During January, many people have been having a ‘dry’ January, where they abstain from alcohol, and a more recent trend has seen an increasing number of people sign up for Veganuary, where they embrace a vegan diet for a month and learn more about becoming vegan. But what if, instead of making short-term promises, we all looked to embrace healthier options in the longer-term?
Here at Wholegrain, we promote a healthy lifestyle and all team members aim to make positive food choices to support their physical and mental wellbeing. While some members of the team follow a plant-based diet, we are not all vegan. Our Co-founder, Tom, explains his discomfort with labels and why he avoids calling himself vegan over on his personal blog.
However, all of the team opt for vegan choices as part of a healthy and varied diet, so we wanted to share six our favourites with you – both to share a little more about ourselves and for those of you wanting to make more plant-based food choices beyond the month of January.
Creamy pasta sauces
Yes you read that right, we love these creamy and yet totally non-dairy pasta sauces with surprising ingredients. Team with courgette spaghetti or your favourite pasta for a delicious dinner.
1. Avocado and basil sauce
There are lots of versions online but the simplest requires just:
- 1 medium, ripe avocado
- A handful of fresh basil leaves (to taste, as per your preference)
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove (chopped or minced)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tablespoons of water (or 2, depending on your preferred consistency)
- Salt and pepper to taste.
Simply blend the ingredients together, stir through hot pasta and enjoy! Now that’s fast food.
2. Creamy Kale sauce
Co-founder Vineeta’s current favourite recipe is this super creamy Kale pasta from veggie food blogger Pinch of Yum, which only requires five key ingredients:
- Kale
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Cashew nuts
- Almond milk
Get the full recipe and enjoy!
Soups
3. Sweet Potato and Chickpea
Co-founder Tom’s favourite recipe (via Ocado’s magazine) is this yummy spicy sweet potato and chickpea soup. In his post, Tom includes a recipe to make your own Ras Al Hanout!
4. Curried Butternut Squash
Our designer Hans loves this curried butternut squash recipe from the Minimalist Baker. This is another simple recipe with minimal ingredients that only takes half an hour to prepare.
Sweets
5. Vegan Brownies
We all love a good cake and if there’s ever a batch of these delicious vegan brownies in the office they never last long! Get Tom’s take on BBC Food’s vegan brownie recipe and enjoy your own fresh from the oven (they taste so good warm!).
And finally… Last, but certainly not least, is team favourite:
The Sandwich
6. The ‘Vineeta Special’
This delicious vegan sandwich option, in a category all of it’s own, was created by Vineeta, who first ordered it at Café Opera behind Her Majesty’s Theatre (where Phantom of the Opera runs). We’re not sure of the exact date of it’s ‘birth’ but it has been a firm favourite among the team ever since. Find out what’s in it so you can make your own, or order it if you’re ever around the Royal Opera Arcade in SW1!
What are your favourite vegan options? Do share in the comments below, we’d love to add to our list! :)
