19 Aug, 2015

Discount Scheme Survey Results

Thank you to those who completed our Discount Scheme Survey!

Here are the results:

(1) Did you know the VSI operates a discount scheme for its members?

Yes: 78%
No: 22%

(2) If yes, what businesses are a member of the scheme (please list up to 5)?

Answers given were: Blazing Salads, Cornucopia, Delhi O’Deli (now closed), Down to Earth, Govinda’s (Aungier St), Happy Pear, The Hopsack, Umi Falafel

(3) Are you a member of the VSI?

Yes: 44%
No: 56%

The remaining questions were for those who answered “Yes” to Question (3):

(4) How often do you use the discount scheme?

At least once a month: 63%
Never: 25%
At least once a week: 13%
At least once a year: 0%

(5) Where have you asked for a discount?

Blazing Salads, Cornucopia, Down to Earth, Govinda’s, The Hopsack

(6) Have you ever experienced a difficulty in getting a discount from a member of the scheme?

Yes: 0%
No: 100%

(7) Is there any business that you would like to be part of the scheme?

Nourish and Sova

12 Aug, 2015

Discount Scheme Member: ‘Dónall na Gealaí’

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Profile of ‘Dónall na Gealaí’, Kildare Town

10% discount to VSI members on production of your card (instore only – not online)

We are Anne, Nick and Lorcan and we run ‘Dónall na Gealaí’ in Kildare Town.
Nick and I met in a very small Irish pub in South London in 1993. When we met, Nick had been a vegetarian for 8 years and I had been vegetarian for about 1 year. The (many) reasons we had both chosen to become vegetarian were very similar and I’m sure you’re familiar with them – on a global scale arable farming just makes so much more sense environmentally when nutritional yield is taken into account and from a compassionate viewpoint the meat market and all it encompasses just seemed cruel and horrible.

To cut a long story short, following the birth of our son, Lorcan, in 2002 we took the decision to move back to Ireland and ended up living in Kildare Town where we had to decide what we were going to do to earn a living. Nick had an IT background and I had a science background but we wanted to use what resources we had to create a lifestyle where we could share childcare and be our own bosses. As we are both very spiritual (but not at all religious) people, we found that it was impossible outside of Dublin City to find the kind of things we liked have around (incense, books etc.) so someone (I think it may have been my sister, Geraldine) remarked ‘Why don’t you start selling it’ and ‘Dónall na Gealaí’ was born.

Why the name? Well, Lorcan was conceived and born at the new moon and during my pregnancy I noticed he was particularly active around the times of the new and full moon. We wanted to give him a name which reflected his lunar connections and it was during the course of our research that we discovered ‘Dónall na Gealaí’, which in Irish means ‘Dónall of the moon’ or, put simply, he is the man in the moon. Lorcan’s middle name is Dónall. We decide to use the name for the shop so we designed our logo to incorporate the moon, a little boy and the constellation of Libra which is Lorcan’s star sign. A lot of Irish people started to call us an ‘Angel Shop’ after we had opened – it was a term we had never heard before (I think it’s a very Irish concept) and it took us a while to get our heads around it!

Right from the start we were very keen to source our stock and trade as ethically as we could. At the moment I would guess that we can vouch for the origins of at least 75% of our stock. Hitting the tail end of the Celtic Tiger wasn’t the best time to start a business! We pride ourselves on our fair pricing policy and, initially, a lot of our customers were shocked (in a good way) at our prices – there was a lot of over-pricing going on at the time but people seemed to have the disposable income to support it. It’s funny, even when someone knows they are getting something at a fair price they sometimes feel obliged to ask for a discount. Our standard reply has always been ‘It’s easy to give a discount when you are overcharging in the first place’.

Being physically based in Kildare Town with an online shop (links below) is just lovely. Kildare Town is one of the oldest towns in Ireland and is steeped in medieval history – we are having our very first Medieval Fair on Sunday 23rd August as part of Irish Heritage Week. We are very close to The National Stud and Japanese Gardens, The Curragh Plains and Kildare Village Designer Retail Outlet (if that is your thing).

Being vegetarian is just how we live at this stage and we’re not evangelical about it. It sometimes comes as a surprise to people when they find out – you can see that ‘but you look and act so normal’ expression on their faces. I guess if you’re the kind of person to think about food, where it comes from and the ethics involved then that kind of thought process is also present in other aspects of your life so we try to ‘Live Lightly’ but we know we’re far from perfect.

We don’t advertise hugely (our Facebook page is where we run promotions, competitions etc.) – it’s mostly word of mouth which brings customers to our shop or to shop online.

https://www.facebook.com/donallnagealai.shop
http://www.donallnagealai.ie/shop

26 Jun, 2015

Discount Scheme Survey

Please complete this short survey about the Vegetarian Society of Ireland Discount Scheme: Discount Scheme Survey

Please note the survey is now closed. Thank you for all the answers!

23 Apr, 2015

Moodley Manor

By Louisa Moss, PRO, Vegetarian Society of Ireland

Louisa: Delighted to hear that there will be new Irish made products suitable for vegans and vegetarians available soon, and looking at your website, the products look great! Well done to you both. What was the moment that you decided to go for it and develop the products?

Aisling: Thank you, it’s been a long year of working out what we could make and what vegetarians really wanted and most importantly making it as delicious as possible. It’s been hard work but really, it’s mostly been fun. I dare not complain about constantly being fed samples as Gav slaves away in the
kitchen. We have been working on a number of vegan foods that developed organically through Gav’s experiments. He is an excellent cook. Actually, when we first met, he promised me he would master a vegan bacon for me. He kept his promise. He’s constantly impressing me more and more with his culinary creations. We realised after working on a vegan cheese, that we had been making meat alternatives at home that not only made us happy but
impressed our omni friends and family. So much so, they put in requests regularly and a good friend of ours even has vegan barbeques! It made sense to share our Moodley Meats with the vegetarians and vegans of Ireland.
They’re too tasty to keep to ourselves.

Louisa: So, what sparked the idea was because it was difficult to find a vegan meat replacement in supermarkets here? What is the main ingredient?

Aisling: Gav was omni when we first met and he was so disappointed whenever we went out for dinner or lunch. One day, I had just handed my dissertation in for my final year and we wanted to celebrate. As usual, he rang around in advance to find somewhere we could have a nice lunch. We arrived at a garden centre restaurant which was beautiful but there wasn’t a single meal suitable for vegans. He will tell you that was the day he knew he had to change the situation. I agreed wholeheartedly and it’s been an ongoing process. Firstly we began by advocating for vegans and vegetarians. Then secondly, educating restaurants and cafes. We then created our social community, Moodley Manor where we put up the ‘Vegan Alert’ section where we shared vegan options in restaurants, some surprisingly vegan products in everyday shops etc. Then we started working on creating new and exciting foods and we have now a range developed which will be launched throughout the year. In our Badass Bacon and Boss Burgers, the main ingredient is wheat protein (also known as vital wheat gluten). We differ from the other meat alternatives because we don’t use any dairy products. Just delicious umami flavours and textures that honestly, make me giddy with excitement every time I have a meal.

Louisa: Have you been vegetarian/vegan for long? Who was veggie first? Tell us a little about your journey.

Aisling: I’ve been vegetarian for over seventeen years and vegan (with the occasional slip to vegetarianism) for the last five years. It’s only since meeting Gav that being 100% vegan was easy. He transitioned to vegetarianism a short while after meeting me and also after his dad developed heart issues
which really made his decision to become vegan clear. He has been 100% vegan since the 1st of January this year and I’m so proud of him. He wrote his full story on our blog and it’s great to be able to tell the story especially to other people considering veganism. Sometimes, it just needs to be shown that it is possible and more importantly – deliciously enjoyable.

Louisa: When do you hope to have the products available for delivery? They are available to buy online from your website?

Aisling: We can’t wait to deliver our first batch. We are taking orders now until May 20th or sooner if we reach our target of 2000. Then it’s all steam ahead, making the products and delivering within about a week. They’re available right now on MoodleyManor.com/MoodleyMeats. We want to be nationally available on shop shelves and restaurant tables and we need the support of the wonderful vegetarians and vegans of Ireland to do this. This first batch will get us nationwide and allow us to make being vegan and vegetarian easier and tastier. Our motto is ‘All Taste … No Sacrifice’. We can’t wait till this is the reality.

21 Apr, 2015

Michael Nugent

By Louisa Moss, PRO, Vegetarian Society of Ireland

Louisa: When did you first become vegetarian and was it something that always interested you?

Michael: I became vegetarian decades ago. I can’t remember exactly when. It was a gradual process, starting with cutting out red meat, then poultry and fish, and now dairy. It’s been an ethical dilemma all of the way, as I knew at each stage that I should be further along the journey, but I felt that I was more likely to succeed by taking it in stages.

I still have an ethical dilemma in that I have five rescue cats, who have a cat-flap so they can come and go as they please, but who are less than impressed if I don’t supplement their mostly Royal Canin Sensible-33 diet with some meat.

Louisa: Did you have much support from others in your life?

Michael: My late wife Anne Holliday was very supportive, though she was not vegetarian. We used to either make two separate meals, or sometimes share vegetarian meals. After Anne died four years ago, I had to adjust to living and dining alone after twenty five years together, and I have ended up cooking less often and eating out more.

About a year ago, I became mostly vegan at home, with the exception of Quorn products which I had mistakenly assumed were vegan, and vegetarian when eating out or visiting friends. That was partly because I didn’t want to impose my ethics on everybody else, and partly because being vegan outside the house seemed to turn every meal into a United Nations negation process.

Louisa: More recently, you transitioned to veganism, how has this been for you? Has it been harder or easier than you expected?

Michael: Ashling O’Brien, the Dublin Chairperson of Atheist Ireland, became vegan a few months before I did, and in many ways Ashling was my inspiration for finally taking that step.

It has been a lot easier than I expected. Since I have made the decision, I have found that I don’t miss eating dairy products. More than that, I don’t actually want to eat dairy products, so it is not really a struggle at all. The one thing I do miss is Quorn products, because they had been the staple of my cooking recipes for years.

Most Dublin restaurants still don’t have many vegan options. It seems to be like where they were for vegetarian options when I first went vegetarian. Cornucopia and the Cedar Tree are always good, but outside of that it can be touch and go. And eating out in other countries can be almost impossible, particularly France and Poland.

Ashling and I have turned that problem into an adventure. What we do now, if there is no nice vegan option on the menu, is ask the waiter to ask the chef to make up something vegan of their choice. We find in most places that they see that as a challenge, and we usually end up with something really nice. Also, people constantly asking for vegan options is what will end up getting more vegan options on the menus over time.

Louisa:What’s you current favourite vegan food?

Michael: Chips. I didn’t say I was healthy! Also, anything flavoured with either lemon or mustard, vegan balti, vegan curry, the vegan parts of the vegetarian mezze board at the Cedar Tree, or whatever is on the menu at Cornucopia. Plus a side order of chips.
Vegetarian recipe 1
Louisa: You are the founder of atheist Ireland; how does veganism or vegetarianism sit with in your moral and ethical stance?

Michael: I think my vegetarianism is linked to my atheism, because as an atheist I don’t believe that the creator of the universe invented humans, and then gave us non-human animals for our benefit. I believe that we, along with non-human animals, are all worthy of respect as livings sentient beings that can experience pain and suffering and pleasure and wellbeing.

I believe that non-human animals exhibit empathy, compassion, cooperation, reciprocity, fairness and justice to various degrees, because cooperation is as important to evolution as is competition. I believe that in future generations, we will look back at how we treat non-human animals in the way that we now look back on human slavery.

Louisa: One last one! Do you have a favourite vegan recipe you would like to share with us?

Michael: I have a Sedona dehydrator, a Hurom slow juicer, and a Blendtec blender, so many of my recipes are based around various combinations of using those. However, I’ve been mostly eating out for a while now, because my house is like a building site with renovations.

When things get back to normal, I’ll get back to making dehydrated crackers with either blended banana and cinnamon and flax seed, or else blended tomato, onion, peppers, nuts and flax seed, then store them in the freezer for a constant supply of snacks.

 

Other than that, my favourite recipes are quite basic. Chickpea curry is one of my staples. The pictures are from my pre-vegan days, so I now use mushrooms instead of Quorn. Vegetarian Recipe 2I generally make up the quantities as I go along, so it turns out differently each time.

In one pan, cook mushrooms in oil.
In another pan, cook onion, garlic, ginger, cumin seed and mustard seed in oil.
Add cumin, coriander, chilli powder, salt and pepper.
Add the cooked mushrooms from the other pan.
Mix in tomato puree, tomatoes, chickpeas, green and red peppers.
Add vegetable stock, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer.

21 Apr, 2015

Eden Farm Animal Sanctuary

Eden Farm Animal Sanctuary, the first vegan sanctuary in Ireland, opened in Slane, Co Meath, in 2008. It is now home to more than 100 residents, all of whom have been rescued from human use, mostly for food. Alongside sheep, geese and turkeys bred for their flesh, Eden is home to a large number of ducks and chickens rescued from free range, organic and back yard egg production.

The ethos of Eden is based on the ancient philosophy of Ahimsa: striving for compassion, justice and non-violence for ourselves and for others. It entails living and teaching a vegan lifestyle that recognises everyone as an individual, feeling being and addresses the interconnected suffering of all life. Veganism is not just about what we eat; it is also about how we think and feel, how we act, and how we relate to ourselves and others. No one exists on this earth for the purpose of being of use to someone else. This is the essence of the abolitionism that Eden works for as it joins a growing population of people who strive to create a world where everyone is respected regardless of species or any other categorisation.

Eden is recruiting staff and volunteers. If you are skilled at site maintenance & construction work, veterinary or animal care work you might like to check out the vacancies page on Eden’s website for a once in a lifetime opportunity to join a team of people dedicated to making the short lifespans of farmed animals as happy as possible.

Eden works alongside its sister organisation, Matilda’s Promise Vegan Education Centre. You are welcome to come along to the next Introduction to Veganism Workshop on May 10th from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm at Yoga with Roisin, 19 Trimgate St Navan (upstairs between The Courtyard & Kidstuff) where you can enrol for the next education programme.

The next Vegan Education Programme will run for four weeks from 7.45 – 9.45 pm beginning on Monday 25th May at Yoga with Roisin, 19 Trimgate St, Navan. Matilda’s Promise also offers one to one mentoring via telephone, email and Skype.

Please contact us at edenanimalsanctuary@yahoo.ie or telephone 0872325832 for booking and further details. You can also book direct with Roisin at 0851203431.

Eden also works alongside The Compassion Foundation of Ireland, a psychology practice that offers a Clinical Compassionate Eating & Living Programme using evidence based approaches of compassion focussed therapy, mindful eating & living (MB EAT), and intuitive eating skills. This programme is designed for people who experience eating distress and who would like to live with more compassion. It is 100% plant based. Please contact thecompassionfoundation@yahoo.ie or 0872325832 for more information.

www.edenfarmanimalsanctuary.com

http://www.edenfarmanimalsanctuary.com/donate/

21 Apr, 2015

Cruelty Free Cosmetics

By Louisa Moss, PRO, Vegetarian Society of Ireland

Louisa: Hi Jo thanks for talking to us today, we’ve just been looking at your website, and it’s great to see an Irish based cruelty free cosmetic stockist. Welcome to the Vegetarian Society of Ireland. Could you tell us a little bit about your journey here? (i.e Did you become vegetarian/vegan first? Why? When did you begin looking for cruelty free cosmetics? When and why did you start the business?)

Jo: Hi Louisa. You’re very welcome and thank you too for speaking with me today. Basically I’ve been a vegetarian since I was fourteen and for the last few years I set up three Facebook pages; Fans of Animal Welfare, Living off the Earth and No to Testing on Animals. I set these up to teach people about how we can live without cruelty in our lives and how we can live in harmony with the earth and animals. The idea to set up my business Cruelty Free Cosmetics came to me in November 2014 where I felt the need to allow people to be able to buy cruelty free cosmetics easily, while also teaching them about the unnecessary horrors that animals have to endure in laboratories all over the world on a daily basis. For me it was always a challenge to buy cruelty free as I would always ask myself the question ‘how do I know’? Also, as I live in the country, buying cruelty free is near impossible. The makeup I had used, which used to state ‘not tested on animals’ on their display, didn’t have that for many years. So this was also the start of my journey to find out why and to find out were they or weren’t they testing their products on animals? After much research I found out that this particular company themselves did not test on animals, but they sell to China and therefore because of China’s laws, the makeup was eventually being tested on animals. Unfortunately the lure of a billion dollar industry in China is too much for a lot of companies to turn down and money tends to lead their heads.

For me it is all about being ethical and being able to sell products that I know are 100% not tested on animals and are vegan too. t was also very important that I could provide makeup that was eco-friendly so the packaging is recycled, biodegradable and recyclable. Also, refills are available on the loose foundations minimising landfill and I am also proud to say that there is no palm oil in any of the cosmetics.

Louisa: And you noticed how difficult it was to get information, let alone products that are truly cruelty free so you decided to bring the products to the people, that’s brilliant and much needed in Ireland.
When you select products and stock, must all of the parent company’s products be cruelty free? Are your products all suitable for vegetarians and vegans?

Jo: It took me a long time to find companies that tick all the boxes. Firstly the owner had to be like minded to myself and very much into animals and the earth. They also had to be on PETA’s Cruelty Free list and have purchased the use of their logo. That for me was important because it meant the company was taking this very serious. All the companies I deal with are small with no parent companies and they all only stock vegan makeup, which is 100% not tested on animals. They are also all very much into living in harmony with the earth and animals too. I really believe that by all of us working together to create change, that we will bring cruelty free to the next level. Our motto here at Cruelty Free Cosmetics is ‘One By One’. We believe that every one person can make a huge difference to one animal’s life and more. We try to teach people to believe in themselves and never to think ‘but I’m only one person, what can I do’? Every one person has the potential to create HUGE positive change.

Louisa: And I believe you have a voucher for one lucky reader today?

Jo: Yes I do, we’re offering a €50.00 coupon to use in our online shop www.crueltyfreecosmetics.net

And the competition question is ‘what animal is used on the cruelty free logo?’

Please send your answers to info@vegetarian.ie

Thanks Jo, great to talk with you today.’

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Louisa

22 Mar, 2015

Vegan Bake Sale 2015

Promote delicious, cruelty-free food. Be part of a fun global event that helps people, animals, and the planet.

The Vegetarian Society of Ireland is celebrating the 2015 Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale this Saturday 25th April 2015 at 2pm. We invite you to join us! We are looking for people to donate vegan baked goods as well as volunteers to help on the day. If you are interested in helping, please contact us.

This is our sixth year to run a vegan bake sale and each year volunteers produce mouth-watering cakes, biscuits and other treats making this a day we look forward to very much.

Vegan baking involves using only those ingredients that are of plant origin, i.e. no dairy products, eggs or honey. For further information please see here.

A proportion of our money raised will go to Eden Farm Animal Sanctuary.

Cinnamon and Raisin Scones
Scones
225gr wholemeal flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
50gr caster sugar
75gr raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
50gr vegan margarine (we used PURE Soya)
160ml non-dairy milk
Preheat oven to 220C.
(1) Place all of the dry ingredient into a bowl and mix well.
(2) Add the margarine and fork it into the dry mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.
(3) Add the milk gradualy to make a soft dough that’s not too wet or sticky.
(4) Turn out onto a floured baking tray and lightly knead the mixture into a round. Cut the round into eight equal triangles and spread them apart on the baking tray.
(5) Bake for about 15 minutes at 220C.

If you are baking something, please let us know what it is!

    Name:

    Mobile

    Email:

    Will your recipe be sweet or savoury?

    22 Mar, 2015

    Buttercream’s Bakery

    Vegetables

    By Louisa Moss, PRO, Vegetarian Society of Ireland

    Lauren is a 19 year-old Culinary Arts student and amateur baker, as well as a vegan animal rights activist. She runs her own home-run vegan baking business, Buttercream’s Bakery, where she makes everything from celebration cakes to cookies and doughnuts!

    Louisa: Lauren, congratulations on winning the sweet section of the VSI vegan cook off! Your cakes were amazing, we’d love to hear how you got into baking, have you always liked to bake or has it been part of your vegetarian/vegan journey?

    Lauren: Thanks a million! I was delighted to win, and to have taken part in such a brilliant event too. Growing up, I would have baked as much as the average person, if not less, actually! My mother would make candy apples and Rice Krispie cakes and other delicious treats for Halloween, and I was always happy to help (once I got to lick the spoon smothered in chocolate afterwards!). I started to really get into baking during March last year. As an animal rights activist myself, I wanted to bring along some freshly baked goods for myself and fellow vegans to enjoy after protests. Everyone loved everything that I baked and within a few weeks of baking, anyone who had tried my baked goods was convinced that I needed to set up a vegan baking business ASAP – and that’s exactly what I did.

    Louisa: Do you have a favourite vegan baker or chef?

    Lauren: I quite like Tal Ronnen. He’s a famous vegan chef who actually became famous for preparing the vegan meals for Oprah Winfrey’s 21 day vegan cleanse. He also catered for Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s vegan wedding. He works alongside with Gardein (an American faux meat company) to help improve their recipes and keep them tasting delicious. I’ve never tried them myself, but I’m really impressed with the large variety there seems to be, and I’ve heard great reviews about them. Tal is great – he makes gorgeous looking vegan cheeses too. Working with him one day would be fantastic!

    Buttercream Bakery

    Louisa: People often think that it is impossible to bake without eggs and butter, but your cakes really proved that there is no need for either of those ingredients. What’s your top tip for baking without eggs?

    Lauren: You’re absolutely right! People are usually beyond shocked when I tell them that my baking contains no animal products at all. In baking, eggs act both as a raising agent and as a binder, but there’s plenty of other alternatives out there that work just as well, if not even better. Bicarbonate of soda and baking powder act as the raising agents in vegan baking, while I find that for binding, different ingredients work for different bakes.

    In some recipes, you don’t actually need anything to replace the egg. Just be careful not to over mix the batter, or you’ll end up with a dense sponge. Fruit purées (apple, banana, and pear) are great for binding loaf cakes, and muffins particularly. However, there will be an evident taste of the purée in your bake, so choose wisely! Ground flaxseed is another great alternative. Mix 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water, and leave to sit for a few minutes. It’ll turn to a similar consistency of egg white, and is ideal for using in brownies! (Since the seeds are brown, they’re best used in brown/dark coloured bakes.)

    Louisa: You are obviously very creative, the Loveheart cake you made for the cook-off was incredible, where do you draw your inspiration for decorating cakes? Is it hard to find vegan ingredients for icing and decorating?

    Lauren: Thank you very much! I’ll tell you how the idea for that cake came about, actually. It was about two weeks before the Vegan Cook Off,  and I was lying in bed, desperately trying to fall asleep, when suddenly I thought “nobody has asked me for strawberry buttercream yet, why don’t I decorate a Valentine’s Day themed cake with it, and make it heart shaped too?!”  I came across the heart sweets the next day, and was delighted that they were completely vegan. Where I got the idea that it would look nice to have them falling from the bag onto the cake, I don’t know, but I’m glad it turned out well anyway! To answer your question, lots of my ideas come to me completely randomly, while I may take inspiration from what I’ve seen in other bakeries, along with rambling around cake supply shops, supermarkets and craft shops, to see if anything pops out at me that could be used to make a delicious and creative vegan cake.

    Buttercream Bakery

    Surprisingly, finding vegan ingredients for icing and decorating isn’t too difficult. Go to any Dunnes, M&S etc., and they’ll have icing sugar, plant based milks and soya butter (or sunflower spread), and there you go, there’s the basic icing ingredients that everyone would use. A lot of the time, decorations will have egg white in them, so I find that I need to make my own from icing. It can be quite time consuming, but it’s something I enjoy. There’s always a way around making your own vegan decorations.

    Louisa: We would love it if you could share a recipe with us, something chocolatey would be great, and perfect, just in time for Easter! Do you have one you could share?

    Lauren: Sure! How about my vegan chocolate peanut butter cups? Everyone seems to love them, and they’re very easy to make. I don’t have exact weights for the ingredients, I usually just go with what looks and tastes okay, but I’ll try my best to come up with an easy adaptable recipe!

    Louisa: Thanks Lauren, it’s been lovely speaking with you. If anyone wants to place an order with you for cakes, special occasion cakes, cookies, doughnuts, etc., what’s the best way to contact you?

    Lauren: Thanks for having me, Louisa! If anyone would like to place an order or would like any further information, feel free to visit my Facebook page (Buttercream’s Bakery). I have some photos and further information there. I update the page regularly, so will respond to Facebook messages quickly. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Buttercreams-Bakery/618742768220872

    Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

    Ingredients (makes about 12 large cups)

    • 150g peanut butter (I use smooth)
    • 450g semi-sweet chocolate (most chocolates would do)
    • 150g icing sugar
    • 2 tablespoons vegan butter (or sunflower spread)

    Method

    1. Line a 12 cup muffin tray with cupcake cases.
    2. Melt half of the chocolate in a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water until fully melted.
    3. Pour melted chocolate into the cupcake cases and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
    4. Meanwhile, mix the peanut butter, butter and icing sugar (make sure to sieve it to avoid lumps)
    5. Place this peanut butter mixture on top of the hardened chocolate in the cupcake cases, and place in the freezer again for 30 minutes.
    6. Melt the remainder of the chocolate and pour on top of the peanut butter mixture, and place in the freezer for another 15 minutes.
    7. Enjoy!
    22 Mar, 2015

    Vegetarian and Vegan Easter!

    By Jessica Meaney, Vegetarian Society of Ireland

    To make things easier for friends and family (or yourself!) buying Easter eggs, we put together a handy guide of which seasonal treats are suitable for vegetarians and vegans, to save you standing in the shop reading and Googling every ingredient on the side of a box!

    Vegetarian Easter Treats

    For the most part, chocolate is of course suitable for vegetarians, but Galaxy had some issues using rennet in chocolate a few years ago, and Cadbury more recently used non-vegetarian whey in their new Oreo products. These issues have both been resolved and their products are back to being vegetarian approved, but these companies advise checking the physical products’ details as the most up-to-date and reliable, rather than the websites.

    For Galaxy, Cadbury and Nestlé, the bars and eggs are vegetarian, but it is worth double checking as the eggs themselves use different recipes to the bars which are produced. The majority of their products carry a vegetarian approved label, so if you are unsure, check the box.

    Butlers’ website states that all of their chocolates are suitable for vegetarians and they have a lovely selection of Easter eggs, in their own shops, online and in some select retailers (including Tesco, Dunnes and SuperValu). You can check their website for details.

    Lily O’Brien’s Easter collection is all suitable for vegetarians. These are available in most supermarkets including Dunnes Stores, Supervalu, Tesco, Centra, and Spar, as well as other independent retailers.

    Tesco own brand chocolate eggs are vegetarian, as are Marks and Spencers brand. Both of these supermarkets are great at labelling their products, so it should be very clear if a product isn’t vegetarian (e.g. chocolate egg with non-veggie jellies). Marks and Spencers have a great selection of smaller chocolate eggs too, as well as some vegetarian-friendly jelly bunnies.

    Lindt Easter eggs are also veggie as well as their smaller chocolate eggs, bunnies and other Easter-themed selection. Unfortunately, the 70% dark chocolate egg is not vegan-friendly, despite the fact that the 70% chocolate bars are suitable for vegans.

    Vegan Easter Treats

    For vegans, Moo Free Chocolates have a range of dairy free Easter eggs stocked by Dunnes Stores and Nourish as well as other retailers. You can check their website for a store close to you here and they also list online retailers if you can’t find somewhere local.

    Celtic Chocolates is an Irish company which has a range of dairy-free Easter eggs (Choices) and these are stocked by Holland and Barret, Tesco, and other health food stores around the country.

    Plamil is a company based in the UK which offer dairy free Easter eggs in both a full egg size and a packet of “half eggs” as well, which are available to order from their website.

    D and D chocolates are a company based in the UK. They have an Easter range of both chocolate and carob products, which are largely vegetarian and vegan friendly. Some products list that they may contain dairy due to manufacturing machines used. You can order from their website and it doesn’t look like they supply to stores at the moment.

    If you have spotted any other chocolate or Easter themed snacks that are vegetarian or vegan friendly, do let us know by e-mail or Facebook! Happy Easter!

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