I’d seen a lot of recipes for 'Bang Bang' Cauliflower, and they always looked delicious, albeit a little spicy for some people's preference.

I wanted to create something a little more pg on the spice rating so that everyone could enjoy them. My tummy was hankering for a Chinese take-away at the time so I naturally gravitated towards a teriyaki recipe!

Making your own teriyaki sauce comes with a lot of benefits. You know exactly what’s going into it, and many store-bought versions are packed with refined sugars. You can use the sauce section of this recipe whenever you need a top up, but bear in mind that you'll probably want to double or even triple the amount in this recipe if you need more!

Recipe

Servings: 1 Bowl

Total Time: 40M

Ingredients:

For the Cauliflower

• ½ cup plain flour
• ½ cup corn starch
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Soy Milk (or any vegan milk alternative)
• 1 cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets

Teriyaki Sauce

• 1 cup Soy Sauce
• ¼ cup Maple Syrup
• 1 tbsp Rice Mirin
• ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 1 Clove Garlic, crushed
• 1 ½ tbsp Corn Starch
• ¼ cup Water
• 1 Spring Onion, chopped

To Garnish

• Sesame Seeds
• 1 Spring Onion, chopped

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 210c. You’ll need two bowls, in one mix together your flour, corn starch and salt. In the other you just need your soy milk. One by one, dip your cauliflower florets into your milk, then into your flour mix until they are well coated.
   
   
2.  Lay them out on a papered tray, drizzle lightly with oil and then bake for around 30 minutes, turning half way through.
   
   
3. For your sauce, whisk the corn starch with some water to create a paste.
   
   
4. Combine all the other ingredients for the sauce (not the corn starch) and heat gently in a pan. Slowly whisk in your corn starch until the sauce thickens, and then you’re ready!
   
   
5. Pour your sauce over your baked cauliflower, then sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped spring onion.

There you have it! We chowed down on these with a Pad Thai that Amy had cooked up alongside and we were suitably stuffed afterwards! (Craving for Chinese food was suitably satisfied as well I might add).

Obviously, there are other sauces that you can try with this recipe to get the flavour you want. Perhaps a crispy lemon and ginger flavour? Or revert back to the Bang Bang flavour and kick it up a gear with some spice. I'd love to hear your thoughts and what you've tried!

If you're looking for another recipe to try them alongside with, why not try our Crispy Tofu Fried Rice? We will be uploading Amy's Pad Thai recipe soon enough but if you are craving some Asian Flavour then this is the go-to recipe!

On to Crispy Tofu Fried Rice >>

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Written by Jack Ricketts
-Him-Bivore
Marketing has always been my career focus. I am striving to promote a plant-based lifestyle to the masses through positive campaigns and sharing the benefits of veganism. The animals, and the planet, need us more than ever to make a change. 
You can find me on Instagram

Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year, I don’t know whether it’s the delicious foods, movies by the fire or the fact that it’s the only time of year the family ever really manages to all get together, but there’s something special about it. Sometimes it can be easy to get lost in the magic, but there’s a few important environmental aspects to consider first.

I was shocked this year when I was reading through some statistics and discovered that the UK produced 30% more waste than normal over the festive period, some of which is completely preventable or recyclable.

First of all, we’ll get down to the nasty bit, but don’t feel disheartened! Below you’ll also find many ways that you can help reduce this number this year. Here are some of the shocking statistics of what happens EVERY YEAR:

• 227,000 miles of wrapping paper is thrown away
• 1 billion cards are disposed of with general waste
• 250 tonnes of Christmas trees are discarded
• £64 million of food is thrown in the bin

Now don’t let your festive feelings dwindle from all the negativity here. There are ways that you can enjoy Christmas this year while having the least amount of negative impact on the planet!

Paper Waste – Wrapping Paper

All the wrapping paper that we use is enough to reach all the way to the moon, which is crazy!

One of the better options is to reduce how much wrapping paper you’re using by using alternatives such as old newspapers (this can give a really cool vintage effect to your gifts too!) or gift bags which can be reused year after year.

If you really are a sucker for the pretty festive patterns, make sure you recycle your paper after, either by taking it to a local recycling centre (sometimes supermarkets have them after the festive period!) or make some crafts with it. You could even make some decorations for next year.

Try not to use ribbon where you can, as some brands are plastic and we all know we have enough of that suffocating the planet! You can always buy biodegradable compostable ribbon .

Paper Waste – Cards

Christmas cards are a lovely gesture to both send a receive, and I’m not going to suggest we stop. The habit of sending cards seems to be dying out on its own, but if you want to keep up this habit, make sure you’re recycling the cards you receive!

 One lovely idea is using your cards to make new cards or cutting out gift tags from them. This will save you a few pennies and make sure you’re super organised for next year. If you don’t fancy your hand at some crafts, just make sure you put your cards in the recycling bin!

Christmas Trees

Christmas trees are a beautiful addition to your festive decoration, and we should appreciate them as a gift from nature by giving something back after the holiday season has finished. With so many trees just ending up in landfill, there’s many better options.

There are many councils and companies who will collect your tree from you and use it as compost or to create wooden chippings, or you can buy a potted tree and grow it from year to year in your garden.

Food Waste

Take the environment into account while flexing your culinary skills. Remember that all of your veg peelings can be composted and that leftover foods can often be frozen for later use. A quick google search will show you which foods you can or can’t freeze.

Many food banks and homeless shelters feel an extra strain around the Christmas period. If you’ve bought more food than you need this year, be sure to donate the spare to local charities or even head out and hand some out to the homeless yourself.

Gifts

If you’re given any presents that don’t fit, can’t be returned or just aren’t you, even if you’ve tried them, don’t throw them out! Keeping them in your cupboard out of guilt and throwing them away 6 months later isn’t nearly as good as donating them to a local cause or charity shop. Failing that, you could sell them on ebay for a little extra cash, at least they’re not going to waste!

Let’s work together to make this Christmas the most environmentally friendly one yet. Do you have any other ideas on how we can cut down or our waste and help preserve the planets resources? Let us know in the comments below so we can all make steps to do our bit.

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

I'm a huge fan of traditional Christmas food, and what kind of festivity would it be without a chocolate yule log? 

While a lot of christmas foods seem to revolve around dried fruits and alcohol, this is truly the sweet treat for everyone this year.

The rich crisp chocolate on the outside and the delicious soft sponge on the inside makes for a mouthwatering experience. This is a great recipe to make to take with you to a family gathering, and you don't even need to tell them its vegan. 

Ingredients:

For The Sponge

• 230ml / 1 cup Aquafaba (the lliquid drained from a tin of chickpeas)
• 1/2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
• 115g / 1.25 cups Icing Sugar
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tbsp Coconut or Soy Yoghurt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Bicarbonate of Soda
• 115g / 1/2 cup Self Raising Flour
• 3 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
• 1 Tbsp Caster Sugar

Chocolate Buttercream

• 150g / 2/3 cup Vegan Margarine
• 200g / 2 cups Icing Sugar
• 100g / about 1 cup Dark Chocolate, Chopped or Chips

Method:

1. Preheat Your oven to 180c and line a swiss roll baking tin with parchment. Add your aquafaba and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and whisk on high speed until firm whtie peaks form, this will take a while! If in doubt, leave it for slightly longer, dont worry, aquafaba doesnt overmix.
2. Add your coconut or soy yoghurt and vanilla extract.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, icing sugar and cocoa powder into the bowl and then gently fold to combine, you want to keep as much as in as possible. Spread your mixture out onto the baking tin evenly and then bake for 10-20 minutes or until the sponge is springy to touch.
4. Lay out another piece of baking parchment on a clean surface and sprinkle it with caster sugar. When your sponge comes out of the oven, tip it out onto the caster sugar and peel off the origional baking parchment. You then want to roll the sponge up from the short side with the baking parchment inside and leave to cool.
5. Meanwhile, melt your chocolate in a Baine-Marie and set to once side. In a mixer, beat together your margarine and icing sugar to form buttercream, leave a around 3 tbsp of icing to one side for the inside, then add your chocolate to the rest and mix thoroughly. Once your sponge has cooled, gentle unroll it to remove the paper. Dont worry if it cracks slightly! 
6. Spread a thin layer of buttercream onto your sponge, and then roll it back up the same way you did origionally. Use your chocolatey buttercream to cover the entire log, then use a fork of pallet knife to create textures in the buttercream to represent the bark of the log.
7. Dust the Yule Log with cocoa powder and leave to set!

How did it go? If you have any requests for vegan recipes you'd like to see let us know!

Looking for a hearty recipe to get you through these cold winter nights? Why not try our Root Vegetable Stew recipe for dinner tonight...

On to Root Vegetable Stew >>

<< Back to Sweet Treats

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

Vegan Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas is a great time of year for bringing people together, and while we try and keep the focus around spending time together, everyone loves presents.

Some people love giving them, some love receiving them, and some love both! Regardless of which category you fit into, there is sure to be times when you find yourself wondering what to get someone. If you’re an omnivore wanting to buy something nice and thoughtful for a vegan this Christmas, I have put together this list with the help of over 100 fellow vegans to work out just what it is we really want!

I’ve included specific examples where I can, as these are all brands I know and trust, so you can be sure you’re getting something 100% vegan that they are sure to love.

Chocolate

This may seem like an obvious one, who doesn’t love chocolate? Many of the supermarket options around Christmas time aren’t vegan, but if you’re pushed for time, many of the dark chocolates in shops are vegan (just make sure you check the back, and don’t worry if you see cocoa butter as an ingredient, it is both dairy-free and vegan!). If you’ve got a bit more time to order online, here are some of the tastiest dairy-free chocolate options this year:

• Cocoalibre  – They make delicious rice milk alternatives to milk chocolate, and have great options for kids in the form of shaped festive chocolates and adults as specialty flavoured milk and dark chocolates. These are sure to go down well!

• Alternatively, if you’re looking for the gift that keeps on giving, The Chocolate Shop offer a subscription service where they deliver a variety of vegan chocolates directly to the recipients door every month!
  

Vegan Makeup

This can be a little bit more of a difficult one, and is only a good idea for someone you know really well. While you’ll need to do some detective work to establish their favourite colours and shades, treating a makeup lover to some high-end vegan products could make their Christmas! I’ve only included FULLY vegan brands in my list, and they are all voted ‘most loved’ by my vegan audience so you can rest assured you’ll be choosing cruelty free great quality products.

• Kat Von D is one of the most popular vegan makeup brands, and for good reason! I’m yet to hear of anyone who doesn’t love her products.
  

• Milk is another great vegan brand, who pride themselves on being paraben-free, cruelty-free and only using the best ingredients!
  

Eco-Friendly Gifts

This one may seem a bit vague, but that’s because there is no real wrong answer. Anything from notebooks made from 100% recycled materials to bamboo kitchen cooking utensils. Make sure you always read the small print though and be sure that the products are actually eco-friendly! There are a lot of companies out there who will package their goods up in lovely natural looking packaging to make you think you’re doing good, but are actually lying to you. There are some great products over at Protect The Planet but double check the product is vegan before you buy!

Vegan Cookbooks

Possibly one of the easier ideas on the list, but nearly half of all the vegans we asked said they would love to receive a cookbook for Christmas. Not all cookbooks are created equal, but lucky for you I’ve read my fair share. The best include:

• Bosh

• Peace & Parsnips

• Thug Kitchen (This one is also hilarious, but definitly only for adults due to mature lanuage!)

Vegan Toiletries

I know I speak for a vast number of women when I say we LOVE our Christmas smellies! It can be easy to assume that all bath bombs and shower gels are vegan, but the truth is that most are not. Many do contain animal products or are tested on animals. One great brand to trust is LUSH, and while some of their products do contain honey, they clearly mark which products are vegan. If you have a LUSH store near you, I reccomend popping in, the staff are always happy to help and the smells are amazing!

For the men in your life, Bulldog skincare products are all suitable for vegans!

Charitable Donation In Their Name

This option was popular with about 10% of our vegans, but I can’t imagine many people would be upset at the idea. Choosing a charity they’re passionate about will show that you’ve put some real thought into the gift, as well as all the good you’ll be doing by supporting the charity. You could even set up a monthly donation in their name and get all the info sent to them.

Acceptance Of Veganism

This was one of the most popular options this year, with a staggering 50% of people saying they would like to see their friends and family be more accepting of veganism over the Christmas period.

For many, Christmas is a time where food is at the centre of attention, so it’s no wonder that conversation often sways towards veganism. Don’t get me wrong, many vegans are happy to (and will encourage) the discussion of veganism this festive period but avoiding being ganged up on or mocked would be top of anyone’s Wishlist. Spare us a thought, pass us the sprouts and let's have a good one!

What are you wrapping your presents in?

As a side note, every year we use 50,000 trees worth of wrapping paper at christmas time, to learn more about how you can make your christmas as eco friendly as possily, check out this post from House Beautiful!

Do you have any additional ideas to these that you think people might love? Let us know in the comments below!

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

Hummus and Mushroom Fusilli

This recipe contains three amazing staple foods for a vegan; pasta, mushrooms and hummus!

If you thought hummus was just for dipping your veg sticks in, you were wrong.

This easy, budget-friendly pasta dish makes for a great filling dinner idea. You can swap out the pak choi for spinach if you'd prefer, as I know sometimes spinach is more readily available.

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 Stems Pak Choi 
• 2 White Onions, diced
• 3 Garlic Cloves, crushed
• 1Tin Chickpeas
• 4 tbsp Olive Oil
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• 400g Fusilli
• 300g Chestnut Mushrooms, sliced
• Small Pack Dill, chopped

Method:

1. In a food processor, empty your tin of chickpeas (no need to drain them), your garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper and 2 tbsp of olive oil. Blend until combined and smooth.

2. This is the time where you want to start cooking your pasta as per the instructions on the packet!

3. In a pan, put your 2tbsp of olive oil and fry off your onions and mushrooms together until browned, then add your pak choi and fry off for another couple of minutes. 
   
   
4. When your pasta is cooked, drain it and put it back in the pan you cooked it in, then add your mushroom mix and stir in your hummus sauce.

Next

Jack was over the moon when I made this for him. Anyone who knows him will tell you that he won't shut up about hummus and he's almost as bad when it comes to mushrooms!

Do give this recipe a share if you liked it! We always appreciate it and if you've got a favourite pasta dish you love to make, share it in the comments below! We'd love to hear your thoughts.

If hummus and mushrooms aren't your thing, why not try out our Avocado Pasta Recipe? 

On to Avocado Pasta Recipe >>

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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