24 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 17 - 23, 2016
Lifestyle
@thevoicenews
voicenewspaper
www.voice-online.co.uk
GOING VEGAN IS ACTUALLY A PIECE OF CAKE! long as you eat a wide variety of tasty plant foods, planning a healthy diet that incorporates all the vitamins and nutrients you need will be a breeze. Check out our nutrition pages for more information, or seek advice from a registered dietitian.
The Vegan Society was founded in November 1944. The society works towards making veganism an easily adopted and widely recognised approach to reducing animal and human suffering. Life & Style this week highlights some tried and tested tips to help this exciting process go smoothly.
T
ake it slow Keep your end goal in mind, but go at your own pace. Some people manage to go vegan overnight and if that’s the right approach for you, fantastic. But don’t be concerned if you feel you need more time. Like any other lifestyle change, going vegan not only takes getting used to, but it takes time to determine what will work best for you. It’s not a one size fits all experience and there are numerous approaches you can take. Making small changes to your everyday meals is one of the easiest ways to increase the amount of plant-based foods in your diet. You could start by removing meat or dairy one day a week and go from there. Or you could try changing one meal at a time, having vegan breakfasts during your first week, adding a vegan lunch during week two and so on. You could even try changing one product at a time by swapping cow’s milk for almond or soya milk or butter for coconut oil or margarine. There’s a plant-based alternative for almost every type of food you can think of, so you don’t have to miss out on any of your favourite foods. For more inspiration, check out our recipe section as well as food and drink and our sandwich and wrap filling ideas. On a budget? Our blog featuring the cheapest vegan meals may be able to help. Do it right Make sure you don’t miss out on essential nutrients. Just because you’re vegan that doesn’t mean you’re 100% healthy, as there are vegan versions of almost every type of junk food you can think of. As
Tell us what you think.
Try new things Treat your taste buds to new foods and new flavours. Leaving your food comfort zone will take you on a voyage of discovery of new cuisines. There are thousands of vegan recipes out there from every corner of the globe. Whatever your culinary preference, you’ll encounter amazing new dishes and interesting variations on your old favourites. Yet you don’t have to be an awardwinning chef to achieve this. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the number of meals you can easily prepare from things already in your kitchen or local supermarket ingredients. Check out our section on shopping for more information, including a list of specialist online vegan stores. If you’re based in Britain and not ready to enter out of your comfort zone just yet, our list of veganfriendly options at UK restaurant chains may help. Those of you interested in vegan cheese may be interested in this blog where we rate some of the different varieties against each other. Keep learning Remember that going vegan is a learning curve. To live as a vegan in a non-vegan world takes both courage and curiosity. Veganism has been around since 1944, but it’s still a relatively new concept to many people. It’s important you allow yourself time to learn about the various strands of veganism – and remember to pat yourself on the back along the way for the pro-
gress you’ve made. Remember why Keep reminding yourself of the reasons you’ve chosen a vegan lifestyle, and the benefits you’ve felt since going vegan. You’ll probably find going vegan a lot easier than expected, but if you do have a bad day or feel this whole vegan thing is too much like hard work – take a deep breath and briefly reflect on your choices. Reading books or regularly watching informative and uplifting videos about veganism can help, as does keeping motivating visual reminders like photos of your favourite animals. Or how about locating your nearest animal sanctuary? Spending time with animals who are traditionally farmed and getting to know their wonderful personalities is a great way to reaffirm your commitment to veganism. If you can’t do that, these positive videos of animals will do the same thing. Don’t give up If you believe in yourself, vegan living will soon become second nature. There is always a better reason to stick with your decision than to go against it. If you’re having issues with friends or family, don’t give up: our sections on socialising and solutions to these problems can give you some advice. Remember, there are lots of vegan groups online and off that you can join. Make sure that you do things along the way that remind you of the joy of vegan living, and take it one day at a time. You’ve chosen an amazing, exciting and profound way to live your life – be sure to enjoy it.
¢ This article appears courtesy of the Vegan Society. Visit: www.vegansociety.com
AMAZING: Vegetarian Dish Zionly Manna
Email: yourviews@gvmedia.co.uk
NOVEMBER 17 - 23, 2016 THE VOICE | 25
@thevoicenews
voicenewspaper
Lifestyle
www.voice-online.co.uk
ENJOY A UNIQUE VISIT TO ZIONLY MANNA VEGAN RASTAURANT Diversity and inclusion at centre of initiative
A
VISIT to Zionly Manna Vegan Restaurant is a unique experience. Occupying a spot in Peckham’s Rye Lane market in southeast London, it stands opposite a stall selling sparkly sandals and phone cases. Owner Jahson Peat says he wanted a setting that felt homely and inspired interaction with strangers, and everything from the colour of the restaurant walls to the flowers on the tables was chosen with this in mind. “I grew up in North Peckham Estate, when this was really Peckham—the height of South London as far as I’m concerned,” he says. “It’s nostalgia for me, I know every inch of this place and it’s home.” This part of Peckham Rye is a vibrant, multicultural haze. Balls of hair (or “tumbleweave,” as my friend calls them) blow across pavements, while kids scoot outside nail bars and the smell of raw fish swims up your nostrils from nearby seafood stalls. For Peat, it was the natural home for a love of food he de-
veloped as a child. “I’ve been a cook since about seven. I think you have to when you grow up in a Caribbean household. “My big brother, he was no good, so it fell onto me. My mum would start cooking in
TASTY: Traditional Caribbean dumplings made with a vegan recipe
the mornings then I’d be given instructions on how to finish it when we returned from school. By 10 or 11, I was cooking the whole Christmas dinner. I was never forced, I wanted to learn.” As he grew older, Peat began to question the purpose of eating meat and discovered vegan cooking. “I’m a Rastafarian and within
Rastafarian teachings, there is a saying: ‘Eat not flesh,’” he explains. “Long before we called it vegan, we said it was Ital.” Ital is food that is natural and pure: no salt, chemicals, or flesh. Peat is a strong believer in its abilities to influence the way we feel. “I started to study not just the cuisine, but the effect it has on the body,” he explains. “And how you can use vegetation as a medicine for the body and also for the spiritual body, so being vegan became about finding a balance for me.” Zionly doesn’t have a set menu. Some of the dishes are available all the time - like the smutton for example - but otherwise, Peat likes to create new options every day. “I need to be creative, it’s like an artist that has a canvas, and every morning I’ve got a blank canvas. I don’t plot the night before, I find that boring,” he says. “That feels like actual work.” While the food at Zionly is fresh and exciting, Peat has bigger dreams than simply running a successful eatery. He hopes to help people to re-learn their eating habits, and bring locals together.
Love Gift Vegan: a cosy eatery BY NADINE WHITE VEGANISM seems to be a popular lifestyle choice, of late. Scrolling down one’s timeline on Instagram, there’s an influx of delicious looking plant based foods or testimonies from devout vegans about its transformative scope. Further, an increasing amount of black public figures and celebrities such as Beyonce, Russell Simmons, Erykah Badu, Chaka Khan and more recently R&B singer Mya have publicly endorsed this lifestyle. By and by, established restaurants have begun to incorporate vegan options onto their menus and there has been an upsurge in specialist restaurants of this nature – pun intended – being opened. One such example is cosy eatery ‘Love Gift Vegan’ based in South East London which was established by Maya Matana, almost two years ago. With a menu that’s jampacked with an array of vibrant dishes influenced by a number of world cuisines, the restaurant is fast becoming a firm favourite in the area of Brockley and not
just for its vegetables. “We have vegan substitutes for all cultures” says Matana. She continues: “I combine all the herbs and spices from various cuisines, so that people can feel at home in our restaurant. There’s Macaroni Cheese – where I actually make cheese from scratch - Jamaican influenced dishes, Mediterranean
DELICIOUS: Ital Is Vital ones…the list is endless”. Maya was born and raised in Grenada where she quickly became immersed in organic cooking. She recalls: “Back when I was growing up, we didn’t have the term ‘vegan’. We used the word ‘Ital’ and ate what we grew. Not because we
were poor, but that’s just how we ate”. Though her diet included some meat as a girl, it was only after migrating to England in her later teenage years that Matana would make the transition to Veganism. “Seeing how food is handled over here – such as chemicals being pumped into produce to make it grow faster – was shocking. So many people are dying unnecessarily through lack of knowledge about this”. Matana explains “Love Gift Vegan is more than just a restaurant, we are providing a community service to one and all and educating people about food and highlighting things relating to health”. There is something rather self explanatory about the unique name of this inner city restaurant and the owner speaks with much conviction as she breaks down the mantra behind Love Gift Vegan: “Love is what food should be of. When we are putting things into our temple, it needs to be of the right energy. Matana actually means ‘Gift’ in Hebrew and is what we need to give to ourselves through good food. Vegan is what that gift is”.
VISION: Jahson Peat
ENJOY THE PERFECT RICE FOR ALL OCCASIONS
Pure Original Basmati, loved for its unique aroma and fluffy texture.
Easy Cook Long Grain, free flowing and firmer grains.
Grand, the finest extra long grains.
Golden Sella Basmati, light and fluffy with a superior taste.
LOOK FOR SPECIAL OFFERS IN-STORE NOW Recipes available on tilda.com
facebook.com/tildarice
twitter.com/tildabasmati
instagram.com/tildarice