#V Street Food Event- The Waiting Room

#V Catering Co.- Street Food Event

The Waiting Room, The Old Bus Station off Queen St. CO1 2PH

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vcatering1

For those of you who are yet to venture to 'The Waiting Room', the location of the 2015 Colchester Vegan Fair and previously 'Vegan Pot Luck' meetings; the former bus station café is a strange and interesting hidden gem of a venue.

It has also become home to '#V Catering Co.', once a month, for their 'street food' events, with this month seeing the return of their popular noodle night.

Delicious Udon noodles surrounded by crunchy veg, juicy mushrooms, optional seitan and covered in a flavoursome hoisin and miso sauce. 

Alongside the main meal, there were pots of #V's homemade 'coconut bacon' available to buy, in addition to three sweet dishes.

Udon Noodles

Of course it only felt right that I should try all three sweet offerings. First up, the gooey chocolate flapjack with whipped vanilla and coconut cream. Yes, that does taste as good as it sounds! This was so nice I actually had to go back and get a second portion, which I believe tells you all you need to know.

It was great to see two other dessert options on the menu, both equally as yummy as the flapjack. A soft and tasty chocolate chip cookie, and well textured New York cheesecake. It's always great eating out and having a vegan dessert, but to have choice between different options was even better. 

Chocholate Chip Cookies

The desserts had my omni friend exclaiming that she couldn't believe the food had any of the traditional ingredients missing- and she couldn't tell a difference from their non-vegan equivalents- praise indeed!

I was also pleased to find that the sometimes slightly overbearing music of previous street food events had been held back until later into the evening, being replaced by some more appropriate background music which allowed for easier conversation.

So be sure to free up the third Friday of every month, and don't come expecting a restaurant-style atmosphere, this is very much a fun pop-up, canteen-type set up, which I feel only adds to its charm. If you're anything like me, you will leave full up, satisfied and looking forward to the next street food event to come along!

Découverte

Découverte

6 Sir Isaacs Walk, Colchester, CO1 1JJ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/decouverteshopcafe

PLEASE NOTE: SINCE PUBLISHING THIS POST DECOUVERTE HAS TAKEN ALL DAIRY FROM THEIR MENU, AND BECOME COLCHESTER'S 3RD VEGAN CAFE!

As Colchester continues on its path towards vegan dominance, cruelty free consumers will be pleased to hear of Colchester's brand new vegetarian café. 

Following in the footsteps of Colchester's two fully vegan establishments, comes 'Découverte', which opened on Boxing Day 2015 and consists of a small vintage shop alongside an organic, vegetarian café. Much of the food they serve is vegan, and is clearly labelled with the 'V' symbol.

Lentil & Squash Soup

Due to the cold weather outside, I decided that I needed warming up with a cup of tea served in a beautifully delicate teacup, accompanied with oat milk. Whilst continuing along the 'warming' theme, I opted for the homemade 'lentil and squash' soup of the day, served with seeded bread. Coming in at £3.50, this seemed good value for such a tasty, hearty meal. The freshly heated soup was thick, flavoursome and incredibly filling. The gluten-free vegan chocolate cake which followed, allowed for a sweet treat to finish.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Whilst eating my food I was able to enjoy the beautiful beams and busy walls filled with different vintage items. The café feels small (with 5 tables squeezed into the space) but this is what gives it its character and charm. The owners clearly knew what direction they wanted to go in, and have done that well.

Having spoken to the staff it is clear that they are passionate about the food they make and serve. The café was relatively quiet whilst I was in there, which allowed the owner to talk about the two years of hard work it's taken to get the business up and running, and I was pleased to see that they seem to have established the ways in which they differ from 'The Den at Twenty Three' and 'The Nourish  Co.'(Colchester's other vegan cafés) in the hope that they will also thrive. 

I wish them every success, look forward to paying many more visits to the café, and hope that at some point they will be able to drop the dairy and non-vegan options from the menu in the future.

If you pay a visit to 'Découverte' then let us know your thoughts!

Full menu: Show Menu
Opening Times: 11:00-16:00 (Tues, Weds, Fri, Sat, Sun) Closed- Mon/Thurs

The Nourish Co.

The Nourish Co.

36 St. John's Street, Colchester, CO2 7AD

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/thenourishco
Website: http://www.thenourishco.co.uk

It's only been 7 months since Colchester got its first fully fledged vegan cafe in the form of 'The Den at Twenty Three', and now the ever-growing vegan community of North Essex is to be treated to a brand new eatery!

The Nourish Co. is marketing itself as an 'Eco-Takeaway'. Think raw cakes, tasty whole food lunches, and lots of healthy snacks; all served with a smile. 

We popped by on their opening day and tried their freshly baked Mushroom and Lentil Sausage Roll with a Raw Chocolate Brownie afterwards, both of which were very tasty. 

The shop itself, though small, has been used to its full potential, with a breakfast bar overlooking the street and small table area for anybody who wants to sit in. Not necessarily a place you'd meet a friend for lunch due to the limited space, but perfect for those short lunch breaks or when passing through town and in need of a bite to eat.

How great it is to have even more choice in the town, and this can only be a good thing for making veganism more accessible. 

We're excited to watch the company grow and continue to spread their message of 'kind and conscious eating', and can't wait to try lots more of their wholesome, yummy food!

Be sure to drop in next time you need a quick snack on the go.

El Guaca

El Guaca

118 High Street, Colchester CO1 1SZ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/El-Guaca/596443153832024?fref=ts

Website: http://www.elguaca.co.uk/colchester/

The Restaurant

Having established themselves in Maldon and Clacton, the Mexican restaurant 'El Guaca' has now arrived in Colchester.

I was intrigued as to what options they might have for vegans as there didn’t seem to be anything explicitly on the menu that was vegan-friendly, so I dropped them an Email, getting a very helpful reply outlining the dishes which could be made vegan, and how to adapt them. So on Tuesday night I went along to give the restaurant a try.

Sizzling Fajita

I decided to opt for the Sizzling Mushroom and Courgette Fajita (without the jack cheese or sour cream) and sizzling it was. If anyone ever tries to claim vegan food is boring then this dish is here to prove otherwise. The sizzling courgettes and mushrooms came on a bed of sautéed peppers and onions, with pico de gallo and home-made (vegan) guacamole on the side, with a bowl of warm flour tortillas ready to be filled with all the tasty filling.

The staff were very attentive, friendly and helpful, and portions rather generous (though on the pricier side of things).  Unfortunately, as is often the case, the dessert menu was lacking in a vegan option, and perhaps this is something the restaurant could look to change in the near future.

If you want to make the experience a tad more authentic then ask a member of staff for a sombrero, and they’ll happily oblige!

It’s always great to see more local businesses thriving alongside the huge chains, so I highly recommend dropping in to El Guaca. Below were the other vegan adapted options that are available, as always be sure to check anything with the staff for peace of mind. Let us know your experiences and if anything needs changing or updating from the menu.

Main Menu: http://www.elguaca.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Main_Menu.pdf

Appetisers

Nachos (without cheese) with Guacamole, Pico De Gallo or Chilli Sauce

Vegetarian Tacos (i.e. with no meat fillings)

Mains

Sizzling Fajita- Courgette and Mushroom (without cheese/sour cream)

Burrito/ChimiChanga/Enchilada with Vegetarian Bean Chilli (without cheese/sour cream)

The Den at Twenty Three / The Den at 23

23 Crouch Street

Colchester

CO33EN

www.facebook.com/thedenattwentythree

@theden_at23

www.thedenattwentythree.co.uk

Mon 12pm-4pm

Tue-Sat 10pm-4pm

Closed Sunday

INVmay.pdf

"The Den at 23" opened in March 2015, and is Colchester's first cafe to offer an entirely vegan friendly menu!
It is run by Jennifer Dunn of vegan cake company "p.s..it's vegan!", and her husband Robert.

The Den sells breakfasts (such as sausage sandwiches and sausage tofu breakfast muffins), lunches such as burgers and toasted paninis, and sweet options such as cupcakes and waffles with ice cream.

Teas and coffees and hot chocolates are served with a choice of soya, almond or coconut milk, and can be topped with soya whipped cream (and vegan marshmallows!)

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!

___________________________________________________________________

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/
_______________________________________________________________________________

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/

_______________________________________________________________________

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/

_______________________________________________________________________


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/

_________________________________________________________________

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!