Vegan Kind September Box

On September 22, 2017December 23, 2017 By ClareIn productsLeave a comment

Waiting for us at home when we returned from Skye was a very exciting box. Our latest Vegan Kind Box. Let’s see what was in it.

Lenny and Larry White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut

I took one bite out of this giant cookie and went ‘urgh’; Kate took one bite and went ‘mmmm’. I thought that the texture was too doughy and not crisp enough; Kate informed me that it was exactly like a cookie was supposed to be. I objected to it as overly sweet; Kate countered that it was just sweet enough.

Yes from Kate, no from me.

Livias Kitchen Salted Maca Caramel Biccy Boms

Kate immediately gravitated towards this one so I let her try it alone. First she complained about the amount of packaging ‘plastic coated wrap and a plastic case inside!’ then bit into it. I asked her what she thought ‘nice’ I asked her for more words. She loved the taste and the texture and raved about the date centre.

Looking forward to buying more of these.

Pop Chips Sea Salt and Black Pepper

I’ve come across other flavours of Pop Chips but never these. That’s a shame as they are everything a Sea Salt and Black Pepper flavoured crisp should be. A generous coating of pepper gives them tonnes of flavour and makes them very addictive.

Already searching for my next packet.

Green Frog Natural Geranium & Peppermint Body Wash

I noticed that a few people on Instagram complaining about their body wash leaking. So I checked my bottle over. I found a crack, it thankfully hadn’t started leaking yet. The body wash itself smells lovely, very light and fresh. It cleans well. It’s left my skin soft. I’m afraid I just don’t trust the packaging.

Cheeky P’s Curry Flavour Roasted Chickpeas

This time I was the ‘mmmm’ and Kate was the ‘urgh’ I loved the curry flavour though I could only manage half a packet at first. Don’t worry, I went back later.

Good for a snack.

Beloved Dates Nectar

I tried this honey substitute in a drink, Kate drizzled it onto her fingers and licked them clean. It’s a good sweetener and we plan on having more on pancakes for breakfast.

Sweet.

Revolution Foods Protein Sample

Call us chicken but neither of us wants to try drinking this. It’s not like we need the extra protein right now. We got the Wild Berry flavour.

Now I want either more of them Cheeky P’s, or failing that some Pop Chips….

Vegan On Skye

On September 18, 2017December 23, 2017 By ClareIn Skye1 Comment

Since starting this blog focused on vegan life in south Devon I’ve been to Manchester, Guide Camp and now I’ve dragged Kate and my camera phone all the way to Skye. We have been to Skye before, last June when we still ate eggs and dairy. Being vegetarian on Skye is so easy – this is Macaroni Pie country after all – but I was worried that being vegan might be too difficult. Especially with my meat-eating Dad, not to mention his dog, along for the ride.

Welcome to Portree.

We rented a self catering cottage in Portree for the week. Portree is small but it is not the back woods. There is a Co-op in the centre that is open till late seven days a week. As a lot of the shops on the island close on a Sunday that’s a good thing. You can get soy, coconut and almond milk in the chiller and Linda McCartney Sausages in the freezer.

If you are self catering Jackson’s Wholefoods is across the road. Open Tuesday to Saturday it stocks all sorts of vegan goodies: tofu, cheese, hotdogs, biscuits, oatcakes, haggis… all sorts.

Eating out there are plenty of options too. Our favourite is the Fat Panda. If you are okay with shared fryers (we are, but we get why other people wouldn’t be) the chip shop on the harbour uses vegetable oil to cook their chips.

Embrace the Haggis

Okay so you don’t need me to tell you that traditional haggis isn’t vegan. Vegetarian haggis is though. We ate Haggis for breakfast at Central Cafe in Portree (dogs welcome!) and Kate had a Haggis melt with vegan cheese from Cafe Sia in Broadford (dogs outside only)

If you visit Central Cafe after breakfast you get a couple of vegan options. We spied a three been chilli and a lentil soup. Cafe Sia had the widest vegan menu of any of the places we visited. You can get their wood fired pizzas with vegan cheese. I went for the Glasrach, packed with delicious vegetables and one of the nicest tomato sauces I’ve ever had.

Party with Pie

One of our favourite stops on our last trip was Skye Pie Cafe (dogs outside only) We were delighted to see that they offer a vegan tart. Well I was. It has a polenta base, topping of roast vegetables and dollop of pesto. Kate thought it might be a bit too adventurous for her. In the end it was, and even I have to admit there were a lot of peppers. The potato wedges kept her full though.

Nowt Beats Breakfast

Cafe Arriba in Portree made us a great vegetarian meal last time we went to Skye. Unfortunately we didn’t get to pop in for dinner this time. Instead we ate breakfast there with me eating some combination of beans, hash browns and toast with soy hot chocolate. Kate ordering a bagel with jam and a pot of tea. It’s a friendly welcoming place and they provide a bowl of water for the dog.

How did we find visiting Skye as vegans? Well actually it was really easy. Skye is stunningly beautiful and full of sheep. It’s one of my favourite places to visit. And there was no going hungry.

Earth.Food.Love Zero Waste Shop in Totnes

On September 12, 2017April 10, 2019 By ClareIn Totnes1 Comment

We were eager to try out the new zero waste supermarket in Totnes as soon as we heard about it. Reducing our plastic use is really important to us and any new shop that helps us kick the habit is great.

The practice of buying from bulk bins went out of favour in the UK when I was a kid. Everything started arriving in plastic packages. A few remained in old fashioned grocers and health food shops but most have gone. In the past year or so we’ve noticed something of a comeback. As well as Earth.Food.Love there are also a few bins in Exeter’s The Real Food Store. Earth.Food.Love though is 100% waste free.

So what can you find there? We just went in of a nosey about but the range was impressive. You’ve got your spices, your flours, your grains – all that you’d expect – and then you have the stuff that isn’t as standard but is really impressive. They have cacao covered raisins. They are amazing. Kate prefers the cacao covered almonds but she’s wrong. The raisins are incredible. On the more practical side of things there is a section of liquids, things like tamari, agave and maple syrup. They have cleaning supplies too – loo cleaner, laundry detergent, – all served without plastic.

Yep, a machine for you to grind your own nut butters

You can bring any container with you and get it weighed but if you’ve forgotten yours or you just don’t have a dedicated arborio rice tub then you can buy any number of lovely containers. If you’re carrying things a long way then you can pick up onya weigh bags or use their paper bags. They also have the most lovely tea caddies. I was also delighted to find reusable straws. I took a metal one and a cleaning brush home with me.

The staff are friendly and on hand to help with the dishing out and weighing of your shopping but it was so easy to work the scales. As usual the only problem we had was remembering what we needed to buy. We’re already planning to get as much of our food from here as we can but if you are still sceptical then I have two more arguments for you. One is that Earth.Food.Love is owned by Vegan Northerners. The other argument is this: they sell nutritional yeast.

Earth.Food.Love is based in Totnes.

Vegan On The Go: Torquay Style

On September 8, 2017September 6, 2017 By ClareIn Torquay2 Comments

Since Jeremy Corbyn didn’t come out as a vegan the Guardian has stepped up it’s game with veganism articles. We got two on Tuesday. One of them was called Vegan On The Go: high-street options that make an animal-free diet easy. It’s by Alexis Gauthier. It does not contain one suggestion that would work in Torquay. We don’t have Pret, our M&S and Sainsburys are out of town. No Leon, no Benugo. And all of the options are salad. Except the one that suggests going into a supermarket for a pot of humus.

This does not make an animal-free diet seem easy. Or appetising. Or possible outside London. So I’m going to present my list to you. Vegan On The Go. Food available on Fleet Walk to Upper Union Street. That you can eat while walking, waiting for a bus or in complete violation of the no eating signs of the bus. Grab and go only, nothing that requires a special order. This is a list for those of us in a rush.

Starbucks: A few options available but the Kale, Jalapeno and Slaw Wrap is my favourite.

Cafe Nero: A couple of wraps.

Tesco: There are lots of little bits and bobs you can find in the chiller at the front. There’s hummus and veggies, prepared fruit, and, my to go snack everywhere, vegetable samosa.

7b9d5857-302f-4d69-ae83-01cac8907cd9 — Love in Pastry

Warrens: Pastys. This is my favourite option. And I know I’ve written about them before but I love them. Get yourself a Pasty from Warrens to fill you up. They’re fab.

Boots: I haven’t tried it yet but there’s a vegan salad pot.

So there are five genuinely quick and easy options for a vegan lunch you don’t even need to think about. If you’re in Torquay.

Coastal Vegans

Author: Clare

Vegan Kind September Box

Vegan On Skye

Earth.Food.Love Zero Waste Shop in Totnes

Vegan On The Go: Torquay Style