Let’s take it back to the basics. Just some good classic vegan food, full of delicious flavours and nutritional benefits – without being overly restrictive…!
Today we’re doing three recipes – one classic breakfast recipe and two lunch and/or dinner ideas. They are not only budget friendly meals, but they are all delicious, flavourful, healthy and very easy to make.
Easy Vegan French Toast
Ingredients (2 servings):
- 80g medium firm tofu
- 1/4 cup water or non-dairy milk
- 1/2 ripe banana
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4-6 slices of bread of choice
- vegan butter/oil
- toppings of choice
Instructions:
- To make the batter, add the tofu, water/non-dairy milk, banana, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract into a blender. Blend it until it’s nice and smooth then pour into a plate.
- Heat vegan butter or oil in a pan on medium heat. Dip your bread in the batter to get it fully coated before placing on the pan.
- Cook on both sides for around 3 minutes each side until they’re golden and crispy.
- Place them on a plate and add whatever toppings you like! I added some berries and maple syrup.
Gnocchi with Homemade Tomato Pasta Sauce
Ingredients (2 servings):
- 1 tsp oil
- around 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 ripe roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1 can (around 400ml) tomato sauce
- 1 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 cup broccoli (optional)
- 1 cup chickpeas, rinsed & drained
- small handful chopped fresh parsley or basil (optional)
- 2 servings of gnocchi
- nutritional yeast (optional)
Instructions:
- Heat some oil in a pan around medium to medium-high heat then add the minced garlic.
- Sauté for about 30 seconds then add the fresh tomatoes. Let it cook for a few minutes.
- Add the can of tomato sauce and cover it up to get it simmering before adding the broccoli and chickpeas .
- Add the basil, salt, and brown sugar. Stir it around. You can also throw in some fresh herbs like parsley or basil, whichever you have. I used parsley.
- While the sauce is simmering, cook your gnocchi according to the instructions. You can also use any other type of pasta.
- Once the gnocchi is cooked, add it into the pan and mix it in well with the sauce.
- This is totally optional, but I added some nutritional yeast to give it a slightly cheesy flavour.
Savoury Korean Style Lentils with Broccoli
Ingredients (around 4 servings):
- 1 cup green lentils, dry
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tbsp ginger, minced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or equivalent
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp coconut or brown sugar
- 1 head of broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces (optional)
- chopped green onion (optional garnish)
Instructions:
- Heat some oil in a wide pan and sauté the onions for a few minutes.
- Add the garlic and ginger then cook for a few minutes as well. If it starts getting dry, just add a splash of water.
- Add in the lentils, water, soy sauce, and sugar. Bring it to a boil.
- Once it starts boiling, bring it down to a simmer and cover. Leave it for around 20 minutes or until the lentils are fully cooked and most of the liquid is gone.
- Five minutes before the lentils are done cooking, add in the broccoli. Cover with lid again to allow the broccoli to cook.
- This goes great with rice or quinoa! I also garnished it with some chopped green onion.