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Apple and Sultana Oatmeal

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You don’t need a recipe for this one: make up the oatmeal on water or all-plant milk, according to package directions. Add a chopped apple and as many sultanas as you like, and enjoy. 

If you have some spices like cinnamon and ground cloves, you could add those for an apple pie flavour. Sweeten, if desired, with vegan sugar or maple syrup.

Beet and Strawberry Smoothie Bowl

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This bowl is earthy and moderately sweet. If you don’t like the earthiness of beets, some lime juice will help cut through it a little. You can also add a touch of vegan liquid sweetener to enhance those sweet notes.

Ingredients

For juicing
1 slice pineapple
1/2 large red beet
1 apple

For blending
100g frozen strawberries
100g frozen cauliflower

For decorating
Desiccated coconut
Flaked almonds
Oats

Optional
1/2 lime
Maple syrup or other suitable-for-vegans liquid sweetener

Directions
1. Juice the pineapple, beet, and apple
2. Blend the juice with the frozen strawberries and cauliflower.
3. Taste. If you find the bowl too earthy, squeeze the lime into the blender over your closed hand (palm facing up; this way, you catch the seeds). If you’re adding the lime juice, blend briefly.
4. Transfer to a bowl, decorate, add some maple syrup (or other suitable-for-vegans sweetener), and enjoy.
5. As with all smoothie bowls, they will melt rather quickly. A good tip to slow the melting process is to leave your bowl in the refrigerator overnight and use this for plating your smoothie bowl the next day.

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.

Cucumber-Parsnip Lemonade

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Don’t let the title dissuade you: this is a flavoursome, sweet drink that doesn’t taste at all like blended vegetables. It’s cooling and refreshing, and as a bonus it contains no refined sugar. The recipe serves 1.

Ingredients

1 apple (2 apples if you have a very sweet tooth)
1 pear
1/4 cucumber
1 inch ginger
1 parsnip
1/2 inch slice lemon

Method

Juice all ingredients and enjoy.

Raspberry-Apple Overnight Oats

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Overnight oats make for a healthy and quick breakfast on busy mornings. This recipe serves 1.

Ingredients

1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick cook) + 1 tbsp (optional; keep separate)
1/2 cup plant milk (e.g. unsweetened soya)
1 apple
1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 tbsp chopped nuts of choice (e.g. pecans or almonds)
Maple syrup, if desired

Method

1. Soak 1/2 cup oats in the plant milk overnight (or for at least 20 minutes).
2. Toast 1 tbsp oats in a sauté pan over a low heat until golden.
3. Just before you’re ready to assemble and eat the dish, dice the unpeeled, but washed, apple. Mix half of the apple into the oat mix.
4. You can create layers of oats, raspberries (reserving a few for topping), apples, repeating until all of the oat mixture is used up. Alternatively, you can place all ingredients into a bowl and mix. Top with the toasted oats, raspberries and nuts. If desired, pour some maple syrup over the top.

Spicy black bean, apple, and watercress soup

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A very simple, traditional (and lovely) combination with a little extra body, nutrition and spice. Garnish with croutons, smoked coconut, a little cooked rice, chopped sundried tomatoes or chickpea, masa crumbles (as shown). This makes a large bowl for 2 and a small bowl for 4.

Ingredients

1/2T garam masala
1/4 cup scallions, finely chopped
1/4t coarse sea salt
1T fresh garlic, minced
1/4t dried red chilis (or to taste)
1 sweet apple, cored, cut in 1/2″ dice or so (I use gala)
1T lemon juice
4 cups vegetable stock
1T sriracha (or to taste)
1/4 cup tomato passata (or puree)
2 cups cooked black beans
1 cup chopped watercress
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Coarse sea salt and black pepper or more chili to taste

Optional: Spinach, chard and kale will all work in place of the watercress, but none will complement the apple quite as well. If you use canned beans, drain and rinse thoroughly and add a little dried kombu with the stock. Remove before adding the watercress.

Method

Warm a large pan with a lid on medium heat. Toast the garam masala for about a minute or until the spices are fragrant. Add the scallions, sea salt, garlic and chili. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the apple. Stir fry for another 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and deglaze the pan (if necessary).

Add the vegetable stock, sriracha, passata, and beans. Bring the pan to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer about 5 minutes. Uncover, add the watercress and stir to combine. Season to taste. Ladle out, garnish with nutritional yeast and serve.

 

 

Apple, blueberry brown betty with ginger and cinnamon

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A traditional, easy and rustic fall dessert that combines apples, blueberries and breadcrumbs.

Ingredients
1 gala apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 cup of blueberries
2T of white sugar*
2T of brown sugar*
1T of whole wheat flour
2t of lemon juice
1T of whole wheat flour
1t of fresh ginger, minced
1/4t of dried ground cinnamon
1/2 cup of whole wheat breadcrumbs (about 1 slice of bread)
2T of plant-only shortening, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375F.
Mix the fruit, lemon juice, sugar and spices with half of the breadcrumbs and shorting in a bowl until well-combined.
Transfer to to a 5″ baking dish.
Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs and shortening over the top of the fruit mixture.
Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake another 10-15 until browned and the apples are soft. Ovens vary; use the colour as a guide.
When done, remove from the oven, let stand to cool 15 minutes to serve warm or chill for a few hours.

*A growing number of table sugars are produced without using animal bone charcoal. Brown sugar is not an unrefined sugar; it’s typically white sugar to which molasses has been added. Beet sugar, organic sugar and unrefined sugars are typically fine.