I see it as my job to check the chocolate shelves of my local health food stores daily, at least, to scope out any new and exciting chocolate brands or products. My job for you, to keep you informed, my job for the company in question, to keep vegan products turning over a healthy profit, and my job for my own wellbeing.
One of the things that irritated me the most about being a teenager was how adults wrote everything off as “just a phase”. Of course, that turned out to be mostly true, and I have left many of those behind – thank goodness – but I have definitely taken with me the tendency itself to have phases.
There isn’t really a period that goes by that I am not obsessed with some food or flavour. Recently, I have been craving vanilla-everything, and I couldn’t even begin to tell you where that came from. I remember when any avocado within reach would be promptly devoured; now, three or four can sit in our fridge begging to be folded into a salad. Tahini on everything often still occurs, but whereas a few months ago I couldn’t have conceived of a meal without a drizzle of sesame, many of my meals are now tahini-free. I would love to know what causes certain flavours or textures to stick in our minds and on our palates, but that might be a topic for another day. Continue reading
Sorry, today’s blog post has nothing to do with Justin Timberlake. But it is about chocolate, so I’m hoping maybe you can forgive me.
When I was in university, I was lucky enough to be the friend and housemate of a guy – let’s call him James, because that’s his name – who despite not being much of a vegetable lover himself completely understood and supported and encouraged my plant-based lifestyle. In fact, he confided that he caught himself reading the ingredients on a packet of beef mince to check it was vegan (spoiler alert: it wasn’t), out of habit after having become inquisitive as to all things “accidentally vegan”!
It is true that I, along with all vegans I’m sure, read a lot of labels. It has turned into a subconscious habit, picking up packets of foodstuffs that could potentially be accidentally vegan whether I want to eat them or not – and it is something I have come to enjoy. In the interests of hurrying a shopping trip along, I sometimes have to not read the ingredients of every product that I have no interest in buying… but there is always time to dissect the contents of any new-to-me bar of chocolate.
I am not great at being spontaneous. As much as I love the idea of setting out for a day of unknown adventures exploring the streets and market-stalls of London, sniffing out and picking up vegan treats as I go, it never quite comes together; any hint of spontaneity is stamped out by train timetables, the picking out of changeable weather-appropriate layers, and the realisation that going anywhere or doing anything in London usually requires spending money which, when there’s nothing you have your heart particularly set on, can feel a touch prohibitive. So if I can avoid spending three hours on public transport, getting rained on, only to find myself parting with a week’s worth of grocery money for a substandard falafel wrap… well, I’ll make plans that steer me clear away from that experience.
It may have taken me only just over 24 hours to get myself to the Startisans food market at Duke of York Square when I heard that Vegan Sweet Tooth would be making their debut… But it has taken me weeks months to get my hands (and mouth) on the gorgeous Italian food served up by Sara of Pomodoro e Basilico. Continue reading
This month, April 2015, marks my sixth veganniversary – six years of being vegan (not counting the comparatively brief stint when I was a teenager).
In that time I have evolved a bit as a vegan; while avoiding animal food products never gave me any headaches, I was a little slower to catch on to vegan cosmetics. Thankfully, now almost every non-vegan product in my bathroom has been phased out, with the exception of some eyeliner that I have had since before I was vegan (I know!), and a couple of perfumes that was given to me as a gifts before I became discerning enough to re-gift them before opening.
The vegan lifestyle having now become second-nature to me, I now focus on prioritising more ethical products too, wherever possible. And if I can pick a local and/or independent business over a chain or mass-produced product, I’ll happily spend a little more if required. Knowing that spending money will have a tangible, positive effect on someone, it just makes parting with the cash even sweeter. When you hand money over to an independent business owner, you might just be that exchange that turns their day from average into successful – be it from the financial reward or just from the personal exchange. And well, if you get cake out of it… Continue reading
Sorry for such an obvious title. But what else could I call a post all about bamboo activewear by a certain company named BAM?
I’ve talked about them before, numerous times, but just to clarify; I am not an affiliate nor did I receive any form of encouragement or incentive or compensation from them for writing positive reviews. I’m just a bit obsessed with their stuff. [Note: since writing this post, they have sent me a range of products from their new collection so that I could give them my feedback and/or review it online, but I was under no obligation to provide said review.]
As well as providing me with some items to try out on top of the range I had already bought myself over the course of a few months, BAM have kindly offered my readers a 15% discount code! Continue reading
I can’t be the only one to have used that (fairly incredibly cheap) pun can I?
I feel like, if I were on a stage reciting this post rather than writing it from the comfort of my virtual existence, I would be pelted with rotten tomatoes. Really? A post about Nakd bars? As if vegans had never heard of them? Come, now. Continue reading
Skincare and I have a slightly odd relationship (a bit like me and high heels, but that’s a story for another day).
I am relentlessly drawn to it and its rows of little multicoloured boxes and pencils and tubs and powders and creams, each representing a little bit of you-time, a little bit of feel-good.
The problem is, I’ve never really understood it. I am never going to look perfect anyway, so why bother with the potions and the lotions (and especially, the time, the effort, and the money)? Continue reading
If I’m honest (and why wouldn’t I be?) I very nearly didn’t go to the London Vegan Festival. I was tired and was quite sick of public transport by the end of the week. I doubted whether it would surpass Vegfest, I wondered whether there was really anything new the London vegan scene could offer me at a collection of stalls, and if so, I didn’t want to go through the “I want to buy everything” anxiety that would necessarily beset me.
But I had a last-minute look at the list of stallholders, and realised many names were new and unfamiliar to me. I also knew I would regret sitting at home all day more. And, frankly, it was comforting not to be so rabidly excited about vegan baked goods – maybe I could remain somewhat civilised. Continue reading
Reading through last year’s recap of the Allergy + Free From Show and V Delicious, I am touched by how excitable and naive I was. And a little alarmed at how much more cynical I have become in a year.
The strange thing is that overall, I feel I had a much better experience of the show; I had already seen or heard of most of the exhibitors, so I knew which stalls I wanted to battle to get to, and which ones I was happy to drop large amounts of money at. Continue reading
Great Vegan Expectations 