Introducing the Vegetarian Society Approved vegan trademark and free Just V show tickets!

Last month I was invited down to the Vegetarian Society Cookery School in Altrincham to celebrate the launch of the brand new Vegetarian Society Approved vegan trademark, this is the Vegetarian Society’s second trademark, which will complement their highly successful vegetarian one that currently certifies over 15,000 products.

Along with a small group of foodie bloggers, I was given a fabulous introduction into the world of vegan cookery in the form of the vegan toolkit workshop. 

As a special treat for my readers, I also have news about how you can get completely free tickets to the Just V show in London this weekend, read down to the bottom for full details!


This new Vegetarian Society Approved vegan trademark offers the assurance of strict checks to ensure products’ vegan credentials making sure they are free from:

• animal-derived ingredients,
• cross-contamination during production,
• GMOs,
• animal testing either directly or via commissioned processes.

As well as food products, the new trademark will soon be seen appearing on cruelty-free cosmetics, beauty products and even vegan cafes and restaurants such as The Retreat Kitchen in Richmond.will carry it across their homemade range.

I've found the original Vegetarian Society Approved trademark extremely useful over the years when shopping for packaged produce and I will be looking out for the new trademark appearing in shops, especially to provide reassurance and clarity on cosmetic and skincare products.

I've been a vegetarian for over twenty years and despite a brief dalliance with veganism during my university years, I've always had some reservations about cooking meals without dairy, being a rather fussy eater anyway, I was worried it would significantly limit my options.

However, I am always open to trying new things and I am very glad that I did. During the day I learned some great tips and tricks, from how to make perfect vegan meringues and eggless mayonnaise to great recipes for vegan pesto, cashew cream, how to best prepare tofu and  I even discovered entirely new foods to me such as Jamaican Ackee and breadfruit.

Photo courtesy of the Vegetarian Society

Our day was led by Alex Connell, the friendly, funny and passionate principal tutor of the Vegetarian Society Cookery School. Under his expert tuition, I was delighted to discover that vegan cookery is nothing to be scared of. In fact, I have come away with so much inspiration that I am introducing a vegan day at least once a week in our house and so far the whole family has happily embraced it!

Photo courtesy of the Vegetarian Society

After learning some basic skills in the morning, such as pureeing garlic, chopping onion and celery, as well as making pasta, pesto and mayonnaise, we each chose a recipe to follow to contribute to a wonderful vegan feast that we enjoyed later in the afternoon.

 My recipe of choice for the day was a Spicy Chickpea Tagine with Aubergine Harissa, which I enjoyed so much (despite not usually being a lover of aubergine/eggplant) that I have made it again twice already!

Photo courtesy of the Vegetarian Society

Photo courtesy of the Vegetarian Society

I enjoyed a wonderful day filled with delicious food and fabulous company and I'd like to thank everyone at the Vegetarian Society Cookery School for making us all feel so welcome as well as my fellow bloggers Jenny, Nicky, Helen, Ellie, Annabelle and Emily.

You can follow the Vegetarian Society on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube to keep up to date with their latest news!

As I hinted above, I also have new of a great freebie for you...

The Vegetarian Society will be at the Just V Show at Olympia in London this weekend ( 7-9th July ) and you can claim FREE tickets to the Just V Show via the Vegetarian Society website, what's more, if you stop by the Vegetarian Society stand you'll be treated to a fabulous goody bag full of samples and vouchers to take home!

This post was commissioned by the Vegetarian Society. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Halloumi and Pepper Stack - Quick Summer Meals

In the hot weather we've been having recently it can be hard to make too much of an effort  when preparing food so I like to have a few really simple and quick meal ideas to hand . This delicious  vegetarian grill stack was first created based on what was left in my fridge the day before my weekly shop! The ingredients compliment each other really well though and  and it soon became a regular favourite.

What you need (to serve 4):

A 250g block of Halloumi Cheese

Two large Peppers (I chose Yellow and Red)

100g Cous Cous (either a ready spiced mix that you can buy in the supermarket or plain cous cous and your own spices to taste.)

Dressing (I used a sweet chilli, soy and ginger dressing, but I think sweet chilli, or a balsamic glaze would go equally as well)

What to do:

Start by slicing your Halloumi into 8 pieces and place under grill, (To make it super quick and easy I used our George Foreman).

Next chop each of  your peppers up into 6 large pieces and also place on the grill.

Make up your cous cous as per the packet instructions (usually adding boiling water, stir, leave for five minutes and stir some more, adding a little olive oil if preferred.)

Turn the cheese and peppers after 5 minutes and continue to grill for a further 5 mins.

Serve by dishing the cous cous onto the plates then stacking 3 pieces of pepper and two pieces of Halloumi alternately on top to form a 'tower'.

Add dressing and season to taste and enjoy!

A deliciously simple vegetarian meal from fridge to plate in just 15 minutes, perfect for a warm summer evening!

Also great on a budget: this worked out at just 95p a serving for me!

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Easy Veggie Pizza to Make with Kids

My children love to help me in the kitchen and it makes me sad that during the week we are so rushed in the evening that it's not possible. So at the weekend I always try to involve them in the process of making dinner, whether it's shelling peas, washing salad or stirring the pasta sauce they really enjoy the involvement and I've come to realise that they have a lot more of an understanding about where the food on their plate comes from than many of their peers.

We also like to grow what we can and although at the moment we only have a small yard we currently have tomatoes, peppers and some herbs growing and both Ben and Elizabeth love to help me tend to them.

This weekend we noticed that we had some lovely ripe peppers ready to use so decided to make a pizza for tea. The children love making izza because it's something they know hey can do with minimal assistance!

What we used:

Ready made pizza bases
(we had these in the cupboard but you could make your own or even use tortillas )

Grated Cheese

Tomato sauce
(I heated some olive oil in a frying pan added chopped garlic, oregano and basil, and half a tube of tomato paste, heated until the sauce darkened.)

Toppings:

We used a tin of sweetcorn and two green peppers but you could use whatever veg you have in the fridge.

What we did

I popped the sweetcorn, peppers, tomato sauce and grated cheese in small bowls and let the children get creative! 

Starting by spooning the sauce on to the bases and spreading out to form a thin layer.

Then sprinkling the cheese on top.

Followed by the toppings - sometimes we do this in the shape of a smiley face but the children decided that their pizza was a treasure map today!

Then pop in the oven for 10 minutes on approximately 180 / gas mark 4. We use a pizza stione but you can also pop straight on to the shelf.

Take out and Enjoy with a simple summer salad!

The children always enjoy dinner more when they have contributed to making it so there were clean plates all round.

 

Eat Well For Less with Sainsburys - Winter Warming Vegetable Curry

There's no denying it, it's getting colder and that means I want our family meals to be be hearty and warming, keeping the whole family filled up and ready to brave the icy temperatures outside! We love a good curry and I find a  good old vegetable and lentil curry is a great way to feed the whole family a delicious meal on a budget. By combining tinned foods such as chopped tomatoes, lentils and chickpeas with fresh vegetables I can save cash without compromising on quality!

Being vegetarian, I buy a lot of fresh vegetables and find they can get rather costly, which is why I love the 'no frills' ranges in supermarkets. Sainsbury's Basics range offer great quality fruit and vegetables at fantastic prices, the only difference I find between these and the higher priced alternatives s that they may not be quite as appealing to the eye, but what does that matter when you chopping them all up anyway? Perfect for making curries or stews!

Sainsbury's challenged myself and some other lovely bloggers to create a a tasty meal using their basics range as the building blocks of simple, nutritious food.

The idea was to combine budget ingredients with more expensive ones to make a little go a lot further...

So off we went to Sainsbury's.

For less than £10 I purchased:

Sainsbury's taste the difference Sweet Potatoes (my luxury item!)

Basics Cauliflower

Basics Carrots

2 x loose onions

A large loose Red Pepper

2 x Basics chopped tomatoes

Sainsbury's tinned green lentils

Sainsbury's tinned chickpeas

A packet of Sainsburys Basmati Rice

2 x Sainsburys garlic and coriander Naan bread

Sainsbury's ground coriander

Sainsbury's fresh coriander 

(I had Garam Marsala mix and some other spices as well as mango chutney in the cupboard)  

I'd love to say I have some extravegant recipe to follow, but this is a really easy vegetable curry that I've been making since my student days and to be honest you pretty much chuck it all in!

• Start by chopping up the vegetables
• Then heat some oil in a pan, 
• Add the chopped onion to soften, then add the red pepper
• Add some Garam Marsala mix, corriander and any other spices required and stir in the lentils
• Cook for a few minutes before adding the rest of the vegetables and stirring
• Add in the chopped tomatoes
• Cook for a few more minutes while stirring and add some water if required
• Cover and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes on a medium heat stirring occasionally
• Add some fresh coriander and season to taste...

Serve with basmati rice, Naan bread and Mango chutney!

Tada! 

So easy even a student could do it!

Watch it below...

This makes a great alternative to a takeaway too!

How do you live well for less? What is your secret 'budget' alternative?


Disclaimer: I was sent a £10 Sainsbury's voucher to take part in this challenge.

Check out some more great recipes here...

Bento Box Teddy Bears Picnic #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

As the children go back to school and nursery it's time for packed lunches to make a return. However I didn't want to get stuck in a rut with boring butties in a box after all the fun we'd had with food this summer so I decided to turn to Pinterest for some inspiration! After spending about two hours browsing (why is it so addictive?!) I created a Pinterest board of my favourite Bento Box lunches that had given me some great ideas. There was one particular theme that I really liked. The amazing creativity of my fellow pinners had encouraged me to do something a bit different...

During the summer we had lots of picnics, from the park to the zoo and even on a blanket in the living room on rainy days. They were great fun and it really encouraged an interest in choosing and preparing food, both the children would help to decide what we were having, choose it in the shops, help to make it and of course enjoy eating it! Not only does this help to teach them about the food they eat but it also expands their tastes, prompting them to try new things. Among their favourite new foods this summer are; Olives, hummous and (vegetarian) Sushi! I love how they have taken this over to imaginative play, I have I watched them having 'play dough picnics' with their teddies, dollies and action figures, sharing out food and telling their soft toys what's in the picnic basket!  

Last week we visited the forest to go on a Teddy Bear Hunt and Elizabeth loved it, she's been talking about it all weekend! So I decided I was going to create a Teddy Bear's Picnic themed Bento Box lunch...

I wanted to provide a healthy meal for my children that would still be appealing to them. I would use colour and fun shapes to transform a salad based lunch into a fun adventure!

While shopping at Asda for the ingredients I had come across this fabulous expandable Bento Box lunchbox from cool gear that just had to buy! As well as separate compartments on the top, the main bowl was expandable and the middle section was also a freezer block, ingenious!

I set out a selection of ingredients including cherry tomatoes, peppers, celery, broccoli, grapes, kiwi, raisins and a few treats in the form of mini gingerbread men and pretzels. I used a teddy bear shaped cookie cutter to create little bears out of some wholemeal bead and cucumber.

I started off by creating a salad with baby leaves and grated salad, this would be the 'grass' where our picnic would take place...

I added 'trees' made from broccoli florets resting on cucumber sticks, pretzel fences and a picnic blanket made with red pepper slices, some kite shaped bread represented the picnic basket and raisins and puffed rice hearts became the teddies food. The generous teddy bears kindly invited some gingerbread men to join them for their delicious picnic!

Some of the creations that had really caught my eye when looking on Pinterest were the lunchbox kebabs, as well as picnics we'd enjoyed some lovely barbecues over the summer and both myself and the children created some delicious kebabs using vegetables and halloumi for Daddy to grill on the BBQ. I decided to build on this by creating some fun mini kebabs using raw spaghetti as sticks!

I mixed up kiwi stars with cherry tomatoes and dried fruit, grapes with teddy bear butties, strawberries and heart shaped cucumber slices, they looked fantastic...

I added the final touches with pots of grapes, baby carrots and a tub of hummous, then almost decided to make butties for the children and keep these for myself!

Both children really enjoyed them and I will certainly be carrying on with the Bento box creations for lunches. They won't be this creative every day, but the kebabs and pots of veg with dippers were so quick and simple to make I have already repeated them a few times this week, do you think I could get away with taking some in to the office for my lunch?!

You can take a look at our G+ album and Check out our shopping experience at ASDA and I would love to hear about your children's favourite packed lunches, do you create surprise treats for them to discover?

Feta & Beetroot Summer Salad Recipe with Fresh Gourmet

So Summer is here! And what better food for al fresco dining than a yummy salad? The lovely folks at Fresh Gourmet sent me a selection of their range of croutons and toppings that are perfect for summer salads, they include three delicious crouton flavours – Basil Pesto, Cheese & Garlic and Cracked Black Pepper as well as crunchy Crispy Onions. They challenged me to create an experimental salad recipe using at least one of their products and of course I accepted!

As a vegetarian I find that salads feature in quite a lot of my meals, especially over the warmer summer months. I absolutely love a traditional Greek salad and have developed quite a few variations over the years that our whole family enjoy!

I decided to keep a Greek or Mediterranean feel to my salad but create something a bit different. One of my favourite root vegetables is beetroot, it's just so versatile, I love it roasted in the winter, in salads in the summer and in chocolate cake all year round!

I decided to team beetroot with Greek Feta for a yummy summer salad with a twist!

Ingredients:

50g of fresh peppery rocket

3 large salad tomatoes 

1/2 cucumber

100g Greek Feta Cheese

100g Sweetfire Baby Beetroot

80g of green Halkidiki Olives

Fresh Gourmet Sea Salt and cracked Black Pepper Croutons

For the dressing:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Oregano

(quantities to taste)

Preparation:

After washing all of the ingredients and chopping roughly into large chunks, I started with a bed of rocket in the serving bowl, then took the tomato, cucumber, feta, beetroot and olives together and tossed them together in a colander before adding on top of the rocket. I then completed this this tasty offering with a generous sprinkle of of the fresh gourmet croutons.

For the dressing I mixed Extra Virgin Olive oil with Balsamic vinegar and added Oregano to taste, a light but tasty dressing for this summery salad...

Tasting:

All that was left was to taste it! It looked so pretty I didn't want to spoil it, but I soon gave in and I can honestly say it tastes even better than it looks!! I was a bit concerned that the multitude of strong flavours would be a bit much and overpower each other but that was not the case! The sweet beetroot and salty Feta complemented each other perfectly and the peppery rocket was a lovely contrast with the refreshing cucumber and tomato. The well seasoned crispy croutons were an ideal topping, giving the extra bite needed to complete this summer delight. I can see this being a regular for us over the next few months! But don't just take my word for it, my children gave it the thumbs up too... 

Ben, 5 said..."It's really cool and tasty" while Elizabeth, 2 simply went with "More, please?"

The Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper croutons are just one of the new range from Fresh Gourmet, I also really enjoyed the cheese and garlic croutons, which were a lovely addition to a butternut squash soup adding a bit of Italian flavour and extra crunchiness while still taking on the yummy taste of the deliciously sweet squash. The Ciabatta croutons  had a really light and crispy texture and although these were yummy with a more traditional Caesar salad they also made a moreish snack on their own and I found myself eating them straight from the packet!

The final product in the range offers something a bit different but just as delicious! The crispy onions were the perfect addition to our burgers and sausages at a recent BBQ they gave added texture and helped to bring the flavours of the meat to the forefront (so i'm told, I had some on a veggie burger!)

Overall I was really impressed with the products on offer from the Fresh Gourmet range and I can see them becoming staples in our cupboard as they are so versatile! Also being baked and not fried makes them a healthier alternative.

At just £2 per large 80g pouch (that is easily resealable for freshness) from most supermarkets, they are a great way of adding some extra texture and taste to a variety of different meals.

So what salad will you be trying them with? Do let me know what you think of my Feta & Beetroot Salad recipe if you try it...

Keep cool x

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I was sent a selection of fresh gourmet products to use in this recipe.

Chef's table at Red Hot World Buffet - Review

A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to attend a special event at Red Hot World Buffet in Manchester. I was invited to join some fellow bloggers to dine at the Chef's Table and experience a selection of dishes specially selected by Head Chef Anurag Bisht.

I walk past this Deansgate restaurant on a daily basis but i'd never had the pleasure of dining here, although I had heard some very good things about both the food and the whole dining experience so I was really looking forward to trying it for myself. Red Hot World Buffet was born in Nottingham in 2004 completely transforming the concept of all-you-can-eat dining. Rather than cooking behind the scenes, expertly trained five star chefs were stationed at live cooking counters interacting with customers and creating a 'restaurant within a restaurant' concept. This proved so popular that the brand soon expanded throughout the UK.

The Manchester venue is one of seven branches of Red Hot World Buffet throughout the country and in 2012 it expanded to include a second level offering beautifully decorated function rooms to cater for a variety of corporate occasions. It was one of these luxurious rooms where we were treated to a delightful evening.

I was really looking forward to a night of 'me time', the chance to shrug off the label of 'Mummy' for the evening and have a grown up chatter with some lovely local bloggers, I was not disappointed!

On arrival we were treated to a Red Hot signature cocktail that along with an delicious mix of liqueurs and peach syrup, included a whole blended plum! It was mouthwatering and very easy to drink, so refreshing! It was easy to see how months of research had gone into perfecting this drink right down to the aesthetically pleasing garnishes and shaped glasses...

 

After being personally introduced to our chef for the evening and served with a wine matched perfectly to the first of seven courses, we were presented with the Amuse Bouche, which for me was Avocado and Mango Sushi.You can see below just how enticing it looked, it was almost a shame to bite into it! It tasted just as delicious and was a lovely first dish of the evening...

The next course was a Potato Tikki, this example of popular Indian Street Food was a taste sensation, rather spicy but accompanied by a sweet sauce and colourful pomegranate seeds which complemented each other beautifully.

Next up was the fish course of seafood Risotto but I was kindly served a vegetarian option of asparagus and sundried tomato risotto. As you may know from my recipe posts Risotto is one of my favorite dishes to both prepare and eat. Because I spend so long hours perfecting it at home it's usually something I avoid in restaurants for fear of being disappointed. However I was rather impressed with this tasty dish. As I mentioned earlier each course was accompanied by wines that had been expertly paired with the food. The crisp white served with the Risotto really complemented it and brought out the flavours of the asparagus. The wine was brought to us before each course by polite and pleasant serving staff, who were happy to cater to our every whim.

The main course was a delightful Teppanyaki prepared on the Oriental Grill, Chicken for the others and vegetable for me. This was a simple but effective dish, with crunchy vegetables and and a tasty sauce.

After these first four courses I had to admit I was getting a little full, but when I saw our desserts approaching the table, I knew I had some more room!

What more can I say about this Palette cleansing raspberry sorbet that was served with a mint leaf on a bed of ice in a martini glass, apart from yum!!

I have to say, it's a difficult choice but I think this may just have been my favourite dish of the evening! I could have eaten it again and again!

And then it was time for Dessert....

Pancakes with Strawberries and white chocolate, Petit Fours and mini deserts served with a fresh coffee...

The perfect way to complete a fabulous meal and very satisfactory to my sweet tooth!

The evening wasn't just about the amazing food, the service was exquisite, and it was great to be able to relax and converse with fellow bloggers while actually being able to finish a sentence which is never possible at family events with the children!

 I have dined in a variety of all-you-can-eat style restaurants and one thing that always lets me down in the lack of choice in vegetarian selection, I find that the 'meat free' options tend to be an after thought and are generally bland and tasteless. This was certainly not the case with Red Hot World Buffet, everything had been thought out and planned in detail, including the Vegetarian dishes.

Our evening at Red Hot World Buffet in Manchester was fantastic and I will definitely be visiting again with my other half in tow to experience the buffet for myself. I would recommend a visit to this restaurant, it would make a perfect 'date night' or even a lovely place to go for a family meal at the weekend, especially when prices start from under £10!

You can save even more with the latest offers here...

Food and drink was provided free of charge in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

15/365

 15/365 - Dinner

Say No To Nut Roast... A great vegetarian alternative for Christmas Dinner!

As a vegetarian (and a rather fussy eater!) I dread the food choices over the festive season, not being a huge fan of nut roast, which tends to being the ' festive vegetarian alternative', I dislike having it forced on me wherever I look, from a Christmas lunch with work, to a meal out with friends and then Christmas Dinner with the family.

Luckily for me, a few weeks ago I was invited down to join some fellow bloggers and the lovely folks from Aunt Bessies at London cookery school:  Food at 52. Not only did we have a great time and enjoyed some lovely wine and scrumptious food but we were also taught some tasty but simple recipes, and two of them are great ideas for vegetarian mains! (They would work just as well for starters for family members who eat meat) I'm sharing the first below and will be back with the next one soon...

Festive Stuffed Mushrooms

What you will need...(To serve 4 as a main)

8 large portobello mushrooms

2 shallots

25g of unsalted butter

2 tbsp of dried cranberries soaked in boiling water then chopped

2 tbsp toasted pine nuts

12g of soft goats cheese

2 tbsp of breadcrumbs

two sprigs of fresh thyme

olive oil to drizzle

salt and pepper to season

What to do

• Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan assisted)
• Pull the stalks off the  mushrooms and chop finely with the shallots
• Heat the butter and oil in a pan and fry the chopped stalks and shallots for 5 minutes until soft, then leave to cool
• Drain the cranberries and add to the onion and mushroom  mixture with the pine nuts, thyme  and breadcrumbs, stirring well
• Crumble in the goats cheese, season with salt and pepper, mix well  
• Put the mushrooms on a baking sheet and  pop a small knob of butter into each mushroom (or drizzle in some olive oil if you prefer) then stuff  with the filling
• Season and bake for 15-20 minutes 

 Then simply enjoy! At this time of year this is perfect with all the trimmings but could work equally well with a salad in the summer!

I was kindly sent some of the Aunt Bessies range to try some recipes at home.