Epic Protein Powder Review & GIVEAWAY

June 12, 2015 by India Leigh 1 Comment

Epic Protein Powder Review. A Giveaway from Sprout Living.

Vegan, gluten free and processed sugar free protein powders. Truly healthy. No wolves in sheep’s clothing here!

Epic Protein Powder : With a pea protein base, these vegan, gluten free protein powders are a quite unique. They have a complete amino acid profiled (branch-chain amino acids) and are real food so they are easy to digest. There are lots of protein powders on the market and some of the cleanest seeming ones still have ingredients in them that I think unnecessary or are not actually very healthy. What I love about Epic Protein is the inclusion of nutrient rich and quite ‘new to the market’ unique ingredients. Each flavour in the range contains different ingredients.

The Chocolate Maca - has maca, an adoptoneginic herb that provides energy and hormone balance. Ceylon Cinnamon which has been shown to regulate blood sugar levels. Chocolate of course solves all problems (a view not yet backed by the FDA, but known by millions of us..right?!).

The Original - and it is original. It delivers phyto-chemicals and pre-biotics from Jerusalem Artichoke and Cranberry Seed. Sacha Inchi a superfood (mountain peanut) from South America known for it’s high Omega oils content. I’ve eaten these whole and they are good. A mix of powdery, crunchy and nutty. These new foods are being promoted in the West now and helping bring money to rural areas where the crop is grown. Let’s hope they stay fairly traded!

Vanilla Lucuma - as with all of the other organic protein flavours from Epic Protein, each serving has at least 19 grams of protein from all-plant sources. Totally vegan. Gluten free. Sweetened here by lucuma ‘Gold of the Incas’ a naturally sweet plant packed with beta carotene. The Vanilla bean sweetens it too. Also added is Baobab. A dry powder from the inside of a fruit of a tree native to Africa. High in Vitamin C.

Green Kingdom - as described by Epic a ‘potent blend of land and sea plant life’. Spirulina (a nutritional champion) Kale..we all know about kale now..right?! and Indian Moringa. Another superfood that is gaining in popularity. It is known as the ‘clarifier Tree’ Webmb.com says, “Moringa is used for “tired blood” (anemia); arthritis and other joint pain (rheumatism); asthma; cancer; constipation; diabetes; diarrhea; epilepsy; stomach pain; stomach and intestinal ulcers; intestinal spasms; headache; heart problems; high blood pressure; kidney stones; fluid retention; thyroid disorders; and bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infections”. Impressive. It is a cheap and easy plant to grow and a dense and important source of nutrients. All the ingredients are listed on the front, nice and clearly.

Initially, I found them a little sweet for my palate at first but this is only because I do not usually eat protein powder. All contain a touch of Himalayan Pink Salt to balance out the sweet and salty elements of our taste buds. I made a couple of smoothie with both the Chocolate Maca and the Vanilla Lucuma for a friend who is not usually the smoothie type and she loved them both. The powder is slightly gritty, a characteristic of all protein powders, but I think this one is silkier then most. You can purchase them in servings of between 1 - 69 so they are fantastic to take as sachets if you are going on a road trip and have little space in your bag. Or for taking to the gym or out for a run in your water bottle.

I think you will love them too. Which is why I wanted to give you a chance to try them for free. The lovely people at Sprout Living want that too. So together we are hosting a giveaway!

The are generously giving to one winner a 16 oz Chocolate Maca and samples of the Original, Vanilla Lucuma and the Green Kingdom. Together with a Sprout Living Blender Bottle shaker. The prize is worth over $40!

Entrants in the USA only. You have 14 days to enter beginning today. Scroll down to enter below. Good luck!!

Enter the giveaway here..

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nut Bars Giveaway from Knowing

April 7, 2015 by India Leigh 1 Comment

Knowing Nut Bars Giveaway

I was in Lassens, Echo Park (Los Angeles) the other day and spotted out the corner of my eye a guy handing out samplings of his wares. Ever curious, and a bit of a pig, I ditched the procuring of my salad ingredients and manoeuvred my way to his table of goodies. Upon enquiring if the little morsels of crumbly cake-y things were vegan and gluten free, the man said yes. There after I had my first taste of a Knowing Nut Bar. Insert HAPPY smiling icon here. I was expecting just another raw food bar..but oh no. They are a two layered bar, a crumbly topping on a stickier base. The coconut gave a biscuit texture and the flavours were sensational..the cinnamon coconut..wow the cinnamon just sang. The chocolate coconut was richly chocolatey. Somehow the flavours within each bar each managed to have a separate moment of glory. Delicious. Moreish!

I asked the guy (whose name I had now gathered was Nicholas) to tell me the story behind the name of the bars and why they decided to put all their energy into bringing another snack bar onto to market (though these are not just another snack bar. These are really ‘stand out’ bars).

Nicholas and his brother Alex, who work out of Los Angeles, are the owners of Knowing. Nick told me that perfecting the recipes has taken a ton of effort. ‘We’ve been working on various nut bars for years, trying different combinations of nuts and preparation techniques. We finally settled on using an amazing combo of cashew and coconuts as the base for all three Knowing bars. Knowing was the result of my brother and I having worked in restaurant kitchens, farmers markets, and our Dad’s kitchen while growing up and then seeing the food being sold in grocery stores’.

But why Knowing I asked? ‘Much of the time, there is a huge lack of understanding as to what people are actually eating. The Nutrition Facts can be helpful, but can also be misleading - it’s really important to know WHERE the calories, sugars, and fats are coming from to determine their actual nutritional value’.

The brothers’ main goal is making great tasting snacks from nutritious whole organic, whole foods. They just wanted to make the ingredients front page, so people know what they are consuming. To be honest, their nut bars taste so good that I forgot all about their great nutritional value. Over the years I have become used to the fact that vegan sweet treats can be very tasty AND good for you. So it comes as no surprise to me. But these bars taste like they should be ‘naughty’.

The bars 100% organic. Soy, dairy and grain free. Gluten free. Vegan. Knowing nut bars are currently available in Lassens, local Whole Foods as a part of their Local Forager Program, EarthBars in Southern California, a handful of independent grocery stores and cafes, online farmers markets like FarmBox and GoodEggs, as well as our website.

I was excited to tell you about the bars, so is Nick. So he decided he wanted us to run a giveaway. He’s offering 1 winner a box of the 3 flavour bags. I wish I could enter to win them! I can’t, obviously, but you can, if you live in America. Each flavour pack (3 bars in each) retails at around $3.99. So the winner gets 12 bars to chomp on, and share (if they can bear to!).

Scroll down to enter.

A pack of Knowing Bars wonderfully modelled by my handsome assistant.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Vegan Valentine Giveaway Party!

February 13, 2015 by India Leigh 9 Comments

Valentines Day, celebrated as a day for lovers since the 18th century in England. Nowadays everyone is in on the act and it seems to have evolved beyond romantic love to a day to scatter love everywhere.

To celebrate with you we have gathered a bunch of lovely vegan-friendly companies to help spread a little love this Valentines Day. We have a Valentine giveaway for you. All you have to do is click on the links below to enter.

We think that love should be for every day and not just Valentines so our give-away kicks off the day before Valentines, and the winners will all be picked out at random on 20th February. So that loving feeling will last way beyond the day of Valentine. Good luck. USA entrants only.

We have artisanal raw chocolate from Brooklyn based Fine & Raw

Gluten Free, Allergy Friendly Cosmetics from Red Apple Lipstick

Raw & Toasted coconut chips from Coconut Organics

Wonderful organic, natural vegan skin care from The Mad Hippie

A box of natural, sexy condoms for the boudoir from Sir Richard’s

A jar of something to add flavor to your kitchen creations.. we have Vegan Magic Bacon Grease

Last but not least for the love of dog…. kibble from V-Dog

An eclectic bunch of generous lovers from vegan companies we heart! Good luck!

Thanks for entering, and love and kisses to the generosity of all involved.

Happy love-filled Valentines Day…and everyday!

Vegan Magic Bacon Grease Giveaway

February 13, 2015 by India Leigh 10 Comments

Vegan substitutions never cease to amaze me and now (oh Lordy) we have Magic Vegan Bacon Grease. Made of coconut oil, soy protein, sea salt, maple syrup, pepper, onion, garlic, torula yeast and smoke flavors, the fat can be used to fry or bake and may even be eaten straight on toast. In fact, its creators have an entire Tumblr dedicated to the grease’s many uses in recipes ranging from collard greens to cookies, basically any application that would benefit from “smoky, rich, bacony” flavor.

The makers of Vegan Magic Bacon Grease (Chris and his supportive wife) say the products was “Born of necessity and mad science after 20 years of veganism, traveling and being taunted by rich local foods in places like Mexico and the American South - thus did Magic Vegan Bacon Grease come into the world, feet first. Southern Fried Greens? Check. Biscuits? Uh huh. Fried Peppers and Onions? Yup. Polenta? Tofu Scrambler? Gravy? Perogies? Got you covered. Can you put it on toast? You don’t even want to know.” The Facebook page even has a vegan bacon chocolate recipe!

He did not hail from a food background at all, Canadian born Chris was a world traveller who thrashed out DIY punk and metal music when ever he could. A vegan for 20 years he’s witnessed the rise and rise of vegan friendly food expanding out of the small independent health food stores into ‘every-day’ supermarkets. But he felt there was one thing missing that still just didn’t exist in vegan form. Chris said ‘I travel a lot, pretty far from home. Over time I got jealous of the rich smells of foods I could almost but not quite eat, from the food carts of Tijuana to the soul food joints of the American South. I came home from tour determined to crack the case. Throw in a leaning towards mad science, and Magic Vegan Bacon Grease came to be’. He decided to put just 24 jars for sale at his friends bakery in Toronto and it flew off the shelves and word started to spread. Well, the result was a patent was filed and Chris set to to create the best version he could of his product. He says, ‘Vegan or not, it’s an oil based compound, replicating a lard like consistency which makes things rich and well, super bacony. End of story’.

We’ve got a jar for one very lucky person to try!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Coconut Chips Giveaway from Coconut Organics

February 13, 2015 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

For those of you who have not tried coconut bacon, or crisp coconut chips doused in coconut sugar sweetened chocolate, stand to be amazed. This is healthy snacking gone wild! I cannot get enough of this stuff. Seriously, I’m sprinkling the smoky, dusty coconut bacon on everything! And the chocolate covered chips remind me of my school tuck shop treats of cornflake dipped in chocolate..but better, way, way better.

Coconut Organics coconut chips currently have three amazing flavours;

CocoBacon® vegan organic coconut bacon -

Wondering how it is made? Wonder no more. First Coconut Organics begin with thick, sweet organic coconut chips from mature coconuts then they lightly toast them. The toasted chips then get a generous dose of raw, coconut oil, to achieve the fatty satisfaction of bacon. Then, they apply a little bit of low-glycemic, coconut sugar to mirror the slight sweetness of bacon. Next they add some mineral rich Celtic Sea Salt, for the salty side of bacon. The savoury and smoky notes come from mesquite smoke flavor and their own secret spice blend. The result is the perfect, sweet, salty, smoky and crunchy, chewy thing going on!

Raw Chocolate Organic Coconut Chips

made with 100% raw cacao and diabetic friendly coconut sugar.

Toasted Organic Coconut Chips -

plain ole toasted coconut chips. Naked!

Great for snacking or topping for your potatoes, salad, stir fries. Sprinkle it on your breakfast cereal, porridge or pancakes. Lovely on your vegan yogurt. Add it to your home made ice-cream, top your donuts and cupcakes with the stuff, or just eat it right out of the packet!

Of course you want to try it. Enter the giveaway! One winner will receive the trio of flavours to snack on to their heart’s desire.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pana Chocolate. Raw. Vegan. Good. So Good!

August 27, 2014 by India Leigh 5 Comments

I’m crazy about this chocolate.

pana chocolate

I have to tell you about a new chocolate bar on the market. I’d go as far as to say the best I’ve EVER

tasted. Seriously.

Fair trade ingredients with the exception of the coconut oil.

Raw, sweetened with agave or coconut nectar and certified organic. VEGAN.

Their packaging is made from 100% recycled material. And even their foil wrapping is fully biodegrade

and inks are purely vegetable based.

Ten different flavours. The sour cherry. fig and wild orange, and coconut gogi berry are

ridiculously good. Well, they ALL are.

Made in Australia but can be shipped worldwide and stockists are also extensively

located throughout Europe and Australasia.

That’s all. Get some. Then tell me I’m right!

pana chocolate

New Vegan & Gluten Free Products Just Keep Rolling In

April 21, 2014 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

London Olympia was host to the Natural & Organics show last weekend. I went along to see what new products were being launched. Also, to just take in the atmosphere. When you get a gathering of people who are passionate about what they do, and care about their consumers AND the planet, the atmosphere is quite electric.

Held over three days Natural & Organic have zoned areas Beauty & Spa, Health, Living and Food. Primarily, my interest was in the FOOD but I did stroll though the other zones to see if anything caught my eye.

I thought I’d share some photo’s with you. I was heartened to see many of the Continental European, and American products I love to enjoy when I am travelling are beginning to make their way over here, together with great ‘home grown’ foods emerging.

There was a feast of exciting new chocolate, more coconut products than you can shake a stick at and a substantial amount of gluten free foods. All making it easier and tastier to be vegan and gluten free. The days of feeling like you are missing out are numbered (not that I do, research and persistance pays off in many ways).

Hodmedods
Chia Pod

Veganicity

Life Food

Ohso now have a sugar free version 63 calls

Apricot Kernel Butter from Sun & Seed. Extremely good for you and delicious.

A salad/cooking oil made from milk thistle. Milk thistle is a great detoxifyer and liver strengthener and cleanser. Erbology also had delicious no sugar sea buckthorn jam

My Award For Best New Vegan Chocolate - Goes to Pana Chocolate With quite a few flavour combinations, the chocolatier from Australia certain knows flavour! Soon to be in the UK.

Best Museli I’ve tasted. Made with raw vegetables. It has the perfect balance of sweet and crunch. Filling too! from Primrose Kitchen

Seitan made from spelt that SOME people with gluten sensitivities are able to tolerate. If you know you can then you’d enjoy these products. I cannot so I did not try them.

Gusto Kola. Sugar and artificial sweetener free. It is loaded with botanicals and actually tastes like cola. I was surprised!

Raw Ecstasy

Delicious cookies. Soon to be sugar free. Punku Quinoa cookies.

A (shy) Michelan Starred chef Chris Horridge is making his own range of sugar free, healthy vegan sorbets. The coconut wasabi ripple was INCREDIBLE! Yi

Delicious vegan cheese made from almonds. Soy free! Vegecheese

Food For Life are coming over from the US with their vegan and gluten free breads.

Look out for these new products. MANY of which will be in the large UK supermarkets. The big stores have caught on. Which of course is great but I am also wary of larger companies getting on the band wagon and touting foods as health foods but when you look at the label they are stuffed full of processed sugar, crappy fats and fillers. All the above are both delicious and healthy. The best combo!

Surely A ‘Must Do’ When In New York. Go Visit A Chocolate Factory [video clip]

December 18, 2013 by India Leigh 1 Comment

Not all chocolates are created equal. Not all raw chocolates cut the mustard so to speak. Fine & Raw does.

Tell you about Fine & Raw? OK.

“FINE & RAW was started in a notorious Williamsburg, Brooklyn artist loft by Daniel Sklaar. A nonsensical obsession with chocolate inspired Daniel to begin making small chocolate batches. He shared them with friends then started delivering them on his bicycle to small local purveyors. The stock was good - the purveyors wanted more”

The first slip of a morsel of F&R into my mouth occurred at the Williamsburg Brooklyn Flea foodie market named Smorgasburg (see what they did?!). Here I sampled a few morsels and became rather partial to their Sea Salt Chunky bar. I declare it is rich dark chocolate heaven with the perfect amount of sea salt to offset the subtle sweetness that lets the cacao shine. I loved it so much I tracked down the factory to the uber trendy Brooklyn district of Bushwick. The smell inside was insane. I inhaled so much and so deeply I nearly had to grab one of their brown paper bags to stop me hyperventilating!

If you are in Brooklyn I strongly suggest you get yourself over to the Fine & Raw HQ and meet these bean to bar makers. It is a fun thing to do and there are a few vegan cafes and even a vegan bar just around the corner. Brooklyn has a very different feel to Manhattan and Bushwick and nearby Williamsburg are a great place to shop, eat and hang out. Check out the graffiti around there, too.

Back to Fine & Raw…They source their beans from small sustainable farmers in countries like Columbia and Madagascar. They have a little cafe area where you can sip a hot drink, eat far too much chocolate (you can sample their amazing flavours of ‘bonbon’ ‘lucuma & vanilla’ and ‘blueberry’ ‘chipotle’ and even one with cacao nibs in, to name but a few), and watch the chocolate making shenanigans unfold before your eyes.

What makes this chocolate ‘raw’? Well, it means it is not heated above a certain temperature and so it mains it’s flavour profile and maintains it’s nutrients.

Fine & Raw

288 Seigel St, Brooklyn, NY 11206

RICE MICE Allergen Friendly Bite Sized Biscuits And Dairy Free Chocolate [product review]

June 13, 2013 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

I spied the cute packaging of Rice Mice at the Allergy & Free From Show, in London this past weekend. I’d been grazing (gorging) for hours and I was getting close to a self imposed food ‘time out’. So, these tiny, size of a 10p, biscuits were a perfect vegan morsel to test.

Listed as being 100% organic and free from all 14 EU recognised allergens (notably free from soy, milk, egg, peanut, gluten) and marketed towards children. Based on rice instead of cows milk. With no preservatives or ingredients with a number or you can’t pronounce. Rice Mice cookies come in 3 flavours. Apple & Cinnamon. Vanilla - Lemon, and good ole chocolate.

I took some packets home to taste test. On Sunday morning, whilst staying at my mother’s house, it is a ritual that I wake up before my mum, take her up tea in bed, then trot back downstairs again for a spot of yoga. This morning, my step-sister was also staying over and had jumped in my mum’s bed. They were busy gossiping and giggling like school girls. I very carefully took up a tray pilled with my mum’s 45 year old tea set. And lay out a selection of the bite sized biscuits for them to try (I felt like I was a school girl again, feeding my dolls and playing with my tea set!). So, seeing as we were all acting like kids, I thought it ok to review them… for kids. Also, I have had first hand knowledge of being a child so I qualify there too.
All of the biscuits had wonderfully bright, non-artificial flavour, and were snappy and crunchy from the texture of the rice flour and the cane sugar. They both loved them and said they were just as good, if not better, than conventional biscuits made from white, gluten containing, flour. Avoiding sugar as I do, I tried these and thought them a little too sweet.

They retail at £2.99. You can buy them online at Free From For Kids Amazon and AuraVita among others. Also sold in health food stores.

I also tried their Zero Zebra Rice Choc Bar and their Safari Animal Party Chocolate shapes. The chocolate bars come in Original, Strawberry & Crispy Rice. I acted like a total child and bit the heads off the animals! £1.49 from Ocado

With all of their products I wish they’d also make them sugar free, and use coconut sugar which has a lower GI and doesn’t effect your endocrine system, xylitol, or stevia which is zero calories and doesn’t disrupt the body like white sugar. Making them suitable for diabetics too. We all know sugar isn’t great for us. But, for those just transitioning to allergy friendly, gluten free foods these would be ideal.

Ricemice.com