ADZUKI AND GREEN LENTIL CURRY

Eating a plant-based diet has opened me up to so many new foods. The amount of variety out there is incredible. I recently raided the whole foods section of my local supermarket and picked up a bunch of random things I'd never cooked before.

Feeling pretty creative tonight, I put together this hearty curry.

Adzuki beans are punch-in-the-face tasty. The pint-sized, high-fibre legume is also packed full of nutrients such as iron, potassium and zinc. They also have one of the highest amounts of protein among the bean varieties.

Ingredients

(serves 4)
-1/2 cup adzuki beans
- 1/2 cup green lentils
- 1 red bell pepper (roughly chopped)
- 1 medium sized onion (roughly chopped)
- 1/2 bag spinach
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp pure olive oil (good quality olive oil brings this dish to life!)
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves crushed fresh garlic
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- pinch of salt

Boil the beans and lentils in the vegetable stock on a low heat for 45-50 minutes or until soft. Make sure the liquid doesn't dry out, add extra water if needed.

Add the red pepper, onions and spinach, season with the curry, thyme, garlic and salt. Cook for a further 20 minutes, adding the olive oil towards the end of the cooking time. (You want the olive oil flavour to be quite strong in this dish and using 'pure' is sure to pack in a great punch).

Serve with brown rice or slices of wholegrain bread.

SWEET AND SAVOURY SALAD

Salad to me means a whole lot more than a bunch of lettuce leaves and a couple slices of tomotoes thrown on a plate.

If it doesn't look and/or taste appetizing then I'm not touching it. I can't emphasise enough how much I believe that healthy eating needn't equal boring eating.

Here's a quick salad I whipped up for lunch today.Whether or not you think the salad below qualifies as good-looking, it sure does taste great :)  Check it out...

Ingredients
- Half a red bell pepper (roughly chopped)
- Handful of roughly chopped lettuce
- 1 tbsp chopped olives
- 1 tbsp chopped almonds
- 1 tbsp raisins or sultanas
- 2 tbsp sweetcorn
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Easy as that.

AVOCADO AND CHICKPEA QUINOA SALAD

I was trawling through the internet the other day and came across this recipe. I happened to have ALL the ingredients listed so thought I'd give it a try.
It tasted incredible. Here's the link if you want a treat for your taste buds : recipe

BROWN PASTA LUNCH

Nothing is more satisfying than a bit bowl of pasta with bright vegetables mixed in. Heat it up with homemade red chili-tomato sauce and you've got a winner.
Have you made the switch to wholewheat pasta yet?

PEPPERS

This is what I had for lunch today. As you can probably tell, I love my red peppers.
It is reasonable to say that red peppers form the foundation of most Nigerian dishes - mostly in the form of a stew or sauce.
Here, I simply sliced them up and fried with some spices, chopped onions and tomatoes. Then chucked them onto my plate of brown rice and added some lightly steamed broccolli to complete the dish. The perfect meal on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

EATING OUT #1 - SHAKA ZULU

Eating out as a vegan need not be a daunting task. At least that's what I discovered when I was treated to a surprise dinner at Shaka Zulu restaurant in Camden, London.
The South African restaurant is absolutely gorgeous. If you're looking for somewhere a little unusual and exotic, then this is the place for you.
Now, let's talk menu. One look at the card placed before me and I froze a little. Here, ladies and gentlemen, was 'candyland' for meat eaters.
A scan through later, however, and I was relieved to find a couple of veggie options. The staff were so lovely too and the chef actually prepared some delicious veggie samosas for my starter (sorry, forgot to take a pic as I pretty much wolfed them down). For mains, I went for the 'Vegetable Potjie' - a simple dish of maize meal rice (dotted with raisins) and chunky tomato and green bean sauce. Not bad at all!
If you've got any interesting 'eating out as a vegan' stories then I'd love to hear them!

VEGAN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

We all need a treat from time to time and these cupcakes hit all the right buttons. I have always enjoyed baking - cakes, brownies, pies, breads..you name it, I've baked it. One of the really fun aspects of starting to eat plant-based has been coming up with vegan versions of some of my favourites. The other day, I baked a  vegan apple pie cheesecake for my family and they loved it. These cupcakes also proved to be very popular.  

                        

Ingredients
1 + 1/2 cups wholewheat flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup unrefined brown sugar
1 tsp cider vinegar
2 organic ripe bananas (mashed)
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sunflower oil
Dairy-free 85g chocolate bar (to melt with 2 tbsp almond milk)

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4.

Mix all the dry ingredients - flour, cocoa powder, sugar - in a bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix the mashed bananas, vinegar, almond milk, vanilla extract and sunflower oil. Start to add the dry ingredients, folding carefully as you go along until well incorporated.

Line a cupcake tray and spoon the mixture in. Bake for 20-25 minutes. To check that they are done, stick a toothpick in and see if it comes out clean.

When the cupcakes have cooled down, melt the dairy-free chocolate bar with 2 tbsp almond milk and spread lightly over each cupcake.

Akara | Nigerian Bean Fritters

These delicious bean fritters can be eaten for breakfast, as a snack (served with your favourite dips), or as an appetiser.

Deep-fried akara

Ingredients

2 cups black eyed beans (peeled)

1 medium onion

1 large red bell pepper

1 scotch bonnet pepper

Salt to taste

Sunflower oil

Soak the beans for a few hours. Peel the skin off by rubbing them between you hands. The skin should fall off easily, but the process can be long and arduous (so please watch the video above to learn a quick and easy hack for peeling the beans more efficiently).

Grind the peeled beans, peppers and onion to form a thick batter. I used one cup of water to lighten the mixture for this recipe. You be the judge, but just make sure that it does not get too runny. 

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and season with salt. 

Heat some oil in a deep fryer or large frying pan. Add the mixture in spoonfuls, making sure to avoid overcrowding the pan. Fry until golden brown on both sides and drain on some kitchen paper.

These are so good fresh and hot, but taste just as good when they're warm/cold. Enjoy!