2023 Vegan Storecupboard Challenge

Brie

Thanks for coming back with such enthusiastic answers!  I'm not a vegan or even a vegetarian but we are consciously trying to eat less meat.  Tofu has always been a disappointment to me but this sounds like it might be worth the effort!  And lentils do tend to breed in the cupboard - that's the only excuse I can find for there being so many, it's not like as if someone I know keeps buying them in quantity.....   

tooldle

Our meatballs (black bean) were lovely. Enough leftovers for both our lunch boxes. Would definitely make again. Nice and simple (black beans, half an onion, either oats or almond flour, garlic and flavourings of your choice). Next time I’ll make double and freeze half for another day.
I’m out of red lentils at the moment with just brown and green in my cupboard. Will definitely give lentil tofu a try when I next restock. 

I’ve cooked beetroot in the freezer. Might make that into a burger this weekend.

KajiKita

@Brie - the mysteriously replenishing red lentils pot …. 🤔 I have one of those too! 😂

@leftatthetrafficlights, thank you so much. That sounds really promising as I love red lentils, like you find the marinating process for tofu pretty ineffective and the shop bought stuff expensive. Hoping to try this out on BH Monday  to add to work lunches in the rest of the week 😊

KK

leftatthetrafficlights

@Brie - it's definitely worth the effort!! 

@tooldle - those meatballs sound great! Next time I do black beans I'll cook extra so that I can make some 😁 

@KajiKita - when you make them, try brushing on a bit of oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper before airfrying 😉 

So, today I had a breakfast of oatmeal, raspberries, strawberries, papaya, rocket, watercress and spinach with balsamic vinegar! Random but lovely!!

I think I've worked out how to put pics on so hopefully it's shown below!!

Brie

leftatthetrafficlights said:

So, today I had a breakfast of oatmeal, raspberries, strawberries, papaya, rocket, watercress and spinach with balsamic vinegar! Random but lovely!!

Sounds a bit like my brother's breakfasts...yoghurt, fruit, nuts and cabbage.  It's actually not that bad.

MissRikkiC

It’s also soy free @Brie I am seriously impressed at the ease of the lentil tofu and whilst not vegan I love these type of recipes! 

My son is allergic to soya and whilst I am still feeding him, I’m avoiding it too so this is ideal! Thanks for the idea @l@leftatthetrafficlights

leftatthetrafficlights

Made the chickpea flour tofu yesterday- nice but I preferred the lentil one...the chickpea one seemed crisper on the outside and had less flavour though so may be better at carrying a dressing 🤔 I'll try it cold today and see if I prefer it! 

I watched a documentary on Netflix last week called Health Of The Nation as it was recommended to me by a friend - some of the things on there shocked me despite me thinking that I had a reasonable amount of knowledge about nutrition!

Since then I've been watching and reading a lot of Dr Michael Greger's stuff  - I've got to say that the more I've learned (all of his stuff is evidence based from thousands of peer reviewed research papers, plus he gives all profits from his books/website/speaking engagements etc to charity so no financial gain for him) the more pleased I am that I'm vegan!!! 😳 

I went vegan originally for ethical reasons but looking at all the evidence I'm really glad from a heath perspective that I did and from now on will definitely be tweaking my diet to make sure that I optimise the healthy aspects veganism by eating more of a wholefood plant based diet! 

tooldle

We had beetroot burgers last night (beets, lentils, oats, flour, garlic, onion and thyme). Easy to make in the blender and baked in the oven. I doubled up the amounts and ended up with 7 good size burgers, 5 of which are now in the freezer. We ate them with flatbread, lettuce, tomato and mayo.

KajiKita

Not a recipe or an ‘eaten this’ message but a question …

Why is it that some recipes say to cook garlic gently and not brown it and others say yes, brown it ….? 

KK
(Confused of Herefordshire) 

leftatthetrafficlights

@tooldle those beetroot burgers sound good too! I'll swap out the white flour for buckwheat flour and give them a try! 😉 

@katjikita - I'm not sure why the recipes are different but i suspect that it's about trying to mellow the garlic flavour. 

Browning garlic needs to be done very,very slowly and gently or the garlic basically becomes bitter and burnt (my dil regularly used to mess it up and it genuinely is one of the worst smells/flavour I've ever had the misfortune to experience) or don't bother and just cook after onions have started to keep the heat low and prevent the browning process altogether - personally I would never brown garlic - it adds nothing at all to the flavour (even if its not overdone) other than make the meal taste slightly rancid to me - if you want a more mellow garlic flavour then I would roast it - fab flavour and incredibly easy to do; take off the papery outer skin, pop the garlic bulb in a shallow pot with a glug of water, drizzle a bit of olive oil over the bulb and whack it in the oven at around 160 for about 20 - 30 mins. Once the garlic is soft, remove from the oven, allow it to cool for about 5 mins then squeeze each clove out of the skin - it makes the absolute best garlic bread too!!