pizza

13 November 2018

Chilled & Frozen Vegan Pizza available in UK Supermarkets
I've been doing this free from food thing now for a long time, like 30+ years long. For those of you who are new to my blog, I'm allergic to milk and eggs and I choose not to eat meat. I'm super excited for all the new vegan products that have hit the supermarkets in recent months especially pizza. I've been making my own pizzas for years but it's such a dream to be able to grab something ready made. I thought it might be nice to show you what is available starting with my favourites.

3 October 2017

Vegan Food, Ben & Jerry's, The White Rabbit Pizza Co, Booja Booja, Liberty Loves, Norah's Brownies, Livia's Kitchen, Freaks of Nature
Top to Bottom Left to Right - Tesco Free From Mac & Cheese, Ben & Jerry's, The White Rabbit Pizza Co, Booja Booja, Liberty Loves Brownie, Liberty Loves Raw Tart, Norah's Brownies, Livia's Kitchen, Freaks of Nature

It seems in recent weeks that lots of new Vegan products have launched into the major supermarkets, alongside this I've managed to pick up a few more from independent shops. Most of this stuff I post to my Instagram or Facebook but I figure why not share on here as well.

Tesco Free From Mac & Cheese - its nice to see Tesco add a vegan/vegetarian option to their free from ready meal range. Personally, I found the sauce a little on the runny side and the taste was ok, mildly cheese-y at best but it could be better. Before now the only other vegan mac & cheese I have eaten regularly is from Amy's Kitchen and in comparison I think it's richer in flavour.

Ben & Jerry's Non-Dairy Ice Cream - its been a long wait but finally these have launched in the UK, at time of writing I think Tesco is the only stockist? We've got three flavours to choose from chocolate fudge brownie, chunky monkey and peanut butter & cookies. The latter I got my hands on and it's simply the stuff of dreams, I love it but at £5.50 a tub this is a real treat. The downside is the ethical dilemma that Ben & Jerry's is part of Unilever and I can't decide how I feel about this. I've lusted over dairy Ben & Jerry since it first came to the UK. It's the creativity of flavours that captures my interest. You have to remember that for a long time there was no dairy free ice cream and then there was only vanilla. I can live without the two other flavours but someone from a more ethical brand needs to get on the non-dairy PB cookie so I can buy guilt free. 

The White Rabbit Pizza Co - when news of a Vegan pizza was coming to Sainsbury's I've pretty much been stalking my store. Sadly, I was really disappointed and it was the base that let me down. It was too hard on the edge and soggy in the middle. I cooked it exactly to the instructions. The toppings and tomato sauce were ok. Sorry White Rabbit but I'll continue making my own.

Booja Booja Ice Cream - I've never been a fan of the original ice cream but this new Caramel Pecan Praline is delicious and creamy. The small tubs are fab because it's a little treat on the go. I bought this at Country Foods Health Food Shop in Swanage and enjoyed eating it on the beach. The simple pleasures, normally I watch my husband enjoy a 99 while I cry on the inside.

Liberty Loves from Cariad Wholefoods - Annie opened her shop a year ago and I finally got to visit. Cariad Wholefoods stock organic, natural, eco-friendly and cruelty free products plus everything is Vegan. I've lusted over the instagrams for Liberty Loves so I knew I had to try them. I bought the Raspberry Brownie and Raw Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart. Raspberry and chocolate is my favourite combination so the brownie was an obvious choice and it was absolutely delicious. I found the tart a little too rich for me but tasty. 

Norah's Brownies - I've met some lovely people in my blogging journey and when Emma won a comp (which Nicola had tagged us in) she was such a sweetheart and shared her winnings with us.  My brownies were gluten free and vegan and absolutely delicious, super rich and moist. The Raspberry & Sesame and Banoffee were my favourites from the four in my box.

Livia's Kitchen - I'd heard a lot about this brand so was interested to see Sainsbury's stocking snack packs of Salted Date Caramel Millionaire Bites and Biccy Boms (which I am yet to try). The millionaire bites were a really nice treat, not an exact dupe for the real ones but a close match given the ingredients. There were 3 bites in the packet. These are gluten free and Vegan.

Freaks of Nature - I had previously tried the Mango Fandango and Zingy Thingy and whilst enjoyable I hadn't gone back for more. I thought I'd give Cocoa Loca a whirl and this is definitely my favourite. Reminds me a little of Pudology as it's a rich chocolate ganache. Freaks of Nature desserts are vegan and free from gluten, dairy, eggs and soya. They do contain nuts as made from cashews. I buy these products at Tesco.

Have you tried any of the foods I've mentioned? What are your favourites?

Sarah x

2 December 2012

Sunday Catch Up - Pizza, Noodles & Party Food Dairy Free Vegan
I have been experimenting in the kitchen this week. First up is pizza using a Jus-Rol ready made base which I brought at Tesco. It's a chilled product which comes with a tomato sauce and suitable for Vegans. You get two pizza bases serves 4 - 6 but being the piggies that we are we had one each. The bases are rectangular and didn't fit on our trays so we folded over. It certainly did not affect the end results.  I topped mine with Redwood "ham", Sheese Mature Cheddar Style "cheese" and fresh tomato, sweetcorn and olives.

Second dish of the week was Stir Fry Sesame Cauliflower from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage Veg Everyday cookbook. I did not follow the recipe exactly but what I threw together in the end was not bad just lacked colour (I left out coriander as I hate it). I added some udon noodles.

I have also stocked up on Redwood seasonal Vegan treats. This Christmas I am trying out Sausage Rolls (frozen), Sausage & Bacon Style Wraps (veggie pigs in blankets) and Sage, Onion & Cranberry Bites. The latter two product are chilled but suitable for freezing so that's where they are currently hiding until the big day.

29 October 2012

We all know Italian food is delicious but when it comes to food allergies, namely milk, eggs and those of you who can’t have gluten, it’s not easy.  Add to this not eating meat and you are looking at eating salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner or so I thought.  Before heading out to Rome I spent some time researching. Guide books are doom and gloom when it comes to being a non meat eater with Vegetarians having it easier than Vegans. I discovered Happy Cow website on which you can search by city for veggie restaurant/cafe recommendations. It was good to have this information for back up but I ended up not using it. I also found a useful blog post on www.walksofitaly.comThis gave me an idea of the kind of foods to look out for.

So how did I cope? I admit I spent four days eating pizza.  It turned out ordering pizza without cheese was an easier task than expected. A pizza marinara is tomato sauce based without cheese with oregano or garlic. I was confident enough to order Vegetarian pizzas without cheese. The waiters had good levels of English plus you just need to say “senza formaggio”. I must admit ordering pasta was more daunting and I did not pluck up the courage to raise the issue of egg. I did spotted a couple of restaurants offering gluten free pasta so it's worth doing your research before arriving. Failing that if the pizza or pasta gets boring then salads (insalatas) are readily available on menus.
Sugarpuffish Pizza & Gelato - Rome Part 2
Aside from pizza and pasta you have to eat Gelato. I had a list of suitable places to try from Happy Cow but I did not need it.  Turned out L’Orso Bianco which was next door to our Hotel had dairy free options, soya and fruit sorbets. I think I had seven flavours to choose from and I tried soya vanilla, soya chocolate, mango and fruits of the forest. Also this place was good value for money three flavours €2.50 cone or €3 cup. We also stopped at Blue Ice Gelaterie near the Trevi Fountain, which was on the Happy Cow list. I had a soya pistachio which was nice but did not rock the taste buds. It was also more expensive.

Another discovery which made me smile was pistachio chocolate which I picked up in a supermarket. Its gluten free and has a “may contain traces of milk” label.  I have been enjoying this treat and wish I had picked up more than one bar to bring back with me. If I had been in Rome for more than 4 days I would have found my diet limited and dull. The important thing was I managed. On the whole I don’t have issues with cross contamination so I was not concerned about tackling this issue with waiters. I ended up having bigger problems with food at Gatwick and Fiumicino Airport. In fact I had nothing but a bag of crisps. I really don’t understand why these places are not catering for allergy sufferers.

Sarah x

Disclaimer - not all the food pictured above is dairy free or Vegetarian

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