fatgayvegan

Jet trails in the sky

by

Do you often fly coach/economy? Then you will be acutely aware of how lousy airline food can be.

Requesting a vegan meal on a plane is even more of  minefield. I was once served a lamb curry for my special meal request. Another adventure involved nothing but a few blocks of cheese and water crackers. And of course we all know the anguish of having nothing to eat except a bowl of under-ripe melon. I have enjoyed the occasional vegan meal on a flight and the memory will always be cherished of being served a vegan donut with chocolate soy milk on a United Airlines flight.

I am keen to share my latest experience of vegan flying food with you, but before I do I want to ask a question. What is the best vegan food you have been served inflight? What is the least memorable? What is the most unbelievably bad? I know that is more than one question, but I am just that curious!

Here is the vegan meal I was served on British Airways a week ago on my way to Mexico City. Overall I was impressed by the quality and the thought that had gone into my meal. The vegan dishes were actually vegan as far as I could tell. It was definitely one of the most satisfying vegan meals I have experienced on a flight during the last few years. How does this rate with your experiences?

Dairy free bread with vegan spread was a rare flying treat

Read more

Cupcakes en la capital

by

Para los hispanohablantes hay una versión en español al final de esta página.

I traveled 11 hours by plane to the other side of the world and what did I discover? If you guessed delicious vegan cupcakes, give yourself a pat on the back!

Mexico City is not known internationally as a haven for vegans. Walking through any street market in the metropolis would lead you to believe the concept of plant-based fare is completely unknown. All sorts of dead animals are fried, boiled and seared before your very eyes and it is confronting and often gruesome.

But not all is lost. A new wave of vegan options is taking over Distrito Federal and I am extremely proud to say a dear friend of mine is part of the movement by making sure he offers cruelty-free treats as part of his new baking endeavour.

Read more

Mini Moos without the moo

by

Whenever I am asked to name my favourite vegan snack (and that happens a lot actually), one name keeps coming up again and again.

Moo Free Chocolates.

Moo Free Chocolates are a constant in my life. Whether I am breaking off a chunk of their amazing caramelised hazelnut bar or sinking my teeth into an award-winning praline, you can be assured barely a week goes by where I haven’t gobbled a gorgeous Moo Free treat.

It’s obvious I’m already a die-hard supporter of this tremendous vegan confectioner, but my dedication has only been further cemented by the release of their new Mini Moos line of chocolates. I have fallen head over heels for these delights.

Mini Moos by Moo Free Chocolates

Read more

Remind me how much it meant to me hungry

by

One thing that is awesome about being a self-confessed, overeating vegan is that I get to support a lot of fabulous independent businesses. And believe me when I giddily-proclaim there are few more fabulous than Cookies And Scream of Camden.

Cookies and Scream vegan & gluten-free cookie bar

Read more

Join the club

by

Looking for a vegan alternative to corporate soda but still want a caffeine kick? Your search is over thanks to Club-Mate.

Club-Mate cola

Read more

¡comamos! happened

by

Welcome to Messy Vegetarian Cook. She is a dear friend, an amazing artist and one of the best vegan cooks in London. She wants to tell you all about her enjoyment of the ¡comamos! vegan tapas club organised  by yours truly last weekend that featured the gorgeous food stylings of Vegan Peasant Catering and cruelty-free wines supplied by Vegan Wines Online.

Once you have feasted on her words, make sure you take advantage of this very special vegan wine deal: FGV readers simply enter code FGV5 for 5% off all purchases at Vegan Wines Online. Valid until August 31, 2012. Click here to shop.

Got your wine? Good. Take it away, Messy Cook!

Read more

West African vegan food event hits London

by

Vegan supper clubs appear to be taking over London. It is a phenomenon that is exponentially gathering steam and pop-up dining experiences seem to be making a huge splash with cruelty-free diners.

One enterprising group have even attached themselves to the building Olympic fever by hosting 20 nights of special food events, each showcasing inventive cooking and food presentation from around the globe.

This experience known as Global Feast 2012 is not a vegan event, but attendees are in for a compassionate treat as the grand opening dinner is set to be 100% plant-based. Read on for details of the scrumptious menu.

Read more

Your new favourite snack

by

An exciting and joyous event is upon us. Grab your money carrying vessel of choice and run (don’t walk) to the nearest outlet selling these amazing new vegan crisps. I’ll race you.

New vegan crisps by Barrow Boys

Read more

Who knows or cares what an imitation is?

by

Guest post time again. Josh is super excited about a new range of vegan products that are changing the shape of high street shopping and he really wants you to know.

_______________________________________________________________

It’s a vegan revolution – no really!

Tesco supermarkets across the UK are now stocking a range of vegan foods under their own branding.  If you had told me 12 months ago that my local supermarket would shortly be stocking their own range of melting cheeses, cream cheeses, yoghurts, creme caramel etc. all labelled as vegan, I wouldn’t have believed you.  Are you as amazed as I am?  I think it’s revolutionary that a high street supermarket would be pushing an entirely vegan range of milks, cheeses, yoghurts etc. and giving up a whole bay in their dairy aisle to display them.

Vegan dairy case at Tesco

I think one of the main challenges for people including more plant-based foods in their diet is availability.  Of course most vegans are used to shopping around and getting their groceries from a variety of sources (supermarkets, Holland & Barrett, independent stores, online etc.) but I know a lot of people prefer to do one weekly shop at the supermarket, so this could be a real game-changer.

Now down to business… here’s a summary of what’s on the shelf:

Read more

16″ vegan hickory BBQ pizza reality madness

by

Looking back on my colourful childhood, I can vividly recall one of my favourite recurring memories.

My family didn’t have a lot of very much at all, so our recreation time was filled with cheap and cheerful activities that posed minimal threat to our meagre budget. We lived near the beach, so we went to the beach. Drive-ins were still big news Down Under, so my mother used to sneak me past the payment booth in the trunk to save money. And inexpensive store-bought pizzas were eaten in front of VHS screenings of low-budget horror films that were highly-inappropriate for people of my age.

So many of my formative hours were spent in front of titles such as The Burning, I Spit On Your Grave and Blood Beach while stuffing my face with greasy pizza. Such fond memories.

Flash forward a few decades and I am in London with no drive-in and no beach. I still adore gore flicks but the store-bought pizza has been a bit more troublesome to recreate for vegan me. Sure, Karma Free look after the herbivores but they are a long way from my house. Thankfully, I have discovered a pizza joint just 12 minutes away by car that serves a range of piping hot vegan pizzas! You know the rest…

Strap yourself in for a tale of epic eating proportions. I purchased two 16 inch vegan pizzas from Village Pizza and settled in for a night in West London in front of a bad horror movie.

Village Pizza of Twickenham

Read more