Instant almond milk

I look forward to the second weekend of September like it’s Christmas. During those two days, Toronto turns into a vegan mecca.

If you’ve never attended the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival (the world’s largest veg fest) then this video created by the Toronto Vegetarian Association is a great sneak peak.

This fantastic festival is a great opportunity to catch up with friends in the vegan community, sample all the new vegan products and hear inspiring speakers from around the world.

As part of the festival presentations this year, Lisa and I collaborated on a food demo. Instead of begging Lisa’s food processor to make banana soft serve for 200 again, we thought we’d focus on sharing some tips and tricks that make eating vegan easier for us. Since Lisa has been following a vegan diet for 28 years and I have been for 12, we’ve learned a few shortcuts along the way to save time and money, without sacrificing flavour and fun.

Just in case you weren’t able to make it down to join the enthusiastic crowd that filled the Lakeside Terrace, we thought we’d post our recipes and tips here too.

1. Get Down With DIY–Celebrate your pioneer spirit and learn to make your own milks, flours and nut butters.

2. Value Versatility–Unleash your creativity with versatile pantry staples like almonds, cashews, oats, avocados and bananas.

3. Pass Over Packages–Don’t waste your money on plastic or cardboard; seek out farmers markets, CSAs and bulk bins. Save your dollars for those awesome ingredients.

4. Trust Technology–Invest in good quality appliances like a food processor and/or blender. The one-time investment will save you time and money every day.

5. Buy in Bulk–Use your negotiation skills to get great deals on produce, dry ingredients and hard-to-find favourites.

6. Grow Your Own–Make a hobby out of growing your own vegetables, sprouts or potted herbs. Use them in delicious recipes like tahini herb dressing.

7. Embrace Cultural Cuisine–The kitchen is an excellent platform to unleash your creativity. Try vegetarian Indian, Ethiopian, Mexican, Mediterranean or South East Asian recipes to keep your meals diverse and delicious.

8. Stock Snacks–Be prepared. Stop worrying about finding fantastic food while on the go–travel with treats!

9. Double the Fun–Make big batches of beans, grains, dressings and dips to save time all week.

10. Feed Your Friends–Nourish your friends and your soul with delicious, health-promoting fare. Nothing says love like feeding people.

Along with these helpful tips, we showed the crowd how to make your own nut butters, instant almond milk, tahini, tahini herb dressing and snack bars with frosting. Here’s one of the recipes!