Vegan Vox Reviews...Laura's Larder App

I was approached recently by the lovely people from CAT (The Centre for Alternative Technology) in Wales regarding testing out a brand new food app called Laura's Larder. The purpose of this app is to make us more aware of the impact of what we choose to eat on the environment. Even vegan diets high in processed foods and imported goods can have a significant carbon impact. 

You use the app by inputting your meals for a week, portion sizes, country of origin etc. Once you have completed a week, you can go to the stats section, where it will show you the environmental impact in terms of emissions for your diet. The app will then show the you highest impact foods you eat and suggest how you can reduce your impact. The app also analyses the health impact of your diet and warns you if you are low in essential dietary requirements or where you should cut down.

This is a great app to sit down with children and show them the impact of food choices on the environment. It would work well in a classroom or home environment and is very family friendly and educational whilst remaining fun and interactive as well.

The app is available via the CAT website now at www.cat.org.uk 

So go and try it out and find out what impact your diet is having on our planet.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

NB. I volunteered to test out this app and was not paid for this article.

The Ordinary Vegan - Crackers

In January, thoughts often turn to healthier alternatives and lighter meals after all of the festive fancies. One of my favourite light lunches or snacks are crackers with salad. There are many vegan-friendly crackers available at the major supermarkets, here are some of my favourites:

Jacobs Cream Crackers

Despite the name, these crackers contain no cream and no other dairy for that matter. They are delicious with vegan cheese, pate, salsa, and pickles.

Ritz Crackers

These are the little salty crackers of my childhood, perfect with vegan cream cheese and cucumber.

Milton’s Baked Crackers

These are a new cracker to come to the UK supermarkets. They are a Canadian brand. They produce a range of flavours and these crackers are lower fat, all natural ingredients and baked to perfection.

Jacobs Flatbreads

These come in a range of tasty flavours, and are great to use with dips such as hummus, cashew sour cream and chive or salsa.

Ryvita Thins

These are delicious served with dips like guacamole, salsa and hummus or spread with vegan cream cheese or pate.

Please note not all flavours of these brands are vegan. Please check the ingredients labels. A few of the flavours contain milk powder and some contain honey, but all of these brands have vegan-friendly flavours in their ranges.

Here's how I serve my crackers:

Which crackers are your favourites? Leave me a comment below. Come back tomorrow for a brand new Vegan Recipe of the Week.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...222 Veggie Vegan Restaurant - London

I visited this restaurant in Kensington, London last year before I started this blog and therefore do not have any photos of my food for you. However, I had such a great meal and experience that I wanted to review it for you anyway.

222 Veggie Vegan was my first ever visit to an all vegetarian restaurant. We visited at lunchtime for the buffet and I'm so glad I did. Everything on the lunchtime buffet was vegan with half of the dishes raw and gluten-free too.

The lunch buffet is great value for money, with an all you can eat sit in meal for £7.50 or a take out box for £5.50. I tried some of every option on the buffet - there was stir fry, noodles, salads, curry and rice.

I washed it down with a glass of organic agave-sweetened cola. All of the food is low fat, low salt, non-GMO, contains no artificial ingredients and is organic. They had clear labels on gluten-free and wheat-free options. They will make up allergy free specials on request and they had a hot soup and fresh bread option at lunch as well.

222 is a small restaurant but it wasn't overly busy when we visited. I have heard that it can get very busy in the evenings when they offer the full menu which is available to look at here.

The chef, Ben has been a vegan for a long time and is committed to great, healthy, vegan freshly cooked food - no frying or microwaves allowed!

The buffet is served 12-15:30 and dinner 17:30-22:30.

You can find 222 Veggie Vegan at:

222 Veggie Vegan Restaurant

222 North End Road

West Kensington

London W14 9NU

It is a few minutes walk from West Kensington and West Brompton underground stations. I can't wait to go back in the evening and try the a la carte menu, I've heard on the vegan grapevine that the burger is amazing! Lunch Buffet 5/5.

What are your recommendations for great value tasty vegan lunch restaurants? Comment below and let me know.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews... Indigo Wholefoods - Birmingham

Last month I ventured over to Moseley in Birmingham, UK to visit Indigo Wholefoods. This is a cool independent health food shop in a lovely area of Birmingham with many vegan friendly cafes and restaurants nearby. It is definitely worth a visit if you are visiting Birmingham or live within the Midlands.

The shop isn't solely vegan but contains many vegan friendly products, and has a huge range of vegan cheeses, meats, burgers, sausages and ready meals.

 They stock herbal teas, a large range of vegan and organic wines and beers.

They have loads of yummy confectionery including a basket of vegan creme eggs!

As well as all of these treats, there is a wide variety of health foods, pulses, beans, flours, tofu and organic fruit and vegetables.

They also stock skin care and beauty products as well as cupboard staples such as stock cubes, bullion, nutritional yeast and snack foods like biscuits, crisps, nuts, dried fruit, flapjacks, raw bars and cereals.

The owner George was super friendly and the shop was busy throughout my visit with customers greeted warmly and often by name. It feels like a real community store.

They have a loyalty card scheme which is unusual for small independent stores and organic food box delivery within the local area. I bought some 'nooch' and some Cheezly Pepperjack for my BBQ while I was there too.

What's not to love? I will be popping back in when I'm in the area. You can find Indigo Wholefoods at:

25 St Mary's Row 

Moseley 

Birmingham 

B13 8HW 

Every Day 9:30-6:30

www.twitter.com/indigowf

https://www.facebook.com/IndigoWholefoods

http://www.indigo-wholefoods.co.uk/

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

The Ordinary Vegan - Reggae Reggae Jerk/BBQ Sauce

Every Monday on Vegan Vox Blog is the weekly feature - The Ordinary Vegan. Seemingly ordinary products sold in most shops and supermarkets that also happen to be vegan. Makes it easier when we're shopping!

This week it's the turn of the ubiquitous Reggae Reggae Jerk/BBQ Sauce by Levi Roots. Strangely, I suppose, for a sauce that is designed to go with meat, it is totally vegan friendly - yippee!

The sauce is a spicy Caribbean BBQ sauce which can be added to soups, stir-fry and stew, you can marinade tofu in the sauce before cooking or use it as a dipping sauce. It is great at a vegan BBQ.

There is a mild version available which is also vegan if you don't like too much spice.

I love mine with CoFresh Veggie Burgers in a home-made bread roll with Toffuti Mozzarella Style Slice and chips! Read my review on Cofresh's vegan range here.

There are Reggae Reggae cooking sauces also in the range which are also vegan and are great with some 'Chickn' pieces, onions and peppers served with rice and beans. For more recipes come back every Tuesday on Vegan Vox Blog for my Vegan Recipe of the Week.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Recipe of the Week – Chickpea, Spinach and Potato Curry

Vegan Recipe of the Week – Chickpea, Spinach and Potato Curry

(Serves 4-6)

This is a delicious low fat vegan recipe which I made using my Organic Veg Box delivery from Riverford. Read about them on my blog post here.

Ingredients:

1-2 tbsp sunflower oil

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 large potato or 3-4 new potatoes, cubed with peel on

400g can of organic chickpeas

400g can of organic chopped tomatoes

250g bag of organic spinach, shredded

Handful of frozen peas

1tsp ground ginger

0.5 tsp turmeric

0.5 tsp cumin

2tsp curry powder

3 tsp organic tomato puree

1 tsp of lazy chillies or a small red chilli chopped

Salt/Pepper

Water

Method:

Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the garlic, onion and chilli together for 5 minutes until softened.

Stir in the spices, curry powder, tomato puree and a little water to make a curry paste and stir into the onion mixture. Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 6 minutes to make a sauce. Stir occasionally.

Stir in the chickpeas in their water, the potatoes and frozen peas and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Next add in the spinach and seasoning and cook for a further 5 minutes until the spinach is cooked.

Serve with poppadoms, rice, and onion bahjis or as part of an Indian buffet as I did with this dish at the Vegan Summer Garden Party I went to. I ate some with the side dish Saag Aloo; click the green link for the recipe.

This dish serves 4 large portions or 6-8 smaller portions with other side dishes. The curry will keep for 48 hours in the refrigerator and can be frozen.

Come back next Tuesday for another Vegan Recipe of the Week.

Enjoy!

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews... Riverford Organic Farm Boxes

A few weeks ago I signed up to receive Riverford Organic Farm Boxes delivered to my door. I waited until I'd had a few boxes so I could review them properly for you. The first good thing about the scheme is you choose how often you receive your boxes as well as which boxes you want or you can make your own. You can have the boxes delivered weekly, fortnightly, every 3 weeks or monthly. You can pause deliveries when you are away and add extra deliveries in when you are running low. So it's really flexible, which was a huge selling point for me. 

The fruit and veg are all organic and seasonal, with over 85% coming from local UK farms and orchards. The company have linked up with local farmers all over the UK so that you get the veg which is local to you and delivered fresh from your local farm. You don't need to be at home for the delivery, you can nominate a safe place, such as a side gate, porch or neighbour's house if you are not home, but you don't get to select the day of the week as they are delivered on a round so they tell you which day you will get your delivery. The money is taken from your account the day before delivery so you can cancel or add items up to 48 hours before your delivery and they collect your old box and bags for reusing and recycling.

I ordered the Organic Mini Veg Box for me and Mr Vox, but there are larger boxes available if you have a bigger family. You can order just veg, just fruit or a mixture of both in one box. There was plenty in the first box to keep us going for a couple of weeks - spinach, potatoes, carrots, savoy cabbage, onions, garlic and courgettes. It also came with a handy A-Z guide to storing and cooking the veg and some recipe cards.

Getting the seasonal veg rather than my trusty favourite veg from the supermarket, as well as being better for the environment and fresher, means I have had to be creative and come up with new and exciting vegan recipes to use my fresh organic vegetables which is a bonus. From this first box, I made the Vegan Lasagne, Vegetable Gratin, Saag Aloo and a Chickpea, Spinach and Potato Curry, Vegan Sausage and Savoy Cabbage Casserole as well as lots of tasty roasted veg wraps for Mr Vox's lunch box. Click on the green links above for the recipes.

In this week's box we had summer greens, courgettes, green onions, carrots, broad beans, spinach and potatoes and I also got a fruit box to try which included apples, pears, bananas, satsumas and nectarines. The boxes are a reasonable price, at just over £10 each and contained enough for the two of us for two weeks. I made use of the fresh food by preparing meals and desserts in a batch and freezing them in foil containers so we have ready meals over the next couple of weeks, including a gorgeous spiced pear crumble (recipe to come in a future blog post).

I had contemplated the veg box scheme for a while and always worried about not being able to choose my own veg, but so far I have been impressed with the taste, quality, freshness and inspired to make new dishes to share with you on this blog!

You can get more information or join the veg box scheme at riverford.co.uk or call 08456002311.

Just a note that Riverford do sell meat and dairy boxes as well and I know this may trouble some vegans who would rather not give their money to such companies, however I feel that it is a step better than using the supermarkets and as I live in an urban area, it is great to be able to eat freshly grown and picked organic fruit and veg. If anyone knows of a fruit and veg only supplier who do a similar door delivery scheme in the West Midlands who are more vegan friendly, please let me know by leaving a comment below.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx