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The lifestyle magazine written by vegans for vegans

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August 2021 | issue 74 | £5.99

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on Salad termel a W yle t S ek re

Fighting

food waste

meets...

Rachel Ama

Chef and influencer,

41

VEGAN

5

BBQ

Corn On The Cob Seitan BBQ Ribs Juicy Heura Burger Tarragon New Potatoes And lots more…

SUMMER STYLE PICKS Slow fashion never looked so hot

Mental health

IDEAS

VEGANIC GARDENING

Enjoy the fruit and veg of summer

IN FOCUS Support your children | 3 pillars of wellness | Give yourself a holiday

2

Hello,

PRIME IMPACT EVENTS & MEDIA 4 Nags Corner, Wiston Road, Nayland, CO6 4LT T: 01787 224040 Info@veganlifemag.com | veganlifemag.com MANAGING EDITOR Emily Saunders EDITOR Gemma Tadman Gemma.Tadman@primeimpact.co.uk DESIGNER Laura Harvey MANAGING DIRECTOR Julie Saunders PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Keith Coomber ADVERTISING SALES Claire Rogers | 44 (0)1787 220650 claire@veganlifemag.com SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BACK ISSUES Hannah Irons Hannah@primeimpact.co.uk MARKETING AND PRESS Jane Lambert PROMOTIONS AND BLOGGER COMMUNITY MANAGER Jane Lambert LICENSING Bruce Sawford | 44 (0)1280 860185 Bruce@BruceSawfordLicensing.com ACCOUNTS Yolande Arnold

Although it may be raining as I write this, there has been no shortage of warm temperatures and sunshine of late, and it’s got me well and truly in the mood for BBQs — at breakfast time, lunch or dinner, there’s no unsuitable moment to grill in my house!

Long gone are the times when we vegans could not indulge like omnivores at a BBQ — there are endless recipes and products in the shops. In fact, it can be quite hard to choose which plant-based burger to go for these days! Hosting a fully vegan BBQ party is endless fun — and our ultimate guide will help you to make the most of it, from what to cook, to being environmentally friendly. Getting invited to a non-vegan BBQ can be another matter entirely — it makes many of us uncomfortable to see meat and dairy enjoyed so frivolously by our friends and family. But if you have plans to go to one — don’t fret. As well as helping you to host, our guide will also give you all the advice needed for handling attending a gathering where vegetables aren’t the focus.

Just as summer conjures up dreams of sizzling vegan patties and sausages (enjoyed with a mojito or two!), so too it brings the desire to get outside — and we’ve got tonnes of garden geared content for you this issue. Rachel Ama tells us all about Linda McCartney’s new Grow Your Own initiative; Katie White helps us to get growing what’s in season, and Piers Warren shares tips for cultivating a favourite berry — strawberries!

Many of us tend to go away on holiday at this time of year, but for most of us that just won’t be possible in 2021 — so why not take a vacation in your hometown? We’ve come up with seven creative ways for you to enjoy the best staycation possible — not only is holidaying in your own home surprisingly fun and cost effective, but it’s also better for the planet compared to travelling far away.

Also in this issue: Maria Slough delves into the world of plant-based dogs; we learn about the three pillars of wellness, and you can enjoy your fill of smoothie bowls, ironboosting lunches and satiating sharing dishes for dinner.

Have a lovely month.

The publisher accepts no responsibility in respect of advertisements appearing in the magazine and the opinions expressed in editorial material or otherwise do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. The publisher cannot accept liability for any loss arising from the appearance or non-publication of any advertisement.

Information about products and services featured within the editorial content does not imply endorsement by Vegan Life magazine.

Every effort is made to ensure that all advertising is derived from reputable sources. Vegan Life magazine cannot, however, accept responsibility for transactions between readers and advertisers.

Gemma Tadman Editor

The paper in this magazine originates from timber that is sourced from responsibly managed forests, according to strict environmental, social and economic standards. The manufacturing mill has both FSC and PEFC certification, and also ISO9001 and ISO14001 accreditation.

@veganlife_mag

@veganlifemagazine

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Cover Image: Greek Style Watermelon Salad, p74 Recipe by Follow Your Heart, followyourheart.com

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Contents 18

On The Cover

Vegan Eats

18 69 82 86 100 102 104

36

Vegan Life meets… Rachel Ama Vegan BBQ food Seedlings Wellbeing The three pillars of wellness Fighting food waste Veganic gardening Take a break in your own home

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60

Vegan News 06

08 16

40

Vegan Lifestyle 24

26 28

38

40

42

44 111

Why am I vegan?

We invite you to tell us why you became vegan Vegan news All the latest stories Over to you Your letters, emails and musings

44

112 114

Ask the experts The team at Veganuary answer your questions Vegan Life loves Our favourites this month Supporting vegan chocolate makers Karin Ridgers discusses the new vegan KitKat The beauty edit The vegan products you need on your radar Temple of Seitan Sean O’Callaghan looks at a vegan success story Five summer party style picks Victoria Featherstone Pearce helps us get glam for outdoor events Plant-based dogs Maria Slough looks at the plant-based options for our canine friends Vegan pages Bananas for BBQs Jake Yapp loves to grill

Vegan Special – BBQ Party 62

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68

Fire up the BBQ Become the host with the most with our top tips and ideas It’s time to reclaim the grill Indulge in our roundup of fantastic vegan goodies Only vegan at the barbie Advice for attending an omnivore’s grill party

Vegan Health 80

84 88

Diverticular diseases What are they and how can we avoid them?

Veg in focus We look at the almighty artichoke Vegan roundup: Summer health A selection of products for keeping at your best

Vegan Planet 98

108

111

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What I eat in a week Rachel Brownstein, shares her food diary Summertime drinks Oliver Coningham explores vegan tipples for sipping in the sunshine Grow your own Piers Warren helps us grow strawberries

It’s a vegan world Stories from around the globe celebrating all things vegan Vegan founded We meet the co-founders of Nourish Bud Opportunity for activism Melinda Hegedus uses her digital artwork to spread awareness

Vegan Recipes Smoothie Bowls

30 50

29

Matcha Mango

73

Beetroot Haricot Bean Burgers

30

Blueberry Spinach

74

Greek-Style Watermelon Salad

30

Blue Spirulina

75

Spiced Pineapple Salad

31

Pink Lady Smoothie Bowl with Granola Topping

76

Sticky Glazed Vegan Steak Kebabs

32

Apple Pie

76

Vegan Beetroot Burger

32

Creamy Coconut Raspberry Mango

77

33

Matcha Madness

Mutti Grilled Radicchio with Tomato-White Balsamic Vinaigrette

34

Berrylicious

78

Caveman ‘Caviar’

34

Cacao Sauce

78

Grilled Pumpernickel

34

Mango Orange

79

KombuchaFermented Cheesecake

Iron-Boosting Lunches

79

49

Mutti Chilli Bean Tacos

50

Bean, Lentil & Freekeh Chilli

50

Curried Tempeh & Rice Salad Box

51

Vegan Tart

52

Iron Bowl

53

Spinach & Pea Pesto

54

BBQ Tempeh Burrito

55

Jerk-Style Fry’s Nuggets, Beans & Fresh Mango Salad

56

Wow Zesty Basil Sauce for Pasta

57

Roasted Harissa Cauliflower with Orzo

BBQ Bonanza

95

69

Spicy Mexican Bean Burger

70

BBQ New Potatoes with Tarragon, Peanuts & Chipotle

71

Creamy Potato Salad with Basil Artichokes

72

BBQ ‘Ribs’

72

Corn on the Cob Over Coals

Sharing Food 89

Spiced Jackfruit Fatteh

90

Moroccan Pumpkin Tagine

91

CRACKD Vegan Carbonara

92

Easy Vegan Naan Breads

93

Mini Bombay Potatoes

93

Dal Tadka

94

‘Boeuf’ Bourguignon

95

Imperial Jackfruit Dirty Fries

96

White Chocolate Cheesecake

Competitions 15

Win a £265 supply of CBD

16

Win £50 worth of Fry’s goodies

15

5

Why am I

Vegan?

NAME: Kerri Leung AGE: 30 NUMBER OF YEARS VEGAN: 3 LOCATION: United Kingdom

I WENT VEGAN BECAUSE… I wanted to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and I had accepted that consuming meat and dairy was not good for my health. With all demands of the meat industry, I knew eating a chicken pumped with hormones was bad for my health. I knew that I could get all that the body requires through having a plant-based diet and get the healing my body required.

MY HOPE FOR THE FUTURE… Is that people will have more openmindedness towards vegans and a plant-based diet.

MY ADVICE TO OTHERS BECOMING VEGAN IS… Don’t let anyone deter you or misinform you about a vegan diet.

Want to be on this page? Email your answers and a high-resolution photo to Gemma.Tadman@primeimpact.co.uk

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Vegan News

Vegan

news

Product of the month

All things vegan from the worlds of entertainment, politics, sports, animal advocacy and more. Got news for us? Email vegannews@primeimpact.co.uk

31% of Britons are set to slash their meat consumption or go vegan in 2021 amid COVID-19 concerns Source: viva.org.uk

CRACKD CRACKD The No-Egg Egg CRACKD The No-Egg Egg is the UK first liquid egg replacement created for the people who can’t, don’t or won’t eat eggs. It’s 100 per cent plant-based, made from pea protein, cold-pressed to retain both flavour and nutrients and is rich in vitamin B12 whilst containing no allergens or fat. £3.99, crackd.com

Huel now make a nutritionally complete vegan protein powder Huel is already well known for its powerful vegan protein powders, hot and savoury meals and bars, but now the plant-based company is taking its protein range to the next level. The fitness nutrition brand has added a new protein range to its line-up of nutritionally complete foods — Huel Complete Protein (huel.com).

In addition to 20g of protein, 9g EAAs and 5g branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) per 105-calorie serve, Huel Complete Protein contains all 26 essential vitamins and minerals, as well as being a source of fibre, carbs and fats.

Huel co-founder and head of sustainable nutrition, James Collier, says: “Launching a protein powder range that also has the added benefits of complete nutrition with all 26 essential vitamins and minerals is a huge milestone for Huel. As people have more access to alternatives to animal-based products, they’re beginning to realise that plant protein needn’t be inferior: it’s about the combination of high-quality ingredients within the product, and Huel Complete Protein is created with this in mind.”

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Vegan News

Suffolk-based vegan deli and café Hank’s is expanding to a second county Vegan entrepreneurs Geoffrey Bligh and Philip Rivers are on a mission to spread plant-based food far and wide. The pair already run four Suffolk-based eateries under their business name Peninsula Vegan Foods (peninsulaveganfoods.com), but are due to open another two establishments this month, this time located in Colchester, Essex.

Currently, the partners operate Hank’s Vegan Pub, Hank’s Deli And Shop, Hank’s Dirty and Hank’s Dirty — On The Beach. The new Hank’s Deli, located in Culver Street West, will be a combination of their deli and café — which offers great coffee, their famous breakfasts, breakfast muffins, baked goods, fresh sandwiches, wraps and a full array of vegan desserts.

In addition to the deli and café, they will also bring the Colchester version of Hank’s Dirty — a vegan fast-food heaven! The full Dirty menu will be available seven days a week from 12pm to 9pm and until 10:30pm on Friday and Saturday nights, and is also available for delivery service — on Just Eat and Uber Eats.

Co-owner, Geoffrey, told Vegan Life: “We’ve wanted to come to Colchester for some time now. We have a

fantastic customer base in the town who already order from our grocery store — we deliver to Colchester every Sunday — and so many people come up on the weekends and ask in the café or pub when we are going to open in Colchester; it really was the next step in our organic growth. We can’t wait to be part of the town’s vibrant culture and add to the great array of vegan options.”

Geoffrey added: “It’s been really exciting to be part of the growth of vegan foods in Suffolk. Just a few years ago, there really was only a couple of options if you wanted to have something vegan.

Now, you could come down and visit Suffolk and have a choice of places to eat in Ipswich and can visit one of the country’s biggest vegan supermarkets. We’re already looking at additional locations for Hank’s Dirty, as we’ve proven that good quality vegan fast food can really appeal to a wide audience and one of the biggest motivators is when we have a customer tell us that we’ve helped them and their family make the change to being vegan, it really does make it all worth-while.”

3 of the best... vegan ‘fish’ fingers

Fry’s Family Foods

Moving Mountains

Squeaky Bean

Fry’s Fish-Style Fillets are thick and chunky — meaning they are perfect in a sandwich.

They are coated in a crispy tempura batter with added flaxseed oil, which makes them high in omega-3. £2.50, iceland.co.uk

With a succulent flaky texture and crunchy golden breadcrumbs, you’d think these Plant-Based Fingers from Moving Mountains were the real deal. £3.60, waitrose.com

Ready in under six minutes, Squeaky Bean’s Fishless Fingers have added iron and vitamin B12, making them both tasty and nutritious. £2.50, sainsburys.co.uk

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Vegan News

Vegan treat makers, Booja-Booja, create delectable new ‘Classic Adventures’ truffle range Got a sweet tooth? You’re in luck. Norfolk-based vegan chocolate truffle and ice cream producer, Booja-Booja (boojabooja.com), has announced its ‘most significant and exciting launch in a decade’ — four new tasty truffle flavours and five gorgeous new packs.

The new flavours are Chocolate Orange, Deeply Chocolate, Chocolate Salted Caramel, and Honeycomb Caramel, and they each come in their own new 92g eight-truffle pack (£4.99).

All four new varieties also appear in a new 184g pack of 16 truffles called ‘The Signature Collection’ (£9.99).

Managing director, Matt Gilding, says: “We’re even more excited about this launch than any other of recent years. Each one of the new flavours is a classic adventure: our unique take on a really popular chocolate variety!”

The four new eight-truffle packs and The Signature Collection will be widely available through Booja-Booja’s network of more than 2,000 retailers, including independent stores across the UK as well as supermarkets and online stores.

Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions — more than all transportation emissions combined Source: plantproteins.co

allplants and Meatless Farm launch limited edition Katsu Curry Vegan frozen meal delivery service allplants, have teamed up with plant-based food brand Meatless Farm, to release a limited edition ‘Chicken’ Katsu Curry.

The new offering is the ultimate ‘fakeaway’ dish — with a Meatless Farm vegan chicken fillet, white rice, peas, edamame and tangy katsu sauce, it’s filling, sweet and saucy, but made without the nasties frequently found in a typical takeaway meal.

The brand says: “We tried eight different types of breaded fillets, but nothing compared to Meatless Farm’s delicious ‘chicken’ piece. The breadcrumb coating is golden like no other... The limited-edition Katsu Curry is low in sugar and saturated fat, it contains 28g of protein per serving, two of your five-a-day and is a source of vitamin C and iron. Can your favourite high street version say that?”

The new offering is available to order as part of a box on the brand’s website, on allplants.com.

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Vegan News

CNM drives success with prestigious IHCAN Award win The years 2020 and 2021 were difficult for many people and businesses, but one company has taken it all in their stride. The College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM, naturopathy-uk.com) has been awarded the winner of the Best College Award from the Integrative Healthcare and Applied Nutrition (IHCAN) Education Awards 2021. The IHCAN Education Awards celebrates brands who go above and beyond to keep practitioners up to date with CPD accredited content, events and resources.

Hermann Keppler, CNM founder and principal, says: “This accolade recognises CNM for its achievements in the industry and ongoing work to develop the field of natural medicine education. Thanks goes to everybody who voted for CNM and to our outstanding education and lecturer team.”

This success comes as CNM celebrates 23 years of training successful practitioners, having established the first CNM in London in 1998. Today, CNM is the UK’s number one training provider for a range of natural therapies, providing diploma courses in Naturopathic Nutrition, Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Natural Chef, Vegan Natural Chef and Health Coach.

1 in 10 children aged eight to 13 now identify as a vegetarian or vegan Source: lindamccartneyfoods.co.uk

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First ever Dr. Oetker Ristorante vegan pizza hits UK freezers Say ‘ciao’ to the UK’s first vegan frozen pizza from Dr. Oetker Ristorante (pizzaristorante.co.uk) — the Dr. Oetker Ristorante Pizza Margherita Pomodori (£3.69).

Inspired by Italy, the pizza features Ristorante’s signature thin, crispy crust and tomato sauce, topped with a melted, grated vegan cheese topping, juicy sundried and cherry tomatoes, along with a basil ‘pestostyle’ garnish.

According to the brand, their pizza experts have worked hard to rustle up a recipe, testing on a panel of vegans and flexitarians to make sure the pizza’s plantbased formula delivers the perfect balance of soft, melted topping and crispy crust. The new offering has also been certified by The Vegan Society.

Dr. Oetker’s newest vegan addition comes at a great time for plant-based pizza — in the last year there have been 42 per cent more vegan frozen pizzas bought in retailers than the previous year (iriworldwide.com).

In a statement sent to Vegan Life, Josephine Skinner, senior brand manager at Dr. Oetker, commented: “While we are seeing more and more pizza options for vegans and flexitarians, there are few inspiring Italian style options, particularly in the freezer aisles of the nation’s supermarkets. We are really excited to announce the launch of our Ristorante Vegan Margherita Pomodori — we worked hard perfecting this recipe as we really wanted to offer the best tasting, Italian inspired vegan pizza possible.”

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Vegan News

VEGAN ENTREPRENEUR VEGAN Happy Lorri Delahunty VEGAN Happy, founded by Lorri Delahunty just a few years ago, is an ethical clothing brand based near Worcester, England. Although a young company, after receiving great demand for their garments overseas, Lorri has recently expanded, taking the business to the USA, where it now also operates in Boston, MA. Lorri tells Vegan Life how the VEGAN Happy journey started: “Our gorgeous beagle, Poppy, had an accident late at night, and as we were recovering from this traumatic experience, I was pre-planning dinner for the next day in my head and suddenly, somehow, a light switch was flicked... How could I be considering taking chicken out of the freezer when I treated another animal with such respect and care, and the chicken so carelessly?”

“By the next day, and after watching What The Health, both my husband and I were fully vegan. It took less than 12 hours to effect a change that should have happened 40 years earlier.”

“It was going well, but we couldn’t find the sort of subtle, stylish and classy vegan clothes we wanted to wear, so we set about making our own.”

Now, VEGAN Happy has a growing range of affordable and stylish vegan-friendly clothes, with styles for all ages and genders. Every garment has the subtle VEGAN Happy logo, or a vegan message printed on, helping to spread the vegan word around the world.

For more info, visit veganhappyclothing.co.uk

Follow me socially

Shannon Michelle Warning — Shannon’s Instagram page will make you hungry! The 21-year-old’s grid is full of incredibly delicious — but affordable — recipes that everyone can make at home, from sweet treats like Mini S’mores Cheesecakes to savoury main meals like ‘Chicken’ Garlic Noodles. As well as her Instagram, Shannon runs her successful blog (shannonmichelle.co.uk) where she shares even more recipes! Her aim is to show everyone and anyone just how easy it can be to follow a vegan diet, whilst trying to keep all of her recipes as quick and delicious as possible.

Follow her on IG @veganshannon

Editor's Choice Doisy & Dam

Dark Chocolate Smooth Truffles What could be better than diving into a box of delicious dark chocolate truffles? Being able to home compost the wrappers afterwards! This packaging breaks down in eight to 12 weeks — allowing the product to return to nature, in a safe and non-toxic way. The truffles — a reimagining of a ‘well-known classic’ — have a melt-in-the-mouth centre encased in a chocolate shell and are also palm oil-free! £5.50, doisyanddam.com

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Vegan News

New vegan Lotus Biscoff Cheesecake comes to Waitrose Here to bring joy to vegan cheesecake lovers, is The English Cheesecake Company’s newest addition into Waitrose. The delicious new Vegan Smooth Vanilla Cheesecake with Lotus Biscoff Stacker has been developed by popular demand; it features an indulgent layer of Lotus Biscoff spread and crumb, followed by a thick tier of vanilla cheesecake, all atop the brand’s signature crunchy biscuit base.

The Biscoff delight is The English Cheesecake Company’s third vegan creation into Waitrose, following the Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Slice, along with the Deliciously Raspberry Cheesecake Slice.

Aside from stocking in Waitrose, you’ll also find whole vegan cheesecakes and tray bakes on The English Cheesecake Company’s website, englishcheesecake.com.

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Enter online at www.veganlifemag.com/potyque Closing date 18th August 2021. Over 18s only.

15

Vegan News

Over to you Your letters, emails and musings

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Hi Readers,

Next Month’s Star Letter Prize Send your emails and poems to Gemma.Tadman@primeimpact.co.uk to be in with a chance of winning a bundle of goodies from Fry Family Food Co — the family-run makers of delicious plant-based meat-alternatives. The prize includes a number of Fry Family favourites, including their bestselling Chicken-Style Nuggets, Big Fry Burger, Chicken-Style Burgers, Pies, Hot Dogs and Chicken-Style Strips — all available at either Iceland, Tesco or Sainsbury’s.

Find out more about Fry’s at fryfamilyfood.com

I remember starting out as a vegetarian and having to explain why I had changed to my meat eater friends and the feeling of being interrogated. I am now beginning my journey as a vegan, and vegetarian friends are now asking me questions about why I do not have honey or eggs from a neighbour.

It is good to have debates around the dairy production and the effects on the animal, but please, my vegetarian friends, do not make me have to justify why I have chosen to start my vegan lifestyle.

From one animal lover to another.

Jo

STAR LETTER PRIZE Am I a ‘proper’ grown up?

I smiled until my cheeks hurt reading Jake Yapp’s article on making ginger beer. I have ordered all of the ingredients and as both my teenage daughters LOVE ginger beer, I will try my best (for the first batch anyway!) not to make it alcoholic. I literally need no excuse to put the hoover and the ironing board aside and to get stuck into something more fun that is equally as grown up! Thank you for making me smile so much and I look forward to my grown up creation!

From Liz Edie

16

Liz wins a bundle from The Groovy Food Company, worth £102!

Try the new No Meat range at

17

Vegan Lifestyle

Image: Rachel Ama, © Louise Roberts 2021

VeganLife meets...

Rachel Ama Rachel Ama is well-known for her vibrant, soulful, plant-powered cooking.

Here, she talks to Vegan Life about the significance of growing your own food and why more people should try it 18

Vegan Lifestyle

ith a successful cookbook under her belt and another released this month, Rachel Ama is one to watch for outof-this-world vegan recipes. Hailing from London, the passionate chef also loves sharing food reviews and beauty tips and tricks across her YouTube and Instagram platforms. We talk to the new mum about her latest book, vegan motherhood and her involvement in plant-based food brand Linda McCartney’s exciting Grow Your Own Initiative.

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Hi, Rachel! When and why did you fall in love with cooking?

I went travelling around South America and road-tripped The States — I ate such a variety of food and flavours that when I came back, I was suddenly obsessed with cooking the food I fell in love with when I was on my travels. And then when I went vegan, I had an entire new enthusiasm and love for cooking delicious food.

Why did you first become vegan?

I went vegan about seven years ago. I’ve always been an animal lover and once I fully understood the entire journey these animals go through to end up on my plate, I went vegan the next day.

How would you describe your cooking style?

Food of my heart, soul and heritage.

If you’re hosting dinner for a dubious omnivore, what do you cook?

Cajun beer battered oyster mushrooms — in my book, they’re amazing. Deep fried flavourful oyster mushrooms that are crisp, meaty, hearty and shockingly vegan to a dubious omnivore.

What advice do you have for time-poor home cooks?

Read my new book, ha! It’s called One Pot: Three Ways. Cook one big pot of vegan food on a Sunday; could be a curry, a stew, a roast. Make enough for leftovers and enjoy them over the next few days. Keep it the same if you are insanely busy or add something simple and fresh to it to slightly switch it up the next day. It’s how I naturally cook and eat, especially when I’m busy and it seriously saves me time and keeps my taste buds happy. Aside from this, I always think it’s handy having

Image: Linda McCartney’s Community Garden, Brixton

some plant-based goodies stashed in the fridge or freezer and Linda McCartney’s have some great options for those moments.

water straight out the coconut in the summer while pregnant was incredible.

What advice do you have for vegan mums-to-be?

Congrats on becoming a mum!

How did you find following a vegan lifestyle while pregnant?

I always found it quite funny that while I was pregnant, the foods I was told

Thank you! It felt really normal and natural to me. Luckily, all my cravings were juicy fruits and cake. It’s fair to say I made a lot of vegan cake. One of my favourites was marble cake, which is in my new book, and my friend would drop off fresh coconuts and mangoes to my house — it was amazing! Fresh coconut

There’s nothing more delicious than homegrown fruit and veg

“

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Vegan Lifestyle

“

Growing up in a city like London, you can become quite disconnected with when your food is grown and where it comes from

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to avoid during pregnancy were from meat, fish and dairy food groups, yet there is so much scepticism about being vegan and pregnant. So, tuck into your nutritious full-bodied plantbased flavourful meals and enjoy the journey. My motherhood has been my greatest honour.

Tell us about your involvement in Linda McCartney’s Grow Your Own initiative.

I’ve teamed up with Linda McCartney’s, who have launched their Grow Your Own With Linda’s Initiative in celebration of their 30th anniversary, and I’m helping to show people that they can use fresh produce to create simple, nutritious and delicious fresh recipes at home. The initiative is all about making access to growing your own fruit and veg more widely available. As part of the project, Linda McCartney’s has created six new urban growing spaces across the UK, and the Linda McCartney’s Grow Your Own Guide — is a year-long fruit and vegetable growing guide designed for beginner urban gardeners with little space, and little previous knowledge of gardening. You can access the guide for free via Linda McCartney’s website. It’s been really exciting to be involved in the project and I really like the emphasis on working with fresh produce to create meals at home. After all, there’s nothing more delicious than homegrown fruit and veg!

Why is the project important?

I wish I had learnt how to grow my own veg when I was younger. Growing up in a city like London, you can become quite disconnected with when your food is grown and where it comes from; you often just see the packaged version in the supermarket. I think it’s incredibly exciting to have a hub, like the Linda McCartney’s growing plot in Brixton, where people — especially young people — can learn about fresh produce, the health benefits, environmental benefits and see full circle what they’re growing, cooking and fuelling their body with. It’s a beautiful, thoughtful full circle.

Can people lacking garden space still grow their own produce?

Image: Diarmuid Gavin and a local school group at Linda McCartney’s Community Garden, Brixton

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Absolutely! Gardens can be hard to come by especially in big cities, I always recommend window ledges, they’re so, so good especially for fresh herbs for your everyday cooking. You’ll save on

Vegan Lifestyle

Image: Rachel Ama, © Louise Roberts 2021

“

You’ll save on pennies, add a freshness to your food and save on waste

”

pennies, add a freshness to your food and save on waste — buying packets can be so excessive. The Linda McCartney’s Grow Your Own Guide, found on their website, suggests loads of innovative

ways to grow things even if you have little or no outside space

We love your cookbook, Vegan Eats. What’s your favourite recipe to cook from it?

Probably, African Peanut Stew — its hearty, flavourful, filling with delicious wholefoods.

Do you have any more cookbooks in the pipeline?

Yes, my new cookbook, One Pot: Three Ways, Save Time With Versatile Vibrant Recipes. I wanted to create a book that made vegan eating easier! This is how I

cook, and this is how I save time.

In this book, I show you how to make a feast in one pot, save leftovers and refresh them over the next few days. My mission was to eliminate that feeling after a long day when you come home and think ‘Argh, I don’t know what to make for dinner’ or ‘I don’t have much time’, whilst of course, keeping it flavourful. I’m really excited about it, coming this August 2021.

For more from Rachel, visit rachelama.com or follow IG @rachelama_ 21

Vegan Lifestyle

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Vegan Lifestyle

Rachel Ama’s

Lemon Balm Curry with Linda McCartney’s Vegetarian Chicken Pieces Serves 4 s part of the Grow Your Own initiative to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Linda McCartney Foods, Rachel Ama has whipped up a delicious recipe with herbs and veg you can grow at home.

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• • • • • •

What is the Grow Your Own initiative?

• • • •

Linda McCartney’s pioneering and delicious new initiative aims to get everyone growing, and the brand know the biggest pay-off of growing your own veg is eating it afterwards! So, they’ve teamed up with the dancing, cooking, power-house of vegan inspiration, Rachel Ama, who is offering her culinary creativity to show you an utterly delicious and absolutely meat-free dish with your home-grown veg.

How does Rachel use homegrown veg in the recipe?

Rachel’s recipe takes inspiration from the community garden created by Linda McCartney’s in partnership with Urban Growth that is providing a much-needed growing space for the local people in Brixton, London.

Using ingredients that are easy to grow indoors and on your windowsill, Rachel’s Lemon Balm Curry with Linda McCartney’s Vegetarian Chicken Pieces is a versatile and accessible recipe that proves we’re all able to grow and cook with just a little know-how.

For the paste: • 5 cloves of garlic • 4 shallots • Thumb of fresh ginger • Handful of lemon balm stalks • 1 birds eye chilli, seeds removed

Recipe by Rachel Ama, rachelama.com, for Linda McCartney Foods, lindamccartneyfoods.co.uk

For the curry: • 1 tbsp coconut oil • 2 tsp mild curry powder • ½ tsp ground coriander • ½ tsp turmeric

1 tbsp soy sauce 400ml (13.5 fl oz) full fat coconut milk ½ stock cube 2 medium carrots 200g (7 oz) long stem broccoli 200g (7 oz) Linda McCartney’s Vegetarian Chicken Pieces 100g (3.5 oz) mangetout Squeeze of fresh lemon juice Handful of lemon balm Wild rice, to serve

1 Place the paste ingredients into a pestle and mortar or a blender and blitz into a coarse paste.

2 Heat the coconut oil in a pan on medium heat.

3 Add the paste, mild curry powder, ground turmeric and ground coriander and cook on a medium-to-low heat, stirring occasionally for 7 minutes.

4 Add a splash of water or additional coconut oil to loosen if the paste starts to stick to the pan.

5 Next, add the carrots, soy sauce, full fat coconut milk and stock mix to combine then add in carrots.

6 Cook on a low simmer for about 20 minutes until carrots have slightly softened but still have a slight bite. Then mix in long stem broccoli and cook for another 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

7 In a separate pan, cook the Linda McCartney’s Vegetarian Chicken Pieces until golden, following package instructions.

8 Toss in the Vegetarian Chicken Pieces and mangetout, stir and cook for 2 minutes.

9 Using your hands, tear the lemon balm leaves, releasing their aroma, into small pieces and sprinkle into the curry.

10 Lastly, squeeze with fresh lemon juice and season to taste with salt.

11 Serve with a handful of fresh coriander and wild rice.

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Vegan Lifestyle

Ask the

experts

The team from Veganuary answer your questions about veganism

E

ach month, send us your questions and we’ll pitch them to those in the know. Whether you’re unsure about the best way to cook tofu, or you need some vegan dating advice, we’ve got your back.

I really miss gooey cheese on pizza.

What are the best vegan brands for melty cheese?

We hear you. There are so many excellent vegan cheeses now but not all of them do everything that a dairy cheese will do. Some are great on crackers, others perfect in sandwiches, but this doesn’t mean they will also melt. And some that do melt — such as the amazing Follow Your Heart Gouda — are great for cheese on toast but, being slices, not so great for pizza.

We’ve found that some of those that don’t melt in an oven will melt under a hot grill, so this is one tip to help you if the pizza is almost cooked, but the cheese is stubbornly refusing to react. Of course, it is easier to just choose a cheese that does melt. Some companies make a feature of this and will print it loud and proud on the pack. Here, we are thinking of Applewood Vegan which we have to agree ‘melts beautifully’. Other popular options for melting cheese include Violife’s Epic Mature Cheddar flavour and MozzaRisella, a rice-based pizza cheese. Asda’s Mature Cheddar, Morrisons’ V Taste Red Leicester and Tesco’s Grated Mozzarella alternative are also good options.

Our

star

buy

MozzaRisella MozzaRisella Classic, 200g Made from Italian brown rice, this mozzarella-style vegan cheese is low-sugar, organic, non-GMO and soya- and palm oil-free. It melts wonderfully and tastes like the real deal. £4.50, thevegankindsupermarket.com

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I’m pregnant, and my family keep expressing concerns about my plans to raise the baby vegan. Any advice to help them understand it’s safe?

The concerns our families might have expressed when we became vegan often resurface when we decide to raise our children vegan, too. It may help your family to know that the British Dietetic Association has confirmed that a well-planned vegan diet is suitable for all stages of life, including pregnancy, breastfeeding and childhood. But to fully reassure them, you’ll need to show that you have educated yourself on the issues around raising vegan children and that you are making responsible decisions in the best interests of your child. If you haven’t done so already, we’d recommend reading some of the excellent books on the subject, such as Nourish

by Reshma Shah MD and Brenda Davies RD and Disease-Proof Your Child by Joel Fuhrman MD. Perhaps you and your family together could join some online vegan parent groups. Not only will you be learning more, picking up practical tips and connecting with people who have done what you are about to do, but your family will see that this is not such a radical decision and that thousands of others have raised happy, healthy vegan babies. We wish you lots of luck.

For more from Veganuary, visit veganuary.com.

Email Gemma.Tadman@primeimpact.co.uk with your questions about veganism and looking after the planet.

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Vegan Lifestyle

Nothing Fishy Here Cytoplan Omega 3 Vegan Struggling to find a vegan source of omega-3? Cytoplan is here to help! Their Omega 3 Vegan is derived from plant marine algae and provides a fantastic vegan source of the important omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. These contribute to the normal function of the heart and the maintenance of optimal brain function and vision. £26.30, cytoplan.co.uk

VeganLife

Loves

Our favourites this month

Perfect Pants Lady Days Reusable Period Underwear

Handmade in Yorkshire using organic fabrics by the UK’s number one period pants manufacturer, Lady Days Reusable Period Underwear are the perfect alternative to disposable menstrual products. Available in a variety of styles and absorbencies, there is a pair to suit everyone.

From £18, ladydaysclothpads.co.uk

Get Fruity Smooth Health Fruitilicious Vegan Protein Smoothie, 500g Smooth Health Fruitilicious Vegan Protein Smoothie is a blend of real fruits, natural ingredients, and pure pea protein. Super sweet with no added sugar, it has a popping colour and mixes super smooth. £24.99, smoothhealth.co.uk

Proper Pickle Tracklements Special Edition Lively Lemon Pickle This new pickle from Tracklements is the perfect way to add a punch of Middle Eastern flavour to a variety of dishes, although it also works well with Indian curries. Made with lemons, sultanas, ginger, garlic, whole mustard seeds and chillies, massage tofu chunks with a blend of sumac, za’atar, ground allspice and a tablespoon of Lively Lemon Pickle and you’ll discover the secret behind an effortless traybake. £3.35, tracklements.co.uk

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Berry Good Haskapa Haskap Berry Powder Looking for a delicious way to boost your health?

Haskap is a new super-berry powder made from haskap berries, which contain four times more anthocyanins than blueberries! Anthocyanins play a key role in sports nutrition, with the potential to improve performance and lessen exercise-induced oxidative stress. Anthocyanins are also associated with cardio-protective benefits, including reducing the risk of heart attacks and high blood pressure and improving aspects of cognitive decline. Blend the powder in smoothies, oats and baking to get a fruity boost.

From £16, haskapa.com

Beautiful Blueberries Nairns Oats Your Way in Blueberry You can enjoy Nairn’s scrumptious oats however you like — served simply hot or cold, on the hob or in the microwave, chilled as ‘overnight oats’, in baking or blended in smoothies. Each bag contains a delicious combination of gluten-free wholegrain Nairn’s oats and juicy sweet blueberries to satisfy your hunger. £2.71, shop.nairns-oatcakes.com

Imperfectly Perfect ChicP Beetroot and Horseradish Houmous Houmous with a twist — this dip is packed with fresh beetroot and a kick of horseradish. It’s delicious with crudités, in a wrap or to accompany a salad. All ChicP’s products are also made from ‘wonky’ and imperfect vegetables, helping to save perfectly tasty veg from going to waste.

From £2.50, chicp.co.uk

Super Oats Stoats Plant-Based Protein Bar in Chewy Roasted Nut New from Stoats, these tasty protein bars will help you power through the day. Each chewy bar is made with gluten-free Scottish oats, almond butter, roasted hazelnuts and sunflower, chia and pumpkin seeds. Even better, just one bar contains 100 per cent of your recommended daily allowance of vitamins A, B6, B12, C and D as well as iron, folic acid and copper.

From 99p, eatstoats.com

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Vegan Lifestyle

Supporting vegan chocolate makers Will you be eating the new plant-based KitKat?

By Karin Ridgers

y now you may have tried a vegan KitKat — today they hit the shelves and are dominating the vegan news as I write this… And brought out by the controversial Nestlé. Now, the likelihood is yes, I am going to try them, however they won’t be a staple for me.

For one, I am embracing the world of raw at the moment and OMG my lovelies I feel good for doing this. I am no expert, however, I realised I was turning into a junk food vegan and just woke up one morning feeling ‘I’ve got to go raw’.

It’s funny how raw is in percentages — ‘I am 80 per cent raw’ or ‘100 per cent’, or another number usually above 70! And the higher the number, of course, the more impressive. At the moment, my number is undetermined…

This is odd, thinking about it; we don’t have this with vegan, do we? ‘I am 90 per cent vegan; the other 10 per cent, I eat animals…’. Thankfully, this just doesn’t work.

And for two, I do aim to support the small vegan businesses as much as possible.

Many started the bandwagon or created their vegan delights to make a difference. I should know, as I am one of them through my vegan PRing business and presenting!

However, I have to say that even back in the day 25 years ago, we had vegan chocolate and it was made by ethical SMEs and in cottage industries and it tasted out of this world.

They still exist today. The Vegan Traders Union is a great place to check out for the small vegan-owned businesses and vegan ‘KitKats’ have been available for years.

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The original vegan KitKat Annie’s Vegan Treats (anniestreats.co.uk) have sold their Annie’s Wafer Bites for six months and they are a best seller.

Julie, the founder says: “I started to eat 28

less meat in 2019, with a view to becoming vegetarian as I felt this was better for the environment. As a result of becoming vegetarian though, I was connecting with lots of vegans and learning so much about animal farming both in the UK and worldwide. This led me to become completely vegan and to support several animal charities. Frankly, I think we care a lot more — about the animals, about the planet and about our customers [than nonvegan companies]. Keeping a connection with customers and working with them on bespoke items like wedding favours or gift hampers builds rapport and trust — and it keeps them coming back!”

Julie adds: “The bigger companies are now jumping on the plant-based bandwagon, wanting a slice of the market that small independent businesses have had for a while. During these difficult times, this has had an effect on small businesses, and many have not survived. Buying from indies puts food on the table, it buys football boots, dance classes, Christmas presents — it really does make a difference — and we really do dance when we get an order!”

Plant-powered chocolatier Jessica from Jessica’s Vegan Delights (jessicasvegandelights.co.uk) turned vegan five years ago because of her love of animals, and has run her chocolate business for three years since leaving school and craving a Crunchie after turning vegan and making her own.

The Krispy V is a best seller and the only product she hasn’t changed the recipe for and one of the first she sold.

Jessica says: “Now, more than ever, it’s so important to keep supporting the UK’s small businesses, I know it’s easier to go into a supermarket and grab widely accessible vegan replacements, however, it’s so important to make sure that the smaller

businesses aren’t eclipsed by the new big brand vegan arrivals!”

“Shopping small businesses just guarantees you’re supporting a 100 per cent vegan business. I produce a variety of veganised classic chocolate bars. I know there are some new bars coming out from Nestlé, however, there’s a lot of trouble surrounding the brand itself. Shopping small is more sustainable and ethical and I try to shop small and support my fellow small business owners wherever possible, too.”

Use them or lose them As I come to a close writing this, my hubbie has brought in some vegan KitKats to try... It has been more than 25 years since I had one and to me, they taste as I remember.

I’m glad I have tried it, and I’m happy that they are out, but let’s all remember to support the small vegan business owners, too — use them or lose them!

For more from Karin, visit veggievisiondating. com, veggievision. tv and madpromotions.com

Smoothie bowls

Smoothie bowls

Wake up to fruit and sunshine. Not only are smoothie bowls delicious, but they are packed full of super nourishing foods and they look amazing.

Matcha Mango Smoothie Bowl Serves 1

How gorgeous does this smoothie bowl look? It is made with matcha green tea, which is full of antioxidants and gives a wonderful green colouring.

• • • • • •

1 banana, frozen in chunks 100g (3.5 oz) frozen mango ½ ripe avocado 40g (1.4 oz) spinach 1 tsp matcha green tea powder 1-2 tbsp plant-based milk, more as needed • Toppings: coconut yoghurt, granola, fruit

1 Place all the smoothie bowl ingredients in the blender and blend until creamy, adding more plant-based milk as needed to reach your desired consistency. If your blender is not as powerful you will need more liquid.

2 Pour into a bowl and serve with your favourite toppings.

Recipe by Amy Lanza, Nourishing Amy, nourishingamy.com

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Blueberry Spinach Smoothie Bowl Serves 1

Blueberries are high in fibre and vitamins C and K making them a power-house of nutrients for your breakfast smoothie bowls.

• • • • •

15g (0.5 oz) baby spinach 120ml (4 fl oz) oat milk 190g (6.7 oz) blueberries (frozen) 1 banana (frozen) 60g (2.1 oz) vanilla plantbased yoghurt • ½ cup ice

1 Start by blending together the spinach and oat milk for about 30 seconds.

2 Add your remaining ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

3 Optional: top with your favourite fresh fruit, coconut flakes, or any additional toppings.

Recipe by Kelsey Riley, Planted in the Kitchen, @plantedinthekitchen

Blue Spirulina Smoothie Bowl Serves 1

The blue spirulina powder really gives a beautiful pop of colour to your breakfast plus it is packed with nutrients and potential antioxidants.

• • • • • • •

30g (1 oz) baby spinach 235ml (8 fl oz) almond milk 1 banana (frozen) 100g (3.5 oz) pineapple (frozen) 85g (3 oz) mango (frozen) 1 tsp lemon juice ½ tsp blue spirulina powder

1 Start by blending the almond milk and baby spinach together until you no longer have chunks of spinach.

2 Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and blend until you have a smooth consistency.

3 Garnish with optional toppings such as fruit, granola, coconut, or hemp seeds.

Recipe by Kelsey Riley, Planted in the Kitchen, @plantedinthekitchen

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Smoothie bowls Recipe by Pink Lady®, pinkladyapples.co.uk

Pink Lady® Smoothie Bowl with Granola Topping Serves 2

If there is anything that is likely to cheer you up on a dreary morning, then it is a colourful smoothie bowl! People often pass up apples for their smoothies in favour of softer fruit, but Pink Lady® apples make a fantastic addition to a beautiful pink smoothie bowl.

For the granola: • 8 tbsp porridge oats • 2 tbsp Brazil nuts • 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds • 2 tbsp dried cranberries • 2 tbsp coconut oil • 2 tbsp agave syrup • 1 tbsp flax seed For the smoothies: • 2 Pink Lady® apples • 100g (3.5 oz) vegan yoghurt • 2 handfuls strawberries • 1 banana • 1 tbsp agave syrup 1 To make the granola, first chop the Brazil nuts into small pieces.

2 Toast the Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and oats in a dry frying pan for about 3-4 minutes or until you can start to smell the fragrance of the nuts.

3 Add the coconut oil, syrup and cranberries and toast, stirring frequently until the pumpkin seeds are starting to pop.

4 Turn out onto a plate to cool. Once cool, break up into clusters.

5 For the smoothie, core the apples but leave the peel on. Chop the banana and hull the strawberries. Place them all in a blender along with the yoghurt and agave and blend until smooth.

6 Pour into bowls, top with slices of apple and some granola. Enjoy!

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Apple Pie Smoothie Bowl Serves 1

All the delicious flavours of a classic apple pie in a tasty smoothie bowl!

• 1 frozen banana • 180g (6.3 oz) frozen red apple (2 smallmedium apples) — peel apples, cut into small-medium cubes and steam on high for 8 minutes or until soft, then freeze • ¼ tsp cinnamon • 1 tbsp coconut yoghurt (optional) • ¼ cup plant-based milk

Toppings: • Apple slices or chunks • Walnuts • Raw buckinis (buckwheat groats) • Cinnamon • Almond butter • Granola 1 Blend all ingredients in a high-power blender or processor.

2 Finish with your choice of toppings.

Recipe from Better Blended by Lauren Saliu, rawsomereviews.com/ebook, @laurensaliu

Recipe by Amy Lanza, Nourishing Amy, nourishingamy.com

Creamy Coconut Raspberry Mango Smoothie Bowl Serves 1

Coconut, raspberry and mango are the perfect combination, producing a wonderfully vibrant palate that will excite your taste buds.

• • • • •

1 ripe banana 100g (3.5 oz) frozen mango 80g (2.8 oz) frozen raspberries 15g (0.5 oz) coconut flakes 100-180ml (3.3-6 fl oz) coconut milk

To serve: • 2 tbsp coconut yoghurt • Extra coconut flakes • Fruit of choice • Chocolates • Pink pitaya powder 1 Add all the smoothie ingredients to a blender and whizz until smooth and creamy.

2 Serve in a bowl with your favourite toppings.

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Smoothie bowls

Matcha Madness Serves 1 Get all the goodness of matcha at breakfast time with this bright smoothie bowl.

• 2 medium frozen bananas • ½ frozen avocado (chopped into cubes before freezing)

• ½ tsp matcha powder • 120ml (4 fl oz) plant-based milk Toppings: • Chocolate buckinis (see recipe) • Kiwi fruit • Cacao nibs • Cacao sauce (see recipe p34) • Hemp hearts 1 Blend all ingredients in a high-powered blender or food processor.

2 Add your choice of toppings.

Chocolate Buckinis • 300g (10.5 oz) buckinis (buckwheat groats) • 50g (1.3 oz) cacao powder • 88g (3.1 oz) agave (or other liquid sweetener of choice) • 3 pitted chopped Medjool dates (optional) • 2 tbsp filtered water • Pinch of pink Himalayan salt

1 Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.

2 In a large bowl, mix in the buckinis, Himalayan salt and optional chopped dates.

3 In a separate bowl, add the cacao powder, agave and water and keep stirring until the mixture becomes smooth.

4 Pour the chocolate over the buckinis and mix well.

5 Line a baking tray with non-stick paper and pour the mixture onto it, pressing down so the mixture is flat and compact.

6 Place in the oven and bake for 11-12 minutes.

7 Let cool for around 10-15 minutes before breaking up into chunks.

8 Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe from Better Blended by Lauren Saliu, rawsomereviews.com/ebook, @laurensaliu

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Berrylicious Smoothie Bowl with Cacao Sauce Serves 1

A delicious way to start the day, with a bowl full of goodness!

• • • • •

1 medium frozen banana 300g (10.5 oz) frozen mixed berries 2 tbsp coconut yoghurt 80ml (2.7 fl oz) coconut water 1 tbsp flax seed meal (optional)

Toppings: • Mixed berries • Pumpkin seeds • Hemp hearts • Coconut yoghurt • Cacao nibs • Cacao sauce 1 Blend all ingredients in a high-power blender or food processor.

2 Top and enjoy!

Cacao Sauce 1 serving

• 1½ tbsp cacao powder • 1½ agave (or other liquid sweetener of choice) • 1¾ tsp filtered water 1 Mix all ingredients together until smooth. You don’t want the consistency to be too runny or too thick. If too thick, add a tiny dash more water. If too runny, add a bit more cacao powder.

Mango Orange Smoothie Serves 1

A tropical smoothie that tastes divine — with added oats that help you to feel fuller for longer.

• • • • • • •

1 mango 1 large orange 2 tbsp vegan yoghurt 2 tbsp White’s Jumbo Organic Oats 2 tsp chia seeds 1 tsp ground linseed 300ml (10.1 fl oz) coconut water

1 Pour all the ingredients into a blender.

2 Blitz the ingredients until smooth.

3 Drink as it is, or pour into a bowl and add your favourite toppings, like granola, seeds and nuts.

Recipe from Better Blended by Lauren Saliu, rawsomereviews.com/ebook, @laurensaliu Recipe by White’s Oats, whitesoats.co.uk

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Vegan Eats

What I eat in a week...

Rachel Brownstein, vegan recipe creator and YouTuber from Auntie Rachel’s Chaotic Kitchen, shares her week of eating Monday

Friday

Monday is the start of my working week at my job; I do telesales three days a week. I typically batch cook on Sunday afternoons, and eat that for lunch at 4pm. I’m not usually a breakfast-lover, so I really have to force myself to eat first thing on a morning! I opt for vanilla soya yogurt with granola. Lunch was spicy butternut squash and lentil soup topped with smoky-bacon-flavour popcorn (nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, dried onion and garlic), and served with air fryer pitta chips.

I finished off the edit, and got stuck into the backend work; proofreading the subtitles, SEO optimisation etc. A Human Food bar (organic seeds and fruit nutrition bar) kept me going until dinner. I cooked a bulgur and vermicelli pilaf with bell peppers, onions, peas, corn, and chunks of vegan chorizo.

Saturday

Back at the call centre today, so soup again for lunch. I filmed an episode of Chaotic Kitchen on Sunday, where I made pineapple and grapefruit tartlets. I polished off the last one tonight; it’s the prettiest dessert I’ve ever made!

I forced myself to have some down time, so I curled up with a book all day. I’m currently reading the Magelands Eternal Siege series; I really enjoy losing myself in fantasy realms. I made a quick soup in the evening; spicy tomato and sweet potato, topped with fresh coriander and homemade vegan ‘feta’. I had air fryer roast pineapple as an evening snack; brown sugar and grated nutmeg really bring out the flavours beautifully.

Wednesday

Sunday

More soup today, this time topped with Bombay Mix. I went to the pub this evening, and had a powerful craving for queso (Mexican cheese dip) when I got home. So, I set about trying to make a vegan version; I whizzed up some oats in the coffee grinder, added them to warm milk, and stirred in some vegan cheese and nooch (nutritional yeast). It worked really well! Dunking pretzels and corn chips made a delicious late night snack.

I spent the morning doing my household chores and scheduling social media posts for Tuesday’s video. I did some recipe planning for future videos; I want to make tempeh using turtle beans, black rice, and black sesame, and also a chickpea version. I did my meal prep for the working week; this time it was a spicy tomato, crispy tofu, and vegetable stew. I toasted lots of mixed seeds to go on top — pumpkin, sunflower, black and white sesame, and nigella.

Served with white basmati rice, it’s a great dish for powering me through a workday.

Tuesday

Thursday Most weeks, Thursdays are the day I start editing the following Tuesday’s YouTube episodes, so I ended up pulling a vegan steak out of the freezer for dinner. I’d used the WtF method for the first time (Wash the Flour), and the results were incredible. Sautéed garlic broccoli and air fryer roast potatoes made it a fairly quick, and very nutritious meal that kept me going through an intense editing session until 2am.

Lilt tart

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Cheesy Dip

For more from Rachel, visit her YouTube channel Auntie Rachel’s Chaotic Kitchen, or follow her on social media @AuntieR8chel

Wash the Flour vegan steak

(& THE REVOLUTIONARY MINDS)

(DEREK SIMNETT)

TICKETS FROM VEGANCAMPOUT.CO.UK ADULTS = £60 | KIDS = £30 | 0-3 = FREE VEGANCAMPOUT

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Vegan Lifestyle

the

Beauty

edit

The vegan products you need on your radar this month Brow HQ Brow Styling Soap

BioSurice — The Healthy Zone Smart Stick Multifunctional Balm

Complete with a bamboo spoolie, this styling soap will allow you to define and nourish your eyebrows for maximum impact. £14, brow-hq.com

A nourishing infusion of organic waxes and vegetable oils that soothe, smoothen, hydrate and firm lips and skin. £19, thehealthyzone.co.uk

That’so Gradual Tanning Moisturiser Attain a natural looking tan with this hydrating moisturiser from That’so. £24, thatsoskincare.com

All Tigers Eyeshadow Pencil in ‘Watch Me Reign’ 311 Gold

NAIL.KIND ‘After Hours’ Nail Varnish in Santorini Bikini

A highly pigmented and easy-to-apply eye shadow made from natural ingredients. £12.69, all-tigers.com

A beautifully vibrant polish for nails that want to be seen. £8.95, nailkind.com

Sukin Glow Night Moisturiser

Cheeky Panda Biodegradable Face Wipes in Coconut

A powerful skin brightening night cream rich in vitamins C and E and antioxidants. £17.99, sukinnaturals.co.uk

These 100 per cent biodegradable wipes are gentle on skin and the planet.

From £1.99, uk.cheekypanda.com

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Vegan Lifestyle

Arbonne TrueSmooth Apple Vinegar Hair Rinse

ZERO by Skin Academy Invigorating Face Scrub

This pre-wash hair and scalp treatment will help to purify your hair and bring its shine back! £20, arbonne.com

A gentle skin exfoliator to smooth and brighten your complexion. £9.99, beautybyzero.com

Wild Pharmacy Cool and Calm Toner

Natural Deodorant Co Clean Deodorant Balm For Men

Deeply nourishing and antibacterial, this toner works wonders on problem skin and ‘maskne’. £21, wildpharmacy-uk.com

Packed in a plastic-free jar this creamy balm melts into underarm skin leaving a fresh scent that provides all-day odour protection. £12.50, naturaldeoco.com

Our Remedy Rachel Mason, founder of Our Remedy, talks to us about the natural wellness brand Tell us about Our Remedy Our Remedy is a natural wellness brand with a passion for sustainability and encouraging self-care during our cycle. We believe in happier periods, finding balance and caring for our planet.

Our range of CBD wellness oils and adaptogenic teas are lovingly made in the UK, totally vegan and packaged using eco-friendly materials. All of our products have been thoughtfully formulated to bring back balance to the wellness routines of those who menstruate or experience sleep disruption. Plus, for every product sold we donate to Bloody Good Period, the UK’s leading Period Poverty Charity!

Why was the brand founded?

I’ve been through some fairly serious health issues over the past few years; from finding out I’d never conceive naturally, to doctors finding cancer cells on my ovaries which lead to a full hysterectomy by the age of 30. The anxiety caused by these health issues left me struggling to sleep and I’d lay awake at night tossing and turning in despair. Thankfully, I found balance and relief by introducing CBD into my wellness routine. Although I was cynical at first, after just a week of taking

CBD daily I was sleeping better, waking up feeling refreshed and if I did wake up in the night, I’d go straight back to sleep.

The only issue was that I couldn’t find a CBD oil I liked the taste of (CBD is a natural plant extract and has a rather hemp/earthy flavour) or that resonated with my passion for sustainability, so I decided to create my own — and Our Remedy was born.

What are your hero products?

Our Moon Swings blend (peppermint, clary sage and CBD) is our much loved hero product — and it’s actually the one product we launched with at the beginning of 2020.

Tailored toward menstrual symptoms, it’s a really refreshing product that can be dropped directly under the tongue or into your morning smoothie, tea or coffee daily!

Lots of our customers love dropping their daily dose into a hot chocolate too, as it mixes to create the most delicious mint hot choc with an abundance of wellness benefits!

Is there anything exciting coming up?

We’ve had an incredibly exciting and successful first year in business. We went from one product to a range of four

products — and this continues to increase as we grow. Our adaptogenic tea Oh My Flo launched at the beginning of the year and was incredibly well received — especially since it can be enjoyed alongside our Moon Swings oil. It’s a delicious and fruity mix of goji berries, rosehip and raspberry leaf — teamed with Schisandra berries, an adaptogen used for centuries by alternative medicine practitioners to enhance energy, among other wellness benefits.

We’re working on our second tea — a magnesium rich sleep blend — and we’ve also just launched our subscription service which we had so many requests for — CBD has become such a big part of wellness routines (especially throughout the pandemic) that people don’t want to be without it.

For more from Our Remedy, visit ourremedy.co.uk

Our Remedy CBD Moon Swings CBD oil blended with peppermint and clary sage to bring you balance during your period.

From £28.99, ourremedy.co.uk 39

Vegan Lifestyle

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Image: Felix Dickenson

Vegan Lifestyle

Temple of Seitan A vegan fried chicken success story

By Sean O’Callaghan

A

Rebecca McGuiness pictured left, with co-owner Patrick O’Shea, right

side from helping animals, the best part of my job as a vegan writer and event organiser these past 10 years has been getting to witness talented, compassionate, and inspiring people succeed at what they do.

I have worked alongside people who are making the world a better place for animals, and to be on the frontline to see their personal and professional growth has been a real joy for me.

I’ve seen vegan food creatives launch small ideas at tiny supper clubs hosting 10 people before pivoting to hugely popular restaurants.

Traders who started at my Hackney Downs Vegan Market have gone on to build impressive plant-based brands stocked by major grocery chains.

These vegan success stories are becoming more common.

A desire to see positive change has propelled many UK vegan companies to international recognition and I’ll never stop singing the praises of these pioneers.

Of all the vegan companies I have enjoyed working alongside over the years, few have been as impactful as Temple of Seitan.

Vegan fast food might sound like a common occurrence in London in 2021, but Rebecca McGuiness undoubtedly turned the UK capital upside down when she started making appearances on the street food scene back in 2015.

Temple of Seitan rode a wave of popularity never before seen in London and the plantbased business quickly became the darling of the vegan scene.

But where did the idea for a vegan fried chicken shop originate?

After Australian McGuinness relocated from Melbourne to London, she started experimenting with vegan food development for purely personal reasons.

McGuiness tells me, “Before I went vegan, I was a junk food fiend and really wanted to make my old favourites. I became determined to recreate these textures and flavours and after a lot of experimenting, I reached a product I was really happy with that reminded me of that old fried chicken experience!”

The famous fried vegan chicken of Temple of Seitan is made from a secret blend of wheat gluten, herbs, and spices. This is sold in bitesized popcorn pieces, sharing buckets, stacked

burgers, and spicy wings alongside their full comfort food menu.

In the time since she launched her brand, Rebecca has taken Temple of Seitan to the enormous Eat Drink Vegan event in Los Angeles, brought Hackney Downs Vegan Market to a standstill by drawing thousands of visitors, and changed how vegan businesses are viewed by expanding to nine kitchens around London.

During the global pandemic, Temple of Seitan was able to keep their team employed by opening delivery kitchens in order to supply fried vegan chicken to hungry Londoners who were working from home.

It was this shift to meet the demands of their customers during the crisis that allowed Temple of Seitan to not only survive and keep their team employed, but also to grow.

At time of writing this article, Temple of Seitan has takeaway shops in Camden, Hackney, Hammersmith, Brixton, and Kings Cross, while kitchens fulfilling delivery orders are based in Wood Green, Waterloo, Wandsworth, and Colindale.

That’s a lot of fried vegan chicken!

If this runaway expansion of the past year and a half seems impressive, McGuiness and her team have even bigger plans for the future.

McGuinness says, “We are always looking at new takeaway locations. We listen to what our customers want, and they are the real decision makers when it comes to our expansion. If we get enough demand from an area, we will do our best to make it happen. There are other things in the pipeline, but all will be revealed in good time!”

Even though McGuiness plays her cards close to her chest, there are whispers of additional UK takeaway sites and retail opportunities.

It is encouraging to see a vegan company like Temple of Seitan experiencing this level of success and I love the idea of vegan jobs being created by vegans. Add their commitment to paying Living Wage to the mix and the fastfood chain is truly pioneering a kinder future.

Let’s raise a vegan chicken wing to their continued success!

Follow Sean’s vegan adventures on Instagram @fatgayvegan 41

Vegan Lifestyle

5 summer party style picks

Get ready for outdoor events with these fashionable vegan items

By Victoria Featherstone-Pearce We’ve all heard the saying: ‘Suns out, fun’s out’ — and it really is true. Long summer evenings are finally here, and we want to make the most of them and look stylish. Whether you’re attending a picnic in the park, a BBQ (vegan, of course!) or a glamorous ‘alfresco soirée’, look no further for clothing and accessories. My top five pieces will look great on anyone and are sustainable and cruelty-free. Slow fashion never looked so hot.

Damapreziosa Ludovica White £274.50, damapreziosa.com Add some glamour to your summer outfits with these absolutely stunning white croc effect sandals embellished with an elegant butterfly-shaped accessory in coloured crystals.

These luxurious designer beauties are handmade in Italy by skilled craftsmen with only vegan and cruelty-free materials, featuring a 2cm heel. Compassion never looked so dazzling — these beauties even have glitter soles!

Damapreziosa believes in love and respect for all living creatures, as Monica Paterlini Inga, CEO and co-founder, says: “Your choice matters; every choice we make has an impact on the future of our planet and can save the lives of millions of animals. Like me, you can choose to wear cruelty-free footwear without giving up fashion. Together we can make the world a better place.”

Babushka Printed Bamboo Sarong Scarf £31.95, wearethought.com Add a pop of colour to your outfit, with this super-sized, printed sarong which is sustainably crafted from luxe bamboo, making it naturally soft and kind to skin. I love the pretty tassels on each corner of this scarf too, made from leftover fabric from the factory it was made in.

You can wear it multiple ways — as a sarong for the beach or thrown around your shoulders on a summer’s evening.

The in-house Thought design team created this print, taking inspiration from traditional Russian folk paintings. This is just one of the many stunning ethical scarfs on offer.

What drives ‘Thought’, is their mission to live more thoughtfully and their hope to inspire us to do so too. This is an ethos I can live by.

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Vegan Lifestyle

Vegan haven Fold-over Sequin Clutch Bag in Champagne £33, veganhaven.co.uk Add some sparkle to your evening look, with this stunning little Fold-Over Sequin Clutch Bag in Champagne. It may not be classed as a luxury bag, but it certainly looks expensive and will team beautifully with any outfit. This gorgeous clutch is not only super cute and versatile, but also has enough room for your phone, cards and lippy.

Vegan Haven is another fabulous ethical website I found on my search for luxury cruelty-free finds. The brand also has a flagship store, The Haven Home Interiors, nestled in the quaint village of Ledsham, Cheshire.

The name Vegan Haven is exactly what it is: a haven for everything vegan, from womenswear, menswear, gifts and winter throws and home interiors. It’s a store created by vegans for vegans.

Pala Eyewear Meria Havana £125, palaeyewear.com Look cool and do some good at the same time, with Pala Eyewear.

I’d had my eye (pardon the pun) on this pair of vintage inspired cat-eyed Meria Havana glasses for a while now. They come with a hand-woven recycled case from Bolgatanga, Ghana and have scratch-resistant lenses with UV400 protection. All Pala’s sunnies are stunning and can also be made into subscription glasses, too.

This eyewear company has blown me away — not only because of their huge range of ethical sunnies but the good they do with each pair of sunglasses sold.

For every pair of sunglasses purchased, Pala give back to eye-care programmes in Africa by providing grants to vision centres, dispensaries and screening programmes. To date, thousands of sight-impaired people have had their lives changed and their ability to earn an income enhanced thanks to receiving a pair of prescription glasses. This is just one reason to love this brand.

Giving back is at the heart of what Pala do, helping to tackle a global problem by providing grants directly to eye-care projects across Africa. Do check this brand out, a new favourite of mine.

Baukjen Helena Hemp Dress £139, baukjen.com The Helena dress, which is super versatile and timeless, promises to see you through many summers to come in style. Made from eco-friendly hemp, it has a laundered and slightly crinkled look that adds to its bohemian softness. Slightly fitted around the bust, the rest is wonderfully wafty thanks to voluminous tiers in the skirt. It comes with self-tie shoulder straps, which you can style in bows or leave to hang.

Wear with a denim jacket and plimsolls for a more casual look or easily dress up with sparkly sandals and a belt for a more fitted look with a colourful shawl. This dress does it all!

If you find you no longer need a Baukjen item, you can return it back to the brand, so that they can recycle it into new fabrics.

Looking good and being a champion of slow fashion made easy.

For more from Victoria Featherstone Pearce, K-9 Angels Co-Founder, director and trustee (k-9angels.org), visit IG @victoriapearcewriter

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Vegan Lifestyle

Plant-based dogs Over the next two months, Maria Slough explores the plant-based options for our canine friends

44

Vegan Lifestyle

lant-based dogs — a topic that causes great passion and debate.

With over 30 per cent of livestock destined to become dog and cat food and beef the number one allergen that causes gut inflammation and intolerance in dogs, I understand those not wanting to support the meat industry through dog food. But as vegans, do we not believe in giving sentient beings choice?

Are we not striving constantly to stop industries removing that choice from the animals we share this planet with? And where does this leave those of us wanting to transition our dogs?

In speaking with several people navigating this canine plant-based journey, I found a wealth of information and tales of great love and inspiration.

P

Ruby Roo Ruby Roo, an 11-year-old cavalier king Charles spaniel with lifelong chronic health problems, has had her transition to plantbased documented on her Instagam (@ravenous_ruby) by her incredible mum, Paige Whitaker, a softly spoken young woman whose love for her dog Ruby is simply beautiful.

Paige grew up with Ruby and now she lives with Paige and her partner in their home. “Ruby came to us as a puppy when I was 12 and she has been epileptic for as long as I can remember, having seizures from three,” Paige tells me. “Her heart murmur was diagnosed when she was four and she has been on medication her whole life and was recently diagnosed with liver disease. Ruby lived with me during my final year at university and I decided in January 2020 to take her plant-based. There were multiple reasons. I didn’t want to be buying food I didn’t believe was good for her and

Ruby Roo

“

Her heart murmur has stopped progressing since going plant-based.

She has so much energy now

”

as I was now looking after her full time, I was able to change her diet.”

Were you vegan at the time? “I went vegan three years ago — I deeply care for animals. Once I understood just how much cognitive dissonance I had been living with my whole life and how horrible the meat trade is I did not want to be part of it anymore. I always felt that plant-based would be beneficial for any omnivore and I was concerned about the amount of saturated fat and high cholesterol foods Ruby was having with meat and the pressure that was putting on her heart.”

Paige felt the best thing she could do for Ruby was to help reduce that strain and after a vast amount of research she embarked on transitioning Ruby to plant-based.

“At the time, there was no vet support available to me and I didn’t want anyone to think that I was causing her any harm, so I did my research thoroughly and designed her recipes full of nutrients. My family are still sceptical, but Ruby has been seen by her vet and her heart murmur

— which has declined over the years to grade five — has stopped progressing since going plant-based. She has so much energy now. Her coat has improved, she no longer pants uncontrollably and her quality of life has changed for the better.

Ruby enjoys fresh cooked food with an amazing vegan supplement, V-complete, from Germany. Just recently, her blood test came back and every single marker for her micronutrients was bang on. If I ever needed any evidence that plant-based was working for Ruby, that was it. We are together every day, and I would literally do anything for her.”

Mac

Mac Three-year-old Mac the shepsky (@mactheshepsky) is another dog who has benefited from plant-based living.

“Mac had been severely ill with chronic gastroenteritis from the age of six months old and was on a raw diet, which I believe created his problems. He was such an energetic boy and had a really good appetite,” his mum Linda says fondly in a melodic Scottish accent. “One day, he just stopped eating. We were told that it was hereditary and he would never get rid of it. He was vomiting green bile twice a week. I was plant-based and looked into that option for Mac. Specialists laughed at me when I suggested this, but I kept researching, supported by our vet. It was a real turning point for us when we found a lady called Dr Arielle; I felt like I had won the lottery. She helped tailor a plant-based diet just for Mac taking into consideration his condition, age and activity levels and now I can walk into our vet with confidence about his food plan. Mac was two when we switched to plant-based and things 45

Vegan Lifestyle

Image: Arielle Curnick

Arielle Griffiths

just settled down and we haven’t looked back. He has the odd flare up that needs medication, but we have gone for periods of seven months with no medication at all.

Overall, going plant-based has produced massive positive changes for him. He is super active; he doesn’t lack energy and is a very happy doggy.”

Veterinary Arielle Griffiths When I Zoom met veterinary GP of 25 years, Arielle Griffiths, who last year launched ‘Just Be Kind’ vegan dog food, I had to agree with Linda that she is, indeed, extraordinary. After a day working at the PDSA when she had to euthanise four animals due to obesity and cancer-related illness, she knew something had to change.

“I came home that night and told my family I was going to set up a company to sort out obesity in pets but I needed a deeper understanding of nutrition. After completing multiple nutrition courses, it was clear that increasing the plant element in a dog’s diet would help with weight loss and overall health.”

“Advised by top nutritionists in the UK I looked at what the USA had to offer for plant-based dogs, but the carbon footprint of bringing supplements over from America was so prohibitive. So, I took 46

one step closer and turned to Germany, who are eight years ahead of the UK on feeding their companion animals a plantbased diet.”

It was then that Dr Arielle decided to move away from the weight loss concept, and inspired by her vegan son, she decided it was time to go plant-based.

“Our family dog and I both went vegan together overnight! I felt it was important to prove to myself as a vet that I could get this 100 per cent right for our little family dog, who is a rescue from Cyprus.

I made contact with the top veterinary nutritionists in Germany who formulated a supplement and developed balanced recipes. I imported the supplements and produced my own recipes and launched the business.”

“There are extra requirements that dogs have when being fed a plant-based diet. You need to supplement taurine and l-carnitine for adequate heart function, the B vitamins need supplementing just as in humans, as well as zinc and calcium.

There is a particular amino acid called methionine that is mainly found in meatbased products. It is extremely important in the diet of a dog as it helps to acidify the digestive and urinary tract. A diet lacking in methionine could result in painful urinary

tract infections and crystal formation in the bladder in susceptible dogs.”

“You also have to supplement with omega-3 fatty acids. The algae oils that we recommend are the purest form of omega-3 DHA and EPA compared to fish oil and is farmed sustainably in the Netherlands in bio-reactors. Many people are using krill oil in their dog’s diet, which is a disaster to our fragile oceans, as krill is needed to feed the smaller fish. Proteins are most important as well, particularly for fur, which has a high protein requirement.

Dogs get this as we do from legumes, lentils, beans and tofu, which dogs adore, as well as peas, millet flakes, textured soya protein and quinoa. You have to be careful of what we call the anti nutrients that are found in beans and legumes; soaking, rinsing or sprouting legumes is the best way to remove these. It is important to be done properly. Just following your instinct is a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Dogs have genetically evolved over thousands of years to be able to digest what humans have fed them, especially starch. They don’t chew, see or smell food like we do, so home cooking must be cooked and blended very well so when it reaches the stomach, inevitably quickly, it is ready to be absorbed.”

Dr Arielle’s passion for this subject is beautifully infectious coupled with expert knowledge.

“I believe that in choosing a wholefood plant-based diet for your companion animal, you aren’t denying them, you are making additional positive changes to their nutrition to keep them really healthy and happy.”

Dr Arielle offers online consultations for those wanting help with transitioning to plant-based dog food and balanced wholefood recipes with a supplement at vegan-dogfood.co.uk that sell from £17.95.

Next issue, follow Maria as she meets more inspiring people helping plantbased dogs, including the creator of the world’s first vegan dog bed, the maker of plant-based dog treats, and a passionate vegan groomer.

Follow Maria’s photography journey at mariaslough photography.com and Instagram @mariaslough photography

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g n i t s oo b Iron

Iron-boosting lunches

lunches

Iron is a vital vitamin that your body needs for growth and development, so try our tasty recipes to give your iron intake a boost.

Mutti Chilli Bean Tacos Serves 4 Beans are a great way to boost your iron intake, while also filling you up! These tacos have both black beans and kidney beans in for a double hit.

For the chilli beans: • 1 tbsp olive oil • 1 brown onion, finely chopped • 3 cloves garlic, crushed • 800g (1.7 lb) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

• 400g (14.1 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

• 600g (1.3 lb) Mutti Polpa Finely Chopped Tomatoes

• 1 tbsp oregano leaves • 1 red chilli, chopped • Pinch of salt To serve: • Soft tacos • Handful of shredded red cabbage • Handful of fresh basil • Handful of coriander • 2 limes 1 Heat the oil in a pan over medium

Recipe by Mutti, mutti.co.uk

heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes or until the onion softens.

2 Add the beans, tomatoes, oregano and chilli to the pan and stir until well combined. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Leave to cool slightly.

3 Heat up tacos in the microwave for ten seconds. Top with chilli beans, red cabbage, basil, coriander and a squeeze of lime juice.

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Bean, Lentil & Freekeh Chilli Serves 10-12

With beans, lentil and freekeh, this chilli is packed with goodness, and will power you through your afternoons. It freezes well, so batch cook and keep it for the days when you need an easy lunch.

• • • • • • • • • • •

1 tsp vegetable oil 2 onion, finely diced 4 cloves garlic, puréed 1 tsp chilli powder 2 tbsp smoked paprika 1 tbsp ground cumin 300g (10.5 oz) dried red lentils 3 400g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes 1.44L (2.5 pints) vegetable stock 3 400g (14 oz) tin mixed beans 300g (7 oz) freekeh, cooked as per packet instructions

1 Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the onion, garlic, chilli powder, smoked paprika and ground cumin and cook for 2-3 minutes.

2 Add the lentils, tomatoes and stock, then boil for 15-20 minutes until the lentils are almost cooked and the sauce begins to thicken.

Add the beans and freekeh and cook for a further 15-20 minutes until the sauce is thickened and the red lentils are soft.

Recipe by Vegan Life in-house chefs.

Curried Tempeh & Rice Salad Box Serves 3

Easy to make in advance and with a good nutritional balance, this salad box is a perfect lunchtime option.

For the tempeh: • 450g (16 oz) tempeh, sliced into 9 pieces • 1 tsp curry powder • 1 tbsp soy sauce • 1 tbsp sesame oil For the rice salad: • 200g (7 oz) long grain rice, cooked as per packet instructions • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar • 2 tbsp soy sauce • 1 tbsp sesame oil • 4 spring onions, sliced • 1 red pepper, sliced • 150g (5 oz) peas • 150g (5 oz) broad beans 1 Add the tempeh, curry powder, soy sauce and oil together until the tempeh is well coated. Leave to marinade for one hour.

2 While the tempeh marinates, add the rice, vinegar, soy sauce, oil, spring onions, red pepper, peas and beans together and mix well.

Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the tempeh slices and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden and crisp. Serve a third of the rice salad with 3 pieces of tempeh.

Recipe by Vegan Life in-house chefs.

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Iron-boosting lunches

Vegan Tart Serves 4-6

The chickpea flour, bell peppers, broccoli and even the sweet potatoes come together in this tart to give you an ironboosting lunch.

• Filo pastry (make sure it is vegan) For the vegetable filling: • 2 onions • 1 bell pepper • 2 small, sweet potatoes • A pinch of salt and pepper • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped • Bunch of fresh dill leaves and stems, finely chopped

• ½ chilli pepper, finely chopped • 400g (14.1 oz) broccoli (fresh or frozen, roughly 1 broccoli)

For the chickpea filling: • 460ml water (15.5 fl oz) water • 280g (9.8 oz) chickpea/gram flour • Splash of olive oil • Salt • Pepper • 1 tsp Nigella seeds • 1 tsp smoked paprika • Dill stems 1 Preheat your oven to 175°C/350°F/Gas 3.

2 Start by lining your tart case with filo pastry, brushing sides and the middle with olive oil.

3 Roast the onions, bell pepper and sweet potatoes with a little salt and pepper. Do not roast them completely as they are going to be cooked in the oven later.

4 Once done, add the chopped garlic, dill and chilli pepper, mix, and leave to cool down.

5 Meanwhile, blanche the broccoli by plunging into boiling water and briefly cooking it for a few minutes, then plunge into icy water, drain the water and leave to cool.

6 Blend all the chickpea ingredients together until smooth.

7 Fill the lined filo tart with broccoli and vegetables mix and pour over the chickpea mix.

8 Bake in the oven for 50 minutes.

Recipe by Kris Kazlauskaite, Pastry Chef @kristinakkz, youtube.com/c/KrisKazlauskaite

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Iron Bowl Serves 2 There’s no better way, in our mind, to get all the nutrients you need than from a big bowl of goodness. Just pile up all your favourite iron-rich foods and dive in! Beans, broccoli and seeds are the source here, but keeping it balanced with healthy fats, carbohydrates, and protein.

• • • • • • • • •

140g (5 oz) broccoli florets 1 tbsp olive oil 3 tbsp sesame seeds 1 tbsp coconut aminos or tamari 170g (6 oz) mixed beans, washed and drained 200g (7 oz) tomatoes, diced 2 spring onions, finely chopped 60g (2.1 oz) coriander, roughly chopped A pinch of chilli flakes

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• • • • • •

Salt and pepper 60ml (2 fl oz) lemon juice 60g (2.1 oz) spinach 1 avocado, skinned and finely diced 45g (1.5 oz) olives 2 radishes

For the Caesar dressing: • 135g (4.7 oz) sunflower seeds, • • • • • • •

pre-soaked 1 tbsp soy-free miso 15g (0.5 oz) nutritional yeast 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 celery stalk 2 tbsp olive oil Pinch of salt 75ml (2.6 fl oz) water

speed blender. Chop the celery stalk into chunks and add this with all other Caesar dressing ingredients and blend until completely smooth.

2 Steam the broccoli florets for 5 minutes, take off the heat and allow to cool. In a pan on low heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sesame seeds. Allow the seeds to sizzle for 1-2 minutes then add the broccoli and coconut aminos. Mix well.

3 Next, strain and wash the beans, place them in a bowl, and add the tomatoes, spring onions, coriander, chilli flakes, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and mix well.

4 Place spinach in a bowl add the broccoli, beans, and avocado with a good dollop of dressing, and garnish with olives and radishes.

1 First, prepare the dressing by soaking the sunflower seeds in water overnight.

Once soaked, drain and add to a high-

Recipe by Juliette Horner, originswellbeing.co.uk, @originswellbeing

Iron-boosting lunches Recipe by Juliette Horner, originswellbeing.co.uk, @originswellbeing

Spinach & Pea Pesto Serves 2

This quick and easy dish is packed full of iron-rich goodness that can be eaten hot or cold. Swap whole wheat for bean, lentil, or pea pasta to level up on nutrients and add protein. Adding sundried tomatoes, lemon juice, and spinach, which are high in Vitamin C, increases iron absorption.

• • • •

200g (7 oz) green pea pasta 55g (1.9 oz) sundried tomato 180g (6.3 oz) pitted black olives 1L (1.7 pints) water

For the pesto: • 30g (1 oz) pumpkin seeds • 65g (2.3 oz) sunflower seeds • ½ medium pack of washed spinach • 20g (0.7 oz) fresh basil • 1 clove garlic, crushed • 2 tbsp lemon juice • 15g (0.5 oz) nutritional yeast • 60ml (2 fl oz) olive oil • 2 tbsp water, if needed 1 Start by soaking the pumpkin and sunflower seeds for 2 hours to soften, or you could leave them overnight to activate.

Before making this dish soak the sundried tomatoes for 5-10 minutes.

2 You will need a high-speed blender to begin. In the blender put all the ingredients for the pesto and blend until combined.

Consistency is up to you — either leave it as it is for rough and chunky, or if you prefer it smooth add a little water.

3 Put the pesto aside. In a pan bring to the boil 1 litre of water, add the pasta and cook per packet instructions. While the pasta is cooking chop the sundried tomatoes into thin strips (we use a pair of kitchen scissors) and pit the olives.

4 When the pasta is cooked, strain it then in a large bowl add the pasta and pesto, and mix until combined. Add the olives and sundried tomato. Garnish with basil and a few dried sunflower seeds for crunch. Serve.

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Recipe by Juliette Horner, originswellbeing.co.uk, @originswellbeing

BBQ Tempeh Burrito Serves 2

Who doesn’t love a burrito? Wrap it up and take it with you for a picnic or an on-the-go lunch. Legumes are a super source of iron, here, we have used lupin bean tempeh to show you can still get a good source if you’re dodging soya. Peppers, peas and parsley are high in vitamin C with two tablespoons of parsley offering a whopping 10mg!

• • • • • • •

100g (3.5 oz) lupin bean tempeh, sliced 70g (2.4 oz) cavolo nero kale, shredded 1 tbsp lemon juice Pinch of salt 250ml (8.4 fl oz) water 90g (3.1 oz) quinoa 65g (2.3 oz) sugar snap peas, thinly sliced • 85g (3 oz) portobello mushrooms, thick sliced • 150g (5.3 oz) red pepper, thinly sliced

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• • • • • •

1 avocado, thinly sliced 1 tsp vegetable stock 1 tbsp coconut oil 4 tortilla wraps 30g (1 oz) spinach leaves, washed 2 tbsp parsley

For the BBQ sauce: • 4 tbsp tomato paste • 2 tbsp molasses • 1 tsp smoked paprika • 60ml (2 fl oz) maple syrup • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar • 1 tbsp coconut oil 1 To start, make the BBQ sauce. In a clean bowl add tomato paste, molasses, paprika, maple, and apple cider vinegar, mix well until thoroughly combined. Melt the coconut oil and stir into the mix.

2 Slice the tempeh and place it on a plate, cover with BBQ sauce coating both sides.

Allow it to marinate whilst preparing the rest of the ingredients.

3 Next, in a bowl shred the cavolo nero kale, add a tablespoon of lemon juice and

a pinch of salt. Massage into the kale and set aside. The lemon juice and salt help to make the kale more easily digestible.

4 In a pan bring to the boil 250ml (8.4 fl oz) of water, reduce to a simmer and add the quinoa. Cook per packet instructions.

5 Whilst the quinoa is cooking slice the peas, mushrooms, peppers, and avocado.

6 Once the quinoa is cooked strain and return to the pan, dust over 1 teaspoon of vegetable stock and combine well.

Set aside.

7 In a frying pan on medium heat add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil; when melted, fry the mushrooms until golden brown on the edges. Set aside. In the same pan fry the tempeh on both sides for 1-2 minutes.

8 Now, you’re ready to build your burrito.

Take a tortilla wrap, add one or two spoonfuls of quinoa to the base, next place a strip of tempeh and flatten the quinoa with it, stack your mushrooms, peppers, peas, and avocado on top followed by a handful of the spinach, parsley, and kale.

Drizzle extra BBQ sauce on top and wrap.

Iron-boosting lunches

Jerk Style Fry’s Nuggets, Rice & Beans & Fresh Mango Salad

• 10g (0.3 oz) fresh thyme • 1 ripe mango, peeled and sliced into • • • •

thin strips 100g red cabbage, finely sliced 150g (5.3 oz) baby spinach, washed Juice of 2 limes Salt and pepper to taste

Serves 4

This dish is packed with flavours — the tangy jerk sauce and the juicy mango salad complement each other perfectly, whilst kidney beans pack in that allimportant iron.

• 1 pack (380g/13.4 oz) Fry’s ChickenStyle Nuggets 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 red pepper, half thinly sliced, half diced 1 bay leaf 1 tin (400g/14.1 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed • 1 small tin (160ml) coconut cream • 2 packs pre-cooked rice (500g/17.6 oz total)

• • • •

For the jerk sauce: • 1 bunch (100g/3.5 oz) spring onions, roughly chopped

• 1 scotch bonnet chilli • 4 garlic cloves • 10g (0.3 oz) fresh ginger peeled and • • • • • • •

finely chopped 10g (0.3 oz) fresh thyme 3 tbsp white wine vinegar 4 tbsp tamari or soy sauce 1 tbsp ground allspice 2 tbsp agave nectar 2 tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper

2 Arrange the Fry’s Chicken-Style Nuggets on a baking tray and cook for 15 minutes.

3 To make the jerk sauce, combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.

4 Place a large pan on the hob over a medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil.

Once hot, add the diced red pepper, bay leaf and kidney beans. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the pepper begins to soften.

5 Add the coconut cream, rice and a pinch of salt and pepper to the pan and stir well to combine. Turn off the heat.

6 To make the salad, put the red cabbage, sliced red pepper, mango, baby spinach and lime juice into a large bowl. Mix to combine, then set aside.

7 Toss the cooked nuggets in 3-4 tbsp of the jerk sauce to thoroughly coat.

8 To serve, divide the rice and salad between four plates and top each with 5 jerk-covered Fry’s Chicken-Style nuggets.

Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh thyme.

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ 355°F/Gas 4.

Recipe by Fry’s Family Food, fryfamilyfood.com

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Wow Zesty Basil Sauce for Pasta Serves 3-4

• ½ tsp garlic powder • 60ml (2 fl oz) lemon juice • Pinch of fresh ground black pepper, or more to suit

• ¼ tsp fine salt, or more to suit This sauce is ideal; you can make it ahead in bulk and freeze down ready to add to cooked pasta. This sauce already contains the cornflour to thicken it when you heat it through, but you can add more milk to get it all a bit more saucy!

• 45g (1.5 oz) cashew nuts • 30g (1 oz) unpeeled weight fresh garlic, • • • • •

peel it and chop it roughly, ready for blending 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp nutritional yeast 220ml (7.4 fl oz) unsweetened oat milk 30g (1 oz) basil, fresh — chop the stalks off the leaves (you’ll use both but the stalks go into the food processor first) ½ tbsp cornflour

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1 Soak the cashews in hot water for 30 minutes whilst you get everything else out.

2 Put the garlic, mustard, nutritional yeast, drained cashews and about 50ml (1.6 fl oz) of the oat milk (just enough to help everything blend) into a food processor and blend it until smooth. This will take minutes not seconds. Add the basil stalks and continue blending; it’s going green at this point.

3 When you’re happy with the consistency of the sauce, add the basil leaves and ‘pulse’ the processor to break up the leaves without chopping them up completely.

Take your own view on how coarse you’d like the paste to be.

4 Tip the paste into a bowl or the box you’ll

use to store or freeze the finished sauce, and add the remaining ingredients… Thus includes the rest of the milk, the cornflour, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Stir to mix. Either freeze or use.

5 Serving suggestion: If using, cook your pasta, allowing 200g of raw pasta for 2 people. Steam some broccoli. Cut chunks of sun-dried tomato. Pay fry some mushroom chunks. Caramelise some onions until transparent. Put the sauce into a frying pan along with the cooked pasta.

Heat until the sauce thickens. Add the sundried tomato chunks, mushrooms, onions and finally the broccoli (put this in at the end so it stays green). Top with a lemon wedge, some rocket or basil maybe with a zizzle of oil and vinegar, and you’re done.

Recipe by Heathen Vegan Gourmet © Julia Savory, all rights reserved. Photo © Tim Price, all rights reserved, heathenvegangourmet.com

Iron-boosting lunches

Roasted Harissa Cauliflower with Orzo Serves 4 If you have never tried roasted cauliflower before, you are in for a treat! Roasting really does take this humble vegetable to another level. It goes brilliantly with the harissa topping and the orzo pasta to make an easy to prepare delicious and light vegan feast, which provides 389 calories per serving.

• 1 medium cauliflower (approx. 800g/ • • • • • • • • •

1.7 lb) 1 tbsp olive oil plus another 1 tsp 1 red onion 1 can chopped tomatoes 1 can chickpeas, drained 2 cloves garlic, crushed 300g (10.5 oz) orzo pasta Freshly ground black pepper 60g (2.1 oz) vegan-friendly Flora Light 1 tbsp harissa paste

1 Preheat oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/430°F/ Gas 7.

2 Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and chop it into medium-sized florets.

Transfer the cauliflower to a large roasting dish. Mix it with 1 tbsp olive oil, making sure to coat it all over. Put it into the oven and set a timer for 30 minutes 3 While the cauliflower is roasting, prepare the orzo and sauce. Peel and chop the red onion and add to a large frying pan along with 1 tsp olive oil. Fry for approximately 3 minutes until starting to soften.

4 Add the can of tomatoes, drained chickpeas, crushed garlic, the orzo and an extra half can of water. Season with plenty of black pepper. Allow to simmer over a low heat, stirring regularly. Add another half to a full can of water bit by bit when the liquid has been absorbed, until the pasta has cooked through, in approximately 25-30 minutes.

5 As the orzo is cooking, turn the cauliflower in the roasting dish and put back into the oven.

6 Mix the Flora Light and the harissa.

When the cauliflower is cooked through and browned, take it out of the oven and dot the harissa mix on top of the roasted cauliflower. Stir thoroughly in the dish to coat the cauliflower all over.

7 Check the pasta is cooked and serve with the cauliflower on top of the orzo.

Recipe by Flora, flora.com

57

Vegan Eats

Summertime

drinks

Vegan tipples for sipping in the sunshine

By Oliver Coningham

W

ith the rather damp Summer Solstice now behind us, sadly the long, light evenings start to get shorter as each day passes. Thankfully, to balance this, often the best of the weather is still to come. August and September still bring with them the promise of days spent beneath the golden glowing sun in the sky and evenings looking up at the stars.

As the air warms up over the summer months, gardens, parks, beaches and swimming pools become our second homes. It’s the time to embrace everything the outdoors has to offer and enjoy relaxing moments in the sun with our family and friends.

To accompany the summer sunshine, we’ve selected a range 58

of light and refreshing drinks that embody the season. From beers and ciders made with juicy, tangy citrus fruits, to wines full of ripe summer berries.

Whether you’re gathering around the BBQ or campfire, or just sitting in your favourite outdoor place with a good book, enjoy this month’s selection of summer-themed drinks.

Find out more about vegan food and drink on the forkandcarrot.com website or follow Oliver Coningham on Instagram and Twitter @forkandcarrot.

Vegan Eats

Soundwave IPA (5.6%) — Siren Craft Brew £1.95 for 330ml, groceries.morrisons.com

Pink Grapefruit English Cider (4%) — Brothers Cider £2.30 for 500ml, groceries.morrisons.com

Summer Berry Wine (11%) — Lyme Bay Winery £9.49 for 75cl, lymebaywinery.co.uk

Recently available on the shelves of Morrisons, Soundwave IPA is highly regarded in the modern craft beer scene. Pouring with a thick white head and hazy body, bold American hops deliver notes of tropical fruits leading to a resinous finish with a subtle bitterness.

Created by four brothers in Somerset, Brothers Cider are a family of cider-makers that create innovative and exciting ciders with unconventional flavours. Pink Grapefruit delivers a refreshing mix of sweet citrus notes with bursts of tangy grapefruit zest. Drink chilled, over ice, preferably in the sunshine!

Summer Berry Wine is an explosion of refreshing summer fruit flavours and has been crafted with care to bring out the best in the ingredients. Bursting with the tangy flavour of blackcurrants and mouth-watering notes of juicy strawberries and ripe berries. The perfect wine for summer and the ideal companion to outdoor gatherings with friends and family.

The majority of Siren Craft Brew keg and can beers are suitable for vegans with the ones with additions such as lactose that are not.

Brothers Cider is gluten-free, vegan-friendly and accredited by The Vegan Society.

Strawberry Daiquiri (10%) — Funkin Cocktails £9 for 700ml, tesco.com

Beer Cut With Peach (4%) — JUBEL Beer £1.80 for 330ml, sainsburys.co.uk

Schöfferhofer Grapefruit (2.5%) — Schöfferhofer £1.30 for 330ml, asda.com

Funkin Cocktails’ ready-to-go drinks are filled with pure fruit juice, all-natural ingredients and high-quality alcohol. Each bottle serves four cocktails and despite being pre-made, it has the same vibrant flavour and silky-smooth texture as a cocktail made at the bar. Chill, shake and pour straight from the bottle!

This characterful beer is a lively pilsner-style lager cut with the refreshing taste of juicy peaches. The inspiration for the beer came from a ski trip to the French Alps where they enjoyed demi-pêche beer; a pint of lager with a peach top. It had a cult-like following and delivered the juicy refreshment of a fruit cider, with the dry finish of a crisp lager.

Schöfferhofer has redefined what people expect from a German wheat beer with this refreshingly different take on the traditional German style. Described as the world’s first Hefeweizen grapefruit beer, it’s a 50/50 blend of Schöfferhofer Hefeweizen beer and natural carbonated grapefruit flavour. Crisp, refreshing and super zesty!

JUBEL beers are all suitable for vegans and gluten-free.

Suitable for vegans.

Funkin’s range of ready-to-drink pre-mixed cocktails are all vegan-friendly.

Lyme Bay Winery’s full range of fruit wines are vegan-friendly.

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Vegan Eats

Grow Your Own:

Strawberries The epitome of summer, strawberries are delightful in smoothies, on their own or even in salads

By Piers Warren

A

warm strawberry eaten straight from the plant is one of the joys of summer. They are easy to grow, whether in a bed or container.

Originally strawberries were called ‘strewberries’, because the berries appeared to be strewn among the leaves, and the runners themselves appeared to be strewn among the plants. Dr. William Butler, the 17th century English writer, was referring to strawberries when he said ‘Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did’. Yet he certainly wasn’t the first to worship this most delicious of fruits.

The ancient Romans were the first to be known for preserving strawberries by pickling them. If you have more strawberries than you can eat fresh, straight from the plant, there are a number of ways you can store or preserve them for future use.

Recommended varieties Christine: An early variety with good flavoured large fruits.

Royal Sovereign: Dating back to 1892, this traditional midseason variety has the most delicious, intense, sugar-sweet strawberry flavour.

Red Gauntlet: A midseason variety that 60

produces a heavy crop of large fruit, which are held well above the ground, from June, often producing a smaller second crop in autumn.

Cambridge Favourite: Mid-season, easy to grow and disease resistant.

Symphony: Late season with high yields of excellent flavoured fruits resistant to red-core.

Strawberries are generally obtained as potted plants or bare-rooted runners and planted in spring or autumn. Water well and feed every couple of weeks.

As the fruits start to form, lift them off the soil to avoid rot (straw is traditionally used for this). You may also need to protect the fruit from birds with netting.

At the end of the season remove old leaves (and straw if it was used). Plants should fruit well for about three years and can then be replaced. As the plants produce runners these can be cut off and potted up once they have started to take root.

If strawberries are planted too densely they can be susceptible to problems such as grey mould. If you see fuzzy grey patches on leaves, remove all infected material and thin out the plants.

Storage: Smaller strawberries can be frozen

by open-freezing on trays before packing into plastic bags or containers. They can also be frozen as a purée after processing.

To dry strawberries, cut the fruit in slices before drying them in a food dehydrator.

Once the fruit feels dry and squeezing produces no juice, the berries can be jarred up and sealed. The product can be eaten dry as a snack or soaked for a day in water before adding to recipes.

Strawberry Jam You will need: 2kg strawberries, 1 lemon, 1.75kg sugar.

Heat the strawberries with the juice of the lemon, stir and gently simmer until tender.

Then add the sugar, stir, boil, and keep boiling hard until setting point. Ladle into sterilised jars and seal. If you have trouble getting your strawberry jam to set, try adding commercially available pectin.

Piers Warren is the co-author (with his daughter, Ella Bee Glendining) of The Vegan Cook & Gardener: Growing, Storing and Cooking Delicious Healthy Food all Year Round available from tinyurl.com/ VONCOOK21

In the next issue: • Vegan Babies and Children: The all-important guide for vegan parents and carers, with recommended products and advice from experts.

• Period Products and the Planet: We investigate the impact of sanitary products on the environment.

• 7 Ways To… Support the Vegan Industry: Great ideas for helping vegan businesses to flourish.

• Delicious recipes: Easy eats for kids, seasonal brekkies, packed lunches and lunchboxes, 30-minute meals.

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Vegan Special — BBQ Party

Fire up the BBQ

— it’s time to let veganism shine You don’t need meat for a BBQ, so make sure you are the host with the most with our top tips and ideas 62

Vegan Special — BBQ Party

S

ummer is officially here, and you know what that means… It’s time to get out your grill and cook some delicious food outside! If you are planning on hosting your own BBQ gathering, there are a few things to consider before everyone arrives. The key to any dinner party is preparation. Here are our top tips for hosting the best BBQ possible.

Talk to your neighbours When you know the date that you’ve got people coming round, it would be polite to give your neighbours a heads-up.

Depending on the crowd you’ve got coming over, noise may not be an issue — but it’s still respectful to prewarn people, especially if there will be smoke from the BBQ (in case they’re planning on putting washing out to dry). If you’re friendly with your neighbours, you could even invite them along or take them round some delicious food to enjoy.

Be prepared The main thing you need to get in order when hosting a BBQ — is the BBQ! If yours is a charcoal grill, make sure you have enough charcoal; if yours uses gas, check you have enough gas. There’s nothing worse than running out of energy before the food is cooked through.

Make as much food as you can ahead of your guests arriving — things like side dishes, salads, cocktail jugs, desserts, or burgers from scratch etc. The last thing you want is to be chopping up veg for an extravagant salad whilst your guests sit and wait. If you prepare ahead, you can enjoy more time with your friends. If you want to make things even easier for yourself, ask everyone to bring along a plant-powered side dish or dessert — that way, all you need to concentrate on is cooking the vegan burgers and sausages when the time comes.

Sadly, we can’t control the weather, so make sure that you’ve got an easy-toassemble shelter (like a gazebo) at the ready in case the rain decides to make an appearance. We’ve all been there holding an umbrella over the BBQ at some point! If all else fails, take your party indoors and cook your food in the oven or on the grill — it will still taste delicious.

Think green Obviously, the fact that your BBQ is meatand dairy-free, means that it is already pretty eco-friendly. However, there are many ways that you can make it even better for the planet.

To avoid unnecessary waste, only make and cook as much food as you have guests and that you estimate will be eaten, and

avoid handing out single-use cutlery and cups. If there is rubbish, make sure you recycle everything that can be!

When it comes to the actual BBQ — don’t opt for disposable. Not only are they usually covered in single-use plastic, but they cannot be recycled afterwards, and they tend to use very poor-quality, unethically and unsustainably sourced charcoal — creating a lot of emissions and waste.

There is quite a large debate around gas versus charcoal BBQs — but sadly, a solid answer is hard to come by. Both have pros and cons, and each have much weightier negatives than they do positives:

Charcoal Pros: • Can be produced and sourced from renewable stocks.

Cons: • Not many people have access to locally and sustainably produced charcoal, meaning they opt for charcoal briquettes and charcoal sourced from unsustainable, tropical rainforests — terrible for the environment.

Gas Pros: • Unlike charcoal, gas BBQs do not produce carbon dioxide. In fact, in 2009, a study showed that charcoal barbecuing had almost three times the carbon footprint as that for gas (LPG) grilling (sciencedirect.com). This isn’t solely down to emissions, the main reason for this huge difference is that gas is much more efficient than charcoal in both production and when used to fuel cooking.

• You don’t need additional lighter fluids or firelighters, which are made from refined petroleum-based kerosene and paraffin — very bad for the planet.

Cons: • Sourced from fossil fuels — unrenewable stocks; the sourcing of which is wreaking havoc on the planet.

Takeaway:

•

•

•

Put simply, charcoal BBQs produce more pollution, but the fuel can be sourced from renewable stocks, whilst gas emits less carbon dioxide but comes from fossil fuels (tinyecohomelife.com).

If you can get your hands on locally produced 100 per cent charcoal made from a sustainably managed coppiced wood, then this would likely be the greenest way to BBQ, yet for most people this just isn’t realistic.

Avoid firelights at all costs — try using things like old newspapers to help your charcoal BBQ catch.

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Vegan Special — BBQ Party

Provide entertainment Guests might appreciate a few games whilst the food is being cooked, and likewise, you might all fancy an activity after eating so much (once you’ve digested, of course…).

There are loads of garden party games to choose from for areas big or small, such as French boules, croquet, hoopla or even frisbee if you have space! For small gardens or balconies, you can’t beat the old classics like charades and giant Jenga.

Get creative! Make your own games for added fun. Why not source a large image of a person, as well as a picture of a tub of houmous, and play pin the houmous on the vegan? (the aim being to find the mouth) We guarantee it will become a quick favourite.

Create ambiance Use tools like music, decorations and lights to create the kind of vibe you want, be that chilled and laid-back or merry and full of laughter.

Schedule an upbeat or relaxed music playlist ahead of time, so that you don’t have to keep adding more songs throughout the night; but be mindful for neighbours that your music is not too loud.

If your BBQ is likely to go on past sundown, remember to position lights 64

“

Guests might appreciate a few games whilst the food is being cooked, and likewise, you might all fancy an activity after eating so much

”

around your garden so that your party is not plunged into darkness. Go for gentle, glowing golden fairy lights for a relaxed atmosphere, or coloured, brighter lights to create an upbeat party mood. If you know that you get a lot of wildlife near where you live, steer clear of bright, flashing lights, as these will scare or disrupt both sleeping and nocturnal creatures.

Homemade bunting is a pretty and eco-

friendly way to create decorations for your garden — use materials like old newspapers, wrapping paper, card and fabric for a rustic but fun look.

Talk to non-vegans beforehand If you would rather that non-vegan friends and family didn’t bring their own meat with them to your BBQ, make sure to tell them ahead of time. Explain to them that you would love to prove to them that you do not need meat to make a BBQ, and that you would like to introduce them to the wonderful flavours and textures of vegan mock-meats.

‘Wow’ them with a vast array of different vegan alternatives and dishes, cheeses and desserts, and they are sure to thank you for opening their eyes to a whole other world of delicious food.

If the majority of your attendees are not vegan, it’s ultimately up to you and what you feel comfortable with in your own home — they will surely understand if you would rather they did not bring meat. Ask them to bring their own BBQ if they are adamant on bringing meat — if you are okay with that — but explain that there will be plenty of tasty food for them to enjoy without the need for meat or dairy.

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Vegan Special — BBQ Party

It’s time to reclaim

the BBQ

With this assortment of vegan delights, you can do just that If you’re not lucky enough to have vegan family or friends, you’ll likely have received comments when eating plant-based BBQ food — ‘But it’s just not a BBQ without meat!’ or ‘Can you eat dessert?’. Well, we’re here to quiet all those jibes. With this collection of fantastic food, everyone will be jealous of your plate.

SGAIA 2 Italian Style Burgers Jack and Bry 4 Jackfruit Sausages Brand-new from Jack and Bry are these succulent jackfruit sausages, which are palm oil and GMO-free whilst being high in fibre and absolutely delicious. £3.99, thevegankindsupermarket.com

Small-batch and hand-crafted, SGAIA’s seitan burger is deliciously savoury packed with Italian herbs, real tomato and onion chunks. £5.99, sgaiafoods.co.uk

Bread Roll Co 2 Vegan Brioche Style Burger Buns Fluffy Vegan Brioche Style Burger Buns with golden linseed — perfect for filling with your favourite patty. £1.25, sainsburys.com

Jude’s 6 Vegan Minis in Salted Caramel

Ruby’s in the Rubble BBQ Bundle

Divine dairy-free salted caramel ice cream coated with vegan Belgian dark chocolate and caramel pieces — what’s not to love? £3.50, sainsburys.com

This package of condiments from Rubies In The Rubble will set you right up — including tangy Chilli Onion Relish, Tomato Ketchup and Chilli Mayo, all vegan and delicious. £10, rubiesintherubble.com

Applewood Applewood Vegan A smoky dairy-free cheese that’s made to melt, it’s delectable on burgers and is also a great source of vitamin B12 and calcium. £2.30, tesco.com 66

Purato Wines Purato Rosè Terre Siciliane Made in Sicily, this delicious vegan and organic wine is made for summer gatherings.

Purato Rosè is also super-sustainable — it’s carbon-neutral and packaged purely in recycled and recyclable materials. £7.99, ocado.com

Vegan Special — BBQ Party

Smith and Sinclair Eat Your Drink — Summer Lovin’ Alcoholic Cocktail Gummies These vegan sweets are sure to liven up your BBQ, with each gummy containing 5% ABV alcohol. This box is inspired by summer, containing flavours like tequila sunrise, piña colada and berry daiquiri. £15, smithandsinclair.com

LikeMeat Organic Like Chicken Bites

Wicked Kitchen 6 Chorizo Style Bangers

LikeMeat’s soya-based ‘chicken’ chunks are perfect for skewering to make your own delicious kebabs to grill. £3, likemeat.com

Made from pea protein and smoked paprika, these flavoursome sausages are just the thing if you love a bit of spice on the BBQ. £2.50, tesco.com

Violife Vegan BBQ Pack The only thing you need to make a BBQ with your loved ones even better, are the right ingredients to make tasty food for everyone. The exciting Violife BBQ Pack — containing some of Violife’s most delicious cheeses — is here make a beautiful sunny day, also incredibly delicious! £6, violifefoods.com

Follow Your Heart Original Vegenaise

Heura 2 Original Burgers

Dairy, egg and gluten-free, this mayo is better than the real thing. It’s the vegan mayo your burgers have been calling out for. £2.70, followyourheart.com

Hailing from Barcelona, Heura’s Original Burger brings a taste of the Mediterranean.

It is the first vegan burger to use extra-virgin olive oil, making it extra juicy, all whilst containing 40 per cent fewer ingredients than the market average. £4.39, thevegankindsupermarket.com

Smooze!

5 Fruit Ice in Mango and Coconut Fun and tasty freeze-at-home ice pops made with mango fruit purée and coconut milk. £2.50, waitrose.com

Moo Free Mini Bars When you’ve got just enough room after the summer BBQ for a little chocolatey snack, Moo Free’s Mini Bars in seven delicious flavours will fill that gap.

From 60p, moofreechocolates.com

Higgidy Spinach and Tomato Quiche This vegan quiche makes a great side dish — featuring seeded spelt shortcrust pastry with spinach and sunblush tomatoes in a creamy oat and coconut milk filling. £3, waitrose.com 67

Vegan Special — BBQ Party

Only vegan at the BBQ If you are going to an omnivore BBQ, here are some tips and ideas for what to expect and prepare for erhaps you are the only vegan in your family or group of friends; it can be awkward and upsetting when we get invited to events where meat is the focus point of dinner for others. However, with some talking and preparation, you can still attend these gatherings — and even use them to introduce others to delicious animal-free foods. Yet, we know it can be daunting and emotional, so to help you out, here’s our advice for attending a non-vegan BBQ.

P

Talk to the host beforehand When you are first invited, make sure to talk to your host about what you are and are not comfortable with. That way neither they nor you will get upset, and they will understand how to handle your food.

They’ll also be able to give the other guests a heads-up if you would like them to, just so that everyone knows not to wave their plates too close to you, offer you meat, or rave to you about how good the sausages are!

Mentally prepare yourself So, you’re at a BBQ, hosted by one of your closest friends, and there is meat everywhere — it’s not a situation many vegans are happy to find themselves in. But it happens. The main thing to do before you attend is to mentally prepare yourself for what you will see. Hold on to your own reasons for going vegan, and reaffirm them within yourself before you leave to go, as well as whilst you are there. Keep in mind that you are helping and lessening the 68

harm of animals. Remember that the other people at the BBQ are your loved ones, and that they are still good people — they are currently misdirected.

If the fact that animals are being eaten around you gets too much for you at any point during the party, there is nothing wrong with taking some time to recollect yourself. Find a quiet spot in the house or away from everyone else in the garden, breathe deeply and remember that change is happening. Every day more people are seeing the light and becoming vegan, even if your loved ones are not there yet.

Try not to put others off their food (it’s hard, we know — you want to advocate!), but your family probably won’t appreciate you telling them that what they are eating is cruel and unethical; you don’t want to have any fall-outs.

If they don’t already know why you’re vegan, the other BBQ guests may ask — be prepared with your answers and tell them in a gentle, honest way — many people are truly curious or simply do not know why animal agriculture is bad. If they do ask, explain, but don’t get into debates — save that for another time when you’re not all trying to have fun together!

Breathe deeply “ and remember that change is happening

”

Take along some amazing vegan food The best way to tell your friends that they don’t need to eat meat or dairy, is to show them — with delicious vegan food. Take along some spare plant patties, sausages, kebabs, dairy-free cheeses and desserts so that others can try them; they will see that vegan food tastes just as good as meat and dairy (and better).

Offer to bring along the side dishes or dessert for everyone to enjoy; that way, not only will you feel a bit better knowing that it isn’t a total meat and dairy fest, but it gives your food a chance to shine.

Bring your own BBQ Before your host starts cooking, make sure they have a separate area on the grill for vegan food and different utensils to use.

However, if you would rather your food was not cooked on the same BBQ as meat, then take along your own — just warn the host beforehand so they don’t wonder why you have rocked up with another one! If you don’t want to take your own BBQ, your host could always cook your food on the grill inside the house — it will still taste delicious.

BBQ bonanza Recipe by Edward Daniel©. For more recipes see ethivegan.com.

Q B B bonanza

Grill season is finally here. Once upon a time, vegan BBQ food was hard to come by, but not anymore — these delectable recipes will give you plenty to feast on.

Top Tip: We suggest you use a food processor to mash the kidney beans, as the potato masher just does not get the fine texture this dish needs.

Spicy Mexican Bean Burger Serves 6

Spicy Mexican Bean Burgers are not just perfect for a BBQ but also great fakeaway. Not only do the patties keep, but it is so welcoming to come home after a day at work, and know that there is something easy to rustle up from the fridge.

• • • • • •

200g (7 oz) kidney beans 2 tbsp olive oil 2 medium carrots, grated 1 onion, diced 1-inch ginger, grated 3 tsp cumin, ground

• • • • •

3 tsp coriander, ground 1 chipotle or other chilli, chopped 50g (1.7 oz) flax seeds 50g (1.7 oz) oats Oil for frying

1 Soak the kidney beans in water for about 24 hours. Periodically, rinse the beans in fresh water.

2 Pressure cook the beans for 30 minutes.

Drain and set to one side.

3 Sauté the diced onions in oil, until the onions turn translucent. Place the onions in a food processor with the carrots, ginger, onions and chopped chipotle. Whizz and place in a large bowl.

4 Place in a large bowl with the kidney beans and spices.

5 Once the beans have cooled down, use the food processor to finely mash the kidney beans.

6 Place the flaxseeds and oats in a highspeed blender until fine. Combine into the mixture and leave to rest for 30 minutes before shaping.

7 Using damp hands, shape into 6 patties and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.

8 When ready to eat, fry the patties in oil for about 5 minutes each side, until nicely browned on both sides. Alternatively, brush the burgers with oil and place over a BBQ grill and cook until the burgers turn a lush reddish-brown colour.

9 Serve in a bun.

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Simply Barbecued New Potatoes with Tarragon, Peanuts & Chipotle Serves 4

The dressing for this dish is unusual — smoky chilli peanuts combined with tarragon — and somewhat addictive, especially when paired with crisp barbecued potatoes. You could easily use this as a dressing for grilled sweetcorn or mushrooms.

• 600g (1.3lb) new potatoes • 2 tbsp olive oil • 1 tsp sea salt flakes For the dressing: • 10g (0.3 oz) fresh tarragon, leaves finely chopped

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• 30g (1 oz) unsalted peanuts, • • • •

finely chopped 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp lemon juice A pinch of chipotle chilli flakes A pinch of sea salt flakes

1 Boil the potatoes in salted water for 7-8 minutes, until just cooked through. Drain well, then mix with the olive oil and sea salt flakes.

2 Mix together the tarragon, peanuts, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, chipotle flakes and sea salt flakes to make the dressing.

Taste and adjust the salt as needed, then set aside.

3 Once your barbecue is good and hot, griddle the potatoes for 5-8 minutes per side, until nicely charred.

4 Halve the barbecued new potatoes, mix with the tarragon dressing, and serve hot.

Recipe from The Green Barbecue (Vegan & Vegetarian Recipes to Cook Outdoors & In) by Rukmini Iyer (Square Peg, 29th April 2021, £17.99 HBK). Photography by David Loftus

Top Tip: If you have time, you can leave out the boiling stage and just cook the potatoes on the barbecue, in which case they will take about 1 hour.

BBQ bonanza

Creamy Potato Salad with Basil Artichokes Serves 4

A creamy, garlicky, mayo-free dressing coats perfectly cooked new potatoes, loads of fresh basil and marinated artichoke hearts. Toss it all with some bright, peppery rocket (arugula), and we have your new favourite potato salad.

• 900g (2 lb) mixed baby potatoes • 275g (9.7 oz) kosher salt (coarse) • 75g (2.6 oz) raw cashews, soaked in • • • • • • • • • •

boiling water for 20 minutes 80ml (2.7 fl oz) lemon juice 60ml (2 fl oz) olive oil 4 cloves garlic 2 tbsp capers, drained 2 tbsp dill pickle brine (the liquid in a jar of dill pickles) 30g (1 oz) fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped ½ shallot, diced small 130g (4.5 oz) marinated artichoke heart quarters/halves Salt and ground black pepper, to taste 100g (3.5 oz) rocket leaves (arugula)

1 Add the potatoes, around 1L (1.7 pints) of water and the salt to a pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to simmer the potatoes and cook for another 12-15 minutes or until fork tender.

2 Drain the potatoes and rinse with cold water. Set aside while you prepare the dressing.

3 Combine the soaked cashews, lemon juice, olive oil, dill pickle brine, capers, and garlic to a high-speed blender. Blend on high for a few minutes until the dressing is smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Standard blenders may need a few minutes longer.

4 Slice the potatoes in half. Place in a large bowl with the artichokes, diced shallots and basil. Toss with the dressing, season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve at room temperature or chill and serve cold.

Just before serving, toss with the rocket.

Recipe by Brownyn Fraser, Crumbs & Caramel, Crumbsandcaramel.com, @crumbs.and.caramel.

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Corn On The Cob Over Coals Serves 1 Corn comes to life when cooked over coals and that subtle smoky char flavour is so perfect for its sweet and juicy kernels.

Another prime example of simple being best. Corn done this way is delicious on the cob, but also with the kernels removed and tossed through salads, sprinkled in burritos and mixed into fritter mix.

• • • •

Corn on the cob Olive oil Chilli flakes Sea salt

1 Brush the corn with the oil, sprinkle with chilli flakes and salt.

2 Wrap in tin foil, and place on the hot coal BBQ for between 30-40 minutes, until charred.

Recipe by Katie White, olivewoodvegan.com, @olivewoodvegan

BBQ ‘Ribs’ Serves 4 Ramp up your next backyard BBQ with these smoky, delicious ‘ribs’. You’ll be the envy of the neighbourhood!

• 228g (8 oz) vital wheat gluten (available • • • • • • • •

at most health food stores or online) 60g (2 oz) tomato paste 1 tsp beet powder 120ml (4 fl oz) vegan beef broth 1 tsp nutritional yeast 1 tbsp (15ml) onion powder ½ tsp black pepper 8 lolly sticks 180ml (6 fl oz) vegan BBQ sauce

1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5.

2 Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium heat.

3 In a large bowl, mix together the vital wheat gluten, tomato paste, beet powder, beef broth, nutritional yeast, onion 72

powder, and pepper. Finish the mixing by hand. Knead the dough thoroughly to ensure even distribution of ingredients.

Form the dough around each of the Popsicle sticks, creating flat rectangular shapes, each about 4 inches long and ¾ inch thick. Place the ribs on a well-greased hot grill and let grill marks form on the ribs.

4 Place the grilled ribs on a parchmentlined baking sheet. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 80°C/180°F. Brush the ribs with BBQ sauce and place under the broiler to caramelize the sauce.

Take the ribs out of the oven and brush with more BBQ sauce.

Recipe from The Vegan Meat Cookbook by Isabel Minunni (£16.99, Sterling Epicure, available online and in all good bookshops).

BBQ bonanza

Beetroot Haricot Bean Burgers Makes 9-10

These burgers are rich, colourful and nourishing. They are also gluten-free, meaning even more people can thoroughly enjoy them.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

200g (7 oz) haricot beans 100ml (3.3 fl oz) retained bean water 50g (1.7 oz) flax seeds 50g (1.7 oz) buckwheat groats 1 onion, chopped 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp coriander powder 1 tbsp cumin seeds 1 tbsp fennel seeds ½ tsp salt 2 cloves of garlic ½-inch ginger Juice of ½ a lemon 1 large beetroot, grated Oil for frying

1 Soak the beans in filtered water for a period of overnight.

2 Cook the beans in a pressure cooker for about 25 minutes. Drain and leave to one side.

3 Sauté the onions in oil until translucent.

4 Once the beans have cooled down, place into a food processor with the remaining ingredients except the beetroot, buckwheat and flax seeds’ mixture.

Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

5 Grind the buckwheat and flaxseeds in a highspeed blender and with the beetroot add to the mixing bowl.

6 Add 100ml (3.3 fl oz) of bean water.

Combine well. Knead the mixture.

7 Have a bowl to one side with lukewarm water to dip your hands into now and again.

8 Mix the ingredients in your hands and taking a small handful make into a round circle. Keep repeating till you use up the mixture — you should get 9 or 10 burgers.

Keep refrigerated until ready to eat. This mixture will keep for about a day.

9 To heat up gently sauté the bean burgers in oil until lightly browned on both sides.

Alternatively, brush the burgers with oil, place over a BBQ grill and cook until the burgers turn a lush reddish-brown colour.

10 Serve on its own or in a bap.

Recipe by Edward Daniel©. For more recipes see ethivegan.com.

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Greek Style Watermelon Salad Serves 6 as a side

This juicy watermelon salad is the epitome of summer. The tangy cheese contrasts beautifully with the sweet melon to give a delicious dish that is perfect served at your next BBQ.

• 2.5kg (5.5 lb) watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes

• 250g (8.8 oz) Follow Your Heart DairyFree Greek Style Crumbles

• 125ml (4.2 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil • 45ml (1.5 fl oz) lemon juice • 5g (0.15 oz) mint leaves, chopped, plus

Recipe by Follow Your Heart, followyourheart.com

more for garnish

• Salt, to taste • Fresh ground black pepper, to taste 1 In a large bowl, mix watermelon, Dairy-Free Greek Style Crumbles, olive oil, lemon juice, and mint together. Add salt and pepper, stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning.

2 Diving amongst 4 bowls, top with additional mint leaves and Greek Style Crumbles, as desired.

Cover Recipe Top Tip We used:

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BBQ bonanza Recipe from What Vegans Eat: Easy Vegan by Brett Cobley, with photography by Howard Shooter (HarperCollins, £14.99).

Spiced Pineapple Salad Serves 2

This spicy pineapple salad is a tasty, refreshing and filling dish that pairs perfectly with vegan mayo or yoghurt. Feel free to adjust the spice as you like it.

• • • •

1 medium pineapple, peeled 2 tsp smoked paprika Pinch of sea salt 1 corn cob, kernels cut from core (or 165g/6 oz tinned corn) • 2 romaine lettuce heads (or other lettuce) • 1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped

1 Heat a griddle pan (ribbed skillet) over a high heat.

2 Cut the pineapple fruit away from the core in long rectangle chunks and place them on a plate or tray.

3 Sprinkle the paprika and salt onto the pineapple and massage it all over before placing the chunks onto the hot pan.

Griddle for a few minutes on each side, until charred. Sprinkle the corn into the pan and allow to slightly char. They will start to catch and darken on the outer edges.

4 Roughly chop the heads of romaine lettuce and divide between two large bowls. Sprinkle over the finely chopped chilli and griddled corn, then place the charred pineapple on top.

5 Serve with sweet chilli sauce or a creamy salad sauce.

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Sticky Glazed Vegan Steak Kebabs

• Recipe by the Violife team.

Food Styling by Tina Webb and team, violifefoods.com

Makes 4-5

No BBQ is complete without some grilled kebabs, and these sticky vegan steak versions really hit the spot.

• • • • • • • • • •

1 tbsp pure maple syrup or agave 1 tsp wholegrain mustard 2 tsp soy sauce 2 tbsp coconut oil (but feel free to use any other oil) Sea salt and pepper to taste One 100g (3.5 oz) Sgaia Steak, chopped into square-ish chunks 3 bell peppers (1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow), cut into chunks 1 courgette, cut into thick slices 1 red onion, cut into wedges BBQ sauce for drizzling (optional)

You will also need: • Kebab skewers, if using bamboo skewers, make sure they have been soaked in water for about 15-30 minutes (to avoid burning)

• A little bowl to make the glaze in • A griddle, BBQ or oven 1 Pre-heat your griddle on medium heat, set your oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6, or fire up the barbie.

2 Make the glaze by blending the maple syrup with the mustard, soy sauce and coconut oil in a little bowl — add salt and pepper to taste. Assemble the kebabs by dipping the veg and steak into the mixture and then threading them onto the skewers.

3 Cook covered in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, uncover and cook until crisp all over — about 5-10 minutes each side.

Alternatively, let them sizzle away on your pre-heated griddle or barbecue.

4 Enjoy drizzled in the remaining glaze from step 2, or with your favourite BBQ sauce!

Vegan Beetroot Burger

Serves 6

Whip up a batch of these beetroot burgers if you want to impress your family at your next BBQ! Made with delicious Violife cheese, they’ll be a hit.

Recipe by Sgaia, sgaiafoods.co.uk

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

100g (3.5 oz) wholemeal couscous 250g (8.8 oz) grated beetroot 1 small onion, grated 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander Sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste 1 flaxseed ‘egg’ (1 tbsp flax seed, 1 tbsp water) 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 200g (7 oz) Violife Greek White block, crumbled 180g (6.3 oz) houmous, store bought 6 wholemeal seeded bread rolls or bagels A few valeriana leaves 1 carrot, in ribbons 6 Violife Original slices

1 In a large bowl, place the couscous in boiling water; cover with wrap and set aside for 5 minutes.

2 Once all the liquid has absorbed, fluff with a fork, add the beetroot, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, flaxseed egg, oil and Violife Greek White, and mix to combine. Shape the mixture into 6 patties and set aside in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

3 Heat up the BBQ and cook the patties for 10-12 minutes each side or until firm.

4 To serve, spread the houmous on the base of each bread roll and top each with a patty, valeriana leaves, carrot ribbons, a slice of Violife Original and top with the remaining bread roll half.

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BBQ bonanza

Mutti Grilled Radicchio with Tomato-White Balsamic Vinaigrette Serves 4

Upgrade your usual salad at your next BBQ with grilled radicchio, and your guests will be happy!

For the dressing: • 60ml (2 fl oz) white balsamic vinegar • 3 tbsp finely chopped shallots • 2 tbsp Mutti® Double Concentrated • • • •

Tomato Paste (Doppio Concentrato) 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme 1 tsp kosher salt ½ tsp pepper 60ml (2 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil

• 1 head radicchio, quartered (340g/12 oz)

• 1 tsp kosher salt • ¾ tsp pepper • Flat-leaf Italian parsley for garnish (optional)

1 To make dressing, whisk together vinegar, shallots, tomato paste, thyme, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes. Whisk in oil until smooth.

2 Heat a grill pan over high heat. Toss radicchio quarters with oil to coat, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill radicchio for 7-8 minutes, turning occasionally to char all sides, until slightly wilted, but still holding their wedge shape.

Place on a platter with cut sides up. Drizzle warm radicchio with dressing allowing it to get down in all the nooks and crannies. Top with chopped parsley if desired.

Recipe by Mutti, mutti.co.uk

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Recipe from How to Grill Vegetables: New Bible for Barbecuing Vegetables over Live Fire by Steven Raichlen (Workman Publishing © 2021). Photography by Steven Randazzo.

Caveman Caviar with Grilled Pumpernickel Serves 6-8

Vegetable caviar is a popular Russian zakuska (hors d’oeuvre). This one won’t fool anyone into thinking they’re eating the real thing, but it does have a similar texture and a robust flavour that would do any Russian appetiser spread proud. Ember-grilling imparts an irresistible smoke flavour.

• 1 medium onion (unpeeled) • 1 medium Italian or Japanese • • • • • • • • • • • •

aubergine (eggplant) 1 green bell pepper 1 red bell pepper 1 medium carrot, trimmed and scrubbed 3 cloves garlic, peeled, loosely wrapped together in aluminium foil 1 luscious ripe red tomato or 2 ripe plum (Roma) tomatoes 2 ribs celery 1 jalapeño pepper 3 tbsp chopped fresh dill ½ tsp freshly and finely grated lemon zest 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Coarse salt (sea or kosher) and freshly ground black pepper

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• Grilled Pumpernickel (recipe follows), for serving

the Grilled Pumpernickel. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator; the caviar will keep for at least 3 days.

1 Set up your grill for ember-grilling, raking the embers into an even layer. Arrange the veggies on the coals and grill until tender and charred on all sides. This will take about 2 minutes for the celery and jalapeño, about 3 minutes for the tomato, about 4 minutes for the carrot and foil-wrapped garlic, 6 to 8 minutes for the bell peppers, 8 to 12 minutes for the aubergine, and 10 to 15 minutes for the onion. (Times are approximate, depending on your fire.) Use long-handled tongs to turn the vegetables so they char evenly (don’t forget the ends) and a metal skewer to test for doneness—it should pierce the onion and eggplant easily. Transfer the veggies as they’re done to a rimmed sheet pan to cool.

2 Once cooled, scrape the burnt skin off the veggies (you don’t need to remove every last bit—a few black specks add colour and flavour). Cut the veggies into 1-inch chunks, discarding any stems or seeds from the peppers.

3Place the roasted vegetables in a food processor and process to a coarse puree, running the machine in short bursts. Work in the dill, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper: The caviar should be highly seasoned.

4 Serve cold or at room temperature with

Grilled Pumpernickel Serves 6-8

• Vegetable oil for oiling the grill grate • 1 package (340g/12oz) thin-sliced cocktailstyle pumpernickel bread (it comes in long slender loaves) • 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, or as needed

1 Set up your grill for direct grilling and heat to medium-high. Brush or scrape the grill grate clean and oil it well.

Lightly brush each pumpernickel slice on both sides with the melted butter. Arrange the pumpernickel on the grill grate and grill until toasted, 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Transfer to a wire rack over a rimmed sheet pan to cool. We serve them right away. If you wish to make them ahead, let cool to room temperature, then store in a sealed container at room temperature. Tastes best served within 24 hours.

BBQ bonanza

KombuchaFermented Cheesecake Serves 8-10 This delicious vegan cheesecake is a real party pleaser and the perfect addition to any BBQ. The fermented element provides beneficial bacteria to keep your gut happy and healthy and the cashew nuts ensure a silky and creamy texture which when paired with the sweet, tangy blueberries makes a show-stopping dessert.

For the cheesecake filling: • 250g (8.8 oz) cashews or • • • • •

macadamia nuts 250ml (8.4 fl oz) kombucha 3 tbsp coconut oil 75ml (2.5 fl oz) coconut milk 100g (3.5 oz) maple syrup A pinch of sea salt

For the base: • 50g (1.7 oz) spelt or buckwheat flour • 75g (2.6 oz) jumbo porridge oats • ½ tsp baking powder • A pinch of sea salt • ½ tsp ground cinnamon • 4 tbsp coconut sugar • 2 tbsp maple syrup • 50ml (1.7 fl oz) olive or coconut oil (or a mix)

• 50g (1.7 oz) chopped dried fruit (dates,

1 Place the cashews or macadamia nuts for

cashews in a food processor with the coconut oil, coconut milk and maple syrup.

Add a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth, adding 1-2 tablespoons of the reserved kombucha liquid both for flavour and to help bring the mix together into a smooth, creamy cheesecake filling. You can also add a touch more syrup if needed.

5 Spoon the filling over the chilled base(s).

Return to the fridge for 4-6 hours or freeze for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until set.

6 The cheesecake will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days or you can freeze it for up to 3 months (defrost it in the fridge before serving). Serve it with fresh, seasonal fruit.

the cheesecake filling in a bowl and cover with the kombucha. Leave to soak at room temperature for 6 hours or in the fridge overnight. Strain the cashews, making sure you keep the kombucha liquid.

2 To make the base, preheat oven to 180°C/356°F/Gas 4. Add the flour, oats, baking powder and salt to a big bowl. Mix well so the baking powder and salt are evenly distributed. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix everything together.

3 Press this base mix into the cake or tart tin, or the holes of muffin tin — adding enough of the mix to create a 1cm-deep base (you might have a bit of excess mix — if you do, use it to bake little cookies!). Slide the cheesecake base into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden and firm.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

4 Put the kombucha-soaked, drained

• Recipe by CNM Natural Chef, naturalchef.com • CNM recommends the use of organic ingredients.

• Recipes by CNM Natural Chef for the ICSAaccredited Natural Chef Diploma Courses at the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) • CNM’s Natural Chef training has been developed to meet the growing demands of a society increasingly interested in food that supports and promotes health. The course covers everything you need to know to become a successful CNM Natural Chef, from how the digestive system works, to building a culinary career! Visit naturalchef.com or call 01342 360 985.

apricots, raisins, mango and/or figs) • 50g (1.7 oz) chopped nuts, seeds and/or nut butter • Grated zest of 1 lemon, lime or orange (optional)

You will also need: • 20cm cake or tart tin with a removable base or, for individual cheesecakes, 12-hole muffin tin, each cup lined with a strip of silicone-free greaseproof paper to aid removal

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Vegan Health

Diverticular disease

What are diverticulosis and diverticulitis and how can we avoid them?

By Yvonne O’Halloran iverticular disease is very common, particularly across westernised countries. Both diverticulosis and diverticulitis come under this term, and both will be discussed in more detail in this article. In Western countries, diverticular disease is found in around 40 per cent of adults, whereas in Asia and Africa the prevalence

D 80

of this disease is found to be less than one per cent. The western lifestyle is associated with increased rates, likely due to poor diet and lifestyle choices.

Diverticulosis Diverticulosis is the formation of abnormal pouches in the bowel wall, which is a herniation of the colon through the muscle

layer. These are known as diverticula. It is believed that anywhere between 5-45 per cent of people have diverticulosis in western countries. Adopting a western lifestyle is associated with increased rates of diverticular disease in countries with a previously low prevalence.

The most common location for diverticula pouches to appear in patients

Vegan Health

from western countries is the sigmoid colon (last section of the bowel) and the descending colon (part of the colon that runs down the left side). Between 70 and 98 per cent of these patients experience diverticula in these areas. In contrast, in Asia, the right side is the main site they are found.

Diverticulosis can be asymptomatic (produce almost no symptoms), but some patients can report cramping, bloating and constipation/diarrhoea. Changing your diet is the best treatment of diverticulosis.

“

Changing your diet is the best treatment of diverticulosis Diverticulitis

”

When the diverticula pouches become inflamed this is known as diverticulitis.

Symptoms can include: • Nausea • Vomiting • Fever • Severe lower abdominal pain • Cramping • Abdominal pain/tenderness During the ‘flare up’ period, it is advised to avoid solid foods and stay hydrated on a liquid diet until symptoms subside. During

a flare up aim for a low fibre diet. Oral antibiotics or IV fluids may be required in severe cases.

Decreasing flare up’s A study published by The American Journal of Gastroenterology found that avoiding red meat and other risk factors may prevent up to half of diverticulitis cases.

The Health Professionals Follow Up Study showed a 73 per cent decreased risk for diverticulitis among men who exercised, consumed more fibre and ate less than one serving of red meat per day, compared with men who did not avoid any risk factors.

Cause of diverticular disease It is believed that diverticular disease occurs due to the high pressure within the colon, leading to weakened spots that, over time can cause the colon wall to bulge out and form diverticula sacs (American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, 2020). This pressure is linked with a low fibre diet as fibre is the bulk your bowel requires to work optimally.

Inadequate intakes of foods such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrains and legumes and higher intakes of refined foods and animal products (particularly red meat) can lead to diverticular disease.

Debunking a common myth It was once believed that those with diverticular disease needed to avoid nuts, seeds and popcorn due to fears these foods could potentially get stuck in the

small pouches and lead to complications and flare ups, however this has now been found to be false. In fact, The Health Professionals Follow Up Study that included 47,228 males ages between 40-75 found that nut and popcorn consumption was inversely associated with diverticulitis risk, meaning consuming these foods led to a reduced risk of a flare up.

Reducing your risk of diverticular disease 1 Eat a high-fibre diet Low-fibre diets may play a role in the development of diverticula. Consuming good amounts of insoluble fibre such as wheat bran, legumes, fruit with skin on, nuts and seeds have a 40 per cent decreased risk of symptomatic diverticular disease. Fibre will soften the stool and allow less pressure on the colon wall, thus helping preventing diverticula pouches from forming. Fibre adds bulk to the stool and absorbs water, keeping the stool soft and easy to pass.

2 Avoid meat Eating a diet low in fibre and high in meat is associated with a three-fold increased risk of symptomatic diverticular disease.

For people eating large intakes of meat, their risk of right sided diverticulosis was around 25 times higher than those eating the least amount of meat.

3 Maintain a healthy weight Studies have found there in a steady increased risk of diverticulitis for body mass indexes (BMIs) greater than 25. The Nurses Health Study including over 46,000 women found that even after adjusting for BMI and other risk factors, weight gain of 20kg or more after six years of follow up led to a 73 per cent increased risk of diverticulitis.

Choosing to eat a whole foods plant-based diet may be a good lifestyle choice as it is meat-free and naturally high in both soluble and insoluble fibre. Whole food plant-based diets are also excellent for maintaining a healthy BMI.

Find Yvonne on Facebook @livingvegandietitian and visit her website yvonneohalloran.com 81

Vegan Health

Nurturing seedlings through the storm Mental health issues don’t just affect adults, but children, too.

Julia Karnacz, founder and managing director of Seedlings Wellbeing Ltd, explains how her programme is supporting families

S

eedlings Wellbeing is an innovative project that uses yoga and mindfulness to give children the ability to remain calm and centred, no matter what is happening in their world.

Through a creative app based in a magical world, Seedlings is bursting with lessons, games and workshops that help both children and parents to work through mental health issues and safeguard wellbeing. Julia Karnacz, founder and managing director, tells us more.

Talk to us about Seedlings. Why did you launch it?

The idea for Seedlings began many years ago 82

during my time as a teacher in London. Over my 12 years in teaching, I saw a vast increase in mental health problems amongst even very young children. I saw children with little physical awareness and many without any knowledge of how to emotionally regulate themselves. I had been on my own personal journey with yoga and meditation since my early 20s and had first-hand experience of the benefits, and so I began by running workshops and using yoga daily in the classroom. I quickly saw the benefits and joy they brought to the children. I would use specific poses for different purposes, whether to settle children before learning or bring their alertness and focus back

after teacher-led activities. Not only was it effective but they also hugely enjoyed it!

In my personal life, yoga, meditation and pranayama (breathwork) have always been hugely anchoring; especially in difficult times. So, I began to explore how I might be able to share these ancient and beneficial practices with children and their families, in order that they too could create their personal wellbeing toolkit to navigate the rollercoaster we all know as life.

Almost four years ago now, I decided to follow my dream and create the Seedlings Wellbeing programme, which combines Yoga for physical health and awareness, Mindfulness for mental and emotional health

Vegan Health

and awareness combined with a positive growth mindset approach.

I am passionate about teaching children to embrace challenges and to believe that much can be achieved if you work hard and don’t give up. The Seedlings programme is a fusion of all of the above carefully combined with children’s development in mind.

How can the app support parents?

We created the app so that the vast resources, lessons, experiences and learning could be shared by parents with their children, whenever and wherever they need or want. It could be a bitesize energising yoga class at the start of the day or a breathing exercise during an anxious moment. It could be a mindful family moment to enjoy the here and now together, or sharing one of the thought-provoking stories, set in the magical Seedlings Forest.

The stories feature the Seedlings Forest Dwellers dealing with real-life situations and issues, which hopefully provide opportunities for discussing these together as a family. There is a huge amount that children can enjoy both independently and together with their families, with the aim of building these wonderfully beneficial practises, in a fun and engaging way, into their day to day lives.

Have children’s mental health problems been on the rise since the beginning of the pandemic?

Pre-pandemic the prevalence of mental health problems was already a big concern and sadly, this is even more the case now both for adults and children of all ages. The uncertainty, the changes, the lack of human

contact and the reduction in physical activity and time outside are all factors in this growth.

Is there a link between physical, emotional and mental health?

Yes, 100 per cent! Physical movement, whether it be as simple as a walk, time outside in nature, or time to ‘just be’ are all hugely beneficial for how we feel. Poor physical health can lead to an increased risk of poor mental and emotional health and visa-versa. I believe in a holistic approach where all these need to be balanced for a person to feel good physically, mentally and emotionally.

How useful is yoga in supporting mental health?

Yoga is so much more than just stretching! It is a moving meditation, so it is equally good for the mind as it is for the body. Physically, it is excellent for balance, strength, flexibility and focus. Using the breath and moving with it, balancing the body by moving it in all directions is good for our muscular-skeletal system and when movement and breath are combined, this wonderful ancient practice gets you out of your head and into your body.

A growing body of research shows that yoga for children can improve focus, memory, self-esteem, academic performance, and classroom behaviour and can even reduce anxiety and stress.

How can we make sure that our children have good mental wellbeing?

Up there at the top for me is open and honest conversation with our children. Admitting our own flaws and showing that we all have

things to work on helps children to feel more positive about themselves. Trying to avoid judgement when mistakes are made and using them as tools for discussion and learning, reminding children that they are safe and loved. Equally, displaying all our feelings so that they know that we all feel all emotions and that all our feelings are ok.

Talk to and listen to your children, praising and encouraging and involving them in developing rules and consequences and adjusting these with age and maturity.

Enjoy spending time together, doing things that you both enjoy but also encouraging them to try new things, challenge themselves, and learn from mistakes.

Find positive ways to solve problems and manage conflict within your family and help your children learn how to solve problems, so that they develop the skills to do this for themselves. (The Seedlings stories in our app are one of the examples of resources which can help with this).

Helping children to understand their place in the world by connecting with their community, for example, helping an elderly neighbour with shopping or helping at local events, will help provide a sense of place and relate to different people.

Learning about the wider world; languages, cultures and the beautiful tapestry across the globe.

And obviously, healthy food and plenty of sleep will help children manage the stress of a busy modern life.

What three simple changes can we all make to our lives each day, to improve our mental wellbeing?

1. Time to pause, to be, and just take slow breaths — have a mindful moment where we simply observe. Focusing on one sense, for example.

2. Physical movement of some kind — a walk, dancing, yoga, whatever you feel like doing that day but equally balance this out with calm restful time and a good amount of sleep each night — the two go hand in hand and compliment and support the other.

3. Spend some time in nature however short, rain or shine — being in the moment and feeling into the moment. If this is not accessible to you then looking out of the window and noticing your breath…

For more from Julia, visit seedlingswellbeing. co.uk

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Vegan Health

Veg in focus: The almighty artichoke Packed full of fibre, vitamin C and folate, artichokes are powerful

By Guilda Akopians

N

utritious food is not only great for the body (especially the gut), but it can also work wonders for your mind, too. What better way to enjoy fruits and vegetables than when they are in season? Then, they will have a natural ‘live’ colour, fresh smell and full flavour.

In the month of August, the following fruits and vegetables are in season, however I want to shine the spotlight on the almighty artichoke!

Fruits

Vegetables

Apricots

Artichokes

Blackberries

Aubergines

Blueberries

Beetroot

Cherries

Broad beans

(end of season)

Kiwi fruit

Broccoli

(end of season)

Melon

Carrots

Nectarines

Celery

(coming in to season)

Artichokes are a delicious vegetable fit for a healthy lifestyle. One large artichoke contains only 25 calories, no fat and 170 mgs of potassium. They are a good source of vitamin C, folate, magnesium and dietary fibre.

Today, most artichokes grown worldwide are cultivated in France, Italy and Spain while California provides nearly 100 per cent of the United States crop. Artichokes are also grown in the UK with crops starting around June time.

Artichokes have many nutritional and health benefits and have shown to be anti-inflammatory as well as being used as a digestive aid to reduce bloating and to promote regularity.

Artichokes are an excellent source of antioxidants and can help combat stress related to chronic diseases and aging. They may also help in regulating blood pressure, improve liver health, lower blood sugar levels and ease symptoms related to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

Peaches

Courgettes Cucumber

Strawberries

Fennel

Can it be enjoyed as a snack?

Pak choi

A simple way to enjoy artichokes, as a nutritious snack or appetiser, is to:

Tomatoes

Peas Peppers Potatoes (main crop)

Rocket Sweetcorn

Watercress

at the end of each leaf and not the actual leaf itself!

6. Once you have enjoyed the leaves, you will get to a ‘fuzzy part’. Scrape this out to reveal the ‘heart’.

7. You can enjoy the heart by dipping into the vinaigrette or use in a salad.

What are the benefits?

Raspberries (end of season)

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What are artichokes?

Artichoke dip

1. Cut off the little thorns at the edge of the leaves

2. Wash the artichoke 3. Steam for 30 minutes 4. Leave to one side to cook slightly 5. In a small dish, add 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 3 tbsp olive oil, pull off the leaves, dip and enjoy. Enjoy the white flesh

Artichoke heart in oil

Vegan Health

Sourdough Bread and Artichoke Bake Serves 4

Try this delicious quick and easy recipe for Sourdough Bread & Artichoke Bake — it’s both nutritious and delicious! This is a great dish to use up any MUST USE veggies, therefore reducing food waste.

• 1 large beef tomato (roughly sliced) or 12 cherry tomatoes (halved) 1 red pepper, deseeded and diced 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and diced 1 courgette, thickly sliced and halved (about ½ inch) Artichoke (approx. 285g jar, drained but keep the oil to one side) 1 pack fresh spinach (approx. 250g bag) washed 4 thick slices of sourdough bread, cut into chunks/bite-size pieces Juice from ½ lemon or lime ½ tsp truffle oil 1 can of your favourite beans for plant-based protein (I love chickpeas or butterbeans) • Salt and pepper to taste

• • • • • • • • •

1 Pre-heat oven to 180°C/360°F/Gas 4.

2 Prepare all the veggies as mentioned above.

3 Using a large glass or ovenproof dish, add all the vegetables, beans, artichoke and bread.

4 Drizzle with 4 tbsp of the artichoke oil along with the lime/lemon juice and truffle oil.

5 With clean hands or 2 large serving spoons, mix all the ingredients together well.

6 Cover with greaseproof paper and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

7 After 25 minutes, add the fresh spinach leaves to the dish, mix well and put back into the oven for 5 minutes without any cover.

8 Serve with a green leaf salad and balsamic dressing.

What else can you make with artichokes:

•

• • • •

Dips: blend artichoke hearts with a little oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and some fresh herbs (basil or thyme work really well) and serve with fresh veggie crudites or crackers.

Mix artichoke hearts into a salad full of green leaves, cherry tomatoes, mixed peppers, rocket, water cress, spinach and serve with a lemon and olive oil dressing.

Use as a topping on pizzas.

Enjoy as an accompaniment to any main dish.

Marinade in olive oil, soy sauce, chilli flakes and fresh grated ginger and grill or pan fry and enjoy as a delicious appetiser with a squeeze of lemon.

By Guilda Akopians, Plant-based Chef and Nutritionist.

For more delicious recipes go to rootedvegankitchen.com 85

Vegan Health

The 3 pillars of wellness in 2021 How the Coronavirus changed nutrition, exercise and sleep

By Chloe Plaskitt

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Vegan Health

T

he year 2020 had a profound effect on the way we live our lives. From cultivating deeper relationships to learning to appreciate our own company, it was truly a year of self-discovery.

However, 2020 also forced us to become more conscious of the way we treat our bodies and minds.

The three pillars of wellness — nutrition, exercise and sleep — have always been fundamental to living a healthy life, and COVID-19 definitely amplified their importance. As non-essential businesses were forced to close, we became avid fans of Zoom workouts, got creative in our kitchens and used meditation and rest to recharge.

As a result, our eating and workout habits changed, and quality sleep became essential.

With so many changes to our daily lives, we contemplate if these new habits will stick as we move closer to normality? Let’s find out!

1. Nutrition Any dedicated vegan will tell you that carbs, protein, vitamins and minerals are essential to a healthy plantbased diet as they help us stay strong, alert and can keep us in shape. Over the years, society has become more aware of what healthy eating means, especially with plant-based diets growing in popularity. However, COVID-19 also made us evaluate the kind of products we’re consuming and how they benefit our bodies and minds.

Immunity boosters The COVID pandemic emphasised how transient our health can be. The demand for immune-boosting food has risen exponentially. With that in mind, the use of zinc, selenium and vitamin C saw dramatic increases with 50 per cent of the population consuming them. Natural remedies like elderberry, echinacea and astragalus were also in high demand due to their notable health benefits and potency.

Supporting mental health Of course, food alone cannot cure mental health conditions like depression or anxiety.

However, there is evidence that eating a healthy vegan diet rich in vitamins, especially B vitamins, minerals and healthy fats supports good mental health. Moreover, drinks that contain compounds to reduce stress and anxiety have continued to increase in popularity. These include adaptogens, natural stress relievers and CBD, the nonpsychoactive part of the cannabis plant.

Localism Our interest in locally-sourced food has also increased. Due to travel restrictions, we purchased more from neighbourhood grocery stores, food delivery companies and restaurants, supporting local food supply chains. These consumer choices supported the local economy, sometimes offered lower prices and had a better environmental impact. Hopefully, customers will remain interested in locally grown food.

2. Exercise When fitness facilities were forced to close, many of us became concerned about how we’d stay fit. These worries were soon eased as virtual fitness classes appeared and exercising outdoors became the norm.

Our ideas and routines around exercise expanded. Here are some of the top fitness trends we can continue to enjoy!

Remote personal training Despite gyms reopening, the pandemic has made us grateful for the simplicity of a good online workout. Many personal trainers developed clever ways to deliver effective, at-home sessions for their clients. From oneto-one Pilates to high intensity spin classes, working out at home was fun, effective and is definitely here to stay.

Small virtual classes and flexible fitness As home workouts became more popular, the fitness industry recognised the importance of this new trend. Fitness apps and programmes were created that could be harder than your favourite spin class. So, whether you’re a new parent or simply someone that has a busy work schedule, flexible virtual fitness is definitely for you! Here are some of the best apps to get your sweat on this year.

• Davina McCall’s Own Your Goals — Everything from boxing to yoga or dance classes. A yearly subscription is usually £59.99.

• Courtney Black Fitness — Your own personal trainer in your living room? Instagram sensation Courtney Black’s fitness app switches up your workout every two weeks to make sure you reach your fitness goals! £15.99 per month.

• Tone and Sculpt by Krissy Cela — More interested in strength training? YouTuber Krissy Cela’s app provides beginner, intermediate and advanced home workouts! £84.99, yearly.

Being outside Outdoor sports like hiking, jogging, cycling and swimming quickly became refreshing alternatives to gym workouts. 2021 has continued to see more people adopt outdoor activities as a way to stay fit. This is due to our newfound appreciation of nature, and the physical and emotional benefits of time spent outdoors.

3. Sleep Sleep and rest are truly important for both our physical and mental health.

However, with busy schedules and neverending to-do lists, getting those seven to nine recommended hours can be difficult. Lack of sleep can generate conditions including poor gut health and even reduction in sex drive.

Consider these reasons for prioritising your sleep habits in 2021.

Helps reduce depression and anxiety While it’s not entirely understood how sleep and mental health are connected, it’s true that a bad night’s sleep can affect our mood and can sometimes promote feelings of anxiety and depression. Creating a schedule for relaxation and sleep can be effective, especially when work and other responsibilities begin to consume our days and minds.

Promotes a stronger immune system Developing a strong immune system is linked to good quality sleep. It supports our body’s ability to fight off illness and supports the production of proteins that fight off infection.

Another reason to prioritise good sleep during the pandemic is it supports the body’s ability to respond well to vaccines.

Promotes better focus and productivity Getting less than seven hours of sleep per night can reduce focus and productivity.

It can affect everything from our ability to drive safely to having a good memory.

Furthermore, it can dramatically improve your mood and also your cognition including how quickly you react and respond to situations around you. 2020 definitely gave us opportunities to reflect and experiment with new options for our daily lives. Taking time to consider the best ways to implement these three pillars of wellness will benefit us all as we create new routines towards a healthy lifestyle.

Words by Chelsea Plaskitt, @chelsea.plaskitt.52 on Facebook and Chelsea Plaskitt on LinkedIn 87

Vegan Health

Faith In Nature Chamomile and Aloe Vera Deodorant

The Vegan Society VEG 1 90 Tablets in Orange This three-month supply of vitamins will help you to stay on top of your health all summer long. The orange flavoured multivitamins are chewable and contain seven different nutrients including iodine, selenium, folic acid and vitamins B12, D3, B2 and B6. The packaging is also plastic-free! £6.60, vegansociety.com

Vegan roundup:

In hot weather, we reach for deodorant more often, but don’t clog your pores with aluminium and damage your skin with harsh chemicals. Faith In Nature’s Chamomile and Aloe Vera Deodorant is aluminium- and paraben-free with skin conditioning ingredients that fight odour without inhibiting perspiration, leaving you feeling fresh and comfortable all day. £3.99, faithinnature.co.uk

Toddle Born Wild Sun and Wind Balm SPF 50+ With a super high SPF, this sensitive skin sunscreen is wonderful for babies and children, giving a high level of UVA and UVB protection.

It’s also great for protecting skin on windy days, allowing it to provide allweather and year-round protection to little ones or sensitive adult skin.

From £8.99, toddlebornwild.com

Summer health

Just as it is important to take care of yourself when the weather is cold and chaps, it is vital to look after your body in the summer months. The sun’s rays can be strong during this time of year, and mosquitos are often out in full force. So, we’re here to help you to take your summer health in hand, with a roundup of practical products.

Pai British Summer Time Sun SPF 30 A vegan sunscreen that protects against sun damage, is reef-safe and suitable for sensitive skin? Yes, please! This face and body cream from Pai is non-greasy, non-nano and packed with zinc oxide, protecting against UVA and UVB. It sits comfortably under make up and doesn’t make skin look shiny. £39, paiskincare.com

Scence After Sun Moisturiser Stick Incognito Luxury Java Citronella Soap Vegan Society registered; Incognito is well-known for its cruelty-free insect repellents. This creamy soap is made from natural ingredients, including organic Java citronella (with great anti-bacterial and bug repellent properties) and nourishing coconut oil. Free of any DEET, paraben, GMO and SLSs, it’s also suitable for children. £4.99, lessmosquito.com 88

Handmade in Cornwall, this after sun stick is ultra-soothing and cooling, made using natural jojoba oil, mango seed butter and essential oils. Not only is it palm oil-free, but it’s also packaged in plastic-free and compostable materials! £12, peacewiththewild.co.uk

g n i r a Shfood

Sharing food

There’s nothing quite like sharing food with loved ones. There are some foods that taste even better when enjoyed alongside good conversation and laughter. Invite over your pals and enjoy this tasty lot!

Spiced Jackfruit Fatteh

• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped • 80g (2.8 oz) pomegranate seeds • Muhammara red pepper dip

Serves 2

Originating from Syria, this gorgeous dish is a riot of flavours and colours.

This take consists of toasted pitta bread nachos topped with smoky spiced jackfruit, a drizzle of creamy tahini sauce and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and fresh parsley.

For the pitta nachos: • 4 pitta bread, gluten-free if desired • 30ml (1 fl oz) olive oil For the smoky spiced jackfruit: • 2 tbsp olive oil • 2 tins jackfruit, rinsed and trimmed • • • • • • Recipe by Tara, A Vegan Visit, aveganvisit.com, @aveganvisit

(300g/10.5oz drained weight) 2 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp smoked paprika ½ tsp cayenne 1 tbsp tamari

For the creamy tahini sauce: • 125g (4.4 oz) plain coconut yoghurt

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F/Gas 4.

2 Start off by making the pitta nachos. Cut the pitta bread into large triangles and split them apart into two. Lay them out flat on a large tray so they are not overlapping (you will likely need two trays).

3 Brush the pitta nachos with olive oil and lightly season with salt and pepper.

4 Bake for 7-10 minutes until crisp. Keep an eye on them as the thinner nachos will be ready sooner than the thicker ones.

5 Add all of the ingredients for the smoky spiced jackfruit to a non-stick frying pan and fry for 10 minutes whist you put together the other elements.

6 To make the tahini sauce, add all the ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth. Alternatively add to a bowl and stir vigorously until smooth.

7 Add a layer of pitta nachos to two shallow bowls.

8 Top with warm spiced jackfruit, a drizzle of tahini sauce and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and fresh parsley. Serve with a side of muhammara roasted red pepper dip.

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Moroccan Pumpkin Tagine

• 1 tin organic chopped tomatoes • 1 can organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Serves 4

• Small handful of black pitted olives

A rustic and warming vegetable tagine with pumpkin and chickpeas. Aromatic ras el hanout spices, rich and smoky tomato sauce topped with vegan Greek style yoghurt, pomegranate seeds and pumpkin and sesame seeds for extra crunch.

• • • •

• 1 medium pumpkin or • • • • • • • • • • • • •

butternut squash 1 large white onion, diced 4 large garlic cloves, crushed 1 large aubergine, diced into 2 cm cubes 1 large courgette, diced 2 carrots, diced 1 red pepper, diced 2 Medjool dates, pitted and diced 2 tbsp tomato paste/purée 1 tbsp ras el hanout spice 1 tbsp smoked paprika ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp cumin ½ tsp crushed chilli flakes

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(optional) Squeeze of lemon juice 120ml (4 fl oz) water Seeds of half a pomegranate (optional) Freshly chopped coriander to serve (optional) • Sprinkle of pumpkin and sesame seeds (optional) • 3 tbsp vegan Greek style yoghurt to serve (optional)

1 Slice, de-seed and peel the pumpkin, then dice into 2 cm cubes. Sauté the pumpkin in a little oil (or water if omitting oil) over a medium heat in a large shallow casserole dish or a tagine.

2 Allow the pumpkin to soften slightly for a few minutes, then add your onion. After a few minutes when the onion is translucent, add the garlic and sauté for a minute or two. Add the diced aubergine, courgette and carrots, along with a little water, cover with the lid and cook on low for around 5

minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veg has softened.

3 Remove the lid, add the red pepper, dates, tomato purée and sauté for a few minutes. Add all of the spices, tinned tomatoes, chickpeas, black olives, lemon juice and water and give everything a good stir to combine all those lovely smoky flavours. You can, of course, cook this on the stovetop on low for 30 min (stirring occasional) or transfer to the middle shelf of a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 and cook for 30 minutes.

4 Remove the dish from the oven to rest for 5 minutes before serving. To serve, sprinkle on the sesame and pumpkin seeds, along with fresh pomegranate seeds, freshly chopped coriander, and a few dollops of thick vegan Greek style yoghurt (if using).

5 You could serve this alongside a simple couscous steamed with saffron, fresh coriander, lemon juice and the rest of the pomegranate seeds.

Recipe by Hannah’s Bitchin’ Kitchen, hannahsbitchinkitchen.com, @hannahsbitchinkitchen

Sharing food

CRACKD Vegan Carbonara

• 150ml (5 fl oz) plant-based cream •

Serves 4

Is there a more satisfying dish to share with friends at the dinner table than creamy carbonara? Pop the finished meal on the table in a large bowl and let everyone get stuck in serving themselves. Serve alongside a long baton of vegan garlic bread so that everyone can tear off their own chunks to dip into the delicious sauce.

• • • •

120ml (4 fl oz) CRACKD No-Egg-Egg 300g (10.5 oz) dried no-egg spaghetti 1 tbsp olive oil 100g (3.5 oz) pack vegan bacon

• • • • • •

(suitable for cooking) 60g (2.1 oz) plant-based grated parmesan (plus extra to serve).

100ml (3.3 fl oz) dry white wine 1 medium onion, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1tbsp chopped basil 1 tbsp chopped parsley ½ tsp salt and coarse ground black pepper

1 Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the spaghetti and stir as it softens to make sure it doesn’t stick together.

2 Pour the olive oil into a heavy bottom frying pan, add the plant-based bacon, diced onion, basil and garlic and gently fry

until the onion is soft then add the wine and simmer for 2 minutes.

3 When cooked, remove the spaghetti from the boiling water and add to the pan with the bacon, garlic, basil and onion in.

4 Toss the spaghetti well, making sure it is completely coated in the oil.

5 In a bowl, mix together the CRACKD No-Egg-Egg, cream, parmesan, salt and pepper.

6 Pour the cream mix onto the spaghetti turning well to ensure it is fully coated 7 As soon as the cream starts to bubble remove from the heat and divide into serving bowls.

8 Serve with the parsley, a grind of black pepper and extra plant-based Parmesan sprinkled on top.

Recipe by CRACKD, crackd.com

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Indian Feast Night Serves 4

Put away the takeaway menus! Deliciously golden, garlicky turmeric Dal topped with fragrant Tadka spices, crispy baby Bombay potatoes, warm and fluffy garlic and coriander naan and sweet and coconutty Peshwari naans. Both the Peshwari and garlic and coriander naans start with the same basic vegan naan recipe — easy!

Easy Vegan Naan Breads Makes 4 large or 6 medium

• • • • • • • •

180ml (6 fl oz) warm water 1 tsp active yeast 1 tsp sugar 270g (9.5 oz) plain flour ¾ tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 3 tbsp vegan/dairy-free natural yoghurt 2 tbsp olive/avocado oil

For Garlic and Coriander Naan: • 3 garlic cloves, crushed • 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander • 2 tbsp plant-based/dairy-free butter • Sprinkle of black onion seeds For Peshwari Naan: • 2 tbsp agave syrup • 2 tbsp desiccated coconut • 1 tbsp raisins • 1 tbsp water • Desiccated coconut and fresh coriander leaves for garnish (optional)

1 Start by adding the warm water, yeast

Recipe by Hannah’s Bitchin’ Kitchen hannahsbitchinkitchen.com, @hannahsbitchinkitchen

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and sugar to a bowl, give it a slight stir and leave to sit for 10-15 minutes (less time if using fast-acting yeast) until the yeast starts to foam and bubble on the surface. In the meantime, to a large mixing bowl add the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt and whisk to combine.

2 Once the yeast mixture is foaming, to this, stir in the dairy-free yoghurt and the oil.

Stir to combine. Add the wet mixture to the flour and mix with a fork or spoon until it resembles a sticky dough.

3 Turn the dough onto a floured surface using a little flour, enough to knead the dough for 5 turns until it is shaped into a ball. (Try not to overwork the dough or it may become tough.)

4 Cover the ball of dough in a little oil to prevent it sticking and return it to the bowl, cover with a damp town and leave somewhere warm to rise for around 2hrs, in the meantime, you can make your Dal Tadka and your Mini Bombay New Potatoes.

Sharing food

5 After the 2 hours have passed, remove the dough and lay onto a lightly floured surface.

Using a little flour, knead the dough for a few more turns until it is no longer sticky.

Cut and divide the dough into 4 (for large naans) or 6 (for medium naans). Knead each ball for around 15 seconds and leave covered to rest for around 10 minutes.

6 For the garlic and coriander topping, crush the garlic and chop the coriander leaves and set aside. Have the black onion seeds on hand.

7 For the Peshwari, in a small bowl, add the desiccated coconut, the agave, raisins and a little water and mix until you have a thick paste.

8 When you are ready to cook the naans, preheat a cast iron or non-stick pan over a medium flame.

9 Take a ball of dough and onto a lightly floured surface roll out with a rolling pin or stretch using the palm of your hand until the desired size (approx. 1 cm thick but no more) For the garlic and coriander naan, lightly oil one side of the naan and carefully lay until the pan. Add a little of the crushed garlic, coriander and black onion seeds to the top of the naan and lightly push down with your fingers (careful not to burn yourself).

10 Once the naan has cooked on one side (around 2 minutes), carefully flip it over using a spatula and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Once the 2 minutes are up, transfer to a plate and slather the top with a little dairy-free butter.

11 For the Peshwari naans — take a ball of rested dough and roll out using the palm of your hand to the desired size. Take a few small teaspoons of the coconut mixture and smooth into the middle of the dough using the back of the spoon. Fold the dough back over encasing the coconut mixture in the middle and push down slightly with the palm of your hand. Cook the naans just like the garlic and coriander ones previous, 2 minutes on one side, slightly oil the top, flip and cook for another 2 minutes.

12 Once cooked, remove from the pan to serving plate and slather the top with a little dairy-free butter and sprinkle over some desiccated coconut and a little fresh coriander (optional).

Mini Bombay New Potatoes

• 1 tsp curry powder (or ½ tsp each of cumin and coriander powder)

• Fresh coriander to garnish (optional) 1 Preheat the coconut oil in a baking dish in an oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Meanwhile, wash and cut the new potatoes in half and parboil with a little salt and the turmeric for around 10 minutes, or until you can just about pierce them with a fork.

2 Drain into a colander and once the steam has dried them sprinkle with a little salt and rough them up by tossing in the colander.

Tip into a bowl and sprinkle over the black mustard seeds and spices, toss to combine.

3 Remove the baking dish from the oven and tip in the potatoes, being careful of the hot oil. Bake at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 20-25 minutes or longer depending on how crispy you like them.

4 To serve, tip into a bowl and garnish with coriander leaves, if using.

Dal Tadka Two options for cooking Dal Tadka, either in an Instant Pot or on the hob.

• • • • • • • • • •

1 medium white onion, diced 6 large garlic cloves, crushed ½ tsp cumin powder 1 tsp turmeric powder ½ tsp chilli powder (or cayenne) 2 red chillies, chopped ½ tsp salt 1 tsp minced fresh ginger ½ tsp garam masala powder 210g (7.4 oz) soaked lentils (we used yellow lentils and soaked for 20 minutes) • 470ml (15.9 fl oz) water

• 1 bag / 500g (1.1 lb) new potatoes, • • • • •

washed, cut in half 1 tbsp turmeric powder 2 tsp salt 3 tbsp coconut oil or avocado oil 2 tsp black mustard seeds 1 tsp garam masala

For the Tadka spices: • 1 tbsp coconut oil • 3-4 curry leaves • 1 tsp whole cumin seeds • 1 tsp black mustard seeds • 1 cinnamon stick

1 Set the Instant Pot to ‘Sauté’ mode and add enough coconut oil to lightly fry the onion and until slightly translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for around 2 mins, then add the cumin and turmeric powder. Add a little splash of water to prevent the spices from sticking and cook stirring for another minute or so to cook out the spices then add the rest of the spice ingredients and the lentils.

2 Add the water and select the ‘Cancel’ setting, stir everything to incorporate and dislodge any bits that may have stuck to the bottom. Always use a wooden spoon as to not scratch the pot.

3 Secure the Instant Pot lid and make sure the pressure release is sealed. Select ‘Pressure Cook’ at high pressure for 10 minutes, then let the Instant Pot release pressure naturally for another 10 minutes.

4 Open the Instant Pot and set to ‘Sauté’ mode for a few minutes until the dal thickens up (optional).

5 To make the Tadka simply heat on high flame a small pan or wok and add the coconut oil. Just before the oil comes to smoking point (you can check this by throwing in a cumin seed; if it looks like the oil is bubbling around it’s hot enough) add in all the spices and cook in the hot oil for a maximum of 30-60 seconds, any more and you may burn them and they’ll taste bitter.

6 Remove the Tadka from the heat and immediately pour over the dal, you can serve it like this and stir it in at the table or stir in straight away. Sprinkle with a generous helping of freshly chopped coriander and serve in big bowls, saving some room for those tasty baby Bombay potatoes and lovely fluffy vegan naan breads.

Dal Tadka on the hob: 1 As before, pre-soak the lentils for 20 mins.

Heat the coconut oil in a casserole dish and sauté the onion with a pinch of salt until soft and translucent. Add in the garlic, ginger paste, chillies, and spices and cook stirring for around a minute.

2 Add in the soaked lentils and the water and bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, give everything a stir to combine and then reduce the heat and partially cover, cooking on a low heat for 35-45 minutes.

3 Once cooked the lentils should be soft and the dal thick. If you find it starts to thicken too much during this time, you can add a little water at a time and stir through to help cook the lentils. If the dal looks a little thin, you can mash these a little with a potato masher or an immersion blender depending on how smooth you prefer it.

4 Follow the same instructions for the Tadka as above. Stir into the dal at the end and top with fresh coriander.

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Recipe from The Vegan Meat Cookbook, Copyright © 2021

by Miyoko Schinner (Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House).

Photography Copyright © 2021

by Eva Kolenko.

‘Boeuf ’ Bourguignon Serves 8-10

Boeuf bourguignon is a fancy name for beef stew, but that’s because the French version is fancy. It’s rich and potent with the red wine on which it builds its foundation. Yes, it takes a bit of time to make, so it’s worth making enough that you can share with all your favourite friends — this isn’t something you’ll whip up for a group of four (unless, of course, you want leftovers).

• 340g (12 oz) carrots, cut into chunks • 340g (12 oz) white or cremini • • • • • • • •

mushrooms, cut in half 340g (12 oz) baby potatoes, cut in half 6 tbsp olive oil Sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 680g (24 oz) store-bought vegan ‘beef’ chunks, strips, or vegan steak cut into 1-inch chunks 85g (3 oz) plain flour 340g (12 oz) fresh or frozen petite pois 30g (1 oz) chopped fresh parsley Crusty bread for serving and dunking

For the sauce: • 450g (15.8 oz) diced yellow or white onions

• 200g (7 oz) diced celery • 260g (9.1 oz) diced carrots 94

• • • • • • • • • • •

3 tbsp olive oil 6 ripe tomatoes, chopped 710ml (1.2 pints) hearty red wine 1 head garlic, cloves peeled and sliced 12 dried shiitake mushrooms 60ml (2 fl oz) soy sauce or tamari 60g (2 oz) sliced white or cremini mushrooms 3 tbsp red, white, or chickpea miso 1 tsp dried rosemary 1 tsp dried thyme 1.6-1.8L (2.8-3.1 pints) vegetable broth

1 First, make the sauce. In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the diced onions, celery, and carrots in the oil until relatively tender, about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine, garlic, mushrooms, soy sauce, miso, rosemary, and thyme and bring to a boil. Add 1.6L of the broth and, when it has reached a second boil, cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 1 hour or longer, up to another 30 minutes, to concentrate. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more broth if the flavour is too strong or simmering it down longer to reduce and concentrate the flavour.

2 Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

3 Place the carrot chunks, mushrooms, and potato halves on the prepared sheet pan

and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes, until tender.

4 Set a colander over a bowl and pour the sauce mixture through it to strain the vegetables, collecting the sauce in the bowl. Press as much juice out of the vegetables as possible (these vegetables are highly flavourful and can be puréed and used to make ‘meatloaf’, burgers, etc.). You should have about 6 cups of the strained sauce.

5 Heat the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil in the sauce pot. Add the beef and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the meat and set aside. Now make the roux: Add the flour to the pot and cook, stirring, over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until it’s a light nutty brown.

6 Add the hot strained sauce and whisk well to incorporate. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until thickened, which should happen within a couple of minutes.

7 Add the roasted vegetables and cooked meat back to the pot and simmer for about 10 minutes. Finally, add the peas and cook for another minute or two (if using fresh peas instead of frozen, you may need to cook a tad bit longer).

8 Serve in bowls sprinkled with a bit of parsley and chunks of bread for sopping up the delicious sauce.

Sharing food

Imperial Jackfruit Dirty Fries Serves 4 as a side or snack

A filthy plateful of fries loaded with spicy jackfruit and topped with pickled chilis, diced onion, and American mustard. This is a dish you know you should stop eating but just can’t — or won’t. It should sear with the vinegar heat of chilli and mustard, crunch with onion, and be spicy with the jackfruit.

• • • • •

180ml (6 fl oz) dark beer 4 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp barley or brown rice miso 1 tbsp cacao powder (optional) Salt and pepper

To serve: • Fries • ½ white onion, finely diced • American mustard • Ketchup (or Imperial Stout Ketchup) • Pickled jalapeños (or IPA Pickled Chillies)

• • • • •

1 white onion, diced 1 tbsp oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tbsp tomato purée ½ tsp each ground cumin, cinnamon, paprika, cayenne pepper, dried chilli (more if you like it hot) and white sugar • 2 x 400g (14.1 oz) cans young jackfruit (not in syrup), drained • 300g (10.5 oz) passata

• American vegan cheese (optional) 1 In a large pan over a medium heat, soften the onion in the oil for around 5 minutes, then add the garlic and the tomato purée and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the spices and sugar and stir, then add the jackfruit and break it apart with a wooden spoon or potato masher.

Cook for a few minutes.

2 Add the passata and stir for 1 minute, until it starts bubbling, then add the beer and stir. Add the soy sauce, miso, and cacao powder and bring to a simmer.

Let simmer for 45-60 minutes until it’s really thick and becoming dry in the pan.

Season to taste — it can handle a lot of seasoning, so you might want more salt and more chilli.

3 Cook the fries however you like (we slice potatoes, pour over some oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then bake at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for around 45 minutes).

4 To serve, smother the fries in the jackfruit sauce, then top with the diced white onion, the rest of the condiments, and some American vegan cheese, if you wish. Then get dirty.

Recipe from Beer & Veg by Mark Dredge (£18.99, CICO).

Photography by Stephen Conroy © CICO Books.

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White Chocolate Cheesecake Serves 10 What dessert is made for sharing, if not for cheesecake? This delectable white chocolate version is made with tasty Moo Free Chocolates and can be topped with your favourite berries.

For the base: • 200g (7 oz) McVitie’s Hobnobs • 50g (1.7 oz) Pure Free From dairy-free butter

1 Crush the biscuits and mix together with the melted butter.

2 Place in a lined cake tin and leave in the fridge for one hour.

3 Take out the cream and cream cheese to come to room temperature (this will prevent curdling when mixing with the chocolate).

4 Break the chocolate and melt over the hob or in the microwave.

5 When the cream and cream cheese have come to room temperature, mix in with the melted chocolate and then add the sugar.

6 Pour the mixture into the cake tin on top of the base and leave in the fridge for three hours or overnight ideally.

For the topping: • 250ml (8.4 fl oz) Elmea Plant Dairy Free Double Cream

• 500g (17.6 oz) Nush Cream Cheese • 125g (4.4 oz) caster sugar • 510g (17.9 oz) Moo Free White Chocolate 96

Recipe by Sophie Kendall, @kendal___eline

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Vegan Planet

It’s a

vegan world Stories from around the globe celebrating all things vegan

Copenhagen, Denmark: Researchers granted nearly £7 million to develop new sustainable vegan protein At the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, researchers within the Department of Food Science have won DKK 56 million (nearly £7 million GBP) to work on gaining the intel to create an entirely new category of vegan protein. The grant, which comes from the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s ‘Proteins for Tomorrow’s Food’ programme (one of the largest investments in Denmark for research in food proteins), hopes to aid the researchers’ mission to making an alternative to animal protein. The new protein is being crafted from yellow peas and oats — both crops which are currently produced, in large part, to be fed to farmed animals.

Canada: SIMULATE NUGGS vegan chicken nuggets become available across states After finding success in the US, food start-up SIMULATE (simulate.com) has now launched its delicious vegan chicken nuggets — NUGGS — throughout Canada, in original and spicy flavours. The popular plant-based nuggets can now be found in Canadian grocery chains Loblaws and Sobeys in British Columbia, Ontario and Atlantic Canada. You can also find them in Whole Foods East locations, as well as in Maxi locations in Quebec.

Matt Kohler, managing director of the Canadian retail business at McCain Foods (which will produce and distribute NUGGS across Canada) commented: “We’re thrilled to bring this plant-based nugget to Canadians and to extend this playful, unexpected brand to communities from coast to coast.”

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Amsterdam, Holland: City gets world’s first vegan 2D restaurant Popular plant-based food chain, Vegan Junk Food Bar (veganjunkfoodbar.com), is opening another restaurant in the Netherlands, this time in the vibrant city of Amsterdam, and with a unique twist. The new eatery will be the world’s first vegan 2D restaurant — with black and white cartoon-like artistic interiors designed to play tricks on eager diners’ minds. The new restaurant is inspired by Japan’s famous 2D Café, which makes eaters feel as if they are inside a sketch.

The new Vegan Junk Food Café will serve popular dishes from its existing menus, including the VJF Freak Fries, Burgers and Zeafood, along with other delights.

Brazil: Brazilian chocolate brand receives Veg Fund’s first ever investment in the country A Brazilian vegan chocolate brand, Super Vegan (superveganchoc.com.br), has become the first ever company in Brazil to partner with plant-based investment firm, Veg Fund. The new funding partnership will help Super Vegan to scale up chocolate production with new equipment and facilities, and even reach for global expansion.

Back in 2018, founder Juliana Salgado Gaze wanted to create the perfect white vegan chocolate — she began humbly, making the treats in her own kitchen, selling to friends and at Brazilian markets and coffee shops. Now, Super Vegan has more than 11 different delicious varieties of chocolate, and with this latest investment, the company is set to produce 10 times more than average sales across the next 12 months and new people around the world.

United State of America: Basketball star lands vegan cooking show job NBA player DeAndre Jordan has just taken on a new role — as a vegan cooking show host. The athlete has played centre position for the NBA, Brooklyn Nets, for 13 seasons, but is now embarking on a new challenge. The new television show, Cooking Clean, debuted on PlayersTV (an athlete-owned media network) at the beginning of summer, and is to run eight food-packed episodes.

In each, Jordan will pair up with a different chef to create a delicious vegan recipe. Jordan says during an episode: “I don’t just throw down on the court, I throw down in the kitchen, too.

You’ve seen me finish plenty of plays on the court, but here on PlayersTV, those alley-oops will be coming from my favourite chefs across the country.”

lev radin / Shutterstock.com

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Vegan Planet

The Retreat Animal Rescue Farm Sanctuary Nestled in Kent, there is a wonderful animal sanctuary you can visit — where food waste is not a problem

By Laura Gaga

cannot believe it’s been a year already, and I’m celebrating another birthday as I write this.

Yes, I do realise that birthdays tend to be every year but it feels like just the other day that my 40th birthday, food waste-free, shindig was featured in Vegan Life.

This year, we’re out of lockdown, so I treated myself to a long weekend at The Retreat Animal Rescue Farm Sanctuary and Café (retreatanimalrescue.org.uk) staying in one of their lodges. Lockdown may be so last year, but it was still a struggle to get away; the barrier this time was car breakdown!

I had two options: turn back and have my car repaired at home, or venture onwards to Kent and leave my car at a local garage. So, two tow trucks, tears, the Leon Sweet Carolina burger at Clackett Lane services later, I rocked up to The Retreat to a sympathetic crowd, after greeting the geese, founder Billy, his partner Neil, trustee Alex, live-in staff Jo and Dave, who were all waiting for me; not just with sympathy, but a welcomed gin, a plate of meat-free sausage sandwiches and crisps.

I was so glad that I carried on with my trip; I’d found my ‘people’, including cocker spaniel Bonnie; she matched me crisp for crisp — my spirit animal!

It’s so nice not to have to check for milk powder in crisps, and know that all food onsite is vegan. Guests are even asked not to bring any non-vegan food onto the premises.

The following day, in between feeding animals, walking sheep, nestling pigs, I was getting my eat on! The vegan caférestaurant had been closed when I’d arrived, so I made sure to make up for lost time — enjoying pink prosecco, jackfruit wings,

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tacos, Scotch ‘egg’ (or Welsh ‘egg’, given that cook Neil is Welsh!), banana split, chocolate and banana cake. Neil looked taken aback as to how much I could eat, and perhaps my barrage of questions — ‘How do you make the egg whites, Neil? What’s the yolk, Neil?

What about food waste, Neil?’. He politely answered all my questions, and explained that food waste wasn’t an issue for them — and not just because I was eating all the food (cheeky!). No, it was not just because I’m a gannet but because the food is made to order, this means you are getting your food freshly cooked which reduces surplus.

If you are anything like my neighbour in the lodge next door to me was, and your eyes are bigger than your belly, then you can take your leftovers to go.

If there is still food remaining then plates are scrapped into a nearby bin, and when filled given to an animal who eats more than me — Gunther; well not just Gunther, all the pigs. Billy assures me that because the food is prepared in a completely vegan kitchen it can be fed to their animals. It is illegal to feed meat or meat products to farmed animals. To tell you the truth, I found the online guidelines from Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) confusing (gov.uk).

It makes mention of not feeding farmed animals waste from a vegetarian kitchen, where products of animal origin such as milk are used, but this obviously does not apply to a vegan kitchen. Are rescue animals considered farmed animals when not being used for the production of food materials?

Food waste containing infected meat is said to have caused the foot and mouth virus, and the slaughter of millions of animals in 2001. What I can say with confidence is that meat that is not being eaten by humans, or animals, is mindless

waste. According to WRAP (wrap.org.uk), 240,000 tonnes of beef, pork and poultry products is wasted by households yearly — that’s not counting bones, fat, business waste. The lives of the likes of Gunther in complete vain.

Billy and Neil also compost and food scraps, whilst not relevant to them, composting meat can be problematic as it can encourage pests and can possibly spread diseases.

Despite being another year older, I don’t feel like I have any magic answers but know that meat production can’t be the solution to anything.

For more from Laura, follow her on Instagram @reduction_raider1 Or listen to her on episodes two and 16 of Vegan Life Magazine Podcast, veganlifemag.com/vegan-podcast

ing a low down on liv Get the low style low waste life

cost and

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Vegan Planet

Summer

gardening

From tomatoes to chillies and from strawberries to courgettes, there is an abundance of garden delights to be enjoyed this time of year

By Katie White

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ummer, the season we all look forward to the most, and in which we and our gardens relish life. Picnics in the park, long strolls, and late light evenings, are just some of the joys to make the most of now. In the garden, it is our plant’s time to shine too, with some crops only being able to make fruit at this time of year such as tomatoes and others like basil being able to grow outside of a hot house now. The bees are very busy at this time of year, and you can be too. Not only can you keep busy harvesting summer crops now, but you also may like to find time to process and preserve excess produce in the form of chutneys and jams to keep a jar of summer in the pantry to open on a winter’s day in the future.

solianceas such as tomatoes and chillies, as well as cucurbits such as cucumbers and courgettes. Berries are also at their best now and you can encourage them to produce maximum fruit by picking them every single day. When harvesting these crops here are some things to consider: Courgettes/Zucchinis: Don’t let them get too large. I know it’s tempting to let them get bigger and bigger but you will enjoy them less and less on the dinner plate. The smaller they are the sweeter, softer and more delicious they are. I find that about 20cm long is a perfect size for them.

What to harvest

Cucumbers: Same goes for cucumber as for courgettes. When left to get really big their skin can become bitter and their flesh will be tougher. 10-20cm is usually a safe bet.

By July and August, your summer crops should be starting to fruit, if they were planted in spring. These will include your

Tomatoes: Let them get nice and ripe on the vine for maximum flavour. Although they

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can ripen when picked green, the fully sunripened ones will be sweetest and most full flavoured.

Basil: Let the plant get to a stage where it has several good-sized leaves before starting to pick from it. This way you’ll be encouraging the plant to grow strong and give you more leaves in the long run. When the plant starts to put up a seed head or flowers, you can pick these off to encourage it to make more leaves, however you can also let it go and then utilise the flavoured and conveniently pre-chopped flowers in your recipes just as you would the basil leaves.

Preserving suggestions In terms of preserving these crops into the winter, here are a few ideas to try: • Strawberry jam • Raspberry coulis • Tomato chutney • Smoked tomato sauce

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Fermented chilli sauce Pickled courgette Homemade gherkins

What to plant Most of the planting for summer crops is actually done in spring. As I discussed in my previous article in Vegan Life (May issue), spring gardening is a very busy time for planting because it’s the time to plant everything you intend on harvesting in summer. However, you can make the most of this warm season by planting a second crop of summer veg in early summer and again in mid-summer. This approach is called succession planting and helps you reap the maximum reward from a season.

As the season progresses it is worth getting organised for autumn as early as possible and giving those crops a head start by planting them out in mid to late summer.

These crops include carrots, beetroot, spinach, broccoli, radish, potatoes and peas. If planting in mid-summer you can attempt these from seeds, but if leaving it until late summer it is best to plant them out as seedlings, so they are already on their way and have a better chance of producing before it gets too cold. Planting crops as seedlings can also be a safer bet in terms of surviving insect attack as their stalks get tougher as they mature making them less appealing to slaters (woodlice) and slugs.

If slaters and slugs persist to be a problem, try physically protecting the baby plants with plastic bottles. To create these little cones of protection and warmth, cut the top and bottom off a plastic bottle and press the cylinder into earth about an inch deep.

Remove it when the plant has outgrown it by which time its stalk should be completely unappealing to pests. Using physical means of protection such as this can prevent the need for chemical intervention.

Watering and feeding your plants In the summertime, plants need to be watered to help counteract the warm sun rays, which cause evaporation of moisture from the soil. This can also be a good opportunity to apply a top up of liquid fertiliser in the form of seaweed solution and plant-based fertilisers. Crops that produce lots of fruit such as tomatoes and courgettes will do better if they are given a helping hand in this way, as they will use up a lot of their nutrient reserves when producing large amounts of fruit. When buying liquid fertilisers be sure to read the ingredients to make sure there are no animal products in them. Remember that fish emulsion is a common ingredient to look out for as are many other animal by-products.

To keep it on the safe side, you can make your own compost and soak it in some water to make a compost tea for your plants. An even simpler way to do this, is to soak banana peels in water for a week and use the resulting liquid as a potassium tonic. Tomatoes are particularly fond of this. This alone would not fulfil the plants nutrient requirements, but can be used in addition to compost tea or storebought plant-based fertilisers.

Overall, summer is probably the best time to enjoy what your garden has to offer, in terms of both pottering around amongst the plants and also at the dinner table enjoying the produce that this season brings. Give preserving a try by making some jams and chutneys and pop a second round of basil and tomatoes seeds in the ground in late summer to push the season out as far as you can. I hope you and your plants have a lovely warm and productive summertime.

Smoked Tomato Sauce This sauce is absolutely incredible and is so worth the effort. It uses up multiple summer crops including tomatoes, peppers, courgettes and chillies. If you don’t have access to a wood fired oven, use a BBQ with a lid or outdoor oven.

• • • • • • • •

24 ripe tomatoes 8 red peppers 4 medium courgettes 10 garlic cloves 4-5 chillies 120ml (4 fl oz) of olive oil 500g (17.6 oz) diced onion 3-4 carrots

• 1 handful of thyme branches or 1 tbsp dried thyme leaves

• Handful of basil leaves and stalks (optional)

• 3 bay leaves • 3 tbsp salt • 355ml (12 fl oz) red wine, red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

• Good cracking of pepper • 100g (3.5 oz) of sugar 1 Chop the tomatoes, peppers, and courgettes into rough cubes and lay on a large baking try along with the garlic and chillies and drizzle with the olive oil.

2 Cold smoke for at least 2 hours. This means light a piece of wood on fire, let it get to the coals stage, then place it in the oven, underneath the baking tray of veg whilst its smouldering. Close the door or lid to trap the smoke in, whilst leaving a small gap to make sure there is oxygen to feed the fire. Oak is the best wood for smoking however any unprocessed wood will work, just check it isn’t treated, such as treated pine.

3 In a large heavy-based saucepan, sweat down the onion and carrot and cook until fragrant and slightly browned.

4 Pour the smoked veg into the pot and combine with the carrot and onion.

5 Add the thyme, basil, bay leaves and the salt.

6 Add the smoked veg and very slowly simmer for at least 2 hours.

7 Season and balance with red wine vinegar (or red wine) and cracked pepper, and sugar.

8 Once it is cooked out, turn off the heat and add some fresh basil stalks to infuse, preferably overnight.

9 Then you can blend it, if you like, or leave it chunky. Use a hand-held stick blender for this.

10 Pour boiling water into several jars with screw top lids, swirl around and pour out the water to heat them and sterilise them.

11 Heat the sauce up again and when bubbling, use a jug or ladle to pour the hot sauce into the jars and immediately screw the lid on tight.

12 You should hear the lids pop within an hour which means they have sealed properly.

13 Store in a cool dark place.

Recipe and words

by Katie White, AKA Olive Wood Vegan, @olivewoodvegan.

You’ll also find Katie on episode one of The Vegan Life Magazine Podcast, listen at veganlifemag.com/vegan-podcast.

Kelly Harwood Photography

• • •

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Vegan Planet

enjoy a holiday

7 ways to…

in your own home

This month, it’s all about how to have the best staycation possible

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ith the Coronavirus still affecting foreign travel, it’s pretty tricky to plan a holiday abroad or even elsewhere in your own country right now. But does that mean that you shouldn’t take a break from work or your usual routine? No! It’s so important to take a rest from reality and indulge in things that will improve your own mental health and well-being. And you can do this with your very own home as your base, and by simply exploring your local area.

Remember to block out a specific week in your calendar; use your annual leave and book time off work, just as you would for any other vacation. However, if you can’t take time off from your job, it is easy to organise a staycation for over the weekend or on your days off.

There’s no travel and no time spent organising transport plans or checking in. Here are seven ideas to help you to have the best experience possible.

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1. Decorate your home to encapsulate your holiday One of the main draws of being away on holiday, is being surrounded by new, exotic or luxurious surroundings, so why not temporarily transform your home into the destination of your dreams?

Pick a country, then decide on what type of accommodation you would want to stay in — a vegan yoga retreat, a rustic and cosy barn, a fancy hotel in a high-end resort, or a tent in the wilderness?

Adorn your home and garden or balcony with flags, pictures and items that conjure up your chosen destination. For example, if you have picked Japan, pin Japanese flags around your living space; hide your knives and forks in place of chopsticks; print off photographs of cherry blossoms, Mount Fuji, the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, and ornate temples; and make your own lanterns and hang them around the house and outdoors. Get creative!

If you’re going for cosy and rustic vibes, get some soya wax candles, soft wool-free rugs and lots of fluffy cushions — turn your living room into your own private cottage.

For fancy hotel feels, dig out your best bedding; place some decadent vegan truffles on the pillows, and hang your fluffiest robe in the bathroom, next to a basket of luxurious cruelty-free pampering products.

If your ideal vacation is somewhere where nature is in full force, put up a tent in your garden or living room. Place potted plants and bright flowers on every available surface, and pin pictures of Mother Earth to your walls. Set up a BBQ, camp stove or fire pit in your garden for outdoor cooking and toasting vegan marshmallows when the sun goes down. Your staycation really is what you make it.

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2. Select a cuisine and create a menu Once you have chosen the type of holiday you want and ‘where’ you would like it to be, plan a list of meals for each day based around the cuisine or meal type that you would typically enjoy on a vacation like that. Be adventurous — cooking a new cuisine is lots of fun.

After you’ve written out your menu, write down the ingredients you’ll need and head to your nearest greengrocers or supermarket. If you’d like laid-back bed and breakfast vibes or simply a few nights off cooking, feel free to plan in meals out or takeaways! Make sure to only buy what you will actually eat to limit food waste.

3. See your hometown through foreign eyes It’s easy to take your local area for granted when you are there all the time, but think about what might excite a visiting tourist. Perhaps when you were younger, your parents used to take you to your local beach every weekend — head there for an afternoon. Maybe your village has incredibly vibrant markets — go and see what they are all about. Look up your own town on Trip Advisor (tripadvisor.co.uk) and see what is recommended — work your way through the suggested list as if you are visiting it for the first time. If there really isn’t much to do where you live, take a trip to the town closest to you that has more activities and tourist draws.

4. Do or learn something new When we are away somewhere new, we are likely to be exposed to things we have not seen or done before, and in the spirit of vacation, we tend to be more open to trying these new things. So, to emulate this at home, attempt a new activity or learn a skill — this could be anything, from taking a wakeboarding lesson to learning to boulder, or from studying a foreign language to teaching yourself to crochet!

You could even try to match your new activity or skill to a particular country you want to pretend you are visiting — if you are ‘vacationing’

in Spain, take an online Spanish dance class, or if you are ‘visiting’ Thailand, take part in a virtual vegan Thai cooking class. It might take some planning, but the pay-off will be excellent.

5. Experience arts and culture Just like food encapsulates a place, so too does the art, music, theatre and history of a city or country. So, get discovering! There are virtual tours with street views from all across the globe, and you can visit museums, art galleries and cultural hubs — all online. Fancy taking a dive under the Great Barrier Reef? Or maybe you want to explore the Imperial City Hue of Vietnam? All this is possible on Google Arts and Culture (artsandculture.google.com) — visit the website to see where it can take you.

Likewise, if you would love to watch a West End or Broadway show from the comfort of your sofa, you can also view these on the internet.

Broadway HD (broadwayhd.com) is currently offering seven-day free trials to hundreds of shows, including Les Misérables and Wicked.

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Similarly, National Theatre At Home has a brilliant subscription service where you can watch tonnes of exciting performances (ntathome.com). And if you have NETFLIX, take a look and see what shows they have to offer! (netflix.com) If you don’t want to spend your holiday online, get creative in real life. Unleash the artist within and get stuck in to your own arts and crafts project. Set to work on some vegan awareness paintings, make soya wax candles, crochet hanging planters, make mosaics from old bottle caps or weave a basket from foraged twigs! The possibilities are endless.

6. Get active When you’re away, there are often sports and activities at your disposal, whether at your hotel, on the beach or water, at your

campsite or in the mountains, so get active at home.

Join an online dance or yoga class or buy a DVD; play an outdoor sport with your family, or host your own festival, dance or paddling pool party.

7. Make an itinerary When we travel, we will often follow a schedule of activities to make sure that we fit everything in. So, why not make an itinerary for your home holiday? Plan a list of activities to do at particular times throughout each day, and follow it as if you are really away on a trip.

This will help you to stop you from slipping back into ‘real life’ mode.

These can be made up of any of the above ideas. Try or tweak this suggested schedule:

• • • • • • • •

8am: Do an online yoga class 9am: Enjoy a homemade continental breakfast 10:30am: Walk a route you have never taken before around your local area 1pm: Take an online cooking class 2:30pm: Visit a museum — the nearest to your town or virtually 5pm: Get yourself dressed up for dinner 6pm: Order or cook a delicious vegan meal of your chosen cuisine 7:30pm: Have a karaoke party in your living room

Your itinerary doesn’t need to be complicated, strict or packed with expensive-to-do activities, it can be as simple as you like. And if you would rather ‘wing it’, then by all means, do whatever you feel in the moment. The main thing? Enjoy yourself and take a well-earned break from ‘normal’ life.

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Vegan Planet

Vegan founded Plant-based start-ups you need on your radar

This month’s founders:

Luke and Rebecca Tonks Nourish Bud Newcastle Upon Tyne Our vegan story Like most, it was a gradual process. Rebecca is lactose intolerant, so we’ve never eaten much dairy, and after ongoing research into the benefits of going plant-based, we cut the rest out too. We’ve both been fully vegan since 2019 — we were travelling the world at the time and discovering stunning different flavours and techniques in vegan cooking.

Early inspiration Our passion is health and nutrition. We love a vegan sausage as much as anyone, but for us the beauty of veganism is the potential health benefits. Unprocessed ingredients and quality food are so beneficial for our physical and mental health, and we want to use this passion to really invest in the health of our customers.

For us the beauty of “ veganism is the potential health benefits ”

cruelty-free, environmentally friendly, healthy, sustainable… The list goes on. You’ll want to shout about it all and you should, but be careful not to let whatever makes you truly special get lost. Focus on what you do best and tell everyone!

The best thing about being vegan Tips for other start-ups Pick your selling point. Veganism has almost endless benefits — it is

For Rebecca, a vegan diet has been the best tool for solving a multitude of lifelong stomach problems, which are now almost nonexistent! We both feel more energised and have fun experimenting with different ingredients.

You’re stranded on an island. What one vegan treat would you want with you?

Stranded on an island — assuming a tropical location there’d be fresh fruit in abundance, right? So, it’s got to be ice cream! We’re obsessed with the Roar Salted Caramel and Macadamia flavour.

Fun fact Founders Luke and Rebecca (also husband and wife) have a ‘bud’ in the oven! We’re expecting our first baby this December, and we’re so excited to welcome our new little taste-tester to the team.

What’s next We’ve just started delivering nationwide. It’s an incredibly exciting new step and all we want is to grow, fill fridges across the UK and be advocates of vegan eating, reaching as many people as possible!

For more from Nourish Bud, visit nourishbud.co.uk 108

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Vegan Planet

Opportunity for activism Illustrator and graphic designer Melinda Hegedus uses her digital artwork to spread awareness whenever she can

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Vegan Planet

ot only are Melinda Hegedus’s illustrations eye catching and comical, but they are also fully engaged with activism on every level. With strong messages behind all her works, all eyes that look upon them will become immediately connected, allowing Melinda’s lessons to take hold. We chat to the Hungarian born artist about how she got started, and why her work is so important.

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Have you always been interested in art and digital illustration?

As most kids, I also loved to draw and paint.

This kind of creative expression has always been my ‘go-to’ whenever I felt stressed or anxious. Although, I’ve always loved using traditional art materials such as watercolour and acrylics, there was a point in my life when I started traveling more and more, and I quickly had to realise that creating digitally was way more practical than having to carry around a bunch of art materials with me.

To create illustrations, I now use a software called Procreate on my tablet, which lets me to take my art studio with me wherever I go. Creating digitally also enables me to instantly share my work with clients which makes the whole process way easier and faster.

When did you become vegan and why?

I grew up in Hungary, where eating meat is a huge part of the culture. Growing up, I never really questioned the moral behind meat consumption. It seemed completely normal to consume animals. However, in 2012, when I was 24 years old, something happened to me while I was having dinner with my family. My mum made us a traditional Norwegian dish, called Fårikål, which is basically lamb meat cooked up with kale in a casserole. As I was sitting by the dinner table, munching on a piece of bone with some meat left on it, I looked down to my lap and I had an epiphany.

While I was looking at my own legs, I saw the skin covering them. I looked closer and thought about what is underneath my skin… My bones, my flesh and muscle tissue… Bones and meat… That was exactly what I was munching on.

This realisation made me feel terribly uneasy. I instantly started feeling like a cannibal, so I put down that piece of meat and from that point on, eating any kind of meat seemed unnatural and absurd to me. I guess my brain had finally made the connection somehow. After this experience, I started educating myself about vegetarianism and then veganism. I realised

“

Wearing the vegan message to make your own body a billboard for the animals is such an awesome way to spread awareness wherever you go

”

that I do not want or need to consume animals to live a happy and healthy life.

When did you start combining art with veganism?

Right after I stopped eating animals, I knew I needed to find a way to advocate for veganism. I wanted to contribute — in my own way — to reduce the suffering on this planet. Some people create beautiful music, some are great at writing, while I love to draw, so it only made sense to me to start creating vegan themed art to raise awareness for the animals. I like to call it vegan artivism, a term combining ‘art’ and ‘activism’.

How would you describe your artistic style?

My drawings are mostly cartoons, and their style is similar to that of pop art. I use strong outlines and bold colours to get my message across. I always try to incorporate some humour (well, mostly sarcasm and irony) to distract the viewer from the seriousness and gloominess of the topic.

The animals on my illustrations are usually displayed in an anthropomorphic style. This basically means that I draw the animals in human forms, I give them human bodies.

I do this for two reasons. Firstly, because I find it fun to draw this way and secondly, because I hope that this will help the viewer relate more easily to the animals. I would like to make it clear that despite anatomical differences, animals are very similar to us humans. We all fear pain and death, and we all try to avoid suffering. We are all sentient beings living together on this planet.

so it is our responsibility to understand the importance and the consequences of the choices we make each and every day. I do not yet understand what exactly happened to my brain in 2012 that made me ‘make the connection’, but I hope that my illustrations will act as a catalyst for other humans, so that we can all wake up and finally stop eating animals. I hope to contribute, if even just a little, to the end of speciesism.

How useful is art in spreading awareness of animal welfare and other world issues?

Art can be a great tool to raise awareness and it can be used in many different ways. These days, when smartphones are basically glued to our hands, social media activism is one of the best ways to share the vegan message. I share my illustrations on Instagram and Facebook, and I encourage my followers to re-share the content so that more and more people can see it.

During the years, I have also learned that as a designer I need to stay open to different possibilities so that I can transform them into opportunities to spread the vegan message. For example, after I have been designing for a Dutch pizza franchise for a year, the company completely transformed their selection, and introduced more than 10 vegan items on their menu. I am very proud of this achievement and it made me realise that basically anything can be turned into an opportunity to raise awareness.

I also feel very lucky because my background in graphic and web design helped me launch a T-shirt company, so now I am finally able to have my illustrations printed on different products.

Wearing the vegan message to make your own body a billboard for the animals is such an awesome way to spread awareness wherever you go.

For more from Melinda, visit veganiska.com and melindahegedus.com and follow @veganiska on social media.

What do you aim to do with your illustrations?

One of the many human privileges is that we are capable of conscious thinking, and 111

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Vegetarian and Vegan Guest House in Keswick

The former home of Donald Watson, Founder of the Vegan Society, invites you to share the wonders of the Lake District. Beautiful walks and very welcoming.

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Vegan Lifestyle

Bananas for BBQs Just because you can grill fruit, doesn’t mean you should

By Jake Yapp

reckon August is the most overrated month of the year. It’s supposed to be amazing, isn’t it? There’s the hope of it — a legacy from childhood when it meant HOLIDAYS and FUN and, most crucially, NOT-SCHOOL. But, as an actual month, I reckon it’s rubbish. It’s sort-of summery, but it’s kind of blown. It hasn’t the excitement of June strawberries, or the full-on warmth of July. It feels stagnant.

The nights are drawing in, and they’re really quite chilly, frankly. See? Overrated.

Prior to now, I have felt that way about BBQs. We are well over the hump of BBQ season now, and ordinarily, I’d be relieved.

Standing about, making small talk, waiting to chew on dried out, charred husks of miserable veggie burger and raw onion.

The constant mild agitation of watching the grill, hoping your stuff doesn’t touch any of the meaty stuff, as it gets casually shoved about by some guy in shorts who looks like

I

A blackened “ cylinder of smouldering mush would be handed to me on a paper plate, and I’d be so excited, because it was a banana – but barbecued!

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he enjoyed rugby in his youth. He’s probably called something like Olly, and you probably don’t like him, and he probably has one of those barking laughs, and holds beer bottles with a thumb and two fingers, and you KNOW he’s judging you for being vegan, and you’re judging him back for not.

Such fun. Lockdowns and stuff hasn’t, I reckon, changed the Rate of BBQs — for every one that’s been cancelled, another one has sprung up, seen as a good, socially-distanced way to make people try to remember how to do small talk. But this summer, my personal Rate of BBQs has gone up. Way up. I’ve got a bit addicted.

And I think it’s because I’ve stopped trying to turn them into Social Occasions. Quite the opposite, in fact. I’ve enjoyed a semihermitty BBQ experience — taking out a tray of Things To Char by myself, sitting by the BBQ and enjoying the meditative peace of it.

It’s quite the opposite of a social event.

And I haven’t done a single veggie burger.

I was encouraged by Derek Sarno and Rukmini Iyer in the Vegan Life Podcast — we did a BBQ special a few months ago — to branch out my barbecuing repertoire. The biggest revelation was doing tofu. Literally just chucking a whole block on the grill with a brush of olive oil. It takes time, but it is so delicious, and develops a fabulous crunchy, chewy crust. But I’ve barbecued practically every vegetable under the sun — cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, garlic, aubergine, courgette, peppers, peas (ok, that one is a joke; they’d fall through the gaps, I’m not THAT stupid).

But the best thing about a vegan BBQ is the safety and simplicity of it. Chopping the vegetables by the barbecue, tossing compostable scraps directly onto the

compost heap (ok er nearby flowerbed) and anything dry into the charcoal. And there’s nothing weird or yucky or hazardous involved.

I tried barbecuing watermelon — I’d read that it’s good — and I am not really a fan, if I’m honest. But maybe the biggest epiphany, after doing it several times this year, was the final realisation that I really hate barbecued bananas. I remember having them as a child — a blackened cylinder of smouldering mush would be handed to me on a paper plate, and I’d be so excited, because it was a banana — but barbecued! How exotic and fun! And this year — just like tradition dictates that August is a Great Month, I tossed some bananas onto the barbecue, because woohoo, barbecued bananas! And it took me several goes before I realised that I Don’t Like Barbecued Bananas and that, as a 47-year-old man, I Didn’t Have To Make Them Any More.

So, er, as negative as I am aware I sound — do enjoy August! Just remember that like with BBQs — it’ll be far more enjoyable if do it on your own terms. And leave out the bananas.

Yuck.

For more from Jake, follow @jakeyapp on Twitter. To listen to Vegan Life Magazine Podcast, head to veganlifemag.com/ vegan-podcast or search for it on Apple, Spotify, Amazon and Google Podcasts.

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