Seems reasonable.If you asked most people if fox hunting was banned in Scotland, they’d say yes it is. A piece of legislation was passed sixteen years ago by the Scottish Parliament called The Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002. Most MSPs and members of the public thought this would mark an end to the barbaric practice of fox hunting in Scotland. We were first with the smoking ban and also this. Scotland was paving the way for progressive legislation in the UK! Or was it..? A wonderful handmade sign.Well, the trouble is that the Act has so many loopholes in it, that it’s simply not ..read more

Harmonium in LeithIt’s so lovely to have another successful, fully vegan restaurant in Edinburgh. Harmonium is not best placed for footfall, but when people find out about it, they make sure to take their friends there! That’s what we did. Mac’n’cheese I had on my first visitHarmonium is located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, near the Ocean Terminal shopping centre and the Royal Yacht Britannia. It occupies the building that used to house the Indian restaurant VDeep, which I reviewed some years ago. Since changing hands it seems to have gone from strength to strength. When I visited in Septem ..read more

The very title of this book sums up what many people have pondered over the years. Sure, they think, it’d be great to go vegan. I can see the benefits for the planet, the animals and maybe even me, but how on earth do I do it? Sometimes it seems as though there’s some sort of mysterious power that vegans have to be able to do what they do. Other times outsiders assume that vegans simply enjoy living in misery eating lentils out of a clog. Whatever people assume (and I have firsthand evidence of this) they certainly assume that they could never do it. The book begins by detailing why people mi ..read more

A second consignment of Pacari goodiesPacari chocolate is one of those indulgences you can enjoy totally guilt free. It’s vegan (of course) and it doesn’t contain palm oil. The cocoa is ethically sourced as they work closely with local communities and, as I’ll describe, their products are perfect for ‘mindful’ consumption. A lovely indulgencePacari is not cheap, nor should it be. I was lucky enough to receive complimentary items to try, but I know they’re of the highest quality. Now, onto mindfulness. The first item I tried was the Chocolate Covered Cacao Beans. These crunchy beans were relati ..read more

Fun packagingOne of the top reasons people give for not going vegan is convenience. Being able to pick up a sandwich on the go can be challenging. Although some high street retailers have slowly started to feature perhaps one or two vegan options in their sea of meal deals, there’s still not the choice that vegans crave. I was contacted by someone who is trialling four different varieties of Tofurky sandwiches in Whole Foods, London. She told me these sandwiches were different. Vegan takeaway sandwiches pretty much all contain falafel, which is fine – if you’re in the mood for falafel. But wha ..read more

The lovely products I was sent by Liv OlivThe world of cosmetics can be a confusing nightmare for a vegan. Some products in mainstream shops carry the leaping bunny logo of Cruelty Free International, but they may contain animal ingredients. It can be difficult to be sure of anything when even a detailed online search of the company comes up with mixed results. It was with this in mind that I was delighted to be contacted by nail polish company, Liv Oliv with a proposal that I try out a couple of their products and review them for this site. A quick glance at their website told me they are a f ..read more

  Veganism is a belief systemPeople don’t go vegan for health reasons. You may be saying ‘What? Of course they do!’ Ok, let me clarify: people may go plant based for their health originally and then go vegan (and stay vegan) because they discover the ethical angle. Veganism is a belief system, not a diet. Obviously diet forms a large part of that belief system, but vegans don’t use or support the exploitation of animals, for any purpose. A vegan diet can be healthyThe reason I’m writing this article is that there seems to be a lot of confusion over motivation at the moment. Diet fads are forev ..read more

Free chocolat package – yay!So recently I was lucky enough to receive some chocolate from Pacari chocolate to review. I tell you what; it’s a tough life running a vegan website at times. The company had written to me asking if I’d like to try some and, not being an idiot, I said yes. I generally really like dark chocolate and was excited to receive my free samples. IngredientsAll their chocolate is organic and they seem really involved with the growers in Ecuador. They pride themselves on this, and their environmental ethics, so altogether Pacari seems like a pretty socially responsible compan ..read more

Nova PizzaNova Pizza in Edinburgh is one of my favourite restaurants. Although it’s not fully vegan, it is all vegetarian and the choice for vegans is vast. I think that’s what I love about it. Normally in an Italian (or any other) restaurant, I’ve located the one or two vegan options on the menu and made my decision by the time my companions have taken their jackets off. In Nova Pizza however, I can do that thing that people do of perusing the options and saying things like ‘oooh, that looks good’ and feel, dare I say it, normal for a change. I have the mad luxury of being indecisive.   It’s ..read more

Try different flavoursEvery now and again a product comes along that’s totally bankable. For me, Hippeas just ticks all the boxes. I’m not one to go crazy over crisps, being more of a chocolate fan, but when the hankering hits, it hits hard. Sometimes savoury snacks are all that’s going to cut it. Of course, ‘normal’ crisps are not exactly a health food. Hippeas are lower in calories, saturated fat and salt than your average crisps, plus they actually have fibre content! They’re made from puffed chickpeas and come in a variety of flavours, all of which are organic and vegan. There’s Sweet & ..read more