Some people are so poor all they have is money…

Nobody said it was cheap being a vegan. We don’t eat processed food (as a general rule), we use fresh plant based ingredients for every meal. Our shopping usually consists of 80% fruit and vegetables, 10% grains/pasta etc and 10% other items (coffee, sauces, etc). Today….we went equipped with a VERY detailed list and we came home with £105 worth of delicious vegan goodies.

In fairness, this haul will last us for 10-12 days. So it’s not a huge amount per day, but I did watch people go through the checkout with trolleys packed with frozen, processed rubbish; loads of animal proteins/products; alcohol and their trolley came to less than ours!

There is something fundamentally wrong with this! It should not be cheaper to buy rubbish and flesh of a being, than it is to buy plant based fresh food.

I’m forever impressed with Aldi. As well as having fab veg at fab prices, it has now started doing some powders and supplements to add into your diet. I normally buy all of these things from Holland and Barrett, but decided I’d give these a go. They were super cheap, so I’ll use them in my smoothies and let you all know how the fair with their extortionate counterparts.

Dinner tonight was a new dish for me. I decided to try a West African Peanut ‘soup’.

Very few ingredients required.

This recipe was super easy to follow. You literally just throw everything into the stock and let it cook down. (I’ll post a separate recipe later, for those interested).

The end result was DELICIOUS!

West African Peanut ‘soup’ with kale and sweet potatoes. Served with bulgar wheat and roasted cauliflower.

I’d say this has shot to the top of my favourite meals list. It’s actually heaven in a bowl!!! And to think people actually believe vegans have a boring diet and struggle to eat ‘anything’. Pffftttt!! 🤣

Before we left today we had a real lunch of champions. I skipped breakfast, which is rare, but made up for it with an extra half of bagel.

Bagel with houmous, avocado, tomato and seeds. 💗

Liz is in to marmite in a HUGE way right now, so she swapped the houmous for vegan cream cheese and the seeds for marmite.

Marmite, do you love it or hate it?

Plan for tonight is to relax (perhaps enjoy a wee coconut cappuccino and some alpro chocolate over fruit later) and watch a movie.

We have been trying to watch more movies recently. If you haven’t seen ‘I, Daniel Blake…’ I urge you all to watch it before you go down to cast your vote. It really is an emotive and informative movie, about the reality of our benefits system. Referring to state assistance as ‘benefits’ is absurd. They make it sound like a luxury, like you’re really hitting the big-time if you’re lucky enough to be in receipt of it. 🤣

Hope you’ve had a good day, whatever you’ve been up to. ✌

Meal planning…Lists and Food Shop Prep. 🤗

The time has come to do the ‘big shop’ again. This time comes around twice a month….the rest of the time I just pop in for a ‘couple of things’, several times a week, and spend forty quid a pop! 🤣

I’ve always been very particular about the food shop. I love a list….or 4!

Rules of the process…

1. Everyone involved in the process must eat prior to commencement of the list making.
2. Only I can write on the lists.
3. Items must be listed in store running orders.
4. We discuss the options for meals before I make all decisions! 😉
5. I must retain the written list on my person at ALL times following its completion.

Can’t beat a list….

So, before we started I whipped us up a quick pasta dish. Our vegan comfort food is definitely avocado pasta…with some olive oil garlic ciabatta.

I have very little to say today. I’ve been working…I’m starving and I’m tired.

I did find out something very interesting over the weekend though.

Are you all familiar with the new polymer bank notes?

Did you know that these notes are not suitable for vegans as they contain an animal fat known as tallow?

The good news is….

Scotland have confirmed that all their polymer bank notes are now suitable for vegans and vegetarians as they are not using tallow.

England have not made this commitment and as such you should know that your notes issued by an English bank will still not be vegan.

Why they need animal products in notes is beyond me. It seems we just like stuffing death and suffering into everything we possibly can . But…it’s good news that Scotland have recognised the use of tallow is not ethical and as such made a change. It shows….being vocal pays off!

Let’s continue to be the change!

From now on….any English polymer notes I get will be returned straight to the store/bank, but I’ll happily accept and use Scottish issued notes.

On a separate issue. Anyone who knows us will know the tale of our little dog, Davey.

Davey was given to us as a puppy because he had a very serious genetic heart condition, he wasn’t really expected to have much of a life. Despite this poor prognosis, Davey the wonder dog has continued to defy all odds and is going strong 8.5 years later. He had a grade 6 heart murmur, is blind and suffers anxiety as a result. He goes everywhere with us and cannot cope without us being with him.

He has recently had an accident (common in blind dogs) which has caused a corneal abrasion. As he was ill from birth, he’s never been eligible for insurance. So, we’ve been paying for all this treatment without help from insurers. As it stands his eye has some vessels and we’re continuing on with medical treatment (anaesthetic is SOOOOOO risky), but he’s already cost in excess of 4 figures in treatments and we’re far from over.

We set up a crowdfund page in the hopes we may get some assistance with the cost of his treatment . It’s due to end in a few days and we’ve done well…but I thought I’d use my blog for one last push. I set the target at £300 and we’re nearly there, but as I said…his treatment has already far exceeded this total.

If you can donate, even a pound, it would be greatly appreciated. If you can’t, please include Davey in your thoughts and prayers. 🙌

If you can help…please pop over to his page and donate.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Daveydug?utm_id=100&utm_term=BkbawDB38

If you can’t….like I say….send some positive energy his way. He’ll appreciate it!

From all of us here….

Peace, Love and Laughter! ✌🤣💗

The Lotus.

I haven’t done a review in a while, mainly because I haven’t had time to galavant around the place trying out new food places.

However, as we were travelling through Glasgow around dinner time tonight (that’s 7ish to us) we decided to try the Lotus vegetarian (although in fairness it’s all vegan except 3 dishes) Chinese restaurant.

The Lotus Vegetarian Cuisine Limited, to give it its official name, can be found on Bridge Street in Glasgow. There is handy parking right outside, if you go after 6pm, and a wee pay and display a stone’s throw away if you visit during the day.

Inside the restaurant is pretty modest. It’s absolutely spotless and the staff are perhaps the friendliest I have ever encountered.

I usually take a picture of the menu, but to be honest I was too excited by the vast choice that I forgot entirely. Let’s just say there is at least four pages of vegan yumminess for you to peruse!

They also make it abundantly clear that NOTHING is too much bother. Everything is made fresh, to order and they’re happy to alter dishes or make up whatever you want.

For us, the most exciting part was the vegan ‘prawn crackers’. I haven’t been able to enjoy a prawn cracker for well over a decade…and tonight…I thought I was going to die and go to heaven! I know…I know…calm down, it’s only a prawn cracker. But…to me, it was a big deal!

💗

With so much choice we took a while to decide what we were having, but we eventually opted for vegan prawn toast and deep fried dumplings for starters.

You get 4 bits, but Liz stole a piece off the plate before I took the photo.

The prawn toast was gorgeous. Have no idea what it was filled with, but it was pink and fishy and the texture was right. It was a really gorgeous dish.

Little pockets of salty, crispy gorgeousness.

Again, I dont know what these were filled with but I’d guess tofu and veggies. Regardless, they were perfect! The dipping sauce was also lush!

For the main I ordered Szechuan tofu and fried rice. This dish was absolutely amazing. It tasted so fresh and vibrant. It was medium spiced and the tofu itself was exquisite. Soft and creamy but packed full of flavour.

Szechuan tofu.

Liz had….wait for it…sweet and sour ‘chicken balls’ with boiled rice.

Delicious little crispy balls! (Don’t pervert the innocence of a food blog!)

These truly were amazing. I again, have no idea what the balls were actually made of. They didn’t taste of quorn or anything, so perhaps a soya protein they make themselves into balls? Regardless, the sauce was THE BEST I’ve tasted, and the texture of the chicken balls took me back to my omni days. For me, this dish was LOVE!

Bette had a love affair with the boiled rice, she ate loads and stated “this is the most good restaurant I’ve ever been to”. That’s straight from a four year old’s mouth. She thought her food was so good it made her want to cry! 😂  So really, everything I’ve said is totally unnecessary! 👍

Bette enjoyed a BIG bowl of vegan chocolate ice cream before we settled the bill.

If you’re going here you should know, they don’t serve alcohol…or meat, of course. The portion sizes are massive (but shamefully we ate nearly everything). Everything is cooked to order (and MSG free), so its not fast food. We sat down at 8.15pm and didn’t leave until 10pm. We waited a while between starter and main meal, a little bit longer than I’d have liked, but as soon as the food arrived I totally forgot about the wait. You become immersed in the flavours of the dishes and the waiting time seems like a distant memory. I’d do it all over again, rather similar to childbirth! 😉 Finally, the price is super reasonable…so you won’t need to remortgage your house for a meal here!

I’d give this little gem of a place a solid 10 out of 10!

A lovely experience from start to finish! We will definitely be back.

Thanks Lotus…for making vegan dining an absolute pleasure!! 💓