I love showing you all the samples and PR gifts I get sent… and not just because I love to gloat!
I share because I want to let you know about some of the great vegan products available. My list of gifts always includes products from independent vegan businesses, so it give me a chance to support them with a little bit of exposure.
Check out my haul from this week and let me know in the comments if you have tried/enjoyed anything listed.
Be sure to click the multiple images on some of the posts, otherwise you might miss some sweet treats.
Extra note: to see all my latest food photos, follow me on Instagram.
To mark World Vegan Day on 1 November, 2020, popular vegan food brands The Fry Family Food Co. and Oumph! have announced their official sponsorship of Veganuary 2021.
International Marketing Director at Fry’s and Veganuary ambassador of six years, Tammy Fry, will be spearheading the month-long challenge on behalf of the brands to encourage people worldwide to try a plant-based diet for January and beyond.
“As a lifelong herbivore, mother and business leader in the plant-based food space, Veganuary is an opportunity to share my years of knowledge and support people regardless of where they’re at in their plant-based food journey,” said Tammy Fry.
She continued, “Fry’s has a history of leading plant-based initiatives, like Veganuary, in South Africa. This is the first year we’ve been able to step up as a global sponsor and I cannot wait to work with our sister brand Oumph!, to use our collective reach and resources to help drive record participation around the world to make plant-based eating the new normal.”
The Veganuary pledge works by signing up participants who will receive 31 days of recipes, shopping guides, meal plans, restaurant suggestions, social media community groups, and more to take them on a taste adventure full of new flavour experiences, as well as a kinder way of eating.
The LikeMeat brand will also be amplifying the initiative in Germany.
“We are excited that Fry’s and Oumph! are part of a growing movement, joining forces as our official sponsor brands of the Veganuary 2021 campaign to inspire people to move to a plant-based diet as a way of protecting the environment, preventing animal suffering, and improving the health of millions of people”, says Ria Rehberg, CEO of Veganuary.
I received a gorgeous delivery a few days ago and wanted to share the news with you all.
Magpye is based in Newcastle and their pies are all about being as ethical as they can. Of course they are all vegan, while they stay clear of palm oil and send everything out in eco-friendly packaging.
Here are a few of the vegan pies I was gifted by Magpye.
The team behind Rudy’s Vegan Diner in Camden have cooked up a new surprise for you.
A vegan butcher!
London’s first permanent vegan butcher is opening its doors on World Vegan Day 2020. To celebrate the grand opening, Rudy’s will be giving away 100 pounds of free baycon on the day (November 1, 2020) to celebrate their new bricks and mortar spot on Islington Upper Street.
Wowsers.
Every customer gets a half pound of baycon until it lasts, so get that date in your diary.
Rudy’s Vegan Butcher will be selling homemade pastrami, dirty burger patties, cheeze sauce, and chilli-non-carne. You can recreate the specials you’ve had at Rudy’s and fill your cart with a rack of jack, lobstah salad, meatballs, chick’n lover pate, or shredded BBQ pulled porc.
Make sure you get your Christmas roast turk’y, too!
And if you are not located in London, you can order from the Rudy’s Vegan Butcher selection online as they deliver nationwide. All online orders made on World Vegan Day include a free pack of baycon.
You will be able to pile your online cart high with homemade scramble v-egg, black puddin’, and soysage patties.
Perhaps their new charcuterie selection will be to your liking. Smoked ham, salami de Provence, pepperoni, and of course the pastrami.
Anna & Arthur’s is a home-run business in Northern Ireland specialising in vegan-friendly baking mixes.
They kindly sent some to my house to try and just look how great this cake turned out!
I take no credit as my partner Gil did all the hard work. He said it was super simple to use and the cake baked to perfection.
I can attest to its deliciousness. I worked hard at eating it. That counts for something, right?
The other mixes I was sent were pancakes and seitan. The pancakes were flawless and we served them with vegan butter and fruit syrup. At time of writing we were yet to try the seitan mix.
These really are handy kits for people just getting into vegan baking.
I think the Anna & Arthur’s kits would be a great gift for a vegan in your life, no matter if they are well-seasoned like me or new to the lifestyle.
You can order directly from Anna & Arthur’s by messaging them via Facebook or Instagram. UK and Ireland shipping costs between £3 and £6 depending on how many packets you want!
My new boots were a present from Will’s Vegan Shoes. This eco-friendly and socially-minded footwear and fashion company is selling some of the best footwear I have worn.
And I’m not just saying that because I got these for free.
The boots feel supportive, strong, and flexible. I could walk for miles. Now that I live in Sheffield, I really need to get out on some country walks and these are going to be perfect.
Will’s is a fantastic place to shop online for vegan footwear. Not only are the styles comfortable, but Will’s has also morphed into one of the most sustainable and ethical fashion brands on the planet.
Workers making the footwear are looked after because they are employed under European Union employment, discrimination, and health & safety law.
The online store operates a plastic free, carbon neutral supply chain using sustainable materials. And there is a free returns and exchange policy for 365 days.
Follow Will’s Vegan Store on Instagram and head on over to the online shop to see their massive range of footwear and accessories.
I love getting products to try (for free!) and I love sharing them with you, too.
Take a look at this batch of goodies I was sent by vegan companies and PR people this week.
If you want to see anything more about the products, click through to the original Instagram posts as I have all the tags so you can visit the relevant pages.
Some of the posts have multiple images, so be sure to make use of the little arrows to see them all.
All of this for £18 (£1 of which is donated to Friend Farm Animal Sanctuary) means it is sensational value. Everything is artisan and we had enough for four sandwiches.
The packing was very thoughtful with recyclable plastic bags used, as well as cardboard and glass.
The DIY kit comes with an instruction card featuring a QR code that takes you to an instructional video online.
All the guesswork is taken out of the preparation!
Here is a shot of Gil watching the video before he made the sandwiches.
And the finished product?
Check it out.
I got this DIY Reuben kit as a gift but the truth is I wouldn’t even hesitate to buy this again legitimately for myself. If I had the money, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it.
Other DIY kits from Rudy’s include Broccoli Mac ‘n’ Cheeze, Dirty Burger, and Grilled Chick’n Caesar Burger.
Visit the online shop for Rudy’s right now to order your own kit.
And be sure to follow Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner on Instagram for all their latest news, including a new deli opening in Islington very soon!
What would you say if I told you I want to give you four bottles of the creamiest, most-delicious vegan salad dressings on the market?
And what would you say about getting these bottles, made by one of the longest-lasting and best vegan companies on the planet, for free?
Fat Gay Vegan (that’s me!) has teamed up with Follow Your Heart to give one lucky person a delivery of four of the most sought-after vegan products in the UK.
But before I tell you what you can win and how you can win it, let me tell you a little bit about Follow Your Heart.
Follow Your Heart began in 1970 when founders Michael, Bob, Paul, and Spencer opened a seven-seat soup, salad, and sandwich counter in the back of a small natural food store in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California.
What followed has been nothing short of a runaway success story that now sees a huge range of Follow Your Heart vegan products sold in countries all over the globe. These products include plant-based cheeses and the legendary Vegenaise, the mayo alternative that paved the way for countless imitators.
In 2020, Follow Your Heart is a vibrant, ethical company invested in looking after the people working with them, while they also fight the good fight for animals and the environment.
They are decent people making amazing vegan products!
OK. Enough of the love fest. On with the winning.
One winner will be randomly chosen to receive a delivery of the following salad dressings:
High Omega Vegan Bleu Cheese Dressing
High Omega Vegan Ranch Salad Dressing
Vegan Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
Organic Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing
These salad dressings are versatile and perfect for any time of the year. Dress your favourite greens or salads, drizzle over roast potatoes, or even use them as a dip for your favourite vegan wings or nuggets.
That’s it. One follower will be chosen at random to receive a delivery of the salad dressings.
The competition will close at midnight UK time on Monday October 19, 2020. Winner must be UK mainland resident. I’ll contact the winner and Follow Your Heart will arrange delivery of the prize.
A few months ago, I blogged about a fabulous soap initiative being used to raise funds for crucial charities and social support groups.
Well, it’s time for an update.
The wonderful Bars of Hope is back with another fundraising drive this month, this time raising money for G(end)er Swap through the sale of their vegan-friendly bars of soap.
G(end)er Swap is a UK based LGBTIQ+ clothing outreach initiative and community interest company that supports gender non-conforming individuals to access clothes and community. They are a charitable organisation that creates safe(r) spaces for the queer community to access clothes through community pop-ups, bespoke workshops and exhibitions. G(end)er Swap mainly operates in England and Wales.
Bars of Hope is donating 50% of money raised from the sales of their gorgeous vegan-friendly soaps in October to G(end)er Swap.
I’ve been using their soaps for the past three months or so and they are not only great quality but they smell amazing, too. They are lovingly handcrafted and carefully packed for shipping around the country.
When shopping via their Etsy store, you can choose from:
Translucent Lavender Soap with Fresh Lavender buds & Vitamin E Oil
