Vegan Vox Reviews...V Revolution, Manchester.

As me and Mr Vox had a week off together this week, we decided to go and spend a lovely day in Manchester on Tuesday and check out their vegan/veggie scene as I had heard some good things about Manchester. I have been to Manchester many times before being vegan so this was with fresh eyes. One of the places I was most excited about visiting was V Revolution in the Northern Quarter. I had been following them on Twitter and Instagram for a while and the food looked amazing so I couldn't wait to try it. The rest of our visit to Manchester will be covered in a future post.

We arrived at V Revolution around 2pm, after walking around Manchester for several hours and we had worked up an appetite! This quirky 1950s style American style diner, with booths, sofas and red & cream chairs was inviting. As well as the all vegan diner, there is a vegan food shop selling chocolates, sweets, jerky, cheese, meat substitutes, pies, sandwiches and more! There is also a punk record shop at the back of the store to cater for your music needs as well.

We took a seat near the window and looked at the menu, it included classic American fast foods which are difficult to find as vegans, unless you make at home. There were vegan versions of big macs, chicken burgers, hotdogs as well as grilled cheese sandwiches, ice cream floats, coffees and milkshakes and cakes! there is also a daily specials board with exciting super sized versions of fast food. I was in heaven! I ordered a Nachodog and Mr Vox had a Mini Mac along with some organic lemonade and cola drinks to wash it all down with. The diner got quite busy while we were in there, although we didn't have to wait too long for our food. Whilst I was waiting though, I had a walk around the shop and viewed the community board, great for vegan meet-ups, animal rights rallies and local bands. There was a leaflet table also for people to advertise local community events, and I browsed the fridge, freezer and shelves for some vegan treats to take away with me.

Now to the food, the portion sizes were generous given the low cost and although both our meals were not very hot, they tasted delicious! My nachodog consisted of a spicy hotdog sausage in a bun topped with cheese, spicy beans, salsa and crushed nachos! Mr Vox's Mini Mac consisted of a beef-style patty in a bun with burger sauce, cheese and gherkins. This was proper vegan junk food, tasty and fun and no mung beans or lentils in sight. The staff were friendly and there was a real community vibe in the place. 

After our meals, which didn't take too long as we were hungry and they were delicious, I bought some Veganic Pizza Cheese and a Primal Strips Hickory Smoked vegan jerky bar to take home. I haven't tried either of these yet but will review them as soon as I do. V Revolution also do a loyalty card where if you buy 9 specials, you get the 10th free! 

We had a great time in V Revolution, I have never been to an all vegan restaurant before and it was so refreshing to be able to order anything on the menu without worrying about ingredients and the knowledge of the staff when it comes to veganism. I wish there was one of these in every city in the UK. Manchester, I will be back soon, I promise! 

V Revolution can be found at:

88 Oldham Street

Manchester

M4 1 LF

Please head back next week for a review of some of the other places I visited on my day trip to Manchester.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Recipe of the Week - Raw Almond Cookie Bites and Pt.2 UK Vegan Food Swap

This week's Vegan Recipe of the Week is not one of mine. This recipe was sent to me in my August UK Vegan Food Swap parcel by the lovely Chrissie, who is a raw wholefood vegan. She sent me all of the ingredients and a hand written recipe along with a raw snack bar, vanilla chai tea, some gorgeous vegan soaps and a tea towel. This was all packaged up in a nice glittery box chosen by her daughter, and a lovely note card. I felt very spoiled. I was looking forward to making the cookie bites as I have never made a raw dessert recipe before.

So here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of unsoaked almonds

1/4 cup of unsoaked walnuts

pinch of salt

1/3 cup unsoaked pitted dates

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup dried cherries

1/4 almond ground almonds or almond flour

     

Method:

Put the almonds, walnuts and salt into a food processor with the s-blade and process until coarsely chopped. 

Add the dates and almond extract and continue to pulse until the mixture begins to stick together. Don't over-process.

Add the cherries and pulse again briefly then transfer to a bowl.

Roll 1 tbsp of the mixture in your hands to form a ball and roll in the ground almonds before placing on a plate. Repeat until you have used all of the mixture.

Put the plate in the fridge for at least an hour until chilled and set.

Eat and enjoy!

These Raw Almond Cookie Bites keep well in the fridge for up to a week and are delicious. So thanks to Chrissie for the recipe. I can't wait until next month's food swap! You can read about the box I sent out in Pt.1 of this blog post here.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

The Ordinary Vegan - Jus-Rol Croissants

Every Monday on Vegan Vox Blog is the feature - The Ordinary Vegan, which features everyday supermarket items which happen to be vegan! This week it is the turn of Jus-Rol Croissants. Now, I don't know about you, but when I think of croissants, I think of butter, so finding a ready to roll croissant pack that was all vegan I was a bit skeptical.

These are found in the chiller aisle of the supermarket with other pre-made pastry. They are in a cardboard roll and are kept in the fridge. They have a fairly short shelf-life as it is fresh dough inside, so only last a few days in the tube before you have to bake them. 

They are really quick and easy to make. You just tear the perforated strips of pastry off roll into a croissant shape and bake in the oven for 10 minutes or so. You can add crushed up dairy-free chocolate buttons into the dough before you roll it for chocolate croissants which I did.

Then, once baked and cooled on a wire rack, you can sprinkle with a little icing sugar, or serve with jam and dairy-free spread.

Overall, they are a little synthetic tasting, and have a slightly bitter aftertaste. However, if you have people popping over for breakfast or would like something quick and easy as a breakfast treat, they are good value, quick and easy and most importantly vegan! I would rate them 3/5.

If you prefer homemade cooking from scratch then check out the blog every Tuesday for my Vegan Recipe of the Week. Tomorrow is Raw Almond Cookie Bites and Part 2 of the UK Vegan Food Swap post.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...2 Moon Trading Co. Walsall, West Midlands

Last week I was fortunate enough to spend a lovely hour or so at 2 Moon Trading Co. in Walsall, West Midlands. I met with one of the co-owners - Georga, interviewed her, took some pictures of the shop, got given a couple of samples of the products to try for free and met her lovely puppy, Mylo!

First of all, let me tell you that this shop is a hidden little vegan gem! It is in a pretty mews, off a small side street behind the markets in Walsall, with grape vines growing over the archway. I would never have known it was there if it wasn't for the wonderful world of Twitter where I connected with the owners. 2 Moon Trading Co. are a bath, body and skincare boutique, selling all vegan products like bathbombs, soaps, solid shampoos, bath truffles, massage bars, shower gels, body butters, foot scrubs, eye gels and body jewellery. Think 'Lush' but on a smaller independent scale, much cheaper and 100% vegan! Yay! 

As you walk into the shop, you get the gorgeous smells of all of the bath bombs and your eyes are treated to a gorgeous array of pretty colours and packages, there is bunting around the walls and chalk displays and the owner's puppy to say hello to! What's not to love? They are open Monday-Saturday 10-6. But what's that, I hear you cry? You don't live anywhere near Walsall! Well, that's okay too because they have an online shop too at 2moontradingco.co.uk and they will post items out to your home (in the UK) within 3-5 days.

The best thing about 2 Moon Trading Co. though are the prices. The products start at £1.50 and the most expensive item in the entire shop is only £6 for a large tub of body butter! The bath bombs are around £2 each which makes them more of a regular treat than an expensive luxury item. They have a huge range of fragrances - around 15 different bath bombs and soaps, 8 different bath salts and 3 different body butters, for example.

I asked Georga about the store's origins. Georga and her business partner and co-owner Al live together in a house-share and started 2 Moon as a market stall, frequenting the Black Country Markets of the West Midlands, as their popularity grew, they found these premises in Walsall and decided to set up their own shop - much warmer in the cold months than a market stall! The shop opened in April 2013 and is growing in popularity.

The owners, whilst not vegan themselves, have many vegan friends and they believe that all skin and body care should be cruelty-free and that everyone should be able to buy their products regardless of your beliefs, lifestyle choices, religion or financial status. So they decided to go for natural, vegan products at an affordable price so nobody has to be excluded from purchasing there. This is a refreshing stance for non-vegan business owners to take and let's hope others will realise that this is the best way to get more customers.

Georga is really passionate about what goes in to their products and works on the products from concept to testing and development and she checks all of the ingredients and their provenance before letting her wholesalers go ahead with a product to sell in their shop. She insists on strict ingredient checks and makes sure items are free from all animal testing as well as animal ingredients or by-products. They do not use palm oil in any of their products and their 'honey' products do not use real honey from bees, just honey fragrances - all vegan! If 2 Moon don't currently stock an item that you would like to buy, they will look into the feasibility of the product and try and develop the product with their manufacturers for you. This kind of service only comes from a small independent shop where the owners still have such control over their supply chain.

I asked Georga where the name came from and she told me that she and her business partner had been friends since childhood, and their nicknames for each other at school had always been 'Moon', so 2 Moon Trading Co was born from that early friendship! Aww!

So let's get to the important part of this review - the samples! I am a lucky vegan blogger and Georga gave me a gorgeous Bath Bomb and some Coconut Bay Body Butter to take home and sample :-) They were divine! It felt like a proper luxury treat rather than my usual boring bathtime! These are the kind of products I get bought as birthday gifts from friends and save for a special occasion but at these prices I might just be popping back next payday for a few 'weekly treat' baths! I also purchased a Pink Fizz shaving soap bar as a gift whilst I was there. It is a gorgeous bright pink and I know the recipient will love it, even though they are not vegan. That's the beauty of vegan body products, no one will complain that animals aren't in their bath products or that kittens and rabbits were not harmed in the testing of the products. Vegan beauty products should be the norm for everyone and 2 Moon Trading Co. are starting that revolution right here in the West Midlands!

So, please show some support for this small independent business by visiting the shop, purchasing online or just spreading the word. Too many small companies like this go under because people don't know they exist as they don't have marketing budgets of big chains like Lush or The Body Shop.

You can find 2 Moon Trading Co. at: 

Unit 2, Guildhall Mews, Goodall Street, Walsall WS1 1QJ. 10am-6pm Mon-Sat.

You can connect with them online at: 

https://www.facebook.com/2moontradingco

twitter.com/2moontc

http://www.2moontrading.co.uk/

Read previous Vegan Vox Reviews here.

Until next time,

Big Vegan Love,

VVx