A Vegan Obsession

A Vegan & Gluten Free Guide To Leipzig. Plus Handy Travel Tips

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I arrived into Leipzig on the fast (70 min) ICE train from Berlin. The fare was not cheap (costs between €29-40) and I could have taken the more leisurely 2 hour, €8 bus, but I was impatient to get here. My first view of the city was the fun yellow and blue trams zipping in and out of the zone in front of the station.
Leipzig is another town hailed as the ‘new Berlin’, I heard that about Budapest (I visited recently) as well, but seriously, no where can be the new Berlin. Berlin is Berlin, Budapest is cool and very inexpensive and Leipzig has a charm all of it’s own. My curiosity, and my obsession with getting to grips with places that have a large vegan following (though that is becoming less and less unique..I am happy to say), were the driving forces behind my visit. I’ll give you a bit of background first and then we will delve a bit deeper and show you want you want to know…what I did I eat?.

The city of Leipzig borders a lush riparian forest, a forest which lies adjacent to a river, with towering trees. The Elster Saale canal runs alongside too. It is beautiful and surprisingly you can feel like some of the paths are leading you to the depths of nowhere, but the city is never that far away. Leipzigers really enjoy this area, and a canoe or two are always gliding through the shaded waters. I did not do that, but I did have lovely bike lent to me and I took the bone shaking cobbled street from my apartment, through the beautifully landscaped Clara Zetkin Park for a bit of red squirrel and nordic walkers spotting, to the forest everyday for some ‘green time’. I also biked to the Cospudener See, a large picturesque lake south of the city with white sandy beaches, where clothing is optional, or just biked along the canals that weave through the city. I could not help but note whilst exploring Leipzig, just how clean it is. No litter droppers here!

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A Trip To The Coast Unearths An All Vegan Food Store

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I was house sitting a couple of months ago when Britain was awash with a welcome hot sun.  I travelled to a little English village beside the ‘Butlins infamous’ town of Bognor Regis.  A seaside town with pebble beach on the south coast of England.  I was a bit concerned beforehand that it would be a jolly vista of lobster pink bodies, garish teeth chipping candy, and awash with bawdy ‘hens’ on a night out.  Not so.  Just 1/4 mile from Bognor promenade and you arrive in a calm and peaceful oasis where time has stood still.  It’s all precision clipped lawns and friendly doffed caps.  The most rowdy you’ll experience in this village of thatched cottages and dogs you can tuck under your armpit, is a swooping opportunist seagull nicking your cucumber sandwiches!

As usual when I am travelling around much research is carried out and the internet chugs out helpful lists of places of interest, and of course Happy Cow lets me know what is in my area in terms of vegan eats.  The vegan eats drew a blank, the closest being Daisy Moo in Worthing.  What I did find was Vegetaria.  A totally vegan shop (curiously combined with an estate agency - the veggie passionate owners wanted to make eating meat free easier for shoppers).  It is small shop floor but well stocked with ready meals, gluten free products, veggie ‘meats’, vegan cheese, desserts, frozen good, condiments, snacks, drinks, house hold products and pet food!  And, it is a not just a high street store.  Vegetaria have an online store too!  I’m so happy to see more and more vegan stores sprouting up in Europe.

Two of the three pugs that I had the pleasure to look after.  Pugs are hilarious as I had the joy to discover!

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

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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

Friday Giveaway - 3 prizes worth £30 from Salcura Natural Skin Care

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I suppose I should think myself lucky that it has only been the last couple of years of my life that I have needed to make moisturising my body part of my daily regime.  When I am in the USA I have my go-to creams that I use.  When travelling around I shop in natural health stores and veer away from pharmacies as I like my products to be vegan, and natural as can be.  I do tend to be drawn by packaging first. If it looks a bit ‘clinical’ I usually do not even give it a second glance.   I looked at Salcura, a totally UK based company, because their products stated they contain absolutely ‘no chemicals’.   Because I had pre-judged the range by the medical looking packaging, I was surprised to find it said it was free of SLS, perfume and chemicals.  Also suitable for vegans (no Vegan Society approval as yet but scheduled to be applied for in 2015).   I contacted the company to find out more, and they very kindly sent me a small range of their derma care products (the also sell hair products and have an extensive acne range) to review.  

For the last couple of weeks I have been slathering, lathering and smothering myself in in Derma Spray Intensive , followed by the Zeoderm cream after showering or bathing in their Gel or Bath Oil.  I do wonder at the effectiveness of a shower gel that is going to be on your skin so briefly but at least it is not stripping your body of anything good.  The spray and cream combined have left my skin so deeply moisturised.  I have had a condition called keratosis pilaris for a year and though it has not yet cleared it up (I live in hope) my skin is transformed to the shine and hydration of my teenage years. The effect minimises the appearance of the tiny bumps and makes me feel confident to go out in strappy tops again, which I am grateful for right now as the UK is kindly delivering a most beautiful summer.
The product range is suitable for people prone to eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis and dry and itchy skin.  Most are ok for use with babies of 3 months and up (but always check the label first).  And they have a Junior Range.  Their products have the health benefits of Omega oils (and I am going to drop a few names here) natural healing benefits of plants such as…aloe, sea buckthorn and calendula. I have especially fallen in love with the Zeoderm (the zeo in Zeoderm is zeolite which is a natural clay. (i)zeolites form where volcanic rocks and ash layers react with alkaline groundwater. Zeolites also crystallize in post-depositional environments over periods ranging from thousands to millions of years in shallow marine basins).  

I wanted you to get a chance to try the range for yourself.  Salcura have agreed to offer 3 prizes with a value of up to £30 per winner; to spend on either a choice of products from their acne range or their problem dry skin range.  If you win, you get to peruse their website and choose which you would like to receive.

EVERYONE can try Salcura as they also offer FREE samples via their website.

a Rafflecopter giveaway




(i) source Wikipedia

Sign Up To Viva! 30 Day Vegan Challenge

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Go Vegan with Viva! at Vegfest

Sign up to Viva! 30 Day Vegan Pledge now!

Do you wish to eat healthily and start loving your greens and pulses, but stuck on exciting culinary ideas or lasting ways to sustain a lifestyle change? The brand new Viva! 30 Day Vegan Pledge is perfect for you!

Set up earlier this year to follow up the hugely successful Veganuary campaign, the Viva! 30 Day Pledge gives you all the tools and information that you need to successfully transition to a wondrously healthy 100% plant-based diet and stay on it for 30 days. Better still, once you sign up to this scheme, you get free tickets to VegfestUK London – one of Europe’s hottest vegan lifestyle shows – where you can sample a full range of delicious global vegan cuisines and absorb potentially life-changing information from many active vegan role models.Highlights of VegfestUK London include a prominent exhibition area for Viva!, where you can sign up to the Viva! pledge and peruse Viva!’s well-researched literature on plant-based lifestyles as well as their full range of cool merchandise. Four of the Viva! team will be giving the following highly informative talks to help you go and stay vegan:

  • Why you don’t need Dairy, by Viva! founder and director Juliet Gellatley
  • The Dark Side of Dairy, by Juliet Gellatley
  • Is Soya a Superfood or a Health Risk?, by Viva! nutritionist and health campaigner
  • Live Demonstrations of Recipes from the Viva! cookbook, by Viva! food and cookery coordinator Jane Easton
  • 30 Day Vegan Workshop: Improve your Life in Just One Month!, by Viva! deputy director Justin Kerswell together with Jane Easton

To sign up for Viva!’s 30 Day Vegan pledge, visit www.viva.org.uk/30dayvegan To find out more about Viva!, visit www.viva.org.uk or email [email protected]

VegfestUK London takes place on September 27th 28th at Olympia West and is expected to attract around 10,000 visitors over 2 days. For full info visitwww.london.vegfest.co.uk, or email [email protected]

Other press materials for VegfestUK London are here:

  • Press releases www.london.vegfest.co.uk/press-releases
  • Posters and flyers www.london.vegfest.co.uk/posters-and-flyers
  • Facebook images www.london.vegfest.co.uk/facebook-posters
  • Banners www.london.vegfest.co.uk/banners

Copyright © 2014 VegfestUK, All rights reserved

This Week’s Giveaway - Earth Balance VIP COUPONS (USA only)

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The first series of recipes on the new cooking app has been available for a month now.  Have you cooked up one of Berlin’s iconic recipes yet?  Click here to buy the vegan cook app for iTunes.  Or for Google Play Android version.

I had a few go-to ingredients when putting together the recipes for the cooking app.  I used Earth Balance spread whenever I was veganizing a recipe that used butter.  I put together the series, cooking, photographing etc whilst in the USA and took the opportunity to use Earth Balance to see if it lived up to its reputation.  It did.  I thought it was such a wonderful product which performed perfectly in all my bakes and sauces.

Now I want to you try it.  Earth Balance have 12 VIP coupons to give away (USA residents only).   1 coupon per person to take home any Earth Balance product.  FREE.  

Up to you what you choose but you could try the Mac n Cheese box that I saw one of my favourite vegan bloggers, Kathy review.  She said it was just like the Kraft Blue Box. Well, I have not got a clue what that tastes like but it seems it has the power to bring a watery tear of joy to the eye of many American.  So to find a vegan version I guess it must be good.
You could of course download the V is For Vegetable app and make one (or all) of the recipes.  Apfelkuchen perhaps? Or the unique, dark, dense, poppy seed torte?
Or maybe try one of Earth Balance’s range of nut butters, or grab a bag of the ‘cheese’ puffs to munch on whilst watching a movie?

The choice is yours.



To enter for a chance to win..

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! 

Friday Giveaway! A delicious FOODIE box. Gluten & lactose free. Burgers! Chocolate!

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I recently received some gluten free and vegan products to review from a company based in the UK called Amisa 

They have a range of organic products including gluten free porridge oats.  I tried the Apple & Cinnamon Spice.  Three ingredients. All organic; oats, apples & cinnamon. Nothing else. Not like some ‘healthy breakfasts’ purporting to be good for you which have more sugar added than you’d find in an evil sugary drink!  I enjoyed my cinnamon spiced oats with a dollop of soya yogurt and some pistachios and it was lovely.  Not just for gluten sensitive folk or diabetics.  Great for those who want to enjoy delicious food AND be healthy. Fab for kids, too if you want to avoid those sugary cereals.


I also had the rice and corn crisp breads smothered with homemade vegan pesto.  Yum!




AND the falafel mix.  It was so easy to prepare.  Soak the entire contents in 200ml hot water and mix.  Form into balls.  Fry or bake. I fried mine and they were so delicious I could not wait until lunch and so had them for breakfast, with some spicy mango chutney.  A good idea, not just for dinner (as I have demonstrated) but also for your lunch box, a spoon or two of hummus or a tasty chutney and you are all set.  I think a box of falafel mix in your camping food box would be ideal as well.  Think about it, flavourful food cooked on your campfire whilst sitting in a field or on the beach. 



The good folk at Amisa, a division of a small family run company owned by Windmill Organics, 
understand that there is a great need for healthy, tasty gluten/lactose free products.  We have a goodie box for one lucky winner (it could be you!).  In the box you will find..

Falafel Mix
Burger Mix
Lactose free Chocolate coated rice cakes
 and gluten free crisp breads!
If you were wondering (as I was) where the name Amisa comes from, two sisters work in the company and the name ‘Amisa’ actually comes from both their names combined (Amy & Elisa). So now we know! Cute.

If you want to enter to win..

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click here to find out more about Windmill Organics

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