WEEK OF GIVEAWAYS! Celebrate the Great British Bean and National Vegetarian Week!

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We are giving away prizes all week to celebrate UK National Vegetarian Week.  All prizes are still up for grabs.  Competitions close at the very last minute of 26th May 2014.

Ten Acre Hand Cooked Crisps

Love Raw Bars
Viva! T-Shirt & Cookbook

Today a Norfolk based company, passionate about British beans have a large box of beans, peas and quinoa to GIVEAWAY!

Founded by three friends, Nick Saltmarsh, Josiah Meldrum and William Hudson, who share a belief in good, sustainable and local food after successfully running a trial project Great British Beans to stimulate and assess the demand for indigenous pulses.  The formed Hodmedods (meaning hedgehog) and are reviving long forgotten beans.  They also now have added British Quinoa to their range.  As you know, countries in South America who have been eating quinoa (a seed rich in protein..eaten in place of grain) as a staple food for generations, have seen the prices rise considerably due to the growing demand of richer countries in the West who have caught on to the seeds culinary versatility.  Growing it locally can only be a good thing for all.

“An old Suffolk boy recently told us the secret behind these many meanings – the true meaning of hodmedod is simply something round or curled up, hence snails, hedgehogs, curls, ammonites and even conceivably beans and peas”.


Enter here for your chance to get this bean-y box into your kitchen!


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A WEEK OF GIVEAWAYS! Celebrating UK National Vegetarian Week. T-Shirts & A Cookbook Today!!

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The week of Giveaways continue! 
We are celebrating UK National Vegetarian Week.  Prizes to be won EVERYDAY until 26th May.  All competitions close at the same time so there is still time to enter to win.

 Viva! join the party today to give 2 lucky readers the chance to win a gorgeous T Shirt or a fabulous cookbook!

Viva! are a UK based charity who campaign to end of animal suffering, to protect the planet and cease the killing of farmed animals. Viva’s! director Juliet Gellatley and her dedicated team and volunteers are on a mission to make the world a kinder, saner place.  Juliet says, 
“The most powerful action you can take to end animal suffering, improve your health, protect the environment and bring fairness to the world’s poor is to stop eating meat, dairy and fish’. 
Through research, campaigns, information and support they are helping to do just that.  They also have an online shop so you kind find all you need to support an environmentally aware and kinder lifestyle.  Food & Wine, Clothing & Accessories, Books, Beauty, Gifts and Homewares.  And even publications to help support your greener, cleaner life.  

Thanks to the nice people at Viva! you can get a chance to win this vibrant, vivacious vegan cookbook – straight from the hearts of Viva!’s flour-dusted kitchenistas.  100 simple vegan recipes with sections devoted to;
Kid-friendly recipes
Entertaining non-vegetarian friends
Eating solo and how to freeze your food to save time and money

And just to whet your appetite chapters include: Feel the Pulse; Tofu Secrets; Souperb; Lunch-out; A bit on the Side; The Main Event; Sweet Thing and more!  

Do you want it? Then enter below.

Or you can win a Viva! T-Shirt.  Choose from a man’s T or a cute Woman’s Vest.

Viva! has a website packed full of valuable resources, recipes and nutrition advice.  Even their own online magazine.  Be sure to check it out.  

UK Residents Only.  Good luck!   Be sure to sign up to the newsletter and come back tomorrow for another great giveaway.

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A WEEK OF GIVEAWAYS!! UK National Vegetarian Week. Today A HUGE Box Of Hand Cooked Crisps from Ten Acre

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It is all happening this week at A Vegan Obsession’s HQ! We are celebrating UK National Vegetarian Week everyday with great vegetarian/vegan goodies to GIVEAWAY!

You can win with Rebel Kitchen Ovivo Antioxidant Drink Tibits Love Raw (click on the links to enter). ALL competitions are ending last thing on 26th May 2014. We still have many more prizes coming up in the next few days. So sign up for the newsletter to make sure you don’t miss a trick!



I am super excited and a wee bit nostalgic about today’s giveaway. I have always been partial to a crisp. Especially cheese and onion, which I would layer between slices of thickly buttered white bread or a crusty roll and then use both hands to press the crisps down to create a layer of cheesy, salty and very onion-y shards. It was my sandwich of choice. I’d add slabs of cheese too at times, or some chunky pickle. But when I became vegan, all those moons ago I gave up this delicacy and got used to the idea that my days with cheese and onion crisps where to be placed in the vaults of time. Can you imagine how I felt when I opened a bag of Ten Acre Crisps (crisps where no dairy lurks) and crunched down? It was like welcoming an old friend back into my arms! Yes, a tear was shed. And, then I scoffed the whole bag and took all the flavours around to my friends to share and test the others. This task was indeed happy making. As I am sure this competition will be to one VERY LUCKY winner of a WHOLE box featuring bags of 8 flavours (there is even a How Chicken Soup Saved The Day flavour!). Indulgence never tasted so good!

When Bombay Got Spicy
The Story Of When The Cheese Met The Onion
How Chicken Soup Saved The Day
The Amazing Adventures Of Salt & Vinegar
When Hickory Got BBQ’D
The Day Sweet & Sour Became Friends
Secret Of Mr Salt
When The Chili Got Sweet

All these could be YOURS! Trust me, these WILL win friends and influence people.




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A WEEK OF GIVEAWAYS! Celebrate UK National Vegetarian Week. Today we have Beauty Without Cruelty Cosmetics!

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 The fun continues.  We are celebrating UK National Vegetarian Week by giving away goodies EVERYDAY 19-26th May!

Have you entered the competitions for the other awesome prizes? We’ve had cookbooks, raw bars, delicious flavoured coconut milks and more!
We are so excited about today’s giveaway from ethical cosmetics company Beauty Without Cruelty.  They are giving away matching sets of lips and nails to FIVE lucky WINNERS!!!  You have seven cool colours to choose from. I’m a bit partial to the Reckless Ruby!  Have a look at their totally vegan and cruelty free range here. Each prize is worth nearly £18!!

UK Residents only.

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A WEEK OF GIVEAWAYS! UK National Vegetarian Week Celebrations. Two Giveaways On Offer Today!

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We’ve got not one but TWO give ways today in our WHOLE WEEK of Giveways to celebrate UK National Vegetarian Week.  We had Rebel Kitchen Choco Mylk drinks on Monday, Tuesday  a sumptuous cookbook (click on the links to enter), today we have a duo of prizes for you.

Today’s Giveaways

One lucky winner will get to drink themselves healthy with the power of olive leaves, a potent antioxidant.  Two bottles are up for grabs so someone can sample it’s benefits for 2 weeks.  OVIVO Daily Antioxidant Plus Sure to put a spring in your step!

Next we have LoveRaw’s organic bars.  Totally raw and organic super food bars.  2 flavours to give way to one winner. GLUTEN, WHEAT and DAIRY free.  No added sugar or soy.

Enter both below.  Good luck!

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A Week Of Giveaways Celebrating National Vegetarian Week - Tibits At Home Cook Book

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Day 2 of our celebration of UK National Vegetarian Week.  Thanks for joining us!   Did you enter yesterdays competition for Rebel Kitchen Mylks?  Great.  

So today we have a cookbook to giveaway.  Everyone loves a cookbook and this book is true food porn.  Tibits is a modern vegetarian restaurant just off Regent Street in London.  I had the pleasure to review a dining experience there last year.   As with most good food hubs, beloved signature dishes develop and public demand for recipes grow.  So Tibits published a cookbook on their 10th anniversary called tibits At Home.  The hard backed book is seasonally compartmentalised, and full of beautiful photographs with simple recipes to try.  One of the staff told me that all the photos in the book were taken in the homes of regular diners in Switzerland.  Today, thanks to the generosity of tibits we have a copy to give away to one lucky winner!  It could be you.  Just enter below.

Good luck!!  Remember to sign up for our newsletter.  We are giving away prizes EVERYDAY this week!

Open to UK residents only.

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A WEEK OF GIVEAWAYS! National Vegetarian Week 2014. Celebrate With Us. Win A Box Rebel Kitchen Mylks!

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Happy UK National Vegetarian Week!! 

Our week of giveaways is finally here!  Make sure you subscribe to the blog to get all the updates.

First up is Rebel Kitchen.  A rather nice bunch of people who make exciting dairy-free and totally yummy ‘mylk’ drinks which are nourishing, affordable and very delicious.  Good for everyone.  They use fair trade ingredients.  Spring Water. Coconut milk. Date Nectar and natural ingredients, like orange oil, bananas or matcha, which make up the various flavour varieties in the range. 

We have a box of both ranges which are lactose/dairy free and suitable for vegans and vegetarians.  
‘Kids’ flavours are Choco, Banana & my personal favourite, Orange Choc Mylk. 
‘Grown Ups’ can indulge too with Matcha, Choco & Chai. Being healthy made easy and oh so good.

If you want to get your hands on a box of all six flavours then enter below and then cross your fingers!


Enter here and remember to sign up for the blog newsletters.  Come back tomorrow for our next giveaway!


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Latest From VegFest. It’s A Mock Meat Fest!

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Haven for carnivores at Europe’s biggest veggie festival on Bristol Harbourside

One of Europe’s prime foodie event VegfestUK Bristol will feature a number of high-quality meatless meat products that will have even committed carnivores not only enjoying the new textures and sensations that meat-free products provide, but also maybe even being tempted to think about replacing some of their favourite animal products with plant-based alternatives.
The festival, which enters its 12th year on May 23rd 24th 25th at the Amphitheatre and is set to attract around 20,000 visitors, aims to showcase the crème de la crème of following a plant-based lifestyle. ‘Meat’ plays centre stage in the myriad of products on show, and this year the UK public have the chance of sampling the following brands of plant-based meats at this event:
 
Bute Island Foods are the producers of their “Vegandeli” range of mock meats which include 7 delicious varieties of meat-free continental sausages, from original/spicy/smoked/Italian gourmet Mortadela, Chorizo sausages, Mock Ham, Gourmet Morcilla - all highly versatile besides being very tasty, giving the meat-based counterparts a good run for their money.
Gillie Food are one of the Oriental Vegan and Vegetarian meat-substitute alternatives food manufacturers & importers in UK. Their products range are based in Textured Soya Protein and Wheat Protein, which is a nutritious member of the protein family, is entirely meat free. Their products are NON-MSG with no GMO nor preservatives.
Grano e Vita (a.k.a Muscolo di Grano) offers superb plant-based meats based on wheat and legumes that have a nutritional value similar to meat while remaining totally plant-based. It’s the ideal food for those who wish to eat a healthy and nourishing meal and still enjoy all the flavours of the Mediterranean cuisine.
Vegusto produces a range of meat free alternatives made from only the highest quality ingredients. Options include: farmhouse sausages, Wiener sausages, festive roasts, schnitzels, etc. They’ll be serving freshly made hot dogs at the show alongside their impressive array of meats.
 
The show organisers added, “It’s an absolute pleasure to witness the rise of these top-notch plant-based meat brands in the upward trend of healthier, more eco-friendly and sustainable living, given the huge toll that livestock farming has on the environment and animal products have on our health. Arguably the biggest obstacle for many in going veggie or eating healthily is the sumptuous taste of their meat. Those heroic producers of vegan meat substitutes have really made plant-based living both convenient and more than palatable for many souls out there, and we’re honoured to showcase these products to the public.”
 
These ‘meats’ come in conjunction with many vegan milks, cheeses, chocolates and other substitutes for animal produce which can be found at the 140 stalls including 5 all day bars at the show – and with numerous special offers available, make sure to bring plenty of cash and shopping bags with you! If you wish to learn more about plant-based lifestyles, don’t miss the dozens of talks, cookery demos, workshops and short films.
 
There’s still time for a variety of entertainment from kids cookery classes, hoola hoops, comedians and musicians during the day. Focus shifts to headline music in the evenings with Boney M ft. Maizie Williams, Gwen Dickey’s Rose Royce, Abba Gold, Peter Hook and the Light, Ruts DC, Goldblade, Zion Train and Black Roots gracing the Amphitheatre stage.
 
Admission from 11am-6pm on Saturday and Sunday is £3 (on the gate) and free for kids under 16. Full admission info and advance tickets for the evening events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday is available at www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk/ticket-information, with a BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE offer running till April 30th.

All press materials are available here:

  • Event programme www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk/programme
  • Press releases www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk/press-releases
  • Posters and flyers www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk/posters-and-flyers
  • Banners www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk/banners
  • Facebook posters www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk/facebook-posters

VegfestUK Bristol is sponsored by: Fry’s Vegetarian UK, Yaoh, JASON Natural Care, Bute Island Foods, Nakd Wholefoods, Lavera, Suma Wholefoods, Living Naturally, Koko Dairy Free, Vegfund, Out of Hand and Viva!

VegfestUK organise 2 other events this year – London on September 27th 28th at Olympia West Halls, and Brighton on March 29th 30th. The Brighton event attracted a large crowd of over 5,000 visitors, and the London event is set to draw around 10,000 people. All products displayed at VegfestUK events are 100% plant-based. Seewww.vegfest.co.uk or email [email protected] for full details.
 



This blog post is a guest post by VegFest

M.O.B In Brooklyn. Avant-garde Pizza. A Tale Of Two Cities.

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I flew to New York last year.  It was a long held dream of mine to visit the Big Apple.  The iconic city definitely did not disappoint.  I wrote about all my food adventures in NYC, but I left out this one.  I wanted to visit Paris and see the other MOB and bring you both of them.

M.O.B. was born in the mind of Cyril Aouizerate, over a 20 year period, while he was studying the works of Maimonides, a Spanish born Jewish philosopher, on the health benefits of various combinations of vegetables, fruits and spices. At that time he tells himself that someday he will try to make this philosophical text an ambitious project in bringing men together, regardless of their beliefs. And for their desire to, and belief of eating together.  After finding the appropriate place for him to build his restaurant, Cyril founded M.O.B (Maimonides of Brooklyn).  
It is set away from the hipster areas of Williamsburg and up and coming Bushwick. It gave me a good excuse to further explore Brooklyn. The neighbourhood circles a huge greenspace.  Prospect Park may not have the fame of Central Park in Manhattan, but I actually preferred it as a place to get away from the craziness of the city.

I visited in the afternoon.  Hungry from sightseeing and map reading.  A cute Irish guy offered me a warm welcome, sat me down and brought me a tray of oven baked kale chips whilst I read the menu.  Whilst it was a bit quiet inside, the lunch rush not yet taken hold, I thought the atmosphere was easy.  I chose an MOB. Well, I couldn’t visit and not imbibe their namesake.  The Iron Man. A generous topping of kale, shiitake mushrooms and a gorgeous horseradish aioli.  All vegan.  All gluten free.  The base is made mostly of chickpea flour.



The MOB is baked in ovenware formed to the shape of the Brooklyn Bridge (nice touch).  It was delicious.  Generously topped and the base, though not like pizza, it had an almost cakey texture but it was good and it soaked up the aioli and the juices from the sauté perfectly.  Filling too!  I would definitely recommend eating at MOB when you visit Brooklyn.  If you come to NYC, Brooklyn is a must.   It has a totally different feel.  Less frenetic than its island neighbour.  I felt I could breathe here.


MOB Brooklyn
525 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217, United States

Paris!!  I was lucky enough to be in Paris a few weeks ago. I found MOB located in a great little spot right beside the Seine, in a building dedicated to design.  However, not all things are created equal and when I asked for a gluten free MOB I was told, ‘this is Paris’, we do not do the same as Brooklyn. Disappointing.  
However I was made to feel a little better by their eye catching ‘plastic animals in nightshade’. Yes, I am at times, easily pleased. 
I had to go elsewhere to find vegan AND gluten free food.

MOB Cite De La Mode
34 Quai d’Austerlitz

Paris, France