GoodnessDirect Blog – Health foods & healthy lifestyles for you & your planet

Satisfy your family’s tastebuds with this amazing Christmas centrepiece.
Serves 6-8
350g (12oz) pastry mix
1 onion, finely chopped
225g (8oz) spinach
150g (¼ or 6oz) pumpkin, sliced into small pieces (you can use pumpkin puree instead)
100g (4oz) roasted hazelnuts, finely ground*
100g (4oz) ground almonds
100g (4oz) breadcrumbs
50g (2oz) sultanas
150ml (¼ pint) water
225g (8oz) cranberries
175g (6oz) sugar
1tsp rosemary
1tsp marjoram
1tsp thyme
1tsp shoyu soya sauce
2 tbsp tahini
300ml (½ pint) vegetable stock
soya milk to glaze
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4
1 Place the pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and marjoram. Bake at 180°C/Gas 4 for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Increase oven temperature to 220°C/Gas 7.
2 Fry the onion until soft. Add the spinach and fry for a further 3 minutes.
3 Add the nuts, breadcrumbs, thyme and rosemary. Mix in the tahini and shoyu and some stock for a moist texture. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
4 Put the sultanas, water, cranberries and sugar into a saucepan. Bring to the boil and cook, cover with a lid until the cranberries pop (about 5-10 minutes), then remove from the heat.
5 Make a shortcrust pastry from the mix. Once it is kneaded, press two thirds into an 8 inch dish.
6 Create a base layer of pumpkin slices. Build a second layer with the hazelnut and spinach, and pour on the cranberry filling.
7 Roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid for the pie. Moisten the edges with soya milk and place the lid on top of the filling, pressing the lid and shell of the pastry together.
8 Make a hole in the middle to allow the steam to escape and glaze with the soya milk.
9 Bake on a high shelf at 220°C/Gas 7 for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 190°C/Gas 5 and continue to bake for 50 minutes.

Alternatively go for a ‘Turkey Style’ Roast with Wild Cranberry Stuffing

*If you buy whole hazelnuts in their shells here’s some information on roasting hazelnuts.

A sweet soup for starters. You’ll make it a vegan Christmas dinner not to be missed.

Serves 6
2 large pears, peeled and cored
1 onion, chopped
1kg (2lb) butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried rosemary
1litre (2 pints) vegetable stock
2 tbsp engevita
salt and pepper
nutmeg
soya cream
chopped parsley

1 Slice the pears and simmer in 1/2 pint water for 15 minutes. Then blend the pears and water together.
2 Gently fry the onion until soft. Add the butternut squash and garlic and cover with a lid to cook for 15 minutes until tender.
3 Add the vegetable stock and blended pears, bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes.
4 Liquidise the soup in a blender.
5 Use a clean pan to re-heat gently. Stir in engevita, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
6 Finish with a swirl of soya cream and a sprinkling of parsley.

For a quick alternative you might enjoy some Sri Lankan Lentil and Coconut Soup

You’ll be surprised by how morish these vegan snacks are – just don’t eat too many before your Christmas dinner!
Makes 20
50g (2oz) vegetarian margarine
1 onion, finely chopped
150g (5oz) rolled oats
1 large carrot, finely grated
150g (5oz) vegetarian cheese, grated
50g peanuts, roughly chopped
50g pecans, roughly chopped
egg replacer for 1 egg (follow instructions on pack)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp basil
salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3
1 Melt the margarine in a pan. Add all the other ingredients.
2 Place mixture into a greased baking tray. Press down to make firm and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
3 Allow to cool and cut into 20 small squares.

But if you’re running short of time you can order some oat bakes online.

This will have your mouth watering and will make a delightful vegan snack to tie over hunger pangs until Christmas dinner
Makes 12
1 small onion, finely chopped
125g mushrooms, finely chopped
125g pitted dates, finely chopped
25g walnuts, finely chopped
1 large apple, grated
½tbsp walnut oil
25g breadcrumbs
egg replacer (or 25g/1oz/1 tbsp soya flour)
2 tbsp water
225g (8oz) puff pastry (pre-prepared)
8g fresh parsley, chopped
8g fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper
flour for rolling pastry

Preheat oven to 220C/425F/Gas7
1 Gently fry the onion, dates, apple, mushrooms and walnuts for about 7 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure the walnuts don’t burn.
2 Mix the egg replacer or soya flour and water together in a bowl.
3 Pour the onion, mushrooms and walnuts into another bowl, mix in half the egg replacer mixture plus the breadcrumbs, parsley, basil, salt and pepper. Leave to cool.
4 Roll out the pastry into a 15cm wide by 45cm long piece. Cut in half to make two long strips.
5 Place a small line of the mushroom and walnut mixture down the centre of each piece of pastry.
6 Use some of the soya flour and water mix to brush one side of each pastry strip. Fold over the filling and press the edges together.
7 Cut each strip into 6 small pieces. Place these on a baking sheet and brush with the soya flour and water mix.
8 Use a knife to make a couple of small slits on the top of each roll. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until risen and golden.

You can always cheat and buy in some  vegan sausage rolls to pop in the oven.

What comes after emptying the stockings full of presents? Breakfast! Christmas breakfast has to be a little bit extra special – so how about these delicious drop scones, also known as Scotch pancakes, for something a little bit mmmmm.

Makes 12
250g (8oz) plain flour
650ml (1 pint) soya milk (for best results use a milder tasting milk)
75g blueberries – optional for a little healthy American zing

1 Sieve the flour into a bowl.
2 Gradually whisk in the soya milk to make a smooth creamy batter. Stir in the blueberries if you want.
3 Heat a little oil around a frying pan until it begins to smoke, then turn the heat down to medium and pour in 1 tbsp of batter.
4 Once the batter has bubbled and set, flip the drop scone over and fry the other side.

Serve with maple syrup, chocolate spread or fruit. You could also try them savoury with sautéed mushrooms or vegetarian cheese.

Or you could get in some ready made pancake mix flavoured with apple and cinnamon

This Christmas keep your dinner guests coming back for with these vegan treats

225g (8oz) crushed hazelnut cookies (or any left over cake, biscuits or wafers)
2 tbsp damson jam
2 tbsp of rum (or rum flavouring)
1 teaspoon of cocoa
50g (2oz) rum and raisin vegan chocolate
extra cocoa
nuts, chopped

1 In a saucepan, bring 2cm of water to a boil and remove from the heat

2 Put the chocolate in a heat proof bowl and place it over the saucepan to melt the chocolate slowly. Stir occasionally.

3 Take the bowl and thoroughly stir in the cookie crumbs, rum, cocoa and damson jam.

4 When mix is cool, shape into ping-pong size balls.

5 Roll in the either chopped nut or cocoa coating.

For best results leave for a week for flavours to blend (or make double the amount so you can eat some now! Then again you might just want to buy your own truffles…)

Everyone will be impressed by this seasonal dish, it’s vegan and perfect for a Christmas dinner party

50g (2oz) vegan margarine
450g (1lb) red cabbage, finely shredded
1 onion, sliced
1 large apple, peeled and cut into 8 pieces
12 cooked peeled chestnuts
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp wine vinegar
salt and pepper
extra margarine

1 Melt the margarine in a large saucepan, add the onion and apple and cook gently, occasionally stirring until softened.
2 Add the cabbage, salt, water and vinegar. Mix well then cover tightly and cook over a very low heat until the cabbage is tender. Stir from time to time and add more water to stop it sticking if necessary.
3 Add the chestnuts, mix well but be careful not to break the chestnuts too much. Cook for a few minutes until chestnuts are heated.
4 Drain the cabbage and add a generous portion of margarine and plenty of black pepper. Stir lightly to mix and serve immediately.

Alternatively you could try green beans fried with garlic and basil and chopped tomato.

Exotic and sweet, this vegan side dish will tantilise the tastebuds at your Christmas dinner party

Serves 4
675g (1½lb) potatoes, peeled and sliced
225g (8oz) parsnips, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1pint mild vegetable stock
1tbsp muscovado brown sugar
1tsp saffron powder or turmeric
5tbsp extra virgin olive oil
150ml single vegan cream
salt and pepper

1 Place potatoes, parsnips and vegetable stock in a large saucepan, add saffron or turmeric. Bring to the boil and cover with a lid and simmer until the vegetables are cooked.
2 Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Fry sliced onion gently with the lid on until the onion is brown and moist. Stir in 1 tbsp of sugar and keep warm.
3 Drain stock from potatoes and parsnips into a jug.
4 Beat the cream and olive oil into the vegetables until you have a smooth texture.
5 Stir in the caramelised onions and add some of the vegetable stock for a good consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Alternatively, for something quick, try some Moroccan couscous