Solla Eiríksdóttir, author of Vegan at Home. Photo by Gunnlo

Solla's delicious guide to Vegan snacking at home

Solla Eiríksdóttir, author of Vegan at Home, knows how to beat that mid-afternoon lull

It’s easy to get the wrong idea about veganism. For many, cutting out meat, dairy and all other animal products seems like such a huge dietary sacrifice, that they assume a vegan diet is a strict, dull and rigid one.

The Icelandic chef, restaurateur, TV cook and author Solla Eiríksdóttir disagrees. Her new book, Vegan at Home, is subtitled ‘recipes for a modern plant-based lifestyle,’ and within these pages, she manages to include plenty of delicious, indulgent, contemporary dishes. There’s recipes for tiramisu and pavlovas as well as tasty tagines and pasta recipes. And she also accounts for those of us who like a little pick-me-up in between meals. In her section on afternoon snacks, Solla recalls, very fondly, how a little something would really make her day.

How to get snacking right with Vegan at Home

Porridge pancakes

“I have great memories from my childhood of how my home would smell like heaven when I came home from school in the afternoons,” she writes. “Around 3pm my mom would serve us some homemade afternoon treats to restore our energy. It made it more fun and easier to do homework or practice the piano after school; I guess the magic was both the food and the love from my mom.”

Home cooks, whether vegan or not, often skimp on snack foods, preferring to rely on prepackaged biscuits and bars. That’s a mistake, as Solla’s recipes are fairly straightforward, healthy, and packaging free, which means they’re probably better for the people eating them, and the planet.

They range from quick smoothies to slightly more complicated items such as almond and rhubarb muffins. In some instances, Solla saves time by making large batches of some of her snacks, such as her seed crackers, while in other instances, she simply turns to leftovers.

“When there are leftovers of my morning porridge, I keep it for pancakes,” she writes, and when I have leftover cooked beans, I love to make bean snacks; they are so comforting and tasty, and the protein, B vitamins and fibre in the beans reduce blood sugar levels, giving you radiance and increased energy.”

How to get snacking right with Vegan at Home Vegan at Home

Just what we all need, around that 3pm lull, right? For full recipes for all these dishes, order a copy of Vegan at Home here.