Breakfast Burritos

Vegan burritos are a versatile and (can be) a nutrient packed breakfast depending on the filling.

Beans are a very good choice as they are high in protein and you can mix them up a bit. You can add a selection of beans to a bowl and roughly chop them up with an electric hand blender or you can just leave them whole.

You can either lightly fry them or bake them or leave them cold. Add other ingredients such as mushrooms, onions, peppers, sweetcorn, cucumber, tomatoes or other items you have to hand.

You can also add some kind of wet ingredient such as guacamole, salsa, tabasco sauce, soya sauce or a drizzling of your favourite oil.

Don't forget fresh herbs and spices (if you like).

Just before you are ready to fill the burritos, gently heat the tortilla wraps on a hot stove or in the microwve for several seconds.

French Toast

French toast is traditionally made with eggs but vegans can also make their own versions. Here is how I do mine:

1/2 a cup of plant based milk

Around 2 Tbsps of silken tofu

1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp agave nectar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 slices of bread

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl with a hand blender (apart from the bread). Then dip the bread into the liquid and fry on medium to high heat in a skillet for 3 to 4 minutes. I use a dollop of soya spread to fry mine in.

Hot Breakfast Smoothie

Loads of smoothie recipes are suitable for vegans but this is one of my favourites. Smoothies are great if you are in a rush as you can make them up the night before and drink them while you are getting ready. There are three main ingredients:

1 pint of plant based milk

2 Tbsps of agave nectar

2 heaped Tbsps of porridge oats

More options:

2 Tbsps of soya milk powder

Ground flaxseeds (bakery section at local supermarket)

Flax oil

1 ripe banana

Ground cinnamon to sprinkle on the top or you can dampen the side of the heat-proof glass and dip that into the cinnamon for a decorative effect.

Heat the plant based milk in a saucepan until almost boiling. Take off the heat and add the porridge oats and agave nectar. Then you can add any other ingredients that you fancy.

Blend well (either in a blender or as I do, with an electric hand held blender) until smooth (ish). Sprinkle with cinnamon powder.

Pancakes (Peanut Butter)

1 cup flour

3 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 Tbsp unrefined sugar or sugar substitute

2 Tbsps vegetable oil

1 cup plant based milk

In large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl whisk together the peanut butter, sugar and oil until smooth. Beat in the milk. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir well. Lightly coat a pan with oil and heat it over medium high heat. Drop the batter into the pan and cook until tiny bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake, then flip and cook a few minutes more.

Scrambled Tofu

1 block of firm tofu (smoked is good for this)

1 tub of Napolitina sauce (a tomato based sauce widely available)

Caramelized onions

Plant based milk

Spinach leaves

Squish the tofu between your fingers and place in a pan. Add around half a cup of soya or other plant based milk and stir over a low heat. Add the caremilized onions, Napolitina sauce and fresh spinach leaves and heat through.

Another version I really like is where you heat some oil in a pan and add the mashed up tofu (mash it up in the pan with a fork). Cook this for around 15 minutes or so until golden and crisp. You can add various veggies to the pan whilst cooking.

This picture is scrambled tofu with red pepper and mushrooms. It is best to add the tofu to the pan first as this takes longer than the veggies to cook.

Scrambled Tofu With Cheese

A friend made me this for breakfast after a boozy night out and I had it every day for the week after. It's the mayo that makes all the difference to this "recipe".

Toast

Vegan cheese slices (Toffutti do great cheese slices)

Vegan mayonnaise

Tofu

Mushrooms

Toast the bread and spread with vegan soya spread or similar. Place a slice of cheese on top. Crumble the tofu in a pan and heat through gently. Spoon onto the cheese on toast and add a dollop of mayonnaise. Top with cooked mushrooms.