Five Veganuary Recipes for a Healthy 2017

With the campaign to stick to a plant-based diet throughout January in full swing, we thought we'd share some of our favourite recipes for Veganuary. Whether you're cooking for one or hosting a dinner party for friends and family, these five recipes will help you to have a healthy New Year and keep your dinners exciting all month long. You don't have to be taking part in #Veganuary to enjoy a nourishing meat and dairy-free meal that's packed with flavour and superfoods, so try these for size...

What is Veganuary?

Veganuary is a charity initiative that encourages people to try out a vegan diet for the month of January. Backed by celebrities the world over, this year's campaign has seen more than 50,000 people sign up to take part in the UK, with more getting in on the action every day. By taking the month-long pledge, you agree to give up meat, dairy and animal products to see if you can live a better, kinder and healthier life and discover many other benefits too. There are many reasons people decide to try vegan. For most, a love of animals is the catalyst. Some people want to feel better about themselves and the impact they make on the world. Others would like to set themselves a challenge, and many combine Veganuary with their New Year’s resolutions and see trying vegan as the healthiest start to the year. We're supporting the campaign this January and if you are too, or if perhaps you're simply interested in veganism, you'll love our recipe picks from the very best chefs, bloggers and expert foodies out there.

Go-To Chia Pudding - Nutrition Stripped

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons of chia seeds
• 1/2 pint of non-dairy milk, try almond, cashew, or coconut milk
• fruits, berries, nut butter and any other superfood toppings you like
• optional agave syrup to taste

Method

Mix together the chia seeds, non-dairy milk, and optional sweetener and let the mixture sit in the fridge the for at least one hour until a gel forms. You can make your chia seed pudding thicker by reducing or adding more liquid to make it thinner. If you're using full fat coconut milk, the pudding will be very thick, whereas an almond milk will result in a thinner mix. Remove your pudding from the fridge, add your fruits, berries and favourite healthy toppings and enjoy.  

Roasted Squash Salad - Madeleine Shaw

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized squash
• 4 red onions
• 2 tbsp of dairy-free butter or coconut oil, melted
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp of freshly chopped thyme
• 1 tbsp of freshly chopped rosemary
• 100g of watercress
• 1 tbsp of sesame seeds

For the tahini dressing

• 3 tbsp of tahini
• 4 tbsp of cold water
• 1 tsp of grated ginger
• ½ tsp of cumin
• 1 small crushed garlic clove
• ½ lime juiced

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C. Slice the squash in half, remove the seeds then cut lengthways into inch-thick slices. Then, cut the onions in quarters. Place the vegetables on a roasting tray and cover them in the melted oil or butter, sea salt and pepper. Roast for 50 minutes until everything is cooked through. While this is cooking mix the tahini dressing together. Then, once the veg is cooked mix it with the herbs, watercress, sesame seeds and dressing in a bowl to serve and enjoy.  

Butternut Roasted Red Pepper Soup - Wholeheartedly Healthy

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 onion
• 1 litre of vegetable stock
• 4 roasted red peppers
• 1 red chilli

Method

Peel, de-seed and chop the butternut squash into cubes. Then, chop the onion and fry in a small amount of oil over a medium heat. Add the butternut squash and stock to the pan (start with 750 ml and reserve the rest) and simmer until the squash is tender. Slice the chili open and remove the seeds, then add this and your pre-roasted red peppers to the pan. Blend the soup until it is smooth using a blender or immersion blender. Serve immediately with a sprinkle of your favourit green herb to garnish.  

The Amazing Black Bean Burger - Nourish Atelier

Ingredients

• a drizzle of vegetable oil
• 1 medium-sized red or yellow onion, finely chopped
• 180g mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 400g tinned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 100g milled oats
• chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• salt and pepper

Method

Add the black beans and oats to a bowl and set aside. Crush the garlic cloves on the salt and mash into a garlic salt paste. Heat up a frying pan to medium high heat and add a drizzle of vegetable oil.  Fry the onion and mushrooms with the garlic salt for 4-5 minutes or until the onion is transparent, while stirring. Remove from heat and add the onion-mushroom mix to the bowl with oats and beans. Add the chili sauce, soy sauce and tamarind. Mix all the ingredients together with a spoon or your fingers.  Transfer to food processor and blend (in batches if you need to) and blend just enough to break up the beans - you want a crumbled texture, not too smooth so be careful not to over blend. Transfer the burger mix back to the bowl. Divide the mix in five equally big pieces and form a pattie with your hands. Heat up a pan and add a teaspoon of oil or vegan butter. Place a burger in the pan and fry on both sides for 3-4 minutes. Add the salt and pepper to taste, then serve with anything from a hearty salad to burger buns and vegan mayonnaise, a great pick if you're taking part in Veganuary but missing your usual go-tos.  

Spelt Doughnuts with Raw Chocolate Glaze - Gather and Feast

Ingredients

For the doughnuts

• 240ml almond milk, or coconut milk
• 120g coconut oil, melted
• 200g coconut sugar
• 200g spelt flour
• 1½ tbs baking powder
• a generous pinch of sea salt
• 1 tbs vanilla powder
• 2 tbs of chia seeds mixed with 6 tbs of water
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

For the toppings

• Melted raw vegan chocolate
• Matcha powder
• Raspberry jam
• Cacao nibs
• Rose petals
• Cinnamon coconut sugar

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 180C. Mix all the ingredients for the doughnuts together in a large mixing bowl. Scoop the dough mixture into a lightly greased bun tray. Bake the doughnuts for 12 minutes. Once cooked, remove the donuts from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Dip the donuts into the melted chocolate and sprinkle with toppings of your choice. Enjoy with a hot cup of tea and savour the taste of a healthier treat for Veganuary and beyond.