Holistic Vegan

Took a little trip into town to see if I could find an adequate deodorant as I've run out of my favourite one from Lush! I'm also looking to replace my plastic storage containers with glass & metal alternatives, so the charity shops are a great place to start. I really want a big cheese bell! Subway have just brought out their Vegan Meatball Marinara AND there's a gluten free bun option - check it out!

Now you won't often hear me bemoaning my diet, because to be honest I love being vegan and wouldn't change it for the world.  Something I have really missed since going vegan however is decent ice cream.  Even in today's veganuary-gripped world, the vegan options in the freezer cabinets are still woefully limited and horrifyingly expensive. Last summer I promised to buy myself an ice cream maker and have a go myself, but I never managed to muster the cash or the enthusiasm for it.  But now things have changed - I've discovered a way to make a whole array of frozen desserts without an ice cream maker and I'm hooked! Now spoiler alert - you do need some specialist equipment for this, but few vegan households are without one. Yes, you know what I'm about to say - this recipe uses a high powered blender. As a vegan who has always been on a budget, I balked at the prices of some of the branded blenders by Vitamix and others. Much as I'm sure they'...

Anyone who knows me will know that I like cards - I mean I REALLY like them. I probably have about 30 packs of various tarot, oracle & angel cards by this point, and I have no plans on stopping! After all, being a professional psychic they are the tools of my trade and technically tax deductible... Anyhoo, as a card reader, I'm often asked which packs are best. Now that's as difficult to answer as which flavour of icecream is best, but there definitely are some pros and cons to different decks, and it's good to know what might suit you before you take the plunge and spend your money. I was lucky enough to be given the Angel Tarot Cards by Radleigh Valentine at the end of last year, so I've reviewed them for you in a new YouTube video below...

For new & budding vegans, it can be hard to get support if you find that people around you aren't interested in or worse actively oppose your new dietary & lifestyle choices.  I've found that YouTube can be a very useful place for inspiration, recipes and a bit of camaraderie, but it can also be a toxic mix of bad advice, attention seekers, hysteria and hypocrisy. I've spent a few good years sorting the wheat from the chaff, so as it's Veganuary and I know there are lots of new vegans out there looking for good resources, I'm going to share my favourite Vegan YouTube channels. Here we go, in no particular order... Happy Healthy Vegan Ryan & Anji are an adorable SoCal couple with two cats. Their videos are generally feel-good and positive, with great tips and sensible advice. Ryan also does response videos to some of the more controversial topics, and he's always well balanced and kind.  Definitely one of my faves. They're both m...

It's 1st January and along with many other New Years Resolutions that seem hard or even impossible to achieve, I'm aware that lots of people - probably more than ever before are taking on the Veganuary Challenge. Now you'd think that as a vegan I'd be all for this, and one the one hand I am. But I can also see how this challenge can bit a bit too...er challenging? When I went 100% vegan in September 2012, I'd already switched to a vegetarian diet in the January before that and quit dairy shortly afterwards. Going vegan for me took some time, and I didn't have the money or desire to throw out everything that would be considered "non-vegan" as that would have been more than I could cope with or afford. So is it wise to ask people to go a full 30 days completely vegan? Well I'd say if you've had time to prepare for it, then quite possibly, yes. All the better if your significant other is already vegan, or you have vegan friends and co...

*I just edited this recipe on Christmas Day because I've found the perfect proportions! No Christmas would be complete without a few glasses of your favourite tipple, and I've been missing this classic for a few years now. M&S do a very good alternative but it's hard to get and they only keep it in around December so I thought I'd have a go at making my own. Most of the recipes I've found use coconut milk as this seems to do a good job at being creamy and relatively stable, but they have a nasty tendency of hardening when chilled so I've used a cheapy Coconut Milk here which stays liquid at room temperature. It's not pure a coconut milk, but it does the trick very nicely and at 59p from Pound Stretcher it also suits my budget! This is the updated recipe that uses a proportion of Alpro Soya single cream. If you don't have any of that, you can just use 400ml of coconut milk instead. So here is my version of this classic creamy booze...

Risotto has to be one of my favourite dinners these days - it's easy to make (especially the slow cooker method!) and can be made with leftovers in the cupboards too! This is a recipe that can be made oil free quite easily, especially if you're using a slow cooker. Serves 2-3   Ingredients: 4 tbsp olive oil 1 medium onion 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed 250g Chestnut Mushrooms 100g Asparagus tips 1 ¼ cups/220g Arborio rice 1 cup/250ml vegan white wine (plus more for drinking later) 3 ¼ cups/810ml hot vegetable stock (I use 2 stock cubes and boiling water) Method: Warm the olive oil on a medium heat in a large frying pan or non-stock wok and chop the onion, mushrooms & asparagus. Fry gently until tender and the onions are translucent and slightly yellow in colour, then add the garlic and gently fry for a couple more minutes. Reduce the heat and add the rice to the frying pan and stir until it’s completely covere...