Vegan & Vegetarian Archives - Page 2 of 4

Matcha Smoothie Bowl

Leave a Comment / Breakfast & Brunch, Dairy, Snacks, Vegan & Vegetarian

Matcha Smoothie Bowl is perfect to make for a quick nutritious snack or in my case, these days, breakfast. Packed with superfoods like fresh strawberries, bananas, spinach and topped with shredded coconut, cacao nibs, and chia seeds this matcha (green tea) smoothie bowl is light, fresh and delicious.

Unlike smoothies which are normally ‘drunk’ or slurped in my case, every time I make a smoothie bowl, I feel like I’m eating a meal. The fact that I eat it with a spoon makes me feel pretty full. And I also eat is slowly, unlike a smoothie, which is gone in a minute.

Smoothie bowls aren’t new to anyone, but I felt like they needed more admiration. And to be honest, I don’t make them as often as I’d like. This smoothie bowl only takes a few minutes to make and will be nice for a healthy fancy breakfast.

Breakfast on the go in one minute. This breakfast is super start to your “five a day” with this superfood and an antioxidant-loaded bowl of goodness. The creaminess of the yoghurt with the frozen banana turns this protein- and fibre-rich breakfast into a soft-serve-like treat. Add the goodness and earthy flavor of the matcha powder (holds 137 more antioxidants than brewed green tea), the contrasting textures of the fresh berries, seeds and nuts and you will feel ready to tackle whatever the day ahead throws your way.

Thermomix Butter

4 Comments / Dairy, Vegan & Vegetarian

Making homemade Thermomix butter is delicious and an ideal way of maximising your Thermomix. I’m a big fan of President’s Butter but at £2 a pop and the amount of baking we do at home, it’s expensive. Making homemade butter is therefore not only cost effective but allows me to flavour the butter so it’s individual to our family tastes (salty) and special for dinner parties (think, olive butter, sundried tomato butter, garlic butter etc.)

I always tend to make butter after Christmas and New Year, as I have an excess of cream building up in my fridge. Ever since I have had a Thermomix I always keep an eye out for cartons of cream that are nearly at their expiry date. Usually, these cartons are discounts at about half-price or more.

If you use the cream that is close to its expiry date, it will separate faster when you are whipping it. If you use fresh cream that has a long expiry it will take longer to separate, so this is a great recipe to dig out that cream at the back of your fridge or going cheap in the store.

Butter can be frozen and 600ml of double cream makes about one block of butter and 250ml buttermilk.

Red pepper & tomato soup

Leave a Comment / Soups, Vegan & Vegetarian

This red pepper & tomato soup is probably one of my favourite Thermomix soups. A long time ago, it was a TM31 demonstration staple and I still love it. It reminds me of the good old, university days (before Thermomix, obviously) when Heinz Tomato & Lentil Soup was a regular in the kitchen cupboard in my rental flat.

The reason why this recipe is so good and showcased during the demonstration is for many reasons. Firstly, we’d grind the lentils to show the grinding ability of the lentils to a powder and also because they are ground, the cooking time is super speedy; perfect for a mid-week meal. In addition, the lentils add a little protein and thickening to the dish. The red pepper skins disappearing into the soup was always a wow factor at commercial demonstrations as any other kitchen appliance doesn’t blend the pepper skins so beautifully. With Thermomix it simply disappears.

Do try this recipe, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. It’s warming and wondering as a soup and if you have any leftovers it’s wonderful as a pasta bake too.

Homemade yoghurt

Leave a Comment / Breakfast & Brunch, Dairy, Dessert, Snacks, Vegan & Vegetarian

There are a million different ways to make homemade yoghurt. You can order a starter or use a commercial yogurt as your starter. You can use a dehydrator, heating pad, crockpot, yoghurt maker, or oven to act as your incubator. However, this Thermomix recipe will knock your socks off every single time producing the most delicious yogurt.

There are a number of reasons why making your own yogurt is great, but I’ll give my top three reasons.

Homemade yogurt is about half the price of buying plain yogurt at the supermarket. You can do the math yourself. Milk is the main ingredient in yoghurt, so see how much it costs for a tub of yoghurt versus a pint or litre milk where you shop.
You have more control over homemade yoghurt. You can choose what type and brand of milk you start with, which yoghurt cultures or store-bought yoghurt to use as a starter, and you don’t need to put in any additives. No sugar. No nasties.
It’s good for the environment. There is no more need to buy so many little plastic cups of yoghurt.

Credit: This recipe has been slightly adapted from the Indian Cookbook which I sell in the online shop.

Apple and pumpkin soup

Leave a Comment / Gluten Free, Soups, Vegan & Vegetarian

Autumn is a feast of riches when it comes to fresh produce. With the last of summer fruits and plenty of root vegetables coming into season, it’s no wonder autumn is seen as bountiful season. A warming apple and pumpkin soup like this is a perfect to use the wonderful pumpkin and squash that is plentiful at this time of year.

Between Halloween and Thanksgiving, pumpkin is quite possibly the poster child for autumn seasonal produce. With it’s hard orange skin, perfect for carving, and sweet flesh, it is the most famous of the squashes. The British season runs from October to December, and not only are pumpkins great for carving, but they are ‘scarily’ good for you too, as an excellent source of fibre, vitamins and minerals.

This apple and pumpkin soup can use any leftovers from Halloween carvings or for the perfect bonfire night party. Perfect to carry in a thermos and produce just as everyone’s fingers and toes are starting to go numb.

SW Cauliflower Couscous

Leave a Comment / Salads, Snacks, Vegan & Vegetarian

Cauliflower couscous? That was my first thought when my colleague first introduced me to this recipe. Of course nothing beats wheat couscous, steamed and flavoured to perfection but when avoiding wheat or trying to eat more speed foods, this is an amazing addition to your side dish repertoire; mock cauliflower couscous.

Making cauliflower couscous in your Thermomix is super easy. You just grind up fresh cauliflower florets in your until they resemble couscous. Add some other vegetables such as red and yellow peppers for colour, onion and dates for flavour, a bit of white wine vinegar and olive oil and then serve.

Credit: This recipe has been slightly adapted from the Cookidoo Platform Collection Alternative Sides. Link to this recipe on Cookidoo for guided cooking is here.

Sambhar Masala

Leave a Comment / Basics, Noodle, Pasta & Rice, Soups, Vegan & Vegetarian

Sambhar, also spelled sambar or sambaar, and pronounced saambaar, is a lentil-based vegetable stew or chowder, originating from the Indian subcontinent, cooked with a tamarind broth. It is popular in South Indian and Sri Lankan cuisines. Sambhar in South India is the equivalent of dahl, in North India, miso soup in Japan or potatoes in the UK. The best way I can describe it is the best side dish that goes with all of the regions food.

The aromatic flavours of this traditional South Indian dish are truly irresistible. The speciality of this sambhar is that it is made with minimal oil and loads of vegetables which enhance its nutritive value. When served hot with nutritious Idlis or paper thin dosas, it makes a meal that is very hard to resist. Alternatively, relish this sambhar with steamed rice to make a wholesome meal.

As a North Indian, I would only really eat sambhar in restaurants until my housekeeper, Anitha came to work for us. She’s originally from the south and now this is a staple in our household. Anitha, using her many years of experience as a cook, kindly converted her home recipe for the Thermomix. And no, not for the Thermomix community or me in particular. She makes this dish so often that using the Thermomix, it reduces her time in the kitchen.

Please see my later post for Sambhar, but first I thought I’d share the recipe for the Sambhar Masala. Don’t be deterred by the preparation time, that’s mostly getting your spices out of the cupboard rather than cooking time.

Credit: A version of this recipe can also be found Indian cookbook produced by India when the they sold TM31. The Indian Chef, Shamim Ahmed worked at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi for 24 years as the Head of Mission Cook was instrumental in producing this book. I was convinced when my Mum’s cook made this dish. I thought she had taught him how to convert her recipe to the Thermomix and she said, “No, it’s in the basic book that was given to us when we bought the Thermomix”. When Vesta Appliances lost the distribution license in India for selling Thermomixes when the TM5 launched, I bought their stock and now sell them in my shop. The rest is history.

N.B. If you are a VIP One Girl Customer, you can also purchase a discounted version on my VIP Shop.

SW Coleslaw

Leave a Comment / Dairy, Salads, Snacks, Vegan & Vegetarian

Coleslaw is a classic dish to accompany many meals including BBQ, jacket potatoes and perfect both in the summer and winter. This Slimming World (SW) coleslaw is full of their ‘free’ food and therefore in SW-speak, syn-free.

I have to admit, I’ve recently joined Slimming World. My son is nearly 7 years old and I just haven’t haven’t lost the baby weight. It’s got to do with a combination of things; working too hard, eating all the recipes that I cook for my Thermomix business and way too many cakes/ desserts that my children love and not exercising as much as I need to, to keep the weight off. In fairness, I do go to the gym and a have a personal trainer and whilst I feel fitter and healthier, I feel big.

When we’re in our teens and twenties, losing weight is often as simple as turning down that extra scoop of ice cream or adding some occasional exercise to our routines. However, as our age increases, our metabolic rate has a tendency to plummet, turning what used to be an effective diet and exercise plan into a recipe for serious weight gain. For women in particular, hormonal changes after age 40, including menopause, can make it harder to lose weight and keep it off.

So I’ve decided to do something about this and whilst I make home cooked food daily, incorporating Slimming World (SW) recipes into my daily routine shouldn’t be so bad, should it? Well, having joined on a whim just this lunchtime, with BBQ ribs marinating for dinner, while the rest of the family enjoy ribs with fries, I’ll be having mine with delicious homemade SW coleslaw.

NOTE: Everyone really enjoyed this recipe, including my fussy Thermo-hubby. Syn-free but super tasty too.

Carrot Halwa (Gajrela)

4 Comments / Baking (Sweet), Dessert, Vegan & Vegetarian

I’m sharing one of my family favourites – carrot halwa, otherwise known as gajrela. This sticky Indian dessert is perfect for those with a sweet tooth and a very simple recipe to make in the Thermomix and one I’m delighted to share with you.

Eaten at any time of the year, but especially on Diwali we make this at home. Diwali is a golden opportunity to crack out a few regional specialities from around the subcontinent – syrup-soaked mung beans, Rajasthani cream fritters, rice flour doughnuts and many, many others – but halwa is a near-universal treat: a sweet, buttery pudding made with everything from mung beans to pineapples, but which is often carrot-based.

Carrots are grown in abundance in the UK and are cheap and healthy, so gajar ka halwa offers the perfect excuse to crack open the celebratory sugar and ghee. As Meera Sodha puts it in Fresh India: “If eating carrots as a pudding strikes you as odd, remember how good a spiced carrot cake is. This isn’t too distant a cousin.”

And just in case, you want to impress any of your Indian friends who celebrate Diwali, here’s a Diwali greeting for you too.

May you have all the joy your heart can hold, all the smiles a day can bring, all the blessings a life can unfold, May you get the world’s best in everything.