whatveganseats

Busaba – March 2019

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I haven’t been to be to Busaba in a good long while and having seen they have added some dishes using Oumph! meat alternative (which my Husband loves) we thought we’d pay them a visit.

We visited the Westfield Stratford branch on Sunday afternoon, as it was between traditional meal times is wasn’t packed but service was still slow.

We were looking forward to the Weeping Tiger Jay but unfortunately they were all out.

Instead we chose the sriracha ho fun, aubergine curry with Chinese broccoli and Thai soyamari (using Oumph!) on the side.

My aubergine curry was a yellow curry base with chargrilled aubergine and other vegetables. I loved the smokey flavour of the aubergines and this dish wasn’t too spicy which I sometimes struggle with when eating Thai dishes.

I tried a bit of my Husband’s ho fun but this was way too spicy for me although he enjoyed it.

The soyamari was crispy and tasty but I didn’t think it really resembled calamari although my Husband said he thought it would if the pieces were sliced more thinly.

My side of broccoli came with mushrooms and garlic and was very tasty although I seemed to just had stalks and not any floretty bits of the broccoli.

Overall the food was really tasty but definitely on the pricey side. These dishes plus two soft drinks and 12.5% tip (automatically included) came to over £50 which is a bit much for quick dinner on the go.

So although we do want to head back to try the Weeping Tiger Jay we will ring ahead to make sure they have it in stock!

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

Plumes x

Busaba – March 2019

Shrove Tuesday @ The Birds

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As you probably realise from my blog posts I do try and get round to as many places with vegan options as possible but I can’t be everywhere (unfortunately!) so we have a guest post today from my Sister-in-law, Gemma who enjoyed Pancake Day at The Birds with a couple of friends.

So over to Gemma…

“A couple of friends from work and I decided we would go check out the options “The Birds” in Leytonstone had on offer. We had seen on Instagram they were doing a special pancake menu.

We shared the non spicy dirty fries, salt and pepper cauliflower bites and the chickenish burger.

The fries were fab but could have done with some more toppings.

The cauliflower bites were delicious and had a great sauce.

The burger was made from seiten and was quite dense but still super tasty with plenty maybe, bacon and perkins.

We ordered three of the pancakes on offer the orkay, nana and nuts and the stack all to share.

The stand out favourite was the stack which had plenty maple syrup and chicken style strips on top.

The others looked really great but only had toppings on the top. We thought toppings in between each layer with some ice cream would have made them less dry.

The oreo based pancakes should have come with coconut cream so when we enquired, we were told they had run out so we asked for more syrup and so we were brought a jug of maple syrup and some of the peanut butter sauce.

The birds menu is heavy with vegan options but they do a small selection of meat dishes. They also do a good brunch menu.

All of the drinks on the menu and specials board were clearly marked stating which were veggie or vegan friendly.”

Well doesn’t that sound fabulous?! I think I’ll have to get down there soon.

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

Plumes x

Shrove Tuesday @ The Birds

Furahaa Break, Paris – Feb 2019

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This is my last post from our weekend in Paris. Overall I was impressed with the food we ate and the abundance of vegan/veggie places is immense. My friend messaged me to wish me a happy birthday and we were chatting back and forth about how good Paris was for options as the rest of France isn’t too great (so we’re told) and I found myself outside another vegan café! Unfortunately it wasn’t time to eat (and we weren’t hungry) so we didn’t go in but you should have no trouble finding places when you visit.

Furahaa Break is a café which was very close to where we were staying so we decided to head there once we checked out of our Airbnb.

Here is an explanation of their name and ethos from their website.

“It is a Swahili word, a language spoken in East Africa. It means joy, happiness and carries very positive values.

Founder is Arthur Devillers. He is co-founder of the Mains Diamant association, which aims to build a bridge between Deaf and hearing. This association has become very well known to the French deaf community.

The Founder of Furahaa is aware of the problem of employment of the deaf: the situation of deaf people in France is difficult and the unemployment rate reaches 50 to 60% of the deaf population against 10% of the French population.

In the future, the development of a branch-franchise network Furahaa Break & Express will aim to encourage the recruitment of the deaf. In addition, promote the Deaf person’s employability is an essential element for him. He hopes to break down the prejudices against the people who are part of this community and thus facilitate their insertion into the world of work”

We arrived at 11.20 and food wasn’t served until 12.00 so we sat and had a drink while we waited. There are a couple of alphabet sign guides in the cafe to help when ordering menu options and a lovely display on the wall of common phrases.


My Husband chose the “Crazy Burrito” which contained Beyond burger pieces, chicken style pieces, cheeze, barbeque sauce and fries.

I went for a combo and got the v’kebab which contained kebab pieces, cheese and fries. I got a side of fries and a little marble cake which was so light an delicious (pictured above with the burrito).

My combo meal came with a drink, so I said I would include the tea I had when we came in, but the server explained that was on the house as I had looked cold when I came in, which was very sweet!

We really enjoyed our food although my Husband said he could have gone for some salad in his (which really shocked me!) They do also offer some salads and healthier sides too, such as quinoa balls, carrot and sesame, and cucumber and yogurt.

It was great to see a vegan café with the social community element and it was easy to communicate with the servers in sign language. I hope they expand as the founder plans to with franchises around France.

Have you been to Furahaa or anywhere like it before? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Furahaa Break, Paris – Feb 2019

Harvester – January 2019

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I haven’t been to a Harvester in a while but they have also jumped on the vegan menu bandwagon so we decided to have a Monday night meal there after a visit to the dentist.

If you download the app you’ll also get offers so we had 33% off our mains. The other thing that attracted us (and especially my Husband) was the vegan sundae dessert option.

As always in Harvester you have to head to the salad bar first.

I think this is one of the only chain restaurants that offers vegan spread as standard alongside the butter for your rolls.

I’ve had a lot of burgers recently so I went for the lentil and red pepper tagine with flat bread. It was tasty and nicely spiced.

My Husband went for the Moving Mountains burger which he really enjoyed. We picked up a couple of sauces, smokey ketchup and bourbon and they both clearly stated they were vegan on the bottles.

Ollie obviously went for the sundae for dessert. It just looks like ice cream and sauce but he really enjoyed it.

I chose the chocolate orange slice, which has a brownie base with a chocolate and orange mousse topping. It was nice because it wasn’t too rich.

There were plenty of other options I’d like to try. What would you pick from the menu? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Harvester – January 2019

A Vegan Lunch @ All Bar One – Jan 2019

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I regularly go to All Bar One with my friend Matthieu for lunch as it’s pretty quite we get good service and they have lots of vegan options.

For Veganuary they have an even bigger vegan menu and are doing special price 2 or 3 course meals. We both had 2 courses and shared a starter and dessert.

I had to try their cauliflower wings. This was Matthieu’s first time trying this kind of dish and he said he enjoyed it a lot more than he was expecting. It had a Indian twist by being served with mango chutney and a raita that went well.

For my main I chose the miso tofu bowl. This was a lovely tasting bowl filled with goodness. I would have just liked the grains to have been served warm.

Matthieu chose the burger, which used a beyond meat patty. He asked for regular mayo for his chips and we did a taste test. He couldn’t tell the difference between the egg based mayo and the vegan so he went with the vegan version!

For dessert we shared the biscoff bananas. I was disappointed with this dish. I couldn’t see any biscuit crumb, the coconut mousse had an odd texture and tasted like yogurt on the turn to me. Again I think this dish would have been better served warm.

What would you choose from the menu? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

A Vegan Lunch @ All Bar One – Jan 2019

Honest Burger – January 2019

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Neither my friend Mitsu or I had visited Honest Burgers before so we thought we’d meet up for lunch to try their vegan offerings.

They currently offer two vegan burgers both using the Beyond Meat burger.

We both chose the Plant which came with rosemary fries for £11.50 which I think was pretty reasonable.

The burger was great and not one of these full of toppings can’t get your mouth round it situations! The rosemary was a nice addition to the chips but they were quite salty.

I’m not sure whether I would run back to Honest as there as so many options these days but it looks like a great place to go with meat-eating friends or if you just really fancy a really good burger.

Have you tried Honest or the Beyond Burger at another place? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Honest Burger – January 2019

New Vegan Foods

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Aren’t we so lucky with all the new foods coming out? I’ve tried a few things that are new or new to me over the past couple of weeks that I thought I’d share with you.

First up my fave! The M&S Plant Kitchen coleslaw. I have always loved coleslaw and now I can easily get my hands on some! Perfect on a jacket potato with vegan cheese.

Likewise the potato salad! Lovely and creamy and perfect for a vegan spread.

The last item I’ve tried from the Plant Kitchen M&S range is their spaghetti Bolognese ready meal. This is great to pick up on the way home when I’ve had a busy day and don’t want to cook.

I added some of my own vegan cheese to this and I would definitely buy it again.

I picked up these bars from Rhythm 108 in my small Sainsbury’s shop. I’ve tried their biscuits before which are available in Costa so I was looking forward to trying these.

These are proper tasty but a little pricy at £1.40 for a fun size bar. Definitely an occasional treat.

Lastly we have another product I’ve been excited about. The Naturli spread this is one of the only vegan spreads on the market that is free from palm oil. I asked my local big Sainsbury’s to stock this and luckily they now are. It is currently in the Veganuary area so hopefully this will be stocked beyond January.

I’ve only tried this on a jacket potato with lots of different flavours so I need to try it on toast to experience the full flavour.

What foods have you been trying this year? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

New Vegan Foods

Vegan finds in Aldi

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I think today will go down in Vegan history, I’ve never seen so much in my timelines in social media about one product! Today was the day the vegan sausage roll was released in Gregg’s. I pass a Gregg’s on my way to the station in the morning so it would have been rude not to pop in!

It was delicious and I will now have to avert my eyes as I scurry past to get my train in the morning!

The other good news is that Aldi are doing some vegan items – thanks Emma for the info! This was in their special buys section so I’m not sure how long they’ll be there. I assume for the whole of Veganuary but it may be a when they’re gone they’re gone situation so I’d head to your local one sharpish!

I was out of nutritional yeast so I was glad to see that there and with jackfruit for £1 you can’t go wrong! I’ve tried the jerky and it was quite nice but you didn’t get much in a packet. I’m looking forward to enjoying the shortbread with a cuppa! I’ve got a jar of Vegenaise in the fridge else I would have tried out the Hellman’s one.

So there you have it! Have you already been to Aldi? What did you pick up? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Vegan finds in Aldi

The Star, Lingfield

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On Saturday we went out for dinner to celebrate my Mother-in-law’s birthday. We decided on The Star at Lingfield as it caters well to children as well as having a vegan menu.

Although I am thankful for a vegan menu I would like a hearty traditional dish featured such as pie or sausages with mash which wouldn’t be too hard to do.

It is however, great to see desserts and dairy free milk there for teas and coffees.

I decided on the Thai burger and went for regular fries rather than sweet potato. The burger patty was quite soft and I had to fight to keep it in the bun. The flavour was nice and quite spicy.

For dessert I had to go for the brownie with vanilla ice cream. The brownie was warm and gooey against the cold ice cream.

The only disappointment we had was that there had been races at the local horse track and the pub was very crowded with people standing in the restaurant area talking very loudly as well as frequently going outside for cigarettes causing a draft.

If you’re in need of a vegan meal in the area this is one of your only options so luckily the food was nice, but try to go on a non-race day if possible!

Plumes x

The Star, Lingfield

What I Eat In A Day Autumn 2018

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As it’s getting colder I thought it would be a good time to do another “what I eat in a day” post. Autumn is a time for comfort food and snuggling down under the duvet on the sofa bingeing Netflix.

Mornings I’m still in smoothie mode. I think this is the easiest way to get loads of nutrition in one fell swoop. I might start heating up my smoothies as it gets colder. Does anyone else do this?

My smoothie is made the night before by soaking 25g of oats with a tablespoon each of cacao nibs and milled flax seed, a handful of frozen blueberries and some unsweetened hemp milk. In the morning I add a banana and whizz it up in my bullet blender. I then eat it once I get to work and this helps me last until lunch.

For lunch I had a channa roti from Baygo (I did a full review for them here) I got this free as my colleague had meal pal (an app that get you cheap meals) and couldn’t get in due to train strikes.

This wasn’t too spicy and filled me up for lunch. It did get a bit messy as the filling was quite wet. I’d definitely get this again.

For dinner it had to be a cosy meal of sausage and mash. I used Fry’s fresh sausages which are new to Sainsbury’s with mustard mash, roasted cauliflower, cabbage, mushrooms, onions and gravy.

You can’t go wrong with that really, now can you?

Recently I’ve been having a hot chocolate before bed but I was so full up from dinner I skipped that today!

What are you favourite mid-week autumn meals? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

What I Eat In A Day Autumn 2018