Taste of the tropics vegan smoothie

This my first variation on the 'Pretty in purple' smoothie. All I did was substitute the berries for equal amounts of mango and pineapple. I also used only one banana because the first time I tried it I felt that the banana was too overpowering. Now the flavour is just right!

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup rolled oats

3 cups soya milk

2 cups mango pieces (fresh or frozen)

2 cups pineapple pieces (fresh or frozen)

1 banana

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp honey (or agave nectar/ maple syrup)

Method

1. Add the soya milk to the oats and allow to soak in the fridge overnight (though I only soaked them for a couple of hours out of the fridge so it was slightly warmer and therefore faster).
2. Put all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until mostly smooth, and it's ready to serve!

Original recipe: Pretty in purple smoothie

Pretty in purple vegan smoothie

This smoothie is the most gorgeous colour and has a taste to match. It's a completely vegan breakfast smoothie as it's got oats in it, and trust me it's very filling. Like the jelly recipes I've put up, it's a flexible one - you can replace the fruit with equal amounts of any others. I've used blackberries because of the continuing abundance of them in my garden (and raspberries because I found some in my freezer). If you do try other combinations, let me know how they turn out!

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup rolled oats

3 cups soya milk

3 cups blackberries (fresh or frozen)

1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)

2 bananas

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp honey (or agave nectar/ maple syrup if you're a strict vegan)

Method

1. Add the soya milk to the rolled oats and allow to soak in the fridge overnight (though I only soaked them for a couple of hours out of the fridge so it was slightly warmer and therefore faster).
2. Put all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until mostly smooth, and it's ready to serve!

Original recipe: Pretty in purple smoothie

Week 2 Dish 2: Vegan courgette date muffins

I recently discovered Church Street market near Edgware Road thanks to a fellow medical student. It sells really cheap fruit and veg (amongst other things) - perfect for my vegan baking experiments. I went to the market today and managed to buy so much, including mangoes, courgettes, melons, mushrooms, capsicums, pineapples, kiwis, doughnut peaches, the list goes on. I think that my arms almost fell off on the way home, but worth it for £1 for a big bowlful of each!! So I thought this would be the perfect recipe for the courgettes that I got (6 for £1), and just in time for The Great British Bake Off muffin challenge (though mine are not english muffins)!

Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients
2 cups wholemeal flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup coconut or olive oil (you can buy coconut oil from VB, it's really expensive in health food shops)
1/4 cup soya milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup grated courgette
2/3 cup chopped dates, tossed in a little flour so that they don't clump together
Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and get the muffin tray ready.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients (except sugar) in a large bowl.
3. Whisk together the applesauce, oil, milk, and sugar, and pour them into the dry ingredients.
4. Fold ingredients together until just mixed, and then fold in the courgette and dates.
5. Spoon batter into the muffin tray and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Original recipe: Vegan zucchini date muffins

Just a note - these are not overly sweet, making them perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Let me know what you think!

Week 2 Dish 1: Vegan blackberry crumble bars

I've made it to WEEK 2!!! WOOP!!! And what better way to celebrate than with a deliciously sweet, fruity and crumbly treat?! The inspiration for this recipe was the wild blackberry bush in my back garden, which (thanks to the gorgeous summer we've had this year) has been heaving with sweet blackberries for the past couple of weeks. I couldn't let all that go to waste now could I? So I braved the thorns (I have the battle wounds to prove it) and managed to pick enough to make double the recipe and some to eat- a treat for my family as well as the people I'm on firms with at the moment (lucky you!).

For any of you who want to make this recipe, now is the time: just go to your local park with a container and keep your eyes out for berries that are ripe for the picking - who needs to buy them? A tip if you have never picked blackberries before, the ones that are ripe and sweet will be slightly mushy and will come away easily from the bush. If you have to tug too hard, chances are they will be sour.

Makes 8-10 bars
Ingredients
3 cups fresh blackberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
juice of half an orange
1.5 tbsp cornflour (aka constarch if you're american)
2 cups oats
3/4 cup wholemeal flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, warmed (I bought this from VB, too expensive in health food shops)
Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with grease proof paper.
2. In a saucepan heat the berries, granulated sugar, orange juice, and cornflour. Bring to the boil, stirring often until mixture is thick and the berries break down (about 15-20 minutes).
3. Mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, orange zest, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Pour in the coconut oil and mix to blend well. Reserve 3/4 cup of oat mixture for the topping.
4. Transfer the remaining oat mixture to the prepared baking dish, pressing firmly to the bottom to form an even layer.
5. Spoon the berry filling in an even layer on top and then sprinkle with the remaining oat mixture.
6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in the dish on a wire rack for 30 to 40 minutes before cutting into bars.

Original recipe: Blackberry crumble bars