Papaya Breakfast Fruit Boat

Papayas are one of my favourite fruits , they are packed with nutrients and taste delicious and juicy.
This is a great breakfast idea for all you fruit lovers out there so give it a try :)

Ingredients
1 ripe papaya
1/2 of a lime
1 single serving of your favourite dairy free yogurt
Handful of blueberries
2 Large strawberries
Hemp seeds
chia seeds
1 tsp Coconut sugar.

Method :
Wash the papaya

Cut the papaya in half and scoop out the seeds.

I save one half for the day after :)

Squeeze the lime over the papaya and sprinkle some coconut sugar over it.

Now add your fvourite dairy free yogurt to the center of the papaya.

Add your fruit to the yogurt and sprinkle some chia seeds and hemp seeds on top for extra protein, good fats and omega 3.

Enjoy :)

Vegan Whipped Cream

Being a vegan does not mean that you're restricting yourself from eating food that you love. 
This delicious dairy free whipped cream is really tasty and easy to make, so definitely give it a try, you won't regret it :)

Ingredients:
1 can of full fat coconut milk

Method:
put the can of full fat coconut in the fridge over night upside down so that the fat gathers to the bottom and solidifies.
When you're ready to make the cream, turn the can the right way up and scoop out only the thick part of the coconut into a preferably chilled bowl. 
Now whisk the cream to make it creamy and whipped.

I don't add any sweetener but you can add some icing sugar to it before whipping if you wish.
You can also add vanilla extract to it but it will change the colour of the cream so bear that in mind.

Once whipped this cream will stay nice fluffy for a while. I t can be re whipped if it deflates.

Do not throw away the coconut water that was separated from the can, it can be used in smoothies or cooking/baking.

Enjoy with fruit or anything you like to use whipped cream with.

Spicy Potato and Broccoli Bakes

These Spicy Potato and broccoli  bakes are very easy to make and taste great as a burger or as a part of a meal.
They are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle and very flavourful.

Ingredients :
4 medium potatoes
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 tsp Nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp curry powder
Large squirt of sriracha
1 tbs plain flour
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs dairy free butter/margarine
3 large broccoli florets 
water to boil potatoes

Method :
Pre heat your oven to 180/350

Peel, cut and boil potatoes until tender.

Drain the potatoes and add them to a large bowl.

Now mash the potatoes gently with a potato masher and add a tbs of dairy free butter/margarine

Now add all the seasonings and flour and oil to the mash 

Add the sriracha and chop the broccoli into little pieces and give it a gentle stir.

Now it's time to get your hands in there and mix thoroughly to make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Now grease an oven tray and form burger sized patties with the potato mix. 
Mine made 6 patties.

Now bake in the oven for 30 minutes flipping each of them carefully half way through until they are golden and crispy on the outside.

Taddahhhh Now they are ready to eat :)

Serving suggestion:
Spicy potato bakes with vegetable couscous and roasted parsnips.

Vegan Chickpea "Tuna" salad wraps

If you think you'll miss tuna when you become vegan, Then this is definitely the recipe for you.
Chickpeas are a great alternative for tuna and have a very similar texture to it which is great.
These wraps are very flavourful and you can even use the salad as a sandwich filling.
The ingredients are very affordable and easy to obtain.

Ingredients:

1 pk of wraps 
1 tin of chickpeas (drained and washed)
1/2 tsp of Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tbs Nutritional yeast
vegan mayo as needed 
sriracha to taste
Romaine lettuce as needed
Cherry tomatoes as needed (cut in half) 
Cucumber as needed ( cut into quarters)
Vegan cheese (grated)

Method:
Drain and wash the chickpeas and add to a large bowl.
Now add all the dry ingredients to the chickpeas and using a potato masher, mash the chickpeas to get the texture of tuna flakes.
Now add the tomatoes, cucumber, mayo, sriracha and cheese and mix gently until all the ingredients are incorporated. 
Now that the salad is ready, heat the wraps on a medium heat for 2 minutes on a flat pan.
Assemble the wraps by laying a leaf of romaine lettuce in the center and then spooning the salad on top of it.
Fold your wrap and enjoy.

You can make many variations of this salad, let your imagination run wild :)

Vegan Mayo

I've tried many ways to make nice tasting dairy free mayonnaise and I have to say that, I've perfected it with this recipe.

The texture is perfect and it's the closest to "real Mayo" that I can get it. It's very simple to make with just a few ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 cup of cashews (soaked overnight)

1/3 of a block of firm tofu

1 tsp English mustard

1/2 tsp Himalayan salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbs of Apple cider vinegar

Juice of half a lemon

just under a cup of filtered water.

Method:

Put all of the ingredients in a blender and add the water a little at a time to get the consistency that you like.

Enjoy with anything you would normally use Mayo with :)

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

I'm a huge lover of Italian food and thought I'd try making some sweet potato Gnocchi for the first time. I was so happy that it turned out amazing for the first try.
This recipe is very easy and I'm sure you will love it!
These delicious pillows of goodness make for a great comfort food.

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
2 cups of Plain/All purpose flour
1 Tsp of Himalayan salt
1 Tsp of Garlic powder
1/2 Tsp pepper
1 jar of your favourite Marinara sauce (or homemade)
Water to boil Gnocchi

Method:

Bake a large sweet potato and let it cool completely before removing the skin.

Mash the sweet potato using a fork and add the, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Gradually add the flour to the potato mash until it forms a dough, you may not need all the flour. 
The dough will be slightly sticky but firm to the eye.

Knead the dough gently until it comes together and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Put some flour on a flat baking tray to lay out the gnocchi.

Cut a section of the dough and roll out a long sausage making sure you roll from the middle outwards to ensure the same thickness.

Cut the sausage into bite sized pieces.

Using a fork with the prongs facing upwards, gently roll each piece towards the prongs to make the signature gnocchi mark.

Bring a large ban of water to a rolling boil , add salt and gently drop the gnocchi into the water.
Give it a gentle stir so that the gnocchi doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. 
Cook for 5-7 minutes. You will know when the gnocchi is ready when it floats to the top of the pan.

Whilst you gnocchi is cooking prepare/heat your sauce.

Finally add the cooked gnocchi to the sauce and gently stir and cook for another 2 minutes.

Serve and enjoy the gnocchi with a sprinkle of vegan cheese and a crisp salad.

Hi

Hi everyone and welcome to The Vegans Nuts.

My name is Sayj and I live in a little town called Whitehaven in Cumbria

I decided to start this blog as I want to share my vegan journey with you all, along with easy to follow recipes and photos.

I haven't been vegan for very long, I decided to take the step in September 2016 and haven't looked back since.

I was vegetarian for a long time before this and previous to that a meat eater.

I wanted to do more than say I LOVE ANIMALS , so I decided to to make that difference... Yes one person can make a difference believe it or not.

I love to cook so I'm very happy to share my recipes with you all to enjoy and maybe try out for yourselves.

Thank you for visiting my blog and remember... Peace starts on your plate <3 

Sayj.