THEY AND US - VEGAN DEE

Bring Plants to the Party!

Fri, 16 Apr 2021 17:19:56 GMT

I'm so excited to review of of my favourite products!
Sponsored Post for Three Spirit Drinks (https://threespiritdrinks.com)

March 2020, the sirens ring on BBC One, the world must stay at home as a modern plague (I know, too dramatic!) sweeps the globe.
I don’t know about you but my first thought was, are there limits on how much wine you can buy online?
The zoom calls began, birthdays on a screen, the Card’s Against Humanity website was always down, it was stress after stress. In all seriousness, the new order has been taxing both physically and mentally. Waking up hungover in bed after a night of drinking in bed felt a little problematic. You can only recreate the Chaka Khan scene from Bridget Jones a handful of times until it starts to worry you.
By May I was really feeling it, the acidity I mean.
When you remove the social aspect of it, alcohol seems to act as a medicine to relieve the stressors of the day. Alarm bells rang in my head at this realisation (I told you, I have a flare for the dramatics) surely this is unhealthy?
In a less dramatic light, think of all the times your GP has asked you to calculate the units of alcohol you drink a week, have you ever lied the number down to combat embarrassment? If this resonates with you then we are on the same page my friend.
Instead of wine I decided to find alternate ways of having a drink. Experimenting with mocktails, the no/low aisle at my local, googling for a world beyond Perrier and Tropicana. There are some very boring options for teetotallers.
In October 2019 I went to Vegfest London where a friend and I stopped by a beautiful stall with neon signs and a Pinterest worthy botanical display promoting 3 flavours of non alcoholic spirits. We had to try it, they had a sign saying ‘Bring Plants to the Party’ and I love love love a good party. The ingredients sounded divine, a mix of superfoods, herbs and spices that sounded familiar and fancy. We tried a shot from each bottle with some tonic, each a unique flavour that mimicked the kick that a conventional G&T supplies. About 5 minutes later were doing the ‘Woah what was in those?’ dance. We were literally high on plants, mood elevated and just a little dreamy. It was glorious and exciting, something we’d never heard of before, something we could snap out of but didn’t have to. That is how is discovered Three Spirit Drinks.
Back to the present, over the summer I was wealthy with ways to unwind without using alcohol, I’d gone about 3 months without a drop of booze, shared a bottle of rosé with 2 pals at a picnic and then gone another month without it again. I could do this! I was developing healthy habits around alcohol in moderation and as a food blogger I was going to make it delicious! I started posting a weekly series on Instagram stories called Drinks with Dee, a Saturday night snap of a Mocktail I’d create with the ingredients listed in the picture, a quick share of a weekly ritual in lockdown. I had to get some bottles of that dreamy concoction I had tried the year before, so I ordered a box of the Three Spirit Trio, Livener, Social Elixir and Nightcap.
They remind me of a glorious witches brew the packaging is dark, sleek and mysterious, the triangle logo reminiscent of potion labels, and the flavours of each are so familiar even though you can’t quite pinpoint what they are. I’ll give it a go;
The Livener, the spicy one, is a blend of Ginseng, Ginger and Hibiscus with a little sweetness from the Pomegranate Molasses. I’m currently sipping on this as I type, its energising properties make it ideal to start the party, or to stay awake to write. It’s spicy and warm, like a hug from a gentleman, perfect for the cold weather and leaves your insides glowing.
The Social Elixir on the other hand is sweet and bitter, a mix of Damiana, Green Tea and Cacao with the elusive and extremely en vogue Lions Mane (a type of mushroom thats health benefits are the talk of the town in the vegan instagram world). The sweet acidity of Coconut Vinegar draws me in. This is exactly what I want on a night out, am edgy blend of flavours to make you giggle.
Lastly my favourite; The Nightcap, the dark horse of the trio, sophisticated Melon Hull Hops and Turmeric blended with Lemon Balm, White Willow Bark and Valerian Root to simmer you down after a long day. I finished a bottle within 2 weeks. I don’t think I can do this justice but it sort of tastes like an orange whisky, but feels like a glass of wine. Relaxing and unfurling, like when you roll your neck around before sinking into a fluffy blanket. I swirl it on ice with a slice of lemon, sip with a good rom com and am asleep right on time. I could get used to this.
The act of drinking blends the luxury of it all with the way a drink makes you feel.
These achieve both, a bit of a James Bond moment sipping the Nightcap and a little Cyndi Lauper with the spicy Livener in a cocktail. The frills and all but without the scratch of anxiety I feel when I’m cruising on booze.
I’ve been unable to forget this quote from a Reese Witherspoon movie named ‘How Do You Know’, featuring Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson. In the film Reese’s character is offered a drink by Paul Rudd’s while they’re both in the middle of an emotional crisis. Reese declines, quoting a philosophy she’d learned from her parent ‘Don’t Drink to Feel Better, Drink to Feel Even Better’, this has stuck to me throughout the year.

I can’t say don’t have a drink again, to have a healthy relationship with alcohol doesn’t necessarily mean omitting it forever and that wasn’t the point of this journey. Having a healthy relationship with alcohol and our stressors involves having easy options that we can turn to instead. Three Spirit is by far my favourite because it works, it ticks the box, scratches the itch and tastes dang good in the process. Gone are the days of soda with a box of concentrate, bring plants to the party.

Find the Third dimension with Three Spirit Get ready to experience something different with Three Spirit. Now is the time to forget about the drunken you, reimagine the sober you, and embody the Third you. Brand new feelings and flavours are just a sip away.

Paid Partnership with Three Spirit Drinks. All words and opinions are my own.

Dinner for One?

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 15:34:28 GMT

SCREW VALENTINES DAY! Am I right or am I just a young spinster who prefers the company of Olive Oil and her Dog? Probably both! Valentines Day is just another day, but if you're a drama queen like me, then come on a food journey that'll have you saying 'I cooked, I ate and it was beautiful' on Monday morning.

For all my lonely hearts in lockdown out there, here are my favourite one portion recipes that'll knock your socks off on a day of *yawn* romance. The best part? They're not made for sharing! (tap each image for recipe post)

Starters/Sides

Picture this. It's cold outside, your inbox is filled with couples deals online and everybody and their mother has gotten engaged and/or pregnant on social media. Where are you? You're about to whip up a whole ass Skillet of Ham & Cheeze Rolls, a Chick'n Salad and Miso Butter Asparagus that's so good you'll lick your fingers and moan 'ahhh' like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. Are you embarrassed by this private display of gluttony? Hell no there's no one there to cringe to!

CHICKN & SMOKED TOMATO SALAD WITH HOT BUTTERED SOURDOUGH

MISO BUTTER ASPARAGUS

HAM & CHEEZE ROLLS

Mains

One course isn't enough for a superstar like you! Get your pans out and put on the twerkiest Beyonce song you love and dance around while making Garlic Mushroom Pasta, Spicy Miso Tempeh Noodles or a steaming plate of Sausages & Mash with Spaghetti Hoops (of course I went there!) . Are the neighbours getting their freak on? Put the volume up, sing it loud and don't stop sizzling till the smell literally makes them jealous. Did someone knock to ask what that incredible smell is? You couldn't hear them over the party in your mouth!

GARLIC MUSHROOM PASTA

SPICY MISO TEMPEH & BUCKWHEAT NOODLES WITH GARLIC OIL

SAUSAGES, MASH & HOOPS

Dessert

We always save the best for last. Whether it's a whole loaf of Banana Bread with Ice cream or Cookie Butter Marshmallow Rolls put on the funniest film of the season, (Mean Girls is on Netflix, you're welcome) tuck into the cosiest blanket and sip on a hot chocolate/ a dirty AF martini. Not a fan of telly? Grab an epic book, relax into an online meditation or craft up an old copy of Vogue into a sick holiday vision board. Just do it with a turmeric face mask on and tomorrow you'll feel like a glowy happy bunny! Cupid who?
â€‹
CHOCOLATE CHIP OATY BANANA BREAD (make the whole loaf and eat it all week!)

BISCOFF COOKIE BUTTER AND MARSHMALLOW ROLLS

Don't despair if you're feeling a little less sparkly from the whole lotta love and joy bouncing across social media. Being alone and getting to spend all your energy on yourself and the things that make you happy is an absolute luxury and YOU are a rockstar. Now go turn on your Bad Blood playlist, avoid watching The Notebook and DO NOT respond to that slimy ex that's creeping into your DMs. Tomorrow you're going to have glowing skin and feel like an energiser bunny ready to smash the day!

All the Love, Dee xxx

My 5 Favs: August 2020

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 15:41:31 GMT

+ I'm still here I promise!

It's been a minute hasn't it?
What a year my friends! I still can't believe we've made it to September, it's been the longest year that's just flown by!
I have been home, like many of you and haven't left much. My dad's not been well so we've been staying home this year to shield him and spend quality time together (both adorable and infuriating at the same time) and with his condition it's been an emotional rollercoaster. Now that he's about to get the treatment he needs I'm going to get back to being positive and proactive on here.
This year I've been cooking a LOT and eating out minimally. I think the last restaurant I sat at was Banana Tree in January (shout out to the best vegan chicken satay ever!) so my food recommendations are now focused on recipes and products. This weeks My 5 Favs are five special products I've been obsessed with in August!
(No sponsorships or gifts in sight for these recommendations!)

Follow your Heart Italian Cheese: It's basically Parmesan cheese without the artificial insemination of a cow (milk), their stomach lining (rennet) and sadness! JOY right? I've been obsessed with their shaker which makes little tiny shreds that look amazing in photographs and tastes the closest to the real thing that I've ever tried before. Vegan Parmesan? Can I get a YES PLEASE?!

Isle of White Tomatoes: Does anyone remember how much I used to post about not liking tomatoes? I genuinely hated them growing up and was reluctant to have my mind changed as an adult. It'll come as a shock to anyone who knows me personally that I've been regularly making trips to the farmers market to stock up on Tomatoes this summer. I absolutely love the organic, local tomatoes grown by IOW Tomatoes (They also go by The Tomato Stall). They were in peak season this August and tasted amazing! The yellow cherry ones were like candy when combined with Lemon Basil and the dark red ones tasted like soy sauce, I loved eating them on toast with salt and pepper! I even made this gorgeous tomato salad which would have been unthinkable a year ago!

Meda Human CBD Drinks: Remember earlier in the year when I spoke about cutting down on alcohol? Well I'm still trying to keep them to a minimum and boy did I think it would be difficult! Luckily CBD exists and I've been really enjoying the Calm Beverage from Meda Human. Their drinks have 15mg CBD and added botanicals like Ashwaganda and Camomile to help with mood and anxiety. I actually take this drink to socially distanced picnics when I don't want to drink and it helps me feel better when my social anxiety kicks in (something I used to drink a LOT of wine to combat) and drink their Sleep drink before bed instead of the usual glass of wine.

Self Care Company's Lavender and Orange Candle:I purchased this with their Sicilian Lemon and Citronella Candle at the beginning of August as soon as they announced their summer sale, I was SO excited to buy some candles! Fast forward to the end of the month and it's almost finished with how much I've used it. I LOVE the scent and it genuinely has helped set the mood and help me sleep on stressful evenings. It also looks gorgeous in my IG stories (the most important factor right? ðŸ˜‚). I also love their blue tie-dye Be Kind Shirt too, I lived in it the whole month of June - you can catch it in my first ever Youtube Video here.

Fitbit x MyFitnessPal: In May 2020 I purchased a Fitbit when my broken foot began healing to track my movements and get walking a lot more. I used to do hour long dog walks at the beginning of lockdown in my big AF airboot. Walking in that is horrific, but people on busses waving and old people from rooftops clapping was worth all of it. Now I'm more active than last year and manage to get to 10,000 steps (almost) every day. I love that it tracks my sleep and combining it with the My Fitness Pal app has been extremely helpful in my weightloss journey post those extra lock-pounds - see what I did there? ðŸ˜‰ (amazon affiliate link added below)

â€‹Have you tried any of these before?
Thanks for reading!
All my love,
Dee xxx

Vegan Nugget Taste Test

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 09:19:28 GMT

I made 18 Vegan Chicken Nuggets so you wouldn't have to.
Looking for the breakdown of prices, ingredients and textures of my Vegan Nugget Video? Catch the results and the video below!

The following price and nutritional information is accurate as of 9th July 2020

Fry's Family: https://www.fryfamilyfood.com/uk/our-food/vegan-chicken-nuggets/
INGREDIENTS: Crumb: Wheat Flour, Yeast, Improving Agent (Vitamin C), Sunflower Oil. Nugget: Vegetable Protein (11%) (Soy, Wheat), Wheat Flour, Flavourings, Maize Starch, Yeast Extract, Plant Fibre, Thickener (Methyl Cellulose), Salt, Rosemary, Marjoram, Sage, Mustard Seeds, Anti-caking Agent (E551), Garlic.

Sainsbury's Plant Pioneers: https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/plant-pioneers/sainsburys-vegetarian-chicken-nuggets-320g
INGREDIENTS: Rehydrated Textured Soya Protein (37%), Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Rapeseed Oil, Onion Purée, Lemon Juice, Rice Flour, Chickpea Flour, Stabiliser: Methyl Cellulose; Wheat Gluten, Flavouring, Soya Protein Concentrate, Yeast Extract, Onion Powder, Maltodextrin, Garlic Powder, Salt, Yeast, Cornflour, Black Pepper, Sunflower Oil, Raising Agents: Diphosphates, Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate; Wheat Starch.

Tesco Plant Chef: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/306493425
INGREDIENTS: Water, Soya Protein Concentrate (17%), Wheat Protein, Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], Sunflower Oil, Soya Protein Isolate (5%), Maize Starch, Flavouring, Wheat Starch, Thickener (Methyl Cellulose), Onion Powder, Garlic, Lemon Juice, Yeast, Dextrose, Sugar Cane, Salt, White Pepper, Iron, Vitamin B12.

Quorn Crunchy Nuggets: https://www.quorn.co.uk/products/vegan-nuggets
INGREDIENTS: Mycoprotein (54%), Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamine), Vegetable Oils (Sunflower, Rapeseed), Water, Wheat Starch, Firming Agents: Calcium Chloride, Calcium Acetate; Pea Protein, Potato Protein, Salt, Natural Flavouring, WheatGluten, Pea Fibre, Wheat Semolina, Yeast, Stabilisers: Carrageenan, Sodium Alginate; Sage & Sage Extract, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, White Pepper, Onion Extract, Colour: Paprika Extract; Raising Agent: Ammonium Bicarbonate.

THIS Isn't Chicken Goujons: https://this.co/products/goujons-with-breadcrumbs/
INGREDIENTS: Water, Breading (Wheat Flour, Water, Corn, Modified Wheat Starch, Raw Cane Sugar, Salt, Wheat Starch, Onion Powder, Yeast, Garlic Powder, Soya Lecithin, Dried Sage, Paprika, Black Pepper), Soya Protein Concentrate, Rapeseed Oil, Flavouring, Pea Protein Isolate, Modified Tapioca Starch, Potato Starch, Salt, Pea Fibre, Maltodextrin, Titanium Dioxide, Iron, Vitamin B12.

Marks and Spencer's Plant Kitchen: https://www.marksandspencer.com/c/food-to-order/adventures-in-food/plant-kitchen
INGREDIENTS: Soy Protein

Social Distance Party!

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 10:45:04 GMT

Packing and experiencing a social distance event after months was fun and exciting but also absolutely terrifying and anxiety including!

In this video I say distance a LOT and make some delicious vegan versions of my childhood favourite sandwiches that'll make everyone drool!
I wanted to share my experience and some tips that I picked up especially given that the laws are changing in the UK.

I hope you enjoy!
Love,
Dee xx

What I Eat in a Day: Lockdown Edition

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 15:33:39 GMT

What does a vegan food blogger who's learning chef skills eat in a day? Watch to find out!

I finally made a video of What I Eat in a Day with some of my favourite recipes from the site.
I hope you enjoy it!

Love,
Dee xx

Unemployment During Corona; Guilt, Netflix and More Guilt

Mon, 11 May 2020 16:23:19 GMT

Everything has gone wrong. What am I supposed to do?

Today is a Monday, I woke up at 9am but I didn’t get out of bed till 12pm. I showered, ate lunch and then started writing what I felt until eventually I landed here at 6pm.

I quit my job in September 2019 and began slowly building a vegan fashion brand throughout the end of that year, travelling between London and New Delhi to create the products I wanted to sell. On January 2nd 2020 I fell down some stairs and broke my foot, it was so broken that after a month of attempting to heal in an Air Boot my doctor viewed my X-Rays and recommended surgery because the bone wasn’t healing at all.
So here I was, unemployed, broke and literally broken unable to travel for my work and mushed on painkillers with a cast and wires in my foot. My father who had been living in India flew to London to keep an eye on me. My dog sat on my bed with me waiting for a walk and my mental health bounced from panic at the dwindling numbers in my bank account to guilt at the lack of productivity that I needed to fund my life. I settled into numbness at just accepting that this was my life and vegetating in front of Netflix all day. I’m a pretty social person, like my greatest joy is being outside with friends enjoying the world but I started dodged requests from friends coming to visit. I lived in pyjamas and bed for months, telling everyone who asked that I was fine. Everything is fine. I’m lucky to have a roof over my head and food on my plate, this will pass. But I was sad. Very sad.

In mid March, as I was beginning to recover and the wires were out the world changed. Coronavirus, a term I had never heard before, was sweeping over the world, infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands of people. Lockdown began the week that I was finally going to have my first outing and after being stuck all year I was torn between numbly letting myself sink into more depression or attempt to figure out what the hell I was going to do. My father who had practically moved to the UK to take care of me fell under the most vulnerable category, with COPD issues and I couldn’t risk him catching it, especially when one of his best friends had passed away after contracting Covid-19 in late March. We were in lockdown.

Here’s the thing, work wise I was screwed. No one was shopping for clothes, the fashion business was suffering so the brand that I was building wasn’t going to make me a penny and the work needed to make them (factories, travelling to make sure the fitting was correct) wasn’t happening either.
Here I am, 27 years old, 7 (now 8) months into unemployment and living in my parents house with nothing left in my bank account. Everything has gone wrong. What am I supposed to do?

I created a small website using easy at home vegan recipes that I had created for instagram over the last 5 years. That was all I could focus on to stay sane while my foot recovered and I had already worked on it slowly over March. So I forced myself to finish the website in a week and publish it. There, something productive I could do.
I created it, published it live and tried to push it on social media. It gets a few hits but it’s the internet and there are people with actual degrees and life experience in restaurants, who was I kidding myself. I stopped updating the website.

Now April rolls around and I’m able to start physiotherapy and get out of the boot more and more. There’s a lot of guilt accumulating within because of my unemployment status. I refused to register with the government for unemployment because I’m embarrassed to. I don’t want to let myself off of the hook, I was meant to be launching a business by now and I wanted to change the world with it. I was meant to have learned everything I could by now about the industry. I should be able to answer questions about the fabric and ethical fashion by now without hesitation. But I can’t because I wasted so much time wallowing in my depression, I felt like a imposter, I kind of still do.
STOP, that’s what the tiny rational voice in my head tells me. Just don’t think about that part, carry on.

Paralysed by depression sounds like an eloquent way of putting it.
I went through the months of February and March (and April if I’m being completely honest) waking up every morning with zero purpose. What was the point of a day? I could do nothing, it sort of felt like a waste of a life and of the time other lives had spent cultivating this one. I imagine many other people might feel this way. Is there solidarity in feeling like you’re not the only one?

In April I took to working on myself. If I can’t make anything, if I cannot work right now then maybe I can fix myself.
Here are 5 things I’ve tried to do every day that make me feel like my day was time well spent;

A 45 - 90 minute walk with my dog.
I started forcing myself to do this after hearing on a Deliciously Ella Podcast that she makes the most of the first two hours of her day every day, walking her dog every day no matter the weather. Now the first two hours of my day are usually spent staring at the ceiling or my phone screen so I’m not exactly Ella level productive, but the thought that I'm performing something similar to someone I admire helps me feel better. I sometimes listen to a podcast during the walk to feel productive, kind of killing two birds with one stone. Fresh air, tick!

Cooking at least one meal a day
What you put into your body is important, it’s what all health inspo bloggers say and they’re always smiling with chiseled abs on instagram so they must know what they’re talking about right? Knowing what ingredients are going into my food gives me a sense of control over my own life. Cooking is a form of meditation for me and I love food so the end result is something tangible that I can have pleasure in, like a reward for the hard work. Meal done, tick!

Doing Physiotherapy/ Instagram, Youtube or Pinterest stretches or workouts for at least 10 minutes a day
Yes, I’m that asshole who wants to come out of quarantine with abs and the ability to get through a spin class without wanting to throw up. I had to start physiotherapy for my foot so my doctors at the NHS sent an email with at home exercises. I was already moving so I started googling hurt food workouts and checking Pinterest images for workout plans to do after physiotherapy. It’s amazing how much information is available out there for free right now. I’ve become obsessed with Romee Strigd's (the Victoria Secret Model) Youtube Channel. She seems so happy travelling the world with her boyfriend for work, exercising almost every day and eats well so it’s inspired me to behave a little bit more like that even if it’s just a few minutes a day. Soul Cycle, Core Collective and Psycle London have free classes online and I’ve tried these out over the last 2 weeks. Doing them from the safety of my own home has enabled me to wobble and edit these to work with my still weak foot without anyone watching. Sweat session, tick!

Not watching Netflix until after dinner
It’s a new nonnegotiable for me. I spent the first 4 months of this year watching Netflix everyday and I’m sick of it. I’m sick of the guilt at the end of the day when my greatest achievement was watching 10 episodes of One Tree Hill. It’s a hilarious anecdote on a phone call but at one point there’s nothing else to watch. Time flies by when you’re passively staring at a screen. Sometimes you can get immersed in the emotions of the characters on the screen and it will affect your mood, most likely it’s something stressful because let’s be honest, there’s nothing exciting about a show where a person is genuinely happy all the time. On the days when I don’t want to actively do something I’ve started going onto youtube and watching videos of people who are productive (think 'how to do your taxes', 'how to make cheese using cashews' or, if I’m feeling particularly impressive, Ted Talks). Screen time spent wisely? Tick!

Showering
From jumping in a shower for five minutes for a quick clean and change of underwear to a hot bubble bath and a long hair wash. Feeling clean makes you feel better, trust me I’ve spent months in pyjamas and greasy hair, there is definitely a difference.
Not convinced? It’s also a great place to cry in when the others in my home are irritating me (honestly who hasn’t cried in the shower or bath this year?) The door locks and no one can come in and talk to you when you need silence.
A doctor recommended that I take a bath every few days to help the muscles in my foot get better so I’ve been taking 20 minute soaks a few times a week and it is BLISS. Just before bed with a good playlist. Cleaned myself? Tick!

Limiting Booze
I might have lost you there, but just hear me out.
Drinking aggravates depression. Someone has definitely proved this but I’m too tired to go find proof right now so just use your past experiences. Being home drunk with nothing to wake up for the next morning is like asking for someone to punch you in the head when you wake up. I'm not saying stop drinking, but I now limit it to once a week. What are you getting drunk for? Don’t drink to feel better, drink to feel even better. I’m currently trying this out and it seems to help a lot with waking up in the morning. Once a week? Tick!

I wonder if this is a routine that most productive and successful people just do effortlessly. Today is a Monday, I woke up at 9am but I didn’t get out of bed till 12pm. I showered, ate lunch and then started writing what I felt until eventually I landed here at 6pm. I’ll eat dinner and go for a walk during sunset before turning on Netflix and falling asleep and that's okay because I did 4 things today that made me proud.

What’s the takeaway from this self therapy writing? Realising that it’s okay to not be the person who you want to be right now. If you want to be that person, to begin you can incorporate some things that bring you closer to them. If you don’t know where to start, look to people who inspire you and learn from what they do. Maybe one day you’ll realise you’re closer than you think.

My5: Sainsbury's Vegan

Mon, 13 Apr 2020 15:15:10 GMT

My 5 Favourite Vegan Food and Wine Items available at Sainsbury's!

This list is for those days when reaching for a ready meal in the fridge is the most effort you can spend on lunch.
Grocery shopping is currently a risky task and it's difficult to experiment shop when on top of this, your paycheque has taken a dip and you're worried about job security.
I've made a list of my favourite tried, tested and frequently bought vegan products currently available at Sainsbury's Supermarkets in store and online to help you with your vegan eating journey. Each item listed includes links, their ingredients and prices so you can feel prepared when you walk into the store.

Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Pomodoro Sauce
Found in: The Pizza and Pasta Fridge Aisle
Urgh it’s SO GOOD! This is my favourite accidentally vegan tomato sauce that’s usually always available. I don’t like long life sauce very much for lack of flavour but this one is fairly healthy given that I recognise all of the ingredients.
I use this when I’m too lazy to make tomato sauce or I need to add a little flavourful tomato and basil taste to quinoa or soup.
Ingredients: Tomato (70%), Cherry Tomatoes (10%), Sun-Dried Tomato Paste (9%) (Sun-dried Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, Sunflower Oil, Sugar, Salt, Basil, Rosemary, Garlic Puree), Onion, Extra Virgin Olive Oil (3%), Rapeseed Oil, Basil, Sea Salt, Garlic Puree, Demerara Sugar, Balsamic Vinegar (Red Wine Vinegar, Grape Must Concentrate), Black Pepper.
Price: £2.80

Free From Macaroni Cheese (Pictured above)
Found in: The Free From Fridge
Not all Vegan Mac and Cheese is made equal, especially when it’s ready made microwave food. It's my favourite food of all time, so believe me when I say that the Sainbury's own brand vegan mac and cheese is dang delicious! I have to avoid buying it most of the time because it’s addictive.
It's a perfect quick comfort dish that is also gluten free! I highly recommend adding slices of Quorn Vegan Smoky Ham Slices to your bowl.
Ingredients: Cooked Gluten Free Pasta (38%) (Rice Flour, Wholegrain Rice Flour, Water, Maize Flour, Quinoa, Rapeseed Oil, Emulsifier: Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Coconut-Based Alternative to Milk (Filtered Water, Coconut Milk, Grape Juice Concentrate, Calcium Phosphate, Emulsifier: Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids; Sea Salt, Colour: Carotenes, Vitamin D2, Vitamin B12), Water, Coconut-Based Alternative to Soft Cheese (10%) (Water, Coconut Oil, Soya Protein Concentrate, Salt, Spirit Vinegar, Acidity Regulator: Lactic Acid; Yeast Extract, Flavourings, Sugar, Thickener: Carrageenan; Colour: Carotenes), Onion, Grated Cheddar-Style Coconut-Based Alternative to Cheese (Water, Coconut Oil, Modified Potato Starch, Gluten Free Oat Fibre, Maize Starch, Salt, Modified Maize Starch, Thickeners: Carrageenan; Guar Gum, Yeast Extract, Flavourings, Acidity Regulator: Lactic Acid; Sodium Lactate, Colour: Carotenes), Cornflour, Carrot, Gelling Agent: Pectin; Salt, Mustard Powder, White Pepper, Nutmeg, Bay.
Price: £3.00

Ciabatta Garlic Breadsticks
Found in: The Oven Bread Aisle
Who doesn’t like DIY Garlic bread? This feels fancier and is easier to portion out for a single meal than a big baguette. Their Garlic Bread is Accidentally Vegan and can be popped into a freezer to oven whenever you want. I usually pop this in the oven while I'm making the above two dishes too!
Ingredients: Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Extra Virgin Olive Oil (17%), Chopped Garlic (2.0%), Flat Leaf Parsley, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Yeast.
Price: £1.80

Shroomdog Sausages
Found in: The Vegetarian Fridge and Freezer Sections
These are fantastic veggie sausages! Filled with mushrooms and seasoned with rich flavours, I remember the first time I tried these and it was one of the most exciting moments! They are peppery and can be eaten with Mashed Potatoes, Pasta or in between two slices of bread with ketchup. (During the COVID-19 Pandemic only the freezer version of these are available online)
Ingredients: Mushroom, Water, Brown Rice (11%), Pea Flour, Spinach (8%), Peas (8%), Kidney Beans (6%), Spring Onion, Avocado (5%), Vegan Cheese (4%) (Water, Coconut Oil, Modified Maize Starch, Potato Starch, Sea Salt, Preservative:Ascorbic Acid; Flavourings, Colour: Beta-carotene; Vitamin B12), Pea Fibre, Pea Starch, Yeast Extract, Stabiliser:Methyl Cellulose; Salt, Rice Flour, Mint, Maize Flour, Dill, Cracked Black Pepper, Preservative:Sodium Metabisulphite (Sulphites); Mace, Maize Starch, Dextrose.Sausages Coated in Sodium Alginate Casing.
Price: £3.50

Sainsburys Taste the Difference Vinedos Barrihuelo Rioja Crianza
Found in: The Wine Aisle
This red wine from Sainsbury’s is one of my favourite wines! It’s super smooth and easy to drink and I absolutely love that it’s labelled vegan! I take it to dinner parties with my friends and we all love this so I promise it's truly a tried and tested item. They usually have this on sale so if you're out of wine and craving something new and fancy I recommend trying this.
Ingredients: Not Specified Online
Price: £7.75

Are there more items you think deserve a mention? Let us know in the comments below!

My5: Small Businesses to Support in London

Sat, 04 Apr 2020 14:59:03 GMT

Splash your cash meaningfully with these 5 ways to help Small Businesses during the Covid-19 Crisis!

I've been struggling to find something to post on the blog. All that content I had prepared revolved around eating out or shopping and I didn't want to insensitively preach about my favourite restaurants when the world isn't supposed to be moving.
My friends started a wonderful new website named Little Places London in an effort to help spread awareness of the little things small businesses are doing to keep afloat and support their communities in this unprecedented time.

Using the Little Places London Website I've picked My5 Favourite Vegan friendly Businesses in London that have found creative ways to support their communities during the Stay Home Initiative!

Can't order groceries?
1. Loveshack LDN: The fully vegan hangout restaurant in Cambridge Heath has been a favourite to party, eat and do yoga amongst the London Vegan crowd. The restaurant has shut for the Stay Home initiative but in an effort to support the city has become a Vegan Greengrocer in the time of Corona, delivering Fruit, Veg and Booze Boxes to Londoners inventively using their friends' electric black cabs. You can order by box (Veg, Fruit or Booze) or by item like Vegan Cheese, Kimchi or even CBD Drinks on their website here. When they're back open I highly recommend popping in to sit on their front porch hammocks with a kombucha cocktail.

Want to donate meals?
2. Mildreds Restaurant is one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants in London. Their menu is around 90% vegan and their food is incredible! While their restaurant has shut down in line with the Stay Home Initiative, they are committed to donating 400 veggie meals a week to 4 key NHS Hospitals in London. They regularly post on their Instagram to share what is going where so you can see exactly where your money is going. Donate to their Go Fund Me Page here to help them continue! When they're back open don't forget to check out their 4 locations to gobble their perfect Gyoza Dumplings and Charred Artichoke!

Looking for 200% Ethical Coffee?
3. Redemption Roasters are the world's first behind bars coffee company and use ethically sourced coffee beans. They operate inside HMP The Mount and run roastery and barista classes to provide rehabilitation tools and jobs skills for offenders once they are back in society. Their cafes are closed but you can still order coffee beans online. For every bag of coffee beans ordered online they will donate a bag of beans to the new NHS Nightingale Hospital to power the staff working there. You can order here to shop and support multiple causes at the same time.

Struggling for ways to help out your favourite Hospital?
4. Crosstown Doughnuts has one fully vegan doughnut restaurant in central London with other stores around the city that always have vegan doughnuts. With their #operationdoughnation project you can donate a discounted rate box of 12 - 120 Vegan Doughnuts or a Veg Box to the Hospital of your choice (currently London based but with plans to expand) and keep the hardworking staff at the hospitals fed while they work tirelessly to keep others safe. Check out how to send a box on their website here. Be sure to check out their fully vegan branch in central London when they're back open!

Looking for a party?
5. Spiritual Bar is a dive bar hidden on a side street in Camden home to independent record label Spiritual Records. As the bar shut down for the Stay Home Initiative, their teams have been raising money to combat some of the financial hardships the Covid-19 Stay Home effort is predicted to inflict on Emerging Musicians.
They host live steamed gigs every night on Facebook Live (from each performers home) where you can donate as little as the price of a beer to support the bar and musicians. You can check out their weekly line up on their website here. Tune in to the party from Wednesday to Sunday nights 8pm GMT and be sure to stop by for a Vegan White Russian Cocktail when they're back open.

These are just a few places in London that deserve your support, there are so many more around the world trying to make a difference and keep their business running. Don't forget to support small businesses wherever you are who rely on local love to survive.

As the Little Places London manifesto says 'Without these, there won't be much to celebrate once we come out the other side'. Check out more or suggest a company to their website here

Let us know of other small businesses around the world that deserve a shout out in the comments below!

Welcome!

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Thank you so much for supporting the They and Us website!

While the Recipes and City Guide portion of the website is an extension of the Vegan Dee Instagram Page, the Blog Space of the site is a platform to share information about what it's like to be vegan, plant-based and cruelty-free. My aim is to answer the many questions one might have over how to transition lifestyle norms like beauty products, clothing and travel.

We'll be interviewing vegans from all around the world to get a sense of what the word means to them and how they fit ethics into their daily lives. I hope that it sheds some light on issues you might have while transitioning or integrating veganism into your life.

My5 is a series of honest recommendation and review lists ranging from face wash to hot chocolates designed to make it easier to make ethical shopping decisions.

Lastly, there will be weekly updates on what I'm buying, not buying and learning about, keeping it truly transparent on how I live my life. We're launching TU TV on Youtube and IGTV in the coming weeks and a Podcast very soon.

If there's anything you'd like to know more of don''t hesitate to get in touch via email, comment or Instagram DM!

This website has been a labour of love over the last year and I'm so excited to share everything with you!

All my love,
Dee xx