Veganuary Delights: Sweet Potato & Chickpea Bowl + Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Veganuary is upon us again. And whether you’re participating, full time vegan or just include the occasional plant-based meal in your diet, this first recipe is full of goodness, high in fibre and full of flavour. As someone who does not list Kale or Chickpeas anywhere near my favourite foods, I genuinely enjoyed this when my friend made it for me last summer and have been making it regularly ever since.
You can add spring onions, or chilli flakes to give it more of a kick, and I serve it with either feta cheese (violife does a great vegan feta cheese) or regular feta cheese if you’re not doing Veganuary.
Serves 2, double to serve more.
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 can chickpeas
4 measuring cups of chopped kale
Olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon paprika & pinch of cumin
80g feta cheese (vegan or non vegan)
1. Preheat the oven to 200c
2. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes.
3. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
4. Place the sweet potatoes and chickpeas onto a baking tray.
5. Mix 2 dessert spoons of olive oil with the paprika & cumin. Mix the oil into the sweet potatoes and chickpeas so that everything is well coated in the oil.
6. Bake for approx. 30 mins until the potatoes are cooked and the chickpeas are starting to crisp up.
7. Never thought I’d be massaging Kale, but here we are! It really does transform it from something that is fibrous and chewy to something really quite edible!
Place the kale in a large bowl and 2 tablespoons olive oil & 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Massage for 2 or 3 minutes until the kale has softened and started to wilt (not mushy!)
8. Divide the kale between two serving plates and then share out the sweet potato and chickpea mix.
9. Top with the feta cheese.
PEPPERMINT HOT CHOCOLATE
Veganuary doesn’t mean missing out on hot chocolate and this is the perfect way to warm up or to finish a meal when you’re too full for dessert (or trying to cut back after the excesses of Christmas!
I use soy milk for this hot chocolate. It’s higher in protein (and everyone is protein conscious these days) plus the protein content makes it more stable for heating up.
I measuring cup of soymilk
¼ cup dark chocolate chips (or just chop up a regular dark chocolate bar)
Peppermint extract
Vegan marshmallows (optional)
1. Place the soy milk and chocolate chips into a saucepan and gently heat over a medium heat. Whisking so that the chocolate melts into the milk.
2. If peppermint isn’t your thing just skip this step! Add the peppermint extract to the saucepan (I use a few drops, but they vary in strength and it’s up to you how strong you want it).
3. When the hot chocolate is the desired temperature, remove from the heat and pour into a mug, top with marshmallows and drink!