Watch the video above & scroll down for the written recipes!
There are many stereotypes about vegans. It’s quite ironic because lots of people associate veganism with HEALTH but at the same time, lots of people also think that animal products are necessary for health. It’s interesting how veganism is associated with both clean eating and nutritional deficiencies.
I’m here to tell you that whilst I do believe in the health benefits of a vegan lifestyle, just because you are vegan, doesn’t mean you will be automatically eating clean! There are plenty of vegan junk foods out there to ruin your health. As much as I love indulging in delicious vegan junk food once in a while, I’m also a big fan of staying relatively healthy in many areas of my life.
So I decided to do a CLEAN EATING RECIPES video, where I show you guys some really simple vegan meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner – that you can make with really easily accessible ingredients. Not only are these simple and healthy meals, they are delicious, easy to make and use mostly very affordable ingredients.
If non-dairy milk is too expensive where you live, you can make oat milk. If store-brought granola is too fattening or too sweet for you, you can make our own granola! If you want some mac & cheese without the guilt, you can have a very delicious and healthy sweet potato mac & cheese! Just make simple swaps to help you save money and eat a little healthier.
Homemade Oat Milk Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup oats (I used rolled oats)
- 3 cups water
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- optional: pinch of salt, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
- Add all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Strain the liquid out using a cheese cloth or a nut milk bag (any sort of straining bag). Squeeze as much as you can to get as much of the liquid out as possible.
- Store the oat milk in the fridge for about 2-3 days – shaking well before consuming.
Homemade Simple Granola Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cups oats
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- pinch sea salt
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well – use your clean hands!
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick baking mat and spread out your mixture.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, giving it a mix halfway.
- Store in an air tight container.
Vegan Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 servings of whole wheat macaroni (or other kind of pasta)
- 200g sweet potato (around 1/2 large sweet potato), peeled and chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds or soaked cashews
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add sweet potato – cook for about 12 minutes or until the sweet potato has softened.
- Cook pasta according to instructions in the mean time.
- Add sliced almonds, almond milk, dijon mustard, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt and cooked sweet potatoes into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth (might need to blend for a while to make sure the almonds smooth up nicely).
- Combined drained pasta with the sauce and there’s your super simple and healthy sweet potato mac & cheese!
One Pot Italian Style Quinoa & Lentils Recipe
Ingredients (approx 2-3 servings):
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 3 tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
- 1 tsp dry basil
- 1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 1 cup dry green or brown lentils
- 4 cups vegetable broth (I used 3 tsp veg broth powder with 4 cups water)
- 1/2 large sweet potato chopped into bite-sized pieces (optional)
- Handful of baby spinach (optional)
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Heat a little oil in a wok or pot on medium-high heat and add minced garlic. Cook for about a minute then add the rest of the ingredients (minus the spinach).
- Turn the heat to a high, mix everything well and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Once the mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat to a low, cover up and let it simmer for 25 minutes.
- After the 25 minutes, give the mixture a good mix and stir in some baby spinach if you want to add in some more greens. Turn the heat off, cover it up and let it sit for another 5-10 minutes or so.
- Serve immediately and save some for leftovers the next day!
