Vegan Effect

Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 24th of November 2021      This is a quick and easy recipe that has no added salt or sugar.  I have also tried to keep the waste down to a minimum.  The lemon gives it that fresh taste while the chilli adds a little heat.  This dish is surprisingly creamy and has a smooth texture.  Great for those burritos! Waste 1 tin can  I have added paprika to make it look better but it is not needed for the recipe.  The chilli peppers may or may not come in a plastic bag, so you may have to look around or leave it out.  Obviously, there are options to this recipe, but this keeps it as close to zero waste as possible.  If you leave in and area that seals loose chickpeas then great! Ingredients Lemon x 1 Chickpeas x 1 can Chilli pepper x 1/4 tsp Garlic cloves x 4 Olive oil Method Cook the chickpeas for about 20 minutes.  No need to peel the chickpea just drain and run some cold water over the...

Written by McDonald, T.   |  Updated 4th of August 2021      This is a zero waste option to baking bread rolls.  Although it is almost impossible to make anything without some waste, it is possible the reduce the waste.  For instance, i have cut out the vegan milk and butter; thus, reducing the waste from their wrapping.  Waste Flour bag Caster sugar bag Instant yeast bag Salt container Oil container (glass) All of the above are recyclable and you will not use them up every time. However, if you can buy them naked from the bakers you might think why should i made them myself?  Well, the problem is upstream waste.  Nonetheless, you have to decide what is better for you.  Ingredients 200g whole-wheat strong bread flour 7g instant dry yeast 0.5 tsp baking powder 0.5 tsp salt 1.5 cups warm water 1 tbsp caster sugar 1 tbsp vegetable oil Method Add the flour to a medium to large mixing bowl.   Add the instant dry yeas, bac...

Written by  McDonald, T.    |  Date 15th of April 2021 This is a very easy recipe that is tasty and quick.  It is very versatile with the banana and oats being the main ingredients with every thing else adaptable.   Not only that, you can have them for breakfast or just as a snack.  The first time around i underestimated the sugar and salt, but with some practice these were easy to conquer.  Once cooled down, it is possible to store them in an air tight container in the fridge of up to 3 days.    Why are oats good for us?  Oats are great at keeping us feel full because they have both insoluble and soluble fibre. Oats are good for digestive health. Oats are associated with good heart health.   Source 6 Cakes Ingredients   Banana x 2 Rolled oats x 1.5 cups Apple sauces x 1 tsp Sultanas x 2 tbsp  Cranberries x 1 tbsp Pecan nuts x 8-10 nuts Ground almonds x 1 tbsp Mixed spice x 1/2 tsp Sugar x 1 tsp (optional) Salt ...

Written by McDonald, T.   |  Date 14th of April 2021      Don't know what to do with your banana peel?  Why not try this dish for a change?  This is a vegan's cottage pie where the meat is replaced by banana peel.  As long as you prepare the banana peel correctly, it will not taste like banana. Ingredients  1 Banana peel 1/4 a carrot 1/4 of an onion 2 tbsp of peas 100 ml of gravy Potato for the topping Nutritional yeast with B12 Method  Scrap out all the white fleshy bit from the inside of the banana peel.  Now finely dice the banana peel.  At this point you can opt to marinade the peel in something like balsamic vinegar or soya sauce or a combination of things.  Boil and mash the potato. Lightly fry all the peel, peas, carrot and onion while the potato is boiling. Put the filling into a pie dish and add the mash potato to the top.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.     

Written by  McDonald, T.    |  Date 12th of April 2021 This stir fry is quick and easy to prepare.  It has a great range of nutrition including plenty of B vitamins and vitamin C from the peppers. Serves 1 Ingredients Tofu x 50g new potatoes x 2 (about 120g) Red and yellow peppers x 80g Green beans x 60g Butter beans x 100g Onion x 1/2 Chopped garlic x 1 - 2 gloves.  Cornflour x 2 tsp Black pepper x 3 x tsp Nutritional yeast with B12 Salt to taste Brown sugar x tsp Marinade  Soya sauce Cider vinegar Vegetable stock Method Prepare the tofu.  Press it as much as possible and marinade it over night.   Boil the potato first. Fry the tofu and the potato until it starts to brown on a medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients except the cornflour and the brown sugar.  Keep stirring for 5 minutes Add the remaining marinade liquid and keep stirring.  Add the cornflour and the brown sugar. Serve and drizzle some tahini.

By McDonald, T.   |  Date 10 of April 2021 Bangers and mash has always been a great comfort food.  Now vegans can share in the comfort of a banger!   Since this is vegan, i strongly suggest adding some nutritional yeast to the mash and a little to the gravy for those extra B vitamins and that all important B12 vitamin.  Serve with cancer busting broccoli and peas. Richmond Meat Free Sausages I had been wanting to try these sausages for a while and they where worth the wait.  Plant Chef These have been my favourite for a long time.  There are the chipolatas, the herby bangers and caramelised onion meat free bangers.  Anyone of these is great!   Plant Chef Caramelised Onion Meat Free Bangers Wicked Kitchen  Wicked Kitchen do a Chorizo style sausage that is really good.  Just imagine these with some mash potato, peas and gravy. Yum!  Mock Meat And Nutrition It is always a good idea to look at the labels at the nutrients incl...

Written by  McDonald, T.    |  Date 9th of April 2021 One way of cutting out the single use plastic is to make your own rolls.  Baking is fun and easy, but you will need to practice it to get the best results.  Another advantage to home baking is you control the ingredients.  Wholemeal is better for us because it has more nutrients and roughage. Makes 4 rolls Ingredients  Strong wholemeal bread flour x 1.5 cups Caster sugar x 1 tbsp Salt x 1/2 tsp Instant fast acting yeast  x 3.5g Vegan butter x 20g Soya milk x 1/4 cup Water x 1/4 cup Method Stage 1 Wash your hands Add the flour, salt and fast acting yeast to a medium to large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Heat the vegan milk and water in a saucepan the add the vegan butter and wait for it to melt. It is important not to let the milk boil.  Make a well in the mixture and add the vegan milk and melted vegan butter.  Be sure that the vegan milk and butter is not to hot or it will ...

Written by  McDonald, T.    |  Date 8th of April 2021 This is a great polish dish that is veganised with comparative ease.  This is diffidently different with a great spicy flavour.  When it is cooked this way, it resembles lasagna.  Maybe that is why it goes well with chips and salad or avocado.  Serves 2 Ingredients  Cabbage leaves x 4  Vegan white sauce  Vegan cheese (optional) about 30g grated  Filling  Black beans x 30g Pinto beans x 30g Sweetcorn x 60g Chopped tomatoes x 30g Peas x 30g  Carrot x 30g Onion x 1/4 Garam masala x 1 tsp Goan x 1 tsp Turmeric x 1/2 tsp White pepper x 1/2 tsp Balsamic vinegar x 1 tbsp Teriyaki sauce x 1 tbsp Chilli pepper x 1/2  Vegetable stock cube x 1 Marmite x 1 tsp (optional, it gives a more beefy taste) Nutritional yeast x 1 tsp Method  Prepare the beans if you have dried ones by soaking overnight and boiling for 30-40 and drain.  Dice finely the carrot and mushroo...

Written by  McDonald, T.    |  Update 16th of September 2021 Vegan Kebabs are an easy and fun dish with great flavours.  I chose to use a combination of beyond meat and tofu for the meat substitutes, which worked out very well.  The main part of this dish is the kebabs, so the salad can be what ever salad items you like.  I decided to have potato wedges because i was just in the mood for them and potato does add a lot of nutrition and carbohydrate to this meal, which otherwise would be very one-sided on the protein.  I chose the beyond meat because of the flavour and protein content and i chose the tofu again for protein and for the different texture.  In addition, it is fun to serve with home-made flatbread .  You can put a kebab in the flatbread and use the flatbread to pull the food off the skewer.  Then you can eat it like a sandwich. Fantastic! The beyond sausage meat was great! I am new to this mock meat and I was very impres...

Written by  McDonald, T.    |  Date 5th of April 2021 Hot cross buns are a sweet treat at Easter for Christians in the UK. They are a bun with crosses on, have sultanas or sometimes over fruits such as apple in with spices and mixed peel.  People have them as a snack with butter and jam or just butter at anytime over Holy week and Easter.  Some people like to toast them while overs eat them as they are. Since i am a vegan, i wanted to make a vegan version of this traditional British Easter bun.  I chose to go with the traditional fruits and mixed peal because i know this is what people are expecting and i didn't want to disappoint them.  The mixed spice adds a unique flavour; however, i  added more cinnamon so as not to stray to far from the traditional bun.  In addition, i added both lemon and orange zest simply because i had both in the fridge and they needed using up.  The zest adds a fresh zing to the flavour. Moreo...