Basics

Va Va Va Veganise!

Easy ways to veganise your meals.

Love to eat more healthily but can’t quite find the time? The hectic modern lifestyle needn’t mean suffering on the health stakes. Did you know that cutting out meat and dairy could cut your chances of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer – and could even add years to your life expectancy? Our handy guide shows you how…

Recipe Club Veganiser

• New for Old! Many familiar dishes such as Spaghetti Bolognese, chilli, stir-fries, pancakes, cakes… can easily be made vegan. Check out our Veganiser overleaf.

• Favourites. Most people have about seven or eight dishes that they cook regularly, and vegans are no different. You don’t need to learn a whole bookful of new recipes! Keep the experiments for when you have a little more time, such as weekends or holidays – that way you will enjoy cooking new dishes.

• It’s easy to replace eggs and dairy products:
• Eggs Away! Tofu is a great replacement – the silken variety for sauces, quiches and desserts such as mousse or cheesecake; firmer varieties for stir-fries, salads etc. If you miss your morning scrambled egg on toast, try scrambling tofu instead. Egg replacers for use in cakes and biscuits will be covered later.
• Minus Milk: replace cow’s or other dairy milk with fortified soya, rice, or oat milk. There are other non-dairy milks available such as quinoa, almond and hazelnut – try them and see what suits you! It couldn’t be easier.
• Chuck out the Cheese! Leave it off pasta, sarnies and so forth. If eating out, pizza is great without cheese – use extra sauce and vegetable toppings instead. At home, try one of the dairy-free cheeses from Redwood or Sheese on top of pizzas or pasta. A little cream ‘cheese’ is also delicious on pizza – eg Sheese or Tofutti brands. Use all varieties only occasionally and in small helpings as they are quite high in fat. They are available from health stores.

• Meat Out! There are plenty of simple and delicious ways to replace meat.
• Tofu. Also known as (soya) bean curd, this ancient Oriental food is sold in slabs and is amazingly versatile as well as very healthy.
• Cook your Own. To cook plain tofu: drain a slab of firm tofu and mop up excess dampness with
kitchen paper. Slice it lengthways into two ‘steaks’ and sauté in a little rapeseed oil until golden brown on each side. Slice into cubes when cool.
• Alternatively, chop into cubes and fry each side, turning carefully. Add shoyu (a type of soya sauce) to the pan and toss until coated. Drain on kitchen paper then add the cooked chunks to the rest of your ingredients near the end of cooking. Good in stir fries, Indian or Thai curries, pasta dishes and stews.
• Smoked Tofu (Taifun, Cauldron and other brands) is good raw in salads, sandwiches/wraps or tomato pasta sauces – or it can be oven-baked or fried, then added to anything savoury.
• Ready-made Tofu. Cauldron’s deep-fried marinated pieces are great in stews, pasta dishes and stir-fries.Taifun also make fantastic flavoured varieties such as Tofu Rosso (with sun dried tomatoes); Tofu Basil; Hazelnut Tofu and more – you’ll find them in good health stores or buy online from www.goodnessdirect.co.uk.
• Seitan or gluten is another meat substitute. Absolutely delicious, it’s available frozen or in tins from Oriental supermarkets (often labelled as ‘vegetarian chicken’or ‘vegetarian duck’!) – or else in jars from health food stores.
• That old standby, textured vegetable protein (TVP), is available in mince or chunky varieties – the chunks work well in stews, chillis and curries. Frozen vegetarian mince is even better – try health stores and/or supermarkets for Realeat’s VegeMince; Fry’s vegetarian mince or Asda’s own brand.
• Tempeh is made from fermented soya beans. Buy it frozen in slabs – chop into cubes, sauté in a little oil until golden brown then add to coconut curries or stews. Or buy ready made rashers or pieces from the chill section in good health stores – the rashers can be grilled to make a great sarnie and the pieces can be used in just about anything.

• Extra, Extra! If you are cooking beans, lentils, rice, pasta sauce, soup, home-made burgers, curries and so on… it’s almost as quick to cook a bit extra, then freeze the leftovers in portions.

• Seeds of Health. You don’t need to eat polluted fish from our over-fished oceans to get protein or omega-3 fats. Safer and more compassionate sources are seeds and seed oils such as flaxseed (linseed), rapeseed, walnut and hemp – found in good supermarkets or health stores. Flaxseeds can be ground in a blender – one tablespoon on breakfast cereal will keep you fighting fit! Grind only a little at a time and keep in the fridge in a sealed container. Or buy it in oil form from health stores – one teaspoon a day is enough. It’s great in salad dressing. Other nuts and seeds are gorgeous on their own as snacks or sprinkled in salads.

Check out the Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation’s guide to transforming everyday meals into top veggie tucker…

Traditional Breakfast	Veganised Breakfast
Cereal with milk and fruit served with orange juice	Cereal with fortified soya/rice milk and fruit, served with orange juice
Scrambled eggs, toast, sausage, cup of tea	*Scrambled tofu, wholemeal toast, veggie sausage, cup of tea with soya milk
Pancakes and maple syrup	*Vegan pancakes and maple syrup with fresh fruit
Traditional Lunch	Veganised Lunch
Chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and mayo; yoghurt; crisps	Smoked tofu or hummus sandwich with lettuce, tomato and vegan mayo; fruity soya yoghurt; piece of fruit
Chicken soup, bread, green salad and vinaigrette	Vegetable or minestrone soup, wholemeal bread, green salad with low-fat dressing
Burger and chips	Veggie burger in a wholemeal roll, chutney and vegan mayo with healthy potato wedges and an extra portion of salad
Sausage sarnie	Veggie sausage sarnie on wholemeal bread, tomato/brown sauce and salad
Traditional Dinner	Veganised Dinner
Grilled salmon, boiled new potatoes with butter; asparagus	Grilled giant field mushrooms drizzled with olive oil, with parmesan cheese garlic and shoyu (a type of soya sauce); boiled new potatoes with basil and black pepper; grilled asparagus with a drizzle of olive oil and nutritional yeast flakes  (Marigold/Engevita brand available in large supermarkets and health stores)
Spaghetti Bolognese and garlic bread	Veggie Bolognese (substitute frozen veggie mince for meat). Serve with crusty bread and green salad
Quiche Lorraine, chips and salad	*Red Onion Tart, baked potato or low-fat potato wedges and salad
Chicken Chow Mein	*Sticky Tofu Stir-Fry with egg-free noodles – or make it with Redwood’s delicious chicken-style pieces
Chilli Con Carne	Chilli Non Carne (substitute frozen veggie mince for meat); guacamole; rice and salad
Bangers and Mash	Bangers and Mash – vegan sausages, (eg Linda McCartney, Fry’s, Redwood’s…) mashed potatoes creamed with vegan margarine and soya milk; steamed greens and gravy. If using instant gravy, Bisto Onion Gravy Granules and Oxo Onion or Vegetable Gravy Granules are all vegan, as is the Co-op’s Gravy Mix. (NB, Bisto Complete Gravy Mix is NOT vegan). Or make your own!