Vegan Effect

By McDonald, T.   |  Date 30th of December 2020 The world is an amazing creation that would be better if we stopped polluting it.  Veganism goes further than food and drink; it incudes the philosophy of not messing up the world for other animals too. This idea includes thinking about waste and recycling.  As a result,  plastic free shopping becomes an objective for a vegan were we look for products that don't damage the wild life and are easily recycled.  Personal care and grooming is essential and not exempt from the vegan philosophy.  With this in mind, what types of products are out there that an aspiring vegan can find?  Well it turns out they are lots to choose from.  I will examine, but a few of the amazing vegan bathroom goodies that are kind to animals and plastic free. Everything I tested came from Enviroli Toothpaste I tried toothpaste from Eco Living and was pleasantly surprised. It really is as simple as chewing the tab until it foams up and then brushing.  After brush

By McDonald, T.   |  Date 28th of December 2020 Yes, we do actually use banana peel in this dish! It may surprise you to know that banana peel can be used in many different dishes, but today I am going to show you how to use banana peel to make a burger.  Before I get started I should mention that in no way will the end product taste like banana provided  you prepare the banana peel correctly.  Neither are the ends used.  

By  McDonald, T.    |  Date 28th of December 2020 In the UK it is a tradition to make New Years resolutions.  This involves identifying things that we need to change about ourselves in order to grow as a person and then completely ignore them.  However, some people do stick to their resolutions because they pick realistic ones and plan it out beforehand.   Another successful tactic is to join in with a group such as #veganuary where lots of people new to veganism or people looking to try it out support each other in person and or online.   Find out more about veganuary here then come back and read how to make it a success. What is a vegan? A vegan is someone that doesn't eat meat or animal products such as dairy.  Neither does a vegan wear anything made from animals. The vegan society define veganism here. Why go vegan? Vegans go vega n for two main reasons: Don't want to harm or exploit the animals. Health. However, a new reason has come to the surface: the environment!  Ye

By McDonald, T.   |  Date 21st of December 2020 Why should a vegan miss out on a jolly good fry up?  Well it turns out you don't have to!  Today's mock meats are numerous and good, so you are bound to find fake sausages and fake bacon that you like.  Here is my interpretation of a Full English Breakfast vegan style. What is in A Vegan All Day Breakfast? Mock bacon Mock sausages or chipolatas Mushrooms  Tomatoes  Avocado Home-made hash browns  The bacon is called 'This is not bacon' by  This.UK.  Notably, these plant based rashers are not just fortified with B12 and iron: they are very tasty!  Obviously, there are other mock bacons on the market, but this is my current favourite.  This.UK mock bacon is completely vegan The chipolatas are from Plant Chef, one of my favourite brands, and made from pea protein amongst other things. They taste great when cooked correctly.   Plant Chef vegan chipolatas Home-made Vegan Hash Browns   Serves 1 Ingredients  Potato small 1/2 Carr

By McDonald, T.   |  Updated 29th of October 2023 Veganism is growing rapidly in popularity in the UK and the rest of the world. In fact, the UK has been the top producer of vegan products in recent years. This growth has been attributed to meat free Monday and veganuary, so with veganuary coming up you might want to give veganism a try.  If you are looking to be a vegan, you will undoubtedly have questions such as how do I start?  What should I look for?  First things first, if you are serious about being a vegan it would be wise to sign up to this blog, so click on the subscribe button and use the labels in the side bar to locate specific topics or you can even use the search bar at the top of this page.  Even if you are reading this long after I wrote it, please note that I keep it updated. Next, you can start to think about what we actually mean by vegan and then look at you whole life. This blog will guide you through the first stages of becoming a vegan and show you how to t

By McDonald, T.   |  Date 15th of December 2020 Every year almost everyone gets in a fluster over Christmas.  The shops will be packed out with frantic last minute shoppers looking for that ideal gift for a loved one.  In addition, many will moan and complain about Christmas because they don't know how to afford the expensive gifts or are just grumpy for a hobby.  With all this in mind, what is Christmas really about?  Christmas is a Christian festival that's about the birth of Jesus, the messiah and is celebrated on the 25th of December in the UK.  First let's outline the whole story with a timeline of events. Mary is visited by an angel and agrees to carry the child of God (Luke 1:26-38). Mary visits her cousin Elisabeth (Luke1:39-45). An angel tells Joseph, in a dream, it will be OK to take Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:18-24). Jesus is born in a stable because there is no room at the inn (Luke 2:7) An angel visits the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20) The three wise men visit the

By McDonald, T.   |  Date 12th of December 2020 Growing up I would often hear things like, 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness.'  This has deeper meaning than it first seems.  We can clean the house, tidy the rooms and we can rearrange things in a more organised way, but what about inside our hearts and minds? Cleaning the mind and house First, lets look at how we clean our homes.  We declutter areas, getting rid of all the things we don't need.  We tidy the shelves, we tidy the cupboards, we clean the cupboards under the stairs, but what about the cupboards and shelves in our minds?  What about all the stuff we have shelved for later because we can't deal with it now? What about the broken relationships that we leave to fester in the back of our minds?  If it was something in the house we would aim to fix it right away, but if it is a broken relationship we don't?  Could this be that we don't know what to do?  If you had a broken sink in the house and you didn&#

By McDonald, T.   |  Date 10th of December 2020 Spaghetti and meatballs was one of my favourite meals, so when i found a mock meat to recreate this al time favourite of mine i leaped at the chance!  I am glad this didn't disappoint.  The meat free balls come from Plant Chef from Tesco, but the tomato sauce is mostly home-made.  Severs 1 (Multiple by however many you are catering for) Time : 15 minutes  Ingredients 4 Plant Chef Meat Free Balls 100 g chopped tomatoes  1 tablespoon of salsa  2 tsp vegan pesto 2 tsp of garlic paste 1 tsp of chilli powder salt  pepper 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar 2 tsp of soya sauce Dried spaghetti (Dried is vegan, but fresh is not) Some mixed veg such as peas, carrot, runner beans and sweetcorn Apparatus  Saucepan Frying pan  Spatula  Tongs Method  Pan fry the meat free balls for 12 minutes on a medium heat with a little olive oil.  This will need your constant attention because you will need to keep turning them. Once the 12 minutes is up, add the veg

By McDonald, T. | Date 1st of December 2020 Breakfast will never be the same with this delicious treat. You can eat this at any time of the day and it will be both stratifying and filling. The cranberries represent the blood of Christ who is the light in the world, the fruit and nuts represent the fruits of the Holy Spirit and the four seasons. The orange represents the world. 100% vegan. Serves 1 Ingredients 1/2 a cup of Rolled oats 1 cup of soya milk 1 tsp chia seeds Orange segments 1/4 of cinnamon 1/4 of nutmeg 4 Crushed walnuts 10g of pine nuts Steam ginger pieces 10g Cranberries berries 10g Sultanas A sprinkle of vegan chocolate beans 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence Salt to taste 1/2 tsp of sugar Apparatus A jar  A metal spoon  Method Put the 1/2 a cup of oats into the jar with the cranberries, sultanas, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and the salt. Poor the milk in, add the vanilla essence and give it a good stir. Place in a fridge overnight.