Category Archives: Dips & Spreads

Black Bean Spread

I was watching Tom Kerridge’s weight loss cooking show on TV last night, where he made a delicious-looking black bean burrito. This inspired me to create my black bean spread recipe. I love bean spreads! They’re so tasty! And I just happened to have a can of black beans in my cupboard! Rather peckish at lunchtime, I was inspired to blend the black beans into this delicious spread. It is very tasty spread on oatcakes or in a gluten free tortilla wrap with carrot sticks and Kalamata olives.

Nutritionally speaking, black beans are high in plant protein and make a great alternative to tuna if you are vegan. They are also delicious served in a bean and lentil curry. Black beans are commonly grown in Italy and you should be able to find them in your local supermarket.

Equipment
  • Blender
  • Glass container
  • Spoons
Black Bean Spread Ingredients
  • 1 400g can of black beans
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • Half a lemon squeezed
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp rosemary
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions

Firstly rinse the black beans and add to the blender. Now chop up the garlic and add in. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the mixture. Season with the thyme, rosemary, sea salt and black pepper. Finally pour in the olive oil.

Now blend on the lowest speed for 30 seconds. You may need to push down the mixture and blend again until all the beans are blended and you have a smooth spread.

Spoon the black bean spread into a glass container.

Store in the fridge and eat within 3-4 days.

Can be served as a dip with carrot and celery sticks, spread on oatcakes or added as a filling to a baked sweet potato! Enjoy!

Cashew Nut Butter Recipe

Cashew Nut Butter Recipe

This delicious homemade cashew nut butter recipe is simple to make. It tastes as good, if not better than the shop bought brands! It takes time to get the cashew nut butter to a smooth consistency but the effort is worth it! You can spread cashew nut butter on oatcakes or toast and add it to smoothies.

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Makes 160g

Ingredients

200g Cashew nuts

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C (without the fan).

Now scatter the cashew nuts on a baking tray. Roast them for 10 minutes until they are golden brown.

Remove from the oven. Pour the cashew nuts into the blender (I use a Vitamix). Blend on medium power. Stop and scrape down the sides. Repeat this process about 10 times. Gradually the cashew nut butter gets more and more smooth. It took me about 25 minutes of blending and scraping to reach a suitably smooth cashew butter.

Now spoon the cashew butter into a jar. Voila! You have homemade cashew nut butter!

Store in a cool, dry place.

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Strawberry Jam

This delicious strawberry jam is very tasty spread on toast for breakfast or used as a filling in a Victoria sponge cake or in gluten free vegan scones! It makes great use of summer strawberries!

Strawberry JamStrawberry Jam

Makes 200g of jam

Ingredients

100ml      water

200g       strawberries

100g       golden caster sugar

Instructions

Pour the water into the pan on a medium heat. Add in the strawberries and mash up with a wooden spoon. Now heat until the strawberries begin to soften. Pour in the sugar and heat until it has dissolved. Now bring to the boil and boil for 15-20 minutes.

Pour the mixture into a jam jar and leave to cool and set.

Store in the fridge in a sealed jam jar.

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Mushy Peas Recipe

Mushy peas are delicious and easy to make once they have been soaked! They go perfectly with my vegan style fish ‘n’ chips or spicy sweet potato wedges! Peas are a great source of vegan protein!

Mushy Peas

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

250g                  Dried marrowfat peas

1tbsp                 Bicarbonate of soda

850ml + 600ml  Filtered water

1/4tsp                Sea salt

1tsp                   Sugar (Optional)

Instructions

The day before you plan to eat the mushy peas, dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in 850ml of boiling water. Now put the peas into a large bowl and pour over the water. Leave to soak overnight.

The next day drain and rinse the mushy peas. Store in a container in the fridge until you plan to cook them.

Bring to the boil 600ml of water. Add the peas and add salt to taste. Simmer on a medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peas are mushy.

Serve warm with vegan style fish ‘n’ chips! Store leftovers in a container in the fridge.

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Guacamole Recipe

I’m back in England after a relaxing holiday in Spain! Continuing on with the Spanish-themed recipes and also having lots of avocados in the fridge I decided to make this authentic guacamole! It is so simple to make and is delicious served as a dip or spread on oatcakes! It is also rich in Vitamin C and is great for detoxing with the coriander.

Guacamole

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

2 Ripe avocados

1/2 Red onion

1 Medium tomato

15g (1/2 a bunch) Fresh cilantro

1 Lime

1/2 tsp Sea salt

1 Jalapeno (optional)

Instructions

Finely chop the onion and place into a bowl.

Now chop the tomato into quarters, then using a knife cut off the skin of each quarter in one movement. Chop up the tomato pulp and add to the bowl.

Chop off and discard the stems of the cilantro, then finely chop the cilantro leaves and place in the bowl.

Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice of each half into the bowl.

Now cut each avocado into quarters and pull out the stone. Peel off the skin of each quarter and put the avocado flesh into the bowl.

Season with salt.

Now using a fork mash up the avocado and mix together all the ingredients well.

Spoon the guacamole into a small bowl and serve with tortilla chips or vegetable crudites as a dip. Also delicious spread on oatcakes or rice cakes.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Eat within 2 days.

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Vegan Mayonnaise

This vegan mayonnaise is delicious in a sandwich, on a baked potato or mixed into a potato salad! It is very quick and easy to make and completely egg free! My tasters could not tell the difference between this and ordinary mayonnaise!

Vegan Mayonnaise

Ingredients

1/2         Lemon

1tsp       Dijon mustard

2tsp       Cyder vinegar

100ml    Soya milk

100ml    Rapeseed oil

1/4tsp    Sea salt

1/4tsp    Black pepper

Instructions

Squeeze the juice of half of a lemon into a blender. Add the mustard, cyder vinegar, soya milk, rapeseed oil and salt and black pepper into the blender.

Now blend on a medium speed until the mayonnaise has thickened.

Pour into a jar and store in the fridge. Eat within 3-4 days.

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Butter Bean Spread

This delicious spread is inspired by a classmate who was looking for an alternative to nut butters or hummus to spread on oatcakes for a snack. It is so tasty and only takes a few minutes to make! Also it is a great source of vegan protein.

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Equipment
  • Blender
  • Glass container
Ingredients
  • 1 400g can of butter beans
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp rosemary
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 4 tbsp olive oil

Rinse the butter beans and add to the blender. Now chop up the garlic and add in. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the mixture. Season with thyme, rosemary, sea salt and black pepper. Pour in the olive oil.

Now blend on the lowest speed for 30 seconds. You may need to push down the mixture and blend again until all the beans are blended and you have a smooth spread.

Spoon the mixture into a glass container.

Store in the fridge and eat within 3-4 days.

Can be served as a dip with carrot and celery sticks, spread on oatcakes or added as a filling to a baked sweet potato!

The Most Delicious Hummus!

Hummus is my favourite food! I love it on bread or on my baked sweet potatoes! It is a tasty dish that originated in the Middle East. This recipe is so delicious I had to share it with you immediately! It is based on an Abel & Cole recipe (my new favourite all organic supermarket!). It is super quick to make (20 minutes). I have been wanting to post a hummus recipe for a while. Hope you enjoy it!

P1000982

Makes 2 pots

Ingredients

400g can                    Chickpeas

150ml                         Filtered water

1/2                              Lemon

1                                 Small garlic clove

3tbsp                          Tahini

2tbsp                          Hemp oil

2tbsp                          Olive oil

1/4tsp                         Pink Himalayan salt

1/4tsp                         Black pepper

Method

Drain and rinse the chickpeas.

Place them in a pan with the filtered water. Simmer for 7 minutes.

When the chickpeas are simmering, cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice of one half into a blender. Finely chop the garlic clove. Add in the tahini, oils and 3tbsp filtered water. Season with salt and black pepper.

Next add the cooked chickpeas into the blender. Blend on a low speed for 10 seconds until the hummus is completely smooth.

Pour the hummus out into a container and leave it to cool. Then put it in the fridge to set.

Enjoy it spread on bread or as a dip for carrot sticks! Keeps in the fridge for 3 days.

Note: Ideally store in a glass container. If storing in a plastic container, ensure it has a triangle symbol with a number 5 or 24 inside as these are the only types of plastic that don’t leach into the food!