Vegan Colchester Christmas Guide 2014

As ever  this information is to be used as a guide only.  Please do your own research to check suitability before buying/booking!

Supermarket shopping:

Chilled Buffet food: Vbites "Vegi Deli" range is available at Holland and Barrett, and includes things like mini sausages, pate, ham style slices, etc.

Most supermarkets also sell chilled spring rolls, samosas and bhajis, which can be cooked for buffets.

Vegan cheeses can be found at Natural Foods (Eld Lane), Sunflower Natural Food store (St Botolphs Street), Holland and Barrett (Priory Walk) and Tesco (Highwoods).

Frozen Buffet food:  Linda Mc Cartney sausage rolls are sold in most supermakets. Supermarkets such as Iceland and Tesco usually sell frozen buffet food such as vegetarian Indian snack selections, veggie spring rolls etc. 

For more party food ideas visit "The Vegan Woman" website: http://www.theveganwoman.com/vegan-party-food-the-safe-choices/

Crisps and snacks: Many  crisps are vegan-just watch out for whey powder/lactose, and perhaps honey.  

See a list of some suitable crisps/snacks on the Vegan Womble website, here:http://theveganwomble.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/crisps

Biscuits: Biscuits include hobnobs, Oreos and most brands of bourbons, 

For a list of vegan biscuits see the Vegan Womble website, here: http://theveganwomble.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/vegan-biscuits-uk.html

Festive sweet treats! (Mince Pies/Stollen/ Christmas Pudding): Mince pies can be found at Iceland, as can stollen, and christmas puddings. Other supermarkets also seem to often have vegan-friendly stollen and Christmas puddings.

Ice cream: 

-Most supermarkets sell vanilla Swedish Glace. 

-Tollgate Sainsbury's also sell "Food Heaven" icecream, in mango and raspberry flavour.

-Waitrose sell 4 flavours of Almond Dream, 3 flavours of Swedish Glace, and also ice cream by "Coconut Collaborative".  

-Holland and Barrett and Natural Foods sell Booja Booja icecream, made using cashew nuts.

Chocolates: Natural Foods (on Eld Lane) and Holland and Barrett will have specialist brands of vegan chocolates, as will most supermarket's "free from" sections.  

Other mainstream dark chocolates may be vegan..just watch out for whey powder, lactose or butterfat on the ingredients list. 

Tesco sell these very delicious and creamy hazelnut "Gianduiotti" chocolates, which just so happen to be vegan! http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=284158782

Sweet Pastries/pies:

-Most supermarkets sell frozen fruit strudels which are usually vegan.

-At last check the following Mr Kipling products were vegan:

Mr Kipling Jam Tarts, Lyons Jam Tarts, Lyons Treacle tart, Mr Kipling Apple and Blackcurrant Pies, Mr Kipling Treacle Tart.

(Add some Alpro cream or custard, and you're good to go!)
-Jus rol sell a few read-to-bake pastries, including pain au chocolat, and croissants.

Booze: 

Co-op and Marks and Spencer label which of their wines are suitable for vegans. Vegan beers include Heineken, Stella Artois and Budweiser.
The Barnivore website is a handy place to check the suitability of beers, wines, spirits and mixers when shopping: http://www.barnivore.com/

Recipe Resources:

Christmas Mains:

There are some great looking recipes for vegan roasts on the "Mouthwatering Vegan" website.  Ie:

-Double stuffed Christmas log (contains nuts):http://mouthwateringvegan.com/2013/12/03/double-stuffed-savoury-christmas-log/

-Christmas Loaf (contains nuts):http://mouthwateringvegan.com/2013/12/12/christmas-meat-free-magic-loaf/

-Lentil, Mushroom, Spinach & Spicy Nut Roulade: http://mouthwateringvegan.com/http:/mouthwateringvegan.com/vegan-life-magazine/festive/page/2/

-Christmas Sausage Roast (no nuts): http://mouthwateringvegan.com/2012/12/06/huge-christmas-sausage-roast/Mouthwatering Vegan recipes

-Mushroom nut Roast:http://mouthwateringvegan.com/2011/12/03/the-perfect-christmas-roast-super-mouthwatering/

-Golden Rice Loaf:http://mouthwateringvegan.com/2011/10/29/golden-festive-thanksgiving-loaf/

-Festive Shepherds Pie (with sweet mapled  parsnips):http://mouthwateringvegan.com/2010/11/18/festive-soul-nurturing-shepherds-pie-with-sweet-mapled-parsnips/

More festive recipes from Mouthwatering Vegan can be found here:http://mouthwateringvegan.com/http:/mouthwateringvegan.com/vegan-life-magazine/festive/

More recipes can be found at:

BBC Christmas Recipe collection: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/vegan-christmas

Viva! Christmas recipe selection:http://veganrecipeclub.org.uk/christmas

Christmas Desserts recipes:

-Chocolate orange cake http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/12/chocolate-orange-cake.html

-Just chocolate cake: http://www.theppk.com/2008/08/just-chocolate-cake/

-Boozey Chistmas cake:https://www.vegansociety.com/resources/recipes/special-occasions/christmas-boozy-fruit-cake

-Easy cheaty desserts:http://psitsvegan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/easy-cheaty-vegan-desserts.html

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Eating Out Guide

The Minories, High Street Colchester

2 courses £19.50
3 courses £24.50
Group bookings for lunch/dinner available from Dec 1st. Contact clare.bambury@ac.uk, phone 01206 712432

Starter:
Homemade vegetable soup. 
or 
Mushroom and Tarregon pate, served with melba toast and a rocket and cherry tomato salad

Main
Chestnut and cranberry nut loaf,  with seasonal vegetables, roast potatoes and homemade vegetarian gravy

Dessert
Vegan cake, to be confirmed!

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The Rose and Crown, East Hill.

Party nights £25-£35 depending on date. Christmas lunches £17-£19 depending on date.

Vegan options

-Mixed vegetable sausages with mash potato and caramelized onion gravy

-Garlic cream Mushrooms on a homemade onion Rosti

-Filo pastry pillow, with Tuscan style vegetables and tomato sauce, served with seasonal vegetables and potatoes.

No dessert option. Information on drinks not available.

Visit the Rose and Crown website here http://www.roseandcrowncolchester.co.uk/
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The Lemon Tree, St Johns Street

3 courses advertised at £22.50, although only 2 vegan courses available.

Starter:

Spiced parsnip soup with fresh bread

Main:

Apricot, leek and walnut vegetarian roast with vegetarian gravy and roast potatoes**

or

Grilled artichoke and chestnut risotto topped with rocket (request no parmesan)

No dessert option.
No vegan drinks available.

*Edit: Large parties may be able to negotiate a better menu, including dessert! (I heard the staff at Lush did!) 
Visit The Lemon Tree website at http://www.the-lemon-tree.com/

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Toby Carvery, London Road Stanway

Nut Roast Wellington £6.29
Sweet potatoes, grated carrots and parsnips 
spiced with paprika and sage, then mixed 
with crushed walnuts, cashew nuts and butter 
beans and wrapped in a pastry jacket

Visit Toby Carvery website at http://www.tobycarvery.co.uk/thewhitehartcolchester/

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Further afield....

The Veggie Red Lion, Great Bricett, Suffolk
2 course £14.90 
3 course £19.90 

Starters 

Creamed pea, brie & tarragon pithivier Can be made vegan  [pithivier is a pie, for those not in the know!]
or
Cauliflower, caraway & almond soup Can be made vegan 
or
Chestnut & sweet potato cakes with caramelised pineapple & ginger salsa Vegan

Mains 

Chestnut, wild rice, parsnip & pistachio roast with red wine gravy Can be made vegan
 or
Mushroom, cashew & port hotpot pie Can be made vegan
 or
Pumpkin & aubergine tagine with cranberry and sunflower seed cous-cous Vegan

Desserts 

Dark chocolate, cherry and amaretto torte Can be made vegan
or
Xmas pudding Can be made vegan

Booking essential.
Visit The Veggie Red Lion website here: http://www.theveggieredlion.co.uk/

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Drink Guide

Use the Barnivore website to check the suitability of beers, wines, spirits and mixers when drinking out:

http://www.barnivore.com/

NEO Training

http://www.neotraining.org/ 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/NEO-training

I was recently contacted by James Goode- a vegan Sports Nutritionist based right here in Colchester!

James offered to analyse my diet in return for me sharing the word about his new business venture.

About James

James works at The Gym in Colchester as a self-employed Personal Trainer and also offers diet analysis, as part of his business "NEO Training".
He has a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science and a MSc in Sport and Exercise Nutrition, and is member of the British Dietetic Association.

About the Diet Analysis Service

The service James offers is an analysis of a 3 day food diary.
The diary can be completed either via an electronic copy, or by filling in a printed A5 diary, (which James posts out, along with a self addressed envelope to return it in).

I opted for the printed diary option, as it seemed easier to keep on hand to fill in as and when I ate/cooked a meal.

                          
                                Pictured: The food diary and sample pages showing how to fill it in

The Consultation

Once I'd completed and returned the diary James analysed my food intake, and got in touch to arrange a consultation to go over the results.
We opted to meet in town (members of The Gym are welcome to have their consultation there instead, or alternatively it can be completed over the phone).

James provided a breakdown of each day's intake of calories, salt, sugar and other nutrients, and an average of the figures over the 3 day period. This was then compared  to what is the ideal range, and so showed which areas needed working on.

My breakdown showed -

-I ate too much sugar most days!
-I was a little low on selenium and iodine.
-I was low on Vitamin D on a couple of days, and also vitamins E, K and B12.

James made recommendations on where I could get the vitamins and minerals I was lacking.  For example I was reminded that it only takes one or two brazil nuts a day to meet the recommended daily level of selenium!

Other recommendations were:
-to eat more starches and protein for lunch to avoid sugar dips during the day.
-to see desserts as a treat , not a given! (and to not eat whole packets of dates!)
-to eat a wider variety of colourful vegetables.
-to remember to take my supplement each day! (for peace of mind!)

I drink a lot of water, so James advised that I could use this opportunity to get more nutrients, by drinking things like rose hip or herbal tea.

Cost

James's introductory price for this service is £40, which includes the 3 day food diary analysis, and a 30 minute consultation.
(A full list of services, and prices can be seen here:http://www.neotraining.org/?page_id=27)

Who the service is good for:

-Anyone who would like a snapshot of their average nutritional intake, especially vegetarians and vegans who should be mindful of their intake of certain vitamins (ie B12, and Vitamin D).
-People watching their calories.
-People who will actually take on board the information and follow the recommendations!

Who it may not be of interest to:

-People following unconventional diets, such as those not interested in calorie intake (ie high carb/low fat diets which are high in fruit sugar).
-People looking for tailored meal plans.

In conclusion

I found it really interesting and useful to see a snapshot of how I actually eat.
It served as a reminder to keep an eye on certain vitamins and minerals,  and was a useful wake up call to eat less sugar!
 It was also reassuring to see  that I am eating enough protein without even thinking about it (take that, vegan haters!), 

James has kindly provided a recipe for his home-brew herbal tea, for an antioxidant boost!

- 900 ml cold water

- 4 heaped tsp fine cut hibiscus (available from www.buywholefoodsonline.co.uk/)

- 1 cm crushed, fresh root ginger

- Juice of half a lemon

- 4-6 lightly crushed mint leaves  

Best made in a cafetiere (so that the plunger can filter out all the bits and pieces!) Otherwise can be made using a tea infuser. Leave in the 'fridge overnight and it's ready to drink! Virtually no calories and packed with antioxidants!

The Bakehouse

1. 5 High St, Wivenhoe, Colchester CO7 9BJ

   01206 824569

Read trip advisor reviews here 

I recently had the pleasure of visiting "The Bakehouse" in Wivenhoe, as part of an early birthday celebration.

I'd learnt via twitter that the Bakehouse offer good vegan options, so I emailed ahead to see what the current vegan options would be.

The manager replied to inform that me they currently have the following dishes that are either vegan as standard, or are an adaption of a vegetarian dish on their menu:

Set Menu Starters:

-Soup of the Day (always vegan, current options are French Onion or Spicy Butternut Squash)

-Crispy Cubes of Basil Tofu with a Roasted Red Pepper Coulis and Vegan Pesto

Set Menu Main:

Aubergine "Meatballs" with Courgette Spaghetti

Set Menu Desserts:

Summer Berry Compote

Strawberries with Sorbet or Dairy-Free Ice-Cream

Vegan Chocolate Fudge Brownie

On the A La Carte menu:

-Starter of Wild Mushrooms in Garlic & Olive Oil Dressing in a Filo Basket

-Main of Roasted Cherry Tomato & Garlic Open Lasagne

-A special of Herby Polenta Stack with Provencal Vegetables.

Impressed with the options, I booked a table and visited with 3 vegan friends.

I opted for the basil tofu to start, followed by the aubergine meatballs, and brownie for dessert. (which I was very excited to see on the menu!)

Whilst we waited for our meal we were given complimentary French bread with olive oil.

Starters

The tofu starter was very good; well presented and full of complex flavours.
(One of my friends said it was the best starter they'd ever had!)
It was nice to see tofu on the menu, as it's something that usually seems to be reserved for eastern restaurants.

Crispy Cubes of Basil Tofu with a Roasted Red Pepper Coulis and Vegan Pesto

My friend ordered the mushroom filo basket to start, and remarked on how very full of mushrooms it was!

The Main 

I wasn't sure what to expect from the aubergine meatballs and courgette spaghetti; I half expected the courgette spaghetti to be cold, as I know it is often eaten that way by raw foodists.
Instead it was served hot, in a flavourful tomato sauce, with what I think was kale, and the tasty aubergine "meatballs".
I have quite big appetite, and was a little worried that the portion size didn't look overly generous, but it turned out to be the perfect serving size (to enjoy without feeling overfull afterwards!)

Aubergine "Meatballs" with Courgette Spaghetti

My friend ordered the polenta stack, pictured here:

Special of herby polenta stack with provencal vegetables

The Dessert

This was a big selling point when choosing where to have my birthday meal.  Too many restaurants have either no vegan dessert options, or a boring fruit salad.
To have a vegan brownie and dairy free ice cream available deserves some credit!

I'd mentioned in my email that I was visiting for my birthday, so it was a nice touch when the brownie was served complete with candle (and singing waitresses!)

Brownie, with Swedish Glace ice cream, and a jug of chocolate sauce!

Overall I was very impressed with the delicious 3 course meal provided by The Bakehouse, and would not hesitate to recommend them to friends.

About the owners 

The Bakehouse is run by Vicky Jamieson and her partner Alan, (who is also one of the Chefs)

Vicky eats a largely plant based diet herself, and it's clear that Vicky's influence has rubbed off on Alan's cooking.

I emailed after my meal to enquire more about the labelling on the menu, as none of the dishes were labelled as vegetarian or vegan, and I admitted to Vicky that had I not heard of their vegan options beforehand, I probably wouldn't have given them a second thought!

Vicky explained that since taking over The Bakehouse  2 years ago she has subtly been changing the menu, and they have reduced the meat options by half! This is obviously great news, and Vicky believes that the majority of their vegetarian dishes are now bought by omnivorous clientele.

It is funny (and a bit infuriating!) that if the lovely dish of polenta stack was labelled "Vegan polenta stack" there would be some people that would decide against buying it!

However I told Vicky that some discrete labelling is always useful when looking at a menu, or even a  little footnote advising "ask about our vegan options", to show they can provide a meal.

The Bakehouse team said they appreciated my feedback regarding the menu labelling, and they will look at how best to change it for the future.

Until then anyone who has an enquiry about their vegan options can contact The Bakehouse at info@bakehousetaste.com

Lunch By Lancasters

Lunch

Telephone:	01206 584 383
Email:	enquiries@lunch-colchester.co.uk
Address:	Lancaster's Delicatessen 11 Headgate Building Sir Isaacs Walk COLCHESTER CO1 1JJ
Business Hours	Monday-Friday 8-3 Saturday 8-4 Sunday closed

"Lunch" is a sandwich takeaway on Sir Issacs walk, that also serves salads, and has a small seating area.

Their vegan options are:

-Bulgar wheat salad

-Mexican bean salad 

-Curried chick pea salads

Viet Kitchen

1st Floor | 25 Head Street. Colchester, Colchester CO1 1NH, England

01206 616 563

Facebook page

Read Trip Advisor reviews here

  I was recommended Viet Kitchen by a vegan friend who said the staff are very knowledgable about vegan food, so I paid a visit with some friends. The staff were indeed very helpful. Our server knew exactly what was vegan on the menu, and made recommendations for dishes we might like.

A lot of the meals had the option of being made with tofu or mushrooms instead of meat, and all of the noodles were non-egg based (such as vermicelli).

We ordered a papaya salad and summer rolls, which were appetisers, a noodle dish and the tofu option from the main menu.

The food was well presented and delicious, and the venue was pleasant.  I would definitely return again, especially for a special occasion. Viet Kitchen is situated on the first floor of a building on Head Street. To find it take the stairs through the doorway next to Ladbrokes.

The Minories Garden Cafe

The Minories Garden Cafe

74 High St, Colchester, Essex CO1 1UE

01206 712437

Trip Advisor Reviews

The Minories Garden Cafe is situated at the end of the High Street/ top of East Hill, and is a stone's throw away from Colchester castle.  It is joined to the Minories Art Gallery, and boasts a pleasant outdoor seating area (complete with Victorian folly!)

The Chef has helpfully been veganising a lot of the vegetarian options.
Their current vegan options are:

• Vegetable curry served with pilau rice and lime pickle, or jacket potato. (request no naan)

• Five bean chilli with jacket potato and salad OR rice and salad. (If ordering with rice request no cheese, no sour cream. If ordering with jacket potato request no coleslaw)

• Jacket potato with baked beans and salad. (request no coleslaw)

• Roast vegetable and houmus sandwich served with Fairfield crips (Note: on the menu this is a sandwich, but the loaves of bread may contain whey powder, so request a baguette or roll instead. Also request no coleslaw)

• Chefs’ Sharing Platter – fresh vegetable crudités with pitta bread and houmous

• Homemade potato wedges, served with sweet chilli dip (request no mayonaisse)

• Chefs’ Homemade Soup of the Day - always veggie and often vegan (served with a roll – ask for no butter; vegan spread unavailable at time of post).

•  Drinks: a variety of herbal teas and pressed juices. Soya milk is available for tea or coffee.

Embassy Suit all-you-can eat Oriental Buffet

2 Balkerne Hill, Colchester, Essex,CO3 3AA

Tel:  01206 572266

Read reviews here.

I recently went to the Embassy Suit all-you-can eat Oriental Buffet for a family meal (on a Sunday lunch time).

I managed to make up a plate of stir fried vegetables, spring rolls, tofu in a chili sauce, plus boiled rice. (I had to ask for the plain rice because they only had egg fried rice on display on the buffet). 

For dessert I had a bowl of tinned peaches and pineapple! (not overly exciting, but better than nothing!)

The Embasy Suit is big, noisy and crowded, but the food was cheap, (£4.95 for the lunch time buffet) and quite tasty.

Not a place to go for an intimate meal, but a good place to go to fill up without spending much money!

The White Hart Stanway (Toby Carvery)

342 London Road, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 8LT

Tel: 01206 213411http://www.tobycarvery.co.uk/thewhitehartcolchester/carvery/
Read reviews on Trip Advisor

A carvery may not seem an obvious choice for a vegan meal, but I recently learnt via Facebook that they actually have two vegan options! (and they are labelled as such on the menu).

I went there recently to try it, and although I wasn't very fond of the place itself (or the service), the food was actually quite good! (and very good value).

I have heard that they may not always have both vegan options available (or in fact any!), so it is probably worth phoning ahead.
(When I visited I phoned ahead to see if they had the Shepherds pie.  They said they did. However when I arrived they said it had been sold! (they'd only had one!) Luckily they had the Wellington available instead, which was actually really delicious!)

When you order your meal you need to request that your veg is prepared separately without butter (as opposed to taking vegetables from the main "help-your-self" area). 
 I have it on good authority that the roast potatoes and veggie gravy are vegan friendly (although it may be worth double checking in case that ever changes).


These are the two vegan options:

Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie £6.29
Roasted root vegetables and lentils
topped with bubble & squeak potato cakes.

Nut Roast Wellington £6.59
Sweet potatoes, grated carrots and parsnips
spiced with paprika and sage, then mixed
with crushed walnuts, cashew nuts and butter
beans and wrapped in puff pastry jacket.


If the thought of being in a meat filled carvery freaks you out then this probably isn't the place for you! However if you ever need to go for a (cheap!) Sunday roast with non-vegan family or friends, this place could save the day!

This was my meal:

Nut roast wellington, with cauliflower, carrot, peas, leek, roast potatoes and gravy.