Early days vegan I used to be a huge fan of meal prep. These days, I much prefer food prep. The difference? I now make a few individual components on mass that can be transformed into multiple meals dependant on: what I feel like, how much time I have, what needs to be used up! This week (and most weeks right now) it looks like: - hummus - vegan mayo - undressed cruciferous slaw - spicy lentils - I also make sweet potato and chickpea burgers every 2 weeks and freeze them. - Plus 2-3 days of marinated tofu and 2-3 days of lunch time salad at a time. - When I'm feeling extra motivated, there's also tofu ricotta + edamame guacamole + crispy quinoa. Love to know - what are some of your food prep staples? Pictured some of the huge range of meals food prep allows me to throw together super quickly.

This recipe from Lauren Toyota is not super healthy however it is MUCH healthier than the chicken based alternative and I guarantee it will impress your loved ones! I've eaten A LOT of Cauliflower Buffalo Wings at vegan restaurants and this version Lauren shares is at least as good. 1. Where can I lower the fat? In the below recipe, I actually ditched the Ranch dip. I'm lazy and it was too much effort! However, if you want it, I would recommend using 1/3-1/2 of the vegan mayo and substituting with silken tofu instead. 2. Where can I increase the protein? That tofu swap increases the protein. You can also swap the all-purpose flour for chickpea flour. When I have a low protein dish I make sure the stuff I share along side it are higher protein. So for nibbles here I might choose crispy chickpeas and edamame guac with sweet potato chips. 3. How can make it simpler / faster? No ranch dip made this much simpler! Or of course you can buy your dip and to make it healthier you can still dilute it with silken tofu. Lauren's RECIPE: https://www.hotforfoodblog.com/recipes/2014/02/11/cauliflower-buffalo-wings/

Whenever I check out a new recipe this little 3-step filter runs at an almost unconscious level. Likely a combination of nearly 2 decades as a personal trainer and much longer as a somewhat lazy cook! Today I am applying this to Spinach Cannelloni. Who doesn't LOVE Cannelloni? I'm a huge fan of the gents at bosh.tv so I'm using their recipe with a few tweaks. They would pretty much be the changes I'd make to any recipe. 1. Where can I lower the fat? In the below recipe, I swapped 100gm + 25gm plant-based cream cheese for 100gm + 25gm tofu ricotta. I also 1/2'd the oil (2 tbsp to 1 tbsp) in both the cannelloni and the sauce. 2. Where can I increase the protein?  The cream cheese swap to tofu based is a big protein increase. I also swapped 50g plant-based parmesan for 50g of my cashew sun-dried tomato cheese. (recipe to follow) 3. How can make it simpler / faster? Actually today it's more nutrient dense. I swapped out the lasagne sheets for slices of grilled eggplant. This is delicious however the faster option is thin slices of zucchini as you don't need to cook them first. FULL BOSH RECIPE: https://www.bosh.tv/recipes/spinach-cannelloni My Cashew Sun-dried Tomato Cheese: • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes • 1 cup raw cashews (soak for 2 hours and drain) • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast • 1 tbsp garlic powder • 1 tbsp onion powder • 1 tsp chilli powder • 1 tsp sea salt Throw all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.

Whenever I check out a new recipe this little 3-step filter runs at an almost unconscious level. Likely a combination of nearly 2 decades as a personal trainer and much longer as a somewhat lazy cook! Today I am applying this to Broccoli Almond Mac Cheese. I made a few tweaks to this recipe which is thanks to the team at Veg Me Up (fabulous vegan food delivery service in Australia) 1. Where can I lower the fat? In the below recipe, I lowered 2 tablespoons oil to 1. I also added 1 tablespoon white miso paste for extra umami flavour. 2. Where can I increase the protein?  I chose high protein pasta made from: peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans. I also added 1/2 cup baby peas (4gm protein) 1/2 cup edamame would be 8gm. 3. How can make it simpler / faster? Using a herb mix is the simple option here. Or even just ensuring you are cooking a large enough serve for abundant leftovers so it's MUCH simpler / faster in the next meal. FULL RECIPE: - 200gm pasta (made from: peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans) - 150gm broccoli, cut into small florets - 1/2 cup baby peas - 30gm almonds, shaved - 60gm cashews, raw - 2 carrots, skin on - 2 tbsp Nutritional yeast - 1 tbsp miso paste - 1 tbsp mixed herbs (pinch of nutmeg, then equal parts garlic powder, onion powder, Italian herbs) - 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar - 1 tbsp olive oil Soak cashews in boiling water for 10 minutes. Cut carrot into 1cm cubes and cook for 6-7 minutes in boiling water. Strain and rinse under cold water. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add pasta and cook till al dente (slightly firm in the middle) after 2 mins, add broccoli. After 4 minutes add peas, After 5 mins, strain and rinse under cold water to slow down cooking process. Dry roast almonds in a non-stick fry pan on medium heat until golden. Place carrot into blender with yeast, oil, vinegar, herb mix, 1/2 cup of water, miso, soaked cashews and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Whenever I check out a new recipe this little 3-step filter runs at an almost unconscious level. Likely a combination of nearly 2 decades as a personal trainer and much longer as a somewhat lazy cook! Today I am applying this to Loaded Vegan Spicy Cauliflower Nachos. (I found this recipe via VegNews) 1. Where can I lower the fat? In the above recipe, I lowered 3 tablespoons avocado oil to 1. I also replaced 1 cup shredded vegan cheese with 1/2 cup tofu ricotta. 2. Where can I increase the protein? In the above recipe, I increased 1/2 cup black beans to 1 cup. I also added 200gm firm tofu, grated and mixed with Mexican spices. 3. How can make it simpler / faster? Using a spice mix is the simple option here. Or even just ensuring you are cooking a large enough serve for abundant leftovers so it's MUCH simpler / faster in the next meal. I'd love to know, what's YOUR Go2 plant-based meal to impress??