Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats

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Ideal for those who don’t like to cook, this is more a breakfast suggestion than a recipe. It’s really simple to put together, and although it’s a single-serving, it’s easily doubled or even quadrupled for a great family breakfast.

Ingredients

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chocolate almond milk (or other chocolate plant milk)
1/4 tsp fairtrade vanilla essence
1 banana
1 tbsp peanut butter
Cacao nibs or suitable-for-vegan fairtrade chocolate chips to garnish, if desired

Method
1. Stir the milk and vanilla essence through the oats. Leave to soak overnight or for at least 20 minutes.
2. When ready to serve, add a little more milk through the oats, if desired. Layer with peanut butter and banana, and top with chocolate chips.

Speedy Chocolate Mug Cake

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Rich, spongy, sticky: this chocolate mug cake is wholewheat and free from refined sugar. However, if you’re feeling decadent, you can serve it with some suitable-for-vegans chocolate sauce and/or peanut butter. Serves 1-2, depending on how much of a sweet tooth you have.

Ingredients

Suitable-for-vegan spray oil, for greasing the mug
1/2 small banana
70g dates, pitted and soaked for 5 minutes in boiling water, then drained
4 tbsp wholewheat flour
1 tbsp fairtrade cocoa powder
3 tbsp plant milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp bread soda/bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
1/4 tsp vinegar

1. Grease the mug with some spray oil, or a kitchen towel dipped in a little vegetable oil
2. Blend the rest of the ingredients until smooth.
3. Transfer to the mug, and microwave on full power for 2-3 minutes until cooked.

Fragrant Orange Cauliflower Bites

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A healthier and budget version of a takeaway favourite: baked breaded and battered cauliflower in a spicy orange sauce. Ready in about 40 minutes, and a perfect accompaniment to rice and plenty of sautéed mushrooms and greens. Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 medium head cauliflower, in florets

For the coating

35g breadcrumbs
75g flour
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
150ml (approx.) unsweetened plant milk

For the sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
1 red chilli, sliced
1 scallion, sliced
Juice and rind 2 oranges
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp cornflour

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 220C. Line a baking tray with a silicone mat or baking parchment.
2. Mix the breadcrumbs, flour, and five-spice powder for the batter. Add the plant milk gradually until the batter is firm.
3. Dip the cauliflower florets in the batter to coat. Lay on the baking tray and bake for 30 minutes, turning once.
4. Mix all sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer gently until thickened.

Speedy Tortilla Pesto Pizzas

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These pizzas take 20 minutes, including the time needed to preheat the oven. The vegetables listed below are only a suggestion; feel free to use up the leftovers. If you don’t want to make the pesto, shop-bought suitable-for-vegan pesto or hummus will do just fine. Serves 2.

Ingredients

For the Pesto

1 large bunch basil (about 2 cups, tightly packed)
400g cannellini or other white beans
3 cloves garlic
50g kale leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp miso paste
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3/4 cup water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Pizza

4 mini or 2 large suitable-for-vegan corn or flour tortillas
Tomato purée or suitable-for-vegan pizza sauce
1 courgette (spiralized, sliced, or shredded)
1 each red and yellow bell pepper, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 220C.
2. Blend all of the pesto ingredients. Season to taste.
3. Place the corn tortillas on two baking trays or on pizza stones. Spread with the desired amount of tomato purée or sauce, top with pesto, and load up with vegetables.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating or rearranging once to make sure they are evenly cooked.

Peanut-Hoisin Lettuce Cups

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A budget dish that will soon become a go-to favourite. Serves 4

Ingredients

8 large Romaine/Cos lettuce leaves
2 inches cucumber, cut into matchsticks
4 scallions, cut into matchsticks
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
1/4 cup peanuts, lightly toasted
2 cups cooked rice
1 block tofu, drained, pressed, and crumbled

For the marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp Chinese Five Spice powder
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp hoisin sauce

For the sauce:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp suitable-for-vegans hoisin sauce
2 tsp sriracha
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice powder
1/4-1/2 cup water, or as needed to thin

Method

1. Mix all of the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Add the tofu and stir to coat. Set aside while making the sauce.
2. Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce, apart from the water, in a small saucepan over a low heat. Add the water as needed to thin the sauce to the desired consistency, making sure it drops from a spoon but is not too runny. Remove from the heat.
3. Heat a nonstick frying pan over a medium heat and add the tofu with the marinade. Cook until the tofu starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat.
4. Fill each lettuce leaf with rice, tofu, scallions, cucumber, carrots. Top with sauce and sprinkle with toasted peanuts.

Mushroom-Walnut Spread

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Totally retro, we’re taking you on a trip back in time with this tasty spread. You don’t need to serve it from a hostess trolley with Demis Roussos records playing in the background, but we won’t judge you if you do.

Ingredients

1 leek, sliced
1 small red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
300g button mushrooms, chopped
20g dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted; save the soaking water
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp chopped, fresh parsley
1 tbsp yellow miso
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted

Method

1. Heat a nonstick pan over a medium low heat. Add the leeks and red onion, and sauté until just starting to colour.
2. Add both kinds of mushrooms and the soaking water, nutmeg, cloves, paprika, thyme, salt and pepper, and cook until the mushrooms are soft and the liquid has evaporated.
3. Transfer to a blender or food processor with the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides.
4. Transfer to a ramekin and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until set.

Sweet and Crunchy Speedy Walnut Salad

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Who says salads have to be boring? With lots of interesting, complementary textures, plenty of sweetness, and a hint of acidity to balance it all out, this one is most certainly not. This recipe serves four, and is perfect for those who insist that they can’t cook.

Ingredients

1/2 cup plain all-plant yoghurt
3 tbsp parsley, chopped
Zest and juice 1 small lemon
1 tsp maple syrup
2 apples, cored and chopped
4 stalks celery, diced
24 seedless grapes (any colour or a mix), halved
1/4 cup golden raisins
20 walnut halves, toasted and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1. In a small bowl, mix the yoghurt, parsley, lemon zest, and maple syrup. Season to taste.
2. In a large bowl, toss the apples in the lemon juice. Add all other ingredients apart from the walnuts, and toss.
3. Mix the dressing through the salad. Top with walnuts and serve.

Five-Minute Oat Flatbread

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Simple, quick, tasty, and extremely inexpensive: what more could you ask for in a flatbread? This uses aquafaba (liquid drained from a can of chickpeas), which is a superb binder in cakes, and a lovely coating to help your spices stick to oil-free oven fries.

Ingredients

100g oats (blended to a flour if you have a blender; left whole if not)
1/4 cup aquafaba
1 tsp each garlic powder and smoked paprika

Directions

1. Mix the oats, spices, and aquafaba.
2. Add extra water if needed to make a sticky dough that you can form into a ball with a fork (the consistency doesn’t really matter here; you can make these very loose like pancakes, or very firm like patties).
3. Preheat a nonstick pan over a medium heat, divide the mix into two, and place in the pan. If you’ve got a firmer mix, you may need to flatten it out with the back of a spatula.
4. Fry for 2-3 minutes each side until the dough is set and lightly golden.

Sweet Potato Banana Bliss

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A sweet and nutritious breakfast that’s well worth getting up for. Serves 2.

Ingredients

250g peeled and cooked sweet potatoes
1 banana
100ml soy (or other plant) milk
150g frozen berries, defrosted
50g oats

Method

1. Blend the sweet potato, banana, and soy milk.
2. Sprinkle the oats across the bottom of a small bowl. Pour over the sweet potato mixture. Leave to soak for 15 minutes.
3. Serve with frozen berries.

Mexican Beans and Rice

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Ideal for packed lunches, this is a budget recipe that cooks up relatively quickly and serves 4.

Ingredients

250g rice, uncooked (produces 500g cooked rice)
2 x 400g cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 carrots, finely diced
100g frozen peas
100g frozen sweetcorn
80g cabbage (we used the tough outer leaves of our sweetheart cabbage), finely shredded
5 cherry tomatoes, quartered
150g salsa
1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
1 tsp garlic powder

Directions

1. Cook the rice according to the packet directions.
2. Meanwhile, steam or boil the carrots, cabbage, frozen peas, and sweetcorn, until done to your liking. We added the kidney beans too, because sometimes those in tins can be slightly undercooked.
3. Add the cooked vegetables, beans, and cherry tomatoes to a large frying pan or saucepan with the water/broth, salsa, and garlic powder. Cook until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened (about 5 minutes).
4. Serve the rice with the bean and vegetable mix.