A day or so ago I told you all about vegan snacking, in my attempts to make it much easier for you to be healthy and satisfied on a plant-based (and gluten free..should you need) diet. Today I hope to make it even easier, not just for snacks but for all your food shopping needs.
When I am staying in a super vegan friendly city like London, Brighton, Berlin, San Francisco, even, to a lesser extent, Mexico and Buenos Aires, I have found it easy to access whole food shops (even totally vegan stores), that cater for mostly all of my whims. However it is far from the case in most cities in the UK to have a good grocer/produce market where I can find artisan or even generic vegan products. I'm staying with my mother right now, in between trips. In a commuter city only 20 mins outside London. It has not got one healthy food store. Being here has been frustrating to say the least. So, when I got an invite from Ocado to come chat about their vegan range, I was sceptical to say the least.
I met with some super nice members of the Ocado team, and some fellow bloggers. Karin Ridgers from Veggie Vision was there..I was so excited to finally get to meet a woman I've long admired for her commitment to bringing fun and entertainment to the veggie world, via her TV shows. Also, Claire, a vegetarian blogger for FoodIFancy.com, to name but two. We were presented with a feast, dreamed up by the Ocado team and created by the chefs at Tibits. Whilst we were happily chowing down and getting to know each other, the Ocado team were telling us about how they feel it is so important to cater for all dietary requirements and tastes and how open they are to expanding their range. It was a real eye opener. What was so surprising is that I never thought of Ocado as a retailer who could deliver really good vegan fayre. A search for 'vegan' products currently grabs up 251 products.
As I was enjoying the company and the food, I was thinking of you and the implications having a well known online-delivery grocery store be so interested in making sure they have a well rounded stock of vegan and gluten free foods. Yes, independent and co-operative stores will always remain uppermost in my choices, but to know we can all get these foods so easily now filled me with much excitement. Our dietary choices impact the world and our loved ones in so many ways, we are all now waking up to this. It is all making a difference. My vision for a vegan world by 2035 is steaming ahead!
I sampled a few of their range of convenience foods and condiments.
Vegan Pesto so tasty I was eating it straight from the jar!
Holy Cow Spicy Bombay Ketchup oh mama, a slow, sexy burn
Booja Booja Champagne Truffles so good. A sure fire vegan seducer.
Granovita Mayola Egg Free Mayonnaise where would life be without vegan mayo?
Belazu Tomato & Smoked Paprika Sauce excellent for a speedy mid-week pasta dinner
If you remember, I recently reviewed gluten free wraps. You can now get those from Ocado too.
They are just a taster of what you can find. If they don't have something that you'd like to see them stock they told me they welcome your suggestions.
I hope this makes life a little (or a lot) easier for you.
All opinions are my own. No thumbscrews were used. I just want to help.
If you are a vegan newbie, want or need to ditch dairy or gluten, want to eat healthier and need help where to start or where to look to find substitutes, just post a question on my Facebook page and I will try and do what I can help.
8 comments:
I live in a college town in North Dakota (the states) and have a heck of a time finding my favorites. I've learned to make most of the raw snacks I love from scratch, but I'd love a restaurant or two!
@Laura
Hey Laura! thanks for stopping by. It is great that you've learned to make your own raw snacks (perhaps you could sell them!), but yes, we do need to venture out and have a nice meal on occasion. I've checked out Happy Cow. Not sure of which part of ND you live but they listed a few. Most are in Fargo. http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/north_dakota/fargo/ I hope you have some luck. If not, seriously, there is a business opportunity for YOU! :)
@Laura
Hey Laura! thanks for stopping by. It is great that you've learned to make your own raw snacks (perhaps you could sell them!), but yes, we do need to venture out and have a nice meal on occasion. I've checked out Happy Cow. Not sure of which part of ND you live but they listed a few. Most are in Fargo. http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/north_dakota/fargo/ I hope you have some luck. If not, seriously, there is a business opportunity for YOU! :)
@Laura
Hey Laura! thanks for stopping by. It is great that you've learned to make your own raw snacks (perhaps you could sell them!), but yes, we do need to venture out and have a nice meal on occasion. I've checked out Happy Cow. Not sure of which part of ND you live but they listed a few. Most are in Fargo. http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/north_dakota/fargo/ I hope you have some luck. If not, seriously, there is a business opportunity for YOU! :)
@Laura
Hey Laura! thanks for stopping by. It is great that you've learned to make your own raw snacks (perhaps you could sell them!), but yes, we do need to venture out and have a nice meal on occasion. I've checked out Happy Cow. Not sure of which part of ND you live but they listed a few. Most are in Fargo. http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/north_dakota/fargo/ I hope you have some luck. If not, seriously, there is a business opportunity for YOU! :)
Wow, it’s so awesome that you get to sample some vegan foods at Ocado! I agree with London, Brighton, and Berlin being vegan-friendly! Unfortunately Buenos Aires isn’t. Mexico City isn’t in terms of grocery shopping, but they have a variety of unique vegan Mexician cuisine. Ah, I’ve tried that Mayo from Granovita in Spain but it has garlic flavors (ajo) :) it was pretty good in my chickpea mash!
@rika@vm
Hey Rika! Yes, isn't it great! I found a few vegan places in Buenos Aires and Mexico. It was the beginning of this year so perhaps it is relatively new. It is taking off now, some places more slowly than others for sure.
Ohh, I love chickpea mash! I'm going to take your advice and squeeze mayo liberally on top next time! thank you xx
So impressed that Ocado are making this effort to get to know what vegans are looking for and do their best to help us! When I'm at home we shop at Ocado and we've had nothing but immaculate service.
What to you do to allow you to travel so much if you don't mind me asking?!
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