Thursday, June 26, 2014

MYO Vegan burgers!!

Burgers are a versatile and delicious meal that vegans can enjoy as much as any carnivore! In fact I reckon we can enjoy them more as they're likely healthier and not at the cost for animals' welfare!!

You can really do whatever you like with your burger, even have it deconstructed or bread-less. And you don't need me to tell you your fave ingredients, but I'm going to suggest some options for a preemo vegan burger. 

There are lots of great ready-made vegan burger patties available which are a great, quick and easy option - try them out and find your fave!  Or you can make your own! This is my fave vegan patty recipe;

Chickpea patties (makes 8)

Ingredients
1 brown onion, diced
A dash of olive oil
2 carrots, grated
1 beetroot, peeled & grated
2 400g tins chick peas, drained, washed and mashed
1 Tbsp chia seeds  (ground is best but whole will work too) 
2 Tbsp water
ground salt and pepper to taste

Method
1.       Cook/fry onion in a dash of olive oil
2.       Combine Chia seeds into water and stir well. Leave for 5mins to allow chia to swell and soak up the water.
3.       Combine ingredients well
4.       Fry up like any patty! WOOOP WOOOOP!
This recipe was originally ovo-vegetarian and used an egg to bind it instead of the chia & water which is always an option if you're ovo-vego.

The best thing about burgers is the variety of filling options, including tomato, cucumber, mushroom (cooked or raw), capsicum (cooked or raw), pickles, spinach, lettuce, beetroot (tinned/pickled or grated raw), avocado, grated carrot, vegan coleslaw, tabbouleh, hummus, guacamole, relish and spring or red or caramelised brown onions.

Caramelising onions isn't as hard as is often thought: slice one brown onion, add a Tbsp olive oil and good glug of balsamic vineager (about an eighth or quarter of a cup) and a Tbsp brown sugar all together in a small saucepan with the lid on and slowly cook on a low heat, checking and stirring regularly until it's ALL DELICIOUS LIKE.

So choose your favourite bread option (or don't, or replace it with a wrap if you prefer the bread-less /low carb option) and fillings and put it all together (or don't if you're having it deconstructed!) and ENJOY!



Tuesday, June 24, 2014

A cheat's chocolate, almond, banana and chai pudding!

What are two things I NEED in my vegan diet? Chocolate and protein!! Hehehe

Well this pudding is easy to make and meets those needs plus is quite nutritious !

2 bananas mashed
2 TBS chia seeds
Half a cup of chocolate almond milk (my fave bend is Almond Breeze) 

Combine and leave in fridge for 4hrs to allow chai seeds to swell. Serve cold. 

Serves 2



You could easily use chocolate soy milk instead if you'd prefer too. 

This gives you all the goodness of bananas (potassium, vitamin B6 & C, Manganese, fibre), chia (protein, fibre, omega 3 & 6, calcium, iron, magnesium, antioxidants, potassium, ) and almond milk (protein, phosphorus, potassium and zinc plus anything it's fortified with) but is simply DELICIOUS and super easy to make!

Of course if you weren't cheating you could use plain almond milk and add your own sweetener (optional as bananas are already sweet) and Raw Cacao which would be even healthier, with it's amazing nutritional benefits of antioxidants and more. But that would change the name of this post! XP

Saturday, June 21, 2014

HOLY MOLY GUACAMOLE

This is probably my favourite snack of them all! It's easy but impressive and delicious. The only down side is if Avocadoes are expensive at the time, but it's still worth it if you ask me and is also a good excuse to buy more to enjoy when they're reasonably priced XD

As always, vary to taste or what you have available - essentials are the avo, lemon juice, salt and pepper :)

Dani's Fave Guacamole 

2 Avocadoes mashed
2 Spring Onions sliced finely (or a small amount of finely diced red onion if you prefer but spring is best IMO)
1 ripe tomato diced as small or large as you like it
Juice of half a juicy medium lemon
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

COMBINE as you prepare and serve to share with plain/salt rice crackers or corn chips!! BLISS OUT

I've also enjoyed this on rye toast as a heartier snack or light meal :) it's pretty amazing as an addition to tacos or similar delicious dishes!

EDIT: Or try it in BURRITOS!!!

Alternatively, you could try this spectacular Guacamole recipe!