really is on another level!

This was a really nice snacky meal, as I am often shattered by lunchtime, due to running after 3 year old all morning! She even enjoyed it, which is a double win for mankind!

So all you really need is:

• Kale
• Houmous (Shop bought or home-made - if you have no time like me rolling out of bed and buying houmous is an easy option!!)
• Walnuts - or any kind of nuts!
• Seeds ( I added this afterwards, because I am so tired I cannot think right now XD)
• 1 Onion
• Optional - Nutritional Yeast - I tend to just put this on everything
• Himalayan Salt or Sea Salt - no table salt please!

You can easily adapt this dish to be raw if you prefer. Esme will not eat raw Kale so I boiled it for maybe 10 mins (generally best to do it for not very long, I do it on orders of a 3 year old!). Meanwhile fry up some onions, when ready just throw together really! Add the walnuts/seeds/houmous. Eat, then fall asleep, if you are very very lucky!

Hannah xx

VibrantKate... gets breathalysed for Raw Cacao‏

VibrantKate... gets breathalysed for Raw Cacao‏

OK, so I didn't actually, but I feel so chirpy that it would probably have been worth pulling me over on my journey home from Whole Foods first Vegan Raw Foods Potluck event to see if I could walk in a straight line not some sort of mystical labyrinth! Given that I have had four consecutive nights up every one-to-two hours with the Vibrant Baby's cough (including a bonus ninety minute Quality Time with the elusive 4am and cronies) the fact that I feel alert is impressive! Time to stock up on those chia seeds, industrial quantities of coconut oil and vivid green smoothies, peeps!

Hannah and I had a motivated afternoon blending raw cacao, coconut oil (if in doubt, base your raw vegan eating around this substance), half of Canada's maple syrup output, walnuts and various other niche ingredients into a Vegan Nanaimo Bar thanks to this blog. It was worth foregoing lunch to get it made in time to share with the enthusiastic attendees at the evening's event. Just as I have discovered through increasing education that in fact milk is a vastly arbitrary basis for food and it is outrageously achievable* to substitute, I learnt this evening that raw food is flavoursome, satisfying and energising! I love a good endorphin hit through clean living means!

Time to go and administer some cacao-flavour breastmilk... I hear the roar of my baby (or is it the raw?).

*A-chia-vable = pun of the day. He he!

VibrantKate xx

Gluten Free Vegan Hemp Savoury Pancakes

Gluten Free Vegan Hemp Savoury Pancakes

Spring is almost here ( what do you mean it isn't??), and the snowdrops are starting to pop up! Horay!

Meanwhile in real life.. it's actually half term and raining. So we thought we would have a go at making pancakes again!

I did think about taking photos for this, but taking a photo of a green pancake didn't look quite right!

What you need:

For the batter:

275g Flour ( I used Dove's Gluten Free)

2 tsp Baking Powder (GF)

250 ml Rice Milk (or soy/coconut/almond - just what I had in!)

125 ml Water

Oil for frying

1-2 scoops hemp protein

For the sauce:

1 Onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp Chilli powder (or more if you fancy!)

1 tin Tomatoes

1 tin Chickpeas

1/2 punnet mushrooms

Oil for frying

What you need to do:

• Follow my pancake recipe here, just don't add the sweet stuff!
• Add a scoop or two of hemp protein
• If letting a toddler mix (until smooth) try not to get on walls
• Leave for 10 mina while making the sauce
• Chop onions, garlic, mushrooms and fry (or saute) in an average pan
• Add the chickpeas, a tin of tomatoes, and chilli powder
• Mix!!
• Heat your frying pan, add some oil
• When super hot, pour batter in
• Cook until crispy!
• Flip the pancake over
• When cooked, transfer onto plate
• Add the sauce
• ..and any extras, I found nutritional yeast and seeds to be super delicious!
• Eat all the dinners

NB: You may have noticed a lot of my recipes are hob based, this is because we currently have no oven! XD

Enjoy!

Hannah

Vegan Taco Night!- Vegan Mama Noms

Vegan Taco Night! 

Oh how I love tacos. Or wraps. Or just food in general. For some reason there was a day where I had enough energy to actually put together a whole bunch of food to eat. Some of it was just what had rolled out of my cupboards,  Kate bought over a few bits, and there you have it! You may need pre made taco shells, I bought a box with tacos, salsa and seasoning!

Here is what we did:

• Scrambled tofu with taco seasoning
• Black beans, garlic and seasoning
• Fried broccoli, with nutritional yeast and seeds
• Fried mushrooms and onions
• Baked Tacos!
• Ketchup / Vegan Mayo / Salsa

I was planning to do a salad also, but by this time I was so hungry I almost ate my arm.

Tacos were an excellent success, my (almost) 3 year old had great fun smashing them with her hands, then rolling around on the floor giggling.

*Hannah*

Pumpkin Muffins ! - Vegan Mama Noms

Pumpkin Muffins ! - Vegan Mama Noms

Ermergerd! Purmpkin Murfins!!! Is what I probably said when Kate bought over these muffins.It was a rather exciting day, we had just eaten delicious tacos, so this was a sweet treat! Kate is the queen of baking ( I'm more of a fling everything together and run away sort of woman!), so is excellent at finding these recipes!!

You can find the original recipe here I have attempted the cups to grams conversion!!

What you need: ( Apart from £1000000)

210g Flour

225g Sugar (or other sweetener - depending on your taste)

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

220g Pureed Pumpkin/ fresh

118 ml Soy Milk

118 ml vegetable oil

2 Tbsp Molasses 

What you need to do:    (bring me food)

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees
• Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices
• In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, soy milk, oil and molasses.
• Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and MIX!
• Fill the muffin cups 2/3rds full
• Bake for 18-20 mins, to check insert a knife or a toothpick - if comes out clean they are cooked!
• Eat them ALL!

Muffins ala Kate!

Vibrant Kate Goes Vegan! - Vegan Mama Noms

Vibrant Kate Goes Vegan!

Reblogged from August 2014

I have decided to go Vegan, so I thought I would give my reasons here, and anyone who's curious about it can read it. I used to think being Vegan was a bit extreme, but now I feel like it is the right choice because:

• The short answer - I am not a baby calf. That is who cow's milk is intended for.
• The 'moment of realisation' answer : I love breastfeeding my son, it is one of the most special privileges of motherhood. One evening I reflected that if I was a cow, I'd never get to enjoy this because my baby would have been taken away and I'd be strapped to a milking machine instead. That seemed wrong. That was when I made my decision. 
• The 'embedded memory provides context' answer: Back in the summer of 1992,when I was nine, and Linford Christie was charging along at the Barcelona Olympics, we stayed on holiday at a farm. There was a sad baby calf there, who had just been taken away from it's mum, and the sound was terrible.
• The flippant answer 1: I've been vegetarian for nineteen years, and it's just too easy to eat our as a veggie now.
• The flippant answer 2: I find it easier to decline a chocolate bar based on ethical principles rather than willpower
• The well read answer: However lovely and organic and caring the farm, animal and bird farming practices are still pretty grim. I wasn't especially educated about this as a town dweller, but it didn't take much online research to make me feel uncomfortable about colluding with it.

Realism footnote: I am quite spontaneous, I like visiting people and am always delighted to be fed. Until I have worked out what foods to bring with me or what foods in my friend's cupboards might be suitable I am happy to eat veggie out and about

FAQ:

1. Yes, I am ok with you eating meat and dairy in front of me.
2. No, I am not bringing up my son to be vegan, he can make that choice when he's old enough.
3. Yes, I feel sure I will receive all the nutrients I need 

I am so excited about my diet, it feels right! Thank you for all your positivity about it!

*Update* Kate is currently winning with veganism

Vegan Pancake Day!!

Vegan Pancake Day!!

 Oh hai!

Didn't see you there!

I was too busy EATING DELICIOUS PANCAKES!!

I thought I'd make an actual effort this pancake day, so I searched around the internet for pancake recipes. I did notice that a lot of them were American (when it says ''put 1/2 a cup in - I think, now how can I stir in this cup?) but managed to find a recipe with grams in, and tweaked it! (Original link at the bottom!)

So here it is! Vegan, Gluten Free Pancakes!!

What you need is: ( Some Ingredients)

275g Flour ( I used Dove's Gluten Free)

2 tsp Baking Powder (GF)

250 ml Rice Milk (or soy/coconut/almond - just what I had in!)

125 ml Water

Pack of Blueberries

Sweet Freedom or Maple Syrup (sweetener)

Oil for frying

What you need to do is:

* Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the baking powder and stir. Make a well in the middle (or a hole in the flour - hehe!)

* Mix the Milk, Water and a good squirt of the syrup into a jug, mix

* Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the flour

* Give it a gooood mixing!

* Add about 3/4 of the Blueberries

* Happen to have a frying pan nearby

* Put some oil in the pan and heat!

* When HOT add a dessert spoonful or two into the pan, you can make maybe two or three little pancakes using the space

* Fry until golden, then FLIP

* While flipping you may squish the blueberries, do not worry about this, as they will be in your tummy soonish.

* When golden on the other side, remove from pan, cover in syrup, put a few blueberries on top.

*Repeat until batter is finished

*Scoff them all

Enjoy! 

Original Recipe

*Hannah*

Creamy Lemon and Chickpea Noms

Creamy Lemon and Chickpea Noms

(Serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

1 Tin of Chick Peas

1 Tin of Coconut Milk (Alt. Soya milk)

1 Onion, Chopped

2 Cloves Garlic

1 small bag of Spinach

Mushrooms

Cornflour

Salt and Pepper

1 Lemon

Savoury Yeast Flakes (optional)

Olive/Sunflower/Coconut oil

Rice

1) Put the rice on to boil, enough for 3-4 people

2) Fry the onion, garlic and then mushrooms together with a little oil

3) Stir in a tin of chick peas!

4) Open the tin of coconut milk, scoop the coconut cream off the top and put in a bowl - Alternatively if soya milk go to the next step

5) Add a little more oil and stir in a few spoons of cornflour

6) Add the coconut or soya milk, a little at a time and stir until a thick sauce

7) Add the spinach, salt and pepper, and a little savoury yeast flakes to taste
8) Stir in the coconut cream

9) Squeeze half a lemon, taste, may need more!

10) Stir!

11) Serve! Omnomnom!

12) Bring me some :D