Shire Snax

Shire Snax are an Edinburgh based company and the creation of Michelle and Aaron, who due to health issues, wanted sugar and dairy free, healthy options, so began to make their own raw fruit and nut bars and cakes.

Shire Snax is dedicated to making vegan, gluten free and wheat free naturally sweetened snacks, made with nothing but the best ingredients and processed with dedicated equipment, to avoid cross contamination issues.

I had the pleasure of trying their range of fruit and nut bars, with additional testing by my husband and his brother, keen cyclists always on the look out for energy and fuel supplies.

There are seven flavours, neatly packed in recyclable packaging, with the future aim of moving to compostable, which I know is a problem for many companies I come across, whose environmental ethics are restrained by the sourcing of compostable packaging.

My first impression is I love the quirky names like Jaffa The Hutt, Second Breakfast and The Green Dragon and as the products have no preservatives, artificial colours or additives, they get a big thumbs up from me.

As to the taste, well each one has its own special ingredients, with dates at their core, with a multitude of ingredients including cashew and macadamia nuts, currants, agave, coconut and vanilla.   I loved all of the ones I tried, they are so moist, great texture and full of flavour, with pineapple infused Aloha my favourite.   They are small enough to pop in my bag when out and about and as I walk miles every week, are great for an energy boost or to accompany a takeaway coffee, as I did this morning.

The cyclists verdict was many snack bars are not good during transportation, getting squashed in the back pocket of a cycling jacket or bag, nor are they any good if they crumble and flake, which can cause severe choking, whilst munching away pedalling.   Shire Snax flavours Peppermint Patty and The Green Dragon, both survived 42 miles intact with not a crumb to be seen, so can happily be eaten whilst riding along.   Positive points are they are exceedingly moist, excellent flavour and how great it is to find a snack bar made with natural ingredients, yet suitable for most dietary requirements, with my husband being gluten free and my brother in law dairy free.   The only negative was they need to be double the size, but that's two greedy hungry cyclists for you!

This review has been organised by the VEGAN lifestyle ASSOCIATION.   It has not been paid for and is my genuine and unbiased review of the products.

Superdrug Style Expertise Straightening Spray

I dream of perfectly straight hair, but even using my current Giovanni straightening product to manage and smooth my hair, I can never get it as straight, when blow dried with a brush by my hairdresser.

I am always on the look out for new products and came across this, whilst browsing in store at Superdrug, who really need to update their website to reflect vegan friendly products, as I normally shop online and it is currently impossible to make an informed choice.

The product is suitable for vegans, comes in a handy sized spray and has a nice smell when applied, with built in heat protection, during blow drying and styling with hair straighteners.

I am very impressed, the product really does smooth, add shine and fullness to my hair and the straightening effect lasts much longer, so it will be my product of choice in future and at a price of  £2.99 is not going to break the bank.

The Three Fishes Mitton Road Mitton - 20th February 2016

This was my second visit to The Three Fishes in one week, as I work my way through the vegan options they have recently introduced.

I had a quick lunch with a friend on Tuesday and chose the starter beetroot and caramelised red onion tart, but as a main course option with chips.   I love the attitude of all the staff, whether it be front of house or the chefs, as nothing is ever a problem.   It was delicious and so tasty and I would happily order it again.

On Saturday night, I visited with my husband for dinner and got a warm welcome from Managers Martin and Danielle and then had drinks in the bar.   I had already decided to have the black pea and chilli burger, so I decided to forego a starter, which was a good idea, the burger was substantial.

It was served on a board accompanied by chips, labelled on the menu with a 'V' as they are cooked in vegetable oil, piccalilli, mustard, ketchup and onion rings.   The chips are always fabulous at The Three Fishes and as for the burger, well one word 'awesome' layered with lettuce and beef tomato.   The burger was nice and thick, yet not dry at all, it was moist and tasty and I am salivating as I write.

I drank a delicious Argentinian Torrontes Vida Organica wine, which was a great companion for the burger, it still surprises me how many vegan wines there are on wine lists, which I now recognise.

Service from our waiter Sam was efficient, professional but friendly, any queries or requests were swiftly dealt with, he is perfect for front of house.  I was fit to burst but still managed a couple of scoops of some delicious mango sorbet to finish.

Would I go back, you bet I will, whether it be the butternut squash curry, the beetroot tart or the black pea burger, all the vegan options are delicious, so try and stop me.

Snact Fruit Jerky

The Snact story began with two friends, Ilana and Michael, whose common interest was food and sustainability.   They started collecting surplus fruit in London's wholesale markets and making snacks in their kitchen.   Tonnes of perfectly good fruit and vegetables get rejected every day, so Snact turn that surplus into healthy snacks, which contribute to one of your five a day and come in two flavours.   I love this concept, we really are a race of waste and any contribution to combat waste has to be a good thing.

Apple and Mango

 Apple and Raspberry

My last experience of dried mango pieces, was in a well known high street coffee shop,

which I found dry and hard to chew.   Snacts however are naturally sweet, soft and easily chewable and although I enjoyed both, apple and mango was my favourite.   The snacks are easily portable, ideal for children's lunch boxes, or an anytime snack for anyone on the go, like my husband a keen cyclist and myself a keen walker.

The packaging is a small foil lined bag, to ensure the product is kept in tip top condition, which are recyclable in some places, but not all and this is not Snact's favourite option, but their decision to go ahead with their current packaging is explained here .   Snacts are currently working on a more environmentally friendly packaging solution, with a company that makes bio-plastics, that seems a viable and compostable option and are hoping to trial soon.

The fruit jerky is made of dried blended natural fruit flavours, are gluten free and contain less than 65 kcal per bag.   You can even buy Snact by subscription, by setting up a direct debit and can be bought in 15 or 30 bulk packs.

Snact are offering a 10% discount to Associates of the VEGAN lifestyle Association click here for details.

This review has been organised by the VEGAN lifestyle ASSOCIATION.   It has not been paid for and is my genuine and unbiased review of the products.

Good Carma Dairy Free Cheese

Good Carma is a healthy, nutritious dairy free alternative to Parmesan, developed by vegan company owner Charlotte Bates, who is passionate about food and has a strong understanding and interest in health and nutrition.   The aim and rationale of the business, is to nutritionally help all people, hence the name 'Good Carma' as well as being produced in CARMA-rthenshire.

I love the product is not soya based, which I am allergic to, but made from almonds with nutritional yeast, vitamin B12 and Himalayan salt and comes ready grated in three flavours, Fusion Original, Fusion Chilli and Fusion Garlic.

There are no additives, preservatives, colours or E numbers, which for me is a huge plus point, the more natural a product the better.   The cheeses are packed in an elegant long shaker style tube, which helps keep the product fresh and can be purchased from forty seven Waitrose stores and various independents click here for details.   The products are registered with The Vegan Society and have a shelf life of six months and are wheat and gluten free.

I must admit to not being a fan of dairy free cheese, in fact I never eat it, unless its my homemade almond feta and certainly not Parmesan alternatives, but I absolutely love Good Carma.

I have used each flavour in a different dish, but you can incorporate the cheese in a recipe, use as a seasoning or condiment, so its a very versatile product.   I have so many ideas as to ways to use them, the garlic flavour for instance, would be great in a vegan version of a Caesar salad.

 Fusion Garlic

Garlic Kale Pesto

Fusion Original

Cheesy Mash

Fusion Chilli

Chilli Cheese Tortillas

All three flavours will be a staple in my store cupboard from now on and I am looking forward to their soft style cheese spread coming to market soon.

Good Carma are offering a 10% discount to Associates of the VEGAN lifestyle ASSOCIATION click here for details.

This review has been organised by the VEGAN lifestyle ASSOCIATION.   It has not been paid for and the products I received were sent free of charge. This is my genuine and unbiased review of the product.

Piccolino Moor Lane Clitheroe - 14th February 2016

This was my first visit of 2016, to Piccolino Clitheroe and each visit gets better and better.   The restaurant is located in a fabulous listed school building, on the main street running through Clitheroe and has plenty of outside seating, when the weather is nice.

On arrival we got a warm welcome off Restaurant Manager Dan Atzori, who took our coats and showed us through to the bar.   A young chap Fabrizio, whose name I asked in my best Italian, gave me a copy of their seasonal menu, suggesting the blood orange, fennel, rocket and pomegranate salad, as a vegan option.   He said they could change the honey dressing, for olive oil and lemon and also gave me a list of vegan wines to choose from, for me to take home.

We were shown through to the restaurant, which is modern, airy and light and had a lovely table, big enough for four, so we had plenty of room.

I had a glass of Lunetta Prosecco to accompany some fabulous olives and complimentary bread, all of which are vegan, as I also have a copy of their allergen list.   Sadly I have no photos of the food, because my mobile phone's battery gave up.

I took Fabrizio's advice and chose the blood orange salad, a delicious, light starter, with texture added by the pomegranate seeds and I mopped up all the lovely juices with the last bit of bread.

I ordered a Capricciosa pizza and Fabrizio suggested roast peppers and capers, to replace the ham and cheese and I had a glass of Mastri Vernacoli Trentino Sauvignon Blanc to go with it.   The pizza was delicious, plenty of topping and a really good base, although I failed to finish it all, as it was substantial.

We had a chat with our waitress Frederica, as we have been to her home city of Naples and before she brought dessert menus, off  she went to speak with one of the other Managers Roberto to check if any desserts were vegan.   She came back and suggested either lemon or passion fruit sorbet, so I opted for lemon, which was a real palate cleanser, it was so lemony and refreshing.

I cannot fault the service and especially the attention to detail of the front of house staff, as regards my vegan diet, which must all be down to Restaurant Manager Dan, which makes for a relaxing and enjoyable evening.

Goodyfull Organic Raw Cacao Powder

Goodyfull is the brainchild of Lex, a marketing professional, inspired by his personal experience of better nutrition and exercise, whilst balancing his busy day to day life.   Goodyfull currently sell three organic nutrient rich products, chia seeds, coconut flour and raw cacao powder, which is the product I will be reviewing.

For their customers convenience, they supply the products via a subscription service, so you choose your favourite, how often and how much you need and they deliver.   You only get charged when the products are shipped and they even send you a reminder, to check if you are ready for your next delivery and if not you can delay shipment.   The cacao powder is supplied in a 100% recyclable, resealable bag and is best stored in a cool dark place.

The product originates from South America and the Theobroma Cacao tree, sacred to the Aztecs and Mayans.   The beans contain more antioxidants than red wine and three times more than green tea.   The production process preserves a significant proportion of the nutritional value of the beans, which includes calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron, so the resulting cacao powder, packs a punch in the goodness department.

This is the first time I have seen or used raw cacao powder and was surprised at its light caramel colour, compared to a well known organic cocoa powder I currently use.   But as the saying goes, its all in the taste.

                      organic raw cacao powder                 organic cocoa powder

I recently made a raw brownie recipe, by Anna Jones from her book A Modern Way To Eat, with my usual cocoa powder, but she recommends raw cacao.   Today I made a fresh batch, using Goodyfull raw cacao and I understand Anna's recommendation, it has a more intense chocolate flavour, but is refined, smooth and rich, definitely a big improvement on my first batch.   

This is a quality product and although more expensive than my usual cocoa powder, a little goes along way, so you use less without detracting from the flavour and will be my product of choice in future.

Goodyfull is listed with the VEGAN lifestyle ASSOCIATION and offers Associates a 15% discount off your first order (any product) and you can take advantage of this here. 

In addition, Goodyfull would like to offer a special additional 50% discount, off any ONE product to the first 20 people who use the discount code veganolives (please note: this can only be used for ONE product and cannot be used with any other offer/discount code).

This review has been organised by the VEGAN lifestyle ASSOCIATION.   It has not been paid for and is my genuine and unbiased review of the products.

Blue Daisy Cafe Oldham Street Manchester - 12th February 2016

I have walked past Blue Daisy Cafe so many times, but knew they had vegan options, as I contacted them via their Facebook page, so decided to call in for breakfast today.

The frontage is only small, but very welcoming, with brightly coloured tables and chairs outside, in the limited pavement space available, though we were not brave enough to sit outside, with it being a cold Friday morning.

The inside is equally as welcoming, its really quirky, cosy and I really like it, with its wooden floorboards and enticing food counter.

I decided on a vegan sausage ciabatta sandwich, with a 'bog standard coffee' as displayed on the chalkboard, with ketchup.   I was not disappointed, the ciabatta bread was lovely and soft, plenty of ketchup and with vegan sausages, was a great way to start the day and the coffee was excellent too.

I had a chat with one of the ladies, who ran through their many vegan options, including roasted vegetables, two kinds of houmous, falafels and salads displayed in their food counter, it all looked delicious.

I will definitely revisit Blue Daisy Cafe when next in Manchester, as I would like to try either one of their salads or sandwiches.

Quill King Street Manchester - 11th February 2016

I wanted to visit Quill as it is the newcomer to Manchester and competitor of Manchester House and The French at The Midland Hotel, where I have also dined.   I emailed Quill back in December 2015, to ask about vegan options, going into detail about my vegan diet and a couple of allergies.   I received a reply from Relationship Manager, Rachael Ainsworth, saying Chef Curtis Stewart advised a three course A La Carte menu would be the best option and as soon as the menu had been designed, she would email it to me.   Two weeks before our reservation on the 11th February 2016, I emailed Rachael about my menu, as I had heard nothing from her, but got no reply, so I tweeted with the response being 'chef always has something fabulous up his sleeve, don't worry'!   The day before our reservation I rang and spoke to Luke and requested an email copy of the wine list, but he never sent it, so I rang the morning after and finally received a copy and was quite happy to find a good number of vegan wines.

We arrived on the night, had drinks in the bar, which is cool, modern and as can be seen from the photos quite dark and then shown upstairs to our table, which is where, for me it really went downhill.

A chap, who I can only presume was the Restaurant Manager, came to the table and asked who was the vegan, gave some spiel about not being a typical fine dining restaurant, recommended the five course tasting menu and then disappeared.   I had no menu and I was confused, so when a waitress came to take our order, I explained about the response I had about three course A La Carte, allergies etc, which she seemed completely unaware of, wrote them all down again and went off to the kitchen. She returned to say that chef was preparing something special, at which point alarm bells started ringing, I have heard that before.

Our waitress brought some lovely looking bread for my husband, which contained butter, so she gave me four toasted triangles of gluten free bread.   I explained I was not GFand that having looked at GF bread for a friend, any I had found all contained egg.   She was adamant it did not contain egg, but said she would find out for me, I am still waiting to find out on that one, but it looked so dry and I was unsure, so I left it.  

Amuse bouche was char grilled sweetcorn, broccoli and lettuce with a dressing, but having no menu to refer to, I cannot remember what it was.

Starter was an assiette of beetroot, served by a young lady chef, who explained the various cooking methods, candied, pickled and I think there was beetroot quinoa, nicely cooked and presented and tasted okay.

Main course was mushroom risotto, char grilled leeks, truffle and balsamic pearls (maybe they use Belazu, I have some in the cupboard at home).   No denying it was a good risotto, but it was a safe dish, no innovation or use of all the magnificent ingredients we have available these days, very boring in fact.

The finale was even more safe and boring than the main course, a fruit salad, pimped up and served with sorbert.   Honestly could they not think of anything more creative, shame on them, but what do you expect for £50 per head?

The wines I chose were excellent, served by the glass and vegan, so a  L'Ormarine Picoul de Pinet to start and a Domaine La Motte Chablis with the mains.

I was not particularly impressed with the service either, the wine Sommelier just plonked glasses on the table, no explanation of the wines or anything and the waitress made me feel I was a nuisance.   As for the food, well I felt I had travelled back twenty plus years in a tardis, when my fine dining experiences and my mission to get something better than a risotto and a fruit salad began.   If I had just walked in off the street on the night and put the kitchen on the spot, I could understand, but to give three months notice, it is just not acceptable and lazy.   Would I go back, no chance, I will be off back to The French, who really know how to look after their customers, whatever their dietary requirements.