Posted on March 27 2018
Who doesn’t love tasty, healthy food! And just because it’s meat and dairy-free that doesn’t mean it can’t be delicious. With the right combination of ingredients, a little bit of organisation and a great recipe, the healthy choice doesn’t have to be the tasteless choice.
Today I have an exciting guest post for you written by Francesca Sassii of Mavens of London. For those of you who might consider trying out a dairy free or vegan diet, you’ll be surprised at some of the benefits – over to Francesca!
Let’s look at four health benefits of eating dairy-free, before you get your chef’s hat on and try out a couple of scrumptious dishes.
The benefits of eating dairy-free:
Cutting out dairy, whether you’re lactose intolerant or not, has a host of potential health benefits. Whether you always eat dairy-free or just try it two or three times a week you’re going to notice the difference in various ways:
- Bye-bye bloated-ness: Your gut may not be as tolerant to dairy, which can cause discomfort and swelling. If you’re someone familiar with that over-full feeling you could benefit from going dairy-free.
- Healthier skin: Eliminating dairy from your diet can lead to a reduction in dry patches and give you a radiant glow.
- Weight loss: Too much dairy can mean too much sugar, salt and saturated fat. Cut the amount you take on board and you could drop a few pounds.
- Improved digestion: Dairy is acidic, which can make digestion less effective. Cutting it out allows your body to become more acid/alkaline balanced, which can improve digestion and give you more energy.
Tasty Vegan Dairy Free Recipes:
You’d be forgiven for thinking dishes that seem indulgent aren’t part of a vegan and dairy-free diet. Wrong! Here are two mouth-watering recipes for you to try:
Chickpea Tomato And Spinach Curry
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 16 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 onion, roughly chopped
6 tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
Thumb-sized piece of grated ginger
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 400ml can coconut milk
1/2 cup red lentils
1 broccoli head, divided into florets
1 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
250g bag spinach, roughly chopped (thick stalks discarded)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Puree onion, tomatoes, garlic and ginger in a processor or blender
- Heat oil in a large saucepan, add coriander, cumin and turmeric and fry for a few seconds before adding the pureed mix
- Cook for around two minutes, then add coconut milk, pour in the lentils and cook until tender, about 6 minutes
- Add the broccoli and cook for a further four minutes, before finally stirring in the chickpeas and spinach, cook until wilted, season with salt and pepper
- Serve over rice or quinoa and enjoy!
Strawberry Topped Vanilla Pudding
Serve this pudding in funky glasses, jars or cups – the type you can get in a thrift store. Don’t worry if they’re a little scruffy, a simple solution of 1 teaspoon of bleach diluted in water will get them sparkling. If you get any bleach on your clothes, you can click here for more information on bleach stain removal.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Topping:
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp cane sugar, or honey (add a little more if your berries are very tart)
2 cups strawberries, finely diced, or whole raspberries
Pudding:
3 tbsp cornstarch
1½ cups vanilla coconut milk
¼ cup cane sugar (or honey)
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Method:
Topping:
- Combine cornstarch, sugar and a third of a cup of water in a medium saucepan
- Whisk, add strawberries and bring to the boil
- Simmer for a minute before cooling, you should have a beautiful fruity sauce, then chill in the fridge
Pudding:
- Stir together cornstarch and 4 tbsp of water in a small bowl
- Pour mixture into a medium saucepan, whisking in the coconut milk, sugar and vanilla
- Keep whisking as it comes to the boil over a medium heat, until it thickens
- Spoon the mixture immediately into glasses, jars or cups and chill before adding the strawberry topping
- Serve and savour the deliciousness!
Notes: If you can’t find vanilla coconut milk, use regular coconut milk with 2 tsp vanilla extract.
There you have it: four benefits of eating dairy-free and two delicious vegan recipes. Enjoy!
Thanks Francesca! I hope you all found this post interesting and informative, I certainly learnt a few things! I made both of these recipes (pictured), and I loved them, especially the Strawberry Topped Vanilla Pudding!! OMW I will be making this vegan dessert on repeat, it’s so easy and SO YUM. And I love that it can be both dairy free and sugar free (which = healthy pudding, that’s my favourite combo of words :).
Speaking of healthy puddings, give these healthy sweet treats a try soon – my Amazing Sugar Free Flourless Chocolate Brownies, my Sugar Free Lemon Olive Oil Cake, my Sugar And Dairy Free Raisin Bran Muffins, my Completely Healthy Banana Bread, my Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Bread, my Breakfast Banana Bran Spice Muffins, The Best Chocolate Brownie Cake (Sugar Free).
Have a happy week everyone, and I hope you try these new recipes out and let me know what you think in the comments! I can’t wait to hear from you.