Vegan Flapjack

A golden oat flapjack from Simply Scrummy.  The flapjack is quite good, it is quite moist and the oats are quite large.  It is not too sweet which is good.  I like that this bar is 65grams as lots of flapjacks are bigger which I cannot manage.  This is the second of these flapjacks I have reviewed,  the Raspberry one is also very good.  Perfect for when you are about to do a long walk or exercise as oats are a slow energy release food.

Each 65 gram bar is suitable for vegetarians and vegan as far as I can tell.  Per 100grams is 414kcal.  I bought mine in an independent health food shop.

www.simplyscrummy.co.uk

Vegan Wheatgerm Crackers

A pack of wheatgerm crackers from Hovis.  I have not had these crackers for ages and I realised I was missing out.  The crackers are quite light and crumbly and have a lovely flavour which is quite savoury. They are perfect for light snack.  I like them with soups, spread with a little vitalite or with some mushroom pate.

Each 150gram pack is suitable for vegetarians and vegan as far as I can tell.  Per cracker is 27kcal.  Sold in supermarkets.

Vegan Spanish Chickpea Casserole

Chickpeas in a Spanish Style tomato and sweet pepper sauce from The Really Interesting Food Co.  For a tinned product I thought that this was OK.  You can taste the peppers and chilli heat which is not too overpowering but builds as you eat it.  The chickpeas have retained a nice texture.  A good quality staple to have in the cupboard – all it needs is some decent bread to go with it to make a good meal.

Each 400gram tin is suitable for vegetarians and vegan as far as I can tell.  Per 100gram is 50kcal.   I bought mine in an independent health food shop.

A 24 hour vitamin face cream from Green People.  This is my new favourite skincare product.  I really have enjoyed using this cream for the last few days,  my facial skin has been quite dry so I wanted to give it a boost.  I have found that the cream really holds moisture onto your face.  It has a medium texture to it so it goes on and then takes a couple of moments to soak into your skin.  Then it leaves you skin feeling really lovely and soft, but not greasy. The cream has a pleasant smell which is delicate.  Designed for day and night use.   Made with organic ingredients in the UK.

Each 50ml bottle is Vegan Society Approved and Vegetarian Society Approved.   Free from nasty chemicals made using natural ingredients.  Sold in some health food shops and on line.

www.greenpeople.co.uk

Vegan Cook Book

A book of 500 vegan recipes by Deborah Gray.  I like finding new recipe books especially ones with pictures that show what the dish is supposed to look like,  so many vegan recipe books do not have pictures which annoys me a bit.  This book has lots of really great recipes with variation on a theme, so you can alter it slightly for a different style of dish.

Recipes include basic recipe for soups and salads,  pies and bakes and lots of lovely vegan dessert recipes,  there are some more complicated dishes but nothing seems that difficult to make.  I am looking forward to trying the chickpea pancake recipe, the sweetcorn and jalapeno chowder and the banana cake with passion fruit glaze.

I really like the simplicity of this cook book and I can recommend it.  I bought mine on impulse from Waterstones for £9.99 but I imagine it is cheaper on line.

Veggies One Year Old

On May 17th 2011 I made my first blog post on veggies.co.uk.  I must say that I have been on quite a journey of food.  I have realised that not only is there so much choice out there for vegans and vegetarians but  more and more people are going veggie and understanding the benefits of a veggie lifestyle.

I would like to thank my readers and supporters,  my visits have grown from just a few hundred a month to over 30,000 and growing per month.  I really appreciate the lovely comments and questions I get.

Thank you also to the suppliers and manufacturers of vegan and veggie food,  keep up the great work and please keep giving us new and interesting vegan food.

I hope you will keep visiting my site,  fortunately there are still quite a few vegan friendly products that I have not reviewed yet.  If you would like to tell me about any new product or something that I have not reviewed yet then please email me and I will see what I can do.

Thanks everyone.

Vegan Ready Baked Potatoes

Ready baked potatoes from Bannisters Farm.  I have reviewed a very similar product from McCain recently.  These baked potatoes cook in 6 minutes in the microwave and are supposed to taste like they have been cooked in the oven.

Here is the comparison:-

Mccain: cooks quicker (4m:30s) , smells and tastes like the archetypal jacket potato, more of a floury potato, tastier skin

Brassingtons: 5m:30s, slightly bigger potatoes (about 10%), not as traditional taste but still pleasant.

Both potatoes make it hard to justify the time needed to bake a potato in the oven given the results and both are better than baked potatoes that have been cooked only in the microwave.    They are ideal to keep in the freezer for those “I dont have the time” days.  Great served with beans and humous.

Each pack of 4 Bannisters baked potatoes are suitable for vegetarians and vegan as far as I can tell.  Per 200gram potato is 197kcal.   British Potatoes.  Sold in the freezer section of supermarkets.  I got these from Morrisons.

www.bannistersfarm.co.uk

Vegan White Aniseed Balls

White aniseed balls from the Ultimate range of Neal’s Yard Wholefoods.  The first thing you notice with these aniseed balls is the size,  they are more like a gobstopper,  quite large,  so you might want to keep these for the grown ups.   They are really tasty,  I really enjoyed having these sweets.  The aniseed flavour is good and the last for ages and ages.   Perfect to offer to over chatty friends as one sweet will keep them busy for a while.

Each 125gram pack is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.  No artificial flavours or colours.  I bought mine in Holland & Barrett.

Vegan Booze

I wanted to try some different vegan beers and spirits,  I have used Vinceremos quite a few times in the past but not for a while.   So I thought I would see what they have on offer for vegans.  They have a huge choice which is wonderful,  lots of organic wines, beers and spirits.

The web site clearly marks vegan products and I found the service pretty good.  They delivered on time and the products were as described.  This company has been around for years and I can honestly say that they are a good company to deal with.

I have had a mixed case of fruit beers, a
mixed case of organic larger and some spirits, cognac, calvados and some cherry vodka.  I will review them individually shortly.  I think I might have some fun tasting.  It’s a tough job.

www.vinceremos.co.uk

The Vegan Society are running this video on their front page.  I thought it was worth a share.  It is quite powerful and I hope you will share it with others.

Vegan Fish Steaks

Gourmet fish style steaks from the Making Waves range of The Redwood Co.   Fake fish made with natural ingredients.  I have to admit even before I was vegan, I could not bring myself to eat fish,  I did not like the look of it or the smell.  So when I got these fish steaks to try I was not looking forward to sampling them.  To be honest if it had not come from Redwoods I would not have trusted that it was not fish.  The steaks look shockingly like real fish,  but without the bones and skin.  The smell is quite pleasant and subtle which I liked.  The breadcrumb outer adds a good crispy texture.  The Steaks for me were very much like real fish,  it is flaky and soft, but there are a few chewy bits in there too,  these were a bit too chewy to eat and I did not like that part.  I did surprise myself  because i actually enjoyed the steaks mostly.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this product to anyone.  I also think people who eat real fish would find this product a very satisfactory alternative.  Like I say I am surprised at how good this product is.

Each 200gram pack contains 2 fishless steaks.  Suitable for vegans and vegetarians.  Fish Free.  Cholesterol Free.  You can cook them in the oven, grill or fry them.  Per 100gram steak is 110kcal.  Sold in the fridge section of health food shops or on line.

www.redwoodfoods.co.uk

Please note that my reviews are always honest and unbiased, however I feel it only right to point out that Redwood’s did supply this product for me to review

Vegetarian Restaurant Swansea

I visited Swansea last week, and I called in the only veggie place in town for a snack.  Govindas is an OK veggie place.   It is run by Krishna’s.   The food is simple and most of it is curry type food with daily specials, salads and they do veggie burgers and chips.  I like the range of vegan cakes,  there is usually 3 or 4 offerings of cakes and desserts which are vegan friendly.  You can also have fresh juices and hot drinks.  Most of the food appeared to be vegan.

I had a slice of cake which was quite pleasant and Paul had the apple pakora which were more like apple fritters.

Govindas is very good value,   they even do meal deals for £5 for all you can eat.  The restaurant is clean and fresh.

They changed the restaurant a few years ago,  now it is like a canteen where you go up to the counter and choose your food.  I did prefer the old way which was waitress service when they had a bigger better menu.

But I guess they have simplified it to keep the costs down.  Although it did not seem as busy as it used to be before they changed it.

www.govindasswansea.co.uk

Vegan Strawberry Tarts

A pack of six vegan strawberry tarts from Morrisons supermarket.  I love jam tarts,  I like to make them and I like shop bought ones when I can find them.  I was pleased to find these strawberry tarts as usually you can only get a variety pack.  The jam is sticky, sweet and full of strawberry flavour and the pastry is nice and crumbly.  Perfect to go with some vegan custard, or just with a mug of tea.  The tarts are a good choice.  My other favourite jam tarts are Mr Kipling which I recently discovered are vegan friendly yippee.

Each pack of 6 jam tarts is suitable for vegetarians and vegan as far as I can tell.  Per tart is 149kcal.  Sold in Morrisons supermarkets.

Vegan Carob Mint Bar

A dairy and gluten free Carob mint flavoured confectionery bar from Siesta (D&D Chocolates Ltd).   I do not mind carob as a thin layer on flapjacks or similar type of foods,  but I found the thick carob in this bar too much.  The texture was not great as it seemed to dissolve in my mouth which was unpleasant.  The mint flavouring was good, but for me this bar is not something I would have again.

Each 50gram bar is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.  Per bar is approx. 280kcal.  I paid £1.09 in an independent health food shop.

www.danddchocolates.com

Vegan Fennel Broccoli Soup

I love soup and I like to make my own so it is fresh and full of nutrients.  This soup is so easy to make and only takes about 15 minutes start to finish.  Serves 4.

1 bulb of Fennel
Approx 150grams of tenderstem broccoli or broccoli florettes
dessert spoon of olive oil
Dessert spoon of vegetable stock powder (I use Marigold)
800ml of Water

Trim the Fennel and cut out and discard any horrible looking bits and then chop the fennel into small pieces.

Trim the Broccoli getting rid of any unpleasant looking bits,  but keep the stalks as well as the heads.  Chop into small pieces.

On the hob in a large sauce pan heat the Olive Oil then add the Fennel,  stir this through and cook for approx 3 minutes.

Add the water and stock to the saucepan and bring to the boil.  Turn down the heat so the broth is simmering,  allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the broccoli and turn the heat up until it is boiling again, then turn the heat down and allow to simmer for another 2-3 minutes.  This allows the broccoli to cook but not too much. You dont want to lose the nutrients.

Take off the heat and then blend it.  If you have a stick blender do it right away.  But if you are adding it to a blender then let it cool down a bit, you do not want to risk spilling and burning yourself.

Then serve with some crackers or crusty bread.  The soup is warming and fresh.  You can freeze some or keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

If you like you can add a bit of chilli powder and garlic in when you are cooking the fennel.  But I like the simplistic taste of just the broccoli and the fennel.

Fennel is great for the digestion and has lots of other health benefits, and broccoli is a full of all kinds of health benefits including helping blood pressure and lowering Cholesterol and good for bones.  So this is a super green soup that is really good for you.