A healthy chickpea salad dressed with sweet white balsamic and smoked paprika, diced avocado and aromatic coriander is a beautiful lunchtime treat that's bursting with mexican and middle eastern flavours. It's vegetarian and vegan to boot, a meatfree treat to have for lunch or dinner and tastes even better if you make it in advance!

Smoked Paprika Avocado Salad

Gavin Wren Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Most of the writing on my blog is not about food, but life in general and how I cope with it or not, in some cases. On occasion I veer onto a food-related social or political bent, but it’s rare for me to write lovingly about the flavours and story behind a recipe. Today, I’ve been staring at my screen for 53 minutes and have only written the preceding sentence. The first 51 minutes and 13 seconds were spent typing then deleting, typing then deleting as I attempted to coax a story about smoked paprika onto the page.

Constructive Procrastination.

I also checked out the bulk price of Kalamata olives (c.£20 for 2kg on eBay, £16 on Amazon fresh) and appraised which size Really Useful Boxes I need for my cupboards (none, they’re not quite the right size), to round up the disparate bags of half… come and read more…

Here's a spicy, zingy Indian style sprouted bean salad which has been my default lunch option for a few weeks, because it ticks all my boxes for a great lunch. It's simple to make (once you've got the sprouts), it's ridiculously tasty with the combination of seeds, spices, lemon and chilli, plus it's got a big tick next to all the major nutrients we need. All this alongside it being completely vegan, it really couldn't be more versatile and all satisfying.

Indian Sprouted Bean Salad with Avocado

Gavin Wren Recipes, Salads, Vegan, Vegetarian

Here’s a spicy, Indian style sprouted bean salad which has been my default lunch option for the last few weeks, because it ticks all my ‘great lunch’ boxes. It’s simple to make (once you’ve got the sprouts), ridiculously tasty with the combination of seeds, spices, lemon and chilli, plus it’s got a big tick next to all the major nutrients we need. Alongside it being completely vegan, it really couldn’t be more versatile and all satisfying.

Social Sprouts

Sprouts say one thing to me. Brussels. I’m not talking about the cosmopolitan city, lying a mere 121 minutes away from London St Pancras, rather the bitter green orbs of distaste which I was deigned not to like well before one had ever crossed the threshold of my trap. Society seemed constructed for little children who Don’t Like Sprouts. Perhaps it’s their bitter flavour, or perhaps there’s an entire social… come and read more…

Today I'm making a vegan black eyed bean soup which is crammed full of healthy vegetables, making a chunky soup that will fill the emptiest of bellies but also bursting with bold flavours to satisfy the most demanding of taste buds. It's easy double or triple up the quantities to make ahead and freeze for next week's lunches.

Chunky Ginger and Black Eyed Bean Soup

Gavin Wren Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

About 10 years ago I lost a lot of weight. Over 4 stone to be exact, it also proved to be a turning point in the food history of my life, it was a time when seismic change occurred to some of my most deeply ingrained, English eating habits. Soup became my new lunchtime God, eschewing the bread it replaced, leading me to hunt high and low to find or create the perfect, filling, tasty …

A filling and sustaining chunky soup loaded with goodness and hearty ingredients. This chunky butternut squash and lentil soup is a meal-in-a-bowl which virtually becomes a stew as the liquid is almost entirely soaked up by the lentils, chickpeas and squash. The Indian influenced spices have come in to play, featuring a warming host of flavours which will warm your cockles even when the temperature's so cold that the central heating doesn't. It's so good that it's my lunch bowl for the next three weeks, yes, I've just made a triple batch of this, giving me a happy fridge and freezer full of lunchtime joy.

Chunky Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup

Gavin Wren Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Today I’ve got a fantastically filling, Indian influenced, chunky butternut squash and lentil soup with chickpeas that will keep your tummy filled, your body fuelled and your cockles warmed throughout the coldest days of the winter. Fantastic India. I’ve just returned from a truly beautiful holiday in Goa, India, where I spent three weeks doing yoga, laying by the sea, reading and travelling across the width of the country to the eastern city of Ranchi, …

A simple, easy Thai curry that's influenced by the cornerstones of Thai cooking, fish sauce, lime, garlic and chilli. This is a vegetarian or vegan recipe can also be made with fish or chicken, it's up to you. Whatever you choose it makes a spicy, creamy, aromatic dish that tastes and smells divine without having to bash away at a pestle and mortar.

Easy Thai Curry

Gavin Wren Main Dishes, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Today my recipe is an easy thai curry, it’s a quick way to make a curry that’s got some of the signature flavours of Thai food but can be whipped up in a matter of minutes. It’s a vegetarian recipe you’ll find here today, however you can substitute chicken, fish or prawns for the tofu and still have a lovely, creamy, spicy Thai curry on your hands. Thai Thai. I remember my first ever genuine …

BBQ paprika sweet potato skewers with a lemon tahini sauce make a fantastic vegetarian and vegan BBQ grilled side dish to serve up this summer or can go with meat, fish and cheese really well. Using just sweet potato, and red onion coated in warming paprika, plus a sauce of tahini, lemon juice and gentle cinnamon, topped with coriander, these skewers are sure to make everyone around the lunch or dinner table happy!

Paprika Sweet Potato Skewers with Tahini Lemon Sauce

Gavin Wren Recipes, Side dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

This recipe is a vegetarian and vegan hit for the BBQ, and your meat eating friends won’t mind because these also make a fabulous side to go along with meat or fish as well. Sweet potato skewers coated in warming paprika with a creamy tahini sauce drizzled over the top make a great addition to any BBQ spread. Yawn. I’m sitting here today, feeling thankful that I have got through a ridiculously turbulent few weeks …