Vegan and Vegetarian

Posts in category 1. Observations

Vegan Basics Part 1

May12
2013 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan ? I don’t think so!bigstockphoto_Crazy_Cow_3605

Most vegans will know the ingredients to look out for when buying food,  but I thought it would be a good idea to go over some ingredients that you might think “ooh I’m not sure about that.”

I will add some more Vegan Basics soon,  if you have a good one then let me know and I will add it next time

Shellac

Shellac is a secretion from a small insect/bug called the Lac Bug.  The Lac Bug takes in a certain type of bark and then secretes this waxy substance.  It is harvested  by scraping the bark from the tree, which includes any lac bugs still there,  the harvester then heats the whole thing over a fire and the waxy liquid substance is drained off,  of course killing any bugs.  Shellac is a waxy substance, sometimes used to make apples shiny and add a glaze on sweets.

Gelatine 

Most people will know that gelatine comes from the meat industry which is a byproduct of cows and pigs.  This nasty little ingredient sneaks into lots of foods and medicines.  Gelatine caps are used for lots of vitamin supplements and tablets even though many religions do not allow this substance.  It is commonly used in jelly sweets and is used as a thickener to make foods set.

The good news is that there is a vegetarian version but it is not used as much sadly.  You can buy veggie caps for medicine and supplements too.

Cochineal, Carmine E120

You guessed it, this food and cosmetic colouring comes from insects that are boiled for the deep ruby red colour substance of their dead bodies.   Used commonly in paints, lipstick and food colourings,  it is sometimes added to fruit juices and sweets to enhance the colour.

Isinglass

If you like a glass of wine or beer watch out for this yukky filtering ingredient.  Isinglass is used to filter wine and beers to take away the cloudiness of these drinks, to make them look crisp and clear.  Isinglass is made from fish bladders.  I have had many a debate with beer and wine suppliers as they say that it is a filter and does not remain in the drink.  I am sorry but that is rubbish,  I would not drink something that was filtered through a big chunk of meat anymore than I would fish bladder thank you very much.

There are lots of vegan beers and wines out there that have been filtered without this method and are wonderfully clear and crisp and taste great.  Be wary of wines that say suitable for vegetarians as these can sometimes be filtered with egg.  Always go for vegan suitable and then you know you are OK.  The Co-op supermarket is really good at labelling their products vegan.  Also there are specialist on line wine & beer merchants like Vinceremos.

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Wills Vegan Shoes

May11
2013 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

New Vegan Shoe Shopwills

I love it when we get a new vegan supplier.   A new vegan shoe supplier called Wills Vegan Shoes.

They are doing some give aways with a Golden Ticket Here is what they have to say:-

 

Wills Vegan Shoes has been founded by a passion to provide great vegan shoes with high street styles and prices – from a company that has no connection with the leather industry and is vegan owned and run.

With the first styles on show at Veg Fest Bristol, ready for sale Autumn – 2013 looks to be another exciting year for vegan shoes.

Right now you can take part in an amazing Golden Ticket Competition! Get yourself ontowww.wills-vegan-shoes.com to add your email address. When the new styles launch in Autumn EVERYONE who has entered will receive a minimum £10 gift voucher to spend on the website! You may win £20, £30 – the winner will receive a free pair of shoes of their choice! 

 

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Seabrook Crisp All Veggie but Not Vegan

May10
2013 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Seabrook Crisps Reformulate Crispsseabrook

I was contacted a short while ago by the Marketing team of Seabrook crisps to tell me that all their crisps are vegetarian which is great news.  However the not so great news is that they are reformulating all their flavours and now they have made all their crisps unsuitable for vegans, except for the plain and salt & vinegar.

I cannot understand why they are taking such a backward step,  many vegans love crisps and I get fed up with the only options plain or salt & vinegar,  come on who came up with this senseless idea.  They are now going to lose a large number of their customers due to this.

Their reasoning is that they want to lower the salt content in their crisps and make them gluten free, so this means using milk in their recipes.  Their website was not updated last time I checked,  but ignore all those lovely flavours that were once suitable for vegans,  they are now only vegetarian.

Recently Walkers crisps made a really silly move and started using real meat in their crisps.  I just don’t get it.  Why rule out a large part of your customer base.   Oh well I will have to find another brand of crisps to buy now.

www.seabrookcrisps.com

Products Allergen New Allergens Suitable Vegetarian Y/N Suitable for Vegan Y/N
Perfectly unsalted × None Y Y
Salt & Vinegar Flavour × None Y Y
Sea Salt × None Y Y
Canadian Ham Flavour × None Y N
Cheese & Onion Flavour a Milk Y N
Prawn Cocktail Flavour a Milk Y N
Cream Cheese & Chive Flavour a Milk Y N
Beefy Flavour a Milk Y N
Tomato Flavour a Milk Y N
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Razzle Dazzle Vegan Ice Cream

May09
2013 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Ice Creamcocodough

Razzle Dazzle dairy free desserts have had a packaging update.  I am so glad that they have gone with something more in keeping with their brand.  I think it looks really good.

Shokalate

 

 

 

I have reviewed lots of their ice cream before which is very good.   The ice cream is made with coconut milk so totally vegan.

The flavours include the Banana Drama,  HintaMint,  Skokalate, Coconilla, Mango and Cocodough.

coconilla

hintamint
www.razzledazzleices.co.uk

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Vegfest

Apr13
2013 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

VegFest UK Events

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Fruits de la Terre Vegan Food

Apr07
2013 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Market Stall

Whilst out and about on Saturday I stumbled across a vegan food stall right in the middle of a farmers market.  My eyes popped when I saw some of the delightful foods on offer.

 

I discovered that Fruits de la Terre are a small artisan company run by Tom and Emyr, who are trying hard to make lovely vegan food and develop a business selling it.  They have started small with market stalls throughout Wales and hope soon to supply some shops and other food outlets.

 

It is very exciting to find a new supplier,  I hope they do well.  They do not have a web site yet,  but here is a link to one of the owners facebook page where they list where the market stalls will be around Wales.   https://www.facebook.com/fruits.delaterre?fref=ts

Now the food:-

Ooooooooh what a treat.  I tried a few things from the market stall,  my favourite was the  tandoori lentil chickpea pie which had a wonderful flavour,  the pastry is good and the filling is so tasty.  The red onion cherry tomato tarte tartin was delicious and the Indian Hot pot pie was also incredibly good.  There was a Satay chickpea burger which was OK, not my favourite, but I can’t like everything.  I also have a vegan haggis to try,  but I am saving that for Sunday lunch.

My my the food is good,  if you happen to visit one of the market stalls I think you will be pleased.

Also this food is not just for vegans,  it is tasty and I do believe that most people would enjoy this offering that happens to be vegan.  Good luck Tom and Emyr.

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Veganic Vegan Cheese

Mar17
2013 2 Comments Written by maggie

Good Vegan Cheese

Recently I have reviewed two vegan cheeses from Veganic,  pizza cheese and cheese slices. I wanted to give them another mention in case you missed it.  This brand has the best vegan cheese I have ever tried.  It tastes how I remember real cheese tastes without the dairy,  the flavour is very similar to mild cheddar.

The pizza cheese is perfect for cheese on toast, on pizzas, sandwiches, topping pastas and so on.  The cheese slices are great on a veggie burger,  as a cheese sandwich with whatever you fancy they also melt very well so could be used for cheese on toast.  I am amazed how good this cheese is.

Here are links to my reviews:-

Vegan Pizza Cheese Review

Vegan Cheese Slice Review

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Dragonfly Vegan Foods

Mar06
2013 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Savoury Products

A little bird has told me that Dragonfly foods are working on some new vegan products and hopefully very soon they will be in the shops.  I am very excited.  I will let you know when I hear more news.

Dragonfly have recently redesigned their product packaging and web site.  They look so good.  The products have been given a much more attractive presentation with the new style which is much more suitable for their products.

Dragonfly have a few products that I have not reviewed yet,  so I will pick some up soon.  Everything I have tried so far is pretty good.   I like their soysages and all of the burgers I have tried so far are really tasty.  They sell them in most health food shops.

They are Vegetarian Society Approved and  vegan friendly.   Organic and made in the UK.

www.dragonflyfoods.com

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Walkers Crisps No Longer Veggie

Feb28
2013 6 Comments Written by maggie

Walkers Crisps Use Real Animals

In a surprising move Walkers Crisps have decided to use real meat in their ingredients.  As a veggie I am hugely disappointed with this backward step.

Walkers want to use traditional ingredients which include Free Range Chickens and Pigs and goodness knows what else given all the scandals out there at the moment.

I hope that they realise that vegetarians and vegans make up a large part of their customer base and I hope they see a massive fall in sales due to this change.

You can contact Walkers to tell them how you feel about this change,  protest on their facebook page, do whatever you feel necessary.

Packs are starting to hit the shops now,  so my advice is avoid Walkers Crisps,  there are plenty of other brands that respect Veggies.

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Odysea Bruschetta Meze Topping

Feb24
2013 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Bruschetta Topping

A Bruschetta meze topping from Odysea.    Ideal for putting on top of crackers or toasted breads this bruschetta topping is very pleasant.  There is an intense tomato and olive flavour with good size chunks of tomato and olives.  It is quite salty but does delivery a strong flavour,  so you do not need much on your bruschetta.  Can also be used as a dip.

Made with Red Peppers, Onions, Courgettes, Aubergines, Olives, Sun Dried tomatoes Olive oil herbs and spices.

Each 220gram jar is suitable for vegetarians and vegan as far as I can tell (see faq).  Made in Greece.   I got mine from the Co-operative supermarket.

www.odysea.com

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Forest Foods Veggie Food

Feb15
2013 1 Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Food Supplier

I have discovered a veggie food supplier that seem to be under the Radar a little,  so I thought I would give them a mention.

Forest Foods make over 20 vegan products, from Calzones, Wraps, pasties, sausage rolls, nutroasts and parcels,  also they are purely a vegetarian supplier and offer a huge range of vegetarian foods.  They supply some health food shops and Goodness Direct on line with their products,  but sadly unless you buy in bulk you cannot buy directly from them.   If they are not in your local health food shop,  ask if they can get them in for you,  my local shop is pretty good and often gets stuff in for me,  they like to help.

The food looks pretty interesting a few that caught my eye were the Vegan Nutroast,  the Mushroom and Sage Sausage Rolls, the Spicy Lentil Calzone and the Moroccan Bean Wrap,  but the list goes on,  honestly it all looks good.

I hopefully will be reviewing some of their products soon.  Here is some information from Forest Foods:-

“……..and most of all it has to taste better”– Sarah Bird, Founder Forest Foods
Do you care about these principles as much as we do?
You can buy food a bit like ours – often at amazing prices. But they don’t all have these key ingredients.

Taste. Our products are beyond comparison when it comes to
taste. We shy away from the more traditional vegetarian recipes  to give you products with a kick!

Personal Service. You know who you are talking to when you
pick up the phone. That’s why we have the same customers we
began with 13 years ago. Nobody beats us on service.

New Ideas. We never stop creating tastier things to eat – looking for new ideas. So we always listen to our customers’ suggestions and recommendations.

Independent and Local. We are committed to the smaller
independent retailer – Be assured Forest Foods will never be on
the shelf of a big supermarket.

The Environment. Because we really care we limit packaging
wherever we can. We encourage retailers to sell our products
loose and where possible deliver in reusable trays.

Committed to GM free. All our products are free from genetically
modified ingredients.

Vegetarian – of course. We are totally committed to Vegetarianism and all of our products have Vegetarian Society
approval.

www.forestfoods.com

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Deerly Beloved Vegan Bakery

Jan22
2013 3 Comments Written by maggie

Vegan Bakery

I am pleased to tell you about another little vegan bakery making and selling wonderful cakes and treats to buy mail order, or locally in Norwich.  If you are lucky enough to live in Norwich Kayleigh (the owner/baker) supplies the local Waterstones Book Shop cafe with her vegan cakes and she runs a monthly meeting where you can go along and enjoy some vegan cakes and a chat.  Sadly I live on the opposite coast so I cannot just pop in for a vegan cake but I am sure the mail order service will work for me.

Deerly Beloved Bakery makes artisan vegan and gluten free Cakes, Chocolates, and Savouries. They are freshly handmade to order from a vegan kitchen in Norwich

Here is some information from Deerly Beloved Vegan Bakery Website:

Deerly Beloved Bakery is a vegan bakery in Norwich and is run by Kayleigh Read.  Kayleigh worked as a vegan and vegetarian cook for over 4 years,before taking the plunge to follow her dreams and start her own vegan bakery.

Deerly Beloved Bakery has a full food hygiene certificate and their kitchen was rated a 5 by Norwich City Council in late 2011.

Kayleigh absolutely adores baking and experimenting to make delicious cruelty free, vegan treats! Deerly Beloved’s cakes contain no hydrogenated fats,char bone processed sugars,or GMOs. They only use real bourbon vanilla and try to source all their packaging from recycled, biodegradable and FSC materials.

Deerly Beloved Bakery’s cakes and bakes are currently available at Waterstones Cafe W,St Benedicts Food Store and Biddy’s Tea Room.

 

Deerly Beloved also do wedding,  birthday and special occasion cakes and catering for your beloved!

Get in touch at deerlybelovedbakeryvegan@gmail.com or 07768762998 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Deerly Beloved Bakery.

www.deerlybelovedbakery.blogspot.co.uk

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Hannah Banana Vegan Bakery

Jan19
2013 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Cakes

There is a lovely vegan bakery making the most amazing looking cakes and treats for vegans.  You can buy through mail order or from the bakery in Southampton.  I cannot wait to try some of the treats they make as they look soo good,   I will review the cakes soon.

Here is some information from their website:-

About Hannah Banana Bakery and her delightful treats

Hannah Banana Bakery started in 2011 when Hannah’s baking skills went into overdrive. Using her nine years of vegan cake baking experience, she wanted to offer vegan and gluten free cakes and treats to people on the South Coast, without the need to travel, all the way to Brighton. After writing a number of vegan recipe ‘zines and contributing to ‘Another dinner is possible’ and ‘Lickin’ the beaters 2’ cook books, she took an NFCE sugar craft course and learned the finer art of celebration cake decoration. Her qualifications now include a level 2 certificate in food safety in catering (2 day course) as well as a PhD in biology (for a super clean kitchen!). She mid way through an 8 week chocolatier course to ensure you get your perfect cake every time!

About Hannah’s cakes

Vegan diets don’t eat any animal products. All Hannah Banana cakes are made without milk or their derivatives, honey, eggs or butter, but this doesn’t hinder their yummy flavour.  Most of the items can also be made to suit an assortment of dietary requirements, including glutenallergies, low sugar or soya free.

www.hannahbananabakery.co.uk

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New Vegan Sweeties

Jan18
2013 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Veggie Sweet Shop

There is a new small company selling lots of lovely looking vegan friendly and veggie sweeties which I cannot wait to try.   From jelly sweets to vegan marshmallows.   I will let you know what I think of the products soon.  Here is some information they have sent me.

From Needs Sweets:-

The concept of Need Sweets was born a few years ago out of frustration. We were two sweet toothed vegetarians with over 18 years of vegetarian living between us. We had managed to get our sugar fix from the small range of vegetarian sweets on offer at our local organic food shop but mainly from chocolate and ice lollies which is all very well but its not the same as sweeties and marshmallows! Children and life have delayed things for a few years but in October 2012 we launched Need Sweets online. Being keen internet shoppers ourselves and aware of the benefits of specialist products being delivered to your door we decided to create a one stop shop so that any vegetarian or vegan can buy their favourite treats with ease and confidence.

Years of trawling through endless lists of ingredients only to find the disappointing “gelatine” told us that vegetarians and vegans find it hardest to find suitable gummy sweets and almost impossible to find marshmallows they can enjoy. Our aim is to offer our veggie customers a genuine choice from a range that includes high-street brands and artisan producers. We carefully select each of our products by taste testing them first, something we see as a perk rather than a chore! Currently we stock a wide range of marshmallows from 4 producers and 20 lines of sweets which are all suitable for vegetarians. We are constantly expanding our vegan range but as it stands all of our marshmallows and 7 of our sweets lines are suitable for vegans. We continue to use our influence as a retailer and our experience of the vegan community to encourage more producers to go vegan and see this as part of what we want to achieve.  We are currently experimenting with recipes for our own products with the hope of bringing them to market later this year.

www.needsweets.co.uk

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Vegfest Update March 2013

Jan05
2013 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Veggie Festival Update

Presenter, author and former pop star Janey Lee Grace will be opening the 5th VegfestUK Brighton at The Hove Centre on Saturday and Sunday March 16th and 17th 2013. The event is free to the public and large crowds are expected as Janey is joined by a host of other celebrities visiting the show. Janey will be opening the show at 11am on Saturday, followed by a talk about healthy living at 12.

Sunday is especially busy with CBeebies presenter Sarah Jane Honeywell in attendance and helping out with some of the Kids activities planned for the day, including Kids cookery classes. And ex Emmerdale actress Roxy Shahidi (who played the character Leyla Harding for 3 years) will also be visiting the show on Sunday to host her own yoga workshop – Roxy’s Bite Size Yoga Workshop, suitable for beginners as well as the more advanced.

Professional footballer Dean Howell (Fleetwood Town FC) will be in attendance on Sunday – Dean is one of the few players to play football in the top divisions whilst adhering to a strict plant based diet and he will be on hand to answer questions about his training, diet and use of supplements. Dean will be joined by UK Savate Kick boxing champion James Southwood, GB Duathlon competitor Dave Arnold, Elite runner Matt Woodman and bodybuilder Alex Mitchell as they compete in a strength competition on Sunday – with all the competitors eating, training and competing on a 100% plant based diet.

And for some light-hearted relief, comedians Andrew O’Neill (recently to be seen on the 250th episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks) and Sara Pascoe (TV star of ‘Stand up for the Week’ & ‘Hall of Fame’) will be providing plenty during the comedy hours both days at 5pm, which also feature comedians Joey Brannigan, Chris Dhondee, Dominic Berry and James Hately.

There’s also a performance area with around a dozen musicians playing over the weekend, including Brighton – based musician Tensheds, and guitarist Paul Carella. And for the first time at Brighton there is a cinema with a number of eco friendly films showing across the weekend, including ‘Vegucated’, ‘Planeat’ (followed by a discussion with Planeat director Shelley Lee Davies), and ‘Got the Facts on Milk?’. Add in a programme of workshops, talks and cookery demos, a full line-up of kids activities on Sunday, and over 125 stalls  full of food, produce, bodycare, fashion and accessories, clothing, campaigns merchandise and information about all aspects of the plant based lifestyle, and there’s plenty for the whole family to enjoy at VegfestUK Brighton.

Admission is completely free to the public and the show is open from 11am – 6pm. Donations are welcome. More details about the event can be found on their website www.brighton.vegfest.co.uk

VegfestUK sees a second big event in Bristol on May 24th 25th 26th, with Caravan Palace headlining the Friday evening. It’s the tenth birthday for VegfestUK Bristol and around 20,000 are expected at the event over the weekend, See www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk  for details. And there’s a new VegfestUK show in London in October (5th and 6th) – see www.london.vegfest.co.uk for further information

For more information about VegfestUK Brighton contact the organisers on 0117 3079872 or emailinfo@vegfest.co.uk

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