Tag: brunch

Easy, healthy banana chia seed pancakes

breakfast, treats

Anyone else go through loads of bananas?!  I buy a bunch a week and wait patiently until they’re spotty enough to do stuff with – banana bread, frozen for smoothies and nice cream, and of course – pancakes.

You can make pancakes as “bad” or as “good” for you as you like.  These happen to be pretty good for you, consisting of bananas, chia seeds and oats, so I give you full permission to have as many as you want 😉 Of course, the toppings will determine how healthy you want to go.  You know me, can’t have a vegan treat without SOME kind of chocolate on it…

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This is an easy peasy recipe, and great if you want to impress that special someone before they head off to do the walk of shame (oi oi!).  Really high fibre content, and the protein ain’t that bad either (approximately 30 grams + in total).  But who cares about that stuff?  They’re bloody tasty, and that’s all that matters.

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Ingredients

1 cup oats

1 cup plant milk (I use Good Hemp in this recipe as it’s nice and sweet)

1/3 cup wholemeal flour (or plain if that’s all you have)

2 tsp baking powder

1 medium banana (ripe and spotty please!)

2 TBsp chia seeds

Oil for cooking

Instructions

Add all the ingredients (apart from the oil) to your food processor and blend until fully combined

Leave the mix to settle for about half an hour in the fridge (this isn’t necessary but it makes your pancakes less chewy)

Heat the oil in a non-stick fry pan on medium high heat

Add a couple of tablespoons of the batter to the heated pan and form into small pancakes

Once the batter starts to bubble and looks cooked through on the side facing you, it’s time to turn it over (or flip if you’re feeling confident!)

Cook until browned and keep warm in the oven on an oven safe dish while you’re waiting for the remaining pancakes to cook

Serve with strawberries, chocolate sauce (Sweet Freedom Choc Shot is THE ONE), blueberries, coconut chips, more banana, maple syrpup or whatever the hell you feel like… and enjoy!

Time to make: 5 minutes to mix the ingredients, 10 minutes to let the batter settle, 10 minutes to cook = 25 minutes

On a scale of easy (1) to pull your hair out difficult (5) = 1.5, so simple to make, basically just mix, sit and cook/flip

#nowplaying : First Aid Kit – Fireworks

Tofu Shakshuka

breakfast, tofu

Oh boy do I have an awesome recipe to share with you guys today.

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I’ve always seen shakshuka online and out and about, and thought the dish itself looked awesome, but the whole egg idea… ughhhh, no thanks.  That’s where tofu is your best friend – reliable, versatile and tasty when cooked and spiced properly.  Cauldron organic original tofu works best in this recipe, and there is no need to squeeze out the excess liquid either, just open the packet and straight into the blender.  Easy.

Not a difficult dish to prepare, and all the ingredients can be found in any good vegan pantry!

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This shakshuka has a bit of spice to it, as I LOVE heat, but feel free to dial down the spice if you’re not a fan.  Serve with some fresh, crusty, buttered bread and your brunch life is complete.

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Ingredients

1 pack Cauldron Organic Original tofu

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 small white/brown onion, diced

1 medium red pepper, diced

1 large clove of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp hot chilli powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp hot paprika (or sub sweet paprika if you’re not a heat fan!)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 tins chopped tomatoes (400g each)

2 TBsp tomato paste

1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved

small handful of fresh parsley

 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200C.

Add the drained tofu, nutritional yeast and a few cracks of black pepper to a blender and blend until smooth.  Set aside.

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Blended tofu, ready to dollop

Heat the olive oil in a medium sized skillet and when hot, add the garlic and peppers.

Sauté the onions and peppers on medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Ensure they don’t burn.

Add the minced garlic to the pan and cook for about a minute.

Add the spices, sugar and thyme to the pan and stir to combine.

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Spice up yer life

Add the olives, chopped tomatoes and tomato paste to the skillet and mix well.

Allow the mix to simmer for five minutes.

Take a large tablespoon of the tofu mix and carefully drop it into the skillet, one at a time.   You should end up with about six evenly spaced dollops of the tofu mix in the skillet.

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Plop

Carefully cover the skillet with a lid (or tin foil if you don’t have an oven-friendly lid) and place in the oven to cook for 10 minutes.  If you don’t have an oven-friendly skillet it will be fine to leave it on the hob for 15 minutes or so on low heat, then brown the tofu under the grill afterwards.

After 10 minutes in the oven, remove the lid and place back in the oven for a further 10 minutes, or until the tofu is browned on top.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with cracked pepper, more kalamata olives and some fresh parsley.

Enjoy!

Time to cook: 10 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking = 40 minutes

On a scale of easy (1) to pull your hair out difficult (5) = 2, relatively simple, just make sure you don’t dunk the tofu too far in the mix, and keep an eye on your tofu when it’s browning

#nowplaying: The Districts – If Before I Wake