It's World Vegan Day!

To celebrate World Vegan Day, which kickstarts World Vegan Month, I'm offering my Vegan For A Day booklet as a free download! Inside you'll find some of the recipes included on this blog plus ideas for other meals if you're new to vegan food. I became vegan during World Vegan Month two years ago, maybe this year you'll do the same.

Click here to download Vegan For A Day.

The Spotless Leopard - Review

Two weeks ago at the East Midlands Vegan Festival I had the pleasure of tasting all kinds of delightful vegan food from a wide variety of stalls. But my favourite sample of the entire day actually came from a van: The Spotless Leopard, a vegan catering van normally based in Bristol. Their menu typically includes a good selection of savoury food including vegetable tarts, seitan sandwiches and veggie burgers, all at affordable prices. And if you fancy something sweet then I would highly recommend trying one of the mostly raw cheesecakes on offer.

I went for the Spiced Peanut Butter Cashew Cheesecake - pretty much all of my favourite ingredients in one dessert. The filling was light and delicate with a very creamy texture which contrasted perfectly with the chunkier, nutty base. The addition of spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon added a touch of autumn while the whipped coconut cream topping was luxurious but not excessive. One thing I loved about this dish was that it wasn't overly sweet, instead making the most of different textures and flavour combinations. The company also offer a pumpkin version of this dessert which I can't wait to try.


The advantage of using a van is that The Spotless Leopard can bring vegan food to different locations, mainly in the South West but also further afield. You can find out where the van will be visiting next by clicking here. If catering vans aren't your thing, you can still try the delicious food at The Spotless Leopard's vegan pop-up restaurant in Bristol on the 6th of December, which you can find out more about here.

Like The Spotless Leopard on Facebook here and follow them on Twitter here.

Tofu Scramble

This is one of my favourite meals that I've discovered since being vegan. I was never a big fan of scrambled eggs but I LOVE scrambled tofu, probably because it is so versatile and the spices help give it real flavour, rather than just tasting eggy. You can mix up the vegetables and make this into a fabulous breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Real Foods Review

The lovely folks at Realfoods.co.uk asked me to review a couple of their new products so here it is, my first blog review! Both products are gluten-free porridges from Alara, a Scottish company who pride themselves on their organic status and traditional stone-milling process. Alara produce a range of cereals that are suitable for coeliacs and affordably priced, without compromising on their environmental status. Almost all of the cereals in the range are vegan too, with the exception of Crunchy Oats Granola which contains honey. Additionally their packaging is beautifully designed, giving a good indication of the quality and organic nature of the products.

First up is their luxurious porridge, a mix of rice, millet, buckwheat and golden linseeds. This porridge is particularly good for those with coeliac disease as well as sensitivity to oats because of its use of alternative grains. This also gives the porridge a much creamier texture than regular oats, however it requires a little more liquid to get the porridge to the right consistency. The addition of the linseeds is a lovely touch, adding texture and a slightly nutty taste whilst also bumping up the nutritional content with iron and omega 3. Similarly, millet and buckwheat are both high in iron and calcium as well as other essential vitamins and minerals so this is an excellent breakfast for vegans or anyone trying to eat a balanced diet. I served mine with Koko dairy-free milk for a hint of coconut along with a sliced banana and a sprinkle of cinnamon - delicious! Despite being marketed as a luxury product, at £2.60 for 500g this porridge is within the average price range for gluten-free cereals but with the added advantage of being 100% organic, which normally increases the price. This makes it great value for money so I would definitely recommend this for everyday breakfasts.

Up next is the traditional Scottish oats. Even before cooking it is clear that these oats are high quality - they are large, thick grains with a soft golden colour - and it is difficult to tell them apart from non-gluten-free oats. This makes them wonderful for porridge (try them with hazelnut milk and a handful of chopped dates) but also for baking. Using these in flapjacks, oatmeal cookies or on top of an apple crumble is surely a great way to get the health benefits of oats whilst indulging in something sweet. The price of these oats is considerably higher than the luxurious porridge, £3.95 for 500g, so perhaps better suited to baking or those with a higher budget.

Overall these products were both tasty and nutritious which in my books (and the bear's) is:

Cool Cat Smoothie

A suitably summery recipe for all ages. Trying out a more child-friendly approach in my illustrative work - hope you like it!

Easy Chilli

Hello and welcome to The Illustrated Vegan, a blog combining the two main passions of a twenty one year old punk.  Here you'll find all sorts of information about veganism, from food to fashion, all delightfully decorated to make it all the more appealing.  And what better way to launch the blog with my most fail safe vegan recipe: chilli - yum!