The Vegan 8 is a wonderful blog where all recipes are 8 ingredients or less (minus water, salt and pepper). And everything is free from oil and gluten (the creator had to change her family’s diet, to help heal her husband’s painful gout). This chef’s recipes and cookbook are amazing. You still get natural fats (she simply uses real foods like olives, over olive oil). Brandi has a post on how to cook and bake without oil. She prefers applesauce and vegan yoghurt for baking. Read up on keeping people & pets safe in the kitchen.
why would people not eat oil?
Obviously oil is tasty, and for most people, a little oil is fine. But there is another line of thought that our huge consumption of refined oil is one of the reasons why we have so much obesity and other disease. Years ago, we did not have fast food chains (that deep-fry in oil), no chip shops and no chip fat fryers (one of the biggest causes of kitchen house fires.
Years ago, olive oil was only sold in chemists, and although it’s fine drizzled over a salad, the amount of oil in much of our food these days creates huge amounts of free radicals, which have a whopping amount of calories and links to many diseases including cancer. We need fat, but we don’t in theory need oil. Instead of buying food covered in greasy oil, eat real fats instead (a bowl of olives!) Brandi uses parchment paper to roast veggies in the oven and stir-fries in water (using twice the amount that she would oil).
if you do decide to cook with oil?
If you do use oil to cook, Mr Hugh’s offers infused rapeseed oils in glass bottles (vanilla, lemon or hazelnut) which you can use like-for-like instead of butter (also in savoury garlic, basil or chilli). All experts say that rapeseed is one of the better oils to cook with (better than olive oil that is best for salad dressings, and rapeseed oil is also locally-grown, to support our farmers). Read more on the best cooking oils (and how to safely dispose of it – never down the sink).
invest in a brand new air-fryer
Throw out your chip pan and invest in a new air-fryer with safety cut-outs. One of the best kitchen investments, this uses no or a tiny amount of oil to make your own ‘fatty food’ without the fat, and you can also cook most frozen items that you would otherwise bake or fry.
The Healthy Vegan Air-Fryer Cookbook is packed with 100 simple recipes from pizza to tacos and even cake. Proof that you don’t need to submerge food in oil, all these recipes are low in calories and fat, and feature natural ingredients. Written by a nutritionist, recipes include:
- Beet chips with creamy dill sauce
- Jackfruit crab cakes with cocktail sauce
- Olive & refried bean taquitos
- Tempeh & walnut tacos
This reusable silicone air fryer basket (also in rectangular shape) offers 2 sheets (measure air basket before ordering) for fast cooking, due to slotted holes and carefully designed air flow structure. The dishwasher-safe liners will capture oil and food, then hand-wash or toss in the dishwasher. The drain channel stops oil from soaking food, while bevelled edges allow for more space for ingredients. Designed to fit most air fryers, this liner can also be used for steamers, ovens, Instant Pots, roasting and microwaves.
Sweet potato fries (Broke Bank Vegan) are nice served with ketchup, made in an air-fryer with little oil. Did you know that KFC fries are cooked in the same oil as their chicken? And although fries are vegan here, abroad McDonald’s fries are not abroad? And although their fries are vegan, Burger King ‘plant-based whoppers’ are again cooked alongside the meat?
