Vegan Products - September 2016

A few vegan products I've recently tried...

I've been wanting to try Vegan Magic (aka Vegan Bacon Grease) for the longest time but I couldn't think about what I would use it for. It's mainly coconut oil with some salt and flavorings to mimic pork fat but it wasn't as flavorsome as I'd hoped.

In the end I decided on southern collard greens. They were pretty good!

My husband discovered Ripple for me in Target - 100% vegan, pea based milk. They were really good, the milk is very creamy so perfect for tea & coffee! First real cup of tea I feel like I'v had since going vegan!

My BFF got these Marjon tofu crumbles I think at Publix. It was pretty good, we ended up using it for nachos :)

I was pretty excited about Ben & Jerry's "vegan" range of ice-creams. So far it's only four flavors and of that only one is gluten free so that's the one I chose. Fail, Ben & Jerry's, fail!It was pretty good but I still prefer the So Delicious range. I was dubious about the sugar being vegan - the response from B&Js below.

Whenever you move to a new place there's always the struggle to find good vegan GF bread!

I found these two. Little Northern Bakehouse and DeLands. I especially love the DeLands bread range, made excellent grilled cheese

.

Found a new Amy's meal to try! I especially love that they made the effort to find vegan cheese!

Found Two Brothers GF beer at a health store in Jacksonville, FL. It was pretty good, very like a pilsner. My favorite is still Greens but its just so expensive so the search goes on!

I had been craving baked beans on toast for a while and I can never seem to find any that are GF and vegan. Finally found this Walnut Acres one at a health store. So yum!

New brand of vegan wine...yay!!!! Natura Organic Wine's whole range is vegan which is great.

Primal Chocolate - found this Almond Sea Salt Dark Chocolate at Fresh Market, Jacksonville FL. It was a little bitter but pretty nice.

I like to buy dried beans because it's way cheaper and pretty easy. I thought this HamBeens  15 bean soup mix was just bean mix, I didn't realise it was a soup mix so when I saw the "ham flavored" soup package I did despair...until I read the ingredients. I couldn't find anything about it that wasn't GF or vegan so I called the company just to make sure and they confirmed all their products are animal product free! Here's a link to the recipe I used, although obviously I forgo the meat and added stock cause it was a bit bland without. Was so good my kids even wanted some!

My BFF found vegan cheese at Trader Joe's! Tasted pretty similar to Daiya honestly.

I Love Nigella

My love for Nigella Lawson is definitely not a secret. I've loved her a very long time so when I turned vegan I spent a lot of time trying to veganize her recipes. Some of them work some of them don't but I never give up. For anyone who's ever watched her programs you'll know the utter food porn you're in store for plus the kitchen. Oh the kitchen! I covet everything in that woman's kitchen and the kitchen itself...

Her newest book Simply Nigella actually has a ton of vegan recipes! In fact to be precise I counted 65 vegan recipes (with vegan egg replacers) and 20 vegetarian recipes (but you could make them vegan by substituting the dairy). That's pretty amazing! And certainly a huge leap from her other cookbooks, of which I have all ;)

I'd like to mention some of the recipes I've been making from Simply Nigella and also below a list of other Nigella recipes that I've veganized in the past. A list I'm ever adding to!

Toasty Olive Oil Granola

This was delicious. I burned my first lot because I thought I knew better than Nigella Lawson how long they should be in there for. I was very wrong, I'm sorry I doubted her! My second batch turned out perfectly and I love eating it just as a snack!

Breakfast Bars 2.0

I'd been dying to make these but it took my a while to find GF corn flakes and I wanted to make sure I had all the ingredients for the first batch at least! OMG SO GOOD!

Warm Spiced Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad with Pomegranate Seeds

This was nice but a little bland so I added a spritz of lemon juice and it was delicious! The pomegranate seeds really work adding a bite of sweetness every now and then.

Roasted Radishes 
I didn't realise radishes tasted so much less bitter when roasted!

Pea and Broccoli Soup

I really liked this despite it's simplicity - I used mint sauce because I didn't have any mint tea bags but it was still very refreshing!

Dark and Sumptuous Chocolate Cake

I made this the minute I bought the book came out because I had read it was a vegan chocolate cake and I was like whaa whaaaa? So I made it for my birthday...and promptly ate it :)

Nigella Express

I have veganized the following recipes from Nigella Express - one of my favourite cookbooks and tv series... 

Instant Pancake Mix

Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

Orange French Toast

Spicy Scrambled Eggs

Agave Marsala Pears

Party Popcorn

Asian "Crab" Salad

Asian Inspried Salad

Pea & Pesto Soup

Noodle Soup with Star Anise

Quick Corn Chowder

Quick Ragu

Green Curry in a Hurry

Thai Yellow/Red Pumpkin Curry

Agave Djion Salad Dressing

Chilli Jam

Eton Mess

Fruit Salad with a Twist

Honeycomb

Rocky Road Fudge Slice

Darkest Chocolate Cake

This one come courtesy of  Nigella Lawon's "Dark and Sumptuous Chocolate Cake"newest book Simply Nigella. This is the first recipe I used because I was so excited about it and it's dark bitter chocolatey goodness...

Darkest Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

225 grams gf plain flour
1½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1½ teaspoons instant espresso powder
75 grams cocoa
300 grams soft dark brown sugar
375 millilitres hot water from a recently boiled kettle
75 grams coconut oil (90ml)
1½ teaspoons cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon edible rose petals or flowers (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped pistachios (optional)

Icing

60 millilitres cold water
75 grams coconut butter (this is not the same as oil)
50 grams soft dark sugar
1½ teaspoons instant espresso powder
1½ tablespoons cocoa
150 grams dark chocolate (min. 70% cocoa solids, see Intro), finely chopped


Method

You will need a 20cm/8in round springform cake tin.
Start with the icing, though first preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and pop in a baking sheet at the same time.
Put all of the icing ingredients except the chopped chocolate into a heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil, making sure everything’s dissolved.
Then turn off the heat – but leave the pan on the hob – then quickly add the finely chopped chocolate and swirl the pan so that it is all underwater, so to speak.
Leave for a minute, then whisk until you have a darkly glossy icing, and leave to cool.
Give the icing a stir with a spatula every now and again.
Line the bottom of your springform cake tin (you will need a good, leakproof one as this is a very wet batter) with baking parchment.
Put the flour, bicarb, salt and instant espresso and cocoa in a bowl and fork to mix.
Mix together the sugar, water, coconut oil and vinegar until the coconut oil has melted, and stir into the dry ingredients, then pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes. Though do check at the 30-minute mark to see if it is already done.
When it's ready, the cake will be coming away from the edges of the tin and a cake tester will come out clean, apart from a few crumbs.
This is a fudgy cake and you don't want to overdo it.
Once the cake is cooked, transfer the tin to a wire rack and let the cake cool in its tin.
Turn to your icing, and give it a good stir with a spatula to check it is at the right consistency.
It needs to be runny enough to cover the cake, but thick enough to stay (mostly) on the top.
So pour over the unmoulded cake, and use a spatula to ease the icing to the edges, if needed.
If you wish to decorate, now is the time to do it.
In which case, sprinkle with rose petals and chopped pistachios or anything else that your heart desires; otherwise, leave it gleaming darkly and, indeed, sumptuously.
Leave to stand for 30 minutes for the icing to set before slicing into the cake.

SKS Bottle & Packaging Inc

The very kind people at SKS Bottle & Packaging Inc sent me some sample products to try! I checked out their website and there is a pretty impressive selection of container materials,  shapes and sizes. They make custom labels too! It's really great if you like to make your own products like me! Most of the products are made in the USA which is very important to me. Really worth a look if you plan to sell  or gift any homemade products and want to package professionally!

Here's a list of the products they sent me and how I plan to use them;

1. Blue PET Cosmo Rounds with Black Fine Mist Sprayer 4 oz (stock# 0027-12)
This is a mist sprayer perfect for homemade perfume or face mist. Here's a link to homemade mists and toners!

2. Amber PET Straight Sided Jars with Black Smooth Plastic Caps 16oz (stock# 0609-31)
Great size for homemade beauty items like bath salts and moisturizer, here's a link to my DIY page.

3. Footed Metal Tin 6oz (stock# 5567-02)
This is a great sealed container for homemade candles or facial moisturizer. Especially if you plan to give them as gifts or sell them.

4. Glass Amber Round with Black Bulb Droppers 2oz (stock# 4001-22)
If you buy any oils in bulk or you make your own scented oils for hair and face this bottle is a good size for everyday use with a dropper for minimal waste!

5. Clear Glass French Square Bottle with Cork Stopper 4oz (stock# 4055-14)
This bottle is so pretty and would make an excellent gift - perhaps containing some raspberry cordial or homemade vegan Baileys!

6. Clear Glass Beverage Bottle with Gold Metal Lug Caps 16oz (stock# 4034-06)
These gorgeous bottles would be perfect for homemade nut milk or juice.

7. Clear PET Boston Rounds with Black Mini Trigger Sprayers 16oz (stock# 0028-109)
Great spray bottle with a little more power for leave in spray conditioner or homemade cleaning products such as stain remover or surface spray.

8. Clear Glass Square Candle Jars 7.75oz (stock# 40160075.01S)
Perfect for making your own vegan candles! Here's a web page on how to make Soy Wax Candles.

Noodle Soup with Star Anise Broth

Based on Nigella Lawson's Noodle Soup for Needy People. I didn't have all the ingredients so I was winging it - still turned out pretty good though. I loved the subtle flavour brought by the star anise. I used matchstick carrots, fresh shitake mushrooms and bean sprouts.

Noodle Soup with Star Anise Broth

Ingredients

6 ounces soba or rice noodles (dried, from a packet)

3 cups vegetable or dashi broth

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 star anise

1 teaspoon minced ginger

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3/4 cup bean sprouts

3/4 cup sugar snaps

3/4 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms

2 heads baby bok choy, finely sliced

2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Method

Cook the noodles according to packet instructions and while the water is boiling fill a nearby saucepan with stock, brown sugar, star anise, ginger and soy sauce. (When the noodles are done, just drain them and put half in each bowl.)

When the flavored stock comes to a boil, add the vegetables. 

They should be cooked before 2 minutes are up.

Pour half into each bowl, over the cooked and drained noodles and sprinkle with cilantro.

Welcome to Sunny Florida!!

So I am now officially moved to Jacksonville, Florida so I hope to find many South Eastern vegan places to blog about! My friend was visiting from Australia and we did a couple of road trips so I was able to sample some great vegan delights!

JACKSONVILLE

Murray Hillbilly
What started as a food truck is now an awesome restaurant...yay!!! All vegan AND gluten free southern fare, mostly in the form of sandwiches, you won't be disappointed. Also serving brunch now! Currently located in Murray Hill, near Riverside there are rumors of a beach location in the wings!

The Bubba

OMG the fried pickles!!!!!!

From the food truck...

The Walrus

Just up the road from Murray Hillbilly you'll find a very cool haunt, The Walrus with all vegan food, amazing juices and a licensed venue with events. There's even arcade games and a pool table.

A Bit of Saigon Cafe

This traditional Vietnamese restaurant on Kernan/Beach is staple in out house! They do the most amazing vegan PHỞ, and also have other vegan items on their menu.

True Food Kitchen

This restaurant location in St John's town center offers quite a lot of vegan GF options and the best part...it's always changing! I miss the Brussels sprouts but I'm glad they still have the Charred Cauliflower!!

This was a Butternut Squash pizza - they make their own vegan ricotta.

Charred Cauliflower (my fave!)

I think this was the pomegranate limeade

The mushroom pizza they don't have on the menu right now :)

Epik Burger

Has a great selection now of vegan and gluten free items. GF buns are still not vegan though.

I had the loaded cheese fries, vegan meatballs and coleslaw. Vegan thick shakes y'all!!! Yes you can buy the cheezy sauce to take home ;)

A Bit of Saigon Cafe

The vegan pho is soooooo good 

4 Rivers Smokehouse

Sounds like somewhere a vegan would never want to go when in fact you'll thank me later. They make their own GF Vegan "burnt ends" using Beyond Meat and they make a Vegan GF BBq sauce too. It's simple amazing. How amazing you ask? Well let's just say that the second time we ordered these my meat-eating, vegan food hating husband asked for the vegan option of the real BBQ (and this place is known for it's amazing BBQ and my husband is a southern man and a huge BBQ fan). That's how amazing their vegan option is! They have locations all over Florida (two here in Jax). Unfortunately their own vegan sides are fries and tater tots so opt for take out and make your own sides like Vegan KFC Coleslaw! :)

European Street

Everyone I know got so excited by the fact that this place had "vegan" items on the menu that they failed to tell me it is a SANDWICH place. I mean they have a large variety of sandwiches but that's all. They have a lot of vegan items but not all are GF. Ask for the separate GF menu and it will have vegan items listed. They have a fairly good selection of beers though!

I had the Athena's Gift sandwich, a living gluten-free, raw vegan sausage made from assorted nuts

spiced perfectly and topped with cashew cheeze spread, spring mix,

olive salad and tomatoes and a side of chips (crisps, they don't do fries - I know in a European themed eatery...WTF??) and I ordered a separate side of dill sauerkraut.

Green Papaya Thai

The Green Papaya Thai has numerous vegan options, including all their curries and a vegan Pad Thai. Beach Blvd, River City, Orange Park and St Augustine locations.

Blaze Pizza

This chain pizza store not only does GF Vegan crusts but also has a vegan cheese options! Seriously good! Just go to the 11" Choose Your own option!

GangNam Korean Restaurant on Beach Blvd is amazing and I love the vegetarian Jap Chae. Most of the sides they give you are vegan too. I love Kimchee and the eggplant side dish mmmmmm.

May Day Ice-Cream

All their dairy free ice-cream choices are vegan (confirmed in an email except the Oreo one). Their sprinkles are not vegan though. We had the chocolate, coconut and chai. So good! Coconut was my fave but on the St Augustine location has it now :( All their sorbets are vegan, the Strawberry Mint and Marilla's Raspberry are my faves!

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk is a winery restaurant (all over the USA) and they have some vegan side dishes but the most important part is all of their wines are VEGAN!!! They have wine tasting ($8 for 8 wines) and a bar food area as well as a sit down restaurant. You can just walk in and buy the wine too, or you can get a membership where you get two free bottles of wine and two free taste tests a month!

They do a vegan GF risotto which is really good.

Fresh Jax Food & Yoga

**Closed its doors June 2017 :( **

Spices still available on their website along with some great recipes!

This fresh juice bar and yoga studio serves a number of signature juices and small treats. Everything is vegan. They don't have any meals but they have a lot of original pantry items such as "beer mustard" and tea cocktail mixes. They also sell a bunch of spices and different types of crackers.

Southern Roots Filling Station

***Unfortunaetly closed it's doors in Dec 2022 but I'm hoping they find a new location or do catering because I miss them :(

Protein Bowl

"Blisscuit"

Daily Savory Special with Hibiscus tea

Had this GF vegan  Bagel #2 "smoked salmon" style for brunch one morning at the new Atlantic Beach location...

Sweet Theory

This cute bakery in trendy Riverside is 100% vegan has a small selection of gluten free items. Not a huge bakery and sweets only.

Salted Caramel Cupcake, Berry Cupcake, slices

Fudge cupcake, cinnamon slice, hummingbird cake & brownie

Sweet Pete's Candy

My gorgeous BFF found these vegan GF chocolates at Sweet Pete's Candy, Jacksonville FL. SO GOOD!!!!!

Mellow Mushroom

This chain restaurant offers gluten free crust (vegan) and a signature vegan dish using Daiya cheese.

Moe's Southwest Grill

This chain casual dining restaurant has a build as you go type of meal and there are a ton of vegan options, including tofu. Almost all the toppings are vegan except the obvious ones like cheese, meat and sour cream. Vegan guac...whoop whoop!

Hoptinger Beer Garden

This beer garden by Jacksonville Beach has a couple of vegan options. Making them GF leaves then a bit sparse and $8 (not including the fries) it's a bit overpriced. The vegan bratwurst tastes like Lightlife Smart Dogs, so wasn't anything particularly great but the fries were good and it's nice to have another option when in need!

Lanna Thai Sushi 
...at The Jacksonville Landing will do you up vegetarian sushi - my go to is always avocado ;)

Jax Spice Indian Restaurant
New to Jax this Indian restaurant down on the beach has vegan options on their menu and can make many of their dishes vegan! I had the "Palak Paneer" but with vegetables instead of the cheese. SO GOOD!

Buddha's Thai Bistro

Down at Jax Beaches you'll find a Thai place with great atmosphere and lot's of vegan options!!

Taco Lu Baha Mexicana

This Mexican fusion restaurant down near the beach has a few vegan options including these bad boys...Mushroom Tacos and Tempeh Tacos with the same sauce they use for the spicy shrimp tacos.

Burrito Gallery 

Has vegan options, including their guac!

Menchies

I got a lovely helpful email back from the people at Menchie's Frozen Yogurt. They confirmed that all their non-dairy varieties use non-char bone sugar and so are considered vegan (sorbets, coconut milk varieties). The Pina Colada was AMAZEBALLS!

There is a caveat though...the almond milk based varieties often have egg so ask the server.

Also any non-dairy varieties that have added ingredients (such as Oreo cookies) would then be considered not vegan by the ingredient.

Riverside Art Markets

These markets not only have local produce but also some vegan fare.
Garden Truck Food Co. is there for delicious food served fresh...

Pulled BBQ Jackfruit with Baked Beans and Potato Salad

I got their Xmas Dinner package too...

Artichoke dip

Kale & Potato Soup

Stuffing stuffed acorn squash and cheezy broccoli. I added the potatoes.

Peach, Pear & Apple crumble...I added the vegan ice-cream

The Zen Butcher has vegan meat (unfortunately not GF) and cheese sauces - the nacho one is awesome!

Olive my Pickle's selection of olives and pickles are all vegan plus they do vegan kimchi!

Provision has a selection of vegan cream cheese and pesto. YUM!

Jax Veg Fest!!!

Every year around the beginning of Spring (in 2018 it was March 3rd)

Poe's Tavern 
With a couple of locations in Jax Poe's isn't super vegan friendly but if you catch yourself there the guacamole, salsa, chips & fries are vegan and gluten free :)

Sushiko

Sushiko in Riverside has it's own vegan menu is awesome but what was a bit disappointing was that there weren't many GF options. What I did have was delicious though!

FERNANDINA BEACH

Just an hour outside Jax situated in Amelia Island is the lovely Fernandina Beach. On the other side of the peninsula is the Amelia River and a lovely street called Center Street full of quaint shops and Florida's oldest pub. At the end with a gorgeous view of the river is Brett's Waterway Cafe...surprisingly cheap and very accommodating to dietary restrictions. I had the marinated vegetable salad with a side of fries (that my two year old demolished). Wicked Bao (Asian street food), Timoti's (offers tofu as a protein for all their menu items), The Patio Place (crepes!) and Sabbia (Mediterranean street food) are also very veg friendly!

This is the black bean hummus which they just gave me...so nice!!!

Gazpacho soup - one of my all time faves!

This was Brett's surprise special for me, lot's of delicious grilled vegetables!

 

Also in Fernandina Beach is Florida's oldest bar, The Palace...run by the Mayor of Fernandina Beach. How cool is that?

ST AUGUSTINE

The Present Moment Cafe/Buena Onda

The Present Moment Cafe (permanently closed) is a must if visiting St Augustine. It's 100% vegan and almost all gluten free. I felt like a kid in a candy store, a candy store where I actually have choices lol
I had the mango samosa to go so when I got home it was in no state to have its picture taken but it was delicious!! In the restaurant I had the Un-Tuna Melt and a chocolate milkshake (because well why not!).

In the same location Buena Ondo opened and although they are not a vegan cafe they have a lot of GF vegan items on the menu (including a Present Moment salad honoring their predecessors) <3

They also have a selection on vegan wines and art and craft from local artists. Highly recommend!

There are a couple of vegan options in St Augustine. The Floridian is right in the heart of the tourist are and has a few vegan options each part of the menu. Plus their wines are vegan. The restaurant itself is adorable with an upstairs and outside area but it is a bit pricey so I just went with the Southern Chop Chop bowl with tempeh.

FLORIDA KEYS

The Cafe in Key West had a few vegan options. These two salads were great and we also had sweet potato fries. Other options in Key West are Date & Thyme (which looked amazing but unfortunately didn't have indoor seating during a big storm) or Sugar Apple Organic Restaurant.

Watermelon, cucumber and lime juice

Spinach and Tahini salad

Quinoa and avocado salad

We found this cute Mindful Mermaid Cafe in Key Largo while looking for the Hobo Cafe which apparently also had vegan options. The Mindful Mermaid had a lot of vegan options. I loved my kale wrap and juice!

MIAMI

We ended up just eating Amy's vegan meals for dinner in the hotel and vegan protein bars on the go in Miami in the interest of saving money and time but the vegan restaurants are Choices Cafe & Choices Kitchen, Della Bowls Food Truck, Manna Life Food and Plant Food & Wine.

A selection of the vegan bars I had for breakfast - LOVED the Pure Foods one.

We stopped in at Palm Beach Gardens on the way home and ate at very fancy restaurant open for lunch and dinner called Christopher's Kitchen. They are plant based but a few of their items do contain honey - just as them. You can also buy Miyoko's Kitchen cheeses!!!!

MAUI JUICE - celery, cucumber, parsley, kale, lemon, apple, ginger

Raw Tiramisu

Thai Wrap

Guac BBQ Wrap

Fort Lauderdale 

Gelato & Co on E Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale has quite a few vegan options! I think I had dark chocolate and banana :)

SoBe Vegan (also in Miami) just off the strip at Fort Lauderdale Beach has everything! You can have breakfast or lunch any time of the day, they open super early (which I appreciate) and the atmosphere is so happy.  Lot's of GF options!

Planta

On a recent trip to Fort Lauderdale I discovered this gem...

I was expecting a little take out cafe but Panta Queen is a classy vegan restaurant - it's been a hot minute since I've seen one of those so it was very exciting! Lot's of GF options as well. Not the cheapest place but lovely for a special meal!

Of course on my next trip to Ft Lauderdale I took my BFF and we definitely did the place justice - just heavenly!

SAVANNAH

Obviously not in Florida but close to Jacksonville and one of the day trips we did.

Beetnix is a vegan juice bar and yoga studio and had a bunch of gorgeous homemade juices in lovely glass jars and a selection of salads.

Saw this on our Florida trip - so proud :)

Sweet by Holly

Sweet by Holly has vegan/GF cupcakes (YES, both in the same cupcake!) Was in Jax now only in Orlando...