The KInd Life Community Forum

Branded Vegan products, such as Earth Balance and Daiya don't seem to be available in the UK.

Have any of my fellow UK Kind Lifers found any of these products or alteratives as I am really strugging to expand on what I am eating?

Hi Happychick

I've used Pure spreads, I really don't like the taste. I suppose for baking they would be ok, but if I wanted it on toast...I generally just use vegan peanut butter.

Wholefoods is only really available online. I have used Goodness Direct and other suppliers, but the choice is so limited.

I need to move or write to these places, asking for more variety.

Are you following the Kind Diet?

I actually like Pure Sunflower, and anything Redwood. Some US vegans get Cheezly imported! Isa mentions it in Vegan Brunch. What about Booja Booja? Expensive, but amazing.

And Oatly! I love Oatly.

I lived in central london before coming to university in St Andrews....If you think your food choices are limited, imagine mine now!

In London I lived within a ten minute walk from soho and would usually be able to get most of my groceries from either whole foods or china town. In China town things like dried seaweed etc are far far cheaper and in huge quantities.

My family is originally Greek so I tended to buy anything lentil/grain/tea/herb/ related at a Greek or Turkish food store.

Now that I live in the middle of nowhere I buy Pure spread (but I guess the difference is that that's the only thing I've ever eaten at home so i like the taste), Alpro soya milk and things like jusrol ready made pastry from Tesco. Also, random fact, ginger nuts are usually always vegan - don't ask me why....I also buy Nakd bars, corn cakes, rice cakes and dried fruit from Tesco or Morrisons too.

When I go home whole foods is my meca...I literally spend hours in there. I get all my frozen foods and special things like vegan marshmallows and booja booja chocs.

The best advice I could probably give is to keep it simple and not rely on substitutes. You can buy grains, lentils and beans from even the most basic places. The subs can be tasty but I very rarely eat them because they aren't nourishing. Also every year when its pumpkin season I prepare my own pumpkin puree and freeze it. It's cheaper than buying the tinned stuff and far better for you.

Where exactly do you live?

I use the Pure Sunflower spread and have done for years - even before I was vegan. The soya version is not so good though. Bute Island cream cheese is very good and now Tesco have a "free from" range which includes a rebranded Bute Island cream cheese range and also some hard cheeses that are really the best I've had in this country - especially for slicing, grating and melting. I now live in a very small place in Scotland where the word vegan is not known so I know where you're coming from Katerina. There is a WFM now in Glasgow but it's very small and their vegan range is not large or promoted like it is in say the New York stores which are wonderful. Mostly I cook everything from scratch and try to stay away from the processed convenience foods as much as possible but every so often I want to eat Linda McCartney Country pies or her vegan sausages.