A Trip To The Coast Unearths An All Vegan Food Store

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!

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

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.

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(i) source Wikipedia

New Healthy Plant-Based Vegan Mobile Cook App Available - V is For Vegetable

Today we enter the world of the mobile cooking apps!  I am proud to say my baby, V is For Vegetable was born!



It is a plant based cook app with easy to follow recipes, with step-by-step instructions, wonderful photography and delicious recipes.  It takes the flavour of global popular food culture and makes it healthy.  ALL recipes are vegan, dairy free, processed sugar free AND gluten free!  I really enjoyed putting the recipes together. The first in the series focuses on Berlin. I spent a month in this fascinating city to discover the foods the Berliners enjoy.  Series 2 will showcase the foods of Paris. Series 3, British food.  We then travel around with the foods of Buenos Aires, Mexico, Sweden, the US and more where I have travelled slowly to savour the flavour of these destinations.

It is available for purchase on itunes or android.  Please help to make it successful and show how planted based healthy eating can be delicious and easy.  Buy it and spread the word. 

Leave us a comment and let us know which recipe you will be trying first!

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

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

Beauty Without Cruelty Cosmetics

Rebel Kitchen Choco Coconut Mylk Drinks

Tibits At Home Cookbook

Ovivo Daily Antioxidant Drink

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

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

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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New Vegan & Gluten Free Products Just Keep Rolling In

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!