Who doesn’t love peanut butter and jelly? I’ve brought this iconic flavour to the smoothie game. This has got to be the most delicious, refreshing, nutritious afternoon pick-me-up ever!
For one smoothie, blend together:
Pour into a tall glass and enjoy.
This Christmas day I wanted to share a dessert with my family that was plant-based and dairy free, but still decadent. I’m so glad I made this rich, creamy banoffee pie that tastes every bit as good as the original with its condensed milk, butter and whipped cream, but without the tummy-ache.
Crust:
Filling:
Topping:
To make the base, pulse the nuts into crumbs in a a blender, then add the dates and cinnamon and blend until doughy and clumping together. Press into a pie dish and freeze.
For the filling, soak the dates in just enough boiling water to cover for 30 minutes. Put the dates, the soaking water, and all the other ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy. Spoon the caramel into the crust and return to freezer. This is the stage to transfer it at, then add the final stage just before serving.
To serve, take the pie from the freezer and leave to thaw for about 30 minutes. Slice the banana and arrange over the caramel.
To make the coconut cream topping, open the tin of coconut cream that has been in the fridge (without tipping it), and scoop out the firm cream that will have settled at the top. Discard the ‘water’ that is left (it is good in smoothies or pancakes). Beat the coconut cream as you would dairy cream. It doesn’t go quite as thick but is still delicious. You can even add a splash of vanilla essence and/or icing sugar for extra flavour. Spread over the banana, sprinkle with cinnamon, slice, and enjoy!
Here’s a tutorial for whipping coconut cream: https://downshiftology.com/how-to-make-coconut-whipped-cream/
I had the privilege today of catering for a group of lovely ladies at a yoga day retreat. My plan was to nourish everyone, physically and emotionally, with nutritious plant based food and lots of fresh fruit and vegetables that wouldn’t weigh them down or make them too sleepy.
We started the morning with a lemon and coconut slice and a selection of fresh herbs to make herbal teas. My slice was made with cashews and coconut, and being so high in natural fats it kept everyone well full until lunchtime.
Here is the recipe:
Base:
2 cups cashew nuts
2 cups desiccated coconut
5 tablespoons rice bran syrup/maple syrup/honey (or a combination of)
2 lemons
1 tsp vanilla essence
pinch salt
Icing:
1/4 cup smooth almond butter
2 tablespoons cacao butter or coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Blitz all the base ingredients in a blender until sticky but not oily. Press into a tin and put in the freezer. Put all the icing ingredients in a small saucepan and gently heat until combined. Spread over the base and freeze until set.
Best served from the fridge or freezer.
Lunch was The Fuelled Furnace’s famous creamy spinach and lime dhal with brown rice. We served this with lots of coriander and lime-based condiments, and it was just the ticket after a full-on morning. I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t love this recipe!
We finished lunch up with fresh pineapple, then it was back into it for the afternoon!
Thanks for having me!
It’s Friday night, the grocery shopping hasn’t been done, there’s nothing in the cupboards. It sounds like the only solution might be takeaways-but wait! Have you considered gathering the few scraps you have left and presenting them on a platter? It may be a last resort, but you’d be surprised how appetising a dinner platter can be! Add to that the convenience of not having to cook, and being able to eat with your fingers, and you may have a winner on your hands.
Case in point; we were down to snow peas and carrots in the vege bin of the fridge this week. There’s no dinner you can make with that. But with some quick thinking, we hard-boiled some eggs and fried some tempeh that was languishing in the fridge door. A quick search through the jungle of jars revealed sun-dried tomatoes, gherkins and hummus. Throw in some of yesterday’s sourdough, toasted, a handful of crackers and some sliced cheese, and you’ve got yourself a respectable platter! Here is the finished product:
The trick is to base your platter on fresh vegetables, include a protein (like tempeh) and then bulk it out with stuff you have lying around.
Suggestions for a D.I.Y platter:
Fresh vegetables and fruit:
Back of the fridge finds:
Pantry staples:
How to have a pizza that is plant-based, full of fibre and vitamins, and doesn’t have any inflammatory gluten, dairy, eggs or meat? Enter Cauliflower pizza! Ok, it’s not really like a normal pizza, more like a tart, but is super flavoursome and packed full of goodies.
I slightly adapted a recipe from Nutrition Stripped for the base, but the toppings are entirely based on personal preference (and greed!).
You could top it with anything that takes your fancy; I used hummus, olives, sweetcorn and mushrooms on a basic tomato paste pizza sauce.
Making the base is a bit fiddly, but totally worth it! Here’s how it’s done:
1 small head cauliflower
2 tablespoons chia seeds or ground flaxseeds, soaked in 5 tablespoons water for 10 minutes to make a paste
3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon of coconut flour
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
Roughly cut the cauliflower into florets, and pulse in a blender or food processor until a rice-like consistency. This next step is very important! Dump the cauliflower mixture into a clean tea towel and wring it like mad until all the moisture has come out. Saute in a frying pan on medium heat (no oil required) for about 10 minutes, until soft. Allow to cool, them mix with the remaining ingredients.
You could make 1 giant pizza or up to 4 mini pizzas with this mixture. Divide the mixture into as many pizza bases as you need, and spread it onto a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray. Bake at 225 degrees for about 20 minutes, until brown. When ready, carefully flip the bases and bake a few more minutes until the other side is brown.
Then it’s up to you! Top with whatever takes your fancy, and bake until everything is hot through.
Enjoy with a salad or some vege chips.
Given a few spare minutes, I will always get into the kitchen and whip up a healthy treat. Thanks to detoxinsta for this little beauty. I changed it up by adding a slosh of espresso to the caramel, and by just topping the slice with chocolate because who has time for chocolate dipping? Yum.
You can find the original recipe here
Some nights you really don’t feel cooking, but know you’ll regret eating a toasted sandwich later. This broccoli/noodle/peanut recipe takes 10 minutes to whip up, is super-tasty, but won’t make you feel crappy because it is still plant-based. You’re welcome!
This recipe served 2, but would be easily adapted for more.
1 packet wholemeal udon/ramen noodles
Half a head of broccoli
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
1 spring onion, chopped
1 red chilli, chopped (optional)
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
Chop the broccoli and steam it until just cooked. Add the noodles for the last 30 seconds just to get them warm and separated.
Mix the lime juice, oil, chilli sauce and peanut butter with 1-3 tablespoons water until combined and a pourable consistency.
Stir the dressing through the broccoli and noodles, then garnish with the spring onion, coriander and chilli (if using).
Serve!
You could mix this up by using green beans instead of broccoli, adding tofu for a more filling meal, or serving asian greens such as bok choi on the side. In fact, I think I need to eat this again tomorrow!
It’s not always easy to get excited about vegetables, especially when they’ve been in the fridge for a week and are looking a bit sad. But it’s amazing what banging them between a couple of bits of pastry can do for their allure! I don’t reckon there’s much you can’t put in a pie; case in point Friday’s dinner.
I literally chopped up all the vegetables I had left in the fridge, (spinach, spring onion, carrot, cabbage), mixed them with a couple of eggs and half a block of feta, and covered the lot with filo pastry. Suddenly boring left-overs are cheesy pie and everyone wants some!
Every now and then I get all nostalgic and like to sit down with my Grandmother’s faithful recipe book, which I inherited after her death. Baking a recipe from it is a real treat, with its old measurements in pounds and ounces and obscure ingredients, all written in her beautiful sloped handwriting.
I couldn’t resist making her classic shortbread biscuits today, but with a nod to modern tastes with chai spices and pecans placed on top. Here is her decades-old recipe, with my additions tagged on.
1 1/4 tablespoons condensed milk
1/4 pound butter
3 tablespoons icing sugar
1 1/8 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Cream butter and sugar. Add condensed milk and mix in well. Add flour and baking powder. Roll in balls and press on a cold tray.
*I took a few liberties with this recipe. I added 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, allspice, cardamom and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. I popped a pecan on top because-yum! Grandmas’s recipe doesn’t specify oven temperature, but I cooked these at about 160 degrees until they were just starting starting to turn brown, which was about 15 minutes. The whole house smelt amazing!
…and it’s inconclusive That’s right, there is dissension among the troops. I’m loving the hazelnut choc-cups; they taste just like a Ferrero Rocher only without the junk! Child number ones prefers the texture of the macadamia butter cups because they “melt slowly on your tongue”, and child number two can’t choose a favourite. Needless to say, this argument will continue over coming days.
thefuelledfurnace 