Veganuary Ideas & Suggestions
- By Sonya Meagor
- •
- 01 Jan, 2019
- •
This January have you taken part in “veganuary”? Veganuary
is a charity inspiring people to try a vegan lifestyle for the month of January
(as well as throughout the rest of the year!) Wondering what vegan is? See my
blog post on the very subject.
People decide to go vegan for a variety of reasons from the love and concern of animals, to health and nutrition or even the environment. You can read more about it and about veganuary here. Vegans don’t consume any animal products so this rules out meat, dairy and other animal by products like eggs. A lot of people think this is really restrictive and there’s nothing left but there are plenty of delicious vegan foods and a vegan diet can be more nutritious and healthy than an “omni” meat-eating diet.
Typically plenty of fruit and veg are consumed as well as grains and pulses like rice, quinoa, wheat and lentils. Some coffee and tea drinkers find milk the hardest to give-up but t here are superb alternatives to cows milk. It used to be only soya milk was readily available but now there are alternatives in abundance such as almond, cashew and coconut milks, oat milks and even pea milk! I’m told a firm favourite with the vegan community is Oatly Barista milk made from oats.
Going vegan is a great excuse to try out new recipes but you can simply veganise your usual favourites. For example, vegan sausages and mash – buy vegan sausages from your local independent food shop (or they even sell them in all the major supermarkets), potatoes as usual but use a vegan spread and an oat milk or other milk substitute - almond milk works well for mashing. Then serve with seasonal veggies.
You can also veganise other recipes by leaving out butter
and using oil or Pure for cooking.... We recently used Pure olive spread
instead of butter to make mushroom and leek filo rolls.... (Filo pastry is
often vegan)
Why not try this lovely winter warmer:
Using 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, sauté a chopped red onion and three cloves of garlic for around 2-3 minutes.
Next, add your veggies – celery, broccoli and kale. As an aside kale really is a super veggie – surprisingly its rich in calcium, providing 139mg per 100g and is also a good source of iron and Vitamin K.
Add three cups of water and a teaspoon of court bouillon. Make sure you simmer for 7-8 minutes.
After you’ve simmered for the specified time, add a teaspoon of minced ginger, salt, pepper, half juice of a lime and 4oz soba noodles (Japanese noodles that are made from buckwheat flour) and boil ¾ minutes until noodles are soft.
Top with chopped coriander to serve.
If you tried veganuary do let us know how you get on.
Remember, we cater to all dietary needs and have some great options for vegans.
The Millfield theatre is home to eco cuisine and the events have been held here too for that reason.
OLIO (the food app) and NLWA (North London Waste Authority) CROPDROP (local Haringey boxed fruit/vegetable scheme) plus our very own Sonya Meagor (eco cuisine) are confirmed as our first speakers and we're For each event, we support a North London based charity related to the event theme - for this event we're delighted to collaborate with The Felix Project .
TICKETS
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sustainable-food-packaging-tickets-61490383392?aff=website
With less than two weeks until Christmas and the holidays nearly upon us, the shops are stocked with delicious festive treats and people are already stocking up on Christmas food fit for a feast or two.
But, just because it is Christmas doesn’t mean we should not consider what is in season and keeping sustainability at the forefront of our minds.
So, what is in season over December and the winter seasons in Britain? Well, thankfully many of the Christmas time favourites are favourites for a reason – they’re traditionally easily grown and sourced in the U.K. over winter. Cabbage, sprouts, potatoes and onions, celeriac, celery and carrots as well as parsnip and swede are all in season this time of year. Not forgetting chestnuts, beef and venison and even guinea fowl too.
So roast dinners with all the trimmings can be environmentally friendly! Of course clementines, pomegranates and dates are seasonal favourites too and these are obviously not sourced locally.
Whatever you buy and eat over the festive season, remember to consciously consume – making informed and conscious decisions about what you buy and eat.
In the lead-up to the Christmas break we enjoy hearty, warming foods, keeping us warm in the cold weather and suitably fuelled over this busy season.
We enjoy Rumbledethumps – for those who haven’t heard of it, it is the Scottish equivalent of bubble and squeak as it is often made with leftovers, though it isn’t usually fried. It is a lovely filling dish served as a side or when served with a nice piece of fish or chicken breast can even be a substantial main meal.
Rumbledethumps
550g large potatoes,
350g swede
60g unsalted butter
250g kale, finely sliced
1 small onion diced
Sprigs of thyme
25g cheddar cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Peel and chop the potatoes and the swede and chop into large chunks. Next, boil in a saucepan tender. Drain and return to the pan.
Heat three quarters of the butter in a pan on medium low heat and cook the kale and the onions for a few minutes, until the kale is tender and onions lightly browned.
Add the kale and onions to the pan with the potatoes and swede then add the remaining butter and mash together. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place the mashed medley into an ovenproof dish and top with the cheese. Cover with a lid and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes, or until piping hot and golden-brown on top. Serve with fresh thyme.
What winter dishes keep you going in the lead-up to the Christmas break? Let us know in the comments.
