This is a great sweet potato soup full of goodness to warm your body and soul. Sweet potatoes are a brilliant, filling and yummy vegetable. They contain a lot less carbohydrate than standard potatoes, meaning that less is converted to sugar during digestion. Sweet potatoes are high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C and antioxidants and minerals. Sweet potatoes are a really good base for soups as they are starchy enough to really thicken the soup up but still really tasty and full of goodness.

Start by chopping 4 medium sized sweet potatoes, I actually leave the skin on for this recipe as it is full of extra nutrients and as I’m going to whizz the soup up with a blender it will all blend up too. Add to a large pan and then roughly chop 2 large vine tomatoes, 1 orange pepper and 1 red pepper and add to the pan. The main flavour in this soup is the sweet potato which is yummy and creamy but the added vegetables add a great amount of depth to the flavour.

I am a little bit in love with rosemary, it is one of my favourite herbs and I think it makes everything taste better but it does go really well with this soup and make an aromatic autumnal flavour. I grow rosemary in my garden and add a sprig straight in at this point. Cover with approximately 2 pints of boiling stock, either homemade or to make sure it is suitable for coeliacs and veggies double check all the ingredients on ready made stock cubes; Kallo do a great range.

Cook on a medium heat for about an hour or until the sweet potatoes are breaking apart and then blend with a handheld blender and serve hot. It’s delicious.

In the Autumn I love to eat nice, warming soups full of flavour and veggies. I know it’s not technically Autumn yet but with a slight chill in the wind I’m going to tuck in and enjoy a nice September-ey soup.

Essentially this recipe is for an amazing and tasty carrot and coriander soup but packed full of protein with some tasty lentils.

Finely chop 2 sticks of celery and 4 medium carrots and place in a pan with a handful of chopped coriander and about a pint and a half of boiling water. Bring to the boil on a high heat and when boiling switch down to a medium heat and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes. Although it is easy to cook the carrot and celery much quicker on a high heat the length of time simmering allows the coriander to break down and the flavour to really take hold.

Once soft and well cooked add lentils to the soup. The great thing with this recipe is you can use any lentils of your choice, I’m using red lentils as I really love the way the break down whilst cooking and make the texture of the soup really thick and creamy. Continue to cook, I use a medium heat and cook for approximately 45 minutes. Another great way to bulk this up for winter and autumn evening meals is to add rice, add rice at the same time as the lentils and cook on a higher heat to ensure the rice is cooked through, you may need to add more boiling water as it cooks on a higher heat.

One more perfect, tasty, vegan and coeliac soup.

I love oriental flavours and since being diagnosed coeliac and lactose intolerant it is far too big a risk to try and have a sneaky take-away, fortunately I have found a much better substitute low in msg and fats and guaranteed vegetarian, gluten free and lactose free.

To kick off with pop approximately 150g white rice on to cook in a pan. Rice is a great stable for coeliacs as it provides filling carbohydrates without having to resort to free from alternative foods. Although I would often use brown rice and brown rice is a lot healthier I am sticking with the ‘treat night’ theme here and making this as indulgent as I like. Cook the rice for 20 – 25 minutes until fluffy or as instructed.

Whilst the rice is cooking I begin getting the other yummy ingredients ready. Start by chopping the tofu, I use Cauldron Tofu in a block as it is organic and really readily available. I chop the block lengthways and then into small pieces about 1cm cubed. Pop into a large pan with a little oil. I use sesame oil as I am allergic to peanuts and it tastes yummy. Cook for approximately 15 minutes stirring frequently and turning the pieces of tofu so they brown evenly. Tofu is an excellent addition to vegan and vegetarian diets as it is rich in protein and even contains all 8 essential amino acids meaning it contains more amino acids than meat! Low in fat and really versatile tofu is a real wonder food and takes on the flavour of the dish. Yummy.

Fresh chopped pineapple tastes delicious, after approximately 15 minutes add about a quarter of a chopped pineapple to the pan with the tofu so this can start browning and cooking. Unfortunately I have to cheat on the next ingredients as I never find fresh bamboo shoots or water chestnuts so I use the caned variety in water, I chop these much smaller and then add them to the tofu and pineapple.

This dish is so yummy and the pineapple adds so much flavour it only needs a small amount to taste. I add gluten free soy sauce and I love the Clearspring Organic Tamari Soya Sauce as it is guaranteed gluten free, organic to boot and tastes delicious. I also use the Sweet Mandarin Sweet Chilli Sauce as it is again gluten free, lactose free and yummy. Add about a tablespoon of each to the vegetable and tofu and continue to cook and stir through until it all absorbed.

When the rice and the tofu and pineapple mix is all cooked the dish is ready to eat. Although still a treat dish this meal is so much better than a takeaway I feel totally justified in accompanying it with a glass of wine. Mmmmm for treat night.

Having gotten into my groove with the lentils last week I’m on a roll now and going to share a recipe I love that is full of flavour and chickpeas. Fashioned on one of my favourite Indian lentil dishes this stew is full of garlic and yummy as anything.

Lentils are a great nutritional source for coeliacs and vegans alike; full of protein, minerals and fibre and also really filling without being full of sugar like some coeliac alternative foods. Much healthier than carbohydrates!

Start by creating a great base for the soup, sauté one large white onion and 2 finely chopped carrots. Once soften add chopped garlic, red chilli and coriander. Stir a few times so the vegetables are coated in the herbs and garlic and tasty all the way through. Then add about one and a half pints of boiling water and a stock cube. Allow the soup base to cook on a medium to high heat. It will look like you have far too much water at this point but this is because the lentils will absorb loads of the water and leave you with a chunky veggie delight.

Once the stock and vegetables have been left to cook add approximately 100g of red lentils and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes. You will know the lentils have started to cook when they begin to break down and lose their shape as they soften and fill the stew. Chickpeas add a huge amount of extra protein to this dish and taste fantastic with the other vegetables. They add to the texture as well as the flavour by cutting through the thickness of the stew and providing a crunch. Add the chickpeas and cook for a further 15 minutes before serving and enjoying with a smile.