Craving A Doughnut In NYC? The Best Doughnuts In New York That Just Happen To Be Vegan

Ok, it is maybe the WORST picture in the world of the BEST donut in the world (A bold claim, but one I am sticking my next out to make).  You know when you've tasted perfection..right?!  I have long dreamt of a trip to New York, it has been over 10 years in coming and at the beginning of November, I booked a trip on a whim and flew in all crazily excited. It was a last minute impulse, my heart was calling me there.  New York is a city of romance   Remember Sleepless in Seattle?!  It didn't exactly turn out like it did for Meg Ryan...it wasn't exactly 'An Affair To Remember', I didn't go up the Empire State Building (I still live in romantic hope!), but I did spend two hours 70 floors up on the top of the Rockerfeller Centre (and lots more adventures I will share with you about soon). And I got to go to a a lot of vegan eateries I have longed to try, including an all VEGAN, GLUTEN FREE, REFINED SUGAR FREE (MOSTLY)cake shop.  Babycakes!  

Babycakes is a cosy little bakery on the Lower East Side that would make any cake/doughnut/cupcake lover, vegan, coeliac, mother, health nut EXTREMELY happy. Babycakes is the genius spawned by Erin McKenna, who as so many before her, started her business to create something she wished she could visit (Read about it in a fun interview with The Awl). The staff are lovely (Kirsten in particular kindly gave me some fabulous 'off the beaten track' site seeing and foodie tips for Brooklyn, I was very grateful for), and the warm air inside smells divine!

I fought disrupted subway timetables, and a stiff wind to make this my last stop before the UK reeled me back in.  I'd just been on a fascinating visit to the Tenement Museum (after a tip off from Carrie On Vegan).  I HIGHLY recommend going on one of their many interactive, info packed story tours.  I opted for the Hard Times tour, just because it got me into the delapedated tenement that had been untouched since 1935, AND it lasted an hour, which is all the time I had if I was factoring in a quick cake fest at Babycakes.  

I was hungry, hungry, hungry after my brain had been taking in all the fascinating facts about the German immigrants that surged to this area of Manhattan in the latter part of the 19th Century and had their enclave was aptly nicknamed Klein Deutschland .  Without much deliberation, I chose the Samoa doughnut.  It was frosted with vanilla icing, sprinkled with coconut chips and, for good measure, zig zagged with dark vegan chocolate.  They were so busy, I didn't want to hold up the queue interrogating them as to the reason this baked good was named after an island in the Central South Pacific.  So that will remain a mystery, to me at least.  I sat down with a steaming mug of china tea and quietened myself for my first bite.  It was fluffy, tender, sweetened to perfection, moist and with subtle hint of chewiness.  The frosting and coconut chips and wisp of chocolate actually nearly made me groan out loud with pleasure.  Seriously?!!  I honest hadn't expected it to taste THAT good!! Finally, I'd had at least a little romance! I could have easily re-enacted the Meg Ryan cafe moment at this point (I actually visited that actual cafe, too!)

Both times I visited Babycakes I didn't have my beloved Canon with me.  The first was laziness the second was just a few hours before I flew home and after I'd lost my camera memory stick (devastating, but luckily I'd just downloaded everything onto my Mac).  Sorry for the picture quality.

'In a city dominated by cupcakes overflowing with sugar, flour and butter cream, it’s easy for those with persnickety diets to feel left out. BabyCakes offers all-natural, organic and delicious alternatives free from the common allergens: wheat, gluten, dairy, casein and eggs. Rest assured, all sweeteners have been chosen responsibly and used sparingly. White sugar will never be found in our bakery, nor will we ever use toxic chemical sweeteners. Instead, most products are sweetened with agave nectar—a natural syrup from a cactus which is low on the glycemia index and often a safe alternative to most non-insulin dependant diabetics. Occasionally, unprocessed and unrefined sugar is used in certain goods, although sparingly'.

Erin McKenna

248 Broome St
(between Ludlow St & Orchard St) 
New York, NY 10002
Area: Lower East Side

Another place I visited but, alas, due to an intolerance for the demon gluten, I didn't get to taste, was Dun-Well Doughnuts.

If the heavenly sweet fragrance of the store and the packed tables are anything to go by, I'd say this place is worth the hop over the water to Williamsburg to try them too.

To quote from their fun website..

Dun-Well Doughnuts started as a food craving when Christopher Hollowell (the "Well" in Dun-Well) called up his buddy Dan Dunbar (The "Dun" in Dun-Well) after having watched a Simpson's anniversary episode that featured Homer's favorite round confections rather prominently. Having been unable to find a vegan doughnut in NYC that satisfied his craving Christopher and Dan agreed to make their quest to create an amazing doughnut and open NYC's first all-vegan doughnut shop.

222 Montrose Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206, United States

Expect more  of my NYC  trip soon, but sporadic]ally.  I'm living a nomadic existence right now and never know when I'll  speak to you next.    Normal service will be resumed soon.. xx

Ocado Are Making It Easier For You To Shop Vegan and Gluten Free

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.

Beyond Eggs - Science and Passion Is Set To Crack The Egg..And Replace It….With Plants!

Are the egg's days numbered?

There is a company that may very well be set to totally revolutionise the food manufacturing industry: come to the aid of the environment and improve our health. 
I met with the founder of Hampton Creek Foods, Josh Tetrick at his start-up company in the Soma district of San Francisco. He looks far younger than his 33 years with clean cut with all-American good looks.  'I'm from Birmingham, Alabama', he tells me. His accent lilting and distinct. He exudes the confidence of someone who is comfortable in his own skin. He reminded me of a young Tom Cruise,  boyish and vibrant, sans the aviator shades.  One can’t help but be a bit doe-eyed as he welcomes me into the Beyond Egg hub. He makes you feel like he has all the time in the world to share, and right now it is all for you.  I admit to loosing my thread more than once as my brain floated off, all female and flustered, as Josh showed me around and introduced me to his team.  

Josh is the man behind the team that is fervently working to dislodge and displace the egg industry.  He has an impressive background, having set up a UN business initiative in Kenya, worked for a time for President Clinton, he also won a prestigious Fulbright grant to teach in Nigeria and South Africa. Hampton Creek Foods is his debut venture into the world of food.  His compassion was sparked during his time in Africa, working on environmental projects. He felt moved enough to know he wanted to make a huge positive impact.  He chose the egg industry as his target.  Which methods are currently, in his words..'barbaric'.

He hits me with some statistics..
'79 billion eggs laid in US every year.  95% of them are laid by hens in battery cages so small they can hardly move. They are pumped with antibiotics'. 1/2 billions eggs recalled because of food poisoning in 2011 in the US. What about eggs impact on human health? 

The NewYork Times published a report by Dr. Stanley Hazen of Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute.  that eggs may provoke bacteria that increases the risk of heart disease.  University Of Western Ontario likened the consumption of eggs to that of the effects of smoking cigarettes. 

You'll agree it's an area in need of change.

Beyond Eggs is gaining some notable interest. Articles have appeared in Bon Appetit & Food & Wine. Countless  articles are dotted around the internet, even Tony Blair, ex-Prime MInister of that thumbnail sized island,GB.   Bill Gates has taken a shine to the companies ideas. On his blog The Gates Notes, where he highlights his concern for the impact on the environment and how we can feed a population that is expected to hit 18 billion by 2050, Gates listed Hampton Creek Foods as one of the 3 companies that are shaping the future of food.  He says, 

''By 2030, the world will need millions of tonnes more meat than it does today. But meeting that demand with animal products isn't sustainable. The meat market is ripe for reinvention.' 

Bill Gates took the taste test, cookie challenge and couldn't tell the difference between the cookies with egg and the cookies with Beyond Egg's egg substitute. 

The building is open to the street, open to each department and one another. The office dog and company mascot, Jake, lolls in the sun in the greeting area.  Their state of the art laboratory is a field of stainless steel.  On one wall a row of ovens.  Behind vast doors are shelves stacked with jars of creamy mayonnaise, trials and tests.   The food scientists and biologists work diligently, and with admirable dedication to emulate the properties of the egg.  Which is, after all, all that is going on.  The egg served a purpose. The effect doesn't have to come from an egg.  They have worked out just how the proteins molecules give rise in cakes and bakes, aerate, bind and thicken,  and emulsify our dressings.  Beyond Eggs have a product that can do all of these things. Eggs may have been a cheap source of protein but they are full of harmful cholesterol.  Josh and his team have cracked the code to do what the egg did by using pea, potatoes, sunflower lecithin, rapeseed, and natural gums extracted from tree sap. They offer it 18% cheaper (which will no doubt interest the large food manufactures), with reduced storage costs and longer shelf life, and it's sustainable and kinder to boot.
  

    The strength of the team is all apparent.  I half expected the theme tune to the A-Team to kick in as Josh introduced me.  All looked under 30, with that special California glow.   
Chris Jones a chef and molecular gastronomist was poached from Chicago's award winning restaurant, Moto.. 

He was sporting a bandana and standing over something whirring in the corner. It must be the largest stick blender/food mixer in the world, and it was busy creating a swirling vortex of snow white mayonnaise.  I asked him why he came to work for the company, he gave an impassioned reply.  Noting, he wants his family to have a future.  Chris said of his work, 'The egg was the first thing.  This is the next thing'.  He showed me his floor to ceiling wall of experiments. His job to is work with different components and proteins.  Testing for shelf life.  Stability.  They regularly enlist the help of employees from Yelp & Google, as taste testers.    

Director of Bakery Innovation is Shweta Rao.  She was positively charged with self motivated enthusiasm for Beyond Egg and the concept of what it will achieve.  Shweta and her colleague Megan both told me they have a sense that what they are doing goes beyond cookies and cake and stretches into making a big difference in the world.  They are fulled by this.  They'd wanted to fuel me, with cookies.  They'd baked some for me to try.  Two neat rows of blond and chocolate chip cookies sat waiting for me on a platter.  They were left untouched.  Damn my bloody intolerance for gluten!

A team of scientists work full time, surrounded by a wall of purple gloves, test tubes, machines spinning ingredients in centrifuge, and other wizardly gadgets and gizmos.  I've not the faintest idea what they were for. But they excited me nonetheless.  The team  are currently working on replicating the egg white and working with gluten free flours so products can be produced that are free of the main allergens and suitable for celiac sufferers.

At this point I really start to see what impact this company will have.  As did Khosla Ventures. Venture Capitalists, based in Palo Alto, California,  who's tagline is ' We care about genuine issues: a healthy environment. Sustainable power'.  They back Josh's vision, and made an investment of a cool $3 million in Hampton Creek Foods.   

Josh Tetrick

'In seven years we will be the ‘egg’ industry'.  

The team at Hampton Creek Foods

Beyond Eggs.   The name of the product says it all and is where Josh Tetrik wants the world to be in 7 years.  It seems a bit fantastical to imagine it could happen in what is really a blink of an eye in the time space continuum. but if anyone can do it I believe Josh can.

Want to know more?  

Watch A short video tour from Techcrunch.  

Read this article in Popular Science

Look out for Shweta Rao, she is speaking Ted X.  June 15th in Edmonton.  

  

What do you think of the future of our foods?  Leave your comments and views below.  Just click on the comments tab.