vegan

Amazing vegan restaurant in Mexico

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If you’ve been in the same room as me during the past few years, you will have probably heard me talking about how incredible the vegan food scene is in Mexico City. I never stop banging on about it.

As if I wasn’t impressed enough with the food scene in this mega city, Vegan INC had to go and take things to a whole new level tonight.

Situated in a posh shopping mall in the upmarket area of Polanco, Vegan INC is a casual vegan dining restaurant with two locations in the northern city of Monterrey. This Mexico City location has been open for a few months with a second outlet set to open later this year.

The food is absolutely exquisite. Take a look at some of the dishes we devoured.

My first time at this gorgeous #vegan restaurant in Mexico City called Vegan INC. @veganinc_cdmx

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Fabulous beetroot tartar with hummus and avocado at @veganinc_cdmx #mexicocity #cdmx #vegan

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Incredible BBQ bean burger with kale chips at @veganinc_cdmx in Mexico City. #vegan

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Burned broccoli platter at @veganinc_cdmx in Polanco, Mexico City. #vegan

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Delicious #vegan mac n cheese at @veganinc_cdmx in Mexico City. #cdmx

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Cheesy potatoes at @veganinc_cdmx in Polanco, Mexico City. Delicious! #vegan #cdmx

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on


Out table was overflowing with out of this world plant-based cuisine.

And in an FGV first, we were too full for cake so I have definite plans to head back to Vegan INC as soon as possible to try out the impressive dessert case.

Get to Mexico. Dine with Vegan INC. Follow them on Instagram.

Revisiting an old favourite

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Longtime readers of my blog will know how much I love the northern city of Leeds. Last night Josh and I found ourselves staying with a friend as we passed through overnight on our way to Vegfest Scotland. What better way to spend our 12-hour stopover then getting delicious vegan takeaway from one of my favourite Leeds restaurants?

The Grove Café has an extensive vegan menu which I’ve talked about previously. Last night we went a bit overboard and ordered the following: vegan cheeseburger and fries, naan bread, onion bhajis, mushroom rice, basmati rice, saag aloo, tarka dahl, chana masala and pasanda curry. Phew! Check out the photo from my Instagram feed which shows the amazing spread that we enjoyed:

Visit The Grove Café online

Extra note: this photo originally appeared in my Instagram feed.

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Brand new menu from one of the best

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It’s no secret that I adore Make No Bones in Sheffield.

You only have to check out my previous post to see why I blathered on about it being one of the best places to get vegan cuisine in the UK. The food really is outstanding.

But it gets better.

Take a cheeky look at the brand new menu being launched by Make No Bones this week. I’m desperate for all of this!

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How do I even begin singing the praises of this menu?

Beer battered fish and chips? Pumpkin pie brownie with whipped cream? Philly cheesesteak? There is too much good stuff going on with this menu. I think it would cause me genuine distress to be forced to choose. I want it all.

This menu is going live THIS WEEK so get along and fill up.

Tell them FGV loves them and their food forever. xx

Follow Make No Bones on Instagram.

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Top ten at VegfestUK London

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Are you heading to the huge VegfestUK London this weekend?

I’ve put together a list of ten things you CANNOT miss during this two day event.

Please be warned that some of this stuff is going to be in huge demand and is likely to sell out extremely quickly. Don’t waste time if you are keen on any of these things.

10.

Heart of Cake – stand number CN3 Saturday only.

Fabulous cakes, handcrafted to perfection. So pretty and tasty. Make a special attempt to get some macarons.

Macaron heaven over here 💘 #vegan #veganmacarons #vegfest2016 #aquafaba

A photo posted by Heart of Cake (@heartofcakelondon) on


9.

Ms. Cupcake – stand number CAT6

Of course this legendary business has a sweet stand, but also look out for their hot food outlet selling tasty savoury delights.

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8.

Tofurky – stand number WB4

This sandwich fridge photo almost broke the vegan Internet when I featured it a few weeks ago and I’m thrilled to say it is BACK for VegfestUK this weekend.

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7.

All Glamour No Guts – stand number WA6

These gorgeous t-shirts are on special offer for £10 or you can get the design on a tote bag for just £5. I love this design! They also have lots of other products and jewellery to get your hands on.

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on


6.

Just Fab – stand numbers CE4 CE8

Don’t waste time trying to get your hands on these cheesy pizza dough balls. Go there first up or risk missing out. Just Fab make some of the best food in the country and they have plenty for you snap up during this show.


5.

Follow Your Heart  – stand number WE10

One of my favourite brands on the planet are sampling their new cheese slices, soon to be launched in the UK. Get a sneak preview this weekend!


4.

Mouse’s Favourite – stand number CN3 Sunday only

Don’t act like you don’t know! This cheese company is one of the finest you will find anywhere. If their camembert doesn’t sell out in about an hour, I’ll eat my shoe. Yes, my shoe is vegan.

What?! Just bought #vegan Camembert from @mousesfavourite – so good!

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on


3.

Essential Vegan – stand number CAT8

Go no further if you are looking to enjoy one of the best seitan burgers ever created. An FGV favourite.

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2.

Temple of Seitan – stand number CAT17

This is number two on my list but could easily be number one. Actually, let’s call it joint first place on my top ten list. If you don’t think food is an emotional experience, you should watch my tears as I look at this photo.

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1.

Sgaia’s Vegan Mheats – stand number CG6

Of course this is number one. I know these mheat and cheeze boards are available in extremely limited numbers, so you had better run when the doors open. These are going to fly out in no time at all.

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That’s it. That’s my top ten things not to miss at VegfestUK London in 2016.

How many were already on your radar? Anything that is new to you? Anyone going to try and eat and see all of that?

I hope you all have a wonderful time. Sadly I won’t be at the show as  am flying out today for the vegan cruise through the South of France. If you want to find out how you can join me for the next 100% vegan cruise happening over New Year’s Eve, click here.

Also, I was nominated in the VegfestUK Awards for the best blogger/info website category. The awards winners are announced at 3pm Saturday so please go along and exact revenge if I don’t win. LOL!

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People for the unethical treatment of people

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I’m torn.

Do I write ANOTHER blog post about People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA) following ANOTHER appalling social media post by the group or do I ignore it?

Does using my platform to denounce and shine a light on the sexist and anti-women tactics employed by PeTA make a difference? Or am I just giving them more attention?

All I know is that it doesn’t feel right to sit around and say nothing. Not responding to this latest social media atrocity makes me feel culpable.

Therefore, I thoroughly denounce and reject this recent tweet by PeTA.


As you can see, PeTA has taken the despicable phrase spoken by Donald Trump as part of his description of how he physically treats women and they’ve attempted to turn it into a humorous slogan for rescuing cats.

This is a crass and insensitive campaign by PeTA.

By attempting to appropriate the vile language of sexual assault for the sake of making a joke statement about animal protection, PeTA has trivialised the plight of women.

Language surrounding sexual assault and harassment of women IS NOT theirs to reappropriate for another cause, no matter how noble that cause is deemed. Their actions are unethical, inconsiderate, ill-advised and show absolutely no respect for survivors of sexual assault.

The act of raising awareness for animal protection does not need to borrow language associated with human forms of oppression, nor does it have the right to do so.

PeTA knowingly uses these tactics to be provocative with zero concern shown for how their actions affect real people. They do not seem to understand or care that their actions are part of a broader problem.

The animal rights organisation has erased women from the situation, only to replace them with cats. They are showing no regard for the gravity of sexual assault, instead reducing it to a punchline meme to grab cheap and quick attention for their campaign.

Animal rights defenders need to do better when it comes to campaigning ethically. PeTA are amongst the worst offenders when it comes to humiliating, erasing and ridiculing people in the name of animal protection. It needs to end.

Women are under attack globally, both physically and institutionally. PeTA should accept that they have a responsibility to not only stop contributing to the subjugation of women, but to also work towards redressing it actively.

I sigh heavily in closing. How do we reach them? PeTA‘s actions are not in my name and I must make that heard. It’s the very least I can do.

Please tweet your concerns to PeTA.

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London vegan café burgled

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Horrible news but we can help.

Universally-adored Black Cat Café of Hackney was broken into last night and burgled. Followers of the vegan eatery were startled this morning when the café posted the following photo to social media.

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I don’t need to say how upset all of the Black Cat co-op members are following this incident. They pour their heart and souls into making the café not just one of the best vegan places to eat on the planet, but also a vital hub that supports their community.

They give opportunities to independent chefs. They sell vegan groceries. They allow space for a veg box scheme for local residents. They raise money for charities. Heck, they even let me host my annual Day of the Dead dinner in their space.

To put it simply, London is a better city thanks to Black Cat and their tireless commitment to doing better for animals and people.

To show them how much we love and support them, I have set up a JustGiving page in order to help get them back on their feet as soon as possible.

Some of the expenses they could use our help with include:

  • repairing front door
  • replacing stolen cash
  • replacing or repairing stolen till system
  • covering lost revenue due to the café being closed on the busiest day of the week

As you can see, this is going to be a very expensive ordeal for Black Cat. Yes, some of the expenses might be covered by insurance but as we all know this can take a long time to be sorted.

This is about taking action now. We need to get this money to Black Cat as soon as possible. We want them to feel supported by their community, just as they have supported us for years.

Please give what you can and help the campaign by sharing widely.

I have set the target at £1,000 but any extra money raised over the target will be given to Black Cat to help them with any other expenses related to improving the space. When £1,000 is reached, Josh and I will pay Black Cat with our own money in order to get it to them urgently. We will claim this cash back from the JustGiving funds once the campaign is over, while donating any extra to the café.

Click here to donate now.

Alpro pushing animal consumption

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There are poorly thought out marketing campaigns and then there is this hot mess by Alpro.

Tweet number one:

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And when vegans lost their collective mind over the above message:

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Both screenshots were taken from the Alpro Twitter account on Thursday October 13, 2016.

So it would appear that Alpro would like us to view this tweet as a mis-step. A slip of the Twitter tongue.

You know, we all tweet shit we later regret and I think it is reasonable to give even large corporations the benefit of the doubt. There are real people running social media accounts and mistakes can happen.

However…

The view that people should eat meat and dairy in order to have a healthy body is not just a Twitter faux pas made by a social media intern, it is the whole basis of a healthy eating plan being marketed by Alpro to health professionals via their website.

Yes, Alpro are promoting the 2/3 to 1/3 ratio eating idea by sending a detailed desktop flip chart to anyone who considers themselves a health professional in order for them to use in consultations with patients or clients.

I cannot duplicate the content of The Smarter Solution to Eating Well toolkit here as I do not own the copyright but I can tell you the guide is made in line with Live Well for LIFE, a World Wildlife Fund UK initiative that boasts healthy eating combined with sustainable choices. Yep, meat is apparently now a sustainable choice for the planet.

The eating guide instructs the health professional and their clients several times that eating well is not about giving up meat and dairy and how that should not be the goal.

I understand that eating small amounts of meat and/or dairy won’t kill you or necessarily lead to instant ill health. I know lots of meat eaters who have lived long and what would appear to be health-filled lives. I am also for mainstream companies explaining to people who staunchly refuse to adopt vegan living how they can easily reduce meat and dairy intake.

However, I cannot get on board with a brand that produces exclusively vegan food promoting an eating plan that endorses AND RECOMMENDS eating meat and dairy. This Smarter Solution by Alpro explicitly states that cutting out animal products SHOULD NOT be the goal.

In addition, the eating plan guide completely ignores any mention of animal suffering and only briefly refers to environmental impacts of food choices. The connection between animal agriculture and environmental disaster is not explicitly made, or indeed even really suggested.

The series of ill-advised tweets are not stand alone mistakes, rather part of a broader campaign by Alpro that makes no mention of veganism while advising ‘health professionals’ to tell people to eat meat and dairy.

Not cool in my opinion.

Extra note: you can download the PDF of the eating plan by registering here. You just need to indicate what type of health professional you are. Simple as that! LOL.

Extra extra note: Alpro is owned by Danone, the largest dairy yoghurt company on the planet. Danone took over Alpro parent company WhiteWave in a deal announced July 2016.

Also!!!!!!

Some A-grade trolling by Oatly. Outstanding!

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Vegan pulled chicken

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After infuriating vegans with almost-vegan products, Linda McCartney Foods has now added a few completely plant-based items to its range.

One of these to hit UK supermarket shelves over the past month or so is the Vegetarian Pulled Chicken.

I thought I would post briefly so you can see what the packet looks like and also the simple meal idea we threw together last night.

Anyone feeling this new #vegan product from Linda McCartney?

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Video of my pulled #vegan chicken wraps tonight. Simple and quick!

A video posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on


Click on the video above to see how we put it together. Video is only 60 seconds and the real time process wasn’t much longer.

What do you think of this product? Have you tried? Were you impressed?

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Top pics of the week(ish)

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I know you don’t all follow my Instagram account and I hate the idea of you missing out, so here is a small collection of my favourite Instagram posts from the last week or so.

Enjoy!

Nothing doing…. except for 500ml of chocolate salted caramel Booja-Booja #vegan ice cream!

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

I really do love this #vegan cheese.

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

A bit of night time @ladygaga and a can of #vegan beer by @beavertownbeer

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Second time this week in @wearezizzi Chiswick. Look at that melted @mozzarisella !!!! #vegan

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Have you all seen these?! They are #vegan even though they have a vile bacon photo on the packet.

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on


I’ve been busy! Like anything you see?

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Crazy Bean in Great Bookham

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Guest post by Alison:

My husband and I moved to Great Bookham in Surrey about 5 years ago, and love it here. It’s close to some spectacular countryside, and about an hour on the train from London. Not a lot in this area for vegans, though. When we became vegan just over a year ago, we would do trips down to Brighton, or get on the train into London, just to get some decent food we hadn’t cooked ourselves. Now that has all changed…

Crazy Bean cafe/restaurant opened in Great Bookham a week ago. It has a fully vegan menu so there is nothing to worry about except ‘what do I feel like eating today?’ Crazy Bean also has a licence, so customers can have vegan beer or wine with dinner, and it is over the road from our local pub! We can’t believe our luck!

I have been to Crazy Bean about four times now, as they ‘unofficially’ opened a few days before the official opening. I have had a couple of lunches, and have been there with my husband for dinner, and with friends for lunch over the opening weekend. Every visit has been a success; the food has been varied and tasty, and the service has been friendly and welcoming. The lunchtime menu has items like sausage rolls and stuffed aubergine, and the evening meal we had there was a set menu: mushroom parfait, risotto balls, and apple crumble. It is so nice to go in for some lunch, and also get a soya latte! (Unheard of in Bookham before!)

Krissi and Rob run Crazy Bean; they are keeping it pretty simple for the time being, while they get established in the village, but this will probably change as time goes by. They are always incredibly hospitable. I know that many non-vegans have visited the place since it has opened, and everyone has been pleasantly surprised with the food. The last thing I was expecting was a vegan establishment opening here, and I couldn’t be happier!

Visit Crazy Bean online.

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