It’s beetroot, omg…

(serves 2) 

 

I wish more food was pink and purple! Unusual food colours are exciting. I love how beetroot stains your plate after you’ve finished, visually proclaiming “I am beetroot, I was here”. How the juice stains your fingers and clings to your knife when you cut into one. How enticing it looks when you place your peeler on a fresh one, remove the first of the dull outer layer and expose that first burst of rich vibrancy on the inside… YES BEETROOT.  

I don’t live very far from Keelham Farm Shop and at the weekend I saw they had some great quality ones in with their stems and leaves still attached. Bigger than the ones seen in supermarkets, firm and smooth with really fresh looking leaves. Perfect. Beetroot fact of the day: the leafy bits contain more nutrients than the beetroot itself.

There might be a misconception that the greens are inedible because you don’t see them attached to beetroot available in the bigger shops, but they are a great source of calcium, iron, vitamins A and C. The calcium bit is particularly handy for vegans to know; another leafy green variety to try out. Dairy isn’t the only calcium source.

The root itself provides fibre and potassium. Even more so if consumed raw (put some fresh beetroot in your smoothies or hummus!). The leaves can taste quite bitter uncooked, so masking the flavour, again, in a smoothie is an ideal way to get the full nutritional benefit.

I fancied getting a bit more creative, though, so here’s how I made this spiced, coconutty beetroot with wilted beetroot greens…

INGREDIENTS

• 2 fresh beetroot with leaves/stems attached
• Creamed coconut mixed in 200ml hot water OR 200ml coconut milk
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 inch piece fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 bay leaves
• Glug of olive oil
• Drizzle of tahini and sriracha (optional)  

METHOD

• Cut off the beetroot greens, wash very thoroughly. Set aside. Peel the beetroot and dice into approx 1cm cubes.
• Heat a small amount of oil in a large non-stick pan, add the onion, garlic and bay leaves. Cook on a medium heat for 10 mins until browned.
• Add the ginger and cook for a further 2 mins, stirring to prevent sticking. Add in all the rest of the spices, fresh chilli and salt, cook for another 2 minutes, stirring to coat all the ingredients.  
• Add the diced beetroot, again stirring very well to coat everything in the spice mix. Cook for 2 mins on the medium heat to soften.
• Add the creamed coconut OR coconut milk. Stir, cover and reduce heat to low. Allow to cook for 10 minutes, until the liquid has reduced and the beetroot is tender. Remove and discard the bay leaves.

Beetroot greens…

• Chop the stems and leaves into bite-size pieces. Cook the stems first, in a pan (lid on) with a small amount of olive oil for 3 minutes on a medium heat. Add the leaves which take less time to become tender, and cook for another 3 minutes.  

I served my cooked greens with a light drizzle of tahini paste, topped with the spiced beetroot and some sriracha sauce (I mentioned in another post I’m a bit addicted), but it’s entirely up to you and your spice preference! The cooking of the beetroot brought out the natural earthy sweetness, which balanced really well with the spicy coating. The beetroot greens had a milder earthy flavour, similar to spinach and chard. My non-vegan mum had some of this for lunch and loved it, and she’s usually my toughest critic. So it was well worth it! Full of flavour, textures, nutrients and almost no fat. Get to your local farm shop and buy some lovely beetroot with their tops on!

S.x

Ps – BEETROOT CRISPS! Slice a fresh one very thinly (use a mandolin slicer if possible). Place on a baking tray, making sure the slices don’t overlap. Brush very lightly with oil and bake on 190 degrees C for half an hour. Result = crunchy tasty times.

It’s a Breville Blend Active, omg…

At midday on the 23^rd April 2015 my life changed forever when my Breville Blend Active was delivered to my front door.

Now, I am fairly well known for exaggerating for dramatic effect and you might roll your eyes upon reading the above statement about a blender, but it’s true, I tell you! This is just a quick post to tell you of the wonderful things I’ve created with it in the past two weeks. Perhaps it will interest and inspire at least one person. You never know… 

 

 Twenty two British pounds. It’s compact, powerful and easy to clean. I’ve used it every single day. Sometimes even multiple times in a day. It comes with an extra flask too so you can make tasty stuff for your friend/enemy/wife/husband/lover and send them on their way. So good.

So firstly, let’s talk about the brilliance of smoothies. I bought packets of organic cacao powder and wheatgrass powder (sale on at Holland & Barrett, ta very much). Cacao is high in iron, potassium and magnesium and adds a subtle chocolate flavour. So a heaped teaspoon of that in your drink is both healthy and delicious. Wheatgrass is full of loads of different nutrients counting towards your five a day, particularly high in vitamin A. It’s naturally sweet, so again a teaspoon of this in your smoothie adds so many extra health and taste benefits. Ideal supplements for vegan diets! I’ve been trying out A LOT of different smoothie combos for breakfast. Baby spinach, coconut water, wheatgrass, flaxseed, pear and avocado is my current favourite. A good tip is to buy tinned fruits (in water/own juices, not syrup) and to keep fresh ones in the freezer. This obviously means they keep for longer and the frozen stuff makes your drink nice and cold. Yum. So excellent for packing in loads more fruits and vegetables into your diet in a very easy and delicious way.

(Strawberry, almond milk, chia seeds, cacao powder, banana)  
There is a lot of stuff online to read about smoothie concoctions so I’ll tell you about the more creative things I’ve made…

Cashew cream: I soaked a small packet of cashew nuts in cold water for three hours, drained and transferred to the blender, and added water as needed to loosen the mixture. It’s pretty amazing. You end up with a rich cream. You can add salt/pepper/garlic powder and use it as a savoury dip (for example, a vegan replacement for sour cream with burritos), OR sweeten with a bit of vanilla essence and have with dessert. 

 

Cauliflower couscous: Cut a cauliflower into florets and blend in batches. It becomes fine and grain-like. A carbohydrate free version of couscous. Can be eaten raw, or cook it for a few minutes with a glug of olive oil in a frying pan. 

 Hummus: I used one 400g tin of drained chickpeas to make two different types. In one batch, I blended 3 tbsp tahini paste, half the can of chickpeas, 1 tbsp fresh chopped coriander, a little water to aid the blending. Top with extra coriander, smoked paprika and sesame seeds.

I did the same thing again for the second batch but with parsley and one whole roasted beetroot. So tasty, very simple to make and no preservatives. 

 I told you it changed my life! 😉

Here is the link on Amazon. Get one!

S.x

It’s soya mince, omg…

(serves 2)

 

Low in fat, cholesterol-free and cheap! All good things to hear, and soya mince is all three. Though there is some debate on the negatives of a diet high in soybean products, a small amount a couple of times a week is great way to introduce another protein variation to a plant-based diet. So when I found a 450g bag in Tesco for £1.75 I had to give it a try. I made a chilli with mixed beans and carrots which turned out really well, but there are so many chilli recipes out there. I was feeling creative a couple of days ago and made some spiced soya mince and sweet potato balls which were delicious so I’ll tell you about those instead…

  
INGREDIENTS

• 1 large sweet potato
• 150g soya mince (defrosted to room temperature)
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp flaxseed
• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

• Peel the sweet potato, chop into medium chunks and boil for ten mins until soft.
• Mix all of the other ingredients in a bowl. Drain and add the sweet potato, mash the mixture together with a fork.
• Get stuck in with yer hands! Form some balls. This amount of ingredients made nine golf ball sized ones. You could make them big or small, depending on how you like your balls.
• Set your oven to 200 degrees C, lightly oil a baking tray to prevent sticking. Pop your balls on and bake for half an hour.

  

Super easy and super tasty. It was my first time trying frozen meat free mince and I was apprehensive at first. But I found that the texture was good and it took on all the flavours of the other ingredients. Really ideal to make in bulk and freeze. I served mine with cauliflower couscous, veggies, salad and sriracha sauce (which I’m currently obsessed with). I snuck in flaxseed for extra goodness and when I make these again I’ll add in some ground up seeds for additional crunchiness. I promised a few of you on the What Fat Vegans Eat group I’d tell you my recipe for these, so there you go. Enjoy my balls.

S.x