Vegetarian dining in Disney World - part 2

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If you haven't read part 1 of  vegetarian dining in Disney, I'll recap...my best advice is to plan your dining options in advance. If you like to be spontaneous and choose where to eat on the spur of the moment, don't! Firstly, you may find that the most popular table service restaurants are fully booked, especially during peak season. Secondly, you may find that there are no veggie options available on the menu (yes, really, not even one!)

The way around both of these issues, is to plan where to eat, book table service (sit-down/waiter-service meals) in advance and know where you can find the best veggie counter service and snack options. This might sound like a lot of fuss and bother, but in my opinion, it's worth it.

When planning your food options, your first stop should be AllEars.Net. This website is amazing - it lists up-to-date menus, vegetarian dining strategies  plus recommendations for vegetarian and vegan counter service (fast food) and table service dining locations.

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If you want to ask for recommendations or see picture of veggie meals available at Disney World, try the food forums on Disboards, in particular, the vegan/vegetarian dining help thread, or check out The Disney Food Blog.

There are various Disney Dining Plans available which can either save you money, or may be 'free' as part of your holiday package. We got the free, regular Dining Plan (DDP), which entitled us to one table service meal, one counter service meal and one snack each per day, which was more than enough food!


Veggie kids on the DDP
My kids are 10 and 12, so in Disney terms, that makes them adults! I wasn't impressed with paying adult prices for them, but with hindsight, I'm glad they were able to eat from the adults' menu at no extra cost, purely for the better selection this gave them - even though the portions were far too big for them most of the time. For lunch, the children generally shared a counter service meal.

If you have younger veggie children, I would suggest either paying extra to upgrade them as adults, eating mainly at buffet restaurants, or making sure in advance that the table service restaurants you want to eat at will be able to provide small portions from the adults' menu but at a the cost of a child's meal/DDP credit. If not, your children will be stuck with a very limited choice consisting of mainly pizza and macaroni cheese.  

Part 3 here... Pin It

How to cook an Indian meal in 30 minutes

You may remember my previous review about Bipin's Masala curry pastes. Well, I was so impressed with my free sample, that I ordered some more to try out. I decided on a pack of 3 different pastes: Surti Masala, Jeera Masala, and Garam Masala and I was pleasantly surprised to find an extra complimentary pot of Bipin's new Royal Korma paste in my package (which arrived within 3 days of ordering).

I popped all 4 pots into the freezer as directed, until I was ready to use them. This week I tried out the Jeera Masala and the Royal Korma pastes in two different curries:

In one pan, I added the following chopped fresh vegetables: 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 green pepper, some butternut squash and half a pack of paneer cheese. I gently fried these with 1 tbsp of Royal Korma paste and a drop of extra oil. I then added half a carton of passata and 100ml of water and allowed to simmer for about 30 minutes. Before serving, I stirred through 25g of creamed coconut.

In the other pan, I heated 1 tbsp sunflower oil and added  a chopped aubergine. I cooked this until soft and then added a chopped onion, a drained tin of chickpeas, 100g of mushrooms, 1 tbsp of Jeera Masala paste, and about 50ml of water. I allowed this to simmer for around 20 minutes.
I made up some naan dough in the bread maker, and cooked them under the grill while the curries were cooking.

Both curries were completely different in taste. The Royal Korma, despite being mild, was packed full of aromatic flavours and went down really well with my children. The Jerra Masala complemented the aubergine and mushroom well, and had a distinct taste of cumin with a good chilli kick.

The pastes were really quick and easy to use, and allowed me to produce a restaurant quality meal in 30 minutes - not bad, eh?

Bipin's Masala can only be bought online at a cost of £10 for 3 pastes (plus p&p). Each curry paste pot serves 4+ people and is suitable for freezing.

Integrity Statement
I bought 3 pots of Bipin's Masala and received 1 free sample of  Bipin's Royal Korma to review. I did not receive payment, and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.

Image 2 courtesy of Bipin's Masala © Pin It

Artificial meat - the end to world hunger....or not?

An article shared by Yeovil and Somerset Vegetarians on my Facebook page, prompted me to write this post. It stated that the Japanese are developing a new meat-like food stuff made with protein from bacteria, extracted from human waste. After reading the article, I had to check the date, to see if it was written on April the 1st!

Then, last Sunday, I read a very interesting, but scary article in the Sunday Times newspaper about in vitro meat (an update from this previous article.)  Apparently scientists have managed to produce small quantities in the lab and think that mass-produced cultured meat could be a reality within the next 10 years.

I was slightly surprised to find PETA are promoting this research, despite their reasoning that in vitro meat could save the unnecessary slaughter of farm animals, reduce carbon emissions and could help tackle famine.

Famine is something that we would all surely like to end. As far as I understand, and I could be wrong, it's known that if the entire world's population turned vegetarian, we would, in theory, all have enough food to eat - Around 70% of the world's agricultural land is currently used to grow food to feed and raise livestock, instead of being used to grow plant-based food for humans. As a bonus, carbon emissions would be significantly reduced, as farmed animals produce approximately 20% of our global greenhouse-gas emissions.

Now, I'm not saying that the world going vegan or vegetarian is likely, or even possible (as this is a totally idealistic argument), but a diet more like that of our ancestors, containing just a little meat or fish along side plenty of plant-derived foods, would surely go along way to feeding the starving millions, and would help to improve the health of people globally.

We already have the option of eating non-meat alternatives such as soya, tofu and Quorn which are all low in fat, high in protein and cheaper to produce than meat - so why do we need a version which contains animal cells? I'll certainly be sticking to my veggie diet, whatever the scientists come up with!

What do you think...are you for or against cultured meats and do you think they could be the answer to world hunger?

Read more about in vitro meat here.  Pin It

An utterly authentic curry

My whole family love curry. Not one of those poor excuses for a curry that you can get out of a jar, but a real, spicy, aromatic curry, made with fresh ginger, garlic and spices.

I've tried to cut corners before and have tried all sorts of curry powders and pastes, but none have come close to the dishes I can cook at home using individual spices, or that I can eat in the Indian restaurants in my neighbourhood.

I was intrigued when I first heard about a new range of fresh curry pastes called Bipin's Masala. They come in various Gujarati blends: Surti Masala, Jeera Masala, Methi Masala, Machi Masala, Garam Masala and a milder Royal Korma range.

"Bipin’s Masala fresh curry paste is natural, pure, fresh and contains no additives, no flavouring, no colourings and no preservatives... All natural, all fresh, 100% vegetarian, gluten free, diary free."

I was lucky enough to be sent a sample of the Surti Masala paste and couldn't wait to try it out and see if it lived up to the claim that it would enable me to cook "...the best authentic curry you've ever tasted." Well, it certainly smelt pretty good when I opened the package. It looked good too, but what would it taste like? I couldn't wait to get cooking.

I improvised a bit with my curry, as I had various vegetables which needed using up, but if you're stuck for ideas, Bipin's website has a dedicated vegetarian section with some delicious-sounding recipes.

I added a chopped onion, a diced bell pepper, some mushrooms, 2 tbsp tomato puree, half a packet of paneer and a tin of chickpeas to a pan, and stirred in the curry paste (no need for extra oil or to pre-cook any of the vegetables). I let this simmer for 20 minutes and then stirred in 100g of chopped spinach and about 100ml of coconut milk. I simmered this for a further 5 minutes and then served with fresh naan bread. While it was cooking, Miss Kahonie commented that it smelt really good "Like a take away."

So to the taste test. My whole family had positive comments about the curry, and mentioned that it tasted better than my normal home cooked curries! The kids thought it was a bit too spicy, but they polished off every morsel on their plates. Both myself and Mr O, thought it was delicious, and agreed that it was up to restaurant standard. The only criticism we had, was that it was a little on the hot side for the average British palate. However, Bipin has created a milder Royal Korma range, which would cater for those who don't like their curries too hot. 

I will definitely be recommending Bipin's Masala pastes to my friends and family, and to anyone who wants to create an authentic curry at home. They are so quick and easy to use, that you could make a meal at home in the time it would take to get to the take away and back!

At the moment, Bipin's Masala can only be bought online at a cost of £10 for 3 pastes (plus p&p). Each curry paste pot serves 4+ people and is suitable for freezing.

Integrity Statement
I received 1 sample of  Bipin's Surti Masala to review. I did not receive payment, and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.

Images courtesy of Bipin's Masala © Pin It

Vegetarianism-ism

Have you ever been a victim of vegetarianism-ism?
Chances are that if you're a vegetarian by choice, then you have. There are laws to protect most minority groups from discrimination, abuse and ridicule (and rightly so) but what about human rights for vegetarians? 

Of course, many vegetarians have dietary requirements related to their culture or religion and they are protected by anti-discrimination laws, but for those of us who choose vegetarianism for secular reasons, we apparently have to put up with derision for our beliefs.

Take for example my daughters Miss Ony and Miss Kahonie; They've been shown pity, ridicule and downright rudeness by their peers and some 'grown ups'...this behaviour has even bordered on that of persistent bullying and I am currently poised to go into school and complain about this. Their peers have told them that they should eat meat and have sneered at their discomfort in defending their beliefs publicly. They've had meat waved under their noses at lunch time, and been told how delicious dead animal flesh tastes. Can you imagine them getting away with pushing drugs or alcohol at school? Well to me, this isn't so different.

Meat is something that I have chosen to do without and have brought my children up accordingly. To us, eating a burger is comparable to eating our pet cat or next door's budgie.Talking of burgers, how come a certain well known burger chain doesn't think that vegetarian kids exist? Come to mention it, Virgin Atlantic don't either.

I've been veggie for around 20 years now and have become used to defending my beliefs and my right to bring up my children on a vegetarian diet. I politely stand my ground and explain that we do not 'miss out' and that there really are plenty more delicious foods than chicken nuggets (the staple food for UK kids, it would seem!) People seem fascinated in what we do and don't eat, and seem to want to try to trick us up. If you're interested, no, we don't eat fish, and yes, we do eat free-range/organic eggs and milk.

 If all else fails, I tell them that we don't eat anything with a face or that we forage in the hedgerows for nuts and berries which normally shuts them up! Goodness knows how much stick we'd get if we were vegans!

If you want support and advice for bring up a veggie family, then try the Vegetarian Society. They have loads of helpful fact sheets, recipes and a forum. Pin It

The alternative to party bags

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I'm not claiming that this is an original idea, but I hadn't seen a decent tweenage/older kids alternative to traditional party bags until my daughter came back from a friend's party with a mug in her hand. It wasn't just any old mug... it was a mug filled with goodies and wrapped in cellophane, which looked great and went down well with 12 year old Miss Ony.

As it was Miss Kahonie's birthday pretty soon afterwards, I unashamedly stole the idea and made up 'party mugs' for her party guests.

The pretty mugs were a great buy from B&M Bargains at 79p each. To fill the mugs, I bought a bag of mixed mini chocolate bars (£2.99) and a bag of mixed wrapped sweets (£1.50), plus a pack of assorted hairbands and bobbles (reduced in ADSA to £2.00). The only expensive part was the cellophane, which I bought from Hobbycraft (£7.00 a roll) but that will last for a long time as I only used about 2M of the 10M roll. The total price per mug worked out at around £2.50, which I don't think is bad compared to the amount I've spent on total rubbish to fill party bags in the past!

You could easily adapt the mug idea for different friends and  family members and for almost any occasion such as Easter, Christmas, Birthday and Teachers'/Teaching Assistants' presents. Fill with items such as cosmetics, craft items, beads/jewellery, small toys, cooking equipment, tools, stationary etc. Add some home made Chocolate Truffles or Oreo Truffles, if you're not sure what to fill your mug with.

Fill other containers using the same idea...colourful pastic cups (from IKEA etc) cocktail glasses, sundae glasses, beer glasses, small vases etc, or really go to town and fill a hamper!

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Two week vegetarian family meal planner

I'm fairly new to meal planning, and have only really got into it in the last couple of years. This coincided with me going back to employed work in the big wide world (rather than self employed and working from home, as I used to be!), which meant that I needed to be more organised. 
I've already done a low budget vegetarian meal planner, but decided to make this a more regular feature, which I'll update as I add new recipes. Hope you like it!

Week 1

Monday: Pepper and paneer fajitas
Tuesday: Macaroni cheese with salad
Wednesday: Chickpea curry with extra vegetables and rice
Thursday: Quorn & vegetable pilaf
Friday: Shepherdess pie with broccoli

Saturday: Spinach & cheese cannelloni with vegetables

Sunday: Veggie sausages with mash, peas/sweetcorn and gravy

Week 2

Monday: Vegetable soup with cheese scones

Tuesday: Roasted vegetables with halloumi served in pitta bread or wraps

Wednesday: Jacket potatoes with cheese, baked beans and salad

Thursday: Spaghetti with tomato and vegetable sauce
Friday: Thai green vegetable curry with rice
Saturday: Homemade pizza with salad
Sunday: Vegetarian roast dinner with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, vegetables and gravy.

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Vegetarian weaning - first foods

So, weaning's in the news again. Just after we all thought that there was an internationally agreed 'official' recommended age to wean, the blooming scientists have gone and changed their minds!

When my girls were babies, baby-led weaning was unheard of and the recommended weaning age had just gone up from 3 to 4 months. A couple of years later it had jumped to 6 months, making some of us 'early weaners' feel like we'd harmed our babies! Meanwhile nans and grans were still advising to wean at 6-10 weeks and put a bit of rusk or baby rice in baby's bottle to help baby sleep through the night ("Well, it never did you any harm!")

It looks like we all need to follow our own common sense and wean sometime after 4 months, providing baby is showing the signs of being ready to wean: Trying or able to sit up, wanting to feed more regularly, wanting to chew and put toys and other objects into their mouth, and reaching and grabbing accurately. 

Here are a few ideas for first foods, which my kids liked. Cook and puree or leave in chewable chunks depending on the age of your baby and your weaning approach. Add baby rice and breast/formula milk if wanted.

Make up in batches and freeze in little pots or ice cube trays. Transfer into air-tight bags or plastic tubs when frozen, and label. Defrost/reheat as needed.

Savoury
Carrot & potato
Butternut squash & cauliflower
Broccoli & potato
Parsnip & sweet potato

Sweet
Apple & pear
Banana
Peach & pear
Date & apple

For more information and recipes, visit the Vegetarian Society or NHS websites. Pin It

Willkommen!

Bizarrely (or maybe not) when checking my blog stats, I've found that around a third of my page views come from Germany, so I would like to take the opportunity to welcome my German readers. 

I say bizarrely, as I visited Alzenau in Germany, many years ago on a school exchange trip, when I was 14. Although I wasn't vegetarian then, I didn't eat red meat and this was viewed with much suspicion from my host family. When I refused salami and other cold meats at breakfast, they weren't quite sure what to offer me. I seem to remember chewing on rye bread, which is an acquired taste when you're used to British bread. I also remember potato and apple soup and potato pancakes with apple sauce, neither of which I have attempted to recreate back in the UK. I did however see some beautiful schlösser (castles) and enjoyed some very yummy kuchen (cakes) and schokolade (chocolate)!

My parents love Germany and have friends who live there, but they have said that little has changed on the vegetarian front especially when eating out. I would love to return one day to see the sights and travel on efficient and clean public transport, so if anyone lives in Germany or has a German vegetarian food/travel blog, do feel free to leave a comment and a link to your site. Pin It

Oh my goodness...chocolate heaven on a plate!

Miss Ony, Miss Kahonie (daughters) and myself had a girly day out shopping today, as hubbie was at the (football) match. After a couple of hours of vigorous shopping, we decided to take a pit stop at Costa Coffee. Unfortunately our favourite cafe was packed, so we crossed the road to check out the previously undiscovered (by us) Caffe Nero.

Miss Ony went for a mint-choc frappe milkshake, Miss Kanohie (being a milk-a-phobe like myself) opted for the Sicilian lemonade, while I chose a regular tea (no milk).

We were feeling decadent, and a bit hungry, so after checking out the decent range of veggie options, we decided to share a slice of White & Dark Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake...OMG!!!  It was delicious...a chocolaty explosion of tongue tinglingly melty flavours!

We went home, feeling satiated in both shopping and food, but I also felt a little bit guilty. Maybe there was gelatine lurking in all that cheesecakey yumminess. I checked on the Caffe Nero website which thankfully confirmed that there were no nasties. 'But hang on, maybe they don't understand what vegetarian means', I thought, so I checked on some non-vegetarian products and saw the heart-warming words "...Contains gelatine, so this product is not suitable for vegetarians" and " Due to the Gorgonzola cheese containing animal rennet, this panini is not suitable for vegetarians".

Yay to Caffe Nero, they do great cakes and they understand what vegetarians (and vegans) eat/don't eat! Sorry Costa Coffee, we now have a new favourite cafe.

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The kids party dilemma

We all want our kids to be popular and have lots of friends, but how do you deal with the dreaded McD's party invite from a parent you don't know, when you and your children are vegetarian? Maybe something like this...

Me "Hi, thanks a lot for the invite, my daughter would love to come."
Party Mum "Great, thanks for letting me know, see you there."
Me "Erm...just one small thing I need to mention...she's vegetarian."
Party Mum "Oh" (Silence) "Does she eat chicken?"
Me "No, she doesn't eat any meat." (She's vegetarian!)
Party Mum "They do fish fingers."
Me "Sorry, she doesn't eat fish either!" (Erm, don't you understand the word vegetarian??) "She can have the chips and drink though!" (OK, I know the chips might have been cooked in the same frier as the fish, but I'll turn a blind eye to that, so she can go to her friend's party!)
Party Mum "Oh, OK, see you there."

"Phew" you think, as you put down the phone, but little do you know that the worst is yet to come. On arrival to the party you'll need to brace yourself for the McD's party host whispering "Oh what a shame" and glancing pitifully over her shoulder toward your child, when party mum orders the kids meals and mentions your animal-free request.

Inevitably, one or more of the other mums will over-hear and then quiz you on your and your children's dietary habits, which will generally include a random selection of the following questions: Do you eat fish, are you vegan, do you eat eggs, do you drink milk, what do you eat, why are you vegetarian, why don't you let the children decide when they're older, how long have been vegetarian, don't you miss bacon, is your husband vegetarian?

So, my advice is to be prepared and give the following answer to avoid further questioning  "Oh, we forage in the hedgerows for nuts and berries!" OK, maybe it's better to think that one rather than say it out loud, unless you want to avoid further party invites too! Pin It

Virgin Atlantic...haven't you heard of vegetarian kids?

We recently booked our dream holiday to Disneyworld :-)

It was great to see 3 different vegetarian/vegan options for adults' in flight meals, but it was rather disappointing that there was no veggie option for kids' meals. I emailed Virgin and was told that they don't do a kids' veggie meal at all! I then had to request adults' meals for them instead. They have conirmed my request, but I'll be taking food onboard for them just incase these meals don't appear.
For the price we've paid for the flights, I expect Jamie Oliver to have cooked for us at the very least!!! Pin It