January ended and alongside it veganuary, a challenge for people to try going vegan for a month. This was my second year attending veganuary and once again, I had a blast. During veganuary, if you sign up for the challenge you receive an email every day featuring several vegan recipes and information on veganism and animal rights. I find the newsletter super useful even though I already have years of experience with vegetarian and vegan cooking. I would assume that it is way more useful still to people who transition from a meat diet to a vegan one for the month of January without much experience with veganism. However, I would think that it can be a bit hard trying to keep up a vegan diet after veganuary even if you would want to since you don’t get the recipes sent to you anymore. With vegan cooking, you must pay extra attention to making your meals balanced and getting all your vitamins and proteins. So, I thought I would share a few of my favorite vegan recipes to try to encourage any of you who are trying to eat more vegan food to keep going. These recipes are simple, not to mention nutritious and affordable. Give them a try and I hope you’ll love them like I do!
Fried rice
You’ll need:
2,5 dl cooked rice
A block of firm tofu
4 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1 carrot
1,5 dl of frozen pea-corn-bell pepper mixture
(You could also add in any other veggies you like)
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Instructions:
- Chop the onion and the garlic and sauté them for a few minutes. Add in the chopped carrot and sauté for a few minutes more.
- Crumble up the tofu and add it to the pan. Sauté for a few minutes. Then add in the frozen veggies and the rice. Sauté until the veggies have thawed.
- Turn down the heat and add in the soy sauce, maple syrup and vinegar. Mix well.
- Top with hot sauce and green onion if you want. This is totally optional!
Chickpea pasta
You’ll need:
A can of chickpeas
A few handfuls of fresh spinach
5 cloves of garlic
1 onion
Vegan butter or margarine
Salt and pepper to taste
The juice of one lemon
1 tbsp of maple syrup
300g of cooked pasta, such as spaghetti
Instructions:
- Chop the onion and the garlic. Sauté them in the butter for a few minutes. Be generous with the butter, it’s gonna add amazing flavor to the dish.
- Rinse the chickpeas and add them to the pot. Also add the maple syrup at this point. Sauté for a few more minutes. Add the spinach and keep the heat up until they wilt.
- Add the pasta and flavor with fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Fishless soup
You’ll need:
A block of smoked tofu
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
6 potatoes
4 carrots
1 liter of veggie stock
2 dl of oat or soy cream
Black pepper and dried dill to taste
Instructions:
- Chop the onion and garlic. Sauté in a pot for a few minutes.
- Peel and chop the potatoes and carrots.
- Add the veggie stock to the pot, as well as the potatoes and carrots. Bring to a boil. Simmer until the potatoes have cooked through, about 20 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, cube the tofu and sauté it in a pan until golden brown.
- When the potatoes are done, add the oat or soy cream and the tofu cubes. Add black pepper and dill to taste.