Vegan Vox Reviews...Veggie Lounge, Wolverhampton

Veggie Lounge in Wolverhampton is a small vegetarian fast food cafe/takeaway with delivery service, which offers to make most of the menu vegan upon request. The range of food is similar to a regular fast food takeaway - burgers, pizza, chips, wraps, salad etc but this takeaway uses all mock meats, mock fish etc.

We ordered a "Chicken" Tikka pizza for delivery with vegan mozzarella. The order was simple and easy and they were happy to make the pizza vegan for us. The delivery did take a little over an hour as they were very busy that evening. 

When the pizza arrived it was tasty, the mock meat was nicely spiced and there were plenty of veggies and cheese on the pizza with a nice crispy base. We ordered mid-week and they do a mid-week special - any large pizza for £6.99, which was a good deal. There is a minimum order of £10 for delivery and they deliver anywhere in the Wolverhampton area.

You can visit Veggie Lounge's facebook page here

Or visit in person at:

441 Dudley Road, Wolverhampton, WV2 3AQ

Overall, great if you fancy some vegan fast food.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...The London Tea Company

A few weeks ago the lovely people behind The London Tea Company sent me a huge box of teas to try out and to review for my blog.

This is an ethical tea company which has a fully certified Fair Trade policy which covers the entire range. They have quirky modern packaging, bright colours and a huge range of teas from classics to the more unusual.

As well as the Fair Trade certification, they have robust environmental policies including reducing water usage and carbon footprint and are certified by Viva and The Vegetarian Society. They use no GMO products or by products and even distribute short dated stock to food banks and homeless charities. This is a brand which really wears its heart on its sleeve, which we love at Vegan Vox Blog!

The teas themselves are flavourful and there really is a tea for every mood. They have black teas, green teas, white teas, herbal teas and Rooibos teas. 

These were our favourites, the London Breakfast is a classic breakfast tea, perfect with almond milk. For a refreshing summery tea, try chilled Peach & Rhubarb over ice.

Mr Vox particularly enjoyed this Sencha Green Tea, which he enjoyed with a twist of lemon. Other favourites are the fragrant Vanilla Chai and fruity Lemon & Ginger.

If you haven't tried The London Tea Company products yet, you can purchase directly from their website here. The London Breakfast is currently on sale too.

A huge thanks to The London Tea Company for sending lovely samples and for being a refreshingly (pun intended) ethical company who genuinely care about their tea, their workers, the environment and their brand.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

I was not paid to review this product, however I did receive free samples. All views and opinions are my own.

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.

Vegan Vox Reviews...Amy's Kitchen Rice Mac & Cheeze

I love Mac'n'Cheese. I missed it so much when I became vegan. Sure, I have made cheesy style sauces with nutritional yeast, but they never tasted quite like the real thing. Then I found Amy's Kitchen Rice Mac & Cheeze and I'm back in love!

The texture and taste are spot on, the sauce is the right thickness and creamy. It's made using Daiya cheese from the USA and is gluten-free and soy-free too! It is also Vegan Society Certified. The only downside is that is it expensive - around £3 for a small portion, which would only serve as a side dish or a snack. Obviously you could make your own for much cheaper, but this wins on the taste front.

Amy's Kitchen products are available from selected supermarkets, health food shops and online.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...Black's Family Maple Twists

These are amazing! Maple flavoured puff pastry twists made by Black's Family. These are sold in a huge 624g tub from Costco for £5.99 and are certified vegan by the American Vegetarian Association.

They contain no cholesterol, no transfats, no yeast, no dairy, no butter and no eggs. They are crispy pastry twists covered in maple flavoured sugar. They are not healthy at all but make a great treat for parties and barbecues. They are very moreish. You have been warned! :) I like them served with a bowl of vegan ice-cream, Mr Vox likes them with a cup of tea. You could even use them with a dark chocolate fondue or fountain.

What are your surprising bakery treats that you have found out are vegan? Share in the comments below.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...Ten Acre Crisps

I was lucky enough to be sent some samples of the new Ten Acre Vegan Crisps range to try so I could review them for you, and let me tell you, I was impressed.

The flavours are interesting and quirky, they come with their own unique names and a fab website too. All of the flavours are vegan and gluten-free and they are registered with The Vegan Society.

The flavours include Sweet & Sour, BBQ, Bombay Spice, Chicken Soup, Ready Salted, Sweet Chilli and perhaps the most exciting for vegans...Cheese & Onion.

It is hard to find vegan cheese and onion crisps, so this is a real treat. The crisps all have a hand cooked finish, are not overpowering with flavour and come in a decent sized portion of 35g bags. My favourite is the Sweet & Sour flavour.

I'm really excited about this new crisp range. Click here to read all about their flavours and ask your local health food shop to start stocking them for you. We will have some for sale on our "The Vegan Grindhouse" Streetfood Truck.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...Frank Bars

Have you tried Frank Bars yet? 

If not, then go grab some today, because they are delicious, chocolatey and yet surprisingly healthy. They are gluten-free, nut-free and dairy-free, vegan-friendly and packed with fruit and protein and bags of energy. All this disguised as a yummy chocolate bar! 

The lovely people at Frank Food Company sent me a selection pack to sample for you (it's a tough job!!) and I really liked them. The orange and strawberry were my favourites. They are really filling and would be great to take on a walk, run or cycle for extra energy.

They have a range of flavours including Orange, Blueberry, Strawberry, Double Chocolate and Oat.

They are a British company based in North Yorkshire and have stockists all over the UK.

You can follow them on Twitter here or Facebook here.

What are you go-to snack bars of choice? Share in the comments below.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...RAW at La Suite West, London

Recently, I went on a short break to London, and whilst there I booked me and Mr Vox in for a vegan afternoon tea at RAW at La Suite West. The restaurant is an all vegan, mainly raw restaurant in a boutique hotel near Hyde Park. The standard of food and presentation was excellent. The attention to detail and service was great too. We booked ahead online and paid £15 each for our afternoon tea.

Here is the menu, we had three food courses and a selection of teas, coffees or sparkling water to drink.

The first course was a selection of gourmet finger sandwiches:

Then the waiter asked us which was our favourite sandwich and brought us an extra individual sandwich in that variety. My favourite was the mushroom and pesto.

Next we had warm scones with strawberries, jam and freshly whipped coconut cream. I do not have the words to describe these delights. Just go and try them!

Our final course was a trio of mini desserts. A chocolate and coconut raw cake, a sesame halva and a lemon chocolate raw cheesecake. These desserts were very rich, I couldn't finish them all but each one was so delicious.

The restaurant itself was very secluded at lunchtime and peaceful, well decorated with a great ambiance. The waiter service was second to none. We would definitely return, maybe for an evening meal next time.

Do you know anywhere else serving an all vegan afternoon tea? Give me your recommendations in the comments below. Have you been to RAW? What did you think?

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...Vegusto Range

Last October, I met up with the Vegusto team at the London VegFest and was lucky enough to get given a sample bag of their products to try out for my blog. I was so impressed, that in December I placed a large online order for all of my Christmas cheeses and mock meats to see me through the festive period.

One of my favourite cheeses is the No Moo Melty. This comes in a sausage shape and you slice off what you need. It is soft like a mozzarella and holds its shape, whilst melting inside. It is very creamy and a little goes a long way.

Out of the hard cheeses I have tried the Blue Cheese, Classic, Mild, Herb and Piquant. My favourite is the Piquant, this has a strong spicy flavour and can be eaten as it is, on sandwiches and crackers. The Mild is great for grating over pasta dishes.

The Cheese sauce is amazing with cauliflower and a little in a quesadilla makes it gooey and cheesy and delicious.

Moving onto the mock meats and the farmhouse sausages and the mushroom burgers were my favourite. Great texture, taste and easy to cook.

Overall, I am really happy that I have found Vegusto. They deliver to your door if you order from their website and can be found stocked in local health food shops and vegan stores as well as the online vegan retailers.

Have you tried the Vegusto range? What is your favourite product? Let me know in the comments below.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx