vegan

Overeat with friends

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A recent trip to Loving Hut Archway resulted in a mammoth amount of vegan food being ordered. Seriously. So much food.

I was hanging out with Ange and James of glorious ethical boutique The Third Estate and we were all hungry. Even though we all knew we would be unable to show any form of restraint, we boarded the 390 bus in the direction of north London suburb, Archway. We ate everything.

James has spent the most part of the time I have known him raving about the vegan duck rolls at this Loving Hut location. He had convinced me my life was a devalued experience without them. I succumbed and it was the first thing we ordered. Old Jimbo might just be onto something. The build-you-own pancake rolls were tasty.

But the food didn’t stop there.

For some reason we ordered three types of crispy vegan chicken, a sizzling dish of vegan beef, side of rice, a vegan chicken burger with fries and a vegan fish burger. We all had to pull together as a team to chomp through the mound of deliciousness placed before us. Vegans united in greed.

Check it out below.

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Tacos sin carne

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I can’t believe I forgot to tell you about this wonderful organic food cafe and grocery store Josh and I visited in Mexico City.

Origenes Orgánicos is an extremely pleasant restaurant chain with two locations in Mexico City. The Colonia Roma setting fed us during our recent vacation and we enjoyed it so much, we went back for seconds.

A sign of a decent eatery is how well their menu is marked when it comes to vegan choices and how confidently the servers talk about those options. Origenes passed with flying colours on both counts. Our server even told us that the chipotle mayo accompanying our our complimentary bread basket was soy-based.

I found the prices to be a little on the steep side for Mexico (although inline with what I’m used to paying elsewhere), but you can’t argue with the quality, taste and freshness of what we were served. Check out the photos below and make sure to pay Origenes a visit when you are next in the city (c’mon, you know you wanna go!).

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Ice cream defeated me

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The Vegan Ice Cream Wars have left many casualties throughout a long and tumultuous history. Sadly, the FGV himself (that’s me!) is the latest in a long line of the fallen.

I should learn restraint, but I don’t have an off switch when presented with a full tub of chocolate ice cream. I keep eating until there is nothing.

Yi is the newish kid on the block when it comes to dairy free dessert and I was keen to get my chubby paws around a tub. The container I purchased in Whole Foods Market was a substantial price and came with the warning usually associated with the ingredient xylitol. You know, too much will result in frequent trips to the toilet.

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Dull

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Meals on flights seem to belong in two camps. Either they are awful or they manage to be just OK. My recent British Airways flight back from Mexico City to London involved food of the fairly awful variety.

My expectations were high after the decent dishes I was served on my way over to Distrito Federal, but the reality was disappointing.

The main meal was an uninspired and unenjoyable mix of rice and vegetables, a cup featured barely ripe fruit pieces while the salad was overfilled with slimy mushrooms.

I didn’t even attempt to eat the dessert as it looked like it was made with dairy milk and was not labelled as vegan. Actually, my entire meal was labelled vegetarian as opposed to the vegetarian/vegan label on Josh’s meal. This is why we pack out own snacks, right plant eaters?

The only thing worse than the meal was the movie I watched during the trip. If you get a kick out of dreadful films, watch Austenland.

Check out the photos below and see all my inflight meal posts here.

Uninspired
Uninspired
Slimy salad
Slimy salad
Unripe fruit
Unripe fruit
Dairy dessert?
Dairy dessert?
The film was the perfect match for the meal
The film was the perfect match for the meal

Who in London

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Exciting news for pop music fans. Properly exciting news.

Remember when I raved about vegan pop performer Betty Who? You don’t? Go here and here to remind yourself of how I lost my heart to Betty Who.

betty-who-press-2013-650

Now that you are up to speed, hold on to your cruelty-free hats as I drop the latest.

Betty Who is performing in London on May 27th, 2014!

Fresh from topping the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart with her hit Somebody Loves You, the Australian singer has locked in a date to perform in east London. The venue appears to be rather intimate so I strongly suggest being quick when tickets go on sale this Wednesday (March 5th, 2014). You can buy here.

See you at the gig. I’ll be the FGV in the front row.

Chicken and rainbows

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My Instagram account got a good workout today. I spent a large part of the day in north London and managed to snap a few photos of things that caught my attention.

Here are two of my favourite things from Saturday March 1, 2014.

Plate of vegan chicken at Loving Hut, Archway – deep fried balls with sweet & sour sauce, smoked chicken and salty chicken
Super cute rainbow cardigan in ethical cotton made by Komodo – seen in The Third Estate boutique, Kentish Town

 Follow me on Instagram!

Breakfast was lovely

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So much has been going on since I returned home from Mexico City. It has been a whirlwind of activity.

But certainly one of the highlights for me since arriving back in the UK was hosting the mammoth London Vegan Breakfast Club in conjunction with Shambhu’s Vegan Catering.

40 people packed into the kitchen and canteen known as The Food Chain in King’s Cross to enjoy one incredibly satisfying morning meal. The plates were piled high with vegan breakfast delights such as fried bread, baked beans, sausages, greens and hash browns. Attendees guzzled record amounts of fairtrade coffee, tea and orange juice while the organic olive leaf tea was a smash hit, too.

Many thanks to all who came along. It was a wonderful community event.

Huge thanks to the companies involved in feeding the masses. Please click through to follow these people on Twitter and let them know how much it means that they support the vegan community: Fry’s Vegetarian (sausages), Mr. Organic (baked beans), Soyfoods (tofu), Vx (discount vouchers) and Mirabilia Olive Leaf Tea (tea, obviously!).

Finally, enjoy the photos below!

Nishma of Shambhu's serving Soyfoods tofu and prepping Mr Organic baked beans
Nishma of Shambhu’s serving Soyfoods tofu & prepping Mr Organic baked beans
We served a LOT of sausages on the day
We served a LOT of sausages on the day
The scramble was a hit
The scramble was a hit

Taco flavoured kisses

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I have left Mexico behind (for now) but vegan versions of the cuisine are alive and well in our London apartment.

Josh conjured up this gorgeous dish you see below, reminiscent of a meal we gobbled in an organic restaurant in Mexico City. It was rather simple to make, looked fabulous and most of all, tasted like one hundred million pesos.

Recreating this dish is simple.

Sesame smoked tofu tacos topped with salsa verde, avocado & diced red pepper

Thinly slice a block of smoked tofu before searing it in a heavy pan. Lightly steam corn tortillas (can be warmed in the pan). Place the tofu with filling of your choice (we added BBQ sauce and vegan cheese) inside the tortillas and fold over. Arrange on a plate and cover with salsa verde. Dress with slices of avocado and diced red peppers.

That’s it!

The tortillas and salsa were from the Cool Chile Co. and the tofu was Taifun brand.

Get looser

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Whenever I tell people I am going to Mexico or I say Mexico is the best or I proclaim that I wanna live in Mexico City, they more often than not say the same thing.

They say, “It isn’t very good for vegans down/over/up there”.

Well world, I have news for you. Mexico City has one vegan enterprise that places it squarely on the map as one of the best destinations on the planet for plant eaters.

Get ready to be jealous. Get ready to imitate the hell out of this. Just get ready.

Los Loosers.

Los Loosers is as simple as it is staggeringly-impressive. People make vegan food. People bag up vegan food. People deliver vegan food via fixed gear bicycle. In all of my travels in search of stomach satisfaction, I have rarely been so delighted, charmed and fulfilled by a food provider.

The menu is shared via social media between 9am and 10am every morning, Monday through Friday. Customers then message Los Loosers back expressing a desire for the food and a time is given for delivery. All the customer has to do then is be at the agreed spot at the agreed time to exchange money for food.

And it isn’t a lot of money. At time of posting, the menu item of the day will set you back just MX$65. That is about US$4.90 or GBP£3 for either a jumbo homemade sandwich or a bag of pastries. Including delivery!

Check out some of the items I ate during my recent vacation in Mexico City.

Delivery is made
Delivery is made

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On demand

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I used to think I knew what my favourite pastime was… and then I got an email from vegan sweet food producer Scoff asking if I would like to sample their creations. Now my favourite pastime is eating Scoff treats.

Based in Brixton, this new vegan sweet treats provider is changing the game for cruelty-free eating in the UK forever. Their truffles and fudge are decadent, delicious and irresistible. I haven’t often experienced melt in your mouth moments, but the Scoff vanilla fudge took me to that place instantly.

The company does sell at local markets (check the website for locations), but the real thrill is their mailing service. Why leave the comfort of your house when you can have dark chocolate and Amaretto truffles delivered straight to your door? No need to get wet and cold by exposing yourself to the elements. Scoff will post bags of creamy ginger fudge directly to you.

Almost as nice as the food is the care and attention given to making the food look lovely. The fudge bags feature the super cute Scoff logo while the smart truffle boxes are held closed by ribbons. Obviously perfect for gift giving.

Did you hear I like getting gifts? 😉

Gorgeous presentation
Gorgeous presentation
Dark chocolate & Amaretto truffles
Dark chocolate & Amaretto truffles
Gorgeous fudge
Gorgeous fudge
Coconut truffles
Coconut truffles
Scoff of Brixton
Scoff of Brixton

Scoff is the future. Order online now!

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