12 Vegan Foods That Aren’t Shit
People aren’t generally welcoming of different lifestyles or ideas at first. And veganism is by no means a new thing.
With the spread of information over the Internet there has been a definite increase in awareness, and more and more vegans seem to be sprouting up by the minute – and getting absolutely rinsed for it. Remember the guy who said the world was round and everyone was like, “save it, nut-job” then it turned out he was actually onto something? Maybe the vegans are too. They’re definitely right about some of the darker sides of meat and dairy production, we all just don’t want to face the facts.
The one thing I won’t have anyone believe, is that vegans only eat salads. Ain’t nobody got time for a life of salad.
The vegan street food scene is taking off worldwide. Surviving being a vegan in San Francisco or Berlin would be a lot easier than it is here. Until the same can be said for Malta, I’ll keep mixing it up and try to eat one fully vegan meal a day. Here are some completely cruelty free dishes I’ve made out of literally, just plants.
1. Qarabaghli Mimli
So comforting, so homely! You’ve gotta love this Maltese classic. Ask your nanna for the recipe and just ignore the part with the minced meat and the egg. Use soya mince instead, and save the egg for a protein shake or something, you gym-nut you!
2. Pizza
Turns out you can be vegan, and still eat pizza. Of course, you’re gonna have to leave out the cheese and the pepperoni, but you can have literally any vegetable you want instead.
3. Butternut Squash Korma
Let’s be honest, the chicken in curries just tastes like its respective host. Leave it out and you won’t even notice the difference. It’s all about the delicate creamy coconut sauce anyway.
4. Spinach & Mushroom Carbonara
Can’t use dairy based cream? Not a problem. There’s a replacement called ‘oat cream’. Don’t ask how they make it, just trust me on this one. Replace all your cooking cream with this and you’re set.
5. Bigilla
So you think you don’t like vegan food huh? Explain this you bean paste loving hippy.
6. Burritos
Turns out if you just leave the meat out of a burrito it goes all vegan on you. Not complaining though – guacamole anyone?
7. Banana Oatballs
The hardest part will be choosing your topping. Will you go for lemon frosting and sprinkles? Dark chocolate and hazelnut crumble? Peanut butter and banana chips? Kenan and Kel lied to you. There’s absolutely no butter in peanut butter.
8. Pancakes
Just replace the regular milk with coconut or almond milk and the egg with an overripe mashed up banana. Add maple syrup, cinnamon, golden syrup, strawberries, melted dark chocolate, sprinkles, whipped coconut cream, icing sugar, jam, or more chopped banana if you really must.
9. Roast dinner
Yup, you read that right. Turns out it’s pretty much just the meat and gravy that stop this Sunday classic from being vegan. You could make garlic mushroom gravy and a lentil loaf like I did (although I kind of hate myself for making something called a lentil loaf).
10. Asian Persuasion
What if I told you you can make your own crispy ‘seaweed’ at home with some cabbage, sugar and sesame oil? Game changer right there. You can also make your own crispy mushroom rice. And stir fry noodles with chilli and ginger, spring onions, garlic, peppers and cashew nuts. Or Thai green curry just without the chicken and fish sauce? Yum.
11. Hobz Biz-Zejt
Beach picnics and bar snacks don’t get much better. #ThemButterBeansTho
12. Granitas
A summer staple. Put your fruit smoothie in bowls and then straight in the freezer. Done, bosh. Where’s the pool party?
So there we have it, 12 vegan dishes that aren’t shit. Also if you’re reading this and are vegan I have one thing to say to you: the bacon flavoured maize snacks from Lidl…are vegan. You’re welcome.
Nicole Parnis is a writer and gluten free baker. She loves art, vintage fashion, vinyls, and her dog Frankie. If you liked these suggestions you can follow her food blog on Facebook.