It's Monday and I'm not looking forward to my first full week back at work since Christmas. I started the day with a bowl of 'Shredded Wheat' bitesize and a cup of tea. When I went shopping yesterday I picked up a pot of houmous which I haven't had in a while and thought it would make a nice change to my lunch. I chopped up some carrot sticks and added some celery. The packet of dried apple crisps replaced ordinary crisps which I don't normally like eating a lot of, surprisingly on the back of the packet under allergens it says 'may contain milk' but I wasn't too bothered with that as I think they just add it as a precaution. I have noticed this on a lot of vegan products.
I got home after 7pm so I wanted to prepare something quick and easy so salad was a no brainer. I used mixed salad leaves and some Olive tofu chopped into cubes with a sprinkle of mixed seeds and a drizzle of olive oil. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
I hope I'm not boring you too much with these posts, I don't want to start sounding too samey. Please feel free to comment about any of the products I have used and I also welcome any recommendations.
Another late start to the day due to a bad nights sleep so my meals consisted of breakfast and dinner. I often skip lunch when I'm out shopping and I don't feel hungry. This morning I had a bowl of 'Oat so Simple' porridge and my usual (can't start the day without) a cup of tea.
Dinner was simple but a little more creative. I only needed three ingredients but it was tasty and filling, I call it mock duck hoisin noodles. Some vegans and vegetarians don't like eating anything that represents meat but it doesn't bother me because as I see it meat doesn't even represent meat anyway... it's all processed crap.
The mock duck is from 'Holland & Barrett' and can be eaten hot in stir Fry's or cold in salads, personally I think it's probably better hot. Blue dragon are pretty good with their vegan sauces and their whole wheat noodles are vegan too.
For a little treat after dinner with my cup of tea I had a caramel rice square which I bought in Asda today.
This morning I woke up late (as I often do at the weekend) and poured myself a healthy bowl of muesli by 'Dorset Cereals' accompanied by a cup of tea.
As I woke up late I didn't really have time to fit lunch in so I just opted for a piece of fruit to keep me going until dinner time. I had planned to go shopping to get some ingredients for a more healthier dinner but I took a look at the weather and decided to make do with what I already had even if it wasn't quite as healthy. Tomorrow however is meant to be nice so I can stop being lazy and get out of the house. The weather doesn't normally bother me but for some reason it did today.
After wading through the cupboards for a good 15 minutes I finally came up with something to do for dinner. Classic jacket potato with beans and cheese (I used another slice of 'Violife' for that). I didn't have any big spuds (shock horror) so I used a couple of small ones. I threw in some 'Fry's' chicken style nuggets for good measure (another first) and loved them.
As I've mentioned before, I'm not the most creative cook, most things seems to turn out looking or tasting hideous if it's not a microwave meal so apologies for my next photo which looks like a pile of slop on the plate but surprisingly tasted quite nice as jacket spuds go.
The day started with my usual weekday morning breakfast, bite sized shredded wheat with almond milk. I was up early for my first day back at work after the Christmas break and these usually set me up for the day.
For lunch I packed a 'Marks & Spencer' Carrot salad, a packet of 'Ten Acre' cheese and onion crisps (bought from 'Planet Organic') and a peach. Marks do some great vegan salads and this one has become one of my favourites.
I finished work at a reasonable time today so I spent a little more time preparing dinner... well experimenting with making sweet potato fries for the first time which is actually quite creative for me. I made the fries to accompany my cheese burger made with a 'Vegideli' quarter pounder by 'VBites and 'Violife' cheese slices both from 'Holland and Barrett'.
I used a 'Morrisons' own brand ready sliced bun and put some egg free mayo on the side. the fries were sliced, covered in olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and ground black pepper and placed in the oven for 30 minutes (pre-heated oven 180 degrees celsius). I washed my meal down with a bottle of 'Fentimans' cherrytree cola. I don't like to drink too much coke so I have it as a treat on occasions.
Now I don't normally have a desert everyday but as I had just stocked up on ice cream, I couldn't resist, so I went the whole hog with sauces too. 'Swedish Glace' vanilla ice cream is just divine (from Waitrose) and its even scrummier with 'Lyles squeezy syrup', strawberry and butterscotch flavour.
Firstly I would like to wish my readers a happy and healthy new year... I hope you're not feeling worse for wear after the celebrations last night. Fortunately for me I gave up alcohol two years ago, mainly for health reasons so that's one less thing I have to worry about during 'Veganuary'. I started my day with two slices of peanut butter on toast made with 'Hovis' white medium bread, 'Pure' sunflower spread and 'Whole Earth' smooth peanut butter washed down with a cup of tea made with almond milk. 'Hovis' are pretty good at stating their bread is vegan but always check the packaging.
I totally skipped lunch as I had been snacking on 'Pringles' (Original flavour) and as you know once you pop you just can't stop. I had dinner a little earlier than usual but I was looking forward to trying a new product, the 'Cheatin' Celebration Roast by 'VBites' which I picked up from 'Holland and Barrett'.
Roast potatoes, carrots and parsnips accompanied the fake meat products drizzled with 'Bisto' gravy (the one in the red pot). I only used half of what was in the box as there was enough for two meals so I put the other half back in the freezer for another day. It wasn't amazing but it was ok and I liked it.
For desert I had some lovely strawberries topped with lashings of 'Alpro' soya, single cream. I would like to try and consume more fruits during 'Veganuary' as I very rarely eat them. I have apples mainly for lunch at work but that's about it so I'm looking forward to the change.
So that's how my first day of Veganuary went. I'm now off to make myself another cup of tea and settle down in front of the T.V before the shock of returning back to work tomorrow really hits me.
I have spent the last couple of days stocking up on vegan items ready for the start of Veganuary tomorrow and I think I'm just about sorted. I don't get much time to prepare meals from scratch so I've opted for products that are quick and easy and that I can just bung in the oven when I get home from a busy day at work. Most of it is vegan junk food so if you you are looking for healthy this probably isn't the place for you. During the whole of January I will be blogging about the meals I eat and the products I use and hope that I don't slip up anywhere.
Until now I have maintained a mainly vegetarian diet with some vegan products thrown in. I already use almond milk on vegan cereal's and in tea and I use dairy free butter and spreads. Already being vegetarian has it's advantages as now all I have to do is cut out the dairy consumption and that's not something I tend to eat a lot of anyway although I must admit I had gone a little down hill during Christmas eating dairy chocolate.
While I'm here I'd like to say how excited I am to finally find 'Vegan Life' magazine in a branch of WH Smiths... I had been looking for it in the shops for ages after I had bought a one off copy at Vegfest. I think my quiet New Years Eve is going to be spent having a good old read.
Lastly I would like to share with you a great find, and if you are lucky you might still be able to get your hands on a copy in 'The Works.' It's the fabulous book by Ms. Cupcake called 'The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town' (bargain price of £5.99) which I intend on actually using. I'm terrible with cook books of any kind... I buy them but then they sit gathering dust but I definitely must make the effort with this one after sampling one of Ms. Cupcakes delicious cupcakes in her Brixton shop this year (one of my highlights).
Enjoy your New Year celebrations and I'll see you on the other side.
Now that I have caught your attention, I'd like to tell you about an exciting new project that caught mine. I respect anyone who strives to work towards making their ambitions and dreams a reality because believe me I've tried most of my life... some end up a success, some don't but at the end of the day I know that I have done everything possible to try and make it happen. Now I'm all for helping to make dreams come true so when I came across the lovely Esther Bertram on twitter and discovered her Kickstarter campaign I knew that I had to do my bit to help. Even though I had played just a small part I knew that it could make a big difference.
Esther is a fiction author among other things and she is currently looking for people to back her new and original multi-dimentional augmented reality novel. In order to do this she has set up a Kickstarter profile where the public can contribute to the publishing process of her book 'November Fox'. What has this got to do with the genre of my blog I hear you say!!! well Esther is herself a Vegan and has incorporated veganism into her book by making the lead character 'November Fox' a vegan orphan rock star and soul warrior.
I will leave it to Esther's press release to explain it all a little better:
Sussex Author E.E. Bertram Promotes Veganism to the next gen with her Pioneering Augmented Reality Novel “November Fox”.
Esther Bertram is a visionary fiction author incorporating new technology and media to enhance the experience of reading a classic book while promoting the ethical treatment of animals.
After more than a decade of touring as a professional singer/songwriter, Esther has spent the last 3 years living in the serenity of East Sussex England to create her unique media-fusion novel “November Fox,” an all ages “Alice in Wonderland” for the modern reader.
The story is a fantasy sci/fi about a Vegan orphan rock star, “November Fox” who travels through dimensions of consciousness to unlock the mysteries of the cube.
This ground-breaking book incorporates new media and is a pioneering way of story telling on the leading edge of what is possible when you combine technology with art, plus it brings the topic of the humane treatment of animals to the next generation.
In the hardback version of the book, every few chapters, viewers are invited to use their phones or tablets to explore another dimension of the story with AUGMENTED REALITY, entering into “Lucitopia”. From here readers can witness the world of November Fox from “The Architect’s” perspective. He is the philosophical other-worldly being who narrates the journey. They also gain access to links connected to the story, such as vegetarian and vegan friendly sites and forums where readers can interact with each other as well with the book’s characters. There is also a connected music project since the protagonist, November Fox, is a rock star. This is a fully immersive reader experience.
In Esther’s own words, “As a creative artist, I like to inspire people to challenge their mental models of reality. Technology enables me to create layers within layers to aptly represent the depths of our own consciousness, and take the fantasy world to new heights.”
“I have been vegetarian for 26 years and Vegan for 15 years. I wished to find a way to bring more awareness of the ethical treatment of animals to the next generation. I decided to meet them on their level of media saturation and technology fascination so I created a reader immersive experience. This way, I have been able to weave my strong principals of veganism into the fantasy story in a non pushy way to plant seeds of awareness into young minds, to allow them to at least consider the possibility of not eating animals.”
Esther is currently running a Kickstarter crowd funding campaign to enable the book’s release. If you wish to know more or to support Esther’s campaign please visit http://www.November-fox.com
So here I am calling upon you to help Esther get the result she so desperately wants. You can pledge a minimum of £1 but with a pledge of £3 you can earn yourself 'Time to Shine' digital EP as a reward. There are bigger and better rewards the higher you pledge. Esther needs £10,000 to reach her goal by November 30th 2014 but if this doesn't happen your money will not be deducted from your account and the project won't be able to go ahead.
Personally I think it sounds like fun and I would love to see this book published. I have a 15 year old niece that loves books and will definitely be interested in reading this one. The great thing about it is that it is suitable for all ages and will be a great gift for anyone with a love of fiction with a cosmic twist. All the information you need to know about 'November Fox' can be found on Esther's Kickstarter page HERE and you can follow her on twitter @EstherBertram and tell her what you think about her idea. You can also check out Esther's website www.eebertram.com
Lastly I would like to wish Esther all the best for her amazing project and I hope it's a huge success.
So here's the third and final instalment of my Vegfest posts. Apart from having a fab time checking out all the awesome stalls and stuffing my face I spent some time in the cinema area where they were showing some interesting documentaries. I had planned to watch one in-particular and that was 'Cowspiracy.' I had already watched the trailer a couple of weeks prior to the event and when I heard that they were showing it I wanted to make sure I got a good seat.
'Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret' is most definitely a must see, minus the distressing parts which I just couldn't bring myself to watch. You may want to look away during a certain part when they are talking about back-yard farming if you get around to watching it. Kip Andersen, co-producer/director of the film documentary does a heap load of research and discovers that animal agriculture is the leading cause of global warming and most of the other things that are going wrong in the world such as rainforest destruction and species extinction. It's incredibly eye-opening. Watch the trailer provided below.
I managed to catch a couple of comedians, one being the quirky and a little crazy Harriet Kemsley (look her up) and Vegan Smythe who writes and performs songs related to Veganism. He earned himself a standing ovation at the end of his very amusing set.
I should have made an effort to catch some more entertainment and talks, I suppose this is where a weekend ticket would have been useful. It's worth attending both days just to fit everything in. Overall I had a great time and can't wait to attend another 'Vegfest' event in the near future.
