Monthly Favourites | January.

Each month I want to share some new products that I discover and love, from beauty products to books. Fashion to electrical. And of course, most importantly .... food.
Read on, but be prepared to want to go out and by ALL THE THINGS.

January can be a bit of a rubbish month, Christmas has gone, the weather is gloomy and we all have to pop our holiday bubble and start back at work. So I think it's the perfect time to treat yourself to a little something!



Lets begin with beauty:
I found this conditioner in Tesco and for someone that has very dry hair it was a miracle! You don't need to use much (which is perfect for me as I normally use what seems like half a bottle each time!), it smells glorious and leaves my hair super soft!
It's not tested on animals and is made from ethically sourced products.



Secondly is yet another beauty product ... sort of. It's deodorant! Now stay with me on this. This deodorant is literally one ingredient and that's it. It's also completely vegan and cruelty free so can't be bad right?

It's called Perspi-Rock and I purchased mine from Amazon for £4.50 (it's now reduced) which for a specialist product I thought was reasonable.


Next onto food!! Yes the bit everyone really wants to get to - I have two delicious new finds to share with you this month.

Number one is a chocolate and no word of a lie it reminds me a lot of Ferrero Rocher. Sadly it's a brand that isn't sold in major super markets in the UK but can be found at health food shops like Holland and Barratt.
I also noticed the package says "mini" I am so, so hopeful that there is a massive version available for purchase. If anyone is aware of this please let me know!




The final food piece for this month is "Deli Slices" from Tofurkey - I've never tried anything by this brand before as it's American so like the chocolate it's not easy to find here but Holland and Barratt came to my rescue again!
I try to avoid too much heavily processed, snack food but this spoke to me and I had to try it and it was AMAZING. It reminds me of the cheap turkey ham you can get but healthier and without any chewy bits. Win!



And to complete this monthly wrap up I need to mention a film that genuinely affected me more than I anticipated, destroyed my soul, made me weep uncontrollably and, well you just need to see this film! Coco, the new Disney film is so freaking beautiful!

 

Photo from http://disney.co.uk/

 

The songs, the story, the characters and the animation are enough to warm the coldest of hearts.... but then it is a Disney film.....
If you haven't seen this film I can't urge you strongly enough to go, just make sure you bring a tissue.... or 80.

There you have it, January in a nutshell. As always please let me know what you think of the posts so I know what sort of things are popular!

x

What I Eat in a Day | Vegan.

Not sure what to eat as a vegan or curious about whether we eat just salad? Follow me for the day as we journey through my food story!!

Breakfast - Fruity Porridge:
Currently I am utterly and completely obsessed with porridge.
I make mine with water and then just a splash of soy milk at the end but you can use soy milk instead of water if you prefer! I have seen many wonderful and adventurous toppings for this breakfast but I tend to keep it simple with just a handful of frozen fruit (I often take it to work so this is nice and easy to transport!)

I put the fruit in before I microwave it because I'm not yet prepared to eat solid frozen fruit... it just doesn't appeal. Also if you cook it for long enough the berries burst and so the sweet fruity flavour mixes in with the whole bowl!

 

Lunch - Vegetable Pitta and Hummus:
This is such a simple, yet delicious, fresh and healthy (yay!) lunch option - it's easy to take with you as a packed lunch too, you just need to pre-prep if you want the veggies cooked!
All you need is your choice of Mediterranean veg, cook it slowly in a pan I add a bit of Worcestershire sauce and black pepper for added flavour.
Once it's all softened, leave to cool (or eat warm if you fancy it!), spread some hummus on your whole-wheat pitta, add the vegetables and enjoy.

Dinner - Roast Dinner!
I know it's hard to believe but it is in fact possible to have an amazing roast dinner without any animal products at all!
To start obviously all the vegetables you'd normally have as sides are fine for vegans.... just make sure the roast potatoes are cooked in vegetable oil and not animal fat.
Most herb stuffing packets are completely vegan so eat until your hearts content just add water as instructed by the packet.
You don't even have to miss out on bread sauce, just check on the ingredients that there is no milk powder in the mix and make it up with a dairy free milk... voila!
Continuing along the thoughts of sauces, most tomato ketchup and bbq sauces are vegan and double check but I have found nearly every vegetable gravy (granules) to be vegan too!

Now for the main substitution ..... the meat. There are literally hundreds of meat alternatives out there, chicken, turkey, sausages even beef wellington so just take your pick. If you want to avoid the highly processed products then nut roasts are a really great option and they taste much nicer than you might imagine and that's coming from someone that isn't a huge fan of nuts! I actually opted for simple vegetables and stuffing this time.

The one thing that is normally off the cards is Yorkshire puddings however there are egg replacers you can buy but I haven't been brave enough to test them yet..... Maybe one day.

(I apologise for the quality - something in the transfer to laptop slightly ruined the photo ...)

Let me know if this sort of post is interesting and or useful so I can keep doing them each month!

x

Restaurant Review | Las Iguanas.

As most of you will be aware the month of January is now known as Veganuary which is a movement to encourage people to try veganism for a month!
This has led to many shops and restaurants having deals and special products available throughout January.
One such place is Las Iguanas who have decided to do 2 for 1 on all vegan main courses - pretty great huh? One of my work colleagues messaged me about the deal knowing how happy it would make me and so I suggested we take a visit and make the most of the opportunity.

Before we get into the food I just want to give a mention to the staff who were brilliant from the start. Our waitress in particular was friendly, informative and crazy helpful. My friend that I was with isn't a vegan and they were accommodating enough for her to keep the cheese and sour cream on her mushroom fajita and still have it as part of the deal! Las Iguanas, you so great.

STARTER: I opted for Holy Guacamole and Tortilla Chips & Dips, now before you get your judgey pants on we shared the two!
Out of them I think the guac was my favourite... you can't beat a bit of avocado but I would recommend either and be aware that the piccalilli type dip does have a kick to it! Both were fresh and not too heavy so perfect to start.

MAIN: When it came to choosing a dish I was a spoilt for choice .... well between 5 options, but they all sounded INCREDIBLE (see the choices here just scroll down to the menu). I ended up choosing the Moqueca de Palmitos as it is a dish I doubt I'd ever make myself at home, but I am planning to try the mushroom fajita next time I find myself there.

My curry reminded me of a Thai curry as it was creamy, not to mention delicious plus it wasn't too spicy which is good as I'm not a huge fan of crazy hot food.

The palm hearts were new to me and they were soft and added to the super creaminess of the curry - I'm going to be trying them again as soon as I can.

The other addition that I'll be attempting in future is the toasted coconut to sprinkle on top - adding that bit of crunch gave some much appreciated texture!
It was accompanied by pico de gallo (essentially salsa), spring onion rice and green beans, I draw your attention to the below photo. The only slight gripe I had was the sides were a little cold when they got to me, having said that they were still tasty and I'm a fan of adding onion to basically everything so the rice was a winner with me!
Overall I absolutely fell in love with this dish and left feeling satisfied and full of goodness.

Dessert: After all that food we decided there was just no room left for dessert however it was pretty exciting to see that they actually had two vegan plates! The sorbet is a go to for a lot of restaurants as vegan puds are always tricky.
I was intrigued by the Tembleque which is a set coconut dessert - if you've experienced this do please let me know what you thought and I might order it at another time!

Now of course the main focus of this post is the food however the drinks need an honourable mention - It was a work night so we decided not to go for the 2 for 1 cocktails..... until we realised they had mocktails! The Virgin Piña Colada was something of true beauty and I highly recommend to all that drink and those that don't.

Cheers!!

x

Simple Recipes | The Magic of the Chickpea.

Aaaah the chickpea - though you be but small, you still be mighty.

If like me you have spent far too many years unaware of how marvellous these peas are then I'm here to show you the way, with 3 super quick, simple, cheap and healthy....ish recipes.

Important side note: when draining the chickpeas make sure to hold onto and store the water... just trust me on this one, you'll need it later.

If you have done any research into vegan alternatives you may have come across the idea of using chickpeas to replace tuna in sandwiches or salads - Yes you heard that correctly. I was extremely sceptical of this at first and didn't think it would taste nice at all, let alone remind me of tuna.

I was wrong! I bit the bullet and tried it. You're welcome.... I mean that many vegans couldn't be wrong!

 1. Chickpea Tuna: 

 1. Drain and mash a tin of chickpeas with a fork.

2. Add some vegan mayo or salad cream (Tesco “free from” mayonnaise is fab!).

3. Add any extra garnishes you want!

I tend to stay simple and add a pinch of pepper, spring onions and sweetcorn if I have some in the cupboard - It does need a little something something to make sure it's not too bland.

Honestly this is an amazing alternative that actually works and tastes great (It was even confirmed by my omnivore sister who thought it was delicious too!!). Perfect if you're low on time or need a lunch to pack and take on the go - Plus no actual fish so you won't stink out the whole office!

This next one is a really fab and easy snack - it's a tad better for you than the crisps and biscuits that are arguably tasty, but not the healthiest choice.

2. Crispy Chickpeas:

1.Preheat oven to 170oC

2. Drain your chickpeas and place on baking tray.

3. Add some spices (I used curry powder, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, thyme and cumin).

4. Bake for an hour or until golden brown and crispy.

Voila!! Jobs a good'un.

And now something sweet to finish!
Desserts for vegans are always a bit of a pain considering we don't eat eggs, butter or milk. All of which are rather important constituents to most puds!

But don't fear there are always options. Oh by the way this is the point you'll want that chickpea water I told you to hang onto.

3. Chocolate Mousse:

1. Melt 50g of dark chocolate.

2. Use an electric hand whisk to whisk the chickpea water until soft peaks form.

3. Once the chocolate has cooled gently fold it into the fluffed chickpea water.

4. Freeze for 20 minutes to speed up cooling.

5. Keep chilled in fridge.

And again that's all there is to it! Simple right?

So there's no reason to have boring food or think being vegan requires a lot of time and effort. Once you know the tricks it's easy as pie.... vegan pie of course!

x

Token Introductory Post!

Hello!

Welcome to my new blog - The Veganarium.

I've been a vegan on and off for a while but am finally settling into it properly and thought I might share my journey towards a healthier and happier lifestyle with others.

But why "The Veganarium"?

This blog is meant to be all about growth ..... just like the cute little succulents you'd grow in a vivarium... but instead, here we grow vegans!

I'm still learning and discovering so this might be a good place for other newbies to learn with me or more experienced vegans to reminisce, make suggestions or (dare I say) even find new tips/ideas themselves!

You should expect to find "what I eat in a day" posts, trialling vegan recipes, recipes of my own, reviews of vegan food/restaurants and general life/opinion posts.... if it's vegan it'll be here!

The vegan community has always been a strong and ridiculously supportive one and this is my small, but hopefully positive contribution.

Come on in, take a look around and lets enjoy some vegan goodness.

x