Vegan New Years Feast: Recipe Suggestions

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm trying to go sugar free in January. It's tough! Another goal I have for 2015 is to eat more vegan - I'm a vegetarian but I'm hoping to reduce my carbon footprint further by eating less eggs and dairy. And I got off to a great start on New Years eve with a delicious vegan New Years dinner! 

Keith and I spent a pretty quiet New Years with his parents and sister. With me being a vegetarian and my sis-in-law being allergic to both gluten and dairy, the New Year's dinner proved a bit of a challenge. In the end we went with three recipes from the fantastic vegan food blogger Oh she glows. And since it was such a hit, I thought I'd share the menu with you!

My apologies for the bad flash photo, I didn't think to document the process so all I had was my phone camera. But you'll find much more appetizing photos on the Oh She Glows blog anyway - I definitely recommend checking it out!

- Glazed Lentil Walnut Apple loaf. Though a bit labor intensive, this loaf was a big hit. I love bean/lentil loaves, they're so hearty and filling. The tasty glaze made this loaf feel a bit more festive, and I loved the addition of the apple and celery.

- Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Avocado Garlic Aioli. This was my sis-in-law's favorite recipe of the bunch - the potatoes were the perfect amount of crispy and the avocado aioli was fantastic. We did "cheat" a bit here as we didn't manage to find vegan mayo at my in-laws' local grocery store, but next time I make these I fully intend to use vegan mayo (I have used this brand before with great results).

- Nut Butter Crusted Parsnip Fries. Since Keith is not a fan of potatoes, we made these parsnip fries as an alternative side dish. They were fantastic, and far healthier than regular fries since they were baked rather than deep fried. I've already bought another bag of parsnips to make them again!

- Vegan Chocolate Mousse Without Added Sugar. This is a recipe from another (now dormant) blog called Vegan Magic. I was very excited to find a creamy vegan mousse recipe without added sugar. It may be because we were already so full from the main course, but we found the chocolate mousse almost TOO rich - next time I will try adding a bit more liquid coconut milk to dilute it a bit.

With fantastic recipes like these, there's no need to miss dairy. I'll keep you posted as I venture further into the world of vegan cuisine!