Asparagus, Broccoli and Courgette Pizza with a Spinach Powder Crust (vegan)

I never really need an excuse to make pizza but this time I chose pizza for dinner because I wanted to use my spinach powder again! I really liked the spinach crusted tofu I made before because it didn’t have a hugely strong spinach flavour and I felt it would work nicely to add interest to dough.

The uncooked dough had a very green colour but once cooked it looked paler and simply whole meal which I thought was nice and rustic, bright green pizza dough may be a bit off putting! I wanted to keep it as a “green pizza” so I replaced the traditional tomato base with a tofutti cream cheese base (good way to use up what was left over in the tub!) and I topped it all off with my fave vegetables – asparagus, broccoli and courgette!

I absolutely love asparagus on pizzas, you don’t have to pre cook them as they cook perfectly in the oven but if you have particularly large stalks then I would suggest peeling and slicing them like I have! Similar with the broccoli, little bit of common sense but chop the florets into small pieces so that they cook all the way through.

What’s your favourite pizza topping?

I have a fail safe pizza dough recipe that I use as a base every time before adding any twists such as seeds or herbs, so I used that again for this recipe but I added a few tablespoons of the spinach powder. This made it a little dry so I reduced the amount of flour and that worked perfectly. I felt the dough needed more kneading than usual but once fully kneaded and risen it was lovely and soft, once cooked it was crispy.

I felt the tofutti cream cheese base added a nice twist so I would recommend trying it instead of using tomato purée! As usual I added some chilli flakes and fresh herbs after cooking to add depth. I love mixing cooked and raw ingredients in a dish just for a bit of variety.

Makes 1 pizza

Pizza Dough:
110g Strong White Bread Flour
1 Packet of Easy Blend Dried Yeast
2-3 tablespoons Spinach Powder
1 tblspn Olive Oil
Pinch Salt
55ml Luke Warm Water

Topping:
2-3 spoonfuls of Garlic and Herb Tofutti Cream Cheese
1 Large tomato – thinly sliced
1/2 Yellow or Green Courgette – thinly sliced
4-6 Asparagus Spears – sliced in half if large
4 Broccoli Florets – chopped into smaller florets
2 Spring Onions – finely sliced
Black Pepper
Dried Chilli Flakes
Fresh Basil Leaves – roughly torn

To make the bread dough sift the bread flour into a large mixing bowl and add the yeast, spinach powder and a pinch of salt. Make a well in the flour and into that add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the luke warm water. Mix it with a wooden spoon combining all the flour and spinach powder until it has come together as a green dough (add a little more water if needed but only 1 tablespoon at a time). Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 8-10 minutes then shape it into a ball, coat it very lightly in oil to keep it moist and place in a bowl covered in cling film for an hour or so to let it rise.

Pre heat the oven to 180c

Roll the dough out until it is to the desired thickness, I like mine really thin! Place the rolled out dough onto the tray you will cook it on then spread over the tofutti cream cheese and assemble the toppings except the chilli flakes, pepper and fresh basil evenly on top.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables on top are cooked and the crust is golden and crispy. Once cooked sprinkle with chilli flakes, black pepper and freshly torn basil.

Spring Veg Hot Pot – Virtual Vegan Potluck

A great centre piece main course for any potluck!

Welcome to Veghotpot and hello old friends! I am once again taking part in the ever growing “Virtual Vegan Potluck Party” where 168 Food Bloggers are sharing Vegan dishes including starters, sides, mains,puddings, soups, salads and drinks. If you’ve stumbled across this post and want to start at the beginning then please click here to visit Vegan Bloggers Unite. The idea is that everyone has linked to the person before and after them in the party list so you should be able to do a full circle of deliciousness! To visit the person before and after me in the main course category then please click the buttons below!

“Click Me to see Rachel in Veganland”

“Click Me to see My Plant Based Family”

So for my main course offering to this exciting party I have made a Creamy Bean and Spring Vegetable Hot Pot! My blog isn’t called Veghotpot because I’m an obsessed fanatic of this dish (although we have eaten it continuously over the last 3 weeks because I wanted it to be perfect), but I do love a good veghotpot! In fact this is the first veg hot pot to appear on Veghotpot……confused yet?

Leave on a table with a large spoon…it will disappear!

I love cooking big one pot dishes, they are usually more suited to the winter months when the slow cooker is dusted off and root vegetables and hearty beans are slowly stewed in dark ale and served with big comforting mountains of mashed potato. A traditional hot pot recipe includes red meat cooked in a dark meaty sauce and topped with thinly sliced potatoes (a dish I used to love but is now completely alien to me). Vegetarian varieties are mostly root veg based and often include some alcohol to add depth to the traditionally rich sauce.

We are now fully into spring (if you can believe it) so I wanted to take the concept of a hotpot but really lighten it up, make it more seasonal and much more colourful! I have used a medley of spring vegetables including leeks, asparagus, garden peas and carrots mixed with creamy vegan tofutti garlic and herb cream cheese.

Arrange the potato slices so it looks pretty! Each portion will have an even amount of potato

This is my first taste of tofutti garlic and herb cream cheese and I’m not sure what I think about it on its own but mixed with all of these lovely vegetables it is absolutely delicious! I couldn’t find vegan cream cheese anywhere in the supermarket so i ventured down to my local Holland and Barrett as I knew they would have it. It wasnt too expensive either so I was pleasantly surprised. I found this dish very moreish, every time I have made it I have ended up having second helpings and even when I was photographing it I couldn’t resist sticking a spoon in. Oh dear if you read my blog often you will have realised by now that if I have a spoon in my hand nothing is safe! I’m a picker!

Serves 6

Vegan, Gluten and Wheat Free, Dairy Free

2 Carrots
1 Large Onion
2 Leeks
Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic
10 Spears of Asparagus
1 Can White Beans such as Canellini or Butter/Lima beans
1 Cup Frozen Green Peas
1 tblspn Gluten Free Flour – I used rice flour
100g Dairy Free Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese (I used Tofutti)
400ml Gluten Free Veg Stock
1 Large Potato

Preheat your oven to 180c.

Peel/ Wash/ Trim your carrots, onion and leeks then fry in a small drizzle of olive oil for 10 mins on a medium heat in a large deep based oven proof frying pan or casserole dish.

Crush the garlic into the pan, season with a good pinch of salt and pepper and add your roughly chopped asparagus, white beans and frozen peas and cook for a further 5 mins. Once the vegetables are softened (and the peas are defrosted) stir in the flour, cream cheese and vegetable stock.

Bring to the boil then simmer covered for 15 mins. Add a splash of water if the sauce is thickening too quickly.

Top the filling with a layer of thin slices of unpeeled potato, you can do this randomly or in a nice swirl like I did. Cover with foil or put the lid on and bake in the oven for 20 mins. Then uncover for 10-15 mins to crisp up potatoes.

It is done when the potato slices are browned around the edges and the filling is bubbling away underneath. Serve hot with any side you like. If you are serving this at a party then make a couple of big pan fuls, place a large spoon in each pan and watch it disappear!

I can’t wait to see all of the recipes fellow bloggers are bringing to the potluck! Enjoy the party and thank you for checking out veg hot pot at Veghotpot

New Potato, Fennel and Spring Onion En Papillote: Technique of the Week

I’ve had ‘En Papillote’ down on my list as a technique to try for awhile. It’s another way of steaming your food but with added flavour! ‘En Papillote’ simply means ‘in parchment’ in French and it is a technique of baking ingredients inside a paper parcel. I used to make similar parcels out of foil and cook salmon fillets with lemon slices in them, it kept the fish incredibly soft and juicy, but I had never tried making a parcel from baking/ parchment paper. It worked really nicely and I love how the ingredients stay very true to their natural form but just with an added depth of flavour from the liquid you use (in this case white wine). The potatoes were soft but not mushy and the fennel and spring onions had absorbed all the lemon and wine flavour but again still with a bit of bite.

It took me quite a long time to decide what to put in the parcel, I have seen plenty of Mushroom en papillote recipes before so I wanted to do something a little different. I loved poached fennel when I tried poaching my veggies so I knew I had to include fennel again! Then I decided on new potatoes because they are very in season at the moment and great for side dishes at a BBQ or summery lunch. They are also small enough to be cooked in this way in a relatively short amount of time. I originally thought about adding leeks but Spring onions were thrown in at the last minute because I had an abundance of them in the fridge and I’d never really cooked them before (only sliced them onto a salad).

This recipe would be perfect as a side dish at a BBQ. I’m not sure if you could actually cook it on a grill (maybe if you soaked the paper first???) but it could definitely be cooked in the oven and then bought outside for people to help themselves too along side BBQ’d vegetable skewers, corn on the cobs, veg sausages and mixed salads.

This portion would serve two, you could make individual sized parcels or even party sized ones! Just half or double up the recipe until you have enough to feed all of your guests.

Gluten free, vegan, BBQ side dish, seasonal!

250g (approx 8-10) New Potatoes
1/2 Fennel bulb
4 Spring Onions
Sprig thyme
1/2 Lemon (juice)
1 tblspn Extra virgin olive oil
2 tblspn White Wine
Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 180c (fan oven) or 200c normal oven.

Cut two rectangles of parchment paper (use the whole width of the roll) big enough to fit your potatoes into the middle (you are going to double up the thickness). Lay the two pieces on top of each other then scrunch the paper up slightly around the edges so that it is a boat shape. Place the whole potatoes in the middle, trim the roots and any rough looking dark green ends off your spring onions and layer them on top and then roughly slice your fennel and place that around the potatoes. Make sure you keep the delicate fennel fronds to one side as a garnish. Squeeze over the lemon and pour over the oil and wine then top with the whole sprigs of thyme.

Give it a good grind of salt and pepper and seal the parcel shut at the top leaving plenty of room in the middle to let it steam properly. Make sure the paper is really sealed tightly and give it a little shake to combine all of the ingredients.

Cook for 35 minutes, check the potatoes are cooked through the middle by slightly opening the paper and piercing them with a knife then once done, fully open the parcel, sprinkle over the fennel fronds and serve immediately. The potatoes are also very nice cold the next day with the juice from the parcel poured over the top.

What would you cook in an ‘en papillote’ parcel? What’s your favourite BBQ side dish?

Wonderful Watercress: The Health Benefits of this Seasons Salad

I’ve really been enjoying watercress recently, its fresh but peppery and it’s flavour is versatile enough to be matched with many different dishes including salads, pasta, soups, pies, stir fries, smoothies and even breakfast! (Think watercress omelette or watercress and tomatoes on toast)

Watercress in the uk is in season from April right through to October. On the ‘Eat the seasons’ website they advise that watercress is at its best when the leaves are dark green. I agree! I’ve seen bagged watercress before with a yellowish leaf and it.did.not.taste.good!

Tofu and Garden Pea ‘quiche’ with watercress

This post is to share some of my recent reading about watercress, such a brilliant little salad leaf it deserves some attention this season! (Click on the photos to see the recipes for these dishes!)

Water cress is grown in large “watercress” beds which are constantly watered, hence it’s name ‘watercress’. The website for ‘The Watercress Company’ (growers of watercress in Hampshire and Dorset since 1850!) has loads of really interesting information including how watercress is grown, the history of watercress and some great information on their efforts in wildlife conservation. I always thought watercress was grown in places near huge sunny Asian lakes or something similar so it was very interesting to see it is also successfully grown in England

Baked Artichoke, Quinoa and Watercress Salad

When I visited a Bio Sig dietician back at the end of last year he actively encouraged me to eat lots of watercress as it lowers levels of estrogen. This can help fat loss, mood swings and general well being in men and women. I already eat a lot of dark greens such as spinach, kale and broccoli but I happily found a place for watercress in my diet. It can enhance any dish which suits a kick of sharp flavour.

Watercress also contains vitamin A, C, E and B, it is anti cancerous and it has been shown to increase productivity of white blood cells (information from Livestrong)

As with a lot of vegetables and fruits it is most beneficial to your body when eaten raw and organic, it is so strong in flavour (similar to rocket leaves) it is best mixed simply with some lemon juice and … You guessed it.. Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Courgette, Watercress and Melon Bruschetta

What’s your favourite watercress recipe? Feel free to share recipe links in the comments!

St Georges Day Dinner – Layered Roasted Vegetable Wellington with a Cauliflower Puree

Roasted Vegetable Wellington – kind of like a huge vegetable pasty!

Beef Wellington is traditionally a “Show Stopper” recipe where the host would use expensive beef, foie gras and truffles all wrapped up neatly in pastry. Other versions I have seen include beef fillet, mushroom pate, spinach and even a pancake wrapped around the beef to retain its moisture.

A couple of years ago I was served the most beautiful pumpkin Wellington served with a cauliflower puree and it’s always been on my mind ever since! I knew St Georges day would be a great occasion to share this recipe, it’s decadent yet rustic…A real treat!

The Wellington is filled with cauliflower puree, roasted peppers, spinach, roasted onions and butternut squash

Whereas a traditional beef wellington has one large fillet of beef inside, I have filled mine with layers of cauliflower puree, roasted red peppers, spinach and roasted onion and butternut squash. It’s much more interesting than your usual recipe and veggie friendly

This is my first time putting anything on Veghotpot using puff pastry (I’ve always favoured the less calorific filo pastry), but for this recipe it just cannot be replaced! Flaky, buttery pastry with the creamy cauliflower puree and rich, caramelised vegetables is truly a match made in wellington heaven!

Veg Hot Pot

Serves 4

Vegetarian

1/2 Butternut squash
1 onion
2 red peppers
Dried Herbs
Chilli Flakes
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
8 Cauliflower Florets
Handful Spinach
1 Sheet Ready Rolled Puff Pastry
1 Egg for egg wash

Chop the Onion and Butternut Squash into small pieces and slice the red Pepper into large thick strips and put on a baking tray, sprinkle all of it with salt, pepper, dried herbs, chilli flakes and olive oil and roast at 200c for 10 mins or until starting to brown and cooked through.

Boil the cauliflower florets in 250ml vegetable stock then blend using a hand held mixer or a food processor to make a purée.

Wilt the spinach leaves and put to one side.

Cut two circles out of the pastry, one circle should be around an inch bigger in circumference than the first. Place the smaller circle down on a lightly floured baking tray and first spoon on some cauliflower puree leaving an edge of pastry around 1cm deep, then layer the red peppers, spinach and more cauliflower puree then top with the onion and butternut squash. Brush some egg wash around the edge of the bottom layer of pastry.
Place the larger circle of pastry over the top and seal it closed so it joins the bottom circle of pastry.
You should now have one large round wellington with the pastry completely sealed around the egdes.

Brush Egg Wash all over the top and sides of the pastry and then place in the oven for 30-35 minutes at 180c until the pastry has become flaky and golden brown.

Serve with Gravy, any left over cauliflower puree and peas!

Serve whole in the middle of the table and slice up like a big pie!

Happy St Georges Day!!!

Pickled Onions Tasting: Technique of the Week!

Garlic Pickled Onions
It’s been over 1 month since I last posted about how I was going to make my own pickled onions and the results were really quite unusual. I first tested my garlic flavoured pickled onions, the first thing I noticed was that the garlic had turned blue! I did a bit of research online to see if this meant they had gone off or become harmful and apparently according to “Lifestyleblock” it can happen because the copper content of the pan you use to heat the vinegar reacts with the garlic, or according to “Sally Strove” it can be a number of factors including temperature but it should still be fine to eat!

I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to try it but I ate half of one and it just tasted like vinegary garlic…hmm!

I didn’t like the flavours of the pickled onions either they were sharp with no balance of sweetness, I think I must have gone wrong with this batch somewhere. I feel a bit disappointed because I spent a month waiting with excitement to dig in to my home-made pickled onions!

Black Pepper Pickled Onions

These were a different story altogether! They tasted nothing like black pepper, not even a slight kick, which is a shame. But they didn’t turn blue! and they didn’t have such an unpleasant vinegar taste when I tried them.

I think they probably could have done with a little longer in the pickling liquid as they could have been softer but over all they had a nice balance of flavour and they were more enjoyable to eat. I used the same liquid for both jars so I can only assume that the black pepper that I added to this jar helped with the flavour balance.

I think over all I won’t bother pickling my own onions again, at least not for a while! Once the memory of the blue vinegar garlic has left my mind I may decide it’s something I really need to learn to perfect instead of just give up on.

I may try pickling other items instead of onion, I’d LOVE to try Kimchi which is a different technique altogether really. I’d also like to try gherkins. But alas….I think my pickling days are over for a while.

Have you successfully pickled onions? What tips do you have for a down hearted pickling amateur like myself?

Very Simple and Versatile Roasted Harissa Aubergine

Once prepared you can use the aubergine in many different ways

I love aubergines and I only really started eating them in the last few years because many recipes I found put me off by saying they must be salted or that they soak up a lot of oil. The first time I tried cooking it myself I simply stir fried it and it was bland and chewy. I realised that it suited slow cooking and that, like with the oil, it suited big flavours it could soak up.

I now use it as a main ingredient all the time in curries, cut into long strips in lasagna, pasta sauces and now even simply on its own as a side dish. I don’t really know how I came up with this idea other than the fact that I had a lonely aubergine in my fridge and not much else. I wanted to make some cous cous for my lunch and I thought I could use the aubergine to jazz up the cous cous.

I also had a jar of Harissa paste and this idea just came to me. I was pleasantly surprised with how it worked out as the aubergine flesh became full of flavour, quite spicy and incredibly soft. I used a spoon to scoop out the flesh and then I stirred it into cous cous.

Other ways to enjoy an aubergine like this could be topped with raita yoghurt and served with a salad, scooped out and spread into a flat bread as a sandwich, stirred into rice or cous cous, scooped out and served as a kind of spicy mashed aubergine side dish. Or just on its own.

Serves 2

Vegan, gluten-free, low-fat, spicy!

1 Aubergine1-2 tblspn Harissa paste
1 Lemon

Slice the aubergine in half lengthways, using a sharp knife score the flesh but don’t cut through the skin of the aubergine. Take a spoonful of harissa and using the back of a spoon or a knife spread the paste over the aubergine making sure it gets in all of the score lines. Squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Do this on both halves of the aubergine just on the cut side.

Place the aubergine halves on a baking tray, cut side up and bake in an oven at 180c for around 35 minutes. Leave to cool slightly then use it how you like

The Harissa is very spicy so use as much or as little as you like. You could use other pastes like Curry paste, Thai paste or Pesto.

Seasonal Vegan Tofu and Garden Pea ‘Quiche’

A great vegan alternative to traditional quiche

This is my version of a quiche/ flan which is suitable for vegans!I have simply replaced the eggs and cream with tofu. As you will see I have included my favourite combination of peas, lemon, garlic, basil and mint – such classic flavours which instantly make you feel like its summer! I have also added watercress because it is in season right now and is so delicious and very good for you.

I was feeling a bit conscious that I use these flavour combinations a lot, but they work so well and each recipe is so different! So hopefully instead of being repetitive I am simply showing how using up ingredients in different ways can create lots of different meals

I have made pies before with a bean puree or with a nut cream and both worked delightfully, however this time I wanted something much lighter (but still creamy) and less calorific. I don’t eat a lot of tofu but I do buy it when I just fancy something easy, there is so much you can do with it, it’s a great vehicle for stronger flavours and it is low fat.

Creamy vegan filling in a crispy pastry case!

I definitely preferred this quiche served hot however it would be nice to make a head and eat at room temperature too as part of a buffet. When I think of quiche it brings up memories of party buffets with sausage rolls, egg sandwiches, chocolate fingers and lemonade! I’m not sure back in those days, when I was a kid who couldn’t get enough of those styles of buffet, that I would one day be making my own version made of tofu!

Maybe deep down I knew because I was one of the few people who would fill my plate with the salad garnish before adding the more unhealthy options.

In case any one was wondering, I have still been following a mostly gluten free diet. I am feeling great on it and I definitely notice the difference when I “accidentally” eat a huge blueberry muffin someone bought in to the office for their birthday, and my stomach instantly bloats up twice the size! This recipe uses filo pastry which isn’t gluten free but you can substitute it for a vegan short crust or your favourite gluten free pastry. As long as it holds in that creamy tofu filling you’ll be fine!

Serves 4

Dairy Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Husband approved!

Tin size – 10″

400g Tofu130g Frozen Peas
1/2 Lemon
Large handful Watercress
2 Garlic Cloves
10 Large Basil leaves
Handful Mint Leaves
Salt and Pepper
3 Sheets Filo Pastry
Spray Oil

Preheat your oven to 180c

Place the tofu, peas, watercress, garlic, basil, mint and juice of 1 lemon into a blender and mix until you have a smooth green puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste and then blitz again to mix in seasoning. Keep some water cress to one side for garnish

Grease a quiche tin, preferably with a loose bottom so you can get the quiche out easily (and not with 3 spatulas and a lot of swearing as I did). You could also line the tin with baking paper, or just slice it in the quiche tin and take it out in slices

Next line the tin with 3 layers of filo pastry, spraying or brushing some oil in between each layer, trim around the edges so you don’t have too much pastry hanging over.

Pour the tofu mix into the pastry case and smooth out so it is one even layer. Crinkle up the edges of the pastry to make a border around the edge of the quiche.

Place the quiche into the oven and bake for 35 minutes until the filling is set and the pastry is cooked. If the edges look like they are browning too much then cover the pie with foil so that it continues to cook but not colour.

If you are taking it out of the tin then once cooked leave it to cool slightly to make it easier to handle.

Leftovers can be placed in the fridge and then reheated in a hot oven for around 10 minutes.

Perfect for sharing, great hot or cold.

Cooking for a multi diet family of two

I wasn’t vegetarian when me and my husband met so we sometimes joke that I lured him in under false pretences, I would cook steaks and roasts and now I look lentils and tofu. Scott has taken to the diet changes with loving enthusiasm but he is not a vegetarian and I respect that so I make sure I cook him meat a few times a week.

The more I learn about food, and meat in particular, it makes me want to strive for maximum quality in whatever we eat and I try to keep the food we buy as close to its natural state as possible. The changes I have made for Scott are small but significant. For example I have stopped buying processed ham for sandwiches and I now buy an organic free range chicken every couple of weeks, roast it and separate it into portions to go into his lunch (something my mum has been telling me to do for years!). In fact all the meat I buy is organic and British and it is very much about the quality and not the quantity.

Evening meals can be a challenge when planning for us both. I am lucky because I have lots of time in the evenings to potter around the kitchen but it was not always so plain sailing. I have had to work out different menu combinations to ensure I am not cooking two completely separate meals every day. I have found the following tips have helped make meal times satisfying for us both without breaking my back in the kitchen.

One Pots:
I love one pot dishes because not only do they make cooking for different diets easier but it means you always have a portion of something delicious to pull out of the freezer when you know you will be pushed for time. I often make a big 6 portion stew based on vegetables and beans or lentils then I serve it with a portion of meat on the side for Scott and a portion of broccoli or kale for me.
The main base of the dish is made and all you have to do is oven bake or grill some meat and and boil/ steam your vegetables.

If I have time at the weekend then I sometimes make 2 big one pots, one meat based such as beef and ale stew or coq au vin and one vegetable such as lentil chilli or Irish stew. Then during the week all I have to do is heat up one portion of each and cook some vegetables to accompany it.

Curries, tagines and casseroles can all work for this!

Stir fries:
Kind of like an Asian one pot, you can easily either make one large vegetable stir fry in one wok with your vegetables, sauce and noodles and then in another frying pan first cook your tofu (or favourite veggie stir fry topping), keep it warm to one side under some foil and then cook your meat. Then you can serve up the vegetables and noodles followed by the separate toppings. Make sure you cook the vegetarian option first!

Of course you could always cook two stir fries in two pans but I personally only have one wok and then a few frying pans.

Roasted Vegetables:
I cook a big tray of assorted mixed vegetables pretty much every week. They make such a superb base to any meal and you can add bulky root vegetables along with lighter options such as courgettes, peppers and aubergines. Keep it light by using a spray oil and play with the flavours by mixing up spices and herbs or even adding garlic cloves and shallots.

I will often serve beef burgers/ beany burgers on the side or Scott will have a piece of meat and I will have a slice of lentil bake with a vegetarian gravy. The fact you can include the root veg and light veg means you don’t really need any extra sides except your protein.

Leftovers are also great chopped up and stirred into pasta.

Tacos/ Enchilladas:
We got into a routine of eating my butternut squash enchiladas once a week a while ago. The beauty is that the fillings are individually wrapped so do not mix. Fill 4 wraps (2 per person) with the butternut squash filling and then add some grilled bacon and even some cheese to two of them. Wrap them up, put into a baking tray and top with tomato sauce. Just make sure you remember which side is which

Tacos are also great for multi meal easy options as you can do a “fillings buffet” so everyone just helps themselves to what they fancy. Leftovers can be used to make a taco salad the next day!

This also applies to fajitas and quesadillas!

Soups:
Soup is a weekly occurrence in our house, whether it be at lunch or dinner time and it works perfectly at satisfying us both. I make a big batch of vegetarian soup to share and then serve crispbreads/ crackers or toast on the side. My bread will be topped with cheese or salad and Scott’s will be topped with lean meat.

Soup toppings can also vary, add lean chicken breast to bulk the soup up for your partner and add some cooked beans to yours.

I hope some of these tips have been helpful and showed how you can incorporate some easy meal options so that you don’t have to do too much juggling in the kitchen. Let me know what your “multi diet” tips are that you have developed!

Purple Kale, Radish and Pomegranate Salad

You can use green or purple kale but I think this looks pretty!

I’ve been seeing raw kale salads for a while now and although I eat a lot of kale I’ve never tried it raw. Even as I began making this salad I was questioning myself, will this be filling? Will this be a pleasant texture? Will it taste good?? Well for all the other raw kale doubters out there I can confirm that not only did I feel full afterwards I also thought it was delicious.

I had a pomegranate that I bought in the reduced aisle which I was planning on crushing to drink with some soda water, lemon and mint but then I came across this kale and pomegranate salad from ‘Running with Tweezers’ blog and I knew I had to make my own version. I have adapted the recipe to make it a really simple side dish with my favourite radishes.

I have purple kale which I don’t think tastes too much different to green kale, but its purple! So pretty, and it turns this purple and pink salad into something beautiful.

I bought the new purple edged plate especially for this salad

You can add to this salad to bulk it up or you can keep it simple. I think it would be nice with some pumpkin seeds or some cold boiled potatoes.

The salad leftovers can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days if you didn’t eat it all, in fact the salad gets even nicer the next day as the kale wilts further and the flavours intensify.

I’ve been making big batches of salads at the weekends and then on Monday and Tuesday at work my lunch has been a nice selection of salads mixed together. We are a bit more relaxed with our healthy eating at weekends and sometimes if we’ve ended the weekend with a takeaway then it can be hard to get started on a good foot on Monday morning. By having salads ready to go it makes it all a lot easier!

Serves 2

Vegan, Raw, Wheat and Gluten Free

2 Large handfuls of Green or Purple Kale
1 Lemon
1 tblspn Olive Oil
1 tspn Balsamic Vinegar
4-6 Radishes
1 pomegranate

Wash and roughly chop the kale and put in a bowl with the juice of 1 lemon, the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Mix well with your hands for a few minutes and then set to one side.

Thinly slice the radishes, discarding the root end, and remove the seeds from the pomegranate. I find the best way to do this is to squeeze the pomegranate over a bowl and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. You can then scoop the seeds out of the bowl!

Place the dressed kale on a plate and top with the radishes and pomegranate seeds. Tuck in!

I’ve got half a pomegranate left in the fridge so I think I may make my drink of crushed pomegranate seeds, lemon juice, mint and soda water anyway. It is so refreshing!!