Vegan Tuna Salad

We're coming up to my one year vege-versary - nearly one year since I became a vegetarian! The year has flown by and I'm proud to say that I love this new lifestyle and change in eating habits. My body feels so much better (and so does my conscience - watch a few food docs and you'll understand). Though I have eaten fish occasionally (I know, I know, that technically makes me a pescitarian, but it made the transition easier) I usually prefer not to - my body just feels better when I don't. All that being said I'm always looking for new recipes that are simple to make, delicious, and easy to take on the go while still being nutritious and limited on animal products. Enter Oh She Glows. This is a fantastic food blog filled with so many delicious vegan recipes that are so incredibly easy to make - all with a very high score on the yum scale. I spent a good few hours browsing the blog and marking future food ideas, and the first one I decided to try was vegan tuna salad. It's filling, full of protein, and tastes so good you don't even need it in between bread, just grab a spoon! Here's my version of the recipe:

Ingredients 

1 cup raw almonds, soaked

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

1 cup cucumber, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons cultured coconut milk

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Pinch of salt

Pinch of black pepper

In a bowl, soak the almonds in cold water for up to 9 hours - they'll look all plumped up when they're ready. In a food processor, chop the almonds  until they are a fine, flakey consistency. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flaked almonds, celery, green onion, cucumber, cultured coconut milk, mustard and lemon. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt and pepper. Serve chilled. 

I used crackers to dip into it, but ate most of it with a spoon. It would also be great in a pita with some romaine and additional cucumber slices!

Note: Cultured coconut milk is similar to yogurt, but dairy free. Don't be scared of it! It's delicious! You could also opt to use veganaise, mayonnaise, or greek yogurt (the latter two making it non-vegan) depending on what you have on hand.

Carrot Muffins with Oat Streusel Topping

As mentioned in a previous post, I received the Bouchon Bakery cookbook for Christmas. It really is a beautiful book filled with lots of pictures and delicious sounding recipes. Wanting to try something simple to start, I decided to follow the carrot muffin recipe. Now, muffins are a seemingly easy thing to make. You mix the dry ingredients, add in the the wet, give a little mix and into the pan and oven it goes - piece of cake. However, Bouchon Bakery makes their recipe a little more complicated with awkward measurements and lengthy resting times. This being said, I tweaked the ingredients and measurements a bit to make them simpler, but kept the resting time in just in case. They were delicious! Not too sweet, very moist and a nice crumb to follow. If you have the time for muffin batter rests then follow through - I really think it took a leading role in the moist muffin that resulted. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup All-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

1 3/4 cup shredded carrot

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar and oil together with an electric mixer on low speed. Add the vanilla and egg and mix until just incorporated. Gradually mix in the flour mixture, on low speed, until combined. Gently scrape the bowl with a spatula to ensure all the ingredients are mixed, and stir in the shredded carrot. Cover and refrigerate up to 36 hours (or if you're really impatient I would wait at least three hours). Preheat the oven to 325 F. Pour the batter into a greased muffin pan. Sprinkle the oat streusel topping on top of the muffins and baked for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Oat Streusel Topping 

(this recipe was way too big for my liking, so again the measurements were reduced)

1/2 all purpose flour

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 a stick)

Stir together all ingredients except the butter. Cut the butter into pieces, and using a fork, mix until it is well incorporated - the butter should be no bigger than pea-sized chunks.

These muffins are a great breakfast on-the-go, or the perfect companion to your mid-afternoon cup of coffee. The oat streusel topping adds an extra sweetness, to the slightly spiced muffin. Enjoy!