Vegan Lipsticks - Axiology and Neek Lipstick Review

I was so excited to finally get my hands of these, the Axiology and Neek lipsticks.

I recently sold my M.A.C lipsticks on depop.

M.A.C claim to be working towards a cruelty free world which is positive, however they also state that before they are able to import into China, their government may conduct animal testing as part of its safety assessment. 

I didn't want to continue using them but I also didn't want to just throw them away, so I sold them.

And I spent the money on these two little beauties.

 Both Axiology and Neek are vegan, cruelty free and natural lipsticks. 

The Neek lipstick comes in this lovely wooden tube. Whilst Axiology cases their lipsticks in this gorgeous matte golden case, with a click to pop the lipstick in and out of the tube, that is so satisfying. And with the unique triangular cardboard box it's some very luxurious packaging.

I purchased the colours Pash (Neek) and Noble (Axiology) and both are fresh, pretty, everyday kind of colours. 

Noble is a soft peachy pink colour with a hint of a brown hue, I feel this shade would suit most people and Pash is a pretty dusty-pink with a mauve tone.

Both lipsticks have a nourishing, moisturising feel. Pash (the Neek one) is much more creamy in constitency. Whereas Noble (the Axiology one) is more of a glossy finish, it feels similar to a lip balm. 

So finally let's get on to staying power and cost....

 If you eat then both of these lipsticks will come off but apart from having to reapply after meal times, they stayed on pretty well. 

The Neek lipsticks retail here in the UK at £15 and the Axiology lipsticks are slightly more of a splurge at £24, however the packing is just stunning and will make your friends very envious. 

Just buy an Axiology lipstick just for the satisfying click. 

Have a fantastic day and stay kind xx

Vegan Fish and Chips

 

I can honestly say I don't miss eating meat at all but I do miss going for fish and chips. I live on the south west coast of England and there's Chippies galore.

So this June's front cover of Cook Vegan magazine got my taste buds so excited.

 

And let me tell you this recipe by @avantgardevegan did not disappoint. Oh my goodness it was heaven on a plate.

The recipe is quite straightforward, put it this way if I can do it, you definitely can!

So for the chips;

Maris Piper potatoes and vegetable or sunflower oil 

Peel and cut the potatoes into chunky chips (or fries if you're from the US) 

Place the chips in a pan of water, add a little salt and bring to the boil for two minutes and then drain. 

Heat your oil or deep fat fryer, alternatively you can bake them in the oven but I wasn't trying to be healthy with this dish. 

And cook the chips in the oil or oven. 

For the batter;

50g of plain flour

50g of corn flour

Pinch of salt

75ml beer 

75ml soda water

I added more flour or soda water until I got the right consistency. A thick batter.

For the 'Fish' (Tofish or Tofush);

1 x 400g firm block tofu

1 large sheet of nori (sushi seaweed sheet)

Juice of a 1 lemon 

Drain tofu and remove excess water (I placed it on some clean kitchen roll with a plate on top) 

Cut the tofu into triangles, cut the nori to fit on top of the triangles and brush with lemon juice to make nori stick to the tofu.

I did this on both sides for a more seafood taste.

Then dip and coat with the batter and shallow or deep fry until golden and crispy. 

For the mushy peas; 

Frozen peas 

Vegan margarine 

Handful of chopped fresh mint 

Good squeeze of lemon juice

A little sea salt

Cook the frozen peas, drain add the vegan margarine, lemon juice, mint and salt. Mash the ingredients together. 

For the Tartare sauce; 

Some Vegan Mayo (I used a small bowl full) 

2 small pickles/gherkins

1 tsp of English mustard 

A squeeze of lemon juice 

Chop the gherkins into tiny pieces/chunks and mix all the above ingredients together.

I cooked the Tofu Fish in batches and placed in a warm oven whilst cooking the rest. 

Seriously guys this was so delicious that I'm making it again this weekend! 

 

I can also really recommend the Cook Vegan magazine for its variety of recipes and tips. 

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, leave a comment with your instagram name so I can see your photos and don't forget to follow me too.

Enjoy, have a beautiful day and stay kind.

Chloe xx

Vegan Cat Food

So I had a fantastic time at VegFest in Bristol last month but I was so saddened to find out that due to Bristol City Council's rising costs, it would be the last one!

I met some amazing people and received some great freebies, as well as purchasing lots of vegan goodies too.

One of the freebies I received was a sample of Benevo Cat Food, actually it wasn't free, I think it was a £1 sample. Some people think its cruel to feed cats a plant based diet and my two cats enjoy their usual cat food, so I haven't given it too much thought until now.

There are stories such as 'Kitten nearly dies on a vegan diet' and debates like this one here argue that it's extremely cruel.

Peta states cats need a high level of Vitamin A, taurine and protein and most feline nutritional experts say 'No' to cats eating a vegan diet. As a lack of taurine can lead to heart problems, blindness and even death - very scary statements for any animal lover.

 

However when I saw these cat food samples at VegFest, I thought I would get some, as Vegan Cat food is not cheap and I could taste test my cats without the wasted expense if they didn't like it.

So the results of the taste test! Well I have to say both cats went to the Vegan sample of cat food in the white bowl, over the one containing meat in the other. Does this mean my cats are vegan?

I know that if I had placed a third bowl containing wet food (meat) they would have gone for this option. But then my cats only have wet food as an occasional treat.

So am I going to swap to Vegan cat food? I'd be really interested to hear your views on this or your experiences of feeding cats in this way.

The conclusion I have come to, is that I'm going to combine the Vegan Cat Food with their ordinary dry complete food. That way it's not as expensive, they still get a balance of meat in their diet but it's cut down by half, so I figure it's a compromise for now.

You can purchase Benevo Cat Food here...

Benevo Vegan Adult Cat Food, 10kg

The 10kg bag works out at £3.80 per kilogram which is a lot cheaper than the 2kg bag (£7.50 per kg).

To be totally transparent and honest with you guys, this is an affiliated link and I just get a tiny percentage, should you choose to purchase through this link, which as your guys know helps to keep blogs going.

Have a fabulous day and Stay kind.....

Chloe xx

Vegan Sweet Potato Dahl

To me, dahl is the ultimate comfort food and it's so easy to make.

So today I'm sharing my sweet potato dahl recipe, the sweet potatoes add a lovely sweetness to this classic dish.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 clove of garlic crushed
• a little drizzle of oil
• 50 grams of green lentils
• half a medium sweet potato
• half a tsp of ground cumin
• half a tsp of ground turmeric
• half a tbsp of tomato puree
• a little sprinkle of salt and pepper
• some water

These small amounts are enough for one portion or one adult and a little one. This is usually enough for my youngest daughter and I. 

To make enough for two people double the ingredients, for three people triple and for four quadruple and so on, you get the idea. 

Just add a dash of oil to a pan and gently fry the garlic for a couple of minutes.

Next add the lentils and sweet potato and cover slightly with water.

Add the cumin, turmeric, tomato puree and bring to the boil.

Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook on a low heat for approximately 40 minutes.

You may need to add a little more water to prevent the mixture drying out. So keep an eye on it.

Once the sweet potatoes and lentils are soft, add salt and pepper, seasoning to taste.

Serve with some flat breads or chapatis or whatever takes your fancy. Rice goes so well with this dish. 

And all thats left to do is enjoy!

Have a fantastic day and stay kind :)

Vegan Hot Cross Buns

There is no greater smell than that of warmed hot cross buns filling your house. Since going Vegan, I have missed that smell, so this year I decided to make some.

The recipe is broken down into parts and will make 6 Vegan Hot Cross Buns, to make more just double or triple up on the ingredients.

To make the dough you will need ......

• half a cup of dairy free milk (I used hemp milk)
• half a teaspoon of yeast
• 1 tbsp of sugar

Gently warm the milk until it's lukewarm, in a bowl add the yeast, the sugar and milk, mixing well together. 

In a large bowl add all the dry ingredients below. 

• 250 grams of plain flour
• half a teaspoon of salt
• half a teaspoon of ground ginger
• half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• half a teaspoon of ground or grated nutmeg
• 50 grams of sultanas
• finely grated zest of 1 orange

Make a well in the centre and add ......

• 1 tbsp of oil
• 1 tbsp of orange juice 
• and the yeast mixture

Bring all the ingredients together with your hands, you may need to add a little more flour or water (if  the dough too wet or too dry)

Knead the dough for 10 minutes, yes your arms will ache but it will be totally worth it. 

Cover the dough in cling film or a clean damp tea towel and leave it to rise in a warm place (put your heating on if the room is cold) for an hour. 

Knead for a further 10 minutes, just think of the guns you'll get, your arms need this workout. 

Divide the dough in to 6 equally sized balls and place them on to a baking tray.

Again cover with the cling film/tea towel and leave in a warm place for a further 35 minutes.

Heat your oven to 175C

To make the crosses on top

• Just mix 1 tbsp of flour with a little water to make a thick paste.

You can use a piping bag, if doubling or tripling the mixture to make 12 or 18 hot cross buns. To make 6, I just used a small spoon and a knife to create the crosses. 

Place your buns into the pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes. Keep checking on them, until they look golden brown and smell delicious. 

Whilst still warm, you will need to add the glaze.....

• 1 tbsp of sugar
• 1 tbsp of orange juice (or water)

Gently boil the sugar and juice together in a small pan until you create a syrup. Remove from the heat and brush the syrup over the buns.

We were extra naughty and added sugar crystals too.

You could eat these straight away or serve toasted with vegan butter and a little dash of salt on top, to recreate a butter taste. 

Your house will smell amazing each time you toast some under the grill. Enjoy :)

Have a wonderful Easter and Stay kind....

Veggie Prêt - Just Yes!

What more is there to say? Other than Yes! and Go Pret!

So if you don't have a clue what I'm talking about, the chain Pret a Manger are about to open their second 'Veggie Pret' shop in London, selling only Vegetarian and Vegan food.

Originally this idea started as a pop up shop but after being so popular it remained opened in Soho last year. And now a second shop is due to open in Shoreditch on the 4th of April and I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed that more will follow.

There are so many Vegan menu options such as my favourite Avocado & Chipotle Chickpea Salad wrap, Cucumber and Humous on Rye, Falafel Mezzo and a Cacao & Orange pot. It's absolutely fantastic news for us Vegans.

But don't worry, if like me you don't live close by to London, the usual Pret's offer many of the delicious vegan options too. It's just super exciting to see shops serving only veggie options beginning to pop up.

And hopefully this will lead to more chains realising they need to be offering more veggie options too.

Stay positive and stay kind.

Follow your heart - Vegan Eggs

So it's mother's day here in the UK and I received some Follow your heart Vegan Eggs. I wasn't sure what to expect as it comes in this cute little egg box. But basically inside you will find a bag of yellow powder.

I decided to try the scrambled egg recipe, so I followed the instructions, mixing two tablespoons of product to 115ml of ice cold water. 

Mixing the powdered egg substance and water together made a yellow thick liquid.

The instructions stated that you need a lightly oiled pan on a medium heat and that the mixture should sizzle as it hits the pan. 

As I poured the mixture into the pan it immediately started to form together like scrambled eggs. 

I followed the instructions to cook for 6-8 minutes, however it began to burn and stick to the pan at around 4 minutes. Maybe my pan was too hot or it was too lightly oiled, I don't know.

After about 7 minutes this was the amount of Vegan scrambled egg I was left with. So what did it taste like, well my youngest daughter said 'It tastes like rubber' and it did have an unusual taste with a rubbery texture. But when we added a generous dollop of ketchup and ate some with a mouthful of toast, it had the texture of egg, blind tested I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between real egg and this with the added toast and ketchup. 

I personally don't miss egg, so this wasn't for me. However, I am excited to try this product for baking or as an egg replacement in other recipes. 

Happy Mother's Day and Stay kind xx

Yushoi Snapea rice sticks

Whenever I spot a new tasty looking snack in the supermarket, I have to immediately check the back of the packet, praying there is no milk product. And the first thing that caught my eye was the clear 'suitable for vegetarians and vegans' label and so I did a little happy dance, hopefully nobody was watching.

I think it great that companies are now labelling there products as Vegan, it makes life easier and so I'd like to thank all the companies that do this.

So lets get to this new snack offering from Yushoi, well there are four flavours - Sweet Chilli & Lemon, Lightly Salted, Soy and Balsamic Vinegar and lastly Smoked Salt and Szechaun Pepper. Unfortunately Sainsbury's didn't have the last flavour so I am unable to comment on the flavour, although it sounds amazing.

These snacks have the same texture as Watsit's (or cheese puffs) but pack oodles of flavour and 18-19g of protein per 100g depending on the flavour.

My favourite was the Sweet Chilli and Lemon, these weren't particularly spicy but the heat did begin to intensify with each mouthful. I feel like most people will enjoy the Soy and Balsamic Vinegar flavour the most, 'a Japanese twist on salt and vinegar'. And if flavour just isn't your thing then I'd go for the lightly salted.

So which flavour will you try? I off to track down the Smoked Salt and Szechaun Pepper flavour.

Vegan alternatives to Honey

I have to admit that I'm not totally strict on this one. I don't ever buy honey but if on an occasion I have eaten something like a cereal that I later find out has honey as an ingredient, I don't get myself all worked up about it.

I believe every day you learn new things and you can only do your best, none of us is perfect.

These are the Vegan alternatives to Honey that I enjoy the most.....

Maple Syrup - who doesn't love this stuff over pancakes? Apparently 80% of this stuff comes from Canadian trees, it's so delicious, just make sure you don't get caught out like I did buying maple flavoured syrup! Depending on the quality, maple syrup can price anywhere between £2 - £10 and upwards.

Agave Nectar - Agave plants are grown in the Americas and the nectar can be fermented to make tequila. This syrup some say is worse than sugar as it is apparently high in fructose but it tastes amazing, so my advice is to not have too much. This one costs around £2.50 for 250ml and is available at most supermarkets.

Bee-free Honey - This little beauty is made from coconut nectar and tastes like a cross between honey and molasses, so has a deeper richer taste than the other two. It is slightly more expensive at £6 for 300ml.

There are many other syrups, like fruit syrups etc but these three are my absolute favourites. 

Have fun covering your pancakes, baking or just making life a little sweeter!

Hummus

So falafel's partner in crime is hummus, oh my goodness who doesn't love this stuff, one of my favourite things to do is to eat hummus or hummous or however you like to spell it, with some crusty bread. 

So here's what you need for hummus.....

• 1/4 of a cup of tahini
• 1/4 of lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove (pressed) 
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tin of chickpeas

Take the tahini and lemon juice and pulse, then blitz in the food processor for 30 seconds until well mixed.

Add the garlic, oil, cumin and salt and blitz, scrape the sides down and blitz again. 

Drain and rinse the tin of chickpeas really well.

Add half of the tin of chickpeas and blitz.

Add the other half to the food processor and blitz again.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of water and blitz once more until smooth. 

I like to add some sweet smoked paprika on top, I purchase these tins from TKMaxx.

This is the perfect partner to falafels or served in a salad wrap or as a dip.

Hummus will keep for a couple of days in a lidded container or I freeze small portions for later use. 

Chickpeas are a plant power because they are a good source of protein, fibre, manganese and folate.

Power up on plants people and stay kind :)

Falafels

They say you never forget your first falafel, well mine was at Banksy's art exhibition 'Dismaland' in September 2015, this was three months before I would make the decision to sign up to Veganuary and I'll never ever forget the taste. I didn't at the time even consider that it was a plant-based Vegan option, it just tasted so damn good.

Since that treasured moment in time, watching the sunset from the Tropicana on Weston beach, falafel and somerset cider in hand, thinking it was a perfect day, I have tried so many recipes to recreate it, only for them to be not quite right in either texture or taste. 

So I messed around with the key ingredients canned chickpeas then dried chickpeas, tweaking the cumin etc until I came up with this one. And it's pretty freaking close to my hazy day, end of summer feeling, Dismaland falafel. 

So here's what you need....

IMPORTANT - you must soak the chickpeas overnight, I've lost count of the times I have forgotten and couldn't make this recipe on the day I wanted to and NO canned chickpeas won't do. And another warning you will end up with sticking falafel mix hands but trust me it will be worth it. 

• 1 cup of dried chickpeas (soaked for 24 hours/overnight)

• 1 medium sized onion (chopped)

• 4 cloves of garlic (pressed)

• 1 handful of fresh parsley

• 1 handful of fresh coriander (or cilantro if you are from the USA)

• 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds (grounded, I use a pestle and mortar)
• 2 teaspoons of coriander seeds (again grounded, I do these with the cumin seeds)

• a pinch of Salt and Pepper

What to do ..............

So you need to rinse the pre-soaked chickpeas really really well, let them drain before placing them in a food processor, add all the other ingredients and pulse for 30 seconds, use a spatula to scrap the sides and blitz again for another 30 seconds, you want to repeat this last step until you have a fine course mixture.

At this point you could put your mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until you want to start cooking them, this help them to stick together. However I have made these straight from the food processor and they work perfectly well.

Then here comes the messy part, take a dessert spoon and spoonful some mixture into your hands, roll each one in to a small ball, you don't want them too big or they will fall apart.

Add them to a shallow pan of cooking oil on a medium heat. I cook six at a time.

When they start to brown you will need to keep turning them until they are cooked on all sides.

Then I place the cooked falafels in a baking tray and place in a warm oven, you are just keeping them warm so you don't want a hot oven!

And then cook another batch of six and repeat until you have used all the mixture or you have enough, as you could save the mixture in a covered container in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

So how do I eat my falafels, well they are great just served with some hummus as a snack but if I'm serving these for a meal then this is what I do.....

• Take a tortilla wrap
• Spread a layer of hummus in the middle
• Add whatever salad you like, pickled gherkins work well in there too
• Add vegan mayo
• Add three falafels
• Add sweet chilli sauce or hot sauce 
• Add fresh coriander/cilantro or your favourite fresh herb
• Wrap
• AND EAT and then repeat if hungry!

Enjoy and let me know how they turned out. Stay kind :)

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