Every 1st November marks World Vegan Day, an annual event celebrated worldwide and created in 1994 by Louise Wallis, former Chair of The Vegan Society, United Kingdom as a way of commemorating 50 years of the Vegan Society and of course the term ‘Vegan.’
What is Veganism?
Abstaining from eating meat, milk, eggs, and anything else derived from animals or insects. (This also means honey as it is sourced from bee’s).
But, what about protein?
Naturally a lot of foods consumed with a Vegan diet are going to be carb dense as it includes loads of fruit, veggies and pulses but pea protein, hemp protein and brown rice protein are great additions to a Vegan diet. And, trust me when I say that ALL Vegans are tired of hearing the ‘where do you get your protein from?’ nonsense. Let’s give them a break already!
This delicious burger wrap is completely Vegan and it tasted glorious! Using our Vegan Waffle Recipe with unflavoured protein, I made a large pancake which doubled as a wrap and sandwiched it together with Morrisons Meat-Free burgers, Violife cheese and salad. SRSLY SUH GOOD.
Calories still count
Just because a food item is labelled as Vegan doesn’t mean that it is all of a sudden the epitome of health. It just means that it has no animal derived ingredients, that is all. You still have to be mindful about the calories you are consuming, after all margarine is Vegan and that isnt exactly the healthiest of ingredients.
Note: If you want to log in the calories of an item, knowing the ingredients will be easier. Dont be afraid to ask, most cafes, bakeries, chefs or independant bakers will be happy to tell you. Then, you can go on MFP or Fat Secret and search eg. ‘carrot cake made with margarine’ there will no doubt be an entry for anything you may search for!
But, cheese!
Initially, my very first thought when I had to start avoiding Dairy & Egg (for health reasons) was, ‘OMG CHEESE!’ 😪 (Specifically Halloumi cheese, how does one live without this delicacy?)
Admittedly, three months down the line, I still really f**king miss cheese, mostly being able to enjoy pizza but also Halloumi cuz Halloumi is awesome.
However, nowadays there are a variety of alternatives like the range created by Violife Foods who do a selection of cheeses and soft cheeses which taste pretty close to the real thing, they even have a ‘Mozarella’ cheese which melts just as mozarella would! Magical.
Its cool, I can eat all the nuts
Word of advice, easy on the nuts! Nuts are an awesome, oh so beautiful thing (especially when it comes in giant 1kg tubs of nut butter) BUT, devour a pack of say 250g roasted cashews and you are looking at a days worth of calories consumed in one sitting. The same thing goes for raw vegan cakes which are mostly made with soaked cashews, coconut oil and nutty bases meaning they do pack on some fair amount of calories. You can have one slice, maybe even 2 (you nailed that killer workout an hour prior and really deserve it) just not 10 slices just coz its ‘healthier’.
Cakes without egg tho?
Its definitely possible, we make cakes on the daily without egg and they can fool anyone. Egg replacements range from chia seeds, flaxseeds, activated milk, homemade puree’s and we’ve even made a Banana Bread recipe (successfully) by using a Coke Zero as replacement!
To prove how easy baking #Vegan is we dug out some tasty recipes for you to check out:
CHEESY NACHOS
Nachos made cheesy by using Nutritional Yeast and no nasties. All the awesome, none of the guilt. Go get.
SATAY SAUCE
Lovers of peanut butter rejoice, this simple 5 minute sauce is what you need in your life. Go make.
VEGAN WAFFLES
These simple pancakes are so delicious, made sweet with banana and agave! A definite must, for Vegans and non-Vegans alike! Check it out!
PB COOKIES
Just like Mantecados the abuela would make, except made Vegan. These are DANGEROUSLY good! Go to recipe.
CHOC BROWNIES
Brownies made with soya/ coconut yoghurt? Yup! Thats what makes them awesomely moist and fudgey! Recipe here.
COFFEE COCONUT TRUFFLES
For the coffee or coconut lovers, a simple truffle recipe to keep the sweet tooth monster at bay. Whip some up.
APPLE & LUCUMA SMOOTHIE
Simple, tasty and nutritious! Packed with fibre from the apples, a ton of benefits from Lucuma and extra protein from Non-GMO Soy Protein. Recipe below 👇🏻
Lucuma powder is sweet with caramel-like tones, making it the perfect addition to smoothies, sweets, cakes and desserts. Plus, its high in antioxidants, B vitamins, calcium, iron and protein!
APPLE & LUCUMA SMOOTHIE
Ingredients
1 Cup Coconut Milk/ Almond Milk (or preferred milk)1 Tbsp Lucuma Powder
1/4 Cup Homemade Applesauce
1 Handful fresh spinach
1 Scoop Protein powder of choice (i used Now Foods Non-GMO Soy Protein)
1 Tbsp Zero Syrup (for added sweetness)* *Add agave/ honey/ Coconut nectar if you prefer.
Directions
Add all ingredients into a blender, blitz, pour into your fanciest cup, add a straw (optional) and SLURP IT UP!
Free from Gluten, Wheat, Dairy, Egg & Sugar.
Special thank you to all our lovely Vegan customers who trust us day in and out with making them treats. We love making them for you and hope to continue to do so, for as long as we can <3
To book yourself in for an order, whether it be a bespoke cake, a bulk order or an event request, email us info@themusclebakery.eu or PM us via our FB page.
Much love,
The Muscle Baker ✨
*http://www.urbandictionary.com