World Vegan Day Competition!

To celebrate World Vegan Day on November 1st I'm running a little comp!

First prize is the fabulous cookbook "Isa Does it" (probably my favourite cookbook to date!)

(available to buy on Amazon, here)

Second prize is a box of 12 mixed chocolate cupcakes! (collection only!)

(available to order here)

Plus there will be 3 runners up prizes of "The L Plate Vegan" pocket Guide, by Viva!

(available to buy here)

World Vegan Day marks the start of vegan month.   If you're not vegan but would like to give it a go, then now is the perfect time to register for Animal Aid's "Great Vegan Challenge".

                                

You can also read some of my tips for going veggie/vegan, here!

For your chance to win, enter using the Rafflecopter app below! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

No cake for me today...

I'm not eating cakes today.

Or any food at all.

This isn't really a cake related blog post, and it does cover vegan/animal rights issues. I know some people who follow just for the cake may be uncomfortable with that, but I hope vegan or not you will stay for a read!

Today (2nd Oct) is World Day for Farmed Animals, and this year thousands of people across the world have pledged to fast for the day, in remembrance of the billions of farmed animals killed for food each year. 

I wasn't initially sure whether taking part would be a worthwhile cause or not. But I am, and my main reason is as a mark of respect to all of the unseen animals that suffer for the meat trade.

As an animal lover it literally breaks my heart to think of the huge scale of animal suffering endured by farm animals.

Over 56 billion animals are killed by the farming industry each year.

I can totally get why numbers like this would make people think that them alone giving up meat could not have any impact on anything at all.

But I am quite fond of the quote:

"Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

The fact is that more and more people each day are realising they can live healthy happy lives without any animal products at all. (and I hope that my cakes are a testament that veganism definitely doesn't mean "going without!").

It is such a momentous wish to hope that animal farming could ever end, but I hope that days like today will help make people stop for a moment and consider whether the animal farming industry is still one they wish to support.

Some useful resources for anyone wishing to trial a vegetarian or vegan diet can be found at these websites:

http://www.govegan.org.uk

http://www.viva.org.uk/going-vegetarian-vegan

http://vegankit.com

http://www.peta.org/living/food/free-vegan-starter-kit/

and of course  I myself am always happy to try and help, so if you have any questions,  feel free to ask away!

VegFest UK, 2014!

On Sunday 28th September I had the pleasure of visiting VegFest UK (at London Olympia) for the first time, with my friend Jill!

It was a very exciting day!

Things on my list to get were: Cream cakes from Big Fat Vegan Bakery, (this was a big sell for me!), a Sea Shepherd hoody, and a vego bar!

I managed to get a Vego bar (or 4...) very quickly, followed by a Sea Shepherd hoody soon after (from my Facebook friend Jenny Dunn who was helping man the Sea Shepherd stall).

I was really impressed with all the street food vendors at the festival, especially the eye catching Tuk Tuk from thai stall "Bang Wok" and the cute yellow van from "Ruperts Street" (who we bought tofu masala curry from).
Other cool stuff on offer was....lots of chocolate stalls, loads of vegan cupcakes and cakes, raw food stalls, lots of coconut products and fresh coconut water, and a fair bit of Caribbean food.

We eventually found The Big Fat Vegan Bakery stall upstairs and it definitely didn't disappoint!  The choice was a bit overwhelming, and I went a bit overboard and ate THREE of their huge cream cakes over the course of the day!

Other purchases I made were 36 nakd  wholefood bars! (love them so much!), a yummy chewy cookie from my friend Kezia at Kizzy's cookies, and a marshmallow box mix and "Round Up" vegan wagon wheel from Vegan Tuck Shop.
I also very nearly bought a soya milk maker, and vegetable spirailiser! (maybe next year!)

Overall I thought VegFest was a great event. It was amazing to see so many animal friendly stalls and people all under one roof, and I can't wait to go back next year!!