Fudge. Plain and simple.

After I visit a city, it always takes me a long time to work through all the food I consumed and convert the tasty memories into blog posts. I have that well-known vegan condition that involves eating every single possible vegan dish available to me during a vacation. Almost like I’ve never seen food before. What’s wrong with us?

My recent Edinburgh trip was no different. Working out where vegan breakfast, lunch and dinner were to be enjoyed took precedence over getting to the castle or visiting the museum. The walks along the Royal Mile or down historic closes were planned with precision to ensure vegan food options took centre stage throughout my time in Edinburgh.

In addition to my baked potato experience, one of the most memorable frenzied pit stops for food involved vegan fudge. Thick, creamy and irresistible vegan fudge. The Fudge Kitchen located on the Royal Mile isn’t a vegan food outlet but they certainly know how to make plant-based eaters feel welcome.

The store has at least one vegan fudge option on show each day. My visit coincided with the overwhelmingly-scrumptious toffee variety made with soya cream.

Fudge Kitchen Edinburgh
Fudge Kitchen Edinburgh
Gorgeous vegan toffee fudge
Gorgeous vegan toffee fudge

I am trying to be a less food-driven tourist. Not as many of my trips are planned around the food available at the destination but it will be a long while until I am comfortable moving through a town without devouring every vegan dish on offer.

Find all Fudge Kitchen UK locations online

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Four good reasons

Do you need another reason to visit the Ms. Cupcake vegan bakery in Brixton? Well, I have four reasons under my FGV belt that will convince you to get down there. Enjoy!

1.

The new mint Mini Moos by Moo Free Chocolates
The new mint Mini Moos by Moo Free Chocolates

2.

The new Thumbs Up candy bar by Go Max Go Foods
The new Thumbs Up candy bar by Go Max Go Foods

3.

Vegan biscotti
Vegan biscotti

4.

Lovely people
Lovely people

Meet you there?

Follow Ms. Cupcake on Twitter

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Visit Ms. Cupcake online

 

 

I long to nibble your ears

My love of Moo Free Dairy Free Chocolates is well documented and I jump at any opportunity to sing their praises. The confectionery company are unparalleled when it comes to making a vegan product that tastes like milk chocolate.

I have often proclaimed it the best vegan chocolate in the world, so obviously every new product must be chronicled. It is my FGV duty.

Wanna know what they have up their crafty sleeves for Easter this year? It is an organic Bunny Bar and it is delicious.

The Bunny Bar by Moo Free is perfect. It is just the right size for a snack, it is the same fabulous Moo Free taste we adore and it retails for a lot less the a pound. The recommended shop price is only 69p.

How terrific is that?! Get to a store or order online. Then I suggest starting with the ears…

Moo Free Bunny Bar
Moo Free Bunny Bar
It was made for my hand... & belly!
It was made for my hand… & belly!

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But first of all let me say

It is would be so ridiculously easy for a chubby, queer plant eater like me to make a million jokes about sugar and overeating when writing about an online vegetarian confectionery store. The hilarity almost writes itself.

I am going to stick to the facts and throw open the joke writing challenge to you… the witty reader. Get your thinking caps on and hit me with your best funny lines about FGV and sweet eating. Post your comedy gold in the comments below.

Meanwhile, I’ll fill you in with all the details you need to know about this fabulous new online sweet shop in the UK.

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Eat and be charitable

I love announcements and I especially love announcements featuring a whole lot of vegan food. If the news can also contain a bit of info about a cool animal charity too, I am giggling with delight.

This month, London Vegan Potluck will be hosting a raffle on behalf of Moo Free Chocolates. The company is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for new chocolate making equipment in order to expand their business.

Any money gathered from the raffle will be added to the Kickstarter fund. Moo Free are supplying us with a selection of their delicious and tempting treats for the competition. Read about my love for Moo Free Chocolates here and here and here and here.

FGV approves
FGV approves

As Kickstarter requires fundraisers to reach their full target before collecting any of the money, Moo Free have indicated they would like the raffle funds to go to The Farm Animal Sanctuary in the instance of their target not being reached.

Find out about and donate to the Moo Free Kickstarter campaign here

Follow Moo Free on Twitter

Discover The Farm Animal Sanctuary here

Like The Farm Animal Sanctuary on Facebook

Come along to the February London Vegan PotluckYou could win some tasty vegan chocolate. You might just raise some funds for a compassionate company. There is a chance your money will support a wonderful animal sanctuary. And you are certain to eat a whole lot of delicious, homemade vegan food. Winners all round!

Tart with a heart

Brixton is already a fab place for vegan food.

To start with, there is the amazing Ms. Cupcake vegan bakery with their huge range of cakes, savouries and packaged treats. You probably are also aware of the gorgeous vegan pizza options available from Franco Manca. I’ve even heard whispers of a new French vegetarian restaurant with vegan options.

Yes, Brixton is a fun place for vegans to go hunting for snacks and it just got a lot more exciting with the arrival of vegan cake stall The Vegan Tart.

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Give ’em the old Razzle Dazzle

I was starting to think I couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming Bowl For Oceans fundraising party for Sea Shepherd UK, but then this happened…

There are companies that make nice food, there are companies that do good things for others and there are companies that are run by lovely people. Razzle Dazzle Ices somehow manage the rare trifecta of possessing all of these traits.

Razzle Dazzle is a family-owned and operated company from Taunton, Somerset. As stated on their website, their drive to create a tasty dairy-free ice cream came from wanting their son (who can’t eat cow milk) to be included in treat time. But after setting out to perfect their recipes in their own home for their own enjoyment, Razzle Dazzle then put their efforts into spreading the vegan ice cream love far and wide across the land.

The Razzle Dazzle Ices range includes such tantalising flavours as Mango Sorbet, Coconilla and Hintamint. Check out where all five of their fun flavours are available right now! They even sell to stores, cafes and restaurants, just in case you are a business owner and want to impress your customers.

wp95721e3f_06
Razzle Dazzle tubs

But what was this blog post supposed to be about? Oh, that’s right! Razzle Dazzle Ices are coming to Bowl For Oceans!

January 6, 2013 is the date where compassionate party goers are in for a big treat. Not only does their ticket purchase get them bowling, karaoke, music, pool tables and crisps by Barrow Boys, it now also gives them a chance to sample Razzle Dazzle Ices for free.

The company will be on hand to dish out their tasty wares to attendees and talk about how they create such delicious, cruelty-free delights.

If you have already purchased your tickets for this mammoth event, congratulations are in order because you are in for one fun day out in London. If you are yet to snap up your entry, act fast to ensure you are part of what is surely going to be one of the most-talked about events of Winter.

Buy your Bowl For Oceans tickets online

Visit Razzle Dazzle Ices online

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I know you’ll take another

As a sugar-loving vegan, certain times of the year are tougher than others.

My recent trips to grocery stores and supermarkets have been met by a familiar sight for this time of year. Christmas shopping frenzy means I am confronted by countless varieties of boxed chocolates, truffles and candy. This onslaught of boxed confection also sweeps through my life around Valentine’s Day, mothers day and an increasing number of commercialised celebrations.

As a fat, gay vegan all I wanna do is drop a few of these boxes into my basket as I waddle to the checkout. Until a few days ago, this was but a dream.

Enter Celtic Chocolates.

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That’s your bloomin’ lot

There used to be a store I frequented as a younger person called Popcorn Palace. This maize emporium was located in a shopping mall on Australia’s Gold Coast and with my hometown just an hour or so away by car, my friends and I would often find ourselves buying bags of the good stuff.

Popcorn Palace was one of those places that believed in the mantra ‘more is more’. I used to marvel at the vast array of flavoured popcorn lining the shelves and always ended up buying more jumbo tubs than I could handle of the irresistible snacks. I remember the watermelon variety extremely fondly.

Thus commenced my lifelong love affair with popped corn.

Flash forward to a few years (decades?) later and popcorn still rules my roost. Popcorn is probably second only to potato in my most-loved category. I might not have Popcorn Palace in my life these days, but the good people of Bloom’s are working hard to keep my maize malaise at bay.

Nutty & Sweet by Bloom’s

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Alright, me old fruit?

Some things are an acquired taste and whether you like them or not can depend on where you grew up. When I was a child, I adored Vegemite. I understand why people from outside Australia might not like it, but I couldn’t get enough of this savoury cousin of Marmite from down under.

I recently spoke with someone who couldn’t imagine anything more disgusting than fruit cake with marzipan frosting. I would eat so much of this at family weddings back in Brisbane that I would have to be carried to the car. The UK seems to share this history of wedding/Christmas cakes and I couldn’t be more pleased to discover Lazy Day Foods have launched this loved product in an accessible way.

Lazy Day Foods make me happy

My trip to As Nature Intended in Ealing Broadway a few days ago was a triumph in both nostalgia and deliciousness. Lazy Day have taken a slice of my childhood and turned it into vegan, gluten-free, finger-sized delights.

Cake and fruit and icing, oh my!

Get into your local health food provider or spend some time perusing the free from aisle in the supermarket to snap up these delights today. And when you are settled in with a few bars of marzipan-topped fruit cake and a cup of tea I want you to sit back, smile and think of FGV eating himself sick as a young wedding attendee back in Australia.

Small FGV not eating the cake on the table… yet!

Visit Lazy Day Foods online

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