All posts tagged: Vegan

Scientists find way to make a healthier and ‘oozier’ version of vegan cheese

Scientists find way to make a healthier and ‘oozier’ version of vegan cheese

Published by Daniella Wilson

Sign up to IndyEat’s free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our food and drink newsletter for free Get our food and drink newsletter for free Scientists have developed a new vegan cheese that promises to be healthier, more environmentally friendly, and even “oozier” than existing alternatives. Traditional vegan cheese substitutes often rely on solid fats such as coconut or palm oil to achieve their desired “sliceable, meltable” texture. However, this typically results in a high saturated fat content. Researchers at Heriot-Watt University (HWU) have now pioneered a method using home-grown vegetable oils, including rapeseed and sunflower, as a sustainable alternative. This innovation aims to create a product that is both healthier for consumers and more sustainable for the planet. Professor Stephen Euston, who is leading the team, said: “I think it’s fair to say that when most people try vegan cheese for the first time, they don’t wax lyrical. “The main reason for that is probably to do with the lack of protein. “Normal cheese is mostly protein, whereas vegan …

Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for Sichuan-style braised aubergines with tofu | Chinese food and drink

Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for Sichuan-style braised aubergines with tofu | Chinese food and drink

Published by Sam Flores

With spring in the air, I want a dish that’s the equivalent of turning the key in the ignition, firing up the engine and riding off into the sun. In short: something with a bit of va-va-voom. That dish, for me, is these Sichuan aubergines, a take on the classic “fish fragrant aubergines” (so called because the same aromatics are often used to cook fish). Creamy to begin with, they’re layered with flavour by way of ginger, garlic, spring onion and, finally, laced with delight and good times owing to the bright chilli bean sauce and vinegar. Sichuan-style braised aubergines with tofu Chilli bean sauce (doubanjiang) can be found in big supermarkets, specialist Asian food stores and online. To use the whole spring onion, wash them properly to remove any grit by slicing, covering with water and scooping out into a colander (rather than draining). Prep 10 minCook 35 minServes 4 3 aubergines (1kg), each cut lengthways into eighthsRapeseed oilFine sea salt280g extra-firm tofu, drained2cm x 2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced4 garlic cloves, …

Comedian Diane Morgan says cheese now ‘smells like socks’ after vegan switch

Comedian Diane Morgan says cheese now ‘smells like socks’ after vegan switch

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Comedian Diane Morgan, known for her distinctive deadpan humour, has revealed a surprising personal transformation, embracing a vegan lifestyle that has even altered her perception of cheese – a former culinary love now described as smelling “like socks”. The 50-year-old, currently starring in Last One Laughing on Prime Video, made the switch last January. While she was “never a big milk drinker anyway”, preferring oat milk, cheese proved a significant hurdle. “I couldn’t find a decent vegan cheese that I liked – it all tasted like glue sticks – so I just went cold turkey on it,” she explained. The shift in perception was stark: “Then, after four weeks, my brain just went, ‘Oh, I don’t like cheese anymore, it smells like socks’. So now I don’t crave it at all.” Morgan, who resides in central London, advocates for everyone to …

‘Instagram fans are devoted’: 19 of the best vegan and cruelty-free beauty brands to know | Skincare

‘Instagram fans are devoted’: 19 of the best vegan and cruelty-free beauty brands to know | Skincare

Published by Sam Flores

Thanks to a growing demand for ethically produced products, vegan and cruelty-free beauty has improved dramatically in recent years. An increasing number of brands are now vegan – in particular newer brands, which have prioritised ethical credentials. By the same token, many use recyclable, compostable or refillable reusable packaging, and donate to environmental causes. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Vegan beauty products are ones that avoid commonly used animal-derived ingredients, such as beeswax, lanolin (derived from sheep’s wool), snail mucin, keratin (found in some nail polish and nail treatments) and non-vegan collagen, which is generally derived from the connective tissues, skin, bones and cartilage of cows or fish. The term “cruelty-free” isn’t explicitly legally defined in beauty, but the gold standard is brands that have eliminated animal testing for their ingredients, ingredient suppliers, formulations and finished products. Cosmetics testing on animals has been banned in the UK since 1998, but due to a number of complicating factors, including sales of cosmetics …

Best vegetarian and vegan sandwiches to try in Los Angeles

Best vegetarian and vegan sandwiches to try in Los Angeles

Published by Sam Flores

This quirky Frogtown sandwich shop, which also happens to serve some of the best soft serve in town, names each of its menu items after NPR hosts. One of the most popular options? The Ira Glass, Wax Paper’s riff on a classic hippie sandwich, named for the legendary host of “This American Life.” Slices of Bub & Grandma’s seeded sourdough wheat bread are swiped with a garlic aioli and then topped with half of an avocado, shredded Tillamook sharp cheddar, cucumber slices, both pickled and raw red onions for extra flavor, and a mountain of alfalfa sprouts. It’s crunchy, fresh and often sells out, so make sure to place your order early. $16.50 Source link

Five vegan restaurants in Paris for food lovers

Five vegan restaurants in Paris for food lovers

Published by Sam Flores

In contemporary culinary history, plant-based foods have often played a supporting role: lentils relegated to the side of sausages, fries served as an accompaniment to Sunday chicken or capers and onions merely used as condiments in a beef tartare. But what if it was time to give fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes center stage on our plates? Some chefs have already taken the leap and gone further still, by cooking exclusively with plant-based ingredients. No more meat, fish, dairy or eggs. Yet their menus are far from limited to a few leaves of lettuce and some seeds. Here is a selection of five Parisian restaurants that do away with animal products without sacrificing flavor or indulgence. So Nat: squash fritters and butter-free cookies So Nat FRANCK JUERY Well-conceived, delicious dishes and excellent value for money await you at lunchtime at So Nat. Chef Zohra Levacher offers three “buddha bowls” – each made up of a grain, a legume, three vegetables, a sauce and a garnish (€10 for the small size, €12 for the large) – …

Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for prosperity toss noodle salad | Vegetables

Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for prosperity toss noodle salad | Vegetables

Published by Sam Flores

This Tuesday marks the start of the lunar new year and the year of the fire horse, which represents fresh opportunities, personal growth and good fortune. I, for one, am keen to usher that horse in, and to celebrate I’ll be making this noodle salad, which is a variation on one I first ate at Mandy Yin’s restaurant, Sambal Shiok. It’s a dish that’s eaten across Malaysia and Singapore, and the idea is that everyone around the table tosses the salad high into the air at the same time: the superstition goes that the higher the salad is tossed, the more luck will ensue. Come on, Nelly. Prosperity toss noodle salad Dried beancurd sticks (and pink sushi ginger) can be found in Chinese supermarkets or online. When soaked, they become like chewy thinly sliced tofu. This recipe is all in the preparation: the only cooking is frying the beancurd sticks and cashews and boiling the noodles. You’ll need a large lipped bowl or platter (big enough to serve four from) and four pairs of chopsticks. …

Vegan toddlers can grow at the same rate as omnivores

Vegan toddlers can grow at the same rate as omnivores

Published by skeptic

Meat and dairy aren’t essential for a child’s development Evgeniia Gordeeva/Getty Images Babies born into vegan or vegetarian families may be slightly underweight in early infancy, but seem to catch up to their omnivore peers by age 2. Official advice generally states that a well-planned vegan diet – rich in vegetables, beans, whole grains and fortified products – can provide all the nutrients needed for good health. But it can still be very difficult to meet a child’s growing nutritional needs, with veganism being linked to amino acid and protein deficiencies. When it comes to the pros and cons of veganism at a young age, small studies have provided conflicting results. To address the issue on a wider scale, Kerem Avital at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel and her colleagues have now analysed data on 1.2 million babies collected from national family care centres in Israel between 2014 and 2023, following records of each baby’s length, weight and head circumference from birth to 24 months. The team then compared those growth rates to …

New Pasadena bakeries for pastries and gluten-free and vegan desserts

New Pasadena bakeries for pastries and gluten-free and vegan desserts

Published by Sam Flores

I’m going to introduce you to your new favorite chocolate chip cookie. It’s a sizable bronze round with big boulders of semisweet chocolate buried into the surface. The center is soft and chewy, with a lavish brown butter flavor that carries notes of toffee. It’s surrounded in a halo of crisp, golden cookie and finished with a sprinkling of salt. The cookie can go toe to toe with the one you make at home, and whatever other cookie you love around town. “We had a cookie, but it didn’t work because it was too gluten-free tasting,” says owner Leah Di Bernardo. “I tasked Helen Cho, our lead baker, with using brown butter to make the cookie, and she did.” Di Bernardo and her daughter, Gigi, run the Pasadena bakery, where the cookie, and everything else at the restaurant, is gluten-free. In the bakery case, you’ll find tender, cheesy biscuits made with almond flour, decadent doughnuts topped with passion fruit, mini Basque cheesecakes with almond and coconut flour crust and wedges of vegetable frittata. Di Bernardo …

‘We were as stuffed as the dumplings’: a tour of Warsaw’s top vegan restaurants | Poland holidays

‘We were as stuffed as the dumplings’: a tour of Warsaw’s top vegan restaurants | Poland holidays

Published by Sam Flores

Pinny on, hands dusted with flour, I rolled out dough, cut it into circles, added a spoonful of filling and sealed it into little parcels. I was getting stuck into a dumpling cooking class in one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the world. Making gyoza in Tokyo, perhaps? Wontons in Singapore? Potstickers in Taipei? In fact, I was preparing pierogi in Warsaw. Friends who associate Polish cuisine with stews and sausages were surprised to hear it, but vegan food has proliferated across the country over the past 20 years. Happy Cow, the veteran vegan restaurant guide, now consistently ranks Warsaw in its top cities globally – last year it was in 11th place, ahead of Bangkok, San Francisco and Copenhagen. Poland may be best known for its meat dishes, but fungi and vegetables such as potatoes, cabbage, beetroot and cucumbers have long been central to its food culture. Agnieszka Skrodzka, a Warsaw tour guide specialising in plant-based food, says it is far easier to avoid meat than mushrooms – as she found out when …