The Ordinary Vegan - Tesco Vegetable Grills

Tesco Everyday Value Vegetable Grills are a great freezer staple to have in. 

They are labelled as vegan on the box and are a patty made up of potato and mixed vegetables and contain no artificial preservatives, flavours or colours. They can be grilled, oven cooked or barbecued so are really versatile and go with lots of things.

For example, we have them in a homemade bun with a vegan cheese slice and salad, or as a main meal with salad and vegan cauliflower cheese. 

I also sometimes have them chopped up with some vegetable rice and BBQ sauce. Delicious! They are only £1 from Tesco for a box of four. Let me know in the comments below what your freezer staple go-to item is.

If you prefer home cooking from scratch come back tomorrow for another tasty Vegan Recipe of the Week.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

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

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

Cofresh Snacks - getting my vegan snack on!

Cofresh Snacks are available in most supermarkets in the UK in the world foods aisle, in mini-markets and corner shops, Home Bargains, Wilkinsons, most newsagents and in Indian food shops. All of the range is vegetarian and most of the range is vegan too. For my international readers their website says they are also available in the USA, Canada, Australia and parts of Europe.

I'm not saying they are good for you or healthy but sometimes a vegan just wants to get her snack on! Settling down to watch a film or having a quick snack in my bag when I'm out shopping, or just something quick in the freezer for dinner is always useful.

What I love about them is they are good value and found in most places in the UK, which is useful if you are out and need a quick bite.

They have a range of bars - peanut, pistachio and sesame seed to name a few.

They have large sharing bags of potato or corn snacks, such as Chilli Hoops, Jalapeno, Chilli and Lemon. These are also available in small individual bags in local newsagents and Nisa Local.

They sell bags of savory snacks with nuts such as Bombay Mix, Balti Mix and Vindaloo Mix. This pack is almost finished, I couldn't wait before taking the picture!

Cofresh also do a frozen foods range which includes Vegan Burgers, Spring Rolls and Samosas.

I haven't tried everything in the range yet, but what I have had, I have enjoyed. So thanks Cofresh for bringing vegan-friendly food to the mass market.

When I am not getting my snack on, I do love cooking fresh vegan food from scratch. Check out my blog every Tuesday for a new recipe.

Have a lovely weekend in the sunshine! VVx