Amy's All American Veggie Burger Review

Wow, it's been a while! Rather than rambling about why I've let this slip and waste time making promises to keep it up for real this time, let's just get stuck in...

Fake meat products are flooding our market and they're getting more realistic all the time. This is awesome to me - meat didn't stop being delicious just because I stopped eating it, so this gives me a way to completely satisfy my cravings without compromising my ethics. However, as these products become closer in taste and texture to actual meat, I find myself longing for something else entirely. To explain further I need to indulge in a little nostalgia...

Way back in my childhood (specifically late 80s and early 90s) I have fuzzy memories of going to stay with my Auntie Christobel for a few days. My recollections from that time are patchy at best - I recall a giant teddy bear, a bar of soap with a little plastic spider inside, and finding "petit pois" an enormously amusing name for tiny peas - there is something that stuck with me. I remember being served "Veggie Burgers" and "Veggie Bangers", which was an entirely new concept to me, and I enjoyed them immensely. In the years that followed, my school began serving vegetarian options that seemed the be more or less the same thing (albeit coated in breadcrumbs) and they were always a favourite of mine. They were lightly spiced and sort of fell apart in your mouth.

With the advent of Quorn (which, obviously, is off the menu for myself these days) and whatnot these products fell out of favour and I missed them terribly. That is, until today.

We found a box of Amy's All American Veggie Burgers by the good folks at Amy's Kitchen. We bought them out of curiosity (oooh, new food!) and I dished them up today (bunless) with home-made chilli potato wedges, baked beans, and a healthy dollop of Tiptree brown sauce. The meal itself took me right back to my school dinner days, and as someone who LOVED school dinners this is no bad thing. However, it was that first bite of the burger patty that sent me spiralling off into paroxysms of sheer nostalgic bliss. There it was! That flavour that I've been pining for all these years! It was exactly how I remembered it, that warm and comforting flavour, that lovely crumbly texture... perfect!

I love these patties not just for turning my tummy into a swirling vortex of happy memories, but also because they don't try too hard to be meat-like. Anyone who prefers their fake meat products to be chewier and closer in flavour to the real thing may find these disappointing. However, taking them at face value (a meat-free burger patty, nothing more, nothing less) will probably find these a welcome alternative to the better-known products currently on the market.

Product Review - Lily Lolo Mineral Make-up

I have fairly recently discovered this new-fangled invention called "make-up" that has this wonderful ability to make me look fresh as a daisy even when I feel like utter crap.

Veganism does place some restrictions on which products I go for. Beeswax is out, as are products containing things like carmine (that's okay, I don't want powdered beetles on my face anyway). Furthermore, picking a make-up company that is cruelty free can be a bit of a minefield. Thankfully, it's getting easier all the time.

Yesterday I received some samples and brushes I ordered from Lily Lolo, a company specialising in mineral make-up who also stock some synthetic-hair brushes. I've never even considered minerals as an option but found myself drawn to their products. Only a few of their products are not vegan-friendly (some eyeshadows, blushes and lipglosses containing carmine, as well as a couple of brushes) but these are clearly labeled. Furthermore, they have the stamp of approval from both BUAV and PETA, which gives me a great deal of confidence in their anti-vivisection policy.

I've had a play with their products this morning and I am totally sold. I've tried out a foundation (in their lightest shade, "Porcelain", for those among us who prefer to remain pale and interesting), a couple of colour-correcting concealers ("Peep-O" for dark undereye circles and "Blush Away" for correcting my perma-redness) and a matte finishing powder. The application method for minerals is a little different than for regular make-up but it's very easy. The result is absolutely flawless. I'm completely sold.

Their prices are very reasonable and they sell mini samples of their products to try before you splash out. I highly recommend them and shall definitely be using their products for the forseeable future.