Vegan 2012

Well it's already February 2012 and I haven't posted at all this year, don't know why but I always get busy around December/ January. Can't believe this blog has been going since September 2010! I started looking at it again due to my post on Disneyland Paris as I'm going back in April and wanted to refresh my memory, this time we are staying in self catering accommodation so it will hopefully be even easier!

Fairly soon I will most likely be able to post about being vegan in Dundee- I have a job there starting in the beginning of June and I have to leave my beloved veg friendly Glasgow behind. I am really pleased to get this job though, as at the end of it I will be legally qualified, and that will hopefully open up a wider range of options!

I am still enjoying trying new and interesting vegan products, although it is rarer now that I find anything that I haven't tried before. I got some delicious chocolate for my Christmas:

And Sainsbury's Dairy Free Chocolate Coins which I can't find an image of.

I have been hoarding it all and still have some left.

Other things I have tried recently have been Superdrug Dry Shampoo

Which I bought on a 3 for the price of 1 deal! It doesn't really work for me though, made my hair dry and my scalp itchy.

I got some great lush goodies for Christmas too that I haven't tried out yet, I'll post a product review once I've given them a shot!

FAMOUS VEGAN OF THE POST:

Although she is only vegan for health reasons, I thought it would be good to highlight a sports star, what with the impending 2012 olympics and all!

Venus Williams:

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/chompions/201201/venus-williams-goes-vegan

VEGAN QUOTE OF THE POST:

I will not eat anything that walks, runs, skips, hops or crawls. God knows that I've crawled on occasion, and I'm glad that no one ate me. ~Alex Poulos

Vegan Alton Towers

Last weekend I went on a daytrip with Chris and his family to Alton Towers. His dad drove and we had an amazing time, although we were all shattered by the end of the day! I brought my own food- italiano and steak pasties from holland and barrett, hula hoops, bean pate and faux beef sandwiches, raisins and nakd bars, and the only food I ate in the park was chips, but I did notice a fair few vegan options, as listed here:

1. The Courtyard Tavern

Location: Mutiny Bay

Menu: http://www.altontowers.com/uploadedFiles/Page_Content/Events_and_Info/Food,_Shopping_and_Photos/Courtyard-Tavern.pdf

Options:

From Kids meal:

Linda McCartney Sausage and Baked Potato

L Mc Sausage and Fries

Vegetarian Spaghetti

From Sides:

Onion Rings

Chips

Baked Potato

BBQ sauce

2. Mexican Cantina

Location: Mutiny Bay

Menu: http://www.altontowers.com/uploadedFiles/Page_Content/Events_and_Info/Food,_Shopping_and_Photos/Mexican-Cantina.pdf

Options:

Kids Meals:

Vegetable Spaghetti

Snacks:

Chilli Pot with Nachips/ Wedges

Jalepenos

Salsa

Main:

Vegetable Fajita Meal

3. Fresh Fish and Chips

Location: Forbidden Valley

Menu: http://www.altontowers.com/uploadedFiles/Page_Content/Events_and_Info/Food,_Shopping_and_Photos/Fish-and-Chips.pdf

Options:

Sides:

Baked Beans

Mushy Peas

Pickled Onions

Gherkins

Chips

4. Towers Family Restaurant

Location: Towers St

Menu:http://www.altontowers.com/uploadedFiles/Page_Content/Events_and_Info/Food,_Shopping_and_Photos/Towers-Family-Restaurant.pdf

Kids Menu:

Veg Bolognaise

Treats:

Strawberry Pot

Grape Pot

Carrot Sticks and Humous

Adult Meals:

Pasta with arrabiatta sauce

Vegetable fajita

Sweet and sour vegetable noodles

Szechuan vegetable noodles

Sides:

Wedges

Nachos

Salsa

Jalapeno

Not too shabby for a theme park!

More important than food- the rides! I am becoming a coaster junkie and went on nearly everything, including Air (you can fly!), Nemesis, Rita (0-60 in 2.5 seconds), Thirteen (world's first vertical drop coaster) and some of the more family friendly stuff like Runaway mine train, hex and rapids (twice).

I'm off to Dublin on Tuesday, going to see ma coloc extraordinnaire from France, excited!!

Vegan Package Exchange

Well, ages and ages ago I participated in a vegan package exchange and I'm finally getting around to posting my goodies (see above).

I've eaten it all now, but based on my blog posts you will be unsurprised to find it was the most chocolate- packed goodie box ever!!! I had a box of chocolate chip cookies and individually wrapped boston chocolate chip cookies (and an oatmeal and raisin one) chocolate crisps, chocolate peanut butter and 2 chocolate bars. I also got pita puffs, blueberry syrup, fruit leathers and stickers! Awesome package and soooo yummy. I'm sad it's gone, can't wait for the next exchange.

FAMOUS VEGAN OF THE POST:

Emily Deschanel- Actress from Bones and sister of Zooey Deschanel

Recently defending her vegan pregnancy: http://www.ecorazzi.com/2011/07/12/emily-deschanel-talks-about-defending-her-vegan-diet-during-pregnancy/

QUOTE OF THE POST:

The world, we are told, was made especially for man – a presumption not supported by all the facts.… Why should man value himself as more than a small part of the one great unit of creation?
—John Muir, naturalist and explorer (1838–1914)

Vegan Bremen

I started writing this but it doesn't appear to have been saved.

Anyway, I meant to write this ages ago and I haven't the hugest amount of time so here's the low-down on my vegfest in Bremen!

DAY 1

We arrived at Bremen airport at about 9am and by the time we'd done the tram, hotel, check in, tram, and reached the centre it was about 11. The weather was warm and sunny and Bremen was bustling, and we found a nice area of patio seating where there was a buffet breakfast, I can't remember the name of the place but it's kind of in the middle of the marketplace round the corner from Aldi, buffet breakfast was about 6e.

We got: Fruit salad, bread, 5 different jams, cornflakes, muesli, pretzels and orange juice.

We spent much of the first day wandering the centre and looking for contact lenses for my brother. I had forgotten to bring deoderant and so went to a Superdrug-stylee shop called Rossman and actually found deoderant labelled as vegan! We went to aldi to pick up soya milk (which had a bit of rice milk in it too for some reason, it was nice though, tasted like UHT milk), water, cereal bars and crisps. We also went to the Wholefoods shop at the marketplace which had vegan sausages, cheeze, tofu, chocolate bars and these kind of veg and rice fried balls that looked like falafel. I got some chocolate bunny rabbit biscuits.

I don't think we had lunch, but after a rest at the hotel, we went for dinner at Vegefarm.

http://www.restaurant.vegefarm.de/

vegefarm

Then went back to the hotel.

DAY 2

My mum's birthday. It was a beautiful warm day so we bought picnic food (bread, soya cheese, falafel, crisps, fruit ice tea and chocolate) and went for a walk in the pretty Burger park. After getting lost, fighting, acquiring an unofficial tourguide and getting out of the park, we went on a walking tour of Bremen that we'd booked earlier. Unfortunately due to a mistake with timings on the part of the Tourism Office, our guide didn't speak that much English, but it was OK in the end. We went back to the hotel to change, had dinner at Vegefarm again, then played cards at the hotel.

DAY 3

Breakfast at the hotel, then we went on a boat trip along the river which wasn't very exciting. We saw inside the Town Hall, which was excellent, we got our own mini tour and it was free, some kind of UNESCO open day, then we looked at the cathedral. Mum did a little shopping, then we went for dinner at a vegetarian Indian restaurant called Veggiehouse.

All in all a good holiday!

FAMOUS VEGAN OF THE POST

Moby

http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-05-11/home-and-garden/17371072_1_vegan-vegetarians-non-meat

I once watched a video of him living in NYC as a vegan and was very jealous!

QUOTE OF THE POST

Intellectually, human beings and animals may be different, but it's pretty obvious that animals have a rich emotional life and that they feel joy and pain. It's easy to forget the connection between a hamburger and the cow it came from. But I forced myself to acknowledge the fact that every time I ate a hamburger, a cow had ceased to breathe and moo and walk around.
-Moby

Supermarket Sweep

Being a herbivore on the cheap!

I'm a bit of a bargain hunter, and I'm always checking Holland and Barrett for any reduced items they may have- for example I recently found milk-choc style easter eggs (125g) reduced to £1.99 and soya free cheezly on offer at £1.68, plus I love when they do buy-one- get- one half price. Other ways I get cheap vegan treats are via the Animal Aid special offers section- http://www.animalaidshop.org.uk/specials Viva sale section- http://www.vivashop.org.uk/catalog/viva/food/sale-food and Alternative stores sale section- http://www.alternativestores.com/ethical-shop/saleitems/cat_saleItems.html?ccUser=9f81a1808ce72ee9c4a993af08a94af0

However 'special' vegan foods are generally not that cheap so it's often better to go with a diet that's largely pulses, grains, veggies, fruits and nuts. It pays to shop around as each supermarket has it's pluses and downsides. I love food shopping!

ALDI

I only discovered Aldi recently thinking it would be the same as lidl- it's not, it's so much better! One of the great things they do is good prices on fruit and veg: http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/product_range/4862.htm (warning, meat on that page too) watch out they're not spanish cucumbers though! The six 39p items change each week, meaning it's easy to have variety. Last week I really enjoyed the green beans but this week I'm looking forward to the radishes in salad!

A couple of other great finds recently have been the Granovita vegan pates (vegetable, olive and mushroom):

at 59p rather than the £1.29 charged in H&B. Also the humous is quite good, but I prefer sainsburys basic stuff. The spicy crisps at £1 are not bad and the tinned kidney beans at 18p are amazing!

SAINSBURYS

Probably my favourite of the supermarkets, I generally pick up some of their 'no frills' garlic bread, humous

and tortillas (I could dip their humous into tortillas all day) , as well as their 59p soya milk which is fortified with vitamins B12 and D2. Also last time I got a bunch of leafy green pre washed salads reduced to 25p because of their BBE. I love my salads, and I'm a bit lazy with washing lettuce so that was great. I also got some jammy dodgers 2 for £1. I like their basics vegetable burgers which are £1 for 4 jazzed up with vegan mayo and tomato relish:

If You're Feeling a Bit Frilly:

Other great finds at Sainsburys which weren't exactly bargains include 2 for £3 cartons of smoothies, vegan naan (the Be Good to Yourself 6 small ones for £1.29) and chocolate bars:

For 79p each as well as a box of chocolate caramels for £2.99. Oh and swedish glace ice cream for £2.99. Also Cauldron have just brought out a new 'chickpea and sweet potato' roast which we had for dinner tonight and it was yum. They also recently had Pure spread for £1:

ASDA

This is the bf's favourite and the closest to our house. I don't find them particularly great, as their soya milk is expensive, but I have found bargain marzipan and chocolate there before. More generally they do a garlic flatbread for £1 something which is great for a pizza base, and they tend to have Original Source shower gel for £1. They also have a good price on flaxseed at the free from section. I love their dark chocolate spread which is £1, and Linda McCartney sausages are £1 too.

A Less Smart Price

Asda do a good vegan wine for about £6 which is organic and fairtrade:

And Dairy Free Fudge for £2.99 in the free from section. They also sell nice apple and blackcurrant pies.

TESCO

I haven't been to Tesco in a while... can't really think of anything specific except they also do swedish glace. Oh and their value soya milk is well priced, fortified and organic. I think they had the best price for vegan parmesan, but it might have been Asda.

MORRISONS

Have been known to do Redwoods Vegi Deli slices for £1:

I also love their dark chocolate chip cookies which were in the £1 region.

FARMFOODS:

Good for Linda McCartney sausages and mince, and sometimes have Birds Eye vegetable fingers for £1:

As well as 5 Ruffle bars for £1:

and last but not least...

HOME BARGAINS

This place can be an unexpected treasure trove, with 19p Pink Panther wafers and £1 cherry and flaxseed cereal and jammy dodgers.

Ok there were probably hundreds and hundreds more things, what's everyone else's favourite supermarket bargains and luxuries?

FAMOUS VEGAN OF THE POST:

I read his poetry about how vegetarians are cruel to vegetables as a child and didn't realise until recently that he's a long-term vegan himself!

Benjamin Zephaniah recently advocated veganism in a vegan soc video, but here's a slightly older vid from 1994- love the cheesy 90s vibe!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf2Ce5Xo2G0

Freakin' awesome :D and featuring Safeway, ahh nostalgia! Great poetry too.

VEGAN QUOTE OF THE POST:

This whole interview: http://www.viva.org.uk/celebs/benjamin.html

And he hated the foxhunting season."

Maquillage

I've wanted to do a post about vegan make-up for ages, I don't know what was stopping me. Maybe it was that unrelenting need to post about chocolate. Anyway, having been a vegan for over a year now, I have had a chance to use quite a lot of different vegan make-up. The main brands I use are Beauty without Cruelty, Urban Decay, Bare Faced Beauty and Barry M.

Foundation

The only liquid vegan foundation I have used is by BWC. I have heard unconfirmed rumours that MAC is vegan, and think Urban Decay foundation may be, but otherwise don't know any other brands. I got a lot of it cheap at the Animal Aid online shop, but they seem to be phasing out the cheap stuff and replacing it with a £12 variety... It's not that good to be honest, I get a lot of spots after wearing it and even the lightest shade is a tad too orange. However I can't afford MAC or UD atm but I might ask for some for my birthday.

I have also tried powder foundation/ mineral make up from Bare Faced Beauty http://www.barefacedbeauty.co.uk/

I have only tried the testers as again £14.00 is too much for me to spend if I don't know if I will like it. With these the problem I have had is that the ones I have tried have been too white, and it kind of shows up 'powdery' on my skin and bits of it rub off making my face look red and patchy :(. Which is a shame as I wanted to like it. It also gives me bad skin afterwards.

Eyeshadow

I have much more luck with this than foundation. My favourite is a pallet my good friend got me (her blog is These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends if you want to check it out :) ) by Urban Decay:

The box itself is stunning with lots of animals and the slogan 'We don't test on animals- why would anyone?' And the shades are a mix of neutral and a bit more glittery for a night out.

I also like BareFacedBeauty mineral eyeshadows.

Eyeliner

I love my eyeliner. It's weird because I'm very funny about eyes (I hate when people pull them down and hate to watch someone putting their contacts in... eeee) and I used to hate having eyeliner or mascara anywhere near them. But now if I'm putting on make up, I'll put on eyeliner. My eyes feel bare without it. The BWC eyeliner is ok but a bit 'hard' and can almost hurt to put on:

I love the Urban Decay one but have the opposite problem- the pencil part is so soft it breaks off when I try to sharpen it! And the wood part is really hard so it ends up all jaggy and I'm scared of poking my eye. I probably should get a special eyeliner sharpener rather than using an old blunt one from school :P

Mascara

I have only ever used BWC and it's fine by me:

Lipgloss

I don't really wear lipstick, although I have tried a couple of BWCs and they didn't suit me. I love Barry M's lipglosses though:

And thus concludes my vegan make up collection. Does anybody use anything different? Any recommendations? My birthday is coming up and I'm keen to try something new :)

FAMOUS VEGAN OF THE POST:

I wanted a model because this post was about make-up and I've had an actor, politician, musician and athlete so far. Some sources say Kate Moss is vegan but it seems doubtful as she advertises Rimmel (tests on animals) and has been seen to wear fur, although she did date Jamie Hince from the Kills who definitely is vegan. Anyway I realised that besides Kate Moss, I couldn't think of any models. Although there is a former model and now activist who has had a pretty bad press but who is behind some of the yummiest ready to eat vegan foods I've ever had- redwoods- http://www.redwoodfoods.co.uk/

Heather Mills may not have always been on the right side of public opinion, but having had a look at what she's used her fame for, such as being a goodwill ambassador for work to combat land mines as well as encouraging healthy eating http://www.mnn.com/family/family-activities/blogs/heather-mills-encourages-kids-to-go-vegan. Plus no matter what anyone says I will love her forever for Redwoods <3

QUOTE OF THE POST:

Albert Einstein, physicist, 1921 Nobel Prize recipient:
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."

Vegan Characters

A few years ago I didn't even know what a vegan was... now the word is more commonly used and vegan characters appear more and more frequently. The unfortunate thing is that we're not always represented well- the stereotypes appear to be either total hippies or completely uptight. There are some good portrayals out there too though... but even they have their stereotypes, (which may actually be truths) as I'll point out. Here's a round-up of some, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly :P

The Good

1. Mac- Veronica Mars

Cindy 'Mac' MacKenzie is a computer genius and sidekick to the show's title character. She gets her fair share of difficulties, having been switched at birth and her boyfriend turning out to be a rapist and mass murderer and all. The position re her being vegan is mentioned here:http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/10/01/happy-world-vegetarian-day-to-our-favorite-tv-herbivores/ "In her second appearance, the season 1 episode 'Silence of the Lamb,' Mac's mom asks Veronica if she's vegan, like Mac. This fact is sadly later forgotten in season 3 when Veronica and Mac go undercover to infiltrate an animal rights group." However they make up for this by giving her a vegan boyfriend, one of the animal rights activists (who are trying to save a caged monkey subjected to experimentation and due to be killed).

THE STEREOTYPE: Vegan = Smart

2. Ezra Turner- Seven Pounds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyO7pu4KJW8

Will Smith seems to jump to the conclusion he is vegan because he is 'not much of a meat eater' but apparently the character is vegan. Woody Harrelson the actor is vegan so that may have something to do with it. A piano playing, mild- mannered, blind, vegan meat salesman, Ezra is a 'good guy' and therefore one of the people to receive a donation in the film.

THE STEREOTYPE: Vegan = Calm and Compassionate

3. Peggy and Newt- Year of the Dog

Newt (Peter Sarsgaard) is an SPCA volunteer who tries to make sure animals destined for euthanasia get adopted out. Peggy (Molly Shannon), who loses her beloved dog Pencil and gains a new companion in King Shepherd dog Valentine becomes exposed to animal rights and veganism, and becomes vegan, through Newt. I haven't seen it but Wikipedia has a pretty comprehensive plot summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_the_Dog_(film)

THE STEREOTYPE: Vegan = Animal Lover

4. Practically everyone- Bold Native

A film about animal activism (particularly liberation) I haven't seen Bold Native but it sounds interesting: "Charlie Cranehill, an animal liberator wanted for domestic terrorism, emerges from the underground to coordinate a nationwide action as his estranged CEO father tries to find him before the FBI does."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1328908/

Diana Agron who plays Quinn in Glee and is a vegetarian who has done work for PETA features in the film.

THE STEREOTYPE: Vegan = Activist

5. Rachel Berry- Glee

We all know about this after Jesse threw eggs on her. Lea Michele, who plays Rachel, is also vegan. I wasn't sure whether her being vegan in this is good or bad, but it's not really portrayed negatively and her character, while annoying, is generally likeable.

THE STEREOTYPE: Vegan = Uptight and Self Involved

6. Jennifer Bowie- River City

On BBC soap River City, there was a vegan character named Jennifer. Kind, idealistic and a closet lesbian (until she came out- see below).

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/notw/scottish/scottish_showbiz/599146/Amber-and-Jen-lock-lips-in-sizzling-lesbian-clinch-on-Scots-soap.html

THE STEREOTYPE: Vegan = Naive and idealistic

The Bad

7. Jesse- The Simpsons

A 'level 5' vegan, Jesse doesn't eat anything that casts a shadow:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtuMIaOGRy8 I laughed a lot- the Simpsons make fun of everyone and I wouldn't expect vegans to be an exception! But I couldn't exactly put him in the 'good' category.

THE STEREOTYPE: Vegan = Extreme, poser, hippy

8. Marla- The Cut

The Cut is an online (although it was briefly shown on TV) teen drama on the BBC. It's very cheesy! A bit like Hollyoaks but with more cheese (vegan cheeze, sure!). Marla is a spoilt rich girl with a background of eating disorders and self harm. She runs every day and is vegan. She gets a mention in the 'bad' category because her eating disorder is impliedly linked to the veganism and her dad offers her cereal at one point and she goes 'Dad! I can't eat cereal. I don't drink milk!' Then has some soya milk shortly afterwards. Also by series 3 she gives it up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cut_(UK_TV_series)#Marla_Mackinnon

THE STEREOTYPE: Vegan = Health-freak with eating disorder links, Give up easily

9. Todd Ingram- Scott Pilgrim Vs the World

One of the evil ex boyfriends, he gets super powers from being vegan. I can't believe they broadcast that to the world, it's supposed to be a secret ;). He has his powers taken away by the vegan police for drinking a non-soya latte. Firmly tongue in cheek, I think this is funny, but I suppose overall portrayal of vegans is bad.

THE STEREOTYPE: Vegan = A cult!

The Ugly

10. Beth- John Tucker Must Die

One of John Tucker's many (well, 3) girlfriends, she's introduced as a vegan activist and the insinuation immediately afterwards is that vegan girls are promiscuous! I've not heard that one before. Again, I liked the film and thought it was funny, but veganism wasn't exactly portrayed well!

THE STEREOTYPE: Vegan = Promiscuous!

FAMOUS VEGAN OF THE POST:

I've already highlighted two in this blog post, but I'm in an eye candy mood, and since I've already had an actor, a politician and a musician, I thought it was time for an athlete :)

BRENDAN BRAZIER

I'm sorry, did it get a bit hotter in this blog?

This shamelessly posted topless photo is of Canadian triathlete Brendan Brazier. He is the world authority on plant-based sports nutrition having written a book on it called "The Thrive Diet". Apparently there's something called the 'ultramarathon' and according to Wikipedia "During his professional athletic career, Brazier won two Canadian 50 km Ultramarathon Championships (2003,^[2] 2006,^[3]) and was regarded as one of Canada’s top endurance athletes and among the world’s best ultramarathoners."

Here he talks about how veganism can help with health/ sports/ athletics and the environment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJXWuX-StUs&feature=related

QUOTE OF THE POST:

"Their plan, as diabolical and as implausible as it may sound, was to convince everyone that the milk from another species, designed to be consumed by its newly-born offspring, was a sensible thing for adult human beings to drink." Brendan Brazier, speaking about the Dairy Industry.