Breakfast Muffins

A perfect grab-and-go breakfast that’s oil-free, lower in sugar than other muffins, and great to make in advance, keeping up to three days in a sealed container. This recipe makes 12 muffins and a small loaf or cake, or 18 muffins. They are not incredibly sweet, so if you like sweet muffins, add an extra 0.25 cups suitable-for-vegans sugar.

Ingredients
1 apple, grated (leave the skin on for its nutritional benefits)
1 carrot, grated
1 banana, mashed
1.25 cups wholemeal spelt flour
1 cup oat bran
8 dates, finely chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp ground flax
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1.25 cups soy milk
0.25 cups maple syrup
1 cup blueberries

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line a muffin pan with silicone muffin cases. If making a small loaf or cake in addition, set a silicone loaf or cake dish on a baking tray, or spray a metal dish with a light mist of suitable-for-vegans spray oil.
2. Mix all ingredients.
3. Layer into the tins.
4. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin.

Macaroni and Bell Pepper Sauce

This is a deliciously umami yet sweet dish that’s got all of the flavour of comfort food with minimally processed ingredients and no oil! It’s incredibly quick to make the sauce–just blend and heat. Serves 2.

Ingredients
250g broccoli, steamed
200g macaroni, cooked according to package directions
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow pepper
3 large cloves garlic
1 tbsp miso paste
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 tbsp pine nuts
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp cornflour or corn starch
1/4 cup water

Directions
1. Blend all of the ingredients apart from the broccoli and macaroni.
2. Add the blended sauce to the cooked pasta and broccoli. Heat gently until the sauce has thickened.
3. Serve.

Mushroom Crostini

You don’t have to tell your guests how ridiculously simple these crostini are to prepare. Serves 4 as an appetizer.

Ingredients:
4 slices of suitable-for-vegan bread, preferably freshly baked baguette or similar
150g mushrooms, preferably a gourmet mix
1/4 cup Tofutti Creamy Smooth (or equivalent suitable-for-vegan creamy spread)
1/4 cup soy or other all-plant milk
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chives and/or parsley to garnish

Directions:
1. Lightly toast the bread.
2. Sauté the mushrooms until they have released their liquid and it is evaporated.
3. Lightly whisk the Tofutti, soy milk, nutritional yeast, onion salt, and garlic powder in a bowl with a whisk. Don’t worry about smaller lumps.
4. Pour the Tofutti mixture over the mushrooms and continue to cook on a low heat until the sauce has thickened slightly.
5. Serve the mushrooms over the toast.

Red Pepper Sesame Kale

This umami side is so creamy and flavourful that you’d almost wish you could eat it on its own. Perfect for serving with mashed potatoes for a comforting meal.

Ingredients:
1 large pack of kale, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 tbsp sweet white miso paste
1 heaped tsp suitable-for-vegans Dijon mustard
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 cup sesame seeds, plus extra for serving

Directions:
1. Steam the kale. Drain, and press to remove the excess liquid.
2. Meanwhile, add the rest of the ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth.
3. Toss the kale in the sauce, reheat gently, and serve with extra sesame seeds.

Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

It’s sure to be a good morning with this Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, served here with a generous dollop of coconut whip to give you that dessert-for-breakfast flavour and to start your day on a sweet note. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
2 tbsp suitable-for-vegans brown sugar
2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
Pinch salt
2 tbsp chopped pecans, optional; extra for serving
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups soy milk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 160C.
2. Mix all ingredients together. Add to a shallow baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the centre is set.

Tofu Crumble with Curried Rice: Budget Recipe

This recipe costs €1.16 per portion and takes only as long to prepare as it takes the rice to cook. Every brand and type of rice is different, so cook according to package directions. There are three parts to this recipe: boiling the greens, cooking the rice, and making the scramble. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

For the greens:
100g frozen kale
125g (1/4 head) cabbage, chopped small

For the curried rice:
100g brown rice
Water as according to package directions
1 tsp curry powder

For the tofu:
250g tofu
½ onion, chopped
½ yellow pepper, diced
100g mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp soy sauce

Directions:

For the greens:
1. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil.
2. Add the cabbage and kale and cook for 5 minutes.

For the rice:
1. Cook the rice according to package directions, adding the curry powder to the water.
2. When the rice is cooked, stir all but a handful of the greens through and keep warm.

For the tofu:
1. Drain the tofu, wrap in a kitchen towel, and place under a plate with some cans or other weights on top to press for about 20 minutes. Alternatively, squeeze as much water from the tofu as possible.
2. Crumble the tofu into small pieces between your finger and thumb, and add to a bowl with the turmeric, paprika, soy sauce, and garlic.
3. Heat a nonstick pan over a medium low heat. Add the onions, peppers, and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms start to release their juices. Add the tofu mixture and the reserved handful of greens, and cook until warmed through. Season to taste.

Serve the tofu with the green rice.

Carrot and Red Lentil Soup: Budget Recipe

This soup costs €0.18 per portion and takes about 20 minutes to prepare. The recipe is very easy, but we’ve written it out in lots of detail in case you’re new to cooking. We’ve used a blender to make it smooth, but it’s equally delicious chunky.

Ingredients (for 2 servings):
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 l vegetable broth*
2 carrots, washed, topped and tailed, and sliced (no need to peel!)
80g red lentils, picked over to make sure there’s no grit
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tsp smoked paprika

Directions:
1. Heat a stainless steel saucepan over a medium low heat until hot. Reduce the heat slightly, add the onions and keep stirring until the onions start to take on a little colour and release their aroma (about 2 minutes). Turn the heat right down to low before adding the garlic for about 30 seconds.
2. Add the broth, carrots, and red lentils. Crumble the herbs between your finger and thumb, if desired, so that they release more of their fragrance.
3. Raise the heat to high until bubbles start appearing around the sides of the pan. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes to make sure the lentils aren’t sticking.
4. Add the smoked paprika, and stir.
5. At this point, you can blend the soup with an immersion (stick) blender or in a jug blender, following the instructions that came with your blender.
6. Serve, and enjoy.

Coconut-Molasses Chickpeas and Cauliflower

The flavour profile of this dish is inspired by Indonesian cuisine, where molasses or brown sugar are frequently used in ketjap manis. Molasses is quite high in iron and other minerals, which makes it a much healthier choice than many other sweeteners.

Ingredients

1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp red chilli paste
1 tbsp garlic-ginger paste
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp lime pickle
2 cups cauliflower, in small florets (mine were pre-roasted, but the recipe below is a quicker version)
1 head pak choy, chopped
1 can chickpeas
4 spring onions, chopped

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan over a low heat, whisk together the coconut milk, red chilli paste, garlic-ginger paste, molasses, turmeric, soy sauce, and lime pickle.
  2. Add the cauliflower, chickpeas, and the hard ends of the pak choy. Allow to simmer over a low heat for 7 minutes.
  3. Add the green leafy parts of the pak choy and the spring onions. Cover and simmer again for another 3 minutes, or until the cauliflower is the desired tenderness.
  4. Serve.

Coconut Cream of Mushroom Soup

Thick and full of umami notes, this recipe is incredibly quick and quite inexpensive to make.

Ingredients

2 small onions, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
650g brown mushrooms (I used chestnut and portobello), roughly chopped
10g dried mushrooms, ground fine in a blender or coffee grinder (optional)
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cups coconut milk
Fresh parsley, to garnish

Directions

1. In a large soup pan over a medium-low heat, cook the onions, garlic, and mushrooms until the mushrooms release their juices.
2. Add the mushroom powder, vegetable broth, soy sauce, and coconut milk, reserving a little of the coconut milk for garnish.
3. Cover, bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 7 minutes, or until the mushrooms are softened.
4. Garnish with the reserved coconut milk and parsley.

Celeriac and Chickpea Soup with Spinach-Miso Purée

This extremely thick, yet very creamy, soup  makes for a filling and delicious lunch.

Ingredients:

For the soup

1 onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 celeriac, peeled and diced roughly
1 can chickpeas
300g white cabbage, chopped roughly
1 can coconut milk
500ml vegetable broth
Pinch white pepper
2 tsp onion salt
2 tsp dried basil

For the purée

50g spinach
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp soy (or other all-plant) milk
1 tbsp white or yellow miso

To garnish

Suitable-for-vegans crispy salad onions, if desired

Directions:

1. Sauté the onion in a large soup pan over a medium-low heat until it starts to soften, but don’t let it take on much colour. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic for about a minute.
2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, bring to the boil, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until the celeriac is tender.
3. Meanwhile, make the spinach purée by blending all ingredients in a high-speed blender.
4. Rinse the blender, blend the soup in it, return to the pan, and season to taste.
5. Serve the soup topped with some of the spinach-miso purée, and garnish with crispy onions, if desired.