Cost of being vegan and what to buy!

January 9, 2020 thelittleredpinny2 Comments

During Veganuary there are so many new products popping on to the shelves and lots of folk trying veganism! I think this is amazing. Having been dairy free for almost 10 years and vegan for 3 I have seen a huge surge in the products on sale and the choice. I have also noticed a huge shift in the labeling of food which makes finding those accidentally vegan products easier to find!

There are several things to consider when doing your shopping which shouldn’t be anything new to you! Firstly, you don’t want to live on junk food! Whilst the pies, pasties and pizza’s hitting the shelves look tempting remember it is just like eating the non-vegan equivalent. You wouldn’t eat them every night then so you probably shouldn’t now either. These products are also super expensive. Personally, I also limit how many meat replacement foods we eat. Whilst they are tasty and make a quick meal it does limit your nutrients and increases your weekly food bill!

I try to include 1 tofu dish and 1 meat replacement dish a week into our evening meals. A large block of tofu which feeds 4 of us is £3.00 and a bag of vegan meatballs is £1.50 so not about to break the bank.

The other meals we eat are made up of beans, lentils, rice, and mushrooms. It is often joked that I will turn in to a mushroom one day the amount we eat. Mushrooms are so versatile. They can be eaten whole, sliced, diced or even minced. They hold flavour, are a good source of protein, potassium, vitamin D, vitamin B-6, and magnesium so they are a good food to fill out your dishes with!

You can get so many recipes for vegan food. When I started I went out and bought lots of weird and wonderful items that looked vital for all these complicated dishes. Not only was it wasteful as you used them so infrequently it was totally unnecessary in reality most meals can be made quickly, easily and with basic items you can buy in your local Coop!

So what do I buy and what is in my cupboards?!

Dried Foods

Plain flour
Self raising flour
Baking powder
Bicarbonate of soda
Arrow root powder
Cornflour
Caster sugar (some aren’t vegan so do check)
Brown sugar
Oats
Dried pasta
Rice
Noodles
Gnocchi (Aldi’s is labeled vegan)
Red lentils
Green lentils
Tinned beans (kidney, chickpea, butter, cannellini, black)
Baked beans
Chopped tomatoes
Passata
Jam
Peanut butter
Marmite
Chutney and pickles (onions, gherkins etc)
Tinned coconut milk
Tomato Ketchup
Brown Sauce
Dark chocolate chips
Dark chocolate
Vanilla
Cocoa powder
Hot chocolate (Cadbury and Coop are both vegan)
Birds custard powder
Golden syrup
Molasses (not vital but we make quite a bit of gingerbread!)

Herbs and Spices

Mixed herbs
Turmeric
Paprika
Cinnamon
Ginger
Nutmeg
Curry powder
Cumin
Coriander
Garam Masala
Cardamon pods
Soy sauce
Veg stock cubes (Sainsburys are marked vegan)
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Vegetable oil
Salt
Pepper
Sweet chili sauce
Mirin (not vital but we love sushi)
Nutritional yeast (i love this stuff)
Tomato puree
Pesto (vegan although we buy sun dried tomato paste!)

Fresh Food

Mushrooms
Carrots
Onions
Potatoes
Peppers (Only red and yellow here as no one likes green!)
Greens (Broccoli, kale, spring greens, cabbage etc)
Salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions)
Fruit (we stick to plums, apricots, apples, pears, oranges etc and try to stay in season)
Bananas (we go through a lot of bananas)
Vegan cheese (we like the Sainsburys grated vegan cheese and also the Violife range)
Vitalite
Jus roll pastry
Jus roll croissant dough (these last two are one off’s!)

Frozen Food

Garlic
Ginger
Chili
Peas
Sweetcorn
Stir fry mix

Vegan Specific Food

Tofu
Vegan sausages
Vegan meatballs
Vegan chicken pieces
Vegan yogurt (we like Koko)
Vegan milk (we like oat)
Vegan mayo
Vegan ice cream (Swedish Glace is our favourite)

Other Items

Bread – most bread is vegan
English muffins
Crumpets (check for vegan ones)
Crisps
Popcorn
Biscuits (hobnobs, oreo, party rings are all vegan)

Whilst this list isn’t complete and I will buy other bits and bobs depending on the week and what the children want to eat generally speaking our weekly shop is made up of topping up the dried foods and fresh fruit and vegetables. We don’t have vegan cheese every week and we don’t eat a lot of yogurt or ice cream and I try to limit the processed food to once or twice a week. Being vegan doesn’t have to be expensive and you certainly don’t need to chuck away everything in your cupboards when you start! Take it a step at a time and a meal at a time! You will soon know what you like and don’t like and save the complicated expensive dishes as your show stoppers!

Sticky Hoisin Tofu

January 9, 2020 thelittleredpinnyLeave a comment

Ingredients

1 XL pack of extra firm tofu (we like Tofoo Co)
4 tbsp Cornflour
Veg oil
2 small sachets of Hoisin sauce (Sainsbury’s is labeled vegan)
1 1/2 cups rice (this serves 4 of us easily)
1/2 pack beansprouts
1 cup peas
Spring onions and black sesame to garnish (not needed but adds flavour and extra calcium)

Method

Pop the rice on to cook. I like to pour in to a pan of boiling water and cook until just tender.
Open the tofu and drain the liquid. I give it a squeeze in my hands too but not too much.
Slice the tofu block in to 1/2 cm strips and then each block in to 4.
Sieve over the cornflour to coat the tofu.
Heat 1 cm of oil in a pan and when hot drop in the tofu. Turn it until each side is crispy but not burnt!
Drain the tofu by scooping out and laying in a bowl lined with a paper towel/muslin cloth.
Just before the rice is cooked chuck in the peas and bean sprouts (last 3 minutes of cooking).
Heat the hoisin sauce in pan and add in the cooked tofu coat the tofu in the sauce.
Drain the rice and serve. You can garnish if you wish!

Tips and Cheats

Tofu is a bit of a minefield for new vegans. Silken is great for sauces but for this dish you need firm or extra firm. I love the Tofoo Co one as it has a great texture and flavour but all firm tofu will work. You can cut it how you like. My children like sticks as they call them sticky ribs but squares work too! Please watch when heating oil I don’t want oil pan fires! If you are nervous you can do it on a lower heat and it still works. If you are dieting or wanting to be healthy you can spray the coated tofu with olive oil spray and bake it in the oven for 15 minutes until it starts to brown. The garnish is a lovely touch but not needed. I like to add sesame seeds as they are full of nutrients and add a little extra calcium. If you don’t like hoisin sauce then use black bean or sweet and sour or even sweet chili. It is okay to use packet mixes from time to time everything doesn’t have to be made from scratch.

Recipes · Uncategorized · Week Night Winners

Quesadilla

January 4, 2020 thelittleredpinny2 Comments

Ingredients

1 onion diced
1 cup mushrooms in small chunks
1 tin kidney beans
1 small tin sweetcorn
1 yellow pepper (or red or orange!) diced
3/4 cup almond milk
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp arrowroot powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
Good pinch of salt
14 small wraps
Vegan butter for frying

Method

Heat a little oil in a saucepan and add in the onion and peppers and saute for 5 minutes.
Add in the rest of the veggies and cook for a further 10 minutes until the beans are cooked.
In another saucepan add the milk, nutritional yeast, onion, garlic, paprika and salt.
Whisk the milk until it thickens and then turn off the heat and pour into the veggie mix.
Spoon a good dollop of the mix in to the center of a wrap and spread out leaving about 1 cm gap around the edge put another wrap on the top.
Heat the butter in a frying pan and on a medium heat put the stuffed wrap in the frying pan and fry for about a minute until it starts to brown. Flip over and brown the other side.
I keep them warm in the oven until I have fried them all.
Cut in to 1/4 and serve with either wedges or rice!

Tips and cheats

You can add in any veggies you like! If we have courgettes we chuck those in diced, peas chunks of pre-cooked sweet potato anything that is lying about really! The mix will store in the fridge over night so it is great to whip up the night before you need it and it makes after school dinners really quick and easy. It is also really nice on a picnic!

Cake · Recipes · Sweets

Banana Bread

January 2, 2020February 13, 2020 thelittleredpinny2 Comments

Ingredients

4 squishy bananas
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup oat milk (or any vegan milk)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar (brown or white)
2 cups self raising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

Method

Heat oven to gas mark 5/180c
Mash the bananas with the other wet ingredients
Add all the dry ingredients and beat together
Line a loaf tin and pour the mixture in
Bake for 50 minutes or until cooked
Allow to cool in the tin

Tips and cheats

So many options with this! you can take out the cinnamon and add in a cup of dark chocolate chips or a cup of dried cranberries. You can add a cup of chopped nuts or you can add a layer of nuts to the top before cooking. If you don’t have a loaf tin just bake as a cake in a square or round tin and reduce the cooking time to about 30/35 minutes.

Recipes · Waste Not Want Not · Week Night Winners

Fridge Raider Soup

January 2, 2020 thelittleredpinnyLeave a comment

Ingredients

All the veg left at the end of the week in the bottom of the fridge!
A little oil
500ml veg stock
Crusty bread

Method

Chop all the veg to the same size.
Heat some oil in a big pan and chuck in all the veg.
Pour on the stock (if it doesn’t cover the veg add more water)
Boil until the veg is soft
Blend to smooth and serve with crusty bread.

Tips and cheats

So my favourite combination is carrot, leek, potato, squash and an onion however you can chuck in literally any veg! I tend to avoid cabbage as the children aren’t keen and we get lots of Gansta Granny quotes! It you want it to be smooth always make sure there is a potato of some sort in there.

I like to add a swirl of Elmlea plant cream if we have some on serving but it isn’t needed!

Breakfasts · Recipes

Grilled Mushrooms on Toast

January 2, 2020 thelittleredpinnyLeave a comment

Ingredients

300g mushrooms sliced
tsp vegan spread (Vitalite is our favourite)
2 tsp oil (olive is nice but I love hemp at the moment)
Salt and pepper
2 tomatoes halved
2 slices of sourdough (Sainsburys have a vegan one)

Method

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add the mushrooms. Chuck in the spread and season.
In a frying pan heat the rest of the oil and add in the tomatoes flat side down.
Toast the sourdough.
Cook the mushrooms stirring occasionally until the are soft and browning slightly.
Flip the tomatoes once brown.
This should serve two (I say should) so once it is cooked plate up and enjoy!

Tips and cheats

You can cook a couple of hash browns rather than the toast, the Co-op and Sainsburys ones are really nice. You could add garlic to the mushrooms or even sprinkle generously with parsley. Or serve as a full English with tofu eggs, and a couple of shroomdogs!

Recipes · Sweets

Vegan Crumble

January 1, 2020 thelittleredpinnyLeave a comment

Ingredients

150g self raising flour
50g rolled oats
100g sugar (brown or white or half and half)
100g vegan butter (I love Vitalite)

Method

Set oven to gas mark 5/ 180c
Prepare your fruit filling (see note below)
Put all the ingredients in to a bowl
Rub the butter in to the dry by rubbing your thumb and fingers together.
Put the fruit in to a pie dish and put the crumble mix on top (thickly!)
Cook for 25 min or until golden brown.

Tips and cheats

Who doesn’t love a crumble? You can use any fruit you like in this, just make sure you cook it a little first.

Apples – use twice as many apples as the size of your pie dish. Peal and core them and cook them in a little water with a table spoon of sugar until they start to soften.
Apples and blackberry – As above but chuck in two cups of blackberries.
Rhubarb – use twice as much as your pie dish will hold. Chop in to inch size pieces taking off any thick skin. Bring to the boil in a small amount of water with 2 tbsp sugar.
Rhubarb and strawberry – half and half but don’t pre-cook the strawberries toss them in once the rhubarb has cooked.
Poached pear – use twice as many pears as the pie dish holds and peal and half them. Put in to a pan of water with a thumb of ginger and 1/2 cup of maple syrup. Poach until soft.

There are so many more options to play around with! you can add some orange zest into the crumble mix too or even some ginger and cinnamon.

Recipes · Week Night Winners

Farmer Pie

January 1, 2020January 1, 2020 thelittleredpinnyLeave a comment

Ingredients

1 onion diced
1 large carrot sliced into half moons
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup diced mushrooms
1 veg stock cube (My fav are Knorr or Sainsburys)
1 tin baked beans
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp brown sauce
Vegan soya mince (Our favourite is Sainsburys)
6 large potatoes

Method

Heat oven to gas mark 5/ 180c
Boil the potatoes in one pan.
Heat your oil in another pan and soften the onions and carrots for 5 minutes.
Add in the peas, mushrooms and mince.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir.
Simmer the mix for 20 minutes, if it looks to dry out then add a little more liquid and stir occasionally.
Once the potatoes have cooked, drain and mash them.
Pour the mince mix into a pie dish and top with the mash.
Pop the pie into the oven for 15 minutes or until the mash is a little crispy.

Tips and cheats

You can really play with this dish. If you don’t like soya mince you can use 2 cups of red lentils and a handful of oats or you can make mushroom mince by blending 300g of mushrooms. You can add a little more brown sauce, I like the tang it gives the dish. feel free to add in two sweet potatoes to the mash and we often sprinkle vegan cheese onto the top before it goes in to the oven.

If you want to make this in advance you can do the whole things and pop it in the fridge and just cook in the oven when you want to eat it. You can also freeze the mince mix although if you are using lentils they don’t defrost great.

Recipes · Week Night Winners

Vegan Chicken Pie

January 1, 2020January 1, 2020 thelittleredpinnyLeave a comment

Ingredients

1 large leek sliced in to half moons
2 large carrots sliced in to half moons
150g sliced mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas
1 pack of vegan chicken pieces
500 ml Bisto gravy (yup its vegan! as are some own brands)
1 pack filo pastry
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat the oven to gas mark 5/180c

Gently heat some oil of your choice in a large pan.
Add in all the veg and saute for 5 minutes.
Add in the vegan chicken pieces and just the 500 ml of water (not the granules!)
Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in the gravy granules.
Pour the whole mix in to a pie dish, deep tin – what ever your pie will be in!
Take the pack of filo and cut the sheets in to 1/4
Take small bits and scrunch it all over the top of the pie.
Pop in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is cooked.
Serve! We like it with roast potatoes and more veg, either green beans or broccoli.

Tips and cheats

If you want to make this in advance don’t put the pastry on until you pop it in the oven. The mix will keep in the fridge for a day before cooking in the oven. You can also freeze it at this point.

If you don’t like filo pastry or want a luxury rich finish then use puff or shortcrust pastry. Again most of the shop bought ones are vegan (just avoid the all butter version!)

If you like a creamy sauce swap the gravy for 500 ml of veg stock and a dash of vegan cream. My current favourite is the Elmlea Plant based. – don’t add it straight in to the pan. Pour the cream in to a dish and add table spoons of the hot liquid in to the cream until it doubles in quantity then add to the dish. This helps to stop it splitting.