This months round up of snacks, drinks and tasty treats that are a must for any vegan pantry, refrigerator and that special food cupboard.
Aduna Hibiscus Powder
This tastes so good! It is a pleasure to drink as well as being good for you and we love that it supports families in rural Africa.
Aduna Hibiscus Powder is rich in polyphenols and antioxidants including flavonoids, phenolic acids and anthocyanins, a type of flavonoid that gives red, purple and blue plants their rich colouring. It has a vibrant dark pink colour; an indicator of its exceptional antioxidant content. Antioxidants help fight free radicals in the body, which can damage collagen causing skin dryness, wrinkles and premature ageing. It is also a source of protein, an essential building block of the skin, and is anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial.
It has a vibrant dark pink colour and delicious tangy flavour, similar to pomegranate or cranberry. Mix 1-2 teaspoons into smoothies, yoghurts, breakfasts, ice cream, porridge, baking recipes and desserts. For an instant skin tonic, stir 1 teaspoon into a glass of water or shake into your water bottle.
Beroni
Fresh frozen vegan-friendly pasta available in UK supermarkets for first time!
UK shoppers can now add fresh frozen, vegan-friendly pasta to their baskets for the first time after the newly-launched Beroni brand has gone on sale in Waitrose stories around the UK.
Beroni fresh frozen pasta is restaurant quality ‘al dente’ pasta that can be made at home in as little as 30 seconds. Made in the UK, Beroni pasta dough is freshly prepared by mixing the finest French durum wheat semolina with water. The fresh dough is then shaped into penne, fusilli or macaroni before being cooked ‘al dente’ and then immediately frozen to preserve its freshness. Research conducted for Beroni found that pasta was one of the top four grocery items bought during the Covid lockdown earlier this year and that it remains one of the four items that households expect to continue consuming more of moving forward.
BONRAW
The Coconut Blossom is a great replacement for Brown Sugar in cakes and baking, the Panela is good for glazing, sauces, dressing or for cocktails and the Silverbirch works exactly like a white sugar – just better.
BONRAW™ Silverbirch is sourced from woody plants and commonly known as Birch or Xylitol, this is a direct replacement for refined white sugar and it is actually good for the teeth.
BONRAW™ Panela is raw dried cane juice from Colombia. It has been traditionally handmade for centuries by extracting and dehydrating raw sugar cane juice. Low heat fires fuelled by sugarcane stalks that are dried in the sun after harvesting are used to heat the raw cane juice, making it a very sustainable process.
BONRAW™ Coconut Blossom is made from the fresh sap of coconut blossom. The sap is heated turning it into syrup before being crystallised into small granules.
Now available in Amazon, Booths, Holland & Barrett, John Lewis, Waitrose and Whole Foods Market, the BONRAW™ range is available in fully recyclable 225g tubs.
Swizzels
Sweet manufacturer Swizzels has made it even easier for vegans to enjoy a sweet treat with its extended range of vegan-friendly products. Swizzels’ vegan range includes the classic retro sweets as well as some new inventions.
Swizzels’ newest addition to its vegan range is Great British Puds. Created by a fan for fans, Puds takes the flavours of the nation’s most-loved traditional puddings and sees them transformed into unique chew bars.
Great British Puds includes four varieties of individually wrapped chew bars in classic British dessert flavours: Sticky Toffee Pudding, Lemon Meringue, Rhubarb Crumble and Apple Pie & Custard.
Those loyal Parma Violets and Love Hearts fans can now enjoy their favourite vegan treats in a share bag. Both of the retro sweets now come in Originals hanging bags, making them ideal for dipping into for an occasional treat.
Also part of Swizzels’ vegan range are Drumstick and Refreshers Choos, each with five different flavour combinations. The share bags are filled with individually-wrapped, soft chews. Drumstick Choos include Peaches & Cream and Strawberry & Banana flavours, while Refreshers Choos contain flavours such as Pineapple and Apple with a fizzy sherbet centre.
For a sweet treat on the go, Swizzels’ range of chew bars are now all suitable for vegans. The 10p range of chew bars includes Drumstick Original and Bubblegum flavours, as well as Refreshers Original Lemon, Sour Apple and Strawberry flavours.
For those that enjoy a real Swizzels classic such as Rainbow Drops, Double Lollies, Fizzers or Double Dip, these can also be enjoyed as part of a vegan diet.
Bumblezest
Designed to help deal with the challenges of modern life and to taste great, BumbleZest’s range features health shots, amazing for immunity and wellbeing; naturally flavoured sparkling waters, a delicious low calorie, low sugar soft drink alternative.
The Ginger, CBD and Turmeric is perfect for fortifying and strengthening the immune system (with added black pepper to help increase the body’s absorption rate of Turmeric); Milk Thistle and Activated Charcoal helps with detoxing and defending against cold and flu; Rosemary, Thyme and Dragon Fruit is suitable for focus and a great afternoon pick-me-up.
We are LOVING the charcoal drink – we want more!
Simplyseedz
Yummy seeds and easy on the go porridge.
Simply Seedz are a health-conscious company producing nutritious on-the-go breakfast pots and seeds that are 100% vegan, dairy-free and low in sugar content.
Simply Seedz porridge, sold in carton or pots, are available in a variety of flavours, such as: Apricot and Cranberry; Apple and Cinnamon; Dark Chocolate and Ginger; Date and Apricot; and Plain. All contain a mixture of jumbo and rolled oats, and are packed with plenty of dried fruit, with each pot containing only five ingredients. Simply add hot water or milk to the pot, stir and leave for two minutes.
Stacks of Goodness
There are currently three core mixes in the Stacks of Goodness range:
Strawberry Protein Mix: Delicately fruity, this glorious stack is perfect for the berry lovers. Best topped with fresh berries, coconut yoghurt and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Double Chocolate Protein Mix: For those hankering for a sweet hit, this mix is studded with vegan dark chocolate chips.
Vanilla and Blueberry Mix: Containing freeze-dried blueberries, vanilla protein and wholegrain ingredients like buckwheat, quinoa, teff and flax, these pancakes contain 7g of protein per serving.
The pancake mix contains all-natural ingredients, full of goodness (with wholegrain ingredients like buckwheat, brown rice, teff, quinoa and flax) with the addition of delicious vegan protein from Nutristrength and freeze dried fruit or dark chocolate chips. Simply add 1 cup of plant-based milk with a mashed banana.
Cecily’s
Vegan Cornish Ice cream!
Cecily’s is available in a range of different flavours, including their famous and much-loved Mint Choc – packed with natural cocoa chips, peppermint oil and a touch of spirulina for some green goodness. Other products include: Chocolate Orange Swirl, Double Caramel, Creamy Coconut, Pure Chocolate, Pure Caramel, and Rum ’n Raisin.
Coconuts Organic was founded in 2015 by Cecily Mills, a BBC Dragon’s Den winner and former senior manager for Marks and Spencers. Adopting a plant-based diet herself, Cecily set out on a mission to replicate the smooth, creamy luxurious taste of dairy ice cream, but in a natural, vegan-friendly version. Following a move back to her native Cornwall, and alongside having two daughters, Cecily set about making her passion for ice cream her full-time career.
Long Shots Drinks
A refreshing vegan friendly alcoholic drink made from just four ingredients using only natural fruit and sparkling water plus grain based alcohol in 3 brilliant flavours; Strawberry & Rhubarb, Grapefruit, and award-winning Raspberry & Blackcurrant.
Founded by Hugo & George in early 2020, Long Shot is one of the first Great British brands to take the sector by storm, culminating in a crisp, flavoursome, and home-grown hard seltzer. In fact, nearly all of Long Shot’s ingredients are sourced from within 20 miles of their Herefordshire manufacturer. And because they are made with real fruit juice, they come out the colour of the fruits. Keeping it local and fresh.
Long Shot is 4% ABV, Gluten Free, suitable for vegans, low sugar, less than 70 calories per can, and keto friendly.
Super thanks to the lovely companies that sent us products to try out in this feature
