Surviving Veganuary with Nutty Delights

Surviving Veganuary with Nutty Delights

 

A New Year means a new start, new beginnings, and new journeys. The New Year is like hitting the reset button on a fresh start, to take up a new hobby, to start that project you’ve been putting off for years, or to embark on a new health journey.  Maybe you’re trying to go vegan for the month of January. Switch up your diet. 

 

Transitioning from a normal diet (where you would consume a balanced diet of meat and vegetables) to a vegan diet is a dramatic switch, but a good switch! Veganism is good for the planet, good for your health, and good for animals. But, it can be problematic when you first get started. 

 

Because you’re so used to consuming animal products, you don’t know the alternatives. You can’t even have butter, glorious golden salty butter. But, it’s fine, because there is vegan butter and a multitude of other wonderful alternatives. Don’t sweat it though, Nutty Delights is here to help you smash these 31 days. 

 

What is Veganism?

 

Getting started is always the hardest part, so let us begin with the basics. What is veganism? Veganism or going vegan is the practice of abstaining from any products and byproducts of animals - particularly through diet. Pretty straightforward. So, what are some simple recipes you can make with Nutty Delights?

 

First things first, all of Nutty Delights products are vegan. From the nut butters to dried figs. All vegan. Any of our products are great snacking alternatives, ingredients, or recipe enhancers. Let’s dive into some simple vegan recipes you can make at home with Nutty Delights. 

 

Nut Milk 101: 

 

Nut milk. If you take nothing else from this blog but this it’s to stop spending money on nut milk and make your own. You can make cashew milk, almond milk, macadamia milk, and hazelnut milk.

 

Nut Milk Basics: 

• Buy raw nuts of your choice
• Soak the nuts overnight 
• Drain and rinse the pre-soaked nuts
• Blend them with fresh water in any food blender
• Strain the nut milk with a cheesecloth or sieve 
• Sweeten with maple syrup, honey, or vanilla extract, if desired
• Chill, drink, and enjoy!
• Repeat as necessary for nut milk happiness! 

 

There you have it. It really is that simple. 

 

Nut Butter 101: 

 

Nut Butters. Nut butter is so easy and often comes together in 30 minutes. First, choose your base. It can be almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts. Loads of nuts to choose from!

 

What to do:  

 

Roast your nuts so that you can shed the skins from the nuts and give the nuts a toasty flavor. Remove the shells by placing the nuts in a tea towel and rubbing vigorously.  

 

Now, it butter time! Use a food processor or high-speed blender to create a creamy nut butter. 

 

The blending process takes about 10-15 minutes depending on your blender. Be patient. It’s worth the wait. 

 

After the process, you’ll be left with creamy nutty butter.

 

If you’re lazy or impatient you can always just pick up some of Nutty Delights’ nut butters. We have almond, cashew, hazelnut, and peanut butter. A customer favorite is the hazelnut butter, it’s like Ferrero rocher on toast. 

 

Vegan Meat with Walnuts

 

Our last recipe for today is raw vegan taco “meat”. This is an uber-tasty dish and is pretty simple to make. 

 

You’ll need: 

• 3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 3 cups raw walnuts
• 4 cloves garlic 
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• Chilli 
• 1-2 tsp nutritional yeast

 

What to do: 

 

1. Add sun-dried tomatoes to a small bowl and cover with warm water. Set aside and allow to soak for at least 5 minutes.
2. To the bowl of a food processor, add walnuts and pulse into a semi-fine meal. Transfer walnuts to a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Drain the sun-dried tomatoes (reserving the water in a small bowl to add back to the sauce later on) and add to the bowl of the food processor. Add garlic, sea salt, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, sugar, habaneros, and nutritional yeast and blend until a smooth paste is formed. 
4. Add 1 Tbsp (15 ml) of reserved water at a time until a thick but pourable sauce is formed. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more salt for saltiness, garlic for more “zing,” peppers for heat, cumin for smokiness, or sugar to balance the heat.
5. Add mixture to walnuts and stir to combine. At this point, you can taste and adjust flavors as needed once more. We added a bit more salt.
6. Enjoy in any setting one would use taco meat: tacos, salad, nachos, burritos, and more. 

 

There you have it. 3 basic recipes to surviving Veganuary with Nutty Delights. You can get any and all nut products mentioned above on our virtual nut store.  

 

Starting a Movement

Going vegan is a huge step in the right direction. Something that takes guts and heart. Not only will your body thank you for making this decision, but the world will also, as you decrease your carbon footprint and reduce carbon admissions from meat production. 

 

Remember a movement starts with one person, let that person be you.