Vegan Adventures - London Edition

Our first stop of the vegan food trail was Mildreds in Soho. The restaurant, which opened in 1988, serves some of the best vegetarian and vegan food in London. I opted for the smoked tofu, lentil and piquillo pepper burger with chips, and it was easily the tastiest vegan burger I've ever had. My mum picked the fennel and sun blushed tomato sausages which were also delicious.

You can't go to a vegan restaurant and not have a cake, so I picked for the Jamaican banana and date pudding with rum raisins, rum butter sauce and coconut whipped cream. I devoured the whole thing within about a minute because it was just incredible. Whoever said eating vegan food was boring has clearly never tasted cake like this.

On Saturday, we headed to Tibits for lunch. It's a vegetarian and vegan buffet style restaurant where you pay for the wait of your plate. They had a huge selection of foods, so I piled my plate with lots including sweet potato curry, falafel, rice, salad, noodles and spiced wedges. The lighting inside wasn't ideal, so these aren't exactly the best photos. They had a few desserts to pick from too, so I went for sticky toffee pudding with vegan cream, mango mousse and strawberries.

On Saturday night, we went to Cybercandy in Convent Garden. I've been going to this shop before all the American candy shops started appearing all over the place. There's not a huge amount of food I can eat here anymore, but I did find the most amazing Oreos EVER!!

We also found Yorica! on Saturday night. It's a new completely vegan ice cream and frozen yoghurt shop. I picked the biggest tub with cookies and cream, chocolate beetroot and butter ice cream with caramel sauce and sprinkles. The shop was fairly small but really busy, so I guess the word is spreading that vegan ice cream is the way to go.

On Sunday, we headed to spent the morning at the British Museum before going to Spitalfields where we discovered Rubys of London and bought some baked donuts. They were delicious, so I'd definitely recommend visiting Ruby's stall if you're in the area. The stall also had a selection of cupcakes, cookies and bigger cakes that all look really tasty.

On Sunday afternoon, we did the tourist thing before heading back to Tibits for dinner. I had another great plate of food including a spicy sausage casserole and raspberry cheesecake.

So that was pretty much all the vegan food I ate in London.

Over and Out!

Vegan Box Swap

Here's what I got inside my first ever vegan box swap. I only just discovered that vegans all over the world are swapping boxes of their favourite foods with other people, so I figured it was about time to get involved.

There's a Facebook group for box swaps, but I got talking to Tessa through the Just Vegan group that's been set up by Youtuber's Henya and Jason. It's a group for vegans across the world that meant to be peaceful given all the fighting that's been happening among the online vegan community in recent weeks.

Tessa filled my box with a mixture sweet and savoury vegans items from The Netherlands. My favourite thing in the box so far has been the Tony Chocolonely bar at the back of the photo. It was orange and rosemary flavoured, and I pretty much ate the whole thing in a couple of days. I also loved the carmel biscuits at the back of the photo and the chocolate truffles.

I still have lots of things to try because I'm attempting to make the box last rather than eating everything at once, but so far everything I've eaten has been really tasty. It's also making me want to visit The Netherlands now I know there's so much good vegan food on offer.

Whoever said being vegan meant restricting food got it really, really wrong.

Guest Blogging - Grams Edinburgh

This week, I did a bit of guest blogging for Grams Edinburgh on the subject of protein on a vegan diet. It's something I've been wanting to write about for quite a while now, so when Grams said they were looking for some people to guest blog, I thought I'd finally sit down and write about it. I still find it completely baffling that people continue to ask me about my protein intake, especially if the person asking doesn't have a very good diet.

You can read the post here - http://www.gramsedinburgh.com/blog-1/2016/4/12/the-vegetarian-diet-high-carbs-low-protein

And you should also check out some of the raw cakes that Grams make. You can find some in Grounds Coffee Shop and Real Foods in Edinburgh. They also sell them at Stockbridge Market.

SourcedBox - April Box

Once again, I forgot to take a photo of this month's SourcedBox before I started eating everything inside it, so I've had to take this one from their Twitter page.

My favourite item in the box was the Rawr Chocolate bar. I've had a few before, but never the goji and vanilla one, and it's definitely my favourite one yet. I also loved the Rhythm 108 bar. It's a desert bar that you put in the microwave to heat up, and it was delicious. I got the lemon one, but I really want to the apple pie one next.

I also loved the Creative Nature goji goodness bar and the Inspiral raspberry coconut pecks. Both of them were really tasty, and I'm going to try get hold of more soon. I should also mention how good the Hectares salted sweet potato crisps were. Sweet potatoes are probably one of my favourite foods, so these are the perfect snack.

The only thing I really wasn't a fan of was the Rude Health bar. I'm not a beetroot fan, so this just wasn't a flavour that I was ever going to really like.

There's still a few products I need to try, but I'm trying to make the box last this month instead of eating it all as soon as the box arrives.

If you're looking to sign up to receive your own box then just visit the SourcedBox website here.

Vegan Easter Eggs

Since Easter is just around the corner, I thought I would do a post about some of my favourite vegan chocolate to stuff your face this weekend. This Easter will be my third as a vegan, and in those few years I've noticed quite a big difference in the number of vegan eggs available to buy. There was a time when you'd only find them in health food shops, but now all the major supermarket chains are stocking dairy-free eggs. So here's some ideas if you're looking to have vegan time this Easter.

1. Considerit Chocolate - Cream Egg

There was such a big buzz online when Considerit Chocolate starting making vegan cream eggs. Not only that, but this year they also made a giant cream egg which is the equivalent to 13-14 standard eggs. I have to admit, I've already eaten quite a few of these since picking some up at The Flying Duck's Big Vegan Fete a couple of weeks ago. Then I found out Henderson's in Edinburgh was selling them too, so I may have just happened to pass by and pick up some more. If you liked the Cadbury's ones in the past, then you're going to love these.

2. Hotel Chocolat - Dark Easter Egg Sandwich

Hotel Chocolat have had some great dark chocolate eggs in the past few years, but they're also starting to introduce more quirky products into their Easter line too. Not only does it come in a sandwich box, but Hotel Chocolat even used a 3D scanner to replicate granary bread. 

3. Moo Free Chocolates - Cheeky Orange Easter Egg

One of the best things about Moo Free is that their eggs are now available in Supermarkets like Sainsbury's. The egg is infused with orange crystals and reminds me so much of Terry's Chocolate Oranges which is why I think I love it so much. If orange isn't your flavour, then they also have a plain chocolate one and a honeycomb one too.

4. Booja Booja - Fine de Champagne Easter Egg

The Booja Booja eggs are some of the most luxurious vegan Easter Eggs on the market. The eggs are hand painted in India and then filled with some of the most delicious vegan truffles you will ever taste. My personal favourite are the Fine de Champagne truffles, although I'm really keen to try the Almond and Sea Salt Caramel ones too.

5. Sainsbury's  - Freefrom White Chocolate Egg

If it's a white chocolate egg you're looking for then there's a good few on the market you can get your hands on including this one from Sainsbury's. It has a really rich and creamy texture despite the fact it's completely dairy free. It's not a huge egg, but it does some with some white chocolate buttons too.

What I Ate Wednesday (RawTill4) - Week 11

I've decided to try and include a few RawTill4 days into my diet from now on. It's not something I ever thought I would want to do, but I've been watching a lot of Brianna Jackfruitson and Raw Alignment  videos on YouTube recently, and they've inspired me to give it a go. I don't want it to become something I stick to religiously because I love cooked food and I enjoy eating out in vegan restaurants. However I am pretty amazed how great I've felt the past few days eating a predominately raw diet until dinner.

To start the day of I had two large oranges as a pre-breakfast before I went out and did a big fruit shop. When I got back, I made juice from half a watermelon, coconut water and lime.

For lunch, I had a massive salad made up of lettuce, spinach, avacado, pepper, cucumber noodles and sundried tomatoes. Then I had a packet of strawberries with some banana ice cream as an afternoon snack.

I made some zucchini noodles for dinner with pesto and some vegan parmesan. I don't think I've ever actually eaten normal parmesan cheese, but this vegan one from violife is amazing. It's by far the best vegan cheese I've ever tasted. I also made some spicy potato wedges to go with the noodles.

My dinner filled me up, so all I had in the evening was I bag of my favourite popcorn. 

 So yeah, this was how my first RawTill4 day went. If it's not something you've ever done, then I would challenge you to try it. It's surprising how good you feel after only a couple of days.

The Flying Duck's Big Vegan Fete

This weekend, I was in Glasgow for The Flying Duck's Big Vegan Fete. The monthly event has been going for a while now, but yesterday was the first chance I was actually in Glasgow when it was on.

I've been to few different vegan events now, so I knew some of the products I wanted to purchase before I even stepped inside. And given how quickly things sold out at Leith Market last weekend, we didn't take any chances and arrived as soon as the doors opened..

First up, I discovered Shire Snax. I'd seen them on Twitter before, but never tasted any of the raw fruit and nut bars they make. We tried all the samples they had, but our favourites were Jaffa (The Hutt), Boggy-Sunshine and The Aloha. I'm trying to add a lot more raw food to my diet at the moment, so I'll definitely be buying more of these in the future.

We made our way through into another room where Considerit Chocolate had a stall. I've been buying their chocolate bars at various events for a while, but it was the vegan cream eggs I was desperate to try. They taste better than the Cadbury's ones I grew up eating, and they've eaten made a giant one which I'm hoping someone will buy me for Easter.

The other stall I was really excited about was the donut stall. Lisa aka Vegan Noman Chick has been selling her donuts in Glasgow and Edinburgh for a while now, and this was the first time I'd been able to get any. She posted online asking people to take their own container if they wanted more than one, so I filled mine with 1 cinnamon, 1 biscofff one and 2 chocolate donuts. She later said she sold all her donuts by 1.30pm, so it's lucky we were there early enough to get some.

There were lots of other stalls selling great food, but in a bid to be a bit healthier this month, I didn't think I needed to buy something at each one. However that doesn't mean I won't be stocking up on their food at next month's fete. And if you haven't been this monthly even yet, then you should get yourself along to the next one. I'd just make sure you arrive early so you get a chance to buy everything you want.

What I Ate Wednesday - Week 9

This week's post is a little bit different because I didn't really concentrate on what I was eating as much. I've had a bad cold and sore throat for the last few days, so I've only wanted to eat certain foods. Usually when I'm sick, I want bread and fruit and not much else.

For breakfast I made some cinnamon oats with banana, frozen blueberries and almond and coconut butter. It's my favourite kind of comfort food when I'm not feeling 100% and it filled me up until lunch.

I had some soup for lunch with some wholemeal bread, and then I made myself a green smoothie in the afternoon. I used two frozen bananas, frozen mango, pineapple, spinach and some orange juice.

I wasn't really hungry or in any mood to cook a proper dinner, so I just had a sandwich with hummus, salad and roasted peppers. I know it's not the most exciting dinner, but I just didn't have much of an appetite for anything else.

What I Ate Wednesday - Week 8

I'm in London all day today for work, so I took photos of all the food I ate last Sunday for you.

I made a big bowl of nana ice cream for breakfast. If you haven't made ice cream with bananas before, then you need to try it. I just blended 4 frozen bananas with some almond milk and raw cacao powder. It tasted just like chocolate ice cream and it's so much healthier than the ice cream we're brought up eating. I topped it with raspberries, coconut and some Sweet Freedom liquid chocolate. I also had a cinnamon bagel later on in the morning, but I forgot to take a photo of it.

For lunch, I had some toasted wholemeal bread with sundried tomato tapenade, avocado and garlic salt. I also had some raw chocolate protein balls that I made with my mum last week. We used walnuts, coconut, cacao and dates to make a big batch so we wouldn't eat chocolate and sweets.

I hate how bad the light in my kitchen gets at night when I try to take photos. My dinner was some Linda McCartney sausages, crushed potatoes, corn on the cob and lots of green vegetables. It was pretty simple, but really tasty.

What I Ate Wednesday - Week 7

It's that time of week again when I posted what I've eaten in a day. I took photos of all the food I ate on Sunday since I was trying out a new mac and cheese recipe for the first time.

For breakfast I crammed all my favourite foods into the one bowl. I had cinnamon oats topped with frozen blueberries, raspberries, mixed seeds, and coconut and almond butter. 

I had a smoothie for lunch made with frozen mango, banana and coconut water. Then in the middle of the afternoon, I made a bagel with houmous, salad and some tofurky. 

For dinner, I made low fat Mac and cheese using a recipe from Nina and Randa Nelson. I've started watching their videos on YouTube and they follow a HCLF vegan diet. The sauce was made from a potato, sweet potato, tomato, almond milk and nutritional yeast and it was so good.

Aside from that, I just snacked on some fruit and way too many dates.

SourcedBox - February Box

My second SourcedBox arrived last week, and it was even better than the January one.

My favourite item in the box was the Conscious Chocolate. I've had a few types before, but never this one. It's one of my favourite vegan chocolate bars because it's so smooth and truffle like, and there's not one flavour I've not loved.

I've been a fan of the Nakd bars for a while now, but the salted caramel nibbles are new edition and my favourite yet. I also really enjoyed The Protein Ball Co vegan balls which I took on my Munro climb at the weekend, and they kept me going for the first part of the climb.

There's still a few products that I've not tried, but I am genuinely excited to taste them. There's only been one thing I didn't like and that was the Dilly & Wolf sea salt and cider vinegar roasters. I imagine I'd like them if I liked vinegar, but anything with a hint of vinegar is just not for me.

So that's February's box of goodies. I just wish I didn't need to wait so long on the next box.

Eating Out Vegan Style: Wholefoods Food Haul

I'm still working on some other posts about life, but I wanted to try and get back into the swing of posting every Sunday, so I have a little food haul post below.

I went to Wholefoods on Saturday to see if I could find some nice vegan food. It's a bit of a trek from Edinburgh, but it was worth it to get hold of some good things to eat that I can't always find in Edinburgh.

I found a few things I'd eaten before like the Tofurky slices and the Fry Family nuggets, but most of the things I bought were new. I got a little too excited about finding frozen acai for my smoothies, and I also found my favourite nut butter too. The only thing I couldn't find was purple sweet potatoes which I thought I might have been able to find.

I stupidly forgot to take a picture of my lunch which was a roasted vegetable Turkish flatbread and Ms Cupcake cupcakes. The food counters alone are worth a trip to Wholefoods, and there's some many vegan options on offer.

So yeah, that's my little food haul while I focus on some other writing which I'll be posting soon.

SourcedBox - January Box

My very first SourcedBox arrived at my work on Tuesday, and look what great snacks were inside.

SourcedBox is a brand new healthy snack delivery service by Marcus Butler and Niomi Smart. I've been watching their YouTube videos for a while now, especially those by Niomi since she also follows a vegan diet. I'm also constantly looking for new healthy snacks to try since it's not like I can just walk into any food shop and pick up things I can eat.

The monthly box contains 12 individual snacks and comes with a menu describing each one. There were only two products I had tried before (Rude Health Rice Thins and Ombar Milk Chocolate Buttons) which meant I got to try lots of things for the first time.

My favourite item in the box is the Pip & Nut Coconut and Almond Butter which I've been eating on my oats for breakfast all week. I've been trying to find a nut butter that I like for months now, so it was good finally find one that I want to eat. They also sell it in my gym which means I can go and buy a big tub of it next week.

I also loved the The Giving Tree Broccoli Crisps that actually look like tiny broccoli florets and the Science Kitchen Pizza Seed Toasts that taste just like pizza. The Pulsin' Maca Bliss Raw Choc Brownie made a great alterative to chocolate and cakes, and I liked being able to finally try a Naturally Sassy product as one of her flapjacks was also in the box.

I didn't want to eat the whole box within a week, so I've still to try the LoveRaw Rosehip and Lemon Bar, Rebel Kitchen Chocolate Mylk, Bluebird Tea Co Dozy Girl Tea, Wyldsson Organic Persian Mulberry Promix, and the Snact Fruit Jerky.

For £18.95 a month, SourcedBox is completely worth the money if you want to try some new healthy snacks on the market. If you're interested and want to find out more, then you can visit the website here.

What I Ate Wednesday - Week 2

It's time for another What I Ate Wednesday post. I've become a little obsessed with watching these videos on YouTube lately, and I think I have watched all Bonny Rebecca's videos in the past week. If you haven't seen any of her videos before, then you can check them out here. She's really inspiring me to improve my diet at the moment and include a lot more fresh fruit and vegetables, instead of opting for the vegan processed food options.

Breakfast

I had a banana before I went to the gym, and then came home and made my actual breakfast. I had oats made with almond milk and cinnamon which I topped with raspberries, apple, sultanas, mixed seeds and a little bit of agave syrup.

Lunch

I picked up a wholemeal loaf of bread on my way home from the gym this morning for lunch. I had

a couple of slices toasted with organic sundried tomato tapenade, avocado and garlic salt. And then I ate about a third of a watermelon chopped up.

Dinner
i had a really simple dinner tonight of baked sweet potatoes topped with houmous on top of some spinach, lettuce and cucumber.

Snacks
I didn't really snack much throughout the day, but I did have a slice of the lemon and coconut birthday cake my mum made me.

Eating Out - Nova Pizza Vegetarian Kitchen

One of the things I want to do more this year is post reviews of vegan food, so I thought I would start with my birthday lunch last weekend.

Nova Pizza Vegetarian Kitchen is a great little vegetarian café in Edinburgh which has a separate vegan menu filled with great choices of Italian food including pizza, pasta and calzones which are all made with vegan cheeses and meat.

I didn't have a starter, but choose the lasagne which was made with vegan béchamel, vegan mozzarella and soya mince. I haven't eat lasagne for about two years, so it was great to finally have some, especially since it was really delicious.

For desert, I went for a slice of the chocolate cheesecake which I ended up sharing with my mum because we were way too full from our main course to eat a slice for each.

If you're looking for some vegan Italian food in Edinburgh, then it's definitely worth checking out especially since they use vegan meat substitutes rather than you just having vegetables on our pizza or pasta.

Happy Birthday!!

I can't quite believe that I'm 29, and that this time next year I'll be the 30 years old. For as long as I can remember, my birthday comes hand in hand with some awful weather that usually makes it impossible for people to get into whatever city I'm in to celebrate. However, this year everything fell into place and I had one of the best birthday nights out I've had in a really long time.

The celebrations started a day early since my sister was working on my actual birthday. She bought me lots of gorgeous lush products and The Book of You, and then we went out for some food and cocktails. Then in the evening, I met up with my friend Anna for more drinks to see out my last day being 28.

My mum and brother came through to Edinburgh on Saturday so we could spend the day together. I was showered with presents including a NUTRIBULLET (Can you tell I'm excited about it?), shopping vouchers, books, accessories and some amazing vegan clothes and jewellery.

If that wasn't enough, my mum made me the best vegan birthday cake I have ever seen.

We all went to Nova Pizza Vegetarian Kitchen for some food where I had lasagne and huge slice of chocolate cheesecake. I'll be doing a blog post tomorrow on it - so keep your eyes peeled for that. I have a feeling it's going to become my new favourite vegan place to eat in Edinburgh this year.

I spent last night surrounded by some of the best friends I could ask for. My favourite people from The Playhouse were there, as well as my two best friends, Cara and Jenn. There was vodka, coconut cocktails, and some really nice presents including a hula hoop.

I have a feeling that 29 is going to be a really good year!