Veganuary Day 6

It's day 6 and so far so good. Veganuary is proving to be a great experience not only with finding new and interesting products that I haven't tried before but I've come to realise that it's not actually been as hard as I thought it would be... obviously I have a little way to go yet so it's probably best to ask me when it's ended. However there has been some degree of difficulty when finding products. This is often due to labelling. Some ingredients lists are pretty straight forward and easy to understand but I must admit, the items that I'm not sure about get put back on the shelf.

The day (as usual) started with a bowl of Shredded wheat bitesize. I also had a few 'Hobnobs' with my cup of tea because I was feeling a bit greedy. Lunch consisted of a 'Marks & Spencer' giant cous cous salad, salt and vinegar 'Ten Acre' crisps, a peanut '9 bar' (my favourite snack bar) and an apple.

As my mouth and one side of my face was left numb after a harrowing dentist appointment it was a while before I could manage any food and when I did, I didn't want anything hard to chew. I was glad that I had picked up a can of soup from planet organic the other day (I think I've seen them in Asda too). 

This hearty, French country vegetable soup by Amy's kitchen was a life saver. Very tasty and packed with beans and a mix of other vegetables. I really enjoyed it considering that I had tried 'Amy's kitchen' products before and not liked them. I'll definitely be buying more soup in other flavours.

Vegan Product of the Week: Lazy Day Foods - Free From Ginger Tiffin

A soft Belgian dark chocolate tiffin with warming stem ginger and ginger biscuit pieces (£2 in Waitrose), ideal for the winter season. It is free from gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, hydrogenated fats and is labelled vegan. You can tell that a lot of care and consideration has gone into making and packaging this product. Allergens are highlighted in bold on the ingredients list and the palm oil used is RSPO certified (ethically sourced). 

'Lazy Day Foods' were founded by food scientists Dr. Sally Beattie and Emer Bustard, both have an interest in food intolerances. Sally herself has several food intolerances and her young son is allergic to dairy. They state on the box that they bake their goods in a dedicated gluten free bakery and they have no gluten, wheat, dairy or eggs on site and they don't use nuts on the premises either.

I love the melty gooeyness of this product but it's something that I would only buy as an occasional treat. I find myself eating these very slowly as they are quite rich but enjoyable none the less. I couldn't gorge myself on these as I would probably feel very sick afterwards. I would like to try out some of the other products in this range especially the cookies if I can find them.

And the Winner is...

As you may of read in one of my previous review posts about 'Rice Dream' I have been on the look-out for the ideal milk alternative. Over the past few weeks I have tried and tested three more cartons and have finally reached my verdict. I shall start with 'Oatly' oat drink. This milk is made with oats, Swedish oats to be precise and contains a nutritional balance of protein, carbs, fibers and healthy fat. Although it states on the website that you can use this drink in the same way as "old school milk," when I poured it into tea it curdled quite badly. Unfortunately I decided to tip my tea away and give in to cows milk yet again. This was disappointing because it tastes great on cereal.

The next time I went shopping I decided to go for 'Good Hemp' which is described as "creamy, nutty and tastes delicious" on their website. Correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't recognise any of these qualities. I didn't like the taste of it very much on both my cereal and in my tea. However,it's a good source of Omega 3 but I won't be purchasing it again.

So now this brings me to my third and final choice and the winner of my taste buds... 'Almond Breeze' Original by 'Blue Diamond Almonds.' 'Almond Breeze' is a natural source of calcium and is low in saturated fat. It's great on cereal but it will take a little more getting used to in tea but it works well and doesn't curdle. I will be sticking to this brand in the future.

All three of these milk alternatives are soya free and can be purchase in 'Tesco' where they provide a wide range of brands to choose from, Do you have a favourite?

Review: Goody GOOD STUFF - Cola Breeze

More brands like this one are starting to cater for Vegetarians because we need sweets like this too. The iconic cola bottle sweets are now gelatin free and tasting as good as ever. These soft chewy sweets covered in a tangy sugar are incredibly difficult to stop eating after you have opened the packet. I loved them and I think anyone else with a sweet tooth like me would love them too.

Goody GOOD STUFF's Cola Breeze is dairy free, gluten free, fat free and contains all natural flavours. I bought them in my local branch of Waitrose for £1 but if you go on the sweet manufacturers website you can locate a stockist closest to you using their store-finder.

I for one are looking forward to tracking down other packs in this range. Any recommendations?