June Vegan Swap Box - What I Received

Yay! My vegan swap box is here! I had to have it delivered again as there was no-one in to sign for it the first time it was delivered. It was the biggest box I had ever received, I was so excited to open it up but it was wrapped up so well, it took me 10 minutes to open it up and find the treasure!

This months swap box was from Gary, he doesn't have a blog but he's a tweeter. You can find him on twitter @RealGandy

As you can see my box was filled with treasure, some sweet, some savoury, some new, some old favourites. In my box I had:

• New Chocolate Chip Hobnobs
• Goody Good Stuff Cola Bottles
• ASDA Free From Choc Orange buttons
• ASDA Free From Choc Buttons
• Moo Free Chocolate Drops
• Dark Chocolate Covered Marzipan
• The Organic Vegetarian Burger Mix
• Nibl Wasabi Bean Mix
• Primal Strip - Meatless Vegan Jerky - Shitake Mushroom Hot & Spice
• Primal Strip - Meatless Vegan Jerky - Seitan Mesquite Lime
• Tiger Tiger Mayo

The hobnobs were opened first and I'm ashamed to say I scoffed almost half a packet in one sitting! I like the original hobnobs too but the chocolate chip hobnobs were a welcome treat, I don't think I'll go back to the original hobnobs now I've tasted these! I've tried the ASDA choc buttons before and they're a nice addition to my lunch box every now and then. I've not tried the chocolate drops from Moo Free before but I have tried their chocolate and these were just as good. I bet they're also good for baking chocolate chip muffins! The Goody Good Stuff Cola Bottles are my favourites of favourites, I just can't get enough of these little beauties!

My regular readers will already know that Tiger Tiger Mayo is my favourite, so that will be used often. I've not tried the nibl wasbi beans yet but if the wasabi crisps are anything to go by these are going to blow my head off! Can't wait to try them. I've been sent primal strips before but if I'm honest I've never been brave enough to try them. However the mushroom one has caught my eye and I shall try this with interest. I don't normally eat fake 'meats' (bar the occasional  Linda McCartney sausage, strange I know but true) as I gave meat up for a reason and anything that looks or tastes like meat is a waste on me. But I am going to try the mushroom primal strip, I'm intrigued. 

After my review of shop bought vegan burgers I can't wait to try the organic vegetarian burger mix, Gary tells me this is a good one. In fact I may just make it up for tomorrows tea. Thank you so much Gary for all the goodies, it was by far the biggest and heaviest box I've received, and I will enjoy everything you have included. I hope you received a good one too!

To see what I sent to my partner, Jade, please see yesterdays post.

June Vegan Food Swap - What I Sent

This is my 5th vegan food swap box month and I love it, this time I was sending to Jade and it was her first time, so I wanted to spoil her. Jade hasn't got a blog but she introduced me to bleat, which is a new vegan social networking site. I haven't joined yet, but I will, it looks like it could be fun.

I wanted to send her a wide range of goodies from a range of places so in her box I included the following:

• Tesco Finest 85% Swiss Plain Chocolate
• Fry's Chocolate Cream - Original
• Dairy Free White Buttons
• Alpro Soya Chocolate Drink
• Hale & Hearty Deliciously Wholesome Date & Chocolate Flapjack
• Blackfriars Fruit Flapjack
• Packet of Love Hearts
• Yo Yo Bear Fruit Roll - Apple
• Yo Yo Bear Fruit Roll - Strawberry
• Panda All Natural Raspberry Liquorice
• Panda All Natural Blueberry Liquorice
• Panda All Natural Original Liquorice
• Penn State Pretzels Original Sea Salted
• The Food Doctor - Tomato, Pepper and Quinoa Wholesome Soup
• Pink Peppercorns
• Alpro Soya Single Light Cream
• Six different tea bags

As you can see the box I made up was mainly sweet than savoury, so I hope Jade liked it. My very first vegan food swap box back in February contained a Frys chocolate bar and I was amazed it was vegan. That's why I love this idea, you get to find out accidental vegan foods without doing the homework. Since that first Fry's chocolate bar I haven't stopped. Trouble is Hubby likes them too and he nobbled the last one last night! More supplies needed!

My favourite treat at the moment is the Hale and Hearty Deliciously Wholesome Date and Chocolate Flapjack. It really is delicious and I can't get enough of them at the moment. The Blackfriars flapjacks are also delicious but they are rather large. You could cut one in half and make two snacks. But I bet that it wouldn't be long before you went back for the second half because you know it's there! A bar of Panda liquorice is always in my drawer at work for those times when you need something sweet. Not all flavours are vegan though just the three pictured to the left. I found the Yo Yo Bear Fruit Rolls in my local co-op, I've tried the strawberry one and was pleasantly surprised but I've not yet tried the other flavours, I think there are 5 different ones. I couldn't leave out a packet of love hearts I think they're just so cute! Who else reads the message before eating? I read everyone!

The only savoury items I added were the pink peppercorns, the pretzels and the soup. Jade advised me that she doesn't do "burn your mouth off hot" so I went with the pink peppercorns, hopefully there not too hot and they looked so pretty. I love the Penn State pretzels and these small packets just do the trick. I've not tried the food doctor soup but I have tried the snack pot couscous by the food doctor, which was very nice. 

To round things off I included soya cream, chocolate drink and a range of tea bags, my favourites are earl grey and lady grey. I really hope jade liked her swap box. I've also received mine now too - woohoo! Tomorrow I'll post what I received

April Vegan Food Swap - What I Sent

Four days ago I blogged about the food swap box that I received from Finola, which was delicious. I have now eaten the bittersweet chocolate and the hazelnut cream wafers and started the speculoos biscuits. 

Hopefully my vegan food box of goodies has arrived at its destination and Stephen liked what he received.


I sent a mixture of sweet and savoury items and as usual sent over a box of graze vegan goodies too, my signature item if you wish.




In the graze box was roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds with soy sauce, habas tapas (jumbo chilli corn, roasted corn and chilli broad beans), herby bread basket (basil baguettes, garlic croutons and oregano rice crackers) and last but no means least tomato dipenetti.

The other savoury items I included were a packet of rosemary breadsticks, a carton of rice milk and a jar of tamarind paste.

In my world, to finish off a vegan swap box you need to add some sweet items. I added a slab of mandarin and ginger extra dark chocolate, an original flavour panda liquorice stick, a peanut brittle bar made by Mr Tom and a packet of the goody good stuff sweets, summer peaches. These really taste of summer!

I really hope Stephen enjoys his box of goodies. 

If you want to join in the vegan swap box revolution then sign up with To Happy Vegans, Sasha and Mitsu. They organise it all so all you need to do is make up a box of vegan goodies, spending £10 and send it to your assigned partner, simples!

April Vegan Food Swap - What I Received

I can't believe how time flies! It only feels like yesterday when I was blogging about the March Vegan Food Swap Box. For all of you who don't know about this vegan goodies swap box system, it's a fantastic idea. To Happy Vegans organise it and every month you are assigned a partner to send a parcel of vegan goodies to and in return you receive your own parcel of surprise delights! This is my third time and I always get excited about what I might receive and putting together the box for my swap buddy. You really should give it a whirl.

This month I was sent a vegan swap box from Finola, who sent me a box of awesome goodies! Look at what I got.........

As you can see it was a delightful mix of sweet and savoury foods. In my parcel I got the following items:

• Organic Cha Soba Noodles
• Minestrone Soup Squeeze & Stir
• Broad Beans, Roasted & Salted
• Munchy Seeds
• Nakd Bar, Rhubarb & Custard
• Bittersweet Chocolate
• Panda Original Liquorice
• Panda Raspberry Liquorice
• Hazelnut Cream Wafers
• Speculaas Biscuits

I can't wait to use the Cha Soba Noodles, the packet suggests serving them hot or cold, so the first thing I'm going to try is a noodle salad continuing my work lunch theme.

I would never have guessed that Heinz make a soup suitable for vegans, so this is also an ideal work lunch. I can't wait to try the broad beans, I've had something similar once, on a visit to Cardiff I picked up a packet of satay broad beans which were delicious, so I have high hopes for these. 

I love munchy seeds and they are great as a snack or a topper to a salad or even on a houmous sandwich to give it a bit of crunch.

I always keep a stock of panda liquorice bars in my drawer at work and Finola must be psychic as I ate my last one on Friday and need to restock! Chocolate bars are always welcome and I've not come across this bar before, bittersweet chocolate. I will be delving in very soon. I've not seen the Hazelnut Cream Wafers before either, so I am looking forward to trying those.

Nakd Bars! You gotta love these beauty's, my favourite is chocolate orange but I've not seen this flavour before, Rhubarb and Custard. Will this flavour relpace my favourite so far?

Last and by no means least, the speculaas biscuits, in Finola's note she tells me they are gorgeous and I've seen a few other food bloggers rave about them. Apparantly you can also by them as a spread! I'll let you know my verdict soon.

Thanks Finola for a fantastic selection of vegan goodies, a lot of which I've not tried before.

March Vegan Food Swap - What I sent

After a successful vegan food swap box last month I couldn't wait to be part of the March swap. If you've not heard of it before its a scheme run by to happy vegans who organise it. Every month you are assigned a partner to send a parcel of vegan goodies to and in return you receive your own parcel from another. The budget is £10 not including package and postage. Its really good fun and I can't believe how excited I get leading up to it!

This month I was assigned Christine, who unfortunately hasn't got a blog. She advised me that she tends to lean towards healthier food but she was up for trying anything. This box was going to be completely different to my previous box I'd sent.

After scaling local supermarkets and smaller shops I decided what I was going to send. In my parcel to Christine I included:

• Organic Miso Soup by Clearspring
• Sainsburys finely chopped green olives
• Sainsbury's chargrilled red pepper paste
• Tiger Tiger Garlic Mayonnaise
• Mini Moos Easter Bunny
• A parcel of Graze goodies

Organic Miso soup is a wonderfully unique combination of brown rice, sweet white miso, the mineral rich sea vegetables Kombu and Wakame and dried green onions. It makes a great soup by just adding hot water, which is delicious and convenient. 

If you're yet to find a vegan alternative to mayonnaise then this is it! I have tried Plamil mayo and other brands in the free from aisle of my local supermarkets but nothing comes close to Tiger Tiger especially the Garlic one. It really is the best out there by far!

I have yet to try the sainsbury's finely chopped green olives or the chargrilled red pepper paste, but both look delicious and labelled vegan too. I was thinking along the lines that they were a good store cupboard ingredient to have to hand for quick and tasty meals. I'm assuming the chopped green olives is similar to an olive tapenade without the fish sauce, or it could be quite easily turned into it! I'll post a recipe soon for an olive tapenade, but I definitely think its a summer recipe steeped in Greek memories. The chargrilled red pepper paste would be good in a wrap or used as a pizza sauce for a different twist.

As always I added a 'graze' box which consisted of black pepper pistachios, sweet chilli bites, spicy Thai rice crackers and Korean chilli rice crackers. AND of course this vegan swap box wouldn't be quite right without an Easter treat, so to finish it off I included a Mini Moo Bunny bar.