Bite-sized, crumbed and oven cooked. You know you want it.
Vegetable Dunkers... vegan frozen food
There is a profit-fuelled frenzy occuring in UK supermarkets and grocery stores. Major chains are falling over each other to snare a larger slice of the compassionate shopper market and we vegans are faced with an ever-expanding choice. Alongside old-timers such as tofu, shop shelves are now showcasing cruelty-free newbies such as roast ‘beef’, air freshener, dishwashing liquid, hairspray and countless other products labeled suitable for vegans.
Do you ever have difficulty deciding what to eat when faced with many options?
One way out of this precarious situation is to buy one of everything. My trip to Whole Foods Market in Kensington a few days ago saw me tempted to do just that. I was entrusted with the task of buying some pre-packed goodies for Josh and myself to devour. The plan was to nab a window seat in the store’s food court, eat ourselves silly and watch frenzied Christmas shoppers collide with each other on the obscenely-busy high street below.
So sit down, relax and enjoy the visual delights of my lunchtime shopping spree. For a FGV, I was actually rather restrained.
Whole Foods in-house vegan yoghurt varieties
I wanted to commence the meal with healthy food that tasted great, so I opted for two tubs of vegan yoghurt with muesli and fruit. Buying both flavours was the only option when I couldn’t decide between mixed berry and blackberry. They weren’t fabulous, but fulfilled my expectations.
Saf is a vegan restaurant located in Shoreditch, East London that has now opened an outlet in the Whole Foods Kensington food court. While I didn’t buy from them directly, I chose one of their pre-packaged wraps from the sandwich case instore.
I promise I’m not being hysterical when I state it
The UK has a knack of turning a short car journey up the motorway into an epic battle for survival.
If you have ever traversed one of the main vehicle routes, you would know that the slightest hint of adverse weather can bring proceedings to a standstill. A 4-hour trip between London and Manchester once took 9 hours due to snowfall. You never quite know what you are getting yourself into.
I think it is for this reason you will find highway stopping points jammed with petrol/gas stations, mini-supermarkets, fast food joints and motels every twenty miles or so. These hubs of consumerism are known as services and offer a place to sleep, eat and take shelter from multiple car pile ups and icy roads.
When it comes to finding vegan treats in these services,
When people give me the old line, “I couldn’t go vegan because I would miss cheese too much” I say, “Boo fuckin’ hoo!”.
Then I count to ten and take a few deep breaths before explaining there is now a wealth of cheese options available. You can remove yourself from the suffering cycle associated with dairy industrialisation by choosing plant-based cheeses to grate, sprinkle and melt.
One such product is the glorious Daiya. I have experienced this delightful, cruelty-free cheese during my numerous trips to the USA. Daiya is made from fermented cassava root and I could only hope to taste it whenever I found myself Stateside… until now.
Amy's vegan macaroni and cheeze
Whole Foods Market in Kensington, London shocked me senseless by selling me a fabulous box of frozen macaroni and Daiya. To my knowledge, this Amy’s product isn’t available anywhere else in the UK. If you know otherwise, please educate this FGV.
While I wait for your postcards to come flooding in, I am happy to share a photo of the ridiculously-lovely meal Josh cobbled together around the macaroni.
I don’t celebrate Christmas but I do celebrate eating delicious, cruelty-free food.
Whole Foods Kensington has nut roasts covered
On a recent trip to the Whole Foods Market location in London I spied with my vegan eye a vegan sign near the back wall of the lower ground level. On closer inspection, I discovered a display containing every single ingredient you would require to bake a mouthwatering nut roast. From the yeast extract to the egg replacer, everything needed to create a turkey-free main was on display. What’s more, Whole Food Markets were supplying a recipe card for vegan nut roast with instructions on how to use all of the fine ingredients on show.
I know it is easy to be cynical about Whole Foods exploiting one of their target demographics, but it is still a thrill to see this in a large supermarket in central London. So whether you want to celebrate Christmas without meat or (like me) just want to eat continually in non-believing style, Whole Foods Market on Kensington High Street can hook you up.
Whole Food Markets The Barkers Building
London, W8 5SE UK
Nearest Underground station: High Street Kensington
The new Flamed Steak crisps by Kettle - vegan glory!
Fried, mashed or even steamed. I cannot get enough of this most common of common root vegetables. Some people have joked it must be my Irish heritage compelling me to eat barrels of the stuff. I’m not sure there is much truth in that statement (but definitely some thinly-veiled racism), but I do know that potato makes me a happy FGV.
I was avoiding the sudden and spectacular snow shower in London yesterday when my eyes fell upon a glorious sight… a new flavour of potato crisp. Taking note of my aforementioned attraction to pommes de terre, you can imagine the length of time it took for said product to reach my mouth.
