To vegan or not to vegan?
Eating vegan, you can no longer ignore it. Vegan restaurants are popping up everywhere and in addition to vegetarian dishes, there are also more and more vegan dishes on the menu. I’ve been eating vegetarian for a long time now, but what do I actually think about vegan or otherwise: To vegan or not to vegan?
Vegetarian food!
I think I have been eating vegetarian since I was twelve. Also check this blog. Eating vegetarian was still quite a hassle at the time. The extensive range of veggie burgers and other meat substitutes was not available and in restaurants there was not always something vegetarian on the menu and you got an omelet. I hadn’t heard of vegan at all at that time. Fortunately for the vegetarians it is a lot better now!
With vegan it went in a similar way. At first you hardly heard anything about it and it was not mentioned anywhere on the menu. And now look! Even in the regular supermarket there are plenty of vegan options, although that may still be too few for some.
Vegan food?
Actually, I never considered eating vegan. It just seemed difficult and complicated. I also love food and I also want to enjoy it. I want to put in some effort, but I don’t want to go to 2 supermarkets and another health food store for my groceries. We don’t have a health food store in the village where I live, so that already makes it a no-go for me. And, last but not least… I really like all kinds of cheese and I also use eggs, in the cakes I make for example! Still, I started to think about it more and more. Fortunately I found out that I actually eat quite a lot vegan. Sometimes my meal is already vegan! Not difficult at all!
Vegan cakes
My second discovery are the vegan cakes! They are delicious! And usually healthy too! I loved baking anyway, so I like to experiment with this. You may have already seen this on Instagram 😊 I am even experimenting with agar-agar as a replacement for gelatin, but so far I am not satisfied with it. Because my apple trees gave so many apples this year, I even came up with my own recipe for a healthy vegan apple pie. I would like to share the recipe with you below!
Vegan healthy apple pie!
Ingredients:
For the bottom:
250 grams of dates without stone
125 grams of raw almonds
15 ml coconut oil (melted)
For the filling:
250 grams of raw cashew nuts soaked in water overnight
250 grams of dates without stone
100 ml coconut oil (melted)
30 ml of water
3 apples grated
(fresh) lemon juice or maple syrup
For the topping:
3 apples
cinnamon
maple syrup as you like
Other supplies:
Spring or cake tin, diameter 24 cm, greased with coconut oil
Food processor
Put all the ingredients for the bottom in the food processor and grind it into a crumbly dough. Divide this over the bottom of the cake tin and press firmly. Place the pie crust in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
Put all the ingredients for the filling in the food processor and make a nice smooth substance. For a slightly more fresh apple pie, add some lemon juice, for a slightly sweeter version, add some maple syrup. Divide the filling over the cold pie crust and put it back in the freezer for another 3 hours.
For the topping, make an apple sauce by heating the apples with a little water, the cinnamon and some maple syrup to your taste. Let the apple sauce cool and divide it over the filling.
To vegan or not to vegan?
Honestly, I am not planning to switch from vegetarian to 100% vegan yet. I am certainly more aware and so I sometimes consciously choose vegan. Just like I generally eat healthy, but sometimes also eat an unhealthy piece of chocolate or fries. 😊
What I have also seen a few times is a vegan challenge where you’re challeged to eat vegan for a month. I doubt whether I will accept that challenge … Maybe if we do it together or if you challenge me… 😊
