As summer ends and fall takes over, people tend to visit their local
farmers’ market less frequently. However, just because strawberries,
peaches and cherries aren’t in season any more, it doesn’t mean that you
should steer clear of fresh fruit and vegetables. On the contrary, fall has
its own assortment of seasonal and very colorful ingredients for your
recipes, and it would be a crying shame not to use them to complement any
meal you can think of. So, if you’re craving something healthy and
delicious this fall, check out these seasonal vegan recipes which will have
you and anybody else who tries them asking for seconds every time.
Make your hummus orange
Pumpkins aren’t only good for carving around Halloween. They are very
nutritious and contain vitamins such as A, C, B2 and E, but also potassium,
manganese and iron. That makes them a great ingredient for all sorts of
meals, savory or sweet. So, take a smaller pumpkin, weighing somewhere
between 500 and 700g, cut off its top, remove the seeds and use a metal
spoon to get as much of the pumpkin’s flesh out. Cut it into medium-sized
pieces, season it with some salt, pepper and other spices of choice and put
it into a roasting tin along with some garlic and
some olive oil
. Bake it for about 45 minutes. Once everything cools down, put the roasted
pumpkin, along with the garlic and the remaining juices from the tin, into
a food processor. Then simply add 2 or 3 table spoons of tahini paste,
about 400-500g of drained canned chickpeas and the juice of half a lemon,
before blending it all together until it becomes a paste. Taste some of it
and add some more salt or pepper if you want, and then serve it with either
vegetable sticks or bread sticks. Whether you have this for breakfast or you
serve it as a healthy snack to your family and friends, you’ll definitely
enjoy this tasty hummus.
Green up your cheesecake
If you have a sweet tooth, why not make a raw cheesecake you’ll love?
First, make the crust by blending together 1 cup of walnuts, 5-7 pitted
dates (depending on how sweet you want it), 2-3 tablespoons of coconut
flakes, about a tablespoon of coconut oil and a pinch of Himalayan pink
salt. Press this mixture firmly into a cake pan. Soak a cup of raw cashews
in some bottled or purified water for up to an hour to soften them, then
drain them and tap them with a clean paper towel or a kitchen cloth to dry
them. Put them into a food processor and add a quarter-cup of maple syrup,
about 6 tablespoons of coconut oil and again, a pinch of Himalayan salt.
The secret ingredient? A teaspoon of
the wonderful spirulina powder
. Not only will it make your cake more interesting by giving it a nice,
green color, but this super food is rich in nutrients, including iron, amino
acids and healthy chlorophyll. Once the filling is ready, spread it across
the crust and put it in a freezer or a fridge to harden before you serve
it. Once you have some of this cake, it will become a regular dessert for
your family dinners or lazy Sunday afternoons.
Go red with meatless meatballs
These pretend-meatballs are made with chickpeas and zucchini, covered in
marinara sauce and can become a finger lickin’ main course. Drain and rinse
a can of chickpeas, add to them about half a cup of rolled oats and some
garlic and mix them together in a food processor for about 15 seconds,
until you get a mixture which sticks together between your fingers. Put the
mixture into a bowl and add two tablespoons of nutritional yeast, juice of
half a lemon and a cup of shredded zucchini to it. Season it with a
teaspoon of dried basil and another one of dried oregano and about half a
teaspoon of salt. You can add other spices to it, in accordance with your
preferences. Stir it till you get a mixture you can easily turn into balls.
If it’s too sticky, add some more ground oats to it. Form 12 balls from the
mixture and bake them in a tin lined with baking paper at 200°C in a
preheated oven for about 25 minutes, or till they turn light golden brown.
Serve them with some pasta and
marinara sauce
to your taste, and they can be a great option for a barbecue
.
There’s no reason for you not to have fun in your kitchen and not to treat
your taste buds with some of the most delicious recipes this fall. After
all, this is a season which offers an abundance of healthy ingredients for
some of the best meals you’ll ever get to prepare or try.