MUSHROOMMMMMM vegan pizza bites

This is a recipe inspired by the 'Sweetest Vegan' you tube channel. Seriously I am in love with this woman, she creates many vegan recipes inspired by typically non vegan food, for example she did a vegan 'take out diet' where she'd convert take out food like burgers and tacos and make them healthier and vegan. She has also done many southern dishes made vegan in her 'southern queen of cuisine' videos, which are also awesome. Plus she's super cute and i find her hilarious. So this post is dedicated and inspired to you Tasha Edwards!

Mushroom Pizza Bites For One

Ingrediants
3 mushrooms
1/3 cup crushed canned tomatoes
3 large basil leaves
1 tbsp of tomato puree
1 tsp of mixed italian herbs
1/2 tsp of liquid sweetener (I used agave)
1 tbsp Vegan cheese sauce powder
2 tbsp of unsweetened almond milk (or vegan milk of choice)
salt and pepper to taste

- In a small pan add together crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, italian herbs and liquid sweetener (the sweetner brings out the sweetness of the tomatoes really well) and heat
- When all the ingredients have combined and reduced a little to a thick sauce take of the heat and roughly chop your basil, then add to the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assembly Time

- In a small ramekin or bowl stir together the vegan cheese powder and almond milk to create a thick cheesey goop.. trust it taste good.
- Fill you mushrooms with the tomato sauce then top with the cheesey mixture, like so (look below).

babies pre-oven

- Place under a hot grill untill the cheese mixture ontop is golden ant the mushrooms are cooked through, hozzaaa! Vegan Pizza Bites nom nom nommmmm...

My new best friend is a vegetable

Meet my new friend cauliflower!

HEYYYYYY

Me and good ole cauli' are both pale and this means that this white and pasty vegetable is often pushed aside for its more colorful cousin broccoli and kale. Pfftttt pale and interesting I say! Cauliflower is GREAT, it conatins Beta-carotene (the same that's in carrots to help you see in the dark), vitamin C and K and per 100 calories of cauliflower you get 12 grams of fiber..

12 GRAMS!!!!!

ehemm. So here are two versions of baked cauliflower bites for you! Think like popcorn but a vegetable.

Cauliflower Vegan Cheese Bites

Ingredients

Love this stuff.. so cheeeeeseeeey

1/2 a cauliflower
3 tbsp of dairy free cheese sauce powder (plus 1 tbsp extra for dusting)
1 tbsp of italian herbs
5 tbsp of water
salt and pepper


- Pull of the florets of the cauliflower leaving behind the majority of the waxy stems. Cut florets into popcorn size (or smaller) pieces. Place in bowl.
- In a separate small bowl mix together rest of the ingredients. If you don't have the cheesy powder nutritional yeast or any vegan cheese flavoring in powder form will substitute. You want to create a thick sticky mixture that will coat the cauliflower.
-Add you mixture to the cauliflower and coat. Place on a baking tray.

Babies pre-oven

-Toss with extra cheese powder (for extra crispiness) and place in a 180 degree oven till golden, you may want to take them out at intervals and move them around so they cook evenly.

Hozaaaa cauliflower cheese, snack mode.

Caramelised Cauliflower Bites (yes it works, yes its amazing)

Ingredients
1/2 a cauliflower
1 tbsp of honey or liquid sweeter
pinch of salt

- Pull of the florets of the cauliflower leaving behind the majority of the waxy stems. Cut flores into popcorn size (or smaller) pieces. Place in bowl.

- Add salt then Honey toss till all florets are coated.
- Place on a baking tray and put in a 180 degree oven till golden, like with the cheese bites you may want to take them out at intervals and move them around so they cook evenly.

Golden and purdddyyy

I added raisins to this one, it was a good call

Sweet, salty and smokey roasted Chickpea snack

Sweet, salty and smokey

Snacking has a notorious reputation for being fatty, high calorie and convenient. Even the 'healthy bag of nuts' option are often roasted in salt and fat with added preservatives. But lets face it snacking is not just a pleasure it is essential sometimes; It picks you up in a long active day, keeps you motivated in long periods of study and after work out snack are vital to repair muscles. So what you got to do is snack right!

Personally I think homemade snacks are the best, you know exactly whats in it, you can make large batches and store them making them cheaper and you can adjust the taste to exactly how you like it. Here i have come up with a snack that is a crazy crunchy creation- sweet, salty and smokey roasted chickpeas with apricots.

These have no added oil or sugar and are packed with protein, iron and fiber. The taste is inspired from Moroccan dishes where dried apricots and salty smokey savory flavors are often combined to amazing effect. The chickpeas do not taste like a tagine however but still pretty darn tasty and satisfying.

Sweet, Salty and Smokey Chickpea Snack

Ingerdiants
1/3 cup chickpeas
3 table spoons maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
1 tsp of reduced sodium salt
1 garlic clove crushed
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (1 tsp if you like it hotter)
1/4 tsp cinnamon 
Freshly cracked black pepper
4 dried apricots

-Drain and rinse chickpeas and place in a clean tea towel. Fold the tea towel in half and rub the chickpeas around to losen their outer skins.
- Peal your chickpeas (this takes a while but worth it, trust)

- Lay on a baking tray and put in a 180 degree oven for 5-8 mins. I would advise you line your tray with tin foil as it makes cleaning up much easier, however we didn't seem to think foil was a useful thing to have on the shopping list this week..

- While the chickpeas are in the oven, mix the remain ingredients in the bottom of a medium mixing bowl. Taste, you may like it hotter, more salty, more Cinnamon just make sure its a punchy flavour as it will get milder when cooked.
-Remove the chickpeas from the oven and add to mixing bowl, toss in your sweet, salty, smokey mixture. Then place back on tray and bake till the chickpeas are crunchy, about 10-15 mins (they catch easily keep an eye on them) 
- When crunchy and done place in a clean mixing bowl and leave to cool. While they cool chop up you dried apricots and mix in with you chickpeas. Store in an air tight container once fully cooled ready when you need a good healthy snack. Bravisimo!