16″ vegan hickory BBQ pizza reality madness

Looking back on my colourful childhood, I can vividly recall one of my favourite recurring memories.

My family didn’t have a lot of very much at all, so our recreation time was filled with cheap and cheerful activities that posed minimal threat to our meagre budget. We lived near the beach, so we went to the beach. Drive-ins were still big news Down Under, so my mother used to sneak me past the payment booth in the trunk to save money. And inexpensive store-bought pizzas were eaten in front of VHS screenings of low-budget horror films that were highly-inappropriate for people of my age.

So many of my formative hours were spent in front of titles such as The Burning, I Spit On Your Grave and Blood Beach while stuffing my face with greasy pizza. Such fond memories.

Flash forward a few decades and I am in London with no drive-in and no beach. I still adore gore flicks but the store-bought pizza has been a bit more troublesome to recreate for vegan me. Sure, Karma Free look after the herbivores but they are a long way from my house. Thankfully, I have discovered a pizza joint just 12 minutes away by car that serves a range of piping hot vegan pizzas! You know the rest…

Strap yourself in for a tale of epic eating proportions. I purchased two 16 inch vegan pizzas from Village Pizza and settled in for a night in West London in front of a bad horror movie.

Village Pizza of Twickenham

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Let me hear that, let me near that

You all know about inSpiral, right? Yeah you do! It is London’s very own superstar vegan cafe and bar that is a veritable powerhouse producer of gorgeous vegan snacks.

Everything about inSpiral makes me love them. They care about the planet. They support musicians. They are active community members. They make some of the best healthy snacks on the planet. They do it all.

I recently got my chubby, queer fingers on a few packets of their new recipe granola bites and I now have another reason to sing their praises.

Loveberry granola bites by inSpiral

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Cheesy vegan stuffed crust deep dish pizza

My friend Vegan Ronin (who cooked me one of the best meals of my life) has done me a massive favour. She has written a marvelous and comprehensive review of our trip to the vegetarian pizza parlour known as Karma Free Pizza.

Wanna know about greedy vegans stuffing their faces with vegan pizza? Read on!

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Hounslow hunger games

Like I do now and again, I am standing aside for Josh to fill you in on some of our latest eating adventures.

Anyone ever been near Heathrow airport and found themselves hankering for some curry? Tell us all about it, Josh…

Ashna of Hounslow

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Mairzy doats and dozy doats

I think I might consume too much soy. I’m not one of those soy naysayers who decry it as evil but as a vegan, it is very often my go to food.

Soy (or soya in the UK… I can never get used to that) is in so many of the delicious products I consume. Soy meats, soy cheeses and soy milk are the staples of my eating plan. Now, I’m not a health food specialist or qualified nutritionist but I do understand that all foods should be consumed in moderation.

With that in mind, I have taken to swapping out the soy milk in my breakfast for the occasional splash of oat milk. Provamel have come up with a high quality oat milk that is making my breakfast routine a little more varied.

Provamel oat milk porridge with Sweet Freedom & seeds

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Cocina cruda es mi amor

If you read my ramblings with any regularity, you’ll have noticed I don’t follow the healthiest of eating regimes. Fats, sugars and a whole lot of carbs are usually hanging around my plate. I know what healthy eating is, but there are some habits that are a bit more than a struggle to break.

However, these less than desirable (but tasty) eating habits are increasingly being challenged by the delicious raw food I have been coming into contact with lately. inSpiral Lounge of Camden have me well and truly hooked with their raw crackers, granola bites and kale chips. Saf are also magicians of raw snacks of which I increasingly can’t get enough.

Then of course there is the relatively-new vegan raw restaurant in Madrid that has captured my heart, belly and taste buds. Oh my!

Crucina

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Lifetime guarantee

In just 12 months London Vegan Potluck has become somewhat of an institution. The first Wednesday of every month has been turned into a glorious sea of vegan food delights.

But we don’t just stuff ourselves silly and stroke our bellies. Sometimes London vegans like to give back. In that spirit, we turned the most recent London Vegan Potluck into a fundraiser for Animal Aid. Sponsored by the wonderful Tupperware Man, the event raised approximately £150 for the charity through a raffle and partial sales donations.

(The Tupperware Man can also be found selling his wares this week as part of the super camp Dixie’s Tupperware Party at the Soho Theatre)

Potluck attendee Charlotte and her photographer companion Alicia have kindly offered to report back on the wonderful event. Take it away, friends…

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Como la flor(e)

If you had to choose one city to eat in for the rest of your days, where would you settle down? Imagine for a moment that you couldn’t leave the city limits of your chosen locale… I wonder which vegan-friendly city you would choose. My choice is a no-brainer.

Los Angeles.

Not only does this supercity house some of my favourite vegan eateries in the world, it no doubt possesses the largest number of vegan individuals anywhere on the planet. Lots of vegan people equates a stunning range of plant-based restaurants that are truly world class. Native Foods CafeVeggie Grill. Cruzer Pizza. Rahel. Real Food Daily. Seed. The list goes on and on.

And then there’s Flore Vegan. Oh my.

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Edgware of glory

There is something comforting about the international chain of franchised vegan restaurants known as Loving Hut. They are simply everywhere. I have eaten in LH locations in Brisbane, Australia and Madrid, Spain. Outlets have popped up in Philadelphia, Nice and Xalapa. When you are in an unknown city and feeling a bit challenged in your quest to find a vegan meal, Loving Hut can really be a welcome sight.

The finest Loving Hut I have eaten in is definitely the restaurant located in Edgware in London, UK. Yes, it still comes with the sometimes intrusive Ching Hai information espoused in all Loving Hut locations but their menu is by far the most expansive and impressive I have seen.

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