Oreo Chocolate Tiffin

Oreos have gained themselves a bit of controversy in the vegan world. While they ARE vegan by all ingredient accounts, the company who owns them haven’t stated that they are suitable for vegans as there is a cross contamination risk with milk products, as the factory in which they are made also makes products which do contain milk.

While the company has stated this makes them unsuitable for vegans, by definition they are a safe for vegan biscuit, but not suitable for those with a severe dairy allergy. Controversy aside, let's get back to the delicious tiffin!

Someone asked me the other day what the difference is between a rocky road and a tiffin, and why I was choosing to base my recipe off the idea of tiffin. I couldn’t answer them, and after some crucial research, there isn’t really a difference! It’s generally widely accepted that the addition of marshmallows is what changes a tiffin into a rocky road, so if you add marshmallows to yours then you can call it rocky road instead!

You can put in whatever you like to this recipe. You can add nuts, vegan marshmallows or any type of dried fruits depending on your taste, just take out a few Oreos if you’re adding a lot of other ingredients so you still get a delicious chocolatey coating on everything.

To make a gluten-free version, you can just replace the Oreos with gluten free digestives (usually found on the ‘free from’ section of any large supermarket).

This recipe would also work with any other vegan biscuit, I want to try it with bourbons, digestives or biscoff!

You’ll notice this is a no-bake dessert too, which is something I love about it. It’s perfect for days when you just don't want to have to put the oven on to make something delicious and it’s also great for making with kids and they really can help at every step of the way (especially eating it).

Recipe

Yield: 12 portions

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 200g (1.3 cups) vegan dark chocolate

• 3 tbsp golden syrup

• 120g (1/2 cup) vegan margarine

• 170g (15 Oreos) Oreos

• 75g (1/2 cup) Raisins 

Method:

1. Gently heat your chocolate and margarine in a bowl over a pan of hot water, ensuring it doesn’t get too hot and that your bowl isn’t touching the water.

2. Break your Oreos into small pieces. (If you’re using vegan marshmallows, nuts or any larger dried fruits you’ll want to cut them up too.)

3. In a bowl, mix your chocolate mix and your dry ingredients together until combined. Then press down into a 9×9 inch tray lined with baking parchment.

4. Allow to cool completely, cut with a hot knife and enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

What did you think of this recipe? Did you do anything differently? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Don’t forget that you can share all your foodie makes with us using the hashtag #HBivore.

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Written by Amy Northwood
Her-Bivore
My passion for food and conservation has led me to where I am now! My aim is to show people that veganism can be diverse, tasty and adapted to fit every lifestyle and budget!
You can find me on Instagram

Where do vegans get their calcium?

When people think calcium, generally their mind goes straight to cow's milk. It's in adverts, magazines, internet blogs and even on the cartons themselves. We are conditioned to think that we need cow's milk to survive, but with veganism as one of the fastest growing lifestyle movements, obviously, we don't!

Rosemary Sweet Potato Fries

Chips are my weakness, just as I'm sure they are many other vegan's weaknesses.

In fact, when people say "oh wow! You're vegan? You must be so healthy", the reason why I laugh is probably because almost instantaneously, fries come to mind. With all the vegan options available nowadays, it's easy to forget all those times I found myself in a restaurant where the only two things I could order that we’re vegan were fies and alcohol…

As delicious as fries are, something we just need a bit of a change, and that's where sweet potato takes the spotlight,

They're healthier, and if you limit your use of oil and dont deep fry, these definitely count towards your five-a-day too! If you’re like me and you like skinny fries, follow this recipe exactly, but if you want thicker cut oven style chips or even wedges, just cut your sweet potatoes thicker. You’ll need to cook them for a little longer but they’ll still come out deliciously crispy on the outlight and delicately fluffy on the inside.

I absolutely love this combination of flavour from the herbs and spices, but if you have something else in mind we’d love to hear about it in the comments below. You can keep them plain if you prefer, just season with sea salt and cracked black pepper instead.

Enjoy!

Recipe

Yield: 4 potions as a side or 2 as a snack

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes

• A few good sprigs of rosemary

• 2tbsp cornflour

• 1tbsp oil

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 210c. Peel your sweet potatoes and cut them into fries, then leave to soak in a bowl of cold water for one hour.

2. Drain your sweet potato and pat dry using a clean kitchen towel. In a bowl toss your fries in the cornflour, then add the paprika, garlic, oil and pepper.

3. Toss your sweet potato fries in your oil mix, and then lay out on a tray, top with your rosemary and bake  for 15 minutes, then turn over and bake for another 10 minutes. Salt to taste and serve!

What did you think of this recipe? Did you do anything differently? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Don’t forget that you can share all your foodie makes with us using the hashtag #HBivore.

Follow us on Facebook and like us on Instagram to keep up to date with our latest recipes, news and content. You can also use the form below to receive all our news straight to your inbox each week. 

Written by Amy Northwood
Her-Bivore
My passion for food and conservation has led me to where I am now! My aim is to show people that veganism can be diverse, tasty and adapted to fit every lifestyle and budget!
You can find me on Instagram

Homemade Pizza Recipe

Everybody loves pizza, right? vegans included! What could be better than sitting down to eat your own, homemade cruelty free vegan pizza. Get the whole family involved with the preparations and cooking to really make a meal of it. 

This recipe is great because it's so easily adjusted for everyone's individual taste. You can use whatever toppings you want, and easily experiment with even those less-traditional pizza topping ideas you have. 

We live in a futuristic age where you can buy hundreds of different types and brand of vegan cheese, so even if you think you hate them all, I’m certain you can find one you love if you keep looking. You can use any vegan cheese for this recipe, be that a hard cheese or a vegan mozzarella. If you prefer something a cheeseless pizza though, simply leave the cheese out and top with as many delicious veggies as you want!

If you want to experiment a bit, you can also swap out the tomato sauce for something else entirely, this is a great way to change up a pizza if you’re feeling in a bit of a rut. Try hummus, bbq sauce, pureed butternut squash or pesto instead!

If you're short on ideas, here's a few of my favourite topping combinations:

• Vegan mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil

• Quorn smoky slices/vivera bacon pieces and pineapple (yes pineapple belongs on pizza!)

• Mushrooms, olives and chilli

• Peppers, artichokes and red onion

• Pesto and Rocket

• Artichoke, spinach and pine nut

• Cauliflower, spring onion and garlic

• BBQ sauce, jackfruit and portobello mushrooms

Recipe

Yield: 1 large pizza

Total Time: 30 minutes 

Ingredients

For the Base:

• 1 cup / 235ml warm water 

• 1 tbsp  sugar

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 2 / 240g plain flour

• 1 tsp salt

For the Sauce:

• Tomato puree / passata

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh or 1 tsp dried basil

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 230c and grease a large pizza pan.

2.  Mix together your warm water, sugar and yeast and then allow to sit for 5 minutes to activate the yeast. It should go nice and foamy.

3. Add in your olive oil and gently stir to combine.

4. Add your flour and use a spatula to fold the flour into the dry ingredients, it should form into a ball (you can add a little more flour if you need to).

5. Transfer onto a clean, lightly floured surface and knead until a smooth dough is formed, you can add more flour still if you need to.

6. Roll out your dough into the desired shape and transfer onto your prepared tray. Using a fork, gently stab your dough all over to stop it from rising.

7. Bake in the oven on the bottom shelf for 5 minutes, at this point we’re just pre baking the dough so we only have to worry about getting the top perfect later on.

8. Mix together your passata and basil, then spread over your pizza.

9. Top with vegan cheese and the toppings of your choice, return to the bottom of the oven and bake on the lower rack again for 15-20 minutes or until your pizza looks perfectly golden brown!

What did you think of this recipe? Did you do anything differently? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Don’t forget that you can share all your foodie makes with us using the hashtag #HBivore.

Follow us on Facebook and like us on Instagram to keep up to date with our latest recipes, news and content. You can also use the form below to receive all our news straight to your inbox each week. 

Written by Amy Northwood
Her-Bivore
My passion for food and conservation has led me to where I am now! My aim is to show people that veganism can be diverse, tasty and adapted to fit every lifestyle and budget!
You can find me on Instagram

Hearty Vegetable Soup

I always find that soups are a bit of an underrated part of society, often seen as a starter instead of the main event. I love soups, which you can probably tell from my vast array of soup recipes such as:

• Curried Parsnip and Spinach

• Leek and Potato

• Carrot and Fresh Sage

• Autumn Pumpkin

• Minestrone 

I’m a big fan of vegetable soup simply for its ease and simplicity. I like to make a big batch every so often when I’m getting overrun with vegetables and then freeze it down for quick and easy meals.

This is also a great one for taking to work! As a student paramedic, I often find myself in the depths of winter, and not being able to feel your fingers when you need to put in a cannula can be scary, so having a thermos of soup and a little thermal cup can (literally) be a life saver. It’s that little taste of home and comfort you need every now and then.

If you haven’t got all these vegetables, or you’ve got some of your own that need using up, feel free to swap them in! This soup is designed to be versatile and convenient, as well as delicious.

Recipe

Yield: 4 portions

Total Time: 1 hour 

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 large white onion, chopped

• 2 celery stalks, chopped

• ½ courgette, chopped

• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped

• 1/2 swede, peeled and chopped

• 1 parsnip, peeled and chopped

• 1 yellow bell pepper

• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1-2 tsp mild curry powder (or hotter if you prefer)

• 1 tbsp chopped thyme or coriander

• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400g)

• 1L vegetable stock or broth

• 1 large handful of chopped kale or baby spinach

Method:

1. Heat your 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Once hot, add in all your vegetables but your leafy greens ( that’s your onion, celery, courgette, carrot, swede, parsnip, pepper and sweet potato). Gently sweat them off for about 10 minutes, until they start to soften.

2. Add in your garlic, curry powder and chopped herbs, stir frequently for about a minute. 

3. Pour in your tinned tomatoes and vegetable stock, bring the whole soup to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 25 minutes or until your veggies are cooked. 

4. Add in your greens and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, until your greens are cooked.

5. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and cracked black pepper, the amount of salt you’ll need to add will depend on your brand of veg stock.

6. Divide into bowls and serve with fresh crusty bread. Alternatively, divide into containers and allow to cool completely before placing on the lid and either storing in the fridge or freezer.

What did you think of this recipe? Did you do anything differently? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Don’t forget that you can share all your foodie makes with us using the hashtag #HBivore.

Follow us on Facebook and like us on Instagram to keep up to date with our latest recipes, news and content. You can also use the form below to receive all our news straight to your inbox each week. 

Written by Amy Northwood
Her-Bivore
My passion for food and conservation has led me to where I am now! My aim is to show people that veganism can be diverse, tasty and adapted to fit every lifestyle and budget!
You can find me on Instagram