When we were travelling through Australia and New Zealand last year, we spent a few days in Queenstown, NZ. It was by far one of my favourite places we visited, as not only is it insanely, unbelievably beautiful, but there is also there so many fun things to do, like segwaying, luging and kayaking to name but a few. Annnnd, as if that’s not awesome enough, there are awesome vegan eateries everywhere, making it the perfect place for us!
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I created a little vlog of our time in New Zealand so you can see how incredibly beautiful it is, and also chatted a bit at the end about our favourite places to eat in Queenstown. Check that out below and read on to find out more about all of the delicious food we ate during our trip! ▽▼▽▼▽
Habebes ▷▷▷
Habebes is a cute little café with lots of vegan options that can be eaten in or taken away.
The friendly staff serve a variety of pastries and savoury rolls, accompanied by sauces and salads of your choice, making it the perfect place to grab lunch or a light dinner.
Farelli’s ▷▷▷
Farelli’s is a cosy little italian restaurant that was recommended to us by a lovely vegan couple we met on our Kayaking trip. I’m so glad we checked it out, because it had some of the best food we ate on our entire trip. Farelli’s have a dedicated vegan menu with lots of delicious options and of course we tried out as many as we could.
To start, we ordered the panzarotti (now a main dish) made up of delicious doughy balls on a bed of spicy tomato sauce – it was absolutely delicious!
For main, we ordered the vegan margherita and two portions of garlic bread topped with vegan cheese on the side. The cheese was one of the best I’ve ever tried and made for delicious pizza and garlic bread.
Fergburger ▷▷▷
This super popular burger bar had people queuing out the door every time we walked past, so we knew we had to try it out! Ferg burger offers two veggie burgers that can be veganised: a falafel pattie (order without yoghurt and aioli) and my favourite, the tempered tofu burger (order without aioli). Full of flavour and served with deliciously crispy chips, these burgers definitely lived up to expectations.
The Ferg Gelateria also serves a variety of dairy-free, vegan ice-creams that are incredible! My absolute favourite was the chocolate/coconut combo.
So, if you’re lucky enough to travel to Queenstown, rest assured that you will be spoiled for choice with delicious vegan food.
Today, I’m super excited to share with you guys an interview with one of my favourite internet friends – Tom. Tom runs a blog, youtube channel and vegan business at tomfromspiced.com. Read on to learn more about the inspiration behind Tom’s business and what it’s like to be a young, vegan business owner. I’m sure you’re all going to enjoy getting to know Tom as much as I did ▷►▹▸
Q: How did your vegan journey start, what were your main inspirations and influences?
A: Ever since I can remember I’ve had pets and as such I’ve always called myself an animal lover. However as I got older I started to become aware of how hypocritical this was given that I was eating meat and so for a couple of years I was in the position of knowing I should go vegetarian but not following through on it. Then one day in 2011 I was chatting to my brother Rob when he said I should go vegetarian, so I did! And veganism naturally followed last year when I once again realised I couldn’t call myself an animal lover and environmentalist when I was consuming animal products.
In terms of inspiration and influence it’s unquestionably my aforementioned brother. He went vegetarian at 8 which I have huge respect for as he was constantly bullied at school for it and it takes a lot of conviction at that age to persevere with what you believe in. He went vegan at 19 and looking back I’m annoyed I didn’t join him sooner!
Q: That’s so cool that your brother inspired you to go vegan and that has now led to you starting your own vegan business! Tell us all about your business Spiced! and how you became a small, vegan business owner.
A: I sell handmade spice pastes that contain no gluten or oil. They’re currently available in three varieties – Caribbean (with sweet allspice & nutmeg), North African (with zingy cayenne pepper) and South Indian (with tangy tamarind) – although I have plans for more in future!
After I graduated in 2013 I took a well-earned break, got (and left) a part-time job and generally spent a lot of time trying to think what to do with my life. Then in early 2014 I watched a cooking programme which had a segment about home food businesses and I thought I’d give it a go. Initially I thought I’d just be testing the waters to see if it was viable but once I started I really wanted to see if I could make a career of it and here I am!
Q: That’s awesome, I bet you’re so glad now that you took a chance on your idea! Have you got any tips for someone hoping to start up their own vegan business?
A: I still consider myself fairly clueless about business (which is one of the beauties of it; you’re constantly learning) but if I had to offer three tips they would be:
Find people who will give you honest feedback. That way when they say your product’s good you know it’s good!
Get involved in the vegan community. Whether it be online or in real life there is an amazing community of friendly, passionate and supportive vegans and vegan business owners out there. Twitter chats in particular are a great way to find them!
Sell at vegetarian/vegan events rather than general markets. I’ve done four days at my local market and they went quite poorly which – without wanting to sound arrogant – I think was largely due to it not being my target market at all.
Q: Great tips, it’s definitely important to find the right target market for your product! Speaking of your awesome products, what’s your favourite recipe to cook with spiced! products?
A: Probably a tagine that I make with my North African paste. It’s one of the first recipes I ever made when I started cooking and it’s survived to this day!
Q: As well as being a small business owner, you also blog and have a YouTube channel, what kind of videos do you share with your audience?
A: All sorts! Everything from books and music to health and fitness to recycling and the vegan lifestyle. I’ve been on a little break from blogging and YouTube recently in order to focus on other areas of the business but I’ll hopefully be back to producing regular content soon!
Q: I think it’s really admirable that as well as blogging/vlogging/running your own business, you volunteer as an assistant camp leader at teen vgn summer camp. If you could give one piece of advice to a young person who wants to go vegan what would it be?
A: I think my general advice to anyone wanting to go vegan is that it doesn’t have to be an overnight process; even the smallest change is having a positive impact! For example before I went fully vegan I swapped from cow’s milk to soya milk and whenever I did baking it was always vegan. If it takes you a couple of years to transition that’s ok because for something like this which is such a fundamental part of your life you have to be doing it because you truly believe in it.
Tom with his adorable cat Bobby
Q: Since going vegan I have experienced so many amazing health benefits; what positive effects has adopting the vegan diet had on you?
A: Honestly I haven’t really noticed any because I was eating almost entirely vegan for well over a year when I was vegetarian. Rather the biggest health improvements in my life have come from generally eating a lot more healthily, eating more quantity-wise and exercising regularly.
I guess you could equate my love of vegetables and healthy eating with my transition to veganism, but I think it’s actually a bit of a misconception that veganism automatically equates to being healthy. It’s certainly possible to have a very unhealthy lifestyle and be vegan!
Q: If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life what would you choose?
A: If we’re looking at this purely from a taste rather than health or nutritional perspective then I would have to say (assuming it counts as a meal) cereal. I’ve loved it my entire life and I consider myself to be somewhat of a connoisseur!
Tom cuddling up to kitty number 2 – Tiny
Q: Describe a day in the life of Tom.
A: Obviously it varies depending on the day but a lot of my time is spent on my laptop doing business-related things, whether it be sending and replying to e-mails, running my social media accounts, thinking of new ideas for content or working on my website. Moving forward I’ll hopefully be spending a lot more time at vegan events, meeting customers and selling face to face!
Outside of the business I listen to a ton of music, I try to read every day and I lift weights twice a week. I also love American football but sadly the NFL season doesn’t start again until September!
Q: Do you have a favourite inspirational quote to leave us with?
A: Whilst I am a bit of a sucker for inspirational quotes I don’t know if I have a personal favourite! However, if I had to pick something to leave you with then ‘treat others how you’d like to be treated’ is a mantra I try my best to abide by. It’s so obvious and simple and if everyone did their best to act on it I think the world would be an infinitely nicer place to live!
Sophie the cat who is too cool to pose with humans!
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Thank you so much Tom for sharing your story with us. Be sure to check out Tom’s website: tomfromspiced.com where you can read his blog, watch his videos and buy Spiced! products ♥
Last week, Zizzi launched their new spring menu and I couldn’t be more excited, because, drumroll please… the new menu includes 3 courses of vegan options!
Okay, so let’s start by getting extremely excited by the fact that this new menu features a rice milk vegan cheese! Secondly, all the wine lovers out there will be happy to know that all Zizzi wines (apart from the pinot nero rosé spumante, veneto and the zindafel, california) are vegan-friendly.
Unfortunately, the main menu doesn’t have a full listing of all the vegan options, so just ask for the allergen menu when you sit down, as this includes a full vegan menu. The vegan menu has lots of the best dishes from the main menu that have been veganised, meaning you can enjoy cruelty-free versions of lots of the Zizzi classics!
Zizzi were kind enough to send me some vouchers so I could taste test this new menu. Naturally, I decided to try out pretty much all of the items on the vegan menu to let you guys know which are my faves, because ya know, who can resist all that delicious vegan food!?
I vlogged our visit for you all so you can watch that here, as well as reading all about our visit below ▽▼▽▼▽
STARTERS ▽▼▽▼▽
Garlic bread – this starter is definitely my go-to! It is crispy and delicious, and for even more flavour you can add vegan cheese and caramelised onions (which I would definitely recommend)!
Bruschetta – this delicious sourdough bread topped with garlic and tomatoes is insanely flavourful!
MAINS ▽▼▽▼▽
Vegan margherita – I am a huge fan of the rice milk cheese, it is super creamy and melts to perfection. The pizza can be ordered with lots of veggie toppings (the spinach and mushrooms are my personal faves). A gluten-free option is all available, so there really is a cruelty-free option for everyone!
Spaghetti pomodoro – this classic pasta dish has until now been the only vegan option on the menu and is still probably my favourite main course. It is simple but delicious and goes perfectly with the vegan garlic bread with cheese!
DESSERTS ▽▼▽▼▽
Vegan nectarini – This coconut and mango swirled gelato is basically a vegan solero! I was completely full by the time the dessert menu came around, so my mum was kind enough to try this one out (a difficult task I know) and I can confirm it definitely gets mama J’s seal of approval!
Gelato – A lemon and strawberry sorbet are also great vegan dessert options!
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I had so much fun trying out the new vegan menu, and can honestly say that there isn’t an item on this menu that I don’t like. However, I do of course have my favourites so, if you’re spoiled for choice, here’s my recommendation:
My go-to order ▷▷▷ Spaghetti pomodoro and vegan garlic bread with cheese on the side, followed by the vegan nectarini for dessert!
It makes me so happy that the more and more high-street chains are recognising the increasing demand for vegan options and responding by creating delicious cruelty-free menus!
With delicious new vegan options becoming available at mainstream chain restaurants + supermarkets there has never been an easier or more exciting time to go vegan. Recently it’s been amazing to see vegan options popping up all over the place, be it new vegan restaurants opening like Mildred’s Kings Cross, or mainstream restaurants offering more and more vegan options like Zizzi’s new vegan menu, or chain supermarkets offering delicious, new vegan options like the new M&S dairy free yoghurts.
My mum and I tried these out last week and I can confirm that they definitely make delicious little snacks! My favourite was the Apricot flavour, as it kinda tastes like greek yoghurt with honey but yummier!
Head to M&S to try them out for yourself and let me know which is your fave xo
As a big Ikea fan, I was extremely excited to hear on the Peta blog that Ikea are now offering a vegan alternative to their traditional meatballs!
When we visited the Lakeside store last week to pick up my new desk (which btw I absolutely love), we headed straight to the canteen to check the veggie balls out.
I ordered the Veggie balls and warm summer salad, and at only £3.50 I was very impressed!!
So, next time you’re in the mood to shop for some flat packed furniture, be sure to head to the canteen and grab yourself a portion of delicious veggie balls!
This Mother’s Day, my mum, Poppy, Panda and I spent the day in Deal – a lovely little seaside town on the Kent Coast.
After a nice, long walk along the beautiful beach, we headed to The Bohemian Boutique Pub for lunch.
The Bohemian is located on the seafront and has a super cosy atmosphere and even friendlier staff. It was also the perfect find for us, as not only are they dog friendly (which, as you can see from the photo below, made for one very happy Poppy), but they were also very accommodating and created an off-menu vegan dish for us that was absolutely delicious!
The vegan meal was a roasted veg flatbread that had a fluffy, soft centre coupled with a perfectly crispy crust, and topped with deliciously seasoned veggies.
It was so lovely to spend the day by the beach eating delicious food with my favourite person in the world and our beautiful dogs!
I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day, and if you ever find yourself in Deal, I would definitely recommend checking out The Bohemian!
I had an amazing time last weekend running my Compassionate Clothing line stall at Vegfest Brighton with my mum and Matt.
It was so much fun meeting so many like-minded, compassionate people at the event, and over the past week I have absolutely loved seeing pictures and videos of you guys in my clothing on instagram/youtube/your blogs.
Check out some of my favourite blog posts/videos from the event here ♥
It makes me indescribably happy to hear that so many of you love my designs and want to wear them to help spread compassion for all beings (or in some cases to let everyone know you’re hangry ;)).
Thank you to everyone who purchased an item from my range – and helped me raise almost £100 for animal charities – I’m so incredibly grateful to each and every one of you!
xoxo Jade
(ps – someone’s being watching too much Gossip Girl 😉 ^^^)
There have been loads of products that I have been loving lately, from chocolate to lipstick to clothing, so I filmed a ‘Febraury Favourites’ video to share them all with you!
Check the video out below, and if you’d like to buy any of the products I featured, I’ve included a list of what they are and where you can buy them below the video ▽▼▽▼▽
I am so happy to announce the release of the JGV Compassionate Clothing Spring Line! The spring line offers some of my most popular designs in exciting new colours and styles, based on feedback you guys have provided me with on what you would like to see! I hope you all love wearing the designs as much as I enjoyed creating them!
Have a little scroll below and head to jadegreenvegan.com/shop where all of these new designs are available for purchase!
Thanks so much for your continued support, you guys are awesome!
Ever since we got back from travelling through Australia and New Zealand last November, I have had the major travel bug! So, this Valentine’s Day, Matt and I decided to ditch our traditional Paris trip for some February sun on a long weekend in Tenerife.
We stayed in a lovely hotel right on the seafront, meaning the views from our balcony were incredibly beautiful. We don’t usually go on sunny holidays in February, so were both a little amazed at the 30 degree heat; Matt found it particularly hard to get his head around and kept saying, ‘I can’t believe it’s February?!’ Although I do love a winter city break, this 3 day break in the sun made such a nice change and was just what we needed!
I thought you’d all enjoy this picture of me apparently levitating (?!) in the ‘vegan because’ jumper from my Spring line (available for purchase here) #goingvegangivesyousuperpowers!
Now, let’s talk about the food. Whenever I visit a new place, I always do a quick google search to see if there are any vegan restaurants nearby. I was a little surprised but extremely excited to find that there was a cute little 100% vegan cafe a 10 minute drive away from our hotel! So on the last day of our trip, when we’d had one too many chip rolls from the all inclusive buffet, we decided to head to the vegan cafe.
BuenaVida VeganBar ▽▼▽▼▽
The cafe has the cutest outdoor seating area, with umbrella shaded tables and pretty little pot plants. Moreover, the menu is very reasonably priced and the staff are extremely friendly and helpful, making this place an awesome little find!
Drinks -> The drinks menu was extremely extensive, and included lots of soy milkshakes. We both ordered the creamy and delicious strawberry and papaya milkshakes.
Starters -> Matt and I shared the Happy ‘chicken’ nuggets and falafel dishes to start! Both were delicious, however, I was a particularly big fan of the falafel!
Mains -> For main, we both ordered the soy burger with fries. Burgers can be customised with 3 toppings (top tip: the crispy onions were a great choice)!
Delicious vegan food, sun and beautiful views (and of course amazing company ;)) made this the perfect way to spend Valentine’s weekend.
For more details about our trip, check out my travel vlog here:
jadegreenvegan.com 