VeganMOFO-16-Tofu Salad & 'Cheesy' Mustard Dressing

I vegan-ise a lot of recipes. I know it may sound hard at first but it just takes a little time and effort. It may be that I'm too cheap to buy all new cookbooks or that I love watching cooking shows but I am definitely still inspired by others work. The most important thing to consider is what are you trying to achieve- yeah I know it sounds blindingly obvious but you really do. So for example if you're trying to make a vegan chocolate cake are you going for a light fluffy cake or a dense mud cake- going from there it will alter your choice of vegan egg (say no egg for light and flax egg for mud cake) and the amount of oil or mashed banana you would use as a moistener. Using that idea you can take any recipe, break it down and substitute the non vegan items. So for example a recipe that calls for butter, cream and cheese could use tofu, soy milk, vegan margarine, oil, nutritional yeast, ground nuts/seeds etc. Basically if you work out the salty, sweet, sour, hot, carby, crunchy, soft etc component that it's used for in the original recipe and then find a veggie alternative to replace it with. Using presentation ideas from chefs is another easy way to up the enjoyment factor of your meal or make guests feel special. Who wouldn't smile sitting down to eat a fruit trifle or yummy sunday?

& If you're ever in a bind just google it! A few of my favourite chefs to use as inspiration are Nigella Lawson, Luke Nguyen, Jamie Oliver & Donna hay.

Tofu Salad with 'Cheesy' Mustard Dressing

1/2 packet of Tofu (go for organic non-gm)

Mixed Salad leaves

Dressing (1 serve)

1 tsp dijon mustard

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp flax seeds

1/4 cup water

• Combine well (I put mine in a jar and shake well)
• leave to thicken in fridge for about an hour
• Enjoy over salad or with veggies

I love the tang the dijon gives it but if you want it a bit milder just reduce the quantity. I came up with this dressing because I've been trying to find ways to get more flax into my diet- I know its full of good omega 3's but I just don't like the taste. I much prefer chia seeds! however as I still have a jar of flax seeds in the fridge I must find more ways to include them. This dressing is strong enough to overpower their flavour and tastes great :) I'm open to any suggestions!

Hope you've all had a lovely day- the highlight of mine was playing soccer with a fit ball/swiss ball in the uni gallery. Growing up is overrated :P