The KInd Life Community Forum

Kbear, i love that blog post. very well written. and i definitely agree about overpackaging...for me, the amount of plastic bags and carton drinks that come out of any supermarket and you see being carried around the city (humans used as walking billboards for big companies, if you ask me!) is scary. thestoryofstuff.com has some good videos explaining how the system really works. i think alicia posted something about it a while ago.

yeah, indian and thai restaurants are great, but most indians are not very health conscious, so even if there is no ghee, you can count on ridiculous amounts of oil (usually old) and sugar...unfortunately. i'm married to an indian, so i know that home cooked indian meal is the way to go. vantra is thai vegan. really recommend it (i should get paid as their pr person;-)

the thing is that it's ridiculously easy to be vegan nowadays (really, hannah). what i don't understand is why vegan cookbook writers make it sound so difficult...like, they are trying to make the whole vagan lifestyle elitist and fancier than thou...they always put strange ingredients that can hardly be called local in most parts of the world (even alicia...sorry, alicia)...i mean, truffle oil, bamboo shoots, lotus root, certain types of mushroom and spices...it gives me a headache.

you can find this stuff in most big cities now, but think of the mileage they cover to get to your hands...i'd rather save for a holiday where these products are actually local and enjoy them there once or twice a year;-) here, i can whip up some pretty amazing vegan stuff from veg local to this area. and that's fun, too! many people get discouraged from a vegan diet or from raw food because of the amount of ingredients that are either expensive or bloody hard to find...not good!

Hi hi!

I live in South East London and I was wondering if any of you guys knew of veggie/vegan groups in the London area? I'm fairly new to the vegan thing and although my carnivorous friends have been fairly accepting of vegetarianism (as I've been this since a small child - my parents are fish only types) I think veganism is a step too far for them! I've been cooking them yummy vegan treats like there's no tommorrow, but still - it would be nice to meet some like minded people!

I'm a bit worried about people judging me for wearing my old wool jumpers etc (I've stopped buying new ones but I've just graduated and have no money! Some of the vegans I've met are a bit diehard) which is why I like the accepting nature of the kind lifers. Are there kind life groups?!

xxx

you can find vegan london events here:

http://www.veganlondon.co.uk/whattodo.htm

i've never participated, but i guess this forum is also intended to encourage forming new groups and outings;-)

Hi Vanessa!

I was at Cambridge for uni and still work for academics there so I commute in twice a week! Which part of Cambridgeshire do you live in? There are some large health shops in Cambride on Bridge Street and Mill Road which have lots of good things in - the Bridge Street one has some 'chicken nuggets' which are pretty good, particularly when you're just easing into things.

Also I discovered in Sainsburys something called Freedom frozen dessert, which is with all the quorn etc. in the freezers and has no dairy or sugar and is very nice, very icecreamy! It comes in chocolate and strawberry. I thought I'd mention it because it's quite hard to get ricedream over here and boojabooja is very dense.

Vegan hugs

Jo, thanks very much! I'm glad you liked it! I love The Story of Stuff; I found it really powerful and motivating.

I'll try Vantra, it sounds yummy.

Mia, I love Manna too! Fairly pricely though. My boyfriend and I went there for their American Thanksgiving meal, and left doubled over in pain from eating SO MUCH delicious food.