Vegans.UK

A place for Vegans to share!

  • Home
  • Restaurants
  • Easy Vegan Recipes
  • About

Liv Oliv

October 4, 2017 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

The lovely products I was sent by Liv Oliv
The lovely products I was sent by Liv Oliv
The lovely products I was sent by Liv Oliv

The world of cosmetics can be a confusing nightmare for a vegan. Some products in mainstream shops carry the leaping bunny logo of Cruelty Free International, but they may contain animal ingredients. It can be difficult to be sure of anything when even a detailed online search of the company comes up with mixed results.

It was with this in mind that I was delighted to be contacted by nail polish company, Liv Oliv with a proposal that I try out a couple of their products and review them for this site. A quick glance at their website told me they are a family run company here in the UK and all their products are not only vegan, but cruelty free and non-toxic as well – my kind of business. So, I happily accepted. They sent me a bottle of base coat, two garish colours (as chosen by me) and a bottle of top coat.

I love bold colours
I love bold colours

I advised them that I wouldn’t be reviewing for a couple of weeks as I was waiting for my nails to grow a bit. It seems their base coat also acts as a nail protector, so that was useful to know and I used it happily. On their website, Liv Oliv also sell hand cream and cuticle oil, which I can only assume also help with this process.

 

Tangarine Queen toes
Tangarine Queen toes

The day came when my nails were of a respectable length to try out the colours, so I started with a bright orange named ‘Tangerine Queen’ on my toes. After applying the base coat, the colour went on easily and didn’t smell as strongly as other nail polishes I’ve used in the past. This was most welcome. It was clear that one coat would be sufficient, so I applied the top coat and was pleased with the results. Now for my fingernails – I cracked open the purple sparkly bottle called ‘Amethyst Crush’ and began to apply it over the base coat. I had expected a block colour, but instead my nails were covered with purple-blue glitter that wasn’t edge to edge (see pictures.) I was surprised, (I wouldn’t have been if I’d have read the description properly) but the more nails I covered, the more I thought how fun it looked. It was perfect for a party, or an occasion when you don’t have time to be excessively neat. After I was happy with the amount of coverage, I applied the top coat and lamented the fact that I wasn’t heading out.

Amethyst Crush fingernails
Amethyst Crush fingernails

Liv Oliv do nail polishes for kids as well as adults and as I say, their cuticle oil and hand cream seem like a great idea. The range of colours is vast, so there really is something for everyone, whether your after a French manicure look, something pale, mid-range, bold and/or sparkly. They also sell nail art kits, if you have the patience for that sort of thing, and some nail polish thinner, which I didn’t even know you could get anymore. It’s really useful! I’ll definitely be purchasing from their gift box range in the future.

So, a week or so on and although coverage hasn’t remained perfect on a couple of fingernails (mainly due to my strawberry hulling technique I’d say) the polish on the rest of my fingers and toes is still party-worthy. The sparkly polish is especially easy to reapply anyway.

 

Party time!
Party time!

If you’re looking for nail polish and accessories made in the UK by a small, ethical business, then Liv Oliv is a great bet. There’s something so relaxing about browsing their products knowing that they’re all vegan and cruelty free. The website is really easy to navigate and you can shop by type of product, or colour for example. With party season coming up, they’re sure to have something for you or a loved one.

Highly recommended

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: beauty, colour, cosmetcs, make up, nail polish

Confusion between clean eating and veganism

September 18, 2017 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

A vegan diet can be healthy

 

Veganism is a belief system
Veganism is a belief system

People don’t go vegan for health reasons. You may be saying ‘What? Of course they do!’ Ok, let me clarify: people may go plant based for their health originally and then go vegan (and stay vegan) because they discover the ethical angle. Veganism is a belief system, not a diet. Obviously diet forms a large part of that belief system, but vegans don’t use or support the exploitation of animals, for any purpose.

A vegan diet can be healthy
A vegan diet can be healthy

The reason I’m writing this article is that there seems to be a lot of confusion over motivation at the moment. Diet fads are forever detailed in the press (think the Atkins Diet, the Paleo diet and more recently, clean eating). Even veganism is sometimes written about as a ‘food trend.’ I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for ‘the rise of veganism’ – an upward trend in the number of people who go vegan. However, the word trend sometimes suggests that it’s temporary. The vast majority of those who go vegan and stay vegan do so for ethical reasons. As I said, those who go plant based for health reasons sometimes realise what they’re doing with diet is part of a larger movement. The vegan movement supports both non-human and human animals and helps them to live better lives. It goes without saying that we also benefit our environment hugely.

Eating cupcakes is just as vegan as eating a salad
Eating cupcakes is just as vegan as eating a salad

I have been known to roll my eyes at those who think that all vegans have to be health conscious. I mean, it’s perfectly possible to be incredibly healthy on a vegan diet, as countless athletes have proven and a whole foods, plant based diet is the healthiest one there is. However, the term vegan refers to those who choose not to support the humiliation, exploitation, torture and killing of innocent animals – and you can do that perfectly well whilst eating a cupcake.

One doesn’t eat leather, or ingest duck down or consume wool. You can’t munch on a circus or chow down on a zoo. It’s also notoriously difficult to scoff a horse race. Sadly, animal abuse doesn’t end with eating them.

You don't eat vegan sporrans
You don’t eat vegan sporrans

As for those who say they won’t go vegan because they don’t want to eat processed foods, my jaw drops every time I hear that one. Do they have no idea how much processing meat, milk and egg products go through before they reach the supermarket shelves? Some seem to imagine that a burger made from plants is ‘unnatural’ where as one made from a cow’s butt couldn’t be more pure. What utter nonsense. They seem to dismiss the antibiotics that are pumped into animals reared for meat; the hormones that rage inside two thirds of dairy cows at any one time (because they’re pregnant) and therefore make it into the milk humans consume; the colouring that is added to salmon to make it look pink; the water injected into chickens to make them heavier (as they’re sold by weight); and don’t even get me started on bacon.

Innocent pigs are made into bacon
Innocent pigs are made into bacon

And because you can squish up some plants to make a burger or use coconut oil to make vegan cheese, or mix water with almonds to make milk, this is seen as worse processing than additives the used in sausages which are known carcinogens?

Health and veganism are connected, in that having a whole foods, plant based diet (along with regular exercise and mindfulness) is your best chance of leading a long and healthy life. However, veganism is an ethical choice and non-human animals must be at the centre of it.

Veganism isn't just about diet
Veganism isn’t just about diet

Suffering is important and we must do all we can to keep it to a minimum. We can certainly do ourselves a favour by keeping to a healthy weight and eating well, but to say that veganism is all about health is wrong.

Vegan donuts by the fab Considerit Chocolate
Vegan donuts by the fab Considerit Chocolate

 

 

So the next time I’m challenged while eating a vegan donut by someone who thinks it’s ‘not very vegan’ of me, I’ll say ‘of course it is’, because nobody had to suffer to produce it. Go vegan and nobody gets hurt.

 

Filed Under: Cruelty free Living Tagged With: clean eating, diet, health, plant based, veganism

Pacari Chocolate

August 27, 2017 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Free chocolate sample
Free chocolat package - yay!
Free chocolat package – yay!

So recently I was lucky enough to receive some chocolate from Pacari chocolate to review. I tell you what; it’s a tough life running a vegan website at times. The company had written to me asking if I’d like to try some and, not being an idiot, I said yes. I generally really like dark chocolate and was excited to receive my free samples.

Ingredients
Ingredients

All their chocolate is organic and they seem really involved with the growers in Ecuador. They pride themselves on this, and their environmental ethics, so altogether Pacari seems like a pretty socially responsible company, which was music to my ears.

 

Inner packaging
Inner packaging

They have a wide range of products including chocolate bars (of course!) drinking cacao and chocolate covered fruits and cacao beans. It all sounds pretty yummy, but of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating. They’ve won lots of awards, including for their raw bars, so my expectations were quite high.

I was sent three different flavours of chocolate: a ten gram bar of 70% cacao raw organic chocolate; a ten gram bar of coffee organic chocolate and finally a full sized fifty gram bar of organic chocolate with Andean Blueberry. Yum! I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

 

 

No bitterness
No bitterness

Now, many people don’t like dark chocolate because they feel it’s too bitter. I can understand that, even though I don’t agree. However, when I tasted the 70% cacao bar, expecting at least some bitterness, there was none. It was incredibly smooth in flavour and without wanting to seem corny, was kind of the dark chocolate I’d been waiting for all my life! I would really like some of my friends to try it to see whether it’d convert them to dark chocolate.

70% cacao mini bar
70% cacao mini bar

 

 

 

Subtle flavour
Subtle flavour

 

 

I’m also aware that many people aren’t keen on coffee in their chocolate. I’m not sure why, but again, I’d defy them to turn their nose up at the coffee in the second bar I tried. It was unmistakably real coffee, but somehow subtler and more genuine than that you’d get in say, a box of chocolates. The pleasantly grainy texture really rounded it out and I’ll be honest, I was sad when it was gone.

Chcolate to savour
Chcolate to savour

 

 

 

 

Chocolate infused with sweet blueberries
Chocolate infused with sweet blueberries

Lastly it was the turn of the Andean Blueberry chocolate. I love blueberries and know they go well with chocolate, so figured this one couldn’t fail. I was right! The smooth chocolate was infused with really lovely sweet, tiny, almost chewy blueberry bits. It’s the kind of chocolate that is a pleasure to savour.

Full sized bar
Full sized bar

 

 

I really love the outlook of Pacari and their packaging is tempting and high quality. They’re not the cheapest on the market, nor would I expect them to be, but I’d say they’re definitely worth trying, if only for a treat. They’re stocked in various independent shops (see list here) or you can purchase from their website here.

 

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: blueberry, chocolate, coffee, dark chocolate, organic, raw

Nova Pizza Vegetarian Kitchen, Edinburgh

July 25, 2017 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Creamy mushroom pasta
Nova Pizza
Nova Pizza

Nova Pizza in Edinburgh is one of my favourite restaurants. Although it’s not fully vegan, it is all vegetarian and the choice for vegans is vast. I think that’s what I love about it. Normally in an Italian (or any other) restaurant, I’ve located the one or two vegan options on the menu and made my decision by the time my companions have taken their jackets off. In Nova Pizza however, I can do that thing that people do of perusing the options and saying things like ‘oooh, that looks good’ and feel, dare I say it, normal for a change. I have the mad luxury of being indecisive.

 

It's a small, cosy restaurant
It’s a small, cosy restaurant

This wondrous restaurant is situated in Edinburgh’s Newtown. It’s far enough away from the pulsing centre of the city to be calm, but near enough to be within easy walking distance. The establishment itself is small, and with the largest tables only seating four (maybe five at a push) it feels pretty homely. There are fewer than ten tables, so do book in advance to be sure of getting a spot, especially at the weekends. They’re open every day apart from Tuesday. The decor feels Italian and village-like as does the hustle and bustle. The aromas that greet you as you wander in are just heavenly.

Creamy mushroom pasta
Creamy mushroom pasta

One thing I’ve missed since going vegan is creamy mushroom pasta. I need miss it no more! The penne 4 cheese & mushroom that I had on this occasion was to die for. Made with soy cream, it tastes just like the stuff I remember from my pre-vegan days.

Vegan calzone
Vegan calzone

There is so much to choose from of course, that you don’t have to stick with pasta, although it’s tricky to resist being able to order lasagne, spaghetti alla carbonara or penne al salmone from a restaurant. My companion had a vegan calzone, of which there are many to choose from. Again, this is such a novelty that it almost feels a bit naughty.

Vegan creme brulee
Vegan creme brulee

It goes without saying that the pizza selection is fabulous and I can personally recommend the Parmigiana, with it’s roasted aubergines and genuine parmesan taste. If you miss meat on pizza (or in pasta for that matter) there are vegan versions of ham, pepperoni, chicken and even salmon to tempt your taste buds. They use smoked mheat (wheat meat) and seitan to give further variety to the menu, so there really is something for everyone.

Vegan dolche pizza
Vegan dolche pizza

All this of course, is to say nothing of the desserts. They do vegan crème brulee, vegan dolche pizza (which is pizza base covered in chocolate spread and icing sugar – yum!) and be warned, their vegan cheesecakes are massive and really filling, so only order them if you’re sure you have room left!

A highlight of Edinburgh's newtown
A highlight of Edinburgh’s newtown

 

 

This is somewhere I’d be proud to take my meat-loving friends, my veggie friends and my vegan ones. Nova Pizza Vegetarian Kitchen is proof that you can have the indulgent, filling food you had before you were vegan. It’s flavoursome, satisfying and above all, guilt free. Head along there if you can.

Highly recommended

Filed Under: Vegan Meals Out Tagged With: calzone, Edinburgh, Italian, pasta, pizza

Hippeas

June 24, 2017 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Try different flavours
Try different flavours
Try different flavours

Every now and again a product comes along that’s totally bankable. For me, Hippeas just ticks all the boxes. I’m not one to go crazy over crisps, being more of a chocolate fan, but when the hankering hits, it hits hard. Sometimes savoury snacks are all that’s going to cut it. Of course, ‘normal’ crisps are not exactly a health food. Hippeas are lower in calories, saturated fat and salt than your average crisps, plus they actually have fibre content! They’re made from puffed chickpeas and come in a variety of flavours, all of which are organic and vegan. There’s Sweet & Smokin’ (my favourite); Far Out Fajita; In Herbs We Trust; Pepper Power; Cheese & Love (yes, it too is vegan.)

Diving in...
Diving in…

They’re crunchy and tasty and they leave you feeling fuller than when you started eating them, which is not true for most crisps. I suppose it must be the extra protein. (Who says vegan foods are protein deficient? Not me, that’s for sure…) One of my colleagues introduced me to these little wonders and I’m so glad she did. After tasting the goodness I was even more pleased to discover they’re fairly readily available. I buy mine in Boots or Holland & Barratt, but you can purchase Hippeas from Waitrose, Superdrug and W. H. Smith amongst others. More details on their website.

Crunchy puffed chickpeas
Crunchy puffed chickpeas

 

So now you know. If you have a craving for a savoury crunch, then grab a bag of Hippeas, trying all the flavours to find out which is your favourite!

 

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: chickpeas, crisps, healthy, hippeas, snacks

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 16
  • Next Page »

Sponsors:


Natural Collection - Ethical


Ethical Superstore

Advertisment

Twitter: @VegansUK
Facebook: @VegansUK
Instagram: @Vegans.UK
  • Home
  • Restaurants
  • Easy Vegan Recipes
  • About

Copyright © 2019 · Modern Portfolio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Vegans.UK Cookies Policy

Our Website uses cookies to improve your experience. Please visit our About page for more information about cookies and how we use them. To continue using the website you give consent to use cookies as mentioned on About.

Close