Month: May 2018

Mini Tesco Vegan Haul

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I don’t often do a big shop in Tesco as I don’t drive and don’t have a larger store that close to me. As I had seen Tesco had launched some new vegan products I made a special visit after swimming with my Mum this week.

I’ve tried some of the Wicked Kitchen range before so I picked up one of my faves the BBQ mushroom pizza. I also got the gunpowder potato chana masala which I haven’t tried before to take to work for lunch.

I love the thick and creamy Alpro Go On soya yogurts so I always pick up a couple when I visit any supermarket stocking them. I also picked up one of Alpro’s newer products the big pot in their “more fruit, no added sugar” range in mango. I’ve seen these on other people’s feeds and was really interested in trying them. The last Alpro product is a mini version of their chilled caramel coffee drinks. I’ve tried the hazelnut version in the larger pack and love that they’ve released these smaller versions for when you’re on the go.

I have also seen the Swedish Glace caramel toffee cones online and I had one of these in the car on the way home. It’s great to see the variety of vegan ice cream expanding and these are a great addition.

My favourite Nakd bars are the peanut ones but unfortunately this this Tesco store didn’t stock them, but they did have these Peanut Nine bars and they were offer so I’m going to give these a go.

Lastly I bought the Vivera Veggie Shawarma Kebab. I have tried other Vivera products such as the pulled veggie (alternative to pulled pork) and the chicken style pieces. Now Tesco have started selling these products they have an exclusive to sell the veggie steak which has been written about quite a lot in the press. Unfortunately they had all sold out of the steaks. My Mum took the last veggie fish gougons and I had the last veggie kebab pack so it’s great to see how popular these products are. Hopefully they can keep up with demand so people aren’t disappointed.

Other new products I saw but didn’t buy were these Salted Caramel Pots from The Coconut Collaborative, I was very tempted by these but as we had a heavy eating session in Camden this week (if you’ve seen my other recent blog posts!) I wanted to lay off too many desserts but will definitely pick these up in the future.

Another coconut product are these Alpro coconut desserts available in the dry goods free from aisle. I think there are five flavours of this range now, so again it is great to see more products available and ranges expanding.

Lastly we have these burgers from Strong Roots. My freezer is pretty full at the moment but I love the sound of these as they are more veggie based rather than a meat alternative.

What new vegan products have you been trying out lately? What am I missing? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

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Mini Tesco Vegan Haul

Roly’s Fudge Pantry

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I was first made aware of Roly’s Fudge Pantry from a recent review Siobhan at Vegan Babe Life (at time of posting Siobhan’s giveaway is still open so click that link to be in with a chance of winning some for yourself!)

Roly’s have 38 stores nationwide which operate on a franchisee basis. Using traditional techniques they make fudge on site. Along with the non-vegan varieties they offer two vegan varieties Maple Cashew and Salted Maple Pecan. When I was speaking to Guy Bart-Smith who owns the Camden branch (along with branches in Lincoln and the Lake District) he said they make the vegan fudge first thing to avoid cross contamination and as it was getting more popular he was having to get up earlier and earlier to meet demand!

The Camden store is in Stables Market quite near the Amy Winehouse statue and right by Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner which I reviewed here.

Photo credit – Guy Bart-Smith

Right now to the fudge! I went for a bag of the Maple Cashew fudge and WOW! Hands down this is the best vegan fudge I have ever tasted. No other fudge I’ve tried has that rich buttery taste that non-vegan fudge has. It also has that esssntial crumbly texture. Cashews have quite a neutral flavour and if you didn’t knew I wouldn’t think you’d guess these contained cashews. As pecans have a stronger flavour I’m excited to try that variety to see the difference.

If you don’t have a store nearby you can also buy fudge from Roly’s online store.

As the vegan varieties are getting more and more popular I hope they expand the range, I would love to see what inventive flavours they can come up with!

Have you tried Roly’s vegan fudge? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Roly’s Fudge Pantry

Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner May 2018

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For our last meal of our Camden mini-trip we decided to head to Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner in the Stables Market for an early lunch before heading home.

I couldn’t see a full menu online but from reading reviews it was classic American with burgers, hot dogs and macaroni cheese available.

They do a great meal deal for £10 for a main, fries and a drink so my Husband and I both went for this option, him with a burger and me with the Reuben sandwich and a side of mac & cheese.

I’ve never had a Reuben sandwich, vegan or otherwise but this definitely won’t be my last! Wholemeal bread packed with vegan pastrami, cheese, sauerkraut, pickles and Russian dressing this sandwich spoke to my heart! I love pickly flavours so the combo of sauerkraut and pickles was a big plus for me! My Husband was also impressed with the number of pickles in his burger! He did say the bun was a little dry but the patty was really juicy.

The mac and cheese came with vegan bacon and sour cream on top. This was a decent mac and cheese. I’m not into mac and cheese as much as some people are but I think Rudy’s version would definitely be up there.

The portions are generous so we saved half to have for dinner later, definitely getting your money’s worth!

I saw someone else order a hotdog and that’s what I’m going to go for next time!

Rudy’s has a nice corner unit with seating both inside and out which is an added bonus as most places in Camden Market are just stalls or have a couple seats at the counter.

Have you sampled Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner May 2018

The Fields Beneath May 2018

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This is just a really quick post to tell you about the lovely breakfast my Husband and I had at The Fields Beneath in Kentish Town yesterday.

I have been following the cafe on social media for over a year now and were really interested in their story.

The cafe had been running since 2012 before one of the owners became vegan. Gradually they started reducing the animal products available in the cafe and finally eliminated dairy milk on Mother’s Day 2017.

As we were staying in Camden on Sunday night it was a great opportunity to get down to the cafe for breakfast the next morning.

We were planning on heading to Camden market for lunch so I didn’t want anything huge for breakfast. I had also seen multiple photos of their croissants on their Intagram feed and was really intrigued to try them.

We had a croissant each and OH MY WORD! These are definitely the best vegan croissants I have every tasted and definitely up there with any non-vegan offering. (I don’t think you’d even be able to tell). Just look at that texture!

I had a gorgeous chai latte to accompany my croissant. The Fields Beneath use Oatly oat milk as their default milk but they also have a variety of other options available on request.

My Husband, who doesn’t drink hot drinks went for a sparkling citrus, cold brew coffee. This had an interesting flavour that was very unusual but not unpleasant. I’d definitely try it again.

The Fields Beneath is located under the arches at Kentish Town West station and I am very jealous of the people who can go in everyday on their commute!

Have you been to The Fields Beneath? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

The Fields Beneath May 2018

Purezza Camden May 2018

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On Sunday my Husband and I were heading to Camden to see J-POP superstar Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and needed somewhere to have dinner first.

We loved Purezza when we visited their Brighton restaurant a couple of years ago and hadn’t had the opportunity to visit their newer Camden restaurant until now.

We got to the restaurant at about 4pm so there were a few tables occupied but it wasn’t overly busy.

We decided to share a garlic bread to start. I love it when garlic bread comes with rosemary and this one didn’t disappoint!

For main my Husband chose the “Season 4 Pizza 1”

Marinated artichokes, black kalamata olives, oven roasted chestnut mushrooms & smoked beetroot carpaccio, finished with salad cress.

He enjoyed it although he isn’t a massive fan of beetroot and handed those over to me.


My pizza also had beetroot on it, I went for the Fumosa – Smoked tofu pieces, with oven roasted mushrooms and smoked beetroot carpaccio, finished with a drizzling of BBQ sauce.

Some of the beetroot was a little under-done and I definitely could have done with more mushrooms but overall I really enjoyed my pizza. The dough was so amazing, we could smell it as soon as we walked into the restaurant!

We had garlic mayo and barbeque dips with our pizzas although I couldn’t really taste any garlic in the mayo. The barbeque was quite fruity which I really liked.

I was starting to get full at this point but I could turn down a dessert! I went for the Oreo pizza and Oh My Word! was this delicious! Chocolate hazelnut spread on that amazing dough topped by Oreo cookies! I got pretty messy eating this and I had to leave a couple of the crusts but I regret nothing!

Purezza also offers a 10% student discount which is always handy to know.

I would definitely recommend stopping by if you’re in the area and fancy pizza!

Have you been to Purezza? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Purezza Camden May 2018

What I eat in a day May 2018

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I haven’t done one of these posts in a while so I thought why not do one now.

Breakfast for me is generally overnight oats, if it’s a cold morning I will pop it in the microwave for a couple of minutes but generally I just have it cold.

I find overnight oats are a great way to start your day off right. I add milled flax seed, cacao nibs, frozen berries and hemp milk.

My colleague had been to Germany at the weekend and brought back some treats to share. Luckily some the chocolate bars were accidentally vegan so I nabbed a square as often the office treats aren’t vegan.

Mid morning snack is always an apple (if I remember to buy a bag on the Monday!)

I usually buy my lunch out. In recent times vegan options have got better and better so I’m spoilt for choice. I went for a mixed mushroom bibimbap from Bibimbap to go. Bibimbap is a Korean rice dish with lots of different vegetables that you mix in. Traditionally it comes with an egg on top but fortunately they don’t do that at this shop. I usually go for the tofu one but I’m glad I tried the mushroom one this time and I’ll definitely have it again.

I met my friend for dinner. She fancied Chinese so we went to my local which has great vegan options but they were shut as they had been open for the bank holiday so we tried out another one she knew of that had some options.

For starters we shared spring rolls and vegetarian crispy duck which was made out of tofu. I love hoisin sauce and the whole pancake thing with crispy duck so my eyes light up when I see a vegan version on the menu.

For mains I had seaspice aubergine with rice noodles but I somehow managed to forget to take a photo! I love seaspice sauce and the aubergine was soft and delicious.

The staff were so nice and attentive, topping up our water, asking if we were warm enough with the door open and letting us take things at our own pace. It was such a nice evening catching up with my friend.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and thank you for visiting the blog.

Plumes x

What I eat in a day May 2018

Vegan Nights May 2018

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Well it’s been over a month since I last posted. It sometimes seems like I have loads of events all at once and then none for a little while and I don’t like to post just for the sake of it!

When I was out with my friend Maxine a couple of weeks ago she mentioned she was heading to this month’s Vegan Nights and as I free and hadn’t been in a few months I decided to tag along.

The event takes place in 93 Feet East and The Boilerhouse in Brick Lane and takes up a much larger space than the last time I visited. This was great as it meant stalls weren’t cramped together and there was a lot more space for seating.

We decided to go early, which was great to beat the queues and meant I wasn’t out too late! (I do love to be in bed by 10!)

I decided to go have tofish and chips with mushy peas from Shakey Shakey Fish Bar. I’d heard of these guys but never been to an event they were at so wanted to try them out. The tofish was great, the batter was crisp and there was more seaweed than I’ve had in other tofish dishes, which gave it that fishy taste. I also really enjoyed dipping my chips in the tartare sauce.

They also had deep fried Oreos which I was really tempted by, but they’ll have to wait for next time!

Maxine went for a wrap from What the Pitta, I have tried these multiple times and they are always amazing!

Photo credit – https://www.instagram.com/vegan4theanimalz/

For dessert I couldn’t resist this mint chocolate ice cream from Hell Yum. Mint choc chip was always my favourite ice cream flavour pre-vegan and it’s one you rarely see vegan versions of. We also tried some samples of Hell Yum’s cookies which were delicious. They also do ice cream cookie sandwiches but I was far too full for that!

There’s always two cake stalls I have to purchase something from. I picked up a Viennese Whirl from Vegan Delice and a rainbow cake along with a couple of brownies (peanut and caramel) for my Husband from Vida Bakery. These went down a right treat!

I managed to make one none food purchase as well. This gorgeous T-shirt from BCLVA (I couldn’t find a link for them, sorry!) for only a fiver! Maxine picked up a couple of different designs too. I think it’s gonna look great at activism events!

We also had a little boogie to DJ Deccy Jarrett in the bar area before I decided to head home.

There were so many other places to try out, I think I’ll definitely have to back next month!

I’ll finish with this photo of Maxine and I showing off our vegan ink!

Did you visit Vegan Nights this month? What did you think? What did you eat?

Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Vegan Nights May 2018