Holistic Vegan

I really love chocolate peanut butter cups, but I'm trying to be a bit healthier lately so I decided to have a go at making energy balls instead. Also, I had no chocolate in the house, so it was a desperate moment! The premise is pretty simple, you start with dates and add whatever flavours you want.  I fancied chocolate and peanut butter, partly because I knew I had the ingredients to make something flavoured with those things in my kitchen cupboards and partly because it's an epic combo. This is of course gluten free, wheat free, grain free, soy free, refined sugar free, dairy free, egg free and vegan.   The milled linseed (flaxseed) I used is from Lidl and the Coconut Cacao Spread was one I picked up at Holland and Barrett a while back and was wondering what to do with. This seemed the obvious use for it! You can change and mix up the ingredients however you like.  This is a recipe I devised using up leftovers in my cupboard so don't worry if you d

I enjoy traditional potato rostis and hash browns, but I've always thought that the flavour could use jazzing up a bit. After discovering gram flour and learning how to make vegetable pakoras from my friend's Persian Mummy, I decided to make my own twist on the humble potato rosti and make it even more delicious. This special rosti is very tasty and makes an ideal to accompaniment to your dinner and is perfectly suited to a 'morning after the night before' fry-up. I don't have a photo at the moment because I keep eating them and forgetting to take a pic... (oops!)  They should end up looking something like this handy library image... The secret to making them in a neat circle shape is to use egg poaching rings or crumpet rings to form them into a coherent shape. You can even use a heart shaped one if you like! You only need one ring to make a batch, as you use it over and over again. So here we go...knives and forks at the ready! Makes 8 approx

I've been missing the lovely sundried tomato and herb bread that I usually make recently. Obviously the recipe I've always used includes wheat flour so I've bee racking my brains as to how to make a wheat free version that tastes nice. I came across some receipes online for a kind of no-yeast bread made with one of my favourite ingredients - gram flour . After some tweaking, I came up with this Italian style bread which is very tasty (unlike a lot of gluten free bread!) and also has a good crumb, good structural integrity and responds well to toasting or frying for a cooked breakfast. The gram flour gives it a slightly yellow colour, and a slightly nutty taste which works well with the savoury flavours. Makes 1 Loaf Ingredients 225g gram flour 335ml water 1 tbsp baking powder 1.5 tbsp sugar 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt 1 tbsp dried oregano or Italian herb mix 2 tbsp olive oil 3 sundried tomatoes, chopped into small pieces Method Grease and fully li

Well it may be May here, but the weather doesn't seem to realise this, so I'm posting one of my favourite winter warmers to keep your tootsies warm on these chilly spring nights! Double carrot and coriander soup is my twist on a classic recipe that I accidentally created (I meant  to add cumin - oops!) and instantly loved. It's very yummy and warming too, so I know you're going to love it. This was also one of the recipes that I first put up on my YouTube channel as part of my Veganuary series in 2017: This video also features Dylan the Cat who is sadly no longer with us, but thankfully even without his "assistance" you can still make a success of this simple recipe. I normally use my slow cooker for recipes like this one, but I've also included instructions for making it on the hob. You could even make it in a microwave at a push. Ingredients 1 tbsp oil (if used - omit to make recipe oil free) 1 medium onion (add two for extra fl

This is an interesting recipe that I tried for the first time recently. Some people call this one a tortilla, but I personally found that the texture is more like a crepe than a true tortilla, and the slightly nutty flavour goes just as nicely with sweet fillings like vegan chocolate spread as it does savoury. It definitely rolls and folds nicely if you want to make a wrap, so that's a huge bonus. It's also tasty, high in protein and low in fat, gluten free and super cheap to make, so well worth a go in my opinion. The process to make them can seem rather lengthy, and it seems like a lot of effort for a few flatbreads, but this is a useful recipe to have to hand if you've run out of other ingredients and need an alternative to having to spend money at the end of the month! You will need quite a powerful blender for this one, so have your Vitamix at the ready! Ingredients 200g (1 cup) Red Lentils (split peas) 500ml (2 cups) Cold water 1tsp Salt Method R

Gram flour is one of my newest and favouritest (is that a word?) flours to cook with. I was first introduced to it a few years back by a friend whose Persian mother was kind enough to teach me some of her delicious, traditional middle eastern recipes.  What is it? Gram flour is usually described a chickpea flour, but if you take a look at the ingredients on the packet of any of the brands you can buy, most also contain a percentage of yellow lentil flour too. It's a highly versatile flour made from pulses that has many uses. Where can I buy Gram flour? It's easier to get hold of than you might think. Pop into your local Asian food store, or if you don't have one nearby, the bigger supermarkets here in the UK normally stock it in their Indian/Asian food aisle. Failing that, you can always order some online from specialist food retailers or on Amazon. What is it used for? Being made from pulses rather than grains, this flour is higher in protein than your reg

A newly made batch of Burmese Tofu, cooling in the tin. I've accumulated quite a lot of exotic recipes since going vegan, but this one has to be one of my favourites, and as it only needs 3 low cost ingredients, it's a brilliant vegan hack too! Much as I really like the normal soya tofu products, tofu can be expensive and it's not something my rather tight budget can stretch to very frequently as I'd like. I came across Burmese tofu for the first time in Autumn last year, and I absolutely love it. It's easy to make, cheap and has a really satisfying texture that reminds me of boiled eggs. And best of all, it's made using one of my favourite vegan and wheat free ingredients - gram flour. The texture is firmer than silken soya tofu, but softer than the firmer varieties. And a word of warning - don't try to put it in a tofu press to make it firmer, that won't work. (I've tried, it was messy!) This tofu can be cut into slices or cubes, an

Homemade Tapenade with lightly salted Tortilla Chips...heaven! Dips and spreads form an important and delicious part of the vegan foodie arsenal, and this one is easy to make, low cost and impressive if you have visitors coming too. Tapenade is versatile and makes a great dip or a spread, and can be used as an alternative to pesto in pasta dishes too. I actually made this one with ingredients all bought from Lidl here in the UK, so this recipe can be made really low cost if you are on a budget. The sundried tomatoes in oil from Lidl are undeniably the best value around, plus there are a few capers in the jar too so you don't even need to buy those seperately to have everything you need.   You'll note I didn't add any salt to this recipe - I find you don't need it if you are having it with a savory chip or biscuit that is already salty. Add with caution if you choose to put extra salt in.  So here is my veganised version of a traditional mediterranean

This makes a very yummy, moist chocolate cake that gets better with a few days ageing! The moisture from the tinned prunes make this a really special recipe, so don't be put off if you've never eaten prines before - prunes are not just for the elderly or constipated, plus you can't really taste them in this cake anyway. I don't have a photo of this one at the moment because it always disappears too quickly for me to take one...😁 Get yourself ready for real treat! Ingredients 1 x 425g tin of prunes 125g vegetable fat suitable for baking 225g sugar 2 tablespoons milled flaxseed 6 tablespoons water 8 oz self raising flour (for wheat and gluten free, replace with 8oz gram flour + 2 teaspoons of baking powder) 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 oz cocoa powder ½ teaspoon ground clove Method Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350F Grease and line a 20x15cm (8x6”) square tin with greaseproof paper Drain the tinned prunes, saving the liquid

Hot from the oven! Why yes, that is a Laguiole knife... This is another one of my most popular recipes - I call this Helen's super-duper Banana Bread because it never fails! This is a tea bread i.e. a loaf cake that is designed to be eaten with vegan butter or spread, or your favourite jam. It's not bread in the structest sense of the word, but a slightly less sweet version of a cake, that is very nice for high tea. (Oh, la di dah!) This delicious and versatile loaf is great served warm for breakfast, or with your favourite spread at any time of the day. I recently made a very acceptable wheat & gluten free version of this substituting the wheat flour for gram (chickpea) flour. It's slightly less sweet than the original, but very tasty and gives you a nice consistency and good structural integrity, which is often lacking when baking with other gluten-free flours. gram flour can make the mixture a little too stiff, in which case just add 1-2 tablespoo

I have a bit of a thing for vintage china...these were all charity shop acquisitions! This is a bit of a more decadent take on a classic recipe, and it has the bonus of being easy to make and wheat-free too.  To make it gluten free, simply make sure you are using gluten free ingredients - check your sugar and oats in particular. Makes 12 generous bars Ingredients 230g vegan margarine 230g brown sugar 6 tbspn golden syrup 450g rolled oats 60g dessicated coconut 200g glacé cherries (halved) 18x28cm (or similar size) shallow baking tin Method Grease your baking tin & preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Put margarine, sugar and golden syrup in a saucepan over a low heat and melt gently, stirring until it becomes liquid. (The fat will probably float to the top but don't worry.) Measure out the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Carefully stir in the hot margarine/sugar liquid and mix thoroughly, making sure all the oats are coa